Chapter 14: Longed-for Delicacies

Days flew by, and thanks to word-of-mouth among Pokémon, more and more of them started coming to Andrew's place for breakfast. In fact, the number had increased even beyond what it had been before his identity was revealed.

Some Pokémon, having never seen a human before, came just to get a glimpse of one. However, once they were enticed by the delicious aroma wafting from the shop, they found themselves unable to leave.

Andrew also noticed that the Pokémon observing him each day were different. One day it was a Talonflame, the next day it was Altaria, and then a Victreebel... It seemed to change every day.

Today, it was Altaria's turn again.

"Good morning, Altaria," Andrew greeted warmly as he stepped outside to water the flowers.

Altaria was lounging on Andrew's rooftop, its head buried in its fluffy wings as it basked in the sun. Its feathers looked even fluffier in the sunlight, making Andrew wish he could bury his head in them too.

It must be incredibly comfortable to sleep there.

Hearing Andrew's voice, Altaria glanced up lazily and then slowly buried its head back into its wings.

Andrew wasn't offended by its indifferent response. Instead, he smiled and asked, "I see you've been here since early morning. You probably haven't had anything to eat, have you? How about I get you something?"

"Altaria~"

Altaria chirped and looked up, clearly refusing, even though Andrew couldn't understand its words.

"Alright then, if you don't want anything, that's fine," Andrew said as he carried his watering can back inside the shop.

A few minutes later, three Pokémon—Swablu, Fletchling, and Spritzee—flew up to the roof, each carrying a basket of steamed buns tied with string. They placed the buns in front of Altaria.

"Alta~ Al~taria~~" Altaria scolded the younger Pokémon, clearly rejecting Andrew's offering.

Swablu felt that its mother was being unreasonable. Andrew had been so kind, but its mother always suspected bad intentions, leading to a heated argument between them.

Seeing that Swablu was losing the argument, Fletchling and Spritzee joined in to support it, which only infuriated Altaria further.

These young ones simply don't appreciate kindness!

Eventually, the four Pokémon left in a huff, with Swablu flying away with Fletchling and Spritzee.

About an hour later, Swablu returned with Fletchling and Spritzee. They stood in front of Altaria and sincerely apologized.

After some questioning, Altaria learned that Andrew had advised the youngsters to come back and make amends with their mother.

Altaria was conflicted as it looked at the now-cold buns. It was deep in thought.

Over the past few days of observing, Altaria realized that the human had done nothing to harm the Pokémon. On the contrary, thanks to his feeding, the Pokémon children were growing stronger every day, which had greatly eased the parents' burden.

But how could there be such a human? This was completely different from what Altaria had thought humans were like.

Although Altaria's children were native to the Nebel Plateau, Altaria itself was not. It had wandered into the Nebel Plateau by chance and was taken in and protected by Lord Volcanion.

Altaria had once lived with its own flock, migrating with the seasons. Though life wasn't always easy, they cared for each other and lived relatively happy lives.

That changed when Altaria met its Trainer and was captured, separated from its family.

Its Trainer was a strict person with ambitions to become an Elite Four member or even a Champion, resulting in very harsh training.

At that time, Altaria was still a young Swablu and couldn't meet many of the Trainer's demands, leading to frequent scolding.

Due to these reasons, Altaria failed in many competitions and was eventually abandoned by the Trainer.

Even though this happened many years ago, Altaria still remembered it vividly.

As Altaria gazed at the food in front of it, its thoughts drifted.

Soon, the Pokémon finished their breakfast and left Andrew's small building one by one.

Just then, a call came from the sky. Another Altaria appeared, and Altaria looked up to see her mate arriving to pick her up. The once gloomy look in her eyes was now brightened by a smile.

"Alta~ria~ Altaria~~"

Altaria's mate gently landed beside her, nuzzling her neck, and Altaria affectionately returned the gesture.

After most of the children had left, the couple flew away from Andrew's house together.

A while later, Andrew came out to check and saw that the food remained untouched. He sighed deeply.

Back in the shop, Andrew and his Diancie, along with Munchlax, began tidying up. That's when Andrew spotted something in the corner.

"Where did this come from?" Andrew asked as he picked it up.

Isn't this a lotus root? It still had some mud on it, indicating it was fresh.

Diancie glanced over and thought for a moment before answering, "I think Bellsprout brought it. Why do you ask?"

"This is a real find!" Andrew exclaimed.

He had been eating steamed buns daily and had been craving something fresh for a while. However, there was too little lotus root to cook a proper dish, especially with a big eater like Munchlax at home.

"Can I eat it?"

Munchlax approached eagerly, staring at the lotus root in Andrew's hand.

"Of course, and it's delicious," Andrew replied with a smile. Then he said to Diancie, "Diancie, you and Komala stay here and watch the shop. Munchlax and I will go find Bellsprout and see where this lotus root came from. Maybe we can get some more."

As he imagined all the tasty dishes he could make with the lotus root, Andrew's mouth watered.

Actually, there were many blooming lotuses in the lake near Andrew's house. He had wanted to dig up some lotus roots before, but the water was too deep, and without a Water-type Pokémon to help, he had to abandon the idea.

"Alright, go ahead," Diancie nodded.

"Munchlax, let's go," Andrew called.

"Munch!"

Munchlax happily followed Andrew.

As Andrew reached the door, he was surprised to see a beautiful Vivillon fluttering around his flowerbed. He exclaimed, "Vivillon? You evolved?"

Thinking back, it had indeed been a while since he saw a Spewpa, so it must have evolved in secret!

