"Toge!"
(I want honey—and a lollipop too!)
Togekiss declared righteously.
Chen Shi curled his lips.
"We don't even know how long we'll be stuck in this era."
"We need to conserve things like honey."
"All you're getting right now is Pokéblocks. If you don't want them, I'll put them away."
As he spoke, Chen Shi reached out to take the Pokéblocks back.
Togekiss immediately panicked.
She had already failed to get any honey or lollipops.
Now he wanted to take away her Pokéblocks too?
Absolutely not!
Togekiss hurriedly spread herself over the Pokéblocks, guarding them like a hen protecting her eggs.
Amusement filled Chen Shi's eyes.
"So, are you eating them or not?"
"Toge~"
Togekiss gave a soft huff.
Of course she was going to eat them.
She couldn't possibly go without even Pokéblocks.
A plane would starve to death!
Togekiss scooped up the Pokéblocks with one wing and moved off to the side to eat.
Chen Shi smiled and shook his head before turning his attention toward Victini, who was devouring its food.
Before they came here, Mew had told him that Little V was already close to advancing to the Champion level.
Its appetite might increase considerably during this period, so Chen Shi needed to prepare more food than usual.
That was why he had stopped immediately when Victini said it was hungry.
Chen Shi smiled at it.
"Little V, make sure you eat plenty."
"Try to reach the Champion level soon."
Victini nodded firmly and swallowed another Pokéblock in one bite.
Just as it reached for the next one, Victini suddenly sensed something and turned toward Togekiss.
It wasn't alone.
Dragapult, Metagross, and the others all reacted in exactly the same way.
Then, with remarkable coordination, they turned back and continued minding their own business.
Chen Shi found their behavior strange and glanced in Togekiss's direction.
Togekiss was sitting beneath a tree with her eyes closed, carefully savoring the Pokéblock in her mouth.
Then she stretched out one wing to take another.
Her wing searched around for quite some time—
But touched nothing.
Togekiss froze.
She immediately opened her eyes and looked down.
What she saw was disastrous.
The Pokéblocks she had placed on the ground had vanished without a trace.
"Toge?!"
Togekiss rubbed her eyes in disbelief and looked again.
The result remained the same.
Her Pokéblocks...
Were gone!
"Pfft!"
Seeing her reaction, Chen Shi failed to hold back and burst out laughing.
"Toge!"
Believing Chen Shi had taken her Pokéblocks, Togekiss instantly flew into a rage.
Her tiny eyes seemed ready to spit fire.
She spread her wings and launched herself at Chen Shi like a small white cannonball.
"Holy crap!"
Chen Shi was struck squarely by the sudden tackle.
A sharp pain shot through his backside, making him cry out.
"Toge! Toge... Toge!"
(Give my Pokéblocks back! Give them back!)
"I didn't take your Pokéblocks!"
This time, Chen Shi was genuinely innocent.
He had no idea why Togekiss's food had disappeared.
Togekiss refused to believe him.
He had only just threatened to take her Pokéblocks away.
Of course he was the culprit.
Left with no choice, Chen Shi looked toward Dragapult and the others for help.
Dragapult flicked its tail and immediately turned away, pretending not to notice.
What a joke.
Had Chen Shi forgotten how he had shifted the blame onto Dragapult earlier?
And now he expected Dragapult to save him?
Not a chance.
In the end, Metagross was the only one who couldn't stand watching any longer.
It flew off in a certain direction.
A short while later, Metagross returned carrying a blue, mushroom-headed Pokémon and dropped it in front of Chen Shi and Togekiss.
"Holy crap!"
The moment Chen Shi saw the Pokémon, he swore aloud.
The Pokémon Metagross had brought back was unmistakably a Shiny Ralts.
However, she seemed to be living rather miserably.
Her little white dress was filthy, and some unknown green liquid was tangled in her hair.
She had even begun to smell.
Unlike Chen Shi, Togekiss's eyes widened as her attention locked onto the Pokéblocks clutched in Ralts's arms.
Weren't those the ones that had just disappeared?
Had she really blamed her Trainer unfairly?
"Ralts~"
Despite being surrounded by so many powerful Pokémon, Ralts showed no fear whatsoever.
Her gaze remained completely indifferent as she calmly continued eating the Pokéblocks in her arms.
Mm. Delicious.
Hopefully these powerful Pokémon wait a little longer before eating me.
That way, I can finish a few more.
Those were the thoughts running through Ralts's mind as she ate.
Togekiss, however, was having none of it.
Wasn't this little thief far too arrogant?
She had already been caught, yet she still dared to continue eating Togekiss's Pokéblocks.
Furious, Togekiss moved forward to teach her a lesson, but Chen Shi quickly stopped her.
"Wait."
"It's only a few Pokéblocks. I'll give you some more."
"Let her have those."
"Look at how starved she is."
As he spoke, Chen Shi took out another portion of Togekiss's usual Pokéblocks and handed them over.
"Toge..."
Togekiss still wanted to protest, but Chen Shi immediately covered her beak and pulled her aside.
He spoke earnestly.
"Little Plane, what do I always teach you?"
"As a person—"
He corrected himself.
"No, as a Pokémon, you need to be compassionate."
"Look at how miserable this Ralts is."
"She must have been starving so badly that she had no choice but to steal your food."
"If she could find enough to eat on her own, why would she resort to stealing?"
"Don't you agree?"
Hearing this, Togekiss remembered how she and Leafeon had lived before meeting Chen Shi.
They had never known where their next meal would come from.
Whenever they found even the smallest amount of food, the two of them had fought with everything they had to obtain it.
Togekiss looked back at the filthy Ralts and sighed.
Chen Shi had a point.
This little mushroom head looked utterly miserable.
She must have been starving.
Togekiss would simply consider it a good deed.
She took the new Pokéblocks Chen Shi had given her and moved aside to eat.
After resolving Togekiss's complaint, Chen Shi chuckled and approached Ralts with an exceptionally gentle tone.
"Little one, I understand how you feel."
"But stealing my companion's food was wrong."
Ralts glanced at him but said nothing.
She simply continued gnawing on the Pokéblock.
The corner of Chen Shi's mouth twitched.
This Ralts certainly had personality.
But he had already taken a liking to the little one, so he could only try again.
"Little one, I'm speaking to you."
"Could you stop eating for a moment?"
"Ralts!"
(Are you done yet? Can't you stop bothering me while I'm eating?)
Ralts shouted irritably, then immediately resumed eating.
Chen Shi fell silent.
"..."
Something seemed wrong with this Ralts.
Why was she so bad-tempered?
And between the two of them, who exactly was supposed to be in control of the situation?
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to Chen Shi.
His eyes widened in horror.
Don't tell me...
Is this a Ralts holding a Big Root?
...
The Shiny Mushroom Head
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