Just as Sailor was about to argue its case vehemently, Indeedee opened the door from inside.
Before Ron could even react, Indeedee threw itself into his arms.
"Indeedee!"
Ron patted Indeedee's head. Just as he was about to say something, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sailor was already drooling profusely at his feet. It stood completely motionless, staring blankly at the dining table inside the house.
"—Aren't you going to buy your Magic Rock Candy today?" Ron couldn't help but ask.
"Rattata!" Sailor wiped its drool.
The deliciousness of savory food and sweet food are completely different!
"Haven't you had lunch yet?" Jodi came out from inside to greet them and asked.
"Uh... it hasn't yet," Ron explained a bit awkwardly on Sailor's behalf.
Ron hadn't eaten either, actually. Once Magearna took over the farm's chores, his first order of business had been to intercept the hungry Sailor—who had been preparing to head into the desert to gorge on Magic Rock Candy—and enlist its help to track down Indeedee.
"Rattata! Rattata." Sailor's nose twitched. It pondered for a moment, then tilted its head and asked, "Rattata?"
"It says—if it brings ingredients over this afternoon, can it come to your house for dinner tonight?"
After weighing its options, Sailor decided to eat its Magic Rock Candy in the scorching Desert for lunch, and then come to Jodi's house to mooch dinner.
"Huh?" Jodi was taken aback, then laughed. "No problem, as long as you can bring some Largemouth Bass."
Having hung around Pelican Town's various watering holes with Willy year-round, even Jodi knew that Sailor's fishing skills were top-notch in town.
"Rattata!" Sailor slapped its chest with loud smacks. After a moment, it hesitated and asked, "Rattata?"
"——" Ron opened his mouth, ready to translate. After a moment, he rephrased Sailor's request: "If you're free tonight, would you like to come to the farm? You can bring the whole family. We'd just need your help making the Fish Casserole; I'll handle the rest."
Jodi pondered this. She was already planning to drop off the leftover Fish Casserole to Joy and the others later, and she hadn't figured out what to make for dinner yet. She was about to agree, but hesitated. "I couldn't impose like that..."
"It wants all the Rattata on the farm to taste your Fish Casserole," Ron said, pointing at Sailor, who was looking at her with pleading eyes. "I'm the one who should feel bad for asking..."
Jodi immediately laughed and readily agreed. "As long as there's enough fish, it's no problem at all."
"Rattata!" Sailor cheered, then hurried off to the desert.
After confirming the ingredients they'd need with Jodi, Ron returned to the farm to start prepping for tonight's dinner.
Knowing that Indeedee had run away from home, the Rattata immediately crowded around it with concern the moment it stepped onto the farm.
But before their concerned words could even leave their mouths, a sharp-nosed Rattata caught the scent of the Fish Casserole.
"Rattata... Rattata?"
The expressions of the group of Rattata shifted from concern to suspicion. *It said it ran away from home, so how come it was sneaking around eating delicious food behind their backs?*
In the Rattatas' minds, running away from home meant wandering pitifully by the side of the road, humbly foraging for wild berries, and finally curling up in some dark corner until Ron came to take them back!
"Rattata?"
"Rattata."
"Rattata!"
After a brief discussion, all the Rattata suddenly decided they wanted to run away from home too.
"Indeedee!" Indeedee hurriedly explained. Glossing over its own internal emotional struggle, it simply told them that Jodi's family would be visiting the farm later and was going to make delicious Fish Casserole for everyone.
Therefore, Sailor was already on its way to catch some Largemouth Bass.
"Rattata?"
The suspicious-looking Rattata went to Ron, who was still prepping ingredients, to verify the story. Upon getting a confirmation, everyone cheered and started bustling about, making preparations for dinner.
Meanwhile, at Jodi's house.
Since arriving in Pelican Town, Kent hadn't really crossed paths with Ron yet. However, since Ron was quite well-known in town, Kent had heard plenty of stories about him.
Knowing that the farm had helped Jodi raise their two boys up to this point, he had no objections to going over there to cook Fish Casserole later.
"Should we prepare a gift?" Kent asked.
"Hmm—" Jodi thought for a moment. "We could bring a little... uh."
After racking her brain for ages, Jodi honestly couldn't think of anything to bring to the farm. Based on her current understanding of the place, she felt they lacked nothing. In fact, the only thing this house had that the farm didn't was probably Jodi's own Fish Casserole-making skills.
With that in mind, she packed up the leftover Fish Casserole in the kitchen, resolving to make the absolute best Fish Casserole for the farm later tonight.
——
"We probably don't need a gift," Jodi mused. "Just lend a helping hand at the farm later. Oh, by the way, I'm going to drop off some Fish Casserole for Vincent and Joy, so could you clean up the kitchen?"
"Okay." Kent stood up and headed straight for the kitchen.
Meanwhile, at the Community Center.
The kids were gathered around the Pokémon Egg, repeating the exact same question they'd asked no less than ten times already, just like they had ten minutes ago: "Miss Joy, is it going to hatch soon?"
"Not yet," Joy answered patiently while tending to an injured wild Pokémon that had been brought in yesterday.
"I see." Jas stared wide-eyed at the Pokémon Egg. "But I think it moved."
"Probably not yet," Joy smiled. "If you have a Pokémon with the Flame Body ability, it can actually speed up the hatching process of a Pokémon Egg."
"What's that?" Vincent turned around and asked.
"Abilities are a sort of... hmm," Joy thought for a moment. "How should I put it? They're innate talents that Pokémon possess, and each Ability has a different effect. For example, a vast majority of the Rattata on the farm seem to have the Run Away ability."
"Run Away? That sounds pretty useless," Vincent couldn't help but pout.
"But thanks to that Ability, the Rattata can take other Pokémon into the forest or the mines to explore. If they run into a wild Pokémon they can't defeat, they can instantly flee with their partners," Joy explained. "That's actually how the farm handles its foraging and mining operations."
Hearing this, the kids thought it over for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same with people," Joy said. "If you put the right person in the right position, they can achieve unexpected results."
As she spoke, Jodi happened to push the door open and walk in.
The rich aroma of fish instantly filled the Community Center.
Vincent sniffed the air, turned his head to see Jodi, and immediately cheered: "It's Fish Casserole!"
Jodi smiled at Vincent, then said to Joy, "I figured you guys probably hadn't eaten lunch yet, so I brought some Fish Casserole over for you and the kids. Come and try it."
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