Before Rotom could figure out how this refrigerator worked, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance. Rotom hesitated for a moment and hid under the refrigerator.
"Ratta rattata—"
Because Sandy was coming to Pelican Town today, she had specifically told the Sailor about this yesterday. Therefore, the Sailor didn't get up early as usual today, but slept until noon before setting out to collect seafood from the beach.
It muttered while rubbing its paws together, taking off the hat on its head and hanging it on the coat rack nearby.
Noticing that everyone was asleep, the Sailor looked around, trotted to the fireplace to warm its paws for a while, then tiptoed toward the refrigerator nearby.
"Ratta—" it muttered, standing on tiptoe, searching for food in the refrigerator.
Rotom under the refrigerator hid even further under the refrigerator upon seeing this.
"Zzt—"
This place was a bit strange.
Rotom thought, pressing against the gap between the refrigerator and the floor, unwilling to give up as it searched again.
Finding nothing, it poked its head out from the gap, staring intently at the Sailor sitting by the fireplace eating something.
Sailor found some fruit from the refrigerator. Sitting by the fire, it was perfect to eat something cold—this way, it wouldn't feel restless from the fireplace being too hot, nor would it get too cold from the fruit.
Sailor was well-versed in this.
After eating heartily, seeing that the Pokémon by the fireplace showed no signs of waking, the Sailor warmed its paws by the fire again, trotted to the door, took the hat from the coat rack, put it on its head, and opened the door to the outside.
"Zzt—"
A somewhat piercing call, accompanied by a flash of light, flashed past from beside the Sailor.
"Ratta?"
Sailor looked up in confusion, looking around everywhere. Unable to find the source of the sound, it turned to survey the area by the fireplace. Seeing nothing unusual, and remembering that it had made plans with Sandy yesterday to search for Saffron in the forest together, it didn't take this matter to heart. After straightening its hat, it headed toward Emily's house without looking back.
Only after that Rattata left this farm-like place did Rotom, hiding in the corner, slowly come out.
"Zzt—"
Since it couldn't play pranks inside the house, surely it could outside?
In such a large place, it was impossible not to find a single electrical wire!
Thinking this, Rotom let out its "hehe" strange laugh again, searching everywhere on the farm.
Meanwhile, in the barn, Shane had just finished today's work.
Ron had been away these past two days and had told him beforehand that as long as the farm work was done, he could go straight home without having to stay at the farm until closing time.
So Shane made one last patrol around the barn, checked the chicks and ducklings in the coop, confirmed that all the animals had been taken care of, then greeted the Miltank curled up by the radiator.
Besides Indeedee who came to help every day, this Pokémon was the one he was most familiar with. Sometimes when Shane had time, he would help Miltank brush its fur and trim its hooves and such.
"Moo~"
Miltank leisurely waved its hooves, then turned around, picked up some hay from the ground, and stuffed it into its mouth to chew heartily.
Shane smiled, put on his hat, and went out the door.
"Today is really cold."
In winter, Marnie's Ranch was also a bit busy. After all, in winter, the animals couldn't graze. Besides feeding, even the cleaning of the barn increased quite a bit.
So after finishing the farm work, Shane would also return to the ranch to help Marnie for a while.
Although Marnie wasn't too old, this physical labor was somewhat of a burden for her. Every bit of help counted.
Thinking this, Shane left the farm.
Rotom in the distance went "zzt" and followed Shane's footsteps, sneakily hiding behind Shane, waiting for a chance to scare this human later.
Playing pranks on humans was a hundred times more interesting than playing pranks on Pokémon to it.
Of course, the most crucial point was that even if humans got angry from pranks, they couldn't attack it. But Pokémon had plenty of moves and methods.
"Zzt~"
Rotom let out another strange laugh and followed Shane into Marnie's ranch.
"You're back early today." Marnie greeted Shane. She then felt as if some light had flashed past from a corner.
She paused, rubbed her eyes. "Was there something behind you just now?"
Shane turned his head upon hearing this, looked around, and after finding nothing, asked hesitantly: "There's nothing. Did you stare at the snow too long today and get glare in your eyes?"
"—Maybe?" Marnie said uncertainly. She then pointed to the soup simmering in the kitchen: "Rest for a while first. There's hot soup in the pot. The barn and coop can wait until later."
Shane took off his hat, nodded upon hearing this, and went straight to the kitchen.
Rotom hiding in the corner looked around, found no electrical circuits, then slipped through the back door all the way into the coop.
"Rotom?" Rotom stared at the flock of hens that suddenly surrounded it, looking as if they had seen some food, trying to figure out from its head what these Pokémon-like things were.
Torchic?
They didn't look like it either—
Before Rotom could figure it out, one of the chickens pecked at Rotom with its sharp beak.
"Rotom?!" Rotom paused and fled quickly.
There were astonishingly many hens in the house. Even though Rotom was fleeing everywhere, there was always some chicken pecking at it.
Although Rotom was Ghost-type itself, so this kind of physical attack was almost ineffective against it, because the scene was too terrifying and there were no electrical circuits or anything that could make it feel safe nearby, Rotom completely lost its reason. It wasn't until it flew straight out the door that it breathed a sigh of relief.
"I think I saw a light go out just now—" Marnie rubbed her eyes again: "Could it really have been an illusion—"
Outside, Rotom breathed a sigh of relief. Because it was an owned Pokémon and not restricted by the mage's formations, it began to run around everywhere in Pelican Town.
Pam, guarding the bus stop, yawned. After waiting for a long time without seeing Sandy, she decided to go to Emily's house to confirm.
If Sandy wasn't planning to return to the desert today, she was planning to get off work.
Thinking this, a flash of light flashed past before Pam's eyes and drilled into the deep tunnel not far away.
"What was that—a daytime shooting star?" Pam looked at that tunnel in confusion. Out of respect for some mysterious power, she shivered and hurried toward Emily's house.
Inside the tunnel, Rotom, which had been running around like a headless fly all day, finally found the first electrical circuit in this backward little town.
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