Jigglypuff waved its tiny hands at Silas as he approached, preparing to introduce the good friend it had just met, a good friend who could sing together with it.
"Jiggly, Jigglypuff!"
(Silas, Silas, I am here. I even made a new friend!)
While calling out, Jigglypuff lifted its head to look at the spot above where Inkay had been floating.
"Jigglypuff?"
(Huh? Where did my friend go?)
Jigglypuff tilted its head, its round eyes filled with confusion.
They had clearly been singing together just moments ago. It had only turned to call Silas, and in that short instant its friend had vanished without a trace.
Silas walked over, shaking his head. Jigglypuff had clearly been fooled by that troublesome Inkay.
The Heliolisk sleeping soundly across the beach and the many Water type Pokémon floating on the surface of the sea were all the result of their prank.
One sang songs that made listeners drowsy, while the other flashed hypnotic lights that dazzled the eyes.
With confusion and sleep layered together, the double effect had created the strange spectacle of an entire beach filled with snoring Pokémon.
"Hee hee hee."
A bubble rose from the sea, and Inkay, who had slipped away earlier, poked its head out of the water.
It let out a string of laughter, the triumphant laughter of someone whose prank had succeeded.
"Hmmp!"
Jigglypuff puffed up angrily and buried itself in Silas's arms, turning its head away from Inkay.
The little one was truly upset.
They had been so happy singing together just a moment ago.
While soothing Jigglypuff in his arms, Silas shot Inkay a glare.
That fellow had a rather nasty personality.
"Do not cry, Jigglypuff. After lunch, we will have Clauncher help you catch it and give it a proper lesson."
"Jigglypuff!"
Jigglypuff nodded very seriously, indicating that it planned to draw little turtles all over Inkay's face with its marker.
As it spoke, Jigglypuff pulled off the top of its microphone, revealing a hidden black marker inside.
"Huh?"
Silas was surprised. He had not expected the microphone to have such a function.
If he had looked carefully when buying it, he would have seen a note on the side of the box explaining that this microphone was modeled after the famous Jigglypuff master from the Kanto region. It was essentially a novelty toy with a hidden drawing feature.
After sending Jigglypuff back to the cabin first, Silas asked Cyclizar to take Phione out.
He had Phione use Rain Dance to wake up the sleeping Pokémon scattered across the beach.
Watching Cyclizar dash out enthusiastically, Silas entered the kitchen under Morpeko's eager gaze.
He lifted bowl after bowl of noodles from the pot, topping them with different kinds of Fried bean sauce or hot dry sauce, letting the little ones choose according to their preferences.
There were also several side dishes that paired wonderfully with the noodles.
Fried bean sauce noodles, hot dry noodles, and braised noodles all had fairly ordinary effects. They were common dishes that restored a small amount of stamina and had no additional bonuses.
Even so, the Pokémon loved them.
Morpeko devoured three large bowls in a row, its round belly bulging as it wore a look of complete satisfaction.
Using its tiny claws, it slurped up the stray noodles that had fallen onto the table, then let out a satisfied burp and gave Silas a wide grin.
The food Silas makes is so delicious. I already ate three big bowls.
Minccino nodded in agreement.
Alcremie, Dolliv, Phione, and the other little ones chimed in with praise. Even Clauncher was no exception.
It slurped its noodles one strand at a time, narrowing its eyes in pure enjoyment.
Cyclizar raised its bowl, mouth glistening with oil, asking for another serving.
Just as Silas reached out to take the bowl, three more bowls were handed to him at once.
"You want more too? Can you really finish another full bowl?"
The Galarian Meowth indicated that it had no problem. After all, it trained daily and burned quite a lot of energy.
The regular Meowth also tried to raise its paw, but the Alolan Meowth was quicker.
They suggested sharing one bowl between them to avoid wasting food.
Kangaskhan finished the last bite in its bowl and handed it over as well.
"Alright, I will make four more bowls."
For a cook, there was no greater praise than having his dishes loved by those he served.
Together with the Indeedee siblings, Silas cooked four more bowls of noodles.
After the meal, the dishwashing was taken care of by Minccino and a few of the smaller Pokémon.
Silas lazily lay on the sofa watching television, then took an afternoon nap together with the Pokémon.
In the afternoon, the temperature dropped slightly.
Minccino lifted Clauncher and gathered a group of little companions, calling out to everyone to help Jigglypuff get revenge and show support.
They were going to teach that Inkay a harsh lesson for bullying and deceiving the adorable little Jigglypuff. It was absolutely unforgivable.
Kangaskhan followed along to supervise, so Silas was not too worried.
At most, Inkay's face would simply be covered in little turtles.
What bad intentions could such cute Pokémon possibly have?
With no little ones disturbing him, Silas began attempting to make Century Soup in its sweet variation.
Sunshine Coconut was a necessary ingredient.
He cut open the top of the young coconut and poured out the coconut water for later use.
He handed the remaining work to Morpeko, who was staring eagerly beside him, tossing it a small spoon.
"If you want to drink some, you have to help. Scrape out all the coconut flesh."
Morpeko caught the rich coconut aroma and tried to bargain for a bite.
"No," Silas said, shaking his head while continuing his work. "If you eat it now, there will be none left for you later."
Morpeko shook its head firmly. It could endure for now.
Using the spoon, the little mouse carefully scraped the coconut flesh from the shell.
Silas blanched the crab sticks to remove any fishy odor, then poured the coconut water and an appropriate amount of clean water into a clay pot. He added slices of ginger and a little olive oil for seasoning, then tipped in the chopped coconut flesh.
After bringing it to a boil over high heat, he reduced it to a gentle simmer. Gradually, a rich coconut fragrance filled the air.
Morpeko swallowed helplessly, its little stomach rumbling.
When it noticed Silas looking over, it quickly wiped the drool from its mouth. Even the snacks in its paws no longer seemed appealing.
Taking a moment, Silas flicked Morpeko lightly on the forehead and added the prepared crab sticks into the clay pot.
The crab leg meat from the Pokémon known as Klawf soon released its flavor.
Amid the coconut aroma drifting through the kitchen was a faint, refreshing sweetness.
Silas tasted it briefly.
At first sip, the sweetness was subtle, not an overwhelming sugary rush.
As the coconut soup flowed down his throat and into his stomach, the sweetness gradually deepened.
It was a layered sweetness.
There was the natural sweetness of coconut and the delicate sweetness of seafood, and the two did not clash at all.
After a moment of thought, Silas added the remaining ingredients.
A small handful of finely chopped red onion and a small bowl of diced avocado, each bringing their own unique sweetness.
Finally, he added a pinch of salt for seasoning, sprinkled in chopped herbs, stirred evenly, turned off the heat, and ladled the soup into bowls.
Morpeko, who had been watching every movement intently, immediately held up its small bowl in both paws.
It looked up at Silas with pitiful eyes. All it wanted now was a single bite.
During the short time Silas had been cooking, wave after wave of craving had risen and fallen in its stomach, and drool had nearly formed a puddle.
"Do not rush. Let me check the effect first."
Amused, Silas patted Morpeko's head and casually opened his system panel to examine the detailed information.
(End of Chapter)