C081 - Breakfast at Pete's

"This is moderately terrifying!" Iris shouted from behind Pete as Zebstrika jumped over a turned over log on top of the cliff to reach the other side of the river feeding Ilex Falls, the waterfall near his home.

Golurk wasn't in the Mushroom Caves where Pete had suspected him, but he finally started feeling him through their bond a good hundred meters out. Pete looked back and saw Rapidash follow his wife up the steep staircase the Golem tribe had built into the cliff wall at the start of the territory war at the very start.

Iris desperately clutched Rapidash's neck, and Pete was content with the punishment he dished out to her for trying to steal his food. He would have given her a crash course on how to make blocks, too, if only she had asked.

Five minutes later, Pete told Zebstrika to slow down. Golurk was near the water, all the way down the fifteen meter cliff.

'Hey buddy! I've been looking for you! Any reason you're so far from home and why I couldn't feel you through our bond for the longest time?'

After fully opening the bond between them with his psychic prowess, Pete asked the pokemon what was on its mind. Golurk's response was a picture of Suicune followed by what he was holding in his hand. A... mega stone?

Pete shook his head. Regular people wouldn't find even one in their entire lives. Why did he and his pokemon already find three? It's been a while since he found a stone, but this still was no real explanation. This time around, he simply chalked it up to the fact that Golurk couldn't really be put to sleep and was instead sent away to get Suicune's second gift. Or was it payment?

Admittedly, he led a rather active adventuring lifestyle and had quite a lot of pokemon roaming around bringing him gifts and everything. He had quite a few Water Stones that his two Milotic brought back occassionally. And, his Leaf Stone counter, for example, had long ago reached double digits. Yet, out of respect for Celebi, who was the likely reason, so many of those stones are found in Ilex Forest, Pete did not sell them. He could grant them as gifts later in life if he ever became a professor and sent out young trainers.

'So you're doing okay? Want me to call over Reuniclus or Farigiraf to come pick you up?'

At the question, Golurk sent back an exasperated feeling that made Pete laugh, 'Okay, okay. Have a nice walk back, buddy.'

Iris, who just relaxed on Rapidash's back after it had reached Pete and Zebstrika, immediately tensed up when Pete winked at her. Moments later, Rapidash and his wife Zebstrika started running back home at breakneck speeds.

This time around, Rapidash actually held his own. He was built more for stamina than speed compared to his wife, so the second high speed round gave him a slight edge. It wasn't enough to win the second lap, but since it was much closer, he wasn't too mad about it.

Pete left Iris at her bungalow and brought the two equestarian pokemon back to the stables. After a short moment of bonding with them, Pete walked to his house to start making breakfast.

A berry+fruit salad, fresh Moomoo Milk with vanilla, and a big basket of fresh croissants with Rinka Berry jam later, Pete brought a tray to serve his girlfriend breakfast in bed. Rinka Berries were something Pete had never heard before, so it might have been an anime exclusive or something else.

They looked a lot liked a smooth orange in the form of a pear, helped with throat pain and a hoarse voice, but most importantly they tasted like sweet citrus-y pears and only needed a spoon and minimal force to be turned into a smooth jam with no pulp.

Jasmine was still asleep and hugging his pillow close, so Pete set the tray on his dresser and moved to sit on the bedside.

He gently brushed her hair out of her face and softly said, "Wake up, sleepyhead. T minus thirteen days until the gym leader challenge. Can't slack off now."

"Ugh, nooo~"

"I brought breakfast~"

Jasmine slightly cracked one eye open to look at him and asked, "Is there coffee?"

"Nope~ but I'll tell you about who I met at the lake earlier if you at least sit up and eat a little."

"You drive a hard bargain, mister," Jasmine 'begrudgingly' said as she used all four limbs to sit up and lean against the headrest of the bed with a giant smile on her face.

Pete straightened out the blanket so it wouldn't get caught or tip over the breakfast and brought the tray over for his girlfriend.

"Okay, so. You know the three legendary 'beast' pokemon myths from Johto, right?"

Jasmine coughed into the mug of her vanilla milk drink she was drinking from. With a laugh, Pete dabbed away the bit of milk she spilled and continued to explain, disregarding the glare Jasmine sent his way.

"Anyway, it was all foggy this morning, and there was something in the back of my mind telling me to go outside to check it out..."

By the time Pete finished explaining and Jasmine finished pouting that she missed meeting yet another legendary pokemon after Celebi put her to sleep last time, the two were finished with breakfast.

Pete took the tray back to the kitchen, giving Jasmine time to do her morning rituals, and he found Valerie and Courtney sneaking out of the latters room.

