Although there didn't seem to be much to do, with the help of the Pokémon in the Breeding House and the forest Pokémon, Lucas and Nina were still busy until the afternoon.
Mainly, Gengar and the others caused a ruckus while helping, leading to congestion.
In the end, Lucas stepped in and sent some Pokémon to rest, which finally calmed things down.
After they finished, Mime Jr. ran out wearing a chef's hat.
"Mime, Mime Jr.~"
Dinner is served~
Lucas went back to his room to take a shower, then took out the Everstone and returned downstairs.
He hung the Everstone on Mime Jr. Because Mime Jr. didn't want to evolve, Lucas hung the Everstone around its neck.
Mime Jr. held the Everstone in its hands and smiled joyfully.
Then, remembering that Grandma seemed to have given Mime Jr. another gift, Lucas took a look.
[Mime Jr.'s Menu: The delicious food made by Mime Jr. will be added to the menu according to its own needs. The dishes selected for the menu will undergo slight changes.]
Eating the meal prepared by Mime Jr. and Gothitelle, Lucas recalled the sentence he saw that day.
[I remember when I first learned to cook, I also dreamed of having a restaurant—Grandma]
Since this was Grandma's wish, and Mime Jr. also loved to cook.
Lucas looked at Mime Jr., who was happily eating, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Mime Jr., have you considered opening a diner?"
"Mime?"
Mime Jr. looked at Lucas curiously. A diner? What's a diner?
Nina, Shauna, Mr. and Mrs. Fujino, Gengar, Lilligant, Gothitelle, and all the other Pokémon were also drawn to Lucas's words.
Lucas swallowed the food in his mouth, picked up a chicken wing, put it in his bowl, then looked at Mime Jr. and continued, "Mime Jr.'s Diner, selling the delicious food you make, allowing passing travelers to stop and enjoy a delicious meal, and then rest for a while."
Mime Jr.'s eyes lit up, then it looked at Lucas, nodding continuously.
Lucas smiled, patted its little head, and said, "Eat well. After dinner, we'll go outside and plan it out together."
Mime Jr. lowered its head and began to eat heartily.
"That's great! Mime Jr. is going to be a great gourmet too! Then the Breeding House will have two gourmets, and Shauna can eat lots and lots of delicious food."
Shauna's cheeks were puffed out, and she chewed continuously, speaking indistinctly.
Since Mime Jr. liked it, and it was Grandma's wish, why not?
After dinner, Lucas took Mime Jr. to the Breeding Road outside the Breeding House. There was an empty plot of land next to the Breeding House building, piled with stones and wood cleared during road construction. If used for a diner, it would be a good choice.
After discussing ideas with Nina and Mr. and Mrs. Fujino, Lucas had Mime Jr. sit on his shoulder, then took out his phone and called Mayor Quinn.
After telling him his idea and asking if he could use the empty plot, Mayor Quinn generously gave the land to Lucas.
Seeing Lucas nod, Nina also took out her phone, walked aside, and contacted a moving company.
After dealing with these matters, Lucas returned to the Breeding House's lounge and sat down. The venue was settled, the chef was settled, and the next thing to solve was the menu.
Lucas took out a blank menu and placed it in front of Mime Jr.
"Mime Jr., how about we use this as the menu? Tonight, we'll research and see which dishes are suitable to be written on it, to serve as the diner's menu, for sale to guests."
Mime Jr. nodded, then picked up the menu, which was bigger than itself, swaying precariously as if about to fall.
Gothitelle was startled and almost used Confusion to protect Mime Jr.
However, it didn't do so. It held back in the end, as it couldn't overprotect Mime Jr.
Mime Jr. felt a mysterious power on the menu attracting it.
By the time Lucas had planted the seeds in the backyard and returned with Gengar and the others, carrying a large pile of vegetables,
Dash and the others had already moved the tables out to the backyard and were sitting on chairs.
Several large round tables were occupied by Nina, Shauna, Mr. and Mrs. Fujino, Gengar, Lilligant, Gothitelle, Vulpix —
The people from the Breeding House and a group of Pokémon were all eagerly awaiting the delicious food Mime Jr. would prepare.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lucas was assisting Mime Jr.
Mime Jr. looked at the various ingredients and was momentarily conflicted.
There were too many ingredients; it didn't know where to start.
Lucas comforted it from the side: "It's okay, any one is fine. You can make anything I usually teach you."
Mime Jr. nodded, then picked up a carrot. Its small hand slipped, and the kitchen knife spun a few times in its tiny hand before suddenly chopping down on the carrot.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
Mime Jr. gradually found its rhythm, and soon, the first dish was ready.
Mime Jr. brought it out for everyone and the Pokémon to taste, receiving unanimous praise.
Subsequently, more and more dishes were brought out from the kitchen by Lucas. Most were home-style dishes, but there were also some more elaborate dishes that Mime Jr. had learned from TV.
Until Lucas stopped Mime Jr., who still wanted to cook, "That's enough, Mime Jr. We'd be sad if you overworked yourself. Let's stick with this much for now, and we can slowly add more later, okay?"
Mime Jr., tired, nodded in Lucas's embrace.
Lucas brought out the last dish, braised pork, and as expected, it once again received high praise from everyone and every Pokémon present.
Mime Jr., lying in Lucas's arms, smiled happily. Lucas also sat down, slowly savoring the delicious food Mime Jr. had made with care.
Mime Jr. lay quietly in Lucas's arms, listening to the sounds of chatting, playing, and sparring around it.
Slowly, it closed its eyes.
Noticing that Mime Jr. in his arms had fallen asleep, Lucas returned to the house with Mime Jr. after dinner.
"Mime?"
