Chapter 229: Full Bloom!
Chapter 229: Full Bloom!
On the 20th day of August, in the year 198 of the Pokemon League calendar, autumn had arrived.
Early in the morning, Naoki received a package from Mrs. Dantes containing warm woolen clothing and a scarf she had knitted for him.
The kind elderly woman handed him a bag with the gifts, her eyes drifting towards Motoslug, who was stretching lazily in the distance.
"I suppose he doesn't know about the gift you prepared for him yet?" she asked with a smile.
"Of course not," Naoki chuckled. "It wouldn't be a surprise if he found out beforehand."
Mrs. Dantes nodded gently, her voice soft and warm. "Well then, I won't disturb you any longer. Please give Motoslug my birthday wishes."
"I will," Naoki replied.
With that, Mrs. Dantes turned and walked away, leaving Naoki to carry the bag back into the house.
Seeing her figure disappear, Naoki turned to Pip and Dot with a beaming smile and asked, "Are you two ready?"
"Ai~"
"Ai."
The siblings nodded eagerly in unison.
Naoki smiled and said, "Let's start decorating then! Golett, please take Motoslug outside to play. Come back when the sun rises."
"Agas..."
Golett thought to itself that today was its birthday too, even though it had already experienced one before.
Back then, Golett had also taken it out to play, only to leave it behind and run off on its own later.
As Golett obediently walked outside, it recalled what had happened afterward.
What happened after that?
Normally, being left behind by Golett should have made it upset, but it seemed less intelligent back then and didn't think too much about it. Instead, it happily picked a few flowers and returned home.
This was because Golett had told it that Naoki had bought a flower vase and wanted to put the most beautiful flowers in it.
When it pushed open the door carrying the flowers, it saw the surprise Naoki had prepared for it...
Now, as an observer rather than a participant, Golett felt a sense of loss.
It walked outside and found Motoslug rolling around in the grass. Golett spoke to it, "Agas." (Let's go find some flowers.)
Motoslug looked up at it with a blank expression, "Ga'ou?"
Then, as if realizing Golett wanted to play with it, Motoslug's eyes lit up and it exclaimed happily, "Ga'ou!"
Golett: "..."
It made up an excuse, "Aga, gas?" (Naoki bought a flower vase, and he wants to put the most beautiful flowers in it. Do you know where to find them?)
This lie was full of holes, as everyone on the ranch knew that Naoki was the one who best knew where the most beautiful flowers were.
But Motoslug didn't think that deeply at the moment. It was so excited that it almost jumped up and down, turning to lead Golett to the flowers, "Ga'ou!"
Golett silently followed behind Motoslug, and soon they arrived at the flower field in the southeast corner of the ranch.
It was mid-autumn, and these seasonal flowers were in full bloom.
With the hard work of Combee and Butterfree, the flowers flourished.
Motoslug dove into the flower bed, rolling around in the blossoms before poking its head out to look at Golett.
"Ga'ou!" Motoslug tilted its head, looking confused. "Ga'ou?"
Why was Golett just standing there? Shouldn't it be playing with Motoslug?
"So silly," Golett thought to itself. Only immature Pokemon would roll around in the flowers like that.
It sighed inwardly, shaking its head to decline Motoslug's invitation. "Agas."
"Ga'ou."
Motoslug looked at Golett with a blank expression, and seeing that Golett really wasn't going to join, it didn't mind and continued playing on its own.
The only thing Motoslug felt sad about was the absence of butterflies in autumn. It couldn't pounce on butterflies to play with them.
Golett stood and watched for a while, but Motoslug's exposed belly was too much for its eyes to handle.
It couldn't bear to watch any longer, so it quietly slipped away while Motoslug was distracted.
After a while, Motoslug realized Golett had left.
It shook off the petals on its head and, not thinking too much about it, was about to continue playing by itself when it suddenly remembered something.
"Ga'ou..."
Golett had mentioned that Naoki wanted the most beautiful flowers for the house.
In that case, it would find the most beautiful flowers and bring them to him!
Motoslug turned and dove into the depths of the flower bed, searching for the flowers it considered the most beautiful.
