Dhelmise's Meal

"Rumble roar! (╯▽╰) It smells so good~~"

At that moment, Dhelmise felt that its ghostly existence had been utterly worthwhile. Ghost Gems crushed through a special grinder were wrapped in Spell Tags, then fitted with incense and lit. The energy that drifted out not only made it feel full, but also carried an incomparable flavor. Who had invented this? It was too delicious!

"Looks like the things passed down through the family really are useful."

Hearing Dhelmise's satisfied sounds, Blake nodded. That settled Dhelmise's food problem. However, according to the book, it could not eat such a feast too often. Once every two weeks was the absolute limit; once a month was best. As always, overdoing supplements was no good. "Too much nourishment harms the body" was no empty saying.

"Keheh! Keheh! Keheh!"

While Blake watched Dhelmise, Haunter on the other side had once again discovered the benefits of having hands: it could hold a plate and lick it like crazy. A huge plate of ham fried rice had already gone into its stomach, along with an equally huge plate of cola chicken wings. Haunter was now holding the plate of cola chicken wings and furiously licking it. Every last bit of sauce had been licked clean. If not for the saliva, there would practically have been no need to wash the plate.

"Hey, hey, slow down. What's the rush? It's not like I used to starve you."

Blake looked helplessly at Haunter. It acted like it had never eaten before every single time, making Blake think of the term "hungry ghost."

"Burp—Keheh—"

Haunter let out a huge burp, set down the plate, and awkwardly scratched the back of its head. Come to think of it, it had eaten this food ever since it was little, but this was its first time after growing hands. Holding a plate felt amazing.

Click!

As they spoke, the front door opened, and Lulina rushed straight over to the dining table.

"You cooked! It smells amazing!"

Lulina knew how skilled Blake was at cooking, but he usually liked making instant food. Ever since Uncle Sam and his wife had gone away, he had started slacking off and stopped cooking proper meals.

"Yeah. Wash your hands first. Oh, right, let me introduce you. This is the newest member of the household, Dhelmise."

Blake pointed at Dhelmise, which was still immersed in the incense.

"Dhelmise, snap out of it. This is Lulina, my childhood friend. She stays at my house all the time."

Blake patted Dhelmise.

"Rumble roar? Rumble roar—"

Dhelmise came back to its senses, glanced at Lulina, and extended a strand of seaweed.

"Hello, Dhelmise. Dad told me about you. Welcome, welcome! Oh, right, I have a new friend too. Come out, Wingull!"

After shaking Dhelmise's hand, Lulina threw out a Dive Ball as well.

"Wingull!"

With a long cry, a somewhat petite Wingull was released.

"Oh? Your Wingull hatched? Congratulations."

The moment Blake saw Wingull, he understood. It had to be the egg from Uncle Sam's Pelipper. Before Uncle Sam had gone out to sea last time, Pelipper had brought back an egg, which had been left with Lulina to care for. It had hatched after a month, which was a pretty decent pace.

"Right? Right? It hatched this morning. When I arrived at the Gym for training, I noticed the eggshell was moving. After I watched over it for more than an hour, this little one hatched."

Lulina stroked Wingull's smooth feathers. The Wingull, which had been born less than a day ago, perched on Lulina's arm and nestled against her. Clearly, the newborn had taken Lulina for its mother. And really, Lulina had raised her from the very beginning.

"Perfect. One hatched on my side too."

Blake wanted to pet Wingull, but the freshly hatched Pokémon was obviously wary of him. She raised her wings to keep Blake from approaching and even opened her beak in a threatening posture.

"Hatched? Wait... that egg!"

Lulina's mind froze for a moment. Dreepy's egg had been stored for so long that, in Lulina's eyes, it had practically become nothing more than an ornament.

"I found something good on the abandoned ship. Thanks to it, the egg hatched successfully. A Dreepy."

"A pseudo-legendary Pokémon!"

Blake's tone was casual, but Lulina knew perfectly well what Dreepy represented. Honestly, not just anyone could raise a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, especially one that matured late. Never mind whether someone had sufficient resources—just encountering one was another matter entirely. And pseudo-legendaries usually had to be raised from a young age. Once they had fully matured, they were difficult to catch. Even if they were forcibly caught, they might turn on their Trainer. Never underestimate a pseudo-legendary's pride.

"Yeah, a pseudo-legendary. But the little guy doesn't have much of a pseudo-legendary's bearing right now. It absorbed too much energy and fell asleep. It's in my room. I'll show you when it wakes up. Let's eat first."

Blake spread his hands. Pseudo-legendaries were rare in real life, but they appeared in groups in the games, so Blake was relatively able to keep his cool. Of course, the most important thing was that he had already gotten excited over it.

"All right. But this is a day worth celebrating. Oh, right, my teacher said that if I pass the beginner Trainer assessment, she'll give me a surprise. It seems like it'll be a Pokémon."

Lulina said this as she served herself a bowl of rice.

"That's a good thing. The beginner Trainer assessment won't be difficult for you. Honestly, does it even need to exist? As long as you can command your Pokémon according to the requirements, you pass. Almost every beginner can do that, especially Trainers who receive Pokémon from the Pokémon League."

Blake said this as he served himself a bowl of rice as well.

"Who knows? Maybe they're worried that some people aim too high, and they also want to stop people from taking their parents' Pokémon and setting off on a journey. After all, Pokémon you didn't raise yourself can easily refuse to listen."

Lulina spoke while eating.

"Maybe. But do people really do that?"

Blake did not understand. In the real world, Pokémon were very loyal to their Trainers. They might go easy on their Trainer's children, but commanding them in battle was difficult unless they had undergone special training—like the rented Pokémon in the Pokémon League.

"I actually know quite a few cases. I heard that someone once set out with his parents' Pokémon, but because he couldn't command it at all, the relationship between them got worse and worse. In the end, the Pokémon even ran away on its own. To force a Pokémon to leave voluntarily... I can't imagine how awful he must have been."

Lulina said.

"Hiss... I don't understand how those people think. Forget it. Dhelmise, how does it taste?"

Blake shook his head, unable to understand such people, then turned to check on Dhelmise.

"Rumble roar!"

Dhelmise swayed its body, and anyone could hear the happiness in its voice.

"Looks like you really like it. But you can only eat this way once a month. Otherwise, it'll harm your body. I'm telling you in advance, so don't get too impatient."

Blake reminded Dhelmise as he watched it.

"Rumble roar."

Dhelmise nodded in agreement. It could feel it too: that energy was simply too powerful, and it would need time to digest it.