Angie carefully examined the flaunting red creature in his hand. After confirming it was indeed a crayfish, he turned to Poliwhirl, who was busy hauling items onto the boat, and asked,
"Did you catch a lot of these?"
Poliwhirl looked up, nodded its head enthusiastically, and gestured affirmatively.
There were tons of them.
Hearing this, Angie was delighted and quickly said, "Where are they? Take me to see them!"
Poliwhirl nodded again, put down the water plants he was carrying, waved Angie over, and swam in a particular direction.
At a pillar they had set up yesterday, Angie saw another net bag, this one filled with shrimp and crabs, with crayfish being the most abundant.
Looking at the cluster of crayfish crammed together inside the net, Angie was already fantasizing about how to cook them tonight. He cheerfully said to Poliwhirl and Sobble,
"Looks like we're in for a feast tonight! Get ready to eat to your heart's content!"
Sobble, with a confused look, pointed at the crayfish in Angie's hand, which was missing one of its claws.
"Sobble? Sobble?"
Can you eat this?
Poliwhirl, equally puzzled, stared at Angie for an answer. There were plenty of these things in the lake—hard-shelled and prone to pinching. They had never considered eating them before.
"Poliwhirl~"
Can you really eat this?
"Of course! If cooked properly, it's delicious. Tonight, I'll show you how to make it," Angie said, scratching under Sobble's chin.
"Sobble! Sobble!"
Yay! Yay!
Sobble cheered at the prospect of learning a new dish, darting excitedly back and forth across Angie's shoulders, from his left to his right.
"Alright, alright. Let's finish our work first. We'll talk about food once we're done."
Hearing this, Poliwhirl let out a cheerful cry, dove back into the water, and resumed his tasks. Sobble, not wanting to be left out, leaped off Angie's shoulder with a splash, diving into the water. Moments later, it surfaced, proudly holding a fish nearly as large as itself.
"You little thing, I couldn't catch the big black fish, but do you think I can't handle you?"
"Sobble! Sobble!"
Master, look at me! Am I awesome?
Sobble held the fish above its head triumphantly. Like Munchlax, it now called Angie "Master."
"Awesome! Amazing!" Angie said as he continued sorting through the aquatic plants.
Encouraged by the praise, Sobble tossed the fish onto the boat and happily dove back into the water.
As time passed and the sun began to set, the cleanup of the fishing grounds neared completion. Angie had already started releasing fish fry into the cleaned areas.
Sobble and several Poliwhirl were busy following Angie's instructions, planting water grass and Ashera aquatic plants along the lakebed.
The aquatic plants were hardy and easily took root once planted.
Watching the tiny, thumb-sized fish swim into the lake, twirling briefly before disappearing into the water, Angie began to look forward to the day of harvest.
Hurrying along, Angie and the team finally managed to release all the fish fry, shrimp fry, and crab fry into the designated areas before nightfall.
With everything completed, Angie and the Water Pokémon returned to the shore, bringing the day's catch of fish, shrimp, and crabs back home.
On the way back, Angie turned to the Water Pokémon and said, "From now on, you'll be in charge of guarding the fishing grounds."
"Politoed~ Politoed~!"
Don't worry, leave it to us!
Although Angie couldn't understand exactly what Politoed said, its confident expression made the meaning clear.
The other Water Pokémon all chimed in, echoing Politoed's assurance.
As they walked, Angie chatted with the Water Pokémon about the next steps in the aquaculture plan, hardly noticing they'd already arrived home.
Seeing that everyone who had gone out to chop wood was back, Angie quickly called for Munchlax and Sobble to start cooking.
But before they began, Angie headed to the fifth floor of his secret fortress to store the day's catch in a pool.
With so many fish, it was impossible to eat them all at once—they had to be kept alive for future meals.
Some of these fish had lived in Nebel Lake for countless years and were larger than Angie himself. One fish was enough for a meal.
Before putting the fish into the pool, Angie made sure to lower the gate on the drainage channel to prevent them from escaping.
The pool's drainage channel had two gates. The first was a netted gate that allowed water to flow out without letting fish escape, while the second was solid and stopped water from draining altogether. Angie lowered the first gate.
After finishing at the fortress, Angie rushed back to the kitchen to start cooking. He assigned tasks to Munchlax and Sobble.
