"Yuli, seriously—stop worrying. I'm sure Machamp and the others are keeping the farm in perfect shape."
Rex offered his reassurance with absolute certainty.
"Well… alright then. But we should head back as soon as we can."
In the end, Yuli was persuaded. She had wanted to join the Mauville celebration deep down, but her strong sense of responsibility told her otherwise.
Since the celebration was set to take place at night, Koko invited Rex and Yuli to her home for dinner.
Koko's apartment was in a high-rise not far from the Blooming Flower Shop, and the view from her balcony was incredible—you could see the entire city of Mauville spread out below.
"Miss Koko, your place really has a great view! You can take in the whole city from up here!"
Rex complimented as he leaned on the balcony railing.
Koko and Yuli were busy preparing dinner in the kitchen. Rex had offered to help, of course, but was promptly turned down. With nothing else to do, he simply admired the scenery outside.
"I chose this place exactly for that reason—the view was too good to pass up."
Koko replied with a soft smile.
Soon, dinner was ready. The vibrant colors and delicious aroma made Rex's stomach rumble—he'd worked hard all afternoon at the flower shop, and he was starving.
"Wow, Miss Koko, this food is amazing! I knew you were great with flowers, but I didn't expect you to be such a great cook too!"
Rex gave her a big thumbs-up.
"You flatter me, Rex. I still have a long way to go—Yuli's cooking is much better."
Koko responded modestly.
"By the way, Yuli, I've already emailed you some notes on growing Victoria lotuses. Be sure to check your inbox."
"Got it, Miss Koko. And if I run into any trouble, I'll be sure to bother you again!"
After dinner, the three stepped out into the now-bustling streets. Children played under the watchful eyes of parents or Pokémon, and the streets were lined with festive stalls.
As soon as Koko spotted a booth with claw machines, she gleefully dragged Rex and Yuli toward it.
Rex didn't expect someone as composed and mature as Koko to show such a playful side.
Yuli, too, had stars in her eyes—clearly smitten by the plush Pokémon prizes inside the machines.
Seeing the two women, usually so poised and mature, turn into giddy kids made Rex feel this outing had already been worth it.
He dutifully walked over to the booth operator, bought a pile of tokens, and divided them evenly between the two.
Then he stood quietly nearby, watching as they started their attempts at catching plushies.
"Aww, I almost had that Jigglypuff…"
"Same here! I nearly got a Bellossom!"
"Okay, I can do this! One more try!"
"Oh, so close…"
Time passed, tokens dwindled, and not a single plush had been won.
Still, Rex said nothing—he could see how much fun they were having.
The booth owner, on the other hand, wore an increasingly smug grin.
Seeing how terrible these two were at claw machines, he was already planning to give them consolation prizes—one plush each. He had, after all, secretly adjusted the machines to be harder, but this kind of losing streak was still rare.
You couldn't make the machines too difficult, or people would catch on and stop playing altogether.
"Rex, I've got a few tokens left. You try—maybe you'll have better luck than me."
Yuli handed over the last few coins with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Alright. Let me see if I can win that Jigglypuff for you."
Rex inserted a token, then took control of the joystick. With his current level of physical control and focus, his hand was rock-steady as he maneuvered the claw over the plushie.
Yuli stood beside him, sweating nervously and holding her breath as the claw descended.
The plush rose, swayed… and dropped into the chute.
"You did it! Rex, you actually got it!"
Yuli beamed as she hugged the Jigglypuff plush to her chest, all traces of her earlier disappointment gone.
"Rex, can you try for that Bellossom too?"
Koko asked, just as excited.
"Of course, Miss Koko."
Moments later, she too was hugging her prize.
Now thoroughly impressed by Rex's claw machine prowess, the two handed over the rest of their tokens. He couldn't guarantee a win every time, but five or six out of every ten tries was no problem for him.
With Rex at the controls, the booth owner's face morphed into a look of pure misery.
But since Rex wasn't cheating, there wasn't anything he could do.
Thankfully, Rex had no intention of draining the guy dry. After a few more wins, he stopped.
"Uh… let me store all those plushies in the backpack for you."
Seeing both Koko and Yuli's arms overflowing, Rex offered to help.
With the plushies tucked away, the group continued exploring the city. Though night had fallen, the streets were still lit brightly, and tourists mingled with locals in a celebratory buzz.
"Let's go to the central plaza! Top Coordinators will be performing tonight!"
Koko suggested excitedly.
Naturally, Rex and Yuli had no objections. A chance to see elite Pokémon Coordinators perform live was far too rare to pass up.