First on the list was a television. Right now, aside from playing with the Pokémon or reading, the daycare had no other forms of entertainment.
And considering the current time period—Steven had just turned ten—not to mention, smartphones and other electronics hadn't even been developed yet.
With the daycare located deep in the wilderness, far from any towns and cut off from information, having a television that could broadcast news and help keep up with the outside world was an absolute necessity.
Second was a Poké Ball transfer machine.
A device capable of transferring Pokémon remotely. In the future, if a Trainer wanted to send a Pokémon from afar, they could visit their local Pokémon Center and use the machine to transfer it directly to the daycare.
The only problem was that Kawaki wasn't sure if this technology had been developed yet.
If he remembered correctly, this tech was co-developed by Professor Masaki from the Kanto region and his team.
Finally, he needed a machine to produce Pokéblocks—to upgrade the food quality for the Pokémon in the daycare.
That information broker Taillow had never come back precisely because it hated how bland the meals were.
Kawaki was just about to set off with Bewear to Fallarbor Town to take care of all these problems, when suddenly—the lights went out.
After a quick inspection, he discovered that the entire daycare had lost power!
Because the daycare was in the wild, all electricity was transmitted from Fallarbor via overhead lines. The problem was, those lines were old and worn down. Who knew which part had failed now?
Kawaki checked the daycare's internal wiring—it was fine. The problem had to be somewhere along the line connecting to Fallarbor.
Sigh. If only he had an Electric-type Pokémon right now…
That way, they could generate their own electricity, be completely self-sufficient, and never have to pay power bills again.
Even a Pikachu would do!
"Pikachu are as common as stray dogs," some had said.
Unfortunately, Kawaki hadn't seen a single Electric-type so far.
Even the batch of eggs sent by the Hoenn League hadn't included any Electric-types—otherwise he would've kept one and raised it himself.
Oh well. All the more reason to get someone in town to fix the line!
Kawaki grabbed some money and found Bewear, ready to head to Fallarbor Town together.
But before setting off, they had one important thing to do.
Kawaki gathered all the Clefairy and Oddish in the backyard and brought them into his room.
Facing this group of innocent, wide-eyed Pokémon, he said:
"Bewear and I are heading to Fallarbor Town. It's pretty far from here, so we might be gone a while."
"Clefairy…?"
"Oddish?"
"So, until we get back, all of you need to stay inside this room. No running around, okay? I'll lock all the doors and windows. If anyone other than me knocks, don't open the door."
"Clefairy…?" The Clefairy looked confused. "Clefairy? Why?"
Kawaki saw their puzzled expressions and explained, "Because I'm worried bad people might come while Bewear and I are gone and try to take you away. If you get captured, you'll be forced to do labor. If you disobey, you might get shocked. And they'll sell you to whoever they want."
"Clefairy!!"
(All the Pokémon: 😣)
The whole group was horrified by what they heard, their faces full of fear.
That sounded terrible!
Oddish didn't want to be taken away—it had grown fond of this place.
Clefairy didn't want to go either—they still had to work hard and earn money to repair their spaceship!
Growlithe especially didn't want to be taken. If it was separated from Kawaki, it wouldn't be able to sleep at night!
All the Pokémon looked uneasy.
Kawaki wasn't exaggerating—this was genuinely what Pokémon hunters and criminal organizations were capable of.
Of course… he was also trying to scare them a little.
Seeing that his warning had worked, Kawaki glanced around at the Pokémon and asked:
"So, until I get back, everyone stay in this room, okay? Don't go outside."
"Clefairy!" The Clefairy nodded rapidly in fear.
Oddish trembled in a corner.
"Woof…" Growlithe looked a bit upset—it wanted to go with Kawaki to town.
"No, Growlithe," Kawaki said, petting its fluffy head.
Seeing its confused eyes, he added, "Your nose is the sharpest—you can smell bad people from far away and help everyone stay alert. And now that you're a big pup, you have to stay and protect everyone for me."
Growlithe were naturally responsible and just by nature.
Hearing that, Growlithe—still not even a month old—stood up tall with pride.
That's right! It could already use Ember and Sleep Powder—it was a strong and capable big pup now. It had to stay and protect everyone!
"Be good. We'll be back soon."
Kawaki glanced at the Clefairy diving under the covers to hide and sighed inwardly.
Okay… maybe he scared them a little too much.
"Don't open the door for anyone besides me. Don't even answer them. Got it?" Kawaki repeated his instructions.
"Clefairy!" the Pokémon chorused.
Kawaki nodded and turned to head downstairs—when he noticed Bewear looking around at everyone, nose twitching as it tried to memorize their scents.
As a bear Pokémon, Bewear had an exceptionally sensitive nose.
Kawaki's warning had stirred a sense of urgency in its heart.
It wanted to remember the scent of every Pokémon here—because to Bewear, everyone in the daycare, including Kawaki and all the Pokémon, were its children.
If anyone dared try to take its children—no matter where they ran—Bewear would chase them to the ends of the earth.
And give them a serious beating along the way.
"Let's go, Bewear!" Kawaki called.
Only then did Bewear follow.
Kawaki did one last check around the daycare, carefully locking every door and window. Then he hung a sign on the front door: "Closed—Out on Errands."
With that, Bewear tucked Kawaki under its arm, crouched, and suddenly launched forward at high speed, sprinting straight toward Fallarbor Town.
Kawaki: "..."
At that moment, he really wanted to shout like Team Rocket:
"What a horrible feeling!"
Being tucked under an arm wasn't exactly comfortable. But if they traveled on foot, it would take them half a day to get there. If they wanted to make it back quickly, this was the only way.
Fortunately, Bewear was fast—Kawaki didn't have to suffer for long.
Fallarbor Town—arrived!