Chapter 26: Gifts and Special Training

Andrew was led by Munchlax all the way to its room.

"Munch~lax~~"

Munchlax told Andrew to wait by the door and then mysteriously entered the room.

A short while later, the door creaked open again, and Munchlax peeked its head out, smiling sheepishly when it saw that Andrew was still waiting outside.

"Munch~~"

Opening the door fully, Munchlax emerged holding two identical cushions.

"Munch~~"

It shyly handed one of the cushions to Andrew.

The cushion was a light gray color, adorned with a cute Munchlax design. It felt as soft as a cloud when Andrew touched it.

Their home never had cushions like these before.

"Munch~lax~~ Master, do you like it?" Munchlax asked with a shy look.

"Is this for me, Munchlax?" Andrew asked, surprised and delighted.

"Munch~~" Yes, I have one too, just like yours.

Munchlax nodded, holding its own cushion which was identical to Andrew's, hiding half of its body behind it and leaving only its head visible.

Andrew felt the cushion's texture and asked, "Are these filled with Swablu and Altaria feathers?"

"Munch~lax~~" Yes, Master is very perceptive.

Munchlax nodded eagerly.

It turned out that after Andrew paid it, Munchlax had quietly started preparing this gift.

It visited a Swablu family daily to collect their fallen feathers, then washed, dried, boiled them for disinfection, and dried them again...

Finally, Munchlax used the money from Andrew to carefully select the inner and outer parts of the cushion from the system store.

To ensure the feathers were extra clean, Munchlax even consulted with other Pokémon and gathered special plants to boil with the feathers.

Andrew could smell a faint, pleasant fragrance from the cushion, which was very refreshing.

In short, Munchlax put a lot of effort into preparing these cushions.

If Swablu and its parents hadn't noticed what Munchlax was up to and generously donated some feathers, Munchlax might have taken a lot longer to collect them all on its own.

At that moment, Andrew felt a warm surge in his heart. He had only mentioned in passing how wonderful it would be to sleep on the soft wings of Swablu and Altaria, and Munchlax had secretly remembered it.

"Collecting so many feathers must have taken a lot of effort, right?" Andrew squatted down and asked, holding Munchlax's hand.

"Munch~~" Not at all.

Munchlax shook its head shyly.

Andrew gently hugged Munchlax and said, "I really love this gift. It's one of the most precious gifts I've ever received. Thank you, Munchlax."

"Munch~~" Munchlax also returned the hug softly.

After letting go, Andrew said happily, "I'm going to put it on my bed and sleep with it every night."

Seeing how much Andrew liked the gift, Munchlax's eyes curved into a smile, and it proudly held up its own cushion, saying, "Munch~~" I have one too, just like yours.

Andrew nodded, "These are our master-disciple cushions."

"Munch~~"

Munchlax was thrilled and spun around happily, hugging its cushion.

Andrew took one of Munchlax's hands and said as they walked to his room, "Let's see if it looks good on the bed."

"Munch~"

Munchlax nodded enthusiastically and followed Andrew with a spring in its step.

Once in the room, Andrew placed the cushion on his bed and said with a dreamy expression, "I can't even imagine how great it will be to sleep with this every night!"

"Munch~~"

Munchlax mimicked Andrew's dreamy expression, which made Andrew laugh.

"Munch~~"

After coming out of its fantasy, Munchlax grabbed Andrew's hand and pulled him back to its own room, placing its cushion in the same spot as Andrew's.

"Munch~lax~"

Munchlax pointed at its cushion, looking eagerly at Andrew.

Andrew gave it a thumbs-up and said, "We're truly a master-disciple pair. Even our cushion placement is in sync."

"Munch~lax~~"

Hearing this, Munchlax jumped into Andrew's arms, showering him with affection, which Andrew could hardly resist.

Munchlax was in high spirits for several days because of Andrew's appreciation of the gift, smiling at everyone. Even when Pokémon caused trouble in the restaurant, Munchlax responded with a smile and didn't get angry.

Not long after coming downstairs with Munchlax, Andrew noticed that Komala had returned. It was nestled in its little house, hugging its log pillow and snoozing away, with a faint scent of alcohol lingering around. The bottle was nowhere to be seen.

"Little boozehound," Andrew shook his head with a smile.

After dinner, the family gathered in the culinary training room as usual. Andrew and Munchlax practiced their cooking skills while Diancie acted as coach and supervisor. Komala… well, it might have just served as decoration.

Diancie stood on the podium and said, "Today, we'll officially practice making various types of buns. Do either of you have any objections?"

"Munch~" None.

"Nope!"

Andrew and Munchlax responded seriously.

"Great." Diancie waved her pointer, put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses she pulled from nowhere, and adjusted them with a serious look, "Today, I will be as strict as ever."

Here comes the tough teacher!

Andrew thought to himself.

"Now, let's start the training!" Diancie announced loudly, startling Andrew and Munchlax, and even making Komala stop swaying on the table.

"Today, we'll focus on preparing the filling."

"Munch~~"

"Mm-hmm~~"

Andrew and Munchlax nodded attentively.

"Our first filling to prepare is cabbage."

As Diancie spoke, all the ingredients and seasonings needed for the filling appeared before Andrew and Munchlax.

"Let's begin. The first step is to dice the cabbage finely."

Andrew and Munchlax quickly picked up their knives to show off their chopping skills, but before they could make much progress, they heard the sharp sound of the pointer tapping from the podium.

"Munchlax, the pieces are too fine! It will affect the texture. Start over!"

Munchlax stopped, quickly discarded the finely chopped cabbage, and began anew.

Thud, thud, thud~~~

The sounds of knives clashing with the chopping board continued, occasionally interrupted by Diancie's stern reprimands.