In the living room, Naoki, Pip, and Dot were busy decorating the room.
They hung ribbons and balloons on the walls, and wherever they couldn't reach, they asked the flying Pupitar to help.
In the Creamery, Frostine was working hard to make delicious fresh cream.
Even the usually lazy Oliveo had been invited by Naoki to bring fresh olive oil for Motoslug.
Seeing that the Pokemon were doing a great job, Naoki left the task of decorating the venue to them.
He returned to the Creamery to start making Motoslug's birthday cake.
The process of making the birthday cake was already firmly etched in Naoki's mind.
Naoki had discovered that infusing his emotions into the food as he cooked enhanced the magical effects. This time, he didn't need to force his emotions; the bond he shared with Motoslug had already woven itself into the fabric of their daily lives.
Just recalling these memories brought a surge of emotions to the surface.
A year ago, Motoslug had hatched from its egg.
What did a newly-hatched Motoslug look like? Naoki's mind conjured an image of a tiny, wobbly Motoslug, crawling out of its Pokemon egg, still sporting a chunk of eggshell on its head.
Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to witness Motoslug's birth firsthand.
The baby Motoslug grew, reaching its normal size, and then it left its parents, brought to him by Mayor Thomas to care for.
At this thought, Naoki sincerely wished for Motoslug's continued health and happiness, for all things to go smoothly, and for peace and joy to fill its life.
With these feelings in his heart, he poured the batter into a mold and placed it in the oven.
After some time, the fragrant cake base was ready, and Naoki halved it, filling it with sliced tree fruit, and then, together with Frostine, evenly spread the fresh cream over the cake.
And so, a carefully prepared birthday cake was born.
Naoki looked down, and the information about the cake appeared in his mind.
[Birthday Cake (S)
: A cake made with rich cream and a carefully baked cake base, decorated with tree fruit, exuding a festive cheer.
Dish Effect: Birthday Gift, when fed to a Pokemon on their birthday, bestows a blessing that permanently boosts HP, Attack, Special Attack, Speed, Defense, and Special Defense.
Evaluation: Give it to your Pokemon as a gift! It might bring them an unexpected surprise.]
"Wow!" Naoki couldn't help but exclaim as he beheld the brand-new birthday cake.
"The dish level jumped from B straight to S, and the effect went from boosting one stat to boosting all six! That's insane!" Naoki couldn't help but gasp in awe.
But immediately, a new question arose.
Which of the six stats did the birthday gift boost—base stats, effort values, or individual values? If it was effort values, that would be a bit underwhelming. Naoki felt the lower limit of an S-grade dish shouldn't be so low.
So, was it base stats, then?
If so, that would be incredible! Motoslug had base stats of 501. If it ate this cake for a few years, its stats would surpass those of the starter Pokemon like Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.
If it ate this for decades or centuries, surpassing legendary Pokemon wouldn't be a dream!
But there was another issue. The real world wasn't a game, and humans couldn't see a Pokemon's base stats with their eyes.
And even if the base stats increased, it didn't necessarily mean much. After all, there had been cases in this world of lower base stat Pokemon defeating those with higher base stats.
Naoki couldn't quite wrap his head around it, and after a brief contemplation, he decided to push these questions to the back of his mind.
After all, he wasn't a trainer, and he didn't need to battle. The most important thing right now was to celebrate Motoslug's birthday properly.
Just then, the Butterfree that had been keeping watch flew in through the window to inform them that Motoslug was on its way back.
Hearing this, Naoki quickly gathered Frostine and Oliveo, carrying the cake as they hurried back to the living room.
The room had been beautifully decorated. Ribbons and balloons adorned the walls, and where they couldn't reach, they had asked the flying Pupitar for help.
In the Creamery, Frostine had worked hard to make delicious fresh cream, and even the usually lazy Oliveo had been invited by Naoki to contribute fresh olive oil for Motoslug.
Seeing that the Pokemon were doing a fantastic job, Naoki left the venue decoration to them and returned to the Creamery to start making Motoslug's birthday cake.
The process of making the birthday cake was already firmly etched in Naoki's mind...
"Meeeh!" The herd of goat Pokemon also looked pleased, harboring warm feelings towards this Pokemon that often fed them grass dumplings.
