On the side of the ranch closest to the lake, Hayato had fenced off an area with wooden stakes.
He planned to build a Mudbray stable there as the Mudbray 's future home.
Normally, Hayato would have gone to a carpentry shop for a project like this.
But his ranch was simply too remote. There wasn't even a proper road connecting it to the outside world, which made transporting building materials extremely difficult.
So he had no choice but to build it himself.
Fortunately, he had his golden-finger system, which saved him ninety-nine percent of the effort.
At his call, a semi-transparent construction interface slowly unfolded before his eyes.
[Building: Mudbray Stable]
Required Materials:
Poké Dollars: 6000Wood: 350Stone: 150
Overall, the cost was still within Hayato 's budget.
He had already asked Kangaskhan to gather timber, which would also help clear another patch of land for farming.
Cinccino and Chatot weren't idle either—they were helping however they could.
Cinccino was cleaning the stable area, pulling out unnecessary weeds.
Later, Hayato planned to plant sweet, tender pasture grass there.
That way, the Mudbray could graze whenever they were hungry and quickly replenish their energy.
Chatot had taken over Hayato 's field patrol duties.
It circled above the fields and occasionally dove down, extending its sharp talons to snatch up insects.
Whether it was fruit trees or crops, the seedlings had only just sprouted.
They absolutely couldn't be ruined by pests.
With the help of his Pokémon, materials were gathered at an astonishing speed.
From time to time, Hayato looked toward the ranch gate.
But there was still no sign of Pyroar or the Mudbray .
Didn't they say they would visit in the morning?
Could something have happened on the way?
That shouldn't be possible.
After all, Pyroar was the Totem Pokémon of this region.
Its strength was unmatched—ordinary wild Pokémon weren't even worthy opponents.
Most Trainers from Shalour City and Coumarine City recognized the lion king that roamed the grasslands and wouldn't dare provoke it.
Furthermore, the Pokémon League had strict laws forbidding Trainers from capturing Totem Pokémon.
Anyone caught attempting it would be treated as a poacher.
Not only would they be wanted by the League, they would also be pursued by International Police.
Time slowly passed as the sun climbed to its highest point in the sky.
Looking at the empty plot before him, Hayato murmured,
"Start construction of the Mudbray stable."
[Construction materials deducted. Please wait patiently.]
"Hm? What are you all doing?"
Coming back to his senses, Hayato noticed that Cinccino and the others had covered their eyes.
"Cinccino!"
"We're waiting for you to perform magic. Chatot hasn't seen it before!"
Cinccino replied softly while peeking through a tiny gap between its paws.
"The magic takes a long time. Let me rinse you all off first."
Hayato picked up Cinccino and lightly patted Kangaskhan .
"Cin~!"
Cinccino immediately understood and took over the cleaning duty.
In a flash, it jumped onto Kangaskhan's body, sweeping its fluffy tail up and down to clean every speck of dirt without missing a single spot.
Meanwhile, Chatot simply flew over to the lake, rolled around in the water twice, and then shook its body dry.
Instantly clean.
"Well then, I'll leave it to you, Cinccino."
Hayato patted its head in praise.
"I'll go cook lunch. Cinccino, want some glutinous rice cakes?"
"Cin!! (ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉ"
Cinccino nodded vigorously.
Glutinous rice cakes were its absolute favorite food—nothing else even came close.
"What about the boss?" Hayato asked, glancing at Kangaskhan .
"How about Spicy Boiled Pork Slices today?"
Kangaskhan : (≧∇≦)ﾉ
As long as Hayato made it, it loved it.
Hayato then shouted toward the lake.
"Chatot! I'll make vegetable salad for you at noon!"
The Pokémon had been busy all morning helping build the stable.
Naturally, Hayato wanted to reward them.
And nothing was better than a delicious lunch tailored to their tastes.
While Hayato was busy cooking, four visitors arrived at the ranch gate.
They were none other than the ones Hayato had been waiting for—
Pyroar and the three Mudbray .
Since it was their first visit—and Pyroar had to look after the Mudbray —they had set out early but only arrived now.
Even before entering the ranch, Pyroar caught a whiff of an extraordinary aroma.
It instinctively turned its head toward the scent as saliva began to gather in its mouth.
"Oh! Pyroar, you're here."
Carrying a plate of Spicy Boiled Pork Slices, Hayato walked out and spotted them at the gate.
He waved.
"You arrived at the perfect time. Come eat with us."
"Roar~"
As Pyroar approached the table, it let out a low growl of curiosity.
Up close, it could feel a strong concentration of Fire-type energy.
Bright red chili peppers coated the pork slices, making its mouth water uncontrollably.
"This is Spicy Boiled Pork Slices," Hayato explained with a smile.
"It's a dish that's especially suitable for Fire-type Pokémon."
Even Hayato couldn't help swallowing as the dish's information appeared before him.
[Sichuan Boiled Pork Slices (B)]
A delicious spicy dish from Sichuan cuisine, combining intense heat and numbing spice into a rich and flavorful meal. Particularly effective for Fire-type Pokémon.
Cooking Effect: Spicy Power Burst
For a short time, the Pokémon's Fire-type energy increases dramatically, and there is a chance for the Pokémon to learn a Fire-type move.
(Effect doubled for Fire-type Pokémon.)
"Go ahead and eat, Pyroar. Give it a try," Hayato urged.
Among the Pokémon present, Pyroar was the only Fire-type.
It had the highest chance of triggering the dish's effect.
" Mudbray , don't be shy. You can eat too."
Hayato invited the Mudbray while keeping his attention fixed on Pyroar.
Pyroar bit into a slice of pork drenched in red chili oil and cautiously placed it in its mouth.
The next moment—
After chewing it a few times, Pyroar's crimson eyes suddenly blazed like burning fireballs.
The fiery mane around its neck flared wildly.
Its body temperature rose rapidly, and its fur shifted from deep red to brilliant crimson-gold.
Inside its body, Fire-type energy surged like a volcanic eruption.
Gradually, Pyroar reached the limit of what it could endure.
Leaping backward to distance itself from everyone else, it finally released the energy.
"ROOOAR!!!"
A mighty lion's roar echoed through the mountains, startling flocks of birds into flight.
A towering pillar of fire shot into the sky, burning fiercely for nearly half a minute before finally fading.
When Pyroar landed again, it looked completely refreshed.
It was as if unleashing that massive flame had cost it no effort at all.
In fact, the opposite was true.
Pyroar had simply released the excess Fire-type energy building inside its body.
Instead of feeling drained, it now felt better than ever, as though it had returned to its peak condition.
The kind of condition where it could battle a female Pyroar back home for three hundred rounds without stopping.
"How is it, Pyroar?" Hayato asked curiously once it calmed down.
"Do you feel any obvious changes? Did you learn a new move or something?"
Pyroar carefully examined itself.
Then it shook its head.
It didn't feel any discomfort.
Instead, its body felt light and full of energy.
It almost wanted to rush home immediately to show its mate its renewed vigor.
At the same time, its Friendship toward Hayato increased sharply.
Having the Mudbray follow a human like this… wasn't a bad thing at all.
Pyroar looked seriously at the Mudbray .
Then its gaze returned to Hayato .
"Roar… roar."
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