The days at the ranch passed one after another, and before he realized it, the end of the month had arrived.
It was the day he had agreed upon with Diantha. Just last night she had even called to remind him personally.
Cinccino and the others had already mastered the new song that their teacher Jigglypuff had composed, which meant they could officially debut.
Little Jigglypuff's growth was obvious to everyone. Under Roxie's guidance, it had displayed extremely impressive rock music talent.
The only ones suffering were Heliolisk tribe and the others. Now even relying on soundproof headphones could not completely block out Jigglypuff's rock singing.
They spent twenty four hours a day either sleeping or on the way to sleep. If things continued like this they might be driven completely insane.
Silas had no choice but to warn Jigglypuff not to sing inside the ranch anymore.
He had even considered finding a Pokémon with the Insomnia or Vital Spirit ability to partner with Jigglypuff. A Pokémon that could use Electric Terrain would also work.
With the first option, the partner would not be affected by Sing. With the second option, nobody would be affected at all.
There was simply no other choice. Jigglypuff's singing ability had become ridiculously powerful.
During this period of time, Silas and Cyclizar had also harvested the peanuts in the ranch fields.
As usual, part of the harvest was kept at the ranch to be roasted into snacks, while the majority was sold.
All the crops in the fields had now been cleared out, greatly reducing the amount of work required at the ranch.
After he left, older brother Indeedee only needed to help take care of the other Pokémon's daily living needs and meals.
This trip to watch the meteor shower meant bringing quite a few Pokémon along.
The three Noivern had to come, since he had promised them earlier. There was also Diancie, Arboliva, Alcremie, Cinccino, Morpeko, Popplio, Rowlet, Litten, and Kangaskhan with her child.
On top of that there were two transportation Pokémon, Cyclizar and Giant Dragonite.
Counting them on his fingers, Silas realized he was bringing quite a large group.
He had asked the other Pokémon in the ranch as well, but they showed little interest in the meteor shower. The Mudsdale brothers were specifically mentioned to stay.
The five Florges was busy building their garden. The Tropius couple could not leave because they were caring for their Pokémon egg.
The apple dragons were looking after the special apple trees that had started blooming, and the three Meowth had volunteered to stay behind to help the older brother Indeedee.
Everyone had something to do and simply could not leave.
Busy. Everyone was busy. Being busy was a good thing.
After walking around the ranch once more, Silas handed over the ranch duties to the older Indeedee.
"After I leave, these are roughly all the ranch tasks."
"Indee~" (I remember everything, Master Silas. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong.)
"I trust you."
Silas placed his hand on the older brother Indeedee's head and continued reminding him.
"Autumn temperatures will drop soon, so pay close attention to the Pokémon's health. Do not let them get sick…"
Silas continued talking and reminding him of one matter after another.
The older Indeedee even took out a small notebook and carefully wrote everything down.
A ranch owner must always care about the ranch.
It was only when a voice came from behind that Silas finally stopped speaking.
Inside the house, the younger sister Indeedee walked out with a group of Pokémon behind her. Two large suitcases floated in the air beside her.
"Indee~~"
(Silas, everything you wanted to bring has been packed. We can depart anytime.)
"Cin!"
The Pokémon, led by Cinccino, immediately surrounded him and began urging him to leave. They could hardly wait to see the meteor shower that was said to grant wishes.
"Indeedee, that is roughly everything. If you run into problems, you can discuss them with Carbink Minister. If it still cannot be solved, you can go to Shalour Gym and ask Gym Leader Gurkinn for help. I have already talked to him."
Although this was not the first time he had left the ranch, Silas still worried a lot. Every time he left he had to repeat his instructions again and again.
Only when Cinccino and the others came in for the third time and practically pushed him out of the ranch did Silas finally signal for the older Indeedee to go back inside.
"You little troublemakers."
He lightly knocked on the little Pokémon's heads and began returning them into their Poké Balls one by one.
