Early this morning, ever since Shauna left for school, the Breeding House had been in a state of chaotic bustle.
"No, it doesn't look good if you stick it there."
Officer Jenny's voice came from the Breeding House, "A bit to the left, yes, a bit more to the left—wait, too far left, move it to the right."
Lucas stood on a chair, holding one end of a banner while Gengar held the other, following Officer Jenny's directions.
Today was Shauna's birthday, so after Shauna left the Breeding House following Gothitelle and Roserade, Lucas and Gengar began setting up the scene.
The goal was to give Shauna a happy birthday.
Wallace, wearing a chef's hat, was in the kitchen learning to make desserts from Alcremie. Since delivering the herbal tea, he had become obsessed with making desserts and had even taken Alcremie as his Master.
"Maaa~"
Alcremie dipped a finger into the cream Wallace had made, tasted it, and squinted her eyes, indicating that the cream Wallace made tasted great.
"Is that so? Thank you for your guidance, Master Alcremie."
Wallace was in a very good mood and moved on to the next step.
Lucas had entrusted the heavy responsibility of today's big birthday cake to him and Alcremie.
Lilligant and the others were in the Breeding House, helping Joy and Blissey put up balloons.
Mr. and Mrs. Fujino were helping pack the food that needed to be delivered today, handing it over to Golduck and the others.
Listening to Officer Jenny's commands, Lucas couldn't help but say, "Are you sure about this, Sister Reese? You've been looking at it for ten minutes. Haven't you found the best angle yet?"
Hearing Lucas's words, Officer Jenny didn't mind. "You don't understand. For little Shauna's birthday, we must find the perfect angle so she can see the surprise we've prepared the moment she walks through the door."
"I don't understand, but Sister Reese, it's been ten minutes. Holding it up like this is really tiring."
Lucas's arms were trembling as he spoke.
"Bear with it a bit longer. A man can't say he can't do it. Gengar, a bit higher, a bit more... stop, right there. Lucas, lower your side a bit, yes, just a tiny bit more."
Listening to Officer Jenny's directions, Lucas sighed helplessly and continued to move according to her commands.
If he had known, he wouldn't have called Officer Jenny over so early in the morning.
Lucas thought to himself.
"Stop!"
Officer Jenny held out her hand. "Hold it right there!"
Officer Jenny looked at it from several angles. "Excellent, just like that. Stick it."
Lucas finally breathed a sigh of relief and then stuck the banner in place.
After getting down from the chair, he wiped it with a tissue, then went over to Officer Jenny's side to look at the banner he had just put up.
"Sister Reese, I have to say, the angle really does look quite good."
Hearing Lucas's words, Officer Jenny huffed. "What did you expect? My taste has always been excellent."
"Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for your hard work, Sister Reese."
Lucas said quickly.
Officer Jenny glanced at Lucas and then took Arcanine to help Joy.
Seeing this, Lucas went out to the Canteen next to the Breeding House. Inside the Canteen's kitchen, Mime Jr. was working.
"Mime Jr."
Lucas put on his clothes, went to Mime Jr.'s side, and helped as an assistant.
"Nini~"
Mime Jr. poured the hot soup out of the pot, then skillfully climbed onto Lucas's shoulder and hugged his neck.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Lucas smiled and packed the soup Mime Jr. had just cooked, placing it on the counter. An Azumarill walked over, checked the packed box on the counter, looked at the slip in its hand, found the food it needed to deliver, carefully put it in its bag, greeted Mime Jr. and Lucas, and left.
"Be careful on the road, Azumarill."
"Nini~"
"Ruli~"
Don't worry.
"How about it? Are you or am I handling tonight's dinner?"
Lucas asked the Mime Jr. on his shoulder with a smile.
"Nini~"
I'll assist you.
Lucas smiled and poked its nose. "You little clever ghost."
Mime Jr. laughed and dodged. It climbed down from his shoulder. Lucas looked at Mime Jr. and said, "Then shall we close early tonight?"
Mime Jr. nodded.
Lucas stayed in the kitchen to assist Mime Jr.
Twinleaf Town.
Shauna was on the beach by the harbor, feeling the sea breeze and sniffing her nose occasionally.
"Do you know? Today is my birthday."
Shauna looked at a certain Pokémon in the water and said, "It's a pity you can't come ashore, otherwise I would take you home with me."
