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Bang!
A dull thud echoed.
The Galarian Meowth soared high into the air once more, landing heavily on the ground with a sharp smack.
Dust scattered in its wake.
The spectating Meowth, witnessing this one-sided battle, gradually lost interest and dispersed. Only a few young Meowth who were close to the Galarian Meowth remained, cheering it on. They were clearly the same age as it.
Watching this, Lucario recalled their earlier conversation and thought to itself that perhaps these others were also the same age as the Galarian Meowth.
After all, Lucario itself was still a five-year-old puppy.
Lucario slowly walked over and noticed the Galarian Meowth had already passed out. It suddenly remembered the white headband the creature had been wearing earlier.
It gave off a strong Sakura Island chef vibe.
Where had it hidden the headband?
Looking left and right, Lucario used its glowing bone club to push aside the Galarian Meowth's thick beard and discovered the white headband concealed within.
So it was hidden inside its beard.
"Ha!"
The moment the bone club touched the headband, the Galarian Meowth, which had been lying on the ground playing dead, instantly opened its eyes. It pushed off the ground with both claws and leaped backward, creating distance between them.
Then, it stared warily at Lucario, hissing continuously. It looked like a child about to have its treasure stolen.
"Uh, haha, don't worry, I'm not going to take your things," Lucario said with a smile. "But your cooking seems really good. Can I have a taste? I can pay you."
Its eyes glowed faintly as it clearly saw the Galarian Meowth's aura becoming unstable.
Touching the headband could stimulate it like that?
Lucario felt it had discovered a blind spot.
Across from it, upon hearing Lucario's words, the Galarian Meowth's wary expression slowly relaxed, reverting to its usual blank stare.
"Meow."
Who knew if the creature had agreed or not, but when it turned to leave, Lucario followed it. The other spectating Meowth did the same, because they knew the Galarian Meowth couldn't refuse a request to make food.
The group of cats traveled through the jungle near the cat's nest. Soon, they arrived at a stretch of rocky beach. A clear stream flowed down from a distant valley, the water cool and refreshing. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating a soft, whispering sound.
The Galarian Meowth crawled into the hollow of a large tree and pulled out a jet-black iron wok, a frying pan, and a wooden spatula.
The other Meowth spontaneously retrieved various ingredients from nearby large trees and their hollows. There were berries, vegetables, Moomoo Milk, Chansey eggs, strange seasonings, and canned Alcremie cream.
Lucario even saw rice and... a spring onion? Wasn't that Farfetch'd's weapon? Lucario's jaw dropped.
After preparing all the basic tools, they found the "stove," a blackened stone pile clearly designed to hold an iron wok with space underneath for firewood.
Seeing the scorch marks on the stones, Lucario knew this wasn't their first time doing this.
Just as it expected the Galarian Meowth to show off its skills, the creature suddenly dove into the stream with a loud splash, sending up a huge spray.
The water wasn't deep, but due to the Galarian Meowth's small size, the water level still rose above the coin on its head.
Strangely enough, being a cat, it wasn't afraid of water. In fact, it even used a doggy paddle to swim around, searching for what it wanted. After locating its target, it dove with remarkable decisiveness and agility.
Recalling Li Xiang's evaluation of its evolved form—"Pirate Cat"—couldn't have been more accurate.
Plop!
The coffee-colored cat burst out of the water, holding in its mouth a plant that looked like algae but had a root resembling a cherry radish.
Placing the gathered plant aside, it began to seriously scrub its paws in the stream water, meticulous and unwilling to leave even a speck of mud behind.
—"A good chef first needs clean hands."
Lucario suddenly remembered Li Xiang's words echoing in its head. The Galarian Meowth immediately gave off a much more serious impression.
"What are you planning to make?"
Lucario couldn't help but ask, watching the other Meowth set up the wok, boil water, and start a fire. It hadn't expected a response, only speaking its thoughts aloud.
To its surprise, the Galarian Meowth answered.
"Fruit and vegetable salad, gratin, and curry rice."
The cat, which previously had a blank expression, now stood before the stove with clear, focused eyes and responded methodically.
At the same time, a confident expression appeared on its face.
Shwoop—
The white headband coiled around its head like a long dragon, drawing a beautiful circle and covering the coin on its forehead.
In an instant, the Galarian Meowth's eyes lit up. It looked at the ingredients laid out by the other Meowth and began processing them with incredible proficiency, without a moment's hesitation.
The first two dishes were understandable, but why choose curry rice?
Lucario suppressed its urge to comment and quietly watched from behind, growing more and more astonished because this Galarian Meowth processed ingredients even more efficiently than Li Xiang!
Whether peeling or removing roots and stems, it moved with seamless, fluid grace, dazzling to watch. It was like a master chef who had honed their craft for years!
In Lucario's aura vision, the Galarian Meowth's aura was extremely active, as if it had been sleeping and suddenly awakened. The expression on its face also grew more confident.
Lucario blinked several times, confirmed it wasn't dreaming, and folded its arms in deep thought.
