Pokémon: Starting with a Pokémon Ranch.

Chapter 22 Su Yu: I'm really not suited to cooking (3000 words)

After feeding the grass cake to the tropical dragon, Su Yu went to the sheep pen and fed the cake to the woolly sheep.

However, this kind of cake doesn't seem to have much effect on Wooloos. After all, Grass Cake's main effect is on Grass-type energy, and for other sheep Pokémon, it's at most good for strengthening their bodies.

"Looks like I should go find Uncle Yang and buy some lambs for riding."

Speaking of grass-type sheep, Su Yu thought of the little sheep that he rode, which is indeed the Pokémon that best suits Grass Cake.

After finishing these tasks, Su Yu went to the fields to water the crops. By then, it was getting dark.

After reaching the lake and calling back his Growlithe, who was practicing its moves, Su Yu went back inside to cook. Today, Su Yu wanted to try cooking the fish he had caught in the lake.

But by accident, Su Yu ruined the dish. What was originally a perfectly good pot of fish was turned into a culinary disaster resembling a Stargazing Pie.

"Um...it seems a bit off? Looks like I really should take some time to improve my cooking skills, cough cough..."

"Let's go to the food stall that delivers fish this morning and buy some fish. It'll be perfect, and we can taste the fish that's grown on their own."

With that in mind, Su Yu rode the tropical dragon and went to the restaurant in town to buy a grilled fish.

The grilled fish tasted completely different the moment I bought it. As soon as I lifted the lid, the aroma immediately wafted around and could be smelled even outside.

"Hiss... It's so hot! Hmm, the taste is really quite good. The texture and flavor of the fish itself are a big plus. It's truly exceptional."

"Alright, tonight we're having grilled fish. Growlithe, Alcremie, come and eat."

While eating, Su Yu called out.

Normally, Alcremie feeds on berries or energy cubes. Occasionally, she can eat other things, but not too much.

As for Growlithe, there are fewer concerns; it basically eats whatever Su Yu eats.

As soon as Su Yu called out, Growlithe, having already caught a whiff of the aroma, dashed over. But at the same time, it also spotted the "Stargazing Pie" that Su Yu had placed in the kitchen.

"Woof..." Growlithe immediately cowered, remembering the incredibly unpalatable spicy snack from last time. Seeing Growlithe's reaction, Su Yu glanced at the kitchen with a puzzled look.

Seeing the Stargazing Pie on the stove, Su Yu smiled awkwardly and said:

"We're not eating that stuff; I was planning to throw it away later. Come on over, we're having this grilled fish tonight."

"It's cooked like that, I doubt anyone could eat it, haha..."

Upon hearing this, Growlithe finally sat down at the table.

And Alcremie, who followed closely behind, also noticed the culinary disaster on the stove. She said:

"Mama..." Why don't you take me with you next time you cook dinner?

"You can still cook?" Su Yu asked in surprise.

Then he nodded again and said:

"Alright then, since you make such good cakes, you must be quite good at cooking too. I'll leave it to you."

This meal took quite a while to finish.

By the time they finished eating, it was completely dark outside. After dinner, Su Yu rested for a while, then washed the dishes and went to bed.

And just after Su Yu went to bed, in a thicket outside the ranch, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly opened in the darkness.

……

The Lycanroc (Night) has been eyeing this ranch for two days now.

As a Pokémon abandoned by humans, Lycanroc knows all too well how terrifying humans can be.

Therefore, whenever it arrives at a new ranch, it observes it carefully. The first thing it needs to confirm is whether there are any powerful Pokémon on the ranch.

Only after confirming that he can escape even if discovered by the rancher will the mane rock werewolf decide to make his move and steal the sheep from the ranch.

After two days of observation, Lycanroc confirmed that there were no powerful Pokémon in the ranch.

Aside from that somewhat powerful tropical dragon, there was a silly dog, a few hairy crabs that had no fighting ability, and a hairy sheep that seemed harmless.

This appears to be a completely new ranch, with virtually no defenses. And these new ranches are often the easiest to raid, because the ranchers of such ranches usually lack experience.

Having confirmed this, and patiently waiting for nightfall, the Lycanroc finally began its operation.

It cautiously approached the sheepfold, making almost no sound in the process. The Growlithe inside seemed to sense something, but merely twitched its ears and didn't notice anything amiss.

Up to this point, the mane-wielding werewolf's plan was progressing very smoothly. It seemed that it had already succeeded halfway in stealing the sheep.

Next, all it needs to do is pick up a sheep from the pen and escape the rancher's pursuit to reap a fresh and plump lamb.

But just as it climbed over the wooden fence into the sheepfold, it accidentally woke up one of the woolly sheep. However, the mane-wielding werewolf didn't seem to care much about the woolly sheep's awakening.

The evolved form of the Woolblade Sheep, the Woolblade Sheep, is alright; thanks to its age and size, it can make the Manerock Wolf somewhat wary.

But what about these completely unevolved lambs?

Stop joking. What fighting power could these lambs possibly have? I, the Mane Rock Wolf, could take them down with a single claw.

