MunchMunch learned something really crazy. He and Gastly had actually been in the Pokemon center all night! So when they went outside…it was early morning. Mama Gastly told him that PokeCenter’s had rooms for trainers to stay, if they had space. So Teddy slept at the PokeCenter last night.

  They wandered through the town for a little while, and MunchMunch thought it was really cool there were Slowpoke everywhere. Last time he had seen the town, there weren’t any. And all the people seemed much happier too!

  After a while, Munchlax’s Trainer took them to a really special house, that smelled really good.

  “This is called a restaurant,” Mama Gastly told him. “They serve food here.”

  “You mean…it is a house, just for food?” MunchMunch gasped. Maybe they let people stay there too? He would love to sleep in a house like that!

  Gastly stopped to think for a moment. “I never thought of it like that,” she mused. “Yes, I guess it is! And we are here for breakfast.”

  “What is breakfast?” MunchMunch asked.

  “It is the first meal of the day,” she said, slipping from Teddy’s shadow into his. MunchMunch thought that was pretty cool.

  “It must be really important!” MunchMunch said.

  “What is?” Gastly responded, her eyes floating above his shadow and making a nearby Rattata run away screaming. Gastly cackled. MunchMunch thought it was pretty funny too. Maybe he could try doing things like that? It would be something to think about — when he had lots of food, of course.

  “Breakfast! It has its own name!” Munchlax said, trying to hop over a rock, but instead his body didn’t go up, and he just ended up squishing it instead. MunchMunch smiled. He was getting bigger and bigger!

  At that moment, his Teddy opened the door to the restaurant and MunchMunch forgot everything else.

  He smelled…

  So.

  Many.

  Food-Smells.

  MunchMunch grabbed his Teddy’s hand and pulled him inside as hard as he could. It was super important they find the food! His Trainer laughed and followed him inside, Gastly still hiding in Munchlax’s shadow.

  There was food everywhere. While his Teddy talked to another two-legs, MunchMunch smooshed his face up against the glass counter. Behind it, he could see lots of different food — and each one was something different. He even saw some with Chocolate.

  “Munch Munch!” He cried, pointing at a Chocolate something that was almost as big as his face. He had to try it! His Teddy petted his head with a laugh and took hold of his hand, following the two-legs he had been talking to. MunchMunch happily followed, and they ended up at a table that had smaller tables around it for them to sit on. Gastly popped up on one of the tables — much to the surprise of the two-legs.

  Gastly and Munchlax both shared a cackle. The look on her face was too funny!

  I’m really, super glad Gastly is my Mama, MunchMunch thought. He wanted to be just like her.

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  Then the two-legs — who Gastly told him was called a waitress — gave them a card with pictures of all the food he had seen before on them.

  “You can choose one of those — just point to it, and our Trainer will get it for you,” she told him.

  MunchMunch looked at all the pictures in joy. He loved his Trainer and Gastly! They had promised him food — and he was getting so much food! He giggled to himself.

  He found the picture of the Chocolate thing that was as big as his face and immediately put a paw on it. He also something else — he had no idea what it was, but it looked really yummy — so he put a paw on that too!

  Gastly looked at him. “One thing, MunchMunch.”

  “Yep!” He looked at her expectantly.

  “Munchlax, that is two things,” she said.

  That confused MunchMunch very much. “What? No, it is one! One for each paw — see?” He showed her.

  Gastly blinked slowly, and then with a huge grin turned to their Trainer.

  “Gaaaas, gas gas Gastly,” she said.

  Their Teddy laughed super loud. Louder than MunchMunch had ever heard him laugh. MunchMunch grinned along too! Then his Teddy nodded.

  “You can have both, MunchMunch,” Gastly told him. MunchMunch was so happy! He was already imagining how he was going to hold one in each paw, and how he was going to fit both in his mouth at the same time! He might have to take his most-favorite-thing out from its special place in his cheek. In fact, he was going to take it out now, just to be ready.

  The waitress came back a few loooooong minutes later with all of their food. She gave his Trainer something that smelled really good, and gave Gastly something that looked like a blob of shadows. It didn’t smell like anything, but Gastly looked happy — so that made MunchMunch happy.

  Then, it was his turn! She put his food down in front of him, and then grabbed both his cheeks and squeezed them. He didn’t know why she did that, but it didn’t matter — his full attention was on the amazing food in front of him.

  “Munch,” he gasped, his breath coming in short spurts. “Munch munch munch munch.”

  He picked both up.

  He loved them both so much.

  He loved his Trainer for getting them for him.

  He —

  “Munchlax!” His Trainer cried.

  But it was too late.

  MunchMunch shoved both of them into his mouth at the same time.

  He stuffed and pushed and shoved until it all fit!

  And it tasted.

  So.

  Good.

  The one food that he didn’t know what it was called was warm.

  And the Chocolate was perfect.

  And life was just the best!

  MunchMunch swallowed and his tummy felt soooo happy!

  But then…then he noticed it was all gone, and his heart didn’t feel so happy.

  And then he noticed there was still some chocolate on one paw, and some yummy sauce on the other!

  So he put both paws in his mouth and got to taste everything again!

  “Munch Munch Munch!” He squealed, kicking his legs happily. This was absolutely the best!

  —-

  Gastly watched in bemused exasperation as Munchlax somehow fit an entire cake and a whole mac’n’cheese lasagna in his mouth.

  At the same time.

  The baby looked so happy, he completely forgot anyone else was there. The looks on his face were so easy to read, and each one was so innocent. Gastly sighed contentedly and sunk a little lower into the shadow on her chair, watching as Munchlax realized there was no food left, only to try to eat both his paws.

  This. This is what she had been missing.