The Sudden Arrival of the Spheal

Finally, the day of departure arrived. Before leaving, Yuga made sure everything was in order at the Ecopark and entrusted the care of the Pokémon to the Daycare workers. With that settled, he could finally leave with Windy and the others.

Yuga first went next door to pick up Rand, then he went to his aunt's house to fetch Luna. Finally, he met up with Suzuki Koen at the airport.

Suzuki Koen had brought her son, Dian, along as Yuga had requested. After all, as a single mother, it wouldn't be right to go on a trip and leave her son behind.

The distance between Lilycove City and Verdanturf Town was not close, so taking a short flight was the quickest option. Just like when he went to Johto last time, Yuga took a ship to Lilycove City.

When Yuga and the others arrived at Verdanturf Town Airport, Suzuki Koen was already there, holding and cuddling a strawberry. It seemed like she had been there for a while.

Yuga rushed over, panting, and said apologetically, "I'm... sorry, Sister Koen. We're late."

Suzuki Koen waved her hand, nonchalantly saying, "It's fine. With so many of you, a little delay is normal."

The airport was bustling with people coming and going. Yuga turned to the people behind him and said, "There are so many people here. Luna, Rand, stick close. If I lose you, I won't come looking."

"Understood!" Luna exclaimed vigorously.

"Understood," Rand answered expressionlessly.

Yuga thought for a moment, then turned to Windy and said, "You too!"

Windy looked bewildered. What did he mean? He put me on the same level as Luna and Rand? Don't forget that I'm older than you!!! He wanted to say something, but Yuga had already turned and walked away with Suzuki Koen. He could only swallow his words and follow Luna and the others.

On the plane.

Since Audino and Linoone had not been captured by Yuga, they couldn't be stored in Poké Balls. Thus, Yuga had to buy a separate plane ticket for the larger Audino.

As for Linoone, its size was relatively small and it didn't need its own ticket. It simply lay on Windy's leg and slept soundly during the flight.

At this moment, Yuga was holding Budew, resting his head against the seat and closing his eyes. However, as he leaned back, he started to feel drowsy. His thoughts began to blur.

Just as Yuga was about to fall asleep in the next moment, he suddenly felt something cool and bouncy at his feet, as if something was hopping on his leg.

Yuga's groggy consciousness instantly cleared. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down, meeting a pair of shiny black eyes.

The two pairs of eyes stared at each other like this for a good half minute. Suddenly, the owner of the eyes at the bottom parted its three-segmented mouth and smiled at Yuga.

"Spheal, Spheal."

A Spheal? How could there be a Spheal at his feet?

Yuga stretched his neck and looked around. He saw a young girl with bright purple hair winking and gesturing at him.

Yuga immediately recognized the cute-looking girl. He remembered her name was Kris.

Kris had participated in the Pokémon Trainer Battle Tournament held by Devon Corporation in Verdanturf Town. She was also his opponent. The Pokémon she used was a Spheal. However, she had been eliminated by Yuga later on.

They were quite a distance apart, and voices couldn't carry well. Yuga could only point at the Spheal under his foot, then point at Kris, implying if the Spheal belonged to her.

Kris understood Yuga's meaning and nodded.

Yuga bent down, picked up the Spheal, and said to it, "Little cutie, your Trainer is looking for you. Hurry back." He patted its chubby body and put it back on the ground, motioning for it to go back.

But the Spheal on the ground remained still, with its round eyes fixed on Yuga.

"What's wrong?" Yuga didn't understand why the Spheal was staring at him and refusing to move. He asked in confusion.

"Spheal, Spheal." The Spheal made a few calls and bounced on the ground. Yuga still couldn't figure out its meaning.

After a while, Yuga finally realized what was going on. It turned out he had misunderstood the situation. The Spheal wasn't looking at him at all; it was looking at Budew in his arms.

Yuga took Budew out from his arms and placed it next to the Spheal. He said, "Do you want to play with Budew?"

"Spheal, Spheal!" Seeing that Yuga finally understood its intentions, the Spheal bounced with joy, looking incredibly cute.

Wait a minute! You're not interested in my Budew, are you? Your species can't fall in love with each other, and besides, I don't approve!

Yuga kindly said to the Spheal, "Spheal, your Trainer has been waiting anxiously for you. You should go back."

"Spheal!" The Spheal shook its head, unwilling to leave.

Yuga looked at the Spheal, which blinked its innocent big eyes at him, and then at Budew, which was also looking expectantly at him. It seemed that they really wanted to play together. Yuga thought, It's true that kids are fearless.

He sighed and said helplessly to the Spheal, "Because you're still young, I won't send you away. But you mustn't bully my Budew."

"Spheal, Spheal." Hearing Yuga's agreement, the Spheal happily hopped around.

Yuga put Budew down on the ground as well, and the two Pokémon soon began to play happily together.

At this moment, Yuga turned around and looked at the girl named Kris. He pointed at the Spheal, then patted his own chest, implying that he would take care of the Spheal for her.

The girl clasped her hands together in gratitude, her worries dissipating from her face.

And so, the Spheal stayed with Yuga until the plane landed.

Upon landing, due to the crowdedness, Kris couldn't come to pick up her Spheal. Yuga held the Spheal and gestured outside, indicating for her to wait there.

After disembarking.

"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know what to do." Kris received the Spheal from Yuga's hands, expressing her gratitude.

However, Kris seemed to have completely forgotten that she had met Yuga before.

"No need to thank me. Besides, your Spheal didn't want to leave because it wanted to play with my Budew. Looking after it is only fair," Yuga said with a smile.

"By the way, I'm Kris. I don't know the name of this big brother yet!" Kris realized she hadn't introduced herself, and quickly did so.

"I know you're Kris. We've met before, in Verdanturf Town during the Pokémon Battle Tournament," Yuga didn't mention his own name, smiling at the young girl ambiguously.

Kris was momentarily puzzled, then she slapped her forehead suddenly and remembered, "Oh... Oh, oh, oh, you're that big brother who eliminated me!" After a pause, she looked puzzled again, "Oh right, what's that big brother's name?"

Yuga was nearly floored by her words, and he helplessly said, "Shimizu Yuga!"

Kris grinned and said, "I'm really sorry. I tend to forget things easily. Well then, I'll call you Big Brother Shimizu."

"Whatever you like. I still have people waiting for me, so I won't talk with you much. If fate allows, we'll meet again!" With that, he waved to Kris and walked towards Suzuki Koen and the others who were waiting not far away.