"…"
Watching Serperior leave, Lin Feng slowly got to his feet. He looked at Growlithe standing beneath the streetlamp and could only let out a helpless sigh.
"Let's go back too, Growlithe."
"Woof woof!"
Growlithe barked happily and trotted along, following Lin Feng's faint shadow cast by the lights.
When they reached the room, Lin Feng finally noticed that Ice Ninetales had shrunk down as well and was rolling around on the bed.
After shrinking, it somehow became even more amusing.
Its once well proportioned body now looked slimmer and more delicate, and its nine fluffy tails made it resemble a skinny little dog.
"Pfft… hahaha…"
Lin Feng could not help laughing out loud.
The moment he laughed, every Pokémon in the room turned to look at him.
"Ying ying?"
Ice Ninetales stared at Lin Feng in confusion, clearly not understanding why he was laughing.
It glanced down at itself. Aside from being smaller, it was not dirty, right?
"It's nothing, really."
Lin Feng waved it off, then looked over at Serperior coiled on the carpet.
After shrinking, the room felt much more spacious.
"Alright, everyone play a little longer. Then it's bedtime."
He waved his hand, and the room was soon filled only with the various cries of Pokémon.
"Ying ying…"
"Bulbasaur…"
"Alcremie…"
Lin Feng poured some hot water, washed his face, soaked his feet, then climbed into bed and was just about to pull up the blanket when a voice made him freeze.
"Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur…"
(Not taking a bath. Smelly…)
He turned his head and saw Nine beside him.
Lin Feng smiled helplessly, picked Nine up, and said, "So what if I don't take a bath? You're the smelly one. You run around outside every day and only get washed once every few days. I've never complained about you, and now you're complaining about me?"
As he spoke, he grabbed Nine and planted his hand firmly on its belly, rubbing vigorously.
Σ(っ°Д°;)っ: "Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur…"
Nine panicked instantly and tried to escape, but Lin Feng's merciless iron grip held it firmly by the neck, leaving it completely unable to resist.
"I'll bathe you tomorrow. No, starting tomorrow, I'll bathe you every single day. Three times a day!"
Lin Feng declared loudly.
┌(.Д.)┐: "Bulbasaur…"
o(＞＜;)oo: "Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur…"
(No, no…)
"Protest denied! Hahaha…"
Seeing Nine's expression, Lin Feng burst into a giggling laugh.
Several Eevee, along with Blaziken and Vaporeon, all hated taking baths.
Sprigatito was fine. It stayed indoors all day and rarely got dirty.
With so many Eevee running around outside every day, their fur naturally built up oil. In summer it was manageable. Once a day was enough.
Sometimes Lin Feng helped, but most of the time, bath duty happened under the supervision of the Hattrem siblings.
The sister was responsible for Nine and Sam, while the brother took care of Will.
Lin Feng also understood that winter was cold, so he set a rule. As long as their fur was not dirty, they only needed a bath about once every three days.
Because of this, Will had already confirmed his future evolutionary path.
Umbreon.
Otherwise, evolving into Flareon only to still be dragged into baths would be far too humiliating.
"Bulbasaur…"
Nine cast a pleading look toward its other two companions.
But Will and Sam both turned their heads away, completely pretending not to see anything.
If Lin Feng added them to the list too, they would be done for.
"Bulbasaur!"
(You guys!)
Nine stared at them in disbelief.
They had once sworn to defeat Rayquaza together, but now, faced with the terror of bath time, each of them wanted to be the first to hide.
With no other choice, it tried to appease Lin Feng.
"Bulbasaur… Bulbasaur…"
(Waaah, I was wrong, Lin Feng…)
"Hmph."
Only then did Lin Feng let it go.
But Nine did not even pause for a second.
It sprang up, whooshed away, and stopped less than a meter from Lin Feng. It stuck out its tongue and made a silly face at him.
(￣┰￣*): "Bulbasaur!"
(Bad Lin Feng! Stinky Lin Feng!)
You little drama king.
Lin Feng felt both amused and annoyed all over again. He climbed out from under the covers and lunged after it once more.
"Xiu xiu…"
Below them, watching Lin Feng and the Eevee play so happily, Serperior shook its head. It lay down on the carpet, blankly staring at the warm glow radiating from the space heater.
…
November 16.
The first wave of cold air seemed to have passed, and today was bright and sunny.
The temperature had risen to between 9 and 14 degrees Celsius.
Winter sunlight was different from summer sunlight. It was gentle rather than harsh, warm as it settled over the body.
Growlithe lay at the doorway, the spot Lin Feng had found for it.
Sprigatito had somehow climbed onto the roof and was sleeping there in the sunshine.
Having just finished breakfast, Lin Feng was about to go check on the new house.
Just then, his phone buzzed with a message.
He opened it.
The profile picture was an anime style girl.
[Larvitar's Trainer: Little Lin, my dad agreed!]
"Huh?"
Lin Feng exclaimed softly, then his eyes lit up.
That was great.
Her father's approval meant Happiny would soon be coming to the plantation, and after that there would be a steady supply of Blissey.
[Lin Feng: That's wonderful. Please ask your dad how much happiness is worth.]
[Larvitar's Trainer: No money needed. Dad said your Moomoo Milk has been a huge help to us, so when spring comes, he'll personally bring a Chansey to visit.]
[Larvitar's Trainer: (Larvitar serious face.jpg)]
[Lin Feng: Thank you very much.]
[Larvitar's Trainer: Haha. After the New Year, I'll be setting out on my journey again. I'll come challenge your Pidgeot at your breeding house then, little brother!]
[Lin Feng: You're welcome.]
"Phew…"
Lin Feng put his phone away, feeling lighthearted.
He had originally planned to head to the villa to see what was going on, but halfway there, his attention was drawn to the challenge zone.
Today's challenge seemed unusually lively.
Four Pidgeot were circling in the sky, constantly evading attacks.
Scattered cheers rang out below.
Lin Feng's eyelid twitched.
Someone was challenging the third stage?
Curious, he walked over and saw a tall, proud Charizard standing at the center of the challenge field. Beside it stood a young man with dyed red hair.
"Huh?"
Seeing that person, Lin Feng's mouth twitched slightly…