WebNovels

Chapter 17 - [17] Catching Pikachu!

"Pikaaaa~~~"

On the not-so-spacious table, Pikachu buried her face in the omelet rice, letting out a sound of pure bliss. Erina and Hisako sat on either side of her, their eyes sparkling as they gazed at the little bundle of cuteness on the table.

"How is it? Delicious?" Erina asked softly.

"Pika pika!"

Pikachu lifted her head from the omelet rice and replied in a voice full of joy, with a few grains of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth—this adorably clueless look made the young miss clench her fists in delight.

'Ohhh, knowing how to cook is truly amazing!!'

Hooray!

"Then eat as much as you want! I'll make more if it's not enough!"

Erina propped her chin on her left hand and then, with a hint of hesitation, asked, "By the way, Pikachu... can I pet you?"

"Pi..."

Pikachu showed a flicker of hesitation, glancing back and forth between the omelet rice in front of her and Erina beside her, before making a conflicted, thoughtful expression.

Erina suddenly felt a wave of nervousness, her palms nearly sweating—the last time she'd felt like this was... well, the last time!

"Pika!"

Finally, under Erina's hopeful gaze, Pikachu happily nodded her head and then actively placed her head beneath Erina's hovering hand, affectionately nuzzling against it.

"Tsk tsk, seems like Erina-chan's looks and cooking skills both worked their magic—" Hayashi clicked his tongue, teasingly remarking, "If it were me trying to pet Pikachu, she'd definitely refuse."

"Don't say that—" Erina shot Hayashi a glance before turning back to Pikachu. "Pikachu, would you let this big brother here pet you?"

"Pi?"

Pikachu's ears twitched slightly as she tilted her head to look at Hayashi sitting on the other side, then made a conflicted expression—the obvious hesitation and struggle made Hayashi burst out laughing. "See? I told you she'd reject me."

Erina rubbed her forehead. "Wait, why do you sound oddly proud about it?"

What kind of person takes pride in being rejected by Pikachu? You're not right in the head.

"Isn't this just proof that your looks are top-tier? I'm proud on your behalf." Hayashi chuckled, then extended a finger to play with the Eevee before him. Watching the little creature tussle with his finger, he said, "So what if you're not affectionate with me? I've got my adorable little Eevee—right, my little treasure?"

"Eve!"

Eevee happily responded to Hayashi's call, wagging its tiny tail as it playfully "fought" with his finger, making the nearby Pikachu rub its eyes in disbelief.

"Pi, Pika?"

Wh-what's going on!? That elegant young lady from just now is acting like a child!? What kind of magic does this man have!?

The next moment, Pikachu slapped itself hard, scolding inwardly: 'Pikachu, Pikachu, what are you doing? Getting distracted during mealtime!'

This is the most delicious food you've ever had in your life!

With that, Pikachu refocused and buried its face back into the food bowl, happily going "Pika~" while devouring Erina's homemade ketchup omurice.

So good! So flavorful!

...

...

Perhaps because it had genuinely never eaten anything this delicious, Pikachu ended up wolfing down three whole bowls of omurice before finally stopping—and that was only because its stomach couldn't take any more. Otherwise, it would've kept going.

"Pi, Pika—"

Gluttony in the moment, regret in the aftermath.

Pikachu was now the perfect embodiment of the saying "extreme joy begets sorrow"—the happiness it felt while gorging itself was now matched only by the agony of its overstuffed belly.

"So I'm seriously done—"

Hayashi, with a backpack on his back, an Eevee perched on his head, and a Pikachu cradled in his arms, turned to Erina walking beside him and said, "I was just fishing for a bit! How did you manage to feed her three whole bowls of rice? Have you even looked at her size?!"

This was a Pikachu! She wasn't Artoria, Hinata Hyuga, or Akame! The three plates of omelet rice combined were almost bigger than this Pikachu! How the hell did she stuff it all in?

Damn, this is just ridiculous!

"I—I saw her still clamoring for more, so I thought she wasn't full yet…" Erina trailed closely behind Hayashi, her face filled with guilt. "Plus, I'm not super familiar with Pokémon, so I thought she was just a really big eater."

"Pi… pika—"

Pikachu weakly raised a paw, signaling Hayashi to stop scolding Erina—it was her own gluttony, not the young lady's fault. Waaah!

"And you!" Hayashi shot an exasperated look at the Pikachu lying limply in his arms, looking like she was on the verge of keeling over. "Couldn't you tell when you were full?"

