Chapter 52: Advertising the Daycare to Wild Pokémon

The next morning, the daycare was quiet with few customers. Kawaki sat behind the counter, studying a fragment of his Everstone [a crystallized stone that prevents evolution], pondering how he could gather all one hundred pieces.

One hundred fragments. Not impossible, but not exactly easy either. The advantage was simple: he just needed to help the wild Pokémon living in this forest and boost their happiness levels to earn rewards. The difficulty, however, lay in the fact that not every Pokémon needed help.

Many wild Pokémon lived in this forest, and while they did fight over territory among themselves, injured Pokémon like Zigzagoon that had coincidentally been rescued by a passing Ursaluna were few and far between. Unless those Pokémon happened to seek him out on their own...

But how could he attract them? Unlike humans, Pokémon, for all their intelligence and ability to understand human speech, couldn't read human writing. From that perspective, posting flyers around the forest clearly wouldn't work.

What about having wild Pokémon that received treatment at the daycare spread the word through the forest? That could work in theory, but there was one catch: the reach would be limited. Most wild Pokémon were different species and, aside from a few gentle ones, rarely communicated with each other.

The bell above the door chimed with its familiar, pleasant ring.

Kawaki stopped thinking and looked toward the entrance. Whenever the bell made that sound, it meant a customer was arriving at the daycare.

The door opened, but instead of the customer he expected, a fluffy little Pokémon that resembled a bean appeared. It was a Zigzagoon, the very wild one that Ursaluna had brought back from outside yesterday.

The Zigzagoon stood at the doorway now, its eyes bright as it looked toward Kawaki, but it didn't come inside.

"Zigzagoon?" Kawaki blinked in surprise. Hadn't this Pokémon already returned to the forest?

But he quickly understood what the Zigzagoon meant.

The Pokémon had something in its mouth: a delicate, small object that gleamed with golden light and looked incredibly valuable.

The Zigzagoon lowered its head and placed its treasure on the ground, its eyes filled with gratitude as it looked at Kawaki.

Kawaki bent down to examine it, and the object's information materialized in his mind.

[Ancient Coin: A gold coin used by civilization approximately three thousand years ago. Extremely valuable to antique enthusiasts and commands a high price on the market.]

This was...

Kawaki froze on the spot.

He looked at the Zigzagoon, and their eyes met in the air. He immediately understood.

The Zigzagoon was thanking him this way!

For Pokémon with the Pickup ability, every object they found was a treasure, something they'd cherish for life. The fact that this Zigzagoon was willing to give him its treasure as thanks meant he had truly helped it greatly yesterday.

Kawaki couldn't help but smile. "This is a precious treasure. You must have gone through a lot to find it. I appreciate your kindness, but you should keep this memento yourself."

Besides, treating an injured Pokémon was an easy task for him.

But hearing his words, the Zigzagoon shook its head vigorously, as if worried Kawaki would refuse. It quickly turned and ran off, giving him no chance to decline.

Kawaki: "..."

Wait, hold on! He still wanted to ask the Zigzagoon to help advertise the daycare through the forest!

But by the time Kawaki rushed outside, the Zigzagoon had already vanished into the roadside grass, leaving no trace.

Kawaki fell silent once more.

He turned back and picked up the dusty Ancient Coin, his heart suddenly complicated. If he remembered correctly, a single Ancient Coin like this sold for 60,000 League Coins [₽] in the game!

That price far exceeded the cost of a single treatment.

"Forget it. Since it's the Zigzagoon's heartfelt gift, I'll accept it," Kawaki thought to himself. He could always give it extra energy cubes next time they met.

The daycare wasn't short on money anyway. With teaching moves and running the inn, they had no problem putting food on the table. So instead of selling this meaningful Ancient Coin, Kawaki decided to keep it as a memento.

He turned around to put the coin away.

Just then, the young girl who had stayed at the inn yesterday came down the stairs with a backpack on her back. Kawaki noticed the pack move slightly, and it seemed to contain something alive.

A Pokémon, perhaps? Some trainers did keep their Pokémon in their backpacks while traveling.

The girl spoke up.

"Boss, do you offer Pokémon boarding here?" she asked.

"Pokémon boarding?" Kawaki returned behind the counter and nodded. "Of course. What kind of Pokémon are you looking to board? Do you need egg incubation services?"

"No, thank you!" The girl shook her head quickly. The little dragon was still too young; it couldn't even produce eggs yet.

"Just boarding, then. That works," Kawaki said.

The girl came down the stairs and approached the counter. She unzipped her backpack, and in the next instant, a Pokémon with a hard skull, a blue body, and two tiny arms appeared before Kawaki's eyes.

When Kawaki saw this Pokémon clearly, he froze completely.

This was... Bagon, the pre-evolution of Salamence, one of Hoenn's pseudo-legendary Pokémon?!

"It's this Pokémon!" As the girl spoke, Bagon's information appeared in Kawaki's mind.

[Pokémon: Bagon]

[Type: Dragon]

[Gender: Male]

[Ability: Rock Head]

[Moves: Leer, Ember, Bite, Dragon Breath, Dragon Rush]

[Status: Healthy]

[Mood: Terrible]

[Happiness: -50]

[Friendliness: 0]

[Notes: "Doesn't want to leave Atsushi!"]

Every pseudo-legendary Pokémon was rare and precious. Whether it was Dragonite or Salamence, evolved from Bagon, they were all incredibly valuable. Yet this seemingly ordinary-looking girl possessed one. Was it a chance encounter in the wild?

Kawaki was internally shocked, though his expression remained composed. He looked at the small dark cloud hovering above the Bagon's head, a sign of its poor mood, and asked:

"Are you sure you want to leave this Bagon here? It looks like it doesn't really want to be separated from you."