"Having an existential crisis, huh."
"Eyes completely lifeless."
"Ah, it's crying now."
"Looks so pitiful—"
Hayashi and the others watched as Dragonite hugged its Pokéblocks, eating and crying at the same time, and couldn't help but click their tongues in unison.
It was like a wild man who had eaten nothing but plain boiled meat his whole life suddenly tasting perfectly seasoned barbecue—the sheer grief, the sheer agony. Too painful.
After a moment's thought, Hayashi walked over and patted Dragonite's shoulder, saying sympathetically, "Hey, if you want more, just say the word. I'll have Erina make you some extra."
"Rooar?"
Dragonite froze, its left eye screaming "MORE!?" and its right eye screaming "SECOND HELPINGS!?"
"Yeah."
"ROOOAR!"
Dragonite burst into tears, wrapping its arms around Hayashi and thumping his back enthusiastically.
You're truly my brother from another mother (and father)!
Hayashi twitched his lips. As long as you love Uma Musume, we're brothers from another mother (and father)!
...
...
After Dragonite had devoured three whole servings of Pokéblocks, he let out a loud burp, patted his plump belly, and smacked his lips with satisfaction.
Bliss, pure bliss.
Now this is the life worth living!
"Big bro Dragonite."
Seeing that Dragonite had finished eating, Hayashi smiled and said, "Seems like you're quite satisfied with the food, huh?"
"Roar roar!"
Dragonite cheerfully gave Hayashi a thumbs-up.
Deal! As agreed, I'll handle the security for this trip of yours!
Unless we run into a legendary Pokémon, nothing's getting past me!
That's a promise!
Tsk tsk, as expected of a top-tier boss at level 83—his confidence is on another level!
Hayashi happily hugged Dragonite, then excitedly raised his right hand and declared, "Now that our bodyguard is ready, I hereby announce—the Armor Island Max Soup Ingredient Gathering Team, move out!"
"Move out!" x3
Erina, Hisako, and Sabrina, who had been waiting impatiently, all raised their right hands in unison.
...
...
Armor Island.
Like the Crown Tundra, it was a forbidden zone in the Galar region.
The wild Pokémon living in these two areas were exceptionally high-leveled, and many inexperienced Gym Leaders would suffer defeats if they ventured too deep.
But obviously, the chubby yellow powerhouse's combat ability far surpassed that of any Gym Leader.
"Roar—"
With a mighty roar, Dragonite landed a solid Ice Punch right on Nidoking's face—if the scene were slowed down, you could clearly see Nidoking's face distorting in an instant before the entire Pokémon was sent flying backward.
"Thud—"
Nidoking crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, Nidoking was already knocked out.
"Roar—"
Dragonite sneered and said with an air of dominance: Pathetic!
Hisako clapped from the sidelines and cheered, "Mr. Dragonite, you're amazing!"
Praise instantly melted Dragonite's earlier arrogance, and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
W-well, it wasn't that amazing! That Nidoking was just kinda weak, hehe.
"One Max Soup requires three Max Mushrooms—" Hayashi muttered as he plucked a red mushroom from the ground. "Let me calculate…"
Two Corviknights, one Pikachu, one Gengar, one Hatterene, and one Alcremie.
"...That's six in total, so we need six servings of soup, meaning eighteen Max Mushrooms." Hayashi covered his face in despair. "Good grief, that's way too many."
They had been on Armor Island for half a day now but had only found one Max Mushroom. At this rate, gathering all eighteen would take nearly ten days.
Damn it.
Erina tried to console him, "Actually, my Pikachu and Alcremie don't really need Max Soup. We don't have to get so many."
Hayashi shook his head firmly. "If we're doing this, we're doing it for everyone! No favoritism!"
"Rustle rustle—"
Just then, the sound of rustling grass accompanied the appearance of an Electabuzz, who swaggered out like a street punk with a twig dangling from its mouth.
"?"
Electabuzz looked at the team before him, a teasing grin involuntarily curling at the corners of his mouth. He raised his well-defined, muscular arms and cracked his knuckles with a "crunch-crunch" sound, then began advancing toward Hayashi and the others with a sinister "heh-heh-heh."
Let me see what we have here? Wild little rookies!
Heh! Just in time—Electabuzz here needs some exercise after a full meal! So let me teach your cute little Pokémon a lesson and show these greenhouse flowers what real power looks like!
The next moment, accompanied by an orange flash, a Dragonite appeared before Electabuzz with lightning speed.
"Huh?"
Electabuzz barely had time to utter a sound of confusion before Dragonite landed a solid Fire Punch square on his face.
"Whoa—"
Hayashi gasped in surprise from the sidelines.
