At four-thirty in the afternoon, the chicken soup was ready.
Naoki lifted the lid of the clay pot, and a rich aroma of chicken mixed with the fragrant scent of mountain mushrooms wafted up to his nose.
Inside the pot, the broth was bubbling away with a layer of shiny oil floating on top. The chicken and mushrooms were plump and translucent, soaked with flavor.
[Braised Chicken with Mushrooms (A): A dish made by simmering freshly picked mountain mushrooms with Sanhuang chicken. The soup is fresh and delicious, favored by certain Pokemon.
Cooking Effect: Oily and Slippery lv3, after consumption, the Pokemon's fur becomes slick and shiny, not prone to shedding, and its health improves to the maximum.
Comment: The perfect dish for autumn!]
Oily and Slippery?
"It seems to only be effective on furry Pokemon," Naoki thought, "The effect is not bad, just right for the Pawmot and Glaceon on the farm."
Other breeders go through great lengths to feed numerous Pokeblocks to achieve this effect, but now, it seems a single dish of braised chicken with mushrooms would suffice.
Naoki picked up a piece of chicken for a closer taste.
The chicken was tender and flavorful, the meat firm yet juicy, with the rich aroma of mountain mushrooms, a perfect combination.
Lying on the grass outside basking in the sun, Koraidon and other Pokemon twitched their noses, suddenly catching the supremely enticing aroma.
"Ah-gash!"
Koraidon immediately straightened up, while the Dragonite and Cyclizar next to it also caught the scent and couldn't resist floating towards the house.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Naoki turned off the stove and used tools to place the hot clay pot on the small dining table.
"Be careful, it's hot!" he reminded without forgetting.
The clay pot was indeed hot, and several Pokemon weren't very adept at using utensils, so they could only sit at the table, staring blankly.
Naoki thought for a moment, then took a few small bowls from the kitchen and began serving the meat into them.
The Alcremie, Dolliv, and Nacli weren't interested in this aroma, so they glanced over but continued to play outside.
Glaceon and Pawmot seemed to like it, as Naoki noticed them salivating.
For instance, now, Glaceon looked at the steaming piece of chicken in front of it and tried to paw at it, but got scalded instead.
After a brief thought, Glaceon blew a cool breath at the meat, then easily swallowed it into its belly.
Seeing this, the gaze of Cyclizar and the other Pokemon turned unanimously towards it.
"Brii-ee?!" Realizing it was being watched by so many, Glaceon's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Cyclizar looked down at the meat in front of it, then at Glaceon's empty plate.
"Garr-ow..."
"Brii-ee."
With that, Glaceon turned its head and blew a cold breath on the piece of meat.
Only then did Cyclizar happily start eating.
The remaining Pokemon followed suit, so Glaceon could only help blow on the meat for others while sneaking bites for itself.
Watching this group of Pokemon getting along so harmoniously, Naoki couldn't help but smile.
He looked towards the joyfully eating Pawmot and asked, "How does it taste?"
"Bam-oh~" Pawmot nodded repeatedly.
Naoki deliberately teased, "What if I want to use those chickens for cooking in the future?"
"Bam-oh?!"
Pawmot froze, blinking its eyes, seriously contemplating his words, looking quite conflicted.
All these days, it had been spending time with that group of hens. Although they couldn't talk and couldn't understand its intentions, watching the fluffy little chicks grow into big chickens gave it a real sense of accomplishment.
But the chicken tasted so good.
Delicious chicken on one side, the hens it had raised on the other, Pawmot didn't know how to choose.
It even felt that if it saw those chickens again, it would think of the taste of today's dish.
"Bam-oh..."
Pawmot looked troubled.
Just then, Cyclizar said, "Garr-ow." (Hens are food by nature.)
It knew this even before it came to the farm.
At these words, the scales in Pawmot's heart tipped.
"Bam-oh..."
Seeing it so conflicted, Naoki couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, don't worry, I won't use them for cooking."
After all, they're just a few ordinary chickens, if Pawmot likes raising them, he would let it, he wouldn't mind the expense.
Naoki sat down, eating while placing meat into the bowls in front of the Pokemon.
He cooked several chickens, and before long, they were all gone.
After the meal, Koraidon took Cyclizar and the other Pokemon outside to lie contently on the grass.
Looking at this scene, Naoki felt that he wouldn't need to make dinner tonight.
Just as well, he could take a break.
After washing the dishes, it was already evening.
Zack arrived in his large truck to pick up the goods. Naoki chatted with him while helping to load the buckets of cow and goat milk, along with a large bag of rock salt, onto the truck.
"Hey, did you hear? There was a mine collapse over near Zapapico Town!"
Naoki was a bit surprised, "Mine collapse? What happened?"
Zack: "Apparently, a construction crew accidentally disturbed a wild Tyranitar residing in the mountains when they were digging a tunnel. That Tyranitar got really angry and collapsed many of the mine shafts! Fortunately, it happened at night, so besides a dozen miners getting injured, there weren't any deaths."
Tyranitar, also known as the Sandstorm Monarch, is powerful, a quasi-god in the Johto Region.
Naoki's collector instincts were subtly stirred, "Is it still there?"
"I don't know." Zack shook his head, "Maybe it left! But after the cave-in, many ancient ruins appeared underground. Quite a few adventurers headed there upon hearing the news, hoping to find the legendary ancient treasures."
Ancient ruins… ancient treasures…
Naoki thought it over and realized that there weren't any famous ruins in the Paldea Region.
As for ancient treasures, they likely referred to the Auspicious Armor and Malicious Armor, special items that allow Charcadet to evolve into Armarouge and Ceruledge.
"Alright, I have to go pick up goods at other farms, see you later!"
With a wave, Zack returned to his truck, departing with a load of goods.
With everything for the day done, Naoki took a deep breath, feeling completely relaxed, planning to take a bath later and then watch some TV before going to sleep.
At this moment, another guest arrived at the farm.
Upon hearing a sound, Naoki turned to see the Seed Shop Owner.
He couldn't help but feel a bit surprised, "Elo? What brings you here?"
Elo explained, "Well, I heard that the goat milk from your place in town is very popular and hard to get, so I was wondering if I could order directly from you..."
"Of course!" Naoki called over Dragonite and told it about the matter.
After listening, Dragonite thumped its chest, making a promise, "Woo-oh-woo-oh!"
Leave it to me!
"I'll leave it to you then." Naoki patted its head.
Seeing this, Elo was very grateful, "Thanks a lot."
Naoki waved his hand casually, "It's nothing, we're all neighbors! Plus, you gave me a bag of fertilizer."
Seeing Naoki so generous, Elo broke into a smile. He thought of that incident, and once again sincerely thanked Naoki:
"Thanks to you, if it weren't for you, Abby and I would still be pushing Bell to do something she doesn't like."