At seven in the evening, a heavy rain poured outside the window.
Naoki stood in the kitchen, taking out the bag of soil rich in special elements he bought from Porto Marinada Market, and began to make enhancing cuisine specifically for the Nacli.
Behind him was a scene of cheerful harmony.
Smoliv nestled in a flowerpot, gently swaying its body, leisurely watching the scene.
Alcremie, with the five Nacli, let out joyful cries, running around on the wooden floor.
Butterfree landed on top of the cabinet, happily enjoying the lively time.
Three Skiddo squeezed by the bed, chewing grass dumplings slowly, while Pawmi circled around them, unsure of what it was doing.
Koraidon and Cyclizar lay lazily on the ground, waiting for the meal to start.
As for Dragonite, it stood by the door, looking at the heavy rain outside, pondering something.
Seeing this, Naoki withdrew his gaze.
The dinner was nearly ready, just the last special dish needed to be cooked before they could officially start the meal.
He focused all his attention on the soil in front of him, resembling flour.
Though it was soil, its appearance was more like flour polished by human hands.
This "flour" immediately made Naoki think of the "frying" cooking method.
After a moment of thought, he poured it into the pan, then added an appropriate amount of rock salt to stir-fry.
Although this soil could be fed to the Nacli directly, if it wasn't cooked, those magical special abilities wouldn't manifest.
Every time he thought about this, Naoki felt like an alchemist, not just cooking, but enchanting food.
Shaking his head to dispel this strange thought, gradually, the rock salt and soil fused together, and a faint salty aroma wafted from the pan.
For humans, this scent wasn't very appealing.
But for the Nacli, it had an astonishing effect.
Upon smelling the aroma, the Nacli who were chasing and playing around in the room stopped one by one, letting out "salt salt" cries, eagerly approaching with expectant eyes.
What smell is this? So fragrant!
Seeing it was about done, Naoki turned off the heat and scooped the soil into prepared feeding bowls.
Looking down, the information about this "dish" appeared in his mind.
[Rock Salt Fried Soil (B-): A special dish made by frying mineral-rich and trace element-laden soil with nutritious rock salt, possibly favored by certain Pokemon.
Cooking Effect: Salty lv1, slightly enhances the quality of rock salt produced by Nacli.
Special Effect: Strengthening lv1, slightly enhances the physical strength of Nacli.
Evaluation: A mind-blowing dish! Using human cooking methods to prepare Pokemon cuisine is also a great choice!]
"Huh?"
Looking at the fried soil in front of him, Naoki was surprised.
A dish with two effects...
To be honest, he wasn't too surprised by the first effect, but the second [Strengthening] truly amazed him.
Naoki couldn't help but think of the grassy seed the Skiddo ate, which aside from helping Skiddo learn Grass Type moves, seemed to have no other effects.
And now...
The Nacli were already impatient.
Seeing this, Naoki placed the soil on the ground.
The five Nacli immediately jumped around, burying their heads in the bowls, eating with delight.
Naoki watched this scene, lost in thought.
Soon, he hit upon a possibility.
It's well known that Nacli are born in the underground rock salt layers, and since they leave salt traces wherever they go, it's suggested that their bodies are largely composed of rock salt.
So, this Rock Salt Fried Soil enhances not only the quality of rock salt they produce but also strengthens their bodies.
Having understood this, all the doubts in Naoki's mind disappeared.
Great stuff!
He wondered, if he fed the Nacli this soil every day, what kind of "monster" Pokemon he would raise.
After all, there was the precedent set by the Skiddo.
Naoki felt a stir within, promptly deciding to visit Porto Marinada Market again after the typhoon passed, to see if he could order a large quantity of this soil from that person.
"Zapapico Town..." Naoki mused over the town producing this soil: "If there's a chance, I should visit there."
Zapapico Town was famous in the Paldea Region for its abundance of various minerals.
It's said that the Auspicious Armor and Malicious Armor, necessary for Charcadet's evolution, were found deep within the mines there.
Due to this, Zapapico Town sparked a gold rush, attracting many Trainers looking for hidden treasures underground to aid their Charcadet's evolution.
Unfortunately, the rarity of the Auspicious Armor and Malicious Armor was beyond their imagination, and no one managed to find any.
Naoki heard about this from a show called "Paldea's Curious Cases and Oddities."
With dinner prepared, Naoki served it at the table, summoning the host of Pokemon to begin their meal.
After dinner, the wind and rain outside intensified.
Dragonite looked at this scene longingly.
In such weather, if it went outside, could it learn a new move like last time?