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

Soon, the Carbinks were full and satisfied. All three of them hopped over to Angie to express their gratitude.

"Sir Angie, thank you for your hospitality."

Angie smiled and asked, "Are you three full now?"

Merrick replied, "Very full. Thanks to meeting Sir Angie, otherwise, we would've…"

Angie said, "I'm glad I could help you. Since we crossed paths, it must be fate." Though in truth, it was all thanks to the system's intervention.

Merrick sincerely said, "Sir Angie, we have an important task to complete, so we cannot stay longer. We hope that next time we meet, we'll be able to repay your kindness."

Angie nodded and replied, "Then I wish you all the best. Until we meet again! Here, take these." Saying this, he took out the few remaining berries he had and gave them all to the three Carbinks.

"I hope these will be of help to you."

The three Carbinks took the bag of berries and slung it over their backs, their faces full of gratitude.

"Sir Angie, you're such a kind person!"

"Goodbye, Sir Angie."

With that, under Angie's watchful gaze, the three Carbinks hopped off into the distance.

After they left, Angie packed up his belongings and put them into the system backpack. Then he turned to Metagross and the others, saying, "Alright, let's head home too."

"Altaria~!"

"Pawmi~!"

…

The Pokémon cheerfully responded.

Riding on Altaria, Angie quickly returned to the Azoth City. At the city gates, he dismounted from Altaria and took his Pokémon onto the cableway back to the Munchlax's Home.

"Pawmi~ Pawmi~"

On the way home, Pawmi was in a great mood, sitting in Angie's arms and swaying its head as it sang a tune.

Swablu was just as happy. It perched on Angie's shoulder, and upon seeing how cheerful Pawmi was, joined in with its own sweet voice.

Perched beside Angie, Altaria watched its daughter's joyful singing, its eyes narrowing into crescent moons with delight.

The other passengers on the cableway, hearing the pure, melodic voices of Swablu and Pawmi, smiled warmly. It was as if the weariness of their day melted away in the presence of such cheerful music.

When they got off the cableway, Pawmi suddenly spotted a shop selling donuts by the street and came to an abrupt stop.

Angie sighed, exasperated. "You want to eat again? Didn't you just have fried rice not long ago?"

"Pawmi~~"

Pawmi grabbed at its belly, putting on a pitiful face to show that it wasn't full yet.

Angie chuckled and asked, "After eating so much this afternoon, are you still going to eat dinner later?"

"Pawmi~"

Pawmi confidently patted its belly, indicating that no matter how much it ate now, it would still have room for dinner.

"Alright, let's hope you don't regret it."

With that, Angie walked toward the dessert shop.

"Pawmi~~"

Pawmi eagerly followed behind him.

Altaria, Swablu, and Metagross saw this and followed suit.

Angie looked through the glass display and asked Pawmi, "Which flavor do you want?"

Pawmi looked left and right, unable to decide as it wanted to eat everything.

Angie noticed this and said, "Hurry up and choose. You can only pick one."

Pawmi immediately deflated like a popped balloon and pointed at a pink donut.

"Pawmi~"

This one.

"Strawberry flavor, huh? Got it!" Angie then turned to Altaria and said, "You all pick one too."

Altaria and the others excitedly pressed their heads against the glass display, each selecting a flavor.

Once they were done, Angie thought for a moment and decided to buy extra. He figured it'd be nice to bring some back for Diancie, Munchlax, Komala, Drizzile, Magearna, and Volcanion to try.

When they received their donuts, the ever-greedy Pawmi didn't immediately eat his. Instead, he stole a glance at Angie, and seeing that Angie wasn't paying attention, he took a big sniff of his donut and quickly stashed it in the system backpack.

After hiding it, Pawmi covered his mouth and laughed mischievously.

Pawmi thought: I'm not stupid. If I eat too much now, I won't be able to eat dinner later. I'll save the donut and enjoy it later.

The system backpack was a blessing for a foodie and a hoarder like Pawmi.

Metagross saw all of Pawmi's sneaky actions but chose not to expose him.

When Angie glanced down and saw Pawmi's hands empty, he was surprised. "Wow, you finished it already?"

"Pawmi~"

Pawmi nodded, pretending to act nonchalantly.

"You little glutton," Angie said, shaking his head.

