Hearing Bonnie's words, the little fairy flew around her in a circle, sprinkling a bit of glittering dust downward.
Seeing this, Abigail picked up the frog from the ground. "It's okay, you're cute too."
"Croak."
"Froakie!" Froakie called out from Ron's shoulder, feeling a bit indignant.
Serena, who was standing nearby, reached out and scooped it up. "You're cute too."
"Froakie!"
I knew it.
Froakie snuggled comfortably into Serena's arms and let out a satisfied croak.
Time shifted to the next day.
Because they had run into each other earlier than Ron had anticipated, and since he had rented a Gogoat, Ron decided to escort the four to Laverre City before heading back to Coumarine City himself.
Early in the morning, the five of them set out from the Pokémon Center. After saying goodbye to Joy, they continued down the mountain path, heading toward Laverre City.
"Ta-da~" Serena pulled four small accessories out of her backpack.
"What are those?" Bonnie leaned in and asked.
"They're flower decorations~ Look, like this." Saying this, she let the fairy from her Fairy Box rest on her hand, then slipped the accessory onto it.
"Doesn't it look a bit like a Flabébé now?"
"It really does! I want to try, I want to try!" Bonnie quickly scurried forward, cupping her own fairy in her hands.
Seeing this, Abigail's Rotom Dex couldn't help but chime in. "This kind of disguise won't fool the Rotom Dex, roto!" It said, flying over to the fairy with its hands on its hips, snapping a picture of it.
"Unable to identify, roto!" The Rotom Dex flew around it in another circle. "It's an unseen Pokémon, roto! This is a huge discovery, roto!"
Last night, Ron had privately explained the origins of the Fairy Box and the Frog Egg to Abigail and Haley. After learning that these Pelican Town items didn't exist in Kalos, the two promised Ron they would keep it a secret.
Abigail quickly stepped forward and grabbed the Rotom Dex. "You don't need to worry about this sort of thing, roto."
"—You've been infected by Rotom," Haley laughed. She then took the Rotom Dex and looked at it. "This is a precious Pokémon from our Pelican Town. So, can we keep this a secret between the five of us? Rotom."
The Rotom Dex, which had been struggling to process this, looked at Haley. After a few moments of eye contact, under Haley's gentle gaze, it put its hands on its hips: "That goes without saying, roto!"
Saying this, it flew around the little fairy in a circle. "Data deleted, roto!"
Hearing Haley's words, Serena quietly stole another glance at Ron.
She couldn't quite describe her current feelings, but she was filled with a strong sense of affection for this town she had never even seen.
This mysterious yet powerful little town was silently sheltering each and every child who came from it.
It made her incredibly envious.
Noticing Serena's gaze, Ron just smiled at her, then turned his head and continued moving forward.
"Oh right, I rented a Gogoat back in Lumiose City. If you get tired of walking, we can take turns riding it," Ron said, letting the Gogoat out of its Poké Ball.
"Meh~" The Gogoat rubbed its head against Ron's pant leg, its gaze then drifting toward Ron's backpack.
"Me, me, me!" Bonnie shot her hand up into the air. "I want to ride it!"
"Alright, we'll see about that later. We just started walking," Serena said, holding Bonnie back. "Let the Gogoat conserve its energy for now."
"Okay..." Bonnie lowered her hand in disappointment.
On the other side, in Pelican Town, at 1 Willow Lane.
This was the third day since Kent had returned home.
It was also Kent's birthday.
The house was bustling with activity early in the morning. Because a subsidy had come through, the family's financial burden had been greatly alleviated. Sam had gone to see Gunther first thing in the morning and successfully cut his work hours down to just two days a week.
As for Jodi, with the combined support of the subsidy and her job at the Pokémon Center, she finally looked completely at ease. She hummed a tune while bustling about in the kitchen.
"I'm back!" Sam pushed the door open. Seeing his father sitting on the couch, he greeted him cheerfully.
Having this free time meant he could finally take a moment to seriously think about what he wanted to do with his future.
That was something he wouldn't have even dared to dream of before.
Even though Jodi always tried her best to put up a strong front so the brothers wouldn't have to shoulder the family's burdens too early, Sam still knew how tough things were at home. Because of that, he could never bring himself to just ignore his family to chase his own dreams.
But now, he had the time.
The first thing on the list was to catch a Pokémon of his very own. After that, he needed to figure out his path forward—whether to continue pursuing the music he already loved, or to go on an adventure in Kalos like Abigail.
Thinking about the infinite possibilities the future held, Sam hummed a song as he walked into his room.
Kent, meanwhile, sat quietly on the couch.
"What do you want to eat tonight?" Jodi poked her head out of the kitchen to ask. "It's your birthday today, so whatever you're craving, I'll find a way to make it for you."
"Could we have Fiddlehead Risotto?" Kent asked.
"Hmm—maybe?" Jodi pondered for a moment and started rummaging through the fridge. When she couldn't find any, she grabbed her wallet and headed out the door. "I'll go check the general store. Pierre might have some in stock."
Saying this, Jodi pushed the door open and left.
She made her way to the general store. Just as Jodi was about to push the door open, Indeedee and Meowth came walking over, looking highly spirited.
"Indeedee."
"It says good morning, meow." Meowth finished translating, then waved its paw at Jodi. "Good morning, meow."
"Good morning. Where are you two off to?" Jodi asked.
"Indeedee, Indee, Indee!"
"We're heading to the Saloon, meow." Meowth said, wearing a blissful expression. "Since the farm work is temporarily wrapped up, we're going to have a group meal there today, meow."
"Indeedee!" Indeedee patted its chest proudly.
"It says—"
"Indeedee."
You don't need to translate that.
Indeedee awkwardly lowered its paws.
While boasting about itself gave it a tiny bit of pride, actually having Meowth translate that out loud to a human made it feel a little embarrassed.
Just as Indeedee was thinking this, it suddenly caught Jodi's inner thoughts.
"Indeedee."
"Do you need Fiddlehead Ferns, meow?" Meowth tilted its head up and asked Jodi.
"Ah, how did you know?" Jodi looked at Indeedee, unable to resist reaching out to rub its head.
"Indeedee."
"We have tons of that stuff on the farm, meow," Meowth continued. "If you need some, Indeedee says you can just go grab some from the farm."
"Indeedee!"
The fiddleheads had actually been collected last year during the Green Rain, and it had taken the whole farm a lot of effort to gather them.
Of course, compared to gathering random forage like fiddleheads and fiber seeds, the real nightmare had been scrubbing the moss off all those little Geodudes.
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