Chapter 9: After the bath, It's time to eat

Andrew brought out a bunch of items from the house, including shower gel, towels, combs, brushes, and so on. Diancie followed behind him, carrying two large bath basins in her hands.

After placing the items on the grass, Andrew called out to the Pokémon, "Everyone, let's take a bath first, then we can go eat."

Andrew's bathroom wasn't big enough to fit all the Pokémon, so they had to bathe outside.

After setting up the bath basins, Andrew said to Diancie, "Diancie, you can go home and wash up too. I'll handle things here."

"Alright," Diancie nodded, "I'll come back to help you once I'm done."

After Diancie left, Andrew turned to Castform and asked, "Castform, could you please fill the basins with water?"

"Castform~ Castform~"

Castform nodded and flew between the two bath basins, using Water Gun. Soon, both basins were filled with water.

Andrew then looked at Litwick and said, "Litwick, could you please heat the water?"

The climate in Nebel Plateau was mild, with spring-like weather all year round, so even cold water baths weren't a big deal. However, a hot bath was always more comfortable.

"Litwick~"

Litwick nodded and lightly hopped onto the edge of a basin. From the flame on its head, two wisps of fire floated to the water's surface. Before long, the water in both basins was comfortably warm.

After testing the water temperature and finding it just right, Andrew sat down on a small stool and turned to the Pokémon. "Alright, everyone, line up for your bath. Two at a time, who wants to go first?"

The Pokémon were bathing in this way for the first time, and they were unsure how to interact with Andrew. They hesitated, pushing each other forward but no one daring to go first.

Seeing this, Andrew chuckled and gently picked up his Komala. "Let's start with Komala then."

He placed Komala in the water, applied shower gel to its body, and gently scrubbed its back with a brush made specifically for Pokémon with fur, while softly massaging its belly with his hand.

"Grrrr~"

Komala, clearly enjoying the experience, began to purr softly, its expression gradually turning into one of contentment. It even unconsciously let go of the log it usually held tightly.

Pancham watched Komala with wide eyes, wondering if it could really be that comfortable.

Noticing Pancham's expression, Andrew asked, "Pancham, want to give it a try?"

Pancham hesitated, its small hands twisting together, unsure of what to do.

Without further ado, Andrew scooped up Pancham and placed it into the bath.

"Pancham! Pancham!"

Pancham was startled by the sudden movement, letting out small cries, but quickly calmed down as the warm water enveloped it. It really was comfortable.

Andrew applied shower gel to Pancham as well and began brushing its fur.

When Andrew first touched Pancham, he could feel its body tense up, but after a few rounds of brushing, it finally began to relax.

"Pancham~~"

Initially, Pancham tried to keep its composure, but the brushing felt so good that it couldn't help but let out a contented sigh.

Realizing its reaction, Pancham quickly covered its mouth and shyly glanced at Andrew, only to find him smiling warmly.

Soon, both Pancham and Komala were clean. Andrew lifted them and placed them into another basin filled with fresh water, then turned to the other Pokémon and asked, "Who's next?"

The Pokémon nudged each other forward, and eventually, Spritzee and Zigzagoon were pushed to the front.

While Andrew bathed Spritzee and Zigzagoon, in the other basin, Komala, now clutching its log again, floated peacefully on the water's surface with its eyes closed. Pancham, on the other hand, had submerged its whole body, leaving only its nose above the water.

Pancham watched Andrew, who was gently bathing Spritzee and Zigzagoon, and began to think deeply.

This human was different from the ones Pancham had known before. He was kind.

Pancham recalled the gentle and warm hands that had washed it, and the bright smile Andrew had shown. Pancham's thoughts started to drift.

Pancham had once been a Pokémon raised by a human. However, unlike Gulpin, who had been abandoned, Pancham had left its Trainer on its own.

Pancham's Trainer worked for a construction company and owned several Pokémon, including Machoke and Gurdurr. However, the Trainer was greedy and overworked the Pokémon to make more money, never letting them rest and often starving and abusing them.

