Yu Feng and Shiny Kirlia were led by a powerful Psychic force, instantly returning to the forest where they once lived.
"Ribombee, hello there."
Yu Feng stroked the Ribombee that immediately came close to him upon his return, and also petted a pink and tender Lurantis that was clinging to his leg.
Under Shiny Kirlia's relentless urging, they finally escaped the Pokémon's encirclement.
The price was that Yu Feng's hands and head were already covered in pollen clumps and nectar from Ribombee and Cutiefly.
"Kirlia! (Honestly, I don't know why they like you so much. Why aren't I as popular as you?)"
Shiny Kirlia looked at the difference between herself and Yu Feng.
Hmm, he wasn't as tall as him, nor as strong, but other than that, they were almost identical. Why was this smelly older brother so popular? She had nothing.
"Is it possible that you never did anything good in the past?"
Yu Feng used Psychic to peel the nectar from his hair. These things would be very uncomfortable if they stuck for too long.
"Kirlia! (Nonsense! I am the forest's recognized queen of good deeds!)"
Shiny Kirlia angrily denied that Yu Feng was referring to her.
"Are you sure? Let me think, who was it that raided the Beedrill's hive and then framed the Combee, causing us to be surrounded by Combee for several days?"
Yu Feng raised an eyebrow. This smelly younger sister dared to deny it?
"Kirlia. (That time was an accident...)"
Shiny Kirlia nervously touched her fingertips, as she had indeed done that.
"An accident? What about that other time, when you kidnapped the Tsareena Clan Leader's daughter and then forgot about her, causing her to rampage and challenge several factions before you finally brought her back?"
Seeing that Shiny Kirlia wouldn't admit it, Yu Feng continued to bring up past embarrassing incidents.
"Kirlia! (Alright, alright! It was me, you smelly older brother!)"
Shiny Kirlia covered her ears, shaking her head as she ran towards home.
Yu Feng also smiled faintly. It really wasn't easy to make his younger sister admit defeat.
He mixed the peeled-off nectar and pollen clumps together, then dipped them in the cream offered by an Alcremie nearby.
As Yu Feng put the nectar cream and pollen clump into his mouth, he felt a hint of sweetness.
"Damn it, it's too sweet. Next time, it's better without cream."
Yu Feng silently swallowed the pollen clump. After all, it was Ribombee's kind gesture, and it would be a shame to throw it away.
The two of them safely passed through the outskirts of the forest. The Gardevoir gathering place was under the largest tree in the center of the forest.
A familiar figure appeared on their path.
"Mom? Why are you here?"
"Kirlia? (Mom?)"
Yu Feng and Shiny Kirlia were both curious. They hadn't told their family when they would be back, so how did Mom know they had arrived?
"gardevoir! (You used the token. That token is mine.)"
Gardevoir Mom smiled gently, holding both of her children in her arms.
"gardevoir! (Look, my darlings have gotten thinner. How about that Bounsweet comes with you?)"
Gardevoir affectionately hugged Yu Feng. Her child had lost so much weight in just a few days; it was heartbreaking.
"It's okay, Mom. It's normal to lose weight when you're out traveling."
Yu Feng scratched his head. Traveling, after all, wasn't as good as eating at home, so losing weight was normal.
"Kirlia! (Exactly! And Mom, you're biased! You only care if smelly older brother has lost weight. I've lost weight too!)"
Shiny Kirlia clung to Gardevoir's embrace, pouting and complaining that her mother didn't care about her.
"gardevoir! (Silly child, Mom cares about you too. It's just that your brother is human and you are a Pokémon. A human body is much more fragile than a Pokémon's.)"
Gardevoir helplessly stroked Shiny Kirlia's little head. This child was so grown up yet still jealous of her brother.
"Kirlia? (Fragile enough to beat up an Ursaring?)"
Shiny Kirlia rolled her eyes. Truly fragile, yet able to beat up an Ursaring?
"gardevoir! (Alright, you child. The Clan Leader is waiting for you at the back.)"
Gardevoir also remembered that now was not the time for reminiscing. The Clan Leader was still waiting for them in the important area at the back.
Gardevoir led them to the Clan Leader's side. Yu Feng's Aunties had been waiting there for a long time.
The Clan Leader looked at Yu Feng with surprise, as if she had sensed something.
However, she didn't ask much, and began to inquire about Yu Feng's recent experiences.
When they heard that they had encountered Ho-Oh, and that Yu Feng had boldly asked for more feathers, Gardevoir's anger almost overflowed.
Ho-Oh was a legendary Pokémon. Fortunately, it had a good temper and didn't mind what Xiao Feng Feng said. Otherwise, it would be another matter if they could even see him now.
"Alright, aren't I still here?"
Yu Feng pushed away the Aunties who wanted to examine his body, somewhat exasperated. He was standing right here, what could possibly be wrong?
"gardevoir! (Promise Mom, you won't do such adventurous things again in the future!)"
"gardevoir! (Exactly! Ho-Oh has a good temper, but that doesn't mean other legendary Pokémon have such good tempers.)"
"gardevoir! (That's because he didn't train well! If he had trained well, wouldn't it be great to go up and fight?)"
The Gardevoir, who had been urging Yu Feng not to do such dangerous things in the future, looked at the sharp-eyed Gardevoir with a strange gaze.
"Gardevoir? (What? Do you think there's something wrong with what I said?)"
The sharp-eyed Gardevoir raised an eyebrow. She didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said. Encountering such a situation simply meant that she hadn't trained well enough.
"gardevoir! (Alright, quiet.)"
The Clan Leader finally spoke, bringing silence to the somewhat noisy scene.
"gardevoir! (There's no need to worry so much. This is this child's opportunity.)"
The Clan Leader gazed at Gardevoir Mother, her authoritative gaze making her feel somewhat uneasy.
"gardevoir! (But, they are still my children.)"
Of course, even though the Clan Leader said so, she was still worried. After all, they wouldn't always have such luck, and not every legendary Pokémon had a good temper.
"gardevoir! (I know what you're worried about, but this child was born extraordinary. He will encounter some things sooner or later.)"
The Clan Leader shook her head. Such things could not be avoided. Even if Yu Feng stayed in the forest and didn't go out, trouble would still find him.
She could protect him for a while, but not for a lifetime.
"gardevoir! (But...)"
"gardevoir! (We'll talk about this later. Let's talk about the main business first.)"
The Clan Leader forcefully ended the discussion about this matter, and instead prepared to explain the purpose of calling Yu Feng and the others back.