Ten minutes later, under Silas's diligent and attentive feeding, the Mudbrays were stuffed to the brim.
For the first time in their lives, they experienced the sensation of being so full that they could eat no more, and they firmly refused Silas's attempts to feed them again.
At the same time, their favorability toward Silas shot up dramatically.
If this were a game, the "+1 +1" symbols floating above the Mudbrays' heads would probably never stop popping up.
The gourmet strategy was a resounding success!
Now it was time to execute the final step—patiently guiding them and extending the invitation.
"Was it tasty?" Silas asked.
"Mud! Mud!"
"Would you like to be able to eat food like this every single day?" Silas asked again.
The Mudbrays blinked their eyes rapidly and nodded hard. "Mud! Mud~!"
"Then, would you like to come with me to my ranch? I can provide you with a safe and warm place to live, as well as lots and lots of food."
Silas extended an olive branch toward the Mudbrays and asked sincerely.
However, their reaction completely exceeded Silas's expectations. The leading Mudbray—clearly the big brother—showed panic on its face, shaking its head as it backed away a few steps.
"Is that a no?"
Confused, Silas squatted down. "Can you tell me why you don't want to leave?"
"Mud! Mud!"
He couldn't understand.
The communication skills of the little Mudbrays were simply too poor—he needed a translator.
"Cha~ They are Pokémon under Lord Pyroar's protection. If they want to leave, they must first obtain Boss Pyroar's permission, Tot~!" came the noisy explanation.
At some point, Chatot had appeared beside them, conveying the Mudbrays' meaning.
"So that's how it is."
Silas suddenly understood. In his mind appeared the image of a tall, powerfully built Pyroar. They had met once before—it was an extremely formidable Pokémon.
"Kang—!" At that very moment, Kangaskhan suddenly raised its head and looked alertly in a certain direction.
A fiery red figure flashed across the distance, eventually stopping atop a large boulder.
"Roooar—"
An imposing presence no weaker than Kangaskhan's surged outward. Its giant-like body was crowned with a mane of flames dancing in the wind, and with its appearance, the surrounding temperature visibly rose.
This was an enormous Pokémon.
The two Pokémon confronted each other for a brief moment before the tense atmosphere abruptly eased. Pyroar gave a cold greeting.
"So these Pokémon are under your protection," Silas said to the approaching Pyroar.
Totem Pokémon were a very special existence in nature.
They were born through nature's own selection, and their duty was to maintain the ecological balance of a region.
Protecting weak and juvenile Pokémon was one of their responsibilities.
Totem Pokémon were guardians of the natural ecosystem, and also bridges between humans and wild Pokémon.
The Pyroar before him was precisely the Totem Pokémon of Route 12. When Silas had first arrived, the two had already had a brief confrontation.
An old acquaintance—this made things much easier.
Silas explained his request to Pyroar.
Pyroar lowered its head, its blue-amber eyes sweeping over the three Mudbrays.
The Mudbrays whimpered softly, as if explaining something.
After a short while, the exchange ended with a dignified low roar from Pyroar.
Pyroar's gaze focused on Silas, and it let out a roar toward him.
"Huh? What does that mean?"
Silas turned to Chatot, waiting for a translation.
"Cha~ Boss Pyroar says he needs to personally confirm the Mudbrays' future living environment before agreeing to let you take them away, Tot!."
"I see!" Silas nodded in understanding. Pyroar truly was a responsible head of the household.
He was clearly putting a great deal of thought and effort into the well-being of the Pokémon under his care.
Naturally, Silas had no objections and gladly agreed.
"Of course, no problem."
"How about tomorrow morning? Pyroar, bring the Mudbrays to my ranch. It's the one near the coastline."
"Roar!" Pyroar spoke sparingly, giving a noncommittal nod.
At seven in the evening, Silas and his group returned to the ranch.
Compared to when they had left, there was now one more Pokémon at the ranch.
"Chatot, do you want to stay inside the house?"
After circling the small ranch house once, Chatot landed on a horizontal beam beneath the eaves.
"Cha~ tot~"
Bird Pokémon disliked restraints. Compared to the enclosed environment of a house, they preferred staying outside.
"Alright then. I'll get you a blanket—nights are still pretty cold," Silas said, turning to enter the house. He found an old blanket and handed it to Chatot.
Chatot chose a suitable spot, spread out the blanket, and stomped on it a few times with its claws, letting out a satisfied low chirp.
After taking care of everything, night fully fell. Silas quickly said to the three Pokémon, "After running around with me all afternoon, you must be tired. I'll go cook dinner right now."
Before cooking, Silas lit the fireplace to dispel the chill inside the house.
He let Kangaskhan and the others stay indoors to avoid catching a cold.
Tonight's dinner was made primarily from the fresh ingredients gifted by John and Penny.
With a bit of processing, they became a nutritious meal.
He peeled the small pumpkin, scooped out the seeds, and cut it into small pieces. He brought water to a boil over high heat, added rice, and once the water boiled again, tossed in the cleaned pumpkin chunks, lowering the heat to let it simmer.
During this time, Silas washed the Berries, cut them into pieces, arranged them on a plate, and added a bit of white sugar.
He picked up a bottle of Moomoo Milk and poured it in along the edge.
He still remembered that adding Moomoo Milk to a berry platter could trigger a special culinary transformation.
Lowering his head, information about this advanced dish popped up before his eyes.
[Berry Milk Platter (B−): A delicacy made by mixing various Berries. Due to the addition of high-quality Moomoo Milk, it has undergone an extraordinary change.
Dish Effect:
Pokémon's Friend: After consumption, it significantly increases a Pokémon's happiness and favorability, with additional bonuses for wild Pokémon.]
Pokémon's Friend?
A simple yet not-so-simple effect.
It could be said that as long as Pokémon ate the dishes he made, Silas would effectively turn into a Pokémon charmer.
Even if he entered the territory of powerful Pokémon, he would not be attacked.
This was one of the essential dishes for traveling outside.
At the same time, while looking at the dish description, another thought arose in Silas's mind.
If instead of high-quality Moomoo Milk, he had used top-tier milk, would the effect change again?
While Silas was pondering this, waves of sweet fragrance reached his nose.
He quickly lifted the pot lid, and a burst of steam billowed out.
The pumpkin and rice had fully blended together, the pumpkin's gentle sweetness mingling with the aroma of rice, making it impossible to resist.
Another excellent dish.
[Pumpkin Porridge (C): Rice porridge with added pumpkin. Recommended to eat while hot.
Dish Effect: Stamina Recovery (Medium), Rototiller Lv.1 (Rototiller Pokémon Only). After consumption, the Rototiller move increases by one level, allowing better care of farmland and accelerating crop growth speed, with a very small chance of cultivating mutated crops.]
Hm?
Silas let out a soft chuckle.
The Mudbrays hadn't even joined the ranch yet, and he had already prepared their work meal in advance.
Accelerating crop growth went without saying, but the chance of inducing crop mutations made Silas extremely curious.
Would they become gigantic, or would they develop some extraordinary special effects?
As he speculated, Silas grew more and more eager for the Mudbrays to officially join the ranch.
(End of Chapter)