In the height of summer, the Unova region was bright and sunny. Flocks of Pidove stood on rooftops, power lines, and roadside walls, cooing lazily about the morning.
A few bold Pidove would even fly up to the glass windows, tapping gently with their beaks and creating a crisp sound.
Inside the room.
A blonde woman, dressed in high-quality, form-fitting pajamas, lay against the headboard. She wore a pair of ornate and beautiful gold-rimmed glasses, reading a book about Unova mythology with intense focus.
She turned a page with one hand while effortlessly brushing away the other hand that kept crawling up her stomach, her eyes never once leaving the book.
Beside her lay a black-haired man with his eyes closed, his right hand continuously creeping up her stomach, only to be pushed away each time by a slender-fingered hand.
After a few failed attempts, the black-haired man gave up and began rolling back and forth on the bed instead. The blonde woman turned her head slightly and saw that he had rolled to the other side of the bed, his feet resting on her legs, and his entire head dangling over the edge.
Then, to her puzzled gaze, the man kicked his legs hard, performed a backflip, and plunged headfirst toward the floor.
Thud~
"Ouch!"
The scream startled the curious Pidove tapping on the glass, sending them flapping away from the window in a hurry.
"My head—"
The scream thoroughly woke up the luxurious villa, announcing that a new day had arrived.
"Ah—ouch, ouch, ouch, take it easy."
Lucas kept crying out in pain. Gothitelle, standing nearby with tweezers and cotton to disinfect him, used her psychic power to restrain his hands so he wouldn't interfere, and then proceeded to disinfect Lucas "thoroughly."
"Ah! That hurts!"
Lucas was in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes.
Lilligant, who had just taken some medicine from the butler, glanced at him, grinding the powder in her hand while coldly remarking.
"Lilli."
In truth, Gothitelle could have easily used herbs from the Breeding House to treat him, but she didn't want to. She specifically wanted to use standard disinfectant on Lucas.
Glancing at the blood-stained cotton balls on the side, Gothitelle felt a wave of irritation.
"Gothitelle."
Pain? Do you think this is your home? Doing backflips in your sleep? If you're so tough, why don't you go punch Arceus?
After saying that, Gothitelle pressed down slightly harder on the large bump on Lucas's forehead.
"Take it easy!!!"
Lucas let out another scream.
"I forgot this isn't our Breeding House, and I forgot Ninetales wasn't by my side. I thought Ninetales was lying by the bed, and I wanted to roll into her arms."
Lucas defended himself, looking aggrieved.
"Lilli."
Lilligant handed the ground powder to Gothitelle, who took it, applied it to Lucas's forehead, and wrapped it in gauze.
Although only his forehead was injured, Lilligant had wrapped up Lucas's left eye as well.
"Uh—I don't think the eye needs to be wrapped—ah, never mind, never mind, it's necessary, I'll listen to you."
Sensing the murderous look in Gothitelle's eyes, Lucas instantly turned into a coward.
"What happened to Lucas?"
Shauntal walked into the living room, yawning, and curiously asked why Lucas had become a one-eyed dragon.
Caitlin floated over and sat down next to Cynthia, examining Lucas with curiosity.
Seeing everyone curious about what happened to Lucas, Cynthia suppressed a laugh and said, "He used Seismic Toss while sleeping and tossed himself out."
Upon hearing this, Shauntal couldn't help but laugh and cry. Although she had heard long ago at the Breeding House that Lucas had terrible sleeping habits, she hadn't expected it to be this bad.
"You know, looking at it this way, it actually looks quite good."
Shauntal stared at Lucas, who only had one eye visible, and said, trying hard to suppress her laughter.
"What?! Lucas can actually use Seismic Toss? I knew it! Lucas must have been sparring with Miss Cynthia all night!"
Ash's voice suddenly rang out, and everyone present looked at him.
"What's wrong? Isn't that right?"
