A new side quest

"The next stop is Celestic Station. Passengers arriving at their destination, please disembark promptly."

Li Wei took the train from Lihai Town, south of Snowpoint City, back to Celestic Town.

Not having a Flying-type Pokémon was still rather inconvenient.

He had Arcanine to ride, and it wasn't impossible to fly on Metang, but Metang wasn't as steady as Metagross.

The Pokémon Day Care occasionally needed Flying-type Pokémon to deliver Pokémon to customers, too.

Still, that problem would solve itself once Metang evolved.

Celestic Town.

It was November, and snow fluttered down from the sky. Every spoken word came with a puff of mist.

Celestic Town was small, but famous.

That wasn't just because the shrine in the town center dated back to ancient times and preserved Sinnoh's history in full. It was also the hometown of Cynthia, Sinnoh's Champion.

Li Wei hadn't been back to Celestic Town in over half a year, yet everything here was so familiar.

"Fresh Moomoo Milk!"

"Sweet Honey made by Combee!"

The cries of shopkeepers and stall owners rang out endlessly along the street. It was a bustling marketplace, the only difference being that most of them had Pokémon with them.

"Little Wei, you're back! Come have a taste!"

The friendly uncles and aunties kept calling Li Wei over to sample their food.

"I'm back! No rush-another day!"

Li Wei and Lucario each held a meat skewer in one hand and waved with the other.

"Li Wei, Lucario, you're back!"

A sneaking figure jumped out from behind them and patted Li Wei and Lucario on the shoulders.

They had noticed her long ago; they simply hadn't exposed her.

"Meng, long time no see."

"Lucario!"

(Long time no see!)

Standing before Li Wei was a young woman of twenty-five or twenty-six, dressed in a padded coat and a warm hat.

Her name was Makino Meng.

Li Wei had always called her Meng.

The passing pedestrians didn't interfere with their reunion.

"What brought you back all of a sudden?"

"My journey's over. I came back to see Grandpa."

"Come on, come on!"

Meng grabbed Li Wei with one hand and Lucario with the other, pulling them over to her stall.

A Farfetch'd with sleek feathers crouched on a chair, its plump body completely covering its webbed feet.

"Quack!"

Seeing Li Wei and Lucario, Farfetch'd raised its ingredient in greeting.

"Long time no see, Farfetch'd."

"Perfect timing. I just made these Jubilife muffins. Take a few back with you for Grandpa Lian."

Without giving them a chance to object, Meng started packing some into a box for Li Wei and Lucario.

Jubilife muffins were pastries made from Berries and other ingredients, something like sweet cake bread.

They resembled Poffins, but weren't quite the same.

Muffins were soft and fluffy, while Poffins were crisp cookies.

Although they bore the name of Sinnoh's Jubilife City, they were actually a specialty of the Galar Region.

Jubilife muffins weren't particularly well-known yet, so Li Wei was a little surprised that Meng knew how to make them.

Li Wei and Lucario stepped back at the same time, crossing their arms in front of themselves in perfect sync.

"Not unless we pay."

(Exactly.)

Meng's eyes widened. "Why would I take your money? Grandpa Lian has done so much for me!"

"Then we'll just leave."

Li Wei raised his thumb and pointed toward home.

Meng pouted, then finally deflated like a punctured balloon.

Li Wei made a quick count. There were only a dozen or so muffins on display.

After he and Lucario had each sampled one, Li Wei swept his hand grandly.

"Meng, I'll take everything here. I'll bring them back for Grandpa and the Pokémon."

While Meng packed them into boxes, Li Wei asked, "Meng, what made you start making these?"

Meng used to sell ingredients directly, and his grandfather had always bought his ingredients from her.

Meng came from a poor family. Her parents had died early, and her grandparents were gone too, but she remained optimistic.

That was also why Li Wei's grandfather helped her.

Meng smiled. "No competition! I'm the only one here who knows how to make Jubilife muffins. I went and learned how especially."

Li Wei gave her a thumbs-up. "Smart thinking."

Meng planted her hands on her hips, looking proud. "Of course!"

Meng really was skilled. The Jubilife muffins she made were definitely better than anything Li Wei could make.

"I'll head home, then. Let's catch up when we're free."

"Okay, get going!"

After he said goodbye to Meng, a ding sounded in his mind, and another side quest appeared.

Meng's trouble (optional): Recently, unidentified Pokémon have been stealing and eating the Berries at Xiao Meng's Berry Orchard. Please help her resolve this problem.

Quest reward: Random Pokémon item draw ticket ×1

Still so reluctant to trouble anyone, huh.

Li Wei glanced back at Meng, who was busy packing up her stall, and shook his head helplessly.

"Lucario, let's go see Meng tomorrow."

"Lucario!"

Even without a reward, he ought to help.

His family home had a small courtyard enclosed by a waist-high bamboo fence.

From a distance, Li Wei could already see a plump purple Gengar sitting at the entrance, happily eating noodles.

A closer look revealed they were beef noodles.

The braised beef had a rich, dark glaze and had been cut into large chunks. Its aroma filled his nose. This was his grandfather's handiwork.

You can't eat that, Gengar! You'll get fat!

Let me help take some of that off your hands!

"Gengar!" ๑╹◡╹)ﾉ

Gengar had been grinning foolishly with its teeth bared, but when it noticed Li Wei staring at its beef noodles, it clutched its bowl and hastily retreated several steps.

"Gengar! Gengar!"

Lucario dutifully served as interpreter.

(There's more in the kitchen. Go get your own.)

"Gengar, where's Grandpa?"

Gengar pointed toward the backyard with its stubby little hand.

"Gengar!"

"Come out, Arcanine, Metang!"

Li Wei tossed two Luxury Balls, releasing Arcanine and Metang.

"Awooo!"

Arcanine shook itself out after landing, the fluffy mane around its neck fluttering in the breeze.

Arcanine twitched its nose and followed the aroma straight into the kitchen, vanishing in a flash.

Its speed was jaw-dropping.

"You need Extreme Speed just to eat noodles?!"

"Metang!"

Metang's first reaction was to look around and inspect its surroundings.

Metang had been born in the wild. As a Shiny Pokémon, it had faced even harsher living conditions, making it somewhat more cautious.

"This is my home. There's nothing to worry about."

"Metang."

Gengar casually pulled a bottle of ice-cold cola from its mouth and approached the silver Metang.

"Gengar, Gengar?"

Lucario couldn't keep a straight face anymore.

What Gengar meant was: Buddy, wanna have some?

"..."

Metang was utterly exasperated.

On his way to the backyard, Li Wei heard his grandfather's voice.

"Arcanine, it's you! Is Li Wei back?"

"Awoo!"

"All right, all right. I'll get you a bowl."

A sturdy, black-haired old man in a padded coat walked out of the kitchen, looking hale and hearty, and came face-to-face with Li Wei.

"Grandpa."

"What brought you back all of a sudden?"

Li Wei said solemnly, "I wanted to come back and learn Pokémon breeding and cooking from you."

The moment Li Wei finished speaking, a mechanical female voice sounded in his mind again: [Ding. You have a new side quest.]