[Tulip Flower Nectar: Nectar collected by the Pokémon Flabébé using its own abilities. Clear and lustrous, with a unique and distinctive flavor.]
It was a rather nice agricultural product—something that would surely be loved by dessert enthusiasts.
Selling three bottles for the first time was more than enough. Tomorrow, he would also ask Galio about the feedback.
Arriving at the harvest box, Silas placed the flower nectar inside. Beneath it, he pressed down a small note.
At the same time, he did not forget to take out what was already inside.
A letter.
A letter from his mom?
That didn't seem right! The photo had only just been mailed back—there was no way it could have arrived this quickly.
He had Cyclizar squat obediently by his side so it wouldn't run around, then Silas opened the letter. The contents naturally came into view.
So it was Gym Leader Ramos's letter!
The content was very simple: an invitation for Silas to participate in a competitive evaluation event among ranch owners.
Through this kind of competition, the ranches would be compared to see whose Pokémon were raised the best and were the most outstanding.
Being able to meet all the ranch owners along Route 12, Silas naturally had no reason to refuse.
March 1st—there was still more than half a month to go.
After putting the letter away, he called Cyclizar over and walked toward the neighboring ranch.
He planned to ask John about it—an evaluation tournament like this surely wasn't being held for the first time.
The moment Silas arrived near the ranch, he was spotted by the Herdier.
Over the past few months, Silas had come by from time to time and had already become familiar with it.
Upon seeing him, it only barked once, as if greeting him, then continued lying on the grass, lazily basking in the sun, looking utterly comfortable.
"Hey! John~"
Silas waved toward the front and called out loudly.
John looked up, stopped what he was doing, and walked over.
"What brings you here? How have you been these past few days?"
"I've been doing great." Silas took out the letter and waved it slightly. "I just received a letter from Gym Leader Ramos. He says there's going to be a Spring Evaluation Tournament. Brother John, did you get one too?"
"That thing?" The two of them walked toward a nearby gazebo as John spoke. "I only got mine today as well. It's held every year in the last month of spring. All the ranch owners participate—it's always very lively."
Speaking of this, John grew quite enthusiastic. "Silas, are you planning to take part?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Hahaha! This time, I've specially raised several Miltank just to go for the championship!"
Half an hour later, Silas left the Miltank Ranch. There was now a rather large bag of food on Cyclizar's back.
Honestly, it should have been even more, but Silas refused and only took a little.
Even so, this amount of ingredients would be enough for the ranch to eat for a day or two.
Silas thought that when the Flabébé collected flower nectar again tomorrow, he could bring a bottle along for John to try as well.
Upon returning to the ranch, before he even had time to get off Cyclizar's back, a group of Pokémon surrounded him.
Kangaskhan was holding a huge fish, with Minccino and the others following behind.
Silas played along enthusiastically, exclaiming in exaggerated surprise, "Such a big fish! Did you catch this yourselves? That's amazing!"
"Kang!" Kangaskhan happily scratched its head and, together with Minccino, explained the situation.
It turned out that while they were playing by the beach, they had discovered this large fish that had accidentally been stranded.
"I see."
Silas patted Kangaskhan and pinched Minccino's large ears. "You guys really are lucky."
That comment was especially directed at Minccino.
"How about steamed fish head for dinner tonight?"
He gestured over the fish's body with his hand—it was a big-headed fish.
The head was especially large, making it the perfect choice for chopped chili fish head.
The body wouldn't go to waste either—it could be braised.
Kangaskhan: Kang?! (What's that?!)
Minccino: Min?! (Sounds amazing?!)
Just in time, John had given him plenty of chili peppers, making it perfect for chopped chili fish head.
After asking Kangaskhan to help carry the fish into the kitchen, Silas rolled up his sleeves, tied on an apron, and began preparing the evening meal.
First, he thoroughly cleaned the entire bighead fish, especially the inside of the gills and the black membrane in the abdominal cavity.
If those weren't cleaned properly, the fish would taste extremely fishy.
With one decisive cut, he split the fish head in half. After rinsing it clean, he added cooking wine and a small amount of salt, letting it marinate for about ten minutes.
For chopped chili fish head, the key was the chopped chili, so Silas used this time to prepare the chili mixture.
Once everything was ready, the fish head had finished marinating and could be placed into the steamer.
Slices of ginger and segments of scallion were laid at the bottom of the steaming plate, the fish head was neatly placed on top, then covered with a layer of chopped chili sauce. It was put into the steamer and needed to be steamed for at least fifteen minutes.
However, since the fish Kangaskhan had caught was quite large, it would need a bit more time.
Taking advantage of the waiting time, Silas cut the fish body into sections and mixed them thoroughly with the prepared marinade.
At another stove, he heated oil over low heat, added the fish pieces, and pan-fried them until both sides were golden before removing them and setting them aside.
He then turned the heat up, used the remaining oil to stir-fry spices until fragrant, and added the fried fish pieces back in.
Before long, an overpoweringly rich aroma spread through the air.
A head poked out from the windowsill—Kangaskhan sniffed vigorously.
Cyclizar was no exception. It had already rushed to the kitchen doorway, staring eagerly with drool dripping from the corner of its mouth.
"You greedy little thing!" Silas rubbed Cyclizar's head hard, then instructed, "Go call the Mudbray brothers, the Noibat trio, and the others over. We're about to eat."
"Cyc~"
At the mention of mealtime, Cyclizar's eyes lit up. With an excited cry, it sped off in a flash.
By the time Cyclizar and the others returned, Silas had already placed the dishes on the dining table.
He waved at them. "Come on, you guys are the last ones."
"Cyc!"
"Mud~!"
"Noi!"
...
After tasting the food, the Pokémon offered their highest praise.
The food Silas made was simply too delicious.
Especially the chopped chili fish head—even Minccino was fighting Kangaskhan and Cyclizar for it.
Left with no choice, Silas picked Minccino up and gently tapped its forehead. "Look at you, your little mouth is already red from the spice, and you still want more."
"Min~ sss-ha sss-ha!"
Seeing it was Silas, Minccino immediately started acting spoiled, eyes watery from the heat.
"Drink some water quickly. There's fruit over there too."
Silas smiled helplessly—there wasn't a single one of them that didn't make him worry.
Huh! Well… that wasn't entirely true.
There was still one exception—Smoliv.
Silas held it in the palm of his hand and teased it gently with a finger. "Little one, when are you finally going to evolve?"
(End of Chapter)