"Fire prevention? What does that mean?"
Fang Yan stared at the last notification that had popped up, a little bewildered.
"Could my Pokémon Day Care burn down?"
Fang Yan couldn't make sense of it. "Gengar, keep an eye out over the next few days. Don't play with fire."
"Geng?"
Gengar didn't know why Fang Yan had said that, but nodded anyway.
After packing the herbal tea for Shauna and seeing her and Dali off, Fang Yan reclined in a chair in the lounge area, watching television with Mime Jr.
The sound of a motorcycle engine shutting off came from outside, and Officer Jenny walked in with Growlithe.
Officer Jenny fanned herself with her hand for a moment. Looking around the Pokémon Day Care, which now had quite a few more photos and objects, she addressed Fang Yan as he watched television. "This place has changed quite a bit. How have things been lately?"
"Business has been pretty good. It won't be long before I recoup my investment." Fang Yan lifted Mime Jr. from the neighboring chair into his lap, leaving the seat free for Officer Jenny.
Gengar floated out of the kitchen with a glass of chilled sparkling water and handed it to Officer Jenny.
"Gengar-"
"Thank you."
Officer Jenny took the sparkling water and gulped it down in one go, looking as though she had just finished a busy stretch of work.
Then Gengar brought a bowl for Growlithe to drink from, too.
"Arwoo~"
As Growlithe drank the sparkling water, his tail began wagging nonstop.
"Just finished work, Sister Xiaoye?"
Officer Jenny nodded. "I just got back from Sandgem Town. I had some things to take care of."
Seeing Officer Jenny sit beside him, Fang Yan asked, "Do you need any help?"
Officer Jenny shook her head. "The League Conference is starting soon, right? Some criminal organizations take advantage of this time to cause trouble, so we'll be very busy for a while."
Fang Yan nodded. During the League Conference, everyone's attention would be on the event, which really did make it easy for criminal organizations to cause trouble.
"I've been in Sandgem Town dealing with the Pokémon Hunters since yesterday."
Officer Jenny's words suddenly reminded Fang Yan of someone.
Pokémon Hunters J.
The Pokémon Hunters were an organization that specialized in trafficking Pokémon. As long as a client paid, they would capture whatever Pokémon the client wanted, even Pokémon that already belonged to someone.
Their leader was someone called Hunter J. She was very strong, capable of holding her own even against the Elite Four. Fang Yan remembered that Pikachu had once been captured by her.
"We're a little short-staffed lately. You need to be careful here, too. Take precautions."
Officer Jenny glanced at the Pokémon gathered around them and said, "Who knows whether any of their accomplices are still at large?"
"Understood. Don't worry, Sister Xiaoye. I'll let you know ahead of time if anything comes up."
"Good. Where's Shauna?"
Officer Jenny looked around but couldn't find Shauna anywhere.
"She went out to deliver herbal tea."
Officer Jenny smiled at that, then said, "It's thanks to you that she's recovered."
Fang Yan shook his head without saying anything.
"But don't let her keep delivering herbal tea for now. Wait until the conference is over. We've already requested personnel from other Leagues."
"Okay."
Fang Yan's expression was serious. After hearing what Officer Jenny had said, he had already decided to suspend the service as a precaution.
"By the way, could you take a look at Growlithe? His appetite hasn't seemed very good lately. He's barely eating."
Hearing that, Fang Yan turned toward Growlithe at Officer Jenny's feet. Taking him by the scruff with one hand, he lifted him into his lap, gave his head a vigorous rub, then began carefully checking his condition.
It was a good opportunity to test the Pokémon care knowledge he had learned from books.
First, he checked his eyes and ears, then opened his mouth. His tongue was a little red and swollen. Finally, he took a stethoscope from Gengar and listened carefully to his heartbeat. It was a little too fast, and his temperature was slightly high as well.
It was probably because the weather was too hot, combined with an accumulation of Fire-type energy in his body that hadn't been properly released, resulting in his poor appetite.
Broadly speaking, he had too much internal heat.
"He wasn't very energetic before we went to Sandgem Town yesterday, but he was a little better when we got back today."
Listening to Officer Jenny, Fang Yan nodded, then focused intently on Growlithe.
