Chapter 68 (Patreon)

“Ready? Let’s start!”

I tossed the rubber ball up as high as I could, and ran back to my side of the field. My teammates, Altaria, Azumarill, and Florges stood or floated next to me, ready to respond, while on the opposite side of the field, Ninetales, Ponyta, Whimsicott, and Mawile moved in to grab the ball.

The Pokémon to reach it first was Ponyta, who caught the ball with a weak Confusion, and smacked it upwards with the side of his head, sending it sailing into the air. Ninetales ran in past him, positioning herself underneath it, and hit it with a close-ranged Moonblast when it was right in front of her, sending it straight to where I was on my side of the field.

I lunged to the side, just barely managing to avoid being hit by the ball, and falling onto my stomach. The ball smashed into the grass behind me, and Azumaril moved over and picked it up.

Once it was secured, she sauntered forward, carrying the ball in both hands, and let loose a cruel smile as she looked for her first victim. She eyed her opponents carefully, and locked onto Mawile, who had her jaws weakly tied shut, and was trying her best to break free and open them up.

Smirking, Azumaril tossed the ball up, then hopped back to land on her tail, whose rubbery form then let her bounce forward with Splash. She slammed into the ball with the force of that momentum, and it was sent forward at Mawile.

In response, the Steel Type jumped back and hid behind her Iron Defense-infused jaws. The ball bounced straight up off of them, where Whimsicott caught it in the air by letting it land in his fluff.

Since it was caught, Mawile was safe.

To help my team practice, I set up a basic dodgeball game to give everyone on my team a way to train while having some fun. There were a few restrictions in place, such as Azumarill only being allowed to dodge and throw the ball by using Splash, and Mawile had her jaws tied closed and could only bite with them if she could break free. The intention of that one was to train her muscles to better prevent a situation like what happened with Thomas’s Mightyena from occurring again.

Additionally, Altaria started each match paralyzed to help develop his Natural Cure ability, and Ponyta had to be constantly under the effects of Agility to help with his Psychic Type control. Only Ninetales and Florges had no restrictions, which is why they were placed on opposite teams.

Whimsicott, with the ball in his fluff, let it roll off of him and fall in his hands. He rotated in midair to now be floating upside down, and tried his best to absorb the sunlight for a Solar Beam.

“You can’t hold it for too long, Whimsicott,” I called out. “To keep things moving, there’s a ten second hold time! If you don’t chuck it forward, you’re going to be knocked out!”

Whimsicott huffed, and canceled his slow Solar Beam. Instead, tried his best to create a weak Energy Ball, and sent it into the ball. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that strong, and the ball slowly flew through the air, letting Altaria grab it before it fell to the ground.

That was Whimsicott’s restriction. He was only allowed to use attacking moves to both defend himself, and to send the ball forward.

Altaria was having a bit of trouble flying, and could only barely manage to fly and hold the ball at the same time due to his paralysis. So, instead, he dropped it down and I grabbed it before it hit the floor, then quickly chucked it at Ninetales.

She smiled at my poor attempt to keep up with my team, and simply flicked her tails into it to send it back at me, where it hit my shoulder and bounced off, landing on the ground nearby.

I slumped forward in disappointment.

Looks like I’m the first out, again. Not that I’m surprised, I can’t really match the capabilities of Pokémon.

I walked off the field and Florges floated down to grab the ball. She lifted herself in the air, and lightly tossed it towards Ponyta again. He was able to get away easily with the use of Agility, but Florges had a trick up her sleeve.

Hidden behind the dodgeball was a tiny Moonblast that she controlled to clip the ball in its side. It was launched in the direction Ponyta was running, and he moved a bit too slowly to properly dodge.

Just like me, Ponyta was out.

He walked over next to me, and I sat down to better reach his head. I took out the brush from his grooming kit out of my nearby backpack and began to brush him while we watched the game.

Mawile picked up the ball this time, using her hands, and looked over at her opponents. She glared at Azumarill and tossed the ball up, hitting it with her jaws when it fell back down.

Azumarill expected to need to dodge, but Mawile had tricked her. The ball went to Florges instead, who was caught off guard as it hit her in the chest. Altaria swooped down to grab it, but his paralysis acted up right then and the ball slipped out of his talons before he could secure it in his grip.

When it hit the ground, both Florges and Altaria were knocked out.

Whimsicott and Ninetales cheered at Mawile, and Ninetales lifted Mawile up onto her back by pushing her head under Mawile's legs. Mawile smiled, now riding Ninetales, but that smile faded when the ball was suddenly shot forward and smashed into Whimsicott, bouncing off of him and landing back on Azumarill's side of the field.