Soon his waist was once again filled with Poké Balls, exactly like the time he had traveled to the Alola region before.
"Biggie, I will be relying on you."
Silas climbed onto Giant Dragonite's back and patted it gently.
"Draa~!"
Giant Dragonite showed its honest and cheerful smile. Holding a suitcase in each hand, it flapped its small wings and slowly rose into the sky. The ranch below gradually became smaller and smaller.
The older brother Indeedee stood at the doorway and waved until Giant Dragonite had become nothing more than a tiny black dot in the distance. Only then did he return inside and close the ranch gate.
On the Kalos continent, besides the large cities there were also many kingdoms scattered across the land.
They were called kingdoms, but the larger ones were only about the size of a city, while the smaller ones were little more than a town.
The place Silas was heading to, Kingdom of Azoth, was considered one of the largest among them.
Inside the kingdom, enormous gears could be seen everywhere, and they were also the symbol of the kingdom itself.
With Giant Dragonite's speed and a clear destination, crossing the entire Kalos region would only take a few hours.
Giant Dragonite gradually slowed down and reminded Silas.
"Dra!" (Silas, I see the giant gears!)
Silas leaned forward slightly from Giant Dragonite's back.
Below them a city had appeared in the distance.
From their high vantage point he could clearly see the overall layout of the city and the enormous towering gears that were constantly rotating.
"That's right. This is the Azoth Kingdom."
Silas patted Giant Dragonite's back again.
"Let's land near the edge of the city first. Do not cause a disturbance."
"Draa."
Giant Dragonite flapped its small wings and descended steadily, landing on a road at the edge of the city.
The moment Silas touched the ground, several Poké Balls at his waist opened.
Cyclizar jumped out first, shaking its slightly stiff body before rubbing its head against Silas and lowering itself, inviting him to ride.
Cinccino, Phione, Alcremie, and the other small Pokémon quickly found comfortable positions.
Morpeko failed to secure a good spot, so the little mouse quickly climbed onto Giant Dragonite's shoulder. Chirping happily, it pulled out some dried cranberries from its pocket and offered them to Giant Dragonite.
Giant Dragonite opened its mouth widely with a cheerful expression, clearly asking Morpeko to feed it.
Morpeko looked at the dried cranberries in its pocket and then at Giant Dragonite's enormous mouth that seemed like a bottomless abyss.
It suddenly felt like it had shot itself in the foot.
Even so, Morpeko reluctantly poured everything from its pockets into Giant Dragonite's mouth. The dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and even sugar cubes were all dumped inside.
Not even a single sunflower seed shell remained.
Morpeko then turned its empty pocket inside out to show Giant Dragonite.
Over on Silas's side, he was placing the small Pokémon that had been clinging to him onto Cyclizar's back. When he glanced over and saw this scene, he could not help teasing.
When Morpeko saw him looking, it immediately began acting pitiful.
"Morpeko!" (All my snacks were eaten by Giant Dragonite. Now my pockets are completely empty, Silas!)
"There were only dried fruits. You saved yourself from eating too much."
Silas rubbed Morpeko's slightly bald head and pulled out a handful of dried cranberries from his storage bag, filling Morpeko's pockets again.
Morpeko's sad expression instantly vanished and was replaced by a huge happy smile.
"Cyclizar, please carry the little ones. Let's walk into the city and experience the different customs of the Azoth Kingdom."
Silas checked the time. There was still plenty of time before the agreed meeting.
That was why he made the suggestion.
Cyclizar responded with a slightly unhappy sound. It had actually hoped Silas would ride on its back.
However, once Cinccino and the others heard the plan, they immediately urged Cyclizar to hurry and follow Silas.
Not long after Silas and his group left, a black hound with green stripes suddenly ran out from the nearby forest.
It sniffed the scent lingering in the air.
Then it quietly followed at a distance behind Silas and the others, secretly observing their every movement.
(End of Chapter)