Grass Cake

It wasn't until the afternoon that Naoki's lawn mowing finally came to an end. Looking over the massive pile of freshly cut green grass in the pasture, which now resembled a small mountain, he smiled and said to his Gogoats:

"You're in for a real treat now!"

The three Gogoats circled around the pile, occasionally sniffing at the food but refraining from eating just yet.

Naoki wasn't worried. He took the towel offered by Koraidon and wiped the sweat from his brow. Then, he grabbed a bundle of grass and soaked it in a basin of water, intending to experiment with making grass dumplings and perhaps even develop new grass-type dishes. He would dry the rest into hay to store for winter when the ground was covered in snow, ensuring there'd be snacks for the Gogoats and Miltank.

"Just like humans keep dried fish and bacon for the winter," he mused as he opened the fridge, took out a bottle of juice, and downed it to quench his thirst.

Realizing there was still plenty of time left in the day, Naoki decided to get creative. He started boiling a pot of water, added the grass once it was boiling, and after a few minutes, his first simple dish—boiled grass—was ready.

Naoki looked down at the bland creation, and immediately, the familiar information popped into his mind.

[Boiled Grass (F-): A very bad dish. The grass was boiled in too much water and lost its natural flavor. It was overcooked, leaving it bland and tasteless. The terrible texture makes it hard to eat.]

Cooking Effect: Can easily decrease the favorability of Grass-type Pokémon.

Comment: It tastes like chewing wax. Only a Grass-type Pokémon starving for a week might try it.

Naoki: "..."

"Wow, debuff dishes exist, huh?" he thought to himself, chuckling. He had expected something like this, but it still stung to see such a harsh review.

After pouring the failed boiled grass into the trash, Naoki pondered over the remaining batch of grass. "If boiling doesn't work, maybe juicing it will," he thought.

With this in mind, he set up the juicer, added the washed grass along with a suitable amount of water, and let the machine do its work. As it whirred, the water gradually turned a deep green, and soon, several cups of fresh grass juice were ready.

Naoki poured them into a bowl and immediately, information appeared in his mind:

[Grass Juice (C): A drink squeezed from ripe summer grass, highly favored by Grass-type Pokémon due to its strong flavor and rich texture.

Cooking Effect: Functions as a level 1 replenishing potion, slightly restoring the grass attribute energy in a Pokémon's body and replenishing the PP value of Grass-type moves.

Comment: Using fresh spring grass may yield better results.]

"Hmm..." Naoki thought as he stared at the grass juice. A replenishing potion—essentially a PP restore for Grass-type moves—was a useful result. But the juice's effects were limited to Grass-types, so it wouldn't benefit his other Pokémon much.

Determined to explore more methods, Naoki tried several different cooking approaches. He fried the grass, steamed it, even attempted to make a spicy grass dish.

Unfortunately, the results were less than stellar:

[Fried Grass (F): Greatly reduces the favorability of Grass-type Pokémon.]

[Steamed Grass (E): Slightly restores the physical strength of Grass-type Pokémon.]

[Spicy Grass (D-): Causes Grass-type Pokémon to "spit fire" due to the heat, increasing favorability with specific Pokémon.]

Naoki sighed, especially at the spicy grass's unexpected side effect. He couldn't help but laugh at the image of a Grass-type Pokémon suddenly spitting fire.

He then imagined a certain dual Grass/Fire-type Pokémon: Scovillain. A strange-looking Pokémon with two heads—one green and one red—each with a very distinct personality. Naoki could vividly picture how spicy grass might trigger Scovillain's green head, converting the heat into fire energy, and causing the redhead to spew explosive flames.

Naoki found the whole process of making a grass cake rather amusing. To be honest, the concept of creating a cake made from grass wasn't something most would appreciate, but he was determined to try.

After asking Cyclizar to help deliver the edible grass dishes to the Gogoats, Naoki tossed the failed attempts into the trash.

Now, it was time for the highlight of his culinary experiments—grass cake.

This was no ordinary dish. In the game Naoki had played in his previous life, feeding grass cake to the creatures would make them care for the crops on the player's farm, leading to slight mutations in the crops themselves.

With the recipe in mind, Naoki began the process. First, he used a juicer to crush the grass into a fine paste. Then, he measured out an appropriate amount of low-gluten flour, added some vegetable oil, the grass paste, and three fresh egg yolks.

