As the chef was frying dishes on the stone stove with a clatter, glowing pixelated gourmet food was freshly served.
In the river.
A Psyduck swimming back and forth with a backstroke crawled ashore, wiggling its butt and tossing off the remaining water to the side, then it eagerly ran over to the chef, bouncing back and forth.
'Quack~'
The chef quickly prepared Psyduck's portion. A human and a Pokémon sat at the dining table and devoured the meal, with each bite causing them to twitch as if under some spell.
It was strikingly similar to a certain red-haired king of concoctions.
Meanwhile, Baimu noticed the bushes that symbolized the jungle on the screen suddenly shaking.
[As you and Psyduck begin to consume the food, the strong aroma attracts wild Pokémon, and you do not notice it]
This narration...
It feels like something's going to happen.
His heart skipped a beat, and then he saw a Pokémon, composed of three yellow hexagons like a miniature beehive, emerge from the bush.
Combee?
This kind of Pokémon is actually interested in fried dishes, aren't its usual diet pollen and nectar…?
Well then.
Most Pokémon are omnivorous animals, capable of eating all kinds of strange dry food, so being attracted by the aroma of fried dishes is not surprising.
Baimu breathed a sigh of relief; a Combee is different from a Beedrill, not as aggressive or hostile, so it probably wouldn't attack the chef or Psyduck.
Sure enough, Combee flew around to the front of the dining table and pressed towards a freshly squeezed fruit juice on the right side.
Completely without any intent to attack the chef or Psyduck.
[You notice that Combee snatched your juice, but you don't get angry and instead proactively share a bowl of Pokémon food with it]
The chef stood up and placed a bowl of Pokémon food in front of Combee.
Having finished the fresh juice, Combee couldn't resist the food's temptation and lunged forward, demonstrating exaggerated animation in its actions.
[Seeing Combee eating contentedly, you realize the purpose of a chef as mentioned by Zhi Mi]
After the meal.
The chef cleaned up and put Psyduck into the backpack ready to leave but found Combee still following behind, reluctant to leave.
Apparently, the meal just now utterly captivated Combee's taste buds, making it irresistibly chase after the "king of concoctions."
The chef was not a pretentious person and immediately captured Combee.
[You've captured Combee, more ingredients available... your traveling companion has increased]
What kind of narration is this?
Baimu smirked, understanding it's talking about the Sweet Honey collected by Combee, one of the top ingredients in the Pokémon World.
In the scene.
The chef embarked towards White Sand City, despite eating in the open air, thanks to his glowing culinary skills, the journey wasn't too arduous. Moreover, there were quite a few Pokémon Centers along the way.
Finally.
An ancient town loomed on the horizon.
[You've arrived at White Sand City, out of curiosity for the local specialty food, you head to a restaurant]
A chef is different; in previous simulations, those objective figures would head straight to the Gym upon arriving in a new city, but this guy heads to the restaurant, a very unique style.
And as for his Psyduck currently, besides its goofiness, it has been left with only the functionality of a meal-making machine.
Baimu was quite eager to see its performance in the White Sand Gym Battle.
However.
When the chef had a lavish meal at the restaurant, he still had no intention of heading to the Gym, and instead charged into the kitchen, wanting to have a cooking showdown with the restaurant's head chef——
The result was naturally being thrown out.
There's no Food Wars in the Pokémon World; people are too busy making money to wait for you to make glowing dishes.
[You were kicked out of the restaurant, unable to have a showdown with the head chef there, leaving you feeling very regretful; you decide to challenge the Gym]
Indeed, challenging the Gym is ranked after culinary skills...
Baimu got up to pour a glass of water, noticed the Aggron playing happily outside, and when his attention returned to the light screen, the Pokémon battle of the chef had already begun.
Honestly.
In his opinion, a Psyduck and a Combee are probably unlikely to win against the White Sand Gym that even Ash Ketchum had initial difficulties with.
But the actual battle surprised Baimu greatly.
[You start to challenge the White Sand Gym; the Gym Leader releases her first Pokémon]
In the scene.
The Gym Leader Violet released her standard first choice—Surskit.
This Pokémon, just like in the animation, adopted the strategy of freezing the ground to enhance its mobility, and it also set up Sticky Web as a trap.
And for this, the chef's Psyduck had only one move.
'Quack~'
[Telekinesis].
Directly using spiritual power to forcibly control the frantically moving Surskit and threw it out together with the Sticky Web connected to the skylight!
"Whoa!"
Such a brutal display surprised not only Baimu but even Violet, the Gym Leader.
How did he manage it? Did he actually do it?
The referee, who ran outside the Gym to verify, returned and concluded that Surskit was unable to battle, evidently being one-shotted by Psyduck's telekinesis.
This cute duck shaking its rear end proved with strength that it's not merely a glutton, and everything it ate was manifested through power.
Wait a second.
Even though the chef's reputation is not significant and his path unusual, his trainer talent is truly outstanding?
No wonder he dares to idolize Zhi Mi!
Baimu clicked his tongue, seeing Psyduck handling Vivillon in the same way, he truly sensed that both the chef and the miniskirt are strong by nature.
In the scene.
The chef left White Sand Gym with a big bag on his back, while inside the Gym, Violet was wriggling and scarfing down the glowing dish.
After the battle, the chef once again defeated the Gym Leader.
[You defeated White Sand Gym's Gym Leader Violet and received the Bug Badge]
[Your culinary skills impressed Violet, and your reputation has been spread]
The recipe should never stop...
——
After leaving White Sand City.
The chef didn't take the numbered road but dove straight into the dense forest.
Evidently planning to traverse the primeval jungle to the second Gym—Yaoxiang Gym, from his relentless mountain-crossing pace, one can see his "Physically Healthy" trait displayed in full glory.
Not only that.
Wherever he stopped to camp, he would unhesitatingly share his food with the wild Pokémon, with an enormous amount of feeding back and forth.
And Combee lived up to its name, producing a large amount of precious Sweet Honey for the chef, which he used to make a vast number of desserts.
Based on these dishes, Baimu also discovered the differences between the chef and western chefs, not only in terms of frying and pans but even in the dishes they made.
The chef's dishes could be termed as wild, using ingredients liberally and flavors extremely heavy, perfectly matching his desire to quickly replenish salt after sweating profusely through mountain crossing.
Moreover, as he provided glowing dishes for wild Pokémon to taste, the new dishes he created began to glow more and more brightly.
Proving that the chef's culinary skills are improving at a crazy pace.
Baimu couldn't help but lament that he simulated another "eccentric."
On the other hand.
The chef's cooking once again attracted a new companion—with Munchlax.
As the greediest Pokémon, how could Munchlax tolerate a perfect feeder walking away from it, decisively gave up its free life, and obeyed its desires to embark on the journey with the chef.
[You captured Munchlax, the gluttonous eater—another traveling companion]
Baimu: "..."
After ingredients come the eaters, so what is Psyduck? Sous chef?
This guy indeed often dives into the water to help the chef find various aquatic plants and seasonings, with quite a sensitive nose.