As if to prove his point, the mane-rock werewolf immediately pounced on one of the woolly sheep.

The woolly sheep, just woken up, initially thought Su Yu was up doing something in the middle of the night. But when it looked up, it saw a wolf had jumped into the sheepfold.

Especially after the wolf saw that it had woken up, it not only did not choose to retreat, but instead pounced on it viciously, as if it wanted to end its life. It looked extremely ferocious.

In its panic, the Woolstice sheep was at a loss. But it immediately remembered what Yang Hao had told it before—only the living have the opportunity to output.

Yang Hao had told it that when encountering danger, the best course of action was to protect oneself first. Only in this way could one minimize the risk of accidents and conserve strength to deal with what followed.

"Meow..."

Thinking of this, Woolstuck immediately used the "Cotton Defense" move to protect himself.

As it unleashed this move, its wool rapidly expanded, forming a protective layer around its body.

The mane-wielding werewolf never expected that a braided sheep could learn such a move. After it pounced, it crashed headfirst into the soft and elastic protective layer, bounced back, and slammed hard into the sheepfold.

At this moment, the other woolly sheep were also awakened by the commotion caused by the mane-rock werewolf. Seeing this, they all gathered together and united to unleash a "headbutt" attack on the mane-rock werewolf, knocking it dizzy and disoriented.

The wolf-mane was quite surprised by its own mistake. It did not expect that it could fail when facing a lamb that had just been born.

The loud noise outside also woke Su Yu. After seeing what was happening outside through the window, he immediately woke up Growlithe and rushed out of the house first.

Seeing this, the Lycanroc turned to run. However, it had only taken a few steps when the Tropical Dragon descended from the sky and landed in front of the Lycanroc, glaring menacingly.

This speed caught the Lycanroc completely off guard. However, the Tropius was somewhat speechless.

—Do you even know how valuable a flying ability is, kid?

These flightless creatures always try to estimate the speed of flying Pokémon based on their own speed. Back when they lived in the forest, Tropius often encountered these arrogant and ignorant fellows.

At this moment, Su Yu also arrived at the scene. Seeing that the mane-wielding werewolf was still trying to resist, he said:

"I advise you to stop resisting. I have flying Pokémon on my ranch."

"Even if you escape, my tropical dragon can track you from the air. As long as you don't run out of its sight, your whereabouts will always be exposed to us."

"And with all the ranches you've attacked these past few days, I'm sure the ranchers will be happy to help capture you. You won't be able to escape then either."

As it spoke, Tropical Dragon also cooperated by using its stomp attack, causing the surrounding ground to tremble, demonstrating its power.

Upon seeing this, the mane-wielding werewolf broke out in a cold sweat. It had originally thought that this tropical dragon, which carried that human to the lake to fish every day, must be just a not-so-powerful tropical dragon.

Because in its mind, powerful Pokémon wouldn't be willing to do this kind of thing for humans.

But now it seems that it completely misjudged the strength of the tropical dragon.

Left with no other choice, the Lycanroc surrendered.

And the next day...

News of the sheep thief's arrest spread throughout the pastoral area. Early in the morning, many ranchers arrived, eager to see what was going on.

Upon seeing that it was a Rockwerewolf, the ranchers were still shaken. The Rockwerewolf in its night form was like a madman; it really would bite. Thankfully, Su Yu had caught this Rockwerewolf.

Of all the Lycanroc forms, the Night Form is the most ferocious, and therefore greatly feared.

Su Yu was very curious about the mane-wielding werewolf's next move, and he asked:

"So, where will this mane-wielding werewolf be sent next?"

"Of course it's the Pokémon Jail. Pokémon with a criminal record are usually sent there. Given what this Lycanroc did, it'll probably be locked up there forever and won't be released."

Upon hearing this, Su Yu nodded. He hadn't expected that even Pokémon had prisons. This was probably set up by the League because it was inconvenient to deal with Pokémon that had misbehaved in human areas.

But this is for the best. Once locked up, it won't be easy for it to escape and hurt people, preventing this mane-shaped werewolf from causing trouble everywhere.

At this moment, one of the ranchers seemed to remember something and asked:

"By the way, you must be Su Yu, the rancher?"

"Yes, that's me. What's wrong?"

"Hey... Yesterday, the rancher from Little Wild Boar Ranch brought back some crab claws from your place, saying they were a local specialty for us to eat. I didn't think they were anything special, but after throwing them in to make crab porridge..."

"Oh my, the aroma is irresistible, it's so delicious! So I was wondering if you still sell crab claws here?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding ranchers became curious. They were all from the pastoral area and had eaten all sorts of things.

From your description, crab claws sound incredibly delicious.

They all looked at Su Yu.

Seeing that everyone was looking over, Su Yu felt a little embarrassed because the crab claws had just been sold out and he didn't have any left.

However, it just so happens that he plans to go into the mountains again in the next few days, and he should be able to bring back the entire group of hairy cliff crabs. So Su Yu said:

"Let's wait a few more days, it should be ready in a few days. When it is, I can give each of you a crab claw."

……

(End of this chapter)