A quaint little tea shop run by Madam Valerie. It's a quiet place where humans and Pokémon alike can sit down and enjoy a nice cup of tea. Madam Valerie is a lovely middle aged woman who loves running her shop, and bringing smiles to the faces of her customers. She is assisted by two young servers, Matthias, and Madeline. They all love their jobs, and are happy to help their customers in any way they can.
Small tea and scone - 250 Pokédollars Large Tea with a dozen doughnuts - 500 Pokédollars Scrumptious Cake - 1,000 Pokédollars
[Eating here increases the affection of a trainer's Pokémon. Five points for a small item, ten for a medium, and twenty for a large one.]
Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 9:13 am
RegalBastionxxxxxxx
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"Thehumanmindislikeaparachute...
"So you came here all the way from Kanto, did you? That's quite the journey."
Madame Valerie and Regal had begun chatting as the young trainer washed the dishes from the tea shop's lunch rush. It had taken a moment for him to learn how to use the dishwasher, but everything after that had gone pretty smoothly. He had gotten lucky with the job posting. The tea shop owner had been falling behind on her orders when Regal had come in asking about the job posting, so she wasted no time asking questions and got him to work immediately. Now that the rush was over though, she had apologised for her brashness and was taking the time to ask the trainer about himself.
"You did pretty well for someone who supposedly has never worked a day in his life." She commented. "Being flexible and not wasting time is the mark of a good worker."
They chatted for a bit longer as Regal finished up and then went about closing the shop for the day. Valerie gave Regal his pay and even gave him a Poképuff for his Charmander. Since it was beginning to get dark, the trainer figured that it was about time he made his way over to the Pokémon Center for some RNR. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
One of Madame Valerie's servers, Madeline, was apparently sick today. As such, Regal had found himself serving customers directly today rather than just cleaning dishes like last time. After his disheartening attempts at fishing earlier, the hustle and bustle of the tea shop made for a very pleasant change of pace, and the trainer found his spirits lifting slowly but surely. The Pokémon Trainer was a people person at heart, so interacting with the various customers as he served them their lunches was surprisingly enjoyable. He was able to power through the busy lunch rush with minimal problems, much to the owner's satisfaction.
"You look to be in better spirits than when you arrived, dear." Valerie commented as Regal wiped the counters. "A bit of hard work seems to have perked you right up."
Regal figured that seeing the happy customers enjoying their meals had been rewarding after a morning of hopeless fishing. To have his efforts bear fruit, even in such a small way, had made all the difference. He relayed this to Valerie, and the older woman looked ready to pinch his cheeks as she gave him his pay for the day. She was positively beaming as she slipped the trainer a small bonus of Poképuffs.
"You should remember that feeling, young man." She said as she fed one of the pastries to his Charmander. "Learning to appreciate the little things like that is one of the secrets to living a good and happy life. I don't know when you might be returning to Blume Town, but there'll always be a job for you here should you desire it. Be well, Regal."
And with that, he was off. He had made a respectable amount of money now, so Regal knew it was about time for him to hit the road. He would purchase the necessary items from the Pokémart and then leave Blume Town first thing tomorrow morning. King Town was the next place on his map, and after a brief stop there Regal could finally make his way over to Nix City, where he could finally challenge his first gym. He could hardly wait.
Laram had never been so happy to see a Tea Shop before. It felt like had had been on this job for a year, even though it had only been two days."Well, here you are. This is where we part ways.""Uh, sure. Thanks for bringing me all this way. No hard feelings?"The courier held out the money he owed Laram for the job with a questioning look. Laram snatched it from his hands and shoved it all into his pack."No hard feelings. Good luck." Laram couldn't get out of there fast enough. He honestly held no ill will against Michael, but he had had enough of this job, and just wanted to get away from the courier. Laram and his team were tired from the travel and battle. It wouldn't be smart for the trainer to try to get back out into the wilderness so soon. So he figured that he would be spending the night in Blume Town. But he did have some time before nightfall, so he wanted to check the local jobs and see if anything could be done quickly. It took him some time, but in about fifteen minutes, he found the job board.
