Behind the farm, on the little hill.
Still inside the familiar cave of the Tinkatink.
"Here, try this—it's icy and perfect for beating the heat!"
As he spoke, Lucas handed several popsicles to the Tinkatink.
"Ka-nu~!"
The Tinkatink happily accepted them, curiously examining the popsicles while calling out his thanks to Lucas.
After these past few days, Lucas and the Tinkatink had become quite familiar with each other. Basically, whenever Lucas came up the mountain, he'd bring some food from the farm for the Tinkatink.
He'd brought mushroom soup, desserts, energy cubes, Poképuffs, and this time, freshly made popsicles.
The popsicles were all white—no added coloring, no artificial additives, just a healthy, classic popsicle.
The Tinkatink stared curiously at this food emitting a frosty chill. Apart from the occasional Ice-type move from certain Pokémon, this was his first time seeing such a thing!
Can you really eat this?
Fortunately, after building a good amount of trust with Lucas over time, the Tinkatink didn't hesitate—he opened his mouth and bit off half a popsicle.
Lucas didn't have time to stop him.
To the Tinkatink, everything Lucas brought was something you'd never get in the wild—a rare treat. This time had to be the same.
With the first bite, the Tinkatink sensed a sweet flavor.
Not overpoweringly sweet, but just right, and with that cold, instantly-melting texture in his mouth, it was a brand-new, novel experience.
Having this wonderful food for the first time, the Tinkatink's eyes widened with surprise.
Seeing this, Lucas let out a small sigh of relief.
Good thing Pokémon aren't quite like humans—eat too much cold stuff too quickly, and you'll get a headache.
For this trial batch, Lucas had used the old-fashioned popsicle recipe: glutinous rice flour mixed with water, some sugar water, and a bit of milk, stirred and poured into molds to freeze once it cooled. Very simple.
He'd tasted it himself—it was the taste from his memories. But the Tinkatink liking it was even better.
Watching the Tinkatink wolf down the remaining popsicles, Lucas was just about to say something when the Tinkatink suddenly froze. Pain crossed his face, his hammer fell to the ground, and he rolled on the floor clutching his head in agony.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Why does my head hurt so much?!"
Speechless, Lucas thought: "..."
Turns out, compared to humans, the Tinkatink could only handle a bit more cold—too much, too fast, and he still triggered the dreaded 'brain freeze' debuff.
Lucas couldn't help but smile, remembering his own childhood: spending all his allowance on popsicles, eating them all at once like a meal, and suffering a headache for half the night.
As expected, many Pokémon are just like little kids.
Once the Tinkatink recovered, he looked at Lucas, who was grinning with his bright white teeth, and felt both annoyed and embarrassed.
Delicious as it was, refreshing too, but who knew there was a trap waiting at the end!
So frustrating!
Lucas chuckled, ruffling his head. "Don't be mad—I brought a kind of berry that tastes just like a popsicle. Want to try?"
Little Tinkatink: "..."
Popsicle? Berry?
He'd just learned what a 'popsicle' was, so he was confused—how could a berry be like a popsicle?
Maybe it's a chilled berry?
Seeing the Tinkatink's curiosity piqued, Lucas called out toward the cave entrance, "Glastrier! Come in for a moment!"
A moment later.
A sturdy white horse entered the cave, heavy steps echoing.
It exuded a faint chill. Normally, the Tinkatink would have kept well away from something as intimidating as Glastrier.
But with the weather still hot, Glastrier's presence was like installing several high-powered air conditioners in the cave. It was blissfully cool.
The Tinkatink didn't mind as much, especially since Glastrier had come with Lucas.
Lucas walked over, opened a pack on Glastrier's back, and took out several bunches of still-chilled berries.
Glastrier stared intently at the Tinkatink, lost in thought.
These berries had been picked from Abomasnow and Snover.
Lucas had heard that these Pokémon produced berries with a popsicle-like texture—Galarian Darumaka's favorite, apparently. Naturally, he was interested.
After trying them himself, he decided to bring some for the Tinkatink.
The Tinkatink accepted a berry with suspicion, cautiously tasted one, and chewed slowly.
A few seconds later, her eyes lit up. She didn't dare stuff them all in at once, but instead savored them in small bites.
The berries' texture really was just like a popsicle!
Watching the Tinkatink enjoy the berries, Lucas's gaze caught Glastrier's focused expression.
"..."
Lucas's face twitched slightly.
The reason he'd brought Glastrier this time was to keep the popsicles and icy berries from melting in the summer heat.
Originally, he'd thought of bringing Ninetales.
But after evolving, Ninetales had become more elegant, with a changed attitude. She still disliked the heat, but instead of openly saying "I don't want to go," her reason was now, "I don't want to go outside and get tanned—it'll ruin my beauty."
Luckily, even if Ninetales wouldn't budge, Lucas had other options.
Besides the Sandslash couple (who needed to watch over the Pokémon eggs), and the Abomasnow couple and Snover (who were still adjusting to life away from their snowy mountains), Lucas could still call on Glastrier and Regice.
But since Regice was always patrolling the farm in the hot sun, being careful to keep its cold air in check, Lucas didn't want to drag it away. So he brought Glastrier out for a break.
Glastrier's mood hadn't been great lately; after overeating White Carrots and farm food, it'd even gained weight but had lost it again recently.
