[Dish Effect: "Donuts are really delicious." Shout this sentence out loud, and the donuts will become tastier, with a chance to obtain an extra donut for free.]
"Peh, peh, peh—way too sweet, unbearably sweet. Who on earth would even like this kind of food?"
Silas shook his head, then tossed the donut he had taken a bite out of straight into the trash can.
Thinking about it for a moment, he figured that something this sweet would probably grow worms if left around.
And it wasn't just Silas who disliked it—not even Minccino, who loved sweets more than anyone else, could handle it.
After taking a single bite, Minccino's little face scrunched up tightly, its big watery eyes brimming with tears as it looked at Silas.
"If you don't like it, then just throw it away!"
Swish, swish, swish.
One donut after another—each only bitten once—was tossed into the trash can. This kind of dish was something Silas would never make a second time.
He instructed Cyclizar to help throw the rest into the garbage.
The entire afternoon passed with Silas staying inside the cabin together with his Pokémon, watching television.
The sense of novelty hadn't worn off yet, and none of them wanted to leave.
Time flowed by quietly like this, and before they knew it, day after day had passed.
On the evening of February 30th, by Route 12—
Silas completed the handover of the clay produced by the three Mudsdale over the past two days with Gario, with the help of a Diggersby moving the goods onto the small truck.
"Silas, this is 5,000 League Coins."
"Mm."
Silas put the League Coins away, then rested his palm on Mudsdale's body and gently stroked it, causing Mudsdale to squint its eyes happily.
"Gario, you won't need to come collect the goods tomorrow for now."
"You're heading out?"
"No. I promised Gym Leader Ramos that I'd attend the Spring Evaluation Tournament he's hosting tomorrow."
Silas gave a brief explanation.
"So that's how it is!" Gario nodded in understanding. Many ranch owners participated in the Spring Evaluation Tournament, and he himself had gone to watch it several times.
"I wish you a good result, Silas."
"Thanks!"
After bidding Gario farewell, Silas watched as he climbed into the passenger seat, the small truck gradually disappearing from sight.
Silas then headed straight toward the Miltank Ranch, having already arranged to depart together with John and his wife the next day.
Before leaving, John even grabbed him and enthusiastically introduced the different festivals on Route 12 throughout the seasons.
"You might not know this since you've just come here, but we have a lot of festivals."
"In spring there's the Beach Festival and the Evaluation Tournament; in summer, the Fishing Festival and the Fireworks Gala; in autumn, the Harvest Festival and the Twinwing Festival; and in winter, the Snow-Treading Festival and New Year's Eve."
"Every single one is lively. On festival days, a lot of trainers from outside come to participate."
"Especially the Twinwing Festival, also known as the Day of Vows. That was the year Penny and I met beneath the Tree of Vows."
John held onto him, chattering nonstop about past memories, while Silas nodded from time to time.
He even asked John to introduce each festival in more detail—every single one of them interested him.
Especially the Fishing Festival. With his skills, he was confident he could dominate completely on that day.
Before leaving, Silas made sure to ask about the dates of previous Fishing Festivals—every year, they were held sometime in April.
Silas could hardly wait to let all the fishing maniacs witness his peerless fishing techniques.
Minccino plus seafood risotto—if that still couldn't sweep the competition, then fine, they'd just eat, eat, and eat big portions.
He mounted Mudsdale and quickly returned to the ranch.
Silas informed all the Pokémon of this good news.
Minccino was the most excited, it could go join in the fun again—and this excitement spread to several of the other little ones as well.
The only ones who weren't particularly thrilled were the Mudsdale trio. But when Silas told them that the top placements in the Evaluation Tournament would receive mysterious grand prizes—
Mudsdale's expressions clearly changed, becoming serious.
They rubbed against Silas with their bodies, indicating that they would definitely win an award.
Silas neither confirmed nor denied it, simply reaching out to stroke their backs.
The Mudsdale brothers he had personally raised were sturdy and well-built, with glossy coats and vigorous spirits—anyone who saw them would give a thumbs-up.
He was confident he could place, but as for the championship, Silas had never underestimated others.
This was his first time participating, and he didn't even fully understand the evaluation rules yet—winning first place would depend heavily on luck.
"Tomorrow, I'm counting on you guys. Let's aim for first place!"
With a smile on his face, Silas said to the three Mudsdale.
The eldest Mudsdale nodded confidently. "Mud!"
(Leave it to us!)
The second: "Mud~"
(We'll do our best.)
The third: "Same here."
Since he would be going out tomorrow, he still needed to leave one or two Pokémon behind to watch over the ranch.
Silas went to the cave and found the three Noibat.
He explained the situation to them, and the Noibat indicated that they could stay behind at the ranch.
Since they slept during the day, they could rotate shifts perfectly. Silas would be gone for at most half a day and would definitely return before nightfall.
Standing at the cave entrance, Silas looked at the Noibat, wondering if he should prepare some special dishes to enhance their strength.
As Dragon-type Pokémon, it would be best to strengthen the Dragon-type energy within their bodies.
He thought of a particularly special and extremely rare kind of Berry—the Haban Berry.
Using this berry to make dishes should be able to enhance the Noibat's strength.
Silas had been traveling for more than three years and had only seen Haban berries a handful of times.
As Dragon-types were extremely popular in battles, the corresponding Haban berries were priced outrageously.
Whenever they appeared, they were immediately bought up at high prices.
Those capable of raising Dragon-type Pokémon, creatures that consumed massive resources—were usually individuals of considerable wealth.
Under such demand, the price of Haban berries had never dropped and remained a classic case of something hard to come by.
Rubbing his temples helplessly, Silas decided he would ask Siebold to help keep an eye out for them.
Mm!
He could also contact that Dragon-type trainer he had met in Sinnoh. And he couldn't forget the Totem Pokémon of Route 12, Pyroar—though all of that would have to wait until after the Spring Evaluation Tournament.
After eating dinner early, Silas curled up inside the house with his Pokémon to watch TV, taking a moment to glance at the weather forecast.
The beginning of the month would be full of good weather, but heavy rain was expected around mid-month.
Combining this with the information he already had, Silas began planning the future development of the ranch.
The third leveled plot of farmland wouldn't be planted for now—it would be saved for summer crops.
After the final harvest, the crops on the other two plots could also be cleared away.
It was time to let the land rest properly, preparing for his large-scale hop planting in summer.
In addition, he would need to purchase summer seeds and wooden barrels for brewing.
By this calculation, he wouldn't have a single rest day next month.
Fortunately, once March was over, he would be able to go travel in Alola.
He wondered if his mom had already received the family photo he had mailed back?
At the same time, in Vaniville Town—
"Serena, aren't you done packing yet?"
A crisp female voice came from the second floor. "Mom, I'm still sorting things out."
"We're only going for a few days, you don't need to bring so much luggage."
Thump, thump, thump—footsteps sounded as a girl in a pink little princess dress ran downstairs.
"Mom, have you seen the photos brother sent back? I can't find them!"
The girl looked anxious, that was a family photo her brother had taken especially.
"I have them." Grace raised her hand and lightly tapped the girl on the head. "I found them in the living room."
The girl clutched her head and pleaded, "Give them to me quickly, Mom. I won't lose them this time, I promise."
(End of Chapter)
TN: Serena's brother huh.