Chương 147: Chapter 144

Time passed as everyone partook in wine and what little treats Ethan could scrounge up in his kitchen. Nobody liked to drink on an empty stomach, so Ethan made up a couple pizzas and was rotating them in and out of the oven as the little gathering continued. It was an impromptu party, but a party nonetheless. The Rockets had grown accustomed to Joyce's presence and casually chatted about stuff in Kanto, but were still slightly put-off by Cynthia's appearance.

It took well over thirty minutes for them to understand that she wasn't there for them, but for Ethan. That bit of knowledge went a long way in easing them up—besides the alcohol, of course. Pokemon ran and rejoiced in the sudden festivities. Not just his own, either! Joyce, James, and Jessie had their pokemon out and about in his home as they played or got to know each other. Garchomp still sat in the kitchen, unwilling to move from her declared spot, but Shuckle was chatting her up nonstop with a gummy smile.

He looked so… happy to have another friend. Alas, not all things were smooth sailing. Tinkatink was being her typical gremlin self and Ralts was plotting something… he just couldn't prove it. Pichu tried to suck on one of the electrical sockets, which caused his power to flicker, and Litten got very upset once his heated blanket short circuited when it happened. He joined the humans in his dining room as the pokemon (Snorlax) took up all the space in the living room and were hogging the T. V.

"What's Kanto like?" He asked during a lull in the conversation. Cynthia was listening to them chat about the region as well, seemingly content to not be the center of attention. James was the one who answered him from where he sat on the other side of the table.

"Culturally? Very formal," He nodded to himself, as if he agreed with his own words.

"Very stagnant and unwilling to change or accept many differences from what is normal. Though, it's a very beautiful region, with a wide array of biomes and pokemon. Relatively safe as well, when it comes to the pokemon who live there." Ethan thought about the pokemon of Kanto and was about to agree, when Joyce scoffed, clearly affronted and a little tipsy from the Buddy Berry Brew.

"The home of Hypno, Koffing and Wheezing, Muk, Electrode… Should I continue?" James waved away the complaints as if they were minor issues.

"Hypno, I will admit… they're very dangerous to children, but Koffing and Wheezing are great pokemon. They have many needs and need to have some precautions taken with them, but they're not aggressive. Muk… Well, I don't know if you've heard, but recent environmental changes have caused the Muk population to decline. They're endangered pokemon now, similar to Lapras." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"And Electrode?" Joyce asked, unamused.

"They suck." Jessie said, with about as much grace as a Tauros in a China shop, ending the mild disagreement.

"Another, much more random question," Ethan swooped in, "Is Lavander town really spooky? There's a bunch of ghost types in the Pokemon Tower, right?" The three Kanto natives each took a synchronized sip of their drinks before looking at one another, seeing who should be the one to answer. Joyce eventually took the lead.

"It's not spooky or scary… but it's a very solemn town. Many elders live out the rest of their lives there and not many young people stay around to call it home." Joyce sighed, pink hair falling from where it had been tucked behind her ear.

"But yes, there's lots of ghost pokemon in the tower."

"Well," Ethan decided that his question might have been a slight downer.

"What do you guys typically do for fun at little house gatherings like this? Back home, we usually play drinking games or cards."

"Karaoke, games or contests with our pokemon usually." Jessie said, then leaned forward with mirth.

"Why don't you wrangle up your little Poke-band and play us a song?"

"Poke-band?" Cynthia asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Now, let's not—" He was instantly cut off by Joyce.

"Oh yes! Santa brought Ethan and his pokemon instruments. They've been playing music together. Ethan's Smeargle is actually very good at the bass." She stood suddenly, then entered the kitchen to remove one of the pizzas in the oven without even asking—just helping out.

"I've heard them play once or twice so far. Know any new songs?" Ethan nodded but had to shut down their hopes.

"We have, but it'd be too much work to set up Tinkatink's drums and set everything up."" ♫ We listen! ♫" Chatot chatted, fluttering over to land on the table, having heard of the discussion of music. Following her, Smeargle was running over with his laptop and a giant smile of expectation. They had recorded themselves playing not too long ago, but Ethan hadn't seen the video. Everyone, pokemon included, swiftly gathered around the small laptop as it was placed on the kitchen table.

Many had already taken slices of delicious pizza to eat as they settled in the watch. Thankfully, there were other pizzas cooking, or else he'd be quite upset. Smeargle took the lead and spoke to the screen with yips of his name, which automatically began doing his bidding–Porygon's doing, no doubt. The pokemon world's version of Youtube appeared and Ethan saw the account linked to his trainer card pop up into view. His eyes trailed over the many videos already uploaded…

then nearly coughed up his lungs as his wine went down the wrong pipe from his shock.

"What the fuck are those numbers!" Joyce patted his back as he recovered, then nearly spit out her own drink upon seeing what he did.

"Three-hundred thousand views?!" She spluttered. Swiftly, Ethan booted Smeargle away and took over controlling the machine. Nearly all of the videos posted had over a hundred-thousand views, and even the most recent video of their little pokemon band had forty-thousand, posted just days ago. The most popular video, the one with three-hundred thousand views, was the video from the bathroom, where Ethan sang some Disney songs to his pokemon. Quickly, Ethan brought up the comments and read through the top ones.