The richness of the rewards made Kashiwagi's heart tremble.
The haul from a Runner-up finish was indeed on a completely different level compared to a Top 4 finish—whether it was the fixed rewards or the selectable ones that had expanded to multiple slots.
Among them, the one that caught his attention most was naturally the Chef's Divine Glowing Cuisine Memories.
In the chef's Pokémon-rearing career, natural talent certainly played a large part, but food was an indispensable factor. Much of the strength of Pokémon like Snorlax could be attributed to the chef's cooking. With the chef's secret techniques, Aggron and the others would likely be able to enjoy the benefits of glowing cuisine as well.
How could Kashiwagi not be excited?
It was also perfect timing to let Chansey learn. Seeing her own cooking bring smiles to everyone's faces would have an extraordinary effect on tempering the pink Pokémon's self-confidence.
"Blue Traits are truly powerful... it feels like a 'guaranteed Top 8' kind of trait." He felt an inexplicable sense of destiny about it.
But looking at it from another perspective, the Simulator assigned traits based on the subject's life story—wasn't that a bit like hindsight? Was it that the chef reached the finals so the Simulator deemed him worthy of a Blue Trait, rather than the Blue Trait making the chef a finalist?
Thinking of it this way, traits seemed more like search parameters for identifying specific types of simulation subjects.
Kashiwagi shifted his gaze to Selectable Reward 2.
It was still a Pokémon clue with a selectable type, but the word "Excellent" had been added. What did "Excellent" mean? High Base Stats? High Individual Values—meaning talent in size and other physical aspects? A rare species? Whichever it was, it sounded amazing.
He looked at his two unused type-specific clues with satisfaction. In a way, he now had two chances to pull an "SSR," and the probability of the second one being a hit was exceptionally high.
Of course, there was no rush. Aggron had just evolved and needed to stabilize its strength, while Mawile and Chansey desperately needed to supplement their move pools. He wasn't in a hurry to add new members yet.
He stood up, stretched, and opened the back door to call out to Aggron and the others: "I'm taking a nap. Wake me up if anything happens."
"Roar!" "Maw!" "Lucky!"
The three Pokémon, currently in high spirits, shouted back in response. Kashiwagi returned to the sofa, eager to test the chef's culinary memories.
The moment he confirmed his choice, his vision went black, and his consciousness sank into an unknown realm.
In a haze, Kashiwagi felt himself suddenly standing in a spacious, bright kitchen, holding a wok and a ladle. He was constantly brooding, constantly researching flavors.
He would cook, plate, and taste. Then cook, plate, and taste again.
The sense of novelty quickly faded with the repetitive motions. The wonderful flavors that initially lingered on his tongue eventually became cloying. Yet, the very real feedback from his body couldn't stop the process from continuing.
What is more despair-inducing than a genius? A genius who works harder than you. Often, ordinary effort is just "meaningless grinding," whereas a genius's effort actually pushes them to a higher level, reaching a brand-new domain.
Kashiwagi's consciousness gradually stabilized. The culinary skills tempered through a thousand trials were being etched into his brain, much like the Miniskirt girl's boxing—leaving an indelible mark.
Truthfully, what Kashiwagi envied during the chef's endless practice wasn't just his perseverance, but his inexhaustible natural resources. All kinds of fresh, delicious ingredients were used as if they cost nothing.
In a desolate place like Pyrite Town, "squandering" like that would require a massive capital reserve, not to mention the flavor profiles brought by different regional varieties.
Take a Nanab Berry: a Kalosian one was noticeably sweeter, whereas the Pyrite Town variety was hard and lacked sweetness. Clearly, they were different variants. Pokémon-world agriculture was as advanced as its technology. The power of Grass-type Pokémon allowed humans to enjoy produce that was easier to store, transport, and taste better. The breeding capabilities were simply mind-boggling.
Achieving both of those simultaneously was something quite difficult in Kashiwagi's previous world.
Evening.
Waking from his deep sleep, Kashiwagi rubbed his eyes. He found a Mawile squeezed into his arms, while Chansey was leaning against the resting Aggron. All three were sleeping soundly.
"Ah~ everyone's worn out from playing?" He yawned and looked toward the backyard door.
To allow Aggron to enter the house, he had specifically hired someone to heighten and widen the doorway. Even so, the very top of the frame had two holes poked in it by Aggron's sharp horns.
"Truly a hard head," he laughed helplessly, stroking Aggron's massive forehead. The three Pokémon stirred awake. "Dinner time! I'm going to show off a little for you!"
Although he lacked a wok, a ladle, and a proper high-heat stove, making do with what he had wasn't impossible. After all, the most important seasoning for delicious food is joy.
Mawile and the others responded, but then looked at each other in confusion, not understanding why their Trainer sounded so confident. Was dinner going to be different? Did he get special ingredients?
Mawile and Aggron looked at Chansey. She had been spending all her time in the kitchen lately; she should know best.
"Lucky!" Chansey waved her hands repeatedly, signaling she had no idea either.
For a moment, the three Pokémon felt a bit apprehensive. Experience had taught them that sometimes, when their Trainer smiled that brightly, it wasn't necessarily a good thing for them.
This sense of unease lasted right up until the aroma wafted out of the kitchen.
Like dogs waiting for the dinner bell, they snapped their necks out, sniffing the air for the lingering fragrance, and then rushed toward the kitchen.
Suddenly, Aggron and the others saw a brilliant light—
"Roar?" Did Kashiwagi turn on a floodlight? It's not even dark yet! Aggron was baffled.
"Maw!" Mawile shook her head seriously, indicating the light wasn't coming from the ceiling, but from the stove!
Chansey, who knew the kitchen inside out, gave a firm nod in agreement. The three Pokémon whispered among themselves, but were quickly softened by the soul-stirring aroma, their expressions becoming involuntarily covetous.
When Kashiwagi walked out carrying four plates of shining cuisine—looking like he was holding four flashbangs—their jaws dropped.
The light was actually coming from the food!
On the other side, Kashiwagi looked at his own results, somewhat puzzled himself. Based on the aroma, it was a success—at least, it smelled like he'd dumped a whole bag of "Intense Flavor" into it.
But it actually glowed? It wasn't just an exaggerated effect of the Simulator? How did this work? It felt like he'd cooked up something radioactive.
"Come, try it," he invited them.
Aggron and the others rushed forward. Looking at the fragrant, piping-hot food, even a rugged monster like Aggron looked visibly "moe-ified."
A Golden Legend!
They couldn't wait to taste it. The moment it entered their mouths, they froze.
"Not good?" Kashiwagi's heart sank.
Then, he saw the eyes and mouths of the three Pokémon light up like flashlights.
"ROAR!" "MAW!" "LUCKY!"
It's too delicious!!
The three Pokémon began to demolish the food as if they were starving ghosts, terrified that if they missed a single bite, that wonderful sensation flooding their entire bodies would disappear.
Seeing this, Kashiwagi couldn't help but marvel at how much the "art style" of his life had just changed.