In the latter half of the night, the world lay silent and still.
Two Noibat appeared on the southeastern side of the mountain behind the ranch. This area did not fall within Silas's ranch boundaries; it was a genuine stretch of deep mountains and old-growth forest, wild and untouched.
One of the Noibat lowered its altitude and landed lightly on a tree branch. Its large ears tilted forward as it released a pulse of ultrasonic waves. The sound waves shot ahead, collided with something in the darkness, and returned with faint feedback.
After a moment, the little Noibat let out a low hum.
"Noi~"
(The trail disappears here.)
The other Noibat, hovering high in the air on guard, also attempted to search with ultrasonic waves.
But nothing changed. There were no new echoes, no further clues.
The trace of Sableye they had worked so hard to track… was gone.
The two small Noibat glared at each other with wide eyes. One kicked the other; the other retaliated with a swat. They immediately began blaming one another.
"Noi~ (｀へ')"
(It's your fault! All your fault!)
"Noi~ Noi! (╯°□°）╯"
(Why blame me?! Are you looking for a fight?!)
"Noi?"
(You think I'm scared of you?)
"Noi! Noi! Noi!"
(Come on then! Hit me! If you do, I'm telling Silas!)
Once again, they had missed an opportunity to evolve. The frustration made them see each other as particularly unpleasant.
After searching the surrounding area to no avail, they finally turned back.
When they had come, they had been laughing and playing, jostling each other mid-flight.
Now, on the way back, each flew on opposite sides, wishing there were ten thousand miles between them.
Just like best bros who stayed up all night at an internet café, only to lose five ranked matches in a row.
When the two returned, Rowlet was the first to notice and flew over.
"Rowl?"
It poked one, scratched the other, trying to mediate—but both ignored it and flew to the farthest ends of the berry orchard.
Hanging upside down from separate berry trees, they occasionally emitted ultrasonic waves into the surroundings.
Looking for Bug-type Pokémon to vent their anger on.
If they couldn't hit their companion, couldn't they at least hit you guys?
…
The next morning, Silas was awakened by the painful sensation of his hair being tugged.
Still half-asleep, he reached up and grabbed the culprit. Rowlet flapped its wings twice before being firmly tucked under Silas's armpit.
"Stop messing around… let me sleep a little longer."
He dozed for nearly another half hour. Only when the first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room did Silas finally decide to get up.
Already awake and sitting on the windowsill, Dolliv cheerfully waved its little hand at him.
"Good morning, Dolliv."
After a long yawn that restored some of his energy, Silas pulled out the round little Pokémon tucked under his arm.
"Huh? It's Rowlet? I thought it was Morpeko."
"Hoo… hoo…"
Rowlet responded only with steady breathing.
It was daylight—its bedtime.
Holding Rowlet, Silas shook it up and down, left and right with exaggerated vigor. Only after Minccino and Morpeko, who had been awake for quite a while, stared at them did Rowlet finally open its sleepy eyes.
"Rowl?"
Rubbing its pancake-like face, Silas asked what had happened earlier.
Rowlet's voice grew louder, its drowsiness fading as it gestured animatedly with wings and feet.
"You mean the two Noibat quarreled, and now neither of them is speaking to the other?"
Rowlet nodded.
"I see." Silas gently patted its head. "I'll ask them about it later. You go back to sleep."
"Doo doo…"
Rowlet's round head bobbed once, twice—and within seconds, soft snores sounded.
Instant sleep.
Carefully placing Rowlet back into its nest, Silas quickly washed up with Minccino and the others before leaving the room, making sure not to disturb its rest.
On the staircase, the three Meowth were already waiting, full of energy to greet the new day.
After exchanging good mornings and calling Kangaskhan along, Silas entered the living room surrounded by a crowd of Pokémon.
He was immediately greeted by Cyclizar's excited flying tackle. A large tongue began licking his face wildly, splattering drool everywhere.
Using his index finger to rub Cyclizar's head, Silas wiped his face with a towel. "Shouldn't you hurry and take your flock of chickens out for fresh air?"
"Cyc!"
At the reminder, Cyclizar dashed out of the house in a blur.
After a simple breakfast, Silas and the Pokémon began their new day.
During his routine patrol of the ranch, Mudsdale, Meowth, Flabébé, Popplio, and Litten were all busy working.
When Silas reached the chicken coop to collect eggs, his peripheral vision caught sight of the green mailbox hanging by the ranch gate.
A cute Delibird tag was clipped to it—indicating there was mail inside.
He walked over, opened the mailbox, and retrieved the three letters within. He tucked them away for later reading, planning to sit down after finishing the ranch's daily tasks.
The silo needed replenishing—Mareep's favorite crackling pasture grass, Mudsdale's beloved mud biscuits.
The chicken coop required cleaning as well.
Only after completing all this did he return to the ranch house carrying over a dozen eggs.
After asking Minccino and the others to help store the eggs in the upper layer of the refrigerator, Silas leaned back against Kangaskhan while holding the three letters.
The temperature had dropped slightly today. Sitting beneath the large tree, he could feel refreshing gusts of cool wind.
He opened the letter marked with a stone postcard first, reading it line by line. Gradually, a smug curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
He could already imagine that young master scratching his head in frustration.
He hadn't done much—just sent the other party a photo.
The photo showed a pink crystal diamond shed during Diancie's transformation.
Even if that young master had traveled far and excavated countless rare gemstones, none could compare to this single crystal.
Putting the letter away, Silas felt exceptionally pleased.
He opened the second letter.
It was from Diantha. He read it word by word.
The contents were brief:
She expressed that she really liked the gift.She invited him to attend the Expo to be held in Lumiose City in May.
The Lumiose Expo?
It was a large-scale event hosted in Lumiose City. Trainers from various regions would attend, along with the latest technological releases from the League.
Each region would have its own pavilion, showcasing unique local characteristics.
It was a grand celebration.
Correspondingly, tickets would be incredibly hard to obtain.
Silas set the letter aside for the moment, intending to write a reply later.
Then he picked up the final letter.
It was from his mother. She sent one every month.
Between the lines was nothing but care and concern, which made Silas feel deeply at ease.
When he reached the end, however, he felt slightly helpless.
His mother had repeated three times in a row: eat more, eat more, eat more.
As if she feared he might starve himself to death.
Chuckling softly, he carefully folded the letter away.
He hired Morpeko with a single piece of candy to fetch paper and a pen.
"Morpe~"
With the sweet candy in its mouth, Morpeko ran toward the house.
"Phion?"
Phione, tired from playing, flopped into Silas's arms and peeked curiously at what he was doing.
Ruffling its head, Silas smiled and explained, "I'm writing letters. Phione, do you want to write one to Mom too?"
"Phion!"
(I do! I do!)
It seemed very fun. Phione raised its little hands high.
"Alright then, you can write one too."
After finishing, Silas placed the three reply letters into the mailbox, waiting for Delibird to collect them the next morning.
One envelope was especially thick—it contained Phione's letter, along with drawings from Minccino and the others who had insisted on contributing.
There were no written words—only various simple doodles.
Speaking of letters, Silas suddenly thought of Chatot, who was still out traveling. It had been over a month since it last sent a letter home.
He wondered how it was doing out there.
(End of Chapter)