Chapter 82:
But why do we all smell so good?
That question bubbled up in the minds of the Alcremie and Bounsweet as they inhaled the sweet scent around Kaede. They didn't understand — they were simple Pokémon — so they let the thought go and went back to enjoying the moment.
Under the combined effort of so many mouths, the giant cake vanished quickly.
"Caterpie-Caterpie~!"
Caterpie collapsed on the ground in total abandon, eyes rolling white. Midway through the feast it had locked eyes with Torchic and kept eating without stopping. At first it hadn't noticed, but afterwards it felt something swelling inside, an urgent need that had to be released.
Finally… under that sensation, its whole body flashed white and began to stretch.
When the light faded and the Caterpie blurred away, a faceted, crimson Metapod stood before Kaede.
"Hmm… looks like eating more does make you a little bigger after evolution."
Kaede chuckled, confirming another little factoid: his Pokémon tended to grow larger than average after a period in the Breeding House.
"Metapod?"
Metapod blinked with dazed eyes, not sure what had happened. When it realized, its pupils widened in horror. It had evolved? Waaa—how could it evolve? In the wild Metapod would welcome evolution to better resist predators, but here… it wanted to delay evolution. Once evolved, it couldn't eat!
Kaede snorted at how crestfallen Metapod looked, then scooped it up and carried it toward the shed. "All right — for a while you can't eat anything."
Hearing that only made Metapod even sadder.
"One more thing — don't use Harden. You've eaten so much your cocoon's heavy and thick; if you harden too much and then can't break out later, that'll be a problem." Kaede warned with a laugh.
Metapod stared blankly and then trembled, indicating it understood.
After setting Metapod in place, Kaede glanced at a cream-smeared Torchic and couldn't help a faint look of reproach. "You ate so messily. Wait until the cream sticks and hardens on you — you'll feel uncomfortable."
"Torchic?"
Torchic hadn't stopped snacking, but when Kaede spoke it finally looked up and, seeing there wasn't a crumb left, wore a contented expression. The next second Kaede lifted it, brought it and popplio over to the reservoir, and scrubbed it down under water as it cried, "Torchic! Torchic!" — protesting but actually enjoying the attention. Alolan Vulpix quietly licked a clean line around her lips, relieved she hadn't been picked to wash.
Seeing Torchic a little rounder, Kaede ordered, "Tomorrow morning you go run. Use Quick Attack to sprint. You've only been here a week and you've already put on three or four kg! You're supposed to be a speed-chick — once Pidgeot's back, I will have it supervise you."
In this world, ordinary Pokémon can get overweight like humans if they eat too much and don't exercise. Kaede needed Torchic to move.
"Torchic" Torchic flicked off the water, eyed its swelling belly, and slumped into a resigned nod. "Torchic…" Indeed, it had puffed up.
"All right, everyone, get some rest."
After settling every Pokémon in the Plantation, Kaede glanced at the leftover plates and, on impulse, made them float with telekinesis. "Heh — telekinesis is handy." He rose and crouched before the Alcremie. "Thanks for your hard work today."
"You really made cakes everyone liked."
"Alcremie~" (We saw it, we saw it.)
"Alcremie…" (Mm-hmm~)
Alcremie naturally loved piping cream. It was slightly ironic: they worried they might be eaten for their cream, yet felt warmth and pride when others enjoyed what they made.
"All right — you can stay here."
Kaede used telekinesis to lift the Alcremie clear from the floor so they wouldn't pick up dust, then set them into bowls and asked them to consider where they wanted to rest.
"Alcremie?"
They chattered among themselves and finally fixed on an empty display cabinet.
"Alcremie?" (That cabinet — it's clear and it can close.)
"Alcremie~" (Too small! It can't fit us all…)
After some debate they still hadn't found the perfect spot. Kaede brightened. "Wait — I remembered a place."
He set the plates aside for later washing, gathered the bowls with the Alcremie, and brought them into the Breeding House's shop. There was a glass counter where the small cakes he and Gardevoir had made earlier were displayed. He placed the bowls on the glass case. "You can stay here during the day — people will see you when they come to buy the cakes. How about that?"
"Alcremie?" (Yes, yes~)
"Alcremie~" (They'll love our cakes.)
The Alcremie peered at the petit cakes under the glass and their eyes lit up. They'd already started imagining how many customers would come tomorrow for the sweets made with their cream.
"All right — for the night you can sleep in my room."
Then Kaede moved the group into his room and set bowls at the desk and bedside table. This time the Alcremie all agreed.
"Vulpix~?"
Alolan Vulpix on the bed brightened and licked her lips. So many fragrant friends had come home!
Servine poked its head out of the treehouse. "Servine?"
Kaede surveyed the cheerfully colorful rooms and felt pleased. He reminded the two other Pokémon, "These thirteen Alcremie will live here. You two don't bully them, ok?"
"Servine…" Servine rolled its eyes and slithered back into the treehouse. Alolan Vulpix stood primly and nodded repeatedly.
Having arranged everything, Kaede realized Gardevoir — who had said she'd join them — was nowhere to be seen.