"Mm, a loan from Lewis." Caroline paused, then added: "But it should be Ron's money. I saw it on his bill some time ago. This is good—their family can finally put down roots completely."
"Ron, huh."
Abigail wasn't particularly surprised to hear Ron's name. "If it's him, that's normal."
"Ron?" This was the third time Serena had heard this name.
The last time was yesterday afternoon at the Cyllage City Gym.
Speaking of which, it was somewhat interesting. Unlike the Santalune Gym where Viola was, the Cyllage Gym had added a rock climbing challenge before the gym battle.
It wasn't too difficult for Abigail.
After successfully completing the rock climbing challenge, Gym Leader Grant routinely explained the gym battle rules.
Unlike other gyms that limited the number of Pokémon challengers could use, the Cyllage City Gym used a 2 v 'N' format—meaning Grant himself would only send out two Pokémon, while the challenger could use all the Pokémon they carried.
Of course, the maximum was six.
However, Abigail hadn't encountered any Pokémon she wanted to catch along the way, so she only had Amber available to battle.
She still remembered Grant's expression at the time—from his initial surprise upon learning Abigail only had one Gengar, to his solemnity during the battle, to his relief after winning upon learning this Gengar had received special training from Ron.
Hearing Serena's voice, Caroline couldn't help but look toward the corner of the screen. Serena quickly stepped forward to greet Caroline.
"Hello, I'm Serena," Serena introduced herself.
"Serena." Caroline looked at this somewhat dignified young lady, feeling somewhat surprised.
Although she knew Abigail had met a friend to travel with on the road, she had originally thought it would be a slightly rebellious or quirky girl.
But Serena was not like that. She appeared graceful and poised, dignified and polite—like a combination of Penny and Haley.
"Hello, I'm Abigail's mother, Caroline. My Abigail must have caused you trouble."
Serena shook her head. Abigail pouted somewhat discontentedly: "Why don't you think I'm the one taking care of others?"
Caroline immediately laughed.
Amidst Caroline's laughter, Abigail's face flushed red. She then hurriedly said goodbye to Caroline and hung up the phone.
"Mom is always like this. She never thinks I'm a self-sufficient adult!" Abigail said angrily.
She took a deep breath and made a firm resolution to definitely accomplish something in Kalos.
Unlike the ambitious spirit on this side, Caroline on the other end realized she had misspoken somewhat after hanging up.
She let out a long sigh. Nurse Joy walked over upon seeing this and comforted her for a while.
"Of course I know that when she went out, she definitely hoped——that the family would recognize her choices and believe she has the ability to move forward alone," Caroline said. "But—"
So many days of separation left Caroline with an indescribable melancholy. At this moment, she just wanted Abigail to live a stable life, putting down roots in this small town bit by bit.
Joy didn't know what to say and could only pat Caroline's shoulder.
"Oh right, they're building Penny's new house today," Caroline said. "I'm going to help out. What about you?"
The Pokémon Center had basically had no customers during this time. Joy thought for a moment, nodded, and followed Caroline out of the Pokémon Center.
Walking along the path to the square, she saw the lively scene in the empty lot not far away.
Besides Robin busy building the cabin, surprisingly Gus and Lewis were also there.
Gus was stewing hot soup nearby, while Lewis occasionally lent a hand, helping transport things over.
As for Ron, he was also helping out on the side.
The farm work had basically wrapped up. Early that morning, the Rattatas had finished their work and were now enjoying watching TV by the fireplace in the cabin. He couldn't think of anything else to do for the moment, so he might as well help out. If he could help Penny's family move into their new home sooner, all the better.
Meanwhile, at the farm.
The Rattatas were jumping up and down in the expanded farm.
Besides the much larger space in the house, with plenty of room to place the specially made furniture Robin had given them, there were also two additional rooms.
One had been converted into a washroom. Now they no longer had to go to the pond by the door early in the morning to wash their hands and faces with cold water—just turn the faucet and warm water would flow out continuously.
The other room was for Pokémon who wanted to sleep in their own separate beds.
Besides Indeedee, there was Shaymin and Bellossom. Additionally, there was one small bed for when anyone was having a disagreement, where they could come rest alone instead of awkwardly lying together with everyone else.
Indeedee was currently studying her coat rack. After repeatedly adjusting her felt hat on the rack, she ultimately chose to tuck the hat under her arm and leave the farm.
Walking along the square, Indeedee glanced from afar at the lively construction site, then knocked on Emily's door with the hat in hand.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Who is it?" Emily rubbed her eyes, climbing up from the bedroom and walking to the door.
The Grand Festival that Abigail was participating in was coming up soon. Emily was preparing to promote her dresses after the competition, having stayed up all night last night.
She was extremely tired at this moment.
Opening the door, she looked around before finally spotting Indeedee standing by her feet.
"Indeedee——" Indeedee was about to make her request to modify the hat when she noticed how exhausted Emily was.
After hesitating for a moment, she hid the felt hat behind her back and waved her hand to indicate she had nothing to ask.
The sharp-eyed Emily immediately spotted the hat, so she reached out and took it.
She had seen this hat before—at a booth during the Stardew Valley Fair, she had noticed a shop selling them.
But she didn't particularly like them, so she hadn't picked one up to look at. Then she noticed Indeedee had bought one, and afterward seemed to see them on the heads of the farm's Rattatas.
A long string—almost every Rattata had one.
After some thought, she immediately guessed why Indeedee had come to find her. She paused and squatted down: "You want me to help you modify this hat, dear?"
"Indeedee!"
Indeedee's eyes immediately lit up.
Emily smiled and patted Indeedee's head: "But I'm too tired right now, dear. How about the day after tomorrow? The day after tomorrow, I'll see how to modify it for you."
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)