A Ludicolo That Really Knows How to Handle Things

This was how Ye Lan attracted Grass-type Pokémon.

With the appeal his cooking held for Grass-type Pokémon, along with his innate "Grass-type Pokémon Affinity LV.2," once the Grass-type Pokémon came out to forage at night, their already-rumbling stomachs would naturally draw them closer.

When that time came, Ye Lan could use the data inspection function to slowly select Grass-type Pokémon suitable for his team.

Once Servine evolved into Serperior, without any limit on the number of moves it could carry, it could absolutely take the mixed attacker route, developing both physical and special attacks at the same time.

To prepare for the upcoming provincial 2v2 battles, a Grass-type Pokémon inclined toward support and utility suited Ye Lan's plans better.

Just as Ye Lan had expected, before long, an Oddish poked its head out from the bushes that had just rustled. However, it did not approach right away, clearly still somewhat frightened.

"Oddish?"

Perhaps it had sensed the calming aura around Ye Lan, or perhaps it had smelled the fragrance wafting from the pot. The Oddish could no longer hold back and quietly crept toward him.

"Can I have just a little? Just a little!"

"Of course." Ye Lan smiled in response, having understood what Oddish meant.

Ever since "Grass-type Pokémon Affinity" had leveled up to Level 2, Ye Lan could sense what even wild Pokémon that had not spent much time with him wanted to express.

Guests were guests, after all. Even if they were not his ideal partners, they could still become friends. Ye Lan quite enjoyed this sort of atmosphere.

"Oddish!" Oddish was shocked. This human could actually understand what it was saying.

After hesitating for a while, Oddish bounced back toward the bushes it had come from.

When it reappeared, it was followed by four more Oddish, each carrying a different kind of Berry on its head.

Seeing the little fellows chirping "Oddish, Oddish, Oddish" nonstop in front of him, Ye Lan's heart nearly melted.

"Grass-type Pokémon are just too cute!"

Accepting their goodwill, Ye Lan cut up the Berries into a salad, handed out utensils, and gave each little one a bowl of stew soup.

That was not the end of it. Soon, a group of Paras came to Ye Lan as well.

Perhaps Oddish's actions had alerted the nearby Pokémon groups, or perhaps they had been drawn in by the aroma of the cooking. More and more Grass-type Pokémon arrived with Berries to join the feast.

Most Grass-type Pokémon were vegetarians, so even with everyone gathered together, no conflict broke out.

Although Ye Lan had brought quite a lot of ingredients, without the Berries these Pokémon had brought, there truly would not have been enough food to go around.

Among the Grass-type Pokémon before him, the strongest was a late intermediate-stage Ludicolo.

Name: Ludicolo

Gender: Male

Type: Water/Grass

Ability: Own Tempo (Hidden Ability)

Moves: Growl, Astonish, Fury Swipes, Zen Headbutt, Energy Ball, Leech Seed, Hydro Pump

Egg Moves: None

Rank: Late Intermediate Stage

Evolution Progress: None (Final Evolution Reached)

This Ludicolo had leaped out of the nearby river after catching the scent of food. Seeing that all the Pokémon who had come were carrying Berries or food, it immediately jumped back into the river, returned while holding a Magikarp, and was about to toss it into Ye Lan's soup pot.

Ludicolo: "Lududolo~"

Ye Lan: ?

Magikarp: ???!!!

And so, after Ye Lan stopped it with all his might, Ludicolo became the only one at the gathering freeloading.

Honestly, it was Ye Lan's first time seeing Ludicolo in real life. Its goofy personality was genuinely endearing, fully deserving of the word "ludicrously cheerful" in its name.

Even Ye Lan, who had always thought Ludicolo was ugly, now found it adorably ugly.

Moreover, whether in terms of battle strength or tactical value, Ludicolo was quite solid.

Unfortunately, this Ludicolo neither had the Swift Swim Ability nor any potential left to develop, and the moves it knew were also a complete mess.

After looking around, Ye Lan did not find a Pokémon that made his heart skip a beat.

There were already quite a few Pokémon species present: the Ludicolo line, the Oddish line, several Paras and Bellsprout, as well as a Nuzleaf that Ye Lan had no idea why it was here.

Nuzleaf should have been a Grass-type Pokémon from the Galar Region or Hoenn Region. Ye Lan had no idea how this little fellow had made it to the Huaxia Region, but there had to be quite a story behind it.

Ye Lan shook his head and sighed. Sure enough, meeting a partner he truly liked was difficult.

Still, being able to spend a night with such a group of pure-hearted little fellows left Ye Lan quite content.

There were no battles tonight, only humans, nature, and Pokémon.

Leaning against Servine's body, with an Oddish in each arm, Ye Lan gazed at the stars in the night sky as his eyelids gradually drooped.

Only after everyone had fallen asleep did a white figure leap down from a tree branch.

It first polished off the remaining Berry soup in the pot, then hopped into Ye Lan's arms, found a comfortable spot, and promptly fell fast asleep.

"Oddish?"

Beside them, an Oddish woke up. Seeing that it was simply another Pokémon sleeping with them, it did not think much of it and closed its eyes again.

Elsewhere, within a snowy mountain.

A bird Pokémon radiating holy light rested there.

Before the snowflakes could touch its brilliant feathers, they melted away on their own. With every breath it took, blazing white flames drifted out.

It was none other than the guardian deity of the Johto region, Ho-Oh!

"Marshadow."

"Marsha!" As Ho-Oh spoke, a shadow emerged from the snow. A small black Pokémon knelt on one knee before the divine being.

It was one of the legendary Ho-Oh's agents, the Mythical Pokémon, Marshadow!

"I sense that a peculiar human is calling my name. Go and see for me what that strange aura around him, one that feels familiar to me, truly is."

"Marsha!"

After rising and bowing, Marshadow transformed into a mass of shadow and vanished from the spot.

Ye Lan, asleep in his dreams, could never have imagined that one offhand joke of his had truly drawn the attention of the legendary Ho-Oh.

All that could be said was that he had greatly underestimated these Pokémon bestowed with the title of "god."

Early the next morning, Ye Lan got up and packed his luggage.

He had not slept in the tent he had set up at all. After falling asleep against Servine, he had somehow woken up with a stiff neck!

With his backpack on, he said goodbye to the little fellows. Only after repeatedly promising that he would return did they reluctantly leave.

Wild Grass-type Pokémon had a hard life out in the wilderness. Last night had probably been the most peaceful night of sleep they had ever had.

In fact, the commotion last night had drawn quite a few Pokémon of other types over, but Servine had driven them all away.

It was not that Ye Lan was prejudiced or stingy. The main issue was that his cooking was only meant for Grass-type Pokémon. Who knew what effects it might have on other Pokémon?

The system had marked that warning in red, so Ye Lan could not afford to take it lightly.

Just as all the Pokémon were leaving and Ye Lan was preparing to set off, Ludicolo blocked his path.

"Lududolo~"

"You want me to wait a moment?" Ye Lan scratched his head, unable to understand what Ludicolo wanted to do.

Seeing that Ye Lan had understood its meaning, Ludicolo turned around and jumped into the small river.