Hammerlocke City, Leon leaned against the wall after hanging up the phone, lost in thought.
But at that moment, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Lord Leon?"
Leon turned around and saw a tall woman with a wine-red short skirt on top, black stockings on bottom, and a white coat draped over her shoulders, looking at him.
Leon was slightly taken aback.
It was Chairman Rose's secretary, Oleana.
"What a coincidence!" Oleana greeted with a smiling face, asking, "Why did you suddenly come to Hammerlocke Stadium today?"
"To see if there are any talented Trainers." Leon replied with an unchanged expression.
"I see..." Oleana nodded: "In that case, I won't disturb you!"
Saying that, Oleana turned and left.
As soon as she turned away, her expression changed.
When she reached a place where no one was around, Oleana took out her phone and dialed a number.
"I've already identified the person who infiltrated the energy plant last time!"
*
Early the next morning, Naoki and the Pokemon began preparing for the night market stall for that evening.
After a whole night of consideration, Naoki had decided what to sell.
That would be ice sugar gourd!
If there's anything his ranch doesn't lack, it would be various Berries and the apples from the Apple Garden across the river!
After Naoki's special cultivation, those apples were of very high quality, each one big and round, sweet and crisp, juicy and satisfying, not inferior to the famous apples from Kitakami.
"Maa maa?"
Seeing Naoki was boiling sticky syrup early in the morning, Alcremie thought he was going to make some sweets it had never tasted before, so it excitedly rushed over, standing by the large bowl of syrup, curiously peeking inside.
The other Pokemon heard Alcremie's words and thought Naoki was making something delicious for them again, so they stopped their steps, turning back to run towards Naoki.
Soon, Naoki was surrounded by Pokemon.
Pawmot, Eevees, Ogerpon, Flutter Mane...
"I'm making ice sugar gourd." Naoki smiled looking at them, asking, "Have you heard of it?"
"Maa maa..."
Alcremie had never heard of it, but the name sounded delicious!
At that moment, Naoki had completed boiling the syrup, he placed the syrup aside, then took freshly picked Berries and apples from the fruit basket beside him.
After washing these fruits clean, removing stems and cores, cutting them in half, and using a small knife to scoop out the seeds.
Finally, threading them on bamboo skewers, rolling them in the bowl of clear and transparent syrup a few times, then asking Glaceon to blow a breath of cold air, a string of ice sugar gourd was completed!
The syrup, crystal clear, had completely solidified, encapsulating the vividly colored fruit pieces inside, looking glossy and bright under natural light, seeming more like a decorative artwork rather than food.
[Ice sugar gourd (C): Made with syrup boiled from rock sugar and various types of Berries, tasting sweet and sour, an excellent pre-meal choice.
Cooking Effect: Sweet Syrup lv1, slightly improves the quality of syrup, honey, and juice crafted by Pokemon consuming this dish.
Rating: They say ice sugar gourd is sour, but even within the sourness, there's a hint of sweetness.]
Naoki glanced over it, and the information of the ice sugar gourd appeared in his mind.
Improving syrup quality...
In the Pokemon World, not many Pokemon have the ability to brew; Naoki could only think of Shuckle brewing Berry Juice, sweat from the Bounsweet family, and honey from Combee...
Though the effect is minimal, it's better than nothing!
Naoki raised the string of ice sugar gourd.
Alcremie's gaze was immediately drawn to this string of ice sugar gourd: "Maa maa!"
It looks so delicious!
"Want to try?" Naoki pulled off one piece and handed it to Alcremie.
After a careful taste, Alcremie's face instantly lit up with a blissful expression.
"Maa maa!"
"Bamo..."
The other Pokemon also looked envious, so Naoki divided the remaining sugar gourds among them.
The Berry chunks, wrapped in crystalline syrup, carried the unique sweetness of rock sugar, perfectly fusing with the fruity fragrance, providing a superb taste and flavor!
Soon, the Pokemon who finished eating one sugar gourd looked at Naoki with hopeful eyes.
Their expression seemed to say: they wanted more!
Naoki chuckled and said: "Alright, I'll keep making them for you."
Thus, it turned into a situation where Naoki and Glaceon were making at the front, while Koraidon, Cyclizar, Pawmot, and the other Pokemon were eating at the back.
As a result, the basket of Berries Naoki had specially prepared for setting up the stall was eaten up by the greedy Pokemon at home.
Even the pot of syrup he had boiled was nearly depleted.
Naoki: "..."
He twitched his mouth, these Pokemon sure could eat, huh?
But Naoki felt it was more like everyone was enjoying the taste together, that's why they kept eating one after the other.
And seeing the Berries Naoki intended for the stall eaten up, Pawmot and the other Pokemon showed embarrassed smiles on their faces.
"Awooo~"
Dragonite stepped up first, lifting Naoki's fruit basket with its large claws, preparing to help Naoki pick more Berries from the Berry Garden.
The other Pokemon also scrambled to help pick Berries together.
Lono's Pokemon joined in the excitement too.