After Taking A Bath, It's Time To Eat

Angie carried a pile of items out of the house, including shower gel, towels, combs, brushes, and more. Diancie followed behind, dragging two very large bathtubs.

After placing everything on the grass, Angie called out to the Pokémon, "Everyone, let's wash up first, and then we'll go eat."

Angie's bathroom wasn't large enough to accommodate so many Pokémon, so they had to wash outside.

Once the bathtubs were set up, Angie said to Diancie, "Diancie, you should go home and wash up too. I can handle this here."

"Alright," Diancie nodded. "I'll come help you after I'm done."

After Diancie left, Angie turned to Castform and said, "Castform, could you please fill the tubs with water?"

"Woah~ Woah~"

Castform nodded and flew to the center of the two bathtubs. Using its Water Gun move, it quickly filled both tubs with water.

Next, Angie looked at Litwick and asked, "Litwick, could you heat the water for us?"

The climate of the Nebel Plateau was mild, with spring-like weather year-round. Even taking a cold shower wasn't a big deal, but a hot shower was definitely more comfortable.

"Uh-huh~~"

Litwick nodded, gently leaping to the edge of the bathtub. Two flames floated out from the candle flame on its head and hovered above the water. Before long, both tubs became warm.

After testing the water temperature and finding it suitable, Angie sat on a small stool and turned around to the Pokémon, saying, "Alright, everyone, line up for a bath—two at a time. Who wants to go first?"

It was the first time the Pokémon had bathed in this way, and for a moment, they hesitated, pushing each other forward, too shy to be the first to step up. Of course, part of the reason was that they still didn't know how to interact with Angie.

Seeing this, Angie smiled and scooped up his own Komala. "Then let's start with Komala."

Saying this, he placed Komala in the water, lathered it with shower gel, and gently brushed its back with a special brush designed for furry Pokémon while rubbing its belly with his hand.

"Gululu~~~"

It seemed to be too comfortable, and Komala's expression gradually turned joyful. It even let go of its tree branch without realizing it.

Pancham looked at the blissful Komala with longing, thinking to itself: Is it really that comfortable?

Noticing its expression, Angie said, "Pancham, do you want to give it a try?"

Pancham fidgeted, its small hands twisting together, hesitating.

Seeing this, Angie didn't hesitate and quickly scooped it up, plopping it into the bathtub.

"Yachaa~~ Yachaa~~"

Pancham was startled by Angie's sudden action and squealed, but as it was enveloped by the warm water, it immediately stopped struggling.

It really was comfortable.

Angie applied shower gel to Pancham and began brushing its fur.

When Angie touched it, he could clearly feel its tension, but after brushing it a few times, Pancham finally began to relax.

"Yah~~~ Chaa~~~"

At first, Pancham tried hard to suppress its expression, but the sensation of the brush was too delightful, and it finally let out a sigh of contentment.

Realizing its reaction, Pancham quickly covered its mouth and shyly glanced at Angie.

However, Angie simply smiled gently at it.

Before long, Pancham and Komala were almost done washing. Angie picked them up and placed them in another bathtub filled with clean water, then turned to the other Pokémon and said, "Who's next?"

A few Pokémon pushed and shoved, and ultimately, Spritzee and Zigzagoon were pushed forward.

When Angie was bathing Spritzee and Zigzagoon, in the other bathtub, Komala floated serenely on the water's surface, hugging its tree branch with its eyes closed, while Pancham had curled its entire body into the water, leaving only its nose poking out.

Pancham watched Angie gently washing Spritzee and Zigzagoon, lost in thought for a moment.

The human before it was different from those it had seen before; he was very gentle.

Recalling Angie's soft and warm hands when he bathed it, as well as the radiant smile on his face, Pancham's thoughts began to drift away.

Pancham had also been a Pokémon raised by humans, but unlike Gulpin who was abandoned by its Trainer, it had escaped from humans of its own accord.

The human who raised Pancham worked for a construction company. Besides Pancham, he had also raised several other Pokémon, such as Machop and Gurdurr.

