On the secret island at the center of the lake, once the massive boulder was smashed apart, the plant hidden inside—glittering with a red glow—was revealed to be—
"Herba Mystica, Spicy!"
"Hah!" Chien-Pao's nose twitched as it hugged a grilled rice ball dusted with Spicy Herba Mystica and chomped away, huffing between bites.
The blue-furred puppy Riolu was the same—clutching a hot, spicy grilled rice ball and eating with obvious relish.
Because of their natures, both of them liked spicy flavors.
Brave, Naughty, Adamant, and Lonely—those four natures all had a strong preference for spicy food.
"Fwaaah~!" Victini stuck out its tongue, overwhelmed by the heat. For a Fire-type Mythical, it was unexpectedly scared of spicy food—probably because it was a little sweet-tooth.
Genesect, meanwhile, didn't show any expression at all.
"Geno?"
That's barely spicy. I can't even feel it.
And as for Chi-Yu Bubbles—fresh off beating the False Dragon Titan and nearly turning Casseroya Lake into hot pot—its verdict on the Spicy Herba Mystica was—
"Chii-yu (meh)."
Meh, huh. That tracked. With its slow-and-steady nature, it liked astringent flavors.
"Huh?" Hikaru suddenly noticed a blind spot.
Herba Mystica came in five classic tastes: "sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty."
But in Pokémon nature flavor preferences, there was no "salty." There was only "astringent." Normally, salty and astringent were completely different tastes.
"I see. No wonder Salty Herba Mystica boosts Health—because no Pokémon is actually repulsed by salty flavor. Salty Herba Mystica can basically stand in for salt, and it can empower every Pokémon. That's why it's the top-tier Herba Mystica."
He glanced at the Tatsugiri that had gotten beaten up earlier and were now sitting together, quietly gnawing on rice balls. Hikaru spread his hands, helpless.
Titans were always like this. You had to beat them up first before they'd talk normally.
Though this time, Tatsugiri had been the one to come over and pick a fight.
It got curious about Bubbles, tried to shoo it away with its tail, and nearly got turned into grilled sushi for its trouble.
So let's be honest.
You've spent your whole life pretending to be sushi—have you ever actually eaten real sushi?
"Here. Try it. Veluza sushi—made from Veluza meat. Sorry if it's not perfect."
Watching those torpedo-fish streak around Casseroya Lake, Hikaru couldn't help thinking: there were creatures in this world that could literally fling off their own flesh to feed other Pokémon.
If that "dead fish" didn't constantly zip around the lake like a rabid dog, it could practically be called a saint of the Pokémon world.
Long ago, the Buddha cut off his flesh to feed an eagle.
Today, Veluza fillets itself to provide relief for all living beings.
If you ever went extinct, humans would absolutely build you a giant monument and carve "FOREVER REMEMBERED" into it.
Of course, Fillet Away wasn't free.
When Veluza threw away its flesh, it lost more than half its HP—meaning if it did it again, it would really be on the verge of fainting, and it could only pray some passing wildman would lend a hand.
But with Mirror Herb, it could also learn Recover.
A true self-sustaining supply chain.
After all, it was clearly stated: Veluza had powerful regenerative abilities. It discarded excess flesh to become lighter, then used that to ambush prey.
Casting off unnecessary meat tempered the spirit and sharpened the mind, strengthening one's psychic power.
The excess flesh was mild, but delicious.
In other words, Fillet Away—at least for Veluza—was like an ascetic practice. A harsh discipline for both body and soul.
"Mili!"
Tatsugiri stared at the fish-meat sushi in front of it. Hikaru sprinkled on a little blended seasoning—spicy as the lead note. The aroma was incredible, and Tatsugiri practically drooled.
I—I can't take it… but real sushi is right in front of me. How could I hold back?
I—I'm not going to be polite!
"Doo…"
Dondozo floated off the island's edge, staring with wide, pleading eyes as a crowd of Pokémon—and two humans—ate to their hearts' content. Its mouth hung open like it didn't have a thought in its head, but in reality it was just unbearably hungry.
Finally, Hikaru tossed two pieces of sushi into Dondozo's mouth like he was feeding pellets to a fish.
"Come. Eat."
