Waiting at the Pokémon Center

"Teacher was as unpredictable as ever—showing up whenever she pleased and leaving whenever she pleased."

Lulina watched Haisewai leave 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 said that Pokémon Egg has been sitting in your house for twenty years. If it weren't for the hospital's tests and your family's special ability confirming that the Pokémon inside is still alive, it would've been considered a dead egg long ago."

Naturally, Lulina knew what Blake meant. That Pokémon Egg had been kept in Blake's house for over twenty years. His father had started incubating it, and it had continued until now without the slightest sign of hatching. Honestly, it was impressive that his family could endure waiting for so long.

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

Blake scratched his head awkwardly. Even he did not believe that. The egg showed absolutely no signs 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 must 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 did not say anything more. She grabbed Blake and headed for the Pokémon Center, and he nodded before following her.

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—Galarian Form! All right, just kidding. Still, Blake had met quite a few Nurse Joys over the years, and aside from their heights, he could barely tell them apart. He really wondered how Brock in the anime could do it. Was it really because of that one centimeter of hair or skirt hem? Good grief, were those eyes or laser rangefinders?

"Hello, you two. Your Pokémon have both been checked and are perfectly fine. 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, they picked up the juices they had ordered from the counter nearby. They found a place to sit and leisurely drank them.

"Uncle should be docking soon, right?"

The windows in the dining area of Hulbury's Pokémon Center offered a distant view of the docks. Several fishing boats had already begun returning. Wingull and Pelipper flew around the boats flying full-load flags, while the occasional Swanna and Corvisquire could be seen among them.

"Probably. They always make a huge fuss whenever they come back. You can hear them from miles away."

Lulina bit down on her straw as she spoke. Her father's fleet always made a spectacle of its return, perhaps because of her dad's Exploud. The whole fleet was full of loudmouths.

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

Blake could not help laughing whenever he thought of Lulina's father's remarkable Exploud.

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

Lulina rested her chin on her hand.

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

Blake gave an awkward laugh. He remembered how Lulina had once been kept awake by the noise and come to his house in the middle of the night to stay over. Sam, who doted on his daughter, had been heartbroken for quite a while over it.

Meanwhile, his usually gloomy father had laughed so hard his back teeth were visible. Even now, their house still had a room reserved for Lulina whenever she needed to stay over.

"But it really is too loud. He doesn't even like staying in his Poké Ball, so it's such a pain. Oh, right. I'm staying at your house tomorrow night. 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 sent out her request to stay over, though it sounded more like a notice than a request. She was used to it by now. On the first day Sam returned, she would usually patiently stay at home, but she rarely lasted more than a day.

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

Blake scratched his head. For a father who adored his daughter, sending her to stay at someone else's house—especially a boy's house—was practically unbearable. Normally, Sam treated Blake no differently from his own son, but at times like this, the murderous look in his eyes was impossible to hide.

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

Lulina gave Blake a reproachful shove.

[Yeah, he definitely isn't when you're around. His face-changing speed is downright incredible.]

Blake muttered to himself but did not dare say it aloud. Meanwhile, Gastly, who had somehow slipped out of his Poké Ball, had already gulped down Blake's drink in one go.

"Burp—Kekeke~ (￣~￣) Chew!"

Gastly burped contentedly, wearing an utterly blissful expression.

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

Only then did Blake notice that Gastly had come out, and that the drink in front of him had been drained completely. He immediately shouted at Gastly in annoyance. Gastly clearly knew how to order!

"Kekeke! Hehehehe!"

Gastly wore a wicked grin. He could indeed order for himself, but how could that possibly be as fun as stealing his Trainer's food?

"Argh! Damn it!"

Blake angrily raked his fingers through his messy black hair, then suddenly grabbed for Gastly. But Gastly dodged lightly and floated away with a mischievous grin.

"Get back here!"

Blake felt that he could not let this slide. He had to let Gastly know who was boss! He immediately lunged after him and gave chase, while Lulina laughed at the scene. Blake's overly clever Gastly was always coming up with all kinds of pranks.

However, chasing and fooling around in the Pokémon Center was obviously not a good idea. Before long, Nurse Joy stopped the boy and the Ghost Pokémon. She gave them a brief lecture before letting them leave.

"Seriously, if you want a drink next time, order one yourself. It's not like I didn't give you money."

After finally escaping Nurse Joy's grasp, Blake lowered his head and lectured Gastly.

"Kekeke~~｡◕ᴗ◕｡"

Gastly stuck out his tongue, then pointed toward the drink stand before spitting out a slip of paper. It was a pickup ticket, and that exact number was currently 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 yet still finished Blake's Pecha Berry Juice.

"Keke, keke."

Gastly floated over to the drink stand and came back carrying a tray with his tongue. There were four drinks on it. Clearly, he had bought drinks for everyone, including Chewtle.

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

Seeing the four drinks, Blake did not know what else to say. He helplessly took the tray, offered a few 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—"

Just after they had finished handing out the drinks, Lulina's phone rang.