Chapter Twenty-One: There Is No Problem That a Hotpot Meal Can't Solve

Zhao Fang soon left Orange Blossom City, heading directly toward Canaz City. However, after leaving Orange Blossom City, he circled around its outskirts, arriving instead on the road from Old Rose Town to Orange Blossom City. This was to avoid any tailing attempts by that merchant named Roger.

“It’s almost noon,” Zhao Fang noted, glancing at his watch. He retrieved his camping gear from his backpack and pitched a tent by the roadside.

With a mix of anxiety and anticipation, Zhao Fang prepared two portions of Pokémon food: one was poached meat slices for Magikarp, and the other was sweet and sour pork for Dreepy. He crafted these dishes in the style of Huaxia cuisine, though the addition of berries gave them a somewhat odd flavor; still, they were edible. Both portions of Pokémon food, thanks to the same berries used, would increase the base stats by 0.3.

“Magikarp, come out and eat.” Zhao Fang released Magikarp from its Pokéball. Even though he had avoided wild Pokémon as much as possible along the way, they had still been attacked by a few Pidgey and Caterpie. Fortunately, since they were at the forest’s edge, there were no overly powerful wild Pokémon, and under Zhao Fang’s guidance, Magikarp dispatched them easily.

Still, as he watched Magikarp guzzling down its meal, Zhao Fang’s expression turned somewhat peculiar. That morning, during his battle with Officer Jenny, he’d discovered a strange quirk: Magikarp seemed to have developed a deep fascination with attacking heads—so much so that, during fights with those wild Pokémon, Magikarp would fixate on their heads and use Tackle relentlessly. One Caterpie was knocked out cold, and Zhao Fang guessed it must have been a critical hit.

“I have a feeling that when you evolve into Gyarados, you’ll be even more formidable,” Zhao Fang sighed, running his hand over Magikarp’s scales. The image of a Gyarados baring its fangs and biting down on a Pokémon’s head was enough to confirm its reputation as a terrifying beast.

Just then, as Zhao Fang was petting Magikarp and watching it eat, he heard a rustling sound behind him. Turning around, he saw the other plate was completely empty—not a single morsel of Pokémon food remained.

“There’ll be more this afternoon. Remember to come back then, and be careful not to get hurt.” Zhao Fang smiled to himself. It looked like Dreepy hadn’t left the area at all, which was wonderful news.

Zhao Fang was in no hurry. From his past experience with stray cats, he knew it took time and patience to earn the trust of wary creatures—sometimes just a single step forward would send them fleeing. He was prepared for a long game, hoping his Huaxia-style cooking would be delicious enough to fully captivate Dreepy and perhaps speed up the process of gaining its trust.

If Zhao Fang wanted to challenge the Rock-type Gym, he would need to rely on Dreepy’s abilities. Unless Magikarp trained for an exceptionally long time or evolved into Gyarados, defeating the Rock-type Gym with it alone would be quite difficult.

Fortunately, Zhao Fang had prepared plenty of Pokémon food and berries, enough to last about four and a half days. He set up camp and, aside from mealtimes, spent each day training and battling with Magikarp. Due to Magikarp’s limited move pool, his training mostly revolved around Splash and Tackle. Zhao Fang’s main goal was for Magikarp to master using Splash for rapid movement. Even if the move lacked power, it could still gradually wear down an opponent’s stamina.

During this time, Zhao Fang encountered several trainers traveling from Old Rose Town to Orange Blossom City. Only three or four of them matched Zhao Fang’s skill level, and with proficient use of Tackle—and thanks to his opponents’ underestimation of Magikarp—he managed to defeat seven Pokémon. The other trainers, however, were much stronger, mostly striding quickly toward Orange Blossom City, clearly intent on challenging the Normal-type Gym.

But what Zhao Fang considered his greatest achievement during this period was that Dreepy finally appeared openly in front of him and began eating its food right there. It happened on the third afternoon, during dinner. Zhao Fang had made sweet and sour ribs for Dreepy, and while he expected the food to vanish as quickly as before, he was surprised to see a pale blue figure slip into the tent—a slender body, triangular head, and yellow eyes revealing its identity.

Dreepy eyed Zhao Fang warily, only approaching after Zhao Fang took a step back, nibbling the Pokémon food in small bites. It was then that Zhao Fang noticed an interesting detail: as Dreepy ate, its tail-like lower body swayed back and forth. Yet every few bites, Dreepy would raise its head and glance at Zhao Fang, only finishing the meal after confirming he hadn’t moved.

For the following meals, Dreepy appeared punctually, sometimes even arriving early with an expectant look. Zhao Fang tried to approach, but if he got within five steps, Dreepy would grow anxious and prepare to flee.

“This is the last meal—I’m out of Pokémon food.” On the afternoon of the fourth day, after preparing dinner for both Magikarp and Dreepy as usual, Zhao Fang propped his chin on his hand and spoke to Dreepy.

Dreepy’s swaying tail paused for a moment. It looked up at Zhao Fang, its yellow eyes inscrutable.

“Would you like to travel with me, Dreepy?” Zhao Fang asked nervously. He had no way to capture Dreepy through battle.

Dreepy hesitated, then shook its head.

As expected.

Zhao Fang sighed inwardly. He really liked Dreepy, regardless of its strength—it had always been a mainstay on his team in Sword and Shield.

“I was going to say, if you traveled with me, I’d make you delicious food every day… Have you ever had hot pot? The bubbling broth with chilies, the incredible flavor, especially with beef tripe—it’s simply amazing…” Zhao Fang gave a bitter smile, his mind unexpectedly drifting to memories of Chongqing hot pot.

Lost in reminiscence, Zhao Fang suddenly noticed a claw appear in front of him.