Lin Feng nodded. "I should be heading back. There are still many Pokémon at home. The Queen Bee can't wait that long."
"That's true. I wish you a safe journey, Mr. Lin Feng, and I hope Bounsweet can reunite with her mother soon."
Yesterday, Lana had thought about Bounsweet's situation and deeply agreed.
Lin Feng did not immediately summon Dragonite. Instead, he looked toward Mallow.
He had watched the anime before and felt that Mallow was an exceptionally warm and passionate person. At the beginning of the Sun and Moon series, she had guided Ash around the Pokémon School. She had also actively helped Lillie overcome her fear of Pokémon.
A child like her should not lose her mother at such a young age.
"I stayed here for the night and enjoyed a delicious stew. I feel a little embarrassed about it. These are energy cubes my Pokémon love. Please take them as payment for the meal and lodging."
Lin Feng opened his Poké Ball and took out all the remaining Bounsweet energy cubes. He had brought quite a lot this time.
There were about five or six bags left.
"This…"
Mallow was surprised and somewhat embarrassed.
But the Bounsweet on her shoulder had already begun spinning its leaves excitedly.
"Sweet! Sweet!" (Take them, take them…)
Yesterday, this person had given her those delicious energy cubes.
She rubbed against her trainer, pleading for her to accept them.
"…Alright."
With Bounsweet being so enthusiastic, Mallow could only accept the gifts.
"Also… besides being a breeder, I'm also a doctor, specifically a Pokémon doctor…"
Lin Feng carefully chose his words. "If you ever encounter any difficult illnesses in the future, you can come find me. I'm in the East China League, at the neighborhood nursery. If there's no time to travel… you can call me. It's best to use Rotom."
"Huh?"
Mallow stared at Lin Feng in confusion, not understanding why he suddenly said all this.
"Just mentioning it. I'll leave you my number."
Lin Feng took out a sheet of white paper from his Poké Ball, wrote down his number, and handed it to the still-puzzled Mallow.
Then he took out Dragonite's Poké Ball, summoned Dragonite, and flew into the sky together with Mewtwo.
Only Mallow remained on the ground, holding the piece of paper with a confused expression.
After a moment, she shook her head and carefully put the paper away.
…
Over the sea.
Lin Feng sat on Dragonite's back, while Mewtwo beside him could not help but ask, "Will that girl run into trouble?"
After spending so much time with Lin Feng, Mewtwo had come to understand that whenever he did something strange, there was usually a reason behind it.
Lin Feng glanced at Mewtwo in mild surprise.
It was hard to imagine that Mewtwo would care about such things.
Still, he explained, "No. It's her mother who's sick. If she doesn't receive treatment in time, she might die."
"Oh."
Mewtwo said nothing further.
It had no mother and did not understand the meaning behind such bonds.
However, it suddenly realized that every Pokémon and every human actually had parents.
Unlike them, it had been created by humans.
The only being somewhat related to it was the one called Mew, who was always elusive and impossible to track.
But it seemed that it had never seen Lin Feng's parents either.
Unable to suppress its curiosity, it asked, "Then what about your mother? I don't think I've ever seen her."
"…."
Lin Feng fell silent for a moment before answering,
"They disappeared a long time ago."
He knew Mewtwo was genuinely curious and meant nothing else by the question.
"Disappeared? Haven't you tried to find them?" Mewtwo continued.
"I did. But I couldn't find them."
He had even asked Champion Feng Yang for help searching, yet there was still no news.
After gaining the power of aura, Lin Feng had also explored Apricot Leaf Mountain with Serperior and Pidgeot.
Still, they found nothing.
Granted, although users of aura power were rare, the East China League was vast. There were certainly Lucario out there.
"Oh…"
Mewtwo responded again but asked no further questions.
On the return journey, only the whistling sea wind remained.
After some time, Mewtwo spoke once more. "So is that why you're so eager to help Bounsweet find her mother, and to help that girl as well?"
"…You really talk a lot today."
Lin Feng shot it a glance and chose not to answer.
Mewtwo froze, then began reflecting on itself.
"A lot? Hmm… it does seem like I've spoken more today."
Over the past two days, it felt as if it had spoken more than it usually did in half a month.
It paused, then spoke again. "I also want to know…"
"Yes."
After answering, Lin Feng suddenly became interested. "It seems you really enjoyed that battle yesterday."
"It was decent," Mewtwo recalled. "But unfortunately, they were still a bit weak."
"I think there's a Pokémon that could fight you, and the battle would be very exciting."
"Hm? Who is it?" Mewtwo became intrigued.
Lin Feng smiled, an indescribable gleam flashing in his eyes. "There's an extremely powerful Pokémon in the nursery, but you might not be able to defeat it."
"The nursery? Or the house?"
Mewtwo froze, thinking hard, yet it could not imagine anyone in the nursery who could fight it.
That Gardevoir?
She was strong, but compared to itself, she was still far behind.
"You'll know when we get back," Lin Feng said, deliberately keeping him in suspense.
"Why do we have to wait until we return?" Mewtwo asked, puzzled.
"Because I really don't want to talk to you right now."
After saying this, Lin Feng sat on Dragonite's back and closed his eyes. No matter how much Mewtwo questioned him, he ignored it completely.
Mewtwo: (〃＞＜)!
Damn you, Lin Feng!
Leaving me hanging!
"Hahaha…"
Only after Mewtwo became thoroughly impatient did Lin Feng burst into laughter.
Amid this atmosphere, Dragonite gradually caught sight of the land of the East China League.
…
Around noon on November 24.
At this moment, inside the nursery.
After lunch, the place was very quiet.
Serperior was tending to its plantation. Hatterene was gathering fruit. Gardevoir was in the kitchen making energy cubes, while Steenee followed behind Serperior, learning how to use Grassy Terrain.
She felt that she had grown up and should learn from Lady Serperior how to properly care for the plantation.