As night fell, the ranch sank into silence. All the Pokémon had returned to their respective huts and were sleeping obediently.
However, at this very moment, a shadow quietly slipped out from the ranch house.
Judging by that distinctly "dog-like" posture, there was no doubt about it—it was Cyclizar.
Chatot fluttered down from beneath the eaves and landed squarely on Cyclizar's head.
"Cyc~" (Let's go, let's go.)
Chatot pointed toward the beach. There were Pokémon waiting there to rendezvous with them.
But before they could leave, a trio of Noibat flew out from the side, curiously asking what they were up to.
Chatot explained the situation to them. They were going to subjugate a powerful bird Pokémon—one that had detained Chatot's flock and even demanded that Chatot become its "bride."
"Cyc…" (Don't tell Silas about this. We'll be back soon—really soon.)
The Noibat looked uneasy and whispered softly, "Noi~"
Sneaking out like this… Silas will worry if he finds out.
Cyclizar transformed into its battle form, blue-violet lightning crackling across its body.
It assured the Noibat that once they dealt with that bird Pokémon, they would definitely be back before dawn.
What's more, Cyclizar even showed off its strength—it was the god of the future, after all!
A mere bird Pokémon—how could it possibly withstand even a single exchange?
The three Noibat gazed at Cyclizar with admiration. If only they, too, could possess such powerful strength!
After repeated assurances from Cyclizar, the Noibat, still a little muddle-headed, finally agreed and promised to help keep the matter secret for now.
Cyclizar and the others arrived at the beach, where a Pelipper was already waiting.
Led by Chatot, the three Pokémon flew out toward the open sea.
...
Rumble—!
A sudden clap of thunder erupted as lightning descended, jolting Silas awake from his sleep.
"Kang!"
Kangaskhan also woke up. One human and one Pokémon walked over to the window together.
A fierce gale churned the clouds into a dark, inky mass, which rolled in abruptly from the direction of the ocean.
Immediately afterward came raindrops like bullets, pelting against the glass with sharp, rapid clattering sounds. The air inside the room instantly turned damp and cold.
Before Silas could even look away, the rain intensified alongside the lightning. Looking out the window, he could see nothing but a gray blur and the torrential downpour cascading down like waterfalls.
"This rain came way too suddenly—there wasn't any warning at all," Silas shook his head, then felt a bit relieved. "Good thing I harvested the strawberries and cabbages ahead of time."
"Smo!"
Smoliv, in the flowerpot, shrank back in fear. It was so scary.
A large hand gently rested on its body. Silas spoke softly to comfort it, then picked Smoliv up and placed it on the bed, tucking it into the arms of the still-sleeping Minccino.
That little one could sleep through thunder and lightning—no amount of noise around her would wake her.
After instructing Kangaskhan to keep watch, Silas threw on a raincoat and stepped out of the house.
Before leaving, he noticed a dark shape curled up by the fireplace—Cyclizar hadn't woken up either.
He went first to the Mudbray hut, where the three Mudbray were curled up tightly together.
After comforting them for a bit, the Mudbray showed no intention of going inside the house.
Silas didn't force them. With such sudden heavy rain, getting soaked and catching a cold would be bad.
"Achoo!"
Unable to help himself, Silas sneezed and wrapped his raincoat tighter as he made his way to the tulip flower field hut.
Peering through the small window, he could see five Flabébé huddled together inside.
After checking all around and finding no signs of leakage, Silas felt reassured—his handiwork wasn't bad after all.
He knocked lightly on the hut, then opened his raincoat, gesturing for the Flabébé to come inside.
After several days together, the Flabébé were no longer wary of him. One by one, they lined up, clutching their favorite flowers, and slipped under his arms.
After escorting the Flabébé back to the house, Silas ran over to check the chicken coop.
The chickens were safe and sound.
He had no idea how long this sudden storm would last, so Silas filled both the feed trough and the water trough. Before leaving, he closed the small door to prevent them from sneaking out.
Once everything was taken care of, Silas jogged all the way to the cave, sneezing several more times along the way.
The rain was falling so heavily that he could barely see the path and had to rely entirely on memory.
As soon as Silas appeared, the three Noibat quickly surrounded him, clustering around his body.
He asked them one by one, then felt them over carefully. Finding that they were all dry, Silas finally relaxed.
Opening his raincoat, he let the Noibat tuck themselves inside and brought them back to the house.
By this time, all the Pokémon inside were awake, gathered silently around the fireplace.
This was the scene Silas walked into, and he initially thought they had gotten into some kind of argument.
Letting the Noibat come out, Silas took off his raincoat and tossed it by the door. He shivered slightly, then looked toward Kangaskhan and the others.
"What's going on with you guys? Did you have a fight?"
"Kang~"
Kangaskhan responded, stepping aside and lifting the small blanket covering Cyclizar.
Underneath was only a pillow—Cyclizar was nowhere to be seen.
"Cyclizar's gone?" Silas frowned. "Wasn't it still lying here when I left earlier?"
"That brat, where did it run off to?"
"Let's look for it together. When we find it, it's getting a proper scolding."
Cyclizar was becoming more and more unruly. With rain pouring down like this, it still dared to run around outside.
Hearing this, the three Noibat huddled together.
They all hung from the ceiling, whispering among themselves—should they tell Silas?
In the end, they reached an agreement.
They would tell him.
The three Noibat flew over to Silas—one perched on his head, the other two standing on his shoulders.
"Noi-noi~"
"Bat-bat!"
"Noibat~"
After understanding what the Noibat were trying to say, Silas felt as though the sky was falling.
Cyclizar had secretly run off with Chatot before the rain started, and now there was no telling where they had gone.
From the Noibat, Silas could only learn one thing.
They seemed to have gone to deal with a bird Pokémon.
As for where exactly, or what kind of Pokémon it was—none of that was known.
"You… you guys…"
Silas reached out and tapped the three Noibat lightly on the head, but the scolding words caught in his throat.
The Noibat lowered their heads in shame, not daring to meet his eyes.
If they had told him earlier, maybe he could have caught up with them.
But now? With rain falling this hard, that was out of the question.
All he could do was hope that Cyclizar and the others were safe and smart enough to find somewhere to shelter from the rain.
Maybe once the rain stopped, they would come back on their own.
Silas went to the kitchen first and boiled a pot of ginger soup to ward off the cold, making sure every Pokémon drank a bowl and instructing them all to stay inside the house and not wander around.
This time, Silas called Kangaskhan along. One human and one Pokémon left the house together, planning to search the nearby area—maybe Cyclizar and the others were already on their way back!
As for simply waiting around, Silas couldn't do that.
Before he could leave, Minccino, the Noibat, and the others blocked his way, insisting on coming along too.
One more Pokémon meant one more helping hand.
But Silas still refused.
With their small bodies, they would definitely catch a cold after being drenched for even a short while.
At that point, should he be searching for Cyclizar—or taking care of a bunch of sick Pokémon?
Compared to that, it was better for Minccino and the others to wait in the house.
Not causing trouble was already the greatest help they could offer.
After giving one final warning and putting an extra-large raincoat on Kangaskhan, the two of them charged back into the curtain of rain once more.
(End of Chapter)