frankieu: Sadly, no. It won't be as edgy and dark as some Pokemon fics, but there will be moments. This fic is still inspired by Campfire Cooking in Another World with Absurb Skills, so those kinds of moments will toned down.
Killer-Gear: Thanks. Here you go! :3
Viridian Forest, Kanto
"I swear, when I thought I could finally get a break, the universe decided to troll me, HARD!"
Tai gently places Yellow on the ground while using his bag as a makeshift pillow before gently placing Chuchu on Yellow's body. He expects he might've met some iconic Pokemon characters from whichever media he could think of, but he wasn't expecting to encounter one immediately on the second day of his Isekai Life.
"I said I'm sorry! I wasn't expecting to encounter another human immediately, especially one who's blessed by the Viridian Forest itself!" Yuuki exclaims apologetically.
"Blessed? So, the legends about every 10 years, a child born in this forest was granted special powers are true?" Tai asks with a raised eyebrow.
"…..no, seriously how did you know? That's not information anyone could casually find out as no evidence was shown!" Yuuki said in utter disbelief.
"I told you, Pokemon are fiction in my world, including the legend of this world!" Tai says insistently.
"There is more than this, is it?" Yuuki asks, curious about his world.
"Well….*sigh* it is the most popular fiction in my world, still is even when I died, where it exists as manga, anime, novel, game, and even merchandizes…." Tai said sheepishly. "I….kinda too into such thing, I even bought a Growlithe plush and even named my dog Arcanine…."
"…..we're that famous?" Yuuki asks in utter disbelief.
"Well….yes, even those who didn't know much at least know one or two Pokemon, although they mostly know Pikachu…." Tai mutters while looking away.
"…..I'm so speechless that I don't know how to react to that…" Yuuki mutters.
"Well, given how each world is different, you might find things you'll find unusual for this world but it's a common thing there," Tai stated before sitting down while letting out a sigh and looking at Scyther. "Thanks for the assist, Scyther."
Scyther merely looks away while huffing, muttering something under his breath. Yuuki seems to hear it, a tick mark pops out of his head as he bends his fangs out of annoyance, causing Scyther to squeak.
"Easy there, Yuuki. I did promise him an extra treat if he helps me." Tai says while letting out a small laugh.
"So, you end up resorting to bribery?" Yuuki asks with a raised eyebrow.
"It's either that or I let the girl die." Tai points out.
"…..Is it me or there's something you didn't tell me?" Tai stiffens when he hears Yuuki's words before shaking his head.
"Nope, nothing. There's nothing I haven't told you." Tai stuttered as Yuuki merely gave him a deadpan stare. "… Okay, fine! Yellow…..might be my childhood crush…."
"…..Isn't this the first time you meet her?" Yuuki asks in confusion.
"Well…..I did mention that Pokemons are fiction in my world, and there are stories about trainers achieving greatness while dealing against evil teams…." Tai mutters while twiddling with his thumbs. "And…there is one story about her, how she grew from a normal girl a Protagonist helps to catch a Rattata into an amazing Pokemon Trainer going toe-to-toe against Elite Four…."
"Huh…" Yuuki is still shocked at the revelation. The more he learns about Tai's world, the more shocking things he finds. "So…you plan to court her?"
"Okay, what the fuck!?" Tai can't help but voice out his disbelief. "First of all, courting is no longer a thing, unless you're a traditional person who hates the modern era. Second, this might be a different Yellow I know. Third, she barely knows me, and I doubt she will even like me, a socially inept guy who sucks at attracting guys. Besides, I bet she will meet her destined one in the future…." Tai mutters the last part. Yuuki was about to voice his opinion but Tai raised his hand to stop him.
"No, Yuuki. I won't test my luck, that'll just make things awkward and creepy. Besides, right now, we got more things to worry about, like keeping her safe from any wild Pokemon attack." Tai says while rubbing his head. "Especially when I have no idea which part of Viridian Forest she lives."
"You know her and the legend of her powers, yet you didn't know where she lives?" Yuuki voices out his disbelief.
