Chapter 246:
Beside the barbecue grill, flames danced and sparks flew.
Under the dazzling light, Blaziken's eyes gleamed with reflected firelight.
It is so fragrant, so fragrant...
Its Trainer hadn't grilled barbecue for it in such a long time.
And today's barbecue was something special — a feast made just for it, one whole chicken.
Just imagining the taste made Blaziken's heart race with anticipation.
At the dining table, the three little Mythical Pokémon finally returned home after who-knows-what adventures they'd had that day.
Victini, newly arrived, was still a little timid. On the brother Indeedee's recommendation, it drank a cup of Grepa Berry wine — because Hayashi Kaede had said that this particular wine could help Pokémon bond with each other.
However, the sister Indeedee hadn't expected Victini's "tolerance" to be even lower than Serperior's.
One cup in, and it was already dizzy.
After nibbling on several glowing cookies, it began flying around the room, erratically.
One moment, it flashed a peace sign in front of Alolan Vulpix. The next, it hovered curiously near the Alcremies — and finally, unable to resist its burning curiosity, it asked, "Victini?" (Why do you all smell so good?)
"Alcremie~?"
The Alcremies answered honestly, "Alcremie~" (Because we can produce fragrant cream~)
But the inebriated Victini couldn't resist getting closer. The curiosity in its eyes shone so brightly that it looked ready to scoop up an Alcremie and give it a lick.
Startled, one of the Alcremies — the one that knew Metronome — instinctively waved its creamy little hand while holding a cream puff bun.
At once, the shadows of the night stretched and swallowed the surroundings.
In the next instant, along with a nearby bottle of Grepa Berry wine, both the Alcremie and the bun vanished into the darkness.
The other Alcremies gasped in horror and immediately called out anxiously for Hayashi Kaede.
"Alcremie!" (It's gone!)
"Alcremie!" (It disappeared!)
Hayashi Kaede, who was grilling at the time, heard the commotion. Using his Psychic powers, he levitated all the cooked meat onto a plate before rushing toward the group. "What happened?"
He quickly noticed that one Alcremie was missing.
"Oh no!"
His expression changed. He immediately activated his Aura, spreading his senses throughout the area.
Before long, he found the missing Alcremie — alone, trembling in a dark corner of the plantation.
The plantation lights were off, and with no Pokémon around, the entire area was pitch black.
The little Alcremie looked around, frightened and confused.
"Alcremie…" (Hayashi Kaede...)
"Alcremie…" (It's so dark...)
It didn't know which way to go.
"It's okay, don't be scared" Hayashi Kaede said softly as he approached, his phone light guiding the way. With a gentle wave of Psychic energy, he lifted the strawberry Alcremie into his arms.
When he returned to the garden, Victini had mostly sobered up, watching him with nervous unease. The brother Indeedee also approached, head lowered.
"Indeedee…"
Hayashi Kaede glanced back at the barbecue grill — Gardevoir's Psychic shield was still maintaining the flames — and asked, "What happened just now?"
"Victini…"
Before Victini could answer, the brother Indeedee spoke first, sounding remorseful:
"Indeedee…" (It was me. I gave Victini the Grepa Berry wine. Then Victini got too close to the Alcremies and scared them.)
He immediately admitted his mistake.
"Victini…" Victini added weakly from the side.
"Indeedee!" (Brother, you dummy! The alcohol content in Grepa Berry wine is pretty high!) the sister Indeedee scolded, puffing her cheeks and approaching cautiously to check Hayashi Kaede's reaction.
Hearing this, Hayashi Kaede understood the whole situation.
The brother Indeedee had noticed Victini being shy around others and wanted to help it open up. So he offered it the Grepa Berry wine — but underestimated both its alcohol content and Victini's low tolerance.
The Grepa Berry wine didn't have a "Truth-Telling" effect like certain dishes did, but it did carry a "Heartwarming" property, helping Pokémon grow closer.
Combined with alcohol's courage-boosting effect, Victini had gotten bold — maybe a little too bold.
Then the startled Alcremie had used Metronome… and judging by the result, it must have triggered "Teleport."
Otherwise, there was no way it could have vanished so suddenly.
"Hmm…" After piecing everything together, Hayashi Kaede was about to respond when the little Alcremie spoke up first.
"Alcremie…" (I'm also at fault… I used the move you told us not to use, Hayashi Kaede…)
The Indeedee siblings were always so kind and caring — it didn't want them scolded over a small mistake.
Hayashi Kaede sighed in relief. "Alright. Since everyone's okay, that's what matters."
He turned to Victini, softening his voice. "It's fine. No one's mad. But if you want to eat something — cake, snacks, anything — just tell me. And if you're shy, you can tell the sister Indeedee. She'll let me know."
He knew exactly what Victini was going through.
Unlike Jirachi, who slept peacefully for a thousand years, Victini had lived those thousand years awake — alone, with no companions.
It was only natural for it to struggle with socializing.
Every night after dinner, Hayashi Kaede would listen to the sister Indeedee's reports — which Pokémon needed special care, which had requests, and so on.
