Froakie tilted its head. Unable to speak, it channeled all its sorrow and frustration into enthusiastic eating.
"You can always come find me quietly if you want something to eat," Penny said softly. "I might not have anything fancy—but I can always share a bit of what I cook."
"Clef!" Clefable chimed in agreement.
Looking at Froakie, Penny saw—for just a moment—a reflection of her younger self.
But the comparison wasn't fair. Ron wasn't Pam. He'd never yell at or hit Froakie.
"Still… he's probably been a little neglectful," she murmured with a small smile, stroking Froakie's head. "That's okay. Things will get better once the farm is running smoothly."
When will things get better for me?
She gazed up at the drifting clouds—then lowered her head and quietly ate her meal.
---
Meanwhile, deep in Santalune Forest
Ron and Joy had been lucky—they found several Small Mushrooms by the path and gathered plenty of Berries from the trees.
Since Berries could enhance both cooking and Pokémon stats, Ron planned to bring some back to plant on his farm.
Unlike Stardew Valley crops, Berries only needed to be buried in tilled soil to sprout—and they grew astonishingly fast.
Yet strangely, none of these hardy plants had spread into Pelican Town's forests. That puzzled Ron.
"Catch!" Joy called, waving a Berry up at Ron, who was still perched in a tree.
Since neither of their Pokémon were climbers or flyers, tree-duty fell entirely to Ron.
Joy counted the Berries in her arms. "That should be enough. Come down!"
She glanced at her stash. "Besides what you need, the rest should make a nice curry."
The sun was setting. Ron jumped down.
Their afternoon search had yielded mushrooms and Berries—but not a single suitable Pokémon for breeding.
Most encounters had been Bug-types.
Not that he disliked them—but handing over Weedle or Caterpie to Cyllage City was absolutely out of the question.
Even if Rayquaza was a Caterpie evolution. (Just kidding)
Ron gently shooed a Caterpie away from the tree roots—and chuckled at the absurd thought.
"What's funny?" Joy asked.
"Nothing—just remembered a bad joke," Ron said. He leaned closer, eyeing the bundle of dry twigs in her arms. "Are you planning to make a fire?"
When Joy nodded, Ron pulled out his tool kit.
Joy watched curiously as he gathered stones, wood, and dry grass, assembling them like building blocks.
Before she could figure out what he was doing, Ron carried the structure to the center of the path—and the moment he set it down, flames erupted from the kindling between the stones.
"Wait—how did that—?" Joy stared, astonished.
"It's something unique to Pelican Town," Ron said, firelight flickering across his face. "If you go there, you'll see many more wonders like this."
Just as Kalos seemed magical to Stardew Valley, Pelican Town's world was equally miraculous to Kalos natives.
Joy smiled. As she knelt by the fire, prepping Berries and ingredients, she said, "Then I'll start looking forward to it."
Under the starry sky, she recalled her mother's stories of Pelican Town—and Gabriel, with his extraordinary Pokémon.
She glanced at Gabriel's heir beside her.
The two figures blurred together in her mind, and for the first time in a while, Joy felt her dream grow clear again.
She touched her Junimo hair clip gently.
Once the Berries were prepped, she asked, "Can you handle spicy food?"
"Yes."
Relieved, Joy added chopped Cheri Berries to the pot.
The curry simmered over the flames. She stirred slowly with a ladle.
"Are we camping here tonight?" Ron asked, unpacking a folding table and chairs from her bag—an outdoor dining set made possible by extradimensional storage.
"Yes," Joy said. After a pause, she decided to use the sardine can she'd splurged on.
"Could you grab that sardine can for me?" she asked.
Ron pulled it out—then froze.
The familiar sardine label triggered instant nausea. He shoved it back into her pack.
"…Do we have to eat this?" he asked, grimacing. "In curry?"
Joy assumed he was worried about her budget. "It's fine! It's a bit pricey, but—"
"…" Ron stayed silent—then pulled two fresh sardines from his own backpack.
"There's plenty of these in Pelican Town," he said firmly, walking to the fire. "If you must eat sardines, try them grilled. Don't put them in the curry."
After all, the sardines sold in Kalos came from Pelican Town.
He cleaned the fish with practiced ease, skewered them, and set them over the flames.
Then he ground some Cheri Berries and chopped spring onions—leftover from his farm—into a small pile.
The spring onions had thrived in his garden; without the game's usual restrictions, nearly anything planted in Pelican soil took root and flourished.
That must be why Pelican Town's outskirts grow things Stardew Valley never had, he mused.
As the fish neared doneness, he brushed on the seasoning, drizzled oil, and sprinkled salt.
The rich aroma of roasting sardines soon filled the air.
"It smells amazing!" Joy said, ladling curry over rice. "Wow—that's incredible!"
Ron waved off the praise, placed two grilled sardine skewers beside her, and—curiously avoiding his own fish—quietly ate her curry instead.
---
Meanwhile, in Pelican Town—nightfall.
Penny looked at Froakie beside her. After a moment's hesitation, she picked it up and walked toward her RV.
As she reached her doorstep, she heard Pam's shouting from inside.
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