On the other end of the communicator, Rowan set aside the evolution report for Magnezone and waved Weston over before switching to speaker mode.
"Send me your coordinates. I'll have Weston come pick up the Pokémon. They'll be well cared for at the lab… of course, we'll collect some data as long as they don't resist."
"That's great news. I'm currently in Eterna Forest, will it be convenient for Weston to come over?"
"I'll take a helicopter over. I'll be there by tomorrow. Sorry to trouble you with the wait."
Weston's voice came through the communicator. He didn't even ask for details.
"No problem. We'll stay in touch."
"Mm."
Once the call ended, Haruki let out a long sigh and smiled at Leafeon.
"All set!"
Leafeon blinked its eyes, its large banana leaf tail gently swaying. It seemed to be in good spirits as well.
By this time, most of the Pokémon had already left. But including Leafeon, over twenty young Pokémon were still by Haruki's side.
It was obvious now: these three Pokémon Hunters had been targeting very specific catches.
Young Pokémon were easier to tame, and naturally fetched higher prices.
Among them, Leafeon was an especially rare Pokémon. It would fetch an astronomical price no matter where it was sold.
Fortunately, they had encountered Haruki. You could call it fate.
Looking at all the baby-faced little ones waiting to be fed, Haruki rolled up his sleeves.
'Dinner was going to be a handful…' Luckily, he had restocked plenty of supplies in Floaroma Town, so the little ones wouldn't have to go hungry.
---
While Haruki was busy cooking with the Pokémon, Rowan gave a brief summary of the situation.
"Mm, Haruki's background might be problematic, but at least he hasn't fallen completely."
Weston gave his opinion, also expressing approval for Haruki's actions.
"Let's keep observing. If the chance arises, give him a hand."
With that, Rowan picked up his files and resumed his research. But those light words had already decided how the matter would be handled.
Weston nodded, then turned to make a call to dispatch the helicopter.
---
The next morning, Haruki was woken by the noise outside.
He stepped out of his tent and found that the Pokémon were already up and had formed a circle to watch something.
Curious, Haruki walked over and discovered that Marowak and Leafeon were sparring in the middle!
Since it was just a friendly match, neither of them was going all out.
Marowak's club danced like a flower, launching an airtight barrage of strikes.
Leafeon wasn't far behind, using both the leaf on its brow and its tail to form dual Leaf Blades, and surprisingly managing to hold off Marowak's assault.
Just then, Skiploom noticed Haruki was awake and happily ran over to nuzzle him.
The other Pokémon, hearing the commotion, all turned to look at Haruki too.
Soon, a bold Pachirisu scurried over and zipped right up onto Haruki's shoulder.
On the side, Skiploom saw Pachirisu nuzzling up to Haruki and immediately puffed out its cheeks in protest.
…But the next second, Haruki was swarmed by the other Pokémon.
Some tugged, some climbed. All of them trying to cling onto him.
With so many "rivals" and all of them being "kids", Skiploom didn't even know who to be mad at anymore. It froze, completely forgetting to pout.
As for why Haruki was suddenly so popular with these baby Pokémon… it came down to two things: saving their lives and feeding them a delicious meal.
Well… probably the latter counted for more.
Marowak and Leafeon also stopped sparring and ran over to Haruki.
Leafeon looked a little apologetic, feeling guilty for having disturbed Haruki's sleep. Especially since Haruki had worked so hard the night before.
"Looks like everyone's recovered well. Someone will be coming today to take you all to a better place!"
The Pokémon all nodded. There wasn't much worry on their faces.
They trusted Haruki, and they were acting together as a group.
Then Haruki saw those familiar, hopeful eyes again.
Well, guess breakfast was on him too.
Resigned, Haruki started cooking again. Marowak and Metang came over to help as well.
After an hour and a half of busy work, Haruki shook out his sore right hand with a relieved sigh.
'Yep, taking care of kids really is the hardest job in the world.'
At last, it was time to get to business.
"Leafeon, come here a sec."
While the other Pokémon were still eating, Haruki called Leafeon over to the side.
"Do you want to go with them later?"
Leafeon paused, only just realizing: it wasn't a kid. It was perfectly capable of surviving in the wild.
But…
Leafeon glanced over at the little ones, devouring their food, and hesitated.
Haruki saw this and understood immediately.
"If you want to go, then go. You'll definitely be more popular than any of them!"
Leafeon blinked and tilted its head in confusion.
Ah, too cute!
Stay focused. Focus!
"A proper Research Lab like the one you're all going to, normally won't force Pokémon to do anything. But they will need to take some data regularly, like height, weight, what moves you can use… just basic stuff."
Here, Haruki paused noticeably, then added, "But you're different!"
"Lea?"
"You evolved from Eevee. But out there, most people don't know that. So they'll be especially curious, especially about your evolution method."
Leafeon blinked again, then suddenly stood up and motioned for Haruki to follow.
"Where are we going?"
"Lea~"
"Skiploom, Marowak, look after the kids. Metang, come with me."
Haruki quickly gave instructions, then took off after Leafeon with Metang in tow.
Leafeon darted nimbly through the forest. Haruki started to struggle a bit keeping up and gave Metang a pat.
"Meta…"
Metang rolled its eyes but still lowered itself for Haruki to hop on.
Leafeon glanced back and ran even faster, its agile form looking more elegant with every step.
After several twists and turns, Leafeon finally came to a stop.
And the surroundings had changed drastically.
Towering ancient trees blocked out nearly all the sunlight. Under the mottled shade, a massive moss-covered boulder radiated a mystical blend of age and freshness.
Leafeon let out a soft cry and gently approached the boulder, then looked back at Haruki.
By now, Haruki had already figured it out.
This moss-covered boulder was almost certainly the Moss Rock, the very thing that enabled Leafeon's evolution.
What surprised him was that Leafeon had led him here so openly… without a trace of caution.
"You really are…"
Haruki's heart stirred. For a brief moment, he didn't want to send Leafeon to the Research Lab at all.
Yes, a big part of the reason he saved all those Pokémon was because of Leafeon. The moment he saw it, he had already started thinking about how to tell Professor Rowan about the evolution method in a way that would seem perfectly natural.