The trio had been dispatched to Kalos by Team Rocket for about three weeks now.
Their goal was to find a way to catch those Pokémon from Pelican Town, so that Team Rocket headquarters could research their breeding methods for mass production.
"So where to next?"
"Didn't you hear that girl say she's going to participate in the Laverre City Contest? Of course we're going to Laverre City!" Jessie said, then couldn't help but cup her face: "I don't know how long it's been since I last participated in a Contest. This time I will definitely—"
Before she finished speaking, Meowth jumped up and swiped at Jessie's face twice. After a burst of pain, Jessie covered her face while heavily bonking Meowth on the head.
"What are you doing, meow?"
"That's what I should be saying!"
"I said the target is the Pokémon!" Meowth held its head. "Who said anything about participating in a Contest, meow?"
"Just incidentally, I said incidentally!" Jessie said, starting to pack up her things.
Meowth and James looked at each other, saw the helplessness in each other's eyes, and then also began packing up together.
Meanwhile, since they couldn't stay at the inn, Ron and Haley walked a bit further forward and ultimately chose to camp by a riverside.
Although she had gone to the forest with Ron and the others to gather materials before, this was her first experience spending the night outdoors.
Haley watched as Ron took out the specially-made Pelican Town campfire, then lit it in front of her.
"This is how you put it away," Ron demonstrated. "And this is how you light it."
This kind of campfire made with a tool kit was completely different from campfires that required gathering firewood. It could be retracted and deployed freely, with simple operation, greatly reducing the difficulty of camping.
"I see." Haley rested her chin on her hand, watching Ron place the camping cookware on the campfire.
"As for this—" Ron then took out a package of food, "This is something Gus and I researched together. When we split up later, I'll give you some. If you're in the wild and don't have time to cook later, you can use this."
This was something Ron had been working on recently. It was somewhat similar to the travel rations popular in Kalos, but slightly different in that it incorporated Gus's recipes. It was somewhat similar to the meal kits sold in his previous life. Compared to travel rations, the production process was slightly more complicated, but the benefit was that you just needed to heat it in a pot to taste dishes from back home.
Haley watched Ron with great interest as he poured the meal kit into the pot. Although it hadn't heated up yet, a rich aroma was already wafting out, smelling not much different from the Saloon's food.
The campfire's light shone on Haley's fair face. She stared motionlessly at the bubbles starting to rise in the pot, only smiling after a while.
"You seem to have made so many preparations—were you worried I would starve to death in Kalos?" Haley's voice was somewhat soft.
Ron paused upon hearing this, then shook his head: "No, just expanding the market. I think there's no reason Gus's cooking couldn't make money in Kalos."
"I see, I thought it was for me." Haley smiled and stood up upon hearing this, reaching out to take the utensils from the picnic table.
Ron saying this actually made her breathe a sigh of relief. If everyone felt that she couldn't survive in Kalos on her own, she might start doubting that herself.
But she also felt that Ron was indeed a bit overly considerate.
Things that Emily hadn't even considered were all packed in Ron's bag. While explaining the purpose of each item to her, he emphasized various matters that she didn't quite understand.
The food in the pot was ready soon. Since both of them were outside now, all the Pokémon were released as well.
"This is yours." Haley placed the plate in front of Froakie, then looked at Bellossom beside it: "What about it, Ron? What does it eat?"
Ron took out some Poké Beans from his backpack and placed them in front of Bellossom.
Speaking of which, Kalos did have specialized Pokémon food sales. Some types were even specifically tailored to individual Pokémon species.
But most of these were for popular Pokémon. Even in this world, there were distinctions between popular and unpopular Pokémon.
Popular Pokémon were like cats and dogs from his previous life—not only did merchants design corresponding food and supplies for them, but there were also various merchandise derived from these Pokémon.
Unpopular ones only had food categorized by their Pokémon type.
"These are Poké Beans that Grass-type Pokémon prefer," Ron said, looking at the Sunkern in Haley's arms. "Does it want some too?"
"Sun!"
"Then these are yours." Ron said, taking a plate, placing some Poké Beans on it, and setting it in front of Sunkern.
Haley ate while observing Sunkern eating the Poké Beans.
Speaking of which, travel and adventure weren't quite what Haley had imagined. They weren't as dramatic as TV dramas portrayed. Although they did encounter some wild Pokémon on the road, Froakie would drive them all away with a single Water Gun, and the journey went smoothly.
Of course, occasionally they would encounter a few strange people, like what Ron said about making eye contact leading to battles and such, but those were also driven away with a single Water Gun.
Thinking this, she glanced at Froakie again and continued eating.
In the nearby bushes, three pairs of eyes peeked out.
"What are they eating, meow—it smells so good." Meowth swallowed: "It's all your fault, Jessie. You spent all our living expenses from our part-time jobs!"
"Exactly!" Saying this, James rummaged in his arms and pulled out a rice ball, solemnly breaking it into two pieces and handing one to Meowth's paw. "This is the last rice ball."
"Hey, what about mine?" Jessie reached out to grab it discontentedly, but James dodged away.
"You can eat the dress you just bought!" Meowth said, holding up that piece of rice ball and about to put it in its mouth right in front of Jessie.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Jessie withdrew her hand, covered her growling stomach, and sat back on the ground.
"Can't help it with you, meow." Saying this, Meowth broke the rice ball in its hand and handed it to Jessie.
James saw this and also broke off a piece, handing it to Jessie.
"Meowth—James—" Jessie took it with a moved expression. Just as she was about to eat, she heard a voice from behind.
"Would you like to have some with us?"
Before the words finished, the rice ball in Jessie's hand fell to the ground in fright.
"Ah, my rice ball—"
Saying this, she turned around fiercely and saw Ron standing by the bushes.
"Ah! How did you know we were here?"
"—Did you think you were being quiet?"
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