After breakfast, Lucas stepped into the backyard and watched Lance pull on his cape, standing beside Dragonite.
"Vacation's over?"
Lance nodded. "The League's been pestering me since yesterday; I have to head back."
"Being Champion is rough."
Lance sighed.
Tell that to the Champions of Kalos and Unova—they've got it easy.
Lucas thought to himself, but he kept the comment to himself.
Instead he simply said, "Go crush some evil, Mr. Righteous Lance of the Dragon Clan."
Lance chuckled and waved, about to mount Dragonite.
"Uncle Lance, come play again next time!"
Shauna piped up in her clear, childish voice.
Lance bent down and pinched her cheek.
After spending these days together he'd grown fond of her—who could resist a cute, obedient little girl?
"When I have time, I'll come back."
Shauna gave an emphatic little nod.
Then she pulled out a cloth doll. "For you."
Lucas was surprised; Shauna had never given one of her plushies away before.
Looks like she really likes Lance.
Who'd have thought the stern-looking Lance would be such a kid-magnet.
Lance accepted it and studied it—an adorable mini Dragonite doll.
Pretty cute.
Lance smiled. "Thanks. Next time I'll bring you a bigger, even nicer one."
"It's a promise."
Shauna held out her pinky.
Lance hooked his pinky with hers.
"Then we'll all look forward to your next visit."
Lucas stepped forward and, while Dragonite wasn't looking, patted its big belly.
Duang-duang~
Top-tier texture!
As expected of Fatty—feels amazing.
Dragonite was still munching snacks Gengar had shared when Lucas ambushed it.
Dragonite:?!
Only because you're Gengar's trainer will I let this slide.
Gengar floated over and handed Dragonite a small backpack; Dragonite tossed the rest of its snacks into its mouth, took the bag, and peeked inside.
Several tins of treats lay nestled within.
!!!!
It quickly cinched the bag and looked at Gengar.
Good buddy—true bro.
They bumped bellies; Dragonite slung the pack on its back, let Lance hop on, and soared toward the horizon.
"All right, guests gone, work goes on—time to milk the cows."
"I'll fetch the pails."
Shauna pitter-pattered off.
chimecho hopped after her.
After milking, Lucas heated the fresh milk and filled the bottles.
At the counter Shauna was already geared up.
Today's hat was red, not yellow.
Lucas had copied the Platelet outfit for her.
Predictably adorable.
Gengar pressed its big cheek against Shauna's tiny one.
"Gengar~"
How can little Shauna be this cute~
Shauna giggled and hugged Gengar.
Only when Gothitelle flung Gengar away did Shauna regain her freedom.
"Shauna, could you deliver the school's fresh milk today? It's the school's first milk program, so I'd like you to handle it. I'll take the grandparents' route myself."
Lucas held up the milk and looked at her. "Okay?"
"Mm."
Shauna gave a cute little nod.
Lucas hung the bottles on Rapidash, then lifted Shauna onto its back.
"Staraptor will guide you to the school. When you get there, tell the security guard you're looking for Principal Sachi—I've already arranged it. If anything happens, call me, understood?"
He tied a phone on a cord around her neck.
"Mm."
Shauna nodded.
Lucas tapped her little nose. "Then the school kids are counting on you."
Shauna nodded again. "Don't worry, Uncle. Rapidash, let's go."
Watching her ride off, Lucas sighed.
"I hope after seeing the school she'll feel like attending again."
Mr. and Mrs. Fujino sighed beside him.
They'd talked with Shauna days earlier, asking if she wanted to go back.
Shauna shook her head.
She still remembered how the other kids bullied her when she was sick—she didn't want to return.
She preferred staying at the Breeding House playing with chimecho and helping Uncle look after the place.
No one pressed her; forcing her back might revive bad memories. So Lucas simply let her deliver milk to the school, hoping it might rekindle her desire to study.
After telling the Fujinos not to worry and to watch the Breeding House, Lucas loaded the remaining milk onto Gogoat, mounted, and headed for Twinleaf Town.
Today he'd deliver the grandparents' orders.
With Gogoat he no longer had to walk or borrow Shauna's Rapidash.
Riding Gogoat felt nothing like Rapidash—Rapidash was all speed, while Gogoat was slower but far more comfortable.
Lucas lounged lazily on its back, ambling toward Twinleaf Town.
Meanwhile Shauna, guided by Staraptor, had reached the school. She slid smoothly off Rapidash.
Staraptor perched in a campus tree, preening while keeping an eye on her.
Wearing her little cross-body bag, Shauna walked to the guardroom and knocked.
The guard opened the door, puzzled at the sight of a small girl.
"School's been on for ages—why are you only arriving now?"
Shauna shook her head. "Hello, Uncle Guard. I'm not here for class—I'm delivering fresh milk. Could you contact Principal Sachi? Uncle said it was arranged."
Hearing this, the guard glanced at the Shiny Rapidash; seeing the milk on its back, he believed her and phoned Principal Sachi.
A few minutes later the guard returned.
"Headmaster asks if you could bring the milk inside."
Shauna nodded. "Okay!"
She trotted back to Rapidash and nimbly climbed on.
The guard opened the gate and let her ride in.
Inside, Shauna realized this school was different from her old one.
Some students even had Pokémon; a PE class was in progress.
Their laughter drifted to her ears as she watched curiously.
