Morning sunlight streamed into the courtyard of the day care. Kawaki's day care officially began its new day of operation.
Around this time, traveling trainers were probably just getting out of their sleeping bags, preparing breakfast for themselves and their Pokémon.
With no customers yet, Kawaki leisurely prepared breakfast for himself and the Pokémon.
Some berries and Pokémon biscuits for Bewear, fresh Moomoo Milk for Growlithe...
And berries and treats for Oddish.
As a Grass-type Pokémon, Oddish was like most Grass-types—it didn't need to eat human food. It could survive just by photosynthesizing, absorbing nutrients from the soil, and basking in moonlight.
But that wasn't enough for a Pokémon belonging to a trainer. Only with sufficient nutrition could it grow strong and healthy.
Right now, the day care was still in its early startup phase. Kawaki planned to use this time to brush up on Pokémon breeding knowledge and herbal medicine.
Once he learned how to make Pokéblocks and mix herbal formulas, he could prepare tailored meals for each Pokémon based on their needs.
After breakfast, the day care officially opened for business.
The newly hatched Growlithe was full of curiosity about everything, running all over the place, exploring every corner of the day care.
The nocturnal Oddish had returned to the herb garden, picked a shady spot, used Ingrain, and buried its face into the soil to sleep.
Bewear followed behind Growlithe with a broom, a helpless look on her face as she cleaned up the paw-shaped prints left on the floor.
Watching the energetic Pokémon, Kawaki smiled and turned to grab his chalkboard, adding more details to it.
[Day Care Main Services]
1. Pokémon Boarding
2. Available Move Tutoring: Baby-Doll Eyes, Tackle, Sleep Powder, Swords Dance
3. Egg Breeding: Leave two compatible Pokémon of opposite genders at the day care to produce an egg, which will be raised for optimal development.
4. Rare Item Exchange: Common Stone, Big Root
5. Food & Lodging
"All done!"
Kawaki carried the chalkboard outside and placed it in front of the day care.
Just then, he spotted a wild Taillow standing on the rooftop, staring this way.
Taillow… the typical doorstep bird of the Hoenn region!
The little bird looked pretty cute. Kawaki casually tossed a snack over to it.
Instantly, Taillow's expression turned content and delighted.
The bird looked down, picked up the snack with its beak, and swallowed it.
The next second, a line of text popped up in front of Kawaki.
[Taillow's mood improved. Joy +40. You received a gift from Taillow: "A piece of intel."]
[Taillow shared some intel: In the northern region of Hoenn, a Pokémon that can transform into a human has been spotted. If you make Taillow even happier, it might share more information about this Pokémon.]
Kawaki: ?
What the heck?
A Pokémon that can transform into a human...
Could it be... Latias?
As far as Kawaki knew, in the entire Pokémon world, the only one matching that description was Latias!
In the movie Pokémon Heroes, that Latias who transformed into a human girl had captured the hearts of many fans.
Kawaki stared in disbelief at the Taillow in front of him.
A legendary Pokémon…
Taillow squinted, as if waiting for Kawaki to impress it.
Kawaki turned and fetched more Pokémon snacks from the day care, piling them in front of Taillow.
Taillow looked pleased, lowered its head, and began pecking away.
After finishing about half, it paused.
Kawaki then received the second piece of intel.
[Taillow's mood improved. Joy +20. You received a gift from Taillow: "A piece of intel 2."]
[Taillow shared some intel 2: That Pokémon lives together with its brother. They don't have a fixed home and spend their days soaring above the Hoenn skies. If you make Taillow even happier, it may reveal more information.]
So the humanoid Pokémon was…
Without hesitation, Kawaki turned around and brought out even more snacks from the day care.
But Taillow seemed to be full. It glanced at the pile of treats, uninterested, looked at Kawaki, flapped its wings, and flew off.
"Hey...?!"
Kawaki was stunned.
Taillow didn't even look back.
He was dumbfounded—was this Taillow seriously criticizing the food at his day care?
Unbelievable!
Still, from what Taillow had shared, it definitely sounded like the legendary Pokémon Latias and Latios.
Legendary Pokémon—those were incredibly rare and precious!
Taillow had flown off, and even though Kawaki wanted to know more, there was nothing he could do. So he returned to the day care to continue his work.
That Taillow, though, had given him a new idea.
Not only trainer-owned Pokémon—making wild Pokémon happy could also earn their gifts?
Moves, items, abilities, intel...
What a wide variety!
As the sun rose higher and breakfast time passed, the people of Fallarbor Town began their daily routines, and traveling trainers resumed their journeys.
Kawaki stayed in the day care, waiting for guests while thinking about its future development.
When it came to egg breeding...
If a guest only left one Pokémon, there'd be no way to produce an egg. In that case, if the day care had a Ditto, everything could be solved.
Ditto could transform into any Pokémon—even humans—and could help guests' Pokémon breed to produce strong offspring.
But the problem was, wild Ditto were hard to find. They often disguised themselves as other Pokémon, and without a close look, they were nearly impossible to detect.
So the only option would be to buy one from another day care.
While he was thinking, the door to the day care opened.
A customer!
Kawaki and Bewear immediately perked up—but when they saw who had come in, they froze on the spot.
"Officer Jenny?"
Little Growlithe, sensing the presence of a stranger, immediately dashed out and barked loudly: "Ruff—woof woof!"
"Growlithe, it's okay," Kawaki called out.
Growlithe barked a few more times and quickly trotted back to his side.
Officer Jenny gave Growlithe a glance, then looked at the newly renovated day care. She nodded silently and said,
"Looks like you've settled in well. I'm glad to see this."