As the chef's woks clattered atop the stone stove, dish after dish of glowing, pixelated gourmet food emerged fresh from the heat.
In the river, the Psyduck—who had been leisurely swimming around on its back—scrambled onto the shore. It gave its backside a vigorous shake, splattering leftover water everywhere, before waddling over to the chef and jumping up and down excitedly.
"Psy~"
The chef quickly plated a portion for Psyduck. Man and Pokémon sat at the table and began to gorge themselves; with every bite, their bodies convulsed as if they'd been "drugged."
It looked exactly like a certain red-headed "God of Cooking."
Kashiwagi noticed the bushes representing the jungle at the bottom of the screen start to rustle.
[You and Psyduck begin to demolish the food. The intense aroma attracts wild Pokémon, but you fail to notice.]
This system...
I have a bad feeling about this.
His heart skipped a beat, but then he saw a Pokémon made of three yellow, hexagonal sections—resembling a miniature honeycomb—emerge from the brush.
Combee?
He was surprised such a Pokémon would be interested in stir-fry. Shouldn't their diet consist of pollen and nectar?
Well, most Pokémon were omnivores. They could stomach those strange, uniform dry pellets, so being lured by the scent of a home-cooked meal wasn't that shocking.
Kashiwagi breathed a sigh of relief. Combee weren't like Beedrill; they weren't hot-tempered or overly aggressive. They likely wouldn't attack the chef or Psyduck.
Sure enough, the Combee buzzed around the table and hovered over a glass of fresh-pressed juice to the chef's right. It had zero intention of attacking.
[You notice the Combee stealing your juice. Instead of getting angry, you proactively share a bowl of Pokémon food with it.]
The chef stood up and placed a bowl of food in front of the Combee. After finishing the juice, the Combee couldn't resist the temptation of the food and dove right in. Its pixelated animations grew even more exaggerated, proving the "potency" of the meal.
[Seeing the Combee eat so happily, you realize the true meaning of being a chef that Siebold spoke of.]
Dinner finished.
The chef packed his gear and stuffed Psyduck back into his backpack to leave, but he found the Combee following closely behind, refusing to go away. Clearly, that single meal had completely conquered the Combee's taste buds, forcing it to chase after the "God of Cooking."
The chef wasn't one to overthink things; he turned around and caught the Combee.
[You caught Combee. Your available ingredients—err, your traveling companions—have increased.]
What the hell is this system?
Kashiwagi twitched. He knew the "ingredients" referred to the Honey Combee could collect, which was a top-tier culinary item in the Pokémon world.
On screen, the chef advanced toward Santalune City. Although he was roughing it, his "glowing" culinary skills ensured the journey wasn't too harsh. Besides, there were plenty of Pokémon Centers along the way.
Finally, the quaint, antique town appeared before him.
[You arrived in Santalune City. Out of curiosity regarding the local delicacies, you head straight for a restaurant.]
Chefs really are built different, Kashiwagi thought. Previous subjects would head straight for the Gym upon entering a city; this guy went for the kitchen. His style was unique.
As for his Psyduck, aside from being goofy, it currently served only one function: a food-disposal machine. Kashiwagi was curious to see how it would perform in the Santalune Gym.
However...
After the chef enjoyed a wonderful meal at the restaurant, he still showed no intention of going to the Gym. Instead, he burst into the back kitchen, demanding a "Cook-off" with the head chef—
Naturally, he was thrown out.
There are no "Food Wars" in the Pokémon world; people are busy making money and don't have time to watch you whip up glowing stir-fry.
[You were kicked out of the restaurant. Failing to compete with the head chef fills you with regret. You decide to challenge the Gym.]
So the Gym challenge is officially ranked lower than cooking...
Kashiwagi stood up to pour a glass of water, glancing out the window at Aggron and the others playing happily. When he returned his attention to the screen, the battle had already begun.
To be honest, a Psyduck and a Combee seemed unlikely to beat the Santalune Gym—even Ash had struggled there in his first attempt.
But the actual battle left Kashiwagi stunned.
[You begin your challenge of the Santalune Gym. The Gym Leader sends out her first Pokémon.]
On screen, Viola sent out her standard lead: Surskit.
Just like in the anime, the Pokémon used a tactic of freezing the floor to boost its mobility and laid down a Sticky Web as a trap.
Against this, the chef's Psyduck had only one move.
"Psy~"
Confusion.
It used pure mental force to hard-lock the frantically moving Surskit and tossed it—along with the Sticky Web—straight through the skylight!
"Holy crap!"
The sheer brutality of the display shocked not only Kashiwagi but even the pixelated Viola. How did it do that? It actually worked?
The referee returned after checking outside and declared Surskit unable to battle. It had been an absolute one-shot. This waddling, cute duck had proven it wasn't just a glutton; every bite of food it ate had been converted into raw power.
Wait. Although this chef was an eccentric outlier in the culinary world, was his talent as a Trainer actually top-tier? No wonder he dared to idolize Siebold!
Kashiwagi marveled at the screen as Psyduck repeated the process, successfully taking down Vivillon. He truly felt that this chef, much like the Miniskirt girl, was a naturally gifted powerhouse.
[You defeated the Santalune Gym Leader, Viola, and earned the Bug Badge.]
[Your culinary skills have won over Viola; your reputation begins to spread.]
The screen showed the chef leaving the Gym with his pack, while inside, Viola was twisting and turning as she gorged herself on glowing food.
The "medicine" is too strong...
After leaving Santalune City, the chef didn't take the main numbered roads. He dove straight into the deep woods.
He intended to trek through the primeval jungle to reach the second Gym—the Cyllage Gym. His relentless pace through the mountains proved that his Physically Fit trait was being utilized to its fullest.
Furthermore, every time he stopped for a cookout, he unhesitatingly shared his food with wild Pokémon. He was a feeding machine.
Combee lived up to its role, producing a large amount of precious Honey, which the chef used to create various desserts.
Observing the recipes, Kashiwagi noticed the difference between the chef and Western cuisine. It wasn't just the wok versus the frying pan; the dishes themselves were different. The chef's style was "Wild"—bold seasoning and heavy flavors, perfectly suited for someone sweating through the mountains who needed to replenish their salts quickly.
As he shared his glowing food with more wild Pokémon, the light emanating from his new dishes grew brighter and brighter. This was proof that his culinary skills were improving at a breakneck pace.
Kashiwagi couldn't help but sigh; he had rolled another "weirdo."
Meanwhile, the chef's cooking attracted a new companion: Munchlax.
As the ultimate glutton Pokémon, there was no way Munchlax would let a perfect "feeder" walk away. It decisively abandoned its free life, following its stomach to join the chef on his journey.
[You caught Munchlax. Your "Big Eater" diner—err, your traveling companion—has increased.]
Kashiwagi: "..."
First the raw materials (Combee), then the customer (Munchlax). So what is Psyduck? The sous-chef?
Actually, the duck frequently dove into the water to help the chef find aquatic plants and seasonings, and its nose was surprisingly sharp.