Pokémon: No Way! The Golden Finger Only Comes When I'm About To Die!?

The aroma wafting from the kitchen grew increasingly intense, and the Pokémon began to grow restless.

At that moment, Munchlax poked its head out from the kitchen and called to Diancie, Gallade, and Gardevoir.

"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"

It's ready, time to eat!

Upon hearing this, the Pokémon became excited. They had been eagerly anticipating the new food Diancie had mentioned.

Soon, Diancie, Gallade, and Gardevoir come out from the kitchen, each carrying buns, milky buns, and steamed buns, respectively. They began distributing the food to everyone.

Unlike human restaurants where customers can freely order according to their preferences, the Pokémon restaurant at Angie's place operates differently to maximize happiness points. Here, there's no ordering from a menu.

Each Pokémon's plate is fixed with buns, milky buns, and steamed buns. The only variation is a slight adjustment to the dumpling filling based on each Pokémon's taste preferences. For example, if a Pokémon doesn't like chive-filled buns, it won't be served those.

Since the Pokémon at Angie's place love all the food, this method of distribution works perfectly.

Moreover, since the meals are free, the Pokémon are even less likely to be picky.

Before long, the food had been distributed, and the Pokémon couldn't wait to start eating.

Just like Diancie and Munchlax had experienced earlier, the Pokémon immediately felt a surge of energy coursing through their bodies after eating the milky buns. It felt incredibly amazing.

Meanwhile, while taking a break from his stall, Angie glanced at the system and was amazed to find that his happiness points were rapidly increasing.

[ Happiness Points +400 ]

[ Happiness Points +400 ]

[ Happiness Points +400 ]

...

The base happiness points provided by the steamed bun and buns were 100 each, so the extra 200 points must have come from the milky buns!

No wonder the system referred to them as a higher-grade food; one serving was indeed better than two.

Back at the Pokémon restaurant, the milky buns were so delicious that everyone ate with gusto, not even bothering to look up.

Suddenly, a gasp was heard, and everyone turned towards the source of the sound. They saw that the body of Flabébé had suddenly burst into a brilliant blue-white light.

Within the light, Flabébé's size was rapidly increasing. What had once been a 0.1-meter-tall body doubled in height in the blink of an eye.

When the light dissipated, Flabébé had transformed. Not only did it appear more mature, but the Fairy Flower that had been beneath its feet was now held above its head like an umbrella.

Flabébé had evolved into Floette.

Everyone was stunned by Flabébé's sudden evolution. How could it evolve while eating a meal?

However, evolution is a good thing, and just as everyone was about to congratulate Flabébé, another gasp echoed through the room. Everyone looked over to see Espurr's body also glowing with a strong blue-white light.

They stared at Espurr in disbelief.

Again... it evolved?

Even Espurr itself was surprised. It looked down at its body and saw that it was growing taller in the light.

What was once a 0.3-meter Espurr rapidly grew to about 0.6 meters. When the glow faded, its appearance had undergone a drastic change.

Espurr had evolved into a Meowstic.

The appearance of Meowstic after evolution differs depending on gender.

Male Meowstic is primarily blue with white accents, while female Meowstic is mostly white, with blue fur on the hands, legs, tail base, and a tuft on its head.

This particular Meowstic from the Nebel Plateau was male, so its fur was mostly a deep blue.

Having just evolved, the newly transformed Meowstic had trouble adjusting to its significantly larger body. It flailed around clumsily, eventually plopping down onto the ground.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh kindly at the sight.

However, Meowstic's evolution was not the end.

Spritzee, Swablu, and Fletchling, three close companions, were sitting together at a table enjoying their meal. They were excitedly discussing the evolutions of Flabébé and Espurr, imagining what it would be like when they themselves evolved in the future.

Though some Pokémon may resist evolution due to discomfort with their new form or other reasons, most Pokémon eagerly anticipate their evolution.

Evolution is encoded in a Pokémon's genetic makeup; it's a natural instinct, a choice made by nature itself.

The three little birds chatted excitedly while enjoying their meal.

