After a while, once he had comforted Dawn-chan in his arms, Xiaoyun turned his attention to little Pika.
The yellow-furred ra... mouse watching him looked a little wary, and a little grubby.
Huh, so this was the Pika God.
As common as stray dogs, but the king among them!
He didn't look any different from an ordinary Pikachu.
Then Xiaoyun slowly approached and spoke to Pika in a fairly gentle tone. "Pikachu, where's your Trainer?"
"Pi... pika."
Seemingly sensing Xiaoyun's goodwill, Pikachu relaxed his tense body a little and began describing what had just happened through gestures.
"Oh, so you've gotten separated from your Trainer, and you don't know where he is either."
As everyone knew, Pikachu was a master of physical imitation.
Over the next few minutes, Pikachu used his practiced body language to vividly describe to Xiaoyun how he had been traveling with Ash.
Then he had been captured by Team Rocket.
Next, Ash had tried to rescue him but failed.
Finally, he had broken out of the cage himself and escaped.
Now, Pika himself didn't know what to do.
"Pika~"
Pika helplessly spread his little hands, indicating that this was how it had all happened.
Xiaoyun thought for a moment, then said to Pikachu, "Hmm... why don't you come with me? If he can't find you, he'll definitely report it to Officer Jenny. We'll wait for him in the next town. How does that sound?"
"Pika..."
Pika put on a stern little face and considered it seriously.
Xiaoyun didn't disturb him. While Pikachu was thinking, he stealthily stroked his little cheek.
Hmm... not bad. That really did feel nice.
"Pika."
After thinking it over while his little cheeks were being pinched, Pikachu decided the proposal would work.
After all, Xiaoyun had just rescued him from Team Rocket. He couldn't possibly have any bad intentions toward him... right?
"Okay, Dawn, let's get out of here."
Seeing Pika agree, Xiaoyun spoke to Dawn beside him.
"Pika..."
But after agreeing to Xiaoyun's proposal, Pika's body seemed to reach its limit. His vision went black, and he couldn't stop himself from falling backward.
"Hey, Pikachu, are you okay?!"
Seeing Pikachu faint and fall to the ground, Dawn hurried forward to check on him.
"Hmm, his injuries are a little serious."
"Dawn, we need to get Pikachu to a Pokémon Center right away!"
Xiaoyun stepped forward too. After checking Pikachu's injuries, he picked Pika up and immediately decided to head to a Pokémon Center.
"Okay!"
Dawn understood the gravity of the situation too. She nodded and prepared to go with him.
The scene shifted to a Pokémon Center.
There was a small Pokémon Center in the forest.
The building was wooden and resembled a residential house, with the Pokémon Center's distinctive symbol at its highest point.
This proved... that it was a legitimate Pokémon Center.
Pikachu lay on a hospital bed while Xiaoyun asked from beside him, "Nurse Joy, how are Pikachu's injuries?"
"This little one is all right. He's just too tired."
"But as a Trainer, you need to understand that even training requires moderation. A Pokémon's body has limits. Pushing like this will only be counterproductive."
Nurse Joy put down her stethoscope and looked at Xiaoyun, her tone somewhat reproachful.
"Sorry, Nurse Joy. I understand."
"But... this little one isn't my Pokémon. I rescued him from Team Rocket."
Xiaoyun spread his hands innocently.
There was nothing wrong with what Nurse Joy had said, and it was her responsibility, but he needed to explain things clearly too.
Xiaoyun had no desire to take the blame for abusing Pokémon.
"Oh, so that's what happened."
"Sorry, I thought you were one of those awful Trainers who only care about training their Pokémon without considering how much they can take."
Hearing his answer, Nurse Joy realized she had been mistaken, and even her tone grew a little embarrassed.
Xiaoyun waved it off, then asked Nurse Joy, "It's fine. By the way, Nurse Joy, could I ask if you have a phone here?"
"Yes, right over here!"
Nurse Joy pointed to the phone in the corner.
Small as it was, it had everything.
Although her Pokémon Center was rather small, it still had all the equipment it needed. It was a fully legitimate establishment.
In his previous life, this would have been a government-funded institution.
Then Xiaoyun went over to the phone and called Lina.
A moment later, Lina's face appeared on the screen. Xiaoyun smiled. "Mom, long time no see."
Dawn waved to Lina from beside him too, greeting her. "Auntie Lina, long time no see."
"Ayun, Dawn, hello."
"By the way, where are you now? How did choosing your Pokémon go? Have you had lunch? Where are you staying tonight?"
On the screen, Lina immediately smiled when she saw her son and future daughter-in-law. After greeting them, she followed up with a whole string of questions.
It seemed that, for Lina, the children's food, clothing, accommodations, and travel were still her greatest concerns.
"Here's the situation, Mom. We've already left Sandgem Town, and we've picked our Pokémon too."
