Misty's voice had just faded.
Jigglypuff's soft, pink little face puffed up in an instant.
It looked round and chubby, as if it had stuffed two small steamed buns into its mouth.
It stared at Misty with big, watery eyes, looking indignant.
Its eyes were full of defiance and grievance.
"Poli!"
Jigglypuff stamped its short little legs, letting out a protest.
But that sound of protest was still deep and hoarse.
Like sandpaper scraping against glass.
Misty frowned again at the sound.
"See, see? It really sounds terrible, I'm not wrong."
She was about to continue.
Delia quickly stepped forward and tugged at Misty's sleeve.
"Misty, don't say that."
Delia's tone held a hint of reproach, but was mostly filled with concern.
She crouched down and carefully examined Jigglypuff's throat.
"Look, Jigglypuff is angry. Its voice sounded a bit hoarse just now."
Delia reached out and gently stroked Jigglypuff's round head.
Jigglypuff initially wanted to dodge, but Delia's touch was so gentle that it hesitated, then let her pet it.
"Perhaps there's something wrong with its throat. A normal Jigglypuff's singing is very beautiful."
Delia turned her head and said seriously to Misty.
"It's just like when your throat was hoarse earlier; it's a throat issue, not that it can't Sing well."
Misty was stunned when she heard this.
She thought about it carefully, and it seemed that was indeed the logic.
When her own throat was hoarse earlier, her voice had sounded terrible too.
"It seems... that's the case."
She scratched her head, looking at Jigglypuff with some embarrassment.
But words spoken are like spilled water; it was too late to take them back.
Roy smiled from the side and walked over.
"See, Delia is much more attentive to the Pokemon."
He reached out and tapped Misty on the forehead.
Misty leaned back from the tap.
"Misty, if you keep saying that, Jigglypuff will jump up and hit your knees later."
Misty's eyes widened.
"Hit my knees? Can it jump that high?"
She looked down at Jigglypuff's round, short little legs.
Then she looked at her own knees.
It seemed... it could indeed reach them.
Upon hearing Roy's words, Jigglypuff actually glanced at Misty's knees.
The expression on its face was as if it were seriously considering whether to jump up and hit her.
Misty instinctively took a step back.
"Hey, hey, hey, I was just telling the truth..."
Her voice grew quieter, clearly lacking confidence.
Roy didn't tease her anymore.
He took a few berries out of his backpack.
The same golden-yellow fruit that had treated Misty's throat earlier.
He walked up to Jigglypuff and crouched down.
"Come here, eat this."
Roy held the berry out to Jigglypuff, his tone calm and gentle.
"Eat this, and you can recover your beautiful voice."
Jigglypuff tilted its head and looked at Roy.
Its big, watery eyes held a trace of wariness and curiosity.
This human seemed to be with the one who said its Sing was terrible earlier.
But his eyes looked very sincere.
And he had an Aura about him that made people feel very comfortable.
That was because Roy had been using his Aura from the start, tuning the frequency to the most amiable level.
This frequency of Aura made the Pokemon around him feel an instinctive sense of security.
Just like being wrapped in warm sunlight.
Jigglypuff stared at Roy for several seconds.
Then it looked at the fruit in his hand.
The fruit emitted a sweet fragrance and looked very tempting.
Finally, Jigglypuff reached out its two short hands and took the berry from Roy.
It opened its little mouth and took a bite.
The flesh was soft and juicy.
The sweet juice slid down its throat.
That cool, gently wrapped sensation made Jigglypuff squint its eyes in comfort.
It finished the fruit in a few bites.
Then it looked at Roy expectantly.
Roy smiled and handed it another one.
"Eat up, eat up, there's plenty."
Jigglypuff took the second fruit, not eating as hurriedly this time.
It made satisfied humming sounds while eating.
After two berries were consumed.
Jigglypuff touched its throat.
It tried to make a sound.
"Poli..."
The voice was significantly clearer than before.
Although it was still a little hoarse, it was much better than before.
"Poli Poli!"
Jigglypuff tested a few more notes.
The voice became clearer and more mellow.
Misty watched from the side, dumbfounded.
"Hey, hey, hey, it's really so much better!"
She crouched down and leaned in to look at Jigglypuff.
"That sound just now was really much better!"
When Jigglypuff heard Misty say this, it tossed its head up.
Its expression was very smug.
As if saying: See? See? My voice has always been beautiful!
Then it cleared its throat.
"Poli Poli Poli..."
It tested its voice on the spot, from low notes to high notes, and back down to low notes.
The voice was becoming more and more professional.
Delia smiled from the side and said, "That's right, a Jigglypuff's voice is naturally very beautiful."
Roy watched Jigglypuff testing its voice, already calculating how to capture it.
He was determined to have this Jigglypuff.
From what he understood, this Jigglypuff was actually not difficult to capture.
Most Jigglypuff have gentle personalities; as long as you aren't the type of Trainer who is particularly annoying, you can basically live in peace.
And this Jigglypuff was clearly the type that craved recognition.
It liked to Sing, and wanted to receive people's approval.
Then that was simple.
Roy didn't intend to beat around the bush.
He walked straight up and crouched in front of Jigglypuff.
"Jigglypuff."
Roy got straight to the point.
"I really like your voice. Are you willing to come with me? Be my partner."
Jigglypuff stopped testing its voice and tilted its head to look at Roy.
It seemed to be thinking.
This human gave it fruit and cured its throat.
And it really liked the Aura about him that made Pokemon feel at ease.
If it followed him... it didn't seem like a bad idea.
Jigglypuff lowered its head and poked its round belly with its little hand.
Then it raised its head and looked at Roy.
"Poli Poli, Poli!"
It said, gesturing with its little hands.
Roy understood.
Jigglypuff meant: I can go with you, but you must be able to listen to me Sing, and you cannot fall asleep.
Its criteria for approval were not in terms of battle.
But in terms of the song.
As long as one could perfectly appreciate it when it would Sing, that was enough.
This standard might be an insurmountable difficulty for ordinary people.
Jigglypuff's Sing move came with a hypnotic effect.
And it was the kind of hypnotic effect that even a gym leader couldn't withstand.
Ordinary people would fall fast asleep after hearing the beginning.
But for Roy.
This problem was not a problem at all.
"Alright."
Roy nodded, agreeing decisively.
"I accept your standard. Go ahead and Sing, I will definitely listen to the end."
When Jigglypuff heard Roy agree, it immediately became excited.
It pointed to a tree stump not far away.
Meaning it wanted to go up there to Sing; that was its stage.
Roy smiled and made a gesture of invitation.
Then he turned around and said to Delia and Misty.
"Come on, let's sit down and listen to the song."
Delia and Misty looked at each other.
Although they didn't know what Roy was going to do, they followed him and sat down on a patch of grass nearby.