Chapter 63:Duck Eggs

"Take good care of Espurr."

After arriving home, Andrew handed today's wages to Meowstic and also gave it the Pokémon food that Nurse Joy had gifted.

"Meow~"

Meowstic nodded energetically and then took Espurr back to Secret Fortress.

Once at home, Meowstic gently placed Espurr on the bed, covered it with a blanket, and then settled by the bedside.

Watching Espurr's peaceful sleeping face, Meowstic smiled with satisfaction.

Meowstic reminisced about its own childhood. It too had been found by Trevenant and brought to the Nebel Plateau, where it eventually settled.

Meowstic remembered that it had been a rainy night when, as an egg, it had somehow ended up in the fast-flowing Nebel River.

At that moment, it hatched.

Because it was so small, the currents tossed it around, and it was on the verge of drowning when Trevenant happened by and rescued it with a branch.

After the rescue, young Meowstic, then just a Espurr, developed a high fever. Trevenant took it home and cared for it until it recovered.

Not knowing where it came from, Meowstic decided to stay with Trevenant.

Trevenant was an elder of the Nebel Plateau and had once been one of its guardians. Sadly, Trevenant passed away not long after taking in Meowstic due to its old age.

Since then, Meowstic had lived alone but continued Trevenant's legacy by helping any Pokémon in need on the plateau.

As Meowstic drifted into sleep, it dreamed of Trevenant, and a smile appeared on its face.

——————

After seeing Meowstic off, Andrew opened the system, as he had received a system prompt when closing the Munchlax's House earlier.

Sure enough, as soon as the system was opened, a notification popped up.

"Congratulations, Host, for serving a total of 10,000 Pokémon. Achievement reward: Constitution +5, Intelligence +5."

Andrew felt pleased. Another achievement reward! His Constitution and Intelligence had both increased by 5 points.

As the achievements became more challenging, the rewards were becoming richer.

He checked his personal information screen, and as expected, the information had been updated.

Andrew

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 16 (+500)

Constitution: 30

Intelligence: 17

Cooking Skill Rating: Rookie Chef.

His Constitution points had risen to 30 without him even realizing it. Andrew clenched his fist, feeling that he had become considerably stronger recently, and his height had also increased slightly.

When he first arrived at the Nebel Plateau, he was barely 1.8 meters tall. Now he was at least 1.84 meters.

"Munchlax!"

Feeling the changes in his body, Andrew called out loudly to the outside.

"Munch~ Munch~" Master, what's up?

Munchlax ran over with its stubby legs.

"Let's have a sparring match," Andrew suggested.

"Munch~ Munch~~ Munch~~~" Spar in cooking? Sure, let me show you what I've been working on!

Munchlax clenched its fists, looking determined.

Today, Munchlax was ready to prove itself!

Seeing Munchlax's expression, Andrew realized it had misunderstood. He held its fist and clarified, "I meant a battle spar."

(⊙_☉)???

A large question mark appeared on Munchlax's face.

Master, what did you say? A battle spar? You can fight? I didn't know that!

Seeing Munchlax looking confused, Andrew pulled it outside. While he wasn't much of a fighter, it was good to practice. After all, what if he got kidnapped again and no one was there to help him?

Although the chances of that happening seemed low since he could always summon Diancie and the others, it was still good to have more skills.

Munchlax was dragged outside to the grassy field without realizing it.

Sobble was playing on the wall with other Pokémon.

It placed small stones on the wall and stood at a distance, pointing a finger at them.

"Whoosh~"

Mimicking a gunshot sound, Sobble shot a stream of water from its fingertip (using Water Gun), hitting a stone perfectly and shattering it.

Sobble then pretended to blow on its finger as if blowing smoke off a gun.

"Sobble..~" How's that? Impressed?

The watching Pokémon cheered and applauded, making Sobble even prouder.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~~"

Sobble shot three more water streams in quick succession, each hitting its target accurately.

