Chapter 47: A Lost of a Billion

The aroma coming from the kitchen grew increasingly enticing, making the Pokémon restless.

At that moment, Munchlax peeked out from the kitchen and called to Diancie, Gardevoir, and Gallade, "Munch~Munchlax~" It's ready, time to eat!

Hearing this, the Pokémon grew excited, eagerly anticipating the new food that Diancie had mentioned.

Soon, Diancie, Gardevoir, and Gallade emerged from the kitchen, each carrying trays with steamed buns, milk steamed buns, and dumplings, which they distributed to everyone.

Unlike human restaurants where you can order according to your preference, Andrew's Pokémon restaurant maximized Happiness Points by not allowing Pokémon to choose their meals.

Each Pokémon's plate included a set amount of steamed buns, milk steamed buns, and dumplings. The only customization might be a slight adjustment to the dumpling fillings based on the Pokémon's taste. For example, they wouldn't give you leek-filled dumplings if you disliked them.

Since all the Pokémon enjoyed Andrew's food, this distribution method worked well.

Moreover, since the meals were free, the Pokémon were even less likely to be picky.

Once the food was distributed, the Pokémon eagerly began eating.

Just as Diancie and little Munchlax had felt earlier, the Pokémon experienced a rush of energy after eating the milk steamed buns, a truly unique sensation.

Andrew took a moment to check the system while on break from his stall and noticed that the Happiness Points were rapidly increasing.

+400

+400

+400

…

The basic Happiness Points provided by the dumplings and steamed buns were 100 each, so the extra 200 points must have come from the milk steamed buns!

Indeed, the milk steamed buns, classified by the system as a higher-grade food, were even better.

Back at the Pokémon restaurant...

The milk steamed buns were so delicious that everyone ate with great enthusiasm, hardly taking a moment to look up.

Suddenly, an exclamation was heard, and everyone turned to see Flabébé surrounded by a strong blue and white light.

Within the light, Flabébé's body began to grow rapidly, doubling its original height of 0.1 meters almost instantly.

When the light faded, Flabébé had transformed, appearing more mature, with the fairy flower once at its feet now held above its head like an umbrella.

Flabébé had evolved into Floette.

Everyone was stunned by Flabébé's sudden evolution. How could it evolve just by eating?

But evolution is a positive development. As everyone prepared to congratulate Floette, another shout was heard. Looking again, they saw that Espurr was also enveloped in a strong blue and white light.

Everyone looked at Espurr in disbelief.

Another… evolution?

Even Espurr was astonished, looking down at its body as it rapidly grew within the light.

Originally about 0.3 meters tall, Espurr quickly grew to about 0.6 meters. When the light disappeared, its appearance had dramatically changed.

Espurr had evolved into its final form.

The appearance of Meowstic varies by gender.

Male Meowstic is primarily blue with white accents, while female Meowstic has mostly white fur with blue coloring on the hands, legs, tail base, and a tuft of mane.

The Meowstic from Nebel Plateau was male, so it had dark blue fur.

Having just evolved, Meowstic struggled to adjust to its new body, clumsily twisting and turning before finally sitting down heavily.

Seeing this, everyone burst into friendly laughter.

However, Meowstic's evolution wasn't the end.

Spritzee, Swablu, and Fletchling, three close friends, were gathered at a table eating. They were excitedly discussing the evolutions of Floette and Meowstic and imagining what their own evolutions might look like.

While some Pokémon resist evolution due to various reasons, most eagerly anticipate it.

The urge to evolve is encoded in Pokémon's genetic makeup, making the desire for evolution a natural instinct.

As they talked and enjoyed their meal, Spritzee, who had a smaller appetite, pushed its plate toward Fletchling after eating one steamed bun, one milk steamed bun, and two dumplings, unable to finish the last dumpling.

"Spritzee~~" Fletchling, could you finish this for me?

"Fletch~ling~~" Sure! Sure!

Fletchling happily accepted.

After quickly finishing what was left on its own plate, it also ate the remaining dumpling that Spritzee had left.

*Burp~~*

Having overeaten, Fletchling lay on the table with its feet in the air.

"Swa~blu~~"

Swablu nudged it, trying to get it to join in some flying to help digest the food.

But just then, Fletchling's body erupted in a bright blue light, startling Spritzee and Swablu so much that they fell back onto the table.

Fletchling jumped up.

Am I evolving?

In the blue light, Fletchling's body grew rapidly, increasing from 0.2 meters to 0.7 meters, becoming the largest among its friends.

When the light faded, Fletchling had evolved into Fletchinder, with its attributes changing from Normal and Flying to Fire and Flying.

"Spritzee~"

"Swablu~"

Seeing their friend evolve, Spritzee and Swablu excitedly flapped their wings and flew around Fletchinder.

At that moment, Fletchinder realized it had evolved. It raised its wings in excitement and hopped around on the table.

"Fletchinder~ Fletch~!" I've evolved! I've evolved!

Fortunately, the tables at Andrew's house were sturdy; otherwise, Fletchinder might have knocked one over.

During one breakfast, three Pokémon had evolved in quick succession. As everyone looked at their plates, their expressions grew contemplative.

Recalling the surge of energy from eating the milk steamed buns, it seemed all the Pokémon understood something.

Meanwhile, at Andrew's place...

After a busy morning selling all the dumplings and steamed buns, Andrew asked Raleigh, "Did your sister say when she would arrive?"

Today, Andrew and Kimia had planned to visit his store. Although he intended to go the previous day, Kimia had been busy and couldn't join him.

Raleigh replied, "She should be here soon."

Speak of the devil.

"Your Highness, Raleigh." Kimia's voice called from outside the window.

