The stairs creaked softly under Shane’s feet, Whimsicott curled up in the crook of his arm like a warm ball of cotton candy.
With how much food he was planning to make tonight, the two of them would definitely end up with a mountain of leftovers—might as well call Kade over.
They were close enough friends that sharing a meal wouldn’t be a problem.
And it would save on food waste, too.
Shane pulled a rack of ribs from the fridge to thaw, then fished out his phone with one hand.
“Kade?
Come eat—I’m cooking tonight.”
“Just got out of the Magic City Forest!”
Kade’s voice came through the receiver, breathless.
“Guess what I caught?
A Skiddo that knows Sunny Day!”
Like Shane, Kade always trained one Pokémon until it hit a bottleneck—no further gains possible for the time being—before moving on to breeding a second.
For Shane it was because he was broke; for Kade, it was because he liked playing a one-Pokémon sweep style.
With Charizard’s growth stalled for now, this Skiddo would be the second Pokémon Kade focused on breeding next.
The Pokémon species found in the Magic City Forest were all a matter of public record.
As a Breeder, Shane had gone out to survey the forest himself before—the variety of Pokémon there was staggering, and more than a few were rare, including one Alpha Snorlax.
Shane laughed, setting the ingredients down on the table.
“You’ve got good luck.”
Phone wedged between his shoulder and ear, Shane stood at the cutting board, tallying up everything he needed for dinner.
“Last time I went out surveying, I only logged two Sunny-Day Skiddo the entire month.
Your luck’s good enough to play the lottery.”
“Obviously!
Just wait till my Charizard Mega Evolves and I pair it with Sunny Day…”
“Why don’t you tell me the rest at the shop?
The sweet-and-sour ribs are almost done reducing.”
“Wait, don’t!
I’m still an hour out, save me some, Shane!
I’m on my way!” The wind of him running rushed through the phone.
“Safety first.”
In truth, the ribs weren’t even close to done—Shane had only just finished laying out the ingredients on the counter and hadn’t started cooking yet.
Pork loin, ribs, lotus root slices, cauliflower—two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, all generous portions. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Between the two of them and three Pokémon, it should be plenty.
The Pokémon would have their own Energy Cubes to fill up on besides.
And if Kade was coming to mooch a meal, he’d better be ready to work for it.
“Whimsicott,” Shane said, tying on his apron while glancing over at the little one currently peering curiously over the edge of the counter, “do we have any spare Grass-type Energy Cubes left?
I think there were some in the cabinet.”
Whimsicott hopped down from the counter at once, pattering over to the storage cabinet in the corner.
It stuck its head inside to rummage around, and after a moment pulled back out, shaking its fluffy body in disappointment.
“Whimsi…
(;´д｀)ゞ” *’We’re all out.’*
“Ah, so we’re out of Grass-type cubes.
Guess I’ll need to make a fresh batch, or the food alone won’t be enough to fill up our little gluttons.”
Shane’s gaze swept over Whimsicott’s expectant eyes.
“Whimsicott, can you grab some berries from the backyard habitat for me?
I need Cheri Berries, Rawst Berries, Oran Berries, Sitrus Berries, Pecha Berries…
and, hm, a few Chesto Berries too.”
“Whimsi!”
Whimsicott perked right up and shot toward the creaky wooden door leading to the backyard.
Once the berries arrived, Shane got to work preparing the Energy Cubes.
He rolled up his sleeves, baring lean forearms, and expertly washed and sorted the berries Whimsicott had brought back.
The kitchen was soon filled with the complex fragrance unique to fresh berries.
The cleanly scraped fruit pulp was sorted and loaded into the Energy Cube maker.
Shane’s fingers danced lightly over the control panel, adjusting temperature and time.
With a faint whirring from the machine, three kinds of Energy Cubes emerged fresh, one after another, each with an enticing color and flawless texture.
Intermediate Fire-type cubes, intermediate Flying-type cubes, and Advanced Grass-type cubes.
Shane picked up an Advanced Grass-type cube.
“This one’s still the easiest for me.”
Advancing to Senior Breeder meant that mastering just one Advanced-tier recipe wasn’t enough—the certification exam required proficiency in five different Advanced Energy Cube recipes.
So Shane had been practicing both the recipes he’d developed himself and the ones Professor Doran had given him.
Once he had the time, he’d be ready to sit the exam.
Just then, a cheerful cry from Whimsicott rang out downstairs, immediately followed by Kade’s signature booming voice.
“Shane, I’m here, I’m starving to death!” This story is hosted at g.com.
Footsteps thundered up the stairs.
“Perfect timing.” Shane pointed at the pile of ingredients waiting on the counter, then tilted his chin toward the freshly made Energy Cubes still giving off a faint warmth.
“Here, rations for Charizard and Skiddo—take them when you leave.
But right now…
well, if you want to eat, you’d better help out.
Young Master Kade, I’m putting you in charge of prepping the ingredients.
Such a small task, surely it’ll be easy for you.”
Kade looked at Shane’s you-know-how-it-is expression and thumped his chest with exaggerated confidence.
“Love you to death, Shane!
I knew I could count on you—as long as the Energy Cubes keep coming, prepping ingredients is a piece of cake.
Watch me!”
He rolled up his sleeves, looking every bit ready to throw himself into it.
Kade set to work cleaning the ingredients.
Shane turned, cinched his apron tight, and got down to actually cooking dinner.
The kitchen symphony began in earnest.
“Here we go!”
Hot oil sizzled softly in the pan as the starch-coated pork loin slid in, sending up an instant plume of tempting white steam and toasty fat.
Sugar and vinegar mingled in another pan, simmering down into a glossy, translucent sauce with a bold sweet-and-sour bite, waiting to embrace the golden-fried ribs.
Dried chilies and garlic cloves bloomed in hot oil, their spicy molecules slamming into the air, before the cauliflower went in with a crisp sizzle of stir-frying.
The plain stir-fried lotus root was a different flavor entirely—the crisp crack as the slices hit the pan, releasing lotus root’s signature clean sweetness, which wove together with the boldness of the sweet-and-sour sauce and the spice of the dry-fry into a mouthwatering overture to dinner.
Soon, sweet-and-sour ribs, braised pork loin, dry-fried cauliflower, and stir-fried lotus root were carried to the table one after another, their aroma like a tangible current of warmth filling the entire second floor in an instant.
“Smells amazing!”
Kade could no longer contain himself, sniffing the air with exaggerated enthusiasm.
Shane divided the three kinds of Energy Cubes into three bowls, matched to each Pokémon’s type.
A flash of red light, and Charizard and Skiddo were released.
Charizard’s massive body looked cramped in the small space, but it instantly locked onto the tempting meat dishes on the table and let out an excited, low growl.
Then its nostrils twitched—not catching a familiar scent—and it immediately pawed, displeased, at the bag Kade had set aside, expertly digging out two bottles of Happy Water.
With a practiced *pop*, it twisted off a cap, gulped down a huge mouthful, and let out a small, satisfied huff through its nose.
Ahh, that hit the spot.
Happy Water really was the best.
The newly caught Skiddo, by contrast, was painfully shy, its small body curled up against Kade’s leg, only daring to poke half its head out to timidly watch Whimsicott and Shane.
“Skidd…