Chapter 136: Grass Cake
Chapter 136: Grass Cake
It was already afternoon when the grass-cutting operation finally came to an end.
Looking at the pile of grass stacked in the ranch, towering like a small hill, Naoki said to his riding goats:
"Now you guys are in for a treat!"
The three riding goats milled around the grass pile, sniffing at it from time to time but not taking a bite.
Naoki didn't mind. He took the towel that Goulash handed him and wiped the sweat off his face, then hugged a portion of the grass and brought it back to the room, soaking it in a basin of water.
He planned to use some of this grass to make grass dumplings and experiment with new Grass-type dishes, while the rest would be dried and stored as hay.
That way, when winter came and the land was covered in snow, depriving the goats and Miltank of fresh grass, he could offer them these treats.
It was similar to how humans enjoyed dried and salted fish or cured meat.
Naoki opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of fruit juice, gulping it down to quench his thirst.
Glancing at the time, he saw that it was still early, so he decided to start experimenting with a new Grass-type dish.
He heated a pot of water and, once it boiled, added the grass. After a few minutes, a simple boiled grass dish was ready.
Naoki looked down, and the information about this boiled grass dish appeared in his mind.
[Boiled Grass (F)
: An awful dish that loses the original flavor of the grass due to overboiling in a large amount of water. The excessive cooking time ruins its texture, resulting in a terrible taste that is hard to swallow.
Dish Effect: Likely to decrease Grass-type Pokemon's affinity.
Evaluation: Eating this feels like chewing wax; perhaps only a Grass-type Pokemon that has been hungry for a week would try it.]
Naoki: "..."
"Well, there are dishes with debuffs, after all," Naoki muttered to himself.
However, this was just a small experiment, and such an outcome was within his expectations.
Dumping the boiled grass into the trash bin, Naoki looked at the remaining grass and thought, "If boiling doesn't work, what about juicing it?"
With that in mind, he took out the juicer, washed the grass, and put it in, adding an appropriate amount of water.
As the juicer whirred, the once-clear water gradually turned green, and soon, several cups of grass juice were ready.
Naoki poured them into bowls.
[Grass Juice (C)
: A beverage made from ripe summer grass, favored by many Grass-type Pokemon for its rich flavor and texture.
Dish Effect: Supplement Lv. 1, slightly restores Grass-type energy in Pokemon, and restores PP for Grass-type moves.
Evaluation: Using tender spring grass might yield better results.]
Hmm...
Naoki stared at the grass juice in front of him.
The supplement effect was similar to the PP-restoring items in the game, but only for Grass-type moves. It was a bit unfortunate that it didn't have much effect on Pokemon of other types.
Next, Naoki tried out various cooking methods he could think of, including deep-frying, stir-frying with spicy peppers, and steaming the grass.
However, the results were not very satisfactory.
[Deep-fried Grass (F)
: Effect – Lowers Grass-type Pokemon's affinity.]
[Steamed Grass (E)
: Effect – Slightly restores Grass-type Pokemon's stamina.]
[Spicy Grass (D-)
: Effect – There is a small chance that a Grass-type Pokemon will breathe fire after eating, increasing affinity with certain Pokemon.]
Naoki was left speechless.
Undoubtedly, the "certain Pokemon" referred to here were the Fire/Grass-type Pokemon, Scovill, and its evolution, Capsicum.
His mind conjured up the image of the oddly-shaped Pokemon with a humanoid body and two large heads resembling chili peppers.
One head was green, and when stimulated by spicy flavors, it became aggressive, converting the spiciness into fire energy and shooting explosively spicy flames from the red head.
To be honest, it was a Pokemon that Naoki struggled to appreciate.
He found the three-headed Hydreigon more pleasing to the eye than Capsicum.
He called over his Motostoke, asking it to deliver the edible grass dishes to the riding goats, while the rest ended up in the trash bin.
Now, it was time for the highlight of this experiment—the Grass Cake.
This was a very special dish.
In the game he played in his previous life, if players fed this cake to the little people they raised and then placed them in their farms to help tend the crops, the crops would exhibit slight mutations.
