Roy and the others passed by a bustling commercial street along the way.
The commercial street in Neon Town is at its noisiest before nightfall.
The lights in the shops on both sides had started to turn on, and the owners were shouting at the top of their lungs to hawk their wares.
Pedestrians came and went, all wearing expressions of irritability.
Misty looked at the irritable faces around her and couldn't help but shrink her shoulders.
"These people, each one is fiercer than the last."
Delia nodded in agreement, feeling the same way.
Jigglypuff lay on Roy's shoulder, curiously looking at the surrounding shops.
The various signs and colorful lights made it feel both fresh and excited.
Then, when passing by a stationery store.
Jigglypuff suddenly stopped moving.
Its body stiffened for a moment, then it suddenly poked its head out from Roy's shoulder.
Those big, watery eyes stared straight at the stationery store's display window.
To be precise.
It was staring at a marker pen displayed in the window.
That marker pen was entirely black, with a rounded body, and dotted with a few tiny star patterns.
Most importantly.
Its shape.
Jigglypuff looked at that marker pen, its eyes fixed on it.
It tapped Roy's shoulder with its short little hand.
"Puri! Puri Puri!"
It called out while pointing at the marker pen in the window, anxious and impatient.
Roy stopped and looked in the direction Jigglypuff was pointing.
The marker pen lay quietly in the window, with lights hitting it, reflecting a soft luster.
He looked at the marker pen, then looked down at Jigglypuff's eager little face.
Then he smiled.
"Want it?"
Jigglypuff nodded vigorously.
It nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Roy pushed open the door of the stationery store and walked in.
The owner was a balding middle-aged man, leaning against the counter and flipping through a magazine out of boredom.
Seeing a customer come in, he wasn't very enthusiastic, just lifting his eyelids.
"Feel free to look around."
Roy walked straight to the window and took down that pink marker pen.
He walked to the counter and asked the owner.
"How much is this pen?"
The owner glanced at it and stated the price.
Roy paid readily.
Then, in front of Jigglypuff, he handed the marker pen over.
"Here, it's for you."
Jigglypuff reached out with its two short little hands and carefully took the marker pen.
It held the pen with both hands, looking down at the pen body and the star patterns on it.
Its little hands gently stroked the pen body.
Then it looked up at Roy.
Its eyes were sparkling.
"Puri..."
Its short little hands hugged the marker pen tightly, as if it were holding some rare treasure.
Then it stood on tiptoes and rubbed its cheek against the back of Roy's hand.
This was its way of saying thank you.
Roy smiled and rubbed its head.
"You're welcome, just Sing well later."
Jigglypuff nodded vigorously.
After coming out of the stationery store, Jigglypuff kept hugging the marker pen and refused to let go.
It treated the pen as a microphone, picking it up from time to time and gesturing towards its little mouth.
Then it hummed to itself, testing its voice.
"Puri... Puri Puri..."
That serious little look was extremely cute.
Misty watched from the side and couldn't help but whisper to Delia.
"This Jigglypuff really loves to Sing."
Delia nodded, her eyes filled with a gentle smile.
"Yes, and Roy is really attentive to Pokemon."
By the time it was completely dark, the equipment on the event plaza had all been set up.
Jenny brought a few people and temporarily set up a small stage in the center of the plaza.
On the stage was a set of broadcasting equipment, with loudspeakers connected to speakers distributed throughout the town.
The technician in charge was a young man wearing glasses; after he finished testing the equipment, he gave Jenny an OK gesture.
Jenny also put on a pair of noise-canceling earmuffs.
She turned to look at Roy.
"All departments are in position, and personnel in key positions have put on sound-protection gear. The town's speaker system is also connected. It's up to you now."
Roy nodded and then looked down at Jigglypuff at his feet.
Jigglypuff held the marker pen and stood at the edge of the stage.
Its short little legs were trembling slightly from nervousness.
But its eyes were shockingly bright.
The kind of look that was both nervous and excited, both afraid and expectant.
Like a singer about to step onto the stage.
Roy crouched down in front of it.
"Are you nervous?"
Jigglypuff hesitated for a moment, then nodded honestly.
Roy smiled and placed his hand on its round head.
"No need to be nervous. Just pretend the audience below are tree stumps. Are you afraid of tree stumps?"
Jigglypuff thought about it and shook its head.
"There you go."
Roy patted its back.
"Go on, this is your stage."
Jigglypuff took a deep breath, its round belly puffing up.
Then it nodded vigorously.
It walked towards the microphone on the stage with its short little legs, waddling as it went.
Neon Town after nightfall was more restless than during the day.
In the residential buildings, people were arguing.
The voices passed through the thin walls and echoed in the hallways.
In the izakaya by the street, someone was drunk and slamming the table, cursing.