"I chose Turtwig, and Dawn chose Piplup. We're resting at a Pokémon Center now, and we'll continue our journey tomorrow."
Faced with his mother's concern, Xiaoyun answered each question in turn. His general message was:
Reporting to my dearest mother: traveling wasn't as nice as being at home, but it was pretty decent.
The people here were nice, and they spoke so pleasantly. We absolutely loved it.
Of course, he didn't mention Team Rocket. After all, when away from home, you shared the good news and kept the bad to yourself.
Then, after another round of small talk, Lina looked at Dawn and asked gently, "Dawn, how have you been these past few days? Has Xiaoyun been bullying you?"
It looked like concern, but she was really fishing for information.
Clearly, Lina was a spectator eager for gossip too.
"No, Auntie. Xiaoyun's been taking care of me on the road. He hasn't bullied me!"
Dawn hurriedly shook her head, indicating that Xiaoyun had been incredibly considerate.
"That's good. Tell me if anything happens, all right? If Xiaoyun dares bully you, I'll teach him a lesson for you when he gets back."
Lina's expression remained gentle, but inwardly she felt a little disappointed.
That boy Ayun. Why didn't he know to take the initiative?!
"H-he won't, Auntie Lina."
"Don't worry. Thank you, Auntie. Goodbye!"
Dawn was a little embarrassed. After exchanging a couple more words, she hastily ended the conversation with Lina.
Beside her, Xiaoyun drawled, "Huh? Am I that unreliable in my mom's eyes? We've only just left. How would I dare bully you? My mom treats you like her own daughter."
Even if I was going to bully her, it couldn't be now. Wouldn't that have to... right?
"What are you talking about? Auntie's just looking out for me."
As she spoke, Dawn immediately put on a stern little face and huffed, "Besides, what if you bully me later? I'll call Auntie and tell on you so she can give you a proper scolding. Hmph!"
"Okay, okay. If I bully you, you can tell my mom, all right?"
That was what Xiaoyun said, but what he thought was:
Tell on me? My mom would probably be even happier than I was. Mother was waiting for that day.
"Speaking of which, Dawn, aren't you going to call Auntie Johanna?"
Dawn paused. Oh, right.
Feeling playful, Xiaoyun curled his lips slightly and put on an exaggerated expression as he spoke.
"Ah~ you didn't forget, did you? Auntie would be so sad if she knew. Poor Auntie."
"Unlike you, all I do is care about Auntie..."
He really pulled off that fake-innocent act.
"Right, right, I need to call Mom!"
Dawn took a deep breath, ignored the stupid man's antics, and forcibly suppressed the urge to punch him.
Only then did she remember her own mother and hurriedly dial home.
A moment later, Johanna's face appeared on the screen as well.
Seeing her, Xiaoyun instantly turned into a well-behaved boy and spoke at the same time as Dawn.
"Hello, Auntie/Mom."
"Hello, you two. Where are you now? How are things going? Have you eaten? Have you found somewhere to stay tonight?"
After seeing Xiaoyun and her daughter, Johanna likewise fired off several questions before Dawn could speak.
Speaking of which... hadn't they just heard this once already?
"Here's the situation, Mom..."
Next, Dawn perfectly repeated Xiaoyun's lines, explaining her situation to Johanna.
Once she finished, Dawn picked up the little blue fatty and introduced him to Johanna.
It had been going quite well, except that during the introduction, Dawn and the little blue fatty exchanged a few "cordial" greetings.
Once the greetings were over, the girl and the penguin engaged in some "friendly" sparring. The spectacle was truly staggering.
On the other side of the screen, Johanna's face darkened. The corners of her mouth twitched, and her smile was terribly strained.
Johanna wondered whether letting Dawn go on a journey had been a mistake.
Could she still rein her back in?
"Xiaoyun, taking care of Dawn along the way hasn't been easy, has it? Thank you for all your hard work."
Johanna sighed, watching Dawn fight Piplup in a furious brawl with a headache.
Then she looked at Xiaoyun beside her, so well-behaved, sensible, modest, and polite.
Damn it, Lina was so lucky. With such an unreliable personality, she'd somehow given birth to such a dependable child.
She had spent her whole life treading on thin ice, so how had she...
Xiaoyun smiled slightly. It was all thanks to the competition making me look good.
Xiaoyun continued his fake-sweet performance. "You're too kind, Auntie Johanna. Dawn and I grew up together. It's only what I should do."
"But you should make sure to get plenty of rest, Auntie. Your complexion doesn't look very good."
"I still need to thank you where thanks are due. Sorry for the trouble, but I'll have to keep relying on you to look after her on the road ahead, Xiaoyun."
Hearing this, Johanna's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed. Ignoring her daughter, who was tussling with Piplup, she looked at Xiaoyun with an increasingly gentle gaze.
"Of course. Take good care of yourself too, Auntie Johanna."
In front of the screen, a certain modest, polite young man was waving goodbye to his future mother-in-law.