Only then did the giant catfish brighten up, letting out a satisfied roar. It smacked its lips and swallowed the food down. Two pieces weren't even enough to wedge between its teeth, but the taste lingered—rich and unforgettable.
"Seriously, how much food would it take to keep you full every day? What a glutton."
In the games, Dondozo wasn't exactly rare in Casseroya Lake.
But in real life, it clearly wasn't that easy to run into.
A Pokémon that ate that much couldn't possibly exist in dense clusters in one area. Having a few dozen in the entire lake was already impressive. It meant the region's resources were abundant enough to support this many bottomless pits.
"Try this. Cook the rice down into porridge. Add some aquatic plants, grains, fish meat, and Berries—things Dondozo likes—then finish it with Spicy Herba Mystica, and after that…"
"Put it in an iron pot. Riolu, use Dragon Pulse on this pot of porridge!"
"Y-you… what are you doing?" Raifort—who was very much freeloading this meal—nearly choked. She stared, dumbfounded, as Riolu fired Dragon Pulse into the pot, then used Scald to reheat it. In the end, it became a thick, porridge-like slurry, radiating an oddly powerful fragrance.
Hikaru explained, "This is a kind of 'unique cuisine' made for certain special Pokémon. Humans can't eat it."
"Long ago, some people made similar things—they were called cakes. You can see the same kinds of foods in my shop. And if you take those cakes a step further with cooking, you get specialized porridge and dumplings."
The method was based on Basculegion Food. To cook that special item, you had to mix in Dark Pulse as seasoning.
Back in the Hisui era, it was what Basculegion loved to eat.
Dondozo was a fish too—and it could learn Outrage, meaning dragon power flowed in its body as well. Plus, it partnered with Tatsugiri to become the False Dragon Titan. It had absolutely no resistance to food infused with dragon energy.
And… Tatsugiri seemed to be the same. Its eyes practically locked on.
So, borrowing the method for Basculegion Food, what Hikaru made here was a Dragon Pulse–infused—
"Fish porridge!"
Using Dragon Pulse as seasoning.
Pokémon moves were pretty wild, right?
[Secret Dish: Dragon Fish Porridge.]
[Description: A food beloved by Dragon-type and Water-type Pokémon. It is infused with Dragon Pulse, brimming with vigorous life energy, and enhanced with the secret Spicy Herba Mystica. This mythical seasoning is said to deliver a supreme heat—one bite and your metabolism skyrockets! It is also highly effective at improving circulation. With heavy sweating, toxins are expelled from the body as well!]
[Greatly increases a Pokémon's HP EVs and cures all status conditions!]
A too-fast metabolism had plenty of benefits, but it also came with drawbacks—so it should be eaten together with other seasonings.
That meant adding some Salty Herba Mystica to support overall health, and adding Bitter Herba Mystica to support immunity.
"Doooh!"
Dondozo slapped its tail, looking like it was about to launch a Water-type Flare Blitz—some kind of "Pulse Charge"—straight into the pot. The fish porridge went down in a rush, and the surging life energy made the giant catfish giddy with excitement.
Tatsugiri watched Dondozo eating blissfully and immediately got unhappy.
Hey, hey, hey. I'm the real Titan!
Dondozo is just the mecha I pilot, okay?
You're not going to feed the pilot something good too?
"Of course you're getting some as well."
Hikaru handed over a small bowl. The little sushi-fish immediately started inhaling it. Full and satisfied, it decided to quietly let the earlier beating slide.
Man… I've been pretending to be sushi my whole life, and today is the first time I've actually eaten sushi and rice porridge. As a fish, I can't exactly cultivate grains. This is rough.
"Yeah. Sushi and fish porridge…"
In the games, on the eastern side of Casseroya Lake, there was a picnicker standing at the end of the road where the river flowed into the lake.
Talk to them and they'd not only heal your Pokémon, they'd also teach you a set of sandwich recipes—sushi-flavored sandwiches you could make while picnicking.
Which raised an important question.
If I already know how to make sushi, why would I put sushi inside a sandwich and then eat it?
"Since you can't make fish porridge yourself, just remember that flavor. I'll teach you how to make sushi."
"It's a shame, though. For a Dragon Pokémon, your move pool is pretty barren. You can't learn Fire moves, and you don't even have the basic, universal Sunny Day. That pretty much proves you have zero affinity with Fire energy."