He perused his options, and noticed something about Wimpod over at the beach. He didn't know what a Wimpod was, but it didn't look too tough. He memorized the details of the job and headed off towards where he thought the beach was. Unfortunately, the trainer didn't remember the town as well as he thought he did, and got lost. Usually he would have his Rookidee inform him of which direction to go, but Galahad was still tired from his battle and needed to rest. Wandering around, Laram accidentally found his way to the old laboratory where his adventure as a trainer started."Laram? Is that you?"The trainer wheeled around and stammered in response. There was some girl standing in front of him that he didn't recognize."Uh, yeah. Do we know each other?""It's me, Betty. Don't you remember me?"The trainer scratched his head. He really didn't remember Betty. All he remembered from that day was the professor and Shadow. The trainer shrugged."Well, whatever. I could use your help. Come on."Betty grabbed Laram's hand and led him inside the lab.
Laram peered around the corner of the tea shop. He had hidden himself well, and was staking out the area in front of him. Someone had stolen some Pokemon from the research lab, and he had been charged with finding them and returning them. He had an inkling of who it might be. One of his previous jobs had been hindered due to a thief trying to steal an item from his protected courier. If he was trying to steal that, maybe he stole the Pokemon. Whatever the item was, it was delivered to Madam Valerie's Tea Shop. The trainer hoped that maybe he would try to go for it tonight. He patted Chimchar's head, and smiled at the chimp reassuringly. Chimchar and the professor both thought it would be a good idea for the chimp to come along on the mission. Laram didn't mind; Chimchar was a very agreeable Pokemon. A few hours passed by quietly, and it was really deep into the night. Laram was starting to wonder if the thief was going to show up. Just as the trainer began to give up hope, a shadowy figure approached the building. Laram was sure this was his man. The trainer called out."Stop!"The man turned to face his voice, and frowned.
"You again? Don't get in my way boy."The man tried to dart past the trainer, but he stood in front of the tea shop, set Chimchar down, and crossed his arms."I'm not going anywhere. Give back the Pokemon you stole.""Oh, you mean these?"The thief threw four pokeballs onto the ground and released four Pokemon into the world. There was a Bulbasaur, Grookey, Totodile, and Tepig. Laram knew that because he had scanned all of them before at the laboratory. None of them looked happy, they were probably being mistreated in the thief's care. "Don't just stand there. Attack him."The thief produced a whip from somewhere on his body and began cracking it at his prisoners. They all jumped and began rushing at Laram. As they did, Chimchar bolted forward and threw embers in their direction. The small monkey was protecting Laram, but he needed backup. Laram retrieved his Charmander, Froakie, and Elekid from his pack and released them next to Chimchar."Not this again. I don't have time to battle you kid. Attack, now!"
The man cracked his whip again, then used it to hook on to something above him as he began to climb. As he climbed, he threw a smoke pellet down, masking his tracks. Laram jumped forward, telling his Pokemon to handle their opponents, but the thief was already gone. So he needed to focus on the stolen Pokemon for the time being. He didn't want to hurt them too bad, they were scared and it showed. The trainer lined up his Pokemon so that they could all use their typing to their advantage."Let's do this quick. Shadow, Water Pulse. Thor, Thundershock. Firnen, use Flamethrower. Chimchar, Flame Wheel."Without clear direction, the stolen Pokemon didn't know how to attack. So they all just charged forward, trying to tackle Laram's team. Laram's Froakie formed a ball of coursing water in his hands and threw it into the face of the charging Tepig. His Elekid spun his arms rapidly and built up energy, blasting Totodile. Charmander breathed in, and loosed a fierce torrent of flames, engulfing Bulbasaur. Chimchar hesitated, but surrounded himself with swirling flames and smashed into Grookey. All four Pokemon were knocked back and cowered."Enough. We don't want to hurt you. I'm here to take you back home."Laram stepped past his team and Chimchar, and knelt down holding out his hand. The Pokemon were unsure until Chimchar walked forward and greeted them all. A familiar face reassuring them was enough to get them to trust the trainer, and he was able to get them all to follow him back to the lab. The sun was starting to peek over the trees as the front door came into view.
Yukiko was having quite the afternoon. She had arrived at the tea shop intending to simply deliver the ingredients from the owners fetch request and maybe try some tea, but the trainer quickly found herself helping out in the back of the store washing dishes and prepping simple items as the staff struggled to withstand the end of a surprise rush of orders. It was tough work, but Yukikos goal was to make some quick money to kick off her adventures here in the region so she kept her mouth shut and made sure each dish was sparkling clean for the customers.
"You really saved me, dear. I can't thank you enough." Madame Valerie exclaimed as the two finally sat back for a break. "The ingredients you brought for me are all nice and fresh, too. You can just enjoy some tea while I whip them up into something good~"
"I was happy to help." The younger woman replied as she gracefully sipped from the cup Valerie poured her. "To be honest, I rushed into my adventures here with a little less money than was probably wise. I'm very grateful for the extra work."
