Chocovine Town was a small seaside town under Snowpoint City.
There were not many residents in town, and in the past it had always been rather quiet and deserted.
Today, however, it was exceptionally lively. Decorations hung everywhere, lanterns were lit, and the entire town was filled with celebration.
Patterns and banners related to Phione could be seen all around. Even the stone lanterns at the entrance of the town were painted with tiny figures of Phione, looking incredibly adorable.
"It's really lively!"
Silas walked into town, his eyes almost unable to take everything in.
Morpeko on his shoulder let out a "Morpe" cry, completely unable to understand why there were so many images of Phione here.
After sighing in admiration, Silas stepped further into town.
His timing was rather fortunate. Perhaps today he might even encounter a whole group of Phione.
His fingers brushed lightly against a Poké Ball at his waist. His Phione inside was still sleeping.
Children need plenty of sleep to grow taller, so Silas did not disturb it. Instead, he strolled around town with Morpeko.
He first arrived at the central plaza, and his attention was immediately captured.
It was a small shop selling plush dolls. Inside, arranged neatly, were Phione dolls of various sizes, big and small.
Since he had already come all this way, he definitely needed to buy some souvenirs to take back.
Plush dolls were a perfect choice.
Silas entered the shop and bought a complete set.
Even Morpeko ended up wearing a little outfit printed with a Phione pattern.
"This should be enough." Silas counted lightly, murmuring to himself.
With little Phione by his side, he was not worried about failing to meet other Phione.
For a first meeting, it was only proper to bring gifts.
After that, Silas entered another gift shop.
Morpeko grew bored while waiting. Its small eyes scanned around before finally locking onto a particular direction. Its tiny paw tugged at Silas's hair.
"Morpe!"
(Silas, look over there, there's ice cream!)
As it spoke, Morpeko swallowed its saliva embarrassingly, completely unable to tear its gaze away.
"You want some?" Silas smiled and rubbed its head. "Alright, you go buy it. Wait for me there."
He handed Morpeko some money, and the little fellow trotted happily toward the ice cream stand.
Through the glass display, Morpeko stared at the many different flavors inside and suddenly found itself in a dilemma.
It wanted to eat every single flavor. Choosing was simply too difficult.
While Morpeko was agonizing over its decision, a blonde young woman with a clear objective walked over.
And so, one human and one mouse stood side by side in front of the ice cream counter, both sinking into indecision.
One was debating whether to buy them all, while the other was struggling to decide which flavor to have today.
Just as Silas approached, he heard the shop owner sigh while holding an ice cream scoop.
"Miss, you've been standing here for five minutes. Why not choose the classic strawberry flavor?"
"No, I had that yesterday. Today I'm thinking blueberry, or maybe…"
The blonde young woman twirled a strand of hair in front of her forehead, her face filled with genuine struggle.
Seeing this, the shop owner immediately shifted his target.
"And you, little one, eating that much ice cream will give you a stomachache."
"Morpe-ko~"
Morpeko proudly patted its little belly, indicating it absolutely would not get a stomachache, and casually wiped away the drool at the corner of its mouth.
"No, I'll wait until your trainer gets here."
The owner still refused.
The two humans and one mouse remained in a stalemate.
"Morpeko, haven't you bought it yet?"
Silas hurried over.
Upon hearing Silas's voice, Morpeko softly urged the shop owner to hurry.
The owner paid it no mind and instead complained about it.
Silas lightly tapped Morpeko on the head and smiled apologetically at the owner. "Sorry for the trouble. Just choose two different flavors."
Morpeko's ears drooped. It tapped the glass, pointing at strawberry flavor, then quickly pointed at chocolate flavor.
The blonde young woman beside them, seeing someone else make the decision for her, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll have the same as it. Strawberry and chocolate swirl."
The shop owner brightened immediately and skillfully scooped the ice cream.
Silas's ears twitched. That voice sounded so familiar.
He looked up and met eyes with the blonde young woman on the other side of the ice cream cart. Both of them blurted out at the same time:
"Silas!"
"Cynthia!"
"What are you doing here!!!"
…
Five minutes later, the two of them were sitting face to face on the same leisure bench.
Cynthia focused intently on the ice cream in front of her. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescents, and she did not even notice the bit of chocolate sauce at the corner of her lips.
"Ice cream was simply the best!"
"Morpe~"
(I think so too. Ice cream is really delicious~)
Morpeko nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
It opened its mouth wide and swallowed the last chocolate scoop in one bite.
Glancing at its now empty cup, Morpeko looked pitifully at Cynthia.
"No. I don't have much left either…"
"Morpe-ko~"
(Big sister, you're so beautiful. Your ice cream looks so delicious…)
Morpeko used Flattery.
Cynthia became confused and ended up sharing her ice cream with Morpeko.
Silas chose to attack his teammate and used Head Flick on Morpeko.
After scolding it lightly, Silas turned to Cynthia. "Cynthia, what brings you to Chocovine Town? Are you here for the festival?"
Cynthia shot Morpeko a quick glare before hurriedly finishing the last of her ice cream.
"You know about the Hunter Union, right?"
"Yeah. The criminals who tried to steal your Garchomp."
"Some time ago, I destroyed their main base. Their leader, Hunter J, along with a few core members, managed to escape."
Taking the tissue Silas handed her, Cynthia wiped her mouth. "I received notice from the League that remnants of the hunters plan to come to Chocovine Town to capture the Phione. So I applied to come here and lie in wait."
"And you? Instead of being looking after your ranch in Kalos, why did you suddenly come here?"
In their previous letters, they had updated each other about their current situations, which was why Cynthia asked.
"It's because of…"
Silas tapped one of the Poké Balls at his waist, and the Pokémon inside appeared.
"Phion… yawn~"
Phione clung to Silas, letting out a soft cry, clearly still half asleep.
"Phione!?"
"That's right."
Silas gently patted it, and Phione snuggled into his arms and continued sleeping.
Cynthia whispered in an extremely soft voice, "Is this the Pokémon you caught? You brought him to see his brothers and sisters?"
"Yes." Silas nodded. "Bringing little Phione to meet his brothers and sisters was a temporary idea. Originally, I planned to take it to find Manaphy."
…
Meanwhile, somewhere along the western coast of Kalos.
A smoking, burning battleship plummeted toward the empty sea below. Before it crashed, Hunter J rode away on a Salamence, followed by only seven or eight subordinates.
The rest had either fled or been forced to stay behind.
Hunter J slammed her fist down, gritting her teeth. "Damn Darkrai. Sooner or later I'll catch you and turn you into a specimen."
Forced to flee Sinnoh under pursuit, even their last battleship had been caught in the aftermath of a clash between two Legendary Pokémon while escaping. The fact that it managed to fly as far as Kalos was already its limit.
"Boss, what do we do now?"
The subordinates behind her asked cautiously.
"Go to Coumarine City. The abandoned base there can still be used." Hunter J gave the order, directing Salamence toward Coumarine City.
Of course, there was one more thing she did not say out loud.
Kalos, I'm here.
Let's see where you can run this time.
Just do not let me find you.
(End of Chapter)