Hayato Sora brought Popplio over to the other Pokémon and took out some snacks from his Spatial Satchel, offering them to it.
"Give them a try. See if they suit your taste."
"Pop!"
Popplio sniffed them first, then grabbed a piece and popped it into its mouth.
The snack was sweet, with a faint floral aroma. Popplio immediately liked it.
Meeting Hayato Sora's gaze, Popplio nodded vigorously to show that it tasted great.
"Cin?"
Cinccino's voice came from the side as Serena ran over.
After taking Cinccino into his arms and gently squeezing its little cheeks, Hayato Sora introduced them.
"This is Popplio, a Water-type Sea Lion Pokémon."
"Pop~!"
Popplio clapped its flippers and, as if it had known them forever, happily greeted Cinccino and the others.
"So cute!" Serena said as she set Morpeko down from her arms, crouching excitedly to poke Popplio.
Popplio's adorable appearance made it especially popular with girls. And Popplio itself loved being the center of attention—it had a real flair for showing off.
"Popplio, do you have any special abilities?"
Serena gently stroked it while asking curiously.
Cinccino was soft and fragrant, Morpeko was a glutton—but what about Popplio?
"Pop!"
Popplio had been waiting for that question.
It leapt aside onto an open patch of beach.
Raising its head proudly, it blew a bubble from its bright red nose.
At first the bubble was only the size of a fist, but as time passed it grew larger and larger until it was about the size of a basketball.
"So amazing!"
Serena clapped enthusiastically, which only made Popplio perform even harder.
Hayato Sora whispered something into Cinccino's ear before setting it down.
Cinccino ran off quickly, calling over Flabébé, the Meowth, and the Mareep.
Soon, with Popplio at the center, a ring of Pokémon gathered around it.
Cinccino spoke first.
"Cin~!"
(So amazing! So amazing!)
"Flabébé!"
"Meow… meow!"
"Baa baa!"
The attention of so many Pokémon, along with Cinccino's enthusiastic praise, made Popplio feel as if it were floating.
The little Pokémon jumped onto the bubble. Using its elasticity, it bounced into the air and performed a full 360-degree spinning flip before landing gracefully.
Afterward, Popplio bowed politely to the audience of Pokémon in thanks.
The little fellow clearly had a natural talent for performing.
"Clap clap clap~!"
Serena was especially excited, applauding nonstop until her palms turned red.
The excited cries of the surrounding Pokémon also didn't stop. Popplio's performance was genuinely entertaining.
"Cin~!"
(Another one! Another one!)
With Cinccino leading the chant, the other Pokémon joined in.
Unable to resist their enthusiasm, Popplio decided to perform one more trick.
It began blowing another bubble.
This one was huge—big enough to fit Popplio's entire body inside.
Just as Popplio was about to step onto it, a gust of wind blew in from the sea.
The bubble suddenly floated upward, drifting toward the nearby forest.
Popplio hurriedly chased after it. Its performance couldn't end in failure!
Cinccino and the others exchanged looks before quickly following behind.
A whole crowd of Pokémon chased after the giant bubble.
But just then—
A dark shadow suddenly dropped from the sky, falling straight toward the bubble.
"Pop—!"
(Don't!)
Popplio loved showing off and cared a lot about its image. It absolutely didn't want its performance to fail in front of so many Pokémon.
But it was still some distance away from the bubble and couldn't catch up in time. All it could do was watch helplessly as the falling shadow collided with the giant bubble.
However, the expected popping sound never came.
Instead, the bubble tightly wrapped around the Pokémon that had suddenly fallen from the sky.
When Cinccino arrived, it circled the giant bubble once, its tiny face filled with shock.
"Cin!"
(So amazing! Did you plan this too, Popplio?)
"Pop?" Popplio scratched its head, then quickly reacted. "Pop pop!"(Popplio cry)
(Of course! I noticed that Pokémon was about to fall, so I controlled the water bubble to float over and catch it!)
Popplio shamelessly claimed the credit without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Cin~?"
(What kind of Pokémon is that?)
The surrounding Pokémon all shook their heads. None of them recognized it.
One of the Alolan Meowth spoke up.
"It looks like a bird Pokémon… but can something that fat really fly?"
Its round, chubby body rivaled that of a sheep. It looked like it had simply gotten too fat and crashed—definitely not like something that had been knocked out of the sky.
Since none of the Pokémon recognized it, one of the Mareep suggested:
"Baa!"
(Let's bring it to Hayato Sora. He'll definitely know.)
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Hayato Sora knew all sorts of things—he would definitely recognize the Pokémon inside.
So Popplio carried the water bubble while the group of Pokémon went to find Hayato Sora.
Hayato Sora had just asked Serena to help apply sunscreen and had barely lain down when he suddenly felt the sunlight disappear.
Opening his eyes, he saw Pokémon surrounding him from all sides.
Cinccino immediately jumped onto Hayato Sora's stomach and tugged at him.
"Cin! Cin!"
"Alright, alright. I'll go with you."
Hayato Sora drained the last sip of his fruit juice in one gulp, then placed Cinccino on top of his head.
Surrounded by the Pokémon, he walked over to the shade of a tree beside Noivern.
The moment he arrived, he saw the Pokémon trapped inside the water bubble.
"I didn't expect to run into two Alola starters in one day."
"And both of them wild ones. With luck like this, I should probably buy a lottery ticket."
Looking closer, he realized the Pokémon inside the bubble had its head tilted to the side—and was snoring loudly.
"Is it… asleep? That's some serious nerve."
"Cin?"
"Pop?"
Cinccino on his head tugged his hair repeatedly, demanding an explanation.
"Hey, hey! Easy! Don't pull my hair out—I don't want to go bald in the prime of my life!"
Cinccino quickly let go and even patted his head reassuringly, as if saying he definitely wouldn't go bald.
Hayato Sora rolled his eyes before addressing the curious Pokémon around him.
"This is Rowlet, a Grass- and Flying-type bird Pokémon."
Rowlet was different from most bird Pokémon. It had an oval-shaped body.
Its face was white and shaped somewhat like an infinity symbol. Its body was covered in brown feathers, except for its tail feathers.
On its chest were two leaf-shaped feathers that resembled a green bow tie, giving it an oddly adorable yet serious appearance.
That was Rowlet.
Its head could rotate up to 180 degrees, and during the day it was either sleeping—or looking for a place to sleep.
After hearing Cinccino explain that Rowlet had suddenly fallen from the sky, Hayato Sora had a strong suspicion.
Had Rowlet been flying… gotten too sleepy… and simply fallen asleep mid-air?
Considering Rowlet's personality, that wasn't just possible—it was very likely. It might even be normal behavior for it.
Rowlet's body structure allowed it to control its weight until it was as light as a leaf.
Although it looked chubby, it was actually just fluffy.
A typical Rowlet was about 30 cm tall and weighed only around 1.5 kg.
Hayato Sora asked Popplio to pop the bubble.
Otherwise Rowlet might suffocate inside.
If that happened, it would add yet another bizarre cause of death to the list.
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