Pokémon breeding takes time, so Kawaki didn't disturb them, letting Quagsire and Swampert move freely in his backyard. When evening came, he'd have Bewear deliver their daily food, and that would wrap up another day.
At 5 PM, Kawaki was thinking about the intel Taillow had provided at noon—that Clefairy were appearing in large numbers at Meteor Falls. He'd planned to close early and head to Meteor Falls with Bewear to check out the situation.
But just then, someone knocked on the breeding house's front door.
"Hello, is anyone there?"
Kawaki went to open the door and saw two travel-worn boys with backpacks standing outside, looking like they'd been through quite an ordeal.
They weren't very old—looked like they'd just turned ten, still in their rookie trainer phase.
"What can I do for you?" Kawaki welcomed them inside and asked.
"We'd like to stay here for the night!" one boy replied.
Kawaki was slightly taken aback—this was the first time anyone had come to stay at the inn.
But he quickly recovered and nodded. "Of course, no problem. The inn has six rooms total, and they're all empty right now. You can pick whichever room you like."
"Besides rooms, we also provide simple meals. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll prepare it for you."
The two boys stood at the counter looking at the small blackboard hanging on the wall.
It displayed the inn's various service fees:
[Bewear Inn]
[₽2000/night]
[Bewear Restaurant currently offers: Ramen ₽800/bowl, Rice porridge ₽300/bowl, Berry juice ₽100/cup, Sandwiches ₽500/serving, Pokémon treats ₽500/serving]
The two boys breathed a sigh of relief—the lodging wasn't expensive. So they nodded while pulling out money, saying:
"We'll stay one night! Also, could you please prepare two bowls of ramen, two cups of berry juice, and two servings of Pokémon food!"
"Just a moment." Kawaki smiled and nodded. "Growlithe, don't run around—watch out for the guests. Bewear, show these two guests to their room. I'll go prepare their food."
"Guu~" Bewear happily agreed.
The two boys looked at this "big guy" in front of them and couldn't help but gulp.
A Pokémon they'd never seen before...
Making ramen was pretty simple—just boil water, add the noodles and cook for a few minutes, then pour in the pre-made bone broth, and finally sprinkle on chopped green onions and crushed seaweed, topped with a soft-boiled egg cut in half.
Just like that, a bowl of ramen that wasn't fancy but was definitely delicious was ready.
The bone broth had a rich aroma, the golden broth gleamed under the lights, and the soft-boiled egg oozed golden yolk—it looked absolutely mouth-watering.
Now that the breeding house was officially open and making money, Kawaki had prepared more lavish ingredients.
Finally, he poured two cups of berry juice and prepared two servings of Pokémon food.
When Kawaki arrived at the dining room, the two boys and their Pokémon were already waiting there.
A Poochyena and a Zigzagoon.
They looked like they hadn't had a proper meal in ages. When they saw the ramen in front of them, their eyes lit up instantly.
"Please enjoy!"
"Thanks for the meal!" The two boys swallowed hard, then dove in with gusto.
Kawaki noticed the Poochyena and Zigzagoon nearby—these two dirty, dusty Pokémon were chowing down on the food in front of them just like their trainers.
"Waaah, this feels so amazing!" one boy couldn't help but tear up. "It's been so long since we've had such delicious food!"
The other boy didn't say anything, just frantically shoveled rice from his bowl.
Kawaki: "..."
Was it really that dramatic?
Sure, his cooking was decent, but not so amazing that it'd make people cry.
But the next second, Kawaki saw little suns representing "happiness" and "joy" appear above both boys' heads.
Then, familiar text floated before his eyes again.
[Youngster Bello's mood has improved, happiness +60, received Youngster Bello's gift: Axew habitat (Meteor Falls).]
[Axew habitat: The specific location of Dragon-type Pokémon Axew at Meteor Falls. Youngster Bello discovered traces of a Haxorus clan there during his travels. Your delicious food touched him, so he's giving you this intel as a gift.]
[Youngster Sprye's mood has improved, happiness +70, received Youngster Sprye's gift: Clefairy location (Meteor Falls).]
[Clefairy location: The specific spot where large numbers of Fairy-type Pokémon Clefairy appear. Youngster Sprye stumbled into this area while passing through Meteor Falls and saw tons of Clefairy there. Your delicious food touched him, so he's sharing what he saw as a gift.]
The moment those two lines of text appeared, Kawaki felt two new pieces of information enter his mind.
Images of Meteor Falls' environment flashed through his thoughts.
He'd never been there before, but somehow everything about it felt incredibly familiar.
And within the vast Meteor Falls, there were two special places that stuck out vividly in his memory.
If he went to Meteor Falls, he'd definitely be able to find those two locations based on these memories!
Without a doubt, these were the memories of the two boys in front of him!
Kawaki was completely shocked.
What was going on? Wasn't his cheat ability supposed to only give rewards when Pokémon felt happy?
Why did it work on humans too?
Wait! Suddenly, Kawaki remembered a theory he'd heard.
That humans in the Pokémon world are actually a type of Pokémon themselves.
No way...
After thinking for a moment, Kawaki started chatting casually with the two boys.
"Where are you two from?"
The boys, who had contentedly finished the last drops of soup in their bowls, patted their bellies, burped, and replied:
"We're trainers who just started our journey from Rustboro City two weeks ago!"
Rustboro City—southwest of Meteor Falls, Steven's hometown.
"We were planning to pass through Meteor Falls, then go through Fallarbor Town, cross Chimney Mountain, and check out Lavaridge Town."
"But we didn't expect to run into a dangerous Pokémon at Meteor Falls. We got lost while it was chasing us and ended up stuck in Meteor Falls for a whole week before getting out."
"We ran out of food and almost ran out of water too. Luckily we spotted your shop on the road, or else we and Zigzagoon and Poochyena would never have made it to Fallarbor Town."
Kawaki: "..."
No wonder these two trainers looked so rough.
"Meteor Falls can be pretty dangerous for rookie trainers who just started their journey."
Having only one Pokémon each—weak Poochyena and Zigzagoon at that—and they dared to venture into Meteor Falls.
Kawaki wasn't sure what to say.
"But since you made it here, you two should get a good night's rest!"