???
"Ugh..."
A young 10-year-old boy can be seen waking up at the grass field. The young boy has dark red hair and yellow eyes, with a slight scar across the bridge of his nose. He wore a blue hoodie with a white sleeve, a red shirt underneath, a pair of black trousers, and a pair of black sports shoes.
"Gah! I'm late for today's class!!" The boy wakes up before his eyes turn to anime-style white eyes, blinking owlishly as he looks around. "Wait a minute, where am I?!"
As he said that, a blue holographic screen appears in front of him, startling him. He was taken aback before he looked at the screen and properly read what was in there.
[Good day, Tai. This is Giratina, the ruler of Anti-Matter. I would like to apologize for bringing you bad news, but you have died in your old world due to my carelessness. Father told me you were supposed to go through your normal life and graduate from your dream culinary university, but my carelessness has led you to your early demise. As an apology, I brought you alive in another world since your old body was destroyed in your home world, so you can't go back to your home world. And not to worry, with the help of my father and my power, we grant you a unique ability, the System, to help you in an unfamiliar world. I hope you're safe on your journey.]
"...oi, oi, oi." The boy mutters as he grabs the holographic screen before he tightens his grip. "You're joking, right? Please tell me, you're fucking joking!?!"
The boy grits his teeth before he starts to shake the holographic screen out of rage. Bashing with both of his hands in anger, uncaring how his actions attract a lot of attention.
"Do you think this whole shit is funny!?!?! What kind of sick joke you're fucking playing with me!?!?" The boy shouts in anger before he looks at his hand and punches the ground, hoping it will be enough of a shock to wake him up. To his horror, he felt pain but did not wake up.
"No, no, no..." The boy mutters as he starts to tear up. "I...I didn't want any of this...I don't want a stupid isekai journey, damn it!!! I'm just a chef student, a kid who wants nothing but to graduate and be a chef!!! Why, why, why...?"
The boy starts to sob before clutching the holographic screen, tears falling through the screen and hitting the grass. Everything was just too much for the poor boy. Not to mention, now that he regressed to 10 years old, his emotions are harder to control.
"D-damn it..." The boy mutters before shaking his head and wiping off his tears. "Come on, Tai, y-you were supposed to be better than this...y-you're not a kid...d-don't cry, damn it, it won't help...is this because of the new body...?"
The boy gets up before looking around to see a river a few feet away from him. He walks towards the river but is surprised to see his appearance.
"I...I look like a 10-year-old kid...but that's not me..." The boy mutters, noticing he still crying. "D-damn it...my life flips upside down in an instant..."
Tai felt his stomach start to growl; his face turned slightly red before he looked around. Not seeing any food source, he could let out a sigh.
"This sucks...my main priority is to survive, but I start in a random area with no food..." Tai mutters before remembering the power he has. He can't help but scowl, remembering the message he got, but he pushes it aside, as his main priority is to survive.
"Um...how do I activate it again?" Tai asks in confusion. "S-system?"
As he said that, a blue holographic screen popped up again, which surprised Tai once more. He looks at the screen and can't help but feel a bit disappointed.
[Name: Tai Yasuno]
[Age: 12]
[HP: 100/100]
[MP: 100/100]
[Cash: 10,000 Credits]
[Skill: ]
[Advanced Cooking - Lvl 2]
[Appraisal - Lvl 1]
[Chef's Blessing - Lvl 1]
[Online Supermarket - Lvl 1]
"...what are these disappointing skills!?" Tai exclaims in disappointment. His childlike mind and memories of Isekai tropes made him feel that way. "Online Shopping...what even is that?"
[Online Supermarket - Lvl 1]
[Grants users access to Online Supermarket where they can buy items necessary for their survival. The higher the level, the lower its cooldown the lower its price, and more options are available.]
[Cooldown: 21 Days]
"...I take it back!!" Tai gapes while reading the description. This is so much better than he thought especially if his main plan is to survive. If it's Online Shopping, then that means he can buy food! "Online Supermarket!"
[Online Supermarket]
[Rice Grains - 100 Credits/100g (500 g in stock)]
[Trainer Bag - 1000 Credits]
[Camping Sets - 4000 Credits]
[Low-Quality Cooking Set - 3000 Credits]
[A Dozen of Chicken Eggs - 300 Credits (2 dozen in stock)]
[Water - 100 Credits/Litre (3 Litre in stock)]
"..." Tai's eyes twitch at the choices he got. He was lucky that he got enough credits to buy these shits or else he would be dead. "What's Trainer Bag?"
[Trainer Bag]
[Rank: Immeasurable]
[A bag universally used by every trainer in Pokemon World to carry their traveling items. It has a large storage space despite its small size. The quality of the items stored will not deteriorate.]
[Inventory Space: 0/1000 items]
"...fuck yes!" Tai says with no hesitation.
[You bought 500g Rice Grain]
[You bought a Trainer Bag]
[You bought 2 Dozens Eggs]
[You bought 3 Litre of Water]
As he bought these items, a parcel fell next to Tai, startling him. He blinks before looking at the screen before he buys the rest.
[You bought a Camping Set]
[You bought a Low-Quality Cooking Set]
This time, the parcel appears out of thin air next to the first parcel he bought. He turns and blinks.
[You have bought every item in Online Supermarket]
[New Items will be restocked in 21 Days]
[Your Skill: Online Supermarket gained experiences. Gather more to level up your skills]
"..." Tai immediately opens the parcel and sighs in relief to see his items are all here. He grabs the Low-Quality cooking sets, which are just a portable stove with cooking gas, a pan, a wooden spoon, a wooden plate, and a wooden spatula.
"At least it's good enough for now..." Tai mutters before he decides to cook some food. He is very starving, and he would rather focus on what's next after he has a meal.