King Calyrex had told Lucas not to worry about Glastrier, but Lucas had a vague idea why Glastrier was like this.
It seemed to be tied to Vulpix's evolution during the summer ice sculpture contest.
Now, seeing Glastrier, Lucas didn't dare think too hard about it.
That way lies madness...
After sharing the food, the Tinkatink took out a gift for Lucas.
It was a tiny hammer, only about half the size of Lucas's palm—probably not even strong enough to crack walnuts.
It was more like a decoration than a tool.
"Ka-nu ka-nu."
The Tinkatink, blushing, handed the little hammer to Lucas. Fortunately, her skin was already pink, so the blush didn't really show.
She'd made the hammer from her last scraps of material, so it looked a bit rough and uneven—not exactly fine craftsmanship.
But to the Tinkatink, it was the best gift she could give.
There were wildflowers on the mountain, but she was just a forging Pokémon, no idea how to make a flower crown—so she'd chosen this instead.
Nervously, the Tinkatink watched as Lucas accepted the hammer, admired it, and broke into a bright smile.
"Thank you for your gift. I really like it."
He meant it.
These days, Lucas valued the thought behind a gift far more than its price.
The Tinkatink was willing to give him a hammer—something so core to their identity—as a gift. Lucas was truly happy.
After all, to the Tinkatink, hammers are the most important thing in the world.
Receiving a gift with such meaning—how could Lucas not be happy?
With Lucas's affirmation, the Tinkatink's eyes sparkled and she nodded enthusiastically.
"Ka-nu!"
It hadn't been easy, saving enough material to make even a mini hammer.
Originally, the Tinkatink thought that if she'd had enough material and had managed to evolve, she'd have made Lucas a hammer as tall as him—after all, Lucas was always wandering around without Pokémon for protection. A hammer would at least keep him a bit safer.
After a while.
As the sky began to darken, Lucas mounted Glastrier and left the cave, little hammer in hand.
The Tinkatink stared after Lucas for a long while.
That's when she noticed—her heart was beating fast, and a warm feeling was spreading through her body.
So, this is what it feels like for your work to be recognized.
No wonder the elders in the tribe were so passionate about forging the best hammers. For a Tinkatink who'd only ever wanted to be the best, this was a first.
Climbing to the mountaintop, gazing at the beautiful sunset, the Tinkatink made a silent decision.
After conquering the Corviknight tribe living in the human lands and collecting enough materials, she'd make Lucas an even better hammer!
She'd keep forging, making them better and better!
After resolving her determination, the Tinkatink glanced down the mountain, frowning.
But, come to think of it... why have those silly dogs at the foot of the mountain been so quiet lately?
Has something happened down there?
…
On the other side.
Carrying Lucas down the mountain, Glastrier would simply freeze the ground with Ice energy whenever they encountered rough terrain, making the whole journey smooth as glass.
Glastrier turned to look at Lucas.
"Neighhh—?"
There was a trace of inquiry in Glastrier's voice.
Normally Lucas couldn't understand, but as a Legendary Pokémon, Glastrier could still vaguely project its feelings.
After a long silence, Lucas spoke: "If all goes well, in a while we'll be able to formally invite the Tinkatink to join the farm."
Glastrier's eyes lit up.
Seeing this, Lucas hesitated for a while, then asked, "Tell me, when did you... discover you liked cute Pokémon?"
…
September 9th.
Farm clearing.
"Not bad, not bad. Looks like you're close to evolving."
Lucas patted the tiny, odd-feeling body of Combee, smiling.
Combee's transparent wings vibrated at high speed, all three faces beaming with joy, chirping happily.
Nearby, Applin, perched on her brother Tropius's head, watched with envy.
How nice... When will I evolve?
As the older brother, Applin's body was still smaller than his little sister Tropius's head.
If he hung from Tropius's neck, people would probably mistake him for fruit growing there!
After interacting with Combee, Lucas didn't forget about Tropius and Applin.
Ninetales, who'd been training with them, had "graduated" and was now working on Ice-type moves with Regice and Calyrex.
As for Fairy-type moves, Lucas hadn't found a suitable teacher yet.
Besides Ninetales, the only Fairy-types on the farm were Mimikyu, Dachsbun, Alcremie, and Comfey.
Alcremie was more of a support Pokémon and rarely used moves, Dachsbun was better at physical attacks.
For Mimikyu, its usual Fairy moves didn't suit Ninetales, so for now, Comfey the doctor was helping Ninetales get started with Fairy-type moves.
Lucas followed Combee to Tropius and Applin.
He scratched Tropius's chin, watching her face relax in pleasure. Feeling something sharp under her neck, Lucas reminded her, "You need to keep your nutrients for yourself—don't rush to grow fruit just yet, okay?"
Just like how Deerling grows flowers on their antlers, these things use up nutrients.
Tropius was still under a year old—prime growing time. Using up nutrients to grow fruit wasn't a good idea.
There was no shortage of fruit on the farm anyway.
After she got past her growth phase, there'd be plenty of time for fruit.
Seeing Lucas's serious expression, Tropius nodded vigorously.
Her nod made Applin tumble off.
Luckily, Lucas caught him.
Meeting Applin's expectant gaze, Lucas smiled, "In a few days, we'll go to Kitakami Village."
"There's a huge apple orchard there, filled with apple trees. Maybe we'll find a special apple to help you evolve."
…
PS: Support me and read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode