"Ni?"
Mime Jr. crawled out from under the covers and found Gengar and the others standing outside the window, beckoning it to come out.
It glanced at its side and didn't see Lucas; it had waited a long time but hadn't seen Lucas return.
Mime Jr. looked out the window. Gengar and the others were urging it. After thinking for a moment, Mime Jr. decided it was just going to play with them anyway, so it quickly hopped off the bed, went to the window, and jumped straight down after them.
Gothitelle used Confusion to protect it, and it landed nimbly on the snow.
The snow had stopped, and the weather was very nice today.
Mime Jr. looked up at the sun hanging in the sky. It was a bit dazzling, making it squint its eyes.
"Gengar gar—"
Let's go.
Gengar still had a wide grin and said with a chuckle.
Mime Jr. happily took Gothitelle's hand and followed Gengar and the others toward the seesaw.
Mime Jr., Gothitelle, and Lilligant sat on one side. On the other side, once Gengar sat down, he lifted them right up.
Strange, why is Brother Gengar so heavy today?
Mime Jr. was very puzzled, looking at Gengar and the others' expressions.
Are we having dumplings for lunch again today?
Mime Jr. looked forward to today's lunch.
Gengar, Dash, and Ninetales easily lifted it, Lilligant, Gothitelle, Snorunt, and the other Pokémon, including Machoke and Vex. Then Gengar and the others suddenly stood up, letting Mime Jr. and the others descend, before sitting back down to lift them again.
Back and forth they went, and Mime Jr.'s laughter rang out in giggles.
After playing enough on the seesaw, Gengar took Mime Jr.'s hand again and came to the swings, placed Mime Jr. on one, and then pushed the swing himself.
Mime Jr. was swung high up and then fell back down. It laughed happily. Later, it realized it was the only one swinging, so without a second thought, it stopped the swing, jumped off, let Gengar and the others take turns sitting on it, and then pushed the swing with its own two small hands.
Seeing this, Gengar and the others looked at each other and burst into laughter on the swing Mime Jr. was pushing.
When they were done with the swings, Mime Jr. didn't need Gengar to pull it; it skillfully took Gengar's hand and ran toward the Sand Area.
Now it was also covered in snow, but this didn't stop Mime Jr. If they couldn't build sandcastles, they would build snowcastles.
Mime Jr. had learned the methods and techniques from Shauna, and soon, one beautiful snowcastle after another appeared before the Pokémon's eyes.
Seeing this, Gengar and the others quickly broke into applause.
Mime Jr. smiled shyly at the sight and rubbed the back of its head with its small hand.
Mime Jr. followed them all the way to the Lake area. Looking at the Lake's surface, it wondered: where were Golduck and Azumarill? And Lapras and the others?
Mime Jr. knit its small brows. Had they gone back to the forest?
Just as Mime Jr. was about to go over and check, it suddenly heard Gengar calling. It turned around and saw Gengar and Lilligant standing in the Forest Area, waving at it.
Come over here quickly.
Seeing how happy they looked, Mime Jr. stopped thinking about the Lake area and ran toward Gengar and the others with its short little legs.
"Ni Ni~"
I'm coming.
Mime Jr. reached them, and with Gothitelle holding its small hand, they walked toward the forest.
Passing through the Forest Area, Mime Jr. kept looking around. Strange, where did Combee and the others go?
"Ni Ni?"
Mime Jr. asked Gothitelle, who was holding its hand.
Gothitelle answered gently.
Mime Jr. nodded in sudden realization.
So they were hiding and sleeping because the weather was too cold.
They went all the way into the forest, straight to the side of the Lake where Lucas often took them, and Gothitelle began to prepare lunch.
"Ni Ni?"
Aren't we eating dumplings today? Mime Jr. looked puzzled. Why were they making lunch here?
Gothitelle smiled and indicated that they would only have dumplings in the evening.
Mime Jr. nodded, showing it understood.
Then it looked very expectant.
"Mime Jr.~"
We get to eat dumplings again~ Mime Jr. loves making dumplings the most~
During lunch, Mime Jr. looked at Gengar and the others who had already started eating and once again expressed its Confusion.
"Ni Ni?"
Aren't we waiting for Lucas?
Usually, no matter how hungry they were, everyone waited for Lucas before starting to eat. Why were they eating without him today?
"Gengar gar"
He went out to work and told us to eat at the Breeding House first.
Mime Jr. grew even more confused.
If he went out to work, why wouldn't he take Gengar and the others?
Gengar and the others stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.
"Gen gar~"
Didn't you notice that Vespiquen and the others aren't here? And Lapras and the rest.
Mime Jr. thought back and realized it was true, then it began to enjoy its lunch.
After lunch, Gengar and the others played with Mime Jr. by the Lake.
Hide-and-seek, climbing trees, swimming, catching fish, and finally, holding hands and dancing their favorite dances.
As it gradually grew late, Gengar and the others looked at each other again, preparing to send Mime Jr. back to the Breeding House.
As Mime Jr. turned to leave, it suddenly noticed the water surface shaking violently, and a Salamence appeared in the middle of the Lake.
