Kalos Region, Nebel Plateau
The Nebel Plateau stood as a place of extraordinary natural beauty. To the northwest, endless mountains stretched toward the horizon; to the northeast, a dense and secluded forest thrived; and to the south, a rushing river flowed into the distance.
Following the river's course, one could see a prosperous city in the distance—the Azoth Kingdom, renowned for its mysterious science and technology. Though the world was now unified under the governance of the Pokémon League, some regions still maintained kingdoms from bygone eras, complete with their royal nobles. The Azoth Kingdom was one such remnant of the old world.
Back on the Nebel Plateau, the air was fresh and the sky clear. White clouds floated across the blue expanse as if within reach. Occasionally, a few Fletchling or Talonflame would streak across the sky, their crisp and melodious cries echoing through the air.
In the center of the Nebel Plateau stood two towering giant trees, growing closely together. They rose from the flat grassland like powerful arms supporting the sky, and many different species of Pokémon made their homes within their branches.
Before the two giant trees lay a lake as smooth as a mirror. A gentle breeze occasionally rippled its surface. A curious Goldeen poked its head above the water, blowing a bubble before submerging again.
Such a place should have been uninhabited, yet between the giant trees and the lake stood a three-story building with a striking red roof. Zooming in further, the door on the first floor was tightly closed, with a small, quaint bronze bell hanging at the entrance. Next to the bell was a wooden platform covered with a soft blanket. On it, an adorable Komala hugged its log pillow, snoring soundly with a light blanket covering its small belly.
"Fletch~ Fletch~"
A Fletchling flapped its wings and landed lightly on the eaves of the building, eyeing the structure with curiosity. It had appeared not long ago, seemingly out of nowhere. The little Flying-type hopped gently around, looking down at the sleeping Komala, wanting to fly closer for a better look. Suddenly, a creaking sound broke the silence as the wooden door on the first floor opened. A handsome young man wearing a white chef's uniform stepped outside.
The young man appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old, standing about 1.8 meters tall. His golden short hair shone brightly under the sun, and his resolute face reminded one of ancient depictions of mythical heroes.
This young man was the owner of the building and the protagonist of our story, Lucas.
Upon seeing Lucas, the Fletchling became frightened and quickly flew away with an alarmed cry.
"Huh? Am I that scary?" Lucas subconsciously touched his face, perplexed.
What Lucas didn't know was that the Nebel Plateau was a special sanctuary. Many Pokémon here had been abandoned and hurt by humans. Word spread among them—one telling ten, ten telling a hundred—until over time, even Pokémon who hadn't been directly harmed became wary and distrustful of humans.
Shaking his head and dismissing his concerns, Lucas placed a basin of freshly steamed buns next to the Komala and said, "Komala, time to eat!"
At the words "time to eat," Komala's large ears twitched slightly. Immediately, it lifted its blanket, set its log pillow aside, and rolled clumsily toward the food. It picked up a white steamed bun bigger than its head and began munching contentedly. Though its eyes remained tightly closed—as they always did—its face displayed unmistakable satisfaction.
Komala's Ability was Comatose, meaning it had been in a sleeping state since birth. Even when eating, moving, or battling, it remained asleep. No one had ever seen a Komala awake. The wooden log it clutched was called its pillow, and legend had it that each Komala held onto one since birth, never willingly letting go.
The circumstances of Lucas's meeting with this particular Komala were quite dramatic. When Lucas had just awakened from the royal tomb and wandered to the Nebel Plateau in a daze, the Komala had fallen from the sky, landing right at his feet. The poor creature had been covered in injuries and looked so pitiful that Lucas couldn't help but take it into his arms. From that moment on, the Komala became attached to him and soon moved into the current building alongside him.
As for why the Komala had been injured, Lucas had tried to ask, but with its perpetual slumber, it never answered any of his questions. Eventually, he gave up trying.
Seeing Komala eating happily now, a sense of pride swelled in Lucas's heart. His month of diligent cooking practice had paid off.
Gently rubbing Komala's furry head, Lucas said, "You eat first." With that, he turned and went back into the house.
The first floor of the building was set up as a spacious restaurant, with neatly arranged tables and chairs that had been meticulously cleaned. The warm décor gave visitors an immediate sense of home and comfort.
Inside, a Diancie was diligently dusting the furniture. This Diancie was Lucas's starter Pokémon. The moment he looked at Diancie, his vision displayed the Pokémon's data:
Diancie
[Type] Rock, Fairy
[Ability] Clear Body
[Gender] None
[Level] 50
[Moves] Tackle, Harden, Diamond Storm, Guard Split, Smack Down, Flail, Ancient Power, Rock Polish, Light Screen, Rock Slide
[Individual Values]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
The ability to see Pokémon data was one of the newbie gift packages given to Lucas by his "cheat" system. Diancie's perfect IVs and the building where Lucas currently lived were also benefits from this system.
