After lunch.
Gengar was in a very good mood.
It popped a Cat's Ear crisp into its mouth, one after another, and watching Victor process the bamboo shoots made it even happier.
Humming a little tune, it used its psychic powers to help Shana arrange the stones for her garden.
"Shana, take a break. You can't finish this all at once," Victor called out, seeing the sweat on her forehead.
"Go rest for a bit. You can continue this afternoon."
"Okay~" Shana finished with the small stone in her hand, looked at the budding flower garden, and nodded.
In truth, Dali and the others were doing most of the heavy lifting, while Shana, Celebi, and Mime Jr. were mainly in charge of directing.
Shana led the group of Pokémon over to Victor's side, squatted down, and quietly watched him work.
"Tired?" he asked.
Shana shook her head.
"Then can you and Gengar help me pour out the flour in the kitchen?"
Shana nodded.
"Gengar, let's go."
With that, Shana led the group of Pokémon back into the kitchen.
Mime Jr. stayed behind, studying Victor's movements.
"Mime~"
"What is it, Mime Jr.?" Victor paused and looked at it.
Mime Jr. pointed at the bamboo shoot in his hand and let out a cry.
"You want to try?" Victor asked with a smile.
Mime Jr. nodded.
"You really love to cook, don't you, Mime Jr.?" Victor remarked, remembering how enthusiastic it always was about cooking.
"Mime~" Speaking of cooking, Mime Jr. chirped happily several more times.
Victor listened quietly.
[Mime Jr.]
...
[Introduction: At some point, it developed a passion for cooking. It loves seeing the satisfied expressions on others' faces when they eat the food it makes.]
[I want to become a gourmet just like Victor —Mime Jr.]
"Do you want to become a gourmet, Mime Jr.?"
"Mime~" Mime Jr. nodded.
"No problem. I'll teach you everything I know."
"Mime~"
After finishing the bamboo shoots with Mime Jr., Victor wondered why Shana and the others were still in the kitchen. He stood up and went to check on them.
The moment he walked in, he was confronted by a shiny Gengar.
"Strange, where did a shiny Gengar come from? And a white one at that."
"A shiny Celebi?"
"Why are they all white?"
It was only then that he saw Shana and the others sneakily trying to slip away.
"..."
"So, you'd all better explain what's going on here," Victor said, blocking their escape route and leaning against the doorframe, watching them quietly.
"Gengar—"
Hehe.
The Gengar, having transformed from a little purple fatty to a little white fatty, gave an embarrassed grin, its white teeth flashing.
"Hehe~ Uncle," Shana said, twiddling her index fingers and smiling up at him.
"Shana, you..."
"Cele~"
"And you, Celebi..."
Looking at the lineup of guilty culprits, Victor couldn't help but facepalm.
How can one person and a few Pokémon cause this much trouble...
Considering that most of them were still children, Victor let out a long series of sighs.
"You all, right now, immediately, go and get yourselves clean!"
Shana and the Pokémon scattered in all directions.
Victor grabbed the back of Shana's collar as she tried to run to the yard. "You! Go back to your room and take a shower!"
After shooing them all off to get clean, Victor looked at the devastated kitchen, feeling utterly exhausted.
After he had cleaned up the kitchen, he called them all back and had them line up in front of him.
He gave them a stern lecture and told them not to waste food.
"I'm sorry, uncle..." Shana said, looking down and sincerely admitting her mistake.
Gengar and the others did the same.
"This is the last time. Don't let it happen again, do you understand?!"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm."
"Gengar—"
"Go on, go watch TV! Go quietly and watch the League Conference! Understood?!"
"Understood!" Shana's voice was young but firm.
Back in the kitchen, Victor couldn't believe Shana had been corrupted by Gengar. And Celebi, too.
The snack Victor was preparing this time was a suggestion from a fellow reader he had met online: Golden Fruit Sticks.
After teaching Mime Jr. how to make them, he fried the prepared sticks until they were golden brown, took them out, and sprinkled them with powdered sugar.
Mission accomplished.
"Gengar."
Gengar poked its head through the wall and looked at him.
"Come and try this," Victor said, picking up a Golden Fruit Stick and handing it to Gengar. He then gave one to Mime Jr. as well.
Crunch~
"Gengar—(๑´ڡ`๑)"
"Mime~"
So delicious!
Seeing their reactions, Victor also picked one up and put it in his mouth.
The texture was great. Crunchy, with a hint of sweetness.
It would probably taste even better once it cooled down.
"Take it out and share it," he said, giving Gengar a large bowl of the sticks to take to Shana and the others, while he stayed behind to clean the kitchen.
He walked out of the kitchen with some sparkling water and saw them all intently watching the League Conference and eating the snacks.
Victor couldn't help but nod.
This is how it should be. Quiet and peaceful, not the heart-attack-inducing chaos from before.
He gave each of them a glass of sparkling water. When he got to Celebi, he couldn't resist giving it a gentle flick on the head.
"You've only been here for a day and you're already learning bad habits."
"Cele~" Celebi flapped its small wings, took a sip of the water, and chirped happily.
He walked over to Gengar and saw that the bag holding its Cat's Ear crisps was about to break. Victor held out his hand.
"Give it to me."
"Gengar?"
"Just give it to me."
"Gengar..." Gengar handed over the bag, its mouth pouting as it looked down.
Seeing this, Shana gave it a Golden Fruit Stick.
"Gengar—"
Victor took Gengar's crisps into the kitchen and came back out a moment later.
"Here."
Gengar looked at the two jars he was holding out. One was full of Cat's Ear crisps, the other was full of Golden Fruit Sticks.
"Gengar—" It immediately launched its tongue at Victor's face.
After playing with Gengar for a bit, Victor sat down next to Shana, popped a Golden Fruit Stick in his mouth, and placed the Vulpix on his lap.
Its tail had now completely split into six. Gently stroking its fur, Victor took out his phone.
Cynthia: That was a beautiful video. It's a shame I wasn't there.
He had sent her the video of the "Night of Emergence."
If Cynthia had been there, we probably wouldn't have been able to see it at all.
As the Sinnoh Champion, even Hunter J was no match for her.
With that thought, Victor's fingers moved.
Victor: Didn't I just show it to you?
Cynthia: That's true. Thank you, Victor.
Victor: Look who this is.
He sent a photo of himself with Celebi.
Cynthia: Celebi?! Did you catch a Celebi?
He explained the situation to her.
Cynthia: Next time, if there's danger, remember to tell me. After all, the Breeding House is a place I'm very fond of.
Victor: Okay. But just the Breeding House?
Cynthia: And Shana, Gengar, and the others.
Victor was defeated once again.
After chatting with her for a while, he was about to put his phone away when a call from Officer Jenny came through.
He answered, and her voice came through the line.
"Victor, we need your help here."
...
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