Work at the shop continued until past four in the afternoon. Lucas walked out of the kitchen with trembling legs, looking at the queue that still seemed endless.
Stepping outside, he shouted apologetically, "I'm so sorry, everyone! Everything is sold out. We really didn't expect you all to love our food so much, but we've used up all the ingredients we prepared. I'm truly sorry."
"Lucas, remember to prepare more tomorrow then! I've been in line for so long; don't run out again tomorrow."
The customers were quite polite, quickly signaling it was fine, and one of them even teased Lucas.
After all, it wasn't like they hadn't seen how booming the business was, and more importantly, the food was truly delicious.
Many items were made using the Breeding House's sweet honey, fresh milk, goat milk, and berries. After being blessed by Celebi, Lugia, and various others, one could only imagine how delicious they were.
Especially the Breeding House's sweet honey brewed by Vespiquen; even the Golden Finger couldn't stop praising it.
Lucas quickly promised, "Certainly, certainly."
Once the crowd had dispersed, Lucas returned to the shop and plopped down right on the floor.
His arms and legs were trembling.
Pinsir also looked completely drained, sprawling on the floor.
"Heli—!"
"I'm not coming tomorrow—this is Pokémon exploitation—!"
Gothitelle brought Lucas a cup of honey water, made with the last bit of honey; there was only one cup left.
Lucas took it, had a couple of sips, and then handed it to Pinsir.
It had really been worn out today, constantly maintaining the line outside. Because some children tended to get impatient and run around, it had to follow them to prevent any accidents.
Pinsir didn't stand on ceremony either, taking it and gulping it all down.
Lucas felt a wave of comfort from his shoulders. Looking up, he saw Gothitelle was giving him a massage.
Gothitelle is the best after all.
Unlike a certain little fatty.
Lucas glanced at Gengar, who had produced a monocle from goodness knows where and was wearing it. It was holding a stack of cash, wetting its finger with saliva from its tongue, and happily counting the money.
Nearby, Dash was also helping count the money.
"Yes, right there. A bit harder ."
"Too hard , a bit softer."
"Yes, yes, yes, right there. A bit harder on the left."
Gothitelle: —...
It stopped its movements and looked at Dash, who was counting money.
"Goth."
"He thinks I'm not strong enough; you do it."
Dash nodded, finished counting the money in its hands, set it aside, stood up, and slammed its four fists together with force.
The resulting airwave even blew back Lucas's hair.
Lucas looked at Dash's arms, which were thicker than his own thighs, and swallowed hard.
"If this slap lands, it's going to hurt quite a bit..."
"Never mind, never mind. Dash, you keep counting. We can't have any missing."
Lucas quickly put on a sincere smile. "Gothitelle, please just keep the same pressure as before. I beg you!"
Gothitelle stared at Lucas, remaining silent for a long time.
Lucas mimicked Gengar, baring his teeth.
"Hee hee."
Gothitelle: —...
"Ah!"
Gothitelle gave a hard squeeze, and Lucas let out a yell.
Gengar adjusted its monocle and gave a disdainful laugh.
"You think you're me? Trying to act cute to get away with it."
Afterward, Lucas felt the pressure on his shoulders become comfortable again.
"Great, it's Gothitelle. We're saved."
Lucas felt delighted.
Lucas looked around and realized that only he and Pinsir seemed to be exhausted.
For Gengar, tired as it was, it had earned a lot of money.
Dash indicated that it would be able to eat a lot more now.
While enjoying Gothitelle's massage, Lucas thought about today's customer traffic. After being massaged for a while...
Lucas stood up and saw Gengar still counting, so he looked toward Dash and Vex.
"Dash, Vex, come with me to the market."
"We need to prepare more ingredients."
Lucas sighed and walked out of the shop.
Seeing this, Gengar handed the money to Gothitelle and followed him out with Dash and Vex.
Mounting Gogoat, Lucas arrived at the market.
"Lucas, next time you need flour or anything, just give me a call. I'll deliver it to your door personally, so you don't have to come all this way every day."
The supermarket owner said to Lucas.
Lucas thought about it; that was indeed a good idea.
He then gave his shop's address in Twinleaf Town to the owner and asked him to go through the trouble of delivering the items later.
The owner quickly promised it would be the first delivery.
Returning to the shop, Lucas saw they had finished counting and led them in cleaning up.
What's the most important thing in the food industry? Hygiene.
Lucas wouldn't allow his shop's reputation or his culinary skills to be ruined by hygiene issues.
[Grandma's Dream: Grandma once thought about opening a dessert shop for herself and her Pokémon, but it was eventually shelved for various reasons, becoming a regret in her heart. Now, you have opened a multi-functional dessert shop managed by Gothitelle, fulfilling one of Grandma's dreams. You have received Grandma's gift: Great-Aunt's Dessert Shop Insights.]
[Great-Aunt's Dessert Shop Insights: This is Grandma's passion for every kind of dessert, including those she had seen and those she hadn't. Desserts made by your hands will trigger a 100% Gourmet Critical Hit for the Breeding House's Pokémon. When sold, the flavor is maxed out. In other words, you are the world's one and only Master Baker and Dessert Master.]
["Desserts... my first meeting with a certain little partner was because of desserts—Grandma."]
["Lucas, thank you—Ninetales."]
["You really are a wonderful child—Grandma."]
[The distant Ninetales seems to have sensed something; it has brought you an Unknown Gift.]
[Unknown Gift: It will come to your side at some point in the future.]
Lucas looked at the text that suddenly popped up, but he wasn't happy about the gift immediately.
Instead, a gentle smile appeared on his face as he sat at the shop's entrance holding Vulpix, looking at the distant sky.
"Thank you, Grandma."
"Also, I'm glad I could be of help to you."
"Uncle~"
Shauna pounced toward Lucas.
Just like Vulpix, she snuggled into Lucas's arms.
Her schoolbag was handed to Gengar to carry.
"School's out? Then let's head back to the Breeding House."
Under the setting sun, an adult rode a Gogoat while a child rode a Shinny Rapidash, surrounded by many Pokémon, heading off into the distance.
The shadows they left behind were long, very long.
After returning to the Breeding House and finishing dinner, Lucas lay back in his chair.
He began to regret opening the shop in Twinleaf Town.
After thinking about how tomorrow might be even busier...
...he regretted it even more.
Gothitelle came to his side, seeing him lying in the armchair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
After thinking for a moment, it decided to use its psychic power to take him into the kitchen.
"Money not earned..."
Gengar added the next part.
"...is being a total bastard."
While Lucas was busy in the kitchen, Shauna ran over holding a pokémon egg.
"Uncle."
She called out.
Then she placed the glowing pokémon egg on the counter.
Lucas and the Breeding House's Pokémon all gathered around.
The pokémon egg shook, and then it was covered in cracks.
Crack.
A small, black Pokémon with a conical body, round hands and feet, blue eyes, and a wide-open mouth appeared. Its body was covered by a yellow conical cloak with orange edges, and there were three orange diamond-shaped patches on the back of the cloak.
[Snorunt]
...
Power Stones PLZZZZZ
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