In the dead of night, Victor and his Pokémon took an ambulance back to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy helped treat Gengar and the others.
He watched as Gengar grinned and floated through the wall to his side.
"Gengar—"
Looking at the recovered Gengar, Victor wearily pulled at the corners of its mouth, making it smile.
"I really don't know how your small body managed to take two Flamethrowers from a Salamence."
He then walked over to the Machoke, gave Dali and Erli a fist bump, and then looked at the Vespiquen and Staravia.
"I really owe you all for today. I'll make you something delicious later, as much as you can eat."
The Vespiquen turned its head away haughtily, while the Staravia just nodded.
Gengar watched Victor's back and grinned.
"Gengar—"
"Because I have to work hard to protect Victor."
"Go on back and get some rest. Jenny and I will handle the rest," Nurse Joy said with a warm smile.
"Okay. Thank you for your hard work, Joy. Goodnight. And you too, Blissey."
"Goodnight."
"Blissey—"
...
The Breeding House.
Shana's eyes flew open. She looked at the Petilil and the other Pokémon surrounding her, her eyes filled with worry.
She gently lifted the covers, stepped over her Chingling, and climbed out of bed.
The movement woke them up.
"Ching~"
"Shh!" Shana placed a finger to her lips, signaling for them to be quiet.
She then tiptoed to the door and opened it. Sanli wasn't standing guard outside.
"Sanli?" she whispered. No response.
A flash of fear crossed her eyes. She went back to the window and saw that the sky was just beginning to brighten. She looked at the Pokémon on her bed and bit her lip.
She tiptoed out of the room, her lips beginning to tremble, as if she were regressing to her old self.
But then she heard a faint sound from downstairs—the clatter of pots and pans.
She recognized the sound. Tears instantly filled her eyes, and she ran downstairs on her bare feet.
At the turn of the staircase, she saw a young man arranging breakfast, with a Gengar helping him set the plates.
As if sensing something, the young man looked up, saw Shana on the stairs, and gave her a gentle smile.
"Good morning, Shana."
His voice was hoarse but full of a comforting sense of security.
Looking at his bloodshot eyes, Shana ran to him and threw herself into his arms.
"WAAAAH!!!"
Her sobs echoed through the entire Breeding House.
Last night, she had pulled back the curtains and seen it—a huge fire that burned the sky red. She hadn't dared to tell the Petilil and the others, so she had just closed the curtains.
Victor held her tightly, quietly listening to her cry, his hand stroking her small head over and over.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you worry. But it's all over now. Gengar, Dali, and I have taken care of it."
Hearing Shana's cries, all the Pokémon in her room came running out. When they saw Victor smiling at them, they all happily ran downstairs and gathered around.
Looking at the scene before him, Victor's heart melted.
Shana looked up, wiped the tears from her face with her arm, and sniffled.
"Go on and wash up. Then I'll tie your hair for you, and we can have breakfast."
Shana nodded obediently and ran back to her room.
Not long after, she came back down, wearing a pretty little dress.
Victor smiled, sat her down on his lap, and styled her hair into buns.
It was a good thing that before he transmigrated, he had been his sister's top assistant for many years. He was quite handy when it came to tying hair and looking after children, so a simple hairstyle was no problem at all.
Looking at Shana's double buns, Victor nodded, very satisfied with his handiwork.
Does this count as raising a daughter? he thought to himself.
"Everyone, come and eat!"
"Gengar—"
"Machoke." x3
"Lili~"
"Mime~"
"Yip~"
The Vespiquen had returned to its hive; he'd call it for dinner later. The Staravia had flown off somewhere again.
After Victor finished his breakfast, he turned and saw that Gengar was nodding off, the spoon in its hand poking its own face.
Dali and Erli had already finished and were fast asleep on their chairs. Hearing their snores, Victor took the spoon from Gengar's hand.
"Gengar..." Gengar opened its eyes and looked at its hands. Where did my spoon go?
Victor gave it a flick on the forehead, then fed it the rest of its breakfast spoonful by spoonful. When it was finished, he patted its head and told it to go back to its room to sleep.
Gengar, chewing its food, nodded, then slowly floated up and phased through the ceiling to go to bed.
"Uncle, you should go to sleep too. Mime Jr. and I can help with the dishes," Shana said.
Victor looked at her, about to refuse, but then he saw her staring at him with her big, watery eyes. He smiled. "Then I'll leave it to you."
Shana nodded.
Victor continued, "We'll keep the Breeding House closed today. You can watch TV with Tinkerbell and the others, watch the League Conference. When I wake up, I'll make you all a big dinner. Sanli, help me look after them."
"Okay!"
"Machoke."
The crisp, clear voice reached Victor's ears.
He nodded, then turned and walked up the stairs, went back to his room, and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Shana, meanwhile, pulled up a small stool and began to wash the dishes with Mime Jr. and the others.
For lunch, Shana and Mime Jr. cooked. After they ate, Shana sat in a chair with the Petilil in her lap and her Chingling perched on her head. They ate the Cat's Ear crisps Victor had saved from yesterday while watching the League Conference on TV.
The sound of a motorcycle came from outside, then cut out.
With Tinkerbell on her head and the Petilil in her arms, Shana ran to open the door.
The moment she opened it, she saw Officer Jenny in her uniform, standing at the entrance.
"Officer Jenny, you're here!"
"Good afternoon, little Shana. And to everyone at the Breeding House."
Jenny followed Shana inside, her massive Arcanine behind her. Not seeing Victor, she asked, "Where's Victor?"
"Uncle is still sleeping upstairs. Should I go wake him?"
"No, it's fine. Let him sleep. He must have been exhausted yesterday," Jenny said with a wave of her hand. She sat down in an empty chair, casually picked up the Vulpix whose tail was now showing clear signs of splitting, and placed it on her lap. She looked at the plate of Cat's Ear crisps, curiously picked one up, and popped it into her mouth.
Hey, these are pretty good. Jenny's eyes lit up.
"Officer Jenny, is that a Growlithe?" Shana asked, reaching out a small hand to pet the Arcanine's head.
"That's right. It evolved."
"Wow, it's so big and cool!" Shana gasped.
"Arf!" The Arcanine proudly lifted its head and let out a bark.
"Shh!" Shana quickly shushed it. "Don't wake up uncle."
"Arf~" The Arcanine swallowed the rest of its bark and whimpered softly, lowering its head.
Jenny watched, amused.
"Officer Jenny, have you eaten?" Shana asked.
When she saw Jenny shake her head, Shana said happily, "Then I'll go get you some food! Mime Jr. taught me how to cook lunch today. You can try it and see if it's good."
"You and Mime Jr. cooked? Then I'll definitely have to try it."
"Then please wait a moment. Can you hold Petilil and Tinkerbell for me? Let's go, Mime Jr."
Shana handed the Petilil and her Chingling to Jenny, then ran towards the kitchen with Mime Jr.
"Slow down," Jenny called after them.
"It's okay!" Shana's voice came from the kitchen.
Jenny looked down at the Chingling, the Petilil, and the Vulpix now in her arms.
This heavy love was making her teeth ache.
Thankfully, the Chingling and the Vulpix soon ran off to play, leaving her with just the Petilil to hold.
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