This scene stunned Minccino in place.
During its daze, a Poké Ball flew from Haley's hand, hitting Minccino squarely on the forehead.
With a click, a flash of red light, and the Poké Ball fell to the ground.
"Does this count as a successful catch?" Haley asked while jogging toward the Poké Ball.
Before she finished speaking, another crisp click sounded, and Minccino reappeared in place. It paused for a moment, then turned and fled.
"Ah—it failed." Haley watched regretfully in the direction Minccino left, picking up the Poké Ball on the ground that had lost its catching function.
Whether a catch succeeded or not, Poké Balls couldn't be retracted to catch other Pokémon again. But because these things couldn't naturally decompose in the forest, Haley still picked it up, planning to throw it away later.
"What a pity," Emily couldn't help saying.
"Ah, so this is Pokémon battling," Leah stared in the direction Minccino left. She had missed the Pokémon Contest broadcast last time—this was her first time seeing it: "So beautiful."
This move was something Haley learned from watching the competition. The essence of Contest Battles lay in flexibly using Pokémon's moves—attack moves could be used defensively, and defensive moves could be used offensively.
As long as you could use moves to highlight the Pokémon's charm, you could score points.
Perhaps she really did have some talent for Contest Battles after all.
Ron looked at Sunkern being held by Haley.
If participating in Contest Battles, there was no need for Ron to train her.
Although she could defeat opponents in one strike like Gengar, it seemed Haley was probably the same type as Serena—enjoying the moment of performance, with success being merely the result of that performance.
But since this was the case, Ron remembered the remaining Stardrop at the farm and decided to give Haley some later.
Stardrops, which could only boost stamina and HP, would be a nice improvement specifically for Contest Battles.
As long as she wasn't knocked down, there would always be chances to score.
Thinking this, the group continued walking deeper into the forest.
Bringing some handy tools, although she hadn't successfully caught Minccino, Haley remained full of energy gathering mountain goods in the forest.
"Found another one, you're amazing!" Haley said, digging out a snow yam from the snow while feeding a crystal fruit she just picked to the Rattata's mouth.
The Rattata immediately became excited.
"Rattata!"
Just then, it suddenly turned its head, sniffing around alertly, then wrinkled its nose.
"What's wrong?" Haley asked.
This Rattata hesitated and shook its head.
Ron glanced, similarly looking around vigilantly, then poked Froakie squatting on his neck munching away.
The Rattata's ability was Run Away, so it could easily detect nearby wild Pokémon.
"Froak?"
Froakie paused while eating the crystal fruit, turned his head and looked around.
After failing to find any danger anywhere, he patted Ron's shoulder with his wet paw. Looking at the paw print on Ron's shoulder, he guiltily shifted his position, sat on the paw print, and continued chewing.
After confirming there was indeed no danger anywhere, Ron withdrew his gaze.
It was soon noon. The group arrived at the lakeside with a full basket of mountain goods.
Leah spread out the picnic blanket, then lit a campfire nearby, throwing in a few snow yams and winter roots.
These things tasted good when roasted too, but were relatively bland—not like yams that naturally had a sweet taste. So Leah had specially brought her specially blended oil and vinegar dressing.
She squeezed a bit of Cheri Berry juice on top—sour, spicy, and delicious.
Besides this, she also brought bread baked with hazelnut spread, some dried fruits, plus fruit wine she brewed herself.
Emily also squatted nearby taking out what she brought.
Haley was warming her hands by the campfire. She had dug quite a few snow yams just now, so her hands were frozen red. At this moment, they were already having difficulty bending.
A gust of wind blew by. In the air, besides the earthy smell brought by the moist soil, there was also mixed in a bit of a sharp scent.
One couldn't tell if it was a smell or a feeling—in any case, the air after winter snow melted, although also moist, was different from the scent after rain. The cold and that earthy smell mixed together, becoming another scent.
Haley took a deep breath and sat on the picnic blanket.
The firelight flickered, making her delicate face appear softer at this moment.
"What are you thinking about?" Ron handed over a crystal fruit and asked.
Crystal fruit was a winter-specific fruit. After being covered by ice and snow, the flesh was cool and delicious—eating it by the fire was just right.
"Thank you." Haley looked up at the sky and said: "Nothing much—if I had to say, I'm wondering what the sky in Kalos is like. Is it the same sky as Pelican Town?"
This question obviously stumped Ron.
Haley didn't expect Ron to give her any answer here. More than the sky, she was actually thinking about her own future.
She had thought the confusion and anxiety from some time ago would gradually dissipate after she found the direction she would move forward in.
But no, she was still uneasy about the future—a place she had completely never been to, people she had never seen, things she had never experienced—merely because she watched television, she hastily decided to go there—
Haley's azure eyes matched the color of the sky at this moment. She blinked again, then turned and collapsed onto the picnic blanket.
"Careful," Emily said, moving the snacks that Haley nearly knocked over to the side, "don't be careless."
"Sorry." Haley blinked at Emily, slowly reached out her hand, and blocked the sunlight shining on her face.
"What kind of place will Kalos be——" she murmured.
Emily paused for a moment. She reached out and smoothed Haley's somewhat messy hair, saying softly: "You'll have to go there to find out—what's wrong, regretting it?"
"I don't know," Haley said, raising a smile at Emily: "I'll know once I go there."
Emily paused, took the cup Leah handed over, and after sipping some fruit wine said: "It's fine not to know—go take a look, only then will you not regret it."
"If you still want to come back at that time, I'll always welcome you," Emily also raised her head, staring at the azure blue sky overhead and said: "Life is still long, who says you have to know right away what you want to do in the future."
Upon hearing this, Haley squinted her eyes. Just as she was about to stuff the crystal fruit in her hand into her mouth, she felt an inexplicable resistance.
She then opened her eyes and looked over.
"Cino!"
A Minccino biting a crystal fruit was lifted up by her.
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