After lunch.
Gengar was in a very good mood now.
It ate cat ears one after another, and watching Lucas processing bamboo shoots made its mood even better.
It hummed a tune and used its psychic power to help Shauna deal with the stones.
"Shauna, take a break first. This kind of thing can't be done all at once."
Seeing Shauna covered in sweat, Lucas called out.
"Go rest first, and continue in the afternoon."
"Okay~"
Shauna finished dealing with the small stones in her hand, glanced at the nascent flowerbed, and nodded.
Actually, it was mainly Big Guy and the others who carried the stones, while Shauna, Celebi, and Mime Jr. were mainly responsible for directing.
Shauna led the Pokémon to Lucas's side, squatted down, and quietly watched Lucas's work.
"Are you tired?"
Shauna shook her head.
"Then can you help me and Gengar get the flour out of the kitchen?"
Shauna nodded.
"Gengar, let's go."
After speaking, Shauna led the Pokémon back into the kitchen.
Only Mime Jr. remained, learning the movements from Lucas's hands.
"Mime Jr.~"
"What's wrong, Mime Jr."
Lucas stopped his movements and looked at Mime Jr.
Mime Jr. pointed at the bamboo shoots in his hand and cried out.
"Do you want to try it too?"
Lucas asked with a smile.
Mime Jr. nodded.
"Mime Jr., you really love to cook."
Lucas recalled that Mime Jr. seemed very enthusiastic about cooking.
"Mime Jr.~"
Speaking of cooking, Mime Jr. happily cried out several more times.
Lucas listened quietly.
[Mime Jr.]
...[Introduction: Since who knows when, it has become passionately fond of cooking. It loves to see the satisfied expressions on people's faces when they eat its food.]
[I want to become a gourmet like Lucas — Mime Jr.]
"Do you want to become a gourmet, Mime Jr.?"
"Mime Jr.~"
Mime Jr. nodded.
"No problem, I'll teach you well."
"Mime Jr.~"
After finishing the bamboo shoots with Mime Jr., Lucas was curious why Shauna and the others were still in the kitchen, so he stood up and walked over with Mime Jr.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw a Shinny Gengar appear before him.
"Strange, where did this Shinny Gengar come from? And it's white."
"Shinny Celebi?"
"Why are they all white?"
It wasn't until he saw Shauna and the others trying to sneak away.
"..."
"So, you'd better explain what's going on here."
Lucas blocked their escape route, leaned against the door, and quietly watched them.
"Gengar—"
Hehe.
Gengar, who had turned from a purple little chubby to a white little chubby, showed a mouthful of white teeth and laughed shyly.
"Hehe~ Uncle."
Shauna's two index fingers kept intertwining, and looking at Lucas, she couldn't help but show a smile.
"Shauna, you..."
"Celebi~"
"And Celebi, you..."
Looking at Shauna and the Pokémon lined up in front of him, Lucas couldn't help but rub his forehead.
How could someone and Pokémon cause such a big mess... Considering that most of them were still children, Lucas sighed several times in a row.
"You, now, immediately, go clean yourselves up!"
Shauna and the Pokémon scattered at once.
Lucas grabbed Shauna by the scruff of her neck as she tried to run to the backyard, "You go back to your room and take a bath!"
After chasing them away to take a bath, Lucas looked at the messy kitchen, feeling utterly exhausted.
Finally, after he finished cleaning the kitchen, he called Shauna and the others over again, lining them up one by one in front of him.
He severely criticized them and also told them not to waste food.
"Sorry, Uncle..."
Shauna lowered her head, earnestly admitting her mistake.
Gengar and the others did the same.
"You can't do this again after this, understand?!"
"Mhm mhm mhm."
"Gengar—"
"Go watch TV now. I'll make something delicious and bring it over to you later. Hurry up and quietly watch the League Conference! Understand?!"
"Understood!"
Shauna's voice was tender yet firm.
Returning to the kitchen, Lucas hadn't expected Shauna to be led astray by Gengar, and Celebi too.
The snack Lucas was preparing this time was suggested by a book friend he met through reading novels: golden fruit sticks, also called golden fruit strips.
After teaching Mime Jr. how to make them hand-in-hand, he fried the finished golden fruit sticks in oil until golden brown, took them out, and sprinkled a layer of powdered sugar.
Mission accomplished.
"Gengar."
Gengar poked its head through the wall, looking at Lucas.
"Come and try it."
He said, picking up a golden fruit stick and handing it to Gengar, then also giving one to Mime Jr.
Crunch~
"Gengar—(๑´ڡ`๑)"
"Mime Jr.~"
So delicious!
Seeing this, Lucas also picked up one and put it in his mouth.
The texture was good, crispy, with a slight sweetness.
It would probably taste even better when cold.
"Take them out to eat."
He gave Gengar a large bowl of golden fruit sticks, telling it to take them out and eat with Shauna and the others, while he stayed behind to clean the kitchen.
Walking out of the kitchen with sparkling water, he watched them seriously watching the League Conference and eating snacks.
Lucas couldn't help but nod.
This was more like it, quiet and peaceful, unlike earlier when they made him so exhausted.
He handed out a cup of sparkling water to each of them, and when he gave it to Celebi, Lucas couldn't help but gently flick its forehead.
"You've only been here a day and you're already learning bad habits."
"Celebi~"
Celebi flapped its little wings, took a sip of sparkling water, and cried out happily.
Coming to Gengar's side, Lucas looked at the bag in its hand, which contained cat ears and was almost broken, and stretched out his hand.
"Give it to me."
"Gengar?"
"Give it to me first."
"Gengar..."
Gengar handed the cat ears in its hand to Lucas, pouted, and lowered its head.
Seeing this, Shauna gave it a golden fruit stick.
"Gengar—"
Lucas took Gengar's cat ears into the kitchen, and after a while, came out again.
"Here."
Gengar looked at the two bottles handed to it, one filled with cat ears, the other with golden fruit sticks.
"Gengar—"
Gengar immediately stuck out its tongue and licked Lucas's face.
After playing with Gengar for a while, Lucas sat on the chair next to Shauna, picked up a golden fruit stick and put it in his mouth, placing Vulpix on his lap.
Vulpix's tail had completely split into six tails. Gently stroking its fur, Lucas took out his phone.
Cynthia: A beautiful video, too bad I wasn't there.
Above was the video of the cocoon breaking that night that Lucas had sent her.
If Cynthia had been there, she might not have been able to see it.
As the Sinnoh Champion, Hunter J was still not a match for her.
Thinking of this, Lucas's finger moved.
Lucas: Didn't I show it to you this way?
Cynthia: You're right, thank you, Lucas.
Lucas: Look who this is.
He sent a photo of himself with Celebi.
Cynthia: Celebi?! You caught Celebi?
After explaining to Cynthia.
Cynthia: Next time, if there's danger, remember to tell me, after all, the Breeding House is also a place I really like.
Lucas: Okay, but only the Breeding House?
Cynthia: And Shauna, Gengar and the others.
Lucas was defeated again.
After chatting with her for a while, Lucas was about to put away his phone when Jenny called.
He answered the phone, and Jenny's voice came through.
"Lucas, we need your help here."
....
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