With Whimsicott out, Azumarill smirked and picked the ball back up. Ninetales paused and Mawile readied her jaws.

Mimicking Loam's Mudsdale and Marowak, Ninetales ran forward at the ball moving to her position after it was hit by Azumarill's Splash. Mawile swung and hit her jaws into it, which then crashed into Azumarill's chest.

However, she managed to catch it.

Once more, bouncing back and forward, Azumarill sent the ball forward using her entire body weight and it smacked Ninetales in her face. It was sent up into the air, and Mawile quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to catch it with her hands.

As it fell, she clenched her eyes and strained as a snapping noise rang out. Her jaws opened up, having broken through the knot holding them closed, and grabbed the ball before it hit the ground, saving Ninetales.

Before Ninetales could even cheer, Mawile suddenly jumped off her back and spun in the air. The ball left her large mouth and was flung at Azumarill with an insane speed. Azumarill tried to catch it again, but the force of the impact caused it to bounce off of her hands before she could close them around it, and fell onto the ground a few feet away.

Azumarill was out.

This time, Ninetales cheered without the risk of getting knocked out. Mawile landed back onto Ninetales as everyone rushed her.

Azumarill frowned, but at least nodded once in a sign of respect.

After giving everyone time to celebrate, I clapped my hands, standing up as Ponyta moved back to the field.

"Great job everyone, still down for another round?"

Just like the previous dozen matches, everyone was.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The next week was uneventful.

I had arrived early to Sycamore’s lab, since, unlike the other trainers helping him out, I didn’t have a home to return to. There would be three other trainers helping him out in March, and the earliest of the group was slated to arrive the next Monday, on March 4th.

Each day, I woke up late in the morning, attempted and failed to Mega Evolve Altaria, then spent some time in the gardens before returning to the ranch to play and train with my Pokémon. The Dedenne there somehow managed to trick Professor Sycamore out of two berries each day, and the day the next trainer was scheduled to come, I ended up asking him what was up with that.

“Oh, Dedenne? Yes, I suppose I probably shouldn’t indulge him so much. The thing is, he tries so hard to convince me to give him berries, I don’t see why I shouldn’t,” he said, not bothering to look up from his computer.

Sophia, nearby, sighed.

“Augustine, he’s going to get fat. You need to cut back on how much you’re feeding him.”

Professor Sycamore laughed.

“Please, he’s smarter than that. Most of the berries I give him are hidden in stashes around here for him to eat at his leisure. I doubt he’s gorging himself on them, he’s just a greedy little mouse.”

As Professor Sycamore went back to his work, Cosette went over to start disconnecting the measuring devices from Altaria, and I took off the electrodes placed on my head.

“Off to the ranch again, Alex?” Professor Sycamore asked.

I shook my head as I stood up and stretched to try to deal with the exhaustion now present in my body.

“No, I figured since people are arriving today, I should go out to buy some Poké Puffs for their Pokémon once they arrive. I haven’t really explored Lumiose yet, so I figured it would be as good of an excuse as any.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Sophie said. “Make sure to buy some pastries for the trainers, too. We don’t want to leave anyone out.”

I nodded and called the rest of my Pokémon back over. Ninetales was already nearby, and Mawile was off relaxing with Ponyta in the distance. Florges and Azumarill were assisting their Combee and Azurill friends respectively, and, somehow, Whimsicott had been behind me all along.

Recalling everyone but Ninetales, she and I headed out onto the streets of Lumiose, intent on finding a bakery to buy baked goods for everyone.

The streets of Lumiose were a lot different than the streets of other cities I had seen in the past. They were wide and cobbled, and a good portion of people walking around weren’t moving with cars, but rather with either bikes or roller skates. A few people were even riding Gogoats, but there weren’t many cars outside of the occasional taxi.

I walked alongside Ninetales and took in the city itself. Despite how dense the buildings were, the streets had a natural feeling to them thanks to the trees that flanked the side of the road. The sheer number of cafes was ridiculous, with it feeling like there were multiple on every block. We stuck to the outside ring of Lumiose with the intention of just exploring and finding a bakery. I could have researched where the best bakery was, but it was likely that that store would be packed due to fame, so I just figured whatever I stumbled on would be fine, too.

