“Syaa~~”
Dreepy was still asleep on the pillow, occasionally letting out tiny cries as if it were talking in its sleep.
“This really is fascinating.
It hasn’t even been that long, and it’s already starting to shed?”
Blake stood nearby, carefully observing Dreepy.
At that moment, Dreepy was already a size larger than when it had first hatched, and its body was covered in a thin white layer of keratin.
This was the skin it had just shed.
Since the Dreepy line was based on Diplocaulus, it had naturally inherited the molting ability of amphibians.
Dreepy in particular would shed multiple times after birth, gradually growing from its initial tiny size.
For a Dreepy that had only hatched a few hours ago to already begin its first molt, the energy it had absorbed from the Spell Tag earlier had clearly been enormous.
“So this is Dreepy?
It’s so cute!”
Nessa leaned out from beside Blake and carefully looked at Dreepy.
“Right?
Really cute.”
“Haunter~~”
Blake and Haunter nodded together.
“But you haven’t caught Dreepy yet, have you?” Nessa asked curiously.
“Yeah.
The little one fell asleep not long after hatching because it absorbed too much energy, so I didn’t get the chance.
I’m thinking I’ll at least wait until it wakes up before catching it.
I don’t really like forcing Pokémon.”
It was not as if he was trying to run a Frustration build.
Who would not want a better relationship with their Pokémon?
Besides, if the relationship was too bad, even Frustration might not work properly in the first place.
“That makes sense.”
Ring, ring, ring—
Before Nessa could finish speaking, the house phone rang.
Blake rushed over in one quick stride since there was only one person who would call this old phone.
“Hello!
Dad!”
Blake picked up the call.
A small screen, only a little bigger than a phone display, lit up, and his father’s dusty, travel-worn face appeared on it.
“What’s wrong, son?
Did something happen?”
James’s voice carried exhaustion and disappointment.
Clearly, this ruin investigation had not gone well.
“A couple of things, yeah.
First, the Egg at home finally hatched.
It’s a Dreepy, and it’s sleeping in my room right now.
Second, I found something strange.”
Blake went straight to the point.
He knew his father’s personality, James preferred things direct and simple.
If there was something to say, say it.
Since he was always busy and rarely had time to rest, he disliked people wasting time.
“It hatched?
I told you that Egg had a connection with you.
Looks like I was right.
So, what’s the strange thing?”
James chuckled lightly.
Blake’s family had always tended to give off a gloomy air as part of their tradition, though in Blake’s case, perhaps because James had been more extroverted in the previous generation and because of his mother’s influence, that gloomy quality had not really shown itself in him.
“A Spell Tag.
But not an ordinary one.
Compared to it, every Spell Tag in our family collection looks inferior.
Not only that, I can’t tell what material was used to make it, and besides Ghost-type energy, there’s another kind of energy in it.”
As Blake spoke, he took out the small box, opened it, and held it close to the camera.
“Hmm…
On the surface, it doesn’t look too different.
But if you look carefully, there are traces of gold and silver light mixed into the black ink.
That light is special.
It looks very old, though, so it’s hard to see clearly.
Store it properly.
Your mother and I should be able to come back in about a month.
I can’t tell much through the phone, so I’ll examine it properly once I’m home.”
James leaned closer to the screen and studied it carefully.
Sure enough, age and experience mattered.
Even through a video call, he had noticed details Blake had missed.
“Can’t you come back earlier?
Then you could host the Great Catch Festival.”
Blake curled his lip.
He seriously suspected that his father was only coming back a month later because he did not want to host the Great Catch Festival, rather than because he truly could not return sooner.
For an introvert, serving as chief officiant at the Great Catch Festival was basically a form of public torture!
“Hahahaha, I’ll leave that to you.
Think of it as training.
Oh, right, your mom wants to talk to you.”
James laughed it off and immediately handed the phone to Louise beside him before fleeing like a wisp of smoke.
Clearly, Blake had guessed correctly.
That man simply did not want to come back and host the Great Catch Festival!
“My precious son!!!”
Unlike the introverted and gloomy James, Blake’s mother, Louise, was a full-blown social force of nature.
She was outgoing, bold, and generous.
According to Uncle Sam, James had been the one pursued back then, and Louise had chased him relentlessly all day long.
Well…
how should he put it?
In a certain sense, introverts really were toys for extroverts!
“Hey, Mom.
How’ve you been?”
Although Blake was also fairly outgoing, he was still a long way from matching his mother.
This deafening, toe-curlingly enthusiastic greeting style really made a person break out in a cold sweat.
“I’ve been great.
The scenery around this ruin is beautiful, and there’s a huge river nearby too.
I even caught a new partner.
“Wooper?”
Louise lifted up a Wooper, and the Wooper stared blankly at the video call before letting out a curious cry.
“That’s a really nice Wooper.
It looks pretty young, though.
Still a kid, right?”
Blake praised it.
“Right?
It’s so cute!
Anyway, how are things going with you and Nessa?
Any progress?”
Louise’s eyes gleamed as she looked at Blake.
“Mom, we’re only fourteen.”
Blake felt helpless.
People in this world might develop quickly, but fourteen was still a little early, wasn’t it?
Did his mother really need to be in such a hurry?
“What’s wrong with fourteen?
Your father and I confirmed our relationship when we were fourteen.” Louise said it without the slightest concern.
“That was you announcing it one-sidedly, wasn’t it?
Aunt Anna already told me.”
Blake was speechless.
His parents had once been famous figures in Hulbury.
On top of that, his father was close with Uncle Sam, and his mother was best friends with Aunt Anna, so over the years, Blake had heard far too many bizarre stories about their youth.
This so-called “confirmed relationship” had actually been Louise going around declaring that James was her boyfriend and warning anyone who had ideas about him to stay away.
“Tch.
That woman really talks too much.
But never mind that!
How are things with you and Nessa?”
Louise showed no dissatisfaction at being exposed.
On the contrary, she seemed rather proud of it.
After all, James had been quite the catch back then, and she had snatched him away from a whole crowd of flashy rivals!
“Well…
Ah, Nessa, you’re here.
Perfect.
My mom wants to talk to you.”
Seeing Nessa walk over, Blake immediately felt as if he had found his savior.
He grabbed her, shoved the phone into her hands, then fled with Haunter as fast as the wind.
“Ah!
Aunt Louise!
Long time no see!”
“Nessa!
Sweetheart!
Auntie missed you so much!
How have you been lately?”
Sure enough, in certain moments, the world was simply one giant cycle.