Chapter 16: Lotus Banquet

"Diancie, could you please go and let Litwick and the others know that we're having dinner tonight?" Andrew asked.

"I'm on it," Diancie nodded.

"Make sure to ask Litwick to inform the other Pokémon too," Andrew added.

Relying on Diancie to inform everyone individually would take too long.

"Got it!"

With that, Diancie headed off in the direction of Litwick's home and soon disappeared from sight.

Andrew looked down at Munchlax and said, "Let's head home, take a hot bath, and then start preparing these lotus roots." Although they had already washed them in the river, there was still too much mud left; river water alone wouldn't suffice to get them clean.

He then took the lotus roots out of his backpack, piling them up in a corner by the entrance.

"Munch~lax~" Where did those come from?

Seeing Andrew pull out the lotus roots seemingly out of thin air, Munchlax waddled over, tugging at his clothes, and started searching him, trying to figure out where the roots had come from.

"Alright, alright," Andrew said with a laugh, gently moving Munchlax's hands away. "Let's go take a bath."

"Munch~lax~"

Munchlax nodded and held Andrew's hand as they headed to the bathroom on the second floor.

"Come on, Munchlax, sit down, and I'll wash you first," Andrew said as he filled the bathtub with hot water, then placed a small stool in the middle of the bathroom.

"Munch~lax~~~"

Munchlax nodded and obediently sat down on the stool.

Andrew first wet Munchlax's body with the showerhead. As the warm water flowed over him, Munchlax closed his eyes in contentment.

Autumn on the Nebel Plateau brought a slight chill, and even Munchlax, after spending so much time in the water, felt a bit cold.

But now, with the hot water running over him, Munchlax felt all the cold in his body melt away.

As the steam gradually filled the bathroom, Andrew began to feel warm as well.

Andrew gently scrubbed Munchlax's fur while asking, "How's the water temperature? Is it okay?"

"Munch~"

Munchlax gave a thumbs-up in response.

Once Munchlax was thoroughly soaked, Andrew applied some shower gel and took out a brush to gently comb through his fur.

After all the digging and rolling around in the mud, Munchlax's fur had almost become matted.

"Munch~~"

As Andrew brushed his fur, Munchlax felt even more relaxed.

After thoroughly cleaning Munchlax and rinsing off the soap, Andrew said, "Go soak in the tub for a bit. You've worked hard digging up those lotus roots today. I've put some herbal sachets in the water to help relieve your fatigue; it'll feel great."

The herbal sachets, of course, were bought from the system store. They were reasonably priced, costing just five happiness points per sachet, and each one was good for a single use.

Andrew checked his happiness points balance—still 14,506 points left. Finally, he'd broken the 10,000-point mark.

He hadn't spent many happiness points recently. Besides buying some seeds for the garden and these herbal sachets, he hadn't made many purchases, and both items were quite cheap.

"Munch~Munch~~"

Instead of heading to the bathtub, Munchlax walked behind Andrew and pushed him towards the stool.

"You want to give me a bath?" Andrew asked.

"Munch~Munchlax~"

Munchlax squinted his eyes and nodded enthusiastically.

Andrew sat on the stool, laughing, "Well, I guess I'll enjoy being taken care of by my little helper today."

Although Munchlax didn't really understand what "being taken care of by my little helper" meant, he was still eager to give Andrew a scrub. His chubby hands were soft, making for a comfortable massage—though a bit too strong.

"Munchlax, ease up a little, ease up, or you'll scrub me raw."

"Munch~Munch~" Is this better?

Munchlax immediately adjusted his strength.

"That's it, much better."

Before long, the bathroom was filled with Andrew's continuous groans of contentment.

"Oh wow~ That's it, just like that, perfect."

"Yes, yes, right there, a little more."

...

"Munch~"

"Whew~"

After their bath, the two of them soaked in the tub together, submerging their bodies entirely, leaving only their heads above water. They leaned back against the edge of the tub, eyes closed, feeling warm and relaxed.

Andrew couldn't help but sigh, "These herbal sachets were a great buy—effective and affordable."

After the herbal bath, Andrew used a blow dryer to dry both his hair and Munchlax's fur, leaving them both feeling refreshed.

