Time flashed forward to the next day.
Today was the Luau.
As usual, on this day, everyone would bring their favorite ingredients to the beach to make a pot of delicious potluck soup.
However, because they had eaten so much the day before, everyone was currently lacking in enthusiasm.
Ron got out of bed, tidied up briefly, randomly grabbed an ingredient to stuff into his backpack, and headed out toward Leah's house.
Giving gifts was not something to put off, especially for things brought back from out of town. Once time passed, he wouldn't be able to find a good reason to give it to her.
Besides, everyone else had one, and today was a communal event like the Luau. If she found out everyone else got a gift and she was the only one who hadn't, that would be a bit unreasonable.
Giving it to her in public could easily lead to misunderstandings. Thinking this, Ron made his way to Leah's cabin.
"Alright, the Smoked Fish you wanted is done, and here's this." Leah was squatting by the door, using a piece of cloth like a wrap to bundle the Smoked Fish and tying it onto the little Raccoon. "It's a perfect fit."
"Squeak—" The Raccoon struggled a bit to touch the bundle on its back, looking doubtful about Leah's words.
"Go on." Leah patted the Raccoon's back. "Come find me anytime if you need anything else!"
"Squeak, squeak!!!" The Raccoon tugged at the wrapping cloth and left with a mournful expression.
"Ah, Ron." Leah looked up and saw Ron standing not far away. "Are you looking for me?"
"Yeah, I brought a gift yesterday but forgot to give it to you, so I figured I'd bring it over today."
"Hmm?" Leah paused, watching Ron pull out a new piece of wood. "It's wood from Coumarine City. It's said to be some kind of——"
Ron tried hard to recall the legend from there. Leah rested her chin on her hand, watching Ron recite the story of a hero, Pokémon, and the Coumarine Tree like he was reciting a textbook.
After a moment, she burst out laughing.
"What's wrong? You don't like it?"
"No." Leah shook her head. "I just think you looking like this... it's really amusing."
Meanwhile, Sailor was slowly lugging the gift for Willy, wriggling its way toward the beach.
"Rattata." (I really ate too much yesterday.)
Even though it was different from the other Rattata, and Willy would occasionally take it to the saloon for a good meal, Sailor had still eaten quite a lot in that festive atmosphere yesterday.
"Hic."
It hiccuped and continued crawling on the ground.
"Sailor?" Emily spotted Sailor on the ground as soon as she stepped out her door. "What's this? Where are you heading?"
"Rattata." Sailor pointed to the bundle on its back and began gesturing with its paws.
As the only Pokémon that frequently socialized with humans, Sailor's sign language was much easier to guess.
"That direction... uh, Willy? Ah, the thing on your back, over there... Ron? Ron's gift, for Willy?"
Emily guessed.
Sailor immediately stood on its hind legs, clapping its two paws together with a smack smack smack.
"Got it right!" Emily clapped along. "Do you need help? You don't look so comfortable."
Sailor continued gesturing.
"Last night... ate... a lot?" Emily continued. "Ah, did you guys have some kind of dinner party at the farm yesterday? A welcome home celebration for Ron?"
"..."
Sailor fell silent.
Obviously, last night was not a welcome home for Ron; Ron was actually the one who cooked a good meal for everyone.
"That's so nice, it must have been lively." Emily reached down and picked Sailor up, then added, "I'm heading to the beach to help Gus prep the soup anyway, I'll give you a ride."
"Rattata!!!" Sailor lay gratefully in Emily's arms.
Supporting Sailor's bottom, Emily fell silent for a moment. "You seem to have gotten heavier."
"Rattata?!" (Wait, heavier?!)
"Don't move, don't move, just a joke." Emily quickly held down the struggling Sailor. While apologizing, she sneakily pinched Sailor's belly. Feeling a soft, squishy ring of fat, Emily let out a laugh.
"Rattata!!!"
"Mhm mhm mhm." Even though she didn't know exactly what Sailor was saying, Emily guessed the gist of it. "Yes, yes, yes, it's not fat, it's muscle, it's abs."
"Rattata!"
Carrying Sailor all the way to the beach, Sailor continued its strenuous march toward Willy's Fish Shop, while Emily began helping Gus stack firewood.
"Let's try out what Ron gave me this time." Gus took out a large bag of spices. "Ron specially bought these for me in Kalos! Especially for me!"
"He got you spices." Emily said, looking at the large bag of spices. "Looks like the saloon will be able to update its menu before long."
"Of course," Gus said, adding ingredients to the soup as he spoke. "Seems like a lot of people received gifts yesterday. That's really nice."
It wasn't about needing the stuff, of course; it was purely the thought, the feeling of being cared for and remembered, that made the gift in their hands feel all the more precious.
And they weren't just picked randomly either. He had received spices unique to Kalos, Alex got fitness equipment, Elliott got a custom-made fountain pen——
"Yeah, definitely," Emily said, just as a cheer rang out from the Fish Shop.
"This is for me?!! My god!! This is the best fishing rod I've ever seen!!!"
Immediately after, Willy rushed out of the shop, enthusiastically clutching a fishing rod.
Because fishing in Kalos mostly involved catching Water-type Pokémon, compared to the town's original fishing rods, the strength and durability had improved significantly. With just a new hook, it would be the perfect fishing tool.
"My god!!!"
"It's been a long time since I've seen Willy that happy," Emily said.
"No, I just saw him like that a few days ago," Gus couldn't help but say. "It must have been the day he and Sailor caught some kind of fish."
He forgot what kind of fish it was, only remembering that it was supposedly super difficult to catch, and it took him and Sailor working together to reel it in. That day, Willy was so excited he ordered a ton of drinks at the saloon, and even almost waved his hand to buy a round for the whole house.
"I see." Emily tossed another piece of wood into the fire, then said to Clint, who was staring blankly beside her, "Clint, hurry up and have your Slugma help out."
"Ah, oh, oh, right." Clint said, sending out his Slugma.
Watching the flames ignite the firewood, Clint remembered the gift Ron had given him.
He's such a good guy, and I actually suspected him of such things.
Clint thought, despising himself while carefully taking a peek at Emily.
"What's wrong? Is there ash on my face?" Emily reached up and touched her face. "Seriously, this is something Gus should be doing."
"But you don't know how to make the soup base," Gus said, glancing at Emily's face. "There's no ash."
"Yeah, I was just spacing out," Clint said awkwardly.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)