Chapter 593: Amoonguss, the most reliable back in double battles!

The next two days passed without incident.

Dande and Sonia's trip to Paldea continued, and they were still wandering around Casseroya Lake, wanting to see more "interesting" Dragon-type Pokémon.

As for Xiang Qingyu, due to his work as a Gym Leader, he did not accompany them further.

Time quickly arrived at Friday evening.

Having finally finished a week of Gym work, not only was Xiang Qingyu relieved, but Mewtwo, the clone Pokémon it had raised, and the Pokémon long-term rented to the Gym were all exhausted.

With the establishment of Team Star, the number of students coming to the Gym grew larger and larger. Plus, the Sunny Gym was the closest Gym to Mesagoza, so it naturally took on the challenge of most of the students.

Xiang Qingyu was also fortunate that he had the foresight to subdivide the Gym's challenge modes, allowing Mewtwo and the rented Pokémon capable of autonomous battling to help share most of the workload; otherwise, he might have already collapsed from exhaustion...

The students were happy to be challenged, Mewtwo was steadily improving its Trainer level in the process, and the rented Pokémon were gradually comprehending various tactics in battle, greatly increasing their strength.

In short, everyone felt they had won big.

Of course, the Pokémon had put in a lot of effort, so he naturally couldn't slack off on his end.

Therefore, on this leisurely evening before the weekend, Xiang Qingyu thoughtfully prepared a "sumptuous" feast for them.

"Gao!"

The moment it reached mealtime, Miraidon outside seemed to sense something. It stood up abruptly, looked up at the setting sun's afterglow that was about to disappear, and then dove into the Gym without looking back.

Good at nothing else, but number one at eating—this phrase couldn't be more fitting to describe Miraidon.

However, when Miraidon arrived at the kitchen, it stopped in its tracks immediately.

Something was wrong, nine out of ten things were wrong...

Why was there such a murderous aura in this kitchen!

Miraidon frowned subconsciously before tentatively poking its head in.

In the kitchen, there was only Xiang Qingyu, who was humming a tune leisurely. He was stir-frying ingredients while glancing at the stove next to him with his peripheral vision.

It was clearly a very normal behavior, yet it made Miraidon lose its soul instantly, its whole body feeling as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.

Damn it, who made him happy again?

After spending this much time together, who in the entire Sunny Gym didn't know about Xiang Qingyu's culinary talent?

Except for food that required no operation, like sandwiches or miso soup, any ingredient that passed through Xiang Qingyu's hands, no matter how delicious, would end up tasting strange.

It wasn't that it couldn't be eaten, but the taste was a bit...

Fine, it was inedible!

Even Miraidon, who lived to eat and was willing to be a means of transportation just for a bite, couldn't quite accept the food Xiang Qingyu made.

That was enough to show how terrifying its power was.

Following Miraidon's appearance, Ogerpon soon followed.

"Poni?"

Upon discovering that it was sneaking around outside the kitchen door and hadn't entered yet, Ogerpon immediately let out a confused cry.

Wasn't Miraidon the most proactive about eating, sneaking into the kitchen every day on time to steal sandwiches? Why was it acting so abnormally today?

However, Ogerpon didn't think too much about it, only feeling that perhaps Xiang Qingyu's sandwich today didn't suit its taste.

Or maybe it smelled the scent of spicy seasoning? It had vaguely smelled a bit of it just now too.

Miraidon was indeed very afraid of spicy flavors, but Ogerpon was just the opposite.

Thus, Ogerpon took the first step and walked into the kitchen openly.

"Hm? You're actually the first one here today?"

Xiang Qingyu turned his head upon hearing the sound, subconsciously raised an eyebrow, and let out a sigh.

The sun must have risen from the west; Miraidon actually hadn't appeared yet today...

"Poni yo~"

Ogerpon also greeted Xiang Qingyu lightly.

However, when it noticed the dish Xiang Qingyu had already finished preparing, Ogerpon's expression immediately became as complex as Miraidon's had been just moments ago.

No wonder Miraidon refused to enter the door today; so it was because of this...

"I tried a few interesting dishes today. Do you want to try them first?"

Just then, Xiang Qingyu suddenly spoke, asking in a gentle tone.

"..."

Ogerpon's expression suddenly became a bit awkward, and its body curled up guiltily.

What to do? Should it directly hint that it didn't really want to test the poison...

But would the Trainer be discouraged if it did that?

After all, it was a dish containing the Trainer's heart; it wouldn't do to make him sad because of this!

But if it ate the various strange dishes Xiang Qingyu made, it felt like it wouldn't have any energy for the next few days...

Just as Ogerpon was struggling internally, Xiang Qingyu's voice suddenly came to its ears again.

"Open your mouth, ah—"

Upon hearing Xiang Qingyu's voice, Ogerpon subconsciously followed suit.