He's just glad the pan was enough to cook rice. He knows that the pan wasn't meant to be used for cooking rice, but given his situation, what choices do he have?
After a while, he finally cooked an omelet and a rice. He can't help but grimace at how terrible it is compared to what he used to cook, but right now, he has no right to complain. He takes a bite and sighs, hating how bland it tastes.
"...Appraisal..." Tai mutters.
[Rice and Omelet]
[Rank: D]
[A food cooked by Tai Yasuno, a newbie chef desperate for survival. Despite its lack of taste, it is enough to provide stamina recovery to whoever tastes it]
[Effect: Slight Stamina Recovery]
"..." He winces at the description. He can't help but feel his pride as a future chef blown to bits. He rubs the bridge of his nose before he continues to eat, thinking he should stop thinking about his terrible cooking and focus on his survival.
"Fuck..." Tai sighs before he washes the plate. He blinks when he sees a Magikarp suddenly pop out of the surface and eat some of the rice that sticks to the plate before more and more appear. Out of panic, he pulls out the plate, causing the Magikarps to retreat.
"M-Magikarp...a school of mothefucking Magikarps..." Tai widens his eyes in shock before he looks around. How did he fully miss the Pidgey flying above the sky and Rattatas running around!?
"Right...the message says Giratina...Oh, shit...I'm directing my anger to a god..." Tai says in a horrified tone, letting out a pitiful whimper. "I'm so lucky I didn't get smite!"
Tai sighs as he collapses into the ground, looking at the sky. He covers his face before letting out a groan.
"..." Tai gets up and continues to wash all of the utensils he uses before inserting them into his newly-bought trainer bag. He's surprised to see that the trainer bag works like an item inventory, but he can't help but wonder why he didn't just get an inventory menu instead. He decides not to ask since the one who gives him is Giratina of all Pokemon, and he should stop questioning things.
Speaking of Pokemon, Tai was surprised to know that he was in the Pokemon world, a world filled with magical creatures Tai used to wish he could've met. He sometimes even pretends his dog to be Growlithe and mocks play as trainer and Pokemon.
He even still has an Arcanine plush he bought when he was a kid, something his friends won't stop teasing him about.
"..." Tai silently stares at the bag as he remembers his friends. He wonders how his friends and his family are doing right now. Do they know if he died? If so, how are they reacting to his death?
Tai sighs before he feels tears escaping his eyes and wipes them off. He picks up his bag before he walks away from the river, aimlessly wandering around. He notices most Pokemons around the wild seem to be curious of him instead of attacking him.
'They just stare at me curiously. I'm so glad that they did or else I would die...' Tai thought in relief before he noticed mushrooms around the forest. Curious, he picks up one of them and uses Appraisal.
[Tiny Mushroom]
[Rank: E]
[A type of mushroom you can find commonly in the wild, providing flavors on any food. A common food that Pokemon consumes daily.]
"Yeah, I should pick some of them..." Tai mutters before he starts to pick some mushrooms. He made sure he didn't take all of it since these are Pokemon's food sources as well. He may want to survive, but he can't be greedy. Besides, he would rather not have Pokemons attack him for food.
After picking a solid amount of mushrooms, he puts all of it into his bag. He notices the bag's inventory display the mushroom with the number of stacks instead of taking all of the space available. It also works on his eggs, rice grains, and water.
"That's convenient," Tai mutters before he sees some fruits on the ground. Without hesitation, he picks it up. He was glad that he got Appraisal skills because he was able to see the quality of each food supply.
After a while, he managed to gain 12 fresh apples in total. Not a lot, but it's better than nothing.
Later
He has walked for hours, and he is still stuck in a forest with no sign of civilization. Tai decided to get some rest as he made a campfire, setting out a camp in the forest with a river nearby.
"I hope I can survive the next day..." Tai mutters. "I'm suck at this shit..." He pulls out his portable stove and his pan, before pulling out all of his ingredients. He decides to add mushrooms to his omelet, and he can feel a slight difference compared to his previous attempt.
[Mushroom Omelette with Rice]
[Rank: D]
[A slightly better attempt was made by Tai Yasuno. It has a better taste than usual, but not much.]
[Effect: Slight Stamina Recovery]
Tai wants nothing but to toss his food away out of frustration. The description frustrates him a lot, but he won't do it since he needs food. He sighs before he remembers something and checks his status window, noticing his Chef's Blessing skill.
[Chef's Blessing - Lvl 1]
[A skill unique to Tai Yasuno only. Using this skill allows the user to bless his food, granting better effects and tastes while increasing its rank by a stage. The higher the level, the better the effect. It will only work for self-cooked food above D-Rank quality.]
[MP Cost: None]
"Wait, what?!?!" Tai can't believe he has such skill! If he wasn't impatient, he would've checked it and used it on his food immediately. Without hesitation, he uses his skill in his food.
To his shock, a bright light emits from his hand and his food, forcing Tai to cover his face immediately. A tasty smell hits Tai's nose, causing him to unintentionally drool at the food. Impatiently, he took a bite. He widens his eyes at how better it tastes now, how it explodes inside his mouth like fireworks, and he feels his stamina recover faster.
He had cooked a lot of food, and some of them may be good, but none was as tasty as this. He wonders how much tastier it will be if he cooks like usual, slightly giddy just thinking about it.
"So, this is where the source of the smell is."
Tai froze as he heard a mature tone from his back. He slowly turns around before gaping in shock, dropping his spoon on the plate. Of all the Pokemons he saw, he would never expect Suicune of all Pokemon to appear out of nowhere.
"If you don't mind, human, may I taste the food that emits such a pleasant scent?" And he would never expect said Pokemon would even ask if he can taste his food.
'What the fuck is going on!??'
To be continued