In the evening, the exaggeratedly long table at Bill's Lighthouse was filled with all kinds of delicacies, appealing in color, aroma, and taste.
Thanks to Bill's well stocked kitchen, Paul worked hard this time and cooked more than ten dishes in one go.
"Okay, let's eat!" Putting down the Beef Soup in his hands, Paul clapped his hands.
"Oh my God, Paul, did you make all of this?" Cynthia covered her mouth cutely. * These foods all look so delicious. *
"Paul, you are too powerful," Melanie also gave Paul a thumbs up.
"Well, I put in a little extra effort." Paul spread his hands out in embarrassment. "Eat it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
Cynthia tilted her chin cutely, looking left and right. "This Mushroom and Greens dish looks good... no, no, I'd better eat the Braised Pork first... but this Sweet and Sour Fish dish is also very interesting... no no, let's eat this Rice Cake first... Oh, it's too difficult!"
Paul broke into a sweat. * I forgot, this girl has severe decision paralysis. *
Picking up a small bowl, Paul first served a bowl of beef soup and came to Cynthia's side. "Drink some soup before eating, it's good for the stomach."
Cynthia took the bowl, paused for a moment, then smiled. "Okay, I'll listen to you."
After finishing the soup, Paul used the serving chopsticks to give two different fried items to Cynthia.
"This is Fried Milk and Fried Ice Cream, both are desserts. Try them, you will like them."
Cynthia seemed to acquiesce to Paul's serving, taking the food and putting it in her mouth. "Ooh, it's hot! It's delicious! Milk and ice cream can be fried and eaten? It's so tasty."
"Eat more if it's delicious." Paul propped his head with one hand and kept picking up food for Cynthia with the other.
Cynthia sat obediently, eating whatever Paul gave her.
Melanie took a peek at the two of them from the side. * Those two seem pretty good together. *
The two women heartily enjoyed the meal of Sinnoh dishes. After the meal, Melanie took the initiative to do the washing up. Paul and Cynthia went to the observation deck on the top of the lighthouse to enjoy the evening breeze.
"Paul, your cooking skills are really good, and you are very thoughtful. I haven't eaten so happily for a long time." Cynthia looked at the somewhat immature young man beside her, feeling a slight stir in her heart for the first time.
"Well, actually, I'm usually lazy. But if Miss Cynthia wants to eat, I can cook for you anytime," Paul said openly.
"Then I will trouble you in the future," Cynthia smiled.
"I don't know when the Pokémon that Bill is waiting for will appear."
Looking at the coastline, Paul said relaxedly, "I think we'll be able to see it soon. I've found the mysterious Pokémon recording left by Bill. As long as it's played on a foggy day, it will definitely attract that guy."
"Well, I'm looking forward to it," Cynthia said confidently.
* At Cynthia's current level of strength, she believes that as long as it is not a top tier legendary Pokémon, she can handle it calmly. *
"I think there will be fog in a few days, so I'll stay here for a few days. During the day, I can ask Cynthia to help me train the Pokémon I have. I think this will benefit them a lot," Paul looked at Cynthia.
"Okay. After I finish reading the information, it can be used as an after dinner exercise."
As the night grew darker, Cynthia and Paul returned to the interior of the lighthouse. After a brief wash, they each found a guest room and fell asleep peacefully.
~
On the second day, Paul got up early and called his elder brother Reggie first. Because Bill's home happened to have a Pokémon Transfer System, Paul sent Electabuzz back to his brother early in the morning.
He told Electabuzz to complete its special training as soon as possible, and after it evolved into Electivire, Paul would transfer him back to the main lineup.
After making breakfast for everyone, Paul released all the Pokémon currently with him and started feeding everyone.
Holding fried dough sticks in her left hand and soy milk in her right hand, Cynthia looked curiously at Paul's Pokémon.
Now, the Pokémon next to Paul were Prinplup, Gible, Pidgeotto, Cottonee, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle x5.
"Paul, why do you have so many Squirtles?" Cynthia asked vaguely, sipping soy milk.
"These kids," Paul touched the head of the Squirtle Squad leader and said, "They are a group of Squirtles abandoned by their trainers. They formed the Squirtle Squad in a nearby town, playing tricks everywhere. I wanted to subdue these children and entrust them to trustworthy trainers in the future, so I simply subdued the entire Squirtle Squad."
* Paul is really a gentle person, * Cynthia smiled, and added silently, * Cooking is also super delicious. *
"Is Cynthia interested in Squirtle?" Paul nudged one of the smaller Squirtles towards Cynthia.
