Chapter 96: Blessed by the Gods Host

The sunlight was bright and dazzling.

Outside the house, Blastoise was playing in the water with Chansey and Lickitung.

Since evolving, this big monster—essentially a weak-water type—had grown increasingly wild. Originally it would only drench itself in the form of raindrops; now it didn't even care if water was poured directly onto its body.

Truly worthy of a Pokémon that could learn water-type moves like Surf.

Baimu lay on his side on the sofa, the laughter from outside ringing in his ears, staring at the simulator in the lower-right corner of his eye.

Based on the feedback from these past two days of competition, the cooldown was about to end, but since the previous three runs hadn't had anything particularly interesting, he felt a bit jaded.

He'd take advantage of the afternoon nap to run the simulation straight through.

He yawned, waiting for the countdown to hit zero.

A short while later.

【Choose your Birth Region ▽】

A line of text appeared.

Baimu really couldn't be bothered to deliberate, so he simply closed his eyes and scrolled up and down, only opening them when his finger lightly tapped—

Kalos?

Honestly, this was the first time he'd selected this region, so his interest was slightly piqued.

He tapped open the gender option.

Without much hesitation, he decisively chose male.

The chance of encountering a previously simulated subject was simply too small. Baimu completely gave up on the idea of running into someone familiar, and went by the order of one male, one female.

The last bird-keeper was female, so this time he'd switch to male.

He tapped open the Pokémon column, and sure enough there was one to choose—a Water-type Psyduck.

Should he pick it?

Baimu understood that the starter Pokémon determined the simulated subject to a certain extent, just as with Dengshan-man he could choose Onix, and with the bird-keeper he could choose Pidgey.

What kind of trainer would have a Psyduck?

A swim-ring boy? A diver?

……Is it too late to go back and pick female now? Maybe he could randomly get a bikini big sister.

Baimu searched for a long time but couldn't find a back option, and couldn't help sighing. His finger, however, was very honestly tapping on Psyduck, ready to select a talent.

【Please Draw Your Talent】

Press.

Fixed Talent:

【Strong Physique (The trainer is very healthy)】

Optional Talents:

【Sentimental (Easily swayed emotionally)】

【Kind-hearted (Willing to help others)】

【☆Blessed by the Gods (Always able to pull through difficulties)】

【Elite System (Won't catch too many Pokémon)】

Holy crap! A blue talent!

Another blue talent!

Baimu suddenly realized that it had been three simulations since the last blue talent appeared, and the blue-talented Skirt-girl had also appeared after three simulations.

So does that mean every three simulations, a blue talent is guaranteed to appear?

No, no, no.

It couldn't be fully confirmed yet—maybe it was just luck? After all, this time the blue talent appeared among the optional ones, not the fixed talent.

But without a doubt, the Blessed by the Gods talent was a must-pick. For the second talent… both Kind-hearted and Elite System were good.

Considering he himself was quite kind, and Kind-hearted was a huge plus in the Pokémon world, there was almost no need to keep hesitating.

【Simulation Start】

A massive light screen slowly unfolded, the buildings and characters still in the same old pixel style.

It seemed that even after reaching the eighth generation, the simulator's graphics still couldn't switch to 3D style.

But the environment inside the screen…

"New Oriental?"

Baimu scratched his head.

——

In the screen.

It was a bright and spacious enormous kitchen.

Countless people in white uniforms with aprons tied around their waists stood before the cooking stations, some holding frying pans, others wielding kitchen knives to process various ingredients.

But soon the scene shifted—to the doorway of the white building.

A chef carrying an oversized backpack walked out from inside, looking back with every step, as if extremely reluctant to leave what was behind him.

【At fifteen, because you failed to gain your teacher's approval, you were expelled from the Western Cuisine Chef Training School】

Hmm?

The new simulated subject was actually a chef? A Western cuisine chef at that?

Baimu rubbed his chin, never having expected that the partner paired with Psyduck would be a cook—although not a qualified one, having been kicked out of school…

No wonder the fixed talent was 【Strong Physique】—how could a chef not be healthy? Even a Western cuisine chef puts tremendous strain on the lower body.

After all, one stands the entire day.

Speaking of which, where's Psyduck?

He glanced at the bottommost Pokémon slot, and there, unmistakably, was that chubby figure.

Not released from its Poké Ball?

Just as he was thinking this, a round, golden-yellow head suddenly poked out from the chef's backpack, blinking cluelessly at its surroundings.

Gwaa~

When the text "Gwaa~" appeared above Psyduck's head, Baimu, watching through the screen, could almost hear that dopey cry, and the corners of his mouth curved into an unconscious smile.

The narration jumped another line.

【You were heartbroken, but in order to become a great chef like your idol — Elite Four Siebold — you decided to set out on a journey with Psyduck, training your culinary skills while also heading toward the Pokémon League】

The chef, Psyduck on his back, walked out of the school. The instant he stepped through the school gate, a bustling main street immediately filled Baimu's view.

Even in pixel style, it wasn't hard to see that this street was brimming with quaint, romantic elements everywhere.

Without a doubt.

This was the Kalos region's largest city — Lumiose City, the great metropolis known by the beautiful title "City of Light."

【You crossed Hiver Avenue and arrived beneath the Prism Tower in the central plaza】

【You planned to challenge the Lumiose Gym here, but were refused by the AI program at the gate. The AI program stated that the Lumiose Gym requires four Badges and at least three Pokémon to challenge】

The Gym Leader is already Clemont? Could it be his robots, or perhaps a rule his father established?

Baimu watched the chef turn and leave even more dejected, feeling the situation didn't match his talent at all — where was the promised 【Divine Assistance】? Clearly it was running into walls at every turn.

【You decided to head to Santalune City, where many novice trainers gather, very suitable for you who have just begun your journey】

The chef, Psyduck on his back, left the bustling Lumiose City and appeared amid vast open fields.

But unlike a normal trainer, the first thing the chef did upon reaching the wilds wasn't searching for strong or rare Pokémon, nor was it rushing nonstop to reach the next city.

He took the initiative to burrow into the forest, squatting on the ground and rummaging about nonstop, ignoring even the Pokémon passing by — a perfect little boy picking mushrooms and gathering wild vegetables.

【Using your learned knowledge, you gathered a large amount of ingredients. You decided to turn sorrow into appetite and make a delicious meal to reward yourself】

The chef brought a big pile of ingredients to the riverside, pulled Psyduck out of his backpack and tossed it into the river, then swiftly set up a cooking station, a simple makeshift stove, and the like.

Judging from his practiced motions, this was clearly not the first or second time he'd done this.

Baimu watched the chef bustling about with great interest, thinking that being kicked out of chef school meant this guy's cooking skills probably weren't great.

How bad?

Possibly at the level of producing death cuisine.

As he was guessing, the chef suddenly pulled out an enormous wok and a long-handled ladle from his backpack.

Baimu couldn't hold it in anymore.

wtf!?

You freaking — are a Chinese chef!?

No, that's not right — the Pokémon world only has mixed elements similar to Chinese cuisine, there's no actual Chinese chef… but no matter how you put it, you waltz into their Western chef frying-pan territory carrying a Chinese wok — it'd be strange if they didn't kick you out.

Even stranger if you got accepted!

After all that fuss, it wasn't that his cooking skills were bad, nor that he was persecuted by classmates or teachers at school.

Well played.