Fang Yan was shocked to learn that Petilil wanted to stay here. He checked Petilil's status panel and found that it still showed a fear of the dark.
Seeing the hint of anticipation and determination in Petilil's frightened eyes, Fang Yan understood what was going on.
He looked at Torterra beside them. Female Torterra were uncommon. Petilil must have gotten along well with her and wanted to stay here to keep her company overnight.
Thinking that this might help Petilil overcome its fear of the dark, Fang Yan agreed to its request.
"I'll be right in my room. Call me if you get scared, and I'll come take you home."
Fang Yan bent down, patted its little head, and spoke with a smile.
Feeling Fang Yan's concern for it, the fear in Petilil's eyes vanished, and it let out a soft, delicate cry.
"Laji~"
"Torterra, I'm leaving Petilil in your care tonight. I'll make you something delicious tomorrow."
Fang Yan spoke to Torterra.
Torterra nodded, then walked over and lowered her head to lift Petilil onto her back.
Seeing this, Fang Yan left with Gengar.
Late that night, listening to Fang Yan's steady breathing, Gengar opened his crimson eyes.
After glancing at the soundly sleeping Fang Yan, Gengar quietly floated out of the bedroom. He went to the lake to check on Petilil, greeted Dali and the others nearby, then floated off elsewhere.
Arriving above the forest, Gengar spread his arms. A strange light shone in his eyes, and an invisible force field covered the area.
A Staravia flew into it and plummeted toward the ground a moment later.
No matter how hard it flapped its wings, it could not fly.
Just before it hit the ground, the force field suddenly vanished. It hurriedly flapped its wings and fled.
Ambipom and Electivire saw Gengar in the air and came over. The next moment, Gengar turned his gaze toward them, and they instantly felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them.
"Geh?"
Realizing it was Ambipom and Electivire, Gengar released Gravity, floated over to them, and greeted them with a grin.
Meanwhile, Fang Yan threw back his covers and looked around, but Gengar was nowhere to be seen. He then went downstairs to the lake and watched Petilil on Torterra's back from a distance.
He still worried about Petilil, so he had quietly gotten up in the middle of the night to check on it.
Seeing Petilil sleeping soundly on Torterra's back, Fang Yan breathed a sigh of relief, then simply stood there watching in silence.
Gengar was chatting with Electivire and the others when he sensed Fang Yan nearby. He said goodbye to them and floated over to Fang Yan.
He came to Fang Yan's side and followed his gaze toward Petilil.
"Gengar, what do you think about finding it a little friend?"
Fang Yan suddenly spoke.
"Geh."
Gengar nodded.
Fang Yan glanced at Gengar beside him. In the moonlight, Gengar's presence felt especially reassuring.
Thinking back on their time together, whenever he called Gengar's name, Gengar always appeared beside him at once, no matter what he was doing.
Usually fond of playing pranks, Gengar had become much more dependable since Petilil arrived, always keeping an eye on how it was doing.
"Looks like our Gengar really likes his little sister."
Thinking of how he had already forged bonds with so many Pokémon in his short time in this world, Fang Yan chuckled, looked at Gengar, and teased him.
"Geh?"
A little sister?
Fang Yan had said the same thing when Petilil first arrived.
Fang Yan tugged at the corner of Gengar's mouth. Nights in the Sinnoh Region were chilly, and Fang Yan had come out wearing only his pajamas. A cold breeze swept past, making him shiver.
"Come on, Gengar. Let's go back to sleep."
Shivering, he turned and left.
Watching Fang Yan's retreating back, Gengar repeated his words, then grinned and chased after him.
"Geh."
I like my little sister.
Gengar, who had once been scorned, feared, hated, and misunderstood, who had come here alone and endured loneliness, now had a family of his own to cherish.
After greeting Dali and the others nearby, Fang Yan returned to his room and pulled the covers over himself.
"Good night, Gengar."
"Geh."
The light in the room remained on.
Ambipom and Electivire came over to Torterra when Fang Yan turned to leave.
Their conversation woke Petilil. It opened its eyes, found itself outside in the pitch dark, and could not help trembling.
Only when it turned and saw the faint yet warm light in the distance did it slowly calm down.
Noticing that Petilil on her back had woken up, Torterra sent Ambipom and the others away.
"Yola."
They really care about you.
Torterra had already woken up when Fang Yan came here. Then she noticed three Machamp nearby watching this way with concern. Later, Fang Yan had come again, along with Gengar.
The entire Pokémon Day Care was worried about Petilil.
"Laji."
Remembering how Fang Yan, Gengar, and the others cared for it, Petilil gave a happy cry, its voice sweet.
I really want to grow up soon, so I can help him more.
Listening to Petilil's words, Torterra slowly lay down.
Under the moonlight, Petilil gazed at the dark forest in the distance and suddenly felt that it was not so frightening anymore.
It did not understand why, so it asked Torterra in confusion.
Torterra said nothing. She knew the answer, but she did not intend to tell Petilil.
Petilil needed to find the answer to all this itself.
With that, Torterra slowly closed her eyes.
A breeze brushed past Petilil as it pondered. It suddenly turned to look at the light shining in the distance.
That light, which always stayed on for it, had driven away all the darkness ahead.
It had found the answer. Then, in the depths of the night as the cold wind blew, it fell sound asleep in a warm embrace.
The leaves atop its head were a deep, rich green.
That night, it had a dream. It dreamed that, after it lost another battle, a boy brought it to a Pokémon Center late one night. He bent down and told it to receive treatment without worry, and that he would be back for it soon.
It waited a long time, but he never came. So, while Nurse Joy and Blissey were not looking, it secretly ran out. That, too, had been late at night.
Later, Nurse Joy and Blissey found it in an alley, still on that same pitch-black night.
From then on, it knew it had been abandoned. And from that moment on, every time it closed its eyes, it dreamed of what had happened that night.
This time, when it returned to that alley and faced those Pokémon again, it was utterly unafraid, staring firmly at them.
It knew he would be behind it, and they would be behind it too.
"Laji!"
It charged headlong past those Pokémon. When it looked back, they had vanished, replaced by Fang Yan, Gengar, Dali, and the others. He stood with them, smiling at it.
Then Fang Yan, Gengar, and the others slowly dissolved into specks of light that flowed into its body. They felt somewhat warm and made the top of its head itch.
It opened its eyes to the sight of Fang Yan's smiling face. He was gazing gently at it, a pair of scissors in hand as he trimmed the leaves on its head.
"Morning, Petilil."
Hearing Fang Yan's words, it looked around from his arms. Dali and the others were patrolling, Gengar was holding the Blastoise watering can as he filled it by the lake, and Torterra, Electivire, and the others were chatting nearby.
Just then, a ray of sunlight fell upon it, as warm as the specks of light in its dream.
It squinted up at the newly risen sun.
Day had broken.