"This child is Squirtle no. 5. He has the hidden ability Rain Dish. If he can be trained by the champion, I think he will be successful," Paul looked at Cynthia.
"Is that so?" Cynthia thought about it seriously. She was indeed willing to cultivate a new battle lineup. If rainy weather was the core tactic, a Squirtle with the Rain Dish ability seemed to offer a lot of strategic possibilities.
"Okay, I think I like this little one." Cynthia squatted down and stretched out her hand to look at Squirtle no.5 of the Squirtle Squad.
"How about it, do you want to go with me?"
Squirtle no.5 looked back at Paul and the Squirtle Squad leader.
"This beautiful lady is the champion of the Sinnoh region and one of the strongest Pokémon trainers in the world. She is a strong and gentle person," Paul said to the Boss Squirtle.
"Squirtle, Squirtle!" The Boss Squirtle nodded.
Squirtle no.5 took off his sunglasses, revealing his sparkling eyes. "Squirtle!" he cried out cutely, and threw himself into Cynthia's arms.
* Darn, I'm so envious! * Paul felt a pang of jealousy. * I suspect Squirtle no.5 is acting cute just to make me envious! *
After breakfast, Cynthia was reading materials by Bill's bookshelf. Melanie basked in the sun with her Pokémon near the lighthouse grounds.
Paul led his main team members to the beach for special training. Since they were at the beach, it was a perfect opportunity for resistance and physical strength training.
Bulbasaur, Charmander, and the Boss Squirtle ran hard on the beach together to exercise their physical strength and endurance.
Prinplup led the other members of the Squirtle Squad in water training in the sea, while Cottonee focused on photosynthesis training.
In addition, today's protagonist, Pidgeotto, was in an air battle with its private tutor, Cynthia's Togekiss!
Because Pidgeotto had almost recovered from its previous physical deficits, and under the influence of Paul's supplements, the bird had grown to the size of an ordinary Pidgeot, Paul requested that Cynthia send out her main aerial Pokémon, Togekiss, to train Pidgeotto.
Looking at the figures flying high in the sky, Paul sighed again and again. * The champion is still strong. Although Pidgeotto has good talent, it just can't catch up with Togekiss's speed. *
Occasionally, head to head clashes resulted in Pidgeotto being defeated in one blow. It wasn't at the same level at all.
"Pidgeot!" Finally, after being knocked down by Togekiss for the twentieth time, Pidgeotto's body, struggling to flap its wings, began to emit white light!!
"Finally evolved!!" Paul stared at the sky.
"Pidgeot!!" The light of evolution dissipated, and a Pidgeot with golden highlights appeared before Paul's eyes, its wings seeming to cover the sky.
Along with Pidgeot's flapping wings, there seemed to be an orange aura faintly revealed.
Undoubtedly, Paul's giant Pidgeot, nearly twice the size of a typical Pidgeot, had already touched the threshold of a Totem Pokémon.
"Pidgeot!!" The huge Pidgeot swung its wings suddenly, and a massive wave of air rolled and roared towards Togekiss.
"Hurricane! It learned a new move!" Paul looked at Pidgeot's figure with satisfaction.
Of course, even after Pidgeot evolved, becoming the highest level Pokémon currently in Paul's possession, surpassing gym level and entering the quasi Elite Four level, experience still counted for a lot.
The Hurricane was shattered by Togekiss's Air Slash, and then a Sky Attack from Pidgeot clashed head on with Togekiss's Brave Bird.
Togekiss barely flinched, but Pidgeot tumbled headlong towards the ground.
Reluctantly stepping forward, Paul touched Pidgeot's elegant feathers after evolution. * What are you thinking? Togekiss has been at the Champion level for ages. Did you get carried away just because you evolved? Keep working hard! *
Pidgeot raised its head and looked at Paul until Paul smiled and praised softly, "However, you did a good job."
Then Pidgeot jumped up happily and continued to study humbly with its teacher, Togekiss.
Paul looked at the thriving team and clapped his hands in satisfaction. "One more set of physical training, one set of special skills training, and then free activities. We have the afternoon off. No running around!"
Amidst the cheers of the Pokémon, Paul, feeling quite accomplished, put on his apron. * Okay, it's time to cook for Cynthia. Maybe make her favorite pasta? *
While Paul enjoyed the simple, unpretentious joy of cooking for Cynthia, Ash, who had lost his way countless times, was about to arrive on the scene.