Outside Opelucid City, Aerodactyl deactivated its Mega Evolution and slowly landed on the ground with Ace.
Ace recalled the somewhat tired Aerodactyl and clapped his hands, causing the psychic barrier Gardevoir had placed on him to instantly dissipate.
The Ultra Ball automatically opened, and Gardevoir landed by Ace's side.
Ace glanced at Gardevoir, who was out and moving, and said nothing. He looked up at the gradually dimming sky and spoke: "Let's stay the night here and deal with things tomorrow."
Gardevoir nodded with a happy smile. She immediately took Ace's arm and, looking quite excited, walked with him into Opelucid City.
As usual, they found a hotel to stay in. Afterward, Ace took out an Opelucid City tourist guide and, following its directions, brought Gardevoir to a highly-rated restaurant.
The restaurant, named Dragonspiral House, had an elegant decor and excellent service. The food was impeccable, too. The only downside was that the prices were a bit steep.
However, as a wealthy person now, Ace didn't mind this and simply ordered a full table of dishes.
Once the dishes were served, Ace looked at the table—laden with colorful, fragrant, and delicious-looking food—and nodded in satisfaction. He then pulled out his special Poké Balls, preparing to release his Pokémon to eat together.
"Hello, sir. We do not permit Pokémon to dine at the table here at Dragonspiral House."
Just then, a waiter in a suit quickly scurried over and apologized: "I am very sorry to interrupt your enjoyment, but please recall your Pokémon, including this Gardevoir."
As he spoke, the waiter gestured toward Gardevoir, who was sitting next to Ace.
Ace frowned slightly. Gardevoir had entered the restaurant with him, so why hadn't they said anything initially? Why wait until he had ordered a table full of food to bring it up?
And if they had such a rule, why didn't they suggest he order less? Did that table full of food look like something Ace could finish alone?
If it were anyone else, they would probably have no choice but to recall their Pokémon and eat alone.
But was Ace an ordinary person?
Clearly not!
Ace ignored the waiter's words, opened his special Poké Balls, and a group of Pokémon quickly appeared around him.
The other diners in Dragonspiral House, seeing this scene, became interested. They stopped what they were doing and all looked toward Ace's table.
"Everyone, sit down and eat. If anyone tries to stop you, kick them out. Understood?"
Ace didn't even look at the waiter, speaking calmly to his Pokémon.
The Pokémon all nodded, then circled the large round table and sat down. They immediately reached out and started grabbing and eating the food on the table.
"You..."
Faced with Ace's blatant disregard, the waiter was furious and wanted to intervene. But thinking about his small frame and then looking at the large, muscular Pokémon, he instantly backed down.
However, he quickly used his walkie-talkie to report the situation.
In less than two minutes, a middle-aged man who looked very much like a gentleman walked over with a team of staff.
He looked at the table of eating Pokémon, then looked at Ace, frowning slightly: "Hello, sir. We do not permit Pokémon to dine at the table here."
"I have two questions for you."
Ace eyed the leading middle-aged man and said flatly: "First, I entered with my Gardevoir. If you have this rule, why didn't you say so before? Second, both Gardevoir and I sat down and ordered—and as you can see, I ordered a full table of food—so why was I still not informed in advance? Why wait until the food was served and I was about to release my other Pokémon to eat before telling me this rule? Are you trying to gouge me?"
Faced with Ace's questions, the leading middle-aged man's brow furrowed tightly. He then shot a sharp glare at the waiter beside him.
The waiter immediately flinched in fear, lowering his head and not daring to look the man in the eye.
"I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused," the middle-aged man said cordially. "We will waive the charge for this meal, but I must ask you to respect the rule regarding Pokémon not dining at the table and recall your Pokémon."
The other diners nodded upon seeing this. The middle-aged man had humbled himself and offered to waive the bill. This was a perfectly handled situation, leaving no room for complaint.
Ace nodded, quite satisfied with this solution.
Although he was wealthy now, he wouldn't deliberately waste food, and more importantly, the problem wasn't his fault.
Seeing Ace nod, the middle-aged man also breathed a sigh of relief. Their restaurant was a service-oriented business. If they handled a situation poorly and lost repeat customers, while it wouldn't ruin them, it would certainly be an unnecessary loss.
Therefore, it was best to resolve conflicts peacefully whenever possible.
After all, courtesy leads to prosperity!
"Please help me pack up the food. Since you won't let us eat it here, I'll take it outside."
Ace stood up and said: "Thank you for your trouble."
"Of course."
The middle-aged man said with a smile, then instructed the waiter to quickly grab take-out containers for packing.
Soon, Ace's Pokémon helped carry the bags filled with containers. It took over a dozen bags, each containing three or four dishes, to carry all the food out of Dragonspiral House.
Ace had no interest in knowing what happened inside the restaurant afterward or what became of the waiter.
Instead, he and his Pokémon marched grandly to an open space in a park, spread out a picnic mat, opened the dishes, and set them out—turning the whole affair into an impromptu picnic.
"That smells so good!"
Just as Ace and his Pokémon began to feast, a little girl caught the scent and toddled over. Her eyes were fixed on Ace and his Pokémon eating. She bit her finger and asked: "Big brother, can I have a bite?"
Ace glanced at the dark-skinned little girl whose mouth was watering. He smiled, reached out, and gently patted her head. Then, he handed her the container Garchomp was reaching for, which held something resembling braised pork knuckle: "It's all yours."
"Really?! Thank you, big brother, you're so kind!"
The little girl was delighted. She took the pork knuckle and, without using chopsticks, simply grabbed it with her hands and began to gnaw on it.
Garchomp watched the little girl eating happily, speechless. It gave Ace a resentful look, then retaliated by snatching the dish Ace was eating and grabbing all of it.
"Iris, what are you doing all the way over here?"
Just as the little girl was happily eating, a muscular, white-haired old man walked over. He watched the little girl gnawing on the pork knuckle, his brow furrowing: "Didn't I tell you not to take food from strangers and not to wander off?"
After scolding the little girl, the old man turned to Ace: "I apologize, you've been inconvenienced. How much was that? I'll reimburse you."
"It's nothing. The meal was free anyway," Ace said, waving his hand. "It's nice to meet you. You must be Drayden, the Gym Leader of Opelucid City."
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