Can you help me?

After seeing that the house renovations were nearly finished, Fang Yan called the furniture store owner and asked him to deliver all the furniture he had bought yesterday.

Then, under Fang Yan's direction, the furniture store's Machamp installed the various appliances and placed the tables, chairs, stools, and other furniture where he indicated.

"Gengar, look. Now you can watch TV on a big screen."

Fang Yan pointed at the large television as he spoke to Gengar.

He had rearranged the first floor. The L-shaped counter faced the front door, and the chandelier overhead had been replaced with a simple one. Some wooden stands had been added to the wall behind the counter to display items for sale. There were also chairs and small round tables to the left of the counter, while a large television hung on the wall to the right. When there were no customers, he could sit here and watch TV, and customers could sit here to rest when they came.

Fang Yan had converted the first floor's original two rooms into an incubation room and a storeroom.

A door behind and to the right of the counter opened into the kitchen, which had another door leading to the open land out back.

"Geng-"

Hearing Fang Yan's voice, Gengar answered.

Noticing that Gengar seemed to be in a bad mood, Fang Yan was puzzled. He was just about to ask when he was called outside to supervise the fence work.

He watched the Machamp pull out the damaged sections of fencing and install good ones in their place. This task actually took the longest.

The land out back really was rather large.

So Fang Yan divided it into several sections: a lake area, a grassy area, a forest area, some bare rocky areas, fertile planting areas, and a spot for himself to have afternoon tea. The lake area would be for Pokémon such as Magikarp, Feebas, and Shellos; the grassy area for Pokémon such as Budew and Buneary; and the forest area for Pokémon such as Turtwig, Aipom, and Starly. The planting areas would be kept for growing things like medicinal herbs and Berries.

Gengar drifted around, looking at the improved and refined Pokémon Day Care, growing sadder by the moment. Then he returned to Fang Yan's room, packed some things Fang Yan had given him, along with the toothbrush Fang Yan had given him that morning, into a small bag, and drifted out toward the front door with his bundle.

After paying, Fang Yan looked at his meager remaining balance and sighed.

Back to square one overnight.

Then he returned to the house and looked at Xia Lan and Officer Jenny, who were sitting on chairs eating snacks. "Xia Lan, Xiaoye, stay for dinner tonight. I'll cook for you."

They had spent the whole day helping him and had not even eaten lunch, so he planned to cook dinner himself to thank them.

Xia Lan and Officer Jenny nodded in agreement.

"I happen to have today off. Oh, Nurse Joy's probably finished work too. Why don't I invite her over? Since you're opening a Pokémon Day Care, you'll be dealing with the Pokémon Center a fair bit. You can get to know each other beforehand."

Officer Jenny smiled as she spoke.

"Sure. What would you like to eat?"

Fang Yan asked, and after getting "anything" as his answer, he called upstairs, "Gengar, what would you like to eat?"

Gengar did not answer.

Fang Yan called twice more, but there was still no response.

"That's strange. Where's Gengar?"

Puzzled, Fang Yan turned to Xia Lan and Officer Jenny. "Xia Lan, have you seen Gengar?"

Xia Lan gestured with her eyes toward the doorway behind Fang Yan.

Fang Yan turned around in confusion and discovered Gengar carrying a small bag, leaving the Pokémon Day Care with his head lowered.

Remembering how Gengar had been in a bad mood all day, Fang Yan looked at his retreating figure.

[Gengar]

[Types: Ghost, Poison]

[Gender: male]

[Ability: Cursed Body]

[Known moves: Mean Look, Shadow Punch, Shadow Ball, Confuse Ray, Psychic, Lick, Hypnosis, Hex, Destiny Bond, Phantom Force, Double Team.]

[Mood: upset, sad, reluctant to part]

[Condition: distressed, on the verge of an emotional breakdown]

[Friendship: 99 (really cannot bear to leave Fang Yan)]

[Description: His desire to stay by someone's side has reached its peak. Knowing that, once the Pokémon Day Care is completed, Fang Yan will find a Pokémon of his own to keep him company, he knows he should leave, even though he cannot bear to part.]

"Geng-"

He'll probably find some obedient Pokémon...

Fang Yan looked at the status panel, then at Gengar's lonely figure, and his heart ached.

"Hey, Gengar."

Gengar turned around and saw Fang Yan leaning in the doorway, looking at him with a smile still in his eyes.

"Geng?"

"Could you do me a favor before you leave? It's very important to me."

Hearing that it was important to Fang Yan, Gengar nodded firmly.

"You know, now that the Pokémon Day Care is finished, I need a Pokémon to keep me company. And I've met a Pokémon I really like. I want him to help me."

Hearing this, Gengar's heart ached.

"Geng..."

He must be so happy...

"But," Fang Yan continued, "I thought I'd ask him whether he could stay and help once I finished all this work. But when I finished and wanted to ask him, he thought I wanted to find some other Pokémon and planned to leave without saying a word."

"I really like him. Could you ask him for me? Ask whether he could stay and help me run this Pokémon Day Care together."

"Geng?"

Gengar looked at Fang Yan with tears in his eyes.

Fang Yan smiled sincerely, his gaze on Gengar incredibly gentle.

He nodded at Gengar.

"Geng!!!"

Gengar charged straight at Fang Yan.

This time, Fang Yan knew what Gengar meant without needing the system.

He was saying yes.

"Hey, don't lick me! You're getting drool everywhere. Stop licking!"

With his face covered in drool from all the licking, Fang Yan could not take it anymore and tugged Gengar's little tail.

"Whoosh~"

Seeing Gengar turn into a balloon again, Fang Yan burst out laughing.

This was their shared way of playing.

Then Fang Yan took out the Poké Ball he had won in the draw and held it in his hand, looking at Gengar, who had returned to normal.

They looked at each other in silence.

Gengar flew over, tapped the Poké Ball with his little hand, and turned into a beam of red light that entered it.

Fang Yan looked at the Poké Ball in his hand.

"Ding-dong~"

A perfect catch!

"So this is... what catching a Pokémon feels like?"

Fang Yan smiled, then struck an overdramatic pose.

"Gengar, Get☆Gaze!"

"Geng!"

Gengar came running out of the ball, hugged Fang Yan, and launched into another furious bout of licking.

"Okay, okay, stop licking! I get it!"

Fang Yan finally managed to pull Gengar off his face.

At that moment, Xia Lan and Officer Jenny watched Fang Yan and Gengar's interaction with gentle, pleased eyes.

He told Gengar to go play with Xia Lan and Officer Jenny, then apologized to the two women. His face was covered in drool, so he would take a shower before coming back down to entertain them.

Watching Gengar quickly tumble into play with Xia Lan, Officer Jenny, and Growlithe, Fang Yan smiled happily, then returned to his bedroom to shower.

When he came downstairs after his shower, he discovered a familiar figure had joined those playing with Gengar.

A figure in a familiar nurse's uniform, with pink hair.

Nurse Joy.