Over the course of a few days, a blink of an eye.
This morning, Victor sat up in bed and looked out the window.
It had rained all night, so the morning air was a bit chilly.
Victor walked out onto the balcony, shivered, and then looked at the distant forest.
He remembered seeing a bamboo grove the last time he went, and he suddenly had a craving for bamboo shoots.
"Gengar—"
Good morning.
Gengar, rubbing its sleepy eyes, floated over to Victor's side.
"Gengar, what do you think about going to the forest today?"
"Gengar?"
Gengar looked into the distance. It knew Victor wasn't talking about the small forest area within the Breeding House, but the larger, deeper forest beyond it.
"Gengar—"
What for?
"It rained all night yesterday. Let's go see if we can pick some mushrooms to make soup."
Seeing its eyes light up, Victor threw out another line.
"And if I remember correctly, isn't there a bamboo grove there?"
Gengar nodded, puzzled.
"Have you ever had bamboo shoots? The tender ones that have just sprouted after the rain. We can use them in soup, braise them with rice, stir-fry them with meat, or even pickle them. They're incredibly delicious, with a super crunchy texture... Hey, why are you pulling me?"
Gengar didn't even wait for him to finish. It grabbed Victor with both hands and started dragging him out, its two short legs pedaling furiously in the air.
"Gengar—!!"
Hurry up! I want to eat bamboo shoots!! (Extremely loud)
"I know, I know! Don't be in such a rush."
Victor was truly at its mercy. While he was brushing his teeth and washing his face, it stared at him intently. If he even zoned out for a second while looking in the mirror, Gengar would reach out and pull him back to reality.
Just as they were all ready to go, they passed by Cynthia's room, and Victor paused.
"Gengar, do you think we should ask Cynthia if she wants to come with us?"
Gengar nodded.
"Alright, this mission is yours. You go ask her," Victor said, patting Gengar's shoulder.
"Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ"
Me?!
Gengar shook its head frantically.
Just as they were trying to push the task onto each other, the door to Cynthia's room opened. Her Garchomp was staring daggers at them.
"Grawr!"
What do you think you're doing?
The murderous aura radiating from the Garchomp made both Victor and Gengar shiver. Victor then spoke cautiously.
"We wanted to ask if Cynthia would like to go to the forest with us to pick mushrooms and dig for bamboo shoots."
The Garchomp stared at them for a moment, then shook its head and was about to close the door.
"What's wrong, Garchomp?"
Cynthia, woken by the commotion, sat up and asked drowsily.
The Garchomp looked at Victor and then gave a nod.
Victor understood its meaning and, standing outside the door, asked Cynthia.
After getting an affirmative reply, Victor took Gengar to the backyard.
Shana was spending the day with her parents, so she wasn't coming to the Breeding House.
He had Erli and Sanli stay behind to help Mime Jr. and the Petilil with the work, while he, Dali, and Gengar set out.
He put a wicker basket on Gengar's back and another on his own. Cynthia, now fully dressed, came down from the second floor.
Her long, golden hair was draped casually over her shoulders, and her pink, cherry-like lips opened slightly.
"I'm ready."
Victor looked over and saw that she was once again wearing her black trench coat and wide-legged trousers.
Watching her slip on a pair of crystal high-heeled sandals, Victor nodded. *As expected of the Cynthia. She's just too beautiful.*
He then glanced at the Garchomp behind her.
His sense of security was now through the roof.
He put a few small hoes into Gengar's basket, hung his instant camera around his neck, gave some final instructions to Mime Jr. and the others, and then led Cynthia towards the forest.
Standing at the entrance with Cynthia by his side, Victor felt a strange sense of calm.
Not long after they entered the forest, Gengar, with its basket, had already dived into the bushes to look for mushrooms.
"Gengar—"
Gengar emerged from the bushes and came to Victor, holding out a few savory mushrooms in its hands.
"That's right. These are the ones," Victor nodded and placed them in Gengar's basket.
Cynthia, at the side, nodded seriously.
He led them towards the bamboo grove, picking many berries and savory mushrooms with Gengar along the way.
Arriving at the grove, Victor saw the pointed tips of the bamboo shoots and let out a breath of relief.