"Otherwise… turning the ponds around Casseroya Lake into hot pot would be—hm. A seafood hot pot. The Stony Cliff Titan already did that, though. That was a clear-broth seafood pot. Here we'd go mala-spicy."
"If we're making hot pot, wouldn't Ting-Lu's vessel be perfect?"
Hikaru shook his head, exasperated, and started teaching Tatsugiri the craft of sushi-making.
Tatsugiri's design was based on sushi.
Its six forms—regular and shiny—corresponded to different kinds of sushi:
Curly Form was sweet shrimp sushi, and its shiny version was conger eel sushi.
Droopy Form was tuna sushi, and its shiny version was squid sushi.
Stretchy Form was tamago sushi, and its shiny version was salmon sushi.
And why was Spicy Herba Mystica here?
Because in sushi-making, sometimes you used wasabi or horseradish.
"As for grains—since we can't get truly good grain ingredients, like Hearty Grains, and I can't just plant my own traveling rations here…"
"Then we'll substitute Berries."
"Berry sushi. Not a bad idea, right?"
"We'll use this one."
Hikaru pulled out a red fruit that looked like a grape… or maybe a cranberry.
That's right. Its name was—
Raifort adjusted her glasses. "That's a Razz Berry. It tastes a little spicy, with a hint of astringency in the middle. In ancient times, it could be ground into powder and used as a medicinal ingredient. And it grows fast—supposedly it can produce several berries in just four hours."
Hikaru said, "Generally, the yield depends on soil nutrients. Minimum two, maximum ten. It's easy to plant and harvest, and the yield is high. Aside from the fact it's a little spicy and not sweet, it doesn't really have any downsides."
"If you feed it to a wild Pokémon, it becomes easier to catch. But in Paldea, thanks to Terastal energy, there's a special power called Meal Power. It's pretty similar to the berry's natural effect, isn't it?"
Raifort thought it over. "Huh… when you put it like that, yeah. It kind of is."
Hikaru placed the berry in front of Tatsugiri. "These little individual beads look like grains of rice, don't they? Lay fish meat on top, sprinkle seasonings, then use a special move to 'season' it—Dragon Pulse."
"Let the dragon energy combine with the seasonings and soak fully into the surface of the fish and berry."
"Mili!" Tatsugiri flopped twice on the shore, excited. It loved the idea.
That way it could mimic the mouthfeel of rice and make berry sushi.
Those two little appendages weren't just for show—on land, they could work like "hands."
"Wait. Hold on a second." Raifort suddenly remembered something. "I saw some weird headlines by accident earlier."
"Someone claimed they saw a Bombirdier that fries French fries, a Klawf that boils crab legs, and an Orthworm grilling food in the mining region."
"Those guys… they wouldn't happen to be Titan Pokémon too, and you—?"
"Ahem. You can't deprive Pokémon of their right to chase delicious food." Hikaru cleared his throat lightly. "I was just searching for seasonings and happened to make some tasty things along the way. I simply made them fall in love with it."
"Self-produced, self-sold. That's what these Titans are best at."
"How is that 'self-produced, self-sold'?" Raifort was speechless. "The news said the oil Bombirdier uses to fry fries is stolen from the neighboring town."
"It heats the oil with the Fire-type move Heat Wave, then tosses in potatoes it stole from near the town. With Herba Mystica added, the bitter, astringent smell can drift all the way from the mountaintop down to the foot of the mountain."
Hikaru: "Uh… it's a Dark-type Pokémon. Petty theft is normal for it. Then let the town or the academy organize students to go take it down. Whoever defeats it gets a limited-edition batch of Herba Mystica fries."
"Doesn't the academy have a Treasure Hunt every year? These Titans' once-in-a-lifetime dishes are absolutely something you're supposed to taste as part of the hunt."
Raifort considered it. "No one would eat bitter fries. Is that really a treasure and not a punishment?"
"But they say Bitter Herba Mystica can greatly boost your immune system. You put it in the food earlier too… and I really do feel different."
"Yeah. I feel healthier. Like a lot of the cursed energy on me has faded!"
Hikaru went quiet for a beat. "I didn't say it could make you immune to curses. That's a little too healthy."
(End of Chapter)
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