Lucas returned to the entrance of the Breeding House early in the morning, looking travel-worn.
It wasn't until Gary left that he remembered the place he was at was very far from the Breeding House.
So, he climbed onto Ninetales's back, preparing to rush back to the Breeding House.
However, because he hadn't informed Gothitelle in advance that he wanted to try out the new power Lilligant had mastered, it had to rush out to clean up the mess for Lucas and Lilligant. Afterward, it even ended up sitting directly on the snow without any grace.
As a result, he was planted directly into the snow by Gothitelle.
Later, it was only because Lilligant pleaded for him that Gothitelle pulled him out, but as a punishment...
He had to walk back to the Breeding House on foot.
Lucas could only follow Gengar and Ninetales aggrievedly, moving his legs toward the Breeding House while covered in the dust of travel.
In the end, Gothitelle still felt sorry for Lucas and let him sit on Ninetales's back, rushing all the way back to the Breeding House.
As the sky was just beginning to brighten, Lucas stood at the entrance of the Breeding House with Gengar and the others.
On the Breeding Road in front of the entrance, people had already begun clearing the accumulated snow.
Lucas wondered why people were already out clearing snow so early.
Besides, he hadn't been gone for very long.
While running along the Breeding Road, Lucas noticed that it had already been mostly cleared.
At that moment, the Breeding House door opened. Mrs. Fujino saw Lucas, Gengar, and Ninetales standing there, travel-worn and covered in snow, and let out a surprised cry. "Ah, Lucas is back? Why are you standing outside? Come in, come in!"
After saying this, she stepped aside and let Lucas and the others inside.
"I just got back and was about to head inside, but you beat me to it, Mrs. Fujino."
Lucas asked Ninetales to help clear the snow off him while joking with Mrs. Fujino.
As Lucas sat in the rest area to relax, Mime Jr. heard the commotion and ran downstairs, followed by Shauna in her pajamas and chimecho.
"Ni Ni~"
You're back.
"Uncle!"
Ling Ling~
Lucas pulled Shauna and Mime Jr. into his arms, letting them each sit on one of his legs.
Mrs. Fujino and Gothitelle brought over several cups of hot tea.
"Drink some hot tea to warm your body."
Lucas smiled and said thank you, then took a few sips of the hot tea, which warmed him to the core.
Hearing these words, Gothitelle turned its head away, not wanting to pay attention to Lucas.
Lucas could only chuckle and then look at Mime Jr. and Shauna in his arms.
Seeing the worried look in Mime Jr.'s eyes, Lucas smiled and reached out to pinch its little red nose.
"Don't worry, they're already fine."
Mime Jr. clapped its hands happily.
"Give me a kiss and I'll tell you another piece of good news."
Lucas looked at Mime Jr. and said with a smile.
Mime Jr. didn't hesitate to give Lucas a kiss on the cheek.
Shauna also gave him a kiss on the other side.
Lucas's heart melted. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed a big, fat face leaning in as well.
Lucas watched as Mime Jr. and Shauna also gave Gengar a kiss on the face, and he rolled his eyes.
Once Gengar sat back in its seat with satisfaction, Lucas finally spoke. "They said they'll come to the Breeding House to play when they're free."
Mime Jr.'s eyes widened and its little mouth formed a round 'O' in disbelief.
As for Shauna, although she didn't know who he was talking about, it didn't stop her from being happy along with them.
"Are new friends coming over?"
Shauna asked.
"That's right, and they're Pokémon just as cute as Mime Jr."
"Wow~"
Shauna's mouth hung open. "Then, then can I play with them too?"
Lucas pretended to hesitate. "Well, they did say they were coming to find Mime Jr. to play."
Shauna's sadness was visible to the naked eye.
"But our little Shauna is so cute, I'm sure they'll love to play with her too, right, Gengar?"
"Gengar gar——"
Little Shauna is the absolute cutest~
Shauna cheered up instantly. "Ah, I need to go change, eat breakfast, and go to school. I'll come find you to play after school, Uncle!"
"Mm, go on. Remember to eat well."
Shauna ran upstairs with chimecho following behind. "Got it!"