Spritzee, being the smallest eater, had finished one bun, one milky bun, and two steamed bun, but couldn't manage to finish the last bun in its plate. So, it nudged the plate towards Fletchling.

"Spritzee~ Spritzee~"

Fletchling, can you eat this for me?

"Fletchling~ Fletchling~~"

Sure! I will!

Fletchling had no qualms about helping out.

Quickly finishing off the last of its food, it turned and devoured the bun left by Spritzee in just a few bites.

"Burp~~"

Having eaten too much, Fletchling laid flat on its back on the table.

"Swablu~ Swablu~"

Swablu gently nudged Fletchling, trying to coax it into flying off for some exercise to help with digestion.

But at that moment, Fletchling's body suddenly erupted in bright blue light, startling Spritzee and Swablu. Both of them jumped, falling back onto the table in surprise.

Fletchling leaped up in an instant.

Am I evolving?

Within the blue light, Fletchling's body rapidly grew larger. In a short while, its height shot up from 0.2 meters to 0.7 meters, making it the largest of the little group.

When the light finally dissipated, Fletchling had successfully evolved into a Fletchinder, and its typing had changed from Normal and Flying to Fire and Flying.

"Spritzee~"

"Swablu~"

Seeing their friend's evolution, Spritzee and Swablu excitedly flapped their wings and flew around Fletchinder in circles.

At this point, Fletchinder, a little slow to realize what had just happened, finally recognized that it had evolved. It flapped its wings in excitement and hopped up and down on the table.

"Fletchinder~ Fletchinder~"

I evolved! I evolved!

Luckily, Angie's table was heavy enough, or else Fletchinder would have knocked it over.

In the span of a single breakfast, three Pokémon evolved one after another. As everyone looked down at the food on their plates, their eyes began to shine with a new sense of purpose.

Remembering the surge of energy they felt when eating the milky bun, it seemed that all the Pokémon suddenly understood something.

Meanwhile, on Angie's side.

After a busy morning selling all the buns and steamed buns, Angie turned around to Raleigh and asked, "Raleigh, did your sister say when she'd come by?"

Today, Angie had made plans to visit his store with Kimia. He had intended to go yesterday, but Kimia had something to do and didn't have time to accompany him.

Raleigh replied, "She should be here soon."

Just as Raleigh spoke, a voice came from outside the car window.

"Your Highness, Raleigh."

"Sister!"

"Slurpuff~"

Raleigh and his Slurpuff poked their heads out of the car window to wave at Kimia.

Kimia quickly ran to the car and said to Angie, "Your Highness, let's go."

"Alright!" Angie agreed.

"I'll drive," Kimia volunteered. Since she was the only one who knew the way, it made more sense for her to drive rather than just give directions.

"Alright," Angie said, moving to the passenger seat.

So, Kimia drove off toward the shop, and Angie sat in the back, counting the day's earnings.

"By the way, Your Highness, regarding the money to acquire Nebel Plateau, after discussions with Father and the ministers, it has been approved!" Kimia suddenly said.

Originally, many of the ministers opposed it, thinking it was improper. However, Edward had overridden the objections and finally approved the matter.

Kimia thought it unnecessary to mention the details to Angie.

Hearing Kimia's words, Angie suddenly nodded in excitement. "Really?!"

Kimia nodded. "Of course. You can check your resident account online; the information should have already been updated."

Angie immediately took out his phone to check. Sure enough, he saw the updated entry on his resident account. In addition to the shops in the Azoth City, there was now an entry for Nebel Plateau.

Yay, I'm a landowner now!

At the same time, a system notification popped up. Angie clicked on it, and a pop-up window immediately appeared.

[ Congratulations, Master! Achievement Unlocked: Acquired a Base! ]

[ Reward: Full Set of Brewing Equipment (worth 50 million Happiness Points). ]

Seeing the reward, Angie nearly jumped out of his seat. "Damn, I hit the jackpot! A 50 million Happiness Points reward! If I had to earn that, who knows when I'd manage it... and it's just an achievement reward!"

But... brewing equipment? Help, I don't even know how to brew!

Wait, what? After all that effort to get something big, the reward is something I can't even use? Angie was heartbroken.

