The Blue Flower Was Still the Same, but Flabébé Had Grown a Little

Early the next morning, Flabébé went to the window first.

The pale yellow wildflower had not caught a chill last night, and its leaves were clean as well. It circled the flowerpot once, touched the newest outer leaves, then used a small wooden pick to loosen the topsoil.

Yue Guan stood beside it and waited without urging it to go to the Herb Garden.

After finishing its inspection, Flabébé picked up the blue wooden tag itself. It put the other tag, painted with a pale yellow wildflower, back beside the flowerpot. Nothing here needed further treatment today.

"Going now?" Yue Guan asked.

It nodded.

Only the young apprentice from yesterday was waiting at the Herb Garden entrance. The steward and everyone else were recording watering and sunlight in their own flowerbeds, no longer standing in a long line.

"I've written down the conditions of all three plants." The apprentice lowered the thin booklet.

The pooled water around the white flower's roots had been fully drained, and only a small amount of clean water had been added this morning. The thin stem that had been bent by the wind remained upright, with no marks from the cloth strips. The pink medicinal flower had bloomed yesterday afternoon, closed on its own after nightfall, and was now slowly opening again with the morning light.

Flabébé went to inspect the white flower first.

The yellowing leaves had not worsened, and a tiny bit of fresh green had emerged near the roots. It did not pluck the leaves, only pushed aside a small stone blocking the edge of the drainage channel.

The bamboo stake beside the second plant was still secure. Flabébé tugged at the upper and lower cloth strips, confirmed that the thin stem could still sway with the wind, then loosened the top knot a little.

The third plant had fully bloomed.

Its pink petals faced the sun, while the jade box prepared yesterday for collecting the flower was no longer nearby. Following Yue Guan's suggestion, the steward had decided to let it remain where it was and complete this stage of its blooming period.

Flabébé landed beside the petals, watched for only a moment, then flew up again. It did not pick the flower just because it had bloomed, nor did it make it bloom any larger.

"What else needs to be done today?" the apprentice asked.

Flabébé turned all three wooden tags over one by one.

Their backs had originally been blank. Following the order of its inspections, the apprentice wrote: continue observing, keep the knot loose, and wait to collect the flower naturally. Once he finished, Flabébé pushed all three tags back onto the steward's desk.

"So that's it?"

It nodded.

The care it had chosen yesterday had produced results. Any new requests for help would need fresh inspections, and it was not taking any more today.

Yue Guan opened the soft carrier. "Back to the shop?"

Just as Flabébé flew toward him, a faint ring of white light suddenly appeared around it.

The apprentice jumped. "Its petals are glowing?"

"It's not the petals." Yue Guan stopped walking.

Rotom flew out from the side of the carrier, its scanning light falling over Flabébé.

"Growth record updated. Flabébé has reached Level 19. The conditions for natural evolution have been met, Rotom."

The white light did not immediately intensify. It merely flowed slowly around Flabébé. Hovering in midair, it lowered its head to look at the blue flower in its arms.

It had seen what Floette looked like yesterday and knew that it would still remain with this flower after evolving. But knowing was one thing; truly standing before the choice was another.

Yue Guan neither reached out nor let the apprentice crowd closer. "If you don't want to evolve, you can stop."

Flabébé looked up at him.

"If you don't choose today, there will be other chances."

No one around it called for it to begin. The steward remained in the distance, and the young apprentice stepped outside the flowerbeds, leaving the pathway empty.

The white light faded slightly along with its hesitation.

Flabébé descended onto the blue flower's corolla. For nine years, it had always sat there. The section of stem its hands could wrap around had only ever been this thin. The old stand, the soft carrier, and Yue Guan's shoulder were all sized for its current body.

It touched every blue petal, then finally came to the stem beside the cloth strip that had been loosened yesterday.

The blue flower did not avoid it, nor could it answer in its place.

Flabébé flew up again on its own.

It did not sit back on the corolla. Instead, it wrapped both arms around the entire stem and nodded firmly at Yue Guan.

The white light suddenly flared.

Yue Guan took half a step back, leaving it a full space of its own.

Within the radiance, the tiny figure that had once been no larger than a palm slowly stretched. Its slender arms could now wrap more securely around the flower stem. Its legs left the corolla, and its body outline grew twice as tall as before. The blue flower remained in its arms throughout. The petals' color, the stems and leaves, and even the tiny creases left from yesterday were unchanged.

When the light dispersed, a blue-flower Floette hovered in midair.

It lowered its head to look at itself first.

The corolla that had once fit it perfectly now looked small. It tried to land as it had in the past, but the moment its feet touched the petals, its body tipped to one side.

Yue Guan raised his hand, but did not catch it right away.

Floette steadied itself and hovered firmly again. It switched to holding the flower with both hands and slowly turned a circle above the flowerbed.

"How does it feel?" Yue Guan asked.

Floette gave a cry, its voice clearer than before.

It held the blue flower out before him.

