Chapter 215:
That night.
After a full day's work, Hayashi Kaede lay in bed and took out a Grade S Fire Stone.
This was a happiness reward from Charizard after it had eaten its fill today.
He was thinking about who should use this Fire Stone.
There wasn't really much to be conflicted about, though, because there was currently only one Fire-type Pokémon at the Breeding House—and that was Blaziken.
Although the Town Mayor had mentioned bringing over a Growlithe that could evolve using a Fire Stone, it had been over a month now and it still hadn't arrive.
Best to focus on the present for now.
But speaking of evolution—
Hayashi Kaede called the three Eevees over from where they were watching anime.
He grabbed "Little Three" with one hand and "Little Five" with the other. "Is there any particular evolution form you really want?"
As he spoke, he pulled up the pictures of Eevee evolutions he had drawn earlier on his phone.
"Eevee?"
"Eevee?"
The anime was paused.
"Little Nine" had already chosen its desired evolution form. Now, seeing its companions also about to choose, it quickly scurried over.
Alolan Vulpix, feeling it was no fun watching alone since everyone else had stopped, also came over.
"Eevee Eevee?" (What's this?)
The eight pictures left Little Five and Little Three a bit dumbfounded.
Because at the Eevee Breeding House, it seemed they could only evolve into five forms at most… so what were the remaining pictures?
"Oh these, these are…" Hayashi Kaede started to explain, but Little Nine was the first to climb next to the pictures and begin explaining to its two friends.
"Eevee! Eevee!" (I know, I know! This is Sylveon, Umbreon, and Espeon!)
Then, with great enthusiasm, it said, "Eevee, Eevee!" (Look at this! This is the form I want to evolve into! Sylveon, isn't it pretty?)
It then proceeded to "Eevee, Eevee~" explain the types and differences of the three new evolution forms.
Seeing how eager it was, Hayashi Kaede didn't interrupt, only occasionally adding a word or two.
However, this left the two little ones rather confused.
There were already so many forms Eevee could evolve into, and now there were three more.
They didn't know which form they should choose.
Looking left and right, finally Little Three's gaze settled on Leafeon.
It thought of Serperior.
Its color seemed similar, looking both cool and aloof.
Thinking this, it secretly glanced at Serperior resting under the bed, a look of admiration in its eyes.
But when Serperior looked back curiously, it immediately turned its head away, fixing its gaze firmly on Leafeon.
Its eyes filled with determination. "Eevee, Eevee!" (I want this one!)
"Leafeon, huh?"
After noting Little Three's choice, Hayashi Kaede nodded and checked his system space.
Finding that the highest-grade Grass-type energy-related stone he had was only Grade A, he thought for a moment and decided to let Little Three wear an Everstone for now. "We'll evolve once we find a good Leaf Stone, okay?"
"Eevee~" (Mmhmm!)
Then everyone's attention turned to Little Five.
It still seemed conflicted about which evolution form it should choose.
Initially, it had wanted to evolve into Flareon.
After seeing Yūji's Flareon's performance in the Indigo League, it thought Flareon looked very cool.
But now…
It was feeling torn.
Umbreon or Flareon…
Flareon looked passionate, with a direct kind of boldness, but this Umbreon… its eyes were so captivating.
The jet-black body with yellow rings, and those crimson eyes… it had a cold, mysterious feeling.
For some reason, it once again felt a restlessness in its blood, like a sudden thrill in an otherwise peaceful life.
The last time it felt this was when it had "run away from home" with Little Nine.
"If you're unsure, then we don't have to choose right now. We can decide later when you've made up your mind."
Seeing it hover between the two pictures, Hayashi Kaede understood it wasn't psychologically prepared yet.
Moreover, the evolution conditions for both Flareon and Umbreon weren't very strict.
"Eevee…"
After the Eevees made their choices and put on their Everstones, they excitedly ran back to watch anime.
Hayashi Kaede didn't disturb them. Instead, he pushed open the door and walked towards the Berry Plantation.
The night sky near November was lacking in stars.
The plantation was quiet. Blaziken was already asleep.
Brionne and Milotic were faintly visible under the moonlight.
