Chapter 104: Welcome to My Hometown

"Alright, let's take five of them," Andrew said.

The staff member took out five eggs, packed them in a box, and handed it to Andrew. The box was designed with shock absorption to prevent the eggs from breaking.

"Thank you." Andrew took the box happily.

Pawmi jumped down from Andrew's shoulder and began circling around the box excitedly.

"Paw~ Paw~~" Is this something yummy too?

"Of course, it's delicious! So good it'll make you swallow your tongue!" Andrew joked.

"Paw~~"

Upon hearing this, Pawmi started daydreaming, and drool unconsciously dripped from its mouth.

Andrew pushed the cart and headed out. "Let's get going!"

Seeing this, Pawmi quickly wiped its mouth and followed along.

When they reached the checkout counter, the cashier gave Andrew an odd look. Was this guy some sort of reseller? Who buys so much stuff all at once?

After paying, Andrew left feeling a bit awkward under the cashier's stare, which was practically asking whether he was a reseller.

Luckily, with his current physique, carrying all those items out of the store wasn't too difficult.

Finding a quiet spot, Andrew stowed everything into his backpack and headed to the airport with Pawmi, boarding a flight back to the Kalos region.

In the world of Pokémon, large Pokémon aren't allowed on flights, but small ones like Pawmi are fine and don't even need a ticket.

However, for slightly larger humanoid Pokémon, like Gardevoir, Hatterene, or Machamp, you'd have to purchase an extra ticket if you wanted them onboard.

Most people preferred buying the extra ticket rather than putting their Pokémon back into a Pokéball. It wasn't because the Pokéball was uncomfortable, but because they enjoyed the constant companionship of their Pokémon.

Holding Pawmi, Andrew found his seat and sat down. Feeling a bit bored, he pulled out his phone and started browsing the news.

In the Pokémon world, all flights provided Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to connect to the internet and use their phones during the flight.

Seeing Andrew engrossed in his phone, Pawmi reached out and nudged his arm.

"You want to play too?" Andrew asked.

"Paw~ Paw~~"

Pawmi nodded eagerly.

"Alright, here you go." Andrew wasn't all that interested in his phone at the moment, so he handed it to Pawmi.

"Paw~~ Paw~~"

Pawmi happily took the phone. Although it didn't quite understand why it was fun, seeing how absorbed Andrew was, it wanted to give it a try.

"Let me show you."

With Pawmi sitting on his lap, Andrew positioned the phone in front of it and began teaching it how to use the device.

In the Pokémon world, technology had advanced to the point where smartphones were incredibly easy to operate, even for Pokémon.

It didn't take long before Pawmi was playing with the phone, completely focused.

Seeing Pawmi enjoying itself, Andrew shifted his attention and opened up his system. He still had two mission rewards waiting to be claimed!

Looking at the task list, Andrew first claimed the reward for his first completed mission.

"Congratulations, Host, for completing the [Aura Training Mission]: Connect with 1,000 Pokémon and sense their Aura (1059/1000). Reward: Intelligence +1, Constitution +1, 'Aura Culinary Training Manual.'"

The first two rewards were fairly standard, but the last one was a nice surprise! He had been wondering how to properly use his newly awakened Aura, and it seemed the system had already prepared for that.

Under the cover of his spatial backpack, Andrew pulled out the "Aura Culinary Training Manual." As soon as it was in his hands, he was stunned.

How could something 35 cm long, 20 cm wide, and 10 cm thick be called a "manual"?

Andrew felt the weight of it in his hands.

Flipping through the book, he saw that it was divided into two sections. The first part detailed how to train and strengthen your control over Aura, while the second part explained how to use Aura in preparing food.

The content was extremely detailed, and as Andrew skimmed through it, the dense text made his head spin.

Setting the book aside for now in his system backpack, Andrew moved on to claim the second mission reward. He had been saving both tasks to collect the rewards at once.

The system immediately displayed a notification.

Congratulations, host, on completing the [Temporary Task]: asking Professor Sada and Professor Turo to modify Robert No. 1. You have received a reward: Individual Value +3.

The reward for the second task is just so-so, I guess.

Andrew looked at his personal information.