He stirred the mixture thoroughly before pouring in half a bottle of Moo Moo Milk. The result was a dark green, flowing batter.

Next, he whipped up the egg whites, added sugar to make a light cream, and carefully folded it into the green batter. Once the two mixtures were fully combined, he poured everything into a cake mold and popped it into the oven to bake for 55 minutes.

Sitting in anticipation, Naoki waited until the oven gave a cheerful "ding" and took the cake out.

However, when he looked down at the cake, the information that appeared was:

[Incomplete Grass Cake, effect unknown.]

"Incomplete?" Naoki muttered. He quickly recalled that, in the game, the cake also needed a layer of cream to be fully finished.

So, he went outside and called Alcremie, asking for a large bucket of whipped cream.

But there was a problem—the cream was white, and he wanted it to match the grass theme.

After a moment of thought, Naoki decided to blend some of the crushed grass into the whipped cream, stirring it until it turned a pale green.

Next, it was time for the final step.

Naoki placed the baked cake on the table and began evenly spreading the green, grass-scented cream across the top until it was smooth and uniform. Finally, he carefully placed a small piece of fresh green grass on top as a garnish.

With that, the cake was officially complete.

From its appearance, it looked almost identical to the grass cake he had seen in his past game experiences.

This truly felt like a success!

Naoki looked at the cake with excitement and was surprised to see that the description had changed from [Incomplete Grass Cake] to [Grass Cake].

[Grass Cake (A): A cake made with ripe summer grass, flour, Moo Moo Milk, and Alcremie's whipped cream.]

Cooking Effect: Thousand Changes. When fed to a Grass-type Pokémon, crops grown with Grass-type energy have a small chance of experiencing slight mutations.

Comment: This cake perfectly blends the flavors of various ingredients and is a favorite among Grass-type Pokémon. The Grass-type Pokémon that eats it may surprise you with gratitude.

"It's perfect! A proper grass cake!" Naoki thought, beaming with pride. "Maybe I have a real talent for making cakes after all!"

Unable to contain his excitement, Naoki carried the cake over to the goatpen, where the three Gogoats were grazing peacefully.

The Gogoats immediately noticed something special in the air. They sniffed the air curiously, their noses drawn to the irresistible scent of the cake Naoki was holding.

"Baa..." one of the Gogoat murmured, intrigued.

Even Smoliv, who was nearby, couldn't resist coming over to investigate.

Naoki smiled at them and said, "This is grass cake. I made it with grass and a few other ingredients. I think you'll like it."

He took out a small fruit knife and quickly sliced the cake into several pieces, carefully distributing them to the Pokémon gathered around him.

The Gogoat lowered its head and licked the cake, then quickly devoured it. Soon enough, it finished the piece, and before Naoki knew it, the goats had eaten the entire cake and were looking at him with expectant eyes.

Seeing how much they enjoyed the grass cake, Naoki grinned and said, "If you liked it that much, I'll make it for you more often!"

There just so happened to be plenty of green grass nearby, perfect for future cakes.

"Meaa..." The Gogoats bleated in delight, clearly pleased with the idea.

But just then, a bright light suddenly radiated from Smoliv's body, drawing everyone's attention. Naoki and the Gogoats immediately turned to watch as Smoliv's form began to change.

In the glow, Smoliv's small body started growing larger. Tiny hands and feet formed, and the olive on its head split into two, while green leaves wrapped around its entire body like a dress. By the time the light dimmed, standing before them was not Smoliv anymore, but Dolliv, evolved and full of energy.

"Congratulations, Smoliv—wait, I mean Dolliv!" Naoki said, beaming with pride at the newly evolved Pokémon.

"Oll~!" Dolliv cheered joyfully, and then, as if to celebrate its transformation, two streams of fragrant oil burst from the olives on its head, spraying Naoki and the Gogoat.

The Gogoat, unfazed, simply licked the delicious oil from its fur, enjoying the treat.

Naoki, meanwhile, wiped some of the oil off his hand, bringing it to his nose. The scent was fresh and mouth-watering, much richer and more aromatic than any oil he had encountered in town.

"This smells amazing!" Naoki exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement. The quality of oil was far superior to anything he could buy locally.