The Pokémon in the water blew bubbles.
"I know you hate them, but our Breeding House is different. There are many good Pokémon inside, and there's Uncle Lucas and Uncle Wallace; they are all very nice and love Pokémon—"
Shauna kept talking to the Pokémon in the water.
The Pokémon in the water blew bubbles from time to time to respond to her.
Beside her, chimecho also made pleasant sounds occasionally.
Ling-ling~
chimecho came to Shauna's side and gently jumped onto her shoulder.
chimecho was reminding Shauna that it was time to go back.
Shauna looked at her children's watch, then touched her small face with her hand. She tore the last sausage in her arms bit by bit and fed it to the Pokémon, then said, "You don't have to listen to them. They don't understand anything. They are the worst. Actually, you're not ugly at all; I think you're very cute."
The Pokémon in the water nodded and blew some bubbles. Seeing this, Shauna stood up. "I have to go home. Gothitelle and the others should be waiting for me at the Cottage. I'll come back to play with you tomorrow."
After saying that, Shauna waved to it. "See you tomorrow. Remember to stay a bit further away from here. I'll call you when I come tomorrow."
After watching Shauna leave, the Pokémon in the water then wagged its tail and swam toward the depths of the sea.
Arriving at the harbor, Shauna skillfully climbed onto Rapidash, greeted some familiar adults, and rode Rapidash toward the Cottage, then returned to the Breeding House with Gothitelle and the others.
Her good friend and classmate Tomoyo also returned to the Breeding House with her. At this moment, the two of them were sitting together on Rapidash's back.
The Breeding House was pitch black.
Shauna walked into the Breeding House and found that the lights were not on. She said curiously, "Huh? Are Dad, Mom, and the uncles not here today?"
Tomoyo looked at the dark Breeding House and held Shauna's small hand, a bit scared.
"Don't be afraid. No bad guys would come to the Breeding House, and Gothitelle is behind us."
Hearing Shauna's words, Tomoyo looked back and saw Gothitelle nodding at them, which made her feel a bit more relaxed.
Relying on her memory, Shauna went to the switch and turned on the light.
Click~
"Surprise~"
"Happy Birthday~"
"gengar gar~"
"Laji~"
A group of people and Pokémon suddenly popped out from all directions, holding party poppers and twisting them toward Shauna.
A large amount of confetti fell over Shauna and Tomoyo's heads.
Shauna's mouth instantly fell open.
Mrs. Fujino stepped forward and placed a birthday crown on Shauna.
"Congratulations to our little Shauna for growing another year older."
Mrs. Fujino said with a smile, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her well-behaved and lovely daughter.
Shauna looked at her mother, and then at her father, Uncle Lucas, and the others behind her.
Her mouth split into a wide grin.
"Thank you, Mom."
Shauna gave Mrs. Fujino a big hug.
"You finally have time to spend my birthday with me."
Shauna said these words happily.
Mr. and Mrs. Fujino burst into tears instantly.
"I'm sorry."
Mrs. Fujino held Shauna tightly in her arms, her hand constantly stroking Shauna's hair as she whispered, "Don't worry, from now on, Mom and Dad will spend every birthday with you."
"Mm."
Shauna nodded heavily.
After leaving Mrs. Fujino's embrace, Shauna took Tomoyo's small hand. "Dad, Mom, Uncle, Uncle Wallace, Sister Reese, Sister Linnea, everyone, this is my best friend at school, Tomoyo."
Everyone and the Pokémon greeted Tomoyo.
Lucas looked at Tomoyo, who was wearing a gorgeous dress, and couldn't help but sigh.
Indeed, Tomoyo is power.
Meanwhile, Tomoyo was in a state of shock.
She recognized Wallace. He was the host of the Wallace Cup, the Champion of the Hoenn region, and a top-tier Coordinator Trainer.
Does Shauna know all the Champions?
This made her unable to resist taking a few more looks at the owner of the Breeding House.
Lucas noticed her gaze, looked at her, and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Tomoyo shook her head and replied politely.
"Nothing, I was just curious about what the uncle Shauna mentions every day looks like."
Hearing this, Lucas suddenly felt a sense of mischief.
"Then what do you think of me? Am I handsome? How do I compare to Wallace?"
Wallace, standing to the side, rolled his eyes helplessly.