The bath had been so comfortable that they were now sprawled out on the sofa in the second-floor living room, completely relaxed and in no mood to do any work.

"Munch~Munch~~"

Munchlax's voice sounded more languid than usual.

"Munchlax, shhh, let me rest a little longer. We'll get to work soon," Andrew murmured sleepily.

He and Munchlax lay there until the sun began to set.

After a while, Andrew suddenly jolted awake and jumped off the sofa. "What time is it?" He glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was already 5 PM.

"Oh no, oh no, we're running out of time!" He quickly woke Munchlax, "Munchlax, wake up, wake up! We've got to get to work or we won't finish in time."

"Munch?"

Munchlax groggily opened his eyes and rubbed them, still looking like he hadn't had enough sleep.

"The sun's almost down!"

"Munch???"

When Munchlax heard this, it immediately jumped up from the sofa as if its tail was on fire, mimicking Andrew's earlier movement exactly.

The two of them quickly changed their clothes and rushed downstairs, only to find that everyone had already arrived.

In the hall, the Litwick family, Bellsprout, Fletchling, Espurr, Vivillon... they were all there, gathered in small groups, chatting or playing around, making the place lively. Barboach and Whiscash had also shown up as promised.

When they saw Andrew and Munchlax coming downstairs, they all waved and greeted them.

"Is everyone here? Hold on, I'll cook for you all right now!"

With that, Andrew dashed towards the door with Munchlax, intending to grab the lotus roots he had left outside to wash them again, but the doorway was empty.

The lotus roots were gone, but instead, he saw a number of Pokémon parents: Victreebel and Weepinbell, the parents of Bellsprout; Altaria, the parents of Swablu; and Talonflame and Staraptor, the parents of Fletchling... (Note: In the games, Pokémon inherit the species from their mothers, but in the author's story, it's randomly from either parent.)

It was clear they were all concerned about their children staying so late at a human's house, so they had come over to keep an eye on things.

When Andrew stepped outside, all the parents turned their eyes towards him simultaneously.

"H-Hello everyone!" Andrew suddenly felt a wave of pressure. The parents quickly averted their eyes.

Andrew didn't have time to deal with these cool and distant parents, so he shouted into the house, "Diancie, where's the lotus root I left outside?"

Diancie's voice came from inside, "I put it all in the kitchen!"

It turned out that when Diancie returned and found Andrew and Munchlax sleeping soundly on the sofa, she didn't want to disturb them. So, she had joined the Pokémon who had already arrived in washing the lotus roots, and then placed them in the kitchen.

Andrew and Munchlax ran to the kitchen and found the lotus roots had been cleaned and were neatly placed there. Andrew smiled and said to Munchlax, "Munchlax, let's get started. Can I trust you to handle steaming the buns?"

Over the past few days, Andrew had been training with Munchlax in the culinary training room for an hour each day (external time). By now, Munchlax was fully capable of making steamed buns on its own.

There were quite a few Pokémon invited to the lotus root feast. If they served only lotus root, it certainly wouldn't be enough, so Andrew decided to use steamed buns as the main dish and lotus root as a side dish.

This way, everyone could fill up while also savoring the delicious lotus root, and Andrew could earn some happiness points as a bonus.

Pokémon didn't generate happiness points when eating lotus root, but they did when eating steamed buns!

"Munch~~" Leave it to me, Master!

Munchlax confidently pounded its chest.

And so, the master and apprentice duo began their work.

Munchlax pulled out a bag of flour from the cabinet, then retrieved yeast and other ingredients, and skillfully began kneading the dough.

Andrew started preparing the lotus root.

The first dish he made was a cold lotus root salad.

He quickly peeled the lotus root, sliced it thinly, and soaked the slices in water for a while to prevent discoloration during mixing.

Then, he filled a pot with water, added a spoonful of vinegar, and once the water boiled, he blanched the lotus root slices. After blanching, he immediately transferred them to a large bowl.

Since there were many Pokémon eating, Andrew made a large batch at once, requiring a big bowl to hold everything.

Next, he prepared the salad dressing: chili, chopped scallions, garlic, hot oil, and mixed it with vinegar, sugar, and cilantro.

Andrew worked swiftly and seamlessly, and soon the cold lotus root salad was ready.

