After finishing breakfast, Lucas bundled Shauna up in thick clothes and had her head off to school on Rapidash, carrying fresh milk with her.
Lucas wasn't worried at all about Shauna catching a cold while riding to school; after all, it was a Rapidash, which naturally had the ability to provide warmth.
Once Shauna left, Lucas took Gengar and rode on Ninetales's back to go grocery shopping.
"Say, does it usually snow this thick on the first day? Or is this a specialty of the Sinnoh region?"
Lucas asked in confusion, looking at the ground where the snow was already quite deep.
Gengar floated in the air and shook its head, indicating it didn't know either.
Ninetales walked through the snow as flakes continued to fall from the sky, soon dusting both Lucas and Ninetales in white. Gengar, meanwhile, stuck out its tongue to catch the falling snowflakes.
Arriving in Twinleaf Town, the pedestrians on the street were noticeably fewer, seemingly caught off guard by this sudden snowfall.
Lucas first went around to deliver the pre-ordered fresh milk one by one, also including complimentary ginger water brewed personally by Gothitelle.
"Auntie Lingzi, here is the fresh milk you ordered today. And this is ginger water brewed by our Breeding House; it's made with cola and our Breeding House's ginger. It helps ward off the cold and keep you warm. You can give it a try—it's free. It's snowing, so remember to wear more clothes and keep warm, you and Uncle Amu."
Lucas took several bottles of warm fresh milk from Gengar and handed them to Auntie Lingzi, then took out a bottle of ginger water, handed it over, and spoke with a smile.
"Oh my, look at how much trouble you've gone to. It's snowing and you still delivered it personally. You don't need to make a special trip to bring us milk tomorrow; we can go to the Breeding House and pick it up ourselves. With such heavy snow, what if you catch a cold from the wind?"
Auntie Lingzi accepted the ginger water, feeling moved. She reached out to brush the snow off Lucas and Ninetales as she spoke.
Lucas gave an even wider smile. "It's fine, Auntie Lingzi. With Ninetales here, there's no need to worry. Just rest easy and order our Breeding House's fresh milk, herbal tea, or other things. We guarantee we'll deliver them to your door. Or could it be that Auntie Lingzi already has another Breeding House on the side?"
Lucas joked with a laugh.
"You child, you're asking for it."
Auntie Lingzi gave Lucas a playful glare and lightly slapped him. "I was just worried you'd be working too hard."
Lucas sat back on Ninetales's back, the smile still on his face. He said, "Don't worry, Auntie Lingzi. The Breeding House doesn't just want the Pokémon to be happy; we want all of you to be happy and joyful too."
He then rode Ninetales toward the next house.
Auntie Lingzi watched Lucas's retreating figure, feeling the piping hot ginger water in her hands. To have come all the way from the Breeding House and still have it be this hot...
It was enough to see how much care Lucas put into it.
Lucas really is as kind as ever.
Lucas sat on Ninetales's back; Ninetales was nice and warm, so Lucas felt warm as well, which happened to offset the chill brought by the snowy day.
After delivering the fresh milk and ginger tea one by one to the grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunties who had ordered—as well as to some of the lonely elderly in Twinleaf Town who lived by themselves—Lucas swung by the shop. Seeing that business was slow, he intended to let Gothitelle and the others close up for now and wait until the heavy snow stopped before reopening, so they could return to the Breeding House together.
However, he found that several children were already in the small room next to the shop, studying or playing. Lucas smiled knowingly. After telling Gothitelle to come home early that evening so they could have Barbeque together, he took Ninetales and Gengar to the market to buy groceries.
Seeing how much money he spent on seasonings, Lucas had the idea: could he grow some seasonings himself? The Breeding House already grew chili peppers, so what about others, like Sichuan peppercorns?
Since Grandpa Manny and Grandma's seed shop wasn't open today, Lucas could only head back to the Breeding House first.
Returning to the Breeding House, Lucas went to the backyard to check on the physical condition of the Pokémon boarded there and asked if they needed to move to a different living area.
The Scrafty boarded here to learn Dragon Dance had almost mastered it. It expressed that it was used to this kind of snowy weather, as the Unova region also had snowy days.
The other Pokémon boarded here, such as Empoleon, Beedrill, and Bellossom, had all found their own spots.
For instance, Bellossom was in the flowerbeds of the garden. Thanks to the blessings of Celebi and Lugia, the flowerbeds were quite warm, so Bellossom loved staying there.
Beedrill had flown into the greenhouse and was living in the fruit trees.
Empoleon indicated that this temperature was a piece of cake; after all, it possessed the noble Water/Steel typing. It lived in the Lake area with Golduck, Azumarill, and the others.
The Breeding House's Lake area remained calm. Under the influence of the blessings, it wouldn't freeze, which made many Pokémon that preferred living in the Lake very happy, as they wouldn't have to migrate.
Miltank, Gogoat, and the others had long since moved to the planting area. In the greenhouse space Lucas had set aside for them, the green grass was still growing, lush and vibrant. Under the influence of accelerated Growth and other blessings, the grass in that area would grow rapidly while maintaining its fresh taste and color.
When he asked Miltank and the others, they said it was enough for them to get through the winter.
Considering the several Miltank he had ordered a few days ago, Lucas asked again. After getting the result that there would be enough to eat even if ten more Miltank came, Lucas left satisfied. He went under the swing tree, brushed the snow off a wooden box, and opened it; there were very few things left inside.
Lucas took them all out and then went to open other boxes. Finding the same situation, he took everything out.
He looked at the backyard, which wasn't as lively as usual. Because of the snowy day, almost all the forest Pokémon had retreated back into the forest, with only a very small number coming to the Breeding House to play during the day.
He estimated that in a few days, even this small number of forest Pokémon would choose to stay in the forest for the winter.
He wondered how they would be faring.
Lucas decided to go into the forest in a couple of days to take a look.
After all, he was still a Forest Ranger. Now that winter was here, he should go in for a patrol to prevent any accidents, or to help in case some Pokémon encountered trouble due to the heavy snow.
He also wondered how that hot spring was doing and if one could still soak in it. If possible, soaking in a hot spring in the dead of winter would be a very comfortable thing.
After patrolling the entire backyard, checking the status of the Breeding House's Pokémon, and eliminating potential hazards that the snow might cause, Lucas finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He then returned to the lounge area with Gengar and Ninetales.
Right up until he finished lunch and until Shauna and Gothitelle's group returned in the afternoon, not a single customer came to the door.
Even Mime Jr.'s Canteen had very few customers, causing Mime Jr. to return to the Breeding House dejectedly. Lucas held it and offered some comfort.