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After the lunch rush, the flow of customers gradually decreased, and the line outside Kihara Restaurant shortened.
Mao and the others, along with their Pokémon, were no longer as flustered as they had been at the beginning. They were now handling the guests with ease.
During a break, Luther chatted with Kihara for a while; Wakaba was also present.
The restaurant's earlier boom had proven the importance of having a group of cute Pokémon.
Kihara had wanted to argue that Machamp and the others were also very good, but then he watched Espurr float past his face and heard the guests it was serving laugh.
Kirlia triggered waves of cheers among the customers while helping deliver dishes.
The sea-blue Jellicent used its Psychic powers to serve dishes, and guests would come forward to pet it every time it did so.
Even the aloof-looking Mismagius caused customers to frantically photograph her.
Recalling how customers had reacted with shock and hesitation when Machamp served dishes, Kihara fell into deep thought.
"Where am I supposed to find cute Pokémon all of a sudden?"
Though he was very tempted, Kihara was also troubled.
Wakaba patted his chest and promised to find some and bring them back by tonight.
Luther looked at Wakaba suspiciously. It wasn't that he didn't believe him; Wakaba sounded so confident that he must have a plan. Luther was just curious how he could possibly gather a group of Pokémon so quickly.
Given the size of the restaurant, at least six or seven Pokémon would be needed to keep things running smoothly during peak hours, which was equivalent to a full team for a Pokémon trainer.
Wakaba smiled slightly and said that Luther would find out tonight. After saying that, he left the restaurant, squeezed past the line of people waiting to get in, and ran off.
An hour after the lunch rush ended, Luther and Mao finally got to eat lunch.
Meanwhile, Ash and his group delivered food to the Pokémon resting in the courtyard.
Meanwhile, Kihara looked worriedly at Huntail and Machamp. He had already agreed with Wakaba that, once the new Pokémon arrived, Machamp, Machoke, and Huntail would be out of their serving jobs.
Figuring out how to address their feelings gave Kihara a real headache. After struggling with it for a long time, he decided to be straightforward.
Machamp and the others exchanged looks but then comforted Kihara, waving their hands to show they didn't mind.
From their traveling days to settling down and running a restaurant, they hadn't fully adapted to the changes, either. However, since they had chosen Kihara as their trainer, they would naturally support his decisions unconditionally.
They also felt that they didn't have much talent for customer service. From the guests' reactions alone, they could tell that they weren't suited for this kind of work.
Pikachu didn't go inside to help because he was busy taking care of the other Pokémon.
His job was to watch over Igglybuff and Milcery while they battled.
Watching Pikachu command Milcery to attack Igglybuff, Luther smiled and returned to the restaurant.
With the experience gained at noon, everyone was fully prepared for the dinner rush.
Only Marill and Espurr were needed outside to attract customers. Inside the restaurant, it was unnecessary to have a crowd of Pokémon trying to help at once because that would create more chaos. Only those proficient in psychic power were kept on duty inside.
This was truly the happiest day of Marill's life. She only needed to sit at the entrance, where delicious dishes were constantly brought to her. All she had to do was finish every serving.
There was nothing difficult about that. Since Luther told her to clean everything up, she licked every plate until it shone, meeting his standards perfectly.
The combination of Espurr's cuteness attack and Marill's live eating-show attack produced outstanding results. When the "Closed for Midday Break" sign was taken down, a crowd of Pokémon Trainers gathered outside the restaurant once again.
A man in a red coat with a distant, indifferent expression that warned strangers not to approach glanced at the long line outside Kihara Restaurant. Uninterested in joining the excitement, he continued walking forward.
But just as he was about to pass the street where the restaurant was located, he frowned and turned back suspiciously.
Instead of joining the line, he stood on tiptoe and craned his neck to see the figure he had glimpsed from the corner of his eye.
Espurr was acting cute while handing out flyers. Marill was stuffing herself with food. The silhouette of Kirlia flashed by inside the shop.
He didn't push forward. He followed the rules and quietly took his place at the end of the line.
Besides handing out flyers, Espurr was maintaining order in the queue. She waved her little hands to tell guests not to rush and to calm those who had been waiting too long.
When she reached the middle of the line and was about to hand someone a flyer with a smile, she noticed a gaze fixed on her.
A rare smile appeared on the man's usually cold face. He reached out and gently hooked Espurr under the chin.
"Your trainer is always doing strange things. How did you end up working part-time out here, too?"
Espurr quickly rubbed her face against the back of his hand, handed him the stack of flyers, and hurriedly floated back into the restaurant.
Espurr dragged Luther all the way outside. He had been wondering what she wanted, but when he saw Dakota, he froze.
"Seeing Espurr, I wasn't completely sure. But after seeing the Marill and Kirlia that appeared here, it'd be strange if you weren't here too," Dakota said with a smile as she returned the flyers to Espurr.
Luther laughed. "Looks like Marill is pretty recognizable. Did you catch Latios?"
"No chance. There's probably only one Marill in the world that eats like a Snorlax, and it's yours. As for Latios..."
Dakota spread his hands helplessly.
"Don't even mention it. I tracked it down again, but this time, it was truly angry. It injured my Salamence and Metagross and tried to attack me. Luckily, Darkrai helped me out; otherwise, I'd be recovering from injuries before entering the tournament."
"After giving up on the idea, I headed straight for the nearest port. I didn't expect to run into you while passing by. It must be fate."
"The Hodgepodge organization has some new..."
Dakota stopped mid-sentence when he saw Luther make a silencing gesture.
"You've got some nerve talking about that here. Let's discuss it tonight. By the way, have you eaten?"
Dakota's stomach let out a hoot like a Hoothoot, embarrassing him.
He scratched his head. "Do you have any recommended set meals?"
Luther pointed helplessly at the line ahead. "No cutting in line. Wait your turn. I still have customers to take care of. I'm going back inside."
With that, he went back inside, leaving Dakota to stare longingly through the glass window at the Pokémon Trainers happily eating inside, including Ash Ketchum and his group.
Soon, a Kirlia came out carrying a glass of juice.
Dakota took a sip, which eased his hunger a little, and thanked Kirlia.
Watching Espurr work busily, Dakota thought for a moment. Then, he casually took out a Poké Ball and released Froslass.
"Go help Espurr hand out flyers."
After he said that, Froslass floated over and spoke briefly with Espurr. Soon, she took half the flyers from Espurr and moved to the roadside to help distribute them.
(End of chapter)