Late at night, the heavy rain arrived right on schedule.
With Minccino cradled in his left arm and Morpeko hugged in his right, both sleeping soundly, Silas was awakened by the continuous patter of rain outside the window. Just as he was about to shift his body, Minccino rubbed its eyes and sat up. "Min?"
"It's not dawn yet. It's just raining hard," Silas whispered.
He gently pressed Minccino back into the blankets, lightly patting its body with his palm. "Go back to sleep. Be good."
"Min~ Min…"
Its voice grew softer and softer until it turned into faint snores.
On the other side, Morpeko never woke up at all, its little mouth smacking lightly as if dreaming of something delicious, even drooling at the corner of its lips.
Silas reached out to gently stroke it, then walked over to the window.
Smoliv was sitting in a flowerpot, its face pressed against the glass as it stared outside. Raindrops struck the window chaotically, leaving streaks of water behind, like a child's messy doodles.
"Are you cold, little one?" Silas asked with a smile as he reached out and picked Smoliv up.
"Smo~"
Smoliv shook its head. The room was very warm.
What it was worried about was that with the rain, there would be no sunshine, meaning its evolution time would have to be extended. That was why Smoliv looked so uneasy.
Placing Smoliv together with the flowerpot on the bedside, his movements gentle, Silas smiled and said, "Don't worry. A bad mood will make the oil you produce turn bitter."
"Smo~"
Smoliv was shocked for a moment, then immediately broke into a bright smile.
"Yes, yes, yes. You have to keep smiling all the time," Silas nodded, signaling for Smoliv to keep sleeping.
Rainy days were perfect for sleeping anyway. Under his soothing presence, Smoliv soon grew drowsy and fell into a deep sleep.
With all three Pokémon in the room fast asleep, Silas tiptoed out and gently closed the door.
"Meow?"
"Shh!"
"Meow-meow~"
The regular Meowth at the doorway lowered its voice.
"Minccino and the others are sleeping. Don't wake them up," Silas explained as he squatted down. The three Meowth sleeping in the hallway all looked at him.
"Are you cold? And don't sneak outside to play in the rain."
The Alolan Meowth shook its head. It was warm indoors, not cold at all.
Silas reached out and petted them. Only after feeling how warm they were did he feel reassured. Thinking it still wasn't quite safe, he went to the cloakroom on the side and took out a small quilt to cover them.
Sudden drops in temperature on rainy days still needed attention, to avoid catching a cold.
The three Meowth felt warm all over—this was the warmth of being cared for.
Silas pushed open another door. This was Kangaskhan's room.
There were no extra decorations inside, only a huge cushion. Kangaskhan only shifted its gaze away from the incubator when Silas entered.
"Kang~ kang!"
Kangaskhan happily shared that the Pokémon Egg had moved again just now.
Silas squatted down and observed curiously together with Kangaskhan. After a short while, the Pokémon Egg soaking in nutrient solution trembled again, stirring up faint ripples.
Now it wasn't just moving once and stopping—it was twitching at intervals, as if the arrival of the rainy weather had made it more active.
Silas touched it with his finger, and the information about the egg unfolded again.
[Phione's Egg (Hatching Accelerated)]
There was now an acceleration icon behind the egg's description, which was likely the reason it had become more active. The sudden rainfall brought a large amount of Water-type energy, and the environmental change had sped up the hatching process. Legendary Pokémon being somewhat special was perfectly normal.
After observing for a while and confirming there was nothing unusual, Silas closed the door as he left, confident that Kangaskhan could stare at the egg all day long.
Downstairs, Cyclizar was sleeping obediently in its nest. Silas still felt it wasn't safe, so he called Cyclizar back upstairs to sleep in his room—this one had a history, so he couldn't let his guard down.
Putting on a raincoat, he brought the Flabébé inside, then didn't forget to check on Mareep flock and the Mudsdale brothers.
The newly built sheep shed was very sturdy. The Mareep inside hadn't felt the wind or rain at all and were still sleeping soundly. The three Mudsdale brothers were much the same, all still asleep.
On the way back, he detoured to the cave. Even though it was raining and they couldn't train outside, the Noibat trio still insisted on exercising inside the cave.
Only after confirming that everyone was safe did Silas return to the cabin.
He dried himself off, lay down on the bed holding Minccino, and relaxed. Rainy days were perfect for sleeping in, and being surrounded by a group of beloved Pokémon made everything even better.
The rhythmic drip-drip of rain outside the window turned into a lullaby, and Silas soon fell asleep amid the company of his Pokémon.
That sleep lasted until the sun was already high in the sky—it was time for lunch. The rain outside showed no sign of easing or intensifying; it just kept falling endlessly.
"Yaaawn~"
He let out a long yawn, reached around under the blankets, pulled Minccino into his arms, gave it a vigorous rub, then kissed it. Today it smelled like a special pear-blossom fragrance, especially pleasant.
"Min~"
Being tickled on its little belly, Minccino giggled nonstop, wriggling as it burrowed deeper into Silas's arms.
After playing with Minccino for quite a while, Silas finally got out of bed to get dressed, urged on by Morpeko.
"Wait a second! I'll go make food right now."
Morpeko's pockets were completely empty. Even the awful coffee beans were gone—it was about to enter a fasting state.
Silas scooped Morpeko up and rushed downstairs, opened the fridge, and took out a few Oran Berries to tide it over. Only then did he start making lunch: burgers with eggs, plus a huge bowl of mixed berry milk.
After quickly finishing their brunch, Silas pushed the door open.
The night-long rain had turned the ground into mud, with puddles everywhere.
"Forget it, Cyclizar, you stay home," Silas said, stopping Cyclizar from going out and removing the raincoat draped over it.
"I'll feed the chickens later. You help me keep an eye on the popcorn in the oven—don't let it burn."
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar happily accepted the task and ran excitedly into the kitchen, squatting next to the oven.
Putting his raincoat back on, Silas stopped Kangaskhan and the others from following him. He didn't want mud tracked all over the house—he hadn't even let Cyclizar go out.
And so, under the pitiful gazes of all the Pokémon, Silas dashed straight into the rain.
Stepping deep and shallow through the mud, Silas had already made up his mind. Once the rain stopped, he would immediately lay down stone paths across the ranch. Otherwise, when summer came, one heavy rain would make it impossible for him to go outside at all.
He took chicken feed from the silo and fed the flock, collecting the eggs they had laid along the way. With the ranch producing so many eggs, he rarely needed to buy any anymore—and Cyclizar was even planning to double the size of the flock.
He then took out food favored by the Mudsdale and the Mareep and headed straight for the stable. By the time Silas arrived, the entire stable was surrounded by mud.
The three Mudsdale were rolling around joyfully in the mud, covering themselves from head to toe in thick muck, then letting the rain wash over them again and again, completely absorbed in the fun.
Seeing this scene, Silas seemed to make a firm decision. In summer, he would not let them come into the ranch house to cool off—instead, he would install a dedicated air conditioner just for them in the stable.
If Minccino saw them like this, it would probably go crazy.
Silas pretended not to notice, placed the food into the troughs, and reminded them before leaving not to dirty their food. Then again—wait. Mudsdale even ate dirt. Clean or dirty didn't really matter anymore.
Next, he went to the sheep pen, feeding each Mareep one by one. After they were full, he recalled them all into Luxury Balls and took them back to the cabin.
On the way back, he took a glance toward the cave. The Noibat trio were sleeping soundly, snoring away.
(End of Chapter)