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After acquiring the Glowing Cuisine skill, Ash could instinctively think of ingredient combinations the moment he touched them. He knew how to pair them to stimulate appetite, how to create dishes that boosted one's spirit, and how to make meals that could eliminate fatigue—
Ash didn't have these recipes in his mind beforehand, but the moment he touched the ingredients, he could come up with thousands of combinations based on their characteristics. This was the power of Glowing Cuisine.
Even the blazing hot spicy sky onion pancake he made for Snorlax just now was something he concocted the moment he touched the berries and other ingredients.
However, this kind of cuisine was different from PokeBlocks or items that boosted Pokémon training. Cooking was always about flavor first; Those other items were primarily for training, and whether they tasted good was a secondary concern.
Although Ash could use the Glowing Cuisine skill to give his dishes special effects, its main purpose was to make food delicious. In contrast, training medicines or PokeBlocks couldn't guarantee flavor, but they were definitely effective for training.
The dishes Ash made were more effective than most auxiliary items on the market, but there was still a gap between him and the specialists in the group, like Orchard Ash.
The dish he made for Snorlax was tailored to its taste and provided a sufficient sense of fullness; additionally, it had the effect of allowing Snorlax to increase its strength even while dreaming.
Snorlax was a Pokémon that grew stronger by sleeping and absorbing what it did. The more it slept and until, the stronger it became—a method of growth that countless Pokémon dreamed of.
But besides Snorlax, it seemed only Slaking could grow stronger in such a way.
Of course, that wasn't to say Snorlax couldn't grow stronger through training, but compared to sleep, its training time was minimal. A Pokémon like Snorlax could never train for a very long time.
If Snorlax could train for long periods, they wouldn't naturally have such wide, rotund bodies. If they couldn't replenish energy in time for training, they might even regress instead of improve.
In short—the most suitable training method for Snorlax was sleeping, and Ash had prepared the meal with that in mind.
After finishing, Snorlax lets out a loud burp. Its stomach, which hadn't been filled despite eating countless Sitrus berries and Sitrus Berry trees earlier, was now satisfied by just three large pancakes.
Having eaten and drunk its fill, Snorlax flopped over and entered a state of sleep. Ash patted Snorlax's big belly with a happy smile: "I'm glad you're full, Snorlax."
"Zzzzz~~~" Snorlax responded with a snore. In just a few seconds, it had already entered a deep sleep.
Snorlax were naturally fond of sleeping, but it was hard for them to fall asleep on an empty stomach. This was especially true for Ash's unique Snorlax; because it hadn't been able to fill its belly, it hadn't slept for a long time. Now that it was full, it just collapsed into slumber.
"Everyone, time to eat!" After handling Snorlax, it was time for their dinner. Everyone swarmed forward to get their portions, and for a while, the large clearing was filled with laughter and joy.
On the morning of the third day, Ash and the others packed their bags and said goodbye to Nana and the others to continue to the next island. Although Nana suggested they stay for a few more days, Ash politely declined, as they had already finished resting and had seen most of the scenery of the Fruit Seven Islands.
—
If they had nothing to do, they certainly could have stayed for a week to play, but since they had important business, it wasn't possible.
After waving goodbye to Nana, the trio continued their journey across the sea on Lapras.
During his few days on the Fruit Seven Islands, besides sightseeing, Ash had used a blend of Aura and Mewtwo's Psychic power to create the PokeBlock recipes mentioned by Orchard Ash. One Berry combined with other materials could produce nearly a hundred PokeBlocks.
If used solely for training, the effect of a single PokeBlock could last for three days.
Theoretically, it should have been four days, but since it was Ash's first time making them, the best result after processing all the berries was about three and a half days. This conclusion was drawn from observing the shape of the PokeBlocks and the flow of energy within them.
According to Orchard Ash, being able to create PokeBlocks with a three-day effect was already a good level. After all, Ash didn't have specialized equipment for making PokeBlocks and had substituted it with Aura and Psychic power.
Under such circumstances, reaching this level of quality was quite an exaggerated feat.
Ash had purchased ten of each type of Berry. Using them as the core, he could make a thousand PokeBlocks. With five types of elemental berries, that was five thousand portions, and each training session only required one PokeBlock.
In other words, these five thousand PokeBlocks would last for quite a while.
After all, the effects of the five different elemental PokeBlocks could not be stacked. Any idea of using all five types for comprehensive training was just a pipe dream.
Actually, there was a way, but that recipe required a legendary Berry to act as a neutralizing agent alongside the five different types of berries to create a PokeBlock that could comprehensively improve training effects.
The name of that Berry was—the star peach berry, known as the legendary dream fruit.
Ash had asked around, but there were no berries by the name of star peach berry on the Fruit Seven Islands; they hadn't even heard the name.
If this information hadn't come from a big shot in the group, Ash wouldn't have believed such a Berry existed.
It could synthesize the power of all berries, allowing each to express its own characteristics while boosting the overall effect to the next level. Even if used alone without any other berries, it would have amazing, miraculous effects.
It sounded as incredible as a fairy tale. How could a Berry have such an effect? It was practically divine!
The islanders of the Fruit Seven Islands, who had grown berries for generations, knew nothing of its existence. It sounded like something made up.
But since Orchard Ash had told him personally, it couldn't be false. It could only be said that they hadn't seen it.