"Uncle."
Shauna, who was receiving gifts, called out to Lucas. Lucas quickly stood up and walked over to Shauna, who was surrounded by everyone and the Pokémon. "What's wrong?"
Shauna puffed out her cheeks and reached out both hands toward Lucas.
Lucas scratched his head and crouched down. "I forgot to prepare a gift for little Shauna for a moment. Can I make it up to you in a few days?"
Shauna looked at Lucas huffily, then sighed. "Alright, since Shauna likes Uncle best. It's okay even if Uncle doesn't prepare a gift for me, because Uncle is Shauna's best gift."
Lucas's heart melted upon hearing this. He pulled Shauna into his arms, then took a necklace out of his pocket. He opened his palm, and the necklace appeared before Shauna's eyes, with a smooth, round stone hanging at the end.
Shauna's mouth dropped open again, wide enough to swallow a pigeon egg.
She recognized this stone because Lucas also wore one around his neck, and she had said it looked very beautiful back then.
"How is it? Do you like it?"
Lucas said with a smile, "How could Uncle forget to prepare a gift for our cute little Shauna~"
Wallace was also somewhat surprised to see this necklace.
Giving something like this as a gift? It's truly your style, Lucas.
Shauna nodded like a woodpecker.
Then she shook her head again.
Lucas was a bit confused. "What's wrong? You don't like it?"
Shauna shook her head. "No, this is too precious."
Lucas smiled and rubbed her head. "It's alright."
Lucas leaned into her ear and whispered, "Ninetales' father brought three of these back for me before. I gave one to Big Brother Paul and one to Big Brother Gary. This last one was reserved for you."
Shauna nodded, looking very secretive about it.
After putting it on Shauna, Lucas also took out his own and placed it next to Shauna's.
"Look, Shauna, they're exactly the same."
Shauna giggled and then hugged Lucas's neck and gave him a kiss.
Lucas was satisfied. He stood up, glanced at everyone present, and clapped his hands. "Alright everyone, let's eat!"
After dinner, Wallace brought out the large birthday cake he and Alcremie had made. He put on the candles and had Gengar use Will-O-Wisp to light them. Everyone gathered around the cake, which was burning with eerie flames, and sang the birthday song.
After singing the birthday song, Officer Jenny urged Shauna to make a wish.
Shauna clenched her fists and closed her eyes.
I hope everyone in the Breeding House stays healthy and is always happy. I hope my friends at the Breeding House can have their wishes come true, and also my new friend by the sea, I hope they can also spend every day happily. Most importantly, I want to spend every day with everyone.
When Shauna opened her eyes, everyone looked at her curiously.
"What did you wish for?"
Officer Jenny asked.
"I—"
"Oh, Reese, really, if you say a wish out loud, it won't come true. Don't you know that?"
Nurse Joy said from the side.
Officer Jenny said indignantly, "Of course I know that, I was just curious—"
"Even if you're curious, it's not allowed. Ignore her, little Shauna, let's blow out the candles."
Shauna nodded and then took a deep breath.
She blew hard.
The candles went out very quickly.
Shauna immediately puffed out her cheeks and looked at Gengar huffily.
Everyone and the Pokémon looked over and found Gengar with its rear sticking out, still in the middle of blowing.
Gengar grinned, gave a "hee hee," and then bolted.
It swung its arms in the air but found itself running in place. It looked back and saw that it was being held in place by Gothitelle's psychic power.
Gengar was pale with fright.
gengars sound!
Poor old Gengar is doomed—
"=ǒ^）
Taking advantage of the chaos, Shauna smeared cream on Gengar's face and even pulled at the corners of its mouth.
"Gengar is a big meanie."
Gengar licked it with its tongue, and its eyes lit up.
（♡□）
Delicious!
Then it also picked up some cream, laughing "hee hee" as it looked at Shauna.
Shauna shook her head.
"I don't want it."
After saying that, she jumped off the chair, grabbed Tomoyo's hand, and ran away.
Gengar couldn't catch Shauna, so before anyone could react, it turned around and smeared it on Lucas's face.
Lucas was furious!
He picked up the cream he had prepared in advance and began an indiscriminate attack on everyone.
Laji!
Gothitelle!
nidorans sound!
