A Call from His Parents

"Dreepy~~"

Dreepy was still asleep on the pillow, letting out soft cries from time to time as though it were talking in its dreams.

"How amazing. It had only been a short while, and it was already starting to shed?"

Blake stood beside it, carefully observing Dreepy. It had already grown a full size larger than when it had first hatched, and a white layer of keratin covered its body—its freshly shed skin. Based on the extinct Diplocaulus, the Dreepy line had naturally inherited amphibians' ability to shed their skin. Dreepy in particular would molt several times after hatching, gradually growing from its tiny initial size.

Yet this Dreepy had begun its first molt only hours after hatching. Clearly, the energy it had absorbed from the Spell Tag had been enormous.

"So this is Dreepy? It's so cute."

Lulina poked her head out from Blake's side and carefully observed Dreepy.

"Right? It's adorable."

"Haunter~~"

Blake and Haunter nodded together.

"But haven't you caught Dreepy yet?"

Lulina asked curiously.

"Yeah. It fell asleep right after hatching because it absorbed too much energy, so I never got the chance. I figured I'd at least wait until it woke up before catching it. I don't really like forcing Pokémon."

He wasn't training Frustration, after all. Who wouldn't want a better relationship with their Pokémon? Besides, if their relationship was too poor, it might not even be able to use Frustration properly.

"That makes sense."

"Ring, ring, ring—"

Before Lulina could finish speaking, the phone in the house rang. Blake dashed over in a single stride. Only one person would ever call that old landline.

"Hello! Dad!"

Blake picked up the phone. A tiny screen, barely larger than a mobile phone's, lit up, showing his father's dust-covered face.

"What is it, son? Did something happen?"

James's voice was weary and disappointed. Clearly, this ruin exploration had not been going well.

"There are a couple of things. First, the egg at home hatched. It's a Dreepy, and it's sleeping in the house right now. Second, I found something strange."

Blake got straight to the point. He knew his father's personality: direct and straightforward. If there was something to say, say it. Besides, James was always busy and rarely got time off, so he disliked people wasting his time.

"It hatched? Hahaha, that's great. I told you that egg was meant for you. Looks like I was right. But what strange thing did you find?"

James chuckled. Their family had always tended to give off a gloomy impression, but perhaps because James had been an extrovert in Blake's previous life, along with the influence of his mother's genes, that gloominess did not show in Blake.

"A Spell Tag. But it isn't an ordinary Spell Tag—it makes every other item in the family collection look inferior by comparison. Not only that, I have no idea what material it's made from. I can't identify it at all, and it contains an energy besides Ghost-type energy."

As he spoke, Blake took out the little box, opened it, and held it close to the camera.

"Hmm... It doesn't look much different on the surface, but if you look closely, you can see golden and silver glimmers within the black ink. That shine is unusual. It also looks very old, so it's hard to make out clearly. Put it away safely. Your mother and I can come back in a month. I can't see clearly over the phone—I'll take a look when I get back."

James leaned close to the screen and examined it carefully. Experience really did make all the difference. Even through a video call, he noticed things Blake had missed.

"Can't you come back sooner? Then you could preside over the Great Fishing Festival."

Blake pursed his lips. He strongly suspected that James was returning in a month rather than as soon as possible because he did not want to preside over the Great Fishing Festival. Being the festival's chief officiant was practically torture for an introvert.

"Hahahaha, I'll leave that to you. Consider it training. Oh, your mom wants to talk to you."

James laughed awkwardly, then immediately handed the communicator to Louise beside him before running off in a flash. Blake had guessed right—this guy simply did not want to come back and preside over the Great Fishing Festival!

"My precious son!!!"

Unlike the introverted and gloomy James, Blake's mother, Louise, was an absolute social monster—outgoing and generous. According to Uncle Sam, Blake's father had been the one pursued back then, and Louise had practically pestered him around the clock. Well... how should he put it? In some ways, introverts really were extroverts' toys.

"Hey, Mom. How have you been lately?"

Blake was also an extrovert, but compared to his mother, he still fell far short. That deafening, toe-curling greeting made cold sweat break out on the back of his neck.

"Very well! The scenery around these ruins is wonderful, and there's even a big river. I caught a new partner too. Come on, say hello!"

"Wooper?"

Louise lifted up a Wooper, which stared blankly at the screen and let out a confused cry.

"That's a very nice Wooper. It doesn't look very old, though. It should still be a child."

Blake offered it a compliment.

"Right? It really is adorable. By the way, how are things between you and Lulina? Any progress?"

Louise looked at Blake with shining eyes.

"Mom, we're only fourteen."

Blake was a little helpless. People in this world developed early, but fourteen was still much too young, wasn't it? Did his mother really need to be this anxious?

"What's wrong with fourteen? Your father and I had already made our relationship official when we were fourteen."

Louise said it without the slightest concern.

"That was your unilateral declaration, wasn't it? Aunt Anna told me everything."

Blake was speechless. His parents had been fairly famous figures in Hulbury back then. His father was close with Uncle Sam, while his mother and Aunt Anna were best friends, so over the past few years, Blake had heard far too many bizarre stories about their youth. Their so-called official relationship had really just been his mother loudly declaring everywhere that his father was her boyfriend, warning anyone interested in him to stay away.

"Tch—she really talks too much. But seriously, what's going on between you and Lulina?"

Louise did not show the slightest dissatisfaction. On the contrary, she was proud of it. James had been a hot commodity back then, and she had snatched him away from a whole crowd of seductive rivals!

"Um... Ah, Lulina, you're here. Perfect, my mom has something to say to you."

Blake saw Lulina walking over and immediately felt as if he had found his way out. He grabbed her, shoved the phone into her hands, then ran off at lightning speed with Haunter.

"Ah! Aunt Louise! Long time no see!"

"Lulina! Sweetheart! Auntie missed you so much! How have you been lately?"

Sure enough, in some ways, the world was one enormous cycle.