Andrew

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 16 (+500)

Constitution: 43

Intelligence: 22

Culinary Rating: Intermediate Chef

Both his Constitution and Intelligence have indeed increased.

As for the 3 individual value points he just received, they should theoretically be assigned to Metagross, as it was the one responsible for earning them. However, since he couldn't see Metagross's stats right now, it wasn't wise to allocate the points blindly.

If Metagross already had a maxed-out individual value in some area, adding more points would just be a waste.

So, Andrew decided to assign the points to Munchlax for now and compensate Metagross later.

Andrew allocated 2 points to Munchlax's HP and 1 point to its Attack.

Now, Munchlax's stats looked like this:

Munchlax (Evolution Stone)

Type: Normal

Ability: Thick Fat

Gender: Male

Level: 43

Moves: Tackle, Lick, Defense Curl, Recycle, Covet, Bite, Stockpile, Swallow, Heavy Slam, Fling, Amnesia, Double-Edge, Charm, Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Counter, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch.

[Individual Values]

HP: 31

Attack: 27

Defense: 20

Special Attack: 31

Special Defense: 10

Speed: 31

Now, Munchlax had three maxed-out individual values.

However, as Andrew looked over Munchlax's moves, he was briefly stunned. Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, and Fire Punch? When did Munchlax learn these three moves? It certainly didn't have them before!

Could it have learned them from other Pokémon on the plateau?

There were indeed Pokémon on Nebel Plateau that knew these moves, like Poliwhirl, which could learn Ice Punch, Chesnaught with Thunder Punch, and Scraggy with Fire Punch.

Looks like Munchlax has been working hard in its own way! A proud smile appeared on Andrew's face.

After collecting both task rewards, Andrew took out the "Aura Culinary Training Manual" and began studying it carefully, figuring that he had some spare time.

As he read, he unconsciously followed the instructions in the manual and began practicing.

He closed his eyes, guiding the Aura within his body to flow throughout. At that moment, everyone on the plane disappeared from his perception, replaced by their pure Aura signatures.

Some Auras were strong, some weak, some vibrant, and some quiet... each one unique.

Sitting next to Andrew was a girl, sleeping with her face covered by her clothes, while a Lucario sat beside her.

What Andrew didn't know was that, as he practiced using Aura, the Lucario instinctively turned to look at him.

Noticing the unusually strong Aura emanating from Andrew, Lucario's face showed a hint of curiosity.

Time flew by, and soon evening had arrived. Andrew opened his eyes, ending his practice.

"Still playing on your phone?" Andrew asked, tapping Pawmi on the head.

"Paw~ Paw~" Phones are fun!

Pawmi excitedly held up the phone.

"What are you playing?" Andrew asked.

"Paw~~ Paw~~"

Hearing this, Pawmi turned the phone's screen toward Andrew, revealing a flamboyantly dressed girl speaking energetically.

"Good morning, afternoon, and evening, hello~"

"I'm using my electric web to catch your attention!"

...

Isn't that Iono? Andrew recognized her immediately.

Iono wasn't just the Gym Leader of Levincia in the Paldea region, but also a popular streamer.

"You like this?" Andrew asked, somewhat surprised.

"Paw~ Paw~~"

Pawmi excitedly danced around, telling Andrew all the fun things about Iono's livestreams.

As an Electric-type Gym Leader, Iono not only livestreamed interesting events from her gym, but also shared many tips on raising Electric-type Pokémon, which Pawmi enjoyed the most.

Pawmi watched for a while longer before Andrew took the phone from its hands. Pawmi was about to protest, but then Andrew said, "It's time for dinner."

Pawmi immediately gave up resisting.

Eating was more important, after all.

Andrew quickly requested two meals from the flight attendant. He had never tried airplane food in the Pokémon world before, so he was curious to experience it.

Andrew was sitting in business class, so the in-flight meal was quite abundant. It included appetizers, a main course, dessert, wine, and various beverages.

Andrew ate a little but found the taste average.

His cooking skills had improved so much recently that he was used to his own food. Now, eating these dishes felt somewhat underwhelming.

If it was as good as the food from the Treasure Eatery, he'd definitely eat more.

Pawmi, on the other hand, who hadn't experienced such things before, ate with great relish. Not only did it finish its own meal, but it also ate what Andrew had left behind.

