At lunchtime, specially appointed waiters pushed snow-white dining carts into the room.
There were three dining carts in total, with more than a dozen dishes. After they placed all the dishes on a large table made of what seemed to be an expensive wood, they respectfully withdrew.
Ye Feng sat by the round table.
He poked his head out and looked at the dishes.
At first, he didn't think much of it, but the more he looked, the more something felt off.
He picked up a slice of beef with his chopsticks.
The taste was different from any beef he had eaten before; this piece was exceptionally delicious.
Seemingly quite satisfied with the spread before him, the elite scion also began to chew slowly.
Ye Feng finished that piece of beef.
Then, he reached out with his chopsticks again and picked up the first of the two central dishes, an sashimi of some unknown fish.
The two central dishes were exquisitely presented.
They looked very high-class, the kind that screamed expensive.
After finishing the sashimi, he reached for another dish.
This dish was also sashimi, but of a different fish.
The texture was similarly fine and cool, melting in his mouth.
It was incredibly delicious.
After eating these, Ye Feng was certain of one thing.
The dishes on this table were not ordinary chicken, duck, fish, or meat, but all were the flesh of Pokémon. The Pokémon world did have ordinary animals, specifically bred for human consumption.
That's right, they were eating Pokémon meat.
"Interesting."
Although many people in this world loudly proclaimed Pokémon to be their friends, they were not hesitant to eat them.
Of course.
Ordinary people could not afford these, nor would they dare to think of it; they ate ordinary chicken, duck, fish, and meat.
But those like the elite scion had likely eaten far more than Ye Feng.
"Truly ironic."
The more he ate, the more ironic it felt.
Ye Feng thought that if Ash knew they were eating Pokémon meat, he would likely be shocked at first, then furious.
Finally, he would question: "Pokémon are friends to humans, why do you eat them?!"
In fact, Ash was also a hypocrite; he had once considered eating Magikarp sashimi.
But no matter how hypocritical, it wouldn't change the fact that such people would report to Officer Jenny of the league.
This point was crucial.
If you were a commoner like Ye Feng, dared to eat Pokémon meat, you were finished.
Execution!
After all, the league had to maintain appearances, saying Pokémon are friends to humans, how could one eat them!!
But if you were of the elite scion's caliber.
It was fine.
"No, I need to probe their stance on this."
Ye Feng feigned surprise and asked, "Oh my, the dishes on this table are so delicious. Do you know what kind of creatures they are?"
"I'd like to buy some to eat in the future."
The elite scion was young, after all, and not particularly concerned with such matters.
He directly replied, "Heh, you can't buy them, and you can't afford them. Furthermore, if I told you what kind of meat it is, you'd probably be so disgusted you'd vomit."
"What meat? I want to know."
"You really want to know?"
"Yes."
The elite scion stated directly, "This is all Pokémon meat."
"What? Pokémon?!"
Ye Feng pretended to be shocked, then made a gagging motion.
Seeing Ye Feng like this, the elite scion smiled.
He felt a slight sense of triumph over Ye Feng.
But in reality, she didn't know that Ye Feng was the true master of eating Pokémon.
What he had eaten before were only ordinary Pokémon.
Later, pseudo-legendaries, legendaries, and even mythicals all became his meals.
"There's nothing surprising about this. Let me tell you something. You can't tell anyone, but even if you did, no one would believe you."
"What is it?"
"It's that, in our upper society, eating Pokémon is a common occurrence. It's only among you commoners that eating Pokémon is considered taboo."
Ye Feng continued to feign shock.
"If that's the case, then why does the league constantly promote Pokémon as our friends?"
The elite scion shrugged, "Of course. If they promoted their meat as edible, everyone would go around eating them, and the world would fall into chaos."
"Besides, even with that said, many weak Pokémon still cannot escape being eaten."
"For example, Farfetch'd comes with its own ingredients, making it delicious roasted duck. And Slowpoke's tail, aren't these delicacies that ordinary people can enjoy? However, Farfetch'd are almost eaten to extinction, while Slowpoke's tail is better because it regrows after being cut off."
Ye Feng nodded.
Then he stopped eating, as he had to complete the act.
"I'm going out for some fresh air."
Ye Feng went to the balcony, pretending to calm his nerves.
The elite scion didn't think much of it.
After all, most people in this world were commoners, with only a small fraction belonging to the upper class.
And even among them, they outwardly propagated that Pokémon were friends to humans.
Internally, when their cravings hit, they still ate them.
It was nothing.
As long as the matter wasn't publicized, even if it were, it wouldn't matter.
They could just say they only ate things like Farfetch'd.
Indeed.
For someone like the elite scion, the Pokémon in front of her were all ordinary ones.
They wouldn't eat rare and powerful Pokémon.
After all, those were combat assets; who would be so wasteful as to eat them?
But most Pokémon still could not escape their fate.
In summary.
In this world.
The vast majority of ordinary people considered Pokémon as friends.
The upper class had a habit of eating Pokémon.
Some among the upper class might have more severe obsessions, even eating powerful Pokémon.
Ye Feng felt the cool breeze.
In his right hand, he held a Magikarp costing over six thousand, a pineapple flavor.
Although this ice cream was truly incomparable to the few-dollar ones he usually ate.
It was still too expensive.
"Pokémon."
Ye Feng gazed into the distance.
"They are, in essence, just animals with great power."
...
After staying at the Lavender Town Grand Hotel for about three days, Ye Feng bought some things.
He originally planned to drive away.
However, the route from Lavender Town to Saffron City required passing through Cerulean City, and there was no land route to this city, only a water route. Thus, they had no choice but to take a cruise.
But due to the previous incident, where the ship Ash had taken, the S.S. Anne, encountered a storm and the captain abandoned the crew to escape alone, the cruise company's passenger numbers had dwindled.
As a result, the ship was only half as crowded as before. The elite scion's sports car was parked on the lower deck of the ship, preparing to disembark with them.
On this luxurious white palace of the sea.
Because of their striking appearances, Ye Feng and the elite scion were approached multiple times.
Ultimately, with no other option, the two retreated to the ship's deck to watch the sea view together.
The vast, boundless ocean stretched out before them, a vast expanse of azure.
A few glances were enough to refresh the mind and spirit.