"First, this universe has shown how different it is compared to the fictions from my world. First, the advancement of technology and the existence of the internet. Then, this." Tai points at Yellow. "Her starter is a Pikachu instead of the Rattata I know from the story, and no other Pokemon. It shows how completely different it is. And another thing is, I don't remember every detail, so I have my moments of unreliability."
"I see…" Yuuki mutters.
"Anyways, how's the training with Gintama?" Tai asks while carrying the Shiny Eevee from Yuuki's mane.
"It's a work in progress," Yuuki says. "We didn't go much further since we stopped after hearing the girl's scream."
"Oh, right…" Tai mutters before petting Gintama, who nuzzles his hand affectionately. "How about a lunch? I mean, we've been here for quite a while now."
"Voi!" Gintama exclaims as he wags his tail, causing Tai to chuckle. Yuuki and Scyther seem to perk up as well when they hear 'lunch'.
"Alright." Tai gently opens the bag and pulls out his stove and the cooking pan along with the rest of the cooking utensils. Then pulling out a bag of rice, a bottle of vinegar, salt, water, eggs, prawns, and still fresh Magikarp. "I love this bag…" He immediately turns on the stove and places the pan before pouring the rice and water into the pan and follows up by closing the lid.
After washing his own hands, he places the Magikarp and prawns into the cutting board before using his knife to slice them off, using the water to wash them gently before pouring a pinch of salt into it. Tai grabs a bowl and cracks the eggs before using his fork to steer it, mixing the yolk and the egg white into one as Tai poured some salt into it.
Yuuki, Gintama, and Scyther stare at Tai cooking with utter confusion, wondering what is he cooking. And why is Tai not cooking the fish, merely letting it absorb the salt?
After a while, the rice is finished. Tai grabs the pan and immediately pours it all into a big bowl before pouring vinegar into it. Tai purposely pours water into his hand along with salt before grabbing the rice and gently shaping it into an oval shape, placing a lot of them next to the Magikarp. Tai grins as he pours the mixed egg into the pan, cooking it. Tai cuts some of the Magikarp before placing it on top of the rice and places them on a plate while waiting for the egg to finish. After that, he tosses the egg into the cutting board before placing some of the rice into the egg, using his knife to cut it before wrapping it around the rice.
Then, Tai places it next to the one with Magikarp meat and places some of the sliced meat next to it. Lastly, he boils the prawns in salted water, waiting for a moment before pulling them out and placing them on the remaining oval-shaped rice.
"Sadly, most of the ingredients I need to complete the dish aren't available at the Poke-Mart, so I gotta improvise. Here ya go, an improvised sushi and sashimi!" Tai exclaims excitedly as they all stare at the plate, wondering what's so special about the food. Tai grabs something from his bag and pours it at the edge of the plate.
[Improvised Sushi and Sashimi]
[Rank: C]
[A dish made by Tai Yasuno with care. Due to the missing key ingredient, its quality degraded a bit, but it doesn't mean it isn't tasty!]
[Effect: Filled appetite, Slight Stamina Recovery]
"Huh, the effects are less than I thought. I guess this is what happens when there's some missing key ingredient. That's too bad, but then again, there's no seaweed or even other ingredients for nikiri…" Tai mutters before placing the plate and grabbing one with raw Magikarp meat to eat. "….not bad, but could be better…"
"Is that….safe to eat for humans?" Yuuki asks hesitantly.
"Given how my [Appraisal] didn't show any dangers of consuming it, yes. It is safe to eat." Tai says as he grabs the prawn one. "I'm so glad Magikarp's adaptability in any kind of water prevents itself from being affected by parasites."
"I…want some," Yuuki says as he takes one wrapped with eggs. As he eats, he hums a bit. "Not bad, I think you could do better."
"I know." Tai chuckles. "This wasn't meant to be fancy, just a normal lunch."
"Mhm…." Tai turns around to see Yellow getting up, Chuchu squeaks as she falls into Yellow's lap. "I have a weird dream of meeting a Suicune…." Her words died as she witnessed Tai and Yuuki eating sushi while Gintama and Scyther were about to grab one for themselves.
