"Looks like you're not hungry. In that case, let's go buy some daily necessities."
Holding Cinccino, whose little belly was already puffed up, Hayato walked out of the Pokémon Center.
Cinccino, Chatot, and Mudbray were all small Pokémon, so there was no need to keep them inside Poké Balls. Hayato simply let them follow behind him.
It was their first time visiting a city. Seeing so many humans and Pokémon, the three little ones could hardly take it all in. They looked around curiously, fascinated by everything they saw.
Hayato patiently explained things one by one.
By the time they finally arrived at the department store for daily goods, half an hour had already passed.
Starting from the first floor, Hayato began shopping floor by floor.
Rice, flour, cooking oil, soy sauce, vinegar, honey—none of these essentials could be missing.
He also bought fresh vegetables and a small amount of meat, though only enough for a few days.
The weather was getting hotter day by day, and there was no refrigerator in the ranch cabin. Meat wouldn't keep for long.
Thinking about refrigerators, Hayato went to check the price of generators.
The wheel-type generators designed for small Electric-type Pokémon—like Pikachu, Dedenne, and Pachirisu—cost more than 5,000 Poké Dollars.
Too expensive.
Way too expensive.
Better leave that for later.
Still… the fireplace worked pretty well—providing both light and warmth.
Hayato knew that using the fireplace was only a temporary solution.
Once he harvested the first batch of spring crops and had some money coming in, he could buy proper equipment.
Otherwise, summer without air conditioning would be unbearable.
The Pokémon would need cooling too.
Finally, Hayato bought some pasture grass seeds, ending today's major shopping trip.
Total spending: 2,000 Poké Dollars.
" Mudbray , are you sure this is okay?"
The bags hanging on both sides of Mudbray were stuffed full of supplies, the weight making them sag noticeably.
"mud~!"
Mudbray shook its head, indicating that this amount of weight was nothing for it.
"Alright. But if it gets too heavy, tell me immediately. Don't push yourself."
For the return trip, Hayato chose to walk.
Chatot flew low in the air ahead, scouting the path.
Hayato followed behind while holding Cinccino.
Mudbray carried most of the supplies but still looked completely relaxed, walking briskly with a gust-like rhythm.
At the ranch gate, Kangaskhan , who had been lying there bored out of its mind, suddenly perked up its ears and stood upright, staring down the road.
When it spotted a familiar figure, it cried out excitedly and sprinted forward.
It immediately scooped Hayato into a tight hug, nuzzling against him as if pouring out all the longing it had felt.
"Alright, alright. You're already a big kid now—why are you still like this?"
Hayato helplessly patted Kangaskhan , signaling for it to put him down.
After calming Kangaskhan , Hayato let the Pokémon go play while he unloaded everything from Mudbray 's back and organized the supplies neatly onto the shelves inside the cabin.
He also recorded today's expenses and confirmed tomorrow's tasks.
The patch of wasteland he had recently cleared needed to be planted.
Aside from the strawberry seedlings he had received from the Denzelcouple's ranch, Hayato had also bought several other types of seeds this time.
They were all popular crops.
Their economic value was high, though they required more careful management.
By comparison, pasture grass seeds were easy—just scatter them across the ground.
Fortunately, the ranch now had the Mudbray helping out.
Otherwise, Hayato wouldn't dare risk planting these crops.
If something went wrong, it could all be a complete loss.
The high proficiency of the move Rototiller gave Hayato the confidence to try.
To him, the Mudbray were practically three experienced veteran farmers.
After planning out the schedule for the coming week, Hayato also prepared dinner in advance.
The next day, the weather was bright and clear.
A rare stretch of consecutive sunny days.
Hayato and the Pokémon woke up early, ate breakfast, and headed straight to work in the fields.
They started with the strawberries.
Normally, strawberries required raising seedlings beforehand.
But the Denzelcouple had given him young strawberry plants, saving him that step.
Strawberries couldn't be planted too sparsely or too densely.
Before planting each seedling, Hayato sprinkled a handful of fertilizer into the hole.
He chose Rapid Growth Fertilizer, which could accelerate crop development.
It shortened the growth cycle by 10%, allowing crops to mature earlier and reducing potential risks during cultivation.
Since this was his first time farming, Hayato didn't expect perfection.
As long as the crops didn't die, that would already count as a victory.
Working together with the Pokémon, they planted rows upon rows of strawberry seedlings.
The neat rows alone were pleasing to look at.
After finishing the strawberries, they moved on to cabbage.
Handfuls of seeds were planted in small intervals, then watered.
Finally, the Mudbray used Rototiller once more to complete the process.
Strawberries and cabbage each took up one-third of the newly reclaimed farmland.
For the remaining third, Hayato chose to plant an ornamental crop.
Tulips.
Tulips were very popular in Shalour City, and Hayato hoped the first batch of flowers would sell for a good price.
He transplanted the prepared bulbs into the soil, watering and fertilizing them carefully to ensure proper nutrients.
After quite some time, the work was finally finished.
Standing on the ridge of the field with his hands on his hips, Hayato gazed at the lush green rows of seedlings before him.
Before long, these would all turn into shining gold coins.
With the day's work completed, Hayato suddenly found himself with nothing to do.
It was especially hot today, and he didn't feel like going fishing.
His gaze swept across the Pokémon before finally landing on the pile of ingredients he had bought yesterday.
Since he had nothing better to do, he wondered if he could try developing exclusive Pokémon cuisine.
Once the idea struck him, Hayato immediately started working.
The diets of different Pokémon could be incredibly bizarre.
Aside from ordinary ingredients like meat, eggs, milk, and vegetables…
Some Pokémon consumed soil, rocks, metal, sunlight, life energy, or even emotions.
All sorts of edible—or seemingly inedible—things could serve as food for certain Pokémon.
In the end, Hayato decided to create a Mudbray -exclusive dish.
A dish using mud as the main ingredient.
Even if it failed, it wouldn't be a big loss. He could experiment freely.
But what kind of food could mud actually become?
For a moment, Hayato found himself completely stumped.
An idea suddenly crossed his mind.
Could he imitate the way children played house?
mud was extremely malleable—it could be shaped into almost anything.
Practice was the best teacher.
Hayato immediately went to the lakeside and dug up some clean mud.
Sitting cross-legged beneath the shade of a tree, he began kneading the mud.
"mud~?"
One of the Mudbray soaking in the mud pool looked over curiously, tilting its head.
Does the trainer like playing with mud too?
Should they invite him to join them?
But… Cinccino didn't allow them to get their bodies dirty.
The three Mudbray stared at each other with wide eyes, suddenly caught in a dilemma.
They really wanted to play in the mud with the human they liked.
Meanwhile, Hayato was completely focused on his work and hadn't noticed the three heads peeking over nearby.
He kneaded the mud into a smooth dough-like texture and divided it into three portions.
Taking one piece, he imagined the shape of a cake base.
He slowly pinched and molded the edges until it formed a perfect round layer.
While the cake base dried, Hayato didn't waste any time.
He began shaping cream decorations and ornaments for the cake.
About thirty minutes later, a three-layer cake made entirely of mud appeared before him.
The mud cake even had "cream" and various decorative pieces.
Hayato also sliced some Berries and placed them on top as garnish.
If it were made of real pastry dough instead of mud, it would have been a flawless cake.
Hayato nodded in satisfaction at his craftsmanship.
Then, information about the mud Cake appeared before his eyes.
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