"Takagi-ojii-san, I'll bring this little guy back this afternoon..."
In front of a small Western-style house, Hayashi Kaede stood with Snivy on his left and Sandshrew on his right, politely bidding farewell to Takagi-ojii-san.
"Alright. By the way, Kaede-kun, is this Snivy your Pokémon?"
Takagi-ojii-san beamed as he glanced at the Snivy hiding cautiously behind Hayashi Kaede, asking with curiosity.
Snivy's heart tightened in alarm.
It was afraid Hayashi Kaede would expose the truth, and it would be utterly embarrassed.
Wuwuwu...
Please don't say it...
"Yes. With such a large plantation to manage, I figured I'd need a Pokémon to help out with the work, right?" Hayashi Kaede replied casually.
"Hahaha..."
Takagi-ojii-san chuckled in amusement.
...
After leaving Takagi-ojii-san's house, Hayashi Kaede stopped by a vendor in Aogiri Town and bought a spicy tomato berry. The moment he unwrapped it, Sandshrew—trotting happily behind—stared at it with greedy eyes.
[Pokémon: Sandshrew]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Sand Veil]
[Aptitude: White]
[Individual Values: HP (14), Attack (15), Special Attack (12), Defense (18), Special Defense (16), Speed (11)]
[Strength: Level 11 ~ 12]
[Skills: Scratch, Defense Curl, Stun Spore, Sand Attack, Rollout]
[Description: A very easily satisfied Sandshrew]
[Affection: 65 (It has a good impression of you.)]
[Joy: 60 (In a good mood)]
"Sandshrew~"
"Don't rush. I'll make you some noodles with this later."
Seeing Sandshrew drooling over the spicy tomato berry, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but laugh.
"Shreeew~"
Sandshrew gave an excited nod and rolled joyfully down the street.
Snivy glanced sideways at it with an unimpressed expression.
Hmph. What's so amazing about some spicy berry noodles?
Not even close to an energy cube.
Back at the plantation, it was already near noon. Hayashi Kaede didn't send Sandshrew straight to work. Instead, he headed into the kitchen.
Years of living alone had sharpened his cooking skills, and his pantry was well-stocked.
Now that he possessed the system's divine Breeder knowledge and master-level culinary techniques, he was curious just how good his cooking had become.
He boiled water in a pot, tossed in some egg noodles he'd picked up in town, scooped in some lard, and seasoned the broth with basic spices. A simple bowl of clear soup noodles was done.
But that was only the beginning.
He beat a few eggs and poured them into a hot pan lightly greased with rapeseed oil. Once they set, he removed them, diced the spicy tomato berry into small cubes, and stir-fried them over medium heat until fragrant. Then, he tossed the eggs back in, stir-fried again, added a dash of cornstarch, and poured the mixture over the noodles.
The result: a piping-hot bowl of spicy berry noodles with a glossy red sauce.
[B-Rank Delicacy — Spicy Berry Noodles]
Though made from ordinary ingredients, this dish has been elevated into something special thanks to the creator's exceptional technique. After all, who could resist the sweet-and-sour heat of a good spicy berry noodle bowl?
Cooking Effect: Boosts Special Attack. After consumption, a Pokémon's Special Attack increases by 10% for one hour. Repeated consumption has long-term enhancement effects.
"Amazing..."
Seeing the evaluation from the Eye of Exploration, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but praise himself.
I didn't do anything different than before… yet the result is on another level entirely.
"Come here."
He looked down at Sandshrew, who had already wandered into the kitchen—only to spot another Pokémon beside him.
Snivy.
From the drool at the edge of its mouth and its eager eyes, it had clearly been waiting there for a while too.
"You want some too?"
"Snivy!" (Want!)
Just one word—delicious.
Snivy had already forgotten how it had mocked Sandshrew earlier.
"Alright..."
Hayashi Kaede smiled.
He didn't know what Snivy was thinking just moments ago, but seeing its greedy little face now made him happy.
"Here."
He divided the two bowls of noodles into three portions and handed them to the Pokémon.
Sandshrew, unable to use chopsticks, grabbed the noodles with its claws and slurped them up without waiting for them to cool.
The moment it tasted them—
Sour. Spicy. Rich. Sweet.
Its eyes widened.
It buried its entire face in the bowl.
[Congratulations! Sandshrew's Joy increased from 60% → 85%. Reward: 10 bags of fertilizer, 1 Rare Candy, and 500g of Ground Sand.]
"Snivy?!"
Snivy and Hayashi Kaede were both stunned.
What the heck—
That much of a reaction?!
Inspired, Snivy used Vine Whip to skillfully pick up a pair of chopsticks.
Its Vine Whip had improved a lot since it began helping with weeding. Now it could even use delicate chopsticks precisely.
It picked up a mouthful of noodles and slurped.
Its expression froze.
[Congratulations! Snivy's Joy increased from 15% → 35%. Reward: 8 bags of fertilizer, 1 Rare Candy.]
Hayashi Kaede: ???
Is it really that good...?
He doubted his own taste and took a bite.
Three minutes later…
Sweating from the spice, Hayashi Kaede slurped the last bit of broth and shouted:
"Ahhh! So refreshing!"
The two Pokémon beside him wore equally satisfied expressions.
"I don't feel anything different… but the flavor is insane."
Hayashi Kaede was puzzled, but chalked it up to the system's subtle enhancement—perhaps it had improved his techniques unconsciously.
"Alright, Sandshrew, I've got a favor to ask next~"
He pulled out a pack of fertilizer from the system's inventory. Each pack was about 500g.
Thanks to this world's advanced technology, which even enabled storage balls similar to Poké Balls, Hayashi Kaede wasn't worried about the Pokémon noticing anything strange about where the items came from.
"Shreeew!"
Having eaten such delicious food, Sandshrew was visibly thrilled and readily agreed to help.
Leading them both back to the Hatake, Hayashi Kaede sprinkled the fertilizer over a plot of land.
According to the system's description, this fertilizer could increase plant growth rate tenfold within a 10x10 meter area.
One bag per plot was sufficient.
Honestly, the system had been extremely generous.
He already had dozens of bags of fertilizer..
And more than a dozen Rare Candies...
"Alright, Sandshrew, turn over this section of land—"