Chapter 97: The Water Lord and the Shadow Guide

Traveling alone, not counting the Slowpokes, he needed to prepare food for seven Pokémon. Just thinking about it made Hu Yang’s head spin. If he wanted his Pokémon to grow strong and healthy, he couldn’t afford to be careless about their diet.

The feeling was much like marriage.

Before marriage—or before a trip—there was always expectation and excitement.

But once married or on the journey, those feelings often got drowned out by the mundane realities of daily life.

Hu Yang sighed deeply, longing for a large Pokémon he could ride as a mode of transportation.

Hearing this, Gengar looked troubled and even mimicked Slowking’s voice: "I’m just a Gengar. I can’t cook."

"That’s exactly why you need to learn!" Hu Yang said. "That way, whenever you want to eat something, you can make it yourself."

Just like when Meowth learned human language and machinery, this was another skill to master.

On days when he didn’t want to cook, Gengar could light a fire and become a professional grill master.

Initially reluctant, Gengar’s ears perked up when Hu Yang promised, “Really, you can cook whatever you want.”

“Really?” Gengar asked eagerly.

Hu Yang nodded. “Really.”

“Then let me make breakfast today!” Gengar said excitedly, pulling out the Pokémon ingredients Hu Yang had bought.

Hu Yang stepped aside, gesturing for Gengar to take the lead.

Though it was a trip, Hu Yang wasn’t rushing to collect badges or short on money, so he could leisurely explore.

“The first step in cooking is preparing the ingredients. For our health, everything that goes into the pot must be thoroughly washed,” Hu Yang instructed from the side.

Gengar listened attentively, and the other Pokémon gathered around, eager to learn.

Gengar looked at the berries and mushrooms in its hands. It was about to say that washing wasn’t necessary for Pokémon food, but then remembered Hu Yang was human.

Previously, Hu Yang had explained that humans could get sick from unwashed food, so Gengar turned to Slowking.

Quick-witted Slowking sprayed water, effectively cleaning the berries and mushrooms.

Holding the washed berries, Gengar looked up at Hu Yang, silently asking, “Okay, they’re clean. What’s next?”

Hu Yang said, “Step two is processing the ingredients—cutting them into bite-sized pieces.”

“I can do that!” Gengar declared, moving to Fangtooth’s side and using its strong, sharp teeth to chop the mushrooms and berries into chunks.

The sound of chopping echoed softly.

Fangtooth had no objections to this task and happily licked the berry juice off its teeth.

Hu Yang continued, “Step three is building the fire and placing the ingredients in the pot. Remember, when cooking, you must focus. Overcooked food becomes very unpleasant.”

He lit the dry twigs and leaves Roserade had gathered, calculating the time carefully. Soon, Gengar’s favorite—berry mushroom soup—was ready.

The berries used were Oddish berries, purple all over, with a taste seven parts sour and three parts sweet. Except for Gengar, the other Pokémon weren’t particularly fond of it.

Gengar was delighted with the success of its first meal and eagerly shared the food with Fangtooth, Roserade, and a few others.

Unsurprisingly, they all politely refused.

“You bunch don’t appreciate good taste!” Gengar grumbled, pointing at them.

Then it turned and offered the food to Hu Yang.

Hu Yang was speechless.

He couldn’t quite understand Gengar’s peculiar taste. Berry mushroom soup would be considered a culinary disaster in the human world.

To not discourage Gengar’s enthusiasm for cooking, Hu Yang pretended to eat a piece of the sour-sweet mushroom and wore a “I’m not hungry, you have it all” kindly expression.

Later, he planned to learn how to make widely accepted foods like Poké Puffs and Poké Flan, which came in various flavors.

Gengar settled down to enjoy breakfast, while Hu Yang began preparing meals for the other Pokémon.

This was when he truly appreciated the importance of Energy Cubes.

Different Pokémon had different appetites, and a Pokémon like Fangtooth needed to eat a great deal to feel full.

Yet one Energy Cube was enough to satisfy a Snorlax—the famous glutton.

With Energy Cubes combined with Poké Puffs, Poké Flan, and curry rice, cooking on the journey would become much easier.

Coincidentally, it seemed that in Canalave City, they taught how to make Poké Puffs and Energy Cubes. Hu Yang planned to stop by and learn.

Just as Hu Yang finished cooking, a familiar cry came from across the river.

The Pokémon, heads down while eating, looked up to see the one that had just disappeared into the mist running over, carrying a Cresselia.

“Gengar, grab my net—no, the camera!” Hu Yang hurriedly said to the now full and lying-down Gengar.

At the same time, Suicune, face full of confusion, crossed the river and appeared before them.

Judging by that expression, it was easy to guess what it had just been through.

Thinking about how Cresselia dealt with the legendary beasts, Hu Yang felt a bit embarrassed.

He quickly apologized to Suicune, then greeted it: “Hello, Suicune. Can we take a photo together?”

While speaking, Hu Yang studied Suicune’s appearance.

In reality, Suicune was quite majestic, with a pale muzzle and an aura of grace and fluidity.

Suicune glanced at the bird Pokémon that had flown back to the human, then looked at this human, whose aura carried the presence of Ho-Oh, its expression complex.

Is this the Rainbow Hero that it was supposed to guide to meet Ho-Oh?

Suicune had come primarily to sense Ho-Oh’s aura here.

This meant that this human had been chosen by Ho-Oh.

So it brought the shadow guide, Marshadow, along.

Marshadow was Ho-Oh’s guardian.

It was also the overseer of the Rainbow Trials, tasked with monitoring whether the challengers selected by Ho-Oh were worthy of facing the legendary bird.

When Ho-Oh shed a feather, Marshadow would secretly watch the holder.

It determined if they qualified to become a Rainbow Hero and guided them back to the right path if they wavered.

But if the holder lost their qualification entirely, Marshadow quietly departed.

Usually, Marshadow hid within the shadows of Suicune, Entei, or Raikou.

Once it sensed Ho-Oh’s feather aura on a human, it would appear before that person and merge into their shadow.

The human and the legendary beast silently scrutinized each other.

Hu Yang thought, “Hmm, this Suicune’s aura is strong—it’s certainly not as weak as the one in the anime.”

To show his sincerity, he planned to treat Suicune to a meal, which would also serve as payment for the photos.

As one of the three legendary beasts, besides purifying water, Suicune could read people’s hearts.

It sensed that this human boy was of good character, genuinely kind and loving toward Pokémon.

More importantly, his strength was considerable.

Suicune glanced at the bird Pokémon nearby, quietly grooming its feathers, and thought to itself:

No wonder he’s the Rainbow Hero chosen by Ho-Oh!