When the Pokémon gathered again, ready to borrow the research institute's high-end recording equipment to film a "family vlog" and send it to Ye Lan, they all showed off the gifts they had received in front of the camera.
Leafeon had received a brand-new laptop. Not only did it have the latest holographic projection technology for watching anime, it also came with enhanced eye protection specially installed so Leafeon could read novels.
Ye Lan did not want Leafeon turning into a "blind sword immortal." It sounded intimidating, but in practice, even teammates within five meters would probably get slashed...
Oh-no Amoonguss's gift was unusual: a recording of encouragement that Ye Lan had made just for this one Pokémon.
While preparing Oh-no Amoonguss's gift, Ye Lan had asked Leafeon for advice in private. After Leafeon analyzed the situation, this was the conclusion they had reached.
Clearly, given how well Leafeon knew Oh-no Amoonguss, encouragement from an idol definitely counted as a great gift!
Ye Lan still did not quite understand, but with Leafeon's assurance, he ultimately settled on that choice.
Since it was only a recording, making it too short would feel rather halfhearted. So Ye Lan painstakingly spent hours writing a script before recording an "inspirational speech" that lasted over half an hour on a voice recorder. Oh-no Amoonguss had barely listened to half of it before the whole mushroom was practically blazing with enthusiasm!
The only thing that puzzled Honest Mushroom was Big Sis's distinctive hissing, which could occasionally be heard faintly in the recording. Sometimes it sounded close, sometimes distant, and it was hard to make out.
Taking those sounds as encouragement from Serperior as well, Oh-no Amoonguss grew even more fired up and resolved to train hard enough to catch up to Big Sis.
In reality, however,