"Viii~"

Vivillon nodded happily, expressing gratitude. Without Andrew's feeding, it wouldn't have gathered enough energy to evolve so quickly.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Andrew asked.

Vivillon shook its head. It had just completed its evolution and came to share its joy with Andrew.

"Then go inside and let Diancie prepare something for you. You must be hungry after not eating for so long," Andrew said, extending his arm for Vivillon to land on. "I'm going out with Munchlax, but I'll be back later."

"Viii~"

Vivillon nodded and handed Andrew a bright red flower it had somehow produced.

Andrew took the flower, held it to his nose, and sniffed, "It smells wonderful. Thank you; I really like it."

"Liii~~"

The Vivillon fluttered around Andrew twice in joy, then followed him into the house at his request.

"Let's go," Andrew said, tucking the flower behind Little Munchlax's ear.

As they walked, Little Munchlax gently touched the flower with its hand.

"Munchlax~" Do I look good?

It asked Andrew shyly.

Although Andrew didn't understand its words, he could tell from its proud expression what it was thinking, so he chuckled, "You're quite the vain little guy, but you're cute."

Little Munchlax grinned widely at the compliment.

As they continued on, Andrew hadn't yet found Bellsprout when a system notification sounded. He checked the system interface, and a popup appeared immediately.

"Congratulations, Host, for hosting a total of 100 Pokémon. You have received an achievement reward: Intelligence +1."

Andrew was surprised. Another unexpected reward?

It was clearly because Diancie hosted Vivillon. Checking his happiness points, he saw they had increased by 150.

He then looked at his personal information.

Andrew

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 16 (+500)

Constitution: 4

Intelligence: 3

Cooking Skill Evaluation: Rookie Chef.

He was pleased to be stronger again, though he wasn't sure how the increase in intelligence would manifest, as he didn't feel any smarter.

Closing the system interface, Andrew looked at Munchlax and asked, "Little Munchlax, do you know where Bellsprout lives?"

"Munchlax~~"

Munchlax shook its head gently.

"Alright then, let's ask another Pokémon."

"Munchlax~~"

Munchlax nodded and started looking around. It soon spotted a Flabébé and excitedly called out and waved.

"Munch~ Munchlax~~"

Flabébé hovered in mid-air, noticing both Munchlax and Andrew. It had seen Andrew before, but was frightened away by his human nature.

This time, although still scared, it didn't flee. It was curious about Andrew because recent stories about him had been circulating on the Nebel Plateau.

Some said Andrew was up to something nefarious, while others defended him as a kind human who could make delicious food. Others remained neutral, not commenting, leading to ongoing debate.

Flabébé was curious about the truth.

So, responding to Munchlax's calls, Flabébé slowly descended.

Seeing Flabébé stay instead of fleeing immediately made Andrew feel his relationship with the Pokémon on the Nebel Plateau was improving, lifting his spirits.

"Flabébé, do you know where Bellsprout lives?" Andrew asked, trying to appear as friendly as possible.

Flabébé hesitated, then nodded slightly.

"Could you lead the way for me? I need Bellsprout's help with something," Andrew continued.

"Flabébé~ Fla~bébé~" Alright, follow me.

Flabébé picked a direction and flew ahead, with Andrew and Little Munchlax following quickly.

Along the way, Andrew tried to chat with Flabébé, but Flabébé became very nervous whenever it made eye contact with him, making conversation difficult. Munchlax, however, continued to chat away with it.

"Munchlax~ Munchlax~~" Do you think I'm pretty?

Munchlax showed Flabébé the flower behind its ear, holding its head proudly.

"Flabé~bé~~" Hmph, my flower is better.

Flabébé swayed its Fairy Flower, responding with a hint of pride.

"Munchlax~~ Munchlax~~~" No way, mine is definitely cuter. My master said so.

Little Munchlax retorted confidently.

"Fla~bébé~ Flabébé~" Who's your master? What's a master?

Flabébé asked, confused.

"Munchlax~~lax~~" My master is Andrew, of course. A master is a master.

Munchlax replied firmly, even though it wasn't sure what a teacher was.

Andrew couldn't understand the details of their argument, but he couldn't help smiling at their lively interaction.

Following Flabébé, they passed through some bushes and arrived at a grassy area. From a distance, Andrew heard the sounds of Bellsprout, Weepinbell, and Victreebel.

Through the leaves, Andrew saw Victreebel, Weepinbell, and three Bellsprout playing on the grass.

Andrew recognized Victreebel as Bellsprout's father and Weepinbell as its mother.

As Andrew and Munchlax approached, Victreebel noticed them.

"Ah~~ Who's there? Show yourself!"

Since they had already been spotted, Andrew decided to approach openly.

Upon seeing Andrew, Victreebel jumped to the front, protecting its family and looking very cautious.

Was this human finally showing his true colors?

Bellsprout was excited to see Andrew and tried to run over, but its older siblings held it back.

Seeing their wary expressions, Andrew quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand, I'm just here to ask Bellsprout for a favor."

Victreebel's expression remained wary, with a touch of suspicion.

Andrew took out the lotus root piece he carried and said, "I just want to ask where Bellsprout got this."

At this point, Bellsprout broke free from its siblings, wriggling excitedly towards Andrew, but its mother, Weepinbell, used a Vine Whip to pull it back.

Suspended by its mother's vine, Bellsprout flailed and made noises, though its message was unclear. Andrew couldn't understand it.

Andrew asked, "Weepinbell, Victreebel, can Bellsprout guide me? If you're worried, you can come along."

Victreebel scrutinized Andrew for a moment, hesitated, and finally nodded. It glanced at its partner, and Weepinbell gently set Bellsprout down.

(End of the Chapter)