Eichi retrieved the three types of Pokémon food from his backpack. He then went to the kitchen. Every dorm in the Silver Academy had a kitchen, though most students rarely used it, as few of them cooked.
In the kitchen, Eichi took out the Pokémon food, then pulled some Berries from his backpack, mashed them, and poured them into a bowl. Next, he chopped up other ingredients, put them in a pot to cook, and then poured the cooked ingredients into the mashed Berries, stirring the mixture constantly.
Eichi was making Pokémon food, or rather, a kind of garnish or supplement, not a complete Pokémon meal. Professor Kant had not only taught Eichi how to make Pokéblock but also how to prepare some Pokémon food. Compared to Pokéblock, making Pokémon food was much simpler. In fact, making Pokémon food was essentially the same as cooking human food; only the ingredients and the consumers were different.
Some Pokémon foods required special machines to prepare, but those were usually high-grade or custom-ordered foods. The standard Pokémon food Eichi bought for Beedrill, Scizor, and Heracross was also machine-made, as large quantities required machine production. Standard tools could be used, but it was time-consuming and produced smaller quantities.
Eichi took three feeding bowls from his backpack and poured the cooked mixture into them. The combination of what Eichi made with the regular Pokémon food would change the flavor and make it more appealing.
Eichi released his three Pokémon. "Alright, everyone, time for dinner."
Beedrill, Scizor, and Heracross saw their dinner. The fragrant smell wafted toward them, and they all started eating immediately. Eichi ate his own dinner nearby.
Watching his three Pokémon eat, a question surfaced in his mind. Why do Pokémon enjoy human gourmet food, but humans don't enjoy Pokémon gourmet food? For example, the Intermediate Pokéblock I made today was very sour and astringent to me, yet Pokémon absolutely love it. He truly didn't understand. While they were eating, Eichi also brought out the Pokéblock he had made today. Even though they were Beginner Pokéblocks, they still had a small effect on the three of them, though not a significant one.
Students in the Breeding specialization could sell the Pokéblock they made to the academy for credit, but the return was minimal, about one credit for a dozen Beginner Pokéblocks. It was only enough to earn a few minor credits. Eichi didn't intend to do this, but he only planned to exchange the Beginner Pokéblock, never the Intermediate Pokéblock.
After dinner and a short rest, Eichi took his three Pokémon out for training.
In this way, a week passed quickly. Over the course of the week, Heracross and Eichi had grown closer. However, while Heracross's habit of slacking off during training had greatly improved, it was still not completely eliminated. Despite its occasional laziness, Heracross's aptitude was excellent, and it progressed quickly, always managing to complete the training tasks Eichi assigned it on time.
Furthermore, Heracross had very little competitive spirit. Eichi had tried to provoke it using reverse psychology, but it was completely useless. At this point, Eichi gave up. As long as Heracross completed its assigned training content in the future, Eichi would not bother it.
Over the past week, Eichi had also continued practicing Intermediate Pokéblock. He was spending money like water and had already gone through a significant amount. If this continued, his money might run out in less than six months. Therefore, he needed to start considering ways to earn money.
During the week, Eichi exchanged the Beginner Pokéblock he made for credits at the Logistics Department. He then used those credits to exchange for several Intermediate Pokéblock recipes. Naturally, he successfully produced all of these Intermediate Pokéblocks. He then went to Silver Town and sold the Intermediate Pokéblock to a shop. Although he didn't earn much, he was no longer just spending money. He figured that once he could produce Advanced Pokéblocks, he should be able to rely on making Pokéblocks to earn a good income.
Suddenly, Eichi's Communicator rang.
"Ding, ding."
He took out the Communicator and saw that it was Miss Joylin. So he answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Eichi," came the voice on the other end.
"Miss Lin, is something the matter?" Eichi asked.
"I received an emergency notice," Miss Lin said. "Director Yanagi wants you to go to his office."
"Alright, I'll go right away," Eichi replied.
After hanging up, Eichi felt strange. What could be so urgent that he had to go to the office? Why do I keep going to the office lately? And why is the Director of Educational Affairs handling everything? Where is the Grade Head? Silver Academy had seven grades, each with a Grade Head, but Eichi had not seen the freshmen Grade Head since the start of the semester. Furthermore, Director Yanagi, the Director of Educational Affairs, was responsible for all students in the Battle specialization. Why was he constantly handling freshmen matters lately?
Eichi arrived at Director Yanagi's office, a route he now knew well. The door was closed, but the sounds of talking could be heard from inside. It sounded like quite a few people were present.
"Knock, knock."
He knocked on the door. Director Yanagi's voice came from inside: "Come in."
Eichi entered and quickly saw that there were many people, most of them freshmen, and specifically those who had ranked highly in the Freshmen Tournament. He had a faint idea of what this was about.
Eichi saw Director Yanagi reading a book and drinking tea. Eichi greeted him, "Director Yanagi."
Director Yanagi responded, "Wait with them. I'll explain the matter once everyone is here."
"Okay," Eichi replied.
He walked to the side to wait. Tetsu and Kelly were also present. Tetsu had been making eye contact with Eichi since he walked in and smiled when Eichi approached.
Eichi walked up to Tetsu and Kelly. "Do you know what this is about?" Eichi asked.
Kelly listened intently while Tetsu replied, "I heard from an upperclassman that it's about the Inter-Academy Exchange Match."
"It's about that, as expected," Eichi confirmed.
"Eichi, you know about this?" Tetsu asked in surprise.
"Yes," Eichi said. "Director Yanagi called me, Sato, and Konan here on the second day of the Freshmen Tournament and told us about it."
"I see! Quick, tell me what happened," Tetsu urged.
As Eichi briefly recounted Director Yanagi's previous conversation, people continued to trickle in, and the group was soon complete. Just as Eichi finished speaking, Director Yanagi stood up. "Alright, everyone, settle down."
Director Yanagi spoke with immense presence, and as soon as he spoke, the entire office fell silent.