Seeing everyone looking at him, Ash scratched his head and spoke.
"Sigh."
Lucas sighed and then said, "It's fine, I don't blame you. Go train with Dash."
Hearing the word "train," both Ash and Pikachu's eyes lit up. "Yes! Pikachu, let's go!"
"Ouch—"
Because he was running too fast, Ash slammed into the door with a "thud." He rubbed his reddened forehead, turned back to give everyone an embarrassed grin, and then ran off with Pikachu.
Truly a super person from Pallet Town—
"Dash is in the yard."
"I got it."
Ash's voice called back.
"Iris can also go ask Garchomp for advice."
Cynthia smiled at Iris, who paused for a moment before hurriedly thanking her.
"Thank you, Miss Cynthia. Axew, let's go."
"Axew."
The dark-skinned girl left with Axew.
Cilan also took the opportunity while cooking to ask Gothitelle for advice on culinary knowledge.
During lunch, while everyone was busy eating, Ash suddenly said, "I just realized Lucas only has one eye today?"
Lucas looked at Ash and saw the incredibly innocent expression on his face. He picked up a piece of broccoli and dropped it into Gengar's bowl, then picked up the pork ribs from the bowl. Under Gengar's stunned gaze, he tossed the ribs into his mouth and started sucking on them.
"Well, you noticed that quite early."
Gengar looked at the broccoli in its bowl, then glanced at Lucas, who was pretending to get away with it.
This is bullying a ghost too much!
Gengar lunged at Lucas. Lucas, who was prepared, stood up with his bowl, finished the rice in it, and handed the bowl to Gothitelle.
"I'm full."
Taking advantage of the time before Gengar could climb up from the floor, Lucas took off running.
Gengar floated up from the floor and chased after Lucas.
"Gen gengar!"
Give back my ribs!
The butler watched Lucas being chased around the yard, feeling a bit embarrassed. He looked at Cynthia, "Miss, do you need—"
"It's fine, don't mind them."
Cynthia told the butler not to worry about Lucas and Gengar and to focus on his meal.
Although she said that, the butler still couldn't help but look out the window every now and then.
After lunch, Shauntal and Caitlin returned to the League.
Alder remained here to guide Ash and Iris.
Drayden had returned to Opelucid City yesterday with the dna splicers.
Perhaps influenced by yesterday, the weather today was quite nice. It was overcast, and the breeze felt refreshing on the skin.
Lucas and Cynthia walked through the small town, letting the breeze blow lazily against them.
"The weather is quite nice today, no scorching sun."
Lucas glanced at the clouds overhead and remarked.
"This kind of weather will probably last for a few days. After all, the aura left behind by Tornadus and the others will take some time to dissipate."
Cynthia walked beside Lucas. It was clear she also liked today's weather, as there was a hint of joy in her tone.
"This way, I don't have to worry about getting tanned," Cynthia said.
Passing by an ice cream shop, Cynthia stopped as expected. She glanced at the shop and then turned to Lucas, "Want some ice cream? My treat."
Lucas pretended to hesitate for a moment, "Since it's Miss Cynthia's treat, then I won't stand on ceremony."
Cynthia smiled gently.
"Do you want me to help you choose?"
"No need, I'll pick it myself. I'm going to pick my favorite."
"You'd like it as long as it's ice cream or a popsicle, right?"
"Hmm—that's not wrong. I won't talk to you anymore, I'm going to line up."
"Glasses, hat, mask."
"Oh, almost forgot."
With Lucas's help, Cynthia disguised herself and then went to line up.
Lucas sat on a stone bench under a tree, lost in thought, waiting for Cynthia to return.
Perhaps due to the exhaustion of the past few days, Lucas had a sense of weariness about him. A little girl nearby saw this and ran up to him.
"Hello, big brother."
Hearing the voice, Lucas snapped out of his daze. He found a cute little girl standing in front of him, smiling at him. She was holding many flowers, some of which had wilted, perhaps because they had been picked for too long.
