"Shauna, come have some honey water."
Fang Yan called out to Shauna, who was sitting on the grass beside the lake.
Shauna put the egg on the grass, then ran over to Fang Yan.
"It's sweet. Have a happy day today, too."
He handed Shauna the honey water and smiled as he stroked her little head.
Shauna took the honey water and had a small sip.
Her little eyes went round as a sweet taste spread over her taste buds.
She drank all the honey water in one go, returned the cup to Fang Yan, and ran back to sit beside the egg, sitting quietly there with Petilil.
From a distance, a tiny, adorable little girl sat beside a giant tortoise, with a small Pokémon beside her and an egg in her arms.
After breakfast, once Gengar had cleaned everything up, Fang Yan trimmed the leaves on Petilil's head, told Shauna to stay farther away with her mother, then connected the hose, turned on the tap, and pressed a finger over the opening, sending water straight at Torterra.
The difference was that Gengar wasn't bathing beside them today.
Most likely, he was shy because Shauna and her mother were there.
At that thought, Fang Yan glanced at Gengar, a teasing gleam in his eyes.
"Gengar?! Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ"
He mischievously aimed the hose at Gengar and pressed his thumb down.
Ssshh-
Gengar ran, and Fang Yan chased.
The day's first burst of joy filled the entire Pokémon Day Care.
Noticing Shauna's state, Fang Yan gently beckoned her over.
Once Shauna reached him, Fang Yan crouched down and handed her the hose.
"It's okay. Spray him."
Fang Yan's voice sounded softly beside her ear, a sly gleam flashing through his eyes as he looked at Gengar.
Once Shauna took the hose, Fang Yan turned the tap all the way up, then pressed his thumb down.
"Gengar-"
Gengar hurriedly begged for mercy.
Shauna's mother stood beneath a nearby tree, watching Fang Yan and Shauna crouch together. Seeing the smile on Shauna's face, she was overwhelmed with excitement.
Shauna had smiled more over these past two days than she had in all the time since they had returned.
Once they finished playing, Gengar shook himself dry and floated over to Fang Yan.
"Go on, go play."
Fang Yan stood up and patted her little head as he spoke.
He signaled Gengar with a glance. Gengar waggled his tongue, then tapped Shauna and pointed at the swing they had made yesterday, asking whether she could go play with him.
Fang Yan figured that if no one invited Shauna to play, she would sit beside the lake with Petilil all day. Rather than have her sit quietly, he preferred to get her moving, which was why he had asked Gengar to take her off to play.
Seeing Gengar's expectant gaze, Fang Yan couldn't help pressing a hand to his forehead.
What a ham.
But it clearly worked, and Shauna followed Gengar over to the swing.
Fang Yan put away the hose and headed inside. Seeing this, Shauna's mother followed him.
Only after Fang Yan had put the hose away and hung up the open sign did she take a small box out of her bag and speak to him.
"Fang Yan, thank you so much for helping Shauna."
With that, she bowed to him.
"Of course, of course."
Fang Yan was startled and hurriedly spoke.
"She's so adorable, and so young. I want her to grow up happy, too, so there's no need to be so formal, ma'am."
Hearing Fang Yan's words, she handed him the box. "My husband and I got this at an event. We don't have any use for it, so please accept it as a token of our gratitude. Please don't refuse."
With her having gone that far, Fang Yan could only accept. He thanked her and took it.
She dipped slightly in a bow to indicate that she would leave Fang Yan to his work, then headed for the backyard.
Fang Yan opened the box curiously. A crystal-clear stone lay quietly inside.
[So this was the wonderful thing: Key Stone] [Key Stone: A stone containing an unknown power that allows a Pokémon holding a Mega Stone to undergo Mega Evolution.]
"Hiss..."
Fang Yan sucked in a sharp breath. Did things like Key Stones already exist at this point?
Had Ash reached the Kalos Region on his journey?
His mind racing, Fang Yan put the Key Stone away, then looked at the text box that had given him the notification.
