"Honey, honey—" Father Indeedee sidled up to his wife, looking at her with pitiful eyes. "Why don't we go with them too? So what if we get caught? You felt it too, didn't you? That group has such a great atmosphere, there'd be no problem if we joined them..."
Mother Indeedee clasped her hands over her abdomen, gazing at her husband with tender, indulgent eyes as she said softly, "Darling, get to the point?"
"Um..."
Father Indeedee seemed a little shy. He glanced around before leaning in to whisper in his wife's ear, "The real thing is... it's just so delicious, isn't it?"
That much was true.
Even Mother Indeedee had to admit—that girl with the purplish-red hair had the most incredible skills she'd ever seen in her life! The Pokéblocks she made were so delicious, they nearly made her succumb on the spot.
But her husband came first! After finally managing to send off their two troublemaker kids, they could finally enjoy their time alone together—she absolutely couldn't let that slip away.
A shadow flickered in Mother Indeedee's eyes as she smiled sweetly, cupping her cheeks with her hands. "If it's your decision, then anything is fine—"
"Honey..."
Father Indeedee choked up with emotion, sniffling. "You've always been like this, indulging me in everything... even though, even though I'm so useless..."
Mother Indeedee gently embraced her husband, stroking his back as a blissful, possessive smile spread across her face. "Darling, how could you ever be useless? To me, you're the greatest hero—"
"Wahhh, honey—"
Father Indeedee hugged her back tightly, sobbing. "What did I ever do to deserve you—"
Mother Indeedee's lips curled into a barely noticeable smirk as she murmured, "Darling... it's because I love you the most—"
"Wahhh—"
Listening to her husband's utterly dependent voice, Mother Indeedee felt utterly delighted! Though there was just one tiny flaw in her happiness.
'I have to dissuade him—'
Lowering her eyelids, Mother Indeedee spoke softly, "Darling... do you really want to join that team with the kids?"
Father Indeedee froze, then hesitated. "I... I just thought the food was really good..."
Ah, his stomach had been thoroughly conquered.
Mother Indeedee narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'll always listen to you, of course! But... wouldn't the kids feel awkward having their parents in the same team?"
"Ah..."
"And if we leave... who's going to take care of our friends at the Lake of Outrage when they get hurt—"
"Ah..."
Faced with his wife's questions, Father Indeedee looked conflicted.
Which was more important—delicious food, or their children's future and their old friends?
He quickly made up his mind, sighing with a hint of regret. "Alright... maybe we shouldn't go, then."
"Mhm, whatever you say—"
Mother Indeedee's lips curled into another blissful smile.
This time, her joy was perfect.
...
...
Unaware of the dramatic yandere scene unfolding not far away, the little group was particularly lively at the moment.
"Pika pika—"
Pikachu watched with a sweatdrop as Indeedee-brother and Indeedee-sister devoured their food at an alarming rate.
You guys eat way too much! This is already your third bowl! No matter how delicious it is, you shouldn't go this far!
She had completely forgotten that when she first tasted Erina's omelet rice, she had also wolfed down three bowls in one go, ending up so stuffed she couldn't digest it and had to be rushed to the Pokémon Center to avoid disaster.
Otherwise, she might have become the first Pikachu in history to die from overeating.
Talk about being a comedic character.
But now that she thought about it, if a Holy Grail War ever happened in the Pokémon world, she might qualify as a Berserker—well, being so obsessed with eating that you stuff yourself to death counts as madness, right?
"Kekeke—" The elder sister Gengar looked at the newcomers with concern.
You two should pace yourselves! Don't overeat! There's plenty of time ahead—you can enjoy this every day!
"Yessa—"
Indeedee-brother set down his bowl, let out a small burp, and patted his round belly, signaling that he was full.
He could probably eat a little more, but that would definitely lead to overeating, and then he'd be the one suffering!
Big sis is right! We can enjoy such delicious food every day from now on—no need to stuff ourselves today, right, little sis...?
"Thud—"
The Indeedee sister collapsed.
She overate.
"Yessaa—"
Sister, nooo—
...
...
"Impressive—"
Hayashi clicked his tongue as he looked at the Indeedee sister, who was covering her face with her hands, looking utterly mortified. "This is the second time I've seen a Pokémon overeat because of Erina's cooking."
"Yessaa?" The Indeedee brother pricked up his ears.
Second time? Who was the first?
"Pikapi—"
Newbie, don't ask questions you shouldn't.
