August 27th
5:30 p.m.
The temperature in the town was pleasantly mild as the sun dipped toward the horizon.
The weather was calm, and a gentle evening breeze brushed past, bringing a touch of coolness to the townsfolk harvesting the final batch of Wangwang Wheat.
The fields, now bare after the harvest, showed nothing but neatly cut rice stalks and rows of straw stacks, left to dry until autumn when they'd be burned into fertilizer.
From time to time, a few wild Rattata poked their heads out of the soil, scavenging for leftover grains.
Since the harvest was already over, humans wouldn't bother with the fields anymore.
And for some reason, over the past few days, a flock of Pidgey and a single Fearow had taken up residence along the edges of the fields. Oddly enough, they showed no interest in the Rattata, which made the little rodents bold enough to scramble about freely in search of food.
But that didn't mean they were without competition.
A Greedent from the nearby Wutong Forest emerged from the bushes.
As the typical "hoarder" type, Greedent couldn't resist stuffing food into its personal storage.
One Greedent popped its head out of a haystack, picked up a stalk of rice, and began gnawing on the grains with lightning speed, as if afraid someone would steal it away.
Nearby, a few Rattata spotted the scene and immediately lunged with their prominent front teeth.
They weren't about to let another Pokémon snatch their rice!
But the Greedent simply vanished into the haystack with the rice stalk in tow, leaving the Rattata frustrated and helpless. Outnumbered, they had no choice but to retreat.
Elsewhere, the usually dry and cracked ridges of the harvested fields were now lined with two dazzling bands of wildflowers. Like brightly colored ribbons, the blossoms blanketed the golden-brown ridges in vibrant color.
Each flower bloomed in full glory, vying for attention like royal contenders, none willing to concede the spotlight.
Right now, Lin Feng was picking flowers.
Tomorrow was the day he had agreed to head to Grapevine Town, so he needed to prepare a floral bouquet.
There was no need to overdo it just one of each kind, carefully stored away in a Poké Ball.
After finishing, he didn't linger. He returned to the orchard, picked a few more blossoms from the Sweet Honey Trees, then gathered his Pokémon and asked:
"I'll be heading to Grapevine Town with Fearow tomorrow. There might be a battle. Anyone want to come along?"
"Cha!"
Combusken was the first to respond.
Its eyes lit up. "Cha~" (Me! Me!)
After all that training with Quick Attack, even if it couldn't outrun its trainer, it was eager to test its skills against other Pokémon.
"Alright," Lin Feng nodded.
He didn't mind whoever wanted to come along was welcome.
"Vii~"
Snivy blinked at him with a cheeky expression.
Lin Feng grinned. "Okay, you're coming too."
Snivy was at a turning point it was just about ready to evolve. A battle might be the perfect catalyst.
"Anyone else?" he looked around at the rest of the Pokémon.
Bounsweet, swaying in a tree, shook her head. Popplio didn't even poke his head out.
Then Lin Feng looked toward Milotic.
"Yuuuuu…" (I... I'll stay...)
The memory of their last trip to the ranch still made her uneasy.
"Yip yip yip!" (I'll go! I'll go!)
Alolan Vulpix tugged at Lin Feng's pant leg, eager for adventure.
She hadn't been outside since she was born.
"Gardevoir?" (Where are you going?)
Gardevoir floated over, curious.
"Grapevine Town. It's about a hundred kilometers away not too far," Lin Feng explained. Seeing her intrigued expression, he asked in surprise, "You want to come too?"
That would be fantastic.
With Gardevoir's Teleport, he could reach Grapevine Town in a flash and getting back would be just as easy.
And with Gardevoir as his backup, even a full battle would be a piece of cake.
Unless, of course, some Champion got bored and decided to visit a tiny place like Wutong City.
"Garde." (Yes.)
She nodded gently.
A hundred kilometers wasn't exactly close. She was a little concerned.
Lin Feng's eyes sparkled. "That's amazing!"
He turned to the others. "Alright, it's settled then. I won't be gone long. I'll prep your food tonight so you're all set for tomorrow hm?"
He suddenly paused, lost in thought.
He'd originally planned to have Gardevoir stay behind and help distribute food. But now that she was coming too, he needed a new plan.
Miltank wasn't a problem he could milk her in the morning and leave enough hay to last the day.
Same with Milotic.
Metapod? Definitely no issue.
What worried him was Bounsweet, Popplio, and the group of Alcremie.
They hadn't been in the orchard very long.
"Popplio..." (We... we'll take care of ourselves...)
"Sweet~" (There's food in the fridge...)
The two Pokémon seemed to sense their trainer's concern and spoke up on their own.
In truth, the orchard was full of berry trees. If they got hungry, they'd help themselves.
Lin Feng blinked, then smiled. "It's okay. How about I bring you two along too? It's not like you have to battle just tag along for the trip."
The two Pokémon looked at each other, their eyes lighting up with joy.
"Sweet~!" (Yay~!)
"Pooo!" (Let's go!)
As for the Alcremie... he'd ask Qin Shu to keep an eye on them for the day.
With all the arrangements made, Lin Feng finally felt at ease.
Just then, beneath the orange glow of sunset, a soft white light flared beside him.
He turned and saw that Snivy was beginning to evolve...
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Love the story? Show your support and unlock early access to new chapters by joining me on Patreon! and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.