Now that's what you call being in sync! (Please keep reading!!!)

"I... I can't run anymore..." With the cat carrier strapped to his chest, Chen Yan braced his hands on his thighs and panted heavily.

Glameow jumped out of the carrier, stretched, then settled by the roadside and watched Chen Yan pant.

Gengar floated in the air, holding the honey and Kakuna, and was panting just as hard.

"What... what are you panting for? You don't even have to run!"

"Gengar."

Oh, right. I forgot.

Before evolving, Gengar's previous forms, Gastly and Haunter, could fly, but Gengar had lost the Ability Levitate upon evolving.

So it could only stay airborne using the Ghost-type energy inside its body and Confusion.

But Gengar hadn't learned any moves involving Confusion yet, and Chen Yan had no idea how it had learned to fly.

Once Chen Yan caught his breath, he looked at Gengar floating beside him, eating honey, and asked irritably:

"Could you turn off auto-loot next time?"

"Gengar?"

What's that mean?

Gengar looked at Chen Yan curiously.

He's saying stuff I don't understand again.

"I mean, when exactly did you steal the Beedrill's honey?"

"Gengar!"

I didn't steal it! I borrowed it! Borrowed!

(｡･ˇ_ˇ･｡:)

"You..."

Chen Yan held his head, feeling a headache coming on.

Noticing that Chen Yan seemed a little angry, Gengar glanced at the honey in its hands, then carefully approached him and nudged his arm with Kakuna.

"What?"

Chen Yan looked at Gengar irritably.

Gengar gave him its signature grin.

"Gengar-"

I was wrong. I won't take other people's stuff next time, okay? Don't be mad.

Looking at Gengar's earnest apology, Chen Yan angrily tugged at its cheeks.

"You think that's why I'm angry? I'm angry because you only took one jar! There's no way their whole colony only had one jar of honey. You don't know the first thing about running a thrifty household!"

"If you'd taken more, we could've..."

Seeing the twenty-odd jars of honey Gengar laid out, Chen Yan's unfinished words caught in his throat, and he swallowed them.

"You cleaned out their entire home?!"

Hehe. (͡°͜ʖ͡°)✧

Gengar scratched its big backside and flashed a mouthful of white teeth.

"You took everything?"

Gengar shook its head.

"How much did you leave them?"

Gengar held up one finger.

Chen Yan stared at Gengar. Just as Gengar thought he was about to get angry again, Chen Yan laughed.

"Great work, Gengar. That's exactly what you should've done. Serves them right for scaring us."

"Gengar!"

Exactly!

"Put them away. Don't eat too much. Save some for making a cake next time."

After saying that, Chen Yan surveyed their surroundings. A little river flowed gently nearby, with a relatively open area beside its bank. Several Lotad crouched by the river, drinking.

Bidoof and Bibarel kept running back and forth between the trees and the river, their tails swishing behind them.

A few Dustox flew past from time to time. Evolved bird Pokémon like Staravia were rarely seen deep in the forest, and even Starly and Spearow were scarce.

Bird Pokémon like Murkrow were more common.

Chen Yan led Gengar and the others over, cleared away the weeds, and began setting up the tent.

Looking at the Gengar-shaped tent before it, Gengar clapped its hands.

"Everyone, we'll probably be staying here for the next few days. Please bear with it if you get bored."

"Gengar-"

Gengar indicated that it had no problem with that.

Kakuna blinked as well.

Chen Yan looked at Glameow, who indicated that it had no objections either.

Chen Yan put his bag inside the tent, then took out his phone and logged onto PokéVideo. He left a comment on his latest video saying he would livestream that evening, pinned the comment, and tossed his phone into the tent.

He went straight to the river and checked its depth. It wasn't deep, so he stripped down to his boxers and dove into the water.

"Pfft..."

Chen Yan surfaced and comfortably spat out a mouthful of water.

Nothing felt better than a cool bath after sweating all day.

"Gengar, bring me my towel, shampoo, and body wash."

"Gengar~"

Okay~

Gengar poured all the honey it was holding into its mouth, found Chen Yan's towel and its own, hung them over its forehead, and floated toward the river with the shampoo and body wash.

As it passed Kakuna, who was staring into space, it scooped Kakuna up along the way.

Kakuna: ???

Kakuna don't need baths!

The body wash and shampoo landed in the water in front of Chen Yan, sending up little splashes.

Chen Yan looked at Gengar on the bank and spread his arms. "Quick, throw it in too."

Gengar grinned, swung Kakuna, and hurled it toward Chen Yan.

Watching Kakuna hurtle toward him, Chen Yan promptly dove underwater.

Boom!

Kakuna's sturdy body blasted a huge crater into the middle of the river.

Swinging the two towels, Gengar jumped into the water too and walked toward Chen Yan.

After playing catch with Gengar in the river for a while, Chen Yan swam ashore, dried himself with a towel, and found a corner to change his boxers.

Why wasn't Kakuna mentioned in their game of catch? Well, perhaps you should check what they were throwing...

After getting dressed, Chen Yan went over to Glameow, who was lounging on the bank, and sat down. Looking down at Glameow's eyes fixed on the water, he said softly:

"Do you want a bath? The river's nice and cool. It feels great."

Glameow turned to look at Chen Yan without a word.

"Don't little princesses like staying clean?" Chen Yan asked with a smile.

Glameow raised its injured paw at him.

"Meow~"

Chen Yan blinked. "That's a real shame. But if you're willing, I could be of service, Your Highness."

Glameow blinked its beautiful feline eyes, then slowly nodded.

Chen Yan carried Glameow to the lakeside, gently wet its fur, then squeezed out some body wash and massaged it all over its body.

Before long, the gray Glameow had become a white Glameow, covered in suds.

Smelling the fragrance of the body wash and feeling Chen Yan's less-than-comfortable touch, it narrowed its eyes and let out a sweet cry.

"Meow~"

Once he had more or less finished washing it, Chen Yan had it raise its injured paw, then lowered its whole body into the river. The water washed away all the suds.

Lifting Glameow out, Chen Yan draped a towel over it and dried its fur before placing it on a little blanket he had laid out.

"Rest here for a bit. I'll get you some fresh bandages."

Glameow nodded contentedly.

As Chen Yan returned from the tent with the bandages, he saw Glameow leap up out of habit and swat a Dustox flying overhead with its injured paw, sending it flying before landing lightly back on the blanket.

The whole thing took less than two seconds.

Watching Glameow's agile movements, Chen Yan's face went blank.

How does that look injured at all...?

Glameow sensed something and turned around, meeting Chen Yan's gaze.

Glameow: ...

Oh no. He caught me...

Meanwhile, Chen Yan was wondering...

Should I pretend I didn't see that?

After the human and cat stared at each other for a while, Chen Yan spoke first.

He gestured with the bandages in his hand and asked:

"So... do you still need these?"

Glameow blinked, then let out a "meow."

"All right, I'll put them on for you."

Chen Yan walked over to Glameow and bandaged its paw.

At that moment, the human and cat reached an astonishing understanding.

Now that was what you called being in sync!