When the time arrived, Munchlax Home opened its doors as usual, and customers immediately flooded in with anticipation.
By now, Munchlax Home had earned a group of loyal diners who arrived on time every day to wait for the shop to open.
As soon as they stepped inside, they noticed a change in the menu hanging on the wall.
"Oh, there are new items on the menu today!" a customer said in surprise.
"Ral ral~"
Ralts ran over holding a menu and looked up with a cute face to greet the guests to their seats.
The customer said with a chuckle, "Ralts, you are as cute as ever today!"
"Ral ral~" Ralts accepted the praise graciously, handed the menu to the customer, and asked what they would like to eat.
"Does Ralts have any recommendations?" the customer asked.
Ralts stood on its tiptoes and pointed its finger at the salted duck eggs on the menu.
"You recommend this? Then I must try it today!" the customer said with a smile as he began to order. "I'll have two meat buns, two cabbage buns, a bowl of plain white congee, and one of these salted duck eggs."
"Ral ral~"
Ralts took the menu and ran off quickly.
Before long, it returned, using its psychic powers to control the food the customer had ordered.
"Ralts, you're amazing!" The customer gave Ralts a thumbs up.
The regular customers who came to Munchlax Home to eat all loved the shop's Ralts, Meowstic, and Espurr. Every day they entered, they would shower them with praise, and the three little ones had long since grown used to it.
"Ral ral~"
Ralts urged the guest to hurry and taste the food.
As soon as the customer saw the buns on the table, he noticed something different about them.
"Looking at these buns today... the little boss is back, isn't he?" The customer looked at Ralts and asked.
The customers knew when Ange was away from home during this period. Although the food made by Munchlax was also delicious, there was ultimately a difference in taste compared to Ange's cooking. The foodies who frequently visited the shop could discover the difference with one taste.
Today's buns looked exceptionally special. The customer swallowed his saliva, feeling as though the white, plump buns before him were seducing him.
"Ral ral~"
Ralts nodded at the customer.
"It seems I've timed it right today." Saying this, he took a bite of a bun. After eating it, his expression froze. "These... these buns..."
"Ral ral~" Ralts tilted its head cutely at the customer, as if saying: Is there something wrong with the buns?
"The little boss's skills have improved again!" the customer exclaimed in admiration.
If he had to say what was different about today's buns compared to the past, he lacked the vocabulary to describe it, but the inexplicably harmonious texture of the bun as it entered his mouth was something the buns at Munchlax Home didn't possess before.
Furthermore, he took a sip of the congee.
As expected, although the congee was also very delicious, it didn't have that particularly harmonious texture. One taste was enough to know it wasn't the little boss's handiwork.
The customer picked up the salted duck egg in the bowl and asked Ralts, "Ralts, how do I eat this?"
"Ral ral~"
Hearing this, Ralts climbed onto the chair opposite the guest, took the salted duck egg from the guest's hand, tapped it twice against the corner of the table, and neatly peeled away the shell. Subsequently, it placed the peeled egg back into the bowl and took a chopstick to poke it gently. Suddenly, golden oil flowed out, accompanied by bursts of fragrance.
"Wow~ it smells so good!" The customer marveled. Seeing Ralts push the bowl back, he asked, "Is it ready to eat now?"
"Ral ral~"
Ralts nodded and pointed to the white congee in front of the guest.
The customer understood immediately. "It tastes better when paired with the white congee?"
"Ral ral~"
Ralts nodded repeatedly, its watermelon-style hair swaying back and forth, melting the customer's heart.
"Alright, I understand. Thank you, Ralts."
The customer took a sip of congee and then used his chopsticks to put a piece of salted duck egg into his mouth. The protein had a delicate texture, and the yolk was slightly grainy yet incredibly mellow. The salty, fragrant taste blended perfectly with the soft texture of the white congee.
It was superb!
The customer gave Ralts a thumbs up. "That was an excellent recommendation!"
"Ral ral~"
Ralts jumped down from the chair happily upon hearing this. Holding the menu, it took small steps to serve other customers. Whenever it encountered a guest who didn't know how to eat salted duck eggs, Ralts would enthusiastically offer its recommendation. Consequently, it received praise after praise from the customers, practically becoming the shop's little star.
Melony also came to Munchlax Home for breakfast today as usual, and Angel was with her.
Standing at the door, Angel looked at the sign above his head and said, "Is this the shop opened by His Highness?"
"Let's go in. I heard His Highness is back, so he will definitely be in the shop today," Melony said.
Hearing Melony say this, Angel started to feel jealous again, but he didn't show it. Moreover, he already knew that His Highness didn't like Melony.
Melony stepped into the shop, with Angel following closely behind.
Meowstic saw the two of them and immediately stepped forward to greet them.
"Meow meow~~"
"Good morning, Meowstic," Melony greeted Meowstic familiarly.
"Hello." Seeing this, Angel also hurriedly greeted Meowstic.
"Meow meow~"
Meowstic waved at the two of them, led them to an empty table to sit down, and handed them the menu from its arms.
Melony opened the menu, and after seeing the newly added content, she looked at Meowstic and asked, "Is His Highness in the shop?"
