"Rowl!"
Startled awake, Rowlet jumped in fright, stumbling backward several steps. The leaf-shaped feathers on its wings fluttered wildly as it flapped in panic.
Its head twisted ninety degrees, and the little brain inside worked hard, desperately trying to recall what was going on.
Rowlet quickly confirmed that the large group of Pokémon in front of it were all complete strangers.
Waking up to this—had it been kidnapped, hoot?!
In a panic, Rowlet scurried around chaotically, lightly fluttered into the air, and dove straight into the backpack placed beside Mudsdale.
With great effort, it squeezed its round little head inside, leaving only its green, chubby butt sticking out.
Silas: "..."
Another not-so-bright one.
Silas opened the backpack, pulled out the snacks he had brought for Minccino and the others from the side, and cleared out enough space.
Only then did Rowlet manage to squeeze its entire body inside, stuffing the bag until it was completely full.
"Rowl Rowl Rowl…"
Having returned to what it considered a safe environment, Rowlet even waved its wings at Silas to express its gratitude.
Silas rubbed Rowlet's round little head—the texture felt exceptionally nice.
Rowlet really was cutest in this stage. Once it evolved, its looks would take a massive hit, and this small version could even be carried around with ease.
"Min?"
Minccino tiptoed over, peeking curiously.
"It doesn't dislike you guys. Rowlet just isn't very fond of daytime. At night, Minccino, you can go say hello and get to know it then."
Rowlet was based on an owl— a Pokémon that slept during the day and was active at night, even sleepier than Noibat and the others.
"Min Min~"
Hearing that it wasn't disliked, Minccino immediately brightened up. Its furrowed brows relaxed, and it ran off to tell the rest of the Pokémon.
With Popplio, this little performer, around, the atmosphere was noticeably livelier.
Silas lay back down on his beach chair, enjoying the summer sunbath.
He reached out to the side, groped around, and found the cup empty.
"I'll go pour two more and drink slowly." Sitting up again, Silas waved to Cyclizar. "Come with me to get some juice."
"Cyc!"
Cyclizar rubbed against Silas, urging him to hop on quickly.
It hadn't been ridden all day, and Cyclizar was feeling rather sad about it.
Silas asked the other Pokémon whether they wanted anything to drink.
After receiving unanimous refusals, he mounted Cyclizar and headed toward the outer edge of the beach.
There was a row of buildings there, selling all kinds of beach-related goods—food, drinks, fishing gear—everything you could think of.
As soon as he arrived, Silas had to stop.
The crowd was packed tightly, three layers inside and out, completely blocking the road.
"What's going on? A rare event or something? If so, I should've brought Minccino."
Speculating, Silas grabbed a guy standing atop a Machamp's shoulders and learned the situation from him.
Apparently, a Pokémon whose entire body was engulfed in flames had suddenly charged in, knocking over a lot of people's food. It was then chased by both humans and Pokémon and surrounded here, with everyone demanding an explanation.
In Alola, a Pokémon covered entirely in flames?
A fiery-looking Oricorio? It could generate flames by flapping its wings.
An Alolan Marowak? Its bone club burned with fire—that fit too.
A Torkoal? Being shrouded in smoke wasn't impossible either.
Wait—what the heck was a Litten that set itself on fire?!
The crowd scattered with a whoosh, and Silas was no exception, stepping aside to make room for Litten.
He moved—but Cyclizar didn't.
Confused, Cyclizar looked at him, wondering why Silas had suddenly stopped.
Before Cyclizar could fully react, a massive fireball slammed straight into its handsome face.
"Cyc!"
(Sneak attack!)
Almost purely on instinct, Cyclizar retaliated—spinning into a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree flip and lashing out with a powerful Dragon Tail.
The tail struck solidly, sending Litten flying. By sheer coincidence, it crashed straight into a fisherman's water bucket filled with fish not far away.
Sizzle, sizzle~
White steam rose from the top of Litten's head as it rested its chin on the edge of the bucket, fishing out a small fish with its paw.
"Saved, meow…"
It had nearly been burned into a hairless cat. Litten felt immense gratitude toward the Pokémon that had so precisely knocked it into the water bucket.
The white fur on its body had an oil content twice that of a normal Litten.
Today, it had forgotten to groom itself before heading out.
Once exposed to the sun, its fur spontaneously combusted—leading to the scene that had just unfolded.
Just as Litten lay there comfortably, Silas arrived with Cyclizar.
"Litten, are you okay?"
Silas stopped about three to four meters away.
As a feline Pokémon, Litten was even harder to approach than Alolan Meowth.
Getting too close rashly would only have the opposite effect. Maintaining a safe distance was the only way to communicate.
Litten, which had nearly entered its clawing mode, relaxed slightly. It let out a neutral grunt toward Cyclizar as thanks, then ignored them entirely.
Climbing out of the bucket, still holding a small fish in its mouth, Litten shook the water droplets from its fur and trotted over to rest beneath a nearby coconut tree.
Silas glanced into the bucket—empty.
Another poor fisherman.
Litten really was aloof, and Silas had no desire to get scratched into a painted face.
After thinking it over, he had Cyclizar go to a drink shop and buy some canned food that feline Pokémon loved.
Opening it with a stick, he pushed it toward Litten under the latter's unfriendly, coal-black gaze.
"This is compensation for Cyclizar hitting you earlier. I'm apologizing on Cyclizar's behalf."
"Meow~"
The fur on Litten's back slowly bristled as it turned its head away.
"Cyc?"
Cyclizar was dissatisfied and stood up, ready to argue with Litten.
Silas was talking to you—how dare you ignore him?
Do you really think my Cyclizar can't dish out a Lightning Five-Strike Combo in one second?
"Alright, alright, don't fuss with it. Let's hurry up, buy our stuff, and head back."
After calming Cyclizar, Silas waved at Litten, and the two of them walked into a nearby cold drink shop.
The coal-ball Litten watched them leave, sniffed the air, and glanced at the cat food.
When Silas passed by again after shopping, Litten was already gone.
The empty can lay in the trash bin, and beside it stood a fisherman whose world had collapsed.
All the fish he had caught after a full day's effort were gone. Did he really have to go buy fish at the market now? The fisherman was extremely unwilling.
Silas stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and pointed out a solution.
"Bro, over by the reef area—I saw a lot of fish while diving earlier. You could try there."
Hearing this, the fisherman grabbed Silas's hand and thanked him profusely.
Packing up his fishing gear and calling over his Octillery bucket, he prepared to change locations.
Eight tentacles, each wrapped around a fishing rod—and he still got skunked?
Indeed, the ways to catch fish were all the same, but the ways to get skunked were each unique.
As Silas and the others left, Litten quietly followed from the shadows.
Its agile feline eyes gleamed as if it had thought of something. Litten shook its body and ran off toward a certain place.
The first day of vacation—couldn't have been more comfortable.
In his leisure, Silas couldn't help but worry a little about Diancie.
With Pyroar watching over it and the Carbink tribe patrolling and protecting it day and night, there was no way anything could go wrong.
Good times always passed quickly. The first day of vacation quietly came to an end beneath the afterglow of the seaside sunset.
He fed each Pokémon one by one, and only after they were full did he return them to their Poké Balls.
At night, they would have to make do and sleep inside the Poké Balls.
When Silas's group returned to the hotel, there were now two extra Pokémon—one on his shoulder and one on his head.
Rowlet stood on his shoulder as decoration, while Popplio lay atop his head, yawning. The two little ones clung to him and refused to leave.
Silas, you bastard, are you really some kind of Pokémon succubus or what?
(End of Chapter)