Following the aroma, Bai Chen arrived at the source.
The scene in front of him was strangely familiar. He sniffed the air again, confirming the scent.
│ "…The smell really is coming from here.
│ This tiny Pokémon Center has… a chef?"
Just last night, he'd eaten cup noodles here.
There definitely wasn't any aroma like this then.
The glass door slid open, and Bai Chen stepped into the Pokémon Center again.
Morning left the lobby quiet.
A Nurse Joy was preparing the day's work.
She noticed him and looked up.
│ "Welcome to the Pokémon Center. Are you here to—oh? It's you."
Of course, she remembered him.
Yesterday, he'd carried Bea in like a sack of potatoes, eaten cup noodles like a starving Snorlax, and caused a small commotion with her afterward.
and wore bizarre armor the entire time.
He was easily her strangest customer of the year.
Bai Chen followed the scent toward the back area. A curtain blocked his line of sight,
but the aroma flowed out clearly from behind it.
He returned to the counter.
│ "Good morning, Miss Joy," Bai Chen greeted politely.
│ "I smelled something amazing when I walked by.
│ Could you let me meet the chef who made it?"
Joy sniffed the air, confused.
There was absolutely no smell at all.
What was he talking about?
After a moment, she looked toward the back.
│ "You must mean our Pokémon Center's Indeedee."
In Alola, Chansey and Comfey assisted Joy.
In Galar, it was the Indeedee line—a Pokémon whose male and female forms differed greatly,
and who excelled at caring for others.
│ "Indeedee? So she's the one cooking?"
│ "Yes. Our center does have an Indeedee who's very good at it."
Right at that moment, Bai Chen's stomach rumbled loudly.
He cleared his throat, embarrassed.
Joy smiled kindly.
│ "If you haven't had breakfast yet,
│ would you like to eat with us?
│ That child's cooking really is excellent."
Since he'd followed the smell all the way here,
of course, he wasn't going to pretend otherwise.
│ "Thank you. I'll pay."
│ "No need. Please follow me."
Joy led him toward the kitchen area.
As soon as they entered, Bai Chen noticed several Indeedee moving about.
A male and female pair passed him by.
But the moment he neared the kitchen, he froze.
Gunfire.
Rapid, dense gunfire.
It was coming from inside.
At the stove stood a female Indeedee, humming to herself, lazily stirring a pot with a ladle.
To her left sat an old smartphone—
The source of the blaring gun sounds.
Some kind of action movie was playing at full volume.
│ "…Wait."
Joy looked painfully awkward.
│ "Ahem… this child likes watching dramas and movies."
Indeedee were incredibly intelligent Pokémon—
Some are as smart as humans, some even smarter.
It wasn't strange for one to enjoy television.
Before Joy finished her sentence, the phone erupted with screams and violent combat sounds.
The Indeedee's ears twitched.
Her eyes lit up with pure joy.
She put down the ladle altogether, fully absorbed in the scene.
│ "…That's… unusual," Bai Chen muttered.
Indeedee, of all Pokémon, they were famously peaceful. They generated power from gratitude and care—
gentle creatures who disliked conflict.
And yet this one looked like she'd die of excitement
watching gangsters beat each other senseless.
Joy laughed awkwardly.
│ "Hahaha… she, um… likes gangster movies."
Just like shiny Pokémon were rare variants,
every species had a few individuals with strange personalities.
Bai Chen fell silent.
A gangster-movie-loving Indeedee.
Now that was a combination.
His heightened senses suddenly picked up a faint burnt smell.
If the soup wasn't stirred soon, the flavor would suffer.
He opened his mouth to remind her—
When the ladle suddenly floated back into motion on its own.
Not just that: plates slid out of cabinets,
the fire shut off,
and the pot lifted into the air, dividing the soup evenly into bowls.
│ "Psychic…?" Bai Chen murmured.
Most Psychic-types could use basic telekinesis.
This was stronger—almost certainly Psychic terrain-level control.
His suspicion deepened when he sensed the environment.
The entire kitchen was blanketed in a special energy field.
│ "A Psychic Terrain…?"
He quickly checked her ability.
And his eyes widened.
│ "Hidden Ability… Psychic Surge," he whispered.
Psychic Surge:
Creates Psychic Terrain when entering battle.
A fully automatic terrain setter.
Exactly what he was missing.
He looked at Joy.
│ "Miss Joy, may I… become this child's trainer?"
Able to cook and create Psychic Terrain—
That alone made her worth recruiting.
Joy blinked.
│ "You want to be her trainer?"
Pokémon Centers had given Pokémon away before.
That wasn't strange.
What surprised her was that Bai Chen, after seeing this Indeedee's… questionable tastes,
still wanted her.
│ "Yes. I need a partner who can cook and set the terrain," Bai Chen said honestly.
│ "Even if she has a quirky personality? You don't mind?"
│ "Why would I?"
A gentle Pokémon who enjoyed gangster films—
that actually suited his team better.
A normal Indeedee would absolutely refuse to help hunt monsters.
Joy didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she changed the subject softly.
│ "Let's eat breakfast first."
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