"Meow meow~" Meowstic nodded.
Melony scanned the menu quickly and ordered without the slightest hesitation, "Please give me two salted duck eggs, a bowl of preserved egg and lean meat congee, plus two meat buns, two cabbage buns, two leek buns, and twenty milky mantou."
She was ordering the milky mantou to take home for her Pokémon. She had discovered that her Pokémon especially liked the milky mantou from His Highness's shop, so she made sure to order and pack them every time she came.
Angel was stunned by Melony.
"Melony, isn't twenty a bit too many? We can't finish them."
Melony glanced at him. "I ordered these for myself. If you want to eat, order for yourself."
Angel was speechless.
"Then... then I'll have the same as Melony," Angel said with an embarrassed look.
"Meow meow~" Meowstic nodded to indicate it understood, then left elegantly with the two menus.
After Meowstic left, Angel asked, "Melony, can we really finish all of this?"
Melony replied, "The extras are for me to take away. My Pokémon also like the delicacies made by His Highness."
Angel felt suspicious: Is the food made by His Highness really that good?
Soon, Meowstic returned with their meals using its psychic powers. Despite there being so many items, Meowstic controlled them steadily and perfectly, which made Angel feel a sense of admiration.
His Highness's Pokémon has such strong control!
"Meow meow~~" Please enjoy your meal.
After arranging the items one by one on the table, Meowstic showed a cute smile.
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
Melony and Angel thanked Meowstic at the same time.
When Melony took her first bite of the bun, she immediately noticed the difference. she murmured to herself, "His Highness's culinary skills have improved again..."
This superb texture allowed the food made by His Highness to enter a new realm!
Angel didn't hear her clearly and asked in confusion, "Melony, what did you say?"
Melony shook her head. "Hurry up and eat. I believe you will fall in love with the food made by His Highness." She had absolute confidence in him.
Angel took a bite of a bun half-doubtingly. With just one bite, he was conquered by the deliciousness.
"This... this... this is too delicious, isn't it?"
No wonder Melony liked this place so much! He simply couldn't believe there was such delicious food in the world!
Because it was his first time eating it, Angel was inevitably a bit shocked.
"It's good, right?" Melony smiled. "I said you would like the food made by His Highness."
"It's delicious! Delicious!" Angel nodded repeatedly and began to eat impatiently. "Why didn't I come here sooner!"
Soon, except for the milky mantou to be taken away, the table full of food was finished by the two of them.
Angel rubbed his stomach and said, "The food made by His Highness is all delicious, but this preserved egg and lean meat congee tastes a bit strange."
Not everyone liked the taste of preserved eggs, so today's preserved egg and lean meat congee was the worst-selling congee in the shop.
However, those who liked it truly loved it—like Melony.
"Is it strange?" Melony wiped the corner of her mouth with a tissue and said, "I think it's very delicious! It can be ranked first today."
"First?! Are you serious?" Angel didn't understand. He looked at Melony with a weird expression and said, "Your taste is really strange!"
Melony rolled her eyes at him.
(Ange: Angel, there's a reason why you can't win over Melony.)
However, from today onwards, Angel became a complete fan of Munchlax Home. Since then, not only did he come every day himself, but he also frequently brought his school classmates along.
Once 10:00 arrived, Ange closed the doors on time.
After the customers left, Ange looked at today's sales records shown to him by Robert 2 and fell into deep thought. Only after a long while did he say, "It seems people's acceptance of preserved eggs isn't very high."
He had expected this, as there were plenty of people in his past life who didn't like preserved eggs either.
"Drizzile, let's cook less preserved egg and lean meat congee in the future."
"Driz driz~" Drizzile nodded.
After organizing the Happiness Points and Pokédollar earned today, Ange started cleaning up with the Pokémon.
Ange and Drizzile cleaned the kitchen, while Meowstic took Espurr and Ralts to clean the outer hall.
While Meowstic and the others were halfway through cleaning, Haunter suddenly appeared wanting to help. This terrified the three Pokémon who didn't know of its existence yet. They ran all the way to the kitchen and hid behind Ange.
"Meow meow~" Ange, there's a ghost!
Espurr said while trembling.
When Ange saw Haunter, he smiled and introduced it to them, "This is Haunter. It has been in the shop for a while, you just didn't notice it. It has no ill intentions; it just wanted to help you just now."
At this moment, a flash of inspiration hit Meowstic's mind. It said to Haunter, "Meow meow~"
"Haunt haunt~"
Haunter nodded shyly.
In an instant, Meowstic realized everything. The truth finally came to light.
No wonder it always felt the shop would mysteriously become clean and tidy before. At first, it didn't pay much attention, thinking it was just a hallucination, but recently the feeling had become more and more obvious. It almost thought the shop was haunted recently!
So it was Haunter!
"Meow meow~"
Meowstic thanked Haunter. Haunter's help had indeed saved it a lot of work.
"Haunt Haunt~"
Haunter waved its hands shyly, indicating there was no need for thanks.
After the cleaning was finished, Ange said, "Alright, let's go home!"
"Meow meow~"
"Meow~"
"Ral ral~"
The Pokémon responded happily.