"What's the matter?"
Lucas asked gently.
The little girl grinned, picked the most beautiful flower, and handed it to Lucas, "This is for you."
Lucas was stunned for a moment, then took it and sniffed it gently. To be honest, the fragrance was very faint, far inferior to the flowers at the Breeding House.
"Thank you, it's so fragrant. How much is it?"
Lucas asked.
Who knew the little girl would shake her head, "It's free. It's a gift for you."
Lucas was full of confusion, "A gift for me?"
"Yeah, big brother. I hope you can keep blooming like a flower. Don't be sad or give up because of a temporary flaw. There are still many wonderful things in this world, and many cute Pokémon too."
Lucas was even more confused.
What is she talking about? What flaw? What blooming?
Then, Lucas saw the little girl lift her skirt, revealing a metallic-looking lower leg.
"Look at me. With its help, I can run healthily too."
The little girl grinned, "So, big brother, you can still see things with one eye."
When Lucas first saw the little girl's leg, he was clearly stunned. Then, hearing her words, he laughed.
He touched his left eye wrapped in gauze. He knew the little girl had misunderstood him, but he didn't explain. Instead, he reached out and pinched the little girl's cheek, "You're right. Thank you for comforting me."
The little girl smiled shyly. Being kind, she continued to comfort Lucas, "Big brother, you look very cool like this, just like Dusknoir—cool and reliable."
Dusknoir? Cool?
"Do you think Dusknoir is cool and reliable?"
"Yeah, it's my dad's good partner. It protected me and my mom during a disaster."
"Wow, then Dusknoir really is cool and reliable. Does that mean I'm also a Dusknoir?"
"Hehe."
The little girl laughed, "Although it and my dad are no longer here, I know they will always protect me and my mom. It was also them who gave me the courage to keep running. Big brother, you can't give up either."
"I haven't given up even though I'm so small, so a real man shouldn't give up either."
Lucas felt a lump in his throat. Looking at the little girl with her bright smile, he nodded heavily, "Big brother promises you. You also promise big brother that you will keep running forward, okay?"
"Yeah, I promise big brother."
The little girl also nodded heavily.
"Pinky swear."
Lucas, like a child, stretched out his little finger.
The little girl giggled and stretched out her little finger too.
"Pinky swear, promise for a hundred years, never change—"
"Can you tell big brother if you like Pokémon?"
Lucas lifted the little girl onto the bench, let her sit beside him, turned his head to look at her, and asked.
"I like them. Pokémon are really cute."
"Oh? Then what kind of Pokémon do you like?"
"I like them all."
"What's your favorite Pokémon?"
"Hmm—Eevee! Eevee is so cute. It must be very comfortable to hold while sleeping, hehe."
"I'm selling flowers and saving money right now so that my mom can go to the big city to help me buy an Eevee egg. Mom promised me."
The little girl swung her legs, the mechanical sound creaking.
"Eevee, huh—big brother likes Eevee too."
"Right? No one doesn't like Eevee."
"Then how much money can you save in a day selling flowers?"
"Hmm—a lot of times I can't sell them, but there will be days when many people buy my flowers."
The little girl never seemed to get discouraged. She looked at Lucas optimistically, "I've already saved—let me count—this much money!"
The little girl held out her fingers and said to Lucas with a grin.
Lucas looked at her and suddenly thought of little Shauna.
He looked at the flowers in her hand; they were all wildflowers found everywhere on the roadside. He shook his head and looked at the girl, "Can you give me all the flowers you have in your hand?"
The little girl shook her head and refused, "No."
Lucas was just about to explain, but he heard the little girl continue: "These have wilted. If you want some, big brother, I'll go pick some more for you—ones that look better than these."
"Can you?"
"It's okay. They're very easy to pick, as long as I avoid those Pokémon."
"Then can you go pick some for me?"
