On the lawn in front of the ranch house, Hayato Sora had placed several chairs in advance.
He carried out bowls of ice-cold mung bean soup from the house.
For Korrina and Gardevoir to come all the way to the ranch must have taken quite a bit of effort. Walking here in the heat would definitely leave them tired and sweaty.
Chilled mung bean soup was the perfect drink.
"Thanks!"
"Garde~"
Korrina took the bowl and took a small sip.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
The rich flavor of mung beans, combined with the icy coolness, instantly dispelled the heat from her body the moment she swallowed it.
"Hayato Sora, I didn't expect your cooking skills to reach this level. If you opened a restaurant in Lumiose City, it would definitely become a huge hit."
During their first year traveling together, Hayato Sora had always been the one doing the cooking.
But compared to now, his cooking had improved by more than just a little.
Even a simple bowl of mung bean soup tasted amazing.
"Hahaha~" Hayato Sora laughed and didn't continue the topic. Instead, he gently rubbed Cinccino's head.
The little Pokémon was holding a bowl almost as big as its face and had practically buried its head inside.
Hayato Sora wiped away the bean skins around Cinccino's mouth.
"I thought you would come yesterday. Did something delay you?"
Korrina wasn't the type to break her word.
"Don't remind me," Korrina said, rubbing her head in frustration. "I had to finish all the work scheduled for the next few days yesterday just to squeeze out some free time."
"Right—you're a big star now," Hayato Sora teased.
Korrina punched him lightly.
"Cut it out! I've only acted in one movie. That doesn't make me a big star."
"Get lost!"
After some playful banter, the atmosphere between them gradually returned to how it had been during their travels.
The initial awkwardness slowly disappeared.
Korrina looked around Hayato Sora's ranch with interest.
"Can you show me around?"
The neatly arranged farmland was filled with plump crops. Not far away, pasture grass was spread out to dry in the sun.
Everything looked orderly and well managed.
"Of course!" Hayato Sora replied.
Transforming a completely abandoned ranch into the thriving place it was now had required a great deal of effort.
Of course, Kangaskhan and the others had also helped a lot.
As he introduced the ranch, Hayato Sora's tone unconsciously carried a hint of pride.
The two of them walked side by side deeper into the ranch.
Behind them, Kangaskhan kept a vigilant eye on Gardevoir.
Cinccino tilted its head in confusion.
"Chii?"
(Big sister Kangaskhan, why don't you like sister Gardevoir?)
Kangaskhan replied firmly.
"Gaaao!"
(Gardevoir will steal Hayato Sora away. Cinccino, you don't want to be separated from him either, right?)
Cinccino was shocked.
It definitely didn't want to be separated from Hayato Sora!
So it immediately climbed into Kangaskhan's pouch and stared at Gardevoir together with her.
The two formed an alliance against a common "enemy."
Gardevoir covered its mouth and laughed softly.
"Hehe~"
It hadn't expected Kangaskhan to still remember what happened last time.
Now it seemed to have been labeled the villain.
Gardevoir quickly caught up to Hayato Sora and Korrina.
Kangaskhan hurried after them as well.
Pointing toward an area of land, Hayato Sora continued explaining.
"That area will be the future orchard. There's a cave nearby where three little Noibat live."
"This field was the first batch of crops I planted. That one over there was planted during the second batch."
When they reached the second field, the Mudbray gathered around.
Hayato Sora had no choice but to pet one of them.
"These crops have grown so well mostly thanks to the Mudbray."
Just as he was speaking, the three Mudbray stood together.
In the next moment, their bodies glowed with a rich earthy yellow light.
The light sank into the ground and spread across the entire field.
A massive Bulldoze-like ground-tilling move activated across the farmland.
Korrina stared in shock.
"This is… a ground-tilling move? But the range is enormous!"
Pokémon capable of using such moves weren't rare, and Korrina had seen them before.
But the range in front of her could practically be called a tilling field.
"It's definitely the same move," Hayato Sora explained. "But these Mudbray are a bit special. Their move has a larger range."
In recent days, the Mudbray had been eating pumpkin porridge every day.
Their proficiency with the move had reached MAX level.
Combined with their trinity-like synergy, the range had expanded to this level.
Korrina sighed in admiration.
"Your training methods are really unique, Hayato Sora…"
Every Trainer had their own style of raising Pokémon, so there was no need to dig deeper.
After giving Korrina a full tour of the ranch, the two returned to the house.
Korrina pointed toward the pasture grass drying nearby.
"Hayato Sora, is that all for the Mudbray?"
"No," Hayato Sora shook his head. "At the Beach Festival, I sold a special dish called Grass Dumplings. Ranch owners discovered it could improve the quality of milk produced by Skiddo, so they ordered another batch from me."
"The pasture grass there is the ingredient I prepared. The moisture has almost dried out—it's ready to be used."
"Grass Dumplings?!" Korrina froze for a moment, then her eyes lit up.
"Isn't there also a special dish called Mud Cookies that can help Pupitar evolve earlier?"
Hayato Sora nodded.
Korrina exclaimed in surprise.
"So the 'Soul Chef' everyone in Santalune City has been talking about is actually you!"
She pouted slightly as she recalled what she had heard recently.
"Your reputation is no smaller than mine."
Pupitar was one of the Pokémon known for late blooming.
Pokémon like this were commonly referred to by Trainers as pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
They were incredibly powerful, making them one of the most desired Pokémon for Trainers.
If a dish could help Pupitar evolve earlier, its effect on ordinary Pokémon would naturally be even greater.
Hayato Sora's fame had already spread widely.
Many Trainers were asking about him.
But all they managed to learn from Siebold was the mysterious title:
"Soul Chef."
If those Trainers discovered that the young man standing before them was that very person—
The entrance to this ranch would probably be trampled flat sooner or later.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Hayato Sora was also quite shocked.
For a moment, he even felt the urge to move away.
Having once been a Trainer himself, he knew how far Trainers would go to strengthen their Pokémon.
He really didn't want to get tangled up with people like that.
Hayato Sora suddenly turned to Korrina with a serious expression.
"You're not planning to spread my identity around, are you?"
"You don't want that?" Korrina asked back.
"Trainers are very rich, you know. And you seem to be short on money right now."
That was true.
Trainers were basically walking piles of money.
But after thinking about it for a moment, Hayato Sora shook his head.
"Forget it. I prefer a quieter life."
Korrina smiled slyly.
"Hayato Sora… you wouldn't want other Trainers to learn your true identity, right?"
"I suppose I can keep it a secret."
"Since I came all the way here to visit, asking for a good meal isn't too much, right?"
"Don't make me kneel down and beg you."
Thump!
Hayato Sora flicked her forehead.
"Help me make the Grass Dumplings first. Then we'll see how I feel."
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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