A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
Early this morning, Lucas sat up from his bed and looked out the window.
It had rained all night yesterday, so the air was a bit chilly this morning.
Lucas walked to the balcony, shivered, and then looked at the distant forest.
He remembered seeing a bamboo grove there last time, and suddenly craved bamboo shoots.
"Gengar—"
Good morning.
Gengar, rubbing his sleepy eyes, floated over to Lucas.
"Gengar, how about we go to the forest today?"
"Gengar?"
Gengar looked into the distance; he knew Lucas wasn't talking about the Breeding House's forest area, but the larger forest further beyond.
"Gengar—"
Why go there?
"It rained all night yesterday. Let's see if we can pick up some mushrooms to make soup."
Lucas saw the sparkle in his eyes and then added another sentence.
"And I remember there being a bamboo grove there, wasn't there?"
Gengar nodded in confusion.
"Have you ever eaten bamboo shoots? Freshly sprouted tender bamboo shoots after the rain—we can use them for soup, braised rice, stir-fries with meat, or even pickled. They're incredibly delicious and have a satisfying crunch... Hey, why are you pulling me?"
Gengar didn't even wait for Lucas to finish speaking. He stretched out his hands, grabbed Lucas, and started walking him out, his two short legs vigorously kicking the air.
"Gengar—!!"
Hurry up, I want to eat bamboo shoots!! (Very loudly)
"I know, don't rush."
Lucas was truly afraid of him. During the time he was brushing his teeth and washing up, Gengar kept a close eye on him. Even when Lucas stared blankly into the mirror while brushing his teeth, Gengar would reach out and pull him back.
Just as everything was ready, Lucas stopped as they passed Cynthia's room.
"Gengar, do you think we should ask Cynthia if she wants to come with us?"
Gengar nodded.
"Alright, I'll leave this task to you. Go ask Cynthia."
Lucas patted Gengar's shoulder.
"Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ"
Me?!
Gengar quickly shook his head.
Just as they were pushing the task back and forth, Cynthia's door opened, and Garchomp stared intently at them.
"Garchomp!"
What are you doing?
Lucas and Gengar shivered, startled by the killing intent Garchomp emitted. Then Lucas cautiously spoke.
"We wanted to ask Cynthia if she wants to go to the forest with us to pick mushrooms and dig for bamboo shoots."
Garchomp stared at them for a while, then shook its head, preparing to close the door.
"What's wrong, Garchomp?"
Cynthia was woken by the commotion outside her door and sat up, asking drowsily.
Garchomp looked at Lucas and then nodded, signaling.
Lucas understood Garchomp's meaning, then stood outside the door and asked Cynthia.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Lucas took Gengar to the backyard.
Shauna was at home with her parents today, so she wouldn't be coming to the Breeding House.
He left Bolt and Vex at the Breeding House to help Mime Jr. and Petilil with their work, then set off with Dash and Gengar.
He put a basket on Gengar's back and carried one himself. Cynthia also came downstairs from the second floor, dressed and ready.
Her golden long hair fell loosely, and her pink cherry lips parted slightly.
"I'm ready."
Lucas looked over and saw that her outfit was still a black trench coat and wide-leg pants.
Watching her put on her crystal high-heeled sandals, Lucas nodded. As expected of Sister Cabbage, she was truly beautiful.
He then looked at the Garchomp behind her.
Now, his sense of security truly soared.
He put a few small hoes into Gengar's basket, hung a Polaroid camera around his neck, and then gave instructions to Mime Jr. and the others. Lucas then led Cynthia towards the forest.
Standing at the entrance of the forest now, with Cynthia beside him, Lucas felt a strange sense of peace.
Not long after entering the forest, Gengar, carrying his basket, dove into the bushes to look for mushrooms.
"Gengar—"
Gengar emerged from the bushes, came before Lucas, and extended his hands, holding a few fresh mushrooms.
"Yes, exactly those."
Lucas nodded, then placed them into Gengar's basket.
Cynthia nodded seriously beside them.
He led them towards the bamboo grove, picking many berries and fresh mushrooms with Gengar along the way.
Arriving at the bamboo grove, Lucas looked at the pointed bamboo shoots at the top and breathed a sigh of relief.
Untying his basket, Lucas took out a small hoe, handed one to Gengar, and then asked Cynthia with his eyes if she needed one.
