One day before New Year's Eve.
Ethan left the guild headquarters together with all his little companions.
Although it wasn't officially New Year yet, there were already many people returning to their homes.
Seeing the happy smiles on everyone's faces filled Ethan's heart with warmth.
He glanced at the crowd anxiously waiting at the ticket windows, but he didn't want to join the chaos. Instead, he headed straight out of the city and released Vibrava.
"Viiibbrraa!"
Vibrava lightly vibrated its wings, showing clear enthusiasm.
"Are you ready?"
"This time we'll have to rely on the Levitate ability to complete the flight."
Ethan gently stroked Vibrava's wings with a smile, and Vibrava nodded seriously.
"Then, let's begin."
Ethan took a deep breath, held Slowking's Poké Ball in his hand, and signaled to Vibrava.
Vibrava flapped its wings softly, moved to his side, and Ethan suddenly felt his body lighten as he began floating upward.
Once he adapted to the weightless feeling, a gentle breeze suddenly rose. A current of air passed beside him and extended into the distance.
As that current formed, Vibrava quickly carried him along it, advancing according to the path of the wind.
"Well done. Looks like you already have great control over Tailwind."
Ethan smiled as he saw Vibrava flying carefully beside him, afraid he might fall.
After so much training, Vibrava had completely mastered the Flying-type move: Tailwind.
This move creates a favorable wind on the field, doubling the speed of all allied Pokémon.
It was a status move that increased the speed of the whole team, but Vibrava, applying the principles of the move, had managed to generate a wind current to fly.
"Viiibbrraa!"
Vibrava narrowed its eyes happily. Its body was wrapped in Flying-type energy as it fueled the move, building the path of the wind and flying upon it.
With the effect of the Levitate ability, both Ethan and Vibrava moved as if they were weightless balloons, gliding along the trail of wind.
...
After several hours, guided by Vibrava, Ethan arrived flying over the skies of Stonefield Town, causing a chorus of gasps among the townsfolk.
Within the crowd, Ethan's parents watched him descend from the sky, full of pride. Having a son like that was their greatest glory.
Upon arriving home, his parents had already prepared a large feast.
As soon as he returned, Ethan released all ten of his Pokémon, prompting his parents to look at them one by one with endless praise.
The Pokémon who had joined the team from the beginning, such as Sandslash and the others, were already familiar with Ethan's parents. Now they looked expectantly toward the kitchen, unknowingly drooling.
The Pokémon who joined later were a bit stiffer. Even Charmeleon, normally mischievous, behaved very gently, trying to please.
While trying to win over Ethan's parents, Charmeleon glanced sideways at Riolu, who stood awkwardly nearby. A triumphant expression appeared on his face: "Want to compete with me for their affection? You've got a long way to go."
While Ethan's parents got acquainted with the Pokémon, he approached Machop and Lombre, taking out the high-quality Pokémon food he had prepared for them.
Although Machop and Lombre weren't his Pokémon, Ethan always cared for them. Every time he bought or prepared Pokémon food, he sent some for them too.
The physical condition of the two showed that Ethan's parents had been taking great care of them.
Also, with the permission of his parents and the two Pokémon, Ethan had designed training plans for them, and it was clear they had been following them properly.
"Hm?"
"Mom, what flower is this? I've never seen it before."
While eating and chatting, Ethan suddenly noticed a floral arrangement his mother had carefully trimmed, and froze for a moment.
The arrangement was made up of several pink flowers, each with six petals, and very long green stems. Together, they had a peculiar beauty.
"Oh, these flowers... Actually, I don't know what they're called. One day, they suddenly appeared in the garden. I thought they were pretty, so I cut some."
Ethan's mother smiled as she spoke, placing a piece of stewed meat onto Ethan's plate and on some of the Pokémon's plates, making them overjoyed.
"Cacturne, come take a look at this."
"Is there some kind of special energy in these flowers?"
Ethan frowned slightly, trying to recall, but he still wasn't sure.
Cacturne nodded obediently, approached, and used its Grass-type energy to sense them. Its expression became doubtful.
At that moment, Shuckle also crawled over and began examining the pink flowers, sniffing them repeatedly. Clearly, Shuckle—who had awakened the Grass typing—had sensed something as well.
"It does seem like... these flowers come from the Pokémon world. And if I'm not mistaken... these are the legendary Gracidea Flowers."
Seeing the reaction of both Pokémon sent a shiver through Ethan's heart. His eyes began to shine.
The Gracidea Flower is a flower, but at the same time an extremely valuable item.
Its main function: allowing a Shaymin that is not frozen to change from its Land Forme to its Sky Forme.
Yes, Shaymin.
The Gracidea Flower is directly related to the mythical Pokémon Shaymin.
Shaymin, a Grass-type mythical Pokémon, has two forms: Land and Sky.
In its Land Forme, it resembles a white hedgehog covered with fresh, lush grass on the upper part of its body, with small yellow spots. It has two pink flowers on the sides, green eyes, and short white legs.
After using the Gracidea Flower and transforming into Sky Forme, it takes on the appearance of a small dog, with longer legs, green fur on its head, a red furry collar resembling a scarf, and white wings at the sides of its eyes that allow it to fly.
"I didn't expect a sign of Shaymin to appear here in Stonefield Town..."
Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly and believed he knew why Shaymin had been there.
According to records, Shaymin has no fixed habitat. It constantly travels, searching for or creating flower fields. During the season when Gracidea Flowers bloom, it can even be seen in the sky.
It was clear that when Shaymin passed through Stonefield Town and saw his mother's flower garden, with the intention of creating a sea of Gracidea Flowers, it had left a few seeds there, from which the flowers in the arrangement had grown.
(End of chapter)