For someone who grew up watching Pokémon, it was hard not to want a Pikachu of their own.
So when faced with Pichu—the juvenile form of Pikachu—saying he wasn't tempted would be a lie.
But this world wasn't the Pokémon anime world. With no battling or Poké Balls to capture Pokémon, Chen Mo looked at the Pichu in front of him and fell into thought.
"I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Pichu seemed to sense something. It took a few small steps backward, all the while not forgetting to pick up the other apple lying on the ground.
[Hahahahahaha!]
[Pichu, that half-step back—are you serious right now?]
[Defeated before the battle even begins. Judging by this, the streamer's chances of abducting Pichu are slim.]
[Nooo, don't let it end like this! Streamer, think of a way to gain Pichu's trust!]
[There's still hope. Look at it—Pichu still grabbed the apple. It's definitely a little foodie. Mo-baby, trust me. Apples are nothing to us. Show it the power of a rich benefactor!]
Grrr…
A strong protest suddenly came from Chen Mo's stomach. Only then did he realize that after discovering Pichu, he'd left the hotpot he'd carefully prepared sitting there untouched for quite a while.
Looking again at the increasingly wary Pichu, Chen Mo smiled.
Forget it.
Pokémon were intelligent creatures. If you approached them with ulterior motives, it wasn't like they couldn't sense it.
Just like Pichu right now.
Ignoring the audience going wild in the chat, Chen Mo walked straight back to the pavilion.
He lifted the lid off the hotpot. In the cool spring breeze, the rich aroma slowly spread through the air.
After a long, tiring day, a look of pure happiness appeared on Chen Mo's face.
"Pichu?"
From a distance—
Watching Chen Mo quietly enjoy his meal, a trace of curiosity surfaced again in Pichu's eyes.
After hesitating for a long time,
Pichu took a few tentative steps forward, pressed close to one of the pavilion's pillars, and poked out its little head, staring at the ingredients bubbling away in the pot.
"Pichu…"
Of course, Chen Mo noticed its small movements. After thinking for a moment, he stood up again, picked out two nice apples from his backpack, and placed them in front of Pichu.
"Here you go, little guy. Eat these."
Pichu glanced at Chen Mo, then at the apples, and finally turned its gaze back toward the hotpot in the distance.
"Don't tell me… you want to eat hotpot?"
This time, Chen Mo hesitated.
While Pokémon eating human food did happen in the anime, it was usually lighter fare—things like salads.
As for a pot of red, spicy hotpot like this… Chen Mo genuinely didn't know if Pichu could handle it.
Even [Eye of Detection] hadn't mentioned anything about that.
"Pichu, pichu…"
Just then, Pichu's little face suddenly formed a pitiful, almost human-like expression.
Before Chen Mo could make up his mind, the livestream chat exploded first.
[Wow, this Pichu actually wants to eat hotpot.]
[I get it now—Mo-baby is a foodie, Pichu is a foodie too. You two are a perfect match.]
[Mo-baby, just let Pichu have a taste. It looks so pitiful.]
[Hurry up and satisfy Pichu, or we're unfollowing.]
"Everyone, it's not that I don't want to share hotpot with Pichu," Chen Mo said helplessly.
"It's just that I honestly don't know whether Pichu can eat hotpot."
But neither the audience nor the still pitifully staring Pichu understood his dilemma.
With a deep sigh—
He could ignore the viewers' demands if he wanted, but Pichu's adorable, helpless look was something he simply couldn't turn away from.
After some thought, Chen Mo decided it wouldn't hurt to let it try.
After all, even if things went badly, the system shop sold universal healing medicine and Full Restores for Pokémon. They weren't cheap, but with the points he'd accumulated from all his popularization efforts, he could still afford one bottle.
"Honestly… I can't do anything about you."
Turning around, Chen Mo took out a small bowl, picked out some vegetables from the hotpot, and placed them in front of Pichu.
"It might be very spicy. Be mentally prepared."
"Pichu, pichu!"
Pichu's eyes instantly lit up. It looked at the food in the bowl, then back at Chen Mo.
Chen Mo understood the meaning immediately and nodded.
"Yes, it's for you. If you want to try it, go ahead. If something feels wrong, spit it out right away."
Whether it understood him or not, Pichu stretched out its cute little paws. First, it cautiously dipped them into the red broth, then brought them to its mouth and gave them a lick.
Before long, the spicy flavor spread throughout Pichu's entire body. Even its little face visibly turned red.
"Pichu!!!"
Just as Pichu was panicking, a hand appeared and gently handed it a bottle of water.
"Hurry up and drink some."
Chen Mo didn't even need to say it. Pichu was already in motion, hugging the water bottle—which was almost as tall as it was—and gulping it down.
"Pichu…"
A short while later—
Pichu collapsed onto the ground, its face full of relief, like it had narrowly escaped disaster.
When it looked back at the bowl of hotpot food, its expression was nothing but fear.
That sight made Chen Mo laugh.
"Now you know what fear is, huh?"
After checking with [Eye of Detection], Chen Mo confirmed that Pichu's body showed no abnormalities—it was still in perfect condition. The only change was in its emotional state, which now included fear.
"Oh, right."
While rummaging through his backpack for the water earlier, Chen Mo had suddenly noticed a bottle of ketchup he hadn't used.
If he remembered correctly, Ash's Pikachu in the anime really liked ketchup. Maybe this Pichu would like it too.
With that thought, Chen Mo took out the ketchup bottle, handed it to Pichu, and even taught it how to use the bottle.
"Pichu?"
Thanks to the recent interaction—and the life-saving water—Pichu no longer seemed as wary of Chen Mo as before.
Curious, it looked at the ketchup bottle in its paws. Imitating Chen Mo's earlier movements, it squeezed gently, and bright red ketchup oozed out of the opening.
Facing another unfamiliar food, Pichu clearly hadn't learned its lesson from before. Unable to resist, it quickly stuck out its little tongue and licked the ketchup.
The very next second—
Pichu's eyes widened slightly, as if shocked that something so delicious could exist in this world. Then it quickly licked the ketchup clean from the bottle opening, its face utterly intoxicated, having completely forgotten the psychological trauma hotpot had left behind.
Watching this scene, the corner of Chen Mo's mouth curled upward.
"What a greedy little guy."