Diancie pouted, hands on her hips, glaring at Lilligant.
—You're one to talk. Weren't you the one who just went and hugged him?
Diancie's complaint didn't stop Lilligant from hugging Auron Vale — though unlike Diancie, Lilligant didn't cling indefinitely. She gave him one good squeeze, then let go.
"Hee~li~"
Then Lilligant took Auron Vale's hand and started leading him toward the center of the yard.
"Hm? What's going on?"
"Hee~li~"
—Come with me~
"Alright."
Auron Vale had no idea what Lilligant was planning, but he let himself be led along.
Lilligant and Auron Vale walked ahead, while Diancie trotted behind, tugging at Auron Vale's shirt hem.
"Hee~li~"
Once Lilligant had brought Auron Vale to the center of the grassy clearing, she let out a sharp cry that instantly drew every Pokémon's attention.
"Hee~li~hee~li~hee~li~"
Hearing Lilligant's call, all the Pokémon perked up with excitement and made their way over toward Auron Vale and the others.
Even Milcery, who had been resting off to the side, and the aloof Gallade cracked the faintest smiles, watching the commotion unfold.
"Yaha~"
" Oh, Alcremie! Long time no see~"
Auron Vale hastily caught the Alcremie dropping from the air, cradling her gently in his palms with a joyful expression.
"Yaha~"
Alcremie gazed up at Auron Vale with squinting, happy eyes, then conjured a swirl of cream in her tiny hands and lifted it up, offering it toward Auron Vale's mouth.
" Ahwoom!"
Auron Vale didn't hold back — he opened wide and ate every bit of cream in Alcremie's palm.
"It's even tastier than before, Alcremie."
Auron Vale's eyes brightened. Alcremie's cream was truly a taste of paradise. He'd eaten it all the time as a kid, but somehow Alcremie's cream just kept getting more and more delicious with each passing day.
" Kabu~"
While Auron Vale was still savoring the cool, sweet mintiness of Alcremie's cream, Snorlax standing nearby couldn't help but drool at the sight.
" Kabu~"
Looking at the blissful expression on Auron Vale's face, Snorlax finally couldn't hold back anymore. It bent its great bulk forward, extending its head toward the Alcremie cupped in Auron Vale's palms.
"Yaha~"
Alcremie recognized this giant, too. She didn't come home often, but she knew this was one of Xiao Ze's Pokémon.
So Alcremie generously formed another swirl of cream in her palm and extended it toward Snorlax's gaping mouth.
"Ah——"
The moment Snorlax opened its jaws wide, ready for a bite, Auron Vale jerked his hands away.
" Kabu?"
Snorlax, denied its taste, blinked in confusion.
"Wait, hold on. I'm afraid you might accidentally swallow Alcremie along with it."
Auron Vale's caution was entirely justified. Snorlax stood over three meters tall, while Alcremie measured a mere thirty centimeters. The size difference was enormous — Snorlax might not be able to control its grip properly and could easily gulp Alcremie down with the cream.
" Kabu~"
Snorlax helplessly scratched its big head. It wasn't like it could help being so huge.
" Guchu~guchu~"
Alcremie giggled quietly at Snorlax's dopey expression.
"Yaha~"
Alcremie's eyes suddenly sparkled. She stretched out one little hand and waved Snorlax closer with a beckoning gesture.
Snorlax was puzzled, but it dutifully lowered its head, peering at the tiny thing in Auron Vale's palms with curiosity.
Alcremie, completely unafraid of the head that was bigger than her entire body, laughed happily as she smeared the ball of cream she'd made right across Snorlax's lips.
" Kabu?"
Snorlax tilted its head and instinctively licked its lips.
" KABU!!"
Watching Snorlax's expression of pure bliss, Alcremie and Auron Vale both burst out laughing.
"So clever!"
Auron Vale praised Alcremie warmly. This way, there was no risk of Snorlax accidentally swallowing Alcremie along with the cream during feeding.
