Chapter 777: It's Good That It's Not a Dream
Kazuya looked at the crying kitten in his arms, smiling as he reached out to wipe the tears from her face, and then rubbed her little head: "You've become strong. If Granny Sora saw your growth, she would definitely be very proud."
Hearing this.
Skitty gradually stopped crying.
She quietly nodded, not denying it. Her fluffy body would still occasionally twitch, looking incredibly cute.
"Kazuya, how did you turn into this?"
"Ah, I died before, didn't you know about this?"
Kazuya looked at the kitten and asked.
Because Skitty was probably a wild Pokémon at the time, without any means of obtaining information, he wasn't sure if Skitty knew that his Sceptile incarnation had died.
"Mm, Meowscarada told me."
Skitty nodded, showing a sad expression.
"Oh, right, that child definitely came to find you."
Kazuya froze for a moment before remembering this detail.
Meowscarada definitely went to find Skitty after he died.
It was inevitable that she would tell her about this.
"You resurrected?"
"Yeah, resurrected. You must have cried when you found out I died, right?"
Kazuya reached out and poked Skitty's cheek.
"...I did not!"
Skitty's face turned red. She opened her mouth and bit his finger, then yelled at Kazuya.
"Hehe."
Kazuya grinned and chuckled secretly.
This child's tsundere personality hadn't changed a bit.
"You have some other smells on you. It doesn't seem like they're from a battle."
Skitty gently twitched her nose, "It smells like a dog."
"Yo?! Your nose is quite sharp. I came with four companions, I'll introduce them to you later."
Kazuya placed Skitty on his shoulder and walked out of the Peace Daycare.
"Where are we going?"
Skitty swished her tail, not moving around much.
In the past, when Kazuya went out, he would basically put her on his shoulder.
Although back then, as a Sceptile, his shoulders were narrow, his build was large, so he could fit Skitty.
And now, although Darkrai's build wasn't large, his shoulders were broad, so there was no problem either.
"Going to find something to eat. The daycare will be restored tomorrow, it's no use for us to stay here."
"Are you hungry? I'll take you to find some food."
Skitty nodded, then used her tail to point the way for Kazuya.
Hearing this, Kazuya couldn't help but feel moved to tears.
Skitty was actually taking him to find food now; the child had truly grown up.
You have to know, back in the day, he had to feed this child right to her mouth for her to eat.
Their destination was an old district of the city.
This area was deliberately preserved by Ever Grande City, so that its residents and foreign tourists would know what this place used to look like.
Despite multiple renovations.
It was still hard to conceal the area's age and historical feel; it gave off a sense of poverty.
However, this very perception was precisely the unique charm of this district.
Moreover.
For Kazuya and Skitty.
This place was much more familiar to them.
"The changes are still quite significant."
Walking on the uneven concrete ground, Kazuya scanned the shops on both sides of the street and couldn't help but sigh.
Although the layout hadn't changed much, many familiar storefronts from the past were gone.
Furthermore.
There weren't many food shops in this old district.
They probably wouldn't find any particularly delicious food here.
But it couldn't be helped.
The food street in the neighboring district had already become the territory of magical beasts.
Even now, sounds of fighting could be heard coming from over there from time to time. Going there wasn't even a matter of finding food anymore.
"Kazuya, look at that."
At this moment, Skitty brushed Kazuya's neck with her tail, then pointed to a shop nearby.
Kazuya turned to look.
It was an unfamiliar dessert shop.
He thought Skitty wanted to eat dessert, so he brought the little one over.
Kazuya hadn't forgotten.
Skitty liked eating sweet things.
However, upon entering the dessert shop, his gaze was immediately drawn to a photo posted on the wall.
It looked like a large group photo.
There was a young couple in the photo that Kazuya felt looked somewhat familiar, and there was a chubby Skitty at their feet.
After a moment's thought.
Kazuya suddenly remembered.
This couple was clearly Granny Sora and her husband when they were young.
Kazuya shifted his gaze to the glass display cabinet beside him. Through the glass, he could see some exquisite macaron cookies inside, exactly the same style as the ones Granny Sora used to make.
Judging by the condensation on the glass.
These macarons seemed to have been warm not long ago.
Presumably, they had just been made "today," after the reset point.
"What's the relationship between this shop and Granny Sora?"
He asked aloud.
At the same time, he reached out, opened the display case, took out a macaron, and tossed it into his mouth.
Sweet.
But Kazuya didn't particularly like eating sweet things.
So sensationally, it was just okay.
The point was, he felt this taste and texture induced a sense of nostalgia.
To put it more abstractly, it had the "taste of home."
"This is the shop Granny opened when she was young. Later she transferred it to someone else, that person was Granny's apprentice."
