Lucas woke up the next day and carried Mime Jr. downstairs; the kitchen was already clattering with activity.
Lucas peeked into the kitchen and saw Alcremie inside making delicious desserts.
As Lucas approached, he saw all kinds of puddings.
There were small purple puddings shaped like Gengar, beautiful green ones shaped like Lilligant, and others that were large puddings shaped like Dash.
All the puddings were shaped like the Pokémon from the Breeding House.
On the other side were already baked cake bases. Alcremie was generating whipped cream from its hands, using different ingredients to add unique flavors to the already sweet and fresh cream.
For example, the special version of sweet honey provided by Vespiquen, as well as Moomoo Milk and fresh goat milk squeezed fresh that morning.
Lucas also saw Alcremie juicing berries grown in the Plantation and adding them in.
Seeing Lucas enter the kitchen, Alcremie hurried over and pulled his hand, leading him and Mime Jr. to where the creams of various flavors were set out.
Lucas set Mime Jr. down, and together they began to taste the different flavored creams.
The creams mixed with different ingredients presented a variety of flavors on Lucas's taste buds.
The most obvious and intuitive part was that Lucas could feel true happiness from the cream.
"Mmm~ This is amazing, Alcremie."
Lucas praised Alcremie without hesitation.
It was no exaggeration to say that Alcremie's dessert-making skills had completely surpassed Lucas's.
Alcremie truly was a Pokémon born to make desserts.
The thought of being able to eat different yet incredibly delicious desserts every day made Lucas immensely happy.
[Alcremie's Transformation: Having undergone a change in mindset, Alcremie seems to have produced unusual cream. When combined with the various magical ingredients of the Breeding House, something extraordinary has happened; Alcremie's desserts have been sublimated.]
[Alcremie's Desserts: By mixing its own cream with ingredients from the Breeding House, Alcremie creates desserts of different flavors. Each ingredient combination carries an unusual effect.]
[sweet honey: The consumer can maintain an optimistic and positive mindset for a long time afterward. It also slightly grants the consumer flexible thinking and the motivation for hard work, greatly reducing physical fatigue.]
["Only with optimism can one face all difficulties; only through labor will there be continuous rewards." — Alcremie, Vespiquen]
[Moomoo Milk: Slightly heals hidden ailments within the consumer. Like a steady stream, consumers with hidden ailments will feel their bodies and minds relax.]
["We want to heal not just your soul, but also your body. We want you to be healthy." — Alcremie, Miltank]
[Gogoat Fresh goat milk: Provides courage to the consumer. The consumer will become stronger and shed their cowardice.]
["Only by being strong and having courage can one face all difficulties and crush them all." — Alcremie, Gogoat, Dash (Machamp)]
[berries: Be happy, consumer. The Breeding House always hopes you live happily and joyfully.]
["I will bring blessings to you with all the Pokémon of the Breeding House. I hope your wishes come true, I hope you are healthy, and I hope you are happy." — Lucas, Breeding House]
Lucas looked at the lines of text before him; every single effect could be described as excellent.
Optimism, courage, happiness, health, labor, strength—
All of them were excellent effects. If sold, wouldn't this be like stacking buffs for the people of Twinleaf Town?
And without any side effects.
But why was Dash mixed into the Gogoat fresh goat milk?
Lucas fell into thought.
Then he remembered that Gogoat and Skiddo seemed to spend every day not just eating grass, but also wrestling with Lickitung.
Courage, strength, breaking through everything—
So that's how it is?!
Shocking!
Lucas seemed to have discovered something incredible.
Coming back to his senses, Lucas saw Alcremie looking at him. He gave it a gentle smile. "Alcremie, whether you believe it or not, your desserts will truly bring joy and happiness to many people and Pokémon. They will make this winter much better for them."
Alcremie sat on a chair, happily swaying its body.
Though it didn't know why Lucas said that, for a dessert chef, such praise was undoubtedly the greatest compliment.
"Also, Alcremie, you need to be prepared."
"Mee?"
What?
"I mean, many customers might want to buy your desserts soon."
Alcremie's eyes curved into smiles as it patted its chest.
"Mee."
Leave it to me.
Lucas poked its little nose.
After breakfast, Lucas, Gothitelle, and Mr. and Mrs. Fujino packed up the various desserts.
"Alcremie, would you like to give your desserts to others? Let people try the desserts you made for free."
Alcremie stopped packing and listened to Lucas. It nodded without hesitation.
Lucas smiled and said, "Great job." After labeling the various desserts, he looked at Gengar.
"Gengar, I'll have to trouble you to make a delivery run according to the labels."
Gengar floated over and stuffed all the packed desserts into its Four-dimensional Space.
Seeing this, Alcremie tugged at Lucas's hem.
"Mee—"
Can I go too?
Lucas was startled for a moment. "Does Alcremie want to deliver the desserts personally?"
Alcremie nodded.
Then it glanced at Gothitelle, who was waiting for it to go to the the Cottage together.
Gothitelle smiled and nodded at it.