In truth, Lucas's starter Pokémon had originally been a Carbink. After sleeping with him for five hundred years, when he reawakened, the Carbink had evolved into the rare Diancie. Lucas suspected that Carbink's transformation might have had something to do with his system.
His thoughts drifted back to five hundred years ago. Lucas was a soul who had been transported into the body of the prince of the Azoth Kingdom, becoming the only male heir to the royal family at that time. He also had a twin sister.
Unlike his healthy sister, Lucas had been born frail and sickly, unable to carry even light objects and having difficulty walking. As he grew older, his body became progressively weaker. The royal physicians had predicted he wouldn't live to adulthood.
Because of his condition, Lucas's parents—the king and queen of the Azoth Kingdom—doted on him extremely, granting his every wish. Under their attentive care, Lucas defied medical predictions and lived to the age of sixteen.
Unfortunately, shortly after his sixteenth birthday, his condition deteriorated rapidly. He fell into a coma and was pronounced dead by the royal physicians. His parents held a funeral and placed him in the royal tomb.
The Carbink that had been his companion for more than a decade refused to leave Lucas's side and entered the tomb with his coffin, falling into slumber alongside him.
However, Lucas hadn't actually died. He was clinging to his last breath when the "cheat" system activated. It offered the dying prince a newbie gift package:
A starter Pokémon with perfect Individual Values
A shared life force between the host and starter Pokémon
A base (to be summoned)
The Eye of Observation
Thanks to the second gift, Lucas regained his health and vitality. When he and Carbink began sharing their life force, Carbink fell into a deep sleep and began to transform, while Lucas also entered a prolonged slumber. This sleep lasted five hundred years.
After awakening, Lucas and the now-evolved Diancie wandered out of the royal tomb in a daze, eventually finding their way to the Nebel Plateau where they encountered the injured Komala.
Upon regaining consciousness, Lucas began investigating his unexpected system. He initially thought it might be some kind of advanced trainer assistance program to help him become a top Pokémon Trainer. Instead, it turned out to be the "Great Chef System," also known as the "Pokémon Feeding System."
Lucas accepted this turn of events philosophically. If he wasn't destined to become a Trainer, so be it. It had become somewhat cliché for isekai protagonists to become Trainers anyway. Besides, while he loved Pokémon, Lucas had no particular obsession with becoming a Trainer—he was content simply being around Pokémon daily.
After studying the system further, Lucas examined the newbie gift package more closely. Items 1, 2, and 4 were already in effect, but item 3—the base—caught his interest.
Having just awakened from a five-century slumber, Lucas desperately needed somewhere to settle. Although he had once been a prince of the Azoth Kingdom, he wasn't even certain if the kingdom still existed. And even if it did, would the current royal family acknowledge a prince from five hundred years ago?
Lucas decided to establish himself properly before considering a return to the Azoth Kingdom. He activated the "base" option, initially thinking he would be able to choose its location. Instead, the system made that decision for him, and Lucas, Diancie, and Komala found themselves at the small building that was now their home.
Lucas was generally satisfied with this arrangement, though the location was quite remote without another human in sight. Was he destined to live in seclusion? He didn't dwell on these thoughts too much—having just emerged from a tomb, he was grateful just to have shelter.
Returning to the present, Lucas smiled as he approached Diancie. "Diancie, that's enough cleaning. The place is spotless. Let's have breakfast!"
Diancie stopped her work, placed a tiny hand over her stomach, and replied telepathically, "Okay, my tummy is rumbling with hunger!" She set down her duster and rushed into the kitchen.
When Diancie emerged, she carried an iron basin filled with plump, white steamed buns that Lucas had prepared early that morning.
Since his system was called the "Great Chef System," it naturally focused on culinary skills. Even the first floor of his building was arranged like a restaurant. For the past month since his awakening, Lucas had been honing his cooking techniques according to the system's instructions.
He couldn't help feeling somewhat bemused that he'd spent an entire month kneading dough and steaming buns. Fortunately, following the system's training methods had rapidly improved his skills. Even when making something as simple as steamed buns, he could feel the difference in his abilities.
If someone had told him in the past that he'd be eating steamed buns for a month straight, he would have thought them insane. Wouldn't such a monotonous diet become nauseating? Yet the reality was that he had consumed his own steamed buns for a month without the slightest fatigue. Not only him—Diancie and Komala showed the same enthusiasm, as evidenced by Komala's eager eating.