"Munchlax, you're in charge of steaming the buns. Sobble, you'll make the fish soup. I'll prepare a new dish for everyone."
"Munchlax~!"
Yes!
"Sobble!"
Got it!
Munchlax and Sobble responded loudly, their hearts brimming with anticipation for the new dish.
Today, Angie planned to make spicy crawfish for everyone, one of the most popular recipes for crawfish in his previous life.
The first step was to clean and prepare the crawfish.
However... looking at the several large basins of lively, wriggling crawfish before him, Angie hesitated. Preparing them was going to be quite a challenge!
If he washed and processed them all by himself, who knew how long it would take.
After thinking for a moment, he called in more Pokémon from outside to help—Delphox, Greninja, Buneary, Patrat, Watchog, and Totodile.
"Come on, let me show you how to handle them," Angie said, picking up a crawfish to demonstrate.
First, scrub the crawfish clean with a brush, then remove the intestinal tract, and finally cut off the head.
The steps were straightforward.
"Got it?" Angie asked.
"Delphox~!"
Got it!
"Totodile~!"
Understood!
"Buneary~!"
Learned it!
The Pokémon all answered in unison.
"Alright, let's get to work!"
The Pokémon paired up and began busily cleaning the crawfish.
With so many Pokémon helping, it didn't take long before all the basins of crawfish were processed.
Angie shooed the Pokémon out of the kitchen. "Out, out! Don't be impatient—you'll get to try it as soon as it's ready."
Meanwhile, the fish soup Sobble was cooking had already filled the air with a rich aroma, making the hungry Pokémon outside drool even more.
Reluctantly, they left the kitchen, turning back with every few steps as if unable to part from the delicious smells.
Once the Pokémon were gone, Angie started preparing the dish in earnest. He took out the spices needed for the spicy crawfish: dried chilies, peppercorns, scallions, ginger, garlic, bay leaves, star anise, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, salt, white wine, and more.
The first step was to prepare the ingredients. He chopped the chilies, scallions, ginger, and garlic, setting them aside.
All of these ingredients came from Angie's own garden, and their quality was exceptional. The scallions, in particular, had grown as thick as a baby's arm, bursting with flavor—perfect for cooking.
Of course, for those who disliked the taste of scallions, that was another matter.
The second step was to sauté the base ingredients. Angie heated oil in the pan and first added the scallions, ginger, and garlic to release their aroma. Then he added the dried chilies and peppercorns, letting their spicy fragrance fill the air.
In an instant, the entire kitchen was enveloped in a strong, domineering aroma that even overshadowed the fragrance of the fish soup.
Munchlax and Sobble coughed uncontrollably from the chili fumes.
The third step was cooking the crawfish.
Angie tossed the cleaned crawfish into the pan, stir-frying them quickly over high heat until their shells turned red.
Next, he added soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and salt, mixing them evenly.
Then, he added the aromatics and wine, including bay leaves and star anise, followed by a generous splash of strong liquor or beer to enhance the flavor and remove any fishiness.
Despite being teary-eyed from the spice, Munchlax steadfastly stood by Angie's side, staring longingly at the pan.
"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"
Master, is it ready yet?
Sluuurp...
Angie sighed, taking out a handkerchief to wipe Munchlax's mouth before tucking it into its paws.
"Good food takes time. Be patient."
"Munchlax~"
Alright...
Munchlax stood on a small stool, wiping its mouth with the handkerchief every so often.
The final step was simmering and reducing the sauce. Angie added a bit of water, covered the pan, and let it simmer over medium-low heat to allow the crawfish to soak up the flavors. Finally, he turned up the heat to thicken the sauce.
Once the sauce had reduced, the spicy crawfish was done.
Angie scooped the crawfish onto serving platters so large they were bigger than washbasins. The rich aroma, mingling with steam, spread even more aggressively, reaching the Pokémon outside.
"Angie, is it ready yet?" Diancie poked her head into the kitchen, sniffing the air. She couldn't help but take a deep breath, only to start coughing uncontrollably. "Cough, cough, cough! This smell is so strong!"
Angie waved her in. "Hurry and take the food out. It's ready to eat!"
Soon, platters of buns, fish soup, and spicy crawfish were carried outside, one after another.
It was already completely dark outside by the time dinner was prepared, so everyone gathered inside instead of eating outdoors.
The house felt a bit cramped with so many Pokémon packed in, and Diancie and Munchlax navigated the crowd carefully, struggling to deliver the dishes to each table.
