Chapter 414:
After lunch, Hayashi Kaede was washing dishes with the brother Indeedee.
As Gardevoir and himself had been away for several days. Keeping the place open daily was impossible with only the sister Indeedee and Latias around.
Despite that people still came every day, and Latias continued her "work shifts."
Some Energy Cubes were produced daily, so Indeedee had found a compromise: the Breeding House would open every other day.
However, with just them managing, meeting everyone's needs was out of the question.
So, even on days where they open for scale, Pidgeot's delivery service was suspended.
"Indeedee~" (Here are the Berries from these days...)
After finishing the dishes, the brother Indeedee brought over several dozen storage capsules.
"This many?"
Kaede felt a headache coming on just looking at them.
These were the largest capacity storage capsules, and dozens were full!?
Did that mean he'd have to turn all these Berries into Energy Cubes in the coming days?
Good grief!
If it came to it, maybe he could just make Berry Wine instead.
He admitted it—he was a lazy bum at heart.
"Indeedee..." (Because those Pokémon come to pick Berries every day. Also, they brought some other wild Pokémon to the garden, saying they could help care for the flowers. So I have no choice but to let them continue.) Indeedee explained.
"Oh? They brought other wild Pokémon?" Kaede was surprised. "I'll have to go take a look later."
But seeing Indeedee's serious expression, he imagined how much stress his Pokémon must have been under these days. He couldn't help but place a hand on Indeedee's head. "You've really worked hard all this time."
"Indeedee?"
The brother Indeedee was taken aback for a moment, then quietly lowered its head, its voice softening. "Indeedee..." (It was my duty.)
"Hahaha..."
Kaede laughed. He was about to say more when the sister Indeedee walked in from outside and happened to see this scene.
Pursing her lips, her voice grew louder. "Indeedee!"
"Indeedee?"
"Hmm?"
Following the sound, Kaede was momentarily puzzled.
The sister Indeedee was using Psychic to carry the Alcremie back to their bowls.
"Alcremie..."
(●'◡'●): "Alcremie~"
The thirteen Alcremie, seeing him, instantly filled the room with their sweet, soft voices.
"What's wrong, Indeedee?" Kaede removed his hand from the male Indeedee's head and looked at the female Indeedee pouting as she carefully placed each Alcremie back into its bowl.
Suddenly, it clicked. "You've worked hard these days too."
He walked over to the sister Indeedee and patted her head as well.
Immediately, her expression softened.
,,ԾㅂԾ,,: "Indeedee~"
So, the female Indeedee had seen her brother get head pats and praise, felt her own efforts had gone unnoticed, and got a little upset. After all this time, Kaede felt he was no longer a novice when it came to raising Pokémon—well, at least in understanding their emotions.
He believed in treating every Pokémon's feelings equally!
Though he wasn't quite there yet.
"Indeedee, Indeedee..." (Also, this is an ingredient a Pokémon brought to trade for Berries. It seems to be some bamboo shoots.)
The sister Indeedee then took out a storage capsule and handed it to Kaede.
"Bamboo shoots?"
Taking the capsule, Kaede was surprised. He instinctively tapped it lightly, and soon, some brownish-green bamboo shoots with a fresh, clean scent tumbled out.
They were still in their sheaths, but judging by their freshness, they were probably picked just a couple of days ago.
"What kind of Pokémon was it?" Kaede asked curiously.
Indeedee tilted her head.
"Indeedee?" (It seemed to be a panda Pokémon. A Skwovet brought it over, but it didn't want to work, so it asked if it could trade bamboo shoots for Berries.)
"A panda? A Pancham?"
Kaede poured out all the bamboo shoots, both amused and exasperated.
How strange.
He had never heard of Pancham or Pangoro in the Aogiri Forest Wilderness Area before.
It seemed quite a few wild Pokémon had migrated this year.
He wondered why.
"Alright, alright. Let's use these for stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat tonight," Kaede said, rubbing his temples. "Did anything else happen these past few days?"