Naoki recalled the cake-making process in his mind and began to try it out.
The next step was to beat the egg whites with sugar until they resembled whipped cream, and then fold it into the green batter.
Once fully combined, he poured the batter into a cake mold and placed it in the oven to bake for 55 minutes.
Full of anticipation for the outcome of his creation, Naoki sat in a chair. After what felt like an eternity, the timer dinged, and the cake was ready.
Naoki eagerly took the cake out of the oven and looked down at it, causing the information about this cake to appear in his mind.
[Incomplete Grass Cake, effects unknown.]
Huh, incomplete?
Naoki was slightly taken aback, but then he suddenly remembered that in the game, the cake was supposed to be topped with a layer of cream.
With that in mind, he went outside and called out to Sour Cream, asking it for a large bucket of fresh cream.
However, the cream was white and didn't have a grassy flavor.
After a moment of thought, Naoki took the grass pulp he had made earlier and mixed it into the fresh cream, whisking continuously until the once-white cream turned into a vibrant grassy green color.
The final step was now upon him.
Naoki carefully placed the baked cake on a rack and evenly spread the fragrant, grass-scented green cream over it, smoothing it out until everything was neat and tidy.
Finally, he placed a tender green blade of grass on top, and the cake was complete.
From the outside, it looked almost identical to Lazy Sheep's Grass Cake.
This highly likely indicated a successful attempt!
Naoki looked on excitedly, only to be surprised once more as the cake's information changed before his eyes from [Incomplete Grass Cake] to [Grass Cake].
[Grass Cake (A)
: A cake made from ripe summer grass, flour, Moomoo Fresh Milk, and Sour Cream's cream.
Dish Effect: Ever-Changing Blossom. When eaten by Grass-type Pokemon, there is an extremely small chance that the crops they care for using Grass-type energy will undergo slight mutations.
Evaluation: Perfectly blends the flavors of various ingredients, widely popular among Grass-type Pokemon. A Grass-type Pokemon who eats this may feel grateful and bring you a pleasant surprise.]
Success! It really is the Grass Cake!
Naoki was delighted, feeling proud and thinking, "Looks like I do have a talent for making cakes!"
He eagerly brought the freshly baked cake to the goat pen and found the three riding goats having their meal.
The riding goats caught a whiff of a very unique fragrance.
They looked up and saw Naoki holding a small green cake, from which the enticing aroma originated.
"Meeeh?"
"Fuwow?"
Even Mini Fu, who was nearby, was drawn over by the scent.
Naoki looked at them and introduced the cake, "This is Grass Cake, made with grass and other ingredients. It should suit your tastes."
He took out a fruit knife and swiftly cut the cake into several portions, offering them to the Pokemon before him.
The riding goats lowered their heads to lick the cake, and soon after, they began devouring it at an increased pace.
They finished the cake in no time and looked at Naoki expectantly.
Seeing that the riding goats enjoyed it, Naoki beamed, "If you like it, I'll make it for you often."
Luckily, there was still a huge pile of grass left.
"Meeeh~"
The riding goats were overjoyed.
Just then, Mini Fu's body suddenly erupted with a dazzling light, immediately capturing Naoki and the riding goats' attention.
Within the glow, Mini Fu's form rapidly transformed.
Its body grew larger, sprouting tiny limbs, and the olive on its head split into two, with the green leaves wrapping around its entire body.
From the outside, it resembled a little girl wearing a green skirt and sporting pigtails.
After a moment, the light faded, and Naoki smiled, "Congratulations, Mini Fu, or should I say, Olive now."
"Olive~"
Olive let out a cheerful cry, and the next second, two jets of fragrant oil shot out from the two olives on her head.
Naoki and the riding goats were splattered with the oil.
The riding goats lowered their heads to lick the delicious-tasting oil off their bodies.
Naoki dabbed some of the oil with his finger and brought it close to his nose, inhaling a fresh and pleasant aroma.
The quality of the oil that Olive produced far exceeded that of the ordinary oil sold in town!