Skitty skillfully opened a refrigerator and dug out a bunch of small cakes.
This clearly wasn't the first time she had done this.
Who knows how many times she had repeated this action over the years.
"I see."
Kazuya nodded.
They ate casually in this dessert shop and then continued towards their next destination.
Occasionally, they would see a few seemingly familiar shops and would go inside to browse, but the gap between League Calendar Year 40 and League Calendar Year 250 was simply too vast.
Even if the outside looked familiar, stepping inside would still feel alien.
Therefore, the two Pokémon didn't wander for long before leaving.
Kazuya brought Skitty to the port.
They were quickly found by Scizor and the others who had been hiding nearby.
"Master, she is... oh, the Skitty Meowscarada mentioned before."
Scizor glanced at the little cat on Kazuya's shoulder.
He was a bit confused at first glance.
But then he seemed to remember.
"Hm, I've heard of her too. Before Meowscarada came to find me, she was with this child, right?"
Dragonite had also heard of Skitty, and she smiled, reaching out to rub the kitten's head.
Skitty actually didn't like being touched by strangers.
But considering this group was Kazuya's companions, she didn't say anything.
"This is Skitty. I've known her since I was a Treecko. She's my family."
Kazuya held the kitten up to introduce her to everyone.
"Meow!"
Skitty proudly raised her head, looking very pleased with herself.
Judging from her tail swishing back and forth, her mood was truly quite good.
It was hard to tell if it was because of Kazuya's introduction.
Or because it was rare to see so many normal Pokémon.
"This isn't the place to talk."
Mewtwo spoke up at this moment, pointing towards the west.
Because they were gathered together.
Some nearby magical beasts had discovered them.
And were currently heading in their direction.
Some of them even bumped into each other midway and changed targets, starting their battles early.
"Follow me."
Kazuya led the Pokémon to the Peace Daycare.
This place was located in the northernmost area of Ever Grande City, and the surroundings were relatively empty. Therefore, there weren't many magical beasts in sight, making it a suitable place to rest.
"So this is where Master and Meowscarada lived in the past."
Scizor arrived at this place, full of interest.
It was just a pity that the Peace Daycare was currently in ruins.
If he wanted to see its specific appearance clearly, he'd have to wait until it refreshed tomorrow.
"Yeah. I came here not long after I hatched from my egg. I hadn't even met Meowscarada yet at that time."
Kazuya smiled and nodded.
Everyone leaned close together, chatting while eating the food they gathered on the way here.
This place seemed to become an independent space.
Completely incongruous with this dark world.
The falling snow drifting slowly from the sky would silently melt and disappear as it approached.
It seemed they couldn't withstand the warmth here.
Skitty lay beside Kazuya, looking somewhat dazedly at this scene in front of her, as if she still hadn't fully processed it.
An ordinary night just passed like this.
When the next day arrived.
Skitty opened her eyes.
Feeling the warmth beneath her, and looking at the Darkrai in front of her.
Skitty finally quietly let out a sigh of relief in her heart.
It's good that it's not a dream.
She had seen similar scenes countless times before.
Back then, she had just finished battling and nearly succumbed to corruption from shadow energy several times, but she always managed to somehow pull through in a daze.
During those days of fighting against the shadow energy.
She frequently had a dream.
In the dream, everyone was at the Peace Daycare keeping her company.
And because everyone was there, Skitty survived time and time again.
Turning her head.
Looking at the restored Peace Daycare beside her.
Skitty's eyes immediately lit up.
She gently used her paw to shake Kazuya awake, then pulled him into the daycare.
"What is it? Let's call everyone inside, it's quite cold out there."
Kazuya raised his hand, rubbing his sleepy eyes; he seemed a bit sleep-deprived.
"Wait a moment."
Skitty didn't say much.
She led Kazuya all the way up to the dusty attic.
Skitty even left tiny footprints as she walked through the attic; clearly, this place hadn't been cleaned in years.
Countless boxes, large and small, were placed in the attic.
Many of them contained toys that had been phased out, either because they were old or broken; regardless, they were all "tears of the times."
Skitty pulled out a small toy treasure chest from the very back.
Kazuya leaned over to look.
The small treasure chest opened, revealing the few "treasures" inside.
"Meow!"
Skitty picked up a photo in her mouth and handed it to Kazuya.
The latter took it.
And stared blankly at this photo for a long time.
It was an ordinary family portrait.
On it were Sora, Kazuya, Big Cat, and Little Cat...
Cameras back in that era weren't very good; the colors in the photo were quite faded, and it wasn't particularly clear either.
So many years had already passed.
Yet Kazuya could see it clearly.
Every family member in this photo wore an incredibly happy smile on their face.
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