It wasn't just Pancham's Trainer who was like this; many of his colleagues treated their Pokémon the same way.

That's why Pancham had come to believe that humans were terrifying.

After enduring day after day of mistreatment, the Pokémon finally couldn't take it anymore. They decided to escape. They took back their Poké Balls, destroyed them, and fled under the cover of night.

The Pokémon escaped separately, and Pancham wandered until it ended up in the Nebel Plateau, where it was found and taken in by Litwick.

As for its former companions, Pancham had no idea where they were now.

"All done!"

Spritzee and Zigzagoon were now clean and were also placed into the other basin. The rippling water pulled Pancham back from its thoughts.

It shook its head, trying to shake off the growing fondness it felt for Andrew. But soon, it found itself staring at Andrew again, who was now bathing Scraggy and Skitty.

Skitty, who disliked water, naturally wasn't fond of bathing. The moment it entered the basin, it began to struggle, splashing water everywhere and soaking Andrew's clothes in the process.

"Skitty~~ Skitty~~"

Skitty let out a screech like a pig being slaughtered, refusing to let Andrew apply the shampoo.

At that moment, Litwick's body suddenly glowed with a blue light, and the next second, the struggling Skitty seemed to be frozen in place.

It was Psychic. Litwick had used Psychic to control Skitty.

"Litwick~ Litwick~"

Litwick sternly scolded Skitty, taking on the demeanor of a big brother.

Skitty looked at Litwick with a pitiful expression and finally settled down.

Andrew smiled and said to Litwick, "You really helped a lot!"

Litwick seemed a bit embarrassed, the flame on its head flickering intensely, and a faint blush appeared on its little face.

Soon, all the Pokémon, except for Litwick who didn't need a bath and Castform who was already clean, were washed clean.

Andrew laid out a large towel on the soft grass and placed the freshly washed Pokémon on it, then used a hairdryer to dry their fur one by one.

Andrew's hairdryer could be charged, so it could be used without needing to be plugged in, which was very convenient.

Holding the soft body of the little Litleo and stroking its smooth fur, Andrew felt extremely satisfied at that moment.

After drying the Pokémon, Andrew packed up everything and then called to them, "Let's go, we're going home to eat!"

Upon hearing this, the Pokémon cheered immediately.

Following behind Andrew, Litleo patted Pancham.

"Litleo~ Litleo~~" You smell so good.

As it spoke, it sniffed Pancham with its nose.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the fur on both Pancham and Litleo gently fluttered, feeling incredibly smooth. They had never felt as light and comfortable as they did at that moment.

Pancham also leaned towards Litleo and sniffed lightly, "Pancham~ Pancham~~" You smell good too, everyone smells good.

Hearing this, the other Pokémon also sniffed themselves and found that they indeed smelled great.

Once inside, Andrew had the Pokémon sit down one by one. "You guys wait here, I'll take a quick shower and be right back."

After working all day, he was sweaty too.

The Pokémon nodded obediently.

Back on the second floor, Andrew took the fastest shower he could and then hurried to the kitchen, only to find that the buns were already steaming.

It turned out that after bathing, Diancie had gone ahead to the kitchen to prepare, ensuring that Andrew's earlier lie wouldn't be exposed.

Anyway, when the Munchlax and others came for a meal earlier, Andrew had already prepared everything. All Diancie had to do was steam the buns, which was a task it could handle.

Andrew tapped Diancie's forehead and laughed, "You clever little one."

Soon, a rich aroma filled the kitchen, and outside, the Pokémon were swallowing their saliva and craning their necks towards the kitchen.

It was too tempting.

"Dinner's ready!"

At that moment, Andrew and Diancie each carried out a bowl of buns, and the rich aroma filled the noses of the Pokémon.

Distributing the food to the Pokémon, Andrew said, "Everyone, dig in."

