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Jubilife Breeding Center.
"You want me to make Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice?" Wayne asked.
Blue had made this request first thing in the morning.
"That's right. Can you do it?" Blue confirmed.
Wayne nodded. "No problem. It just takes a while to prepare, so we'll have to make it tonight."
Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice required one round of high heat for forty minutes, followed by at least two hours of simmering on low heat. The mixture had to be stirred together twice during the process.
Blue recalled the Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice tutorial video he'd watched last night. The video had indeed mentioned that it took a considerable amount of time.
"Alright. That works for me," Blue agreed.
After the day's lessons were over, Wayne took Blue to the kitchen.
Blue wanted to learn how to make Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice himself.
During the day, Blue had taught Wayne about Pokémon breeding. At night, the roles would be reversed.
"Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice has two key points: dried citrus rounds and precise heat control," Wayne explained as he began.
As his cooking proficiency had improved over time, Wayne could no longer mess up when making Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice.
He'd reached the point where he could teach while cooking simultaneously.
Wayne poured all the prepared ingredients into a clay pot, added water, and turned the heat to maximum.
"The high heat part is simpler. Add osmanthus sugar, bring it to a sweet boil, and stir slowly with a ladle. You don't need to worry about counting how many turns per minute—just keep the mixture flowing smoothly."
Watching Wayne stir with his left hand for twenty minutes, then switch to his right hand for another twenty minutes, Blue couldn't help but comment.
"This process is quite tiring," Blue observed.
Wayne chuckled. "You won't feel tired after drinking it, though."
Anyway, with his Heavenly Aura Physique, this level of physical exertion wasn't tiring for him at all.
"Low heat is a bit more troublesome. You need to pay close attention to the temperature, but you don't need to stir constantly like you do with high heat," Wayne continued explaining.
"Finally, add osmanthus flowers, rose petals, and another spoonful of sweet honey. These final additions can be adjusted according to personal taste preferences."
After two full hours of careful simmering, the freshly brewed Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice was finally ready.
As soon as Wayne lifted the lid, the aroma of smoked citrus, accompanied by a delicate scent of osmanthus, filled the entire kitchen.
Blue's eyes widened with surprise.
He could smell distinct layers of fragrance from a single drink—just like the top, middle, and base notes of an expensive perfume.
This particular batch of citrus juice was slightly beyond even Wayne's own expectations.
A notification appeared in Wayne's mind: A Pot of Nearly Perfect Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice.
This pot's volume was roughly eight cups total.
This was the first time Wayne had cooked Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice of such a high grade.
Wayne couldn't help but glance at his personal status panel.
Cooking (Advanced): Your cooking skills are sufficient to work as a restaurant head chef. (5,856 / 100,000)
This was the first time Wayne had made Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice after his cooking skill had advanced to the Advanced level.
Wayne murmured quietly to himself, "It can turn out like this?"
"What's wrong?" Blue asked with concern.
"This time, it came out exceptionally well," Wayne explained.
Hearing Wayne's words, Blue looked more closely at the pot.
"It does seem that way," Blue agreed.
Blue could vaguely sense the difference between this pot and the one shown in Wayne's video tutorial.
"It will taste even better after chilling it overnight," Wayne suggested.
Blue pulled out a spoon from seemingly nowhere.
"I want to try it first while it's fresh," Blue insisted.
"Then be careful—it's still hot," Wayne warned.
"Woof!" Arcanine suddenly burst onto the scene!
Arcanine, who had smelled the incredible aroma all the way from Wayne's room, immediately squeezed through the doorway and rushed toward the kitchen.
"Lucario?" Lucario called out questioningly.
"Meta?" Metagross seemed equally confused.
Lucario and Metagross were both a bit puzzled by Arcanine's sudden departure, but they were too lazy to chase after him.
Metagross in particular was still deeply immersed in studying its ocean of knowledge.
Blue scooped a bowl for himself, then used the ladle to take a careful mouthful. He blew on it gently to cool it down, then put it into his mouth.
His reaction was immediate and dramatic!
As soon as the juice entered his mouth, Blue's eyes widened to their maximum extent.
There was actually such an otherworldly, peerless, and explosively delicious Berry Juice in existence!
This person must not be allowed to stay in Sinnoh!
He should be brought to Viridian City or Pallet Town instead!
As someone native to the Kanto region, Blue had often drunk Berry Juice from the Johto region throughout his life.
