Just as Dragonite's paw was about to make contact, it suddenly flinched.
(Something feels wrong!)
Dragonite snapped back to its senses, realizing a cold sweat had broken out across its back.
(No way… it can't be, right? Am I just imagining things?)
Dragonite didn't believe in superstitions, but it couldn't muster the courage either. Its little paw hovered uselessly in mid-air.
"Chu?"
Mini Dragon, who had been watching Lu Ze prepare the fish with excitement, let out a curious chirp at Dragonite's strange behavior—but said nothing more.
"Chuu~"
When it spotted Lu Ze beckoning it over, Mini Dragon promptly forgot all about Dragonite. With a spring in its step, it launched itself straight at Lu Ze.
(M-my savior!)
The chill at Dragonite's back vanished the moment Mini Dragon left. Only then did it relax.
"Chuu~"
Once at Lu Ze's side, Mini Dragon draped itself across his back, then stretched its head around to press its cheek right up against Lu Ze's face in a snug little cuddle.
"Mini Dragon, we want cuddles too! We're working hard here too, you know."
Sui Yan and Fugui, busy helping Lu Ze gut the fish, weren't about to stand for this. We want cuddles too!
"Lur~"
Mini Dragon stuck out its tongue in an adorable little tease, then flew over and gave each of them a quick cuddle.
Soon, it zipped back to Lu Ze's side, leaving two guys who couldn't stop grinning.
"I want cuddles too!"
(I want cuddles too!)
Watching Mini Dragon's adorable display, Anghura and Dragonite's hearts both melted.
Anghura was kicking herself. Why hadn't she gone over to help gut the fish? She could've had a cuddle then.
As for Dragonite, at that moment, it steeled its resolve.
It had scanned the area just now. The only ones who seemed like they could pose a threat were Crobat and Snorlax.
But neither of those two gave it that creeping sense of dread.
So Dragonite put its worries to rest.
(It really was just my imagination!)
Still, it was strange—Dragonite could feel an aura of danger radiating off of Xiaohong as well.
But just as quickly, that sensation vanished.
(So many weird feelings today…)
Dragonite thought it over, then went right back to gazing at Mini Dragon with hearts in its eyes.
"First one's ready~"
Lu Ze had used the leftover seasonings from lunch, plus some more that Charizard had flown back to fetch, to grill the very first experimental grilled fish.
He only shared it with Sui Yan and Fugui, though.
The three of them finished the small fish in no time, then Lu Ze adjusted the seasoning slightly.
This time, the first grilled fish—now tuned to the new flavor profile—was ready.
"Guests are guests. Here, you go first."
Lu Ze handed the grilled fish over to Anghura, who had been completely dazed by the aroma.
"Oh! Thank you."
Anghura accepted the fish and took a bite before she even realized what she was doing.
(Why did I take it?! But this grilled fish smells so amazing… it must taste great too.)
(No no, what kind of food haven't I eaten? Thinking it's delicious just means I'm hungry—that's all. Yeah, right. Anything tastes good when you're starving!)
Anghura shook her head, then took another big bite of the grilled fish.
"Ow ow ow, hot hot hot~"
"Mmm… so good!"
Watching Anghura's blissful expression, Lu Ze smiled with confidence.
What do you expect? His Aura-synchronized precision fire control made for an absolutely perfect grilled fish.
And on top of that, food cooked with the Aura had a unique, irreplaceable flavor.
He wasn't bragging—but in the entire Dragon Kingdom, there probably weren't more than five people who could match this. Maybe less!
Lu Ze thought confidently. Because really, the only ones who could cook with Aura were Lu Xingguo, Dad, Lu Zhengjie, and himself. Everyone else simply didn't have Aura. Him saying "no more than five" was just to avoid getting proven wrong by some hidden Aura user out there.
While Anghura ate happily, the Pokémon around them watched with hungry eyes.
When Dragonite saw that Mini Dragon was also eyeing the fish longingly, it put on its best charm offensive and sidled up next to Anghura.
"Hup!"
Anghura looked at Dragonite in confusion: "You want some too? The next batch will be ready soon."
She remembered Dragonite wasn't really one for food cravings.
"Hup!"
Dragonite shook its head, then pointed at the grilled fish in Anghura's hand.
"Well… I guess it does smell pretty good. You just couldn't wait, huh."
Anghura's words landed, and Dragonite nodded rapidly.
Then, once Anghura gave the okay, it immediately reached out and tore off half the grilled fish.
"What the—!"
Anghura yelped, her native tongue slipping out.
She had been prepared to share a little with Dragonite.
She never expected Dragonite to rip off half of her fish!
And the half she hadn't even taken a bite from yet!
"You… you little—!"
Watching Dragonite waddle off triumphantly with the fish, Anghura nearly exploded. She held back from cursing right next to Lu Ze, but her eyes had already gone dangerously cold.
"Hup!"
(Eat up eat up!)
"Chuu~"
Mini Dragon's eyes lit up when it saw the fish in Dragonite's claws. It caught the grilled fish with its tail right away and took a bite.
"Chuu~"
(Lu Ze's cooking is amazing~)
"Hup…"
Dragonite watched Mini Dragon eat so happily, swallowing hard.
But it hadn't forgotten its main objective—narrowing its eyes, it edged its face closer.
(Cuddles!)
The instant its face drew near, every single scale on Dragonite's body suddenly bristled and stood on end, as if it had sensed an enormous threat.
But the danger came fast and vanished fast, so Dragonite dismissed it, still lost in the thrill of imminent cuddles.
"Chuu~"
Mini Dragon didn't mind at all. Dragonite had brought her something tasty—cuddles were a fair trade.
With that, Mini Dragon leaned in too, ready to share a sweet little moment with Dragonite.
Dragonite's heart soared. It pushed its face even closer—but then it slammed into something. A transparent barrier-like wall. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't break through.
And worse—Dragonite could see Mini Dragon's face pressing into something just a short distance away from it.
Watching the shape of Mini Dragon's face change as it pressed against that, Dragonite instantly understood: the thing Mini Dragon was cuddling was the same thing blocking it.
"HUP!"
Dragonite roared in fury. Who the hell was this?! Who was messing with its cuddles?!
(If you want to get close to Mini Dragon, come to the little forest on the east side.)
"HUP!"
(Oh yeah? Game on!)
Dragonite's face twisted with rage, its eyes blazing. It beat its wings once and launched skyward, shooting straight for the eastern woods.
"Uh…? What just happened with Dragonite?"
Anghura, grease still on her lips, blinked at Lu Ze and the others.
Lu Ze, Sui Yan, and Fugui all shrugged in unison.
"No idea~"
"Hahaha~"
With that, the three exchanged looks and burst out laughing at their perfectly synchronized cluelessness.
"Second batch of grilled fish is ready~"
(End of chapter)
———
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