Bounsweet was still awake, blinking as it looked at the sky, then at the Everstone it was wearing.
When it saw Hayashi Kaede enter, it immediately hid inside its little wooden house.
Only the Pidgeot perched on the pine tree outside cast a sharp glance towards the source of the noise, retracting its gaze upon seeing it was Hayashi Kaede.
The plantation was utterly silent.
Walking through the plantation, passing the barn, he looked at the sleeping Miltank and Combee and couldn't help but smile.
Crossing the garden, Hayashi Kaede arrived at another newly fenced plantation area.
Even though he hadn't been around for the past couple of days, there were still signs of the soil being loosened and progress made on clearing the stones inside.
Clearly, this was Sandshrew's doing.
That kid was really diligent and hardworking.
The special Berry trees planted earlier were now as tall as Bounsweet.
Looking up, the villa area in front of the new plantation already had its foundation laid out. He estimated they could move in by the end of December.
And that time would coincide with the lead-up to the New Year.
The festive spirit of the New Year, combined with moving into a big new house… just thinking about it filled him with anticipation.
Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but start envisioning the future.
He would lead a group of Pokémon into the new house. In the morning, he'd hug Serperior, then go out and play with the evolved Alolan Ninetales or the evolved evees. At noon, he'd check on Milotic and Brionne… huh? By then, Brionne would have evolved into Primarina.
That was also a very beautiful Pokémon!
In the afternoon, he'd take Blaziken and Salamence to watch challengers face Pidgey or Pidgeotto.
Or make Energy Cubes with Gardevoir, treat injured Pokémon with the male Indeedee…
In the evening, he'd play with the new Sprigatito, feeding the big and small cats.
All these wonderful visions slowly surfaced in his mind.
But then he thought of Jirachi. If only he could help it stay…
Just then.
"Gardevoir?" A soft voice sounded from behind, interrupting his reverie.
Hayashi Kaede turned instinctively.
"Gardevoir?"
Its light blue dress drifted gently in the moonlight as it floated over.
"Sorry, did I disturb you?"
Hayashi Kaede came back to his senses, thinking his late-night appearance in the plantation had alerted Gardevoir.
"Gardevoir…" (No, I came to check on Bounsweet.)
Gardevoir shook its head. "Gardevoir," (It said it's been feeling conflicted lately.)
"Conflicted?"
Hayashi Kaede was startled, then quickly asked, "What's it conflicted about? Why haven't I heard it mention anything?"
It hadn't called out to him when he passed by earlier; instead, it actively retreated into its little house.
"Gardevoir…"
Seeing his concerned look, Gardevoir placed a hand on his shoulder. "Gardevoir," (It's nothing too serious, it's okay.)
Then it added: (Everyone is resting here. Let's talk in my room.)
"Oh… okay…"
As soon as Hayashi Kaede nodded, the scene before him changed instantly.
When he reappeared, he was already in Gardevoir's room.
Entering this room again, Hayashi Kaede instinctively glanced around.
The main layout hadn't changed much, except that the Pokémon plushies he had previously put away were now back out, placed on top of the wardrobe.
Of course, the wardrobe was empty; his clothes had all been moved to his own room.
Hayashi Kaede turned, about to ask Gardevoir what Bounsweet had been struggling with lately.
But he saw Gardevoir's Psychic energy spreading out, enveloping the entire room and forming a pink protective barrier.
He was very familiar with this technique over the past couple of days; it used Psychic power to surround the space, making it difficult for sound inside to leak out.
"Wait, what are you…?"
Hayashi Kaede looked at Gardevoir, puzzled.
He didn't believe Gardevoir would do anything bad to him.
After all, their affinity was already at 95.
Meeting Hayashi Kaede's slightly confused gaze, Gardevoir walked over to the bed and beckoned him.
Once Hayashi Kaede also came over, it spoke,
"Gardevoir." (Your room and my room are close, so this is an extra precaution, to prevent the little ones in your room from hearing.)
"Hm?"
Hayashi Kaede raised an eyebrow.
How did this involve the Pokémon in his room? Was it Serperior?
"What's wrong?"