Why were they so happy?
Recalling her own school days, Shauna felt puzzled.
The chimecho on Shauna's shoulder sensed its trainer's mood was off; it wiggled and chimed a soothing note to comfort her.
Shauna came back to her senses and patted the little chimecho on the head.
"Thank you, little chimecho."
Shauna said softly.
When the children saw Shauna riding Rapidash, they all fell silent, eyes wide and fixed on her and the fiery steed.
Suddenly a bolder little girl asked, "Is that your Rapidash? So cool!"
Shauna's face broke into a huge grin.
"Yep, he's my good friend—super handsome, right? And little chimecho is adorable too."
The girl blushed crimson when Shauna smiled at her.
She lowered her head and nodded.
"C-can I pet him?"
"Sure," Shauna answered, "but wait a bit. I have to deliver the fresh milk to Principal Sachi first."
"Me too!"
"Me too!"—
In an instant every kid around was clamoring for a turn.
Shauna kept saying yes until she couldn't take it anymore and shouted,
"Whoever keeps yelling won't get to touch!"
Silence fell at once.
Only then did Shauna relax her scrunched-up face. "After I drop off the milk I'll let you pet Rapidash—till then, quiet."
The children nodded vigorously.
Then Shauna spurred Rapidash and trotted quickly toward Principal Sachi.
A while later the Master returned, found the kids speechless, and feared something was wrong.
She came over to ask, but still no one answered.
The newly hired Master worried she'd done something wrong; after repeated questions with no reply she was almost in tears.
Finally the first little girl explained, and the Master breathed easy again.
Looking at the kids' solemn faces, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Shauna dismounted before Principal Sachi, took a list from her small cross-body bag, and handed it over.
"Here's the order—all the fresh milk."
She beckoned Rapidash forward so the principal could count the bottles.
A Machoke accepted the milk; Principal Sachi nodded.
"Thank you for your hard work, little Shauna."
Shauna opened the Gengar tumbler Lucas had prepared for her, sipped the honey water, and shook her head.
"It's my job. Oh, Uncle Principal, can I go play with the kids?"
Hearing the child still call the other children "kids," Principal Sachi couldn't help chuckling.
"Of course—off you go, little Shauna."
"Mm, thank you, Uncle Principal. Bye-bye!"
Shauna scrambled back onto Rapidash and returned with chimecho to the playground.
The moment she arrived, she and Rapidash were surrounded.
"Don't worry—I'll make sure Rapidash won't burn you. Go ahead and touch."
The girl reached out; the flames were warm, not hot, and pleasantly cozy.
Soon more little hands joined in petting Rapidash.
"Why does this Rapidash look different? Why is its flame that color?"
"Because it's Shiny."
"Shiny?"
"Uncle said a Shiny is super rare—only one in lots and lots."
"So it's really rare?"
"Who's Uncle?"
"Uncle is just Uncle—the Breeding House manager, Uncle Lucas."
At noon, Shauna rode Rapidash out of the school gates.
She looked around for Staraptor but didn't spot him.
"Strange, did he fly home already?"
She shook her head and kept walking—then saw a familiar figure ahead, a purple Pokémon floating beside him and a Staraptor perched nearby.
"Uncle!"
Rapidash quickened its pace until they reached Lucas.
Lucas sat astride Gogoat, smiling at Shauna as they headed together toward the Breeding House.
"When did you get here, Uncle?"
"Just now. I finished delivering milk to Grandpa and Grandma—only then did I realize how tiring fresh milk runs are. Our little Shauna's been amazing."
"Shauna never gets tired—Shauna's super strong."
"Hahaha, right—our little Shauna is super strong."
"Isn't that right, Gengar?"
"Gengar~"
"I thought you'd already gone home. If Staraptor hadn't still been here, I'd have taken Gengar and left."
"No leaving—you have to wait for Shauna."
"But I did wait. So, how was school?"
"Mm—pretty good. The kids were cute; they wanted to pet Rapidash, so after I delivered the milk I let them touch him and played a bit."
"Did Shauna enjoy playing with them?"
"Mm—I don't hate playing with them."
"So you like it?"
"Not really."
"Shaana's still a little kid herself, yet calling the others 'kids.'"
"It's different."
"How so?"
"Different is just different."
"Uncle."
After a pause Shauna spoke again.
"What is it?"
"Can school friends really have that much fun?"
Lucas thought a moment. "Of course. Kids at school are adorable—they love making friends. They don't worry like grown-ups; they just study and play."
"Then why weren't Shauna's classmates like that?"
Lucas paused, then grinned, "Because—"
"They were big meanies!"
"Right, big meanies—the worst kind!"
Shauna clenched her fists and declared fiercely.
"Uncle, did you like your school days?"
Lucas recalled his past life: hated school, yet those days were his clearest memories—
hanging with friends, roughhousing, blushing in front of a crush, showing off, pestering his best buddy—
"Of course—those were my favorite days."
"And now, the days with Shauna and Gengar are favorites too."
"Uncle."
What is it?"
"Can Shauna go to school too?"
"Of course you can."
Another pause.
"Uncle."
"Mm-hmm?"
"The time Shauna spends with Uncle and Gengar is also Shauna's favorite."
"Really? Then we're honored."
"What about Gengar?"
"Gengar~"
Me too~
....
Power Stones PLZZZZZ
[Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "PokeFicLord"]