Although the work at the Daycare looked quite relaxed, there were actually many different types of tasks, both big and small. Cleaning, cooking, feeding Pokémon, entertaining guests, cultivating herbs, organizing guest rooms...
Just relying on Kawaki and Bewear to complete all this work would take quite a bit of time.
But if the Clefairy helped out, the results would be completely different.
Taking advantage of the Daycare having no guests, Kawaki and Bewear gave the Clefairy emergency training and assigned them different jobs and tasks.
There were currently twelve Clefairy in the Daycare.
Kawaki divided them into pairs, creating six groups total:
Chef Clefairy who prepared food for everyone,
Housekeeping Clefairy who cleaned up,
Server Clefairy who greeted guests,
Caretaker Clefairy who looked after and fed the backyard Pokémon,
Farmer Clefairy who watered, fertilized, and harvested herbs and vegetables,
And Doctor Clefairy who were skilled in healing moves and could provide treatment services for Pokémon in the Daycare.
The six groups were trained by Kawaki and Bewear respectively.
Bewear was skilled at housework, cleaning, and feeding Pokémon, so it was responsible for teaching the housekeeping Clefairy and caretaker Clefairy.
The remaining eight Clefairy were personally trained by Kawaki.
First, he bought two Wailmer Pails from Petalburg City and distributed them to the two farmer Clefairy, teaching them to water the seeds in the fields at fixed times each day.
Currently there were no Water-type Pokémon in the Daycare, so he could only have the Clefairy lend a hand.
The doctor Clefairy's job was even simpler - their hospital was set up inside the spaceship.
If any Pokémon in the Daycare got injured, they could go there to seek their help with treatment.
Next was the inn part.
The server Clefairy's job was also quite simple - if guests stayed at the inn and ordered food, they needed to deliver the prepared meals to the guests' tables for them to enjoy.
And the most difficult chef Clefairy...
Teaching the other Clefairy took Kawaki less than a day, but teaching the two chef Clefairy took him a full three days before they learned to make ramen, sandwiches, and fresh fruit juice.
Looking at the two Clefairy making sandwiches in front of him, Kawaki slowly exhaled.
For now, these few dishes would suffice, since their focus was still the Daycare after all.
Kawaki had originally thought these jobs would be very difficult for the Clefairy, and maybe they'd lose interest after a few days, since they'd never been exposed to these things before.
But facts proved he was overthinking it.
The Clefairy were clearly enjoying themselves.
"Clefairy!"
The Clefairy took just one day and night to completely adapt to life at the Daycare.
Because there was endless food and milk juice here, almost identical to the "land flowing with milk and honey" recorded in the legends on their planet!
Here, they didn't need to go out looking for food themselves, wouldn't encounter danger, and when mealtime came each day, that human named Kawaki would bring them lots of delicious food.
The Clefairy had never lived this kind of life before.
Their planet didn't have any of these things - this place was so fun!
However, fun was fun and playing around was playing around, but they still had to work seriously.
Because Kawaki said they had an employment relationship - they helped with work, and Kawaki would help repair their ship and search for the energy stones needed for spaceship travel.
As long as they collected enough Moon Stones, they could leave this planet and continue their journey to find the "land flowing with milk and honey"!
At night, the Clefairy who had worked all day gathered in the spaceship, talking together about that legendary place recorded in the stories, discussing how once they collected enough Moon Stones, they'd leave this planet.
Finally, the two chef Clefairy said with faces full of longing: "Clefairy!" (Making food is so fun, I love making food!)
When they saw guests satisfyingly taste the dishes they'd made with care, that feeling was really so happy!
The farmer Clefairy had this feeling too.
Today Od-dish told them that even though what was buried in the soil was just a tiny seed, given some time, the seed would sprout and grow, bloom and bear fruit.
"Clefairy~" So exciting to look forward to!
And not only that.
The farmer Clefairy looked at the chef Clefairy and said: "Clefairy!" (Kawaki said when the seeds we plant grow up and bear fruit, we can give them to you to make delicious dishes!)
"Clefairy?!" The chef Clefairy's eyes lit up - really?
"Clefairy!" The farmer Clefairy nodded repeatedly - that's right! That's what Kawaki and Bewear said!
"Clefairy!" Wonderful! The chef Clefairy also started looking forward to it.
Although the Clefairy at other work stations didn't have such exaggerated feelings, they also quite enjoyed life here.
You had to know that their planet was covered in rocks everywhere, with none of the flowers, grass, and trees here, and no fruit juice or milk either.
Plus the Daycare work wasn't tiring at all - most of the time they were just slacking off.
Not only that, but Kawaki and Bewear would give them delicious treats to eat.
Wasn't this basically Clefairy paradise?
Seeing this, one Clefairy couldn't help but ask: "Clefairy?"
Did they still need to go search for that land flowing with milk and honey?
They had no idea where that legendary place was, and if they continued their journey, they might ultimately return empty-handed.
"Clefairy!" One Clefairy nodded firmly - of course they had to go! They had left their planet specifically to find that place!
"Clefairy..."
The other Clefairy fell silent.
*
With the Clefairy's problems resolved and many helpers added to the Daycare, Kawaki's mood couldn't help but improve greatly.
However, there was still one problem.
That was how to handle these six meteorites the Clefairy had given him.
Although to the Clefairy these things were just decorations, Kawaki knew that any one of these could activate Mt. Chimney, cause volcanic eruption, and awaken Groudon.
Moreover, these things felt hot to the touch - could they be radioactive?
Kawaki was startled and quickly put down the stone to look at his hands.
There were no changes on them, and his body felt no discomfort whatsoever, as if he hadn't been affected by radiation at all.
"Uh... probably because humans in the Pokémon world have special constitutions?"
Kawaki couldn't help but speculate - like Ash in the anime, who could take a direct hit from Thunderbolt.
But speaking of Ash...
At this time, Steven hadn't become Champion yet, so Ash should be only around four or five years old, right?
This meant there were at least five years before the series of plot events in the Pokémon world would occur.
Perfect - they could use these five years to secretly develop their strength. That way, if Groudon and Kyogre ended up fighting and affecting the Hoenn region, they'd have some ability to protect themselves.