It was staring intently at them.
There was a person sitting on top of it, wearing a Pitch-black mask.
Without any warning, the Salamence opened its mouth, and a Flamethrower swept toward them.
Gothitelle cast Reflect, but it seemed exceptionally strained.
Mime Jr. even felt that Gothitelle's size seemed to have shrunken a bit.
Gengar and the others nearby were also constantly launching attacks.
Snorunt took Mime Jr.'s hand and ran toward the edge of the forest.
A Drapion suddenly lunged out in front of them, its claws glowing with white light as it rushed toward Mime Jr. and Snorunt. Mime Jr. glanced at Snorunt, then tremblingly stepped in front of it, spreading its arms to protect it before closing its eyes.
It waited for a moment, but the expected pain didn't come. It opened its eyes and found the Drapion in front of it shaking violently, like ripples on water. The next second, the scene suddenly changed.
The surrounding trees had all changed.
Mime Jr. looked back and recognized where this was.
It was by the Lake where they had gone for hotpot a few days ago; the Lake it had just seen was also that Lake.
At this moment, Mime Jr. saw a Red-haired woman walk to the middle of the Lake. A Crobat kept attacking the Lake's surface, and soon a Pokémon ran out from the middle of the Lake, fleeing in all directions.
It came toward Mime Jr. Looking at the Crobat coming for it, Mime Jr. couldn't react for a moment.
Fortunately, Gengar and the others were there, though their sizes now looked about the same as its own.
Amidst their shouts, Mime Jr. took this Pokémon and bolted.
The Red-haired woman chased relentlessly from behind.
Mime Jr. felt sad as it watched Gengar and the others melt into the water on the ground one by one.
The path ahead was blocked by a Skuntank. Mime Jr. was incredibly frightened as it watched the Skuntank attack, tears welling up in its eyes.
Finally, Gothitelle came over to block the Skuntank, but she was hit by a Flamethrower from behind and completely turned into a puddle of water.
Mime Jr. was heartbroken, but it still wiped its tears and shielded Snorunt and the Pokémon that had run out from the Lake behind it.
"Ni Ni~"
I won't allow you to hurt them.
As soon as Mime Jr. spoke, it saw a Flamethrower being fired.
Having never experienced a battle before, its mind went blank for a moment.
Snorunt blocked in front of Mime Jr. and finally turned into a puddle of water as well.
All of Mime Jr.'s emotions erupted at this moment.
"Mime Jr.!"
I said you're not allowed to hurt them!
Its finger glowed with white light as it wagged it, and then its entire arm glowed with white light as it threw a punch.
It directly sent all the enemies in front of it flying.
Mime Jr. lay on the snow, eyes filled with tears, looking at the sky.
Before it could speak, the scene changed once more.
Lucas was sleeping and happened to be dreaming about winning a hundred million in the lottery when he suddenly felt a sense of weightlessness.
Boom.
Lucas scrambled up from the middle of the bed, one hand clutching the blanket and the other holding his pillow.
He was completely dazed.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?
The three questions of life instantly filled Lucas's mind.
The commotion also woke up Ninetales and Gengar. Gengar, hanging upside down from the ceiling, found that Lucas's bed had collapsed.
Ninetales saw that it was just a collapsed bed—it wasn't like it hadn't happened before—so she lay back down and went back to sleep.
Lucas looked at the collapsed bed, the blanket and pillow in his hands, and Mime Jr. crawling out from the middle of the bed. Mime Jr. was also completely dazed, with tears still hanging from the corners of its eyes, and its finger wagged again.
Its palm instantly turned into a blade and chopped down toward the bed.
Lucas watched helplessly as his bed was completely scrapped.
Lucas closed his eyes in pain.
He couldn't bear to look at the scene of the bed, which had been on the job for less than a week, becoming a ruin.
His heart was simply bleeding.
Metronome, the Divine Metronome.
The first time was Mega Punch, and the second time was Brick Break.
It had completely pulverized the bed.
Seeing the tears at the corners of Mime Jr.'s eyes, Lucas tossed the blanket and pillow to the floating Gengar and picked up Mime Jr.
——
"Had a nightmare? It's okay, it's okay. I'll hold you while you sleep. If the bed is broken, it's broken; we'll just replace it. We'll just go sleep with Ninetales tonight."
Lucas comforted Mime Jr. as he held it, wiping away the tears from the corners of its eyes. He took it to the floor and pulled the blanket back from Gengar's hands.
He lay in Ninetales' embrace while holding Mime Jr.
They fell into a peaceful sleep.
Gengar: ?
Just as it was about to speak, it was covered by the blanket and lost its light. As soon as it pulled the blanket down and held it in its hand, it was pulled away again.
Humph, considering your bed is broken, I won't argue with you.
Lord Gengar would never stoop to argue with a human named Lucas.
Then it did some simple tidying up and floated back to the ceiling to continue sleeping.
In the backyard downstairs, the Pokémon-shaped snowmen each wore a gentle smile under the moonlight.