Still…
He really is quite kindhearted…
Watching Lin Feng and the construction crew exchanging gifts of Pokéblocks and watermelons, Gardevoir silently nodded to herself.
Over the past few days together, she'd come to realize that this human truly was a good person.
He spent every day cuddling Vulpix, chatting with Milotic, working alongside Snivy in the orchard, and even helping Miltank with milking. Sometimes, he'd tease Caterpie, asking if it wasn't afraid of getting eaten by the Pidgey circling overhead because it kept eating so much.
The comment had terrified Caterpie so badly that it spent days hiding inside the barn, trembling and refusing to come out.
It was only after Caterpie finally realized the Pidgey didn't care about it at all that it timidly crawled back out from the hay to explore other areas of the farm.
"All right. Thanks for all your hard work these past few days."
Once the truck crew had driven off, Lin Feng looked up at Gardevoir floating overhead. He pulled out a special Pokéblock. "Here."
This time, however, he didn't toss it to her as he usually would. Instead, he held it out in his open palm.
There had to be some physical interaction between them sooner or later. Otherwise, the relationship between them would never progress.
Gardevoir slowly drifted down until she was about two meters away from Lin Feng, then stopped, hovering in place.
"Gardevoir…" (It hasn't been a full week yet.)
Lin Feng chuckled. "The job's finished ahead of schedule. Think of it as a bonus. It's fine."
He gazed at her with eager, hopeful eyes.
Gardevoir stared at him for a moment in silence. In the end, she used her psychic power to take the Pokéblock from his hand and swallowed it in one bite.
The truth was, she hardly even needed to use her telepathy to know what was on Lin Feng's mind. His thoughts were practically written all over his face.
He wanted to capture her to keep her working here at his orchard every day.
Once upon a time, she would have never agreed to something like that.
The curse she carried meant that no matter how kind-hearted a Trainer might be, after suffering nightmares and mental torment for a long time, they would inevitably grow violent and unstable.
But now… things were different.
Now, Gardevoir saw a glimmer of hope that the curse might one day be lifted.
It would take time perhaps a long time but it was undeniably a bright, shining hope.
And maybe… after being alone for so long… she could choose a Trainer to be her partner one day?
Seeing Gardevoir accept the Pokéblock, Lin Feng's face split into a wide grin. "Heh heh! Stick with me and work hard. Sooner or later, we'll be able to take the nightmare curse from Darkrai and turn it into our own power!"
"Garde…" (Hmm…)
Her soft, elegant voice echoed in Lin Feng's mind. As he checked her status, he saw that her Affection Level had jumped from 15% to 35%, and he was practically bouncing with joy.
He couldn't stop grinning, his lips stretched into a giddy "auntie smile."
Indeed, when dealing with psychic Pokémon who could read minds, sometimes the best strategy was simply to be direct.
But as Gardevoir watched his delighted grin, she suddenly wondered if perhaps her earlier thoughts had been a bit too impulsive.
Finally, she couldn't stand the intensity of his gaze anymore and looked away, a faint look of annoyance flickering in her eyes.
"Garde…" (I'm leaving for now.)
"Sure, go ahead. Remember to come back tomorrow!"
Lin Feng didn't try to stop her from leaving. Still beaming, he wandered around the orchard for a bit before heading back to his room. Once he was certain no one was around, he slipped into the breeding house.
Inside, a few regular customers were browsing for Pokéblocks. One of them caught sight of Lin Feng's cheerful expression and teased him.
"Hey there, kid. You've been glowing like spring sunshine these past few days. Guess that's what happens when you manage to catch a Gardevoir, huh?"
"Ah, no, no…" Lin Feng waved it off, neither confirming nor denying it. He simply smiled, then left the breeding house.
He strolled around for a while before heading toward the barn.
This was the spot he'd set aside for Pidgeotto to practice Hurricane.
Over the past few days, he hadn't been idle. With Snivy and Vulpix helping, he'd cleared the area and created a large, open space that he planned to use for planting a broad pasture of grass in the future.
Right now, Snivy was working with Vulpix on some training exercises.
Most of it focused on helping little Vulpix adjust after growing past its newborn stage.
"Vulpix! Snivy!"
Lin Feng opened the gate and called out loudly before even stepping inside.
"Snivy?"
"Ying-ying~?"
Both Pokémon immediately stopped their training and came running over when they saw it was Lin Feng.
"Ying-ying~"
Vulpix leapt into his arms first, while Snivy approached more slowly, maintaining its usual dignified demeanor.
He had to admit, newborn Vulpix grew incredibly fast.
In just seven or eight days, it had already grown about a third larger. Its six tails were much more lively now, and its eyes gleamed even more brightly.
Lin Feng stroked the silky fur on the icy Vulpix's back, then activated his Appraisal Eye skill.
Pokémon: Vulpix
Gender: Female
Ability: Snow Warning
Potential: Red Rank
Individual Values: HP (27), Attack (25), Sp. Atk (31), Defense (27), Sp. Def (25), Speed (31)
Level: 11–15
Moves: Hypnosis, Moonblast, Tail Whip, Powder Snow, Ice Shard, Icy Wind, Disable
Affection Level: 95 (Sees you as her protector and source of comfort.)
Joy Level: 60 (I'm amazing~)
"Snivy~" (She's clever. She learned Icy Wind by studying the swirling air currents from my Leaf Mixer technique.)
Snivy spoke softly.
"That's impressive!"
Lin Feng praised her, then looked into Vulpix's clear, gem-like eyes. "How does it feel, learning new moves?"
A crisp, tinkling voice bubbled from the Ice-type Vulpix.
"Ying-ying-ying~" (It's awesome! Look, watch this!)
She leapt down from Lin Feng's arms, her sapphire eyes shining with determination. Opening her little mouth, she blew out a gust of wind thick with sparkling snow. Even though it was the middle of summer, the blast turned the ground ahead of her dry and frosty white.
When the wind finally died down, wisps of cold still lingered over the ground.
This was ice formed from condensed energy it wasn't about to melt anytime soon.
It was proof that Vulpix had truly mastered the essence of the move.
Seeing this, Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction. "Very good, very good. Now I can save on my air-conditioning bills…"
"Snivy?"
Hearing this, the icy Vulpix grew even more excited.
At last, she could contribute something meaningful to her new "home."
Meanwhile, Snivy stared at Lin Feng with a slightly bewildered expression…
Was air-conditioning really that expensive?
In a world where Pokémon worked jobs to generate electricity, air-conditioning only cost a few cents per kilowatt-hour…
Unable to help himself, Lin Feng scooped Vulpix back into his arms and patted Snivy gently on the head. Laughing, he said, "Come on, let's go home. Today's a good day and we're one step closer to having another Psychic-type Pokémon in the family. Let's go whip up something delicious for you both…"
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