Teaching a cat tricks of any kind isn't inherently mean. Forcing a cat to do them against their will would be mean. If your little guy is willing to sit and learn tricks for treats then you're not being mean. If he wants nothing to do with the tricks but you keep forcing him to try, or start only giving him food for tricks, then that'd be mean.
A surprisingly easy trick to teach him is jumping through an arm hoop. It might be a more fun for him. Here's a pretty good video on how to teach it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-my7J_8gcE.
Just make sure to keep training sessions pretty short. 1 to 5 minutes is how long my cat's training sessions tend to be. But you'll have to figure out what your cat can handle. If he seems uninterested or tired then it's time to stop.
Is he biting when you're playing or just spontaneously? If it's during playtime you can try making a pain noise and then stop playing with him for a bit. He should pick up that getting too rough equals no more fun.
Hiding treats is a great way to give him some stimulation, but I'm not certain it will help keep him off the plants. Some cats just really like shredding up plants. Maybe getting him some cat grass to destroy instead could work?
I'm not sure of her breed. My sister found her on the side of the road when she was only a few weeks old.
I always guessed she was a snowshoe, which is a Siamese mix breed. Her pattern is near identical to what comes up googling "snowshoe cat". But I can't be certain.
Funny comic, but wow that compression looks awful.
Here's the source: https://twitter.com/giganticbuddha/status/1652009277429563393?s=20
And here's the follow up comic: https://twitter.com/giganticbuddha/status/1654184641555832834