After dinner and tidying up, Fang Yan lay back in his lounge chair with Petilil in his arms and took out the Sun Stone Shauna had given him as a gift.
He had left Vulpix's egg with Gengar to hold.
"Gengar?"
What's that?
"Petilil?"
Gengar sidled over, looking curiously at the Sun Stone in Fang Yan's hand. Petilil, nestled in his arms, looked at it curiously too.
The energy within the stone drew Petilil in.
"Petilil, this is a stone that can make you evolve."
Fang Yan reached out and brushed the leaves on Petilil's head as he spoke.
"Petilil?"
Petilil held its breath, and Gengar's eyes widened too.
"Gengar?"
Evolve?
"It's all right. I'll respect your wishes."
Fang Yan smiled.
Petilil looked up at him, then gave a sweet little cry.
"Petilil really is so adorable."
Fang Yan praised Petilil, then spotted a certain little chubby fellow crouching on the floor, drawing circles.
"And so is Gengar. How can a Pokémon as adorable as Gengar exist? Don't you agree, Petilil?"
"Petilil~"
"Gengar-"
Snuggles~
After playing with them for a while, Fang Yan went along with Petilil's wishes: he would give Petilil the Sun Stone when it wanted to evolve.
He took Petilil to the lake to spend the night with Torterra, then handed the Sun Stone to Gengar for safekeeping before returning to his room's bathroom for a shower.
When Fang Yan came out of the shower, he found Gengar putting money into a savings bank. Gengar took a few bills from Fang Yan's money and put them into the Miltank savings bank Fang Yan had bought, humming an unfamiliar tune.
Fang Yan walked over and reached out to touch the savings bank.
Smack!
"Gengar-"
What are you doing?
Gengar slapped Fang Yan's hand away and eyed him warily.
Watching Gengar clutch the Miltank tightly, Fang Yan rolled his eyes. "Miser."
Ignoring the face Gengar made at him, Fang Yan went back to the Day Care and checked the Pokémon Egg Ninetales had entrusted to him with a stethoscope.
[Vulpix's egg] [Hatching progress: 27/30]
"So it really is a Vulpix."
With that, Fang Yan carried the egg back to his room and lay down on the bed, using his body heat to incubate it and feeling the egg up close.
After counting the money, Gengar put Fang Yan's money into the drawer and weighed it down with a book, then placed the Miltank savings bank on the dressing table. Gengar studied it for a while, felt dissatisfied, and rearranged it, but it still looked wrong.
Gengar frowned in thought for a long while before realizing that the dressing table was too bare, then looked at Fang Yan with eyes full of disdain.
Fang Yan was scrolling on his phone when he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of Gengar's disdainful look. He was just about to speak.
Seeing this, Gengar waved him off, telling him to keep scrolling, then turned back to fiddle with the Miltank savings bank.
Fang Yan shook his head helplessly.
At last, Gengar found a spot for it and gave a reluctant nod.
Looking back at Fang Yan and finding him already asleep, Gengar carefully changed the room's lighting to a warm tone, then flew out through the balcony and headed straight into the depths of the forest.
After Gengar flew out, Fang Yan turned over, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
[An old friend's watch: Before you arrived, Ninetales guarded this place as always. Now that you are here, it is time for Ninetales to leave. Thank you for letting Ninetales see your great-aunt again.] [Received Ninetales's gift: Professional Coaching.] [Coaching target: Gengar] [Ninetales: I will train Gengar properly before I leave for good.]
Meanwhile, at a villa in Twinleaf Town.
After her bath, Shauna ran out of the bathroom and stood by the window, looking at the dark sky outside.
Only after a while did she turn to look at her little bed, where a Pokémon Egg lay quietly.
For a moment, she was lost in thought and a little afraid, but then she thought of the Petilil she had met during the day.
A smile appeared on her face. She climbed onto her little bed, pulled the covers over herself and Chingling's egg, held it in her arms, and quietly fell asleep.
Seeing this, her parents quietly left the room and closed the door behind them.
They did not turn off the light.
At first light the next morning, Shauna's mother opened the door and found that Shauna was already awake, sitting quietly on the bed with the egg in her arms. She had spread a pretty little dress out on the bed, and her little shoes and socks were already laid out below it.
She had been awake for some time, but rather than disturb her parents, she had quietly laid out the clothes she had chosen and sat on the bed holding the egg, waiting for them to get up.
Seeing this, Shauna's mother hurried over, took her into the bathroom to wash up, helped her change, and styled her hair in a cute hairdo.
After putting her little shoes on for her, she took her hand and led her downstairs for breakfast. Today, her mother would take her to the Day Care and stay there with her to see how things went.
When her mother finished changing and came to the door, she found Shauna already waiting there with the egg in her arms. With a helpless smile, she took her toward the Day Care.
In her bag, she also carried a gift she and her husband had prepared to express their thanks. Thanks to him, Shauna had slept peacefully for the first time last night.
I hope he likes this gift.
Her mother thought to herself.
When they reached the Day Care entrance, she held Shauna's hand. The door was not open yet, and she did not know whether the owner was awake.
Just as she braced herself to knock, the door opened, revealing a plump, yawning face.
"Gengar-"
Mornin'.
"Good morning."
She and Shauna greeted Gengar, then followed Gengar into the Day Care, where they saw the owner just coming downstairs.
"Good morning, Mr. Fang Yan. I'm terribly sorry to disturb you so early."
She greeted Fang Yan politely.
"Good morning, ma'am. And good morning to you too, Shauna."
Fang Yan shook his head to show it was no trouble, then looked at Shauna. Today, she wore a little light-green dress, her hair tied into a cute bun. Since her hair was silver, it looked like a rice ball from a distance, utterly adorable.
She was looking at Fang Yan. Although her little face was somewhat thin, the look in her eyes and the vitality she showed were so much better than yesterday.
"G-good morning, uncle."
Kids say the darnedest things. Kids say the darnedest things.
Fang Yan consoled himself, then sent Gengar to where Vespiquen lived.
"Remember to be polite."
Fang Yan called after Gengar.
"Gengar-"
Leave it to me. Don't you worry.
Without looking back, Gengar made an OK gesture.
Leaving Gengar alone, Fang Yan walked up to Shauna, bent down, and pinched her little cheek. "Have you had breakfast?"
Shauna looked up at her mother, then, at her smiling encouragement, looked at Fang Yan and nodded.
"All right, then. I'll take you to the backyard to play with Petilil."
With that, Fang Yan straightened up and looked at Shauna's mother. "I'll get breakfast ready for Gengar and the others first. Sorry for the trouble, but could you stay with Shauna in the backyard for a little while?"
He then led Shauna and her mother to the backyard.
As she looked around the spacious backyard, several Machamp greeted her. She spotted Petilil by the lake in the distance and ran toward the lake with Chingling's egg in her arms.
After placing Vulpix's egg beside Mime Jr.'s egg, Fang Yan returned to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Taking the Honey Gengar had "borrowed" from Vespiquen, Fang Yan made some hand-mixed refreshing soda with it, then mixed a cup of honey water for Shauna using warm water.
He had Gengar help carry breakfast to the backyard while he headed toward the lake with the honey water.