The next day, early in the morning.
The sky had yet to brighten, and everything outside the window was still shrouded in a gray haze.
Korrina had already arrived at the entrance of the ranch with Riolu, calling out for quite a while before Kangaskhan finally strolled over at an unhurried pace and helped open the gate.
Brimming with energy, Korrina looked at the big Kangaskhan and asked, "Is Serena still sleeping?"
"Kang~"
Kangaskhan pointed toward the doorway. There stood Serena, still in her pajamas, waving enthusiastically at them.
Serena had gone to bed very early the night before, and the moment she heard Korrina's voice, she woke right up.
The two friends happily clasped hands, whispering and giggling together, before tiptoeing up the stairs and pushing open the door to Silas's room.
Silas, fast asleep, vaguely heard the voices of the two little girls and was startled awake.
He sat up abruptly, glanced around, then patted his chest. "Phew! Turns out it was just a nightmare."
"Brother~"
"Big Brother Silas~"
"Serena, Korrina, you're both here!"
"MIn~"
The small Minccino jumped straight onto the bed, announcing its presence.
With a helpless sigh, Silas told the two girls to wait downstairs for a bit, then quickly got dressed and washed up.
After just one day, he was already starting to feel fed up.
Deep down, he was eagerly hoping his mom would finish her competition soon and come pick Serena up.
What kind of normal person wakes up before six in the morning and runs into someone's bedroom to scare them?
Shaking his head helplessly, Silas brought the prepared breakfast to the table.
"You have to finish everything, okay!"
Korrina reached out and grabbed a slice of bread. "Don't worry, Big Brother Silas! I've got a really, really big appetite."
Serena silently glanced at her, picked up two slices of bread for herself, and pushed all the rest over to Korrina.
Korrina didn't mind at all. She had once beaten a Munchlax in a small-eater contest.
This amount of food? Piece of cake.
"Mm—so tasty!" Korrina exclaimed after taking a bite, her face lighting up with surprise. "It's strawberry jam!"
After breakfast, Silas led the Pokémon through their daily farm work.
Every day, they needed to check the growth of the crops, promptly removing any plants that were nutrient-deficient or had withered.
He had just finished patrolling the fields with Cyclizar when he saw Korrina and Serena running over from not far away.
He steadied Korrina, who was wobbling after an abrupt stop, and asked, "What's going on? Why the rush?"
"Big Brother Silas, let's play hide-and-seek!"
"Brother, let's all play together! Minccino and Smoliv want to play too."
Serena looked at him with hopeful eyes, and the two little Pokémon on her shoulder wore identical expressions.
"Hide-and-seek?" Silas glanced into the distance—Mudsdale diligently using Rototiller, the Flabébé darting back and forth through the tulip field collecting nectar, and Cyclizar herding the chickens along the riverbank.
Letting everyone relax for a bit didn't sound bad.
He turned to the two girls. "We can, but you'll have to wait until I finish today's ranch work first."
"Yay!" the two little radishes cheered. Korrina immediately became fired up. "Big Brother Silas, we'll help you!"
…
An hour later, in front of the ranch's two-story house.
Silas, Serena, and Korrina gathered all the Pokémon into a circle.
"Is everyone ready?" Silas asked.
"Brother, start!"
"Min~"
"Kang!"
"Noi…"
"…"
The Pokémon responded eagerly, all eyes fixed on the branch Silas was holding.
For hide-and-seek, of course, someone had to be "it."
Silas first explained the rules. "The hiding area is limited to this side of the riverbank. You're not allowed to cross to the other side."
The other side of the riverbank was an undeveloped area of the ranch.
The Pokémon nodded in understanding.
Without hesitation, Silas forcefully tossed the branch into the air, and everyone tilted their heads up to watch.
The branch landed upright on the ground, but because there was a leaf stuck on one side, it slowly tilted.
The direction it pointed to—Minccino.
Minccino hurried forward and blew at it, trying to make the branch fall in another direction.
Korrina followed suit, blowing from the other side.
The branch wobbled left and right under their efforts, taking quite a while before finally settling and pointing in one direction.
Korrina, Serena, and all the Pokémon simultaneously turned their gaze toward Silas.
"Everyone, run! Big Brother Silas is going to come catch us!"
Korrina shouted as she grabbed Serena and sprinted off.
The Pokémon scattered in chaos. Smoliv accidentally bumped into Silas's leg.
Silas straightened Smoliv and gestured for it to hurry and run. At the same time, he called out to the others, "I'll count to thirty—don't panic!"
As he spoke, Silas turned his back, covered his eyes with his hands, and began silently counting to thirty.
"Smo?"
Smoliv blinked curiously, wobbling back to Silas's side, then mimicked him by covering its eyes with the leaf on its head.
Seeing this, Minccino quickly ran over, scooped up Smoliv, and dashed into the house.
They had to hide fast—being caught first would be the worst.
"28, 29, 30."
Upon reaching the final number, Silas turned around and opened his eyes.
All the Pokémon had hidden themselves somewhere around the ranch.
Silas chuckled to himself. Based on his understanding of the Pokémon, their hiding spots were obvious at a glance.
He walked straight behind the silo, where Kangaskhan had awkwardly squeezed itself into the narrow space.
Silas reached out and poked Kangaskhan's waist. "Found you, Kangaskhan!"
Kangaskhan turned around. "Kang!"
("Silas is amazing—you found me right away!")
Finding Kangaskhan was just the beginning.
In a short amount of time, Silas discovered Pokémon hiding in various places.
Cyclizar was hiding in the chicken coop; the three Mudsdale brothers were coated head to toe in mud, lying in the mud pool trying to blend in; the five Flabébé attempted to disguise themselves as flowers; and the three little Noibat were hanging upside down in the orchard.
Once their hiding spots were exposed, the Pokémon trudged out dejectedly and lined up.
Now, only Serena, Korrina, Minccino, and Smoliv remained.
Oh right—and Korrina's Pokémon, Riolu.
Silas first ran into the house, sweeping his gaze around before heading straight upstairs to the bedroom.
On the windowsill, inside a flowerpot, Smoliv had buried most of its body in the soil, leaving only the green leaves on its head exposed.
"Smoliv, found you."
"Smo~!"
Smoliv stood up happily and ran toward Silas, who scooped it up and set it on his shoulder.
The little cutie kept glancing toward the bed. Silas stepped forward and lifted the blanket—sure enough, Minccino was hiding underneath.
That left only Korrina and Serena, along with Riolu.
With the Pokémon trailing behind him, Silas walked straight toward the beach.
There, a sandcastle had been built on the shore. Serena and Korrina were hiding inside it, leaving only Riolu unaccounted for.
After thinking for a moment, Silas headed toward the ranch gate.
Given Riolu's personality, there was no way it would wander off to an unfamiliar place.
Sure enough, he spotted Riolu standing beside the fence near the ranch gate.
Earlier, it had been hidden due to the angle of view.
Taking a few steps forward, Silas sensed something amiss, and his brows slowly knitted together.
(End of Chapter)