December 31.
The final day of the year had arrived.
For Lin Feng, today marked the last day of the first year since he had taken over the nursery. Because of that, he felt the day carried a special meaning.
So early in the morning, he was already busy working together with the cream Pokémon, Gardevoir, and the Indeedee siblings.
His plan was simple but ambitious.
He wanted to make a birthday cake for every single Pokémon in the nursery.
He really had no other choice. There were simply too many Pokémon here, and too many different species.
He did not know the exact birthdays of most of them.
Of course, he knew a few.
For example, Floragato's birthday was October 27.
Alolan Ninetales' birthday was July 24.
If he made birthday cakes only for the Pokémon whose birthdays he knew, the others might feel left out.
So he made a decision.
From now on, this day would become their shared birthday.
Starting this year, every Pokémon in the nursery would celebrate their birthday on New Year's Day.
This way, if more Pokémon joined their family in the future, there would never be any confusion about their birthdays.
Simply put, it was about the sense of celebration that came with a birthday.
Lin Feng might be a lazy person by nature, but he still wanted his Pokémon to experience the same joys that other Pokémon had.
So this was the solution he came up with.
Originally, the cakes were meant to be eaten tomorrow.
However, the number of cakes needed was enormous, so the preparation had to begin today.
Very quickly, the cream Pokémon ran into a problem.
The matcha-flavored Alcremie let out a distressed cry.
"Alcremie, Alcremie…"
(No more… I can't squeeze out any more…)
Another Alcremie sighed weakly.
"Alcremie…"
(I'm out too…)
One after another, the cream Pokémon stopped working.
They had officially gone on strike.
"Haha…"
Watching from the side, Lin Feng could not help laughing, though he also felt a little guilty. He quickly told them to rest while he brought over energy-restoring cubes and fed the exhausted little helpers.
After taking care of them, he returned to baking the cake bases.
Every Pokémon had a different body size, so the cakes needed to be prepared in different ways.
For example, Pidgeot's cake base was nearly a meter tall.
Once it was finished, Lin Feng would cut it into smaller pieces that were easier for Pidgeot to eat.
The entire task was massive and demanded a huge amount of time and energy.
Even with Gardevoir helping him, they worked from morning until late into the evening.
Night fell.
In the kitchen, under bright lights, more than a dozen cream Pokémon gathered together.
Nearby, Lin Feng carefully packaged the finished cakes one by one. Once wrapped, he stored them inside storage balls.
Finally, he walked over to the cream Pokémon and gently lifted them one by one, placing each into a bowl.
"Alright, little bakers. You worked really hard today."
"Alcremie!"
(Tomorrow everyone gets cake!)
"Alcremie~"
(It wasn't that hard…)
"Alcremie…"
(We made so many…)
Although the cream Pokémon all looked exhausted, their faces were still full of bright smiles.
They had no idea how much cream they had produced today, and their bodies felt completely drained. But the thought that everyone would be eating the cakes they helped make tomorrow filled them with joy.
"Alright, kids. Time to get some rest."
Using his gentle psychic power, Lin Feng lifted the sleepy little ones together with their bowls and carried them inside.
Once he finished settling them in, Gardevoir walked out of the kitchen.
"Gardevoir~"
(The kitchen is all clean now.)
"Good, good. You worked hard too."
Lin Feng had originally planned to clean the kitchen himself, but since everything was already spotless, there was no need.
So what should he do now?
Lin Feng fell into thought.
Bang!
A sudden loud explosion interrupted him.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Arcanine's barking followed immediately from the front door.
Curious, Lin Feng walked toward the entrance.
Only then did he realize someone at the edge of Wutong Town was setting off fireworks.
Boom… boom…
One after another, brilliant fireworks burst into the sky, illuminating half the night in dazzling colors.
Lin Feng smiled.
Every year around this time, fireworks were launched in both the town and Wutong City.
He had seen them many times before and was already used to the sight.
But for Arcanine, who stood by the doorway, this was the first time witnessing such a spectacular scene.
It barked excitedly toward the sky.
Its barking quickly attracted more Pokémon.
Alolan Ninetales, Eevee, Comfey, Blaziken, and the Indeedee siblings soon gathered nearby.
They stood beside Lin Feng, quietly admiring the fireworks in the night sky.
At the same time, a thought crossed Lin Feng's mind.
Tomorrow would be New Year's Day, and Mewtwo had been gone for more than ten days.
Because Mewtwo traveled so fast, Lin Feng had no idea where he had gone. This seemed like the perfect moment to call and check in.
Perhaps it was coincidence, or perhaps something like telepathy.
The moment Lin Feng took out his phone, it began ringing.
The number on the screen belonged to Mewtwo.
Lin Feng's eyes lit up, and he answered immediately.
"Lotto~ connection established," Rotom's voice announced from the other side.
The video screen opened, revealing Mewtwo's humanoid form standing before Lin Feng.
"Hey, Mewtwo."
Lin Feng waved with a cheerful smile.
On the other side, Mewtwo looked slightly stiff, but he still raised his hand in greeting.
"Where did you go?" Lin Feng asked.
He carefully observed the background behind Mewtwo.
Everything there was covered in snow. Towering mountain ranges stretched endlessly across the horizon.
"I challenged the three Regis," Mewtwo replied simply.
"The three Regis? You mean Regice?"
Lin Feng sounded surprised. Considering the snowy environment and the mention of the three Regis, Regice seemed like the obvious answer.
"You recognized it again."
A trace of helplessness flashed across Mewtwo's face.
These legendary Pokémon came from different corners of the world.
Yet Lin Feng seemed to know information about all of them.
Sometimes Mewtwo could not help wondering whether what Tapu Koko once said might actually be true.
Was Lin Feng really human?
Or was he somehow a Pokémon?
At times, he really felt more like a Pokémon.
But Mewtwo quickly pushed that thought aside.
"Today I noticed fireworks being set off in many places. It must be some kind of special holiday."
"Yes," Lin Feng replied. "Today is the last day of the year. I was just thinking about calling you. I didn't expect you to call first."
As he spoke, Lin Feng felt a quiet sense of relief.
He had assumed that once Mewtwo left, he might disappear without a trace.
But now Mewtwo was even calling home.
However, neither of them was particularly talkative.
Their conversation was brief. After confirming that Mewtwo was safe and exchanging a few words, that was about it.
Still, Lin Feng could not help feeling a small sense of regret.
This New Year, Mewtwo probably would not be able to eat any cake.
And it was not like Lin Feng could ask Dragonite to deliver one across the world.