The proprietress was beside them, unable to stop them despite her attempts to persuade them.
In the residential area, two children started fighting over a toy.
The sound of their wailing could be heard from several streets away.
The entire Neon Town was like a pot of boiling water.
Surging, restless, and boiling.
Jenny stood at the edge of the plaza; although she wore noise-canceling earmuffs, she could still feel the oppressive irritability in the air.
She looked down at her watch.
It was time.
Then she nodded at Roy on the stage.
Roy patted Jigglypuff's shoulder.
"Start."
Jigglypuff stood in front of the microphone.
Its two short little hands were tightly hugging that pink marker pen.
As if it were holding its most important treasure.
It closed its eyes and took a deep breath.
Then, it opened its mouth.
"Puri..."
The first note floated out of its mouth.
Soft and gentle.
Like a drop of cool spring water falling into a pot of boiling oil.
A magical thing happened.
In the residential buildings closest to the plaza, the arguing suddenly quieted down.
The drunkard who was slamming the table and cursing had the cup in his hand stop in mid-air.
He blinked his eyes, and the curse words suddenly couldn't be spoken.
The nameless anger in his body seemed to be gently pressed down by a gentle hand.
Jigglypuff's singing continued.
"Puri Puri... Puriri..."
The singing voice passed through the loudspeakers and the speakers distributed in every corner of the town, spreading to every street.
Every corner.
Every room.
The homeless person on the street corner stopped their irritable muttering, leaned against the wall, and showed a peaceful expression on their face.
The middle-aged woman who was arguing with the clerk at the entrance of the convenience store suddenly didn't want to argue anymore.
She looked at the change in her hand, waved her hand, said forget it, and turned to leave.
The pair of fighting children, as they fought, slowed down their movements.
Then the two looked at each other and both felt there was nothing worth fighting about.
One picked up the toy from the ground and handed it to the other, and the other took it and said thank you.
The singing continued to drift.
The round, clear, and ethereal singing voice.
It seemed to be flowing into everyone's ears.
The restless emotions were smoothed out.
The irritable anger was extinguished.
The nameless anger that permeated the entire town gradually dissolved in Jigglypuff's singing.
In its place was a heavy sleepiness.
That kind of sleepiness was exactly the same as what Misty and Delia had felt before.
Impossible to resist.
And didn't want to resist.
When Jigglypuff activated the Sing skill, Roy also sensed the difference through his psychic perception; the mix of the skill and the singing voice was affecting everyone in the town.
Everyone in the town began to have heavy eyelids under the influence of the singing.
Their bodies became relaxed.
Their consciousness began to blur.
Jigglypuff closed its eyes, completely immersed in its own singing.
Its two short little hands held the marker pen, and its body swayed gently with the melody.
It knew that this time, many people were listening to it Sing.
It could feel it.
Before, when it sang in the forest, the audience was only those wild Pokemon.
Although they would listen, they would always fall asleep.
Now it was different.
One person's ears must be listening to it Sing while awake.
Jigglypuff opened one eye and secretly glanced at Roy off-stage.
Roy was standing there, looking at it.
His eyes were clear, and he wore an encouraging smile.
Jigglypuff's heart was suddenly filled with something warm.
It sang even more devotedly.
The voice was rounder, and the emotion was more abundant.
As if it wanted to dedicate all its singing to this person who could finish listening to its song.
Time flowed in the singing.
Don't know how long passed.
The entire Neon Town became quiet.
Completely quiet.
Those sounds of arguing, cursing, fighting, and wailing.
All disappeared.
Only Jigglypuff's singing echoed under the quiet night sky.
Thus, Neon Town welcomed its quietest night in recent years.
After a night of sweet dreams, Neon Town completely changed.
Those vendors who were arguing until they were red in the face yesterday were now smiling and greeting each other today.
"Yoshimoto, morning!"
"Morning! The weather is really nice today!"
"Sorry about yesterday. I don't know where I got such a temper."
"Hey, what are you saying? I also had issues. I'll treat you to breakfast later!"
The two middle-aged men who almost fought yesterday were now chatting like nothing had happened.
Over at the street corner, the Trainer and the passerby who had argued yesterday because Abra was knocked down met again today.
The Trainer took the initiative to walk up and scratch his head.
"Um... about yesterday, sorry. My tone wasn't very good."
The passerby was also a bit embarrassed and waved his hand.
"No, no, no. It was me not looking where I was walking and bumping into your Abra. I should be the one apologizing."
The Trainer took a berry out of his pocket and handed it over.
"This is the berry my Abra likes the most. Here, consider it an apology."
The passerby took it and grinned.
"Thanks, brother. I'll buy you a drink next time!"