Despite its simplicity, the dish was delicious, and Andrew really enjoyed it.

Noticing that Munchlax was kneading dough while frequently glancing over with its nose twitching in anticipation, Andrew smiled and asked, "Munchlax, want to taste it?"

"Munchlax~~"

Munchlax's eyes sparkled, and it eagerly nodded.

"Ahh~~"

It opened its mouth wide.

Andrew used chopsticks to place a few slices into Munchlax's mouth, and Munchlax was instantly taken by the crispness of the lotus root.

"Is it good?" Andrew asked with a grin.

"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"

Munchlax cupped its cheeks, looking blissfully content.

From a chef's perspective, Andrew's cooking skills weren't exceptional, much less impressive compared to his grandfather's. Otherwise, he wouldn't have driven his grandfather's restaurant to closure in his past life. But Munchlax didn't have discerning taste; to it, Andrew's food was the epitome of deliciousness.

"Alright, let's get back to work or everyone will be waiting too long," Andrew said, patting Munchlax on the belly.

"Munchlax~~" Munchlax nodded enthusiastically, now more motivated to work with the taste of the treat fresh in its memory.

After preparing the cold lotus root salad, Andrew went on to make stir-fried lotus root slices, stuffed lotus root fritters, sweet and sour lotus root cubes, and pan-fried lotus root cakes...

Soon, a rich aroma filled the kitchen, and the Pokémon playing in the main hall fell silent. They closed their eyes, flared their nostrils, and took deep breaths.

"Pancham~ Pancham~" It smells so good!

Pancham couldn't resist the enticing aroma and began to follow the scent towards the kitchen, with Scraggy, Litleo, Stunky, and Skitty trailing behind.

Andrew had just finished making a pot of lotus root soup when he turned and saw the little ones pressing their heads against the doorframe, peeking into the kitchen like a totem pole.

Andrew laughed, "It'll be ready soon. Go back and wait patiently. Anyone who doesn't behave won't get any."

"Pancham~"

"Skitty~"

"Litleo~"

...

As soon as they heard that, it was as if they had heard something frightening, and they quickly retracted their heads.

"Munchlax~ Munchlax~ Munchlax~~" Hahaha~~

Munchlax laughed heartily, its round belly jiggling with amusement.

It had been sneaking bites while steaming buns, and now its belly was full while the others were still hungry. There was even a bit of green onion stuck to the corner of its mouth.

Andrew took out a handkerchief and wiped the greasy corner of Munchlax's mouth. "Alright, go and tell everyone it's time to eat."

"Munchlax~~"

Munchlax cheered and dashed out.

Andrew, Diancie, and Munchlax first brought out the steamed buns and distributed them into each Pokémon's food bowl. After everyone received their buns, they carried out bowls of cold lotus root salad, stuffed lotus root fritters, and sweet and sour lotus root cubes from the kitchen and spooned portions into the Pokémon's bowls.

Each Pokémon had two bowls in front of them, one for the steamed buns and one for the side dishes. Andrew felt like he and Diancie were reminiscent of the cafeteria staff from his school days.

Once the food was served, Andrew announced, "Alright, everyone, time to eat!"

The Pokémon couldn't wait any longer. Upon hearing Andrew's words, they eagerly began to devour their meals.

"Skitty Skitty Skitty~~" This is so delicious!!!

Skitty happily wagged its tail.

Andrew checked the system interface and was surprised to see the happiness points rising rapidly.

+200

+200

+200

...

Watching the numbers climb, Andrew realized that although Pokémon don't earn happiness points from non-system-approved dishes, combining steamed buns with lotus root doubled the flavor and thus doubled the happiness.

If the Pokémon's happiness increased, so did the happiness points!

There was a loophole like this! Andrew couldn't help but smile broadly.

He walked over to Barboach and Whiscash with a grin, "So, how's the food here?"

Barboach and Whiscash were engrossed in their meal, having never tasted such delicious food before. They couldn't believe how tasty the lotus root could be when prepared properly.

Were they dreaming?

But when they looked up and saw Andrew grinning at them, they recoiled.

Mom, I'm scared. This human's smile is frightening.

"Is it good?" Andrew asked again.

Barboach and Whiscash quickly nodded.

(End of the chapter)