Seeing that Angie hadn't noticed, Pawmi covered his mouth and laughed even harder.

Beside him, Metagross, watching Pawmi's joy, couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"What are you two laughing about?" Angie asked, puzzled.

"Pawmi~"

Nothing.

"Metagross~"

It's Nothing.

The two Pokémon replied in unison.

"Is that so?" Angie didn't think much of it.

Pawmi and Metagross exchanged a glance, and suddenly, Pawmi leapt onto Metagross's head.

Metagross pondered for a moment and used its psychic power to split its own donut in half, offering one half to Pawmi.

It assumed that Pawmi hadn't eaten because he wanted to save his donut for later.

"Pawmi~"

Pawmi happily accepted the donut and began nibbling on it bit by bit.

Seeing this, Angie shook his head with a smile.

After paying the bill, Angie was about to leave with the bag of donuts when he suddenly heard the sound of bell-like laughter nearby.

"Daddy, I want a donut!"

"Alright, alright. Daddy will get you one right away."

Angie followed the sound and saw a family of three buying donuts. The father bent down with a wide smile, asking his daughter which flavor she wanted.

The daughter, about eight or nine years old, had her hair in twin ponytails, wore a dress, and looked absolutely adorable.

She held a Hoothoot with big, round eyes in her arms. The Hoothoot was staring at the display case with the same expression as the little girl.

The mother stood nearby, smiling warmly with a gentle expression on her face.

What a lovely, heartwarming family.

Angie didn't think much of it and turned to leave with his Pokémon, but he noticed Altaria staring at the family, utterly stunned.

"Altaria, what's wrong?" Angie asked, puzzled.

Altaria ignored Angie's question, its eyes fixed unwaveringly on the family.

"Daddy, I want the chocolate one!" the little girl said loudly to her father.

The father affectionately ruffled her hair. "Alright, chocolate it is."

The girl added, "Hoothoot wants one too."

The father immediately replied indulgently, "Got it, Hoothoot will have one, and Mommy will too!" He then glanced lovingly at his wife.

The mother shyly gave the father a playful smack on the arm.

Following Altaria's gaze, Angie couldn't help but marvel again at what a sweet family they were.

After purchasing their items, the family began to leave. Altaria instinctively followed them.

Seeing this, Angie had no choice but to trail after them with Metagross, Pawmi, and Swablu in tow.

"Altaria, what's going on? Is there something wrong with that family?" Angie asked softly as they walked.

"Altaria~ Altaria~"

Altaria lowered its head and let out a low call. Angie's face turned to shock as he processed what Altaria had said.

That man... was the one who had abandoned Altaria when it was still a Swablu?

Hearing this, Swablu was immediately enraged, its face filled with fury as it prepared to fly over and confront the man. However, Altaria quickly grabbed it with its beak.

"Swablu, stop!" Angie said, taking Swablu from Altaria and holding it, along with Pawmi, in his arms.

"What do you want to do?" Angie asked Altaria gently.

"Altaria~"

Altaria shook its head.

It didn't know. Nearly twenty years had passed—so long that its memories had started to blur.

If this reunion had happened before it met Angie, Altaria would have been furious and stormed over to give the man a piece of its mind.

But after meeting Angie, the anger in its heart seemed to have dissipated.

Still, there was an undeniable sense of lingering resentment.

"How about... we follow them for a bit longer?" Angie suggested.

Altaria thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

And so, Angie and his Pokémon kept a careful distance behind the family, their excellent hearing allowing them to eavesdrop on their conversation.

It turned out that Altaria's former Trainer was no longer a Trainer. He was now just an ordinary office worker, employed at the same company as his wife.

The couple had met through their work.

Upon learning this, Altaria felt a wave of confusion, even a tinge of irony.

Why had it been abandoned back then? Because its Trainer, determined to become an Elite Four member or Champion, had subjected himself to rigorous training. When Altaria didn't perform well in competitions, he had heartlessly discarded it.

And now, he had given up his dreams of being a Trainer and was leading the life of a regular office worker.

Noticing Altaria's distress, Angie gently stroked its neck, trying to comfort it.

Swablu flew over to its mother, nuzzling its cheek against hers.

"Swablu~ Swablu~"

Don't be sad, Mom.

With Angie and Swablu's comfort, Altaria seemed to feel a bit better.

