In the living room, Bewear pressed Kawaki down onto a freshly cleaned stool, not letting him help, while it happily grabbed a broom and continued cleaning up the abandoned Daycare.
Kawaki: "..."
The little sun floating above Bewear's head hadn't disappeared yet, which meant this Bewear was still in a cheerful mood.
But there was currently only one broom in the Daycare, so even if he wanted to help, there really wasn't any way.
Since he'd already decided to reopen this Daycare and Inn, some preparation work had to be done before officially opening shop.
As everyone knows, the most important factor for making a business big and successful is location.
This factor almost single-handedly determines a store's foot traffic.
Although Daycares are different from other stores, if it's stuck in some out-of-the-way corner, trainers probably wouldn't make a special detour to come by.
While Bewear was busy cleaning, Kawaki got up and walked outside the Daycare.
What met his eyes was a wide road stretching into the distance.
The original owner's memories told Kawaki that this Daycare was located on the main road between Meteor Falls and Fallarbor Town, with the famous adventure spot Meteor Falls and Fallarbor Town at the end of the road.
The Daycare standing here was quite conspicuous. Unless trainers deliberately took a detour, they'd almost certainly pass by here.
Fallarbor Town, an agricultural town located in the northwest of the Hoenn region, was most famous for the Contest Hall located there. Coordinators would continuously come from all over.
And Meteor Falls goes without saying - not only does it have many rare Pokémon, but also various fossils and meteorites. It attracts trainers to visit almost daily.
This meant the Daycare would hardly lack customers.
While thinking this over, Kawaki saw three young trainers traveling together approaching from the end of the road, apparently just passing through.
They noticed this Daycare with its doors wide open and were quite curious.
"Huh? There's a Daycare here?"
"It looks like it's been abandoned..."
A few of them noticed Kawaki standing at the entrance.
"There's still a Pokémon cleaning inside!" One girl holding an Eevee was quite surprised.
Turns out Bewear hadn't found Kawaki in the living room, so it had followed his scent outside.
Kawaki's gaze swept over that Eevee.
[Pokémon: Eevee]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Adaptability]
[Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Growl, Covet, Sand Attack]
[Status: Healthy]
[Mood: ️️️▒]
[Happiness Value: -20]
[Friendship: 0 (You're complete strangers in this world)]
[Description: Another day of troubles - Eevee.]
Kawaki's gaze lingered on the small storm cloud floating above Eevee's head, rain pouring down from it.
This Eevee's mood didn't seem too great!
The girl asked curiously, "Hello! Are you the owner of this Daycare?"
Kawaki nodded slightly. "Hello, yes I am, but the Daycare is currently being set up and can't provide services yet. If you need anything, please come back the day after tomorrow."
The girl made a mental note of this, then turned and left with her companions.
Kawaki felt he needed to reach the nearest town, Fallarbor, as soon as possible.
Right now, the Daycare had nothing at all— even dinner was a problem.
And it wasn't just food they lacked. Everyday necessities, bedding, tools, and more were all missing.
The problem was, the trip from the Daycare to Fallarbor Town took half a day. If he left now, they wouldn't make it back until midnight…
Kawaki frowned, somewhat troubled.
At times like this, it would be great to have a Pokémon for transportation.
"Guu?"
Bewear keenly noticed its partner's furrowed brow.
Kawaki: "I want to make a trip to town, but it's too far. If we walk there, we won't get back until midnight."
"Guu..." Bewear couldn't help but think, and soon a little light bulb lit up above its head. "Guu!"
It had an idea!
While Kawaki was still in a daze, Bewear jumped over to his side. Those fluffy arms scooped him up into a hug, then with a burst of speed, it charged straight toward the distance.
"Hey hey hey hey hey!"
Kawaki got quite a scare.
This was the same way that Bewear from the anime carried Team Rocket!
"Guu~!"
But Bewear happily comforted Kawaki, indicating everything was fine, then continued running at full speed.
*
In the northwest of the Hoenn region, the massive Mt. Chimney towers here. Occasionally volcanic ash drifts down from it, making the vegetation in the surrounding areas grow exceptionally lush.
The verdant Petalburg Woods embrace this volcano. The earth nourished by volcanic ash is very suitable for crop growth. Many residents have settled here, forming an agricultural town with small fields - Fallarbor Town.
"Food, bedding, tools for caring for Pokémon, clean clothes..."
Kawaki silently considered what to buy on this trip.
He only had 20,000 dollars on him, which really wasn't enough. He had to spend it carefully.
