The fight between Victor and Gengar stopped the moment Shana said she was hungry.
Victor prepared dinner, and after eating with Shana and the others, he took a shower and sat in his chair on the balcony.
The moon was exceptionally bright again.
Victor thought he saw a shadow flash across it.
A Caterpie's shadow?
Victor picked up his teacup and took a sip, enjoying the cool autumn night breeze.
The backyard was gradually falling silent.
Listening to the sound of leaves falling in the wind, Victor felt a wave of melancholy.
The old poets were right. Autumn really does make you homesick.
Sensing that Victor's mood was off, Gengar, Lilligant, and Vulpix quietly came to sit with him.
A cold gust of wind brushed past his face, and Victor shivered.
Seeing this, Vulpix jumped into his lap, trying to offer him a little warmth with its small body.
Feeling the warmth, Victor looked down. Vulpix was looking up at him, its bright eyes fixed on his.
Victor's heart was deeply moved.
"Thank you, Vulpix."
"Yip~" Vulpix smiled shyly.
Victor picked it up, buried his face in its belly, and took a deep breath.
So warm and fragrant.
Vulpix struggled out of his grasp and ran to hide behind Lilligant.
"Hahaha," Victor laughed heartily.
Lilligant looked at him, a little exasperated.
Tonight, it would go back to Victor's room to sleep with him.
It occasionally slept in his room—in the past, it stayed on the balcony, but now it would choose to go inside.
The room was the first place that had made it feel warmth, especially with Victor and Gengar there, who had been quietly watching over it from the very beginning.
He reached out and tugged Gengar's tail, letting it deflate for a bit, then opened his arms and pulled Lilligant into a hug.
"Thank you all... Lilligant, Gengar, and Vulpix."
Lilligant smiled sweetly.
Gengar was giggling.
"Gengar likes Victor the most."
The simplest words, yet they carried the deepest emotion.
Vulpix thought for a moment, then jumped back into Victor's lap.
Victor stood up, holding Vulpix.
"Let's go to sleep."
"Gengar—"
"Lili~"
"Yip~"
"Goodnight, everyone."
The room's light changed to a warm tone, and then the room fell into silence.
Victor, in a daze, fell asleep. Gengar and Lilligant looked at each other.
They were just about to close their own eyes to sleep.
The next second, Gengar's head poked down from the ceiling. It looked at the backyard, its brow furrowed.
Lilligant had also gone out onto the balcony, its delicate face looking annoyed.
"Lili."
It heard a sound from behind and turned to see Victor was already awake.
This made it even angrier.
Gengar, at its side, was expressionless, its eyes cold.
Victor went to Shana's room first. She was still fast asleep.
Mime Jr. and Tinkerbell were lying next to her, also sleeping soundly.
Gothita nodded at Victor.
Victor went downstairs and ran to the backyard.
...
In the rock area.
The Staravia was flying in the air, watching a Gliscor and several Gligar that had come from the distance.
The Vespiquen was beside the Staravia.
Below them were Dali and the others, the Luxio, the Rapidash, Heracross, and Pinsir.
The Azumarill and Golduck families were also rushing over.
The lead Gliscor looked at the group of Pokémon.
It flew backward, wanting to leave with its Gligar, but it seemed something was chasing them from behind.
Victor came to Dali's side, looking at the Gliscor and the four or five Gligar.
Why are Gliscor and Gligar here? Victor frowned.
He had just fallen asleep and now he was up again. His head was pounding.
Just then, a commotion came from behind the Gliscor.
Hearing the noise, the Gliscor and its group ignored Victor and the others, turning to face the new arrivals.
Under the moonlight, two other Gliscor, leading a group of over a dozen Gligar, were surrounding the first Gliscor and its small band.
Victor understood.
This Gliscor was being hunted.
Watching them all start to fight, Victor knew that if he let this continue, the other Pokémon in the Breeding House might get hurt.
"Everyone, if you would."
Gengar instantly appeared high in the sky and pressed its hands down.
"Gengar!" its voice was ice-cold.
After being with Victor for so long, and being raised by him, not to mention the effects of the Culinary Crits...
All the Gliscor and Gligar immediately fell to the ground under the effect of Gravity.
Lilligant spread its "hands."
A giant tornado of petals gathered.
"LI! LI!" Lilligant enunciated every syllable.
The tornado shot towards the Gliscor.
BOOM!
The other Pokémon looked at Gengar and Lilligant, wondering why they were in such a foul mood tonight.
Dali, seeing that its big brother and sister had made their move, didn't bother to ask questions.
It hurled a Focus Blast.
Erli and Sanli followed suit.
The other Pokémon, seeing this, also launched their own attacks into the cloud of smoke.
Victor's mouth twitched.
He suddenly felt very sorry for those Gliscor.
I'll have to be more specific next time. Not everyone can withstand the full firepower of the Breeding House.
But, thinking about it, he could understand. After the incident with the Pokémon hunters, all fear now stemmed from a lack of firepower.
The smoke cleared. All the invading Gliscor and Gligar were knocked out.
Victor walked over with Gengar and the others, quietly waiting for them to wake up.
Shana had also been woken by the noise. She was peeking over the balcony.
Seeing that there was no more danger, she kept her eyes fixed on Victor's figure.
Even though he was far away, she could still see his small back.
...
When they woke up, the two invading Gliscor immediately took their Gligar and fled.
But the first Gliscor didn't leave.
It flew over, injured, and hovered near Victor.
Gengar, Dali, and Lilligant stood in front of Victor.
Victor checked the Gliscor's information.
[Gliscor]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Ground, Flying]
[Ability: Poison Heal]
[Introduction: It was being hunted by the other Gliscor for saving a Gligar. It fled with its small group and, by a twist of fate, ended up at the Breeding House. It seems to want to stay?]
Hunted for saving a Gligar?
Victor signaled to Gengar and the others that it was okay.
The Gliscor came before Victor, wanting to ask how it could stay.
"Were you saving them?" Victor asked first.
The Gliscor was stunned.
It looked back at the Gligar still lying on the ground, then nodded.
"You can stay."
The Gliscor looked at Victor's smiling face, deeply moved.
"But you have to live peacefully with the other Pokémon, okay?" Victor continued.
The Gliscor was so moved by his simple words that it couldn't speak.
It could only nod frantically.
Victor was blooming with joy on the inside.
A Gliscor and Gligar! This is a huge win for the Breeding House!
Looking at the Gliscor's many injuries, he said, "Gengar, use Toxic on Gliscor."
Gengar, without hesitation, badly poisoned the Gliscor.
"Gengar—"
This is for waking Victor up!
After being poisoned, the Gliscor's Poison Heal ability activated, and its vitality began to return.
Once it was mostly healed, Victor had Gengar cure the poison.
Gengar then looked at the other Gligar, then at Victor, as if to ask...
Victor quickly stopped it.
He let the Gliscor and Gligar rest in the rock area for now, then took his Pokémon back to the house.
Before leaving, Lilligant turned and looked at the Gliscor. She was still a little angry.
"Lili."
She turned and followed Victor.
The Gliscor shivered slightly.
The other Pokémon also left.
The Gliscor and its Gligar found a place in the rock area to rest.
...
Later that night, Gengar's head poked down from the ceiling again.
"Gengar!"
Again?!
Gengar floated out of the room and into the backyard.
Lilligant was right behind it.
Gengar was about to get angry, but then it saw a familiar figure land in the yard.
"Gengar—"
You're here~
Under the moonlight, the blonde woman placed a finger to her lips.
Shh!
She looked at the Pokémon gathering around her and smiled happily.
Sure enough, I feel so much better just by coming back here.
...
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