The two walked away with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Misty looked at the harmonious and friendly environment around her, her eyes wide.
"Wow... is this still the Neon Town from yesterday?"
Delia also walked over to look, and after watching for a while, couldn't help but smile.
"Sure enough, after a good sleep, everything goes smoothly."
She stretched, her thin clothes outlining the curves of her body.
"Everyone should really get more sleep."
While the two women stood beside Roy sighing, Roy was also looking at his system panel.
The notification for the task completion had already popped up last night.
[Catch the singing-loving Jigglypuff, let the residents of Neon Town have a good sleep, and alleviate the irritable mood of the whole town!]
[Task Status: Completed!]
[Task Reward: Quality Fairy Feather — After a Pokemon holds it, Fairy-type skill power increases by 40%!]
[Item has been placed in the system backpack]
[Joy Family general favorability + 20!]
[Current accumulation: 50]
Roy looked at the feather glowing with pink light in his system backpack, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
Fairy-type skill power increased by 40%.
This is not a small number.
Jigglypuff happens to be Fairy-type.
Although this guy doesn't like to fight, if it really comes to a time when it needs to be on the field, with this feather hanging on it, the damage output won't be on the same level.
And this Quality Fairy Feather can also be used by other Fairy-type Pokemon in the future.
Good stuff.
Put it away, put it away.
After solving the task, the three of them were preparing to leave Neon Town.
After returning to the hotel and packing up, Jenny was already standing at the door waiting.
Her patrol car was parked on the side of the road, the police lights on the roof reflecting light in the sun.
Today's Jenny was completely different from yesterday.
Yesterday, her brows were tightly locked, her tone was aggressive, and she was like a taut string.
But today, there was a smile on her face, and her posture was much more relaxed.
Seeing Roy come out, she stepped forward.
"Morning, Roy."
Her tone was light and cheerful, completely different from yesterday's angry "What's wrong, who is it again?".
"Last night's broadcast concert was amazing."
Jenny put her hands on her hips, looked up at the sky, and then looked down at Roy.
"I patrolled this morning, and the atmosphere in the whole Neon Town is different. Those small disputes and frictions have all disappeared."
She paused, the smile on her face deepening a bit.
"And this morning when I opened the patrol log, I found that the number of reports last night was zero. Zero! Do you know what this means for Neon Town?"
Jenny's tone carried a hint of excitement.
"Since I was transferred to this town, I have never seen a night with zero reports. Last night was the first time."
She reached out and patted Roy's shoulder.
"Seriously, thank you so much. You brought that Jigglypuff and helped us solve a huge problem."
Roy smiled.
"No need to thank me, I just did a task along the way."
Jenny shook her head and said seriously.
"It might be 'along the way' for you, but for us, it's a life-saving level of help."
She took an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Roy.
"This is a token of the town's appreciation. In addition to the previously agreed task reward, this is an extra bonus."
Roy didn't stand on ceremony, took it directly, and weighed it.
It was quite heavy.
"Thanks."
He stuffed the envelope into his backpack.
Jenny took another look at the Jigglypuff on Roy's shoulder.
The little guy was lying there, blinking its eyes at her.
"Thank you too, little Jigglypuff."
Jenny reached out and gently poked Jigglypuff's round belly.
Jigglypuff giggled when poked.
"Puri~"
Then it puffed up its cheeks again and turned away.
Jenny was stunned for a moment.
"Eh? What's wrong with it?"
Roy explained with a smile.
"It's still holding a grudge. After it finished singing last night, it opened its eyes and saw that everyone had fallen asleep. No one listened to it Sing, so it felt let down."
Jenny made an 'ah' sound and couldn't help but laugh.
"This little guy has quite a personality."
She put away her smile, stood up straight, and gave Roy a standard salute.
"Mr. Roy, I wish you a smooth journey. If you need any help, contact me anytime."
Roy waved at her.
"Okay, see you again if fate allows."
He turned around and led Misty and Delia towards the eastern exit of Neon Town.
On the way out of the town, Misty looked back a few times.
The townspeople who were arguing yesterday were all smiling and saying good morning to each other today.
The whole town exuded an atmosphere of peace and tranquility from the inside out.
"It's so nice."
Misty couldn't help but exclaim.
"A good night's sleep can make such a big change in a place."
Misty nodded.
"Sleep is really important. From now on, I will also ensure eight hours every day."
Delia slanted a glance at her.
"Are you sure? You were just saying yesterday that you wanted to stay up late for the Water-type Pokemon show."
Misty's face turned red, and she reached out to cover Delia's mouth.
"Oh, Sister Delia, don't expose my shortcomings in front of Roy!"
The two of them followed Roy, playing and bickering.
Roy watched the two happy people and smiled, then began to adjust his lineup.