Chapter 240:
October 28th.
Weather: Sunny, Temperature: 15–18°C.
It was a rare, beautiful day.
Early in the morning, a figure came running from the edge of town and pushed open the door of the Breeding House.
"Big Brother Kaede… boo hoo…"
The young girl's voice trembled as she sobbed.
At this hour, only the recently awakened Alcremies and Elder Brother Indeedee were in the Breeding House.
Recognizing Takagi Megumi, Elder Brother Indeedee immediately pointed toward the plantation. "Indeedee…" (Hayashi Kaede is in the plantation. Don't worry, Wartortle is there too.)
Takagi Megumi froze for a moment, but upon hearing that, her expression lit up with relief. She quickly thanked the Elder Brother Indeedee and ran straight toward the plantation.
When she arrived, she spotted Wartortle sitting obediently before Hayashi Kaede.
"Wartortle!"
"You're here…"
Hayashi Kaede patted Wartortle's head, smiling. "Look how worried you've made your trainer."
Last night, after dinner, it had already been close to nine. Serperior had told him that Wartortle had swum in through the water channel.
That had stunned Hayashi Kaede at the time.
Then, with a sigh, he had realized he might have spoiled it too much when it was still a Squirtle.
Now it had developed the habit of sneaking in even when its trainer was home.
That sort of behavior could cause real trouble later—especially once Megumi began traveling. If Wartortle ever wandered off in the wild, it could put her in danger.
So Hayashi Kaede had taken the chance to lecture it a little and, to make sure it remembered, kept it overnight.
"Wartortle…"
Seeing Takagi Megumi's tearful face, Wartortle lowered its head like a child admitting fault.
"Go on, apologize properly."
Hayashi Kaede gently nudged it forward. Wartortle trotted to Takagi Megumi, and the moment it reached her, she threw her arms around it.
"Boo hoo… Wartortle, I thought you didn't want me anymore…"
She had woken up early to feed Sprigatito and Wartortle as usual—only to find Wartortle's little pond empty.
Panicked, she'd searched everywhere, calling its name until she was hoarse.
She had even begun blaming herself, wondering if she'd somehow upset it.
Feeling the warmth of its trainer's embrace and the trembling in her voice, Wartortle's heart ached with guilt.
"Wartortle…"
It wrapped its arms around her too, softly apologizing in its own way—saying it had only sneaked out because it was greedy for food and promising never to do it again.
"Okay, okay…" Megumi sniffled, wiping her tears. Hearing that explanation, she couldn't help but laugh through her tears.
"If you like Big Brother Kaede's food so much, we'll just buy it from now on."
"We have money now!"
She proudly pulled out her phone and showed Wartortle the balance from their Youth Cup prize money.
300,000 pokedollar—enough to buy plenty of Energy Cubes from the Breeding House.
Wartortle wasn't as big an eater as Munchlax or Blaziken, but it did love Kaede's cooking.
From now on, Megumi resolved to find ways to earn money too.
The two quickly reconciled.
Watching from nearby, Hayashi Kaede smiled faintly. He'd never doubted Takagi Megumi's love for her Pokémon.
Over time, he had seen how much she'd changed.
Once upon a time, she'd been lazy—often missing the Monday morning bus because she overslept.
She'd procrastinate, struggling with Sunday night homework, coming to him to complain, "Why is it so hard? I don't want to go to school…"
Her grades weren't great either.
But after getting Squirtle, things changed.
She started waking up early to go running with it.
She spent her whole summer working at the Breeding House just to buy Energy Cubes it liked.
For two straight months, she worked diligently and used all her earnings to pay him back.
And later, when school resumed, she even earned the trainer certificate she had failed to get the year before.
They were all small steps—but every one of them brought her closer to her dream.
"Meeew~"
A cheerful cry echoed from above.
Hayashi Kaede looked up to see Mew returning, with Victini and Jirachi beside it.
Even after playing all night, the three Mythical Pokémon looked as lively as ever.
Their return at this hour likely meant one thing—Mew was hungry again.
Sure enough, as soon as they landed, Mew flew straight to Hayashi Kaede, rubbing its cheek against his hand.
ƪ(•̩̩̩̩_•̩̩̩̩)ʃ⁾: Hungry hungry~ Food food~
Though it didn't speak, its meaning was obvious.
"Jirachi~!" ( Megumi! Megumi!)
Jirachi, spotting her and Wartortle, immediately darted over joyfully.
"Jirachi…"
Takagi Megumi's face lit up. She had looked for it the past few days but had always been told it was out playing.
"Jirachi~" (I'm back~)
It fluttered before her, then perched on her shoulder.
"I came looking for you several times, but you were never home."
"Jirachi…"
Jirachi looked a bit embarrassed but quickly nestled into her arms, trying to charm its way out of trouble. "Jirachi…" (I'll play with you for the next two days!)
Takagi Megumi, unaware of its words, only found it adorable and smiled brighter.
Among the three Mythical Pokémon, Mew and Jirachi were the most outgoing. Victini, however, hovered uncertainly in the air, watching its friends from a distance.
Its quiet nature left it unsure how to join in.
Hayashi Kaede noticed and waved. "Victini?"
Then he turned to Mew. "Aren't you going to call your friend down?"
Mew blinked, then flew up to fetch Victini, bringing it down gently.
Just then, Gardevoir emerged from the room.
"Alright" Hayashi Kaede said, "you guys can play for a while. Gardevoir and I will make breakfast."
He glanced at Takagi Megumi. "Megumi, why don't you stay and eat with us? Jirachi's here too."
Her eyes brightened again. After a brief pause, she nodded eagerly.
"Okay! I'll go tell my parents first—then bring Sprigatito over!"
And with that, she dashed home—running even faster than when she had come.