After making its decision, Indeedee silently slipped back into the farm.
As soon as it walked through the door, it ran straight into Ron, who was looking right at it.
"Where did you go?" Ron asked.
"Indeedee~" Indeedee waved its hand. "Indeedee."
'Just taking a stroll.'
It said, walking into the room feeling a bit guilty, closing the door, and lying down on the bed.
Although Ron's intuition told him Indeedee was hiding sothing, he didn't dwell on what it could be. Besides, Indeedee's little head couldn't hold any massive secrets anyway.
With that in mind, Ron flopped onto his bed and fell asleep.
The next day, Spring 14th, Haley's birthday.
It was also the day of the Laverre City Pokémon Contest.
As usual, after finishing their work, the townsfolk gathered at the Community Center to watch Haley's contest together.
"To think it happens to fall right on her birthday," Gus said to Emily as he prepared snacks for later. "We can give her our birthday wishes right on ti."
Emily, who was washing cups at the ti, nodded after a mont.
"How have things been lately?" Gus asked again.
"In what way?" Emily tilted her head, thought for a mont, and replied, "If you're asking about living alone, I've actually gotten a bit used to it by now."
"I see." Gus put the pastries onto a plate, patted Emily on the shoulder, and said, "Let's go."
"Mhm," Emily replied, put the cups away, and headed to the Community Center with Gus.
Almost everyone who was free had already arrived; even Linus was in a corner.
Linus himself didn't want to co inside. Even though he was getting along well with Nurse Joy now, and the two of them would occasionally share a cup of hot tea after tending to Pokémon, with everyone in town here right now, he really had no desire to step inside.
But because of Leo, he had gritted his teeth and co in anyway.
"Is this the Pokémon Contest?" Leo sat beside Linus, staring at the TV. "Is that region on the other side of the sea?"
"Yeah." Linus nodded, then added unsurely, "Probably."
Hearing this, Leo focused his attention back on the television.
Usually, whenever there was a contest, regardless of the day, Miss Penny would set aside so ti for everyone to watch it together.
On one hand, participating in group activities helped everyone adapt to communal life. On the other hand, Penny hoped it would broaden their horizons; even if they never went to Kalos, just knowing about it was enough.
Knowing how people in another region lived, what kind of activities they held, what language they spoke, and how they entertained themselves.
It might sound useless, but human existence inherently requires continuously learning about things one has never experienced, so that when facing certain situations, one has enough perspective to make a relatively fair judgnt.
Also, worried that Leo might not adapt to squeezing into a room with everyone, and afraid that Leo would be hurt by people looking at him like he was a freak, Linus felt that Leo needed a peer in this kind of setting.
He needed a peer who could positively tell him that he wasn't an anomaly.
That was why he had co.
"Want sothing to eat?" Emily walked over with a plate. "Linus, and Leo, these are pastries made by Gus. We always eat them together whenever we watch the Contests. Want to try so?"
Leo looked up at Linus, and seeing him nod, let out a cheer, trotted over to the plate, sniffed it, and started picking out his treats.
Just as he stuffed a sweet, soft pastry into his mouth, Leo saw a long, purple Pokémon nad Rattata run in from outside, followed closely by Indeedee and a few Geodudes.
"Oh, Ron, you're here?"
"Yeah, the farm work has been pretty busy these past couple of days." Ron greeted everyone, looked around, and took a seat next to Emily.
Because he had dispatched Jessie and Jas to Ginger Island, Ron and Shane had to take over the miscellaneous chores at the ranch, like taking care of the animals.
The manpower shortage left Ron utterly exhausted. To redy this, he had specifically taken a large batch of Cow's Milk to the mines to chat with the dwarves about the possibility of using machines to care for the animals. He also dropped by the carpenter's shop to check on Maru's progress with her robot.
After completely discarding Clemont's advice, Maru's robot research had finally started making progress. However, because of the previous accident, Maru wasn't planning on letting a Rotom enter the robot until she had complete confidence in it.