However, this cozy gathering made the atmosphere livelier, and the bright red crayfish on the tables created a festive vibe, almost like a New Year celebration.
The Pokémon sat in groups of three or five at each table, drooling at the aroma of the spicy crayfish.
Angie announced, "Alright, everyone, dig in! Let me show you how to eat these." He picked up a crayfish and demonstrated.
The Pokémon followed his lead, picking up the crayfish, slurping and sucking on the flavorful shells. The broth's spicy, numbing, and savory flavors swirled in their mouths, completely winning them over—especially the Water-type Pokémon.
They were familiar with crayfish in the water, but they never imagined they could taste this good.
The broth was a perfect blend of spice and umami, teasing their taste buds, while the tender, succulent meat offered pure bliss.
There seemed to be a special magic in the spicy crayfish's flavor, making the Pokémon eat bite after bite, unable to stop despite their lips swelling from the spice.
"Shhhh~ Shhhh~"
Because the chili Angie used was particularly spicy, the Pokémon sipped and gasped as they ate. Even so, they didn't stop.
Seeing everyone enjoying the meal so much, Angie, Diancie, Munchlax, Sobble, and Komala also sat around a table to eat.
Somehow, Komala had made its way back just in time for dinner.
As Angie looked at the fragrant and steaming spicy crayfish, a craving for beer hit him. He turned to Komala and said, "Komala, how about a drink?"
Komala swayed back and forth, signaling agreement.
Angie headed to the kitchen. He had bought a few bottles of beer during his last shopping trip and left them in the fridge untouched—perfect for this occasion.
"Let's pair the crayfish with beer tonight!" Angie declared, placing an open beer can in front of Komala.
Komala set its wooden log down and grabbed the beer can in one hand and a crayfish in the other. Even though it was Komala's first time drinking beer, it quickly became a fan.
Seeing this, Angie also got into the groove, alternating between bites of crayfish and gulps of beer.
"Life is good!"
Clang clang clang!
Sobble banged its chopsticks against its bowl.
"Mehsao~ Mehsao~"
What's beer like? I want some, I want some!
Diancie smacked it lightly on the back of its head.
"Don't bang your bowl—it's rude. And kids aren't allowed to drink alcohol."
Sobble held its head, looking aggrieved, but soon forgot about wanting beer as it devoured the delicious crayfish.
Everyone was in high spirits that evening, lingering at Angie's house for a long time before heading home.
As he watched the Pokémon disappear into the night, Angie gazed at the now-empty square in front of his house and came up with an idea.
During the day, while the Pokémon were chopping trees, they had dug up many large tree stumps. Angie thought he could repurpose them into tables and chairs for the square.
Big stumps could become tables, and smaller ones could serve as chairs—it was perfect.
The weather on the Nebel Plateau was mostly clear, neither too hot nor too cold, making outdoor dining a delightful experience.
"I'll get started on it tomorrow," Angie thought. The fishing ground was already built, and with Poliwrath and the others managing it, he only needed to provide occasional guidance, leaving him with plenty of time.
As for cutting the stumps? That wasn't his job.
Oh, and he still needed to arrange accommodations for the Water-type Pokémon! They were his employees now, and he had to ensure they had a stable place to live.
"I'll discuss it with Polytof tomorrow," he decided.
For the other Pokémon, he would address their needs step by step—everyone would have their turn.
With these thoughts in mind, Angie headed back inside.
The five of them—Angie, Diancie, Munchlax, Sobble, and Komala—returned to the second floor and collapsed onto the sofa, each doing their own thing: playing games, watching dramas, catching up on the news, or taking naps.
After some time, they went to the culinary training room for their usual one-hour practice session before heading to their respective rooms to wash up and sleep.
Before going to bed, Angie claimed the rewards for his two daily tasks, as usual.
The first reward.
[ Congratulations, you've received a bag of cabbage seeds. ]
A plain and unimpressive reward. He decided to leave it with the Dugtrio brothers later.
The second reward.
[ Congratulations, you've received one regular Poké Ball. ]
Another ordinary reward. Poké Balls were entirely useless to him!
Angie placed the Poké Ball on the nightstand as a decoration.
"Not bad—it works well as an ornament."
With that, he pulled up his blanket and drifted into a peaceful sleep. **
(__)zzZZ