MTL - Not a Trainer This Time

Chapter 5 Back Mountain

At noon, Zhi Shu and Motor Lizard cleared a small piece of land for planting, and moved the chopped wood and stones into the utility room for storage.

 After a busy morning, the motorcycle lizard made a gurgling sound from its belly.

It lowered its head and said, "Crack..."

“Are you hungry?” Naoki heard the voice and said with a smile, “Wait a minute, I’ll make lunch right now.”

The Motorized Lizard immediately became happy: "Gahaw~"

 They washed the handles in the sink outside and then returned to the cabin.

Motor Lizard sat under the eaves to enjoy the shade, while Naoki took out the ingredients and started to work.

Today’s lunch is still hot noodle soup, but the only difference is that Naoki added some wild leeks found in the pasture to make it more flavorful.

 It was easy once and twice, and this time it was completed successfully in just a few minutes.

Putting the noodles into a bowl, Naoki looked down and found that the grade of the hot noodle soup had changed from C- to C, and the cold protection time had also been increased by five minutes.

“Sure enough, the ingredients will also affect the evaluation of the food.”

 Zhi Shu picked up the bowl and placed it in front of the Motorized Lizard who had been waiting at the table early.

Motor Lizard looked down and saw that the bowl was still full of strange noodles, and a pitiful expression suddenly appeared on his face.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　…

 The impoverished Naoki: “…”

 He sighed, thinking of the little money left by the original owner, and comforted him: "If you bear with it a little longer, I will take you to the town to buy delicious food in the afternoon."

 Fortunately, the Motor Lizard did not dislike Nao Shu's poverty. It was a simple optimist. After hearing Nao Shu's words, it immediately became happy and began to look forward to what delicious food there would be in the evening.

Looking at the Motorized Lizard who was raising his head to drink the noodles from the bowl, Naoki ate the noodles in the bowl with a sad look on his face.

"The remaining money will be spent soon after buying food. The land has just been plowed and the seeds can be planted tomorrow. It will take a month to mature..."

 The farmland occupied by weeds was somewhat hard and unsuitable for the growth of crops. This morning Zhishu plowed them over and poured water into them to soften the soil.

 Although there is no fertilizer, fortunately, turnip crops do not have high soil quality requirements.

 “Besides, I have to find some other way to make money until the turnips are harvested.”

Thinking of this, Naoki couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

 How to make money…

 He thought of what he would do in the past when playing ranch games.

 One is to fish, and the other is to go to the back mountain and collect mushrooms and fruits there to spend the early stage of the game.

 But now, he doesn’t have a fishing rod, so the only way is to go to the back mountain to try his luck and see if he can find any mountain goods.

　　Just do it. After lunch, Zhishu was ready to go to the back mountain.

Upon learning of his intention, the Motorized Lizard, which was walking upright, suddenly leaned down and turned to all fours. It turned back and shouted at him: "Gah!"

Zhi Shu was slightly startled. When he saw the motorcycle lizard in riding mode, he asked, "Are you asking me to ride on it?"

Motor Lizard nodded his head: "Gah!"

Out of curiosity, Zhi Shu rode up.

 As soon as he sat firmly, the Motorized Lizard began to run.

It's speed was neither fast nor slow, very smooth, carrying Zhi Shu towards the back mountain.

Feeling the air blowing through his hair, Naoki thought to himself: "No wonder the motorcycle lizard has become a means of transportation in the Padia region. This feeling seems to be no different from a normal motorcycle."

 After crossing a country road, a lush mountain forest appeared in front of us.

A large swath of sunlight poured down from the top of the head, leaving mottled light and shadow on the ground through the gaps in the leaves.

Green caterpillars lying in the trees, little arrow finches standing on the branches, rustling sounds coming from the dense bushes, or strange fruits full of juice and hanging heavily on the branches.

 There is a lively scene everywhere.

Zhi Shu got off the Motorized Lizard and raised his eyebrows to look at the petite Pokémon.

Those Pokémon also lowered their heads curiously and looked at this strange human who broke into the forest.

“Green Caterpillar... evolves into Armored Pupa at level seven and evolves into Bad Butterfly at level ten. For novice trainers, this Pokémon is a good choice.”

