Phione's birth was a truly joyous occasion.
The group of Pokémon who had previously been rather bored immediately found a new focus.
All of them crowded around Phione, gazing at it with curiosity.
The little one was also very mischievous—whether it saw Noivern or the Meowth and the others, it insisted on hugging and kissing them, completely becoming everyone's precious darling.
For example, right at this very moment—
Phione was obediently staying inside Kangaskhan's pouch, only its head poking out, its tiny hands clapping enthusiastically.
In front of it was Popplio's performance. The little seal Pokémon bounced across water balloons, then executed a graceful backflip, landing steadily on its feet.
Oooh~!
At the same time, a water bubble even larger than Popplio itself gradually took shape, floating high into the air toward the sea.
Lying leisurely on a beach chair, Silas occasionally lifted his head to glance over.
With Kangaskhan and the others taking care of things, there was absolutely no chance for him to intervene. He might as well just lie here properly and relax!
He had clearly come to play for a week, yet had been forced to study for two days straight.
Fortunately, the gains had been plentiful, he had learned how to make Poké Poffins.
Poké Poffins could completely serve as a Pokémon's staple food, being both delicious and nutritious.
Enjoying Alola's sun, Silas let his mind go blank, thinking about absolutely nothing.
And just like that, he lazily lay there for the entire day.
Before nightfall, his mom Grace and Serena returned on Cyclizar.
Serena was holding a flyer in her hand and ran toward him excitedly, shouting from far away.
"Big brother~ Big brother!"
"What's up, Serena?" Silas asked.
He took off his sunglasses and stretched lazily.
Accepting the flyer Serena handed him, he saw an image printed on it—two Pokémon facing off against each other.
They were Passimian, cooperative Pokémon.
Below was a block of text introducing the event.
The 'Melemele Emerald Team' from Melemele Island will face off at the Pokémon School training field against the 'Akala Crimson Team' from Akala Island.
"A faction battle to divide territory?" Silas murmured.
Recalling what he knew about Passimian, they indeed possessed extremely strong territorial awareness.
The fact that an Island Kahuna would preside over it showed that these two groups were anything but ordinary.
A rugby-like match between Passimian tribes… that did sound quite interesting.
"Serena, do you want to watch?" Silas asked.
"Yes, yes!" Serena nodded vigorously like a pecking chick, she really wanted to see Pokémon fighting.
"Then we'll go watch tomorrow. Just so happens I know the principal of the Pokémon School."
Perfect timing couldn't beat good timing.
"Yay! I'll go tell Mom right now!"
After getting Silas's confirmation, Serena cheered and ran off to tell their mon the good news.
Lying back down on the beach chair, Silas found he was no longer sleepy.
There were two days left in the week—tomorrow to watch the match, and the day after to buy souvenirs around Alola to bring back as gifts.
John and Penny Belmond, Gario, Diantha, Korrina, Siebold…
After counting through them, he realized he actually knew quite a lot of people.
Setting aside a full day for shopping was just right; Mom would probably want to buy gifts for neighbors and relatives as well.
"Phio~"
At some point, Phione had run over to his side, calling out before leaping straight into Silas's arms.
The cool touch felt especially comfortable. Silas teased it gently. "Did you have fun?"
"Phio!"
Phione snuggled deeper into his arms, flashing a huge smile.
Everyone took great care of it and doted on it endlessly.
Everyone was the best—really the best.
"Lioo…"
Popplio collapsed weakly against Kangaskhan's shoulder, barely managing to speak. It felt like it was about to die of exhaustion.
"Kang~"
Kangaskhan called softly, and Phione left Silas's arms and hopped back into Kangaskhan's pouch.
Staying in that familiar place made Phione feel especially at ease.
Seeing the tender, loving look on Kangaskhan's face, letting her take care of Phione had truly been the right choice.
Later, when Kangaskhan gave birth to a baby Kangaskhan, the pouch would still have plenty of space—they could become the best of friends and family.
