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Chapter 33: A Day at the Daycare
🕑 Added 2025-09-21 13:03:59 +0000 UTCPerhaps Officer Jenny had helped promote the Daycare around Fallarbor Town again, because early the next morning, just as Kawaki and Growlithe were getting up, customers arrived at the Daycare.
There are two types of Daycare customers.
One type consists of breeders, trainers, or coordinators who want to hatch Pokémon for battles. This group has high requirements for the quality of Pokémon eggs.
The other type consists of non-trainers whose Pokémon aren't for battling, but for companionship and living together.
Today's customer, Miss Reiko, belonged to the second type.
Miss Reiko was about twenty years old, a very gentle and gracious lady.
"I work alone here in Fallarbor Town and would like a Pokémon to keep me company," Reiko said to the young shop owner.
"What kind of Pokémon do you like?" Kawaki glanced at Clefairy busily preparing breakfast in the kitchen, then asked.
Reiko thought carefully, then said, "Well... I'm not really sure. I want a Pokémon that can keep me company and make me feel less lonely. Do you have any recommendations?"
Kawaki pondered thoughtfully, then asked, "May I ask what kind of work you do, Miss Reiko?"
"I'm a painter," Reiko replied. "I used to live in Slateport City, but then some unpleasant things happened... so I moved alone to this quiet little town of Fallarbor to live."
"But living alone is just too lonely, so I want to buy a Pokémon to keep me company."
Kawaki nodded and asked, "Have you ever interacted with Pokémon before, Miss Reiko?"
"Never... because I wasn't interested in becoming a trainer. I just went to school step by step as a child, and after graduating college I started looking for work everywhere, and now here I am..."
"I see!" After a moment of contemplation, Kawaki quickly had a suitable Pokémon choice in mind and asked, "What do you think about a Pokémon like Skitty?"
"Skitty?"
"That's right. It's a very cute little cat Pokémon with pink fur. While they don't warm up to their owners easily, if you care for one from the egg and hatch it yourself, I think that won't be a problem."
"Skitty has a very gentle temperament, isn't very aggressive, and they're naturally quiet. They'll sit quietly beside you while you paint. For a painter, they couldn't be more perfect," Kawaki explained slowly.
"Skitty, you say?" Reiko murmured.
An image flashed through her mind of a Skitty she'd once seen someone walking with on the street. It was a pink, well-behaved little cat with an adorable appearance.
"Moreover, if you ever grow tired of Skitty's cuteness, you can use a Moon Stone to evolve it into Delcatty," Kawaki added.
"In that case, I'll take the Skitty!" Reiko made her decision.
"Then the price for Skitty is ₽70,000. Cash or transfer both work," Kawaki said.
Compared to the earlier Trapinch, Skitty wasn't particularly rare. They could be found almost everywhere in Hoenn's cities and surrounding forests, so the price was somewhat cheaper than Trapinch.
For a painter, this price wasn't expensive. After Reiko paid, Kawaki handed her the Skitty egg.
"Thank you very much. I'll take good care of this little one," Suzuki politely thanked him, then prepared to leave the Daycare.
"Well then, take care, Miss Suzuki."
Suzuki smiled and nodded, then left the Daycare.
After seeing Miss Suzuki off, the chef Clefairy had just finished preparing breakfast.
Today's breakfast was fried eggs with milk. The server Clefairy brought several breakfast portions to the dining room.
"Thanks for your hard work, Clefairy!" Kawaki patted Clefairy's fluffy head.
"Clefairy~"
After breakfast, the Daycare officially opened for business.
Unfortunately, Kawaki waited for a long time without seeing any customers arrive.
With nothing else to do, Kawaki took a tour around the Daycare.
Taillow still hadn't come today. Kawaki stood on the main road in front of the door and looked around the surrounding area, but never caught sight of it.
With more Pokémon in the Daycare, the berries growing on the berry trees weren't quite enough for everyone to eat. To help supplement the household, Bewear took a basket and went foraging in the forest.
Kawaki and Growlithe saw it off, watching as Bewear departed before returning to the Daycare.
He made his usual trip to the backyard to check on the situation with the Pokémon that customers had left for daycare, and searched around for any eggs that might have been left behind.
Swampert and Quagsire were building their relationship in the lake but hadn't started producing eggs yet.
For a Daycare, this sort of thing was commonplace.
Kawaki had no solution for this and could only wait patiently.
The Clefairy were playing around the Daycare. While they each had their duties, when several Clefairy worked together, they could finish their tasks in just a short while.
Therefore, most of the time they spent playing around various parts of the Daycare.
In the herb garden, the nocturnal Od-dish was curled up under a fruit tree, fast asleep. Kawaki didn't disturb its sleep but instead turned his attention to the two farmer Clefairy who were walking back and forth through the fields with Wailmer watering cans, watering the crops.
Looking at the newly sprouting crops, their big eyes were full of anticipation.
Those were clearly the fruits of Oddish and the farmer Clefairy's joint efforts.
Kawaki slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling incredibly lighthearted.
"Once Castform hatches, I can ask it to help with watering here," Kawaki thought.
Castform could directly transform into its Rainy Form and become a rain cloud above the fields, using Rain Dance.
The entire Daycare presented a scene of thriving prosperity.
Compared to its initial abandoned state, the Daycare was gradually becoming lively.
"Woof woof!"
Growlithe sat obediently nearby.
Compared to when it had just hatched from its egg, Growlithe had grown considerably. Its body size had finally reached that of a normal Growlithe.
Once it evolved into Arcanine, riding mode could be activated!
Arcanine, nearly two meters tall and weighing over 300 pounds, was a massive creature. Riding it as it ran down roads, Kawaki couldn't even imagine how awesome that would be.
"Growlithe, you need to grow up quickly too!" Kawaki patted Growlithe's head.
Growlithe comfortably closed its eyes and responded, "Woof woof!"
*
At the same time, at Meteor Falls.
Steven Stone, who had just turned ten, looked thoughtfully at the fork in the road before him.
"This training session at Meteor Falls is about finished. Not only has Beldum evolved into Metang, but I've also found quite a few rare stones."
In that case, it was time to continue forward.
Steven took out his map and checked his next destination.
Passing through Meteor Falls and then traversing the vast Fallarbor Forest, he could reach Fallarbor Town, famous for its agriculture.
"Metang, return!"
After packing away his stones and recalling Metang into its Poké Ball, Steven started walking toward Fallarbor Town.