After finishing, Sobble struck a cool pose with its hand at its temple and asked, "Sobble~ Sob~" Am I cool? Am I cool?

Everyone enthusiastically agreed, praising Sobble. It was so flattered it ran excitedly around the wall, like a puppy seeking praise.

Seeing Andrew and Munchlax approaching, Sobble dashed to the wall's entrance. "Sobble~~" Andrew, where are you going?

"I'm going to have a sparring match with Munchlax," Andrew replied as he continued walking.

"Sparring?" Sobble looked puzzled and leaped down from the wall to follow Andrew.

The other Pokémon, seeing the excitement, also followed along.

Andrew and Munchlax arrived at an open area and took their positions. Andrew bent his knees slightly, ready for a battle stance.

"Munchlax, come at me!"

Munchlax was still confused. Come at you? With what?

The surrounding Pokémon gathered around, but none understood what Andrew meant.

Andrew shouted, "Munchlax, throw your punch at me!"

Startled, Munchlax instinctively raised its fist and rushed toward Andrew.

Bang!

Munchlax and Andrew collided with a resounding thud. Their hands were locked together, each trying to overpower the other. To everyone's surprise, Andrew didn't back down; instead, he matched Munchlax's strength, making it a balanced contest.

At this moment, Diancie managed to push her way through the crowd and into the circle, witnessing the astonishing scene before her.

Is this really the Andrew I know?

While she was aware that Andrew's physical condition had improved with his increased vitality, she never expected him to be able to go toe-to-toe with Munchlax like this.

Even Munchlax was taken aback.

Master actually took my attack! Although I didn't use any moves, I'm a Pokémon and Master is human!

At that moment, Andrew shouted, "Munchlax, did you skip breakfast? Is that all the strength you have?"

"Munchlax?" Master, did you just underestimate me?

In an instant, Munchlax's previously cute expression turned serious.

"Rawr~!" it roared and grabbed Andrew's waist, trying to throw him down.

Andrew instinctively hugged Munchlax's waist in return. However, due to Munchlax's round belly, he couldn't get a proper grip and ended up holding onto the sides of its belly instead.

Both were locked in a struggle, each trying to knock the other down, but their mutual embrace meant neither could gain the upper hand.

"Sobble~ Sobble~" Go, Andrew! Go, Munchlax!

Sobble led the cheers, and other Pokémon joined in, supporting either Andrew or Munchlax, or like Sobble, cheering for both sides.

Komala had somehow rolled into the circle and was still soundly asleep, oblivious to the commotion.

Its rhythmic shaking seemed to sync with the cheers from the crowd.

Eventually, Andrew couldn't maintain his stance any longer and was toppled by Munchlax onto the grass.

Lying on the grass, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, Andrew shouted, "That was exhilarating!"

It had been a long time since he had such an intense workout. Andrew felt invigorated, as if every cell in his body had come alive.

"Munchlax~ Mun~~" Master, you're amazing!

Munchlax sat down beside Andrew, exhausted but pleased with its victory.

Andrew patted Munchlax on the back. "Let's have another go next time!"

Munchlax had used only raw strength, not any special moves, so Andrew was very pleased with his current physical condition. Even though Munchlax was not very high-level, he felt he was now able to compete with Pokémon.

"Munchlax~~" Okay! Let's do this again next time!

Munchlax happily agreed, fired up by the practice.

"You really need to exercise more; you're getting quite chubby." Andrew patted Munchlax's belly, which wobbled like a pudding.

"Munch~~"

Munchlax bashfully scratched its head. Since coming to Andrew's home, it had been eating well every day, so gaining weight was inevitable.

At this point, Diancie approached with concern. "Andrew, are you alright?"

When Andrew was thrown by Munchlax, Diancie had been extremely worried, fearing he might get hurt.

"I'm fine, really. Don't worry." Andrew patted his chest reassuringly. "I'm much stronger now!"

