Chapter 98: Magical Cuisine

Yaokiang City.

A city that prides itself on leisurely strolls, situated between the sea and the mountains.

The chef who arrived here still went, just as in Bai Tan City, to the local restaurants to experience the culinary differences brought by the regional environment.

【You have arrived at Yaokiang City, and can't wait to taste the local delicacies.】

By the sea, naturally they eat from the sea; rather than heavy-handed seasoning, they pay more attention to the freshness of the ingredients themselves, so they usually don't use overly complicated cooking techniques.

【You have tasted the secret of umami; you and your Pokémon are both very satisfied, and your cooking level has increased.】

Baimu saw the narration display this content and always felt like he was watching a food documentary.

Challenging gyms and the like was just incidental.

The chef who had tasted the delicacy, as usual, extended an invitation for a cooking showdown to the head chef there—only compared to the time in Bai Tan City, his actions now had much more basis.

At the very least, he knew to first ask the restaurant's owner, borrowing his words.

Unfortunately.

He was a nobody, neither a big shot in both the trainer world and the culinary world like Zumi, nor some Food God or Food Immortal of the gourmet world.

The head chefs of popular restaurants simply didn't have that much time to spar with him.

So he was chased out again.

【You regret being unable to exchange culinary skills with others, and decide to go challenge the gym.】

The way it was phrased gave one the feeling that gym challenges could vent emotions.

—In fact, that really was the case.

Baimu noticed that Psyduck's psychic level seemed closely tied to the chef's mental stress.

Every time the chef encountered something unpleasant or uncomfortable, Psyduck's attacks would always become much more ferocious, while compared to that, the Water-type moves that were its natural typing as a Water-type Pokémon had no presence at all.

【You have arrived at Yaokiang Gym, and the Gym Leader Shaklock has accepted your challenge.】

And so, on the battlefield.

Psyduck used its psychic power to whip Onix like a whip, clutching its head and squawking, looking exactly like it was shouting "Let the world feel pain."

Simple and brutal.

Neither the honey-making machine nor the gluttonous diner got a chance to take the field.

【Your Psyduck has defeated Onix.】

【Your Psyduck has defeated Tyranitar.】

【You have defeated the Yaokiang Gym Leader—Shaklock, and obtained the Stone Wall Badge.】

Psyduck's strength earned Shaklock's admiration, and what made the latter praise it even more was the glowing dish the chef made.

Although he was a rock-climbing enthusiast, he was an extreme lover of sweets, yet didn't dare eat too much; there had been news reports of him standing motionless staring at sweets in a display case, which made the television news.

Knowing this, the chef specially used Combee's Sweet Honey to make a glowing-level sweet for Shaklock that wasn't high in calories but could absolutely satisfy his cravings—its glow rivaled that of radioactive material, and Shaklock already felt something was off just from smelling it.

It's quite possible this time the dose was measured in tons, truly terrifying.

Most importantly.

【You learned through a television program about Shaklock's friendship with Elite Four member Zumi, and hope to learn about Zumi's cooking level from him.】

On the screen, the little figure representing Shaklock had the chef's avatar appear above its head, followed by five stars.

Then Zumi appeared, followed by a long string of stars.

Obviously, although Shaklock was won over by the chef's sweets, he could still give a very objective evaluation.

【You realize you are still very far from Zumi, and decide to continue your journey, seeking more perfect cooking techniques (increase the dosage).】

"Why does the narration even talk with parentheses."

Baimu felt this narration was way too cheeky.

——

The chef set out from Route 10.

Soon, he arrived at the small town along the way—Shixiang Town.

There were many merchants selling all kinds of stones here; the Suola City Gym Leader Korrina obtained her Lucario's evolution stone here.

This made Baimu raise his guard, curious whether the chef would obtain a Key Stone or something from it.

But he was overthinking it…

【You have arrived at Shixiang Town, and heard that the rock cuisine here is very famous; the excited you rushed straight to the restaurant.】

Fine then.

