"Gawoo~"
Cyclizar had a joyful expression, showing that it liked anything Naoki made.
Even though he couldn't understand it, based on Cyclizar's expressions and actions, Naoki could guess its meaning.
He deliberately asked, "What about hot noodle soup then?"
Cyclizar immediately drooped and lowered its head, "Gawoo..."
"Alright, just kidding with you!" Naoki reached out to pat Cyclizar's head and then began to seriously ponder what kind of dishes to make.
Fried pork chops, sandwiches, steamed sea bass, sticky rice dumplings, steamed egg, creamy mushroom soup... he'd already made all of these.
Plus, with limited ingredients at home, Naoki could only create new dishes by changing ingredient combinations.
Thinking of this, Naoki began a new attempt.
He randomly picked a few ingredients from the cutting board: fresh tender pork loin, eggs, and Rock Salt produced by Nacli.
For example, coating the pork loin in egg batter and deep-frying it, using Alcremie's cream and Rock Salt from Nacli as stuffing for sticky rice dumplings, using well-prepared sea bass to make a Lemon Sole Sandwich.
However, after busying himself all day, none of these dishes could make Dragonite stronger.
[Fried Pork Loin (C): Cooking Effect, restores health.]
[Xue Mei Niang (B): Cooking Effect, greatly increases the fondness of dessert-loving Pokemon, has a great attraction to Alcremie.]
[Lemon Sole Sandwich (C+): Cooking Effect, attracts Water Type Pokemon when carried.]
Naoki: "..."
He couldn't help taking a deep breath, turning around to feed the fried pork loin to Cyclizar beside him.
Cyclizar happily ate it.
Naoki fell into thought, "This is a bit challenging!"
His gaze swept across the various ingredients on the table, and when he saw a few Berries in a basket, he suddenly thought of a dish he'd made before.
Berry Platter!
Yes, it was the Berry Platter!
It was a special dish that could randomize a Pokemon's moves. If it was that one...
With that thought, Naoki immediately took out those Berries, cut them into pieces with a fruit knife, and placed them on a white porcelain plate.
Soon, a fruit platter was ready.
Naoki looked down, and the information about the dish emerged from his mind.
[Berry Platter (C-): A delicacy made of various Berries, blending the flavors of different Berries, favored by some Pokemon.
Cooking Effect: Skill Refinement, after consumption, a certain move of the Pokemon will randomly change.
Evaluation: A basic dish, easy to make, a good choice for home and travel.]
If he gave it to Dragonite to eat...
In Naoki's mind, a scene of Dragonite mastering a lot of moves appeared, with a happy smile on its face, excitedly charming him.
But then, another scene appeared of Dragonite forgetting all four of its moves, then leaving home heartbroken.
It's a gamble on luck...
Naoki was a bit hesitant, knowing well the probability and quirks of these trash games, he didn't dare to gamble for a moment.
The worst situation after feeding it to Dragonite would be forgetting all four moves, and at that time, eating it again would surely comprehend a new move.
If extremely lucky, it might learn powerful moves like Precipice Blades, Origin Pulse, Roar of Time, Spacial Rend.
But if it learned something like Tackle, it wouldn't be worth it.
To him, it's just sunk cost, but Dragonite doesn't understand that.
If it's unlucky, it might even forget the four moves it painstakingly learned.
Then, losing faith in him, it would run away heartbroken.
"No, I can't feed it yet."
After thinking it over, Naoki decided to wait a while to see if Dragonite could learn Dragon Tail, first building trust with it, then use the Berry Platter according to the situation.
Anyway, he's not in a hurry, there's plenty of time.
With this in mind, Naoki packed up the remaining ingredients and took the Xue Mei Niang and Lemon Sole Sandwich to the Salt House, where Alcremie and Smoliv were playing with the Naclis, sharing the two with them.
Once they finished eating, Naoki collected the empty plates and returned to the log cabin.
Upon reaching the kitchen area, after placing the tableware neatly, Naoki suddenly noticed that the Berry Platter he placed here was empty.
"?"
Naoki looked back at Cyclizar, not far behind him, and asked, "Did you eat the Berries here?"
"Gawoo..."
Cyclizar nodded, and seeing Naoki's expression, it was a bit worried if it had done something wrong.
Naoki said helplessly, "No, I don't mean to blame you, I'm just asking."
Then he asked, "Do you feel any difference in your body compared to before? Like learning a new move, or forgetting any old ones."
"Gawoo?" Hearing this, Cyclizar was initially puzzled, but soon its eyes brightened. It stood up and demonstrated the newly learned move to Naoki.
He saw a purple Dragon Type energy gathering on Cyclizar's tail, and when the energy gathered to a certain extent, Cyclizar moved.
It swung its tail vigorously, making a "whoosh" sound in the air. Although it hit nothing, from its movements, it seemed to be quite a powerful move.
"Dragon Tail?" Naoki slightly raised an eyebrow, "Is this the move you just learned?"
"Gawoo!" Cyclizar nodded.
"You didn't forget the other moves?" Naoki asked again.
Cyclizar nodded again.
It seems Cyclizar's luck is quite good!
Naoki nodded, "Got it."
————
In the spring of Union Year 198, at the end of January, the temperature in the Paldea Region gradually warmed up.
Today marks the fifth day since the construction of the Salt House, and after a five-day interval, the raising of Nacli and Skiddo officially got on track.
That morning, after feeding the chickens, Naoki went to the Salt House.
After five days of continuous movement by the Naclis, a fine layer of Rock Salt granules had accumulated on the storage membrane of the Salt House.
Seeing this, Naoki's face beamed with the joy of harvest.
With five Naclis nestled with Koraidon on one side, five Naclis were stacked together, snuggling obediently in Koraidon's arms.
Naoki, along with Cyclizar, worked together to lift the storage membrane and collect the Rock Salt from it, storing it into sealed cloth bags.
The Naclis stayed in Koraidon's embrace, curiously watching this scene.
"Salt-salt..."
They suddenly realized that Naoki seemed to really like the salt grains from their bodies!
This made the Naclis very happy. To them, Naoki not only took them from the dangerous wild and cared for them.
He also created a very safe new home for them, bringing delicious food every day.
They made many new friends here as well, like the big sister-like Alcremie, the quietly gentle Smoliv.
This filled the Naclis' hearts with gratitude and emotion.
Upon seeing this scene, one of the Naclis happily jumped down from Koraidon, and under its lead, the other four swiftly followed suit.
They ran to Naoki, making "Salt-salt" sounds while rubbing their bodies, causing more Rock Salt to fall off them.
It was like a snowfall, with snowflakes fluttering down and covering the ground.