October 28th.
The weather was clear.
Temperature: 15–18°C.
It was a rare, perfect day.
Yet early that morning, a small figure came rushing from the edge of town and pushed open the door to the nursery.
"Lin Feng… sob, sob, sob."
The little girl looked anxious, even on the verge of tears. She couldn't help but cry out loudly as soon as she entered.
But in the nursery, it was just the freshly awakened Cream Pokémon and Wooloo.
Eldegoss clearly recognized Qin Shu and seemed to understand why she had come in such a hurry. He gestured toward the direction of the plantation.
"Ei… Lin Feng is at the plantation. Don't worry, Wartortle is there too."
Qin Shu's sobs stopped immediately.
Hearing that Wartortle was safe, she quickly regained her composure, thanked Wooloo, and ran straight to the plantation.
When she arrived, she immediately saw Wartortle standing obediently in front of Lin Feng.
A huge weight lifted from her chest. "Wartortle!"
"You're here…"
Lin Feng patted Wartortle's head. "You really had your trainer worried."
Last night after dinner, it was already past eight, almost nine. At that moment, Serperior had told him that Wartortle had swum along the irrigation canal to get here.
Lin Feng froze for a moment. Then he thought ruefully: Had he been too lenient when Wartortle was still a Squirtle?
This silly turtle had a habit of sneaking in whether Qin Shu was home or not.
But that caused unnecessary anxiety for the trainer.
Moreover, if Qin Shu had not yet begun her journey, it was fine. But once she did, if Wartortle kept sneaking out at night, it could become dangerous in the wild.
So Lin Feng patiently explained the reasons to Wartortle.
He worried that Wartortle might forget, so he deliberately let him stay overnight to understand.
"Wartortle…"
Seeing Qin Shu's eyes glistening with tears, Wartortle lowered his head, like a child admitting a mistake.
"Go apologize properly."
The little girl stood frozen for a moment, but Lin Feng patted Wartortle's head again. The Pokémon immediately took a few steps and approached her. Qin Shu hugged him tightly. "Sob… Wartortle, I thought you didn't want me anymore…"
As usual, she had woken up early, intending to feed Sprigatito and Wartortle. But after feeding Sprigatito, she found Wartortle's little pond completely empty.
Panic set in. She called out, ran outside searching, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find him.
She even questioned herself, wondering if she had done something wrong recently to upset Wartortle.
Feeling the joy of reunion with his trainer, Wartortle's heart trembled.
He had not expected that leaving for just one night would make Qin Shu so anxious.
"Wartortle…"
He hugged his trainer, gently apologizing for sneaking out, saying it was because he had been greedy and promising never to sneak out again.
"Mm… mm…" The little girl wiped her eyes and smiled through her tears upon hearing his explanation.
She shared her thoughts with him.
"Wartortle, you like the food Lin Feng makes. From now on, we'll just buy food made by Lin Feng."
They could afford it now.
Qin Shu pulled out her phone, showing Wartortle the account balance—the prize money they had won at the Youth Cup.
Three hundred thousand. That would last a long time, even if they bought energy blocks from Lin Feng's nursery.
Wartortle didn't eat as much as a small Snorlax or Blaziken, but Qin Shu still needed to think about how to earn money in the future.
Soon, trainer and Pokémon were completely reconciled.
Lin Feng watched this scene and sighed.
He had no doubt about Qin Shu's deep affection for Wartortle.
From his perspective, the young girl before him had changed so much.
Previously, Qin Shu had been a bit lazy, often missing the Monday morning bus. She also tended to procrastinate, staying up on Sunday nights struggling with homework, sometimes crying, "Why is homework so hard? I don't want to go to school…"
Her grades were average at best.
But ever since she received Squirtle, everything had changed.
She could wake up early and run with Squirtle.
She could spend the entire summer waking up early to help in the nursery, making energy blocks Wartortle liked.
She had worked diligently for nearly two months, giving back all the money she earned to Lin Feng.
After school started, even more surprising was that within a single month, she earned a trainer certificate she hadn't managed to get in the entire previous year.
These were her first steps toward her dreams, taken after receiving her first Pokémon.
"Yo, meow."
Lin Feng's thoughts were interrupted by a clear sound from the sky. He looked up.
It was Mew, returning with Victini and Jirachi.
These three mythical Pokémon showed no signs of fatigue, even after playing all night, instead appearing lively and energetic.
They were likely returning now because Mew was hungry.
Indeed, as soon as they arrived at the plantation, Mew flew to Lin Feng, rubbing his hand with her face, a clear indication of her meaning:
"Hunger~ Food~"
Though she couldn't speak, her intention was unmistakable.
"Jirachi~"
Jirachi immediately spotted Wartortle and Qin Shu at the plantation and happily flew to her side.
"Jirachi…"
Qin Shu's eyes shone with surprise. Over the past two days, she had tried to find Jirachi several times, but each time he had gone out to play.
"Jirachi~ I'm back~"
Jirachi landed on her shoulder.
Seeing Wartortle safe and Jirachi by her side, Qin Shu finally smiled. "I've looked for you so many times, but you were always gone."
"Jirachi…"
A little embarrassed, Jirachi nestled into her arms, hoping to make up for it with cuteness. "I'll stay with you the next two days."
Qin Shu didn't understand the exact words, but she felt charmed and smiled even brighter.
Among the three returning mythical Pokémon, two were familiar to her, while Victini hovered in the air, watching its companions land gracefully. Its personality was still a bit reserved.
Fortunately, Lin Feng noticed this and waved. "Victini?"
He then called to Mew: "Aren't you going to bring your little friend down?"
Mew quickly realized Victini was still in the air and nudged him down.
Gardevoir then stepped out of the room.
Lin Feng greeted her: "All right, you all play first. Gardevoir and I will prepare breakfast."
He paused and looked at Qin Shu. "Shu Shu, will you stay here for breakfast too? Jirachi is here as well."
Qin Shu's eyes lit up. She hesitated, then thought it would be more meaningful to stay for breakfast.
"Mm, I'll go tell my parents, then bring Sprigatito over…"
With that, she dashed back home even faster than when she had arrived earlier.