The next day.
Spring 27, Emily's birthday.
As they had agreed beforehand, Sandy took the bus to Pelican Town early in the morning.
As soon as the bus pulled into the stop, Sandy saw Emily waiting not far away.
"At this hour, shouldn't you be at home with Haley?" Sandy asked while handing a package to Emily. "A birthday present. Don't open it yet, wait until I go back to the desert."
"Oh, alright." Emily stopped her hands from trying to unwrap the gift, then said, "Haley kicked me out of the house bright and early, saying she wanted to give me a surprise or something."
Which meant Emily could only wander around Pelican Town for now.
"I see." Sandy thought for a moment, glanced over at the farm, and pointed at it, asking, "Then how about we go hang out at the farm? Or the Community Center?"
"Hmm—" Emily pondered. "Let's go check out the farm."
Emily remembered that she had invited him to go camping outside last time, but because both she and Ron were very busy, they hadn't found any free time up until today.
In a few days, Ron would be leaving for Kalos again.
Thinking this, the two of them arrived at the farm entrance.
At this moment, Magearna was arranging the farm's chores. Seeing the two walk over, it quickly went up to them.
"Magearna?"
"Ooh, a Pokémon I've never seen before." Sandy examined Magearna curiously. "It looks just like a robot."
"Magearna?" Magearna tilted its head and looked at the two of them for a few seconds, then turned around and went into the cabin, dragging Meowth, who was in the middle of eating, out.
"——" Meowth glanced at Magearna, then looked at Emily and Sandy. Hastily swallowing the pastry in its mouth, it asked, "Are you guys looking for Ron, meow?"
"Yeah." Sandy said, taking a look around the farm. "Is he not here?"
"He went out early in the morning, meow." Meowth said, turning its head to look at Magearna, then translated, "Do you want to wait for Ron inside the cabin, meow?"
Seeing that the two had no objections, Meowth invited them into the cabin.
Inside, Indeedee was still busy making breakfast for everyone.
"Good morning." Serena, who was sitting at the dining table, greeted her. "Are you Haley's sister?"
Emily nodded. After introducing herself to Serena and Bonnie, she sat down at the table.
Emily was still thinking about the camping trip. She felt it would be best to do it before Ron left for Kalos; after all, it was spring right now, and the temperature and everything else was perfect.
Indeedee, who was cooking, immediately caught the keyword. It carried two freshly made breakfasts and placed them in front of Sandy and Emily.
"Indeedee, in." (Ron will be back this afternoon, and he's free tomorrow.)
"What did you say?" Emily snapped out of her thoughts and asked.
Meowth hastily pulled the food away from its mouth and translated, "Ron will be back this afternoon, meow. Ron has nothing to do tomorrow, meow."
"Is that so, then that's perfect." Because she was still spacing out, Emily nodded, but then belatedly realized what had just happened. She immediately pinched Indeedee's cheek. "Don't just eavesdrop whenever you want."
"Indeedee... Indeedee." Indeedee mumbled and walked off to the side.
"Perfect for what?" Sandy asked curiously.
"Nothing, just some personal business," Emily said, resting her chin on her hand. "Summer is almost here, huh."
"Do you have something to do in the summer?" Sandy asked again.
"No... you're asking a lot of questions today." Emily said, using her fork to pick up the breakfast on her plate, then asked, "Did Ron say exactly which day he's going to Kalos?"
"I think it's Summer 2," Serena answered.
Serena was still a bit unaccustomed to this way of referring to dates. She also couldn't imagine a place where a year only had four months, and a month only had 28 days.
"Summer 2, huh."
The beginning of summer was bound to be very busy.
Emily thought, then sighed, "Then never mind."
"What?" Ron heard Emily's voice as soon as he walked through the door. He asked casually, then placed the seeds he had bought on the table.
They were summer flower seeds, used to make some floral tea, as well as to produce special honey.
"Nothing. Are you free tomorrow?" Emily asked.
"No," Ron replied. "I still have to make a trip to Ginger Island tomorrow, and also take care of the..."
Thinking better of it, Ron swallowed the rest of his itinerary and asked, "Do you need something?"
"If you're busy, then it's nothing." Emily waved her hand, then pinched Indeedee's face beside her again. "Don't you think your Indeedee is a bit of a gossip?"
"Just a bit." Ron agreed, pinching Indeedee's other cheek. "And it loves watching drama unfold."
Hearing this, Emily burst into laughter.
Only Indeedee was still chiming continuously, trying to clear its name.
Meowth quietly ate its food, with absolutely no desire to translate for it.
Serena glanced at the group still chatting, unexpectedly feeling a sense of stability in the atmosphere. However, because she had promised the Rattata to give it a resounding name before they went to Kalos, she picked up the Rattata and left the cabin after breakfast.
Rubbing the Rattata's head, Serena took a deep breath, watching the Rattata and Geodude coming and going on the farm. After a long while, she rubbed the Rattata's head again.
The Rattata lay in Serena's arms, looked up with a solemn expression, and called out: "Rattata!"
They definitely had to come up with a resounding name today!
Inside the cabin, it wasn't long before Sandy went off with Sailor to look for spring wildflowers. Bonnie, having made plans to play with Vincent and the others, also headed out early.
Seeing that there was no one else in the cabin, Emily finally asked, "Do you still remember when you promised to go camping with me?"
"——" Ron suddenly realized, raising his head. "You want to go tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is out," Emily rested her chin on her hand. "Let's do it in the summer, after you get back from Kalos. It'll be a bit hot then, but still pretty fun."
Ron thought for a moment and agreed.
"Where do you want to go camping?" Ron asked as he picked up his tea from the table.
"The Secret Woods, I guess... Is there anywhere else to camp in Pelican Town?" Emily replied.
Ron took a sip of tea, feeling like this location was slightly familiar. He frowned in thought.
"What's wrong, is there a problem with the Secret Woods?" Emily couldn't help but ask upon seeing his expression. "Are there dangerous animals lurking there?"
Dangerous animals?
"Animals?" Ron repeated. While trying hard to recall, he took another sip of tea. Suddenly, a scene violently forced its way into his mind. Ron immediately choked on his tea. He then turned his head and confirmed, "Camping in the Secret Woods?"
Seeing Emily nod, Ron muttered in disbelief, "Have I already reached this Heart Event?"
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