Scream Tail never did shut up.
Screaming was in its nature, as natural as eating when it was hungry or sleeping when it was tired.
But it was willing to lower the volume—
As long as it got to eat what was in the bowl, and nobody called it Jigglypuff again.
Scream Tail didn't know exactly what "Jigglypuff" meant, but it instinctively hated the name.
It felt as though its very existence had been denied.
"All right. Wait here."
Baimu went into the observation station to discuss it with the others. Faced with driving Scream Tail off, letting it stay, or catching it, they chose to give it a bea—feed it and send it away.
Even Nemona agreed, which came as a surprise.
Unlike Arven, who resisted the idea, and Penny, who was afraid, she was clearly fascinated by Scream Tail. Then again, she was curious about every Pokémon she encountered for the first time.
"We're a team. I can't ignore how my friends feel just to satisfy my curiosity, can I?"
Nemona spoke frankly, showing the sense of responsibility expected of a student council president.
While they were talking,
Scream Tail sauntered in from outside.
"Yah!"
It waved at them without a care. Nothing in its sweet, innocent smile hinted at its earlier fury.
Penny quietly retreated into a corner and covered her ears. Beside her, Arven frowned.
Only Nemona went up to it happily, looking it over from every angle and even poking its "hair."
It looked like hair, but it was actually an appendage made of fur and muscle—or rather, a "tail."
Even though it already had a little tail behind its rump.
Scream Tail didn't care for someone getting familiar with it so quickly. Its face darkened, and it puffed out its cheeks in warning.
Nemona