(He'd been away for eight days. Besides the impatient customers, there was one thing still on his mind: Happiny.
He figured it should be about time for the Luck Incense to have its effect.
Had the Happiny egg hatched yet?)
The sister Indeedee quickly chimed in: "Indeedee..." (Yes, yes! On the 21st, a human came by wanting to challenge you. She said something about being an Ice-type Elite Four member.)
This wasn't actually unusual. Since Kaede won the Pokémon League Conference Championship, challengers had been showing up regularly.
Kaede, of course, couldn't accept every one.
So, he'd set a simple test: clear the Sky Challenge, and you'd earn a battle with him.
This proved very effective. It quickly shifted everyone's focus to the Sky Challenge. They came with burning passion, aiming to challenge the Conference Champion, only to be defeated one after another.
Over time, it became clear Kaede had no intention of battling them casually.
But then again, think about it.
If you can't even beat the Pidgeot he uses for deliveries, how can you challenge his main team?
The sister Indeedee knew this well.
But this person, who called herself an Ice-type Elite Four member, had cleared the final stage of the Sky Challenge.
"Ah... I see..." Kaede said, feeling another headache. "What did you tell her?"
"Indeedee...." (I just said you weren't home these past few days and that we could schedule something after you returned?)
"Fine. We'll deal with it when she comes back next time."
Kaede hadn't expected another Elite Four member to show up, not for the Sky Challenge, but to challenge him directly.
Don't these Elite Four members have their own things to do?
Or maybe the League doesn't give them enough work.
Maybe he should have Kazephyr treat them like Clavell in the Paldea region—pile on the workload!
"Also... did the trainer with the Larvitar come looking for me?" Kaede asked Indeedee, eyes full of hopeful anticipation.
Happiny evolves into Chansey, and then into Blissey.
Dishes made from eggs laid by a Blissey have a blissfully fortunate effect.
So, once his own Happiny evolved into a Blissey, they could have an endless supply of Blissey eggs to eat!
"Indeedee?"
"Indeedee?"
Indeedee shook her head.
She didn't know.
"That's fine, that's fine. I'll check myself," Kaede said, not surprised.
The sister Indeedee primarily handled internal affairs, while her brother managed the Breeding House and cleaning. It was normal for her not to know.
Come to think of it, communication tech in the Kanto region was still relatively backward. They didn't have apps like Pokégram yet. To contact distant friends, people still used the phones at Pokémon Centers.
That was also why Kaede hadn't been able to contact his Pokémon these past few days.
Leaving the kitchen, he headed to his room to get his phone.
But glancing over, he saw his Rotom Phone snoozing on the table in front of the TV, tiny sparks of electricity almost drooling from the corner of its screen.
Hah.
Without him around, Rotom must have been relaxing too, huh?
It didn't need to eat, just recharge daily.
While he could check Pokégram through Rotom, it was asleep right now.
Kaede planned to tiptoe upstairs, but as soon as he moved, several figures crowded in through the doorway.
It was Alolan Ninetales, Sylveon, and the others!
"Hmm?"
Before Kaede could figure out what they wanted, they rushed to his side. Several meter-tall canine Pokémon surrounded him, leaving him no room to move.
Over by the table, Rotom was awakened by the commotion. It blinked, its first sight being the bright cluster of Pokémon. It was about to ask why they weren't playing outside when it flew up a bit and spotted Kaede standing in the middle of them.
"Rotom? Master?"
"Oh... you're awake. Sorry, Rotom," Kaede said, looking at the pairs of bright, shining eyes around him and then at the hovering Rotom.
But Rotom was even more shocked.
It exclaimed loudly, "Rotom! Rotom! Kaede's back! Kaede's back!"
It wanted to alert the other Pokémon who were waiting.
"Ninetales! Ninetales!"
But Alolan Ninetales quickly called out to stop it.
"Rotom?"
Rotom's voice faltered.
