The next day.
Victor felt something rubbing against his chest.
He reached a hand under the covers; it was warm to the touch.
"Yip..."
A delicate sound reached his ears. He opened his eyes and saw a fiery red fox head poking out from the covers on his chest. Its brown, pupil-less, amber-like eyes were staring at him.
"Morning, Vulpix. Good morning, Gengar."
He sat up, lifted the Vulpix off his chest and placed it on the bed beside him, yawned, and greeted both the Vulpix and the Gengar doing calisthenics on the balcony.
Finally, he looked at the Mime Jr. on the small bed next to his, who was neatly folding its little blanket.
"Good morning, Mime Jr. You fold your blanket so nicely."
"Mime Jr.~"
After folding its blanket, Mime Jr. scratched the back of its head, giggled, and then hopped down from its small bed and ran downstairs to prepare breakfast for everyone.
"Gengar—"
Gengar, wearing a headband and with a hula hoop around its waist, came in from the balcony. Seeing Victor was awake, it greeted him.
Looking at the hula hoop and headband, and then at the other online-purchased items it had tidied up in the room, Victor couldn't help but say, "You need to be more careful with your online shopping."
"Gengar? ¬_¬｀" Gengar shot him a look. What, you got a problem with it?
"Never mind. As long as you're happy."
Victor sighed. Ever since he had taught it how to use the internet, it had started spending its allowance on these trendy Pokémon products.
Thankfully, everything it bought was either cheap or on sale.
He wasn't sure if he should call it frugal or a spendthrift.
Oh well. As long as it's happy.
The Vulpix followed behind Victor to the bathroom door. It saw him brushing his teeth, while Gengar stood under the showerhead, covered in bubbles.
"Can you point the showerhead inward a bit more? It's spraying all over me," Victor called out through a mouthful of toothpaste.
Gengar grunted in acknowledgment and moved a little deeper into the shower.
After washing his face, Victor scooped up the Vulpix and used a towel to wash its face and wipe down its body.
"Let's go, Vulpix. Time for breakfast," Victor said, then carried it downstairs.
"Remember to finish up quickly and come down to eat."
"Gengar—"
Okay!
After breakfast, he asked Dali to go pick up Shana. He then went to the incubator room to check and count the Pokémon Eggs. Seeing that there were only a few left, he made a note in his small notebook to order another batch from Jenny soon.
Back in the lounge area, with nothing to do, Victor lay on the chair with the Vulpix in his arms, quietly watching TV.
Mime Jr. was still in the kitchen, washing the dishes.
Gengar was sweeping the Breeding House with a broom, but when it saw its favorite cartoon come on the TV, it stopped and stood at the side, watching with great interest.
Seeing this, Victor didn't change the channel and watched along with it.
This continued until Shana arrived. She greeted him as she came in, then took Mime Jr. and the Vulpix and ran to the backyard, with her Chingling bouncing along behind her.
In the end, Gengar simply dropped the broom and sat beside Victor, watching the cartoon intently.
Seeing this, Victor got up and went to the kitchen to cut a fruit platter for it.
Noticing that the berries in the refrigerator were almost gone, he closed the door, thinking that he needed to find some time to expand the berry patch.
Just as he placed the fruit platter on the table, he heard a commotion from the backyard.
"Uncle!"
Gengar shot up, phased through the wall, and went straight from the kitchen to the backyard. By the time Victor opened the door and got there, he saw a Staravia hovering in front of Shana and the others, flapping its wings. Gengar had a sinister flame flickering in its hand, and it was looking at the bird with confusion.
The Staravia cried out. Gengar hesitated for a moment, then extinguished the flame.
"What's wrong?" Victor asked, walking over to Shana and ruffling her hair.
"A really big plane flew by just now, and something fell from it. And then, it helped us by knocking the falling thing away," Shana explained.
Hearing her story, Victor looked up in the direction she was pointing, but saw nothing.
Dali walked over and handed him something.
It was a shattered glass dome. Looking at the remaining fragments in his hand, Victor had a vague sense of familiarity.
After a moment's thought, he gave the fragments to Dali and asked Gengar to clean up the rest, so that no one in the Breeding House, human or Pokémon, would get hurt.
He then looked up at the Staravia. "Thank you for your help, Staravia."
He took the Poffins that Mime Jr. had brought from the kitchen, grabbed a handful, and tossed them one by one to the Staravia in the air.
After eating them, the Staravia cried out but didn't leave.
"You want more?" Victor asked. He grabbed another handful, but the Staravia shook its head and then landed on the open sun umbrella.
Not understanding what it wanted, Victor focused his attention.
[Staravia]
[Type: Normal, Flying]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Reckless]
[Known Moves: Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Aerial Ace, Double Team, Take Down, Brave Bird, Air Cutter.]
[Mood: Good]
[Status: Expectant]
[Friendship: 60 (It seems to have known you for a while?)]
[Introduction: A Staravia that seeks to become stronger. It seems to be looking for a trainer who can help it?]
[Where is the trainer for me? —Staravia]
Victor suddenly understood. "You want me to help you find a trainer?"
The Staravia looked at him and nodded.
This was a tricky situation. This Staravia was quite strong. With its Hidden Ability, Reckless, the power of its Take Down and Brave Bird would be boosted.
But the stronger it was, the stronger and more skilled its trainer needed to be. Right now, almost all the powerful trainers were away for the League Conference. Plus, his Breeding House was located between Twinleaf and Sandgem Town, with no Gyms nearby, so it attracted very few skilled trainers.
But it had protected Shana and the others.
It was a tough call.
In the end, Victor made a decision. He looked at the Staravia, which was preening its wings with its head down. "How about this? If any trainers come by, I'll bring them here to meet you. If you're both satisfied with each other, you can leave together. What do you think?"
The Staravia thought for a moment, then nodded.
It spread its wings, circled above their heads a few times, and then flew off deep into the forest.
"Hey! Where am I supposed to find you later?" Victor called out, but the Staravia's figure had already disappeared.
Stunned, Victor could only shake his head. He told Shana and the others to be careful, then went back to the counter.
After lunch, while Victor was picking herbs in the backyard, he heard the sound of flapping wings. A Staravia landed on the ground not far away, careful not to land in the herb garden.
Victor recognized it as the same Staravia from the morning. He walked out of the garden and over to it, and saw that it was holding a small bag in its beak. He took it and saw that it was full of berries.
"Are these for us?" Victor asked with a smile.
The Staravia nodded.
"You're a pretty nice guy, aren't you?"
He reached out, and as it watched him with a questioning look, he stroked the feathers on its back. They were surprisingly smooth.
And so, the Breeding House's forest area gained a new resident: a Staravia, waiting for a skilled trainer.
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