Morning light filtered through the gap in the curtains, landing squarely on Lumiere's face. Half-awake, he instinctively grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his head.
Unfortunately, an annoyingly loud bird flew in from who knew where and landed on the windowsill. Using the rainwater left over from yesterday to clear its throat, it began to sing at the top of its lungs.
"La~ la~ la~"
"..."
"What's happening~"
"..."
"I'm your dad~"
"Damn it! Are people not allowed to sleep anymore?!"
Lumiere threw off the blanket and leapt up, grabbed the bedside lamp, yanked open the window, and swung it straight at the noisy bird—
A moment later, after being tortured awake by the chatterbox bird that had chased him into the room, Lumiere was finally fully conscious. Only then did he remember the massive debt hanging over his head.
Volo had been incredibly considerate—blankets, sheets, clothes, daily necessities, even a phone had all been prepared for him.
And as expected of a merchant, all of it was bundled together and sold in one neat package for a flat price of 50,000. The question was simple: do you want it or not?
Of course he wanted it. If he didn't, he'd starve to death.
That said, the fridge and kitchen downstairs were free to use. Usually, only Cynthia was home; Volo was often out traveling and only came back once or twice a week.
Which meant that most of the time, it was just Lumiere and Cynthia at home.
A lone man and a lone girl under the same roof—if anything happened, it'd be deadly.
Yes. Deadly in the literal sense.
Because last night, when Lumiere was sleeping soundly, he'd been pecked awake by Rowlet. Carrying it downstairs to the kitchen to look for food, he'd noticed a stone in the corner used to weigh down a pickling jar.
The strange stone had a crack running from top to bottom, and together with two dot-like marks beside it that looked like eyes, it vaguely resembled the character for "fire."
Information immediately surfaced before Lumiere's eyes.
〔Pokémon: Spiritomb ♂〕
〔Type: Ghost + Dark〕
〔Ability: Infiltrator (can ignore barriers or substitutes and hit directly)〕
〔Moves: Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, Curse, Shadow Ball, Hypnosis, Dark Pulse, Foul Play, Will-O-Wisp, Pain Split, Snarl, Lash Out, Protect〕
〔Status: Bored (not moving at all is…)〕
〔Affection: 0 (watch your step)〕
So that was why Volo felt so at ease…
"Come to think of it, that Spiritomb looks pretty strong. Maybe I can find a chance to get its outfit too. But that thing doesn't even sleep at night—probably impossible…"
Muttering to himself, Lumiere checked the time on his phone. Seven thirty. Still early. He was probably the only one awake.
After getting dressed and folding the blanket, he noticed Rowlet was still wrapped inside, sleeping soundly. He picked it up and tapped it awake.
"Row?"
"Stop sleeping. You're coming out with me later."
"Row~"
Rowlet blinked, then nodded.
Lumiere affectionately rubbed its round head. Speaking of Rowlet's strength—once it put on an outfit, it became 1.5 times stronger than the original Pokémon.
But raw power alone wasn't enough. Without battle experience, it would still be at a disadvantage in real combat.
Lumiere considered himself above average in the games, but real battles weren't turn-based. There were far more skills involved, making command much more demanding.
And judging from what he'd seen in the anime, Pokémon battles were full of unexpected situations—injuries, terrain, innate abilities—all of which could determine victory or defeat.
Last night, he'd chatted a bit with Cynthia and learned that being a Trainer in this world was incredibly common.
As long as you were over ten and brought your Pokémon to the relevant office to apply, the whole process took less than ten minutes.
But there was still a big gap between self-taught "wild" Trainers and those trained by professional institutions like schools.
Wild Trainers were basically starting from zero.
Schools taught far more—not just battling and training, but also Pokémon habits and ecology. By the time students graduated at thirteen, they could go on adventures independently.
As for Gyms and Leagues, Lumiere had subtly asked around.
The Arce area didn't have a Pokémon League, but there were countless competitions—battling, breeding, performances, and more.
Gyms did exist, though. There were eighteen of them, corresponding to the eighteen types, scattered across towns in the region.
Gym Leaders were extremely strong, and many Trainers challenged them to prove themselves. Unfortunately, the Sinnoh region only had one Gym—in Sunyshore City.
Lumiere was somewhat interested in these Gyms. Maybe in the future, he could even set up a League here?
But that felt a bit pointless for now. With his current abilities, it was better to travel around, catch Pokémon, and live a laid-back life.
Bringing his thoughts back to Rowlet, he decided he needed to carve out some time to let it learn real combat too.
And speaking of which—he'd tricked his way into getting an outfit the other day…
He took out Blissey's outfit—shortened to "Blissey gear"—from the wardrobe and helped Rowlet put it on.
Honestly, he was getting more and more skilled at changing its clothes…
〔Pokémon: Rowlet (Blissey form) ♀〕
〔Type: Grass + Flying (Normal)〕
〔Ability: Healer (removes allies' status conditions)〕
〔Moves: Minimize, Pound, Sweet Kiss, Charm, Life Dew, Sing, Soft-Boiled〕
〔Status: Plush Turned Pokémon (cannot evolve, no innate ability, cannot learn other moves)〕
〔Affection: 100 (your bond is practically overflowing)〕
Rowlet turned pink, and like Blissey, had an egg on its chest.
Lumiere poked it with a finger. It felt pretty solid—no idea if it was real. So he decided to test it.
"Rowlet, use Soft-Boiled."
"Row~"
Rowlet reached into its chest with its wing and pulled the egg out. After looking at it for a moment, it hesitated—then handed the egg to Lumiere.
"Holy crap, you can actually pull it out?"
Lumiere stared at the egg, about half the size of a chicken egg. He'd thought it was just decoration, but now it actually looked edible.
Rowlet kept staring at the egg too, then started reaching back into its chest, as if checking whether there were more. It looked like it had discovered a whole new world.
"So… this counts as self-sufficiency now, huh…"
Shaking his head helplessly, Lumiere handed the egg back. Rowlet hugged it and sat on the bed, happily eating.
That aside—he still hadn't eaten breakfast.
And since it was the weekend, Cynthia didn't have school. He didn't need to keep watch either. Maybe he could freeload a meal downstairs.
"Sounds good. Eat first, then go out for a walk and get familiar with the area. Wouldn't want to get lost the moment I step outside."
With his plan set, Lumiere carried Rowlet out of the room, washed up, and went downstairs to wait for food…