The next day.
Fang Yan felt something rubbing against his chest.
He reached under the covers and felt something warm.
"Vul..."
A soft sound came from beside his ear. He opened his eyes and saw a fiery red fox's head poking out of the covers at his chest, its brown, pupil-less eyes gazing at him like amber.
"Morning, Vulpix. Good morning, Gengar."
He sat up, lifted Vulpix off his chest and set it beside him on the bed, then yawned and greeted Vulpix and Gengar, who was doing aerobics on the balcony.
Finally, he looked at Mime Jr., who was folding its little blanket on the small bed beside him.
"Good morning, Mime Jr. You folded that blanket beautifully."
"Mime mime~"
Mime Jr. finished folding the blanket, reached up to scratch the back of its head, and chuckled. Then it climbed off the little bed and ran downstairs to prepare breakfast for Fang Yan and the others.
"Gengar-"
With a headband tied around its head and a hula hoop around its body, Gengar came in from the balcony and greeted Fang Yan when it saw he was up.
Looking at Gengar's hula hoop and headband, then at the other online purchases it had tidied away in the room, he couldn't help saying, "You need to be careful when shopping online."
"Gengar? ¬_¬｀"
Gengar shot him a glance. What, got a problem?
"Nothing. As long as you're happy."
Fang Yan couldn't help sighing as he spoke. Ever since he had taught it to use the internet, it had started spending the pocket money he gave it on these products popular with Pokémon influencers.
Fortunately, everything it bought was cheap or on sale.
Was it being thrifty or wasting money?
Forget it. As long as it's happy.
Vulpix followed Fang Yan to the bathroom door and found him brushing his teeth, while Gengar stood beneath the showerhead, covered in bubbles as it washed.
"Point the showerhead farther in. You're spraying me."
Fang Yan called out to Gengar with his toothbrush between his teeth.
Gengar answered, then moved a little farther in with the showerhead.
After washing his face, Fang Yan picked up Vulpix and used a towel to wash its face and wipe down its body too.
"Come on, Vulpix. Let's go downstairs for breakfast."
With that, Fang Yan carried Vulpix downstairs.
"Remember to hurry up and come down for breakfast."
"Gengar-"
Okay!
After breakfast, he asked Dali to pick up Shauna, then went to the incubation room to inspect and count the Pokémon Eggs. Seeing that only a few remained, Fang Yan noted it down in his little notebook, planning to order another batch from Officer Jenny later.
Back in the lounge, Fang Yan had nothing to do, so he lay in a chair with Vulpix in his arms, quietly watching television.
Mime Jr. was still washing the dishes in the kitchen.
Gengar was sweeping the Pokémon Day Care with a broom, but when it noticed its favorite cartoon playing on television, it stood nearby and watched with rapt attention.
Seeing this, Fang Yan stopped changing channels and watched with Gengar instead.
When Shauna arrived, she greeted him as soon as she came in, then took Mime Jr. and Vulpix out to the backyard, with Chingling bouncing along behind them.
In the end, Gengar simply dropped the broom and sat beside Fang Yan to watch the cartoon intently.
Seeing this, Fang Yan got up and went to the kitchen to cut up a platter of Berries for it.
Seeing that the Berries in the fridge were almost gone, Fang Yan closed the door, thinking he should find some time to expand the Berry-growing area.
He had just set the Berry platter on the table when he heard a commotion in the backyard.
"Uncle!"
Gengar shot off from a standing start, passing through the wall straight from the kitchen to the backyard. By the time Fang Yan opened the door and reached the backyard, he found a Staravia hovering directly in front of Shauna and the others, flapping its wings. Eerie flames rose from Gengar's hands as it looked at the bird in puzzlement.
Staravia cried out. Gengar hesitated, then extinguished the flames in its hands.
"What happened?"
Fang Yan went over to Shauna, rubbed her little head, and asked.
"A really big plane flew past just now, and something fell off it. Then it helped us by knocking the falling thing away."
After hearing Shauna's explanation, Fang Yan looked up in the direction she pointed, but found nothing.
Dali walked over and handed Fang Yan something.
It was a broken glass dome. Looking at the remaining piece of glass in his hand, Fang Yan had a vague sense that he had seen it before.
After thinking for a moment, he handed the glass shard to Dali, then asked Gengar to clean up the rest of the broken glass so it wouldn't hurt anyone or any Pokémon at the Pokémon Day Care.
Then he looked up at Staravia. "Thank you for your help, Staravia."
He took the Pokéblocks Mime Jr. brought from the kitchen, grabbed a handful, and tossed them one by one to Staravia in the air.
After eating them, Staravia cried out but didn't leave.
"Do you want more?"
Fang Yan grabbed another handful, but Staravia shook its head, then landed on the open patio umbrella.
Unsure what it meant, Fang Yan focused his attention.
[Staravia] [Type: Normal, Flying] [Sex: Male] [Ability: Reckless] [Known moves: Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Aerial Ace, Double Team, Take Down, Brave Bird, Air Slash.] [Mood: Good] [Status: Expectant] [Friendship: 60 (It seems to have known you for a long time?)] [Description: A Staravia pursuing greater strength. It seems to be searching for a trainer who can help it grow stronger?] [Where is the trainer for me? -Staravia]
Realization dawned on Fang Yan. "You want me to help you find a trainer?"
Starly looked at him, then nodded.
This would be difficult. This Staravia was quite strong, and its Hidden Ability, Reckless, boosted the power of Take Down and Brave Bird.
But the stronger it was, the stronger and more outstanding a trainer it needed. Almost all the powerful trainers had gone to participate in the League Conference now. On top of that, his Pokémon Day Care was between Twinleaf Town and Sandgem Town, with no Gym around, so very few outstanding trainers would be drawn here.
But it had protected Shauna and the others.
This was a little difficult.
In the end, Fang Yan made up his mind. Looking at Staravia, who had lowered his head to groom his wings, he said, "How about this? If any trainers come by, I'll bring them over to meet you. If you're both happy with each other, you can leave together. How does that sound?"
Staravia thought for a while, then nodded.
He spread his wings, circled a few times above Fang Yan and the others, then flew deep into the forest.
"Hey, where am I supposed to find you when the time comes?"
Fang Yan called into the distance, but unfortunately, Staravia had already disappeared from sight.
Fang Yan was dumbfounded. In the end, he could only shake his head, remind Shauna and the others to stay safe, and return to the counter.
After lunch, while Fang Yan was picking herbs in the backyard, he heard wings flapping in the distance. Then a Staravia landed on the ground nearby, without landing in the herb garden.
Fang Yan recognized him as the Staravia from that morning. He stepped out of the herb garden and walked over to him, noticing a bag held in his beak. He took it and looked inside, finding it full of Berries.
"Are these for us?"
Fang Yan smiled.
Staravia nodded.
"You're quite a kindhearted fellow."
Under his puzzled gaze, Fang Yan reached out and stroked the feathers on his back. They actually felt rather nice.
And so, the Pokémon Day Care's forest area gained a Staravia waiting for an outstanding trainer.