Chapter 99: The Unlicensed Chef

Soon, after using luminous cuisine to soothe Corne, he also cut down Grandpa Cuber, who had come upon hearing the news.

The chef resumed his journey.

【You plan to follow Corne's directions to Road 12, where you can purchase dairy products at sufficiently low prices to expand your recipe collection.】

As he left Sola City, Baimu could not help but look regretful.

"Of course, even if this thing is everywhere, Cuber would never hand it out freely."

Of course, Carlos is not the only place where one can obtain Key Stones and Super Stones; the chef still has a chance on his future travels to glimpse the secret of Super Evolution.

——Provided the chef is interested.

Baimu felt that if a piece of ingredient and a Key Stone were placed before the chef, the latter would unhesitatingly lunge for the ingredient.

【You arrived at Road 12, where you encountered a vast, beautiful pasture.】

Inside the screen.

Before Baimu appeared a massive seaside pasture; beneath blue sky and white clouds, waves rolled along the shore, and cattle and sheep-like Pokémon wandered among the grass, lowering their heads to graze.

Though the scene was simple, Baimu still felt a tranquil, beautiful natural atmosphere.

Even he, 隔着屏幕, felt it.

How much more so the chef, who saw it with his own eyes?

The scent of sea breeze and fresh grass filled his nostrils; everywhere in his view were those leisurely grazing Pokémon, under a clear, sunny sky.

Anyone placed here would find it impossible to suppress their emotions.

Ah—

Gaa—

Bubbles rose above the chef's and Ducklett's heads, revealing their excitement.

The latter, once a permanent backpack fixture, now flapped its tiny wings and flew out, waddling its fat rump across the green grass, squawking and quacking.

Until it crashed headfirst into the leg of a Ride Pokémon, its expression dazed.

Gaa?

Baa—

【You once again felt the beauty of nature, realized your journey was the right choice, and your culinary desire surged from the emotions welling within you.】

Picnic campfire meal, again!

The chef purchased large quantities of dairy products from a nearby pasture shop and gathered many raw ingredients from the surrounding forest.

Although he deliberately chose a spot far from the pasture for fire safety, the ribbon-like aroma of his luminous cuisine still attracted numerous Pokémon.

Even the pasture managers came searching.

The chef generously shared his food, making more if there wasn't enough—after all, the ingredients were gathered on-site, and he was delighted his cuisine was so well received.

A feast-like mass feeding ensued.

The chef successfully won the favor of a Miltank and, with the manager's permission, captured it.

【You captured a Miltank. The mobile dairy source—your traveling companion—has increased.】

Mobile dairy source…

Baimu thought of the diluted Moomoo Milk in his own fridge, feeling a pang of envy.

Like Sweet Scent, the freshest Moomoo Milk is the top-tier ingredient for Pokémon. The chef is indeed skilled at stir-frying, but his culinary foundation remains rooted in Pokémon-style French cuisine.

Tomato

Dishes like creamy macaroni, creamy stews, and others all require Moomoo Milk as an indispensable ingredient.

But now that he has captured a Miltank, if he doesn't wish to raise more than six Pokémon, the hope of Super Evolution grows dim.

And without Super Evolution, how far can the chef go in the tournament?

Hmm…

It still depends on Ducklett.

Baimu stared at the fat, yellow duck, wondering when it would evolve—or whether it would never evolve at all?

As he pondered, the chef arrived at Wing City.

A beautiful port city.

【You arrived at Wing City, where the climate is mild and pleasant, a highly popular vacation destination.】

【You hurried to a local restaurant, hoping to taste new dishes.】

As a vacation destination, Wing City's culinary standards could hardly be low; to attract tourists, it even established a dedicated Food Street.

Not only dishes from the Carlos region, but foods from other regions could also be tasted here.

The chef felt right at home, eating his way from one end of the street to the other with Ducklett and Cubchoo.

Baimu was greatly astonished.

You say Cubchoo has an enormous appetite—that's fine—but how come Ducklett eats so much too? Are all the chef's Pokémon stomachs bottomless pits?

Interestingly, the moment Cubchoo finished its last skewer, the light of evolution descended upon it.

