Yum Restaurant was one of the most renowablishments in Lake City. Its fame stemmed from crafting gourmet Pokémon meals, distinct from the usual energy cubes only fed to Pokémon.

  Instead of simple cubes, the chefs here created meals using fresh fruits, meats, vegetables, and a variety of intricate cookihods.

  Everyone khat feeding human food to Pokémurly could lead to health issues, just as humans could suffer from an unbanced diet of high-fat h-sugar foods.

  Because of this, professional Trainers were careful, rarely their Pokémur human meals.

  However, despite the risks, it was that Pokémon found human food far tastier thaypical fare or energy cubes.

  As a result, a niche of specialized restaurants catering to Pokémon cuisine emerged.

  Today, Julian had brought Metagross and the rest of his team to di Yum. Without the prestige of the Walker family name, seg a reservation would have been impossible—there was a six-month waitlist.

  "Wele, Young Master Walker," the waiter at the entrance greeted Julian respectfully as soon as he approached.

  The ma had obviously been informed that a member of the Walker family would be dining today.

  "Your VIP room is ready," the waiter added, opening the door with a polite gesture.

  Julian gave a small nod and gnced around the bustling hall. Trainers and their Pokémon filled the space, enjoying the gourmet food.

  The Pokémon in the hall were all smaller species, given the limited space betweeables.

  The VIP room, however, was a different story. It had only e table, and the room's size was parable to that of the main hall.

  The space could easily aodate even rge Pokémon—there was enough room for ten Steelix if he decor was elegant and uated, not overly luxurious, but it had a serene charm.

  Ohey were settled in the room, the waiter handed Julian a menu. The menu itself was quite short—just twenty dishes in total. Yet, each dish was so expehat the average person's monthly sary wouldn't be enough to cover even one.

  Julian took a quice at the menu and ha back. "We'll have one of each," he said simply.

  The waiter bliaken aback for a moment by the ued order. Then he quickly uood. Julia to order every dish on the menu.

  "Right away, Young Master Walker," the waiter responded before slipping out of the room and closing the door quietly behind him.

  Julian then released all his Pokémoagross, Lueltan, Dragonair, Aron, and Steelix.

  His current roster ted seven Pokémon in total, including Slowking, who was still with his Aunt in the capital for research purposes.

  Acc to Drakoria's Trainer Associatiutions, Trainers who weren't at pseudo-Elite rank could only carry six Pokémon. For pseudo-Elite it was eight and there was no limit for Elite and above.

  But since Julian's Steelix was level 66, he qualified as a pseudo-Elite and was allowed to have eight Pokémon in his party.

  Julian wasn't in a rush to evolve Meltan, even though he had collected the necessary 400 Meltan dies.

  As Meltan zily rested on Aron's back, it occasionally licked Aron's back armor.

  Aron, though a little annoyed, seemed to have resigself to its tiny panion's antics. There was no use fighting it, especially whean was higher-leveled.

  "Make sure you hide when someone es ian," Julian reminded.

  Meltan nodded. Being small and capable of shifting into a liquid form, it easily camoufged itself by blending into Aron's back, making it nearly impossible to notiless someone looked closely.

  It wasn't long before a soft knock echoed through the room, the waiter entered, carrying a tray of drinks.

  "These are berry drinks," the waiter expined. "Each cup is beled acc to Type, so you match them with your Pokémon."

  The drinks had been specially tailored to suit the preferences of different Pokémon Types.

  Just like different regions had unique ary preferences—Drakoria's people preferred their food cooked, while those from the Babath favored raw delicacies—Pokémon of different Types had distinct tastes.

  (T/N: probably talking about Shushi here)

  Julian's tray featured drinks beled for Steel, Dragon, Fighting, and other relevant Types for his team.

  The waiter hesitated momentarily, notig there were only five Pokémon visible, yet six drinks had been ordered.

  Then, his eyes fell on Steelix's enormous form. He figured the sed drink must have bee for Steelix, given the Pokémon's size.

  The drinks themselves were made from various berries, known to be safe and nutritious for Pokémon. Most of these berries weren't suitable for human ption, as they often caused adverse reas, including vomiting and stomach aches.

  Julian had been served a blend of wild apple and Oran Berry. The tartness of the apple paired with the sweetness of the Oran Berry created a perfectly banced fvor, enhanced by the refreshing touint.

  As Julian sipped, he noticed his Pokémon enjoying their drinks as well.

  Steelix, however, looked somewhat dismayed. The cups, despite being designed for Pokémon, were all the same size. For a creature as massive as Steelix, even a full cup seemed to barely quench its thirst.

  It gazed longingly at Meltan, who was casually dipping its entire body into its cup to savor the drink.

  Steelix thought back to its days as an Onix—those days were simpler, though even back then, it couldn't have fit into a cup like that.

  The food began arriving shortly afterward.

  "Fried Ptter"

  "Waterside Herbs"

  "Moo Moo Cheese"

  "Toast"

  "Onion Stick Thin Bone"

  "Mushroom Sausage"

  The dishes came is of six, corresponding to the Types of Julian's Pokémon. Though the dishes were the same, slight adjustments had been made to suit eaon's taste.

  For example, Aron's meal had been seasoned with fvors that plemes Steel typing, while Dragonair's meal had been adapted for a Dragon's pate.

  The same dish, when tasted by different Pokémon, could evoke vastly differeions. Aron had already fis "Waterside Herbs" and now eyed Dragonair's pte, which still had some left.

  Dragonair, however, wasn't feeling generous. It swiftly scarfed down the remaining herbs. But Aron, stubborn as ever, mao sneak a bite before Dragonair could finish.

  Big mistake.

  Aron spat it out immediately. Whatever taste worked fonair's Dragon Type was certainly not suited for Aron's Steel Type.

  Aron: What the f—

  Before Aron could finish its thought, Dragonair flicked its tail, sending Aron crashing into the wall.

  Julian sighed, looking at the cracked wall. Today's dinner might end up costing more than just the food bill—there would likely be repair fees added to the tab.

  "You had to go fonair's dish, didn't you?" Julian muttered, shaking his head.

  "You're Steel-type. Dragonair's taste won't work for you, of course."

  It was like someone used to mild soup suddenly deg to try ara-spicy hot pot. What did Aron expect?

  "You should've gone for Lucario's food," Julian tinued. "At least it's got some Steel-type influence. You might've actually e."

  Aron, now lying pitifully on the floor, silently mes fate.

  It couldn't even pete with Lucario when it came to food—the Fighting-type wolf was far quicker at finishing its meals.

  As the waiter brought in the round of dishes, Aron's spirits lifted once more.