After sleeping until dawn while holding Mime Jr., Lucas opened his eyes and found Gothitelle already tidying up the broken bed.
"Gothitelle?"
How did it break again?
Seeing Lucas get out of bed, Gothitelle asked a question in confusion.
Looking at Mime Jr., who was still dazed after waking up, Lucas pinched its nose to help it perk up.
"Mime Jr. must have had a nightmare last night and accidentally broke it using Metronome."
Gothitelle checked on Mime Jr.'s condition and, seeing that it had recovered, didn't worry too much.
After all, with Lucas there, if he didn't say anything, it meant there wasn't much of a problem.
It used its Psychic power to move the large pieces of wood out of the room, lowering them from the balcony to the backyard.
Machoke was waiting below to take the broken bed pieces and stack them as firewood.
Lucas had originally planned to let Mime Jr. take a break from the diner today, but Mime Jr. refused.
"Ni ni."
In such cold weather, what if someone wanted to eat?
Mime Jr. couldn't bear the thought of passing pedestrians having nothing to eat, so it insisted on going to the diner.
Lucas thought about it; although it had stopped snowing outside, it was so cold that few people would likely be out, so the diner probably wouldn't be very busy. Thus, he agreed to Mime Jr.'s request.
Lucas carried Mime Jr. to the counter for breakfast. Looking at the Mime Jr. in his arms, he said, "If anything happens, remember to tell me right away, okay?"
Mime Jr. nodded obediently.
Lucas pinched its nose and set it down.
Mime Jr. ran over to the counter, climbed onto a chair, and began enjoying its breakfast.
After finishing breakfast, Mime Jr. ran to the backyard and saw the snowmen there, still wearing smiles on their faces.
Mime Jr. walked up to them and smiled.
No wonder Gengar and the others had such white faces yesterday.
So they were snowmen~
Mime Jr. said silently to itself.
After saying goodbye to them, it went to the vegetable garden to pick the vegetables needed for the diner.
Lucas stood at the door, watching Mime Jr. 'talking' to the snowmen.
Gothitelle came to his side.
"Mime Jr. must have dreamed about the snowmen last night."
Gothitelle tilted its head.
?
Lucas didn't explain further.
This reminded him of a lesson he had studied in elementary school.
It also involved a snowman, but it was about a fire.
Would Mime Jr. eventually tell him about certain things too?
Lucas shook his head as he watched Mime Jr.'s back as it ran happily toward the vegetable garden.
Whatever, as long as Mime Jr. is happy.
Because Mime Jr. had nightmares last night, both Lucas and Mime Jr. woke up quite late today. Shauna had already finished her breakfast and left for school.
Gengar had also woken up and delivered the milk to the residents of Twinleaf Town.
After the snowfall, Gothitelle's time for going to Twinleaf Town was a bit later than before, so it was still at the Breeding House.
So now, Lucas was lying in the lounge area, slacking off.
However, Officer Jenny arrived today riding her Arcanine.
"Lucas."
As soon as she entered, Officer Jenny saw Lucas sleeping on the lounger and called out to him.
Lucas opened his eyes, saw it was Officer Jenny, and sat up.
"Sister Reese, what brings you here today?"
Officer Jenny took the hot tea handed to her by Gothitelle, said thank you, and took a sip.
"Normally, it rarely snows in Twinleaf Town, and even if it does, it's just a light dusting. This sudden heavy snow caught everyone in Twinleaf Town off guard. Now that the snow has stopped, I came out to check the accumulation on the roads and plan how to clear them."
Officer Jenny took two more sips of hot tea and exhaled comfortably.
The Breeding House is still the most comfortable place. For some reason, it's warm in winter and cool in summer here.
"Otherwise, the snow will impact traffic too much and easily cause accidents."
Lucas was a bit surprised after hearing this.
"? Is this heavy snow unusual? I thought it was normal."
Lucas scratched his head; so such heavy snow was actually abnormal.
"How could it be normal? Usually, snow this heavy only falls at Mt. Coronet and in the north, like Snowpoint City. We are in the south and west, where the weather is usually milder. So this weather is indeed quite unusual, though it's not unheard of; I think there was a similar situation decades ago."
Lucas nodded thoughtfully.
After staying for a while, Officer Jenny got up to leave.
Lucas also stood up. "I'll go with you. I don't have anything else to do right now anyway."
Officer Jenny hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
Lucas sat on Ninetales' back. Gengar turned off the TV and followed beside Lucas.
Officer Jenny rode her Arcanine, which constantly measured the depth of the snow with its paws while she kept a record.
Lucas observed the surroundings; the roads were very slippery in the snow, which could indeed easily lead to accidents.
Lucas kept checking the surroundings and then spoke a few words to a Pokémon, asking it to help convey his message.
Lucas realized that the snow on the road could be cleared into the center of the small woods on either side. He would tell the Pokémon that often passed through the trees or the woods to be careful, and that they could also stop by the Breeding House for a cup of hot tea if they passed by.
The Bidoof dazed for a moment, then nodded and turned to leave.
After accompanying Officer Jenny to survey the Breeding Road, the surrounding environment, and all the nearby paths, Officer Jenny said she would return to Twinleaf Town to discuss a solution.
Lucas stated that he could start by taking Gengar and the others to clear a portion of the area.
Officer Jenny nodded and then quickly departed on her Arcanine.
Lucas returned to the Breeding House, brushed off his clothes, and called all the Breeding House's Pokémon over.
Hardly any forest Pokémon had come by yesterday, and Lucas didn't want to disturb their activities, so he could only rely on his own Breeding House Pokémon.
"Everyone, the snow has stopped, but the accumulation outside is too thick. I've decided to clear the Breeding Road, so I need your help."
Seeing that Lilligant and the others had no objections, Lucas began assigning tasks.
Roserade stayed at the Breeding House to look after things. Lucas took Gengar and the others to clear the snow, while also calling Gothitelle to say that if it wasn't busy there, Pinsir and Heracross could come back to help.
After assigning the tasks, Lucas took a shovel and headed outside.
"Everyone, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work!"
Gengar: "Gengar gar?! Σ(°Д°)"
Are you crazy or am I? You dare roll up your sleeves in this cold weather?
"It's a Metaphor! A Metaphor, do you understand? You illiterate."
"Gengar gar?!"
Wall Fish? Fish? Is it tasty?! ٩(๑òωó๑)۶
Lucas: ————
I can't be bothered with you.
"Gengar gar."
Come on, tell me, is it tasty? Make it for me tonight, okay?
"It's not something to eat!"
"Gengar gar—"
You're lying to me, it's clearly a fish!
"I'm really not lying to you."
"Gengar gar——"
You're lying to me, waahhh (ó﹏ò.)
"Fine, fine. How about I make you Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish tonight? You haven't had that before."
"Gengar gar~"
I knew Lucas was the best, best, best, best~
Slurp.
Lucas wiped the drool off his face with a look of helplessness.
"Honestly, did you know from the start that it wasn't a fish?"
Gengar took the shovel from Lucas's hand and pretended not to understand what he was saying, turning its head the other way and—
Whistling.
What are you saying? I don't understand, I'm illiterate.
You little drama queen.
Lucas sighed helplessly.
Then, he led Gengar and the others to start clearing the snow from the road.