The bell chimed—just before Chimecho's gentle tinkling.
Compared to Pokémon like Aggron and Flygon, Chimecho wasn't well-suited for battles.
Over centuries of coexisting with humans, they had fully integrated into human life.
Chimecho liked to hang by the suction cup on its head from tree branches or the eaves of houses. As soon as the hot season arrived, it would fly about lively, looking just like a string of wind chimes.
When a gentle breeze passed, Chimecho would emit a crisp, pleasant, and melodious chime.
That's how Chimecho became a part of human life—hanging like a wind chime beneath the eaves, and people believed that its sound would bring them happiness and good fortune.
In the anime, one of Team Rocket's trio, James, had a Chimecho.
Kawaki looked at the egg in his hand. Barring any surprises, this Chingling egg probably wouldn't sell anytime soon.
"Well, if it doesn't sell, I'll just raise it myself," Kawaki thought.
There just happened to be a vacancy under the eaves at the daycare—perfect for Chingling.
Next came the Castform that hatched three days later.
Kawaki saw great potential in this Pokémon—with it, the herb garden could finally be watered automatically.
He set the egg down and went downstairs to check the herb garden.
Thanks to Oddish's careful tending, the batch of herbs, vegetables, and fruits he had planted last time had already begun to sprout.
Rows of seedlings stood neatly between the furrows, growing vigorously.
Nearby, another batch of Berries had ripened on the trees. Kawaki called over Bewear, pulled out a basket, and had them all picked.
The plump and juicy berries filled an entire basket. Kawaki brought them home and divided them in two—one half for juicing to feed the Pokémon, and the other to be made into Pokéblocks.
That evening, after dinner, Kawaki gathered with the Pokémon in the living room to watch TV.
The television was playing a news program reporting major recent events in the Hoenn region—like a sudden surge in wild Pokémon in some area, or reports of wild Pokémon near a certain city going berserk and attacking civilians.
Occasionally, there were news stories from other regions as well.
It had been nearly two hundred years since the Pokémon League was founded, and over the years, regions had gradually become more interconnected.
Kawaki watched with interest, and the surrounding Pokémon were equally fascinated by the glowing, talking box.
Watching TV—this was something they had never experienced before.
"Clefairy?!"
When a Pokémon appeared on the screen, one of the Clefairy couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Was that Pokémon trapped inside the little box?
One Clefairy even picked up a broom and stormed toward the screen, intent on smashing the TV to free the Pokémon trapped inside.
Startled, Kawaki quickly stopped it. "Wait!"
"Clefairy?" Clefairy paused, confused, and looked back.
"Put the broom down. The Pokémon in there is just a recording—no one's trapped inside," Kawaki explained, taking the chance to introduce the TV to the Pokémon. "This is a television."
"Bark?" Television? What's that?
"It's a machine that plays videos," Kawaki said, unsure how else to explain it. He picked up the remote and changed the channel.
Soon, the screen switched to a cooking show.
Onscreen, a pretty girl wearing a chef's hat was making a soft, sweet cream cake with an Alcremie.
The pink-toned background, the cloud-like fluffy white cream, and a few strawberries on top—it all looked irresistibly comforting and delicious.
The Clefairy were immediately captivated by the strawberry cream cake on the screen.
"Clefairy!"
Some of them even started drooling.
That thing called a cream cake looked so delicious!
Kawaki: "..."
He didn't mind making one for the Clefairy to try, but there were no eggs or cream at home—it was like trying to cook without rice.
However, there was a dessert shop in Fallarbor Town. He could go buy one later and bring it back for the daycare's Pokémon to try.
Just thinking that Bewear, Growlithe, Clefairy, and Oddish had probably never tasted cream cake made Kawaki feel guilty, as if he owed them something.
Tomorrow—he was definitely going to Fallarbor Town to buy a bunch of cream cakes for the Pokémon at home to try!
When Kawaki shared his plan with the Pokémon, they immediately burst into cheers.
"Clefairy~!"
They looked just like excited children.
Kawaki couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry, I've got you covered."
The Clefairy went back to watching the cooking show.
Growlithe, Oddish, and Bewear were also quite interested in the desserts on the screen.
At some point, a light rain began to fall outside, pattering softly on the daycare roof.
On that rainy night, Kawaki snuggled on the sofa with the Pokémon, watching TV together.
He looked around at the group of Pokémon surrounding him, feeling deeply moved.
Who hadn't dreamed, as a child watching Pokémon, of living together with them?
And now—that dream had come true.
This feeling... was incredible.
The next morning, light rain still fell, making it unfit to go out.
Gazing at the damp air outside the window, Kawaki decided to wait until the rain stopped before heading to Fallarbor Town for the cakes.
However, just because he didn't want to go out didn't mean others wouldn't.
Early that morning, Steven returned from Mossdeep City and knocked on the daycare door to fulfill his promise.
His hair was soaked from the rain, plastered to his forehead, and his clothes were visibly wet.
Kawaki was momentarily stunned to see him.
Steven stepped inside, walked to the counter, and took off his backpack. One by one, he pulled out pieces of Moon Stones.
The elegant nobleman spoke: "Our deal is now complete."
Steven had brought a total of twenty Moon Stones—enough to evolve all the Clefairy in the daycare into Clefable, with eight stones to spare. He was impressively generous.
"That's... way too many," Kawaki said, astonished.
Steven smiled faintly. "These Moon Stones are nothing compared to the meteorite you gave me. And to thank you for your trust, please accept this as a gift."
With that, Steven pulled out another stone from his pocket.
A stone—round like a marble, with strange patterns inside, and beautiful to behold.
Kawaki instinctively looked at it.
The next second, information about the stone surfaced in his mind.
[Dragonite Mega Stone: A mysterious Mega Stone that allows Dragonite to Mega Evolve during battle when held.]