No Worries About Food

Actually, Yu Hai was not particularly good at identifying food, but his nine years of compulsory education in his previous life had not been for nothing.

Although the world was different, the principle was the same. If he was unsure whether something could be eaten, he only needed to see whether other animals ate it.

Kelp, sea snails, and shellfish were not only smashed open and eaten by Kingler; Long-winged Gulls swallowed them whole.

Neither of these two Pokémon had a Poison type. If they ate something toxic, they would definitely be poisoned.

Since both Kingler and Long-winged Gulls chose sea snails and shellfish as food without getting poisoned, they had to be safe.

That meant it would be fine for him and Poliwag to eat sea snails and shellfish too.

After gathering a large bucket of shellfish, sea snails, and kelp, Yu Hai called Poliwag and headed back to the shelter.

But the little tadpole could not walk at all now. It was the first time this little glutton had eaten until it was stuffed.

With no other choice, Yu Hai put the little glutton into the plastic bucket and slowly carried it back together with the sea snails and shellfish they had collected.

He had not thought the little glutton was that heavy before, but now that it was stuffed, it weighed heavily on his arms. He had nearly been unable to carry it.

After they left, the tide rose again. They could not stay on the shallows for too long; getting swept away by the waves would not be pleasant.

Back at the shelter, before dealing with the shellfish, Yu Hai went to collect water and swapped out the plastic bucket again. He now had two half-buckets of freshwater. Cooking a pot of shellfish and kelp soup was no longer just a dream.

After carrying the water back, he also retrieved the fishing rod. The lure was gone, but there was nothing on the fishhook. He had come back empty-handed again.

He had long been mentally prepared for that. It did not matter if he caught no fish; they would not lack food tonight anyway.

When he returned to the shelter carrying the fishing rod, Poliwag, full and satisfied, had already quietly fallen asleep by the fire. It had even dug a pit in the sand, curled up inside it, and begun snoring.

He did not disturb Poliwag's sleep and instead dealt with the sea snails alone. The little tadpole was still growing, and sleep helped it develop.

Since eating sea snails was troublesome, and picking the meat out one by one was even more troublesome, he simply smashed all the snail shells. He could just stew the snail meat later.

After washing the shellfish clean, he simmered them with the kelp into a pot of seafood soup, while the snail meat was stewed separately.

While foraging along the shore earlier, he had also found a frying pan beneath a reef. It was not an iron pot, and it had not rusted.

Whatever kind of pan it was, he had brought it back. It was perfect for making soup now, while he would stew the snail meat in the iron cup he used for drinking water.

The shellfish, snail meat, and kelp were all seafood, so he did not need to worry about seasoning. After being rinsed with freshwater, they retained a little saltiness, so there was no need to add salt.

This was also the most lavish meal Yu Hai had eaten since arriving in the Pokémon World.

One dish and one soup: snail meat and seafood soup. Just looking at them made his mouth water uncontrollably.

Watching the snail meat and shellfish meat bubbling in the pot, along with the vibrant green kelp, he was already desperate to eat. Yet in the end, he swallowed hard and suppressed his ravenous appetite.

Pokémon could eat these ingredients raw, but he could not. If they were not cooked through, there was a risk of diarrhea.

He was already surviving at his limits. If he got sick too, he might as well stop trying and set up a gravestone for himself early. After all, the sooner he died, the sooner he could be reborn.

He had simply been lucky that morning not to get an upset stomach after drinking raw water. It had been a blessing in disguise.

He did not dare try drinking raw water a second time. Lady Luck would not favor him forever.

"Gulp." Yu Hai watched the gourmet food rolling in the pot and smelled its fragrance wafting beneath his nose. He swallowed unconsciously. He truly could not endure it any longer; he was nearly starving to death.

Yet he suppressed his craving for food a second time, hugging his legs tightly as he stared fixedly at the bubbling snail meat in the pot.

"Yoyo, yoyo." Seeing Yu Hai constantly staring at the frying pan over the fire, Poliwag called out curiously twice.

Hearing Poliwag's voice, Yu Hai immediately came back to his senses. He pulled his gaze away from the frying pan, turned to Poliwag, and reached out to rub its round belly. Smiling, he asked, "Poliwag, can you still eat?"

"Yoyo, yoyo." Poliwag lowered its head to look at the black spiral on its belly. He could still see the green kelp rolling around inside.

Yu Hai saw it too. Poliwag's belly was transparent, allowing him to clearly see what it had eaten.

Set off by the green kelp, Poliwag's originally black-and-white belly had turned black and green.

"Heh." Yu Hai did not know whether to laugh or cry. Poliwag probably could not eat any more.

He ignored Poliwag, which was curiously staring at its own belly, and used leaves to protect his hands as he lifted the frying pan from the fire. He set it beside him to cool, and did the same with the snail meat.

Once the snail meat and seafood soup had cooled enough, they were ready to eat. Seeing the many translucent white droplets of oil Levitate on the surface of the seafood soup, he unconsciously licked his lips. He probably would not need to wash the pot later.

But before they began eating, he gave Poliwag some snail meat and kelp. Those were the two foods they had the most of tonight; he just did not know whether Poliwag could still eat them.

However, it turned out that Poliwag could still eat.

Poliwag was in its growing stage, so there was no such thing as eating too much.

Because of that, Yu Hai gave Poliwag even more snail meat, as well as half of the shellfish and kelp soup.

As for how delicious snail meat boiled in plain water and shellfish kelp soup could be, that was another matter.

But he had truly gone through a lot for this pot of seafood soup.

If this had been his previous life, without oil, chili, MSG, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings, he really would not have been able to eat it.

But things were different now. Instead, he ate with great relish.

There was no other reason. Hunger was the best seasoning.

Half an hour later, one man and one tadpole were both full. They had eaten all the half-bucket of seafood collected today, though Poliwag had eaten most of it.

At this moment, the man and tadpole lay inside their drafty shelter, watching the stars and lamenting that another fulfilling day had passed.

Water, fire, food, and shelter—the four essentials of survival. The three most important ones, water, fire, and food, had all been taken care of.

The kelp on that rocky beach was enough to feed them for several months. Not to mention the shellfish and snail meat, and he could still fish.

It had to be said that the natural resources of the Pokémon World were truly abundant. It was like Africa from his previous life; one could survive simply by relying on nature.

Now that they no longer had to worry about food and water, it was time to grind some experience for Poliwag and make safety their top priority.

In the three days since he had transmigrated here, he had lived in constant fear every day. Whenever he encountered other Pokémon, he had to avoid them, unless it was a fish that had come ashore, which he could bully a little.

Now that the most important food and water issues were resolved, the shelter could be put aside for the moment. Safety had become the top priority.

I got a shortlisting notice, and I was pretty happy, but things will get rough from here. I heard fanfic trial recommendations need several times more follow-up reads than original works. I believe everyone here is an experienced reader, and you have surely heard more than one unsuccessful author say how important follow-up reads are. Without them, even veteran authors will flop miserably. Follow-up reads are really important. Trial recommendations depend on follow-up reads, so readers who like Pokémon fanfiction, please give me some support. I'll cry in advance, sob sob sob. Finally, please keep reading, please bookmark it, please vote...