“Rolling looks rather uncomfortable,” Twilight observed after MunchMunch accidentally rolled through a bush.

  “Nope! It doesn’t hurt at all!” He giggled. “I can show you how?”

  “A Lady doesn’t roll, but I appreciate the offer,” Twilight smiled.

  “Oh. Ok,” MunchMunch said, finishing his roll so he could sit instead. He was starting to get light-headed from talking upside down.

  “Can you really help us find Teddy and Happy?”

  “Well, I think food is the first thing — I know a wonderful place just down the road. Then, perhaps we can pay a visit to a few old friends,” she smiled.

  MunchMunch was starting to feel a bit hungry. He loved his Leftovers, but sometimes a MunchMunch just needed a —

  “Oh, do they have Chocolate Cake?” he exclaimed.

  Twilight blinked while Shadow snorted from somewhere in the canopy.

  “I shouldn’t think so, as cake; while delicious, is still a human food. We are going to a Pokémon establishment,” she replied.

  “Why would Pokémon set up a restaurant outside of town?” Shadow asked. “Unless you are in the deep Wilds, there isn’t much civilization.”

  “Oh, it isn’t for the wild Pokémon,” Twilight tittered, licking her paw to remove some dust MunchMunch had kicked up when he went through the bush. “It is for the Pokémon of the city.”

  “Right. And it is outside the city because…?”

  “Taxes,” Twilight deadpanned.

  Shadow blinked.

  “I have no idea dear, I just know it is there and has food. It might have to do with the ones who run the place,” Twilight laughed.

  MunchMunch gasped as golden light glittered across her coat.

  “Twilight! You are so pretty!”

  “I know,” she purred, stretching.

  “Did you just… use Moonlight to impress a baby Pokémon?” Shadow deadpanned.

  Twilight blinked.

  “No.”

  “What’s Moonlight, Mama?” MunchMunch asked.

  “Ok, well I think we are almost there,” Twilight cut in loudly, walking between the two of them.

  Shadow cackled gleefully and sped off to look ahead.

  “So, tell me a little about your trainer and, Happy? Was it?”

  “Sure!” MunchMunch shouted, popping up to skip next to Twilight. “Teddy is awesome, and Happy is my little sister!”

  Twilight snorted.

  “Quite. But I can’t help you find them unless I know what they look like,” she amended.

  “Oh! Teddy is a human! And he has a backpack, and likes wearing a hat — just like mine! Except I lost mine,” MunchMunch finished sadly. At least he still had his backpack.

  Twilight blinked and smiled stoically.

  “Well, let’s try this. What does Happy look like?”

  “Oh! She looks so sweet! Like, she is always smiling, and she laughs a lot. And she also sleeps a lot too, but Mama says that is because she is a baby!”

  Twilight slumped before shaking her ears and resuming her posture.

  “What kind of Pokémon is she?”

  “She is a Happy Pokémon! Shadow said so herself!”

  “Child!” Twilight exclaimed, immediately exhaling and calming herself. “Ah, excuse me. This ‘Happy’, is she a Sentret? A Machop?”

  “Oh! She is a Togepi!” MunchMunch exclaimed. That was what she was asking! It made sense now.

  “Oh. Oh! Happy, now I get it,” Twilight laughed. “Well, that helps immensely.”

  “Yep, and Teddy throws her super high in the air all the time, because she loves it! I wish I could do that, but I’m too big and strong for him to pick me up,” MunchMunch finished, patting his tummy.

  “He throws the infant Togepi into the air?” Twilight blinked.

  “Yep! If he doesn’t she will start shouting and biting him,” MunchMunch explained.

  “Fairies,” Twilight sighed.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Mama says that, too,” MunchMunch giggled.

  “Understandably,” she nodded. “Why do you call her Mama?”

  “She saved me when I first hatched! A mean Zubat was hurting me and trying to take my most favorite-bestest-forever snack,” he explained. “Why, is it bad?”

  “Wild savages,” she sniffed. “And no, it is not bad. Not at all. I’ve just never seen a ghost referred to so affectionally before.”

  MunchMunch smiled. “Yeah, Shadow is the best!”

  “Ah, here we are,” Twilight nodded, gesturing to a path snaking away from the trail. “Let’s wait for Shadow to return, and then we can get some food — and hopefully information,” she smiled.

  “Ok!” MunchMunch enthused, plopping down and checking on the Aspear berries. They were still safe and sound.

  He knew Happy would be very glad to have them.

  ____

  MunchMunch looked around in interest. He had never been to a Restaurant Gym made by Pokémon before.

  It was in a cave. But not like the cave where he had been born. This cave was big and open and not dark at all.

  “Shadow, what are those?” he gasped, looking at the giant weird trees that were glowing.

  “Mushrooms, Sweetie,” she smiled. “Very big mushrooms.”

  MunchMunch froze. “Does that mean I can eat them?”

  “Those are the lighting and decoration here, I don’t think they will take kindly to you doing so,” Twilight laughed softly. “But yes, they are edible.”

  “So there really might be house-size Chocolate Cake somewhere,” MunchMunch breathed as he gazed up at huge mushrooms scattered around the cave. Beneath them, various types of Pokémon lounged on soft pillows, talking and laughing.

  MunchMunch would need to explore more caves.

  Twilight blinked. “Hmm… I’m not —“

  “Are those… moonstones glowing in the walls?” Shadow asked.

  Twilight

  “Lady Twilight! It is so good to see you,” a Clefairy half-bounced, half-floated forward.

  “Cleefee,” Twilight smiled. “How have you been?”

  “Busy,” she laughed. “The storm was terrible, but it has been great for business! And who are these two with you?”