"I told you I'm okay with it. Why are you sneaking?" Pete asked as he walked behind them without making any noise.

"AH! Come on, Pete! Why are you doing your ninja routine again?"

As Courtney glared at him, Pete just shrugged the accusation away, "You're simply not paying enough attention. I won't apologize for not stomping around like a Donphan when walking in my own home. So? Why the sneaking?"

"I simply didn't want to wake anyone," Valerie offered with a relaxed, dreamy smile.

"And I don't know why, it felt right," Courtney non-explained as she straightened up and walked into the kitchen.

"The tray looks like you brought someone breakfast?"

Pete looked to Valerie with a smile and answered, "Yep, a little surprise for Jasmine."

"Wow, perfect husband material," she praised as she looked him up and down.

Pete just gained a silly grin and shrugged, "I try."

"Ohh, score! You and Alcremie made Croissants with Rinka Jam?" Courtney asked from the kitchen when they reached it.

"Yep, one of the Miltank did an egg plant run this morning, and Alcremie was up to put in a little effort. There's also fruit salad and some fresh milk in the fridge. Do you drink tea, Valerie? Some time ago, I started growing some herbs, and they make great tea when the leaves are properly dried first," Pete explained as he went into 'host mode'.

Courtney rolled her eyes a little because despite him saying he didn't run a hotel even after he finished those three extra guest 'houses', Pete always went all out when guests were over. At least his 'obsessive need' to be a good host was the polar opposite of destructive behavior.

"Sure, I'll try a herb tea. You pick which one. Because I'll trust your taste, and I'm not picky," Valerie answered in the same dreamy smile she had before.

"White herb tea it is. Haven't found a single person who didn't like it. Very mild, and if you need it sweetened, Combee honey pairs perfectly with it," Pete offered as Courtney quietly scoffed.

Eventually, a shy Iris and a brightly grinning Clair joined them at the breakfast table. The two dragon trainers sat down and began to talk about their adventure on the Dragon's Peak last night. Well, Clair mostly did as Iris barely looked up from her plate.

"So Iris' Hydreigon got his ass handed to him by my Flygon and tried courting her? And your Mega Altaria won a fight against three Dragonair with three separate Headbutts? Huh, sounds like Mega Altaria's ability changed to Pixilate. Meaning the normal type move turned into a stab fairy move. Congratulations, Lance definitely doesn't stand a chance the moment you teach Altaria Hyper Beam," Pete summarized when Clair finished her story.

Clair's eyes started to shine. She didn't even connect the dots yet! Pixilate was the perfect ability for her anti-dragon dragon!

"What I wanna know is why Iris looks like a Tangrowth spanked her butt. I get she lost, but that can't be it," Courtney interjected, and Valerie started giggling at the mental image. Iris looked like she wanted to retort but instead just started pouting. These last two days weren't hers.

"Ah, we went riding on Rapidash and Zebstrika for an outing earlier. I think riding Rapidash up a cliff and on the beach wasn't quite agreeable with her," Pete explained, leaving out the part where she was caught red-handed in his pokeblock supplies.

He didn't really care, so there was no need to embarrass the young girl any further. The girls all laughed a little at her expense, and Iris gained a deeper shade of pink on her tanned cheeks.

"Well then, Pete. Did anything cool happen this morning before the ride?" Clair asked after a few moments of silence. She narrowed her eyes at him, making Pete believe she knew that something did happen. Maybe she didn't think of a Suicune-level event. But something bordering it, maybe.

"Oh yeah, you might have seen the fog? Found a cool water pokemon down at the lake and got a gift," he explained as he held up his new water pendant. "We talked a little, and it left later."

"And who was it to make so much fog? A mega evolved pokemon? A giant Wailord? Or did you meet a mythical pokemon like Phione or Manaphy?"

Pete just grinned and didn't answer.

"Didn't know you read enough books to know about a mythical pokemon," Iris mumbled under her breath just loud enough for everyone on the table to hear her. Clair leveled a very dry stare in her direction but couldn't reply because someone made herself known first.

"Hey Peeeeetey," Whitney shouted as she, Jasmine, and a sleepy Sophie joined them in the kitchen. Sophie looked annoyed at the loud noises, Jasmine looked exasperated at the next set of actions from her pink-haired friend.

Instead of grabbing a chair of her own, Whitney made herself comfortable on Pete's lap and grabbed a croissant, "Wanna know what Pete thinks about your butt, Clair?"

Pete didn't even groan out in annoyance because Whitney had used the perfect distraction so that no one would ask about Suicune again at the breakfast table.