Zhuqing Breeding Center, cafeteria.
The cafeteria is a two-story building, divided into a transparent kitchen and a dining area.
It's very spacious; even a Snorlax could fit comfortably.
The Breeding Center's predecessor was a Pokemon Restaurant, but due to the low foot traffic, it was tearfully sold off.
However, at that time, there was no outside Wild Area, just this single building.
Everyone and their Pokémon gathered together, eating with gusto.
Comrade Wen Hui softly said, "I won't fuss over you; just help yourself to whatever you like."
No one was chatting; their mouths were busy eating, and the table was a scene of clashing chopsticks.
All afternoon, Shion had been talking about how delicious Mapo Tofu was.
The steaming, Red-broth-and-white-tofu Mapo Tofu first caught Cynthia's attention.
She spooned some Mapo Tofu over her rice; the vibrant Red sauce coated the grains, and the immediate aroma was a mix of spiciness and the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns.
Cynthia took a spoonful and tasted it.
Cynthia is a foodie.
She had tasted countless delicacies, big and small, but a dish that was both numbing and spicy, yet left her feeling utterly satisfied afterwards, was truly a first.
Li Wei placed an opened bottle of Moomoo Milk in front of her.
After sipping the Moomoo Milk, and the scalp-numbing spiciness subsided, Cynthia found the Mapo Tofu even more endlessly flavorful.
"Delicious."
"If it's too spicy, you can try the Candied Sweet Potato."
The Candied Sweet Potato was made by Comrade Leon.
When it comes to making sweet dishes, his father is a master.
The Candied Sweet PotatoLi Wei made still couldn't compare to his father's.
But his father's couldn't compare to his grandfather's either.
Compared to spicy dishes, Cynthia still preferred sweet ones.
With a single lift of her chopsticks, a long, thin strand of sugar was pulled up, which was the essence of this dish.
It couldn't be called the best, because Cynthia had eaten her grandfather's Candied Sweet Potato, and that was a Candied Sweet Potato with a soul.
Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and sweet.
Cynthia still remembered the feeling of eating her grandfather's Candied Sweet Potato for the first time.
That was the reason Cynthia developed her sweet tooth.
Mid-meal, Cynthia suddenly remembered her Garchomp and the others.
Because she had come in a hurry this time, Cynthia hadn't brought Pokemon food, so her Garchomp and the others were eating what Li Wei had made.
She wondered if Garchomp would like it...
Until Cynthia saw Garchomp and Lucario licking their bowls clean...
The Gastrodon, who had just been teleported over, looked as if it wanted to eat its food bowl too.
The Glaceon, having finished eating, was already licking its fur.
Ostensibly licking its fur, its peripheral vision was actually fixed on the Energy Cubes in Li Wei's Lucario's bowl, eyeing them covetously.
Cynthia was about to tell Glaceon not to snatch it, but unexpectedly, Lucario picked up its own food bowl and poured more than half of its contents to Glaceon.
"Lucario."
"Mia!"
Glaceon stopped feigning to lick its fur and began to devour its food, and in no time, the Energy Cubes were at the bottom of the bowl again.
Cynthia couldn't help but be startled.
You guys aren't usually like this!
Cynthia no longer had to worry about whether they would get used to the food.
What she should be concerned about was whether they would eat other Energy Cubes in the future.
Cynthia looked around.
Machamp was grabbing handfuls with each of its four hands, stuffing them wildly into its mouth.
Metagross was using Confusion to control the Energy Cubes, flying them one by one into its mouth.
All the Pokémon were focused on eating, so quietly that Cynthia didn't know how to describe it.
This indicated that the quality of the Energy Cubes Li Wei made was very high.
Thinking this, Cynthia looked at the Energy Cubes in the Jigglypuff's bowl, which was closest to her, and picked one up.
"Bori?" [・_・?]
The pink taotao fruit cube was crystal clear, without a trace of impurity, and the sweetness emanating from it made Cynthia pause in surprise.
A perfect quality taotao fruit cube!
It was extremely difficult to buy perfect quality Energy Cubes on the market; even Cynthia, as a Champion, found it so.
The reason was simple: very few people could make perfect quality Energy Cubes.
Perfect quality Energy Cubes, and made from the most common taotao fruit at that!
The energy in taotao fruit is relatively low; basically, one needs to maximize the utilization of the energy in the taotao fruit to make perfect quality Energy Cubes.
Because Cynthia was still out and about with Shion at the time, she hadn't seen Li Wei's production process.
If this taotao fruit cube had been made by her grandfather, Cynthia wouldn't have been surprised.
The key was that Li Wei made it, and he was barely 19 after the New Year.
A 19-year-old Energy Cube master, frighteningly young!
"Did you make this?"
Li Wei nodded, "Yes, but I can't always make perfect quality ones, it's 50-50."
Perhaps it was a temporary boost from improved skill; everything he made that afternoon was perfect quality.
Li Wei did not intend to sell perfect quality Energy Cubes, at least not to the public.
Pricing them too high would make them hard to sell, and pricing them too low would easily lead to scalpers.
This was also why perfect Energy Cubes rarely appeared on the market.
Perfect quality Energy Cubes would only be custom-made.
Cynthia returned the taotao fruit cube to Jigglypuff.
"Even if it's luck, it's still very impressive."
Comrade Leon proudly said, "Of course! The most profitable thing at the Breeding Center now is the Energy Cubes my son makes!"
The berries are grown by themselves, so the cost has already been reduced to the lowest.
But the high-quality Energy Cubes Li Wei makes can sell for 19,800 yuan per portion.
It's only because their family's Breeding Center is located in Jubilife City, where land is extremely expensive, otherwise not many people would be able to afford it.
This also benefited from Li Wei creating a video account, which helped expand their reputation.
One portion is one bag; if you're frugal, it can last two to three times, but if you encounter a big eater, it's just one meal's worth.
This price is quite normal.
To raise powerful Pokémon, aptitude and high-quality food are essential.
There are also cheaper ways to raise Pokémon,
But if you want to become strong?
Unless you're like Xiao Huang, who cheats with Tokiwa Power.
If not, then honestly feed them.
Only high-quality food can quickly restore a Pokémon's stamina and support the energy loss during tiring training and move training.
Red's Snorlax's monthly food expenses are in the millions.
Li Wei had seen discussions about it in the chat group; to be precise, it was close to 2 million.
Even if a bowl of ramen costs 880 yuan, 1 million is still 1136 bowls of ramen.
However, the price of Poké Balls is affordable, 500 yuan each, anyone can buy them.
Looking at Garchomp, who was completely disregarding its image and rubbing its belly, Cynthia said seriously,
"I'd like to order Energy Cubes from you."
Others might not sell, but Cynthia could.
"Production is not a problem, but transportation is. To ensure quality, they need to be delivered once a week."
Poké Balls can be teleported, but Pokémon food cannot.
"I'm mostly in Jubilife City, Eterna City, and Lilac Island; occasionally, I'll return to Celestic Town."
"Grrr!"
Dragapult made its presence known.
The two Lucario diligently translated,
(She can help deliver.)