He took off his basket, pulled out a small hoe, and handed one to Gengar. He then looked at Cynthia, asking with his eyes if she wanted one.
Curious, Cynthia also reached out and took a hoe.
"Watch me," Victor said.
He found a bamboo shoot, gave it a little twist, and then began to slowly dig away the soil around it with his hoe. Finally, with a snap of his hands, a fresh, tender bamboo shoot was in his hands.
"Gengar?"
Is that thing really tasty?
Gengar looked curiously at the sheathed bamboo shoot in his hand.
It's so ugly.
"Then you don't get any later," Victor replied with a laugh.
"Gengar! Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ"
No way!
Gengar then found its own bamboo shoot and began to copy Victor's movements.
Snap—
"Gengar!" Gengar cried out, holding a bamboo shoot and grinning widely.
Victor took out his instant camera and took a picture of it.
"Do you want to try?" Victor asked, turning to Cynthia.
Seeing the somewhat puzzled look on her face, Victor chuckled. "Of course, if we used our Pokémon's abilities, we could dig these up much faster. We could probably clear this whole area in no time. But the point of coming here to dig for bamboo shoots is to enjoy the happiness of the harvest that comes from our own labor. That's what makes them taste even more delicious in the end."
Cynthia nodded. She then took off her trench coat. Victor was about to reach for it, but her Garchomp intercepted it.
"Grawr?" the Garchomp asked, looking at him questioningly.
"Ahem," Victor cleared his throat and rubbed his nose, indicating it was nothing.
Seeing Cynthia trying to copy Gengar's movements, Victor walked up to her.
"Let me show you."
After getting her permission, Victor stood beside her. The sweet fragrance from Cynthia drifted into his nose.
He shook his head, focused his attention, and then, hand over hand, taught Cynthia how to dig for bamboo shoots.
Snap—
Cynthia broke a bamboo shoot from the ground.
"Cynthia, smile."
Cynthia looked up and saw Victor aiming his instant camera at her. She didn't have time to react and could only offer a smile as warm as a spring breeze.
Looking at the developed photo, Victor suddenly remembered something.
If Cynthia's fans find out I took her to dig for bamboo shoots, will they hunt me down and beat me to a pulp?
Thinking this, he glanced up at Cynthia and saw that she had already started on her second one.
It seemed she was quite enjoying the process.
With that thought, Victor handed the photo to her Garchomp to hold and joined in with his own hoe.
As time passed, the forest slowly began to awaken. Various Pokémon were scattered in the nearby trees.
Starly, Staravia, and Aipom.
A Burmy also hung upside down, curiously watching their movements.
One Aipom watched for a long time, then curiously came down to the basket, hung upside down, and tried to sneak a bamboo shoot.
The moment it picked one up, it turned its head and found a Garchomp staring at it with icy eyes.
Feeling the aura coming from the Garchomp, the Aipom's eyes rolled back, and it fainted.
The Garchomp placed the bamboo shoot back in the basket, then picked up the Aipom, tossed it onto a nearby branch, and ignored it.
The other Pokémon, seeing this, extinguished any thoughts they had of coming over to steal something.
"Alright, we can't fit any more," Victor called out, seeing that Cynthia and Gengar were still digging.
Cynthia stopped, though she clearly hadn't had enough. Victor handed her a napkin and a bottle of water, then looked at Gengar, who was staring reluctantly at the remaining bamboo shoots.
"We already have enough to last us a long time. We have to leave some for the other Pokémon," Victor said, walking over to Gengar and gently pulling at the corners of its mouth to comfort it.
"We'll go back and make you something delicious."
Hearing this, Gengar nodded. It then held a few bamboo shoots in its arms, and with the large basket on its back, it staggered into the air.
Victor tapped on a few bamboo stalks, chose two tender ones, and asked Dali and Garchomp to cut them down.
With a swipe of their hands, two bamboo stalks as thick as Dali's arm fell to the ground.
Dali first shouldered Victor's basket, then hoisted the two bamboo stalks.
"Let's go. We'll go home and make you all something good to eat," Victor said, holding a small hoe.
"I want ice cream."
"Okay~"
"Gengar—"
"Okay~"
"Grawr!"
"No problem."
"Machoke!"
"Leave it to me!"
---
[Get 10+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"]