Victor led Gengar and the others to the backyard of Professor Rowan's lab, where Dali was setting up a large cooking pot.
He looked around but didn't see Mime Jr. He searched for it.
He finally found it in the area where the injured Pokémon were being cared for. It was helping Nurse Joy, handing her towels and wiping sweat.
Besides Blissey, there was another black Pokémon beside Nurse Joy.
Its face was light purple with bright blue pupils and a small red mouth. It had two black, bun-like spheres on either side of its head, each adorned with four white bows. There were also white bows on its neck and belly.
"Is that..."
Gothita?
Don't tell me Jenny has a Gothita too?
Victor looked curiously at the Gothita. It was quite cute.
But why does it seem to be looking at Mime Jr. strangely?
When Mime Jr. saw Victor, it handed the towel in its hands to Nurse Joy and ran over happily.
"Mime~" It held out its arms.
Victor smiled and picked it up.
"Mime, mime~" Mime Jr. pointed at Nurse Joy and the injured Pokémon, chattering away.
"Are you saying you helped Nurse Joy and these Pokémon?"
Mime Jr. nodded.
"Wow, our Mime Jr. is amazing! How can there be such an obedient, cute, and wonderful Mime Jr.? Right, Gengar?"
"Gengar—"
Hearing the praise from Victor and Gengar, Mime Jr. smiled happily.
"Mime~" It even rubbed its head gently against Victor's chest.
Just then, Nurse Joy finished her work and walked over.
"Joy, thank you for your hard work."
The moment the words left his mouth, the Nurse Joy opposite him couldn't help but giggle.
Her lips parted, and a gentle voice emerged. Although the tone was just as gentle, the voice itself was slightly different.
"You've got the wrong person. I'm the Nurse Joy from Sandgem Town."
Huh?
Victor was stunned.
Oops, I forgot that the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys look almost identical in every region.
"Gengar?! ≥（)/" Gengar was also shocked.
"Big sister."
Just then, a familiar voice called out. Victor turned and saw another Nurse Joy.
"Victor, you're here too?"
...
"Can you tell us apart?"
Looking at the two Nurse Joys standing together, Victor felt a headache coming on.
Who could possibly tell them apart? Maybe only Brock could.
Victor's gaze darted back and forth between them, trying to find a difference, but he eventually gave up.
"What are you all doing?"
Officer Jenny's voice came from nearby. Victor turned.
Two Officer Jennys walked over together.
...
Great. Here we go again.
Victor sighed, then said, "Big sisters, it's time to cook and eat."
His use of "big sisters" seemed to strike a chord with them, and they all replied in unison.
"Okay."
Victor shook his head, then looked down at the Mime Jr. in his arms. Mime Jr. is still the cutest.
"Mime Jr., come help me out. Let's make a big country-style feast and cheer everyone up, okay?"
"Mime~" Mime Jr. nodded.
Victor then turned and left, holding Mime Jr., his back resolute.
The Gothita glanced at Victor's retreating figure and the Gengar beside him, then at the Mime Jr. in his arms. After a moment's thought, it followed them.
The Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys exchanged a look, then burst into laughter.
Hearing the laughter behind him, Victor quickened his pace.
Leaving the Sandgem Town Nurse Joy to care for the injured Pokémon, the others followed Victor.
Back at the makeshift stove, Victor put Mime Jr. down and looked around.
Shana was talking with the other Pokémon, her Chingling beside her. The Petilil and Roselia were chatting. Professor Rowan and his assistants were gathered around Celebi, taking pictures and notes.
Victor nodded and went to the stove.
"Alright everyone, lend me a hand!"
Everyone, human and Pokémon, got to work.
"Vulpix, help me light the fire."
Just as he said it, he saw Gengar's expression, smiled helplessly, and corrected himself, "Never mind. Gengar, you do it. You have more experience."
"Gengar—"
Hehe.
The firewood was instantly ignited by Gengar's Will-O-Wisp, glowing with an eerie light.
One of the assistants saw Victor stir-frying in the large pot over the uncanny blue flames.
"Is... is that really okay?"
The Twinleaf Town Officer Jenny, munching on a Golden Fruit Stick Gengar had given her, replied nonchalantly, "What could be wrong? We eat like this all the time. It's delicious."
The assistant looked at the eerie flames and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
Is that really how it works?
Nearby, Mime Jr. was rapidly chopping vegetables with a small knife, then handing them to Victor.
The Gothita watched the busy Mime Jr. with curiosity, then looked over at Victor, who was wrestling with the large pot. It gently floated over to Mime Jr.'s side.
"Goth~"
"Mime?" Mime Jr. stopped and looked at the Gothita.
It recognized this Gothita; they had been caring for the injured Pokémon together earlier.
The Gothita took the knife from its hand. Its eyes glowed red, and the vegetables and knife floated into the air. In the blink of an eye, they were all chopped and placed in the large basin in front of Victor.
Victor glanced back. "Thank you, Gothita."
Mime Jr. watched this happen, then happily thanked the Gothita.
"Mime~"
"Gothi—" The Gothita's light purple face flushed slightly red.
The Gothita and Mime Jr. then began chopping vegetables together.
With the help of the Nurse Joys and the Pokémon, pot after pot of food was quickly prepared, along with Victor's special Poffins.
With a loud call, everyone, human and Pokémon, gathered around.
The Pokémon could choose to eat either the human food or the Poffins. Human food was perfectly fine for them to enjoy as well.
Watching the initially fearful Pokémon begin to dig in heartily, Victor and the others nodded.
This food has the special Sweet Honey from the Vespiquen mixed in, you fools!
As they ate, the Pokémon felt a sense of love wash over them, and tears began to stream down their faces uncontrollably.
Sensing the gloom around them dissipate considerably, Professor Rowan couldn't help but nod.
"Just as expected of you," the Twinleaf Jenny said, punching Victor's shoulder lightly.
Victor smiled and shook his head. "It wasn't my doing."
The results were just as he had hoped, perhaps even better.
Gengar floated over to the jar of special Sweet Honey, used a spoon to scrape out the last remaining bits, managing only a tiny amount after a long effort.
It looked at the honey on the spoon, lost in thought.
Victor sensed its mood and was about to comfort it.
Just then, a Pokémon came up beside it and looked at the spoon in its hand.
It let out a fearful cry.
Seeing this, Gengar grinned, revealing its white teeth. It found a clean cup, put the honey from the spoon inside, poured in some warm water, and stirred it.
"Gengar—"
The other Pokémon looked at the cup of honey water, smiled happily, and chirped a few times.
"It's love," Victor said.
Professor Rowan and the others looked at him, puzzled, then followed his gaze.
They all smiled, finally understanding what he meant.
Victor then said, "Emotionally wounded Pokémon can be healed with love. And food is one way to carry that love."
Watching the other Pokémon leave, Gengar picked up the empty jar, tilted it upside down over its mouth, and stuck its tongue out to lick the inside.
Suddenly, it felt someone patting its shoulder. It put the jar down and turned curiously, finding Victor and a group of people standing beside it.
"Gengar?" It looked at them curiously.
"Look at you, you've got Sweet Honey all over your face," Victor teased.
Gengar stuck out its large tongue and licked its entire face clean, then closed its eyes and grinned widely.
"Gengar—"
Hehe.
Pulling at the corners of its mouth, Victor made a funny face back.
"This is great, Gengar! Our Operation: Food Therapy today was a huge success!"
"Gengar~"
"And to everyone else from the Breeding House, we did it!"
"Yay!"
"Lili~"
"Machoke!" x3
"Mime Jr.~"
"Yip~"
"Ching~"
...
Get 10 chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"