Lucas was held tightly in Dash's arms, struggling constantly. The seemingly gentle and elegant Wallace approached Lucas, who was restrained by Dash, carrying the bucket of cream he had prepared in advance.
"Lucas~"
His smile was sinister and crafty, and his voice was even more so.
Amidst Lucas's constant pleas for mercy, Wallace began his artistic depiction.
When Wallace moved aside, a multi-colored Lucas appeared before everyone and the Pokémon.
Gengar was the first to laugh.
Hahahahahaha!
Then the others followed.
Lucas licked some cream; it was quite tasty. Then, with his multi-colored face, he began an indiscriminate attack.
Trading injury for injury—he was already multi-colored anyway.
Suddenly, the Breeding House was in chaos once again.
Once everyone had cream on their faces, they all entered berserk mode.
Click.
Shauna hung a photo by the staircase.
In the photo, everyone's faces were covered in cream, with Lucas, Wallace, and Gengar's being the most disastrous.
Lucas washed his face and sat in the lounge area, staring intently at Wallace sitting opposite him.
He hadn't expected this usually refined man, who spoke so gently and elegantly, to have the strongest combat power.
Wallace was also staring at Lucas.
He hadn't expected this usually gentle and understanding Lucas to be the most shameless person.
Thinking of his face being covered in multi-colored cream.
Thinking of when he was mobbed by the Breeding House's Pokémon.
Both of them snorted at the same time.
Hmph, such a disgrace to refined society.
Bah, what a treacherous person.
Under Shauna's lead, Tomoyo also began to let herself go, jumping and running around the Breeding House, playing hide-and-seek with Mime Jr., Snorunt, and the others.
Since Lucas and Mr. and Mrs. Fujino had communicated with Tomoyo's parents in advance, and given Lucas's reputation in Twinleaf Town, Tomoyo's parents were very happy to let her stay at the Breeding House for two days.
And it just so happened that Shauna's birthday fell on the weekend.
Meanwhile, Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy were gathered with Lilligant, Dash, Ninetales, and the others, sharing girl talk.
Like complaining about their bosses and such.
Mr. Fujino, Lucas, Wallace, and Gengar sat in the lounge area drinking tea.
Hearing that Wallace would be leaving tomorrow, Lucas nodded.
"Rested enough?"
Wallace gave an "mm." "The Wallace Cup needs to continue. I want to promote the Wallace Cup all over the world."
"Good luck. I'll come be a guest for you when the time comes."
Hearing Lucas's words, Wallace laughed loudly. "Lucas, did you forget? You already promised me you'd come act as a guest then."
Lucas was stunned, then remembered that there did seem to be such a thing.
"Aren't you afraid I'll go up there and embarrass you?"
Wallace took a sip of tea. "Who would dare say you're embarrassing?"
Lucas sighed as if accepting his fate. "Fine then, just let me know when the time comes. I'll arrange the Breeding House's work in advance and go be a guest for you."
Wallace nodded. "Alright, I've already considered the venue for the next Wallace Cup."
Lucas was curious. "Where—"
sno.
Snorunt ran to Lucas's side and tugged at his clothes.
Lucas looked at Snorunt, who reached out its hands to him.
Lucas picked Snorunt up.
"You little rascal."
Then he used his body to block Snorunt's form.
Just like when he was fishing on Rhys's ship.
But in the end, it was still found by Mime Jr.
Ni Ni.
I already used this trick back then.
Mime Jr. was a bit proud.
Snorunt looked dejected.
"Sorry, Snorunt."
Lucas apologized to Snorunt.
Snorunt indicated it was fine, then went back to play with Mime Jr.
On the other side, in the waters of Twinleaf Town.
Lapras seemed to be listening to someone, then it smiled.
buuu.
Perhaps you could go take a look at the Breeding House in Twinleaf Town.
Breeding House?
Lapras nodded. "buuu."
That's the place where I grew up. It recently got a new owner, a descendant of the previous boss, and he's also a very excellent Trainer.
The air in front of it seemed to move slightly.
Lapras looked at the faint, flickering silhouette in front of it that looked like a plane.
It spoke again.
If you feel bored, you might as well go there to pass the time. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
The Pokémon in front of it seemed thoughtful, nodded, and then left.
On the sea, Lapras looked in the direction of Twinleaf Town, shook its head with a smile, and then closed its eyes to sleep.
I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
Lapras thought to itself.