"There's no need for that," Ron said immediately as he walked over and heard this.
"Indeedee, in, indeedee."
"It says, but even if you go back to Kalos right now, you'd still only be able to take a boat to Coumarine City, right?" Meowth translated thoughtfully.
"Indeedee! Indee!" Indeedee winked slyly at Ron, then looked at the four standing nearby: "In, indeed."
"Besides, the nearest Pokémon Contest won't be held for another ten days or so," Meowth continued. "If you stay, it, Shaymin, and Bellossom can vacate their rooms for you."
"Do Shaymin and Bellossom know about this?" Ron couldn't help but ask.
"Indeedee~"
"It says they won't mind, meow."
"——" Ron turned his head to look at the four girls.
Although Serena and Bonnie hadn't actively asked to stay out of politeness, it looked like they were quite tempted.
Abigail quickly chimed in, "You can squeeze into my room!"
"Me too," Haley said. "We're just in time for the Flower Dance! Emily will go crazy with joy when she sees me."
Since they weren't staying at the farm, Ron had no reason to refuse. After a moment, he nodded. "Alright then, I'll send you back to Kalos the day after tomorrow."
"Wait a minute!" Abigail pulled out her Rotom Dex and examined it carefully. "If we go back through Coumarine City, the next Pokémon Contest should be in Shalour City!"
Unlike Gym battles, which are fixed in each city and can be challenged every day, Pokémon Contests are held irregularly in various cities. Because there are so many participants, many cities maintain a frequency of one contest a week, or one every half a month.
However, since the Ribbon Badges for Pokémon Contests can't all be from the same city, traveling to compete in different locations is equally important.
"The Contest is in fifteen days!" Abigail calculated further. "From Coumarine City to Shalour City takes five days at most. Tomorrow is the 24th, and there are only four days left until the end of the month. Counting it up, it's completely fine even if we wait until summer to set off."
Of course, she had other considerations too. Not only did she want Serena and Bonnie to stay and have fun in Pelican Town for a few more days, but another important point was that the 26th was Pierre's birthday, and the 27th was Emily's birthday.
If Haley and Abigail could stay in Pelican Town, they would probably be thrilled.
"Um, wouldn't we be too much of a bother?" Serena asked softly.
"Not at all! Mom has been wanting to meet you guys for ages!" Abigail said.
Seeing that the situation was inevitable, Ron, under Indeedee's watchful gaze, said extremely reluctantly, "If you want to stay at the farm, that's fine too... We happen to have extra beds; you can share a room with Indeedee and the others."
The room was quite large anyway. Especially since they had previously reserved beds for Pokémon that might bicker, letting the two of them stay there was no problem at all.
Bonnie and Serena exchanged a glance, and then Bonnie raised her hand high. "I want to stay at the farm!!"
"Well, nothing I can do about it then, I'll stay at the farm too." Serena smiled, then said apologetically to Ron, "Sorry to intrude."
"Indeedee!"
"Not at all!"
Indeedee said, excitedly pulling Meowth along to give the two a tour of the farm's rooms.
"So how did you guys end up here?" Ron asked uncertainly. "You got caught by Team Rocket?"
"It's all Abigail's fault!" Haley immediately blurted out. "We had already decided to head to the next town to rest, but she insisted on taking a break at that inn... and it turned out that inn was a Team Rocket trap!"
It was a classic trope.
Ron thought to himself, couldn't help but touch the Rabbit's Foot in his pocket, and wondered suspiciously: Does this thing really work? Why does he feel like the situation is just getting worse and worse?
"So, are you going home for lunch, or eating with us?" Ron asked. "Indeedee should have prepared enough food."
If they suddenly went back and caught Caroline and Emily off guard right now, they'd probably have no choice but to eat at the Saloon.
Abigail and Haley thought about it. "Let's go back after lunch. We'll give them a surprise."
Although going back right away would be a surprise too, it would just mean Caroline and Emily would have to scramble to make lunch.
"Alright." Ron agreed, leading the two into the cabin.
Inside, Indeedee was still showing Serena and Bonnie around, and Bonnie's delighted exclamations echoed through the house from time to time.
"Wow, this is so cute! Dedenne, you try it!"
"Dede~"
"This one belongs to the Rattata, meow." Meowth continued to introduce. "These are all custom-made to fit the Rattata's living habits."
"Indeedee."
"Because everyone is a hero of the farm, meow," Meowth added. "Meowth's room has custom furniture for Meowth too, meow."
"...Then Team Rocket must be living really happily here right now, huh?"
"Very happily, meow," Meowth said.
"That's great," Serena said. "It's so much better than being in Team Rocket before."
Although most of the time Team Rocket were the bad guys trying to steal Pikachu, when it came to major crises of right and wrong, the three of them actually showed a surprisingly righteous side.
It was for the best that they had turned over a new leaf.
Serena thought to herself as she set her backpack down in the room, then followed Indeedee out.
Coincidentally, Jessie and James had just finished their work on Ginger Island and pushed the door open to walk in.
The three groups stared at each other.
"Ahhhhh! What are you doing here, you little brat?!" Jessie shrieked. She then looked around and grabbed Serena, saying in a threatening tone, "We haven't done anything bad here! You'd better not tell anyone that we're from Team Rocket!"
"Don't worry," Serena nodded. "I won't say anything."
Jessie let out a sigh of relief, then asked, "Then why are you guys here?"
"Because we got caught by Team Rocket," Serena replied. "In the heat of the moment, we used the teleportation totem Ron gave us."
"..."
Jessie averted her gaze upon hearing this.
"Indeedee."
"Lunch is ready, meow," Meowth said, placing the plates on the table one by one. "You can go wash your hands now, meow."
"Right away," Jessie said, hurrying off to the washroom.
"What is this stool for?" Bonnie asked curiously, pointing to one of the stools placed next to the chairs.
"It's for the Rattata to climb up onto the table to eat," Meowth said.
Almost all the Pokémon on the farm ate at the table. Except for those that ate rocks and iron ore, everyone was quite happy to sit at the dining table, watching everyone else eat, listening to the chatter, and then burying their faces in their own food.
"I see," Serena nodded, just as she saw the Rattata returning from their work. After lining up to wash their paws in the washroom, they used the stools to climb onto the table one by one.
"So cute... this is so cute!" Bonnie said, clutching her cheeks.
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