Cynthia was a bit curious and reached out to take a hoe.
"Watch my movements."
Lucas found a bamboo shoot, twisted it with his hand, then slowly dug the surrounding soil with the hoe, and finally broke it off with his hand. A tender bamboo shoot appeared in Lucas's hand.
"Gengar?"
Is this really delicious?
Gengar looked at the wrapped bamboo shoot in his hand, a little curious.
It's so ugly.
"Then don't eat it later."
Lucas replied with a smile.
"Gengar! Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ"
No!
Then Gengar also found a bamboo shoot and began to dig, imitating Lucas's movements.
Snap—
"Gengar!"
Gengar hugged a bamboo shoot, grinning.
Lucas took out his Polaroid camera and snapped a picture of Gengar.
"Do you want to try?"
Lucas turned to Cynthia and asked.
Seeing Cynthia's somewhat puzzled expression, Lucas chuckled, "Of course, with the help of Pokémon abilities, digging would definitely be much faster, and we could even finish this whole area quickly. But when we come here to dig bamboo shoots, we enjoy the happiness of harvesting through labor. That way, when we finally cook them, they'll taste even more delicious."
Cynthia nodded, then took off her trench coat. Lucas was about to reach out to take it, but Garchomp intercepted him.
"Garchomp?"
Garchomp looked at him, asking in confusion.
"Ahem."
Lucas rubbed his nose, indicating it was nothing.
Seeing Cynthia learning Gengar's movements, Lucas walked over.
"I'll teach you."
After getting permission, Lucas came to Cynthia's side. Cynthia's scent wafted into Lucas's nose, sweet and fragrant.
He shook his head, focused his attention, and then taught Cynthia how to dig for bamboo shoots hand-in-hand.
Snap—
Cynthia broke off a bamboo shoot.
"Cynthia, smile."
Cynthia looked up and saw Lucas holding the Polaroid camera pointed at her. She didn't have time to react and could only offer a heartwarming smile.
Seeing the developed photo, Lucas suddenly remembered something.
If Cynthia's fans found out he took her to dig bamboo shoots, wouldn't he be beaten to death?
Thinking of this, Lucas looked up at Cynthia and saw that she had already started digging for the second bamboo shoot.
It seemed she was quite enjoying the process.
With that thought, Lucas handed the photo to Garchomp to hold, and he himself took a hoe and joined in.
As time passed, the forest slowly began to awaken, with scattered Pokémon in the trees not far away.
Starly, Staravia, and Aipom.
Burmy also hung upside down, curiously observing their actions.
One Aipom watched for a long time, then curiously came above a basket, hung down, and tried to secretly take a bamboo shoot.
As soon as it picked up the bamboo shoot, it turned its head and saw a Garchomp staring at it with icy eyes.
Feeling the aura emanating from Garchomp, Aipom's eyes rolled back, and it fainted.
Garchomp put the bamboo shoot back into the basket, then picked up Aipom and threw it onto a nearby tree, leaving it hanging there and ignoring it.
Seeing this, the other Pokémon also extinguished their thoughts of secretly taking bamboo shoots.
"Alright, it won't fit anymore."
Looking at Cynthia and Gengar, who were still digging, Lucas quickly called a halt.
Cynthia reluctantly stopped. Lucas handed her a tissue and water, then looked at Gengar, who was looking at the remaining bamboo shoots with reluctance.
"We have enough for a long time. We also need to leave some for other Pokémon."
Lucas walked over to Gengar, tugged at his mouth, and comforted him.
"We'll go back early and make you something delicious."
Hearing this, Gengar nodded, then, hugging a few bamboo shoots and carrying a large basket of them on his back, he floated up, stumbling slightly.
Lucas tapped the bamboo, selected two tender ones, and asked Dash and Garchomp to cut them down.
Dash and Garchomp's palms sliced through, and two bamboo stalks as thick as Dash's arm fell to the ground.
Dash first carried Lucas's basket, then shouldered the two bamboo stalks.
"Let's go, we'll go home and make you something delicious."
Lucas said, holding the small hoe in his hand.
"I want ice cream."
"Okay~"
"Gengar—"
"Okay~"
"Garchomp!"
"No problem."
"Mime Jr.!"
"I've got it covered!"