Chapter 121:
It was twelve o'clock at night.
Inside the kitchen,
the Alcremie had already gone to bed. Gardevoir had also left after finishing the Energy Cubes.
Hayashi Kaede looked dejectedly at the various cakes laid out before him.
They came in all sorts of colors, matching the various Berries and ingredients he had on hand. This was the only cake he could make that had this specific effect.
[S-Rank Recovery Cake—A cream cake made with Sitrus Berry and Alcremie's cream. Infused with strong emotional energy, it possesses unique special effects.
Cooking Effect 1: Heals all injuries of a Pokémon.
Cooking Effect 2: Infused with the creator's desired emotional power, prolonged consumption can extend the Pokémon's lifespan.]
This dish only has two cooking effects, which is unusual for a standard S-Rank dish.
But the effects are remarkable.
The first one completely heals all of a Pokémon's injuries.
In other words, feeding this cake to the Beedrill from before would cure it instantly.
However, that's not the key point. Healing Beedrill's injuries is straightforward, but Lifespan is the real issue.
And then there's Cooking Effect 2. It states that long-term consumption can extend a Pokémon's lifespan.
First, it requires regular consumption.
Beedrill isn't his Pokémon, so it certainly can't eat these regularly. He can't possibly make Energy Cubes for it every day.
Secondly, "long-term consumption"...
Beedrill no longer has that kind of time.
Another issue is that this is a random cooking effect.
It was the result of a certain emotional energy poured into the recipe by the Alcremie and himself during its creation.
When Hayashi Kaede tried to replicate it, the effect was lost.
However, tonight's research was not without its insights for Hayashi Kaede.
At the very least, the cake before him taught him that infusing one's emotions during the creation process could alter the cooking effect.
"Serperior?" (Aren't you going to sleep yet?)
Behind him,
Serperior noticed Hayashi Kaede hadn't come to the room yet and couldn't help but come out.
Hayashi Kaede replied, "Going to sleep now, going to sleep. You don't have to wait for me."
"Serperior..."
Serperior didn't reply, turning away gracefully.
It wouldn't admit that it couldn't sleep without Hayashi Kaede by its side.
Its movements were so light and graceful that they didn't disturb the other sleeping Pokémon in the breeding house.
After using his powers to tidy up the counter and placing the cake he'd made today on it, Hayashi Kaede tiptoed to his room, climbed into bed, and gazed at the stars outside again. He couldn't help but wonder: How could he create food that would extend Beedrill's lifespan?
Was it because the ingredients were too low-grade?
Should he use Ho-Oh's sacred feathers?
Or perhaps leaves from Xerneas?
Drowsily, he fell into a deep sleep.
For the next few days,
Hayashi Kaede's routine settled into a regular pattern.
He woke at seven in the morning, washed up, milked the Miltank, and collected Honey. Then, he would sit in the breeding house. After closing, he would stay in the kitchen, painstakingly studying the results of his cooking.
Except for mealtimes, he spent most of his hours in the kitchen.
But his efforts didn't yield any positive results.
He only managed to produce a few more cakes with effects similar to the S-Rank Recovery Cake he'd made before.
This left Hayashi Kaede feeling quite melancholy.
On the afternoon of September 14th,
Hayashi Kaede, having closed the shop, was about to return to the kitchen
when a sudden pang of curiosity struck him upon reaching the backyard.
It had been days since he'd checked on the fruits and vegetables in the Berry Plantation. He thought, *I should go take a look.*
Entering the plantation, Milotic was the first to poke its head out, delighted to see that its Trainer, who had been so busy these past few days, had actually come into the plantation at this hour.
"Combusken?"
The Combusken also came forward and nudged Hayashi Kaede's thigh, as if asking why he hadn't been running with it these past few days.
"I've been busy lately, probably for the next two weeks. Wait a bit. Once I find a new partner, I'll run with you in the mornings."
Hayashi Kaede patted the Combusken's head, then looked at Serperior, who was using Grassy Terrain. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't seen much of Serperior lately, and even Vulpix hadn't been around. Had it been maintaining Grassy Terrain all this time?
Could there be some special ingredients because of that?
Hayashi Kaede took a quick look around.
The fruit tree he had planted last time had grown, now several meters tall, its leaves a glossy green.
It should bloom and bear fruit in a few days.
In the Pokémon world, most Berry trees have a magical fruiting cycle.
Berries like Sitrus and Oran, which restore energy, bear fruit year-round in the wild except during winter. Moreover, the trees are extremely long-lived and rarely die except under unusual circumstances.
However, not all Berry trees are like this.
For example, Pecha Berries only bloom and fruit in specific seasons.
Without fruit, there's no chance of mutation, but the same couldn't be said for the vegetables growing below.
This season, Hayashi Kaede had planted cabbages, bitter melons, spinach, and other vegetables.
Most of the vegetables had already grown.
The cabbages growing near the reservoir were particularly impressive, each over half a meter tall, lush and green.
The outer leaves, wrapped around the inner ones, resembled palm-leaf fans.
Scanning the area, Hayashi Kaede quickly stopped in front of one cabbage.
Among all the cabbages, this one stood exceptionally tall, nearly a meter high.
[Emerald Green Cabbage—After being nurtured by a certain Grass-type Pokémon, it underwent a unique mutation. Effect: After eating it, your entire body turns green for 24 hours, healing most injuries.]
"Uh..."
Turning green...
"Never mind, Beedrill is naturally green anyway."
Although he felt like complaining, Hayashi Kaede still plucked the cabbage and stored it in his storage ball, intending to juice it later to test the effect.
Hayashi Kaede walked on, pausing occasionally, hoping to find more mutated vegetables.
And as he expected, he soon found one.
Having not visited the plantation for several days, and with the added benefit of the previously consumed Mythical Pokémon-grade Energy Cube, he soon spotted a bitter melon in the bitter melon patch that looked distinctly different.
Unlike the others, which were still green, this one had turned yellow, even with a hint of red. It even had a small yellow flower growing on it.
[The Bitter Melon of Finding Joy in Suffering—The more suffering you have experienced, the greater the happiness you will feel after eating it. Conversely, if you have not experienced suffering, you will feel nothing.]