Did tying on the headband hold some special meaning for this creature? Or was cooking itself the main factor affecting its emotional state?
Compared to battle, this creature's talent seemed entirely focused on cooking.
If its food really tasted good… should it try to recruit it?
Lucario began pondering this question.
For Lucario, neither the Galarian Meowth's unique nature nor its battle talent was enough to extend an olive branch. Asking the Galarian Meowth earlier if it wanted to become stronger was just a casual question.
But now, it truly wanted to recruit the cat. After all, if they had a Pokémon that could both cook and fight, it would lighten Li Xiang's burden somewhat.
Speaking of which, Lucario had also tried to learn cooking before, but when it realized it had no talent for it, it wisely stopped.
Incineroar only knew how to eat, not cook. Greninja couldn't even hold a spatula. Rotom, being an electronic ghost, had no sense of taste at all. Lucario's own homemade cookies had turned out salty!
As for the remaining oddballs, Lucario had never held any expectations for them.
Now, a Pokémon that appeared to be a very skilled cook had appeared. Lucario felt that if the Galarian Meowth's food really tasted good, it might be worth trying to recruit it.
If it failed, no big deal.
But what if it succeeded?
With a hint of anticipation, Lucario began to smell the aroma of food.
"Growl."
A sudden sound of drooling was heard.
"You followed me too?" Lucario turned around helplessly, looking at Greninja, who had appeared beside it at some point.
"To be fair, it does smell good," Greninja said seriously.
Lucario twitched the corner of its mouth.
Half an hour later, the Galarian Meowth's dishes were ready. They were placed in several small bowls and set before Lucario and Greninja.
"It's simple fare, but please enjoy," it said.
As it spoke, a rich, appetizing aroma wafted over, like a golden wave washing over the dog and frog's faces.
Both fell silent.
Truth be told, Pokémon that could cook did exist; Lucario had seen many on Li Xiang's phone. Li Xiang once said that some of those Pokémon had genuine skill, while others were purely products of hype.
How to tell the difference? Let the facts speak for themselves.
Lucario seriously picked up the curry rice. Whether it was its imagination or not, the bowl of rice seemed to glow.
"Please, help yourselves."
The Galarian Meowth smiled confidently.
It had long since recognized where Lucario and Greninja came from. That unique, complex scent was impossible to forget.
A group of Pokémon from human society wanted to taste its cooking? Nothing could be better!
The Galarian Meowth had long wanted to know what difference, if any, existed between its own cooking and that of humans.. but when the dean ate it, the only feedback was always "delicious."
Under the Galarian Meowth's watchful gaze, the two Pokémon devoured the entire bowl of curry rice, along with the gratin and other side dishes, in extremely swift motions.
The bowls were cleaner than if they had been licked by a dog.
Lucario and Greninja were both lost in the afterglow of the delicious meal.
Feedback? There was no specific feedback.
This meal wasn't the kind that would make them "explode their clothes" or "moan," but it was simply delicious.
The purest form of deliciousness. It needed no other adjectives, representing the most basic yet highest standard of cooking.
Lucario couldn't help but applaud. Greninja joined in, nodding in agreement.
The crisp clapping echoed far and wide, resonating with the other Meowth in the distance.
No words were needed; the Galarian Meowth already had its answer. It let out a soft snort, a proud expression on its face, and reached a paw back to remove the headband.
"Thank you for the meal!"
Its meow echoed by the stream.
Inevitably, Lucario extended an olive branch to the Galarian Meowth. To prove its point, it even told the Galarian Meowth that it had access to even more delicious and purer ingredients.
To demonstrate, Greninja pulled out a box of energy blocks from who knows where.
These were all made from berries found on Mist Island. The Galarian Meowth's gaze began blank, but the moment Greninja opened the box, its eyes lit up sharply.
"Where did you get these ingredients?" It snatched the box carrying the energy blocks and asked loudly.
Any chef with dreams deeply values the quality of their ingredients. The Galarian Meowth's nose had never encountered such an intoxicating scent before.
But why hadn't it noticed it earlier?
It looked at Greninja, understanding that it had used some technique to affect its sense of smell.
"Want them? If you come with us to the university, we'll tell you!" Lucario coaxed.
It expected the Galarian Meowth to hesitate. Instead, the creature didn't even think before nodding directly.
"I'll go! I definitely want to go!"
Its words were extremely firm. As a chef, a cooking cat, it yearned to create even more delicious food. For that, both skill and ingredients were indispensable!
The surrounding Meowth panicked.
"Ah-dai! You can't just run off!"
"Yeah, you've never even been to the city. How can you go to a place full of trainers like that?"
"It's very dangerous there!"
Their words did nothing to dissuade the Galarian Meowth. It had always been a rather stubborn character, sticking to its word.
"I've made up my mind! I'll talk to Grandpa about it myself!"
After saying this, as if all its brainpower had been used up in that short moment, the Galarian Meowth's gaze reverted to its usual blankness.
Lucario and Greninja exchanged glances, their expressions full of glee.