Lucas's Observation Eye could not only see Pokémon data but also his own statistics:
Lucas
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 16 (+500)
Constitution: 1
Intelligence: 1
Cooking Evaluation: A small bird who can make edible dishes.
Compared to the detailed Pokémon information, Lucas's personal data was much simpler. The system's assessment of his cooking skills was harsh. Despite Komala and Diancie's evident enjoyment of his steamed buns, in the system's judgment, he was still merely "a small bird."
A month ago, the system had evaluated his cooking as "A small piece of trash who can't make edible food!"
In his previous life, Lucas had been a chef, though his restaurant eventually went bankrupt. His parents had died when he was young, so he had lived with his grandfather, who ran a restaurant. Lucas had never learned cooking from his grandfather as a child.
After his grandfather passed away, Lucas quit his job and returned to his hometown to take over the family restaurant. He began learning to cook using his grandfather's recipes but failed to grasp the essence of his grandfather's culinary expertise, which ultimately led to the restaurant's closure.
Even so, Lucas's cooking skills had been above average. Yet the system had initially rated him as "trash." Now, the "small bird" evaluation represented progress.
"Eat quickly, I can't wait any longer," Diancie said, placing the steamed buns on the dining table and eagerly taking a seat.
"Yes, yes," Lucas replied with a helpless expression. "What's the rush? The food isn't going anywhere." He sat down across from Diancie and picked up a steamed bun.
As he touched it, the bun felt like soft cotton—light and fluffy, white as the clouds and visually appealing. Each bun in the basin was the size of a fist, all identical in shape and size as if machine-made on an assembly line. In fact, Lucas had crafted each one by hand.
Diancie couldn't wait to eat. Taking a bite, her mouth filled with sweetness—the pure, simple fragrance of wheat flour evoking the taste of autumn's harvest.
Closing her eyes, Diancie felt as if her soul had ascended to the sky, freely wandering through clouds, unburdened and content. After a long moment, she reopened her eyes, her face radiating satisfaction. "No matter how many times I eat them, the steamed buns you make are delicious," she exclaimed.
Diancie couldn't help feeling proud of Lucas.
"If you like them, eat more," Lucas encouraged.
"Mmm, mmm~" Diancie nodded while savoring each bite. Though she ate quickly, she chewed carefully to appreciate the unique flavor in every mouthful.
Seeing Diancie enjoying the meal so thoroughly increased Lucas's own appetite. Soon, the basin of steamed buns was emptied by the human and Pokémon—though most went into Diancie's belly. Despite her small size, her appetite was remarkable, and somehow her form remained unchanged regardless of how much she consumed.
After breakfast, Diancie elegantly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and turned to Lucas. "Lucas, the system has released the first mission."
Why did Diancie know about the system? After sharing their life force, she had been appointed by the system as Lucas's guide.
This meant that future tasks from the system would be communicated to Lucas through Diancie. The system itself lacked intelligence; without a guide spirit, its functions would appear rigid. Diancie's role was to better assist Lucas.
Of course, as the system's owner, Lucas had the right to revoke Diancie's function. The system had obtained his consent when appointing her. Lucas welcomed Diancie's participation in his life and had no intention of removing her guide spirit status.
Hearing Diancie's words, Lucas perked up. "Is it finally here? What's the mission?"
Diancie replied, "Serve ten Pokémon in the store and earn their praise."
Upon hearing this, Lucas thought: The system truly lived up to its alternate name as the "Pokémon Feeding System." The customers weren't humans but Pokémon. No wonder the base was placed on the Nebel Plateau.
"How do we determine if a Pokémon has given praise?" he asked.
"The system will automatically judge this," Diancie explained.
Lucas nodded. "Is there a time limit for the mission?"
Diancie nodded. "Yes, three days. Exceeding the time will be considered a mission failure."
"Is there a penalty for failing?" Lucas worried that his "cheat" might turn out to be an exploitative system.
"Of course not. Failure only results in no mission rewards, with no penalties," Diancie replied with a smile.
"That's a relief." Lucas sighed, then asked with interest, "What's the mission reward?"
Diancie answered with a rueful expression: "I don't know either. Only when you complete the mission, Lucas, will I learn what it is."
"Alright." Lucas shrugged. "It shouldn't be too difficult to serve ten Pokémon in three days."
Many Pokémon lived on the Nebel Plateau. During the past month, he had often spotted Pokémon watching his house from a distance, but they always fled when they saw him. He assumed they were simply shy.
Lucas had not yet realized that the Pokémon were avoiding him for reasons beyond mere shyness.
"Let's work hard!" Diancie encouraged Lucas, raising her small fist.
"Let's work hard!" Lucas replied, gently bumping his fist against Diancie's.