And so, things had dragged on until now.
Ron rolled his aching shoulders and accepted a drink from Emily.
"You've been working hard," Emily smiled.
"It's manageable... though it'd be nice if soone could co help out," Ron let out a long sigh. "Shane and I are really struggling to keep up."
When it ca to taking care of the animals, aside from Indeedee, there weren't any other Pokémon that could lend a hand. What was originally work for three people and two Pokémon had now beco work for two people and one Pokémon. If Ron hadn't long since installed Auto-Feeders and Auto-Collectors for the ranch, the workload would probably be even higher.
"That might be tough," Emily said with a smile. "No one in town is really free right now."
As they spoke, the television began broadcasting the host's opening announcents.
"Welco to the Laverre City Pokémon Contest—please welco our judges—"
Momona's voice echoed from the TV. Emily had put a lot of thought into the dress for this contest, so she stopped making small talk with Ron and instead focused entirely on the screen.
"My goodness, that's gorgeous."
Not too far away, a few Coordinators whispered to each other.
They stared at Haley's dress, unable to tear their eyes away for a mont.
Haley was beautiful enough on her own, but paired with that dress adorned with all sorts of gems, a single glance was enough to captivate anyone.
"So many gems... could she be so rich heiress?" soone whispered.
One look at those gems was enough to tell they were incredibly valuable. Every single piece was perfectly translucent, utilizing ticulous cutting techniques that made the light refract dazzlingly whenever it hit the stones.
"Probably?" another person whispered in agreent.
Haley, however, was completely oblivious to just how precious her outfit was in Kalos.
Gem production in Pelican Town had always been stable. In fact, because there was rarely anyone buying them, a single gem was sotis worth less than a pizza at the Saloon.
To Haley, these gems were simply accessories to embellish her dress, nothing more.
"It's really beautiful." Even though it wasn't her first ti seeing it, Serena couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"It's alright, I guess." Haley spun around, the light hitting her and causing the gems to refract beautifully. "My sister made this for with her own hands, you know."
"It makes sense, since your sister made it herself."
Serena said, then laughed. "How wonderful. She must have been thinking of you the whole ti—stitching it up thread by thread, setting the gems one by one, imagining what you would look like wearing it, and figuring out how to make it even more beautiful and gorgeous as she made it."
"Like right here, for example." She gently tugged on a section. "This part really suits you. If it were just a little higher, or a little lower, it wouldn't work as well."
"She is my only sister, after all." Haley said, suddenly rembering that according to the Pelican Town calendar, today was her birthday. She couldn't help but press her lips together.
"You actually miss her too, don't you?" Serena asked softly.
"Yeah." Haley let out a soft laugh. "Even though we argued every day when we lived together, fighting non-stop over chores... I actually really miss her. And she probably misses too."
"Family is family, after all." Serena said. Hearing the screening call her na, she didn't hesitate and jogged over. "That's ! I'll talk to you later!"
"Go for it," Haley waved.
After Serena ran off, Haley couldn't help but look at her reflection in the mirror. It was a long while before she let out a gentle sigh.
"Ah, it's that girl who's with Haley." Emily rested her chin in her hands as she looked at Serena on the TV, watching her begin her first performance under the host's direction.
"I rember, her na is Serena, right!" Jas said from nearby. "She's so pretty! If she participates in this year's Flower Dance... will she beco the Flower Dance Queen?"
"If we're talking about the Flower Dance Queen, I still think Haley has the edge," Vincent chid in. "Either way, it's never going to be you."
Jas stuck her tongue out at Vincent and ran straight over to Penny without another word.
"What's wrong?"
"Teacher Penny, I'll grow up to be really pretty, right!" Jas asked, looking up.
"Of course." Penny rubbed Jas's beautiful purple curls and said softly, "Your hair is really pretty. You're definitely going to be a beautiful girl when you grow up."
