A major makeover

After taking Gengar to Twinleaf Town for a meal, Fang Yan found a furniture store there and went inside to buy the refrigerator, oven, lawn mower, and other things the Pokémon Day Care currently needed. He also bought a large television, leaving his phone number so they could deliver everything to the Pokémon Day Care the next day.

Then he took Gengar to the market to buy food for that evening.

Back at the Pokémon Day Care, Fang Yan kept his promise and played with Gengar all afternoon.

Gengar's eerie laughter filled the Pokémon Day Care the entire afternoon, scaring passing pedestrians and children who had come to explore so badly that they scrambled away from the area.

That evening, after eating the food he had brought back at noon with Gengar, Fang Yan took a shower, pulled out his phone, and sent Xia Lan a message.

"Xia Lan, do you know any reliable renovation companies?"

Xia Lan: What's up? Have you decided how you want to renovate?

Fang Yan: I took a good look today, and I have a rough idea.

The next second, Xia Lan called.

"Xia Lan."

Fang Yan had only just greeted her when Xia Lan's voice came through the phone.

It interrupted Gengar, who had emerged from the wall and was about to pounce on Fang Yan.

"I'll contact one for you in a bit. How about I bring them straight to your place tomorrow?"

"Sure. Sorry for the trouble, Xia Lan."

"I told you, you don't need to be so polite. Oh, right, since you've decided to reopen the Pokémon Day Care, you'll need to find a few Pokémon to help you, won't you?"

Fang Yan paused at Xia Lan's words.

Right, a Pokémon Day Care generally took care of Pokémon left in its care, and sometimes it also needed to help customers' Pokémon produce better offspring. Secondly, the Pokémon Day Care would eventually sell Pokémon Eggs, so those would need proper care too. Those two things alone were already more than Fang Yan could handle by himself, never mind the other services.

That was why Xia Lan had asked him.

"Got it."

Fang Yan replied. Previously, he had only seen Pokémon Day Cares in games or books, and he really did not know much about them.

Looks like I'll have to spend the next few days really brushing up on Pokémon Day Cares, Fang Yan thought.

"Well? Do you need me to introduce you to a few? Or do you already have a Pokémon in mind?"

At Xia Lan's words, a figure appeared in Fang Yan's mind, and he said with a smile:

"Yeah, I already have one Pokémon in mind."

"Oh, really? All right, then. I'll bring the renovation company over tomorrow. I'll let you get some rest."

With that, Xia Lan hung up.

After hanging up, Fang Yan saw Gengar floating beside the wall, looking rather unhappy.

"What's wrong, Gengar?"

At Fang Yan's words, Gengar hid the emotion in his eyes, then flew over to browse the phone with him.

"Once the television arrives tomorrow, you'll be able to watch TV, Gengar."

Fang Yan yawned and handed his phone to Gengar as he spoke.

"Geng-"

Fang Yan smiled, said good night to Gengar, and went to sleep.

The next day, Fang Yan gave Gengar one of the toothbrushes he had bought the day before, then took him along to brush their teeth.

After washing up, he handed Gengar a bottle of Moomoo Milk and received a call from Xia Lan.

"We're here, Fang Yan."

Fang Yan hurried downstairs to open the door. Xia Lan stood outside, with someone very familiar to Fang Yan beside her.

"Officer Jenny?"

Seeing the familiar outfit before him, Fang Yan froze for a moment.

It took him a while to recover. Seeing a character who had originally been fictional appear before him in the flesh was still something Fang Yan could not quite get used to.

"This is Twinleaf Town's Officer Jenny. Yesterday, she heard I was coming over today and wanted to come take a look too, so I brought her along. You don't mind, do you?"

Fang Yan shook his head to show that he did not mind.

"Here, I brought you breakfast. The renovation company will be here in a bit."

Xia Lan handed Fang Yan the breakfast she was carrying, then walked inside.

Officer Jenny followed behind her, with a Growlithe at her side.

Fang Yan stared at Growlithe, and its status panel appeared.

[Growlithe]

[Type: Fire]

[Sex: Male]

[Ability: Intimidate]

[Known moves: Leer, Ember, Bite, Flame Wheel, Fire Fang, Take Down, Flamethrower.]

[Mood: Pretty good]

[Status: Focused on work]

[Friendship: 0 (You have never met)]

[Introduction: Growlithe, a friendly partner of the Jenny Family, and a Growlithe devoted to his job.]

With moves like those, he certainly lives up to being a Growlithe of the Jenny Family, Fang Yan silently remarked to himself.

"I heard you inherited this Pokémon Day Care, so I asked Xia Lan to bring me over for a look."

Officer Jenny looked around and said:

"It's exactly as I remember it."

"It is."

Xia Lan let out a long sigh as she spoke.

Fang Yan handed breakfast to Gengar, who had floated over to his side, and asked in confusion, "Xia Lan, are you and Officer Jenny very familiar with this place?"

Xia Lan and Officer Jenny exchanged smiles, then Officer Jenny said, "When I was little, my mother was assigned to Twinleaf Town, and I came with her, so I grew up here. Back then, Grandma Fang Moli had just opened this Pokémon Day Care. After Xia Lan and I stumbled across it, we often came here to play together. Oh, right, Nurse Joy too."

Fang Moli. Fang Yan knew that was his great-aunt's name.

"You could say this was where we grew up."

Officer Jenny looked around as she spoke. "Unfortunately, after we grew up, certain things happened with Grandma Moli, and this place closed down too."

"Back then, she used to make delicious food for all of us kids, and there were lots of Pokémon to play with us too. We had so much fun."

Officer Jenny's eyes were full of memories as she spoke with a smile, lightly trailing her fingers over the places she passed.

"My great-aunt... what was she like?"

Hearing about his great-aunt from someone else left Fang Yan's heart inexplicably heavy. He did not know whether those feelings belonged to the original owner of his body or to himself as he asked.

"She was a wonderful person."

Xia Lan and Officer Jenny spoke together.

"Was she?"

Fang Yan smiled at their words.

Xia Lan looked at Fang Yan and the Gengar beside him, asking a question with her eyes.

Fang Yan nodded.

"Then I can stop worrying."

Xia Lan spoke. She knew this kid was not bad. When she had first received the news about Grandma Fang Moli, she had come back here and been startled by him too, but even then, she could sense that he was not bad at heart.

"When I get back later, I'll report this to the League and arrange some concessions for you."

Officer Jenny clapped her hands and spoke gently.

"Concessions?"

"That's right. Since Twinleaf Town doesn't have a Gym, no one wants to open a Pokémon Day Care here. The children here have no way to get a starter Pokémon. And although Sandgem Town has Professor Rowan's laboratory, where people can receive starter Pokémon, there aren't even enough for Sandgem Town's own needs. By choosing to reopen a Pokémon Day Care between the two towns, you can do a great deal to ease that situation, so the League will offer you concessions too."

After hearing Officer Jenny's explanation, Fang Yan was overjoyed.

"Then sorry for the trouble, Officer Jenny."

"You don't need to be so polite. Just call me Xiaoye, the way you call her Xia Lan."

"Xiaoye."

Officer Jenny nodded. Just then, the moving company arrived too.

Fang Yan went outside and saw several Machamp getting out of the vehicle. They were not the ones from two days ago; these Machamp were employed by a company.

He explained his requirements to the person in charge, and after discussing things with him, the man led the Machamp in starting work.

Fang Yan stood at the entrance, watching their astonishing efficiency and the rapidly changing house, and felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

"Gengar, our Pokémon Day Care will be able to open soon."

"Geng-"

Gengar sounded somewhat subdued.