Dhelmise's Meal

"Rumble! (╯▽╰) It smells so good~~"

At that moment, Dhelmise felt that its ghostly life had truly been worthwhile. Ghost Gems crushed through a special grinder, wrapped in Spell Tags, then lit with incense—the energy that drifted out not only filled it up, but also tasted unbelievably delicious. Who had invented this? It was so good!

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

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

"Kehehe! Kehehe! Kehehe!"

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 wildly. It had already swallowed a huge plate of ham fried rice, along with another huge plate of cola-braised chicken wings. Now Haunter was holding the chicken wing plate and licking it furiously, cleaning every last drop of sauce from it. If it were not for the saliva, the plate practically would not need washing.

"Hey, hey, slow down. What are you in such a hurry for? It's not like I used to starve you."

Blake looked helplessly at Haunter. Every time, it acted as though it had never eaten before, making Blake unconsciously think of the term hungry ghost.

"Burp—keheh—"

Haunter let out a huge burp, put down the plate, then awkwardly scratched the back of its head. It had eaten this food since it was little, but this was the first time it had done so after growing hands. Holding a plate felt incredible.

Click!

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

"You cooked! It smells amazing!"

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

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

Blake patted Dhelmise as he spoke.

"Rumble? Rumble—"

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 on out, Wingull!"

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

"Wiiingull!"

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

"Oh? The Wingull hatched? Congratulations."

The moment Blake saw Wingull, he knew what had happened. It had to be the egg from Uncle Sam's Pelipper. Before Uncle Sam had set sail last time, Pelipper had brought back an egg, which had been left in Lulina's care. Hatching in a month was a pretty decent pace.

"Right? Right? It hatched this morning. When I got to the Gym to train, I noticed the eggshell moving. After I watched over it for more than an hour, this little one finally 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. Having just been born, she clearly saw Lulina as her mother. And indeed, Lulina had cared for her from the very beginning.

"Perfect. One hatched on my side too."

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

"Hatched? Wait... that egg!"

Lulina's mind stalled for a moment. Dreepy's egg had been stored for so long that, in her eyes, it had become practically no different from an ornament.

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

"A pseudo-legendary Pokémon!"

Blake said it casually, but Lulina knew perfectly well what Dreepy represented. To be honest, not just anyone could raise a late-blooming pseudo-legendary Pokémon. Never mind whether they had enough resources—even encountering one was another matter entirely. Moreover, pseudo-legendary Pokémon usually had to be raised from a young age. Once they were fully developed, they became difficult to capture, and even forced capture could lead to backlash. Never underestimate a pseudo-legendary's pride.

"Yeah, a pseudo-legendary. But the little guy doesn't have the bearing of one yet. 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 rarely seen in real life, but in the games, they appeared in groups, so Blake could stay relatively calm. Of course, the most important thing was that he had already gotten excited earlier.

"Okay, 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's a Pokémon."

Lulina said this after serving herself a bowl of rice.

"That's good news. The beginner Trainer assessment isn't 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 served himself a bowl of rice as well.

"Who knows? Maybe it's to keep some people from aiming too high, while also preventing them from taking their parents' Pokémon out on a journey. After all, Pokémon you haven't raised yourself can easily refuse to listen."

Lulina spoke while eating.

"Maybe. But do people really do that?"

Blake did not understand. In this world, Pokémon were very loyal to their Trainers. They might make allowances for their Trainer's children, but it was difficult to command them in battle unless they had received specialized training, like the rented Pokémon in the Pokémon League.

"I actually know of quite a few cases. Apparently, one person set out with his parents' Pokémon back then, but because he couldn't command them at all, their relationship got worse and worse. In the end, the Pokémon even left on its own. To force a Pokémon to leave voluntarily... I can't imagine how badly he must have treated it."

Lulina said.

"Yikes... I really don't understand what those people are thinking. Forget it. Dhelmise, how does it taste?"

Blake shook his head, unable to understand what those people were thinking, then turned to check on Dhelmise.

"Rumble!"

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, or 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."

Dhelmise nodded in agreement. After all, it could feel it too—the energy was too powerful, and it would need time to digest it.