By the time it reacted, a pair of chopsticks had already been delivered into its mouth, and the aroma of sticky rice and seaweed had already moistened its taste buds, making its brain feel pleasure.

???

Ogerpon was stunned for a moment before it reacted.

Could the dish just now have been made by Xiang Qingyu himself?

Had the Trainer's dark cuisine syndrome finally been cured?

Noticing the clearly incredulous expression on Ogerpon's face, Xiang Qingyu immediately showed a helpless smile.

This little guy, was it looking down on his cooking skills a bit!

"If you think the taste is not bad, there are still a few wasabi rice balls on the table. You can pad your stomach before the meal starts."

As Xiang Qingyu spoke, he reached out and picked up the secret manual of the Poké-Cafeteria standing on the dining table.

It had to be said that this "Cooking Guide for Dummies" really had something to it. After flipping through it for the past two days, Xiang Qingyu quickly deduced the ultimate mystery of the Poké-Cafeteria—

The Great Dao is simple; the simpler the ingredients, the more acceptable they are to the guests!

The Poké-Cafeteria had never sold any high-difficulty dishes; they were all ordinary food like grilled rice balls, wasabi rice balls, and red bean soup.

In a sense, it didn't seem much different from sandwiches.

Compared to the flavor imparted by the ingredients, the Poké-Cafeteria cared more about a subtle feeling, dedicated to bringing customers a "taste of home."

Because of this, it unexpectedly had good compatibility with Xiang Qingyu, who didn't play high-end games.

Although it couldn't be called very delicious at the moment, at least it was no longer associated with dark cuisine.

Improving from a negative number to 1 could also be considered a huge progress.

Practice slowly in the future, and one day he would be able to make perfect dishes that his own Pokémon couldn't resist, and even legendary Pokémon would drool over!

Miraidon outside the door soon noticed the change in Ogerpon's expression, and its eyes became even more confused—

Could it be that the Trainer could really make dishes at a normal level?

Although there was still some confusion in its heart, Miraidon's body soon walked in honestly, and under Xiang Qingyu's signal, it took a small bite of a rice ball.

Subsequently, it suddenly shed tears of emotion.

Great, this was real food!

What kind of bitter life had it been living before? Nothing but sandwiches, sandwiches, and more sandwiches. No matter how delicious, one couldn't eat the same thing every day!

Even if it was just an ordinary, and even a bit dry, rice ball, Miraidon soon smelled a different scent—

The good days of having different meals every day were finally coming!

"Is it that exaggerated..."

Xiang Qingyu was speechless, feeling that he had been indirectly mocked by Miraidon.

Was the stuff he made before really that bad, to the point that Miraidon could be moved to tears by eating some ordinary food?

The interaction in the kitchen was seen in its entirety by the Shelgon outside the door with a complex expression.

Staring at the seaweed rice ball on the table that was so delicious it made Miraidon shed tears, a flash of envy quickly crossed its cheeks, which were completely wrapped in its shell with only a pair of eyes exposed.

Damn it, I can see it and smell it but I can't eat it!

Why couldn't I eat after evolving, only able to watch other Pokémon eat...

I should have eaten more before evolving!

The two days of rest passed in a flash.

Time quickly arrived at Sunday.

Because his cooking skills had improved, plus the fact that his Bagon had completed its evolution, Xiang Qingyu's mood had been quite good these past few days.

Compared to wandering outside, he found enjoying daily life at the Sunny Gym and interacting happily with his Pokémon more interesting.

However, happy times were always short.

After finishing the dinner at the Sunny Gym as usual and receiving unanimous praise from all the Pokémon, it was time for the customary broadcast.

In last week's broadcast, he had introduced the main playstyle of the Rain Team in detail, covering everything from the choice of weather setters to sweepers and defensive pivots; it could be said that he had even brought out the "Burning Art" for the newcomers to learn.

According to the plan, he should continue to introduce the Rain system in double battles this week.

However...

Xiang Qingyu thought about it; the Rain Team in double battles didn't seem that "Rainy" either.

Compared to relying on Water-type Pokémon to deal explosive damage, using weather effects to avoid the weaknesses of certain Pokémon seemed more important in double battles.

After all, the only "Big Brother" of the Rain, Kyogre, definitely couldn't enter the game. Lacking the suppression power of Kyogre, and temporarily without new-era Rain brothers like Archaludon, there didn't seem to be many Rain brothers left who could be entrusted with heavy responsibilities.

Having already introduced Mega Swampert, Xiang Qingyu didn't intend to use it for two weeks in a row.

Speaking of the Rain Team, there was actually a Water-type Pokémon in Paldea with very distinct characteristics.

Palafin!

Compared to the "Kricketune Hero" that people talked about, this one was the truly powerful hero, not some fake hero.

And if one wanted to use Palafin, the team's defensive pivot capability also needed to be improved accordingly.

So...