New Year's Eve at the Manor and New Year's Wishes

In the blink of an eye, the day everyone had been waiting for arrived: the last day of the year.

Mingyou got up early and gave the house a thorough cleaning. Everyone knew the new year was coming, and even Munchlax had woken up early to help.

They divided the work. Ursaring led the Teddiursa around the Manor, clearing away snow and dust.

At Mingyou's direction, Haunter and the others hung the red lanterns they had made earlier around the Villa. They fitted them with colored lights, ready to switch on once everything else was prepared.

Red lanterns hung from some of the fruit trees, too, filling the place with festive cheer. The fireworks they had bought were set out around the Villa, well away from the Manor's trees to avoid starting a fire.

Mingyou had wanted to release Kongming Lanterns with everyone, but he gave up on the idea. In a place like Kitakami, one gust of wind could set something ablaze.

In the kitchen, Akari and Riolu prepared the day's ingredients. They chopped everything that needed chopping and started steaming what they could ahead of time, including the Mochi Mingyou wanted her to make.

By noon, she had finally finished. She came out to check on everyone's progress and found Ogerpon standing on Bloodmoon Ursaluna's shoulders by the entrance, helping put up the door couplets while Mingyou directed them from the side.

Akari eyed Incineroar and Rillaboom, who were serving as Door Guardians, and couldn't help saying, "Honestly, they look kind of scary..."

"Really? I think they look festive. Besides, we absolutely can't let Verdant Town outdo us today. We've got to be even livelier than they are!"

Mingyou spoke with complete seriousness. This was his first new year with so many Pokémon at the Manor. He had