As the night deepened, the quietness of the closed cafe settled in.
Kade had spent the whole day running around the Magic City Forest.
After eating a hearty meal and excitedly discussing the video for ages, he finally relaxed, and a massive wave of exhaustion instantly washed over him.
His eyelids grew heavy, and he slumped sideways onto the sofa, falling into a deep sleep with steady snores.
Shane looked at his tall frame sinking into the sofa and shook his head helplessly.
‘Good thing this guy doesn’t drink, or this mess would be even harder to clean up.’
Shane walked over quietly, grabbed a thin blanket from beside the sofa, and draped it over Kade.
Standing at 1.89 meters and weighing over eighty kilograms, Kade was four centimeters taller and fifteen kilograms heavier than him.
Shane knew he didn’t have the strength to haul the big guy into the guest room.
“Just sleep here.
The sofa is big enough.
I’ll make you something to wake you up tomorrow morning.”
Shane turned off the main living room lights, leaving only a soft wall lamp glowing in the corner.
He then picked up Whimsicott, who had long since curled up beside him and was dozing off, and walked softly into the bedroom, carefully placing the Pokémon on its own little soft cushion next to his pillow.
After settling his Pokémon, Shane didn’t go to rest immediately.
He returned to his desk and turned on his tablet and computer.
The screen still displayed the two-hour-long video file.
In the dead of night, the only sounds were the occasional chirping of insects outside the window and Kade’s faint snoring.
The light from the desk lamp traced the focused profile of his face.
Shane put on his headphones and opened the editing software.
The unfamiliar interface and multitude of buttons made him frown slightly.
But thinking of the empty shop that afternoon and Whimsicott’s expectant eyes, he took a deep breath.
He began clumsily dragging the timeline, trying to clip the moments he found the warmest and most interesting.
The berries tumbling down when Whimsicott fetched them, Kade’s exaggerated fighting stances while chopping vegetables, the tantalizing bubbles of sauce boiling down for the sweet and sour ribs, Charizard’s smug look when it dug out a soda, Skiddo inching closer, drawn by the Pokéblocks, and the adorable moment Whimsicott drooled while staring at the ribs…
He repeatedly previewed, adjusted, and trimmed, trying to condense this daily warmth into a ten-minute highlight reel.
Time slipped away quietly in his concentration, and the night outside grew even darker.
At 1:37 AM, a finished product he was satisfied with finally appeared on the screen.
A fifteen-minute video titled “Dinner Time at Forest Song: Pokémon, Friends, and the Warmth of Life” sat quietly in the export folder.
Shane let out a long sigh, rubbing his sore eyes and stiff neck as a strong wave of exhaustion swept over him.
Relying on his last shred of willpower, he completed the real-name authentication and uploaded the video.
“I hope this helps a little…”
Shane muttered to the dark screen, his eyelids so heavy he could barely keep them open.
Taking one last look at Whimsicott, who was sprawled out beside his pillow with its little belly rising and falling, he turned off the desk lamp and sank into a deep sleep, completely worn out.
He had no idea that in the dead of this quiet night, this video—capturing ordinary warmth and mouthwatering aromas—would completely break the composure of countless night owls. Get faster updates on novelping(.)com.
…
Solstice, a rookie who had just obtained his Trainer qualifications, was lying exhausted on his bed, scrolling through his phone.
Having failed to challenge the Rustboro Gym for three consecutive days, he was mentally drained from being tortured by Probopass’s Sandstorm tactics.
At 1:45 AM, a thumbnail suddenly popped up in his recommendation feed.
It was a video titled “Dinner Time at Forest Song: Pokémon, Friends, and the Warmth of Life”.
The thumbnail showed sweet and sour ribs gleaming with an amber luster under warm yellow light, with a Whimsicott reaching toward the plate.
“Posting food porn this late at night?!”
Solstice angrily tapped on the video, ready to defend his rumbling stomach with the report button.
