It had just rained, making the room feel a bit damp.
Naoki turned and asked the three Pokémon, "Are you hungry?"
"Gao!"
"Gah-sii!"
"Ssss-oo~"
Cyclizar, Koraidon, and Caterpie all shook their heads.
They had barely moved all day and hadn't digested their lunch yet, so they weren't hungry.
Seeing this, Naoki said, "Then I'll cook a bit later."
Before it got dark, he went to the storage room behind the house to start working.
With the help of Koraidon and Cyclizar, Naoki chopped some of the wood he had collected earlier with an axe, preparing to throw it into the fireplace later. It would offer warmth and could also help fight the dampness.
In addition, Naoki took out nails and wood, making a simple workbench in the storage room. Then he sawed the wood into planks and sticks.
Finally, he combined the two, creating a simple signboard.
Naoki measured the size of the signboard, then handed it to Cyclizar to hold, planning to take it back to the room later to paint crop illustrations on it for marking farmland plots.
Finally, Naoki crafted two more wooden sticks and took them back to the front bedroom.
"Caterpie, can you give me some bug silk?" Naoki asked.
"Ssss-oo~"
Caterpie quickly spun out a strand of bug silk, and Naoki wrapped it around the two wooden sticks. Instantly, a simple clothes hanger was ready.
"Feels pretty good, now there's a place to hang clothes,"
Naoki clapped his hands together and stood up. Seeing it was already seven o'clock, he said to the three Pokémon, "Wait here, I'll go make dinner!"
Before starting to cook, Naoki put the firewood into the fireplace and lit it.
The flames flickered, and soon the room began to gradually warm up.
Naoki took off his coat, wearing just a shirt, and went to the kitchen area to start preparing dinner.
Tonight's dinner was grilled fish, specifically rainbow trout, a fish with tender, delicious, and aroma-free meat, with no small bones, making it very suitable for charcoal grilling.
Naoki prepared the fish, then applied a thin layer of cooking oil on the surface, and finally pan-fried it until both sides were golden.
When it was almost done, he took the fish out and stuffed a mixture of sauce into its split belly, then grilled it over an open flame.
Soon, an enticing aroma filled the room.
Koraidon and Cyclizar, who had been lazily yawning, perked up when they smelled the fragrance, eagerly looking over.
Naoki placed the grilled fish on a plate, with golden oil slowly dripping down its surface. Under the crispy golden skin was tender meat resembling red velvet, and the fragrance of the sauce filled the air, making one's mouth water.
He looked down, and the information about this dish popped up before him.
[Grilled Rainbow Trout (B): A simple charcoal-grilled delicacy preserving the original flavor of the fish, an irresistible dish.
Cooking Effect: Life Recovery (Extra Large), instantly restores vitality and energy to peak condition.
Evaluation: A dish with a primitive flavor, highly nutritious, suitable for all ages.]
Life Recovery?
Equivalent to a Max Potion plus a bottle of comprehensive PP restoration effects.
Overall, not bad.
Smelling this aroma, Naoki couldn't help but take a quick bite. At the moment of entry, he first tasted the crispy fish skin, followed by the tender fish meat.
The fish meat was so tender it practically melted in his mouth. The distinct layered texture was hard to resist.
Naoki couldn't help but want to take another bite, but suddenly felt two scorching gazes on him.
Looking up, he saw Cyclizar and Koraidon eagerly watching, drooling.
Naoki: "..."
He turned and placed two more fish in front of them, helplessly saying, "Take it easy; you're drooling all over the floor."
Cyclizar and Koraidon began feasting.
Naoki then looked at Caterpie.
However, Caterpie seemed uninterested in the grilled fish.
"You're not eating?"
"Ssss-oo..."
Caterpie shook its head.
Seeing this, Naoki suddenly remembered that fish didn't seem to be in Caterpie's diet.
They preferred fresh green leaves and juicy berries over meat, with huge appetites capable of eating a hundred leaves a day.
"Alright." Naoki turned around, took out some berries from the cupboard, and cut them into small pieces to make a Berry Platter for Caterpie.
He placed the Berry Platter in front of Caterpie, and Caterpie's eyes lit up with joy before it eagerly started eating.
Seeing it eat with such relish, Naoki also took a look at the effect of the Berry Platter.
[Berry Platter (C-): A dish made with various berries, blending different berry flavors, popular with some Pokémon.
Cooking Effect: Skill Refinement, after eating, a Pokémon's move will randomly change.
Evaluation: Basic cooking, easy to make, is a good choice for home and travel.]
"Pfft!"
Naoki nearly spat out a mouthful of water.
It happened!
This simple dish of Berry Platter actually had such a special effect!
Skill Refinement, which sounded advanced, but in reality, was a double-edged sword that tested one's luck.
Commonly known as "playing by chance."
In the game, when players fed it to their characters, the skills they had could undergo random changes.
There were five changes, namely:
1. Skill level increase, increasing power.
2. Skill level decrease, reducing power.
3. Forgetting the skill.
4. Skill specialization, causing a special change in the skill.
5. Learning a new skill.
In his previous life, because of this cooking effect, the game company he worked for was nearly overwhelmed by player complaints.
Many players had eagerly hoped to enhance their characters' skills, but after feeding them, were shocked to find skills were not enhanced but forgotten instead.
That player, unwilling to give up, fed a dozen more times, only to create a completely skill-less character in the game.
Furious, that player almost showed up at the company with a knife to confront the developers.
Thinking of this, Naoki looked at the berries devoured by Caterpie.
It was too late to stop it now.
Patiently waiting for Caterpie to finish eating, Naoki tentatively asked, "Caterpie, do you feel any changes in your body? Like in your moves or anything..."
"Ssss-oo..."
Upon hearing this, Caterpie appeared puzzled at first, then began to carefully sense changes in its body.
Soon, it seemed to have discovered something, and a bright bulb appeared above its head: "Ssss-oo!"
"Hmm?"
Caterpie took a deep breath and formed an O-shape with its mouth.
Subsequently, a net made of white bug silk shot out,.
Unlike normal bug silk, the net sparkled with strands of yellow electricity!
Seeing this, Naoki inhaled sharply.
Because he already knew what had changed in Caterpie.
The Berry Platter had made it learn Electroweb!