Chapter 262: Even Catchphrases Are Hereditary? (Membership Extra - )

Chapter 262: Even Catchphrases Are Hereditary? (Membership Extra Chapter)

The scene changed again.

Dawsher House Pokémon Day Care.

The doorbell rang three times.

Quaxly hopped onto the counter again and skillfully pressed the automatic-door switch with one wing.

The next second, the doors slid apart.

A woman dressed in a light-purple outfit and a wide-brimmed hat walked inside, carrying several large bags.

It was Johanna.

"Hina! Grandma came to see you—"

Johanna had entered with a bright smile.

But the moment her eyes swept across the scene in front of her, that delighted expression instantly froze, and her sentence died halfway through.

Quaxly was sitting perfectly upright in the middle of the counter.

When it saw Johanna come in, it calmly raised one wing and gave her a wave.

"Quax."

The greeting sounded unbelievably professional.

Johanna simply stared.

"Quaxly?"

She pushed her sunglasses higher and looked around.

"Where’s Hina? Grandma came all this way and she isn’t even coming out to greet me?"

"G-Grandma?!"

An extremely soft, tiny gasp came from behind the counter.

Then came a burst of frantic rustling.

Johanna patiently waited for about ten seconds.

Finally, a small pale hand appeared over the edge of the counter, fumbling around until it found the countertop.

Next came the top of a light-blue head.

Then a forehead.

And finally—

A pair of golden eyes.

Hina slowly stood up from behind the counter, her cheeks flushed from hiding in the cramped space.

"Hello, Grandma..."

Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito.

Both hands tightly gripped the hem of her skirt, and she looked painfully embarrassed.

"You silly girl, why were you sitting on the floor?"

Johanna walked around behind the counter.

"It’s so cramped back here. Doesn’t hiding in a space like this make you uncomfortable?"

"N-No..."

Hina still had her fingers wrapped around the pages of a Pokémon breeding manual, her eyes fixed on the tips of her shoes.

"It... it feels safer here."

Johanna looked at her granddaughter, who seemed like she wanted nothing more than to shrink into a crack in the floor.

Then she glanced at the extremely serious-looking Quaxly sitting behind the counter.

She immediately understood what was going on.

Johanna placed the two gift bags on the counter and crouched down until she was at eye level with Hina.

"Hina, tell Grandma."

"Did your mom and dad leave you home alone and run off somewhere by themselves?"

Hina hurriedly waved both hands, her voice anxious but still incredibly soft.

"N-No! It’s not like that!"

"It’s just... Mom and Dad had to train for the Grand Festival today..."

"They’re usually both here. Really..."

Johanna looked at how desperately Hina was trying to defend her parents and reached out to gently ruffle her hair.

"All right, all right. This has nothing to do with you."

"But your parents really were a little unreliable this time."

"When they get back, Grandma will talk to them for you."

Hina opened her mouth, wanting to say something in her parents’ defense.

But when she saw the gentle yet unmistakably dangerous smile on Johanna’s face—

She quietly swallowed the words again.

For the rest of the afternoon, Hina worked together with Johanna to prepare dinner for all the Pokémon staying at the Day Care and finished their health checks.

Before they knew it—

Evening had arrived.

"Piplup, Piplup——!!"

An energetic penguin cry came from outside.

A moment later, the front door was thrown open and the wind chimes above it rang brightly.

"Hina! Mom and Dad are back!"

Dawn’s energetic voice rang through the entrance hall.

She kicked off her sandals while running inside, carrying a bulging paper bag in her arms.

"Look what Mommy brought you—your favorite cheese sticks!"

"They’re even the limited-edition ones! We had to visit several stores before we finally found them—"

The moment Dawn stepped into the living room—

Her voice stopped.

Because Johanna was sitting perfectly upright on the sofa.

She was looking at Dawn with an incredibly gentle, incredibly affectionate smile.

A smile Dawn recognized immediately.

Mom is angry.

Dawn instinctively hugged the paper bag tighter.

"M-Mom? Why are you here?"

"You could’ve called ahead..."

"Called ahead?"

Johanna planted her hands on her hips.

"If I’d called ahead, how would I have found out that the two of you left Hina here alone to run the Day Care?"

"But Mom, Hina really was fine..."

"Of course I know Hina was fine."

Johanna cut her off.

"The question is whether you two, as her parents, should’ve left her here alone in the first place."

Dawn opened her mouth.

Eventually, she lowered her head.

"...We shouldn’t have."

Asher quietly raised one hand beside her.

"Mom, actually, this was my idea—"

"Don’t take the blame for Dawn."

Johanna crossed her arms. ℯ

"Do you think I don’t know what my own daughter is like?"

"And sometimes, you really shouldn’t spoil her so much either. Understand?"

"What? Mom, why are you scolding my hubby?"

Dawn puffed out her cheeks.

"Besides, we only did it because Hina is too introverted. We wanted her to interact with more people."

"All right, I’m not saying you shouldn’t help her practice."

Johanna’s tone softened.

"Building social skills is a good thing."

"But you have to use the right method."

"Think about raising Pokémon."

"You take things one step at a time. You don’t throw a newly hatched Pokémon straight into a blizzard, right?"

Asher nodded.

"You’re right, Mom."

"So how do you think we should approach it?"

Johanna thought for a moment.

Then she turned toward Hina.

"Hina, Grandma has a question for you."

"Do you think Pokémon Contests are pretty?"

Hina blinked her golden eyes and thought seriously.

"They’re pretty..."

"Mom looks really pretty when she competes."

"And the recordings of Grandma’s Contests are really pretty too!"

"Then would you like to try one yourself?"

Hina instinctively took half a step backward.

"M-Me?"

"Grandma, I can’t..."

"Whenever I see strangers, I get so nervous that I can’t even speak..."

"No problem, no problem!"

Dawn immediately grabbed Hina by both shoulders, her eyes blazing with determination.

"Mommy is a Top Coordinator!"

"Starting today, Mommy will personally train you!"

"I guarantee we’ll make you shine onstage!"

Hina looked into her mother’s expectant eyes.

In the end, she slowly nodded.

"O-Okay, Mom..."

"I’ll do my best!"

"No, no!"

Dawn planted both hands on her hips.

"Hina, you need more confidence!"

"Come on, say it with Mommy—"

"NO! PROB! LEM!"

Hina swallowed nervously.

"N-No... problem..."

...