January 10th, Light Snow.
"Oowoo~"
Ninetales leaped gracefully across the cat towers scattered throughout the house before landing softly on the plush sofa, curling up into a ball, and licking its paws before using them to clean its face.
"Draaa~~"
Dragonite happily rolled across the floor, then found its favorite blanket and buried its face in it, sniffing intensely.
Confird.
Ninetales was "feline," and Dragonite was "canine."
Rotom skillfully dove into the robotic vacuum cleaner and diligently started cleaning the floors.
Charcadet sat in the middle of the living room on a small stone stool, cradling a Pokémon egg in its arms. It took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the egg, emitting a gentle warmth from its body, like a living heater.
Tinkaton sat beside it, occasionally pulling out a small piece of tal from sowhere and comparing it to Charcadet's body, seemingly asuring for sothing.
"Ku~zzZ"
Kubfu sat in front of the television, dozing off as the warmth lulled it into sleep.
Johan, anwhile, was in the kitchen with the Indeedee siblings and Alcremie.
From the occasional sounds and the delicious aroma wafting out, it was clear that sothing tasty was being prepared.
Outside the window, snow mixed with rain drizzled down, casting a misty veil over the streets.
"Ka-kaah~"
Gengar peeked its head in through the door, smoothly opening it to let Cynthia in.
"You're here?"
Hearing the movent, Johan poked his head out of the kitchen.
"Mm."
Cynthia's cheeks were slightly flushed. With Gengar's enthusiastic assistance, she took off her coat, revealing her slender, alluring silhouette.
Johan wanted to ask—whoever said Cynthia didn't have a great figure?
"The snow in Kanaz City doesn't feel cold at all."
She smiled.
"Hoenn is further south than Sinnoh, after all. If it weren't for the ocean, we probably wouldn't see snow at all."
Noticing the Garchomp and Lucario behind her, Johan naturally retracted his gaze.
Earlier, after capturing the Pokémon hunters, Johan had gone to the Kanaz Police Station to submit a brief report since he was the one who initiated the operation.
After that, he ca ho to start preparing dinner.
anwhile, Cynthia had gone out sightseeing in Kanaz City with Gengar as her guide.
According to Gengar, it wanted to show her the "empire" it had built!
Indeedee's sharp awareness of unfamiliar faces wasn't just due to its own vigilance. The many stray Pokémon that Gengar had "convinced" to help out in Kanaz City also played a big role.
The café provided free food for them, and in return, they were happy to help out with small tasks—like handing out flyers.
"Mm."
Cynthia nodded. "We went to the supermarket and bought so ingredients."
As she spoke, Gengar began pulling out bag after bag of groceries from its mouth.
"You two went to the supermarket?" Johan's eyes widened.
He glanced at Cynthia and Gengar.
A "chronic indecisive" shopper and a "never-thought-about-it" impulse buyer went to the supermarket together?
Watching as Gengar pulled out its seventh, eighth, and ninth large bag, Johan realized—
That purple chubby ghost had taken advantage of Cynthia to buy everything Johan usually refused or limited it from getting!
"Did you buy out the whole supermarket?" Johan couldn't help but ask.
Cynthia chuckled. "Gengar liked them."
"Ka-kaah~!"
Exactly!
Gengar floated behind Cynthia and started massaging her shoulders, looking smug, as if it had found a new "patron" and "financial backer."
"Besides," Cynthia added with a playful smile, blinking at him, "you're cooking for us anyway."
"Making... this much?" Johan felt his head ache.
"Garrr!!"
Garchomp, standing behind Cynthia with its arms crossed, let out a low growl and cast a cold, sidelong glance at him, flashing its sharp scythes.
You spent our money, so this better be good—otherwise, beware of my blades!
Though it sounded threatening, its gulping betrayed its true intentions.
Johan's cooking skills were well-known. Otherwise, Garchomp wouldn't have let Gengar and Cynthia buy so much food in the first place.
"Pretty please~?" Cynthia teased.
Who could resist that?
"Don't worry!" Johan straightened his back.
With a wave of his hand, he declared,
"Alright, everyone, move out!"
With so many ingredients and hungry mouths, plus the chilly weather...
Nothing would be more fitting than hotpot!
The group cheered and quickly got to work.
Even Kubfu, who had been dozing off, snapped awake when its snot bubble popped, dazed but instinctively joining the activity.
In the Garden...
"Ka-kaah~ Ka-kaah~"
Gengar and Dragonite stretched out a massive oilcloth over the open space, forming a makeshift tent. Supporting it were Garchomp, Roserade, Milotic, and Tinkaton.
Roserade and Milotic held up the cloth with poles, Garchomp straightened it, and Tinkaton secured it in place with stakes and rope.
Johan, the Indeedee siblings, Alcremie, and Rotom got busy setting up the table underneath.
"Ninetales, freeze these ats a little—it'll enhance the flavor."
He handed over trays of freshly sliced beef that Rotom had just prepared.
In his previous life, he'd heard of "ice hotpot," where chilling the beef with ice enhanced its taste.
The sa trick worked for beef tripe, maw, and fresh shrimp.
"Oowoo~~"
Ninetales exhaled a chilling mist, swiftly forming a miniature "ice mountain" beside it.
Being an aesthetic perfectionist, it humd a little tune while using its tail to neatly arrange the ingredients.
Honestly, with its plating skills, Ninetales could easily land a job at a high-end restaurant.
"Kubfu, these are for you—pound them into atballs!"
"Ku~!"
Wielding two wooden clubs like an expert, Kubfu started hamring away.
Bam, bam, bam—
"Marsha, stop staring—devein these shrimp."
"Marsha?"
Marshadow, hiding under the table, blinked in confusion at the enormous bowl of shrimp suddenly placed in front of it.
A grand warrior of the shadows... you want to devein shrimp?!
Marshadow fud.
Then, in a fit of rage... it removed every single shrimp vein in seconds!
"Marsha!"
Hands on its hips, Marshadow huffed indignantly.
Hmph! You think I'm easy to bully?
Thud!
"Here's another bowl."
Marsha! |(▼皿▼)
UNFORGIVABLE!
In its rage... it finished another bowl in record ti.
"Charcadet, I need two more pieces of charcoal."
"Goka~"
Charcadet imdiately placed two freshly heated charcoal pieces into the massive copper hotpot.
This was a custom-made Tinkaton creation—quality guaranteed.
"The grill needs more charcoal too. Lucario, make sure to flip the skewers so they don't burn."
"Ruka!"
Wearing an apron, Lucario nodded solemnly.
It found itself pondering—
Since when did it start following Johan's orders so naturally?
Lucario shook its head.
No, no—this is just for our family and friends!
It convinced itself with that reasoning.
anwhile, Cynthia was squatting near a flowerbed, inspecting so oddly familiar black and white radishes.
"Did... did you grow these?"
Johan glanced over. "Oh, yeah. Pull a few—they'll add so flavor to the hotpot."
"You know these are linked to a legendary Pokémon, right?" Cynthia asked curiously.
"Eh, they're just radishes. Eat up." Johan waved it off nonchalantly.
Soon, everything was ready.
Johan clapped his hands.
"Alright—let's eat!"
"Ka-kaah!"
"Draaa!"
"Cha!"
"Garrr!"
A chorus of excited cries erupted as hungry Pokémon sward in.
Johan passed Cynthia a dish of dipping sauce.
"Better hurry—if you're too slow, Gengar and the others will eat it all."
Cynthia giggled, watching the lively scene.
A warm, lively ho like this...
Maybe this was the perfect way to live.
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Powerstones?
For 20 advance Chapters: /michaeltranslates
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