That evening, the warmth and bustle spilling from the Villa drove away the winter chill. Although Mingyou had been away for months, Lucario and Iron Valiant had kept the Manor running beautifully.
Every Pokémon with a shop in Verdant Town had closed up and hurried home after hearing Mingyou was back. New Year was still a few days away, but the festive mood had already arrived.
"Melo~"
Meloetta led the band it had trained in a stirring tune in the living room. It was playing not only to welcome Mingyou home, but also to celebrate the return of Miraidon, whom it had missed most of all.
Keldeo raced around the living room, greeting Bloodmoon and the others and introducing itself. It was a social butterfly too; it had simply spent too long alone in that destroyed future. Now it could finally let loose.
Holding Terapagos, Akari studied Turtle with curiosity. Then she turned to Mingyou, who was telling everyone stories from his travels, and called out with a smile, "I know you all have a lot to talk about, but you only got back today. After dinner, you should get some rest. You don't need to worry so much about the Manor. Everyone's been doing a great job."
"Yeah. I don't have anything else to deal with now anyway. Meloetta and the others said the school and railway in Verdant Town are both finished?"
"That's right. I took the train back from Cerulean City a few days ago. The school looks lovely inside, too. Carmine and I went to see it. Enrollment can officially start at the beginning of the year. The first intake will just be children from Verdant Town, so there won't be many applicants. I can manage on my own."
As Akari explained, she also told him