Chapter 424: Fall
By the time the Moonlight Jellies gradually chased the lantern boats far away and Willy's small boat sailed out of the harbor, Lewis had brought the fireworks he prepared down to the beach.
"What's that?" Leo pointed at the unfamiliar little thing and asked.
"Fireworks!" Jas said, holding the desserts she bought from Ribbon. She waited with a face full of excitement.
This was a program they didn't have in previous years!
Penny leaned on Leah's shoulder, watching the kids gathered around the fireworks, then turned her head to glance at the railing.
Ron was still leaning against the railing, his eyes fixed on the departing boat, lost in thought.
Everyone's attention was on the fireworks right now, but Penny kept her head turned, constantly watching Ron's back.
Just then, the first firework shot up from the beach into the sky, bursting in mid-air with a bang. Sparks of various colors flashed out like shooting stars, briefly illuminating the ground and everyone's faces for a split second.
Hearing the commotion, Ron turned his head.
The timing was perfect. As soon as he turned his head, he met Penny's eyes.
The fireworks happened to bloom right behind her. Penny's expression was hard to make out, but he could vaguely feel her gaze flicker away briefly before she revealed a serene smile toward Ron.
She then naturally retracted her gaze, leaned back on Leah's shoulder, and stared at the fireworks blooming one by one in the sky—flashing briefly and leaving no trace behind.
'If everything could stay frozen in that moment just now forever, that would be great.'
Penny couldn't help but think.
But that was exactly what made fireworks so fascinating. They were breathtakingly beautiful, which was why they couldn't last.
***
On the boat, Willy sailed along the tail end of the Moonlight Jellies' migration. Hearing the commotion coming from the beach in the distance, he poked his head out to take a look at the beach.
From this position, he couldn't see anything but the fireworks.
But the liveliness over there was easily imaginable. Sailor leaned against the mast, staring fixedly.
"Ratta."
"So beautiful—"
A faint voice came from the side. Sailor turned its head and saw a pitch-black thing sitting on the head of a sea monster on the water, staring intently at the sky.
It then noticed Sailor's gaze, so it turned its head and smiled at Sailor.
"Ratta?"
The sea monster quickly carried it away. Sailor rubbed its eyes, wondering if everything it had just seen was a hallucination.
Willy, meanwhile, spotted Krobus running away from the wheelhouse. He took a deep drag of his pipe, and realizing what was going on, broke into a laugh.
And so, summer slowly passed.
Autumn arrived as promised.
***
After playing around with Emily and the others late into the night, Dawn climbed out of bed and stretched.
"Good morning, Piplup!"
"Piplup, pip!"
Dawn rubbed Piplup's head, finished washing up, and walked out of Haley's room with Piplup.
Because she had arranged to go foraging in the forest with Leah, she casually threw together some food and set off with Piplup.
"Piplup, pip, pip~" Piplup walked in front of Dawn in a great mood. When it reached Leah's front door, it even patted the door with its flipper like a true gentleman.
"Coming." Leah opened the door, smiled at Dawn, and said, "You guys are here so early, have you had breakfast?"
"We have," Dawn said, and then she saw Ribbon behind Leah, lying on the table doing something unknown.
"Is that your Pokémon?" Dawn asked.
"No, it's from the farm. It's Ron's Pokémon, her name is Ribbon."
"Ribbon?"
The name was a bit unique. Dawn stared at the little bow on Ribbon's head and zoned out for a second. Noticing Dawn's attention resting on her bow, Ribbon lifted her head somewhat proudly.
This bow was dyed by her and Emily together; it was one of a kind!
Leah smiled, leaned against the door, casually handed a piece of dried fruit to Piplup, and then said to Ribbon with a smile, "Stop being so smug, if you don't hurry up we won't take you with us."
"Ratta!" Ribbon's expression instantly turned serious. She hastily gathered the papers on the table in two or three strokes, climbed down from the chair Leah had specially cushioned for her, grabbed the small basket beside her with her mouth, and stood by the door, ready to go.
Leah laughed. "Alright, this basket is yours, and this one is yours, Piplup."
After handing a special small basket to Piplup's flippers, Leah led the group out the door.
"Don't the farm's Pokémon have to work?" Dawn asked in a low voice.
"I guess she's the exception," Leah thought for a moment and said. "I heard that, just like Haley, she wants to participate in Pokémon Contests. But because Ron is temporarily busy, she mostly trains on her own. Ron seems to have specially reduced her workload, so occasionally she follows me to go foraging."
Aside from making some delicious food together with her, occasionally she would also find things that could be used as dyes, to touch up the clothes or accessories Emily made for Ribbon.
"Piplup?"
Piplup, carrying its basket, suddenly lifted its head and slapped its chest with its flippers, "Piplup, pip, pip!"
"Ratta?" Ribbon, who was still searching hard for forageables up ahead, stopped and turned to look at Piplup.
If its ribbons weren't all kept at home, Piplup would probably have opened Dawn's bag right now to show them off to Ribbon one by one.
"Ratta, ratta?"
"What are they saying?" Leah looked at Ribbon's expression and asked curiously.
"Probably talking about its past Pokémon Contests." Dawn smiled, looking at Ribbon's admiring expression, and couldn't help but ask: "Then while I'm in Pelican Town, do you want to train with me?"
"Ratta?"
Ribbon snapped her head toward Dawn, holding the basket in her mouth, her eyes shining brightly.
"Ratta!!!"
***
Meanwhile, at the Farm.
As the beginning of a new season.
Everyone on the farm, including Ron himself, was so busy their feet barely touched the ground.
Although he had already planned to reduce the intensity of his money-making, it was probably the farming genes in his bones acting up. Ron found it impossible to look at empty land and not plant anything. Plus, the farm still supplied a portion of the vegetables for the Pokémon Center, as well as the seeds needed for the tea seedlings over in Kalos. A messy pile of to-do lists stacked together, making Ron work on the farm with a dizzy head.
Indeedee, on the other hand, took charge of logistics. This included, but was not limited to, bringing a drink to everyone when they were tired from working, or feeding some delicious food to the Rattatas who lacked motivation, allowing everyone to quickly regain their stamina before returning to the grueling labor.
The entire farm was bustling with activity. Lewis, who had originally come over to chat with Ron, only took a couple of glances before leaving with a face full of relief—
—turned around, and left.
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