After setting Momo aside, Marie struggled to sit up. She realized she was also covered in cotton, her body heavy and sluggish.

The more alert Pokémon had already woken up, though like Marie, they seemed just as confused by the fluffy mess before them.

"Ee? (What happened, Marie?)"

"…No idea. Eevee, help gather all this cotton. Be careful not to get it on yourself."

"Chiru...? (What's going on...? You need my help too?)"

"I'm counting on you, Sii-chan."

With instructions given, Marie reached toward where Yuri should have been sleeping and began clearing away the layers of fluff. Pile after pile of cotton was swept aside, lifted into the air by telekinesis.

She ignored the still-snoozing Yuri for now and focused on rescuing the squashed White Puff from her arms.

"Nya...?!(What's going on?! What happened?! o(?Д?)っ)"

Marie reached out and patted White Puff gently on the head, her tone exasperated but comforting.

"Nothing, nothing. Your Trainer's just a dummy, that's all."

"Nya... (I I can help clean up...)"

Since the cotton had come from her, White Puff could still exert a certain level of control over it like reducing its stickiness. That alone helped lighten the workload for Eevee and Sii-chan.

"Yuri. Yuri, wake up!"

Marie pushed at Yuri, who was still sleeping soundly. How could she not feel anything, buried in fluff like that?

"Mm... Marie-chan? Ehehe... what is it?"

Barely coherent, Yuri simply snuggled up to Marie's waist and laid her head against her stomach, clearly intending to go back to sleep.

"…"

Looking at her silly face, Marie felt an odd mix of frustration and embarrassment. Her cheeks flushed red as she reached down and pinched Yuri's cheek hard.

"Ah ow ow ow! Marie-chan!"

"Whew..."

Seeing Yuri finally wake up, Marie let go and turned to rummage through her backpack, pulling out two large plastic bags.

"Eevee, Sii-chan, let's stuff the cotton into these."

With White Puff's help, she held the bag open while the cotton floating in midair slowly drifted in.

"Eh… what's going on?"

Yuri stared blankly at the scene before her. She raised her hand and saw that she, too, was covered in cotton.

"Shouldn't I be asking you? What kind of dream were you having? You were hugging White Puff so tightly she was practically squished flat."

Marie pointed at the large mass of cotton next to her. She was honestly speechless. White Puff had never done anything like this before even when she was still a Fluffly.

Evolution aside, her Ability hadn't changed.

"Uh…"

Yuri seemed to understand what had happened. She exchanged a glance with Baru, who was lying nearby watching all this like a spectator, then scratched her head and gave an awkward laugh.

White Puff's cotton was just too sticky to let other Pokémon help. In the end, only the psychically adept Eevee and Sii-chan could handle the cleanup.

After over half an hour of work, they had filled several large bags with cotton. Marie leaned against the headboard, holding Momo in her arms as she stared at the pile of fluff and joked:

"With this much cotton... we could probably make two pillows. Might keep you from causing another mess like this next time."

"Hehehe... I didn't mean to! Sorry, Marie-chan. And sorry to you too, White Puff, Eevee, and Sii-chan."

"Ee~ (It's okay~)"

Eevee didn't mind, but Sii-chan's eyes suddenly sparkled. If only she could have a plushie of her big sister Eevee... She teleported to Marie's side, tugged at her shirt, and leaned in to whisper:

"Chiru? (Can you make me a plush of Big Sis Eevee?)"

Marie's eyes lit up at the idea. Right! With all this cotton, why stop at just a pillow?

She turned to meet Sii-chan's eager gaze, smiled, and patted her head.

"Of course. What size do you want?"

"Chiru... (Thank you! Just something small enough to hold in one hand is fine~)"

"Got it. Once this gym challenge is over, I'll make one for you."

"Chiru~!"

Overjoyed, Sii-chan hugged Marie's neck and nuzzled her face against hers. Then, blushing slightly, she teleported back to her spot.

"What was Sii-chan talking to you about?"

Yuri had returned from the bathroom, having tamed her messy hair. She crawled into bed beside Marie and sat down, curious.

Marie shrugged and leaned in, whispering:

"We were figuring out what to do with the cotton. Want me to make you a pillow too?"

"Can you?! Marie-chan, you can sew?"

Marie tugged at the corner of her mouth and shook her head slightly.

"Not really... Back then, my brother used to handle this kind of stuff for me. But I can give it a try. I'm sure there are tutorials online."

"Hmph~!"

Yuri gave a proud little huff, her expression bright with anticipation. She raised her hand and pointed at herself.

Marie reached out and gently pushed her finger down, chuckling.

"Yeah, yeah... I get it. 'Please teach me, Yuri.' Right?"

"Mhm! I'm really good at it!"

Seeing Yuri so full of herself, Marie didn't even bother teasing her. She glanced at White Puff, who looked absolutely drained and half-asleep. Reaching out, she scooped her up and placed her between the two pillows.

Then she looked down at the disoriented White Puff and murmured:

"Go on, sleep. You've been through enough tonight."

"Nya... (Maybe I should sleep off to the side...)"

"No need. Yuri's just not used to your evolved body yet. It's fine to stay by the pillow."

"Mhm! Yeah, yeah, it wasn't your fault, White Puff. It's all on me. You can relax and sleep right here."

Yuri gently patted White Puff's tiny form and held out her arm for her to cuddle. In a soft voice, she added:

"Don't worry. I'll be holding you the whole time."

"Nya~ (Okay~)"

White Puff, ever simple and trusting, quickly let go of her worries. She clung to Yuri's wrist and closed her eyes.

The massive cotton incident had taken a toll on her. Even though she'd eaten a few energy cubes earlier, the exertion had left her exhausted, and she fell asleep almost instantly.

In the dim room, Marie and Yuri exchanged a glance, then pulled up the blanket and lay down together.

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