But speaking of which, logically the original owner's parents dying in a maritime accident should have resulted in some compensation money. Why didn't the original owner have any related memories of this?
Kawaki sighed and wandered through the department store with Bewear.
Bewear pushed a shopping cart behind him.
Kawaki kept putting things in it.
10 cups of instant noodles, 20 bags of instant ramen, 1 bag of flour, 30 eggs, 1 container of cooking oil, 2 hams, 10 potatoes, 5 comforters, 1 container of Pokémon cookies and treats...
Besides these, there were various seasonings and daily necessities.
"I also need to buy some vegetable and fruit seeds!" Kawaki thought of that courtyard planted with fruit trees.
This way, they could be self-sufficient in vegetables and wouldn't need to come to town to buy them anymore, saving some money.
"Too bad there's no Grass-type Pokémon."
The original owner's memories told Kawaki that Grass-type Pokémon could use Grass-type energy to tend to plants and trees, making vegetables mature faster and grow better.
However, there were quite a few Grass-type Pokémon in the forest near the Daycare. He could catch one later, Kawaki thought.
Catching Pokémon requires Poké Balls, but a regular red and white ball costs 500 ₽. Although it hurt his wallet, for the Daycare's development, Kawaki reluctantly bought two.
They had food for several days and bedding too.
This way, the Inn part could officially start operating.
First, they could provide lodging services for guests, and second, they could provide some simple food like ramen.
After earning some money, they could slowly furnish the guest rooms, upgrade the bedding, diversify the food options, and buy other things!
As for the Daycare part, as someone who had crossed over, Kawaki's mind held vast amounts of data about Pokémon. Combined with his special ability, teaching some moves shouldn't be a problem.
Looking at the shopping cart full of stuff, Kawaki felt fired up.
These were his foundation for making a living in the Pokémon world!
Before going back, Kawaki also bought a small blackboard and chalk. He used the chalk to write down the main services the Daycare could currently provide on the blackboard.
[Daycare Main Services]
[Currently Teachable Moves: Baby-Doll Eyes.]
When he put it by the entrance the day after tomorrow, trainers who needed it would naturally come in.
Kawaki wasn't worried about no one coming, because for trainers, the more moves their Pokémon knew, the richer their tactical arrangements could be.
Even some unremarkable moves might play a role in turning the tide of battle.
No one would mind their Pokémon learning one more move.
On the contrary, if someone else's Pokémon knew it but theirs didn't, that would be different.
On the way back, Kawaki rode in the shopping cart while Bewear pushed him and a cartload of supplies, looking very relaxed.
When they returned to the Daycare, it was already getting dark.
Kawaki used the kitchen to simply make two bowls of ramen with eggs and ham slices for himself and Bewear.
Kawaki's cooking skills were pretty decent - he could tell from how Bewear drank every drop of the soup.
"Guu~!"
Bewear was incredibly happy.
Its partner had grown into someone so capable!
As a Pokémon, although Bewear didn't know what had happened, it was still happy that the little human was getting better.
This way, they wouldn't have to worry, right? Bewear thought.
After a busy day, Kawaki was exhausted. After locking the Daycare's main door, he went to bed early.
After he fell asleep, Bewear stood by the bedside watching happily for a long time before running to the side to sleep.
Kawaki had a dream.
Hazily, he saw three figures - one small and two large.
Two adults holding a child about ten years old stood in front of him, looking at him.
"Please, help me take care of Bewear!" the child said with a face full of guilt.
The man beside him sighed and spoke: "From now on, that child is in your hands."
"You're planning to run this Daycare? That's wonderful... wonderful... Oh right, as thanks, I've also prepared a gift for you," the woman beside him said.
"That gift was originally prepared for little Kawaki. Now I'll give it to you! I never expected this child would lose hope and come looking for us... sigh. You just turned ten, so that gift should arrive soon, right?"
"Please accept it!"
"Thank you. Bewear is in your hands now, please help it!"
"We're leaving now. We have to leave this place and go to the Ghost World."
With that, the little boy took his parents' hands, turned around, and disappeared into the mist.
Kawaki suddenly sat up in bed, his heart pounding wildly.
Holy crap, there are ghosts!
"Guu...?"
Bewear woke up too. Through the darkness, it saw Kawaki's face full of fear, breathing heavily, and immediately understood.
Its partner had a nightmare again?
Bewear stood up and walked to Kawaki's side, gently pulling him into a hug.
"Guu~"
Don't be afraid, partner. I'm here!