"Sister!"

"Slurpuff~"

Raleigh and his Slurpuff poked their heads out of the car window and waved to Kimia.

Kimia hurried over to the car and said to Andrew, "Your Highness, let's head out."

"Sure thing!" Andrew agreed.

"I'll drive," Kimia volunteered. She was the only one familiar with the route, so rather than directing from the passenger seat, it made more sense for her to drive directly.

"Alright," Andrew said, relinquishing the driver's seat.

Thus, Kimia drove towards the shop while Andrew sat in the back, going through today's haul.

"Oh, and Your Highness, after discussing with father and the ministers, they've agreed to let you use your pocket money to purchase the Nebel Plateau!" Kimia suddenly announced.

Initially, many ministers were opposed, thinking it was against protocol, but Edward overruled them and approved the purchase.

Kimia thought it was best not to mention this part to Andrew.

Upon hearing Kimia's words, Andrew nodded eagerly, his face lighting up with excitement. "Really?!"

Kimia nodded. "Absolutely. Check your citizen identity network; the information should be updated there."

Andrew quickly pulled out his phone to check. Sure enough, under his assets, besides the shop in the capital, there was now an entry for the Nebel Plateau.

Great, I'm officially a landlord now!

At the same time, a system notification popped up. Andrew clicked on it, and a window immediately appeared.

Congratulations, Host, on completing the achievement: Acquired a base. Reward: A complete set of brewing equipment (worth 50 million happiness points).

Seeing the reward, Andrew was so surprised he nearly jumped out of his seat: Wow, this is a big win! A 50 million happiness point reward. Earning that would take forever, and now it's just a reward for an achievement.

But... a complete set of brewing equipment? Oh no, I don't know how to brew!

What a letdown—finally a big reward, and it's something I can't use! Andrew groaned in frustration.

Raleigh, sitting next to him, noticed his changing expression and asked with concern, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Andrew, looking dejected, closed the system interface and shook his head. "I'm fine, just mourning the loss of a billion."

Rounding it up to ten billion seems accurate.

Raleigh, astonished, covered her mouth in disbelief: His Highness is so wealthy!

Well, I'll just set the reward aside for now, Andrew thought.

Andrew's shop wasn't far from Nikola Park, and soon they arrived at the shop's entrance.

After getting out of the car, Andrew looked at the three-story building and asked, "So this is my shop?"

Kimia nodded. "That's right, it's here."

Andrew's shop was located on a busy street, a popular tourist area in Azoth Royal City, where many visitors from around the world came every day. It was one of the liveliest districts in Azoth.

Most shops here were out of reach for ordinary people, except with royal intervention.

The three-story building before Andrew was designed in an antique style, somewhat similar to architecture from the Johto region.

This style would be quite out of place elsewhere in Azoth Royal City, but in this tourist district, it blended well with the diverse styles of the surrounding shops.

"Your Highness, let's go inside and take a look," Kimia suggested.

"Sure!"

Andrew quickly took out the key and unlocked the door, which he had received earlier.

Inside, the shop's décor was charmingly old-fashioned. Wooden tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and wooden menus hung on the walls, listing items like "steamed buns," "cabbage-filled buns," "radish-filled buns," and "chive-filled buns."

The menus could be removed or re-hung as needed.

At the front of the shop was a tall counter for transactions. Behind it, a simple painting of steaming dumplings and buns was displayed.

Walking through the long hallway to the right of the counter, Andrew and his companions reached the back kitchen.

The kitchen was well-equipped with luxurious appliances and all the necessary utensils.

The second floor had a similar layout to the first.

The third floor was set up as a living area, convenient for Andrew and his Pokémon to stay overnight.

After the tour, Kimia asked, "So, Your Highness, do you like it?"

"I love it, I really do!" Andrew said, nodding in satisfaction. "Who did the decorating? It's exactly to my taste."

Kimia, pleased with herself, said, "I knew you'd like it."

"You did it?" Andrew looked at her in surprise.

Kimia nodded. "My father entrusted me with handling everything for you."

Andrew gave her a thumbs up in admiration. "As expected of our Azoth princess! You're really skilled."

After introducing Andrew to the various facilities on the living floor, Kimia said, "Alright, Your Highness, it's getting late. You'll want to head home, and Raleigh and I will return to the palace now."

Andrew escorted the siblings to the door, locked it from the inside, and then quickly returned to the third floor.

After some consideration, Andrew decided to use one of the storage rooms as the location for the spatial tunnel point.

Once it was set up, he said to Komala in his arms, "Let's see if we can go directly home from here."

He then opened the storage room door.

According to Diancie, once the spatial tunnel point was set up, the storage room door would appear as an ordinary door to others, but when Andrew and his Pokémon opened it, it would transform into an entrance to the spatial tunnel.

Entering the door, Andrew saw a long, white corridor. Holding Komala, he walked down the corridor until he saw a glimmer of light ahead.

He strode towards the light and pushed it open.

Creeeak...

The door opened, and stepping through it revealed his home's third floor.

"Andrew?"

A familiar voice called out, and Andrew turned to see Diancie.

"We're back!" Andrew said with excitement.

"Did you set up the other tunnel point?" Diancie asked.

"Yes! Would you like to come see our new shop?" Andrew invited.

"Sure! I'd love to!" Diancie replied eagerly.

"Let's bring Munchlax along; we'll all go together," Andrew said with a wave.

Soon, Munchlax joined them, and the four of them traveled through the spatial tunnel to their new shop in Azoth Royal City.

"Munchlax~~" Is this our new home?

Stepping out of the door, Munchlax curiously explored the new surroundings.

(End of this chapter)