“Little Arrow? If I remember correctly, this seems to be the home bird of the Kalos region. The eventually evolved Arrow Eagle is a fire-type and flying-type Pokémon. It feels like a very cool Pokémon!”

"Huh? Could it be that the white little mouse is a family of mice from the Padia area?" Naoki's eyes suddenly saw three small figures in a patch of grass.

Two slightly larger white mice cautiously poked their heads out, and behind them, they were guarding a petite little white mouse.

"A family of three..." Naoki looked around and didn't find the fourth white mouse.

Seeing his gaze looking this way, the three family rats trembled for a moment, then turned around and burrowed into the grass, disappearing without a trace.

 Naoki: “…”

But I have to say that Pokémon like a family of mice are quite cute.

 Before this, Naoki didn't think he was a plush lover, but when he saw the cute appearance of a family of mice and their fine, white fur, he still felt a little moved in his heart.

 “I don’t know what it feels like to the touch.”

There are a lot of Pokémon in the forest. After walking around with the Biker, Zhi Shu couldn't help but feel excited.

 —If he was a trainer, he would definitely take out the Poké Ball and have a battle with them, and conquer them after getting approval.

Whether it’s the fast-growing green caterpillar or the little dart bird with a promising future, they’re all perfect!

However, it is a pity that from the memory of the original owner, an ordinary red and white ball costs two hundred alliance coins, and he cannot afford it now.

Zhi Shu sighed, and then turned his attention away from those Pokémon and turned his attention to the wild beasts growing in this mountain forest.

 He walked to a lush fruit tree, stretched out his hand and picked a fruit from the tree.

 Looking down, the information about the fruit appeared in his mind.

Peach fruit: A magical fruit that can cure poisoning. It has a sweet taste and can be used to make jam, poffins, and fruit cakes. It can also be put into yogurt to turn into fruit yogurt. Its unique flavor is loved by many Pokémon. ]

Tree fruit?

Zhi Shu picked up the peach fruit and put it in front of him and smelled it gently, smelling a faint peach fragrance.

 He brought the fruit to the Motorized Lizard and asked, "Do you want to eat it?"

The Motorized Lizard glanced at it, then opened its mouth wide and swallowed the peach fruit into its stomach.

Looking at it, it seems to taste pretty good.

“It seems that just like in the anime, tree fruits are also the main source of food for Pokémon.”

Zhi Shu had an idea in his mind, nodded silently, and picked a few more peaches from the tree, ready to take them back to the pasture.

However, he only took a small part.

 Because if berries are food for Pokémon, then other Pokémon in the forest also need these berries.

If he picked all these peach fruits, many Pokémon would be hungry.

After loading the Taotaoguo, Zhi Shu took the Motorized Lizard and headed deeper.

This mountain forest is very big. Maybe he was walking in the wrong direction. Apart from the Taotao fruit he encountered at the beginning, Zhishu never encountered any other fruit trees along the way.

Time came to evening unknowingly. Zhishu was tired from walking, so he sat under a big tree to rest. He took a look at the sky and felt that it was time to return.

At this moment, the nose of the motorcycle lizard on the side moved.

 “What’s wrong?” Naoki turned around and looked.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　…

The Motorized Lizard turned its head and looked around, as if trying to determine the direction.

 Not long after, it determined its position, stood up and looked in one direction.

Zhi Shu followed its gaze and looked at the land with nothing. At first, he was a little confused, but he soon discovered something strange.

 With the roots of the big tree as the center, all the green grass in the surrounding circular area withered.

 “Gah!”

Motor Lizard barked in that direction.

Zhi Shu stood up and walked forward with the Motorized Lizard with doubts in his heart, observing the strange area.

 Then he used his hands to push aside the broken and decaying leaves and yellowing grass, and discovered a dark and unknown thing underneath.

At this moment, Naoki also smelled the smell.

It is a very special smell that cannot be described in words.

 He was still wondering what it was, but in the next second, its information automatically appeared in his mind.

[Black truffle: a top-quality high-end ingredient, a rare delicacy. It can be used with eggs to make black truffle steamed eggs, or it can be made with butter to make a creamy soup. Although it does not have any benefits on its own, it can be extremely beneficial. Greatly improve the effect of cooking. ]

 (End of this chapter)