Its body, once only as tall as a human's waist, swelled instantly to a height the chef had to look up to.

【Your Cubchoo evolved into a Snorlax. The Rejects Processing Station's capacity has increased.】

Oh wow.

The title changed—from Gluttonous Diner to Rejects Processing Station.

So it really is the 【Immunity】 ability.

Baimu chuckled, then saw the chef head to the Food Street Management Committee, hoping to borrow a cart to set up a temporary stall.

Clearly, after being turned away again and again, he had deeply realized how unrealistic it was to boldly challenge a restaurant's head chef.

Therefore.

He tried to verify his culinary skills in another way.

Yet even though he believed he had taken a step back, the Management Committee still rejected his request.

The reason was that his status as an expelled student from the Western Culinary Training School had been exposed; moreover, he lacked a chef's license, and without a prestigious school background, he could not obtain a temporary business permit…

Baimu was speechless.

After all that, the chef was still an unlicensed chef.

【You are utterly dejected, and in low spirits, you decide to challenge a gym】

Watching the chef sadly head to the Winged Gym, he knew this unprincipled fellow was going to "bully" the elderly to relieve his emotional pressure.

The Winged Gym's leader—Grandfather Fu—was an elderly, hunched, diminutive man wearing a felt hat, with the title 【Still Blooming Tree】, sufficient proof of his combat power.

Too bad.

At the chef's hands, where Pokémon battles served as an emotional outlet, Grandfather Fu did not last long.

Seeing how the Bee Queen and Kabutops—both never properly trained—were expertly commanded by the chef, Baimu deeply realized that the chef was not only a master of cuisine but also a battle genius.

Yet his 【Divine Assistance】 talent was fully invested in battle, offering little help to his culinary fate—despite the fact that cooking was his true profession.

After seeing the chef, Baimu understood just how extraordinary Zhi Mi was—a trainer who excelled in both battling and cooking.

Talent and fortune—lose one, and you're lost.

【You defeated Winged Gym's leader Grandfather Fu and received the Plant Badge】

【Your emotions have greatly eased; you ask Grandfather Fu if you may prepare him lunch as thanks for his kindness】

With his mental pressure relieved, the chef once again felt the urge to cook.

Surprisingly, as soon as Grandfather Fu heard this, a line of text suddenly appeared on his forehead: So you're that wild chef? Then today I'm in for a treat.

【From Grandfather Fu, you learn that your name has spread widely among gym trainers; those who have tasted your food have praised your culinary skill highly】

After the narration ended.

The chef and the head of the Ducklett peeking out from behind him began flashing countless smiley faces.

They flashed repeatedly, endlessly, in a flood of emojis.

Baimu fully felt the chef's joy and understood that the chef now believed his culinary skills had finally been recognized—that all his long years of effort had not been in vain.

The chef was insecure.

His innovative cuisine was dismissed as worthless; eventually, the school simply urged him to leave—

Perhaps the school had once offered him a chance: put down the wok and spatula, pick up a frying pan, and continue his studies.

But in the end.

The chef, utterly rejected, chose to leave school and pursued his culinary growth by challenging gyms and traveling.

Thus, in every city he visited, he challenged the most renowned local chefs, hoping to prove his skill as a cook, and also tried cooking for gym leaders, hoping to earn praise from these powerful trainers.

Likewise.

The chef was stubborn, and also arrogant.

Baimu believed that, to some extent, his current state was self-inflicted. Through the narration, he learned that the school only trained Western chefs—producing them like machines, mechanically repeating the same methods.

Innovation was not needed at all; students could innovate freely after graduation when they opened their own restaurants.

But the chef refused to yield even a little, insisting on using the wok and spatula to create similar dishes. Even if the final dishes were indeed tastier, being misunderstood and constantly blocked was inevitable.

His rigidness was exhausting.

On the other hand, he was admirable.

Because from the very beginning, despite accumulating emotional pressure time and again, he never abandoned the wok and spatula, never gave up his cooking style, and held on until now.

Finally.

The time for blossoming and bearing fruit had come.

【Divine Assistance】 would now shine brilliantly in the chef's career!