The camera panned unsteadily across the kitchen counter: golden ribs tumbling in the wok were drizzled with a glossy sauce, the sizzling sound piercing through his headphones; pork tenderloin coated in a thick caramel glaze quivered in the pan; lotus root slices fried in hot oil developed crisp, snow-white edges.
The live comments instantly exploded:
“Murder!
This is murder!”
“My instant noodles suddenly taste like cardboard.”
“Where does the uploader live?
I’m going to raid their kitchen!”
Solstice suddenly muffled his face with a pillow and wailed, “Do people in Magic City really eat this well?!”
The scene cut to Shane’s profile.
With his shirt sleeves rolled up and his silver-rimmed glasses slipping down his nose, he was focused on scraping the flesh out of a Sitrus Berry.
The warm light outlined his sharp jawline, but when Whimsicott brought an Oran Berry over to him, he suddenly lowered his eyes and chuckled.
The coldness behind his lenses instantly melted into a gentle spring breeze.
“Glasses!
White shirt!
His hands are so pretty!”
“That smile just killed me, ahhhh—”
“I need all the info on this man in three seconds, hurry!”
Immediately after, Kade burst into the frame.
He was covered in grass clippings but wore a bright smile.
His action of snapping lotus roots with his bare hands prompted Charizard to mimic him on the side.
The tone of the comments abruptly shifted:
“A sunny golden retriever boy and his grumpy fire dragon!”
“The way Skiddo is hiding behind him looks exactly like me hiding from my homeroom teacher.”
Solstice stared at Shane’s fingers pushing up his glasses and muttered, “Are they all top students from Magic City University?”
Soon, when Shane poured the berries into the basic AZ-200 Pokéblock Blender, the comments were still teasing:
“Making Pokéblocks with a toy machine?
Guaranteed fail.”
“I bet fifty cents it’s going to come out as mush.”
The comments froze for two seconds before going absolutely crazy:
“???
An AZ-200 making High-Grade Pokéblocks?!”
“Junior Breeder from Kalos here, begging to know what kind of black magic this is!”
“It’s just clever editing!
Don’t believe it, guys!”
“My shiny female Machamp is asking me why I’m watching my phone on my knees…”
Solstice suddenly sat up straight.
He recognized that machine: it was the exact same model given to rookies at the Hoenn Daycare!
His mentor had once told him that making High-Grade Pokéblocks with an AZ-200 was like trying to forge steel in a wok.
Solstice hurriedly navigated to the video’s main page to check the real-name authentication.
Since the video platform was a universal internet application across all regions, real-name authentication was mandatory to publish videos.
[Magic City University Breeding Department · Intermediate Breeder Qualification Certification]
Name: Shane
Age: 21
The comments were suddenly flooded by an army of people dropping facts:
“Holy crap!
It’s Shane, the guy who skipped grades and got guaranteed admission for his master’s!”
“The record holder for the youngest Intermediate Breeder in Donghuang!”
“Legend has it he formulated Low-Grade Pokéblocks during the summer after his college entrance exams.”
“One of the Demonic Duo of Magic City!
Kade from the Battle Department is his regular partner!”
Solstice gasped.
He remembered the fear of being overshadowed by Shane four years ago.
An eighteen-year-old Intermediate Breeder was an absolute nightmare for untalented students like them!
The last person to shatter everyone’s confidence like this was Wallace, who became an Intermediate Breeder at nineteen, nine years ago.
As for Green, who became a Top-Tier Breeder at eleven, he was a true genius.
They didn’t even dare entertain the thought of comparing themselves to him.
While the slice-of-life video filmed by Whimsicott blew up the internet late at night, Shane was fast asleep, holding Whimsicott in his arms.
A comment left by Top-Tier Breeder Professor Doran caused an even bigger uproar.
“The smiling faces of humans and Pokémon blooming together is the ultimate subject for a Breeder.
This is the best beginning; this is a happy beginning.”
The video completely blew up!