"Hee~li~"
"Osho~"
At this point, the stage had been set. Krookodile had arched up a raised platform in the center of the clearing, and Unisus had flattened the top into a level stage surface using its Psychic powers.
Judging by how smoothly the two worked together, they must have done this plenty of times before.
Once the platform was ready, Diancie hopped up onto the stage, bowed respectfully to the assembled Pokémon, then raised both arms high, working the crowd.
At the same time, Incineroar lit a ring of tiny flames around the base of the platform.
And so, with Diancie atop the stage and the firelight dancing below, the little Pokémon began her dance performance.
Behind Diancie on the stage, Lilligant provided musical accompaniment, while Toxtricity kept the beat on its drum.
It was a scene to behold, and Auron Vale couldn't help but lose himself in it, watching the performance with genuine captivation.
* * * * *
The next morning, Auron Vale was woken up by Snorlax at the crack of dawn.
"What's wrong, Snorlax?"
He'd stayed up too late the night before — in the end, everyone had gotten completely carried away. Every single Pokémon with a talent had taken the stage and performed.
It wasn't until Gengar sang its Perish Song that everyone was finally, reluctantly, forced to call it a night.
" Kabu~kabu~kabu~"
Snorlax rubbed its big, lovable head against Auron Vale, whining softly.
"If you want cream, go find Alcremie. I can't produce cream out of thin air."
Looking at Snorlax acting like this, Auron Vale knew exactly what it wanted.
After all, every time Snorlax acted clingy, its drool ended up smeared all over Auron Vale's blanket.
" Kabu~"
Seeing Auron Vale's teasing expression, Snorlax's face reddened slightly — but it made no move to leave. It was obvious: Snorlax was too embarrassed to go ask Alcremie directly, so it wanted Auron Vale to do it for him.
"Alright, alright, hold on. I'll go ask her in just a second, okay?"
" KABU!"
Only after Auron Vale agreed did Snorlax brighten back up, jumping to its feet with renewed energy. Its eyes, however, stayed locked on Auron Vale.
"Easy, easy — no need to rush."
Auron Vale checked the time. It was barely past six, dragged out of bed by Snorlax. But he didn't have the heart to go back to sleep now, so he sat up and started getting dressed.
" Mmm, how about I make you all breakfast? Using Alcremie's cream, sound good?"
"Yin~"
"Hm?"
Auron Vale turned his head, grinning at Crobat by the window.
"You want Alcremie's cream too?"
"Yin~"
Crobat nodded without hesitation. Something that delicious — who wouldn't want some?
The night before, when the atmosphere had hit its peak, Alcremie hadn't held back either — she'd whipped up balls of cream and handed them out to every Pokémon present.
That was how all of Auron Vale's Pokémon had fallen under Alcremie's reign of cream.
"Alright then. Help me gather some berries, and I'll make you all a fruit cream jam to go with some Moomoo Milk this morning, deal?"
" Kabu~"
"Yin~"
"Roar!"
"Kyu~"
Watching the excited reactions from Crobat, Snorlax, Charizard, and Probopass, Auron Vale couldn't help but laugh.
"Quiet, quiet — Dratini's still sleeping."
Auron Vale said this, turning to look at the little dragon curled up on the bed.
But Deoxys had already erected a Psychic barrier around Dratini's side of the room, muffling all the noise. Dratini was still sleeping soundly.
Crobat, Snorlax, Charizard, and Probopass all voiced their approval, along with a "Kyu!" from Dratini.
Auron Vale just smiled at how worked up they all got. Crawdaunt had spent the night outside in the backyard pond, sleeping alongside Slowpoke. Farfetch'd had already gotten up early and gone to train — its silhouette was visible through the window, a diligent shape moving through the morning light.
PS: The manager's gone crazy — been in meetings all day. There's another one this afternoon. One chapter for now. Another one after the meeting ends this afternoon (◢д◣)
(This chapter is complete.)
———
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