"You're awake. Sushi?" Tai nonchalantly says as he gently offers some to them, with Gintama and Scyther deadpanned at him.
"Um…." Yellow is unsure how to react, especially towards a trainer who just saved her life, and nonchalantly ignores the existence of Suicune itself. Before she could say anything, her and Chuchu's stomach started to growl, causing them to blush in embarrassment.
"I suggest you eat, child. I would rather not let the child of Viridian starved." Yuuki says as Yellow tilts her head in confusion.
"Child of Viridian?" Yellow asks in confusion.
"A child born in Viridian Forest and was blessed with a gift from birth," Yuuki explains Yellow still looks confused as Yuuki sighs. "Have you experienced anything extraordinary?"
"W-well, I have this power to heal Pokemons I touch and sense their emotion," Yellow says before closing her mouth and looking at Tai.
"Cool." Tai nonchalantly comments before offering her sushis. Yellow looks surprised before hesitantly eating one, which made her perk up.
"Mhm, it's good!" Yellow exclaims as Tai smiles. "May I ask, why do you seem so nonchalant about it? You don't think it's….weird?"
"Um, no. Besides, I have seen weirder." Tai jokes while subtly moving his face towards Yuuki, who seems to notice and is offended by the remark before slapping Tai's head. Tai winces before glaring at Yuuki, who glares back. Yellow blinks before snorting and let out a giggle.
"I….am not expecting any of this…" Yellow comments as Tai places down the plate.
"Trust me, me neither. You should see how I first met him yesterday, I was shocked beyond belief." Tai says.
"Wait, yesterday?!" Yellow exclaims in shock as she and Chuchu join in the lunch along with Tai's Pokemons.
"Yup," Tai says. "The weird thing is, he was attracted by my food. I was eating my dinner when this big guy suddenly popped out of nowhere and asked me to cook food for him."
"No way…." Yellow mutters in shock.
"It….was not something I rather talk about…." Yuuki mutters before looking at Tai, who simply gives him a cheeky grin. "This is your idea of revenge when I decided to reveal myself in front of someone?"
"I have no idea what are you talking about," Tai says as Yuuki stares at him in a deadpan manner. Yellow can't help but giggle at the scene.
"You guys seem close to someone who just met for a day," Yellow says as Tai simply smiles.
"Well, he did choose to be my starter and he helps me a bunch in just a short time." Yellow choked on her sushi as Chuchu squeaked in surprise.
"S-starter?! I thought that Eevee was your starter!" Yellow exclaims.
"Nope," Tai exclaims with a cheeky grin.
"…..wow…" Yellow was speechless as Chuchu nodded in agreement.
"Alright, enough about me. So, what's a girl doing out here and somehow got swarmed by a horde of Beedrill?" Tai asked.
'W-well, I was simply taking a stroll around the forest with Chuchu, enjoying the scenery despite it being the only thing I saw for 9 years." Yellow says as she strokes Chuchu's head, earning a 'cha' from the Pikachu. "I….may have lost in thoughts and accidentally entered Beedrill's territory….well, the rest is history."
"You're lucky those Beedrills haven't done anything to you," Tai points out as Yellow winced before nodding.
"I know, you have my thanks…." Yellow replies as Tai nods.
"I'm just glad to help," Tai says. "And you should give one to Scyther, he does the entire work."
"Of course, thank you Scyther," Yellow says gently, which catches Scyther off guard as he looks away, hiding his obvious blushing face. Yellow giggles as Tai smirks slyly at his reaction. "You're really lucky…able to get on an adventure like this…" This causes Tai to stop before his smile becomes strained.
"Yeah…." Tai mutters, which catches Yellow's attention. Why does he feel sad when she says that? Before she could ask, they heard a squeak. Everyone looks at Chuchu, who looks baffled at the unsaid accusation before they look around. Tai is shocked to the core at what he sees.
Right on the grass next to him, a Dratini is nudging his legs. Yuuki stares at the Dratini with a twitching right eye, his face screams utter disbelief.
"Tai, what the fuck's with your luck!?"
To be continued