Latias Takes Human Form (Please Follow Along)

The Sinistcha being chased darted all over Kitakami Center. It had only come to see what was going on, check whether anything needed fixing, and maybe sneak away with some food.

It hadn't expected Mingyou to be running a stall here too, much less to be spotted by him...

The moment Sinistcha appeared, the place descended into chaos. Many stall owners ducked and covered their heads in panic, while others sent out Pokémon to attack it and drive it away.

"Is all this really necessary...?"

Mingyou was at a loss for words. Sinistcha and Munchlax were two of a kind when it came to causing trouble, but somehow it had frightened these people half to death.

Still, he couldn't let the commotion continue. He was the one who had given away Sinistcha's position, and he'd finally run into it again...

A Floragato was already closing in on Sinistcha, while a Growlithe and Pikachu launched attacks of their own. Mingyou snapped his fingers.

Wyrdeer understood at once. The black orbs at the base of its antlers generated psychic energy, creating an invisible barrier that blocked every attack!

"What?!"

Everyone froze. What was going on? Was there a ghost? Or was this Sinistcha's doing?

"Over here, quick!"

Seizing the chance, Mingyou called out to Sinistcha. Fortunately, it was somewhat fond of him. It caught on quickly and flew straight toward him.

But then...

"Shadow Sneak!"

A girl's voice rang out from somewhere. A little white fox leaped out of nowhere behind Sinistcha and slashed down with one paw.

Sinistcha reacted fast. It extended a small, liquid hand through the opening on the left side of its tea caddy, grabbed its tea scoop, and spun around to strike back.

They were evenly matched. With its ambush foiled, Zorua sprang back to the ground. Sinistcha flew over to Mingyou, who saw Akari appear.

"You again..."

Mingyou didn't know what to say. Everything had been going fine until she'd suddenly jumped in and gotten in his way.

"I'm on the Summer Camp staff. Keeping order here is part of my job too."

Akari had heard that a wild Sinistcha was causing a disturbance and had rushed over from the Shrine. She was surprised to find Mingyou here again. What a coincidence.

She called Zorua back to her side, glanced at Sinistcha beside him, and asked, "How about an explanation? Let's make sure there's no misunderstanding."

"Right... Sorry. This Sinistcha is actually my Pokémon. It ran over there because it wanted ice cream. If it caused any damage, I'll pay for it."

Mingyou made up an excuse to cover for Sinistcha. Seeing how familiar it seemed with him, everyone relaxed, though the people who'd hoped to catch it were disappointed.

"You should've said so! That was terrifying... A Sinistcha's been showing up around town lately, fixing broken things everywhere. It even deliberately popped up in someone's bathroom while they were bathing and sprinkled matcha powder around..."

The ice cream vendor patted his chest, still shaken. Mingyou could only smile awkwardly. The Sinistcha the man was talking about couldn't be the same one, could it?

That brought the commotion to an end. No one had suffered any real loss apart from a fright, so Mingyou bought a few extra ice creams to give the vendor some business.

Akari said nothing more and left with Zorua in her arms. Before she went, though, she gave Mingyou a knowing look. It seemed she'd caught him lying again but had chosen not to expose him.

How does she keep seeing through me...?

Mingyou couldn't figure it out. Was he really that bad at fooling people? Apparently so...

He put that aside for now. Once they'd walked a little farther, he looked at Sinistcha and asked curiously, "What brought you here?"

"Mo-wu~"

To play. What else?

Its favorite thing to do was play pranks and scare people!

As if proud of that, Sinistcha waved the tea scoop in its hand, scattering matcha powder across the grass. The scent of matcha rose into the air.

After grasping what it meant, Mingyou asked calmly, "But... what's the point?"

"..."

That one question stopped Sinistcha cold. Its expression went blank. It didn't seem to know what the point was either.

When it gave no answer, Mingyou sighed. "Listen, you..."

But he'd barely begun when Sinistcha started to leave. It didn't want another lecture. This guy talked way too much.

Mingyou smiled and went on anyway. "When you're tired of playing out here, you can come back anytime. The Manor will always be your home. And come to the Festival of Masks with us tomorrow afternoon. You can have fun out in the open instead of sneaking around!"

"..."

Sinistcha paused in midair. Several seconds passed before it finally left.

Mingyou didn't stop it. After their few encounters, he had a rough idea of its personality.

It pulls pranks everywhere but never hurts anyone... Does it just want attention so people know it's there? It's like a little kid...

Mingyou didn't dislike that side of it. If anything, he found it interesting and full of character, though getting along with it could be a little troublesome. He wondered how Grandpa had gotten it to listen to him.

"Come on. I've got an ice cream for you too. I bought too many, so we'll share the rest with Ogerpon and the others when we get back."

"Yoo-yoo~"

Mingyou climbed onto Wyrdeer's back, and they headed home together. He was looking forward to tomorrow more than ever.

The Festival of Masks would begin the following evening and run through the end of summer vacation. It would open every evening and close in the early hours of the morning.

Apparently, it had once lasted only three days. In recent years, they'd extended it to draw tourists and give more people a chance to experience it.

Some of the Manor's fruits and vegetables would also ripen tomorrow, so Mingyou needed to make a few plans. He wanted to run his stall without missing out on the festival.

So, on the morning of the Festival of Masks...

Mingyou and Ogerpon woke early to check the vegetable garden and fruit grove. They wouldn't set up the stall that morning; they'd head over together in the afternoon.

Ogerpon held her mask, eager for the festival. Gible was hiding behind the door. He had woken early too, as he often did after his nightmares.

He'd spent the past few days listening to Ogerpon and the others talk about it. Truthfully, he wanted to go too, but he didn't dare say so...

Mingyou glanced at him, then looked away, turning something over in his mind.

After greeting the Swinub, they came to a damp patch near the pond. Mingyou had planted his mushrooms there, and they'd already sprouted.

Just as he was about to check on them, an enormous splash erupted from the pond. The Ducklett and Swanna swimming on its surface scattered in fright, and a Magikarp was washed onto the bank.

"What was that?"

Mingyou and Ogerpon hurriedly looked over, startled by the noise.

Latias came swooping down through the falling spray. As she passed through the curtain of water, her feathers glistened like glass, beautiful in the sunlight.

Then, wrapped in those feathers, her figure suddenly vanished!

The next instant, a petite figure appeared on the bank. She wore a short red dress with a blue hollow triangle design over her chest.

Her short white hair fell straight, each strand seeming to shimmer in the sunlight. Bangs covered her forehead, and her round, babyish face gave her a playful, adorable look.

"Wu-wu~"

Latias, now in human form, raised both hands and bounced with excitement.

If she used the same trick she used to turn invisible to take human form, she could go along and have fun! It had taken her days to come up with this plan!

A genius! She was a genius!

Let's see anyone call her stupid now!

But as Mingyou lowered his gaze to the little girl running toward him—a girl even shorter than Ogerpon—he struggled to keep a straight face.

"Whose kid is this?"