When He Got Ruthless, He Even Ate "Shit"!

Thinking back to the road just now, one man and one snake had kept arguing over whose fault it was.

At first, Servine had been extremely remorseful, believing that if it had controlled its temper, none of this would have happened. They had clearly come to catch Pokémon, yet they had spent the entire afternoon running away...

Ye Lan actually thought it was all that mysterious Pokémon's fault. That green blade of light from earlier had definitely been a Pokémon move.

But seeing Servine blame itself so much, Ye Lan, as its Trainer, decided to take responsibility. "Alright, actually, it was my fault. If I hadn't joked around, you wouldn't have taken an attacking stance, and Fearow wouldn't have attacked us..."

Before he could finish, he saw Servine beside him nodding as though it were perfectly reasonable.

Servine: You're right. It was your fault!

Ye Lan: ?

He suddenly felt like he had been played. This was completely different from the script he had imagined!

Carrying a bundle of branches, Ye Lan returned to the tent and froze when he saw the empty ground.

"Did I remember wrong? I thought I'd already gathered some once?"

Unable to recall where he had put them, Ye Lan simply stopped thinking about it.

He used pebbles to form a circle, arranged the branches and dried leaves inside, then took out a lighter to start the fire.

With a gentle press, a flame sprang up. Just as he was about to bring it near the dry leaves, a light breeze blew over, instantly snuffing it out.

"I should've just bought a flint back then instead of thinking it was a hassle."

The shopkeeper had actually recommended that Ye Lan buy a flint. The weather in the mountains was unpredictable, and flint was better suited for harsh conditions.

Ye Lan had verbally refused on the grounds that it was inconvenient to carry, but the real reason was that a flint cost a hundred times more than a lighter.

Ye Lan would never spare a cent when it came to Pokémon, but in every other aspect, he saved wherever he could!

After several more failed attempts, Ye Lan began to wonder whether there was something wrong with the lighter.

Only after more than twenty attempts did Ye Lan gradually realize something was off.

He held the lighter in his right hand and shielded it from the wind with his left. As he slowly moved it toward the dry leaves, he deliberately did not press the switch this time.

Almost at the same moment, another familiar breeze blew over, brushing against Ye Lan's face, which was now full of black lines.

"You're not even pretending anymore, huh?!"

A silver-bell-like laugh rang out, and the surrounding branches trembled with it.

Ye Lan abruptly rose to his feet and vigilantly scanned the area, trying to find that little troublemaker's trail.

Servine rushed over after hearing the commotion. Once it heard Ye Lan's account, it also began looking around.

Perhaps sensing Servine's presence, the laughter gradually stopped, and the surroundings fell silent.

Ye Lan did not know whether it was just his imagination, but he kept feeling that the Pokémon that had laughed just now was the same one that had ambushed them that afternoon.

Seeing no further reaction, Ye Lan stopped paying attention to it. It was probably just a prank-loving Pokémon without much ill intent.

The campfire was finally lit, and under Servine's urging, Ye Lan began preparing Servine's dinner.

Since he had never managed to trick... ahem, never managed to get acquainted with a suitable nutritionist, and did not have the extra money to hire someone to prepare meals every day, Ye Lan could only start learning Pokémon cooking himself.

Ye Lan had never cooked before. In the beginning, anything he made would be thrown into the trash, and even a stray Meowth would refuse to take a bite after smelling it.

But who was Ye Lan? As long as he got ruthless, what was there that he could not do?!

For over a month, whenever Servine refused to eat one of his attempts at cooking, Ye Lan ate it himself!

He first researched the flavors Grass-type Pokémon liked, then slowly adjusted the recipes after tasting them himself.

Finally, through Ye Lan's efforts, in just one month, he lost weight—an entire twelve pounds!

As for his cooking skills, the less said, the better.

In Servine's own words, "Even if the color and shape have changed, prettier dog shit is still dog shit, damn it!!!"

Ye Lan had never really believed in the idea of talent before. He thought that as long as one worked hard enough, anything could be achieved. But now, he believed it!

Arceus above, he had truly worked hard! To improve his cooking, he had even eaten "dog shit" for an entire month!

The most terrifying part was that the lump of "dog shit" became prettier every day, reigniting Ye Lan's hope while also giving him the courage to taste it again.

Yet every single time, the flavor was so familiar, so utterly despairing to Ye Lan.

Ye Lan had never been able to understand why the heat and ingredients changed every day, yet the damn flavor remained exactly the same?!

This wasn't scientific! No, this wasn't Pokémon!

Perhaps taking pity on Ye Lan's plight, or perhaps Arceus had heard his call, the system's voice suddenly rang out in Ye Lan's mind.

[Ding! A special situation encountered by the host has been detected. Would you like to consume all current Sunshine Points to tailor a special ability for the host?]

Over the past month, Ye Lan had battled and trained every day, and the Sunshine Points he had accumulated had already reached a height he had never attained before.

The power of purple items had long made Ye Lan covet them desperately, but he currently had no way to obtain any.

Ye Lan had originally planned to save up a batch of Sunshine Points and heavily upgrade the Lucky Wheel, raising its chance of drawing purple items.

This sudden special situation disrupted Ye Lan's plans. Such an opportunity was truly hard to come by, and after hesitating again and again, Ye Lan ultimately chose to confirm.

The next moment, a new ability appeared on his data panel. When he saw its name, he was completely stunned.

Name: Cooking Muggle's Fatal Echo LV.1

Effect: The food you cook will naturally suit the tastes of all Grass-type Pokémon; as the ability level increases, the food will provide more beneficial enhancements to Grass-type Pokémon.

Restriction: Warning!!! The system bears no responsibility for any consequences caused by non-Grass-type Pokémon consuming it! (Note: Due to the special nature of this ability, Sunshine Points cannot be used to upgrade it.)

Description: You prayed to the heavens, but only the system answered you. (bishi)

That was the day Ye Lan obtained his second ability that could not be upgraded with Sunshine Points.

Servine also began willingly eating his cooking. However, before every meal, it would still instinctively take a small taste first. Ye Lan's past cooking had clearly traumatized it.

Looking at the steaming food in the pot, Servine's eyes shone brightly.

It had consumed a great deal of stamina constantly running away that afternoon. Besides, after eating so many arena set meals, having Ye Lan's cooking once in a while was quite enjoyable.

Although it was drooling with desire, Servine still waited quietly nearby.

The little fellow had always been like this. Even when it wanted something badly, it would never ask Ye Lan for it. Yet whenever Ye Lan saw through its thoughts, it would put on a profound expression and nod, though Ye Lan could always sense the joy in its heart.

"My starter Pokémon is a tsundere. What am I supposed to do?"

Ye Lan continuously stirred the stew in the pot with a ladle, while his ears kept catching the rustling sounds around them.

Servine had actually noticed little Pokémon approaching long ago. It simply ignored them because it did not sense any hostility.

"Hehehe, all of you, come over here obediently!"