Madame Valerie complimented Yukiko on her hardworking attitude and the two chatted for a bit about their favorite teas and sweets as the owner worked on her new creation. She boiled down the honey and nectar to make a fragrant syrup and drizzled it lightly over an elegant fruit tart arranged using a generous amount of the freshly picked berries the trainer had brought her before presenting it to Yukiko and her team to try. It was one of the best things she had ever tasted, and she told Madame Valerie just that as she and her Pokémon dug in.
"The lack of artificial sweeteners gives it a natural taste that's not too heavy." Valerie explained while sampling some for herself. "As you might have guessed, the idea was to make something light to enjoy with your tea."
Jasmine, Angelica, and her new Buneary, Anise, all enjoyed the treat immensely, much to Valerie's satisfaction. She chuckled as Yukiko wiped the crumbs off their faces and waved the younger girl off as she apologized for the mess before cleaning it up. In addition to her pay for both the ingredients and work in the kitchen, the older woman slipped some extra treats into Yukikos protesting hands and sent the young girl off to enjoy the rest of her evening. She also suggested that Yukiko stop by tomorrow as well if she wanted to earn some more quick money, since the owner was always in need of extra hands.
"The people here are so nice..." The girl thought aloud as she left the shop. Between Professor Hemlock and Madame Valerie, Yukikos first impression of the region was definitely a positive one. The sun hadn't dropped just yet, so the trainer decided to stick with her original plan of enjoying the sunset on the beach with her Pokémon and began walking. Hopefully she could still make it in time if she hurried.
By a surprise turn of fate, Yukiko had moved up the ladder since yesterdays job of washing dishes. One of Madame Valerie's servers was sick, so the trainer was taking his place and serving the customers directly today. It was busy work, but that also made the time fly quickly. It also helped that both the staff and the patrons were nice and friendly. After a few hours, however, Madame Valerie pulled the the trainer aside to talk to her in the back, a worried expression plain on the older woman's face. Apparently, it wasn't just her server that had fallen ill today. One of her regular customers had a child that was also sick at home, and the little one didn't seem to be doing so well.
"Do you know what a Gossifleur is?" The owner inquired. "You can usually find them on Route 1."
"I definitely know what they are." The trainer responded, already seeing where Valerie was going with this. "Tea made from Gossifleur pollen is a classic remedy for sick children. You want one so you can make tea for the kid, right?"
Relieved that Yukiko was so quick on the uptake, Valerie asked if the trainer would be willing to go catch one for her, to which she readily agreed. The owner gave her a Pokéball so she could get the job done, and the girl quickly ditched her work apron and made her way out of the tea shop. The sun was shining nice and bright again today, so she was confident that a grass type like Gossifleur would be easy enough to find. They were usually absorbing sunlight on days like this. There was a sick kid waiting on her, so the trainer quickened her pace and made a beeline straight out of town. She would catch that Pokémon and be back before Madame Valerie even knew she was gone.
"Goodness! You sure work fast, dear." Madame Valerie exclaimed as Yukiko made her way back into the tea house. The owner had expected it to take longer for the new trainer to catch her a Gossifleur, but was pleasantly surprised when the girl returned after only an hour of searching. In addition to the requested Pokémon, Yukiko had also managed to catch a Petalil whose petals could also be contributed to the medicinal tea Valerie was making. The two women worked together to prepare the the ingredients for the tea, and after they were done Madame Valerie sent her other server, Madeline, to go deliver it while she and Yukiko finished up in the shop. The trainer was paid generously for her work, and Valerie even let her keep the Gossifleur she caught. Since it resembled a windflower, the trainer decided to name it Anemona after its respective flower genus. She also decided to simply name her Petalil Lily, since that seemed to fit it properly as is.
She finally had a respectable amount of money in her wallet, so Yukiko figured she would enjoy the rest of her day and then make the trip to King Town tomorrow. At Valeries suggestion, the trainer decided to have a look at Sweetstone Park. It would be a fun place for her Pokémon to play and enjoy a little picnic. Packing her a little package of tea sandwiches and Poképuffs, the owner waved the girl out of the store and insisted she go and enjoy her last day in Blume Town. Once again, the girl was left thinking to herself how nice the people of Kimchi were. She had definitely made the right choice when deciding where to begin her journey. She couldn't wait to see what else the region had in store.
| Anise - 