"It was Pikachu," Hayashi said bluntly, not sparing the little electric rat any face. "On her first day here, she downed three plates of omelet rice and ended up in the hospital."
"Pika—"
Ugh, my senior image!
Pikachu flopped onto the ground, looking utterly defeated—her carefully cultivated image as a mature and reliable senior had just crumbled to dust.
"Eevee—"
Oh please, with the way you usually act, clinging to the mistress and acting spoiled, that "mature and reliable" image wouldn't have lasted a day anyway.
"Mmm—"
Tropius nodded slowly. She leisurely munched on the food Hisako had prepared for her, her eyes narrowing in bliss.
So good! Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving me the Harvest ability—love you guys!
"Moo—"
Meanwhile, Miltank, having finished her meal, was jogging diligently in circles.
She loved sweets, but with the lack of high-quality milk in the team, many delicious desserts couldn't be made by Erina, which pained her deeply.
"Moo—"
Keep exercising, stay healthy, produce milk sooner, and eat all the goodies!
Miltank cheered herself on as she ran laps around the campsite.
"Woof—"
Nearby, Growlithe thought for a moment before trotting after her with a dopey grin.
I'll run with you! Gotta train hard to protect the master and mistress!
"Moo—"
Great, let's work hard together!
"Chirp—"
Fletchinder, perched atop Hayashi's head, yawned and rubbed her round, full belly before letting out another sleepy sigh.
Mmm, getting older—full stomach means sleepy time.
When in doubt, take a nap! Goodnight!
Feeling the movement on his head, Hayashi twitched his lips and muttered, "This damn bird just eats and sleeps—doesn't she worry about getting fat?"
Erina stifled a laugh, covering her mouth. "You and Fletchinder really have that bickering couple vibe."
Hayashi scoffed. "Couple my foot—I'm the one getting scammed!"
Free food and lodging aside, this freeloading bird doesn't even have the decency to show a little gratitude?
Dammit, why do I feel like such a sucker?
Hayashi pulled out his phone, turned on the front camera, and glanced at the Fletchinder snoozing like a log on his head. He grumbled, "Maybe I should just dump her at Professor Oak's lab one of these days—"
Beside him, Hisako blinked and said, "But Master Hayashi, you promised Fletchinder you wouldn't catch her."
Hayashi slapped his thigh in deep regret and said, "Ah, I regret it so much! Why did I agree to her? She brought back a living ancestor for me!"
"Geehee—"
Gengar patted Hayashi's shoulder with a mix of sympathy and complicated emotions, speaking in the tone of someone who had been through it all: "Boss, my condolences! Life is like being QJ'd—if you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it!"
Hayashi also sighed. He reached back and patted Gengar's belly, saying, "Might as well enjoy it—hey there, little Gengar cutie, come give me a hug!"
"Yahooo—"
Hayashi let out a weird cry, then spread his arms and pounced onto Gengar, knocking her to the ground.
"Geehee geehee—"
Gengar lay on the floor, putting on an exaggerated act as she wailed, "Ah, Gengar has been defeated! Super effective—"
"Eevee!"
Seeing this, the Sylveon nearby immediately wagged her tail and pounced over, pinning Hayashi beneath her.
"Ooooh—"
Hayashi let out another strange cry, then helplessly stretched out his right hand toward the Growlithe running up to him. "Growlithe, help, save me—"
"Woof woof!"
Growlithe barked cheerfully, then stuck out his tongue and enthusiastically licked Hayashi's face amidst his screams.
"Bleh bleh bleh—"
Hayashi wiped his face clumsily with his right hand, then struggled to free his left arm from under Sylveon. With a sinister grin, he declared, "Growlithe, today you shall pay the price!"
Dog! Rubbing! Divine! Technique!
"Awooo—"
Growlithe's brain felt like it had been thoroughly shaken by the Dog Rubbing Divine Technique. He wobbled before collapsing into a wooden plank pose, letting out pitiful whimpers.
H-head so dizzy...
Nearby, Erina couldn't help but chuckle as she remarked to Hisako, "How old is he, still acting like a child?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah—"
Hisako nodded perfunctorily, then glanced at Erina and thought to herself, 'Miss Erina, could you at least try to hide the smile on your face? Back then, if you'd said this, I would've thought you looked down on Young Master Hayashi. But now, it just feels like you're flaunting your affection!'
Is it true that every couple keeps a dog? Just to consume the dog food they produce and to bully the single ones, right?
And I'm that single dog, aren't I?
Well, what can I do? After all, I'm Miss Erina's dog!
Woof woof!
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