Chapter 84:
At the front door.
The girl who came in early for work was bright-eyed and full of energy — like a seedling in early spring, always lively.
Takagi Megumi had thought today would be the same as yesterday: another ordinary morning. But when she pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside, a sweet, syrupy scent immediately filled her nose.
Before she could react, a few soft, creamy voices drew her gaze.
"Alcremie~" (Here, look here~)
"Alcremie~" (Cake! Want some?)
Megumi froze.
Where produce and vegetables normally sat, a display case now held cakes, and perched atop it were a dozen or so little cream-like Alcremie in all sorts of colors — like scoops of ice cream.
So cute!
That was Megumi's first thought. She instinctively stepped closer to the Alcremie.
"Alcremie?"
The Alcremie nearest her met her gaze. Maybe because their roles had changed, they weren't afraid — instead they looked earnestly at the cakes below, as if saying:
"We made these cakes with our cream — buy one~"
Hayashi Kaede, standing behind her, spoke up. "They're staff here, not customers."
"Alcremie…"
On hearing that, the Frosmoth's happy faces dropped, but they still looked toward the door with hopeful eyes, waiting for the next visitor to be a buyer.
"Wow — they're Alcremie? So cute!"
Megumi finally snapped out of her surprise and stared at them, astonished.
"Yes. The cakes are made using their cream" Kaede said. "Small cakes are three hundred PokéDollars each, and…"
He paused, pulled a cardboard sign from a storage sphere, and wrote in big letters: "Custom Cakes — Price Negotiable."
"To explain the custom cakes" he told Megumi, "if anyone asks, say they're only for Pokémon birthdays. If a Trainer catches a wild Pokémon, you can treat the capture day as its birthday."
"The price could be high — guaranteed minimum could be five or six digits. I'm not sure… cheap methods have cheap prices; expensive ones come with premium methods."
He'd meant to start the minimum at 100,000, but then realized that would shut out ordinary Trainers who wanted to celebrate their Pokémon, so he dropped the strict limit. He always ended up too soft-hearted.
Megumi nodded eagerly, but her eyes never left the Alcremie. "Can I hold one at my station?" she asked.
Who could refuse hugging such an adorable creature?
"Uh…" Kaede watched her, unsure if she'd understood, and finally replied, "If they're willing, it's fine."
"Yay!" Megumi's face lit up and she beamed like a doting aunt, cooing at the Alcremie, "Come on, be good — come with me to work~"
"Alcremie?" (What?)
"Alcremie!" (No, no…)
"Aww, just for a little while…"
"Alcremie…" (No, we can't…)
Kaede stood there trying not to laugh as every Alcremie rejected Megumi's offer. He puffed his cheeks and called out, "Try a slice of their cake — they might warm up to you after that."
Megumi's eyes brightened instantly. She paid three hundred PokéDollars without hesitation, picked up a petit cake and took a bite. She'd planned to praise the cream and win their favor, but the first mouthful genuinely surprised her. "Delicious!"
The nearby Alcremie blinked and watched her curiously. "Alcremie?"
When the cake was gone, Megumi noticed the Alcremie no longer avoided her. She asked again, "Want to come work with big sis? The counter's where customers pay — you'll be seen by more people who'll love you."
After a moment's hesitation, the Alcremie she chose didn't refuse. Megumi hugged it happily and carried it to her station.
Kaede shook his head with an amused smile and went off toward the Plantation to wake Torchic and take it for a morning run.
By the reservoir, under the big Petaya Berry tree — the largest fruit tree in the Plantation — Kaede noticed tiny flower buds opening like seeds.
"Looks like the special-trait breeding energy blocks can be made quickly now." He nodded in satisfaction and knocked on the wooden coop.
"Torchic?"
Torchic poked its sleepy head out and blinked at Kaede. "Torchic?" it asked.
"All right, all right — yesterday's lecture about morning runs went in one ear and out the other, huh?" Kaede scooped Torchic up and headed out.
Up in the tree, Bounsweet was roused by the commotion. It peeked at the defenseless Torchic in Kaede's hands and tucked its leaves in, giving a little silent blessing.
On the Bluestone Trail, Kaede measured the straight stretch and estimated a round trip was about five hundred meters. He set Torchic's target for the day: "Simple — either catch up to me, or do twenty round trips."
Twenty round trips is roughly ten kilometers.
For a common-stage Pokémon, that's no small feat. But Torchic had eaten a lot, and with its Speed Boost trait it speeds up every time it uses a move — so it should manage.
Kaede was also curious to test his own fitness.
"Torchic?" (Are you serious?) Torchic's eyes gleamed — if it passed the Trainer, it didn't have to keep running! That sounded easy.
"And if you beat me by a round trip, I'll make you a barbecue feast!" Kaede promised, painting a tempting reward.
Torchic took the offer and its sleepy look instantly turned into burning determination.
"All right — go!" Kaede gave the command. White light flashed around Torchic as it charged forward.
"Torchic!" (Quick Attack — go!)