Standing up, Silas drained the last sip of his ice-cold drink topped with mint-flavored cream. From his mouth to his throat and down through his body, a wave of coolness spread instantly.
Pinching Phione's soft, smooth cheek, Silas walked toward the other Pokémon to see what they were up to.
Just as he was about to move, his foot bumped into his backpack.
Opening it up, he saw Rowlet fast asleep, a big bubble puffing out from its nose.
Disturbed, Rowlet cracked its eyes open just a slit. Seeing it was Silas, it promptly tucked its head back into the backpack.
He seriously suspected the Pokédex compiled by the League was fake.
They said Rowlet had a high level of vigilance—clearly that only applied when it wasn't asleep.
Once asleep, unless the sky was falling, no amount of shaking would wake Rowlet up.
In this regard, it was on par with Lazy Mareep, the two of them could compete for the title of Sleep King.
Of course, there was still a difference: once night fell, Rowlet instantly stopped being sleepy and became full of energy.
By contrast, Lazy Mareep was just plain lazy.
It was the true, well-deserved "King of Laziness."
Kicking Lazy Mareep lightly, its round, fluffy body rolled over once. Lazy Mareep wiggled its butt and refused to move.
Squatting down to pat Lazy Mareep, Silas felt its wool—it was far thicker than that of the other four sheep. Once they got back, he'd have to shear it.
The reason was probably that it ate a lot and didn't like exercising.
Its body couldn't absorb all that energy, so it had to be expended somewhere.
And so, in just a short week, the wool had wrapped it into a ball—an electrically charged one at that.
Out of the corner of his eye, Silas noticed the Meowth and the others playing volleyball nearby.
Cat-type Pokémon loved round balls the most; they could play all day without getting tired.
When they saw Silas approaching, they tossed the ball to him.
Using his arm, Silas hurled the ball far away, and the three Meowth immediately chased after it.
The other Mareep and the Mudsdale brothers, who had been resting nearby, also joined in. Soon, two teams formed, and a beach volleyball game got underway.
Walking a little farther, Silas spotted Morpeko resting in the shade of a tree, closely following behind Alcremie and sniffing the creamy scent on its body.
Because of Silas's instructions, Alcremie wouldn't give Morpeko any cream to eat, so Morpeko settled for just enjoying the smell.
"Crea~"
Alcremie hopped lightly and stood on Silas's open palm.
"You really want to work that badly?" Silas laughed. "In two more days we'll be back at the ranch. When that happens, you'll have to make lots and lots of cream for me!"
"Crea!"
Alcremie nodded vigorously—it wanted to make delicious desserts together with Silas.
Morpeko climbed up Silas's pant leg to his shoulder, trying to secure benefits for itself.
"Morpe~! Morpe~!"
(I'll do the taste-testing! I'll do the taste-testing!)
Flicking Morpeko lightly on the forehead, Silas then rubbed its belly and asked curiously, "Little glutton, your front teeth are gone—how is your belly still so round?"
Without its big front teeth, Morpeko had a hard time biting and grinding roasted berry seeds.
It couldn't eat very hard foods anymore, yet its belly was still bulging.
Morpeko giggled and ran off—it wasn't about to tell Silas.
Earlier, while Silas had been sleeping, it had secretly drunk his fruit juice.
After telling Alcremie that Minccino was back and asking it to go play, Silas turned to pat Smoliv.
The little one Poffined out its cheeks.
"Smo~"
(Silas, you're blocking the sun!)
Pulling itself out of the sand, Smoliv shifted to another spot and continued sunbathing.
Logically speaking, Smoliv should be able to evolve by now!
Yet up to this point, its body showed absolutely no reaction—truly strange.
He planned to ask Gym Leader Ramos about it after returning.
Not disturbing Smoliv any further, Silas walked over to the Mudsdale.
They were still in their old spot, and the sand there had been pressed deeply inward by their bodies.
He wouldn't have to pay compensation for this, right?
…Right?
(End of Chapter)