Very soon, Angie and the others followed the family of three to an intersection. While waiting for the cable car, a large screen ahead was broadcasting a battle between an Araquanid and a Golisopod. The two sides were fighting fiercely, evenly matched.

The little girl was watching with great excitement. She pointed at the screen and said to her father, "Dad, I want to train Hoothoot to be that strong too."

"Hoothoot~~"

Hoothoot flew out of the girl's arms, landed on her shoulder, and looked at the powerful Araquanid and Golisopod on the screen with a face full of admiration.

The father patted the little girl's head and said, "Alright, Daddy believes in you! But to make Pokémon strong, you must care for them well. The bond between a Trainer and their Pokémon is the greatest strength!"

"Mm! I loves Hoothoot the most and will always be good to Hoothoot." After saying that, the little girl hugged Hoothoot tightly and gave it a kiss. Hoothoot, in turn, nuzzled its cheek against hers.

Hearing the conversation between the father and daughter, Altaria was tempted to rush over and confront its former Trainer.

Are you teaching your daughter this now? Then how did you treat me back then?

The green light soon turned on, and the family of three crossed the street happily. Angie, along with Altaria and the others, continued to follow behind.

After crossing the street, the family entered a restaurant. Angie looked up and realized it was a battle restaurant.

Battle restaurants were establishments where Pokémon battles were held within the premises. If the customers won, they would receive discounts or even free meals. If they lost, they would have to pay full price.

"Let's go in too," Angie said.

"Altaria~"

Altaria nodded.

After entering, Angie chose a table next to the family and ordered some of the restaurant's signature dishes.

Pawmi was eating non-stop, even feeding Metagross and Swablu in between bites.

After feeding Swablu, Pawmi grabbed a piece of steak with a fork and offered it to Angie. Angie took the fork, returned the steak to Pawmi's mouth, and said, "You've already had fried rice and donuts, and you're still eating? You really have an endless appetite."

As he spoke, he pinched Pawmi's belly, finding it chubby and soft.

"Pawmi!"

Pawmi lay on the table, laughing uncontrollably from Angie's pinching.

Angie let go and said, "Alright, you eat on your own. Don't worry about me."

Pawmi nodded, took back the fork from Angie, and resumed eating. Of course, it didn't forget about Swablu and Metagross.

Just then, Angie overheard the father at the neighboring table sigh and say to his daughter, "Speaking of which, Daddy did something very wrong in the past."

"What was it?" The daughter asked curiously.

The father let out a long sigh and said, "Back when Daddy was still a Trainer, I once treated an Altaria very unfairly. I even abandoned it because I thought it wasn't strong enough."

The daughter, hearing this, frowned angrily and said, "Daddy, that's so mean."

"Isn't it?" The father gave a wry smile. "I think so too. I wonder how that Altaria is doing now. Is it living well?"

Hearing this, Angie gently embraced Altaria.

Altaria nuzzled Angie with its head, a tear sliding down its cheek.

That was the first human it had ever come into contact with, someone who once held beautiful dreams for it.

The little girl at the next table sighed deeply and said, "Although Daddy was very mean, you're still my Daddy. If it were someone else, I would definitely, definitely hate that person."

Angie thought to himself: The little girl is quite biased.

The father chuckled and said, "That's why you mustn't follow in Daddy's footsteps. Always cherish Hoothoot."

Bud replied matter-of-factly, "Of course! Hoothoot is my best friend. I'd never do anything as awful as you did, Daddy."

Before long, the family finished their meal, and a waiter approached them, saying, "Excuse me, we are a battle restaurant. If customers can defeat our Trainer in a Pokémon battle, you'll get a 50% discount on your meal."

Papa Bud was surprised and asked, "Really?"

The waiter nodded with a smile. "Of course."

Papa Bud immediately said with enthusiasm, "Alright! Today, I'll show off my skills. Back in the day, I was quite a famous Trainer."

Bud looked doubtful and said, "Daddy, you're bragging."

Her father laughed and replied, "You'll see soon enough whether Daddy is bragging or not."

He turned to the waiter and said, "Lead the way."

The waiter nodded. "This way, please."

The family of three followed the waiter.

At that moment, Angie looked at Altaria and asked, "Altaria, do you want to settle the score for what happened back then?"