"Sure, big brother. Then wait for me."
"Oh right, I left something by the beach just now. I need to go get it. Can you help me take care of my Pokémon?"
"Sure. Where is your Pokémon, big brother?"
Lucas threw out his Poké Balls, and Lilligant, Gothitelle, and Garchomp appeared before the little girl, while Gengar also jumped out from the shadows.
"Gengar!" You were scared, weren't you?
"Whoa! I was scared—not!"
The little girl giggled, looking at Lilligant, "What a beautiful Lilligant—"
Lilligant smiled sweetly at her, then lifted her skirt slightly and bowed, "Lilligant~" You are very beautiful too~
"Then I'll leave them with you. I'm going back to get something."
"Okay, take care, big brother. Be safe, and don't rush."
"Yeah, I'll leave my flowers in your care."
"Okay."
After the little girl left with Gengar and the others, Lucas found a secluded corner, opened the Distortion World portal, and stepped inside.
"Roar?" The battle was that intense? Giratina's confused voice echoed. "You even got beaten into a cyclops?"
Lucas glared, not stopping his pace, "What do you know? A single eye is the romance of a man."
After saying that, he walked out of the Distortion World, returned to the Breeding House, went to the incubation room, chose an Eevee egg that was about to hatch, placed it in an incubator, held it in his arms, and opened the Distortion World portal again to step inside.
Watching Lucas's back as he left the Distortion World, Giratina was a bit puzzled. Where is this guy going with a pokémon egg?
However, confusion was just confusion; these weren't things it needed to worry about. The things it needed to worry about now were repairing the damage caused to the Distortion World by the great battle a few days ago. The noble master of the antimatter world began a new day of work.
Back at the original spot, Lucas didn't see the little girl, nor did he see Gengar. He also didn't see Cynthia in the line at the ice cream shop.
Carrying the incubator, Lucas followed the direction the little girl had left in and searched along the way.
Finally, he found her, Gengar and the others, along with a blonde woman, as well as Victini and Meloetta, in a patch of grass.
Lucas stood far away, not going over to disturb them, just standing there watching them.
The little girl seemed to be talking to Cynthia about something, appearing especially happy.
After searching for who knows how long, a woman hurried over and called out to the little girl. The little girl stood up, ran over slowly, and exchanged a few words with the woman. The woman smiled and nodded, and then the little girl trotted back to Cynthia and the others.
On the way, she saw Lucas standing in the distance and exclaimed in surprise, "Big brother, you're back?"
"That's right." Lucas nodded.
The little girl, holding the fresh flowers she had just picked, trotted over to Lucas's side. Her forehead was covered in sweat. Although the distance wasn't far, for her, this short distance seemed to have exhausted all her energy.
She panted and handed the flowers to Lucas, "Big brother, this is for you. I picked these with that big sister. She is very beautiful."
"Right? I think she's very beautiful too, because she's big brother's girlfriend."
The little girl widened her eyes, her mouth agape. "Oh~"
After a long while, she made an 'oh' sound like a little adult. Just then, Cynthia walked over with Garchomp, Gengar, and the others.
Victini climbed directly onto the top of Lucas's head, tugging at his hair, while Meloetta sat on Lucas's shoulder, swinging her little feet.
Lucas took the flowers and sniffed them gently; they were exceptionally fragrant. Lucas crouched down, looked at the little girl in front of him, and smiled, speaking softly, "You gave big brother such a precious gift, so how about big brother gives you a small gift too?"
The little girl looked at Lucas in confusion, and Lucas handed the incubator in his hand to the little girl.
"Your little Eevee, this is for you."
Looking at the pokémon egg lying in the incubator, the little girl was completely stunned. She didn't know why this big brother she had just met would take out an Eevee egg, nor did she know why he would give her a pokémon egg, because she was just a little child.
No matter how optimistic and strong she was, it didn't change the fact that she was just a little girl.
"Don't know what to do now, right?"