"Yeah, yeah. Everyone already knows. I got back at noon."
"Rotom? So I was the last to know?" Rotom said, dumbfounded.
"Weren't you asleep?"
"Rotom..."
Rotom's previously high spirits instantly deflated.
It had thought it could be the one to announce the news and see everyone's surprised faces.
Turns out, it was the last one in the know.
"Alright, Rotom. Any messages these past few days?" Kaede asked with a chuckle.
"Rotom~"
"Yes, yes!"
Hearing Kaede get to business, Rotom quickly shook off its gloom and became serious. "Champion Kazephyr tried to chat with you. It was about the Ice-type Elite Four member challenging you."
"Also, a trainer with a Larvitar has been looking for you. The latest update is that the Happiny egg has hatched. They're asking when you'd like to come choose one?"
"Huh!?" Kaede's eyes lit up. "Haha, so it finally hatched!"
"Reply for me. I'll go in a couple of days. Need to sort out things at the Breeding House first."
"Okay, Rotom~" Rotom replied energetically.
Kaede checked Pokégram. Confirming the messages were as Rotom said, he didn't dwell on it further.
He then skimmed through his short video private messages.
"Dude, Kaede, where'd you go!? Eight days, it's the eighth day! You're still not back. My Grovyle is about to go on a hunger strike!"
"You need to come back~ You need to come back~"
"Hah, I'm dying... I'm dead, you heartless man...."
He couldn't help but chuckle.
He didn't manage them immediately.
Instead, he turned to Indeedee with interest. "Alright, let me go see what new Pokémon are in the garden..."
But halfway through, he remembered one Pokémon missing from lunch. "Huh? Where's Arcanine? Didn't see him at lunch either. Did he go out to play?"
"Sylveon~!" (I know this, I know this~!) Before the sister Indeedee could answer, Sylveon ('little nine') chimed in first.
"Sylveon!" (He's been at the town entrance these days. There's another one of his kind there. He takes treats to play with it every day and goes to the Wilderness Area with it for 'training'!)
"Sylveon..."
(But it just seems like running there. Don't get it, don't get it...)
Sylveon swayed her ribbons, speaking to Kaede with a serious, head-shaking expression.
Kaede asked again, "I see. Has Officer Jenny come looking for us?"
"Sylveon..."
This time, Sylveon shook her head.
"Ha, sounds promising then."
The town was small, with no space for Arcanine to stretch its legs, so Officer Jenny usually trained her Arcanine in Aogiri Forest.
Some areas there were densely wooded, with fallen trees forming perfect obstacle courses on the paths—ideal for Arcanine's agility training.
If Officer Jenny hadn't come to complain, she probably didn't mind Kaede's Arcanine joining the training.
With them going back and forth like this, it seemed things were progressing well!
Though, come to think of it...
*Grumble* A dog that's barely been born already has a love interest!
Chuckling to himself, Kaede walked out of the room and into the Berry Plantation, followed closely by his little entourage.
He had a feeling they'd be sticking by his side all day.
In the plantation, Serperior was already using Grassy Terrain.
Among the trees and Berries, several figures moved about: two Furret, some more Sentret, a Meowth, and a Skwovet were picking Berries... On the specially cleared paths within the plantation, Ponyta trotted along, carrying sacks of picked Berries on its back, ready to deliver them to the kitchen.
Hmm,
All familiar Pokémon.
One Sentret had evolved. Too bad it wasn't the shiny one.
But that should happen soon too.
The new Pokémon Indeedee mentioned probably weren't these.
'In the garden, can care for flowers'... Could they have been attracted by the Elegant Morning Glory?
Kaede was curious.
But right now, looking at the scene before him, he called out loudly, "Serperior!"
"Serperior?"
Serperior turned its head to look at him.
"Did you miss me?"
"Serperior?"
Serperior tilted its head, then turned away...
As for missing him...
It felt...
It missed him a lot before he came back, but now that he was here, not so much anymore.