"Pika—"

Pikachu whimpered pitifully.

That's right! The trio, who had originally planned to wash the dishes and crawl into their sleeping bags inside the tent, had now packed up their belongings in a hurry and were rushing toward Viridian City—all because of the Pikachu lying weakly in Hayashi's arms.

This little glutton had stuffed herself with three plates of omelet rice and ended up overeating, forcing the trio to make an emergency trip to Viridian City's Pokémon Center so Nurse Joy could treat her.

'Pika—'

Pikachu lay limply in Hayashi's arms, noticing that the person holding her was carefully controlling the sway of his arms, doing his best not to make her feel even worse.

'Actually… he's not so bad—' Pikachu thought.

...

...

"Pikachu just overate and has a bit of indigestion—"

Nurse Joy emerged from the back of the Pokémon Center, pushing a small cart with an amused yet exasperated expression. "Please be more careful next time. Don't feed Pikachu so much—she's not a Munchlax, you know."

"Ahem, y-yeah, got it—"

Erina gave an awkward laugh, while Pikachu, standing on the cart, mirrored the same sheepish expression. She let out a series of apologetic "pika pika" sounds toward the young lady, as if begging for forgiveness.

"You—"

Erina sighed and scooped Pikachu into her arms, scolding her lightly. "I thought you were some kind of eating champion, but you ended up stuffing yourself into the hospital."

"Pi… pika!"

S-stop it already!

Pikachu covered her face with her tiny paws, her cheeks burning red. She felt like she had lost all dignity today. Waaah!

Even when the young lady carried Pikachu over to the table where Hayashi and Hisako were sitting, Pikachu still refused to uncover her face—she just wanted to disappear right then and there!

"What's up with her?"

"Probably embarrassed? I mean, getting hospitalized for overeating is probably a first for her."

"Yeah, first time I've seen it too."

"Pika!!"

After hearing Hayashi's teasing, Pikachu immediately let out a despairing cry. She tilted her head, stuck out her tongue, and pretended to be dead, making Hayashi and the others burst into laughter.

"It seems all Pikachus have a talent for acting," Hayashi said with a chuckle, taking a sip of the orange soda provided by the Pokémon Center. "I remember Ash's Pikachu was great at mimicking, and yours is quite the little drama queen too."

"She hasn't been caught by me yet—" Erina couldn't help but remind him. "She's still a wild Pokémon!"

"Then why don't you ask her now?" Hayashi propped his elbow on the table and said to Pikachu, who had already perked up her ears, "Hey, Pikachu, would you like to become Erina's partner?"

"Pika?"

Pikachu blinked in surprise. She glanced at Eevee, who was already fast asleep in Hayashi's arms, then at Florges hanging from Hisako's wrist, before finally turning to look at Erina behind her, who was watching her with hopeful eyes.

Become her partner? Hmm, I need to think carefully about this—it's a very serious matter...

Seeing Pikachu cross her arms and put on a thoughtful expression, Hayashi suppressed a laugh and said, "If you become her partner, you'll get to eat her cooking every day—"

"Pika!?"

E-every day...?

Pikachu visibly gulped, her expression clearly wavering.

"Ahahaha, ahahaha—" Hayashi burst into bell-like laughter, startling the little Eevee awake in his arms—though the little one drowsily looked around, realized she was still in Hayashi's embrace, and immediately snuggled deeper into his arms, covering herself with her tail before falling back asleep.

I'm still little—I need lots of sleep to grow big!

Hayashi pointed at Pikachu and said to Erina, "See that, Erina? This little one just wavered! This glutton can't resist the mention of food!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu let out an indignant squeak before leaping into Erina's arms, burying her face in the comforting warmth of her chest while crying, "Pika pika pika!"—This guy is the worst!

"Ahahaha—"

Pikachu's reaction made everyone laugh. Then, Erina took out a Poké Ball and captured Pikachu, who offered no resistance.

"I once told Professor Oak that your cooking might just be enough to catch Pokémon with food—" Hayashi rested his chin on his hand, grinning. "See? It's only been a day, and you've already caught a Pikachu with your cooking!"

Hisako chimed in with praise at the perfect moment: "As expected of the young lady! Could anyone else do this?"

Anyone else? You mean those overpowered protagonists?

Those terrifying beings who can win over dragon princesses, elf princesses, demon princesses, or imperial princesses with nothing but their barbecue skills!

----------

For advance chapters join my Patreon.

[email protected]/Aarvan

More Chapters