Raleigh, sitting beside him, noticed the change in Angie's expression and asked with concern, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Angie closed the system interface with a resigned sigh and shook his head. "I'm fine, I'm just feeling like I have lost out on a hundred million."

Rounding up 50 million to 100 million is acceptable, right?

Raleigh was stunned, covering her mouth in disbelief: Your Highness is so rich!

Well, I'll just leave the reward for now, Angie thought.

Angie's shop wasn't far from Nikola Park, and it didn't take long for them to arrive at the shop's entrance.

After getting out of the car, Angie looked at the three-story shop and asked, "Is this my shop?"

Kimia nodded and answered, "That's right, this is it."

Angie's shop was located on a street with heavy foot traffic, one of the most popular tourist streets in Azoth City. Every day, large numbers of tourists from all over the world visited, making it one of the busiest districts in the city.

Shops on this street were almost exclusively owned by the royal family, and others rarely had a chance to open a shop here.

The three-story building in front of Angie was decorated in an ancient style, somewhat similar to the architecture of the Johto region.

This style of shop would have looked out of place in most parts of Azoth City, but here, on the tourist street, it was perfectly fine, as there were all kinds of uniquely styled shops in the area.

"Your Highness, let's go inside and have a look," Kimia suggested.

"Yes! Yes!" Angie quickly took out his key to open the door. He had already received the key in advance.

Upon entering the shop, they were greeted by a quaint interior. Tables and chairs in natural wood tones were neatly arranged, and the walls were adorned with wooden menu boards listing items like "steamed buns," "cabbage-stuffed buns," "radish-stuffed buns," and "chive-stuffed buns."

The menus could be easily taken down and put back up.

At the front of the shop was a long counter, which served as the cashier and checkout area. Behind the counter, there was a painting on the wall.

The painting was simple—depicting steaming buns and buns in a minimalist style.

They walked through the long corridor to the kitchen area at the back of the shop.

The kitchen was equipped with luxurious appliances, and all the necessary utensils and tools were prepared.

The second floor had similar decoration and layout to the first floor.

The third floor, however, was the living area, designed to accommodate Angie and his Pokémon.

After the tour, Kimia asked, "So, what do you think, Your Highness? Do you like it?"

"I like it! I like it so much!" Angie nodded in satisfaction. "Who decorated this place? It's exactly to my taste."

Kimia proudly said, "I knew you would like it."

"You did it?" Angie asked, surprised.

Kimia nodded, "My father has entrusted all of Your Highness's matters to me."

Angie gave her a thumbs-up in admiration, "As expected of the Princess of Azoth! You really know how to get things done."

After introducing Angie to the various features and functions of the living area, Kimia said, "Well, Your Highness, it's getting late. I'm sure you remember to head back home. I'll be returning to the palace with Raleigh."

Angie accompanied the siblings to the door, then quickly locked up the shop and headed back to the third floor.

After some searching on the third floor, Angie chose a storage room as the location for the space portal.

Once it was set up, he turned his head to his Komala and said, "Let's see if we can return home directly from here."

With that, he opened the door to the storage room.

According to Diancie's instructions, once the space portal was set up, the door to the storage room looked like an ordinary door to anyone else. Only Angie and his Pokémon could open it to reveal the space portal.

Entering the door, Angie found himself in a bright, white passage. He walked a little further, and soon, a light appeared ahead.

He strode toward the light, and when he reached it, he pushed the door open.

Creak~

The door opened, and stepping through, Angie found himself back on the third floor of his home.

"Angie?"

A familiar voice suddenly called out. Angie turned around to see none other than Diancie.

"We're back!" Angie said joyfully.

"Did you set up the other portal?" Diancie asked.

"Yes! Do you want to come with me to check out our new shop?" Angie invited.

"Yes! Yes!" Diancie's voice was full of excitement.

"Let's bring Munchlax along too," Angie said, waving his hand.

In no time, Munchlax was called over, and the four of them crossed the space portal to arrive at the new shop in Azoth City.

"Munchlax~~"

Munchlax marveled as he looked around curiously after stepping through the door.

"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"

Is this our new home?