  “This adorable little Munchlax is named MunchMunch — “

  MunchMunch waved while he was adjusting his backpack —

  “And Gastly is Shadow, the Leader of his Team,” she finished.

  Gastly drifted from MunchMunch’s shadow and nodded a greeting.

  Cleefee narrowed her eyes. “You are both welcome, but no pranks or funny business, ok?” she squinted, directing the last part to Shadow.

  Shadow opened her mouth to retort, but Twilight cut her off.

  “They are with me, Cleefee,” she smiled. “I wouldn’t have brought them if I thought they were trouble.”

  The Clefairy nodded. “Quite right! Well, let me show you to your table, and then we can get you the house special.”

  “My tab, dear,” Twilight called, turning to speak with an enthusiastic Eevee that had come up to meet her.

  “This place is really pretty!” MunchMunch exclaimed as they wove through the mushrooms and the Pokemon seated under them. Between and hanging from the mushrooms were silky smooth webs that glistened with the light.

  “Thank you, dear,” Cleefee smiled. “We commissioned a well-known Ariados to decorate the place. She did a lovely job.”

  They stopped at their pillows situated under a mushroom glowing a gentle orange. MunchMunch giggled and prepared to hop on.

  “Ahem,” Cleefee interrupted.

  MunchMunch looked at her, only to see her pointedly looking at a tiny pond nearby. “You must be tired from the road,” she bowed. “Please feel free to freshen yourself up before sitting on the upholstery.”

  Then she bounce-floated away.

  MunchMunch looked at Shadow in confusion.

  “Wash yourself in the pond, Sweetie,” she smiled.

  “Oh!” MunchMunch giggled, skipping over and rolling in. He wanted to jump, but he thought maybe the Clefairy wouldn’t appreciate that.

  He hurried though. He was really looking forward to eating!

  ____

  Twilight joined them a few minutes later, stopping by the pond to daintily wash her hands.

  “Please excuse my tardiness,” she said. “I had some business to attend to.”

  MunchMunch was just staring at her. In the dark, the gold in her night-colored fur was glowing again. There were lots of other Pokémon here, but she was definitely the prettiest.

  “Can you please stop that,” Shadow sighed.

  Twilight paused. “Oh, excuse me — force of habit,” she acknowledged, shaking her ears while the last of the golden dust floated off her fur.

  “Have they delivered the food yet?”

  “Not yet!” MunchMunch giggled, bouncing on the pillows. They were really soft and made him want to take a nap. Except he knew food was coming! “I’ve never eaten a house special before! Is it like Chocolate Cake? Or maybe more like cheese,” he enthused, stuffing his paws into his mouth in excitement.

  Twilight and Shadow laughed together.

  “He must be a joy to travel with,” she observed.

  Shadow nodded. “Yes. I am quite content with my Team,” she agreed.

  At that moment a Vulpix arrived, pulling a tray on a small cart behind her. She pulled the cart into the middle of the cushions before curtsying, blushing as she saw Twilight.

  “Ah, it seems our refreshments have arrived,” Twilight observed, nodding gently to the Vulpix. MunchMunch gasped as more gold appeared on her fur.

  The Vulpix seemed equally impressed.

  “Again with the Moonlight,” Shadow sighed under her breath.

  “Please enjoy, dear guests. It is such an honor to have you here, Lady Twilight,” she curtsied again.

  “Always a joy to visit,” Twilight responded gently. “Now run along, we will see to it from here.”

  The Vulpix yipped and left.

  “Everyone knows you,” Shadow observed.

  “Yes, indeed they do,” Twilight preened. “I am; after all, the Pokémon of a Kimono.”

  ____

  The house special turned out to be berries, cheeses and berries crushed into various juices.

  MunchMunch obviously loved it, eating with gusto. Shadow had to admit the array of berries was impressive.

  Occasionally, a friend of Twilight would stop by to chat for a moment. Twilight always took the opportunity to show MunchMunch off.

  While MunchMunch didn’t mind, Shadow did.

  The place was gorgeous, but she was beginning to suspect they had been brought here so the Umbreon could parade her MunchMunch like a new pet.

  To make matters worse, she had yet to see her inquire once about their team.

  She was slightly mollified by the fact she hadn’t been forgotten. Most just presumed ghosts didn’t need anything, since they couldn’t eat.

  Twilight had called an Eevee over shortly after the food was delivered. It had returned with a Pure Incense, just for her.

  It was wonderfully relaxing.

  “I appreciate the hospitality,” Shadow eventually spoke up when a Mr. Mime and Jynx duo moved on from admiring MunchMunch, “but we really must resume our search.”

  “Don’t be so quick, dear,” Twilight tittered. “There is time enough for everything.”

  “This is of the utmost importance to us,” Shadow repeated, doing her best to remain diplomatic.

  Her. A ghost. Being diplomatic.

  This was ridiculous.

  She shook her head and resumed smiling.

  “I said I would help you, and I will,” Twilight responded with a smile, turning to great pair of Aipom.

  Shadow smoldered next to her incense.

  “MunchMunch, I believe we need to —“

  At that moment, the small Eevee from when they entered the cave yipped and scurried up. Twilight held a paw to the two Aipom and leaned down to listen, nodding along.

  “Thank you dear. Please let Cleefee know I will be bringing a dusk stone for your efforts.”

  The Eevee nearly fainted in joy, while the Aipom gasped in shock.

  “I’m sorry, but I believe we will need to resume our little chat later,” she smiled at the two. They nodded hurriedly and moved on.

  Twilight leveled a smile at MunchMunch and Shadow.

  “I do believe I’ve just found your team,” she smiled.