"Victini…"
Seeing that neither Hayashi Kaede nor the Alcremies blamed it, Victini's eyes grew warm.
It had caused trouble… and yet this human didn't scold it.
He was so kind.
Victini nodded earnestly, then flew in front of the Alcremies to apologize.
"Victini…"
The Alcremies smiled and offered it a dollop of cream on a plate. "Alcremie~" (Here, have some~)
It wasn't a big deal after all — and after this little episode, the two grew even closer.
Only the brother Indeedee still looked guilty.
"Indeedee…" it murmured apologetically.
"Alright, alright."
Hayashi Kaede crouched down, smiling as he rubbed its face gently. "It's fine. Just be more careful next time."
The sister Indeedee's eyes widened in surprise as her brother's face was squished between Hayashi Kaede's hands.
"Indeedee…" the brother mumbled incoherently, dazed from the affection.
"Okay, be good. I need to go finish grilling for Blaziken." Hayashi Kaede patted its head and walked back toward the barbecue.
When the brother Indeedee finally snapped out of his daze, he looked at his sister with a sheepish grin. "Indeedee…" (The Trainer didn't scold me...)
But the sister, who had just been defending him, puffed her cheeks again and shouted,
"Indeedee!" (Brother's a big idiot!)
Then she turned and ran off to take care of Sprigatito, whose milk was nearly finished and needed to be put to bed — leaving her brother frozen on the spot, completely confused.
When Hayashi Kaede returned to the barbecue grill, the meat — carefully managed by Gardevoir — was nearly done.
After a moment's thought, he decided not to sprinkle the flame powder this time. Instead, he served the freshly grilled meat directly to Blaziken, who had been waiting eagerly beside the fire.
Watching it snatch up a skewer, Hayashi Kaede chuckled. "Blaziken?"
"Blaziken?"
Blaziken looked up curiously.
"Do you have any particular wish or goal you want to achieve by getting stronger?"
He recalled the special dish he'd made earlier for Alolan Vulpix — a meal that had granted it the ability to resist Dragon-type moves and even enhance damage against them.
To be honest, the moment he saw those effects, he thought of Lance — the Indigo League's Dragon-type Elite Four member.
How would he feel facing that Vulpix?
"Blaziken…?" (A wish? A goal?)
Blaziken paused, thinking hard.
Its first wish had been simple — to eat its fill. But that dream had already been fulfilled; here, it could eat well every day.
As for getting stronger…
Its eyes lit up suddenly. "Blaziken!" (I want to become a hero — to protect Brionne, Steenee, and everyone!)
But then it hesitated. "Blaziken…" (And then… and then…)
Hayashi Kaede leaned closer, amused. "And then what?"
"Blaziken…" (And then outrun… you.)
Hayashi Kaede: "…"
That's quite the ambition.
He didn't press further and turned back to the grill. One round of barbecue was never enough for Blaziken — and others were waiting too.
This second batch included grilled pork belly, cabbage, and leeks. Since each ingredient cooked at different speeds, he grilled the meat halfway first before adding the vegetables, ensuring everything finished at the same time.
Finally, when all the food was coated in seasoning, he carefully took out a glass bottle of reddish powder. Using his Psychic power, he handled it delicately — as if afraid to waste even a single grain.
The powder floated evenly over the barbecue. The moment it landed, a burst of fierce flames erupted — though not too intense — and within those flames, the powder's essence slowly infused into the food.
When the fire finally died down, the barbecue seemed to glow faintly gold.
[Legendary-grade Dish – Barbecue Platter]
Barbecue made using various ingredients and Moltres's Flame Feather, exclusive to Fire-type Pokémon.
Infused with the chef's special emotions. When fighting to protect others, flame intensity increases.
Dish Effect 1: Weather Controller – Fire. Greatly enhances control over fire-related weather.
Dish Effect 2: Emotional Resonance. In protection-driven battles, flame intensity increases by 100%.
Dish Effect 3: Blazing Sun – Speed Boost. During Sunny Day, speed rises progressively.
Three effects, as usual.
The primary one was "Weather Controller," this time aligned with Fire — meaning, naturally, Sunny Day.
If that was true, then the dishes made with Zapdos's feather and the Silver Wing would likely be weather-based as well — thunder and wind.
Adding snow and sunlight to the mix…
Hayashi Kaede drew in a sharp breath.
What kind of Pokémon was he even raising anymore?
Each one could manipulate the weather itself…
"Blaziken, Blaziken…"
Beside him, Blaziken could no longer hold back its excitement.
"Alright, alright, it's all yours," Hayashi Kaede said, lightly tapping its beak. "Just make sure to control your energy after eating, okay? Don't go using Sunny Day in late autumn. Everyone's sleeping under blankets — we don't need you turning up the heat at midnight."
He wasn't even sure if Sunny Day could be used at night… but still.
"Blaziken…" (Got it, got it!)
Blaziken nodded as it devoured another skewer.
Watching it eat so enthusiastically, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but smile.
There's a saying — watching a foodie eat is its own kind of joy.