Waiting at the Pokémon Center

"Teacher was as unpredictable as ever—showing up without warning and leaving just as suddenly."

Lulina watched Haisewai depart with her arms folded beneath her head.

"Yeah, but it's not like I only have one Pokémon, okay?"

Blake looked at Lulina helplessly.

"You mean that egg that's older than you? Uncle already said that Pokémon Egg has been sitting in your house for twenty years. If it weren't for the hospital examinations and your family's special ability confirming that the Pokémon inside is still alive, it would've long been considered a dead egg."

Of course Lulina knew what Blake meant. That Pokémon Egg had been kept in Blake's family home for over twenty years. It had been incubated since Blake's father's time, all the way until now, without showing the slightest sign of hatching. Honestly, it was impressive that his family had endured for so long.

"Don't say that. Maybe it'll hatch tomorrow."

Blake scratched his head awkwardly. Even he didn't believe that. The egg showed absolutely no sign of hatching and looked just like a dead egg no matter how he looked at it.

"Fine, come on. Go with me to the Pokémon Center first. Gastly should be tired too, so let's get him checked out."

Lulina knew this was practically a century-old problem for Blake's family, so she said no more and pulled him toward the Pokémon Center. Blake nodded and followed.

The Pokémon Center was every Pokémon's second home, and it was staffed by a special kind of Pokémon—Nurse Joy. The one before them was Nurse Joy—the Galar form! All right, just kidding. Still, Blake had met quite a few Nurse Joys over the years, and aside from their height, they were almost impossible to tell apart. He really wondered how Brock had managed it in the anime. Could it really have been because of that one centimeter of hair or skirt hem? Seriously, were those eyes or laser rangefinders?

"Hello, you two. Your Pokémon have both been examined and are in perfect condition. Please take them."

Nurse Joy smiled as she handed them two Poké Balls: Lulina's Dive Ball and Blake's Dusk Ball.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy." *2

After thanking Nurse Joy, the two of them picked up the juices they had ordered from nearby. They found a place to sit and leisurely sipped their drinks.

"Uncle should be docking soon, right?"

The dining area of Hulbury's Pokémon Center had windows that overlooked the distant docks. At that moment, fishing boats were gradually returning. Around the boats flying flags that marked them as fully loaded, Wingull and Pelipper circled through the air, with the occasional Swanna and Corvisquire in sight.

"Probably. Anyway, they always make a huge commotion whenever they come back. You can hear them from miles away."

Lulina said this with a straw between her teeth. Her father's fleet always had to make some sort of fuss when it returned, probably because of her dad's Exploud. The whole fleet had become a bunch of loudmouths.

"Hahaha, Uncle's Exploud really is amazing. Other Exploud use their massive voices to scare enemies away, but his can use sound to locate prey. That's quite an ingenious use of a Pokémon."

Thinking of Lulina's father's remarkable Exploud made Blake laugh.

"Yeah, it really is amazing. It'd be even better if it didn't snore so loudly when it slept."

Lulina rested her cheek on her hand as she spoke.

"That's just a Pokémon's nature. I'm afraid there's no avoiding it."

Blake smiled awkwardly. He remembered how Lulina had once been kept awake by the noise and run to his house in the middle of the night to stay over. Uncle Sam, who doted on his daughter, had been heartbroken for a long time over that.

Meanwhile, Blake's usually gloomy father had laughed so hard that his back teeth were showing. Even now, their home still had a room reserved for Lulina whenever she came over to stay.

"But it really is so loud. He doesn't even like staying in his Poké Ball, which makes it such a pain. Oh, right—tomorrow night, I'm staying at your place. We have class the day after tomorrow, and I don't want to go to the Gym with dark circles under my eyes."

Lulina smoothly made her request to stay over, though it sounded more like a notification than a request. She was used to it by now. On the first day Uncle Sam returned, she would usually patiently stay home, but she generally never lasted more than a day.

"All right, all right. I hope Uncle doesn't come to deliver you with a harpoon gun this time."

Blake scratched his head. For a father who adored his daughter, letting her stay at someone else's house—especially a boy's house—was practically torture. Under normal circumstances, Uncle Sam treated Blake no differently from his own son, but at times like this, he simply couldn't hide the murderous look in his eyes.

"Stop it. My dad isn't like that."

Lulina said reproachfully, giving Blake a shove.

Yeah, not in front of you. His face-changing speed is unreal.

Blake muttered inwardly, but he was too embarrassed to say it aloud. Meanwhile, his drink had somehow been completely drained by Gastly, who had slipped out of his Poké Ball at some point.

"Burp—Kekeke~ (￣~￣) Chew!"

Gastly let out a satisfied burp, his face full of bliss.

"Hey! When did you get out here?! If you wanted a drink, go order one yourself!"

Only then did Blake realize Gastly had come out, and that not a single drop remained in his drink. He immediately shouted at Gastly in irritation. He clearly knew how to order!

"Kekeke! Hehehehe!"

Gastly grinned mischievously. He could indeed order for himself, but how could that possibly be as fun as stealing food from his Trainer?

"Aaargh! Damn it!"

Blake irritably raked his fingers through his messy black hair, then suddenly lunged at Gastly. Gastly nimbly dodged aside and floated away with a wicked grin.

"Get back here!"

Blake felt that he couldn't let this slide. He had to let Gastly know who was boss! He immediately pounced forward and gave chase, while Lulina burst out laughing at the sight. Blake's overly clever Gastly was always coming up with one prank after another.

But chasing and fooling around in the Pokémon Center was clearly not a good idea. Before long, Nurse Joy stopped the human and ghost. She gave them a brief scolding before finally letting them go.

"Honestly, if you want something to drink next time, order it yourself. It's not like I didn't give you money."

Having finally escaped Nurse Joy's clutches, Blake lowered his head and lectured Gastly.

"Kekeke~~ ｡◕ᴗ◕｡"

Gastly stuck out his tongue, pointed toward the drink counter, and then spat out a slip of paper. It was a pickup receipt, and that exact number happened to be displayed on the drink shop's electronic screen.

"You already bought one?! Then why did you drink mine?!"

Blake naturally understood what Gastly meant. He was annoyed that Gastly had bought himself a drink and still finished Blake's Pecha juice.

"Kekeke, kekeke."

Gastly floated over to the drink counter and returned carrying a tray on his tongue. Four cups of juice sat on it. Clearly, he had bought drinks for everyone, including Chewtle.

"Fine, but don't mess around next time. Let's go."

Seeing the four drinks, Blake didn't know what else to say. He helplessly took the tray, gave Gastly a couple of halfhearted remarks, and carried it back to their table. By then, Chewtle was already standing on the dining table, waiting for his share.

"Beep beep, beep beep—"

They had just finished handing out the drinks when Lulina's phone rang.