The morning light filtered through the glass doors of Song of the Forest, casting warm, dappled shadows across the counter.
Shane was wiping away a coffee stain left by the previous customer.
*Ding-ling—*
The door hinges let out a familiar, soft chime.
“Welcome, what would you like…” Shane didn’t look up, his hands never stopping their work.
“It’s me, Little Shane,” an anxious female voice rang out.
Shane paused, looking up to see who it was, and immediately set down his rag.
“Auntie Mao?”
She was the owner of the breakfast shop around the corner of the old street.
He and Whimsicott got their breakfast from her almost every day.
Right now, her apron was still dusted with flour, and her hair was slightly disheveled at the temples.
It was obvious she had just finished the morning rush at her stall and hurried over straight from the stove.
“Auntie Mao, what’s wrong?” Shane walked around the counter.
Auntie Mao rubbed her rough fingers together.
“It’s Flaaffy!
She…
she looked like she was about to evolve last night, but every time the white light flashed halfway, it would fizzle out.
It hurt her so much she was bleating in pain!
I had no choice but to put an Everstone on her to suppress it.
She’s calmed down for now, but my heart is just…”
Her voice trembled.
“I looked it up on Qiandu, and it said it might be some kind of…
Evolution Blockage Syndrome?
A terminal illness!
My Flaaffy is still so young…”
There were still two customers leisurely drinking coffee in the corner of the shop.
Shane glanced over and lowered his voice to comfort her.
“Auntie Mao, don’t panic just yet.
You can’t trust everything you read on Qiandu.
Did Flaaffy’s first evolution go smoothly?”
“It went incredibly smoothly!
Going from a Mareep to a Flaaffy, it was over in a flash!” Auntie Mao slapped her thigh anxiously.
“Nothing like this time, she’s suffering so much!”
*’It’s not a genetic disease.’*
Shane formed a preliminary judgment in his mind.
Genetic defects usually manifested during the first evolution.
“Wait just a moment.
Once I finish cleaning up here and close the shop, I’ll head over to take a look.”
“Ah!
Yes!
Okay!
I’ll wait for you at home, Little Shane!” Auntie Mao, as if grasping a lifeline, hurried away, her silhouette disappearing into the morning mist of the old street.
“Whimsi?” *Is Flaaffy going to be okay?*
“She’ll be fine,” Shane said, rubbing his little head as he sped up his cleaning.
In the afternoon, after seeing off the last two customers, Shane hung up the “Closed” wooden sign, picked up Whimsicott, and walked across the cobblestone paths of the old street.
In the small room in the backyard, Flaaffy was lying listlessly on a floor mat, a dull gray Everstone hanging around her neck.
She looked…
well, quite plump.
Beneath her fluffy, curly wool was a bulging, round belly, making her look like an overstuffed plush toy.
After putting on the Everstone, the restless energy fluctuations had indeed subsided, but she was clearly lacking in spirit.
“Flaaffy, let Big Brother Shane take a look,” Auntie Mao said, affectionately stroking Flaaffy’s head.
Shane crouched down, gently resting his fingertips against the warm side of Flaaffy’s neck.
There were no abnormal disturbances or blockages, and her body temperature was normal.
He carefully examined Flaaffy’s teeth, eyes, and the condition of her wool—aside from her excessive weight, she was perfectly healthy.
Just to be safe.
Shane focused his mind, and information only he could see appeared before his eyes:
[Flaaffy] Type: Electric Gender: Female Ability: Static Moves: Tackle, Growl, Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Charge, Confuse Ray, Cotton Guard.
Status: Stuffed (Overweight) Affection: 30
The move list was extremely basic, consisting entirely of moves she could naturally learn before evolving.
It was obvious she had never undergone any systematic training.
Combined with her stocky build…
Shane finally knew exactly what was going on.
“Auntie Mao,” Shane said, standing up straight.
“Flaaffy is fine.
