A Pokémon lied?
No matter who it was, Grovyle had already made up its mind to leave. That much could not be changed.
Even if Cyclizar went to bring Grovyle back, it would be useless.
Grovyle's heart was not in the ranch, nor was it with the Heliolisk.
Shaking his head, Silas suppressed his wandering thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on things like this.
He turned to look at the three Heliolisk and five Helioptile. After learning that Grovyle had left without saying goodbye, they were all deeply saddened.
Especially one of the young Helioptile. When she realized it was because of something she had said that Grovyle made the decision to leave, she broke down completely.
She cried the loudest, tears pouring down in streams, utterly heartbroken.
After crying for a while, the little Helioptile looked toward the only human present.
"Helio~ Helio!"
"Hm?" Silas was startled, then asked seriously, "You want to stay at the ranch and wait for Grovyle to come back?"
"Helio!"
The little Helioptile nodded heavily.
The ranch was large. Letting the Helioptile settle down there would not be a problem.
It would not cost Silas much effort either. As long as they could sunbathe, they would be fine, even without eating.
Even so, Silas could not help but try to persuade them a little.
The world was vast, and sometimes parting meant forever.
Grovyle was not like Chatot, who had Zapdos protecting it. Out in the wild, the chances of encountering danger and suffering misfortune were very high.
Yet no matter how Silas tried to reason with her, the Helioptile shook her head in refusal, insisting that she would wait for Grovyle to return.
At that moment, the leader of the Heliolisk stepped forward and let out a low cry toward Silas.
"Helio~ Helio!"
"You want to stay as well?" Silas raised an eyebrow, surprised, yet somehow feeling it was only natural.
Were Pokémon not exactly like this? Adorable and stubborn little beings.
They would hold on to a promise or a single matter for an entire lifetime.
Even if that "person" was a terrible villain or had already left this world, Pokémon would never forget.
"You don't have to pay rent."
Silas waved his hand in refusal. The ranch had enough electricity.
Morpeko's training had not stopped for even a single day.
"If you're going to stay at the ranch, you can only live near the beach. The environment there suits you better."
"Just in time, you can help me guard that stretch of beach. Don't let any bad Pokémon cause trouble."
"In that case, I'll even have to pay you wages."
In the end, the Heliolisk tribe chose to remain at the ranch and settled down by the beach.
Calling it a home might not be entirely accurate. In reality, it was just a few sand pits.
Sand pits deep enough to bury their bodies.
Silas really could not bear the sight of it. He called Cyclizar over and helped them build several small nests.
He also constructed a small house at the edge of the beach. It could serve as shelter for the Heliolisk during rain, and he could store some fishing tools inside as well.
With the Heliolisk keeping watch, there was no need to worry about theft.
After finishing all of that, Silas and the Pokémon had dinner together.
Sitting on the sofa afterward, he flipped through the calendar for the first time in a long while. When he turned to June fifth, he paused and drew a small cartoon Kangaskhan on that page.
He had been so busy that he had almost forgotten Kangaskhan's birthday.
With a month and a half to go, he had plenty of time to prepare a lively and grand celebration for her.
This year's birthday would be very different, extremely meaningful and worth commemorating.
"Kang?"
Suddenly, Kangaskhan's voice sounded beside him, startling Silas.
"Phew! Kangaskhan, you nearly scared me to death."
"Kang~"
"It's nothing, just calculating some dates." He hung the calendar back up and changed the subject. "Tomorrow I'm going to attend the World Expo. I'll have to leave the ranch to you."
"Kang!"
Kangaskhan put away her curious expression, straightened her body, and patted her chest confidently.
"Indeedee, both of them, will help too. I'll only be gone for one day this time." Placing his hand on Kangaskhan's forehead, Silas spoke softly. "I'll take lots of photos, and when I come back you can all look at them."
"Min~"
Minccino had somehow climbed onto Silas's shoulder. It raised its tiny hand to volunteer for the photography job.
"Alright, I'll leave the photography to you. Make sure you capture me looking handsome."
Rubbing Minccino gently, Silas laughed.
Seeing that Minccino and Kangaskhan's attention had completely shifted to tomorrow's World Expo, Silas quietly let out a sigh of relief.
If the birthday banquet were discovered so soon, there would be no sense of surprise left. Thankfully, he had changed the subject in time.
…
The next day, Silas changed into the clothes Diantha had bought for him a few days earlier and tidied himself up a bit.
"Where's Cyclizar? We should be leaving."
He glanced around but did not see his usual shadow, Cyclizar.
Today was the opening of the World Expo. He had already made plans with Diantha the previous night.
"Inde…"
The older brother Indeedee was just about to explain when Cyclizar burst in energetically.
It grabbed the water cup from the table and gulped down a large mouthful before finally catching its breath.
"Cyc!"
(I just went to help the Heliolisk move. They've already moved their things to the beach!)
"You, honestly." Silas shook his head helplessly yet with amusement. Cyclizar always acted in such a hurried manner.
It did whatever came to mind, still carrying a trace of childishness.
"There's no more time to waste. We should set off too." Silas stood up and looked at the elder male Indeedee. "I'll leave the ranch in your hands today."
"Indee!"
(That is what we should do. Silas, please don't worry.)
"Alright."
He nodded and then waved toward the three little ones who were still watching television. "Later, have your sister go check on the Heliolisk and ask if they need anything added."
Catching Minccino as it leaped toward him, he held it in his arms. Dolliv and Morpeko were already seated on Cyclizar's back.
After giving a few more instructions and seeing the older brother Indeedee respond to each one carefully, Silas finally felt at ease enough to leave.
Cyclizar's speed was neither too fast nor too slow. The wind brushed past his ears, carrying the coolness of early morning, not the least bit stifling.
The three little ones in his arms were each in a different state.
Minccino was always excited whenever it went out with him. Even though they had traveled this road back and forth many times, it still could not suppress its curiosity.
It had already begun holding up its camera and snapping photos nonstop, treating it as practice for the Expo.
When Silas tried to pinch its ear playfully, the little fellow dodged away, unwilling to let him interfere with its grand photography plan.
So he turned to look at Dolliv, who was sitting quietly on his shoulder, leaning against him, its small hand clutching his clothes.
Yet its round eyes betrayed it. Dolliv rarely had opportunities to go out and was curious about everything outside.
Occasionally, when it saw scenery that interested it, its tiny hand would unconsciously tighten or tug at Silas's sleeve, sharing the moment with him.
In contrast, Morpeko appeared especially relaxed.
Actually, that was not quite accurate. At this moment, all its attention was focused on the snacks clutched in its little paws.
Its cheeks were puffed up high as it munched all the way along the road.
Morpeko had come along not only to escape the supervision of the younger Indeedee but also with the intention of feasting at the World Expo.
With Morpeko's simple way of thinking, more humans meant more food.
At the previous wine-tasting event, Morpeko had eaten to its heart's content.
This time, it wanted to eat and drink freely again.
But with that little scheme of Morpeko's, how could Silas not know?
They could train after returning in the evening. After training, Morpeko would be so tired it would fall asleep as soon as it lay down, and it would not disturb anyone.
After more than an hour, at the same location as last time, at the same hour as before, the same person was waiting there.
(End of Chapter)