Chapter 153: New Year
To Kenji, once he captured a Pokémon and became its trainer, he had a responsibility to be accountable for it until the end.
For Kenji, this was the most basic duty and obligation of a trainer.
Even if Beedrill hadn't obtained the [Level Up!] Hex Core to raise its potential to the limit back then, Kenji still wouldn't have released it. He would have raised it with care.
If Kenji had to choose between his Gyarados and a Magikarp with initial S+ potential, he would choose his Gyarados without hesitation.
Of course, if an S+ potential Magikarp actually appeared in front of him, Kenji would capture it without hesitation.
After all, no one said you could only catch one of each species. Kenji simply didn't like catching duplicates of the same Pokémon for no reason.
But if there really was an S+ potential Magikarp, Kenji naturally wouldn't want to miss it.
...
That night, they had a great time playing. The next day, Kenji and the others returned to Edgecliff City.
Although the New Year was approaching, training couldn't stop.
For Pokémon like Beedrill, Gyarados, Arbok, and Ninetales, their training didn't require much guidance or accompaniment from Kenji anymore.
Therefore, Kenji focused more of his energy on Bellossom, Slaking, Elekid, and Pupitar.
For Bellossom, the training direction and goal were mainly to normalize the use of Synthesis and speed up the gathering of energy for Solar Beam.
With [ULTIMATE] potential, Bellossom's comprehension was naturally impeccable, and the training yielded full results.
As for Pupitar, the training goal was simple: level up as fast as possible, striving to evolve into the true tyrant of the desert, Tyranitar, at an early date.
At the same time, Kenji kept looking for the reason why Elekid was delaying its evolution.
He even started to suspect that this gluttonous kid had swallowed the Everstone ornament Ninetales made when he wasn't paying attention.
However, no matter how many times he checked, Elekid's body was perfectly fine, surprisingly healthy.
Finally, regarding Slaking, Kenji didn't need to worry about its training. The Slaking line had always had their own unique training methods.
Although this Pokémon looked like it was lying on the ground resting, it was actually accumulating power within its body, ready to unleash a charged strike at any moment. In the wild, if other Pokémon attacked, Slaking could counterattack instantly.
On ordinary days, Slaking used this accumulated power to temper itself.
The main training goal was to train Slaking to fight against its own ability, releasing as many moves as possible within a short period.
Besides training, Leo would occasionally come to sleep over at Kenji's villa for a couple of days. Whenever they had free time, they would hang out. Life was comfortable and relaxed.
...
In front of the villa door, Pupitar floated in the air. Elekid stood on Pupitar's head, holding a red spring couplet, gesturing constantly at the villa's door frame.
"Yes, a bit to the left... no, no, further right, it's crooked."
Under Kenji's command, Elekid finally pasted the couplet onto the door.
After that, Kenji pasted the character for "Fortune" on the door and hung red lanterns at the entrance.
It was another Spring Festival.
Kenji took two steps back. Flanked by Elekid and Pupitar, he looked at the fruits of their labor with a sense of accomplishment.
The north wind howled. A biting cold wind blew past, sweeping away the white breath Kenji exhaled.
Kenji shivered and hurriedly led Elekid and Pupitar back into the villa.
"Ring ring ring..."
In the living room, the phone Kenji had tossed aside rang.
It was Leo.
"Hey, Kenji, are you really not coming to my house for the New Year's Eve dinner?"
Leo's voice came from the other end. It sounded lively and noisy over there; there seemed to be a lot of people. Aunt May was probably playing mahjong again.
Before, when Kenji had no family, Leo would drag him to their house for the reunion dinner every New Year.
But this year...
Kenji swept his gaze over the little ones in the living room and smiled faintly. "No thanks. I'll visit Uncle Leo and Aunt May tomorrow."
"Do you want me to come over and keep you company?"
"Don't. Spend time with your parents. It's rare for you to be home for the holidays."
"Alright then. Call your bro if you miss me."
Hanging up the phone, Kenji clapped his hands. "Alright, stop idling. Everyone with hands, come over and help."
Kenji took out the dough he had prepared earlier. After kneading it skillfully, he tore it into small dough balls.
Then, he found a thick, long rolling pin in the kitchen and stuffed it into Elekid's hand.
"You're in charge of rolling the wrappers. Bellossom and Ninetales will help me wrap the dumplings."
As Kenji spoke, he brought out a basin of filling.
This dumpling filling wasn't for Kenji; it was made from special High-grade Pokéblocks for the Pokémon.
These special High-grade Pokéblocks were designed for flavor, capable of satisfying the tastes of basically all Pokémon.
Elekid waved the rolling pin with one hand and scratched its head with the other.
Kenji slapped his forehead, quickly took the rolling pin back, and demonstrated how to roll the dumpling wrappers.
When it came to food, Elekid had always had a unique talent. It learned in no time.
On the other side, Bellossom and Ninetales were responsible for wrapping the processed Pokéblock filling into the dumplings.
Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.
As for Beedrill, Gyarados, and Pupitar, since they couldn't even make a fist, let alone use hands, they couldn't help with wrapping dumplings.
Slaking was just pure lazy.
After teaching the Pokémon how to make dumplings, Kenji went to the kitchen to prepare his own dinner.
Since it was just Kenji alone, the New Year's Eve dinner wasn't overly lavish—just a simple eight dishes.
By the time Kenji finished preparing the dishes, Elekid and the others had long finished wrapping the dumplings.
The water boiled, and the chubby white dumplings dropped into the pot with bubbling sounds.
Elekid lay in front of the pot, drooling, eyes full of anticipation.
Kenji stirred the pot with a ladle. Seeing Elekid's anticipation, he could only silently pray that the Pokéblock-filled dumplings tasted okay.
As the saying goes, the biggest taboo in cooking is a "spur-of-the-moment idea."
And these Pokéblock-flavored dumplings were the result of Kenji's spur-of-the-moment idea.
The Pokéblocks inside were edible as is; boiling them was mainly to cook the wrappers. So, he didn't boil them for too long before fishing them out and handing a bowl to Elekid.
Elekid took the bowl with both hands, then reached in, grabbed one, and tossed it into its mouth.
Immediately, Elekid looked like the dumpling had bitten back. It opened and closed its mouth repeatedly, struggling for a good while before finally gulping the dumpling down whole with difficulty.
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