"So you had no idea yesterday what wonderful thing was going to happen today, did you?"
Fang Yan narrowed his eyes. "It was the same the last few times. You always said the effects were unknown. So you only said 'unknown' because you had no idea what would happen, right, cheat?"
After a long silence.
[H-how could that be?]
Just as I thought.
The man and his cheat fell silent.
Until a Swellow arrived and broke the silence.
Swellow stood at the door and tapped it lightly with its beak, carrying a package on its back and wearing an employee ID on its chest.
Fang Yan went over and found that the camera he had bought yesterday had arrived. He removed it, then poured Swellow a cup of water so it could have a drink before leaving.
Once Swellow left, Fang Yan opened the package, assembled the camera, and sat in a chair to figure it out for a while, pressing the shutter a few times experimentally.
The photos came out very clear.
Looking at the incredibly sharp photos, Fang Yan nodded in satisfaction.
He glanced at the photo of his great-aunt on the counter and smiled.
This was also one of his most important reasons for buying the camera: to record his wonderful life, and the Pokémon.
He took the camera back to the backyard and pressed the shutter toward the swing not far away.
A photo appeared on the camera. In it, sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering dappled light across the ground. A silver-haired little girl in a pale green dress, her hair tied in a bun, sat on the swing holding a Pokémon Egg. A Gengar floated behind her, gently pushing the swing with his hands, while a smiling woman stood nearby.
A casual shot, a beautiful moment.
Fang Yan was very pleased, and he walked over to the swing.
Seeing a pitch-black tortoise shell hanging around his neck, Gengar was a little puzzled about what it was.
He gently stopped the swing and came to Fang Yan's side, pressing his big, chubby face against Fang Yan's cheek as he peered curiously at the camera.
Then he saw the photo Fang Yan had just taken and was utterly shocked.
"Gengar?! Σ(°Д°;"
Fang Yan showed Shauna the photo, then asked whether she wanted her picture taken. After receiving an affirmative answer, he took several lovely photos of her.
Sitting on the swing, with her mother pushing her from behind.
Her mother holding her, with the egg in her arms.
There were also some photos of Shauna posing with the Pokémon at the Pokémon Day Care.
Fang Yan planned to print a few of the nice photos and put them on the counter to attract customers.
Neither Shauna nor her mother had any objections.
Afterward, he took a few individual photos of each of the Pokémon at the Pokémon Day Care.
All the other photos combined still didn't outnumber those of one particular little chubby fellow, featuring all sorts of expressions and poses.
Fang Yan could do nothing about it, and enjoyed himself all the same.
Finally, he asked the lady to take separate photos of him with the Pokémon at the Pokémon Day Care, then finished with a group photo.
After eating the lunch he had made with her help, Fang Yan began preparing the sweets for afternoon tea.
During the process, Fang Yan learned that her name was Fujino.
He made hand-shaken refreshing soda with Honey, little Honey buns, the red bean paste mooncakes he had promised to make early for Gengar, and some little cakes, then brewed a cup of tea each for himself and Mrs. Fujino.
The first tea party in Gengar's paradise officially began.
Gengar and the other Pokémon ate with great delight.
"Gengar~"
So yummy~
He, Dali, and the others ate the mooncakes in a single bite each, then took sips of the hand-shaken refreshing soda, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
During the party, Gengar grew curious about what Fang Yan's tea tasted like and insisted on trying some. He licked Fang Yan's teacup, only for the bitterness to scrunch up his little face.
He hurriedly ate five red bean paste mooncakes before recovering.
Shauna also enjoyed the food during the party, drinking honey water that Fang Yan had specially mixed.
After a day of playing, Shauna's hair was a little messy, her little dress was somewhat creased, and there were a few beads of sweat on her little face, but her complexion had visibly grown rosier.
Fang Yan nodded at the sight, and Mrs. Fujino thanked him profusely once again.
Before you continue