It did not throw itself into Silas's arms asking for praise, nor did it show off its brand new appearance to everyone.
Instead, its pupils widened slightly, and it let out an irritable "Cin, Cin" sound. Its fluffy white tail spun like a propeller as it rapidly swept away fallen leaves and dust in front of the house.
The entire Pokémon turned into a spinning top, cleaning every corner that had previously been overlooked. It did not even spare the rooftop.
After finishing the sweeping, Cinccino applied cleaning oil everywhere, ensuring that the ranch remained spotless and tidy.
From a distance, the ranch house practically looked like it was glowing.
After evolving, Cinccino's personality had clearly changed. It could not tolerate even the slightest speck of dust.
"Cyc!"
"Morpe!"
"Meow…"
"..."
The Pokémon that had been called over looked at one another helplessly as they watched Cinccino clean the entire ranch from top to bottom.
Once it finally finished, Cinccino wiped its forehead with its tiny paw, just about to relax, when it noticed the other Pokémon out of the corner of its eye.
Work resumed immediately.
It went around cleaning all of them as well. Cyclizar, Clauncher, and Kangaskhan were not spared. Even Litten was forced to accept it, its entire body scrubbed until it was spotless.
Only after finishing everything did Cinccino bounce back onto Silas's shoulder as usual.
"Cin!"
It proudly displayed its hard work to Silas, wearing an obvious expression that begged for praise.
"Cinccino is amazing." Silas gently pinched its ear. Its fur felt sleek and glossy to the touch.
"Promise me you will never go near the Mudsdale's living area. I am afraid you will not be able to handle it."
"Cinno…"
Cinccino trembled at the thought and nodded vigorously.
The little mouse loved cleanliness. It did not want to exhaust itself to death or faint from overwork. It certainly did not want to evolve into something like a Mausold that had given up on life.
Silas ruffled its fluffy fur with both hands. Cinccino ran off in dissatisfaction, going to celebrate with the other Pokémon.
Smiling, he reminded them not to wander too far.
Then he and the Indeedee siblings went into the kitchen to prepare a grand dinner.
…
July 10th, Year 198 of the League Calendar. Not a cloud in the sky.
After returning to the ranch, aside from his daily tasks, Silas spent his time communicating with Roxie.
She had been helping arrange music for the Ranch Band.
That left Silas with quite a bit of free time. So once again, he picked up his fishing rod to showcase the elegance of a true fishing king.
Hook baited and rod cast in one smooth motion. He still had the cooking effect of the full fish banquet on him, and without Malamar causing trouble, he refused to believe he would return empty handed again.
One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, the fishing rod finally twitched.
"It's here."
Silas was overjoyed. At last, something had taken the bait.
The moment he gripped the rod, a strong force pulled from the other end. The fish was not small.
After playing with it for a while, he clearly felt its strength weakening.
Silas began reeling in forcefully. Today was definitely going to start off with a big success.
A moment later, the "fish" was dragged ashore.
Was it red? Yes, it was red.
What he had caught was a waterlogged suitcase.
As expected, fishermen could catch anything except actual fish.
The moment Silas saw the suitcase, he felt numb.
He dragged it fully onto the shore but did not open it immediately.
First, he made preparations. He asked Cyclizar to take Cinccino and the others farther away to play. It would not be good for children to see certain things.
Only after the Pokémon had left did Silas boldly unzip the suitcase.
He was fully prepared to call the police at any moment.
When the suitcase opened, there were no horrifying red and white chunks inside. Instead, there were several seeds that had rotted from being soaked in water, and one stubborn seed that had sprouted.
"Seeds?"
Driven by curiosity, Silas reached out to touch it. The system panel immediately provided feedback.
[Payapa Berry Seed (Poor condition): A special berry seed. Due to prolonged soaking in water, it may die at any moment. Please transfer it as soon as possible.]
"Whew. So it is just a seed. That scared me."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Silas called Cyclizar and the others back.
Cyclizar ran over, lowered its nose, and sniffed. Then it dealt a critical hit of emotional damage.
"Cyc?"
(Silas, weren't you fishing? Why do I not see any fish?)
"Cy. Cli. Zar."
Cyclizar immediately covered its mouth. Silas was clearly annoyed.
Cinccino lagged behind but soon trotted over. The moment it saw the dirty suitcase, it could no longer restrain itself and rushed forward to clean it.
Thankfully, Silas reacted quickly and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, lifting it into the air.
"No need to clean it. I am going to throw it in the trash later."
"Cin…"
Only then did it calm down.
Carefully holding the surviving Payapa Berry seed in his palm, Silas paused his fishing plans and rode Cyclizar to the berry orchard.
"Help me call Meganium over." He patted Cinccino, and the little one dashed off immediately.
Silas entered the orchard first and found a corner where he planted the Payapa Berry seed.
"Meganium!"
Meganium nuzzled him affectionately, then voiced a questioning sound.
Silas pointed at the soil. "Meganium, please take a look and see if it can be saved. I caught the seed from the sea."
"Mega~"
(You managed to fish a seed out of the sea. Your skills are truly impressive Silas.)
Hearing the praise, Silas's cheeks heated up. He quickly changed the topic.
"Stop praising me. Please check if it can survive. It was soaked in seawater for too long."
Meganium lowered its head and gently touched the seed with its nose. Activating its natural ability, it released a breath filled with life energy that enveloped the seed.
After a long while, Meganium finally lifted its head.
"Meganium~"
(It should be fine now. It can probably live. I will take extra care of it these next few days.)
"Thank you for your hard work." Silas gently stroked Meganium. It let out a comfortable cry and nudged his palm with its head.
"I was going to ask Cinccino to… actually, never mind. I will go ask Mudsdale to help instead."
With the seed stabilized, Silas left the orchard and called over the eldest Mudsdale to use its Rototiller move to enrich the soil.
Cinccino did not leave. It stayed by the seed's side, carefully watering it.
After such thorough care, the seed's condition improved significantly.
Its curled leaves slowly unfurled, its roots stretched deeper into the earth, and under the blessing of super lucky Cinccino, the Payapa Berry seed began to undergo subtle changes.
For now, Silas was unaware of this.
He brought Clauncher and Litten from the orchard back to the seaside.
"Clauncher, please dive down and check that spot. That is usually where fish gather."
If he returned empty handed again, it definitely would not be his fault. It would be the fishing rod's problem, or the bait's problem, or there simply were no fish nearby. Yes, that had to be it.
"Cher!"
Raising its massive claw, Clauncher leapt into the sea. Its red shimmering body darted skillfully through the water and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Silas held Litten in his arms, picked up the fries he had prepared earlier, and waited quietly.
The fries had been meant for Wingull. Unfortunately, not a single one had appeared all day, which was why he had called Clauncher for help. Now the fries could only be eaten by himself.
"Litten, want some? They taste great."
"Meow."
Litten shook its head and declined. It lay softly in his arms, its throat producing a low, steady purr.
Its white triangular ears twitched cutely.
Suddenly, Litten sat upright and stared toward a certain spot on the sea's surface.
Clauncher emerged from the water and shook its head at Silas.
"Claun! Cher!"
(Silas, something is wrong. There is not a single Pokémon to be seen on the seabed!)
(End of Chapter)