[Bewear's mood has improved. Joy +140. You received a gift from Bewear: TM "Swords Dance."]
Under the moonlight, Kawaki sat beside Bewear when a notification suddenly popped up before his eyes.
He was briefly stunned before realizing—his Pain Split had worked.
But compared to Bewear's recovery right now, the move itself no longer seemed so important.
Wiping away her tears, Bewear quickly pulled herself together.
Life had to go on. She was no longer alone—she still had her little master, the day care, and their new companions!
"Gu!"
Kawaki smiled and said, "Yeah. Let's work hard together tomorrow!"
After comforting the secretly saddened Bewear, Kawaki let her go get some good sleep. Meanwhile, he returned to his bedroom to examine the move he'd just received from Bewear.
[Swords Dance (TM): A fierce battle dance that raises morale and sharply increases Attack. Uses remaining: 9999/9999.]
Ah! Compared to Sleep Powder and Baby-Doll Eyes, this was definitely a rare and powerful move.
"Swords Dance, huh?" Kawaki was a little surprised.
In battles, the boost provided by Swords Dance was terrifying. Just pulling it off once could turn the tables against a stronger opponent.
Stack it a few times, and a single Pokémon could potentially sweep an entire team.
More importantly, now he could raise a Growlithe capable of using Swords Dance!
Currently, Growlithe had learned Baby-Doll Eyes, Tackle, and Sleep Powder via prenatal training. That meant there were still two prenatal move slots available.
Kawaki didn't hesitate to activate his golden finger on Growlithe's egg.
Swords Dance—added!
The next second, the temperature of the eggshell began to rise rapidly.
Crack!
Apparently unable to contain the power inside, the egg with fiery red patterns suddenly developed a small crack.
That crack spread quickly.
Under Kawaki's astonished gaze, a little puppy head with a bit of eggshell still on it poked out.
It had a wet nose, shiny black eyes, and a coat of bright orange fur.
Growlithe had hatched!
[Pokémon: Growlithe]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Intimidate]
[Moves: Tackle, Sleep Powder, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swords Dance, Leer, Ember, Morning Sun]
[Condition: Healthy]
[Mood: Excited]
[Joy: 50]
[Friendship: 99 (It considers you its closest family)]
[Description: "Woof woof woof!" —Growlithe]
"Woof woof woof!"
Growlithe leapt out of the egg, sat on the floor barking happily while wagging his tail at Kawaki.
What an adorable Pokémon...
Kawaki grinned and said, "Hello, Growlithe. I'm Kawaki."
Growlithe: "Woof!"
Newborn Pokémon were small in size and needed time to grow to their full form.
Right now, Kawaki could easily lift Growlithe with one hand.
But he didn't. Instead, he went to the kitchen, fetched the Moomoo Milk he'd bought earlier, poured it into a bowl, and placed it in front of Growlithe.
"Go on, drink up. The more you drink, the faster you'll grow."
Growlithe sniffed the bowl, then happily lapped up the milk.
Moomoo Milk was produced by a Pokémon called Miltank and was packed with nutrients. Whether for humans or Pokémon, drinking it from a young age was said to help them grow strong and tall.
There was also a rarer goat milk produced by a Pokémon called Gogoat, but Kawaki hadn't seen any in town.
Growlithe quickly finished the milk. Hatching had drained some of his energy. He let out a yawn, clearly looking a bit tired.
Growlithe looked up at Kawaki with his dewy eyes.
Kawaki was currently browsing the moves Growlithe had learned. With Growlithe as an example, it looked like the day care could launch a new service—
Egg breeding!
Trainers could leave their Pokémon here to bond and eventually produce eggs. Kawaki would then raise those eggs and teach the unborn Pokémon moves they normally couldn't learn.
"Hmm... this could definitely become the day care's flagship service," Kawaki muttered.
Beside him, Growlithe got anxious when he noticed Kawaki wasn't paying attention to him. He barked twice, tail wagging insistently.
Only then did Kawaki come back to his senses and lift Growlithe onto the bed.
"If you're tired, just rest here for a while."
It was said that sleeping beside a Pokémon could greatly increase intimacy.
Kawaki slept on a single bed—not large, but still roomy enough for both him and Growlithe.
The little Growlithe curled up in Kawaki's arms. Sleepily, he opened his eyes to glance at Kawaki, then nestled in and drifted off peacefully.
Meanwhile, Kawaki reviewed Growlithe's current moves.
Tackle, Sleep Powder, Baby-Doll Eyes, Swords Dance, Leer, Ember, Morning Sun.
The first four were from prenatal training, while Leer and Ember were innate.
As for Morning Sun... that appeared to be an inherited move.
For Growlithe, this was actually a great move, boosting his sustainability in battle.
Baby-Doll Eyes and Intimidate lowered the opponent's Attack, Sleep Powder caused status effects, Leer lowered Defense, Swords Dance boosted his own Attack, and finally Tackle and Ember provided damage output.
With this moveset, Growlithe was sure to be a formidable battler—especially with his surprise-factor approach.
This Growlithe was without a doubt one-of-a-kind in the Pokémon world!
With both parents being Champion-level Arcanine...
The future of this Growlithe—just how far could he grow? Kawaki could hardly wait to find out.
That night passed without incident. The next morning, Kawaki noticed something.
After just one night of sleeping together, Growlithe's friendship had risen from 99 to the max value of 100!
Looking at the little Growlithe wagging his tail affectionately at him, Kawaki sighed in amazement.
"No wonder people used to say sharing a bed boosts closeness so fast!"
Kawaki couldn't help thinking—if he caught more Pokémon in the future, maybe he could bond with them this way too.
Like a cute little Eevee, or a fluffy Alolan Vulpix...
Of course, if it were something like Aggron, Tyranitar, or Gardevoir...
Yeah, forget it.
The first two were way too big—there's no way this tiny bed could fit them.
And as for Gardevoir...
Well, considering certain... things Kawaki had seen about Gardevoir in his previous life, he really couldn't bring himself to sleep beside one.
Yeah. Better not.