Chapter 69: Eevee's Yawn
As the saying goes, a receding hairline is a sign of one's prowess. Brother Dayou, who was just one step away from being a top-tier expert, showed up at Lu Ye's place the next day, clutching his laptop.
"Take a look… Does this interface design work?"
"So soon?" Lu Ye was slightly surprised.
"Of course… I didn't sleep a wink last night!" Liang Dayou pointed to his dark circles.
While the two were discussing, Eevee was curiously observing the pink creature in front of it. A chubby body, rolled ears, vacant eyes, and a long pink tail.
It opened its mouth wide, and a giant question mark seemed to float above its forehead.
"Slow?" Slowpoke's gaze was dazed.
"Ee?" Eevee tilted its head and waved a paw in front of it.
"Slow…"
Slowpoke remained unresponsive, yawned long, and comfortably drifted off to sleep.
"Eevee… (*･ω-q)"
In the cool room, Eevee rubbed its sleepy eyes and nimbly jumped onto Lu Ye's lap.
"What's up?" Lu Ye, who was coding, paused and smiled, stroking Eevee's fur.
"Go ahead and nap. I'll wake you when it's time to eat."
"Eevee…"
Eevee nodded obediently, gently swishing its tail and dozing off adorably.
Liang Dayou laughed. "Your Eevee sure is well-behaved!"
Lu Ye, still stroking Eevee's fluffy tail, glanced at the claw mark on the sofa.
"Yeah… Pretty cute." He nodded stiffly.
The art assets had been outsourced to the Modu Academy of Fine Arts' Smeargle team. These Smeargles were so well-trained that they could even use drawing tablets effortlessly. Creating chibi Pokémon designs was a piece of cake.
Rumor had it that the academy students were feeling a strong sense of crisis… If they didn't study hard, even Pokémon would outcompete them!
Of course, some students found a different solution. If you can't beat them, just get a Smeargle yourself…
As the sun set, Eevee's gentle snoring stopped abruptly. It opened its eyes and looked around. The evening sun streamed through the window, casting a soft halo on Lu Ye's focused profile.
"Eevee!" Eevee jingled its bell, signaling that it was hungry.
But Lu Ye just patted its head. "Hold on a bit. Almost done!"
Eevee hopped off his lap gracefully.
In the living room, the silly-looking Slowpoke lay under the air conditioner, drooling in its sleep.
The little one circled Slowpoke 3 times, sniffed around, and drew closer to its pink tail. Eevee's eyes sparkled. It opened its mouth wide and chomped down.
In the silent room.
3 seconds later, Slowpoke blinked in confusion. "Slow?"
It saw Eevee looking at it innocently, still chewing on its tail.
Huh…
Thought I caught a fish…
Slowpoke yawned, about to sleep again when a wave of pain hit, and its eyes snapped open.
"Slow!!"
…
Lu Ye had planned to invite Brother Dayou to stay for dinner. But Brother Dayou insisted that if he did, dinner might just be Braised Slowpoke Tail.
Fortunately, Slowpoke's Regenerator ability meant the bite marks on its tail healed quickly. The forgetful Slowpoke even happily waved goodbye to Eevee, signaling it had a great day.
"Gengarrr (¯﹃¯)"
Haunter wiped away its drool, staring longingly at the departing Slowpoke.
Lu Ye's expression was strange. "Next time we have guests… you two behave."
"People might think the food delivery came pre-packed!"
"Eevee!"
Eevee responded first, wagging its tail and yawning adorably.
"Huh? I told you to learn your lesson, not to act cute…"
As he spoke, Lu Ye rubbed his eyes. "Why am I suddenly so sleepy?"
Before he could finish, he fell straight backward.
Haunter caught his shoulders just in time.
"Gengar?" Haunter glanced at Eevee in confusion.
Eevee stuck out its tongue and lightly licked the dark circles under Lu Ye's eyes. Then it turned its head away, feigning innocence.
Lu Ye had been pulling all-nighters coding for the new game, burning the midnight oil. Eevee figured he was probably earning money to support them.
But… rest was important too.
This Yawn should let him get some proper sleep.
"Gengar! (ノ￣▽￣)"
Haunter, too, announced it had unlocked a new skill.
Got it—next time, it'd use Hypnosis to put him to sleep!
Haunter hauled Lu Ye onto the bed, tucked him in, and exchanged a victorious glance with Eevee. Both Pokémon grinned at their success.
"Gengar?" (Training?)
"Eevee…" (So hungry…)
Haunter drooped over Lu Ye's head, looking drained. They'd have to wait until this guy woke up.
…
Lu Ye woke up feeling refreshed. But he shivered slightly from the cool air.
When he opened his eyes, Haunter's resentful face was right in front of him.
"Gengar! ﾍ(;´Д｀ﾍ)"
Lu Ye smiled helplessly. "Alright, I get it. Let's make breakfast!"
As he got up, Lu Ye scratched his head, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at Haunter.
Why did he feel like he'd just been hit by Conan's tranquilizer dart?
It couldn't have been Haunter—its Hypnosis would leave a trace of blue light.
So, he looked toward Eevee, curled up in the cat bed. Even though it appeared to be sleeping, it tensed under Lu Ye's gaze but didn't open its eyes.
Lu Ye adjusted his imaginary glasses.
There's only one truth!
Somehow, in just an afternoon, it had learned Yawn from Slowpoke!
[Yawn: Makes the target drowsy, causing them to fall asleep on the next turn.]
Seeing the new move in the system list, Lu Ye sighed.
Not only had it learned the move quickly, but it had also started using it right away…
Such efficient learning!
If I didn't wake up, wouldn't that be game over?
It was bad enough to worry about wild Pokémon; now he had to watch out for his own!
Being a Trainer was too dangerous!
"Wait a minute… Isn't Yawn a move learned by breeding? Why is it in the list?"
He rubbed his chin and took a closer look. His expression shifted.
In Eevee's move list, there was also Copycat. With Copycat, Eevee could quickly mimic Slowpoke's Yawn. And since Eevee could learn Yawn anyway, it made sense to use it so quickly.
"It even mastered Slowpoke's move so fast…" Lu Ye sighed.
"First Uchiha Gengar… Now you're Kakashi Eevee, copying ninjutsu for free?!"