However, he was very heartless. To make more money, he worked his Pokémon day and night, barely allowing them enough food, often resorting to violence and verbal abuse.

Not only did Pancham's owner behave this way, but Pancham also knew that his colleagues treated their Pokémon similarly.

It was because of this that Pancham found humans to be terrifying.

After enduring day after day of torment, several Pokémon could no longer stand it and ultimately decided to escape from that man. They sneaked back to their Poké Balls, destroyed them, and left under the cover of night.

The Pokémon fled separately. Pancham stumbled upon the Nebel Plateau by chance and was later found and taken in by Litwick.

As for the whereabouts of its companions, it had no way of knowing.

"Alright!"

At this moment, Spritzee and Zigzagoon had also finished their baths and were placed into another bathtub by Angie, the rippling water bringing Pancham back to reality.

It shook its head, trying to shake off its fondness for Angie, but after a while, it couldn't help but stare dreamily at Angie as he bathed Scrafty and Skitty.

Skitty was not fond of water, nor did it like bathing, so as soon as it entered the bathtub, it began to thrash violently, splashing water everywhere and soaking Angie's clothes.

"Meow meow meow~~~"

Skitty let out a wail like a slaughtered pig, refusing to let Angie apply shower gel.

Suddenly, a blue light flickered from Litwick, and in the next moment, the struggling Skitty seemed to be pressed on the pause button.

It was a Psychic move; Litwick used its Psychic power to control Skitty.

"Uh-huh~ Uh-huh~"

Litwick scolded Skitty with a serious face, exhibiting a strong elder brother vibe.

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

Angie smiled at Litwick and said, "You really helped a lot!"

Litwick felt a bit shy, and the flame on its head flickered more intensely, a faint blush appearing on its little face.

Aside from Litwick, who didn't need a bath, and Castform, who was already clean, the other Pokémon were soon washed thoroughly.

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

Angie's hairdryer is rechargeable, making it very convenient to use without needing to plug it in.

Hugging the soft body of Litleo and stroking its smooth fur, Angie felt extremely satisfied at that moment.

Once all the Pokémon were dried, Angie tidied up everything and called out to the Pokémon, "Let's go! It's time to go home for dinner!"

Upon hearing this, the Pokémon immediately cheered. Following Angie, Litleo patted Pancham.

"Leo~ Leo~~"

You smell so good.

As it spoke, it sniffed Pancham with its nose.

A gentle breeze blew, and the fur of both Pancham and Litleo fluttered lightly; it was incredibly smooth. They had never felt as light and comfortable as they did at that moment.

Pancham leaned closer to Litleo and gently sniffed.

"Uh-huh~ Uh-huh~~"

You smell good too; everyone smells good.

The other Pokémon, hearing this, also began to sniff themselves and realized they indeed smelled quite pleasant.

Entering the house, Angie arranged for the Pokémon to sit down one by one. "You all wait here; I'm going to take a shower and will be back soon."

After working hard for a while, he was covered in a layer of sweat.

The Pokémon nodded obediently at his words.

Back on the second floor, Angie took the quickest shower possible, and then hurried to the kitchen. However, when he entered, he found that the steamed buns were already prepared.

It turned out that after finishing her shower, Diancie had come to the kitchen first to get everything ready; otherwise, Angie's earlier lie would have been exposed.

Anyway, when Munchlax and the others came to eat earlier, Angie had already prepared everything, so Diancie just needed to steam it. This was something she could easily manage.

Angie smiled and tapped Diancie on the forehead, saying, "You little clever one."

Soon, a rich aroma wafted from the kitchen, and the Pokémon outside swallowed their saliva, stretching their heads toward the kitchen.

It smelled so tempting.

"Dinner time!"

At that moment, Angie and Diancie each walked out holding a bowl of steamed buns, filling the air with an even more intense bun aroma that wafted into the noses of the Pokémon.

As Angie distributed the food to each Pokémon, he said, "Everyone, dig in."

Before long, the sounds of gobbling and crunching filled the air.

Diancie worried that the Pokémon might choke on the steamed buns, so she thoughtfully poured each of them a cup of warm water.