"Munchlax, it's still too fine."

"Andrew, focus! Stop looking around!"

"Munchlax, I asked you to chop vegetables, not to vent your frustrations. Use less force."

"Andrew, haven't you eaten? Put some effort into it."

...

As time went by, Andrew and Munchlax chopped basket after basket of cabbage.

While Andrew, being experienced, managed reasonably well, Munchlax, being new to this, faced constant scolding from Diancie.

The system's recipe was extremely precise with every step, leaving no room for error.

Next was pickling the cabbage and adding seasonings. Even Andrew couldn't escape from being reprimanded.

This stage was even more demanding, with every detail needing attention—how much seasoning to add, not a bit more or less. Even a tiny bit of extra moisture in the pickling process would earn Diancie's ire directed at both Andrew and Munchlax.

"I told you to mix the filling, not flood it!"

"Munchlax~" said the Gyarados.

"Mother Incineroar"

Munchlax and Andrew couldn't help but mutter quietly.

"What are you two whispering about?" Diancie's voice came ominously.

"Munchlax~~" I didn't say anything.

"Nothing, nothing!"

Andrew and Munchlax quickly shook their heads.

"Then why are you working so slowly? Pick up the pace!" Diancie roared.

"Munchlax~" Yes, ma'am!

"Understood, ma'am!"

Andrew and Munchlax had never felt ten hours drag on so slowly.

When they finally emerged from the training room, they felt completely drained.

Seeing their weary appearance, Diancie commented, "Honestly, I'm a refined lady, but you two are pushing me to the brink."

Diancie, from the Azoth royal family, prided herself on being a true lady.

(The Azoth royal family is known for their Fairy-type Pokémon. For instance, Andrew's starter Pokémon is a Carbink, Rock/Fairy-type. His twin sister Anna received a Magearna, Steel/Fairy-type, from Nikola. Princess Kimia's starter is a Ralts, Psychic/Fairy-type, and Prince Raleigh's starter is a Swirlix, pure Fairy-type.)

Andrew and Munchlax: A refined lady? More like a drill sergeant!

Exhausted, Andrew and Munchlax washed up and went straight to bed.

Before sleeping, Andrew claimed the rewards for two daily tasks, but luck wasn't on his side this time. He received only two ordinary ingredients—two fresh cucumbers and two green onions.

*Sigh* I'll save these for dinner tomorrow.

Lights out, time for bed!

Thanks to the grueling training in the kitchen and the sleep-inducing pillow from Munchlax, Andrew slept soundly through the night.

In contrast, Munchlax had a completely different experience. It dreamt all night about chopping vegetables, mixing fillings, and making dumplings... with a mountain of ingredients it couldn't finish. It even talked in its sleep.

"No~ No~~"

In the dream, Diancie relentlessly approached it, not letting it complete the task.

The next morning, Andrew woke up feeling refreshed, while Munchlax looked utterly exhausted.

"Munchlax, what happened to you?" Andrew asked, puzzled.

Munchlax glanced at Diancie and shook its head silently, indicating it was fine.

The dream had left Munchlax anxious, as it had been unable to finish all the ingredients and had spent the latter part of the night dreaming of Diancie scolding it furiously.

Terrifying! A refined lady? No way!

Diancie, confused, asked Munchlax, "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"Munchlax~~~" No, no, you look especially lovely today, and your diamonds are sparkling.

Munchlax quickly flattered her.

"Really?" Diancie examined her reflection in the water basin and, with a touch of vanity, said, "Maybe I had a good sleep last night; I do feel great today."

Munchlax: ...

Today, Andrew had to set up his stall at Azoth Royal City again, so after freshening up, he and Munchlax got to work immediately.

Preparing dough, chopping vegetables, mixing fillings... They got everything ready so that Andrew wouldn't be flustered when he arrived at Azoth Royal City.

Yesterday was their first time setting up a stall, and due to inexperience, everything had to be done on the spot, which was exhausting.

With everything ready, Andrew prepared to head out.

Diancie walked him to the door and hesitantly suggested, "Should I accompany you today?" She felt concerned seeing how tired Andrew was when he returned yesterday.

Andrew shook his head. "You stay here and assist Munchlax. He can handle the cooking, but without supervision,He won't be able to manage the shop."

"Alright, just come back early," Diancie said reluctantly.

"Starrr~~"

A cry came from a distance. Andrew looked over and said, "It's getting late; I need to go or Staraptor will get impatient."

Today, Staraptor, Fletchling's mother, would be taking Andrew to Azoth Royal City.

Unlike Fletchling's father, who was stubborn, Fletchling's mother had a positive impression of Andrew and was happy to help.

Since Swablu's father had helped, it made sense that Fletchling's parents, who also ate at Andrew's house, would pitch in.

Holding Komala, Andrew approached Staraptor and said, "Staraptor, I'm counting on you today."

"Starrr~~"

Staraptor nodded and lowered its body so Andrew could climb onto its back easily.

"Thank you." After expressing his gratitude, Andrew swiftly mounted Staraptor.

"Starrr~~~"

With a loud cry, Staraptor flapped its wings and soared into the sky, heading towards the rising sun.

"Ah~~~" Andrew yawned, enjoying the cool morning breeze on his face. He wiped away the morning tears and remarked, "Survival is tough, even for a prince who has to cook!"

Staraptor was even faster than Swablu's father, and soon Andrew landed outside Azoth Royal City.

Before departing, Andrew handed a bunch of buns and steamed buns to Staraptor, saying, "Staraptor, eat these for now, and we'll meet up here at noon."

"Starrr~~"

Staraptor nodded, took the buns, and vanished into the nearby woods.

Andrew then hurried into the city, found a quiet corner, took out his food cart, and headed towards Nikola Park.

(End of Chapter)