[Growlithe] [Type: Fire] [Sex: Male] [Ability: Intimidate] [Known moves: Leer, Ember, Bite, Flame Wheel, Fire Fang, Take Down, Flamethrower.] [Mood: Temporarily relaxed] [Condition: Excess energy] [Friendship: 60 (You are good friends)] [Description: The Fire-type energy in his body is at a critical point and needs to be released. Evolution might also be a good choice.]
It was more or less what he had suspected.
Putting away the stethoscope, he continued rubbing Growlithe's head and said, "He's overnourished. The energy in his body is at a critical point, and he normally doesn't have an opportunity to release it. He happened to get some of it out while catching the criminals yesterday, so he's doing a little better today."
After a pause, he continued, "You just need to find some time to help him release it. You could find an open area and let him release it freely, or choose evolution. But I'd suggest letting him release it all before evolving."
"Is that so? Understood. Once we get back, I'll find him somewhere he can really let it out. He's certainly worked hard lately. As for whether he evolves in the end, I'll leave that up to him."
Officer Jenny smiled as she looked at Growlithe, whose eyes were narrowing under Fang Yan's head rubs.
Then she gave Fang Yan a teasing look. "I noticed an extra pair of women's slippers in the shoe cabinet by the door. Whose are they?"
Seeing her gossipy expression, Fang Yan rolled his eyes. "Cynthia's."
"Hey, that's a nice name. Same as our Sinnoh Champion."
Officer Jenny spoke with a smile, then noticed something off about Fang Yan's expression. "D-don't tell me they're the same person?"
"Yes."
That single word left Officer Jenny astonished.
"Don't read too much into it, Sister Xiaoye. We're just friends."
Fang Yan then told her what had happened over the past few days. After listening, Officer Jenny said, "Oh," and nodded repeatedly.
Looking at her unconvinced face, Fang Yan sighed helplessly. "Ask Shauna if you don't believe me."
Just then, Shauna returned to the Pokémon Day Care after delivering the herbal tea. She climbed down from Dali's neck, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and handed her backpack to Gengar. "That's right, Sister Xiaoye. Sister Cynthia is really nice," she said brightly.
Then she ran to the counter, picked up a photo, and ran back to hand it to Officer Jenny.
Officer Jenny took a look. It really was Cynthia.
"You little rascal. Impressive."
Officer Jenny patted Fang Yan on the shoulder. "I knew you were outstanding. Next time I need something, I'm coming to you."
"You're welcome anytime."
The two burst out laughing. Afterward, Officer Jenny enjoyed a good rest at the Pokémon Day Care, playing with Shauna and occasionally asking Fang Yan questions.
At dinnertime, Fang Yan made bamboo shoot rice for her and Growlithe, using the bamboo shoots he had processed and stored a few days earlier.
Growlithe ate with great delight, his tail wagging nonstop.
"Looks like this dish works pretty well for Pokémon with poor appetites."
Fang Yan nodded. The bamboo shoot set meal could be used to treat Pokémon with appetite problems.
The Pokémon Day Care's dietary therapy service was ready to make its debut.
After dinner, Officer Jenny was ready to take Shauna home, but Shauna said she wanted to play a little longer.
"Sister Xiaoye, I'll take her home later."
"All right. Remember, don't let Shauna go anywhere alone over the next few days. Be sure to notify me if anything happens."
"Got it. Don't worry. You and Sister Xiaoshui need to stay safe, too."
"We will."
With that, Officer Jenny rode off on her motorcycle with Growlithe.
Fang Yan then told Shauna that they would suspend the herbal tea delivery service for the next few days. He also reminded her that, for the time being, she had to wait for him, Gengar, or the others to pick her up before coming over or going home.
Shauna nodded obediently, and the Chingling around her swayed, making pleasant sounds.
Just then, Fang Yan received some sort of notification and hurried back to the incubation room to bring out a shaking Pokémon Egg.
He placed it on the counter, and all the Pokémon in the Pokémon Day Care gathered around, with Fang Yan and Shauna at the front.
Shauna rested both hands on the edge of the counter, her bright eyes fixed on the shaking Pokémon Egg.
"Uncle, are we getting another new friend?"
Shauna asked.
"Yes, we are. Are you excited?"
"Yes!"
Seeing this, Gengar, who was floating in the air, went back to the kitchen and prepared a bottle of warm milk before bringing it out.
Then the eggshell broke, and a reddish-brown Pokémon emerged, looking at them shyly.
"Shoo..."