The crash from Dragonite's landing didn't go unnoticed inside the house.
Minccino and the Poliwhirl patrol squad—on lookout duty—immediately bolted to the kitchen door, chattering anxiously.
"Chii chii!" "Woooo~!"
A second later, the kitchen door swung open.
There stood a flour-covered Ceruledge and Swampert, framed by the warm glow of the kitchen behind them.
Ordinarily, this would've been a moment of panic. But Minccino and the Poliwhirl crew showed no fear at all—in fact, they seemed perfectly used to this kind of scene.
They bounced up and down, babbling excitedly as they urged Ceruledge and Swampert to hurry up.
The two larger Pokémon exchanged a glance, eyes lighting up with joy.
Kai was back. And they'd just finished in time.
"Sssshloroh~" Ceruledge called out behind it.
The others turned their gaze into the kitchen.
To be honest, the state of the room was… dire.
The once-spotless kitchen, carefully maintained by Kai, was now a battlefield of ingredients. Flour was scattered across the floor and furniture—and coated Ceruledge and Swampert from head to toe in white powder.
Poliwhirl, Fidough, and Milcery were also inside—clearly playing critical roles.
They had reached the final step of their creation.
All eyes were now on Milcery.
Beaming with focus in the sweet, warm air, Milcery worked harder than ever. Thick, fragrant whipped cream flowed from its hands as it carefully, if clumsily, completed the finishing touches of their "surprise."
Hearing Kai's approaching footsteps, Ceruledge and the others didn't even bother cleaning up.
Just like they had practiced, they gathered at the door in position.
A key clicked into the lock.
Every Pokémon inside perked up. Those closest to the door even began charging their moves, just as planned.
"I'm home."
Click!
The door opened. Kai had barely stepped into the entryway—
Whoooosh!
Poliwhirl and the Poliwhirl trio fired Water Guns into the air, forming an arch.
Flying through it was Minccino, carried in Dragonite's arms, who summoned a burst of Swift—glimmering stars falling gently down like confetti.
Still dusted in flour, Ceruledge and Swampert stepped forward, each carefully holding one side of a tray.
Beaming with pride, they presented it to Kai.
He blinked, startled by the sudden ambush. But when his eyes settled on what was on the tray, he froze.
His expression softened. His eyes turned pink at the corners. A wave of warmth welled up in his chest.
On the tray sat what was, by any cake shop's standards, an utterly unmarketable strawberry cake.
Crooked, uneven, and charmingly messy. The whipped cream—likely from Milcery—was unevenly spread, forming a lopsided version of Kai's smiling face.
Carefully, reverently, Kai accepted the tray with both hands.
He studied the cake more closely and realized: this wasn't thrown together. This had taken real effort.
The base was likely a fermented sponge made with flour, eggs, water, and yeast—probably provided by Fidough. The ones who physically mixed and baked it were most likely Poliwhirl and Swampert, with their dexterous limbs—under Ceruledge's watchful instruction.
The strawberries were probably leftovers from the test crop field. The whipped cream, clearly Milcery's doing.
And there was a high chance that Moltres had helped too—its precision flame control likely better than even Ceruledge's.
Yes, the final product might be clumsy.
But the love behind it? Priceless.
Luxray, watching quietly nearby, blinked in surprise.
So that's what Ceruledge and the others had been sneaking around for.
And yet… it made perfect sense.
---
Kai accepted the fork and knife handed to him by Poliwhirl, cut off a small piece of cake, and placed it in his mouth.
A moment later, his eyes widened slightly.
Truth be told, he had already prepared himself—no matter how strange the cake tasted, he would finish every bite out of appreciation.
But to his surprise, not only did it not taste strange—it was actually really good.
The biggest difference between a yeast-leavened cake and a typical non-fermented one is texture. Fermented cakes tend to resemble a steamed sponge cake, with a lighter, fluffier bite.
However, thanks to Fidough's specially-produced yeast, the texture of the cake was clearly distinct from that of a steamed cake. The crumb was tender yet structured. Paired with Milcery's naturally sweet and fragrant whipped cream, and the strawberries Kai had painstakingly cultivated himself, this cake was, in his eyes, priceless.
The cake made by Ceruledge and the others wasn't large—no more than five inches across. But knowing that this was a heartfelt gift from his Pokémon, Kai didn't hesitate to eat the entire thing by himself. His smile was the brightest it had been in days.
"It's delicious," he said warmly. "Thank you, everyone!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, all the Pokémon let out a cheer—
—and dogpiled him.
The weight of their love?
546.8 kilograms.
Later, after introducing their new companion Comfey to the rest of the team, Kai stood before the now disaster-stricken kitchen, lost in thought.
---
Kai gathered his squad of Grass-type Pokémon—including Comfey, the sole Fairy-type tagging along—and brought them to the orchard where fifteen saplings had been planted.
Despite being left unattended for a week, the trees had grown surprisingly well. Even without the daily care of Serperior and the Eldegoss trio, the young saplings had already developed sturdy trunks capable of withstanding wind and rain. Some even had tiny branches beginning to sprout from their sides.
Kai recalled that under normal conditions, fruit trees needed at least three and a half months to grow from seedlings to fruit-bearing plants.
It hadn't even been half a month since he planted these. Blooming and bearing fruit still seemed a long way off—
—or at least, seemed that way.
Kai turned to look at Comfey, the Eldegoss trio, Serperior, a flicker of anticipation rising in his heart.
It was a pity, though—despite being the strongest among them, Serperior had channeled all of its natural talent into battle. Even when trained by Tapu Bulu, it somehow ended up learning Grass Glide and Seed Bomb instead of the actual move Grassy Terrain.
Had Serperior learned Grassy Terrain, its power would have far outshined that of the Eldegoss.
But today, the goal wasn't Serperior—it was to test the effectiveness of the compound Grassy Terrain technique Tapu Bulu had passed on.
And the test subjects? These very saplings.
Before the experiment began, Kai carefully recorded data on the trees to compare with future observations.
A few minutes later, he stepped back with Serperior and a curious Minccino, giving the stage to Comfey and the Eldegoss trio.
Taking center stage was the lead Eldegoss—the same one Kai had brought back to the farm, and clearly the trio's leader. The others took positions beside it in a triangle formation, with Comfey completing the setup.
"Eldee!" "Comfey~!"
With a gentle cry, the Pokémon unleashed a synchronized wave of Grass-type energy, full of life and nature's essence.
In the blink of an eye, Grassy Terrain spread out beneath them, covering all fifteen saplings in a vibrant, green glow.
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