The restaurant is your eternal home after all.

Baimu sighed endlessly; although the chef currently didn't have any Pokémon that could mega evolve, mega evolution was a regional specialty of Kalos, and to achieve excellent results in the regional conference, mega evolution was indispensable.

On the screen.

The chef tasted the so-called rock cuisine—placing ingredients on scorching-hot rocks to grill them, with each different rock imparting a special flavor to the ingredients.

Baimu only felt this was because the shop owner hadn't washed the rocks clean.

Suddenly.

The Combee beside the chef trembled, then was enveloped in Bai Guang, transforming completely.

【Your Combee has evolved into Vespiquen.】

…Evolved?

It was actually a female Combee, and he hadn't seen this one fight at all? Just gathering honey and eating delicacies, and it evolved?

Baimu strongly suspected that the chef's cooking was like a Rare Candy, possessing the power to raise Pokémon levels, allowing Combee to build up and burst forth in a surge of emotion.

After the full meal.

The chef's challenge application, made out of satisfaction, was rejected once again; the disappointed him could only wander around the local stone market.

Cypress's anticipation was piqued.

However.

【You spotted a very special Pokémon at a stall. You'd heard this Pokémon possessed the power of fermentation, so you bought it from the stall owner.】

【You obtained Shuckle, the Fermentation Berry Machine — a new companion has joined your journey.】

Good grief.

Cypress never could have imagined that what the Chef obtained in Sootopolis wasn't a Key Stone or a Mega Stone, but a new Pokémon.

And it was Shuckle, of all things.

And after getting the new Pokémon, the Chef — who had drawn experience from the stone cuisine — left without the slightest intention of continuing to wander around.

【You've arrived at Route 11. You begin gathering ingredients.】

The first thing the Chef did every time he reached the wilds was collect all sorts of raw materials, waiting for the noon and evening camp-cooked meals.

Munchlax, the freeloading diner day in and day out, now showed off its almost radar-like power for food — whether plant roots or fresh fruits and vegetables, nothing escaped its nose.

But Psyduck's "work" hadn't gotten any easier.

Because the route ran along the coast the whole way, the Chef would often toss Psyduck into the sea, hoping it could bring back some oceanic delicacies.

Of course.

The Chef didn't always manage to make glowing cuisine. Sometimes, if he misidentified an ingredient or used one he didn't recognize by mistake, the glowing dish would turn into a deep-purple or pitch-black mosaic — a dish that symbolized death.

yawenku.

These dishes — one bite and the others were nearly done for — Munchlax could still happily polish off to the very last crumb.

Cypress couldn't help suspecting that after evolving, this fellow would have the 【Immunity】 ability.

——

Shalour City.

A city with legends of mysterious stones.

But compared to Mega Stones that could guarantee a trainer's strength, the Chef clearly cared more about the local food.

Unfortunately, not every town's specialty cuisine had an extreme character to it. Shalour City's flavors were quite close to those of Laverre City, so the Chef didn't gain much cooking experience from it.

Driven off by the shopkeeper and dealt a double blow, the Chef headed to the Shalour Gym to challenge it.

【You have issued a challenge to the Shalour Gym Leader — Korrina.】

Cypress had been full of anticipation, thinking he'd get to see Mega Evolution this time — only to find that he wouldn't.

When Psyduck and Munchlax took the field together and defeated Korrina's Lucario, the narration spoke as follows:

【You defeated Korrina, interrupting her little goal of a hundred-win streak. This left Korrina feeling dejected. To comfort Korrina, you decide to make her a delicacy.】

A hundred-win streak?

Ah!

So the timeline is before Ash's journey?

Cypress recalled that Korrina was supposed to defeat a hundred trainers and then head to Sootopolis to search for a Mega Stone. The Chef had interrupted her streak, proving the timeline needed to be pushed earlier.