Soon, the sound of enthusiastic eating filled the air.

Worried that the Pokémon might choke on just eating buns, Diancie thoughtfully poured a cup of warm water for each of them.

Perhaps food tasted better after a day's work. When Andrew opened his system interface, he noticed that each Pokémon's happiness points had increased.

+150

+150

+150

...

In the end, the 12 Pokémon provided Andrew with a total of 1800 Happiness Points, bringing his overall total to 4400 points.

At the same time, there was an update in the task list.

Host 50 Pokémon within 10 days. (16/50)

At this pace, the second task might be completed in three or four days—far sooner than the ten-day limit.

After feasting to their hearts' content, the Pokémon lounged in their chairs with satisfied expressions, their bellies full.

*Burp~ Burp~ Burp~*

The sound of burping filled the air.

After a while, Litwick hopped down from the table and approached Andrew, saying, "Litwick~ Litwick~" Thank you for your hospitality, but it's time for us to leave.

Hearing this, the other Pokémon got down from their chairs and tables as well.

Diancie translated Litwick's words to Andrew, who smiled and said, "No need to thank me. You're always welcome to come back. If you feel bad about it, you can help me out more next time."

Litwick hesitated for a moment, then gently nodded.

Andrew and Diancie walked the Pokémon to the door.

"Make sure to come back soon!" Andrew called out, waving.

After they left, Andrew decided not to bring in any new customers for the day. As long as he could complete the system's tasks on time, he didn't want to overwork himself.

He sat on the steps with Komala in his arms, chatting with Diancie. Though there wasn't much to discuss, talking about the past and dreaming about the future made Andrew feel content with his peaceful life.

As they discussed the future, Diancie suddenly said, "Andrew, when the beginner's phase ends, the system will stop supplying you with ingredients. We'll have to figure things out on our own. Do you have a plan?"

"Oh, right!!!" Andrew exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "We need to start preparing, or we'll be in trouble."

He opened the system shop and quickly started browsing.

"How about we grow our own food?" Andrew suggested. "The climate on the Nebel Plateau is perfect for growing a lot of things."

The system shop conveniently had seeds for sale.

Diancie nodded, "That could work, but we don't have any experience. Can we really grow anything?"

Andrew replied, "We can give it a shot. Let's start with some vegetables like scallions, ginger, and garlic—things we'll definitely need in the future."

"Alright, it's a plan."

"And since Litwick and the others felt guilty about eating for free, we can ask them to help us out."

"Great idea. I'll mention it to them the next time they visit."

With that, the plan was settled.

Before they knew it, night had fallen.

That evening, Andrew, Diancie, and Komala had dinner together around the table. Afterward, they washed up and went to rest.

Before sending Komala back to its hut, Andrew mischievously asked, "Hey, little Komala, want to sleep with me tonight?"

Komala's fur was so soft, and Andrew thought cuddling with it would guarantee sweet dreams all night long.

Komala, hearing this, turned around in Andrew's arms, showing its back to him, clearly rejecting the idea.

Disappointed, Andrew pouted, "What a shame. My big bed is much more comfortable."

Unfazed, Komala grabbed its cushion, jumped into its hut, and quickly burrowed into its bed, showing Andrew its back.

"You ungrateful little boy," Andrew grumbled, turning to head back inside, muttering, "Another lonely night."

The next day, Andrew once again slept in late, rising around noon to prepare food for the Pokémon.

Munchlax, Scatterbug, Litwick, and others arrived one by one, each bringing along some friends.

When new Pokémon arrived, Andrew stayed hidden in the kitchen to avoid scaring them, leaving Diancie to greet them.

When Gulpin and Pancham came, they even brought Andrew a bouquet, which he used to replace the previous withered flowers.

With the new flowers, Andrew felt that his shop had gained a touch of warmth.

As more and more Pokémon came to dine, Andrew's little shop gradually became more lively.

(End of Chapter)