Gardevoir said calmly, "Gardevoir…" (About Bounsweet… recently, it's been conflicted about whether to evolve or not.)
"Huh?"
"To evolve or not?" Hearing this, Hayashi Kaede was taken aback, then immediately understood. "Is it because it saw Blaziken and Brionne evolving, and that gave it the idea?"
The three little ones were brought over together by Gardevoir.
They were all very weak back then.
But now, the Torchic that had once clamored to leave had become Blaziken.
The Popplio, whose potential had been damaged and who was incredibly weak, was now on the verge of evolution.
And it, Bounsweet, was still running around the plantation on its little legs every day.
Sometimes, it even needed Gardevoir or the female Indeedee to carry it around.
"Gardevoir…" (That's about right. Also, it wants to be able to help you in some way.)
"Then it should evolve?" Hayashi Kaede said in confusion. Just take off the Everstone. With Bounsweet's current energy level, evolving into Steenee should be easy.
"Gardevoir…"
Gardevoir smiled. "Gardevoir…" (I knew you'd say that. But it's a bit afraid to evolve.)
"Afraid to evolve? Why?" Hayashi Kaede was astonished.
"Gardevoir." (It says it's afraid you'll blame it.)
"Huh?" Hayashi Kaede was even more confused. If it wanted to evolve, then evolve. Why would he possibly blame Steenee for something like that?
"Gardevoir…" (Have you forgotten what it told you before?)
Gardevoir looked at him with a somewhat knowing smile.
But inwardly, it felt a little wistful.
Bounsweet had once told its Trainer that it didn't want to evolve because it wanted to stay in the plantation, and only wanted Hayashi Kaede to like it as it was.
But now it felt like it was being a bit of a bother in the plantation.
It needed help from other Pokémon for everything.
That didn't feel right.
So it started wanting to evolve.
But this conflicted with what it had previously told Hayashi Kaede.
It was also unwilling to explain the situation to him.
It had kept this matter bottled up inside.
In the entire plantation, only Gardevoir, with its sensitive nature and ability to probe emotions, had detected this.
Hayashi Kaede suddenly remembered what Bounsweet had told him back then.
But his first thought upon remembering was, "Wasn't that just a joke? How could it take it seriously?"
But then, he immediately thought of Beedrill.
Back when Beedrill was just a Weedle, it had also said something similar to Ryō Fū.
Ryō Fū had also treated it as a joke at the time, but in the dream, it became Beedrill's lifelong obsession.
"I see…"
Hayashi Kaede sighed. "It seems I've been somewhat neglecting its feelings."
As he sighed, Gardevoir sat down beside him, placed a hand on his head, ruffled his hair, and smiled encouragingly. "Gardevoir…" (It's okay, you're already doing very well.)
Hayashi Kaede didn't stop it.
If Serperior was the manager of the plantation, then Gardevoir was the… of the entire Breeding House.
He couldn't think of a good adjective at the moment.
But many Pokémon really liked Gardevoir because, while it was powerful, it could also take care of their emotions—especially Blaziken.
Whenever Blaziken had grievances, it would tell Gardevoir.
Like just after returning tonight, Blaziken complained to Gardevoir.
It said that today, a Charizard—a Elite 4 Pokémon—had tried to ask it for food.
Gardevoir would then ask, "Gardevoir…" (So did you give it any?)
"Blaziken!" (No! Even though it's strong, I guarded my Energy Cubes!) Blaziken said proudly, hands on its hips.
Then it looked slyly at Hayashi Kaede, "Blaziken…" (But I shared a little of my onigiri with it, so I hurried to eat more…)
Those were given by the Trainer; it didn't dare say there was a problem with the Trainer's cooking.
Gardevoir would smile and ask, "Gardevoir…" (Then, are you full?)
"Blaziken…" (Still… still a little bit hungry…)
Blaziken said sheepishly.
It had run around quite vigorously today, so it was a bit hungry now.
"Gardevoir…" (Wait a moment, I'll heat up some more onigiri for you…)
The process was roughly like that.
However, Gardevoir, at times like this, could detect the little bit of grievance hidden in Blaziken's emotions.
Whereas he, if he didn't use his Veridian Power, would find it difficult to perceive.