"It smells amazing!"
Olive, pleased by his reaction, exclaimed, "Olive!"
Then, two more streams of oil were sprayed out.
At this moment, Frost Fairy hopped by not far away, with Glaceon and the Salandits following behind.
Seeing them, Naoki quickly called out, "Frost Fairy, come and take a look. Who is this?"
"Mama?"
Frost Fairy turned her head to look, and when she saw Olive's figure, she immediately widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Mama!"
"Oli~"
Olive's voice was gentle and soft, resembling a shy young girl.
Frost Fairy circled around Olive, seemingly surprised by Mini Fu's transformation.
Naoki stood up, and together with the riding goats, they smiled and watched this heartwarming scene.
Then, he suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, that's right."
The riding goats turned their heads towards him. "Meeeh?"
Naoki said to them, "Starting today, I have a new task for you. I want you to use your Grass-type energy to help me take care of the crops in the fields. Can you do that?"
"Meeeh~"
Grass-type energy? Of course, it was no problem! The riding goats readily agreed.
"Then I'm counting on you!" Naoki smiled and patted their heads.
With the riding goats caring for the crops, magical changes would occur, and the dishes made from these crops would be fed to the Pokemon in the ranch. Finally, with their combined strength, the ranch would flourish, creating a perfect cycle.
Naoki was curious to see what kind of magical changes the crops would undergo under their care.
However, it was a pity that this batch of crops had just been planted, and it would take a long time for them to mature.
Of course, there was also the possibility that they might remain unchanged, with no mutations at all.
After all, the probability of the Grass Cake causing mutations was extremely low.
This minuscule probability meant that there might only be one mutated crop in an entire field.
But it didn't matter to Naoki. He just wanted to enjoy his life, and if there were pleasant surprises along the way, that would be wonderful, but he wouldn't force it.
As the sun set in the distant horizon, dusk approached, and the weary birds in the mountains began to return to their nests.
Naoki stretched lazily and then looked at Glaceon, walking up to her and picking her up.
Glaceon was completely caught off guard by Naoki's sudden action, and she froze for a moment, forgetting to struggle.
Naoki looked into her eyes and grinned. "You're so cute!"
"Bu'i...!"
Glaceon finally reacted and frantically wriggled out of his arms, turning to run back into her ice house.
Seeing this, Naoki couldn't help but laugh.
At that moment, one of the Salandits looked up at him and jumped twice on the grass. "Sal Sal!"
"Alright, come here for a hug too!"
Naoki bent down and picked up the Salandit, and when he held it over his head, the Salandit exclaimed in surprise, "Sal Sal!"
The other three Salandits gathered around, and Naoki hugged each one of them. After hugging the last Salandit, he found Salandit Lo standing in front of him with an expectant look on his face.
Naoki: "..."
He walked up to Salandit Lo and tried to pick him up, but in the end, he plopped down on the grass, out of breath.
"I'm sorry, you're too heavy," Naoki panted.
After evolving, Salandit Lo's weight had soared to over 200 pounds, which was definitely not something an ordinary person could lift.
Hearing this, Salandit Lo's face fell, but he quickly recovered.
Because he had a great idea!
Salandit Lo lowered his body and lay down on the ground, then turned his head and made a dull sound. "Lei!"
"What?" Watching Salandit Lo's actions, Naoki guessed, "Do you want me to get on your back?"
"Lei!" Salandit Lo nodded his head.
Since Naoki couldn't lift him, Salandit Lo would be the one to carry Naoki!
"But let me remind you, I am quite heavy," Naoki said.
Salandit Lo indicated that it was no problem.
Seeing this, Naoki placed his hand on Salandit Lo's shoulder and sat on his back. After evolving, Salandit Lo's body had become much broader, easily accommodating a person.
Once Naoki was settled, Salandit Lo stood up, letting out a happy cry. "Lei~"
Naoki couldn't help but laugh. "When you all evolve into Salazzles, I'll be able to sit on your shoulders."
(End of Chapter)
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