Then Lucas continued to look at Mime Jr. in his arms. "And what about Mime Jr.? What's your job for today?"
Mime Jr. replied without hesitation: "Ni Ni~"
I'm going to guard the Canteen.
"Then it'll be hard work for Mime Jr. I'll let you know when they arrive."
Lucas pinched its little nose again.
Mime Jr. nodded happily and then ran to the kitchen to help its older sister prepare breakfast.
After breakfast, Shauna rode Rapidash to school. Lucas watched Gothitelle preparing to open the Cottage and, finishing his goat milk, asked, "Is Gothitelle going to the Cottage today?"
Gothitelle nodded.
"Aren't you going to rest?" Lucas let out a huge yawn; Gothitelle and the others had been traveling with him all night.
Dash had already finished breakfast and gone to sleep.
Gothitelle thought for a moment and then shook its head.
Seeing this, Lucas intentionally said, "But Mime Jr. has to guard the Canteen, so only Ninetales, Gengar, Lilligant, and I will be left in the room. I'm afraid I'll have nightmares while I sleep, and since Mime Jr. isn't there, no one will comfort me. What should I do?"
Lucas's sleeping posture was very poor. Back when Ninetales was still a Vulpix, his posture would be slightly better if he was holding Vulpix or Mime Jr. Since Vulpix evolved into Ninetales, he could only sleep while holding Mime Jr. Now that Mime Jr. was going to work in the Canteen, he wouldn't have anyone to hold while sleeping.
Of course, Lucas didn't mean he wanted to sleep holding Lilligant or Gothitelle; he just didn't want Gothitelle to be exhausted. After all, after resisting the aftershocks of Dialga and Palkia's attacks, it had also desperately compressed the power of the Z-Move for him and Lilligant. Although they had recovered at the Pokémon Center, what was consumed was mental energy, which wouldn't recover so quickly.
Furthermore, they hadn't felt comfortable with him traveling late at night, so they had all come out of their Poké Balls to accompany him on the road all night. If it went to work at the Cottage now, Lucas would truly feel bad for it.
Hearing that Lucas might have nightmares, Gothitelle began to hesitate.
Lucas then continued, "We can't abandon the children at the Cottage either."
Lucas rubbed his chin and suddenly said, "How about letting Roserade and Pinsir go there? Roserade is so meticulous that looking after those children shouldn't be a problem. Then there's Pinsir and Heracross; they're already quite experienced at taking care of children. At the same time, we could have Staraptor or Luxray head over there? What do you think?"
"Ni~"
Leave it to me, you go to sleep.
Roserade said to Gothitelle with a smile.
Only then did Gothitelle nod and hand over the prepared desserts and other items to it.
Since it was winter, there wasn't much that needed to be prepared.
Seeing this, Lucas cast a grateful glance toward Roserade.
Roserade gave a slight bow.
My pleasure.
After watching Roserade and the others set off on Gogoat, Machoke also set off with the fresh milk and herbal tea.
"Mr. Fujino, I'll have to trouble you to look after the Breeding House and the Canteen."
Lucas stood up and spoke to Mr. Fujino, who was sitting in the rest area.
Mr. Fujino put down his newspaper and nodded with a smile. "Rest easy, Lucas. If anything important comes up, we'll come and get you."
Lucas nodded and then took Gengar and the others back to his room.
He picked up the quilt from the bed, tossed it onto the floor, then went to the bathroom to take a shower. After coming out and blow-drying his hair, he let out a yawn and lay down on the floor between Lilligant and Gothitelle. Ninetales lay above their heads, surrounding them.
Feeling the familiar sensation and looking at the familiar ceiling...
Lucas let out a breath. "Whether it's a gold nest or a silver nest, it's still not as good as one's own doghouse."
Lilligant leaned closer into Lucas's arms.
"Lilli~"
"Good work, everyone. Well then, good night."
"Gengar gar"
Good (yawn) night.
"Lilli~"
"Xiu~"
"Gothitelle~"
Snore! (The sound of Dash snoring downstairs.)
Hearing the familiar snoring, Lucas and the others looked at each other and laughed.
Lucas held Lilligant in his arms, smelling the happy floral fragrance she emitted.
He fell sweetly into a dreamland.