It seemed that food tasted better after working hard; Angie opened his system interface and noticed that the happiness points provided by each Pokémon had increased.

[ Happiness Point + 100 ]

[ Happiness Point + 100 ]

[ Happiness Point + 100 ]

…

In total, the 12 Pokémon had provided Angie with 1,800 happiness points, bringing his total to 4,400 points.

At the same time, changes appeared on the task list.

[ Host 50 Pokémon, deadline 10 days. (16/50) ]

At this rate, it was likely that the second task would be completed in just three or four days, far from needing the full ten days.

After eating and drinking their fill, the Pokémon slouched back in their chairs, each with a look of satisfaction on their faces.

Burp~ Burp~ Burp~

The sounds of burping filled the air.

After a long while, Litwick jumped off the table, landed beside Angie and saying.

"Muhihi~ Muhihi~"

Thank you for your hospitality; we should be leaving now.

Upon hearing this, the other Pokémon also jumped down from their chairs and the table.

Diancie relayed Litwick's words to Angie, who smiled and said, "No need to thank me. You're always welcome to come back! If you feel bad about it, just come help me out more often."

Litwick hesitated for a moment and then gently nodded in agreement.

Angie and Diancie accompanied the Pokémon to the door.

"Make sure to come again next time!" Angie shouted, waving.

After Litwick and the others left, Angie didn't try to attract new customers. He just needed to complete his system tasks on time and didn't want to overexert himself.

He sat on the steps at the door, holding Komala, chatting with Diancie. Although there wasn't anything particularly significant to discuss, talking about the past and dreaming about the future made Angie feel that his life was tranquil and peaceful.

When the conversation turned to the future, Diancie suddenly said, "Angie, once the beginner period is over, the system won't provide you with ingredients anymore. We'll have to figure things out on our own. Do you have any plans?"

"Oh right!!!" Angie exclaimed, slapping his forehead, "I need to start preparing ahead of time; otherwise, I'll definitely be at a loss later."

As he spoke, he opened the system shop and began to browse quickly.

"Why don't we try growing our own ingredients?" Angie suddenly suggested. "The climate on the Nebel Plateau is suitable for growing many things."

Fortunately, seeds were being sold in the system.

Diancie nodded, "That's definitely an option, but we have no experience. Can we really grow anything?"

Angie replied, "Let's give it a shot! We can start with some vegetables, like scallions, ginger, and garlic; we'll definitely find them useful in the future."

"Alright, it's settled then."

"Besides, didn't Litwick and the others feel bad about having free meals here? We can ask them to help out too."

"Great idea! I'll mention it to them next time they come."

And just like that, the plan was set.

Before they knew it, night fell.

That evening, Angie, Diancie, and Komala gathered around the table to have dinner, and then they washed up and went to rest.

As Angie sent Komala back to its little house, he grinned mischievously and asked, "Komala, do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

Komala was covered in fluffy fur, and hugging it to sleep would surely bring sweet dreams all night long.

However, upon hearing this, Komala turned over in his arms, presenting its back to him, clearly rejecting the idea.

Angie pouted in disappointment, saying, "What a shame; my big bed would have been so much more comfortable."

Not wanting to hear any more of Angie's chatter, Komala leaped into its little house with its tree pillow, nimbly diving under the covers, turning its back toward Angie.

"You ungrateful little thing, I've raised you for nothing," Angie said in mock anger as he turned to walk back inside, muttering to himself, "Looks like it's going to be another lonely night."

The next day, Angie slept until the sun was high before getting up to cook for the Pokémon.

Munchlax, Scatetrbug, Litwick and the others all arrived one after another, and they even brought their own friends along.

When new Pokémon came, Angie, as before, hid in the kitchen to avoid startling them, leaving the greeting to Diancie.

When Gulpin and Pancham arrived, they brought Angie a bouquet of flowers. Angie replaced the previous wilted bouquet with the new one.

Thanks to the addition of these flowers, Angie felt that his little shop now had a touch of gentleness in the atmosphere.

As the number of Pokémon coming to eat gradually increased, Angie's small shop finally began to buzz with activity.