"Burp~~"

After eating, Pawmi lay on Andrew's lap, its belly round and full, letting out a satisfied burp.

"Paw~ Paw~" It's not as good as what you make, though.

It hiccupped and gave its review of the meal.

"Then why did you eat so much?" Andrew teased, pinching its belly.

"Paw~ Paw~" Can't waste food.

Since Andrew hadn't eaten much, he took a bottle of Gogoat's milk from his system backpack and began drinking it.

This Gogoat milk came from the Nebel Plateau, and Andrew had added some Occa Berry juice, making it extra delicious.

Seeing Andrew drinking the milk, Pawmi quickly sat up and reached out for it.

"Paw~ Paw~" I want some too! I want some too!

"Alright, alright!" Andrew laughed, handing it a bottle.

Gulp, gulp, gulp~

Pawmi quickly downed the milk, finishing it in one go, and then licked the bottle clean.

"Paw~" So good.

It handed the empty bottle back to Andrew and stretched out its hands for more.

"Paw~" More.

Andrew lightly tapped its hand. "No more! You can have some later!"

Pawmi didn't insist, but it pouted and turned around, picking up the phone again. Iono's livestream had ended, so it started watching her previous content.

As Andrew put the empty bottle away, he noticed a Lucario watching him. He paused, then pulled out another bottle of milk and asked,

"Want some?"

Lucario blinked in surprise, not expecting such a question. After a moment's hesitation, it nodded.

"Lucar~" Thank you.

Andrew smiled and handed over a bottle of Gogoat's milk.

Lucario opened it, and the sweet aroma filled the air. After taking a sip, it quickly fell in love with the creamy, sweet flavor.

At that moment, the girl next to Lucario stirred from her sleep, her nose twitching as she sniffed the air.

"What's that smell?"

Still groggy, she leaned closer to Lucario, her senses slowly waking up.

"Lucario, where did you get that?"

Smelling the sweet milk, the girl subconsciously swallowed.

"Lucar~~"

Lucario pointed toward Andrew.

Realizing the situation, the girl quickly apologized to him.

"Sorry about that… I hope Lucario didn't trouble you?"

Andrew shook his head. "No, not at all. Lucario was very well-behaved. I just gave it a bottle of Gogoat's milk."

The girl sighed in relief. "That's good."

Andrew glanced at the girl. Earlier, her head had been covered by a jacket, so he hadn't seen her face clearly. Now that he could, she looked quite familiar!

Wasn't she the future Gym Leader Korrina from Shalour City?

Shalour Gym specialized in Fighting-types, and there were rumors that this gym held the secrets of Mega Evolution.

Sure enough, the girl introduced herself right after.

"I'm Korrina, and this is my partner, Lucario. We've just returned from a journey in the Paldea region."

"Lucar~" Lucario waved a paw in greeting.

"Hello, Korrina." Andrew introduced himself in turn. "I'm Andrew, and this is my partner, Pawmi." He gave Pawmi, still engrossed in the phone, a light tap. "Pawmi, say hello to Korrina and Lucario. Don't be rude!"

"Paw~ Paw~"

Pawmi finally tore its eyes away from the screen and flashed a big smile, waving at Korrina and Lucario.

"So cute," Korrina said with a smile.

Andrew and Korrina began chatting, making the trip far less boring.

During their conversation, Andrew noticed Korrina eyeing Lucario's milk bottle, swallowing several times, so he generously offered her a bottle as well.

Two days later, the aircraft landed in Lumiose City, the heart of the Kalos region. Andrew and Korrina bid each other farewell there.

In those two days, the two had gotten along well. Andrew even invited Korrina and Lucario to visit Azoth Kingdom when they had time.

After their parting, Andrew and Pawmi boarded the light rail back to Azoth Kingdom.

Lumiose City was the hub of the Kalos region, with a highly developed transportation system. It only took half a day for Andrew and Pawmi to return to Azoth Kingdom.

"Paw~ Paw~"

Standing on the entrance gate of City, Pawmi curiously observed the scenery that was unique to Azoth Kingdom.

Andrew smiled and said to Pawmi, "Pawmi, welcome to Azoth Kingdom. This is my hometown, and from now on, it'll be your home too."

(End of chapter)