"Luca. (My dear Grandpa Squirtle, you don't need to leave marks on the cake. Just bite down, and that'll be enough.)"
As the most wondrous form of energy, aura could solidify into a physical form. The aura staff from before had been bitten clean through, so this time, Lucario changed its properties, making the aura gel-like so it could capture tooth marks.
"Squirtle! (Who are you calling Grandpa?! I'm only two and a half in turtle years!)"
Squirtle had a Schrödinger's age, and which age he used always depended on his own whims. Still, watching Lucario compare the marks in the aura gel with those on the stone, he didn't know what to say.
All in all...
It seemed pretty good. The little one from back then had learned to use schemes. That was a good thing.
Squirtle didn't particularly care about the tooth marks. He had only instinctively dodged the question when pressed about them.
Since Lucario could get hold of this sort of "evidence," he might as well let her do as she pleased. He was only playing along with a child, anyway.
Besides, the cake tasted pretty good. Squirtle was quite satisfied.
Lucario's doubts had also been resolved. She could confirm that the Backyard had no new visitors for now.
Beyond that, Squirtle gained something else. That very evening, a package was delivered to Xin Mu's door.
It was a box of teething biscuits developed for Steel-type Pokémon. Given Squirtle's powerful Bite while using Sleep Talk, Xin Mu felt these things were necessary.
A few days later, summer vacation drew ever closer.
To the sound of his alarm, Xin Mu stretched and slowly climbed out of bed.
When he pulled back the heavy curtains, the sunlight was almost dazzling.
Outside the window, Squirtle was dozing beside the