Chapter 126:
He shook his head, no longer dwelling on it.
The so-called third cake wasn't much more better.
It simply cured Beedrill's illness and helped it maintain a good mood for the time being.
It was made with Bounsweet Juice and the Bitter Melon of Finding Joy, mixed with cream and a Sitrus Berry.
This would first help i sustaining Beedrill's life.
He would continue to search for dishes with prolonging life effects in the future...
"Dragonite ?"
The Dragonite behind him chirped twice in confusion.
This Beedrill had restrained its fighting spirit twice. Why?
Was it afraid it couldn't defeat him?
Considering this possibility, Dragonite's mood suddenly brightened.
Indeed,
he was still very strong.
"Time for bed"
Hayashi Kaede said, sensing Dragonite's train of thought, and then used his powers to clean the countertop.
At Hayashi Kaede's urging, Dragonite fell silent, only grinning a simple, innocent grin before heading back to its cabin.
After cleaning up, Hayashi Kaede stood there, lost in thought.
Dragonite had been captured by Mewtwo.
Curious about Dragonite's past, he had recently asked why it had followed Mewtwo.
The answer was that the Pokémon had rescued it from humans.
That was fairly obvious.
Dragonite had been captured by Team Rocket, and then, after a rampaging Mewtwo destroyed one of their bases, it had freed a large number of Pokémon, including this Dragonite...
Of course,
this was just Hayashi Kaede's speculation.
But what surprised him even more was that Dragonite, a Pokémon that had been captured by humans, could still be so easygoing.
It truly lived up to its reputation as a gentle Pokémon.
After cleaning up, Hayashi Kaede turned off the lights in the garden so the Combee could rest peacefully.
Then, he went to the shed. Before he even entered, he saw the Metapod perched on the railing, basking in the moonlight.
It must have asked Gardevoir for help to float up there.
Only Gardevoir possessed telekinetic abilities.
And Metapod lacked a mouth to communicate its requests, making movement difficult.
So, Hayashi Kaede had asked Gardevoir to pay special attention to its mood. Moonlight streamed down, adding a touch of brilliance to its crimson cocoon.
This was Metapod's request. It claimed that staying up here, basking in the moonlight, seemed to help it digest energy faster.
Faster digestion meant a quicker evolution.
When Hayashi Kaede first heard this, he was a bit surprised.
This wasn't a fantasy world but the Pokémon world. A Bug-type Pokémon couldn't absorb lunar essence.
Later, he realized it was purely psychological—Metapod *believed* the moonlight was helpful.
In reality, its good mood was what greatly aided its energy absorption.
So, Hayashi Kaede didn't explain anything.
But today was different.
Metapod leaned against the railing, its body actually beginning to swell slightly. The nodes on its cocoon started to glow faintly, and then, bits of light seemed to overflow from within.
*'It's evolving...'*
was Hayashi Kaede's first thought upon seeing this scene.
He paused, watching as a white light emerged from the Metapod, then spread outward.
Finally, a pink, dreamlike butterfly burst from its cocoon and flew out.
"Butterfree ..."
"Butterfree ..."
The clear chirping of the newly evolved Butterfree echoed. It fluttered excitedly around the shed, savoring the feeling of freedom. When Butterfree realized what was happening, its first thought was to share the news with Hayashi Kaede. Turning around, it saw him standing at the garden entrance, quietly watching.
[Pokémon: Butterfree]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Compound Eyes]
[Aptitude: Purple]
[Individual Values: HP (9) Attack (16) Defense (14) Sp. Atk (29) Sp. Def (16) Speed (10)]
[Strength: Lv. 18-19]
[Moves: String Shot, Tackle, Sleep Powder, Electroweb, Psybeam, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Gust, Supersonic...]
[Assessment: A differently colored Butterfree. After careful nurturing, it seems to have undergone a tremendous change.]
[Friendship: 96 (It likes you very much.)]
[Pleasure Value: 94 (It has finally evolved and can eat dumplings...)]
After looking at Butterfree's post-evolution stats, Hayashi Kaede smiled. The evolved Butterfree was much more beautiful than before. Its appearance had improved greatly too.
In the moonlight, its pink wing scales shimmered slightly, occasionally shedding a fine dusting of powder. This was just ordinary scale powder and wouldn't have any effect on other Pokémon.
"Butterfree ~"
"Butterfree !"
The moment it saw Hayashi Kaede, Butterfree immediately flapped its wings and flew over, chirping excitedly.
Even Miltank, who hadn't slept yet, was attracted by the commotion and stared at Butterfree in the sky in amazement.
How could this thing look so pretty after evolving?
"Congratulations~"
Looking at Butterfree happily waving its wings in front of him, Hayashi Kaede stroked its head, then focused his gaze on its wings.
Compared to the usual white wings and dark body, this Butterfree's body was almost entirely pink; even its antennae had a pinkish hue.
Butterfree chirped again, "Butterfree ~," and looked at Hayashi Kaede eagerly.
It couldn't wait to eat.
Seeing its expression, Hayashi Kaede felt a little amused, but his mood lightened considerably.
"Alright... since we haven't made the Energy Cubes yet, come with me to the kitchen."
He headed towards the kitchen, with Butterfree following closely behind, its expression growing increasingly cheerful.
One month—almost a full month without eating, having to watch Miltank eat every day—was simply torture for it.
"Miltank ~"
Arriving in the kitchen, Gardevoir had already finished its part of the preparations; the rest was Hayashi Kaede's job.
Hayashi Kaede wasn't in a hurry. Looking at the evolved Butterfree, he thought for a moment, figuring its dietary preferences would have changed after evolution.
After all, its mouthparts were different now.
So, he simply blended MooMoo Milk with Sweet Honey to make a honey milk. Then, using his powers, he crushed a previously created Dream Energy Cube and added it to the milk.
"Alright, this is your food now."
"Butterfree ?"
Butterfree was a bit confused.
This didn't seem like the food it used to eat.
"Evolving means your diet needs to change too. Go on, try it."
Butterfree flapped its wings and immediately activated its newly acquired psychic power, Psybeam. As if by instinct, the milk slowly flowed into its "mouth."
After taking a sip, its eyes lit up at the combination of the sweet honey and the distinctive, refreshing tartness of the MooMoo Milk—a large can of milk perfectly suited to the approaching autumn.
This was delicious too...
"Alright, go drink outside! I'm busy!"
"Butterfree ~" (Okay... okay...)
Butterfree carefully controlled the bowl with its psychic power and flew outside.
Seeing this, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but sigh, "Why didn't I thought of Butterfree could learn psychic techniques?"
Then, he got busy with his work for the day...