Hisako and Erina also clenched their fists, their eyes sparkling as they watched Dragonite's movements—
Left hook Fire Punch!
Right straight Ice Punch!
Leaping Brick Break!
Spinning kick with Superpower!
A relentless combo of punches left Electabuzz crying for his dad—no, just crying for his dad, because he lost consciousness before he could cry for his mom.
Brutal.
Hisako couldn't help but clap her hands again, exclaiming, "So reassuring!"
Electabuzz hadn't even made it five meters before Dragonite took him down! Talk about overwhelming security, right?
"Raaah!"
Dragonite raised his arms in a strongman pose, clearly basking in Hisako's praise. Seems like this chubby yellow guy has a bit of a vain streak.
Erina couldn't resist stepping closer either, reaching out to pat Dragonite's delightfully squishy belly, making the big guy blush with embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Hayashi was thoughtfully eyeing the unconscious Nidoking and Electabuzz on the ground, muttering, "Hmm, I think I just had a great idea!"
Erina's ears perked up, and she turned to him. "What idea? For what problem?"
"Of course, the problem of how hard it is to collect Max Mushrooms," Hayashi sniffed, then planted his hands on his hips. "This is the perfect time to flex our 'culinary bribery tactics'!"
"You mean…"
Hisako raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Erina with a grin. "That's a brilliant idea! With Erina's cooking skills, winning over these wild Pokémon will be a piece of cake!"
...
...
In just three and a half hours, over twenty Max Mushrooms were laid out before Hayashi—all gathered by the wild Pokémon in the area.
After all, one Max Mushroom could be exchanged for two Pokéblocks so delicious they'd make anyone go "Ahegao"! Who could resist that?
"See? Things just got a whole lot easier, didn't they?" Hayashi pointed at the pile of Max Mushrooms, smugly raising an eyebrow. "Wild Pokémon aren't all enemies, you know!"
Sabrina twitched her lips. "Only you guys could pull something like this off."
To make this work?
First, you'd need top-tier culinary skills that could make wild Pokémon flock to you—something only the world's most elite Pokémon breeders could achieve. Of course, none of them could hold a candle to Erina.
Secondly, one must possess a certain level of strength. Otherwise, a group of lambs carrying treasures walking among lions would only end up being pinned to the ground by the lions, devoured clean, and then abandoned without a second thought.
Fortunately, Hayashi's team met both conditions—the former with Erina, and the latter with Dragonite.
Hisako said cheerfully, "In that case, haven't we already completed the mission ahead of schedule? Can we go back early?"
"Bingo." Hayashi snapped his fingers and said, "Next up is finding the recipe for Max Soup!"
"Σ( ° △ °|||)——"
Sabrina, who was standing nearby, showed a surprised expression and asked, "Wait, you mean you don't know the recipe?"
"Ehe?"
"Hehe, no problemo!"
Why did this guy promise to make six servings of Max Soup without even knowing the recipe—and actually gathered all the ingredients!?
"Of course, it's because I know how to get the Max Soup recipe—" Facing Sabrina's skepticism, Hayashi smugly winked and said, "The easiest way is to ask Champion Leon to introduce us to his teacher, Mustard!"
Mustard, originally known as WuHu DaSiMa, retired from his League of Legends career and renamed himself Ma BaoGuo to teach Tai Chi. However, after being exposed for his lack of skill, he gloomily retreated to the Isle of Armor, changed his name again to Mustard, and founded the Master Dojo—just take it as truth.
Sabrina covered her face and said, "Why do you think a regional Champion is so easy to meet?"
And you even want an introduction to the Champion's teacher!?
Hisako tugged at Sabrina's skirt and whispered, "Sabrina-chan, have you forgotten Erina's skills? Even a Champion would need high-quality Pokéblocks, right?"
Silence. Tonight, it was the Cam Bridge.
"Whatever, I can't talk to you cheaters." A somewhat depressed Sabrina crouched in the corner, hugging her Hatenna as she drew circles on the ground—So what if you can cook? So what if you can make top-tier Pokéblocks?
Ha! Just wait—I'll start learning culinary arts right now. Three years to master the basics, five years to reach perfection. By then, I'll be a top-tier Pokémon caretaker too, okay?
With that thought, Sabrina clenched her fists, a new hope burning in her heart.
One day, she would sit proudly on her throne, tossing Psychic-type Pokéblocks in her hand while below her, Mewtwo, Mew, Deoxys, Necrozma, Lugia, Celebi, Victini, Solgaleo, Lunala, and Calyrex all groveled, gazing longingly at the Pokéblocks in her grasp…
Hehehahaha!
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