Facing the room full of Pokemon, Motoslug was momentarily stunned, standing there dumbfounded.
"Happy birthday, Motoslug!" Naoki smiled as he walked up to the dazed Motoslug and pulled it closer.
Even as it was led to the cream cake with a single lit candle, Motoslug still hadn't quite registered what was happening.
Seeing this, Naoki sighed, "Have you forgotten? Today is your birthday. On this day last year, you hatched from your Pokemon egg."
Motoslug nodded cutely, letting out a soft, "Ga'ou."
Its eyes widened as it finally grasped the situation.
Naoki and everyone else were celebrating its birthday?!
"These are custom-made clothes I specially ordered from Mrs. Dantes for you." Naoki took out the bag and placed the clothes in front of Motoslug. "With these, you won't feel cold during winter, and you can play in the snow with everyone outside."
Motoslug listened to these words, dumbfounded, as the sudden surprise overwhelmed it.
In this moment, it felt like its entire body was immersed in an ocean of happiness.
"Ga, Ga'ou!" Motoslug let out a silly cry, touched as it looked at everyone.
Golett: "..." This was too embarrassing to watch!
"Make a wish and blow out the candle!" Naoki guided Motoslug to the cake.
Amidst everyone's gaze, Motoslug puffed out its cheeks and blew out the candle.
"Pah pah pah pah!"
Little Dot started clapping again.
Following her lead, the surrounding Pokemon burst into cheers.
After blowing out the candle, it was time to cut the cake.
Since Motoslug didn't know how to cut it, Naoki stepped in to help.
He cut the cake into small pieces and handed them to Motoslug, asking it to share this happiness with everyone.
Motoslug obediently did as told.
Standing by, Golett watched this scene unfold, a glimmer in its eyes.
It knew that even though Motoslug seemed a bit slow now, it would forever remember everything that happened today and be grateful for it.
At that moment, Motoslug approached it with a piece of cake.
Golett lowered its head to look at Motoslug, then extended its claw to take the cake, devouring this long-awaited birthday treat.
"Ga'ou~"
Motoslug was delighted to see Golett eating the cake.
It didn't mind at all that Golett had left it alone in the flower field earlier.
After everyone had their share of cake, Motoslug picked up its own piece and ate it together with the rest.
Tasting the sweet cream in its mouth, a thought suddenly popped into Motoslug's mind.
Pure bliss!
On August 21st, Naoki received a response from the Padia League.
Yeci's voice came through the phone, "Your application to enter the Padia Pit that day has been approved by the League. You'll need to go to Jin Hui Town first, where a Padia League staff member will take you to the Zero Zone Gate leading to the interior of the Pit."
"However, he can only take you to the Zero Zone Gate. After that, you're on your own."
Thinking about the dangers within the Pit, Yeci felt compelled to caution him, "The Padia Pit is extremely perilous, even for Champion-level trainers. I don't want to see the League lose a talented individual like you."
Naoki: "..."
Though he didn't recall ever becoming a Padia League talent, he took Yeci's reminder to heart, "I'll be careful, Champion Yeci."
Yeci: "That's good to hear. When do you plan to set off?"
Upon hearing this, Naoki turned and glanced at the group of Hakuryu playing in the living room.
There weren't any pressing matters on the ranch at the moment. With the Dot and Pip siblings around, even if he went out for a while, they would ensure the ranch was well-managed.
The only thing he needed to worry about was the group of wild Pokemon temporarily staying in the Fruit Garden.
They hadn't fully recovered from the trauma of that disaster.
With that in mind, Naoki replied, "In three days."
In three days, Denkai's wings should be fully healed.
"Three days?" Yeci nodded, "Alright, I'll inform that staff member of the time."
Naoki asked, "How do I find him?"
"It's simple." Speaking of that person, Yeci's tone carried a hint of helplessness, "He's the Jin Hui Gym Leader, Aoki. Just go to the Jin Hui Gym, and you'll find him there."
"If he's not there, go to a place called the Pokemon Canteen in town, and he'll take you to the Zero Zone Gate."
(End of Chapter)
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