"La la la, la la la," Little Yu hummed an unknown tune, skipping along in front.
Eevee followed closely behind. Aunt Keiko likely had a secondary motive for letting Eevee play with Little Yu: protection. Unlike Little Yu's relaxed demeanor, Eevee was vigilantly observing the surroundings to prevent any Pokémon from harming the girl.
Seeing Eevee's alertness, Eichi felt a bit ashamed. He had been so careless; even on the outskirts of the Viridian Forest, dangerous Pokémon could appear. He hadn't even performed as well as the Eevee.
Consequently, he pulled out a Poké Ball and released Beedrill. Since Beedrill was his fastest, it could rush to the rescue if Little Yu encountered any danger.
"Beedrill, I'm leaving Little Yu's safety to you," Eichi said.
Beedrill nodded and flew ahead, guarding the perimeter around Little Yu. Eichi then activated his Bug Force to perceive the environment. Within the invisible air, Eichi's perception flowed out like water. Using himself as the center, it continuously covered the surroundings within a 100-meter radius.
The area was dense with vegetation. Suddenly, he sensed over a dozen objects moving slowly. These were all Pokémon, the closest being ten meters away. Their internal energy levels weren't high.
It should just be an ordinary Pokémon, he thought. Sure enough, after a few steps, a Rattata suddenly scurried out from the bushes.
Little Yu's eyes lit up, and she quickened her pace to run over.
"Rattata, I see you!"
The Rattata wasn't afraid of Little Yu at all. Instead of running, it stayed right where it was. Little Yu ran up, picked it up with both hands, and held it above her head.
"Eichi, come look! It's a Rattata."
Little Yu placed the Rattata back on the ground. Surprisingly, the creature acted very affectionately, crawling to her feet and nuzzling against her leg.
"Plada~"
"Hehe." Little Yu laughed and took several pieces of Pokémon food from the small pouch on her waist, placing them in front of the Rattata.
The Rattata's nose twitched as it sniffed. Realizing the items were edible, it ate one. Mmm, delicious, was the Rattata's first thought.
"Is it good?" Little Yu asked with a smile.
"Plada~"
It was unclear if Little Yu actually understood its response. Eichi stepped forward, impressed by her natural affinity for Pokémon. Normally, a Rattata would flee the moment it saw a stranger, but it stayed for her.
Perhaps Little Yu truly was gifted. Eichi knew his own situation was different; his success was entirely due to "cheating" with his Bug Force.
After letting the Rattata go, Little Yu continued forward. Before long, they encountered a Butterfree, and she immediately chased after it.
"Butterfree, don't go!"
As Little Yu started running, Eevee and Eichi quickly followed. After a short chase, the Butterfree stopped and actually flew down to land on Little Yu's hand. She fed it some Pokémon food, which the Butterfree ate greedily.
Once it finished eating, the Butterfree began playing with her. Eevee watched from the side, looking a bit jealous, while Eichi watched silently.
Later, they reached a small riverside. Little Yu took off her shoes to enter the water. Worried, Eichi released Heracross and Scizor to play in the river with her. Eichi spent the entire morning accompanying Little Yu in the Viridian Forest.
Around 12:00 PM, Eichi brought Little Yu back. Despite playing all morning, she was still full of energy.
"Goodbye, Eichi! Let's play again next time."
Eichi waved his hand. "Sure, goodbye."
Little Yu's house was right next door to Eichi's. She didn't stay for lunch at his house today because on Saturdays and Sundays, the Verdant Breeding House had longer break times, allowing Aunt Keiko to come home and cook for her.
Eichi opened his door and was immediately greeted by the aroma of food.
"I just heard Little Yu's voice. Did you take her out to play?" Mr. Yoshino asked as he brought out a dish.
Eichi put down his backpack and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.
"I went to challenge the gym this morning. On my way back, I ran into Little Yu. She wanted to go to the forest to play, so I went with her."
Mr. Yoshino nodded, wiped his hands, and began serving rice.
"Next time you take her out, remember to be careful. She's still small, don't let her get hurt."
Eichi nodded and sat down at the table to eat.
In the house next door, Little Yu sat at the table with her small pink bowl and a soup spoon. After taking a bite, she spoke to Aunt Keiko sitting opposite her.
"Mom, I went out to play with Eichi today."
Aunt Keiko put down her bowl and placed a piece of meat in Little Yu's dish.
"Did you have fun?"
"Mhm, I'm very happy! No one at the orphanage used to play with me."
"It's okay," Keiko said, feeling a bit heartbroken. "In the future, many children will play with you. Aunt Zhang's daughter, Lily, doesn't have any friends right now. You can go find her when you're bored."
Little Yu's eyes lit up as she looked at Keiko. "Really? Then I'll go play with her! It's very pitiful to have no one to play with. Mom, can I go to your workplace this afternoon?"
Keiko blinked. "Of course, no problem. I think everyone at the breeding house will welcome you. Our Little Yu is so cute, after all."
"Really? Thank you, Mom!" Little Yu laughed happily.
Back at Eichi's house, he ate his meal bite by bite. Suddenly, Mr. Yoshino spoke up.
"When do you plan to leave?"
"Probably in the next day or two."
"When will you be back?"
"In about four months."
Mr. Yoshino fell silent again.
That afternoon, Eichi had nothing to do, so he went out to the small grove to train. Upon arriving, he released his five Pokémon. Seeing the environment, they knew it was time for training.
Among them, the Black-Patterned Beedrill was the most enthusiastic. Over the past few days of training, it truly felt itself progressing at a rapid pace. Every day it was fed the best Pokémon food and Pokéblocks, followed by nightly massages and infusions of Bug Force. Combined with hard training, it would be difficult not to improve.
Eichi told them to warm up. The moment he finished speaking, the Black-Patterned Beedrill flew off. Eichi barely had time to press the stopwatch. Seeing this, Beedrill and Scizor quickly chased after it.
Twenty laps passed quickly. The Black-Patterned Beedrill returned, bringing a gust of wind with it. It hadn't even broken a sweat, and the time on the stopwatch was several seconds faster than usual.
Eichi nodded. This fellow had improved again. At this rate, a month or two would be enough. Since the warm-ups for Beedrill, Scizor, and Heracross weren't over yet, he prioritized the skill training for the Black-Patterned Beedrill.
He placed a robot mannequin on the ground and let the Pokémon practice its moves. The Black-Patterned Beedrill was very obedient and began training with great enthusiasm.