It’s not a terminal illness.”
Auntie Mao let out a long sigh of relief, patting her chest.
“Oh my, you scared me to death!
As long as she’s fine, as long as she’s fine!”
“It’s just…” Shane carefully considered his words, pointing at Flaaffy’s round belly.
“Have you been feeding Flaaffy…
exceptionally well lately?”
Auntie Mao froze for a moment, then began counting on her fingers.
“For breakfast, ten meat buns, two cups of sweet soy milk, three bowls of large wontons, and a bowl of Oran Berry Pokéblocks to tide her over.
For lunch, it’s usually…”
“Alright, alright, Auntie Mao,” Shane quickly interrupted.
Looking at Flaaffy’s big, innocent eyes, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“That’s exactly the problem.
Flaaffy has been eating too well.
She’s accumulated too much energy, and her body is overnourished.”
“Evolution requires mobilizing a massive amount of energy to reshape the body.
Right now, she’s like an overfilled bucket of water; the slightest shake causes it to spill over.
Because she can’t control this power, her evolution gets interrupted, leaving her in pain.”
“Ah?
She…
she ate too much?” Auntie Mao’s mouth fell open, completely surprised by the reason.
“But she loves to eat!
Seeing her enjoy her food so much, I couldn’t help but give her a little extra…”
“Pokémon have great digestion, but just eating without moving isn’t good either,” Shane explained patiently.
If you want her to evolve smoothly, we need to burn off this excess energy.”
“Then…
then what should we do?” Auntie Mao panicked.
“It’s simple,” Shane said, holding up two fingers.
“Watch her diet and get her moving.
Control her food portions a bit, and then…”
He looked at Flaaffy with an encouraging smile.
“Take her out to exercise more.
Go for jogs in the small park behind the old street, or find some of the neighbors’ Pokémon for a few friendly battles to stretch her muscles.
Once she burns off the extra energy and her body adapts, try taking off the Everstone in a month.
She should be fine then.”
“Jogging?
Battles?”
Auntie Mao looked at her pampered, chubby girl and felt a bit troubled, but for Flaaffy’s sake, she nodded vigorously.
“Alright!
I’ll listen to you, Little Shane!
Starting tomorrow, I’ll take her out to train!
Thank you, thank you so much!”
She held Shane’s hand, her gratitude beyond words.
“We’re neighbors, it’s the least I could do.
I can help make some dietary Pokéblocks for Flaaffy to eat.
For now, her regular meals really need to be cut back.”
“Isn’t that too much trouble for you?
I’ll buy them at market price.”
“That works.
I’ll have Whimsicott deliver the Pokéblocks when they’re ready, and you can just transfer the money to me.”
Shane smiled and waved his hand, picking up Whimsicott from by his feet to say goodbye.
Walking out of Auntie Mao’s courtyard, Shane looked down and met Whimsicott’s sparkling orange eyes.
“Whimsi?” *Are we going home?*
“Yeah, let’s go home.”
Shane hoisted the little guy up a bit higher, speaking half-jokingly and half-seriously.
“See that?
Let that be a lesson to you.
You can’t be like Flaaffy, just eating and never training, or you’ll turn into a little fatty.
You need to exercise more, got it?”
Hearing this, Whimsicott’s little body suddenly stiffened!
He looked down at his fluffy but absolutely slender cotton-ball body, then at Shane’s arms holding him, and a massive sense of crisis instantly flashed through his orange eyes!
Getting fat = Shane won’t be able to carry him = Shane will go carry other Pokémon!
This equation instantly formed in his tiny head.
“Whimsicott!” *Absolutely not!
I can’t get fat!*
The little guy immediately straightened his back in Shane’s arms, clenching his tiny paws into fists.
His fluffy tail raised high like he was taking an oath, the word ‘self-discipline’ practically written all over his face.
“As long as you eat a balanced diet and keep exercising, there won’t be any problems.”
“Whimsicott!”