The generous rewards made Baimu's heart tremble.
The runner-up harvest was indeed a step above the top four, whether in fixed rewards or in the selectable rewards of breaking through two options.
Among them, the one that caught his attention the most was naturally the miraculous glowing cooking memories of the chef.
In the chef's Pokémon training career, talent certainly played a significant part, but food was also an indispensable crucial factor. The strength of Snorlax and the like had a lot to do with the chef's culinary touch.
With the chef's secret skill, Aggron and others would likely also benefit from the miraculous glowing dishes.
How could Baimu not be excited about this?
He could let Chansey learn a bit too; seeing its dishes bring smiles to everyone's faces could have an extraordinary effect on the self-confidence training of the pink Little Egg.
"The Blue Talent is really strong... It feels like a talent that guarantees entry to the top eight."
He had an inexplicable sense of being appointed.
But on the flip side, isn't the simulator defining talents based on the career of the simulation subject a kind of hindsight analysis?
The chef reached the runner-up position, and the simulator deemed he had Blue Talent, rather than the Blue Talent enabling him to reach runner-up status.
With this thought, talent seemed to become an element of searching for the simulation subject.
Baimu moved his sight, landing on the second selectable reward.
Once again, it was a Pokémon clue with a specified attribute, but it added the term 'excellent.' So what does excellent mean, after all? High Species Value? High individual—various aspects of talent such as size? Rare types?
No matter which, they all seem fantastic.
He looked at the two unselected attribute clues with satisfaction. In a way, he had two chances to draw an SSR, with the second chance having a particularly high probability of success.
Of course.
There's no rush for the moment. Aggron just evolved and needed to consolidate its strength. Mawile and Chansey also urgently needed moves added, so there was no rush to increase the members.
He stood up, stretched lazily, and opened the door behind him, calling to Aggron and the other Pokémon: "I'm taking a nap; remember to wake me if anything happens."
"Roar!" "Chido~" "Lucky!"
The three excited Pokémon shouted in response.
Baimu returned to the sofa, eager to test the chef's cooking memories.
The moment he made the selection.
His vision went black, and his consciousness sank into an unknown realm.
In a daze.
Baimu felt himself suddenly standing in a spacious and bright kitchen, holding a wok and a spatula, constantly pondering, constantly researching flavors.
Grabbing the pan, plating, tasting, then grabbing the pan, plating, tasting again.
The novelty quickly disappeared with the repetitive actions, and the initially wonderful taste lingering in his mouth became somewhat monotonous, yet the real bodily feedback couldn't stop the process from continuing.
What's more despairing than a genius is a genius who works harder, and your efforts often prove ineffective and can only be called meaningless toil.
But a genius' efforts can indeed take them to the next level, reaching a new realm.
Baimu's consciousness gradually stabilized, and the chef's seasoned cooking skills imprinted on his brain like the boxing of a Miniskirt, leaving an indelible mark.
Frankly speaking.
What made Baimu envious during the chef's repeated practice wasn't just his perseverance but also the seemingly inexhaustible natural resources.
Various fresh and delicious ingredients seemed to be at his disposal.
Such "extravagance" would require no small funding reserve in the desolate Pyrite Town, not to mention the taste variations brought about by differences in ingredient types.
The same Wild Apple in Carlos was clearly sweeter, while the Wild Apple in Pyrite Town was hard and not as sweet.
Evidently, these were two different varieties.
Agriculture in the Pokémon World was as developed as its technology, with the power of Grass-type Pokémon allowing humanity to enjoy easily stored, transported, and more delicious individuals very early on. The breeding capabilities were simply incredible.
In Baimu's previous world, balancing the two was relatively difficult to achieve.
——
Evening.
Waking from his slumber.
Baimu rubbed his eyes and immediately found himself clutching a Mawile, while Chansey was leaning against the prone Aggron, all three sleeping soundly.
"Ah~ tired from playing?"
He yawned, looking towards the backyard door.
To allow Aggron to enter the house, he had specifically asked someone to make it taller and wider. Yet even so, the top of the door frame was still punctured by Aggron's two sharp horns.
"So hard."
He laughed, stroking Aggron's big head, and the three Pokémon woke up immediately, "Time for dinner! Just in time for me to show you a skill!"
Although he had neither a wok nor a spatula, nor a suitable Fierce Fire Stove, settling for less wasn't impossible.
After all, the key seasoning for deliciousness is joy.
Mawile and other Pokémon responded first, then looked at each other in confusion, unable to understand why their trainer spoke in such an expectant tone.
Was there something special about dinner? Did he get particularly good ingredients?
Mawile and Aggron looked at Chansey, who had been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately and should know best about these things.
"Lucky!"
Chansey waved its hands repeatedly, indicating even it didn't know.
For a moment.
The three Pokémon felt a bit uneasy because past experiences told them that sometimes when their trainer smiled brightly, it wasn't always a good thing for them—
This anxiety lingered until the aroma wafted from the kitchen.
They suddenly stretched their necks like dogs waiting to hear it's dinner time, sniffing the lingering pleasant aroma in the air and quickly rushing towards the kitchen.
Immediately afterward.
Aggron and the others saw a bright light—
"Roar?"
Did Baimu turn on the lights? It wasn't even dark yet!
Aggron wondered in confusion.
"Chido!"
Mawile shook its head seriously, indicating that the light source didn't come from the kitchen ceiling but from the stove!
Chansey, who knew the kitchen inside out, confirmed this answer.
The three Pokémon talked softly, but were soon softened by the enchanting aroma, unconsciously showing a drooling expression.
And when Baimu came out with what seemed like four Flash Grenades—shiny dishes—they all looked unbelieving.
The light.
Was actually coming from the dishes!
On the other side.
Baimu looked at his achievements, feeling a bit lost; judging by the aroma, the dishes should be deemed qualified products, at least heavily seasoned ones.
But could they really glow? Wasn't it just an exaggeration effect from the simulator?
What was the principle... It felt like he had made something radioactive.
"Come and try."
He invited Aggron and the others.
Aggron and the other Pokémon hurriedly moved forward, and even the fierce-looking Aggron looked a lot softer when seeing the delicious-looking dishes.
The golden legend!
They tasted eagerly, freezing the moment it entered their mouths.
"Is it not tasty?"
Baimu's heart skipped a beat, and immediately he saw the eyes and mouths of the three Pokémon lighting up like flashlights.
"Roar!" "Chido!" "Lucky!"
It's delicious!!
Like starving ghosts reincarnated, the three Pokémon buried their heads in devouring the dishes, fearing that even missing a bite of the taste that gave them a full-body wonderful sensation would be a loss.
Seeing this, Baimu couldn't help but feel amazed at how the atmosphere had completely transformed.