Mime Jr. opened its eyes and found it was pitch black. It felt around and realized Lucas was lying next to it. It fumbled for a while, then poked its little head out from under the covers.
It happened to meet the gaze of Vulpix, who was sleeping on Lucas's other side.
Vulpix, having just emerged from Lucas's blanket, turned its head to see Mime Jr. also emerging from Lucas's blanket. The two Pokémon then secretly smiled, quietly crawled out from under the covers, jumped off the bed, and after washing up, ran downstairs together.
Lucas rolled over, felt beside him—empty. He rolled to the other side, felt again—also empty.
He opened his eyes and looked out the window; it was already light. The sound of morning exercises came from the balcony.
After the morning exercises ended, Lucas finally got out of bed, washed up with Gengar who had returned to the room, and went downstairs.
After eating the breakfast Mime Jr. had prepared downstairs, Lucas came to the lounge and sat down, and Mime Jr. brought the menu.
"Mime."
Mime Jr. placed the menu in Lucas's hand, signaling him to look at it.
Lucas picked up the tea Gothitelle had brewed for him, took a sip, then picked up the menu Mime Jr. handed him and began to read.
[Stir-fried Shredded Pork with Green Peppers: One of Mime Jr.'s Diner's home-style dishes, handmade by Mime Jr., learned from Lucas. Possesses Mime Jr.'s Blessing: The slightly spicy taste will dispel the cold from travelers and improve their mood.]
[Mime Jr.'s Braised Pork: The most popular home-style dish in the Breeding House, featuring a rich but not greasy taste. Possesses Mime Jr.'s Blessing: Greatly dispels travelers' fatigue and improves their mood.]
[Lucas's Special Breeding House Pork Trotter Rice: Soft and sticky texture, excellent taste. Possesses Mime Jr.'s Blessing:]
Greatly increases travelers' feeling of fullness. No matter how heavy the work, after eating this hearty bowl of pork trotter rice, they won't feel hungry again until the next meal.]
More than a dozen dishes, all home-style meals Lucas often made, and also the dishes that received the most approval last night, were depicted by Mime Jr. in the menu.
Lucas looked at the descriptions. Mime Jr.'s blessings for each dish on the menu were very suitable for a diner, and the prices were not high.
Closing the menu, Lucas nodded, "Very suitable, Mime Jr."
Mime Jr. was incredibly happy to hear Lucas's words.
Soon, the construction team arrived, and a small diner appeared next to the Breeding House with unexpected speed. Lucas hung up the sign.
Mime Jr.'s Loving Little Diner.
It also had a small Mime Jr. logo printed on it.
Inside were several tables, each with a specific menu.
Looking at the renovated diner, Lucas walked in and looked around. Overall, everything looked good. He watched Mime Jr. walking back and forth, holding a rag, wiping everywhere, a smile never leaving its face.
"Mime, Mime Jr.~"
The construction team leader stood next to Lucas, "Are you preparing to open a diner?"
Lucas nodded, "That's right, to give passing pedestrians a place to eat."
The construction team leader looked at Lucas, nodding continuously.
The owner of the Breeding House had always been so kind. As a resident of Twinleaf Town, he was grateful for everything Lucas had done.
"Then Lucas, you're probably going to make a fortune."
Lucas laughed, "I hope so."
The construction team leader also laughed.
As the road between Twinleaf Town and Sandgem Town, this road sees no shortage of people daily. Because every day, ships dock at Twinleaf Town's port, and many trainers from other regions traveling choose to disembark in Twinleaf Town, then follow this road to Sandgem Town to visit Professor Rowan. So, the number of people passing through this road will not be small.
Therefore, the diner at the Breeding House is highly unlikely to lose money; on the contrary, it might even become exceptionally popular.
Thinking of this, Lucas glanced at the time; it was exactly lunchtime. He looked at the construction team leader, "Captain, it's lunchtime. Would you like to try the food at our diner?"
The construction team leader was startled, then readily nodded.
He led the other construction team members into the diner, then saw Lucas sitting next to them and asked in Confusion, "Isn't the Lucas going to cook?"
Lucas shook his head and smiled, "Do you still remember what the diner is called?"
What's it called? Isn't it Mime Jr.'s Diner—could it be?
The construction team leader reacted, looked at Lucas, and saw Lucas shout, "Mime Jr., show us your skills!"
"Mime!"
Mime Jr. received the order!
Then the kitchen buzzed with activity, and soon, generous portions of pork trotter rice were served.
The construction team members and Pokémon ate with great enjoyment.
When it came time to pay, the construction team leader was surprised, "So cheap?"
Then he looked at Lucas and saw Lucas giving Mime Jr. a thumbs-up in praise.
The construction team leader paid Gengar for the meal, and in his heart, he also discounted the price of Lucas building the diner.
He could have sold it for more, yet he set the prices so low, just to give passing pedestrians a full meal?
As expected of you, Lucas, and Mime Jr.
When Lucas paid the construction fee, he noticed that he had paid much less. He looked at the construction team leader.
The construction team leader pointed to his neck, then both of them burst into laughter.
Lucas even had tears in his eyes from laughing.
He hadn't expected that simply helping Grandma and Mime Jr. fulfill their wishes, and incidentally allowing passing pedestrians to enjoy a hot meal, would be repaid with such great kindness from others.
Indeed, emotions are the most complex thing.
Whether between people and Pokémon, or between people and people.
As long as you offer a little kindness, there will always be greater kindness to repay you.
This was the Pokémon world he dreamed of.
Lucas looked at Mime Jr. who was clearing the tables, then smiled and called out to several passing pedestrians, "Everyone, Mime Jr.'s Diner is open. Would you like to try it?"
....
Power Stones PLZZZZZ
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