"Gaius Monti Nivicaerulesomnius—" Ron took the strip of paper from the Rattata's paws and began reading the names one by one. After reading for ages without reaching the bottom, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you planning to let me pick one?"
(T/N: Had to make it up according to the original text lol)
Hearing this, the Rattata waved its paw, then spread both of its little paws as wide as they could go, and squeaked: "Rattata! Rattata!"
"——All of these combined together is your name?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"Rattata! Rattata!"
The Rattata proudly puffed out its chest and patted it hard: "Rattata!"
These were the best words it had extracted from the books after a lot of effort!
"——No." Ron ruthlessly rejected the name. Seeing the Rattata's defeated look, Ron changed his tone: "A name this long won't fit on a trophy. Think about it, the trophy is only this big."
Ron gestured a shape.
"And your name is this long." Ron then waved the strip of paper.
"Rattata?" (Can't we just engrave it smaller?)
"Engraving it smaller won't work either."
"Rattata."
Disappointed, the Rattata snatched the paper strip from Ron's hands and trudged back to the library with its head hanging low.
Inside the library, Serena, who had enthusiastically helped the Rattata write down that long string of text without knowing what it was for, was currently flipping through a book, reading up on the history of the country where Pelican Town was located.
Seeing the Rattata return, she closed her book and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Rattata! Rattata." It drooped its head, stacking the cushions beside the table one by one until it could just reach the tabletop. Then, at an excruciatingly slow pace, it climbed onto the cushions and sat down with a heavy expression.
"——Did something upsetting happen?"
Serena couldn't help but ask. Just a moment ago, when it was writing things down on the paper, it had looked like it was about to receive some incredible good news. She couldn't imagine what could have made it so sad just from stepping out for a bit.
Because of the language barrier, the Rattata hung its head, staring solemnly at the paper strip that recorded all the words representing its beautiful hopes for the future. After a long while, it let out a long sigh.
It couldn't bear to cut this word, and it couldn't bear to cut that word either. What should it do!
"Rattata."
Serena watched the Rattata for a while, then picked up a dictionary from nearby and scooted over next to it.
"Did something happen?"
Could it have been bullied when it went outside? Serena wondered uncertainly.
She then watched as the Rattata flipped open the dictionary, pointing out words to her one by one.
"In order... to participate... in a Pokémon Contest... you need... a... name?" Serena read aloud, suddenly realizing. "The words written on that paper strip just now, that was your name?"
"Rattata." The collector Rattata nodded with a grave expression.
"But Ron said that name isn't allowed?" Serena guessed.
This was entirely understandable; if the Rattata hadn't told her that the string of text it just wrote was a name, she never would have guessed it in that direction.
"Rattata." The Rattata sat on the cushion with a bitter expression.
"Then let's think of one together."
"..."
Serena said, pulling the dictionary over and studying it together with the Rattata.
"Rattata!"
Meanwhile, at the Grocery Store.
Caroline looked worriedly at Abigail, who was in the kitchen making a birthday gift for Pierre.
Even though Abigail had been traveling alone in Kalos for a year and her self-care abilities should have improved considerably, Caroline had honestly never seen Abigail personally cook these kinds of complex dishes. Caroline was still sweating over the state of her kitchen—and the sole squid.
Squids could only be caught in the winter. Because Fried Calamari was Pierre's favorite dish, Caroline would deliberately buy extra during the winter and store them in the fridge. However, they hadn't stocked up much last winter, and since they cooked it from time to time, the one in Abigail's hands right now was the very last one in the house.
"Do you really not need my help?"
Abigail snorted. As she sliced the squid in her hands, she said to Caroline, "I helped cook all the time when I was in Kalos!"
——
"Really?"
Caroline didn't quite believe her, but looking at Abigail's proficient movements, she got the feeling that Abigail really had grown up.
She used to always think that since Abigail came to them, to this isolated little town, she should stay by her parents' side for the rest of her life. Even if she married one of the local boys in town, she wouldn't be too far away.
Before this, she had never imagined that Abigail would one day travel to a strange continent that neither she nor Pierre had ever been to, adventuring out there.
During the period when Abigail first left home, Caroline would constantly dream about Abigail getting into an accident, or getting hurt out there, or being bullied, while she and Pierre, as her parents, couldn't do anything to help.
But looking at it now, perhaps for children who had already grown up, letting go when necessary was another required course for parents.
Thinking this, she turned her head and saw Pierre, who was also keeping a close eye on the kitchen.
The two exchanged a glance, and Caroline stepped away from the kitchen to help Pierre tidy up the grocery store.
The sounds coming from the kitchen didn't seem too bad; in fact, they were quite orderly. The sound of a cleaver processing the squid, followed by mixing the batter, putting the pan on the stove, heating the oil...
"You stepped on me," Caroline couldn't help but say.
Clearly, even though they had prepared themselves not to hover over Abigail, their attention was still fixed on the kitchen.
"Sorry," Pierre said, packing away the out-of-season seeds. "She really has grown up."
"Yeah," Caroline said with a sigh of emotion.
On the other side, Ron returned to the farm.
The machine he ordered from Clint would probably be delivered around Summer 2. Once the summer crops on the farm were planted, Ron could set off for Kalos.
But before that, Ron planned to make a trip to the Wizard's Tower to see if he could unlock the various Warp Obelisks as soon as possible. This would open up the pathways from the farm to the Desert and Ginger Island, saving the time spent waiting for the bus daily and traveling to the beach.
Plus, this way, he could hand over the management of Ginger Island to Magearna as well, and he wouldn't have to make special trips over there to check on things anymore.
With this in mind, Ron headed straight toward the Wizard's Tower.
Reaching the Cindersap Forest, Ron spotted Bonnie from afar, who was already roughhousing and playing in a pile with Jas, Vincent, and Leo.
Although she was a bit older than the three kids, perhaps because Bonnie was still a child at heart, she had completely become the king of the kids right now.
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