Clefairy are not only extremely cute in appearance, but their movements and cries are equally adorable.
Because of this, they are very popular as pets. However, Clefairy don't have a fixed habitat, and no one knows where they come from. Their numbers are extremely rare.
Even the Stone family, to which Steven belonged, wouldn't be able to gather so many Clefairy in such a short time.
"You mean the Clefairy?" Kawaki asked.
Steven nodded.
Kawaki smiled and shook his head. "Not exactly. So far, the Clefairy only work at my daycare. You could say we have an employer-employee relationship."
"…Employer-employee?" Steven was stunned.
"It's a bit hard to explain in one go. In short, I provide food and lodging for the Clefairy, help them out a little, and they work for me in return, helping take care of the daycare," Kawaki said.
Steven calmly nodded. Fascinating.
"The food will still take a while. If you don't mind, you can rest on the sofa over here," Kawaki added.
Steven nodded politely and thanked him.
He sat down on the sofa and took out his Poké Balls.
There were two in total. With a flash of white light, an Aron and a Skarmory appeared before everyone.
Including the Metang from earlier, it was clear that these were the three Pokémon on Steven's current team.
"Looks like Steven is going the elite route," Kawaki thought to himself.
The elite route—meaning not catching a large number of Pokémon, but focusing on raising a select few in the team.
Before long, dinner was ready.
Two chef Clefairy and a server Clefairy brought the ramen and several cups of milk into the dining area.
Steven greeted Kawaki and headed to the dining area with his three Pokémon to eat.
"If you need anything, feel free to let me know."
"Thank you very much," Steven responded politely as ever.
The two didn't speak much after that. Steven ate quietly, while Kawaki went back to reading.
Perhaps it was because he had traveled all day—after dinner, Steven returned to his room early to rest.
Kawaki didn't disturb him. He kept reading until ten that night, and after making sure no more guests would arrive, he locked up the daycare and went to rest with Growlithe and Bewear, who had stayed with him while he read.
As for the Clefairy… they had already returned to their spaceship and cuddled together to sleep.
The next morning, Steven woke up on time.
He was full, rested, and had spent a wonderful night.
Lying on the soft, comfortable bed, he looked out at the lush greenery through the window. When he opened it, a breeze rich with the scent of nature blew in, refreshing and pleasant.
Steven felt mentally invigorated. Even the gloom from days of outdoor training seemed to lift completely.
At the same time, a line of text appeared in front of Kawaki.
\[Steven's mood has improved. Joy +80. You received a gift from Steven: "Exp. Share."]
\[Exp. Share: The latest product developed by the Devon Corporation. When worn by a Pokémon, it will absorb training effects and experience from other Pokémon practicing within a 100-meter radius. Your hospitality greatly impressed Steven, and he has decided to give you this rare device as a gift.]
Staring at the sudden appearance of what looked like a helmet-like device, Kawaki froze on the spot.
The Exp. Share…
Wasn't this the device given to the player by President Stone of the Devon Corporation in the game?
Kawaki remembered that its in-game effect allowed the rest of the team to share in experience points.
Now this device had actually appeared in the real world...
And judging from the description, as long as a Pokémon wears it, it can passively absorb the effects of nearby training and gain experience?
Isn't that just getting stronger by doing absolutely nothing?!
There weren't many Pokémon in the daycare currently undergoing serious training.
The Clefairy were more interested in playing, Swampert and Quagsire were preoccupied with romance and breeding, and Bewear didn't need training.
As for Oddish and Growlithe…
Those two were ideal candidates to use the Exp. Share.
"In any case, let's try putting it on Growlithe first."
Kawaki got up and placed the Exp. Share on Growlithe's head.
At first glance, it looked like a helmet.
Growlithe felt a bit awkward at first and wasn't used to it, but once it heard Kawaki say that keeping the helmet on would make it stronger, it immediately fell silent.
Kawaki got out of bed and began preparing breakfast.
Steven had already woken up and bought a sandwich and a cup of milk. After finishing, he prepared to head out to the open training area with Metang for some special training.
Hearing Steven's plan, Kawaki thought it was the perfect chance to test the Exp. Share.
"Go through that small door—behind it is the daycare's open field. There are only two Pokémon left in there by guests at the moment, so there's plenty of space. You can train there," Kawaki said.
"Thank you very much. I'll take you up on that," Steven replied politely.
"No problem," Kawaki said. Curious about the Exp. Share's effects, he quickly finished his work and took Growlithe to the backyard.
The two of them pretended to feed Swampert and Quagsire but were actually hovering near Steven and Metang to sponge off the experience.
Steven immediately noticed the device on Growlithe's head.
Looking puzzled, he asked, "What's that Growlithe is wearing on its head…?"
Steven didn't recognize it? Kawaki was slightly surprised, but he quickly realized—this Exp. Share probably came from the game. It made sense that the real-world Steven wouldn't know it.
"It's a special training device I made for Growlithe," Kawaki explained.
Since it was a private matter, Steven didn't ask further and turned his attention back to training Metang.
"Metang, use Gravity."
A field of special energy rippled around Metang. At first glance, it seemed like nothing had changed, but the surrounding area's gravitational field had been distorted by psychic power.
Gravity: A Psychic-type move that increases gravity. For a set time, Pokémon with Levitate or Flying-type become vulnerable to Ground-type moves. If the level gap is too great, the Pokémon will be forced to the ground and unable to fly.
This move was essentially a counter to Flying-types and could be surprisingly effective in certain situations.
But beyond that, Gravity could also be used to train nearby Pokémon—essentially acting as weighted training by increasing gravitational pressure.
Today, Steven had Metang use Gravity to let Skarmory and Aron train within the field.
Growlithe sat on the grass, focused intently on the two Pokémon sparring within the Gravity field. Light shimmered in its eyes, and the small bulbs on the Exp. Share atop its head lit up one after another.
Growlithe had started learning!