Lucas said with a smile, "Of course you can. Then I'll leave it to you, Alcremie. Gengar will take you there."
"Mee."
Can Rhyperior come along too?
"No problem."
Lucas went to call Rhyperior out.
Gothitelle stared at Rhyperior with an unfriendly gaze.
Yesterday, it had messed up the kitchen door, and Gothitelle had spent a long time fixing it.
Rhyperior didn't dare speak when it saw that.
The Pokémon at the Breeding House were all so terrifying, especially the females—they were even scarier.
Lucas gave Rhyperior some instructions, telling it to restrain its temper and protect Alcremie.
Rhyperior thumped its chest heavily.
The movement was so large it almost punched Lucas.
Gothitelle, Lilligant, and Ninetales' eyes widened. In the next second, Rhyperior was sent flying, followed by an Energy Ball.
Rhyperior returned to the Breeding House. Gothitelle and the others hadn't hit it hard, so the injury was almost non-existent for its thick skin.
It picked Alcremie up and let it sit on its shoulder.
Lucas nodded, and Gengar led them out.
Gothitelle also took Roserade to the the Cottage.
By now, Roserade had grown fond of the children in the the Cottage's daycare. Seeing this, Lucas let it go with Gothitelle every day.
As long as they were happy.
Lucas nodded to Staraptor. Staraptor spread its wings and flew into the air, following behind them.
In Twinleaf Town, the first place Gengar led Rhyperior and Alcremie to was Grandpa Manny's house. Gengar took out two desserts Lucas had prepared, handed them to Rhyperior, and then signaled Alcremie to knock on the door.
Alcremie happily ran over to knock, with Rhyperior carrying the desserts behind it.
Grandma Manny opened the door and was startled to see a giant Rhyperior. Then, hearing Alcremie's cry, she looked down and discovered the soft and fragrant Alcremie.
Alcremie said hello and then had Rhyperior hand the desserts to Grandma Manny.
"This is—"
Grandma Manny hadn't seen Rhyperior or Alcremie before, and since the custom packaging boxes Lucas ordered hadn't arrived yet, these temporary ones didn't have the Breeding House's logo.
While Grandma Manny was hesitating whether to take them, Gengar appeared beside her.
"Gengar gargar"
Good morning, Grandma~
"Oh? Gengar?"
Grandma Manny recognized it was the Breeding House's Gengar and understood what was going on. "Are these two new employees of the Breeding House? Has the Breeding House made something new again?"
Grandma Manny took them and said with a smile, "Tell Lucas next time that he doesn't need to send things to us. It's so expensive and a lot of work."
Gengar shook its head, indicating it was no trouble, and then introduced Rhyperior and Alcremie to Grandma Manny.
Grandma Manny went inside to get some snacks for Alcremie. Gengar reach out with a grin, wanting to take them, but was swatted away by Grandma Manny's hand.
Gengar: ?! (/
No love anymore?!
Grandma Manny gave them all to Alcremie with a smile. "What a cute Pokémon~"
Alcremie's eyes curved into smiles.
After saying goodbye to Grandma Manny, a dejected Gengar led Rhyperior and Alcremie to the next house.
Alcremie called out to Gengar and handed it the snacks.
Gengar's face lit up at the sight. It took a piece of Candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into its mouth.
"Gengar gargar~"
It let Alcremie keep the rest.
Grandma Manny gave these to you.
Alcremie happily unwrapped one for Rhyperior, then one for itself.
Finally, it even unwrapped one for Staraptor, who was nearby.
The four Pokémon chewed on the sweet Candy and walked happily toward the next house.
After watching Gengar and the others leave, Grandma Manny went back inside and called Grandpa Manny.
"Old man, Lucas had Gengar and two new partners bring us some new delicacies. They seem to be desserts."
Since he drank the Breeding House's Moomoo Milk every day, Grandpa Manny's health had improved significantly.
However, as people get older, they still feel pain in their limbs on rainy or snowy days.
This was true for both Grandpa and Grandma Manny.
The two sat at the table, looking at the beautifully shaped cake and pudding.
Grandpa scooped a bit and held it to Grandma Manny's mouth.
"Here, I remember you loved cake and pudding most when you were young."
Grandma Manny ate it without hesitation.
"At least you remembered, Old man."
Grandpa Manny laughed heartily.
"Of course I remember. I also remember you liked it best when I fed you. Don't be shy."
Hearing this, Grandma Manny reached out and gave him a playful slap.
Then Grandma Manny also scooped some and fed it to Grandpa Manny.
Grandpa Manny opened his mouth and ate it.
Just like that, bit by bit, they shared it.
The cake and desserts on the table were soon finished.
Soon, Grandpa and Grandma Manny felt their bodies grow warm.
The pain in their legs and feet felt a bit better too.
Grandma Manny looked at Grandpa and saw that he was equally shocked.
"Lucas is truly... too kind."
Grandma Manny wiped her moist eyes and said.
Grandpa Manny nodded in agreement.
"Let's just wish for the safety and well-being of Lucas and everyone at the Breeding House."