The amount of Berry Juice he'd consumed could probably circle all the way around Professor Oak's entire backyard.
Standard Berry Juice was delicious. It could restore stamina and had a pleasantly sweet flavor with just a hint of bitterness.
But Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice was completely different from anything he'd experienced.
Blue had never drunk such a sweet, rich, delicate, and layered Berry Juice before in his entire life.
It was as if Berry trees were literally growing inside his mouth, blooming with flavor!
After the initial taste of the Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice gradually faded, what remained on his taste buds was the elegant scent of roses, followed by a subtle hint of osmanthus lingering pleasantly.
"This isn't just Berry Juice—this is a genuine work of art!" Blue declared passionately.
"..."
Wayne stood stunned beside him. Wasn't that reaction a bit too exaggerated?
That is, until Wayne also drank a bowl himself.
"Holy crap!" Wayne exclaimed in genuine shock.
Even Wayne himself was completely stunned by the quality.
Blue no longer cared about the heat warning and directly drank an entire bowl in one go.
After a full day of intensive classes and nearly three hours of waiting here in the kitchen, Blue had been feeling somewhat tired.
But with just this one bowl of Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice, an entire day's accumulated fatigue was completely swept away.
Blue felt like he could have ten consecutive battles with Red right now!
Well, assuming his Pokémon could actually handle that many battles...
"Woof!" ┗|`O′|┛ "Woof~~" Arcanine barked dramatically.
(Let go of that bowl of Berry Juice! Let this big guy have it!) Arcanine communicated urgently.
Arcanine had squeezed into the kitchen at an extremely fast speed, drawn by the incredible aroma.
"You smelled it all the way from the room? Don't worry, there's plenty for you too," Wayne reassured his partner.
Wayne also poured a cup for Kinsley, who was currently outside chatting with Feebas in the yard.
On a cold winter night, receiving a cup of warm Berry Juice made Kinsley absolutely amazed.
"Thank you so much, Little Boss!" Kinsley said with tears of happiness in her eyes.
"..."
Wayne carefully chilled the remaining Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice. Even though it was winter, the drink still tasted significantly better when properly chilled.
Wayne reflected on the cooking process. There had been nothing particularly special about the Smoked Sitrus Berry Juice he'd made this time.
It was simply a combination of high-quality ingredients coupled with his improved cooking skills reaching the Advanced level. In other words, Wayne could replicate this result anytime he wanted to now.
"If I opened a beverage shop with this recipe, wouldn't I put all the other shops out of business?" Wayne wondered aloud with a slight smile.
In the following days, Wayne continued to diligently learn breeding knowledge from Blue.
Blue was indeed Professor Oak's designated successor in the field of breeding. Not only did he possess natural talent, but his theoretical knowledge was also remarkably comprehensive and deep.
This was someone who had authored multiple academic papers in prestigious journals.
Wayne studied one Pokémon type at a time, immediately putting each lesson into practical application.
Blue never shied away from allowing others to observe and learn from his work. As long as it didn't disrupt the lesson's order, he even actively encouraged questions from his students.
Seven days passed by in what felt like a flash.
Seven full days of intensive teaching, combined with Wayne's unwavering commitment to two additional hours of independent study every single night, propelled his breeding skills forward to the Advanced level.
The first stage of his "Advancing Breeding House" quest was also nearly completed. The number of satisfied customers at the Breeding Center had reached ninety-one out of the required one hundred.
Wayne looked at his personal status panel with satisfaction.
Breeding (Advanced): You have fully mastered the basic knowledge of most Pokémon species and can accurately judge their physical and mental condition. (11,542 / 100,000)
After the final day of lessons concluded, Blue prepared to bid farewell.
"I should head back now. After all, I'm still the Gym Leader of Viridian Gym, and I have responsibilities there," Blue explained.
Blue felt quite satisfied with these seven days of teaching overall.
He'd tasted many delicious regional specialties from the Sinnoh region that were extremely rare in Kanto—dishes he'd never even encountered before.
Blue didn't see himself as merely a teacher to Wayne and the others, but rather as a friend. After all, they were all around the same age.
"You're welcome to visit Pallet Town or Viridian City anytime you have the opportunity," Blue offered warmly.
Wayne nodded with genuine appreciation. "I definitely will visit sometime."
A system notification chimed in Wayne's mind: "Ding! Blue's Recognition quest has been completed. Reward..."