In the backyard, the setting sun quickly swept across the grass, the lake, and the fields, racing towards the distant horizon.
The small group of friends gathered around a round table and began to enjoy the day's feast. Around them, a crowd of Pokémon were also enjoying the Poffins that Victor had carefully prepared for them.
After diligently studying the Poffin recipe book from his great-aunt's unnamed friend, Victor's Poffin-making skills had improved significantly.
A cool breeze blew past. Accompanied by the handmade Honey Fizz soda Victor had sweetened with Sweet Honey, a single sip was enough to wash away all the day's troubles.
"Victor's cooking is just too good," Jenny said while gnawing on a pork trotter, speaking during a rare moment when her mouth wasn't full.
The others didn't speak, they just nodded in vigorous agreement.
Seeing everyone eat so happily, Victor felt immensely gratified.
There was no greater satisfaction for a cook than to see others enjoy the food they've made.
Following Shana's pointing finger, Victor placed a cola chicken wing on her plate.
Laura swallowed the food in her mouth and raised her glass.
"According to your Eastern Alliance traditions, shouldn't we clink our glasses and say 'Happy Mid-Autumn Festival'?"
Joy and Jenny nodded in agreement and raised their glasses. Shana also raised her small cup.
Seeing this, Victor smiled fondly and raised his own glass.
"Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to us~"
Clink~
"Gengar~"
As always, a small, chubby hand joined the toast.
"Gengar, if you steal my pork trotter one more time while I'm not looking, I swear I'll spank you."
Victor, who had been chatting with Laura and the others, glanced down at his plate and saw that his pork trotter had vanished again. Meanwhile, a certain little fatty next to him was happily gnawing on it.
"Gengar."
Hmph.
Gengar turned its back to Victor, giving him the cold shoulder.
"..."
The others burst into laughter at the sight.
Shana, not quite understanding what was happening, continued to nibble on her cola chicken wing. Her little eyes darted around, and then she started giggling along with them.
During the meal, the group of people and Pokémon also took a big group photo.
The dinner ended amidst cheerful laughter. After cleaning up, Victor packed two boxes of mooncakes for each of his friends to take home, and two for Shana as well.
He entrusted Shana to Jenny and the others, asking them to take her home. He stood at the door and gently patted her small head.
Shana clearly enjoyed the gesture. She held her Pokémon Egg in her arms, and whenever Victor patted her head, she would close her eyes contentedly.
He waved goodbye to them, and after watching them leave, Victor closed the door to the Breeding House and led Gengar back to the yard.
The table in the backyard hadn't been cleared yet. Victor went to the kitchen and brought out the Gengar cake he had made that afternoon.
"Gengar, come on, time to blow out the candles!" Victor called out, placing the cake on the table and picking up the Petilil.
"Gengar—"
"Coming!"
Once Gengar and the Machoke had all gathered around him, Victor placed candles on the cake.
"This is the first Mid-Autumn Festival we're spending together. I'm honored to be a family with all of you," Victor said sincerely, after having Gengar light the candles.
Because of you all, this place feels more like a home.
"Gengar."
"Machoke."
"Lili~"
The Pokémon were so moved that tears streamed down their faces. Gengar immediately flew over to Victor and started licking him.
"Alright, alright, I get it! No more sappy stuff. Come on, let's blow out the candles together," Victor said with a sigh, trying his best to push Gengar away.
"Gengar—"
"Victor has to do it too."
Gengar pulled on Victor's shoulder.
At that moment, the moon hung in the sky like a pristine white jade plate, its light shining down on the Gengar cake.
He placed the Petilil on the table. The little Pokémon that was once afraid of the dark was no longer scared.
Holding the hands of the Petilil and Gengar, Victor took a deep breath.
"I'll count to three, and we'll all blow together. Three!"
"Gengar?! Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ"
Caught off guard, Gengar quickly took a deep breath and blew out the candles.
Victor laughed happily, then picked up a knife and started to slice the cake. While Gengar's attention was on the cake, he swiped a bit of cream and, with lightning speed, smeared it on its face.
He did the same to the Petilil, and Dali, and the others.
This act resulted in swift retaliation from Gengar and Dali. Dali held Victor in a tight hug, allowing Gengar to smear cream all over his face.
After the playful fight, everyone's face was covered in cream.
Victor tasted a bite of the cake and left the rest for Gengar and the others to finish, then went back to his room to take a shower.
When he came out, he returned to the backyard and found that Gengar and the others had already cleaned everything up.
Stretching, Victor walked over to the lake, found an empty patch of grass, and lay down.
The fragrance of the grass and the earthy smell of the soil filled his nose as he quietly looked up at the moon.
The sky was full of twinkling stars, surrounding the round moon.
He had forgotten how long it had been since he had properly looked at the stars. He vaguely remembered from his past life, when he was a child, also on the Mid-Autumn Festival, his family would take a mat up to the roof. They would all sit there and chat, and he would love to listen to his parents talk while he and his older sister counted the stars, pestering her to tell him stories.
He didn't know when it started, but at some point later in his life, when he looked up at the night sky, there were only a few scattered stars, never the full canopy of his childhood.
But today, he was seeing a sky full of stars again, and for a moment, he was lost in a daze.
He heard a rustle beside him. Gengar lay down next to him, and so did the Petilil.
Dali, Erli, and Sanli sat not far away, holding mooncakes and quietly watching the stars and the moon.
In the nearby sky, a few Illumise danced in the night, creating geometric patterns.
"Gengar, did you know? The moon isn't at its fullest today. It'll be even rounder tomorrow," Victor suddenly said, lacing his hands behind his head.
"Gengar?"
"The moon of the 15th is fullest on the 16th," Victor murmured to himself.
Perhaps sensing that something was a little off with Victor's mood, Gengar scooted closer to him.
Glancing at the Gengar inching towards him, Victor couldn't help but smile.
"Did you know, where I'm from, there's a legend about a couple... and in the end, the wife flew up to the moon."
Victor spoke softly, and Gengar and the others listened quietly.
"Though I guess here, she would probably ride a Rayquaza to get there," Victor chuckled. He reached out and brought the Petilil into his arms, gently stroking its head.
"Lili~" the Petilil purred, closing its eyes.
"Thank you all," Victor said softly. He then fell silent, quietly counting the stars.
Gengar peeked at Victor and, sensing that his mood had improved, looked up at the moon.
"Gengar ٩(º﹃º٩)"
It looks so delicious...
It then took out a rather large mooncake and held it up for comparison. It was also round.
Then it took a big bite.
"Gengar—"
Victor held the Petilil, feeling a sense of tranquility he had never experienced in his past life. His eyes blinked in time with the twinkling stars.
Finally, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The nights in Sinnoh were quite cold. A breeze blew past, and Victor instinctively curled up.
Gengar finished its mooncake, floated up, and gently lifted Victor with its psychic powers, slowly carrying him towards his room.
It placed him on the bed, covered him with a blanket, then went to the balcony to replace the soil in the flowerpot with fresh soil. It brought the pot back inside and placed it on the nightstand. Then, it gently pried open Victor's arms and placed the sleeping Petilil in the pot.
"Lili..."
"Gengar—"
After comforting the Petilil, Gengar changed the room's lighting to a warm tone and then returned to its spot on the ceiling.
It didn't have to go train tonight. Yesterday, the Ninetales had said its training was complete.
Deep in the forest, a Ninetales was also quietly looking up at the moon.
It wasn't until the moon was covered by clouds that it pulled itself from its thoughts. It took one last look in the direction of the Breeding House, then turned and walked away without looking back.
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