"Hmph." Jas turned her head and snorted at Vincent, then tattled. "Vincent just said I'll never be the Flower Dance Queen either!"
Penny couldn't help but laugh.
Vincent looked at Penny nervously. "I didn't an it like that, Miss Penny—you tattletale!"
"Bleegh." Jas stuck her tongue out mischievously.
"Alright, alright." Penny patted Jas's head. "In a few years, when you grow up, you'll be beautiful."
"Will I be as pretty as Miss Haley?"
"You'll look like Aunt Marnie," Vincent blurted out.
"Why you—"
"Okay, okay, stop arguing, keep it down." Penny made a shushing gesture. After thinking for a mont, she added sternly to Vincent, "And Aunt Marnie is very pretty too. Don't talk nonsense."
"See!" Jas said, lifting her chin proudly.
After all the commotion, Emily suddenly rembered the upcoming Flower Dance. She first looked up at the TV, then turned her head to glance at Ron.
Coincidentally, just as she was looking at Ron, Penny looked over too.
Their eyes t for a brief second, and Penny hurriedly and nervously looked away.
Ron's attention wasn't on either of them, so he remained completely oblivious to the undercurrents swirling at that mont. He was currently watching Haley on the TV, along with her equally fabulously dressed Minccino standing beside her.
Its tail had been sared with Magic Hair Gel, and as it danced along with Minccino's movents, it flashed with a rainbow-like radiance.
"So beautiful, I love this," one of the judges comnted.
"It's a bit too flashy, it feels like it's lost the Pokémon's natural charm," Nurse Joy critiqued. But then she changed her tone: "Then again, since this is a Pokémon Contest, I suppose being flashy isn't really a problem."
"Right now, Minccino, use Swift!" Haley cupped Minccino in her hands, then tossed it high above her head.
The next instant, a barrage of stars radiated from Minccino's body. Combined with its wagging, rainbow-colored tail, it created a dazzling rainbow glow in mid-air.
"I love this!"
Haley held Minccino, bowed to the audience, and gracefully took her exit.
At that very mont, in Pelican Town.
The room imdiately erupted into thunderous applause.
Even though it was just a screening, everyone acted as if Haley had already won the entire contest.
"It feels like Haley has really grown a lot," soone remarked.
She had only been away for a short while, but anyone with eyes could see that a monuntal change had occurred within Haley. The reason was hard to pin down—perhaps it was the tempering of being out in the world, or perhaps, after gradually finding her true goal, Haley had shed that harsh exterior she used as a shield, finally revealing the gentle nature underneath.
Emily looked at Haley's face on the screen and smiled.
"Actually, I've always thought so—even though she's a bit too blunt when she talks," Emily cupped her face. "I always felt she was actually a very gentle person."
Even though she always acted incredibly harsh toward everything in Pelican Town, as if her mind was solely fixated on Zuzu City, Emily always felt that was just a mask she had to wear because she hadn't yet found her true direction in life.
Now that the fog obscuring her path forward had dissipated, she was gradually returning to her true self.
"Yeah," Ron replied, his eyes lingering on Minccino's tail.
Magic Hair Gel was arguably the most useless item among all the accessories right now.
Ron's chests were full of them.
If he could sell them off along with other things, it wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Oh, right." Gus suddenly spoke up from the side. "Who are you planning to dance with at the Flower Dance this year?"
"?" Ron froze.
Gus's voice wasn't too loud, but it wasn't too quiet either. Whether it was because everyone really had nothing better to do or not, all eyes in the room suddenly focused on Ron.
"..." Ron fell silent, fidgeting with the Rabbit's Foot in his pocket. "I don't have a clue yet."
"I see." Gus thoughtfully glanced at the few girls who were visibly disappointed, making a ntal count of them. After a mont, he reached out and patted Ron's shoulder. "It really is hard to make a choice when it cos to these things."
Even though Gus himself had never experienced it, of course.
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