"Ribbon?"
This name was still somewhat unfamiliar to Gus.
"The other Rattata," Emily explained. "The one that's always wearing various accessories on its head."
While the other Rattata were indeed a bit hard to tell apart, the moment you mentioned the one with accessories on its head, everyone instantly knew.
Aside from being more distinguishable, because it frequently visited Emily's house to order accessories, plus occasionally making trips to the desert, it had become a familiar face to everyone.
"Actually lost to it." Robin wore an expression of pity for Indeedee. "But Ribbon is really cute too."
And since they were both Rattata, just hearing it made it seem like the odds of them being together were far greater than with Indeedee.
Meowth drank its soft drink with a mysterious air, looking profoundly enigmatic.
As everyone's messenger, Meowth of course knew that the actual course of events wasn't exactly as it had described them.
But then again, Meowth was merely stating facts. All the embellishments were things everyone had filled in themselves. That had nothing to do with Meowth!
Thinking this, Meowth contentedly enjoyed its free dinner earned through gossip.
The town wasn't big, and there wasn't much else for entertainment normally. Plus, every Tuesday, most of the town's women would gather at the chapel next to the grocery store for exercise. Once gossip got a seed, it would only spread more fiercely.
By the time the gossip made its way back to Sailor, it was already Summer 24.
Coincidentally, this day was also Willy's birthday.
Carrying a fish it had specifically caught in the Secret Woods, Sailor, who had only just managed to forget about being the object of Indeedee's secret crush, froze on the spot under Willy's sympathetic gaze.
"I support you guys." Willy patted Sailor's head, looking comforting. "As an outstanding sailor, it's normal to be highly sought after."
Saying this, he paused again: "But—you'd better not straddle two boats. They'll capsize."
"Rattata?" Sailor dodged Willy's hand, looking at Willy in horror. "Rattata? Rattata?" (Where did you hear that?!)
This reaction didn't look like resistance to a rumor; to Willy, it seemed more like guilt. Willy let out a long sigh. "It's okay. Morally, it may not hold up, but we're friends. In my book, no matter what you do, I'll support you."
"Rattata—"
What exactly did you hear?!
Sailor jumped up and down in desperation.
No wonder these past few days, whenever it quietly snuck to the trash cans to dig out diamonds for Willy, it would always be met with strange looks from everyone afterward—and it had checked repeatedly beforehand, confirming that absolutely no one had seen it rummaging through the trash.
It had thought its observation was faulty—now it seemed something was ruining its reputation! Who, who exactly was it!
Willy let out a long puff of smoke, and only then noticed Sailor's carefully wrapped gift.
"What's this?"
"Rattata—" Sailor pushed the gift to Willy's side.
"A birthday present? Thank you. I knew it, morals aside, you're the best Pokémon!"
"What do you want for dinner tonight?" Willy pointed to his loft. "I've made quite a bit of good food today. If there's something else you'd like, we can go to the saloon and buy some."
Sailor shook its head and climbed up the rope ladder to the loft.
Willy, with a sense of ceremony, prepared some seafood dishes, plus two servings of Seafoam Pudding.
The moment Sailor saw that bizarrely colored pudding sitting in a cup, its previous struggles were instantly forgotten.
Its brain was now almost entirely occupied by the bizarre taste of this thing.
"Rattata?" (I have to eat this too?)
It pointed at itself with its paw and asked.
"Up to you."
Willy said, opening the kerosene lamp nearby, and sat down across from Sailor.
Willy's loft had only one very small low table, plus a rather small prep counter for handling food.
Off to the side was Willy's small bed, right by the window facing the sea. The sun was setting in the west, and the orange-red light streaming in gave this dusty room a touch of warmth.
Willy took a puff of his pipe and casually handed a small fish to the attentive Krabby beside him.
"All these years, you're the first to celebrate my birthday with me." Willy said, then added, "Aside from Krabby."
"Rattata." Sailor lay against the low table, reaching out a paw to stuff a piece of Fried Calamari from the plate into its mouth, looking at Willy through a haze of smoke.
Willy's cloudy eyes revealed no emotion. Sailor guessed he was probably happy. Because his face was covered by a thick beard, plus with the light behind him, his expression was unreadable.
It stuffed the Fried Calamari into its mouth and began fighting it vigorously.
"The last time I celebrated my birthday with someone else was probably when I was a kid."
Willy himself couldn't remember clearly. He only remembered the rocking boat, the squid his father had caught, and the fresh ink sac sliced open with a knife, mixed into a paste made of Halibut and Midnight Carp, stirred together—and that became this thing called Seafoam Pudding.
On that stormy night with thunder and lightning, the kerosene lamp swayed constantly in the boat. His father's hearty laughter intertwined with the sound of waves, as he squeezed the squid's ink into the paste under young Willy's watchful eyes—
Willy smiled, his gaze settling on Sailor, who was still battling the Fried Calamari.
Sailor used both paws to desperately grip the squid's body, then used its pair of sharp teeth to try to tear into it.
Teeth that could bite through wood, and occasionally even metal, had met their match in this squid.
"Fried too long?" Willy laughed, gesturing to Krabby beside him. Krabby extended a pincer toward Sailor. "Sorry, haven't made this in too long, a bit rusty."
Krabby's pincer snipped through the middle of the squid with a crunch, and Sailor tumbled backward from the inertia.
"Krabby?" Krabby tilted its head, watching Sailor scramble back up in a huff. It then helped Willy snip the other piece of Fried Calamari open, then ignored Sailor's protests and went back to eating its own small fish.
Sailor grumbled and lay back down, tossing the squid from the plate into its mouth.
Willy grabbed a piece too.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was chewing.
"—Definitely—fried too long—"
The room fell quiet for a moment, followed by two spitting sounds.
The farm's work continued steadily day after day.
Ron was still making preparations for the next round of Tea Sapling planting in Kalos.
Summer and autumn were the smaller portions. Ron was currently hoarding Winter Seeds, so that when winter came, the farm would have plenty of empty land for planting winter forage items.
Plus, quite a few Winter Roots and similar things could be dug up from the snow. By the time spring arrived next year, barring any surprises, he'd be able to plant the entire tea mountain in Coumarine City!
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)