The little girl nodded. Lucas chuckled, then pointed to the little girl's mother in the distance and said, "Do you know? When we children face things we can't solve, we need to ask adults for help."
The little girl's eyes lit up, and she turned to run towards her mother.
"Take it with you." Lucas handed her the incubator, "Be careful, don't drop it. There's a little Eevee inside. No need to run, walk slowly. We should slow down when we need to, you know?"
The little girl nodded, seeming to understand, and walked towards her mother while holding the incubator.
After seeing her leave, Lucas stood up and looked at Cynthia, who was eating ice cream beside him.
"You only bought one?" "I bought two." "Where's the other one?" "I gave it to her."
After Cynthia finished speaking, she thought for a moment, blinked at Lucas, "Oh right, the one I gave away was yours."
"!" "You're quite generous! Giving away my ice cream."
"You don't want to part with it?" "It's not like that. Forget it, what's given is given. Let me have a bite of yours."
"In your dreams, I don't even have enough for myself!"
"So stingy, such a stingy woman." "Hmm?" "Nothing, I said you are the most beautiful woman in the world. Even Diancie, the synonym for beauty, cannot compare to you."
"Hmm~" Cynthia nodded with satisfaction and then began to enjoy her ice cream.
During the conversation between Lucas and Cynthia, the woman had already hurried over with the little girl.
"Sir, this is too valuable—ah! You are—Champion Cynthia?!"
During the woman's speech, she recognized Cynthia standing beside Lucas and asked in surprise, covering her mouth. Cynthia gently shushed her.
"Ma'am, actually, this wasn't just my idea; it was also my wife's idea. You should know that she is the Champion of the Sinnoh region, so an Eevee egg is not particularly valuable to her."
Lucas stood to the side and said with a smile.
The woman looked at Lucas, who was only showing one eye, and was a bit puzzled. Is he Champion Cynthia's boyfriend? No, he said Champion Cynthia is his wife—doesn't that make him Champion Cynthia's—husband?! Champion Cynthia is married?! Why does her husband look so much like—Dusknoir?
Noticing the woman's gaze, Lucas hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "This was actually caused by an injury."
The woman also knew that staring at Lucas's eye was impolite, so she quickly apologized, "Sorry, excuse me, I didn't mean that."
Lucas shook his head, "I don't mean to blame you. Did you hear the commotion a few days ago? I sustained this injury while dealing with that incident with Champion Cynthia."
The woman covered her mouth. So that incident was resolved by this man and Champion Cynthia together? She had seen the news and heard it was a disaster caused by a Legendary Pokémon, later resolved by Elite Four Shauntal, Elite Four Caitlin, and other Champions from other regions. So were they referring to Champion Cynthia and him?
"Thank you very much." The woman bowed sincerely and thanked him.
The little girl didn't understand, but that didn't stop her from thanking them along with her mother.
"She probably thought I might be upset about my condition, so she came over to comfort me." Lucas smiled as he looked at the little girl and said.
The woman also realized this and a smile appeared on her face. "She is always so sensible," the woman said.
"Yes, very sensible." Lucas nodded in agreement, then looked at the woman, "So when I heard she was saving money to ask you to help buy an Eevee egg, Champion Cynthia asked me to find one."
"Sensible is one thing, but having a Pokémon for company is better than playing alone, isn't it?"
The woman's expression dimmed, "I don't want it to be like this either—"
Seeing this, Lucas could only change the subject. He crouched down, looked at the little girl, and asked, "Tell big brother, do you like this Eevee egg?"
Before answering, the little girl looked up at her mother's expression, then nodded and answered crisply, "I like it."
"Then how about big brother gives you this Eevee egg?"
The little girl shook her head, "I heard mom say that pokémon eggs are very expensive, especially Eevee eggs."
Lucas pinched her nose, "Did big brother forget to tell you who I am?"
"Big brother's identity?"