Seeing Naoki's enthusiasm for the oil, Dolliv happily exclaimed, "Dolliv!" and, unable to contain its excitement, sprayed more oil into the air.

Naoki sighed, though amused. "Alright, alright, we shouldn't waste such delicious oil on the ground."

He knew that Dolliv's oil-spraying was simply its way of expressing joy, and he couldn't be upset about that.

Just then, Naoki noticed Alcremie hopping by with Glaceon and the Salt Pokémon following closely behind.

He called out, "Alcremie! Come over and see who this is!"

"Alcremie?" Alcremie turned its head curiously. The moment it saw Dolliv, its eyes widened in disbelief.

"Alcremie!" it exclaimed excitedly, hopping over to greet the newly evolved Pokémon.

"Oll~" Dolliv responded shyly, its demeanor reminiscent of a timid little girl.

Alcremie circled around Dolliv in awe, marveling at how Smoliv had transformed into such a graceful figure after evolving.

Naoki, standing with his Gogoats, watched the interaction with a smile. It was heartwarming to see how well the Pokémon got along.

Then, he remembered something important. "Oh, right!" he said suddenly.

The Gogoats turned their heads toward him, "Baa?" they bleated curiously.

Naoki grinned and addressed them, "From today on, I have a new task for you. I'd like you to use your grass-type energy to help me take care of the crops in the field. What do you think?"

"Mea." The Gogoats bleated enthusiastically. Grass-type energy? Of course, they were more than willing to help!

Naoki gently patted their heads, smiling. "Thank you! I know I can count on you."

Naoki, however, was curious about what kinds of magical transformations the crops would experience under the care of his grass-type Pokémon. Unfortunately, the crops were newly planted and would take a long time to mature. There was even a possibility that nothing would change at all.

The odds of something extraordinary happening—like the crops mutating due to the grass cake—were very slim. He knew that only one crop in a large field might show any change. 

But Naoki didn't mind. He wanted to enjoy the simple, peaceful life on the ranch, and anything beyond that was just a bonus.

As dusk approached, the setting sun cast a golden glow over the land, and the birds in the back mountains began returning to their nests. 

Naoki stretched lazily, then noticed Glaceon nearby. Without warning, he walked over and scooped it up in his arms. Glaceon, caught off guard, froze in Naoki's embrace, completely forgetting to struggle.

Naoki grinned, looking into its wide eyes. "You're so cute!" he said, teasingly.

"Buee.!" Glaceon finally reacted, wriggling free and hopping down to the ground. It quickly darted off toward its igloo, clearly flustered.

Naoki laughed at its hasty retreat, but just then, one of the Salt Pokémon—Nacli—looked up at him and gave a couple of excited hops. "Nacli, Nacli!"

"Okay, I'll hug you too!" Naoki bent down and lifted Nacli into the air. As he held it up, Nacli let out an excited "Nacli, Nacli!"

The other Pokémon gathered around, and Naoki took the time to hug each one. But when he reached the last one—Naclstack—he paused.

Naclstack looked up at him expectantly.

Naoki stared at the massive Naclstack for a moment before sighing. "There's no way I can lift you. You're too heavy!"

Indeed, after its evolution, Naclstack weighed 105 kilograms—far beyond what Naoki could handle.

Naclstack seemed disappointed at first, but soon perked up with an idea. It bent down and lay flat on the ground, turning its head to Naoki with a rumbling sound. "Stack!"

Naoki blinked in surprise, then asked, "Do you want me to ride on you?"

"Stack!" Naclstack nodded enthusiastically.

"Well… I am kind of heavy," Naoki cautioned, but Naclstack insisted it was no problem.

Seeing its determination, Naoki carefully climbed onto Naclstack's broad back. The Naclstack was large and sturdy enough to support his weight easily.

Once Naoki was seated, Naclstack stood up triumphantly, letting out a joyful "Stack~!"

Naoki chuckled as he enjoyed the unexpected ride. "When you evolve into a Garganacl, I'll definitely be riding on your shoulders!"

...

[Here's your extra chapter. Thank you once again for your support!]

<Next 2000 goal is power stones>

Just give me those power stones, please." 💎💎

Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 175 @ patreon.com/Keepsmiling818