When Chen Ma, who had been busy all day, returned home and saw the messy house, the veins on her forehead were almost bulging.
But when she saw five tiny Exeggcute jumping around in the living room, her anger was like a flame doused with cold water, instantly vanishing without a trace.
Her gaze softened considerably, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart.
Helplessly, she walked into the living room and silently began to tidy up the room.
At this moment, Exeggutor stood outside the door.
Its three distinct faces peered through the door crack, gazing at the Exeggcute inside with a mix of guilt and longing.
Bathed in the lingering glow of the setting sun, its silhouette stretched long, appearing both lonely and forlorn.
It knew deeply that it had let Ya'an down, and felt even more ashamed towards this child.
It didn't have the courage to push the door open, only able to watch from afar, as if that would bring it closer to its child.
In the evening, as night fell and the streetlights flickered on, the dining table was laden with colorful, fragrant, and delicious dishes, welcoming the new members of the family—the Exeggcute.
Although the Exeggcute had just been born and couldn't enjoy these foods yet, Chen Ma had specially prepared customized baby food for them.
After all, Exeggutor was also raised by Chen Ma from an Exeggcute, so Chen Ma had a lot of experience regarding what newborn Exeggcute could and could not eat.
Only when the family settled down to eat did Chen Kai have a chance to observe the Exeggcute properly.
The Exeggcute were composed of six small eggs, each round and full, almost identical in size, clinging tightly together, huddled and eating their baby food.
At this time, they were still very short, with an average height of only 10 centimeters. Having just been born, the surface of the Exeggcute was incredibly smooth, emitting a faint luster under the light, as if meticulously carved by nature, which was different from the Exeggcute Chen Kai remembered.
Seeing this, Chen Ma explained, "Generally, Exeggcute are like this when they are just born, especially smooth. As they grow older, their shells will gradually develop more cracks.
As you know, Exeggcute can evolve into Exeggutor just by touching a Leaf Stone. However, most trainers, when raising Exeggcute, wait until the cracks on the Exeggcute's shell reach a certain extent before letting them evolve. There's a saying that Exeggutor evolved this way will be more resilient."
Chen Kai nodded, recalling Teacher Xu mentioning something similar earlier today.
Chen Kai also noticed that when the Exeggcute were first born, they played individually, with rich and varied expressions—some angry, some sad, and some happy.
But gradually, they began to follow the lead of the smiling Exeggcute in the middle.
Chen Ma smiled and shared her experience of raising Exeggcute with her son: "Just now, they were being mischievous, likely competing in their own different ways, but the ultimate goal was the same: to determine the main body.
Once they evolve into Exeggutor, they won't have separate bodies like Hydrapple; instead, they will have only one body.
Therefore, before evolving, they need to roughly unify their thoughts through telepathy so that they can move freely after becoming Exeggutor.
Once the main body is determined, the other Exeggcute will revolve around it. If even one is missing later, they won't be able to rotate steadily, and this state is the minimum condition for a trainer to evolve Exeggcute into Exeggutor."
Chen Kai nodded in response, "I understand."
This was the valuable experience of elders.
The night in the mountains was quiet and gentle.
The night wind outside the window carried a hint of coolness, and looking up, the stars dotted the deep blue sky like diamonds, twinkling faintly, as if someone had laughed and scattered a handful of broken silver. The Milky Way stretched across the sky, flowing with a soft halo, and occasionally a meteor, like a mischievous child carrying a lantern, would swiftly streak across the night sky.
After a day of commotion, the Exeggcute were tired and fast asleep on the mat in Chen Kai's room. Seeing this, Chen Kai took out a blanket and gently covered the Exeggcute.
Xiao Mei was sadly tidying up her cabinet; her Electric Orb, broken Quick Claw, and other items had been knocked to the ground by the Exeggcute.
She complained, "Rrr... Rrr..." (Master, you didn't even help me watch over them.)
Chen Kai teased,
"Who told you not to come to school with me? Look, Miraidon kept watch over its treasures in its room."
Xiao Mei responded sadly,
"Rrr..." (But your school is just too boring...)
Chen Kai spread his hands helplessly,
"Then there's nothing I can do. You'll just have to be more careful yourself."
Xiao Mei held a few items, looking helpless. It already wore a Mega Stone around its neck, and without any wool on its body, it had nowhere to hide things, which really worried it.
In the past few days, Xiao Mei and Hydrapple were still the same; when Chen Kai went to high school, they would wander around the mountains.
Hydrapple's treasures were the fruit trees in the yard, and the Exeggcute couldn't damage the fruit trees, so Big Boss didn't care about it at all.
As a result, the only victims of the Exeggcute's mischief were Chen Ma and Xiao Mei.
The next morning, Chen Kai took the energetic Exeggcute to wander around Zining Mountain and the town.
Seeing that Chen Kai had no intention of going to Area Zero, Xiao Mei leisurely wandered on the hillside again.
The Wooloo in the pasture still maintained their gentle and lovely appearance.
Their pristine white wool swayed gently in the autumn wind, like clusters of clouds slowly drifting across the colorful grassland, and the pair of curved horns on their heads, while sturdy, also looked playful. They always moved in groups of three or five, slowly pacing in the pasture, nibbling on the slightly dry autumn grass, and occasionally rubbing their fluffy heads against each other, emitting a "baa" sound that was exceptionally crisp and pleasant in the quiet autumn pasture.
In the early morning, before the autumn frost had completely dissipated, Xiao Mei eagerly ran towards the Wooloo. Its breath turned into wisps of white mist in the cold air, its steps light and powerful, and its yellow figure was particularly striking in the pasture.
The Wooloo saw Xiao Mei running towards them and stopped grazing, raising their heads to look at Xiao Mei with their curious, watery eyes, full of smiles. The Wooloo understood why that yellow sheep had grown into its current appearance, without wool and walking on two legs; they found it a bit comical but dared not say so, fearing Xiao Mei would be sad.
Xiao Mei ran to the middle of the Wooloo, gently wagging its tail, the shimmering light on its tail like beautiful fireworks, adding a unique touch of color to the autumn scene.
It lowered its head and gently rubbed the Wooloo's bodies with its soft paws, an intimate gesture like greeting old friends.
Normally, sheep would rub their wool against each other to express affection, but Xiao Mei, without wool, could only use its paws instead.
Xiao Mei tried to get Chen Kai to help it Mega Evolve, but not during battle, the will connection between it and Chen Kai was always just a little off, preventing the evolution from completing.
Not being able to show off its flowing wool to its companions, Xiao Mei felt it was like wearing fine clothes at night—utterly boring.
The Wooloo were very familiar with Xiao Mei; they surrounded it, some rubbing their heads against Xiao Mei's legs, while others bounced around Xiao Mei, cheerfully baaing, their calls carrying far on the autumn wind.
Then, they played together in the pasture. When they got tired, they found a sun-drenched patch of grass to lie down on.
Xiao Mei lay quietly on the ground, while the Wooloo nestled beside it. The warm sunlight bathed them, making them temporarily forget the autumn chill.
At this moment, the pasture was exceptionally quiet, with only the occasional soft "baa" from the Wooloo and Xiao Mei's steady breathing, as if time itself had paused for this warm friendship.