Yue Guan inspected the flower from its petals to its stem, all the way to the cloth strip loosened yesterday. It was still the same flower, even with the tiny speck of white pollen stuck to its center.

"The blue flower is doing well too," he said.

Only then did Floette smile.

Hearing the commotion, the Herb Garden steward called from afar, "Now that it has evolved, can it care for more flowers?"

Floette turned around and pushed the three flipped-over wooden tags together toward the corner of the desk.

The meaning was clear: today's work was over.

The steward swallowed the rest of his words. "Rest first."

After returning to the shop, Indeedee brought out a blank body-change form.

Its height had increased, and so had its width when holding the flower with both hands. The old soft carrier was too shallow now, leaving most of the blue flower exposed. The resting stand was too low as well, forcing Floette to bend over whenever it set the blue flower down.

Metagross supported the blue flower while Indeedee and Yue Guan measured it again. Floette stood nearby the entire time. Whenever someone needed to adjust the stem's direction, they waited for it to nod first.

The new stand was temporarily raised with two soft cushions. The side seams of the carrier were taken apart, and a strip of wide cloth was added first. Until it was properly altered, Floette would not be taken on any long trips.

After growing bigger, even the way it entered doorways had to be learned again.

Floette carried the blue flower from the care room toward the front hall. In the past, it sat on the corolla, and simply holding the whole flower upright was enough to fit through the doorway. Now, with both hands around the stem, the blue flower naturally rested at an angle against its shoulder, and the outermost petal nearly brushed the curtain hook.

It stopped in time instead of forcing its way through.

Yue Guan stood outside the doorway. "Want me to take the flower?"

Floette shook its head. It first backed up, adjusted the angle of the stem, then turned sideways to pass through the doorway. The front of the blue flower went through first, and it followed behind the leaves. The flower did not touch either side.

Xie Yue happened to return just then. After watching once, he drew two soft lines beneath the doorway. "Use this width the first few times. Once you get used to it, we'll wipe them away."

Floette practiced walking along the soft lines twice. By the second time, it could stop by itself before the doorway, turn the flower, and pass through. It wanted to try a third time, but Indeedee set a cup of water beside the resting cushion.

Evolution had consumed quite a bit of its strength. Floette landed on the cushion. Even while drinking, it held the blue flower with both hands, only allowing Yue Guan to support the lower end of the stem.

The Berry mash Indeedee prepared was a little more than before. After eating half of it, Floette closed the lid and pushed the rest into the dinner compartment, not immediately eating double just because its body had grown.

"Record its food intake according to how much it actually eats for now," Hu Liena said.

Yue Guan glanced at the new form. "I know."

Ghost leaned against the wall. "You already wrote down double portions just now."

Yue Guan used a cloth to wipe away the extra line.

Yue Guan picked up the old corolla cushion. "This is too small."

Floette reached out, took it, and held it in its arms.

"You still want to keep it?"

It nodded and placed the old cushion beneath the new stand. It could no longer sit on it, but it could still cushion the blue flower's roots.

Rotom updated the Pokédex. "Floette, Fairy type, Blue Flower Form. It naturally evolved from a Level 19 Flabébé by its own choice. Neither its traveling companions nor its accompanying flower have changed, Rotom."

"Have its moves changed?" Yan asked.

"After growth, the range of moves it can learn may gradually change. No move testing today, Rotom."

Floette agreed and placed the blue flower back onto the raised stand. It had only just evolved. What it needed most right now was to become familiar with its hands, feet, and the length of the flower stem.

When Bibi Dong arrived at the shop that evening, Floette was practicing taking the flower from the stand. The first time, it gripped too high, and the blue flower swayed when its roots left the cushion. The second time, it supported the lower end first, then brought the stem to its chest, and the movement became steady.

Absol lay three steps away, not approaching the newly drawn soft lines.

"Did the Herb Garden send another invitation?" Bibi Dong asked.

"No," Yue Guan said.

"If they do, we're not going tomorrow either."

Floette looked up at her.

"The first day after evolution is for reassessment," Bibi Dong said evenly. "That's a shop rule."

Xia Che corrected her from behind the counter. "A rule we just made."

"Now it exists."

Floette thought for a moment, then placed the blue wooden tag into a drawer itself. It had also decided to stay at the shop tomorrow.

When Yan and Hu Liena arrived, they saw Floette trying out a new water cup. Magby followed behind, circled it twice, then raised its hand to compare their heights.

Floette was much taller than before, but still shorter than Magby.

Magby let out a breath of relief and puffed out its belly.

Floette raised the blue flower high, and its petals immediately rose above Magby's head.

Magby sucked its belly back in.

Yue Guan finally laughed. "Its name should be changed too."

He gently wiped the three characters for Flabébé from the old record plaque. But Floette pressed a hand over the wooden plaque, signaling for him not to write yet.

It picked up a blue charcoal pencil and drew the same blue flower as before on the back.

Only then did Yue Guan turn it to the front and write Floette.

The name had changed, but the flower on the back of the wooden plaque had not.