"That's right, big brother is the owner of a Breeding House. Do you know what a Breeding House is?"
"I know! I heard mom say that a Breeding House is a place that sells pokémon eggs and Pokémon."
"That's right, big brother is the owner of a Breeding House and has many, many pokémon eggs. So it's fine to give you one. But there is one thing big brother must ask you. If your answer doesn't satisfy big brother, then I won't give it to you."
The little girl held her breath, "What?"
Seeing this, Lucas smiled lightly, "Can you promise big brother that you will protect this little Eevee well and take good care of it?"
"I promise!"
"Very good, then big brother will entrust this Eevee egg to you."
Lucas continued, "Consider it a reward for the flowers you gave big brother, okay?"
Seeing the girl accept the pokémon egg after her mother nodded, Lucas nodded with satisfaction.
He hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Will you blame me for not telling you right away that I hadn't actually lost my eye?"
The little girl answered innocently, "Why would I blame big brother? Isn't it a happy thing that you can see?"
Lucas couldn't help but laugh. Once upon a time, little Shauna was also this sensible and cute. Of course, it's not that Shauna isn't sensible now, it's just that Shauna's style has become a bit—forget it, I won't say anything more. The more I say, the more tears I shed.
Lucas stood up and said goodbye to the woman and the little girl.
After Lucas turned and left with Cynthia, the little girl stared at the pokémon egg in her arms and suddenly called out to Lucas, "Big brother, my name is Tiaotiao, like hopping and jumping Tiaotiao."
Lucas stopped, looked back at her, "Big brother's name is Lucas, and she is Cynthia. Promise big brother that you will keep hopping and jumping, with Eevee and your mom, okay?"
"Okay!" "Gengar~" I was the one who got injured in that battle~
Gengar floated beside Lucas, pitching its voice and mimicking Lucas's speech, its expression extremely abstract.
"Mind your own business! You little fatty!"
"Lilligant." Shameless, it was clearly your own bad sleeping posture, yet you have the nerve to say that.
"My sleeping posture is bad, is yours any better?"
Lucas retorted.
"Gengar~" 'My wife'... pfft, you shameless thing, ugh!
"You ghost thing, you're getting cocky now, aren't you?"
"Gengar—" So what? You're going to beat me to death?
Lucas reached out and grabbed the little tail of the Gengar trying to flee the scene. The Gengar, with its tail caught, kicked back, landing a kick on Lucas's face. The human and the ghost started fighting on the side of the road like that.
"Bang! Bang bang!" Lucas and Gengar each held their heads and walked together obediently.
Gothitelle calmly blew on her fist. If you don't beat them for three days, they'll tear the roof off.
"This ice cream shop again. Gengar, do you want some?"
"Gengar—!" Yes!
"Victini!" I want some too!
"I was wondering why my head was so heavy, so you were still lying on my head! Don't you have any idea how heavy you are? Get down."
Lucas reached out to pull Victini down, but Victini threw a tantrum and grabbed his hair, refusing to get down. Lucas, in too much pain to bear it, had to give up.
Meloetta, who was sitting on Garchomp's shoulder along with Lilligant, covered her mouth and giggled at the sight. Lucas is really a good person.
"Ice cream? I want some too!" Cynthia said.
"You just ate some!" "Garchomp ate it!"
"Hmm?" (Lucas puzzled) "Hmm?" (Cynthia snorted coldly)
"I'll buy it!" "Hmm~"
"Garchomp?" I ate it?
"That's right, Garchomp ate it."
"Garchomp is so hateful! Just like Gengar! So bad!"
"Gengar?" I haven't even eaten my ice cream yet, and it's my fault again?!
"Garchomp?!"
"Th-that—I know, everything is Gengar's fault, can you put your scythe down first?"
"Gengar!" How come it's all my fault every time?!
"Meloetta~" Giggle~ "Victini!" Fight, fight! Hurry up and fight!
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