Chapter 175:
October 6th.
Cloudy.
Temperature 18—24°C.
Inside the kitchen.
As time passed, the cooling weather had become inevitable. To be honest, this kind of weather was actually the best—not too cold, not too hot—but it was also the season when adding layers was necessary.
Hayashi Kaede had also swapped his usual short sleeves for long sleeves, or sometimes wore a jacket over a short-sleeved shirt.
It wasn't really because of the cold; it was more about matching the season.
Road construction was still ongoing. Interestingly, it should have rained yesterday, but the construction team had clearly predicted this in advance and directly summoned a Venusaur to use Sunny Day.
It just showed that in this Pokémon world, the damage caused by natural disasters like bad weather was really minimal.
Unless it was brought by a Legendary Pokémon—then it would be a major catastrophe...
"Speaking of which, I forgot to thank the Champion."
Thinking about Kazephyr's visit a couple of days ago, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but murmur to himself.
Because this road construction was clearly something Champion Kazephyr had helped with.
To be honest, having the Champion personally intervene in a small town's road repair felt a bit like using a cannon to swat a mosquito.
Shaking his head, Hayashi Kaede recalled the Dream Juice from the day before yesterday.
Juice mixed with Dream Spinach extract had a unique culinary effect: it allowed the creator of the juice to shape the dreams of whoever drank it after they fell asleep.
If the creator didn't intervene in shaping the dream, the drinker would simply experience a kaleidoscope of memories, recalling particularly important past events—similar to the effect of the Dream Cake he'd given Beedrill before.
But these past few days, when he tried mixing the spinach juice into sweet juice again, that effect was gone. At first, Hayashi Kaede thought he hadn't added enough spinach extract, but later he realized it probably had nothing to do with the quantity and was instead related to his state of mind at the time.
Because back then, he had genuinely been pondering whether Dream Spinach could alter dreams.
Then he'd casually experimented by adding spinach extract to a few bottles of juice.
Now it seemed it was possible.
Which meant his "Nostalgia" challenge could actually be realized.
The problem was, the spinach extract was too scarce. The last batch he'd made casually only yielded four bottles, one of which he'd used on Salamence.
The effect was pretty good—lately, it had been staying near Mewtwo, much more well-behaved, though there was a new pensiveness in its eyes. Who knows what it's thinking about all day.
That meant there were still three bottles left.
Although he had a little Dream Spinach extract remaining, it wasn't enough for Hayashi Kaede to produce much Dream Juice.
In other words, this was a "product" that couldn't be mass-"produced."
"Whatever..."
Hayashi Kaede shook his head.
This kind of product was targeted anyway; most Trainers wouldn't need it.
Plus, he'd have to weave the dreams himself, requiring a lot of energy and time. Mass production would only make it more troublesome.
He'd just see if anyone destined would need this juice...
Stretching, Hayashi Kaede decided not to stay cooped up in the kitchen any longer.
These past few days, the kitchen behind the garden was almost finished. Since it was just for cooking, it was a simple brick-and-tile structure, just a bit larger in area, with electrical wiring and tiled walls.
He made his familiar way to the Berry Plantation. As usual, Serperior was using Grassy Terrain. Lately, luck hadn't been great—no new mutant vegetables had appeared, but a new mutant flower had emerged.
It was a morning glory.
Called the Elegant Morning Glory.
Its effect... well... was utterly absurd.
[Elegant Morning Glory—A morning glory mutated from a standard one. When picked and worn, before the flower withers, it can attract the attention of the opposite sex of the same species, increasing favorability slightly.]
In short, Hayashi Kaede found it pretty useless.
That day, he'd put it on Combusken's head to see.
Aside from Serperior, the only Pokémon currently in the Berry Plantation were Popplio, Milotic, Combusken, and Butterfree.
Oh, and there were also the Pidgeotto in the pine tree.
There were twenty of them, but generally, the Breeding House only handled a few dozen parcel orders a day. Averaged out, each Pidgeotto only had two or three deliveries a day, so their workload was actually quite light.
That's why Hayashi Kaede kept trying to find things for them to do.
After all, these were Pidgeotto that had grown up in the wild.
Indeedee was with the Eevees, Alolan Vulpix, and Goodra. Salamence was still hovering motionless in the sky outside. Gardevoir was in the kitchen with Bounsweet...
Mew was elusive, rarely seen except at mealtimes.
Hayashi Kaede suspected it might be returning to the World Tree every day and only coming back here when it was time to eat?
If it is so, it will take a lot of effort to travel around.
Hayashi Kaede turned his gaze to Combusken.
After a period of long-distance running training, its physique looked better, and it was getting taller, showing signs of evolution.
A glance at its stats panel... it really was about to evolve...
[Pokémon: Combusken]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Speed Boost]
[Aptitude: Red]
[IVs: ...]
[Level: 35—38]
[Moves: Ember, Peck, Quick Attack, Flame Charge, Sand Attack, Aerial Ace, Night Slash, Brick Break, Dig, Agility, Detect, Flamethrower...]
[Friendship: 92]
[Happiness: 20 (Is the Trainer looking at me? Is it time to eat?)]
Level 35 to 38—it was probably only a few days away from evolution.
But its thoughts were still all about eating...
Hayashi Kaede shifted his gaze to Serperior and Milotic.
Both Pokémon were nearing level 50 now. Thinking back, the once-tiny Snivy and Feebas had undergone dramatic changes in just over two months.
Then there was Popplio.
Its Aptitude had fully recovered after long-term feeding with SSS-grade Energy Cubes and had even improved somewhat.
It was now Purple.
But because it started later, its current level was still quite a bit lower than Combusken's.
Hayashi Kaede observed it occasionally.
Compared to Milotic, who preferred staying in the Berry Plantation, Popplio had become much more active as its health gradually recovered, shedding its initial timidity.
With Hayashi Kaede's permission, it would sometimes swim out through the water channel, swimming along both sides of the flower path, secretly observing passersby.
But it was still small, so hardly anyone noticed it.
Also, it would often look at Milotic and Serperior, a gleam of longing in its eyes.
Clearly, it really wanted to evolve into its final form.
"Butterfree~"
A faint sprinkling of powder suddenly drifted down around him. Seeing Hayashi Kaede enter the Berry Plantation, Butterfree flew over and landed beside him.
Hayashi Kaede reached out a hand, and Butterfree automatically settled onto his shoulder.