James turned his head for a look and couldn't help but widen his eyes.
He was absolutely certain this light was emanating from Haley herself—there was no light source, no props, and no Pokémon using moves nearby.
"It seems this Pelican Town still has many secrets, meow." Meowth rubbed a plate with its paw pad while turning to observe Ron training nearby: "Is Jessie still going to participate in the Contest, meow?"
"If he's returning that same day." Jessie took a deep breath: "Then forget it. Let's follow him to Pelican Town first."
Hearing this, Meowth and James exchanged glances once more.
"Then the clothes we bought were wasted, meow." Meowth said, holding up the polished plate to examine it carefully, then carrying it to the table.
This kind of work was something all three of them were well-practiced at.
The three of them weren't valued by headquarters, with limited funds. Most of the time, they relied on working part-time jobs nearby or setting up stalls to earn some extra money.
"All washed, meow!" Meowth placed the plate on the table, scanning the area with its gaze, eventually directing its attention to Bellossom practicing swordsmanship not far away.
That sword radiating a dangerous aura was nearly three times Bellossom's height, yet Bellossom held it in its hands, swinging it with a whistling sound.
"So amazing, meow." Meowth paused, carefully sitting down near Bellossom.
"Belloss." Bellossom noticed the approaching Meowth and sat down beside Meowth, still holding its sword.
"Why is Bellossom practicing with a sword, meow?" Meowth asked.
"Bellossom."
"I see, you used to be very weak and everyone looked down on you, meow." Meowth paused, listening to Bellossom's account, fell silent for a moment, then couldn't help but think of its own life as a Meowth.
Remembering how it had also learned human language and walked like humans to win the affection of that Meowth named Madonna, it extended its paw and patted Bellossom.
"You can definitely do it, meow."
But despite these words, whether in terms of size or the appearance Bellossom presented, it didn't look like any kind of strong figure.
However, Meowth didn't want to dampen its confidence. It liked Pokémon with goals who were willing to work hard like this.
If it could watch them succeed, it would be as if Meowth had succeeded too.
Thinking this, it rested its chin on its paws and looked up at the moon hanging in the sky.
"The moon is so round today too, meow."
"Bello."
The next day, Pelican Town, the farm.
Because they had agreed yesterday to go to Leah's house for breakfast today, all the farm's Pokémon got up early.
Even the Sailor, upon learning they were going to Leah's house for a meal today, chose to have Nacli help deliver a message to Sandy that he wouldn't be going to the desert today!
Of course, it left a note for Sandy on a piece of paper.
As for whether Sandy could read it, the Sailor could only say, it did its best.
The Sailor put on its captain's hat and as usual went to the beach early in the morning with Geodude to collect the daily seafood.
Previously, this seafood would be sold to Kalos to earn a little extra money.
Recently, it had all been kept to make some pretty tasty dishes.
The Sailor sorted through the collected shrimp and crabs, pondering which ones to bring when visiting Leah.
This had practically become a habit—after all, when visiting someone's house, one never went empty-handed.
Ron also allowed everyone to freely take farm produce within a certain range, and none of the townspeople would dislike crops that the Pokémon had worked hard to grow.
Thinking this, the Sailor finished collecting today's seafood and began rushing back to the farm in a hurry.
When arriving at the farm, everyone on the farm had pretty much finished getting ready. Everyone was holding some farm items, looking as if they were going to empty out the entire farm, solemnly lining up and waiting for the leader Indeedee to give the command to set out toward Leah's house.
"—What are you all doing?" Shane had just entered the door when he saw this scene. He was silent for a long while, looking at the Rattata with various ingredients on their heads and Indeedee in the lead, falling into brief silence.
"Indeedee!" Indeedee called out, realizing Shane couldn't understand, then poked Ditto beside it.
The next second, Ditto transformed into Shane's appearance.
"We're going to play at Leah's house!"
"—" Shane looked at this face nearly identical to his own, silent for a moment: "Oh—don't transform into my appearance next time. Actually, it's fine even if you don't explain—"
Saying this, Shane hurriedly ducked into the barn, and only gradually calmed down while looking at the animals waiting for his care.
"Indee." Indeedee couldn't help but pat Ditto.
Ditto transformed back upon hearing this and followed behind Indeedee, setting out toward Leah's cabin.
Meanwhile, because she was hosting the Pokémon today, Leah had taken out all the tableware that had been stored away. While calculating the number of farm Pokémon in her head, she washed dishes according to that count.
The fireplace nearby had a fire burning, and Deerling lay on the blanket by the stove, waiting for Miltank's arrival.
Although neither Deerling nor Miltank ate the cakes Leah made, because of their good relationship, Miltank had also been invited by Leah.
Speaking of which, both Deerling and Miltank could eat Crystal Fruit and Snow Yams, so Deerling had specially gone to the forest last night to carry some back as treats for its good friend.
After a while, Leah placed the dishes on the table and began preparing the hazelnut cake batter when a knock came at the door.
"They're here so early."
Thinking this, Leah hurriedly went to the door. Seeing snow drifting outside the window, she also took the towel warming by the fireplace.
"Good morning!" Leah opened the door while saying this, crouching down.
"Indeedee~"
"Ratta!"
"You got snowed on after all, come here." Saying this, Leah patted the snow off them while using the towel to wipe their damp fur.
This was definitely a new experience for the Pokémon.
Of course, this wasn't to say Ron wasn't attentive, but compared to Leah's care, there was indeed some difference.
The Sailor squinted its eyes, allowing Leah to gently wipe it with the soft, fluffy towel.
Although it was wearing its captain's uniform, because it had been collecting seafood at the beach, its body was a bit wetter than the other Pokémon, and even its paws were icy cold.
Leah rubbed its paw pads, carefully rubbing with the towel the fur that had been stuck together by water.
"Ratta~"
"You worked hard." Leah said, putting the Sailor down. "Go play by the fireplace. We can start baking the cake soon."
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