Haunter looked at Ange, then at Meowstic and the others, and weakly raised its hand to follow with a cry.
"Haunt~"
Subsequently, Ange and the Pokémon went home together.
After returning home, Ange introduced Haunter to everyone, and everyone welcomed it warmly.
Ange asked Haunter once more for confirmation, "Haunter, are you sure you want to learn how to cook with me?"
"Haunt~"
Haunter nodded.
Thus, Ange reached out his hand and said to Haunter, "Very well, Haunter. From today on, you are also a member of this family, as my third apprentice."
First apprentice Munchlax, second apprentice Drizzile, third apprentice Haunter!
"Haunt~~"
Haunter reached out and shook hands with Ange.
"Paw paw~"
Seeing this, Pawmi took the lead in clapping, followed by Munchlax, Drizzile, and Diancie, who also clapped enthusiastically.
Only Metagross found it inconvenient to clap, so it could only use a smiley face to express its welcome to Haunter.
Inexplicably, Ange felt as if he had become Tang Sanzang, having three non-human apprentices.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Munch munch~" Master, what are you laughing at?
Munchlax asked in confusion.
Ange said, "I thought of an interesting story."
"Munch~" A story?
Munchlax tilted its head with a blank look.
Ange patted its head. "I'll tell it to you when I have time."
Munchlax nodded obediently.
Suddenly, Ange realized he hadn't seen Haunter's data yet, so he used the Eye of Observation on Haunter.
Haunter
Type: Ghost, Poison
Ability: Levitate
Gender: Female
Level: 36
Moves: Shadow Punch, Hypnosis, Lick, Mean Look, Curse, Hex, Sucker Punch, Night Shade, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Psychic, Phantom Force, Sludge Wave, Will-O-Wisp, Reflect Type
Individual Values
HP: 31
Attack: 25
Defense: 26
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 29
Speed: 31
After reading Haunter's data, Ange finally understood why Jarvis had repeatedly asked Daoka and Isabel to capture it; it indeed possessed great potential.
Afterward, Diancie arranged a room for Haunter on the third floor, right next to her own.
Looking at the clean and tidy room, Haunter felt as if it were dreaming.
"Haunt Haunt~" Is this really a place for me to live?
Haunter repeatedly confirmed with Diancie.
"Of course!" Diancie nodded. "Almost all of our rooms are the same."
"Haunt Haunt~"
Haunter happily spun around the room, touching the soft bed for a moment and the tall cabinet the next. Language could no longer express the joy in its heart.
Diancie said, "See if the room is missing anything. If it is, tell me, and I'll have Ange get it for you."
"Haunt Haunt~"
Haunter shook its head vigorously. How could such a good room be missing anything? It was simply like heaven.
Diancie said with a smile, "Alright, it doesn't matter if you can't think of anything now. It's the same if you remember later and we add it then."
"Haunt~" Haunter nodded.
After Haunter became familiar with the room, Diancie took it downstairs to have lunch with everyone.
When it saw the table full of sumptuous food, Haunter felt shocked once again. In its entire life, it had never seen so much delicious food!
Ange waved his hand to greet it, "Haunter, come and eat with us!"
Haunter floated to the table like it was in a dream. It looked at the warm-smiling Ange, the gentle and beautiful Diancie, the stout and cute Munchlax, the handsome Drizzile, Pawmi who was drooling at the food, Metagross who was smiling at it, and Komala who was swaying with closed eyes. For a moment, it was dazed.
Will these be my family and partners from now on?
For some reason, Haunter felt an urge to cry. Its heart felt full, as if something was about to overflow.
"Alright, everyone, let's eat!"
Following Ange's command, Munchlax and Pawmi cheered and immediately started using their chopsticks.
Haunter was a bit dazzled by the table full of food, and for a moment, it didn't know which dish to start with.
At that moment, three pairs of chopsticks holding food were simultaneously extended into the bowl in front of it.
Haunter froze.
Ange, Diancie, and Munchlax, who were serving the food, also froze.
Ange had given Haunter a serving of Stir-fried Tomato and Eggs, Munchlax had given Haunter its favorite Braised Fish, and Diancie had given Haunter the extremely delicious Steamed Veluza Meat.
Ange, Munchlax, and Diancie didn't expect to be so perfectly in sync. For a moment, they laughed in unison.
Ange patted Haunter. "Hurry up and eat, or it will get cold."
Haunter suppressed the tears in its eyes and nodded vigorously. It learned from the others to use chopsticks to pick up a little fish meat and put it into its mouth. Finally, its tears dropped down.
Noticing this, Ange hurriedly asked, "Haunter, what's wrong? Do you not like it?"
Haunter shook its head and reached out to wipe its eyes fiercely. After wiping away the tears, it showed a big smile and stuck out its bright red tongue.
"Haunt~~ " It's delicious, too delicious.
Ange smiled. "That's good then."
Hearing this, Munchlax and the others also showed kind smiles to Haunter.
This lunch was the most delicious meal Haunter had ever eaten.
Even many years later, when Ange's culinary skills had reached the pinnacle and Haunter had evolved into Gengar, it still couldn't forget this special lunch.