Chapter 105

"jie jie~!"

The room appeared as if it had been thoroughly cleaned and refreshed by water. Haunter put down the mop, contentedly wiping the sweat from his forehead. Clearly, doing housework gave him a sense of accomplishment.

Meanwhile, Luke was in the kitchen, preparing a meal and letting out a long sigh. After the previous incident where his house was burned, and now this flooding, he couldn't help but worry about what might happen next.

"No next time!" Luke muttered to himself with determination as he peeled some potatoes.

Outside the kitchen, three eager little Pokémon waited patiently for Luke to start dinner. Squirtle knew he had done something wrong but lay on the ground, poking his head out of his turtle shell, and looked at Teacher Luke with pitiful eyes, silently accepting his punishment.

But Luke couldn't stay stern for long and said with a smile, "I was just kidding. Hang on a bit longer, dinner will be ready soon!"

Eevee nodded in approval, while Squirtle shot a sideways glance at Eevee. It seemed to say, "Did you hear that? You're forgiven this time!" Squirtle then looked relieved.

In an instant, Squirtle realized that this had been a test arranged by their trainer. He regretted doubting his colleagues and believed in their sincerity. Squirtle shook his head and sighed, his eyes misting up.

He decided to make amends and set a goal for himself: to learn more powerful Water Type moves.

Luke, on the other hand, wasn't angry either. After all, this had become a familiar routine for Teacher Luke.

Letting out another long sigh, Luke focused on the dishes in front of him. This time, he was making a Dongpo Pork rice bowl with curry.

First, he prepared the pork belly by removing its fishy odor and firming it up in ice. Then, he fried it until both sides were golden brown.

"The oil is sizzling," Luke mused as he dropped the crispy pork belly into chicken broth for simmering.

He added Chinese pepper, sliced ginger, green onions, and various spices to create a fragrant aroma that filled the room. After crisping the pork belly, he removed it and used the same pan to make the curry with black pepper, bay leaves, and chili.

He let the mixture simmer for an hour, allowing the rich fragrance to permeate the entire space.

Outside the kitchen, the three little Pokémon were already captivated by the delicious scent.

"jie jie~ (¯﹃¯)"

The crispy Dongpo Pork, served over pearl rice and garnished with cooked vegetables, was then topped with a ladleful of curry sauce.

Luke mumbled to himself, "This... is a true feast!"

Eevee elegantly picked up a piece of pork belly and chewed it with grace before suddenly burying its head in the bowl.

Haunter and Squirtle reached out their paws and eagerly dug into their food.

"No one's going to snatch it from you," Luke said in exasperation. "Take your time, there's plenty!"

Upon hearing this, Squirtle and Haunter hesitated briefly before continuing to devour their meals at a faster pace. They seemed to think that whoever finished first would get seconds.

Luke shook his head and chuckled at their antics.

As he picked up a mouthful of food with his chopsticks, a peculiar sight unfolded before his eyes:

The Yangtze River flowed eastward, and Squirtle gazed at the rippling waters. Emerging from the river's depths was a bowl of bright red Dongpo Pork rice.

Eevee was frolicking and tumbling over the Dongpo Pork, while Luke tried to grab a piece with his chopsticks but accidentally caught Eevee instead.

"This is amazing!" Luke's eyes lit up.

Simultaneously, Squirtle slammed his bowl down, and a dazzling white light enveloped him.

Luke: ???

Even Haunter and Eevee were left speechless, staring blankly at their little friend.

You evolved... in just two days?

That's incredibly fast!

However, Squirtle remained calm, producing an Everstone and handing it to Luke. The white light gradually receded, revealing Squirtle in its original form.

Luke was left dumbfounded.

Squirtle grinned and gave a thumbs-up, as if saying, "As a graduate of the Magic University Breeding House, I'm about to evolve. Isn't that reasonable?"

Squirtle had learned the location of the Everstone just the day before. He had considered it a wise move to evolve, as remaining in his initial form would allow him to catch opponents off guard. This cautious approach was well thought out.

"uirt~ ヾ(⌐■_■)"

Until I can protect myself, I won't evolve easily!

"Even an Everstone..." Luke commented, looking amused. "Well, you can keep it if you like."

Although Pokémon could only carry one item into battle, it didn't hurt to have an extra item for safekeeping.

In reality, you can bring several items if you like as long as you can carry them. For instance, Eevee carries both the 'Power Anklet' and the 'Silk Scarf'.

Unexpectedly, Eevee didn't evolve, while Squirtle came very close to evolving...

Luke glanced at the tranquil Squirtle, the astonished Haunter, and the seemingly unimpressed Eevee.

Luke sighed, "My Pokémon... are just too strong!"

......

It was midnight, precisely twelve-thirty.

"Teacher Luke's Late Night Canteen 02: Curry Dongpo Pork Don" passed the review as scheduled.

"Does the reviewers have something against us?"

"I'm starving! Is Teacher Luke even human?"

"Suddenly, instant noodles don't seem that appetizing anymore."

Teacher Luke was no saint, and it was clear that he wasn't new to this kind of criticism. High-quality food videos always had to wait until evening to be released, but the wait was always worth it.

This time, however, it seemed like Luke might need to prepare more rice for the curry Dongpo Pork rice bowl.

"Teacher Luke's cooking skills keep getting better and better."

"What? This time, Squirtle evolved?!"

Teacher Luke's previous food video had left a lasting impression, as it had led to Gastly evolving, which was a rare occurrence.

But evolving Pokémon through food was a remarkable feat that was not to be expected every time.

"People evolve their Pokémon just by eating... This must be at the level of a Master Rank Breeder."

And this time, Luke managed to astonish everyone even more.

"Squirtle evolved too?"

"Why are all of his Pokémon evolving?"

"I get it now. Teacher Luke's special ability is to make Pokémon evolve through his cooking!"

The video's quality skyrocketed, and even in the late hours, it garnered over 10,000 views within minutes.

Despite their initial complaints, everyone was eventually won over by Teacher Luke's culinary skills and warm storytelling.

"I wish I could have a meal with so many Pokémon..."

"I'm quite moved, thinking about reuniting with my family... Thank you, Teacher Luke!"

"Exactly, the Pokémon are our family too!"

Although it was just a simple late-night cooking video, Teacher Luke managed to unexpectedly touch the audience.

The chat was unusually calm, as everyone was immersed in the joy of being surrounded by Pokémon.

However, in the video's second half, the audience was taken aback.

"Insert an ad here... Oh! The game developed by Teacher Luke is now available for download. Interested friends can join and support..."

A series of question marks filled the chat.

"???"

"Give me back the emotions you stirred in me earlier!"

"The main topic here is that Teacher Luke is making a game?"

"Teacher Luke: I develop games, I promote games, and I even endorse them. You guys really don't want me to earn a single penny!"

Technically, the video was a form of self-promotion, but the viewers were not subtle about their criticism. Nonetheless, this straightforward self-promotion effort made "Teacher Luke's Late Night Canteen 02" land on the homepage.

Simultaneously, many viewers were intrigued to discover that Teacher Luke was an independent game developer.

Curiosity piqued, they clicked on the link to the game platform, "Plants vs. Zombies."

Little did they expect that this seemingly ordinary tower defense game would turn out to be so captivating.