The increase in his vitality points had improved all aspects of his physical condition, including strength and resilience.

Seeing Andrew so relaxed, Diancie breathed a sigh of relief.

In the afternoon, the Pokémon continued helping Andrew with planting. The planting of the Occa Berry and Babiri Berry was finally nearing completion.

Andrew stayed behind with Munchlax and Sobble, as they had new tasks for the day.

Andrew's shop had offered various types of porridge, but had yet to include century egg and lean meat porridge. The reason was that century eggs were not available in the Pokémon world, so Andrew had to make them himself.

Today, Andrew was going to make century eggs with Munchlax and Sobble.

Honestly, Andrew was craving century eggs himself.

Just thinking about dishes like century egg salad, century egg tofu, or century egg with chili made Andrew eager.

Century eggs have a unique taste that not everyone likes; some people find them quite off-putting, similar to cilantro. Andrew was among those who enjoyed century eggs.

In addition to century eggs, Andrew also planned to make some salted duck eggs.

Munchlax's House and Diancie's Canteen had become a breakfast spot, and Andrew had no intention of changing that.

Trying to make everything would only exhaust him.

Since he was running a breakfast shop, how could he not offer salted duck eggs?

The thought of golden, oily salted duck eggs made Andrew's mouth water.

The side dishes at Munchlax's House were always free, but this time, salted duck eggs couldn't be. While selling salted duck eggs might not bring happiness points, earning some money for his hard work seemed fair enough.

Andrew had prepared all the materials for making century eggs and salted duck eggs early in the morning.

While the King of Azoth was blanketed in heavy snow, the weather on the Nebel Plateau was clear and sunny. Every time this happened, Andrew would mentally thank Volcanion.

Andrew, Munchlax, and Sobble carried the materials to the square in front of the house, planning to work while enjoying the sun.

Andrew and Munchlax each took a small stool and sat down, surrounding the materials. Andrew announced, "Let's get started."

"Munch~"

"Sobb~"

Munchlax and Sobble cheered, eager to try the new dishes Andrew had mentioned.

"Follow my lead! First, we'll make the century eggs." Andrew said.

"Munchlax~"

"Sobble~"

Munchlax and Sobble nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Sobble, let's start by washing the duck eggs. Fill the basin with water." Andrew pointed to the large plastic basin in front of them.

"Sobble~~"

Sobble nodded, extending a finger into the basin. Water flowed in, while Andrew instructed Munchlax to place the duck eggs into the basin.

"Before we start, we need to clean the duck eggs to prevent bacteria." Andrew gently scrubbed the eggs.

"Munch~~"

Munchlax nodded seriously, copying Andrew's actions. Sobble also joined in after filling the basin with water.

"Alright! After washing the duck eggs, we need to prepare the pickling mud." Andrew demonstrated to his two helpers.

Mix lime, soda ash, and salt in a large bowl, add tea water, and stir until all solids dissolve into a paste.

Tea water needs to be prepared in advance by boiling tea leaves with water, cooling, and straining out the leaves.

"Next is the pickling step, which is the most crucial." Andrew demonstrated to his apprentices.

Take the dried duck eggs, coat them evenly with the pickling mud, and place them in a sealed ceramic jar.

"After about a month, you'll get delicious century eggs."

"Munch..lax~~" A month?

Munchlax looked disappointed.

"Got it? Remember the steps?" Andrew held up a coated duck egg and asked.

"Munchlax~" Got it!

"Sobble~" Got it!

The two Pokémon responded in unison.

Andrew smiled and said, "Great, let's get to work. We have a lot to do today. After the century eggs, we'll make salted duck eggs."

"Mun~"

"Sobble~"

The two Pokémon cheered and quickly started working according to Andrew's instructions. Both were very capable, and soon, the square in front of the house was filled with a pile of sealed ceramic jars.

(End of Chapter)