After all, in Orchard Ash's words, that Berry was hailed as a Mythical Berry, a legendary existence. Even he had only encountered it once, obtaining only two berries. Those two had been used, and he had taken the seeds to plant them.
After a year, the seeds had only grown to the size of saplings. Even with his exquisite cultivation methods, he couldn't grow the tree quickly. Judging by the growth trend, it would likely take at least ten years to fully mature.
He couldn't wait that long, so he had already set out on a journey to find Xerneas.
If he could find Xerneas and obtain a bit of life force from it, he could shorten the growth time of the star peach berry by a thousandfold.
As for where the star peach berry was found, according to Orchard Ash, it was at the peak of Mt. Coronet.
That's right, the legendary Mt. Coronet where Arceus is said to reside!
Orchard Ash didn't see Arceus there, but he saw a type of Berry he had never seen before. Upon touching those two berries, the name "star peach berry" automatically came to his mind.
If he had the chance, Ash wanted to visit Mt. Coronet as well. However, according to Orchard Ash, the closer one got to the summit, the more powerful Pokémon one would encounter. Those Pokémon weren't physical entities, yet they possessed extraordinary strength.
Going there without Champion-level strength was just asking for trouble—
Strength wasn't really an issue for Ash, who had Mewtwo. The problem was—not every Mt. Coronet had those trials. Some big shots from parallel worlds said they didn't encounter any trials when they went to Mt. Coronet, nor did they see any miraculous berries even after reaching the summit.
In other words, triggering the trial and seeing the berries might require some hidden conditions. Even Orchard Ash didn't know how those hidden conditions were triggered.
Therefore, the idea of obtaining the Mythical Berry had to be set aside for now. Ash's priority was to find the legendary god of the sea.
Maybe the god of the sea would know something?
Time flew by, and a week had passed since Ash left the Fruit Seven Islands. The trio continued their journey across the sea, resting at an island every day—sometimes even two or three—so their progress wasn't fast.
Ash didn't mind, but the two girls occasionally needed to use the restroom or had other inconveniences. Plus, with lunch and dinner to consider, resting was naturally necessary.
Furthermore, facing the vast, endless ocean all day could sometimes cause a shadow to form in one's heart. After all, you could see nothing but the sea!
The only consolation was meeting some Pokémon at sea, which added a bit of fun to their monotonous ocean journey.
After seven days, Ash and the others finally arrived at an island close to Shamouti Island—Mandarin Island!
Based on the distance, it shouldn't take more than three days to get from Mandarin Island to Shamouti Island, provided they weren't driven back by sudden sea disasters like storms.
Upon arriving at Mandarin Island, the fanatical battle atmosphere on the island gave even a battle maniac like Ash a start.
The entire Mandarin Island seemed to be in a state of combat readiness. Everywhere they went, people were either battling or on their way to a battle. Ash had checked the data on Mandarin Island before coming, and it wasn't supposed to be such a fanatical battle island. Why had it become like this?
"It's probably because of this." Misty casually picked up a flyer from the roadside. It said—Ice-type Elite Four Lorelei visits Mandarin Island and will hold an exhibition match at the island's stadium. Trainers battling on the island will have a chance to receive random guidance from Elite Four Lorelei.
"Ms. Lorelei is here? No wonder the battles here are so fanatical. So that's why!" After seeing the flyer, all the questions were resolved.
The people battling here were likely all hoping for a chance encounter with Lorelei so she could give them some guidance. Guidance from the Elite Four was something money couldn't buy!
No matter how approachable Lorelei was, ordinary people rarely even saw her, let alone received her guidance.
Now that a rare opportunity to be guided by Lorelei had appeared, how could they not seize the moment?
"Who is Ms. Lorelei's opponent for the exhibition match? Does it say here?" Ash leaned close to Misty's cheek, his gaze fixed on the flyer in her hand.
Misty's cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't pull away. They were already a couple; wasn't this level of intimacy natural?
"It doesn't say. It's probably an exhibition match opponent chosen by the Mandarin Island officials. Since it's an exhibition, Master Lorelei likely won't use her true strength. Besides, this place doesn't have protective devices. If it were a real Elite Four Level or even Champion-level battle, it would probably affect the surrounding spectator stands," Misty guessed.
Ash nodded in agreement. Duels at the Elite level or above required specialized protection; otherwise, the impact on the surroundings would be enormous, and it could easily destroy the entire spectator area.
The spectators coming to watch would be in mortal danger!
The near-accident at the Indigo Plateau Conference was the best proof of that.
"That's exactly right. My opponent is a Mandarin Island official, and the Pokémon used will probably only be at the Professional Level. Pokémon of this level can provide an exhibition effect without making the battle look too trivial; it's just the right level."
"Right, that's what I—Ah! Master Lorelei!" Misty habitually started to respond with a smile but suddenly realized who was speaking to them. She whipped her head around and found Lorelei, dressed in a professional suit, standing gracefully behind them.
"Long time no see, Ash, Misty~ Actually, it hasn't been that long, has it? It's only been about a month." Lorelei waved her fair hand and greeted the two.
Serena, standing to the side, stared blankly at Lorelei, her pretty face a bit dazed—Is this the Ice-type Elite Four Lorelei?
Serena's first impression of Lorelei was that she was beautiful, exceptionally beautiful! And—what an exaggerated figure! It felt like her clothes were about to burst at the front!