{T/N: Stones and Reviews, please...}
...
When the little Deino woke from its nap, Caleb had already gone out to shop at the commercial district...
Stumbling out of its fluffy little nest, it ignored the bone chew toy in front of it. Its movements seemed anxious as it began clumsily exploring its surroundings.
*Crash!*
The potted plant next to the sofa was knocked to the ground, the ceramic planter shattering into pieces.
Next, the coffee table, sofa, floor lamp, and television fell victim one after another, leaving the entire living room in complete disarray.
Dragonite, who had been napping alone in Caleb's room, jerked awake at the noise like a startled lion. After holding its breath for a few seconds, the commotion outside not only failed to stop, it grew even louder...
Dragonite couldn't sit still any longer. It stood up, placed its paw on the doorknob, and with a click, the door to the living room swung open.
When it saw what was happening, its lake-green dragon eyes widened unnaturally before it let out an angry roar.
Having just hatched, the little Deino's limbs weren't fully developed yet and were still very fragile. After all that rampaging, it was already covered in scrapes and bruises.
Hearing Dragonite's voice, Deino turned its head pitifully, like an abandoned puppy.
It couldn't see Dragonite's location, so it could only rely on sound to determine direction.
Dragonite had been about to scold it when it noticed Deino's sorry state. It swallowed its reprimands...
Just then, Caleb returned from his shopping trip with Mimikyu and Lucario, carrying a large bag of snacks. Though players could exchange items directly through the system shop, some habits were worth keeping.
Seeing the scene before him, Caleb's eyes widened just like Dragonite's had. He exchanged a glance with the innocently blinking Dragonite before shifting his gaze to the little Deino.
'Well, I should've expected this...' he thought.
With a resigned sigh, he first went to another room to reboot Gardevoir, who had been in sleep mode while recharging, and left the cleanup to it. Meanwhile, he walked over and used the Viridian Power to treat Deino's injuries.
The anxious Deino immediately calmed upon hearing Caleb's voice...
Newly hatched Pokémon all had imprinting instincts. Though it couldn't see Caleb, it had already imprinted on him as its 'mother' since he was the one who fed it and lulled it to sleep.
While he was healing Deino, Caleb also sensed its thoughts, so he corrected, "Little one, I'm your trainer, not your mom."
Unfortunately, Deino's mind wasn't mature enough yet to communicate with him like Dragonite or Mimikyu could.
Caleb had some understanding of this situation... Before sleeping earlier, he had specifically researched this topic.
Pokémon eggs were only so big, and no matter how large a Pokémon grew, they all started as tiny hatchlings.
However, Pokémon had unique physiologies. Given time, they would rapidly grow to normal size, transitioning from the hatchling phase to the juvenile phase, during which their minds would gradually mature.
So Caleb wasn't in a hurry to correct how Deino saw him. Once Deino evolved into Hydreigon, it would understand on its own...
To prevent Deino from hurting itself by running around, Caleb rearranged the house. He removed the glass coffee table, laid thick rugs across the floor, and had Gardevoir pad sharp table and chair corners with fabric covers.
As for the glass display cabinet he had just exchanged for his collectibles... Caleb glanced at it before banishing it to a dark storage room.
With everything settled, he took his Pokémon companions to the Pokémon Paradise to enjoy some sunshine.
The paradise's terrain was flat and open, making it perfect for the energetic Deino to play freely.
Watching Deino romp across the grass like an overexcited puppy, Caleb felt a sudden surge of paternal pride. He sat on the grass, idly plucking blades as he watched.
Just then, Mimikyu, who was disguised as a tiny Dragonite, drifted lazily past him.
Caleb's eyes followed it for a moment before calling out, "Mimikyu, come here!"
Mimikyu turned back, reverted to its true form, and obediently trotted over.
He picked it up and carefully examined the faintly glowing nano-core embedded in its chest. The display showed the armor's remaining battery was 6%.
"Time to recharge," he muttered, then called Dragonite down from the sky and instructed it to use Thunderbolt on Mimikyu.
"Wuu?"
Though confused, Dragonite obediently aimed a Thunderbolt at the core as directed.
The next second, a surge of electricity flooded into the core, causing the battery percentage to skyrocket.
7%... 14%... 25%... 46%... 78%... 91%... 100%!
"Alright, that's enough. Go play." Caleb released Mimikyu.
'That was it?' Dragonite blinked at its trainer in bewilderment.
Caleb coughed lightly and said, "Nothing else."
Dragonite, now demoted to a living power bank, stared at him suspiciously... something about Caleb's expression felt off.
Caleb: ^..Guilty conscience intensifies..^
He flopped onto his back in the grass, closing his eyes to avoid Dragonite's gaze. Then he felt a shadow loom over him.
Refusing to leave, Dragonite plopped down beside Caleb to pester him affectionately.
Caleb wheezed, "...You're crushing me."
Dragonite hastily scrambled up.
Caleb laughed and climbed onto its back, "Just kidding. C'mon, take me for a flight!"
"Wuu~"
Dragonite happily obliged.
Caleb bundled Deino, Mimikyu, and Lucario onto Dragonite's back, and the group of five soared into the sky, piercing through clouds until they emerged above the sea of white.
Caleb adjusted the park's time settings, he changed '1:00 PM, Sunny' to '10:00 PM, Clear, Breezy, Starry...'
The sky flipped like an overturned canvas, instantly transforming.
Under the vault of heaven, stars glittered endlessly.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he voiced.
"Wuu~" Dragonite replied cheerfully...
....
Time in the Infinite World passed in a blink...
Over these seven days, Deino grew from a tiny hatchling into a 'full-grown' 0.8 meter-tall dragon, officially entering its juvenile stage.
[You possess a Ticket of Time. Use it to enter the Instance 'Appointed Time'? If unused, this ticket will permanently expire.]
Caleb hesitated as he stared at the ticket in his hand.
He had originally planned to visit Celestic Town during this Instance to see Cynthia and Grandma...
But just then, excited shouts erupted behind him.
"Wow! Top-ranked player Ye Fan and third-ranked Baek Gyeol are here! Did they team up?"
"No way? They're direct competitors. There's only one Mythical Pokémon, but two of them..."
"So jealous! Too bad I messed up my last Instance and didn't get a ticket..."
"Newbie here... how do you get these tickets everyone's talking about?"
"It's tough. You have to clear instances with double S-rank or higher evaluations for a chance to get one."
"But these Mythical Pokémon Contests don't happen often. The last one was two years ago..."
~~~
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