"You're so disloyal!"
Aili stomped her foot in anger. This guy's Pokémon was just as shrewd as its trainer, running off the moment things looked bad.
Eevee was stunned, too.
It had been running for its life up front, while this person's teammate had simply used Dig to escape!
What kind of teammate screwed others over like that?!
In the end, Rotom only let Eevee off after it had had enough fun. It returned to its ordinary form and floated back to Yushu, looking smug.
See that? That's what strength looks like!
"See? You need strength to be arrogant. Too bad neither of you has it."
Yushu looked at Aili and delivered the classic line.
"Boohoo, I'm going to draw circles and curse you..."
Utterly defeated, Aili crouched on the ground and drew circles.
Now she'd really embarrassed herself.
She had wanted to show her boss what she could do, only to get utterly thrashed by a single Rotom.
And it hadn't even been serious. It had been playing the whole time.
The gap between them was far too crushing.
Shuren shrugged indifferently. He hadn't expected to win anyway; he'd only joined in because Aili's demonic voice had been assaulting his ears.
He was just a tree grower. Fighting was best left to the professionals.
Inside the room, Ralts woke up and looked around in confusion.
The room was quiet, with only birdsong and the rustling of wind through leaves coming from outside the window.
"Ralts..."
Propping up its tiny body, it tottered out of the room and saw the outside world for the first time.
Sunlight fell over it, warm and cozy.
Its eyes brimmed with curiosity. Everything was new to it, worth exploring.
It was like a child who had just learned to walk, filled with boundless curiosity about the world.
Staraptor was standing on the roof, preening its feathers.
As a refined big bird, it had high standards for its appearance.
After all, it was the ruler of these skies. It had to look handsome at all times.
Suddenly, it spotted a tiny green figure moving around.
Staraptor tilted its head and studied it for a long while, its eyes full of confusion.
"Staraptor?" (What's this thing? Another little thief here to steal stuff?)
It flew down and landed in front of Ralts, tilting its head as it examined the unfamiliar little creature.
Ralts looked up at it, too. The two Pokémon, one big and one small, stared at each other, making for an inexplicably comical sight.
Ralts tilted its head.
Staraptor tilted its head, too.
Staraptor took a step forward.
Ralts took a step back.
Just then, Yushu happened to walk out of the house and saw the scene.
Especially when he saw that dangerous troublemaker Staraptor standing in front of the adorable Ralts, his heart leaped into his throat, and he rushed over with quick strides.
"You big dumb bird! What are you doing?!"
"Staraptor!" (I don't know what I'm doing either!)
Staraptor jumped in fright, its wings flaring out.
It looked at Yushu innocently, utterly unable to understand why it was being scolded.
This trainer's got something wrong with him!
Yushu slapped Staraptor on the head.
"This is our newest member. No bullying! And go get everyone else."
Staraptor flew away, aggrieved, crying out in protest as it went.
"Staraptor!" (You inherently evil trainer, just you wait...)
Remembering those days of old, my tears still won't dry...
Soon, all the other Pokémon gathered around.
Staraptor had grumbled and cursed, but its body had still obediently done as told.
Rotom was the first to float over to Ralts, circling it nonstop.
"Rotom?" (Are you new?)
"Roar~" (Did you hatch from the Pokémon Egg?)
"Torterra..." (Such a tiny little thing.)
"Bzzz~" (Looks like it's just been born.)
Miltank even produced a bottle from somewhere, put on a demonstration of freshly squeezing milk, and handed it to Ralts.
Ralts curiously took a sip, and its eyes instantly lit up. "Ralts!" (Yummy!)
Miltank's gaze immediately softened.
Newborn little ones always enjoyed special treatment, just as newborns in society always received the most attention and affection.
"Torterra~"
Torterra slowly crawled over, stopped before Ralts, then gradually lay down, lowering itself so Ralts could reach it.
Ralts climbed onto Torterra's shell and bounced around on it.
The uneven ridges on the shell made perfect handholds for climbing.
"Ralts~~"
Ralts jumped around on top, like a child playing at an amusement park.
Torterra let Ralts play on its back, even adjusting its posture slightly to make it more comfortable.
Luxray watched the little one with an air of arrogance in its eyes, then turned to leave.
It was the noble guardian of the ranch. How could it play such childish games with a tiny little thing?
That would be far too undignified.
Noticing that Luxray was leaving, Ralts slid off Torterra's shell, walked up to Luxray, and looked up at it.
The two Pokémon, one big and one small, stared at each other.
Luxray looked down at the little one, a trace of impatience in its eyes.
What? What do you want? I'm not the type to play with you.
Ralts looked up at Luxray, then held out its little hands.
"Ralts!" (Ride!)
Luxray stopped in its tracks and turned its head, looking at Ralts with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"
When Ralts saw that Luxray wasn't coming over, light flashed around its body.
Teleport!
The next second, it appeared directly on Luxray's back and mounted it.
Luxray's body stiffened, and the whole cat froze.
I don't want to be a mount!
"Ralts!!"
But Ralts clearly had no intention of getting down. It clutched Luxray's fur and cried out happily.
Although Luxray looked disgruntled, its tail began swaying involuntarily.
It completely betrayed its true feelings.
At the sight, even the aloof Vespiquen had a Combee bring Ralts a little Honey as a snack.
Though she appeared aloof, she had actually been won over by the little one's cuteness, too.
She just couldn't show it.
After all, she was a queen and had to maintain a queen's dignity.
Combee placed a small drop of Honey on a leaf and respectfully pushed it before Ralts, as though serving a princess.
Ralts curiously examined the drop of amber liquid, then stuck out its little tongue for a lick before narrowing its eyes in bliss.
"Bzzz~"
Vespiquen gave a slight nod, indicating there would be more in the future.
Watching this harmonious scene, Yushu felt deeply heartened.
Ah, the ranch really is getting livelier and livelier.
Staraptor: So? Am I the only one getting hurt? Why doesn't anyone care about me?!