With Torterra and the others joining them, Fang Yan returned to the kitchen to adjust the Pokéblock machine he had bought a while ago. He had just learned how to make Pokéblocks over the past few days, and after receiving his great-aunt's blessing, he had complete confidence in his cooking skills.
"I'll try making Pokéblocks today. Then I can have Gengar check whether there's anything wrong with them."
Fang Yan patted the newly adjusted Pokéblock machine as he spoke.
Gengar had high poison resistance, anyway.
"Gengar? (*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!"
"Relax. Don't you trust my cooking?" Fang Yan patted Gengar's shoulder, telling Gengar not to worry.
Gengar eyed Fang Yan dubiously. His cooking certainly tasted great, but Pokéblocks...
"Gengar..."
Gengar seemed to steel himself before finally nodding.
Seeing this, Fang Yan gave Gengar's little tail a tug while Gengar wasn't paying attention.
"Whoosh~"
Gengar flew out of the kitchen through the doorway.
"Come help me out."
Watching Gengar float out of the kitchen like a balloon, Fang Yan rubbed his forehead and called out.
"Gengar!"
A dazzling entrance!
Hearing this, Gengar went straight through the wall and appeared before Fang Yan with a flourish.
After rolling his eyes at Gengar, Fang Yan began making Pokéblocks.
Gengar eagerly helped out at his side.
Watching the machine rumble away, Fang Yan nodded, then told Gengar to keep an eye on it before turning to prepare dinner.
Tonight's dinner was egg fried rice, braised pork trotters, garlic ribs, spicy boneless chicken feet, fruit and vegetable salad, and a fragrant serving of Fresh Mushroom chicken soup.
By the time he finished everything, the machine had stopped working too, indicating that the Pokéblocks were ready.
Feeling apprehensive, Fang Yan opened the machine. Neatly shaped, brightly colored Pokéblocks lay inside.
"They look pretty good?"
Fang Yan remarked, then took out some of the Pokéblocks and brought them before Gengar with a smile.
"Gengar?"
Gengar looked at Fang Yan, then reached out and carefully picked up a Pokéblock, closed his eyes, and tossed it into his mouth.
After chewing a little, Gengar opened his eyes, a hint of puzzlement in those scarlet eyes. Then... Gengar picked up another, tossed it into his mouth, and kept chewing.
Finally, Gengar took the large bowl from Fang Yan's hands, opened his mouth, and poured all the Pokéblocks in at once.
Then Gengar stuck out his scarlet tongue and licked his lips.
"Gengar! (๑´ڡ`๑)"
Seeing this, Fang Yan knew he hadn't messed up. He took out the remaining Pokéblocks and, looking at their golden color, curiously picked one up and put it into his mouth.
The texture was somewhat like candy, but it tasted rather astringent.
Overall, it wasn't bad.
With Gengar helping carry dinner out of the kitchen, he went into the yard and called, "Dinner's ready!"
All the Pokémon immediately ran over, including Torterra and the others who had only arrived at the Pokémon Day Care today.
They quietly waited for dinner. Fang Yan walked over with the Pokéblocks and handed them over.
"Give these a try."
Torterra looked at him, then at Gengar and the Machamp, who were busy digging into their food. After exchanging glances with Electivire and the others, Torterra lowered his head and began eating the Pokéblocks.
After just one bite, Torterra couldn't stop.
Fang Yan nodded in satisfaction before sitting down in his seat to eat his own meal.
[Breeder 3: How could a qualified breeder not know how to make Pokéblocks? Your first attempt at making Pokéblocks was a great success, winning over the appetites of every Pokémon at the Pokémon Day Care.] [Received great-aunt's gift: A Pokéblock-making manual from an unnamed friend of great-aunt's.] [Great-aunt: My friend is a very impressive breeder.]
Reading the text that suddenly appeared, Fang Yan took a sip of soup, feeling increasingly that he seemed to be a different sort of breeder from other breeders.
Today's after-dinner activity was watching Dali and the others wrestle.
Dali and Er Li wore safety helmets, their foreheads pressed tightly together. All eight hands were locked together, fingers interlaced, as they tested their strength against each other.
Ever since they had arrived at the Pokémon Day Care, Fang Yan had prepared lavish meals every day, and Dali and the others had grown considerably more muscular as a result.
Now, their arm muscles bulged as neither gave ground.
This clash of strength against strength made Fang Yan glance involuntarily at Gengar sitting beside him.
"Gengar?"
"Nothing. Keep watching."
Fang Yan shook his head, then turned his attention back to Dali and the others.
Short little legs had their advantages.
"Gengar!"
I don't know what you're thinking, but I know it's nothing good!
Gengar shuffled his bottom closer to Fang Yan.
Noticing the little movement, Fang Yan laughed to himself.
"Clingy thing."
At that moment, the deadlock broke. One Machamp roared, gripped the other Machamp's hands, then pivoted nimbly and used the momentum to throw the other to the ground. Immediately afterward, the Machamp wrapped both hands around the other's belt, leaped high, then plummeted back down. At a certain point, the Machamp released both hands, letting the other crash heavily into the ground.
The victor clenched all four fists and roared skyward, muscles swelling even further.
Fang Yan could tell it was Dali, the only female among the three Machamp, because her build was considerably larger than the other two's.
Having witnessed all this, Fang Yan remained speechless for a long time.
[Your Machamp (Dali) has finally broken through a long-standing bottleneck and mastered Bulk Up, Vital Throw, and Seismic Toss.] [Congratulations, you have developed the first dish in your recipe collection: "Fresh Mushroom Soup."] [Fresh Mushroom Soup: A delicious mushroom soup made from Fresh Mushrooms. It can slightly improve a Pokémon's mood while easing its fatigue a little.] ["Gourmet Critical Hit" triggered: Greatly improves a Pokémon's mood, clears its fatigue, and can slightly improve its efficiency in comprehending moves.] [Great-aunt: Food can do anything.]
Fang Yan: "?"
Fresh Mushroom Soup?
Fang Yan remembered that yesterday's description of the Gourmet Critical Hit triggered by Fresh Mushroom Soup had mentioned an unknown effect. So the unknown effect was improving Pokémon's efficiency in comprehending new moves?
So this was Gourmet Critical Hit? So powerful...
At that moment, Er Li climbed out of the crater, felt the safety helmet on his head with his palm, then walked over to Fang Yan.
"Machamp."
Fang Yan came back to his senses and looked at Er Li in front of him, who pointed at the crater with an apologetic expression.
Dali came over too. Seeing them standing with their heads lowered, San Li also ran over and obediently stood alongside them.
At the sight, Fang Yan chuckled, then said, "Congratulations, Dali. You've grown stronger. I believe you'll do an even better job protecting our Pokémon Day Care from now on."
"Machamp!"
Dali immediately raised her head and puffed out her chest.
"And Er Li, San Li, you two need to learn from Dali and strive to get stronger soon, so you can protect our Pokémon Day Care better."
"Machamp!"
Er Li and San Li raised their heads and puffed out their chests.
Seeing this, Fang Yan had Gengar fetch the first-aid kit from the room and treated Er Li's wounds.
Er Li was so moved that tears and snot streamed down his face.
Seeing that Fang Yan hadn't blamed them for damaging the grounds and was instead carefully treating Er Li's wounds, Dali and San Li silently swore to protect this wonderful home.
Gengar also floated in midair, using Psychic to bring soil from elsewhere and fill the crater.
Once everything was taken care of, Fang Yan patted the safety helmet on Er Li's head, signaling that he was good to go.
Dali then led the others off on patrol, while Fang Yan went over to Petilil.
Before you continue