I wasn’t the only person walking with a Pokémon out, but Ninetales got a lot of interested stares. Her species, Alolan Ninetales, wasn’t present in Kalos, especially since the main way to catch an Alolan Vulpix was to visit Alola itself and find one on Mount Lanakila. There were a few other places where Alolan Vulpix were now present, thanks to the Aether Foundation's efforts, but she was a relatively uncommon sight to see within this region and caught many eyes.

She practically ate up the attention, too.

Eventually, Ninetales and I actually managed to find a bakery named “Alcremie’s Bakery,” which was just off the side of the main road. We entered the building as the bell dinged, and, like the name suggested, there was a pair of Alcremie arranging a number of Poké Puffs in a glass display under the counter.

I approached to get a better view, and the door to the cooking area in the back suddenly slammed open, a heavy, red-headed woman bursting into the room.

“A customer! Finally! My name is Lacey, how can I help you today?” she said, chest heaving from wherever she had run in from.

She was wearing an apron covered with specks of flour. Her hair was tied back, but it wasn’t properly held in place and had a number of loose strands. Her eyes were wide and almost looked half-crazed in excitement as she patiently waited for me to make my order.

I looked around nervously before I spoke.

“I, uh, wanted to buy a number of Poké Puffs, enough for a large number of Pokémon for several trainers, as well as a few other pastries for the trainers themselves.”

Lacey broke out in a huge smile and started to point to what she had available.

“Well, we have basic, frosted, fancy and deluxe Poké Puffs, in both original and brand new flavors. For trainers we have all of the classic options, like eclairs, macrons, and mille-feuille, the flavors sourced directly from Alcremie I raised myself.”

I nodded along to her words until she mentioned the Alcremie, and I stiffened.

“Wait, do you eat Alcremie?”

The two Alcremie behind the counter suddenly shot me an annoyed look, and Lacey cocked her head, confused.

“Uh, no. Alcremie can secrete sweet creams from their hands that we use to decorate the Poké Puffs. Their bodies might taste good, but aren’t edible. They’re closer to a solidified, jelly-like substance than any form of cream or frosting.”

The two Alcremie huffed, and I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment.

“Sorry. Should have known that if I’m training to become a Fairy Type specialist.”

Lacey waved me off, not bothered by my previous comment, but after a moment, her eyes suddenly widened even further than before, and her head snapped my way to stare me directly in my eyes.

I took a step back.

“Wait, did you say you were a Fairy Type specialist?” she asked slowly.

“...Yes?”

Almost immediately, Lacey lunged forward over the counter to grab my hand, and I took a few more quick steps back to avoid her. That caused her to miss her grab, and she fell to the floor, face first. From her new position half on the floor, half pressed against the glass of the display case of the counter, she lifted up her head and began to beg with tears in her eyes.

“Please please please please please help me! You said you were a Fairy Type specialist, so you have to know what I can do to make my Alcremie better! I’m not getting any customers at all, you’re the first since I came here from Galar, and I’m not sure if I can keep this shop in business any longer!”

I blinked and shared a look with Ninetales while Lacey scrambled to her feet.

Nervously, I asked her a question.

“You said you aren’t getting any customers. Can I ask why?”

Lacey crossed her arms, and her expression grew angry as she looked away.

“It’s that damn Juliette. She runs Slurpuff’s Bakery nearby, and has spread all of these nasty rumors about my baking just because I’m from Galar and not Kalos. Slurpuff has a really good nose, which means it’s the perfect baking companion, but that doesn’t mean what I make is any worse! Please, I can pay you!”

Lacey once more tried to grab my hand, and I stepped back again, bumping into a table in the process. Ninetales and I shared a second look, and she then went to stalk behind Lacey just in case.

Lacey had offered to pay me, but the thing is, I probably would have accepted her request to help anyway. I wasn’t sure exactly what she needed, but the chance to work with Alcremie would be more than enough for me. The issue was, I got the sense that Lacey would be upset unless I was compensated for my work. She probably wouldn’t accept me just saying working with a new Fairy Type was enough.

As Lacey stared at me desperately, almost seeming like she was going to cry, Ninetales pointed her nose at the displayed baked goods, and a light bulb went off in my head when I understood her plan.

I crossed my arms and faked a frown, pretending to consider the offer while I hummed.

“Hmm. I’m not sure if I can help you. As a Fairy Type specialist, I’d definitely have some insights that might assist, but I’m not sure what’d be in it for me. ...Unless you have something to offer in exchange, I’m not sure I can do anything.”

“How much money do you need? I don’t have much of my savings left, but surely I have enough!”

I hummed.

“Hmm. The thing is, I’m not really at a point in my life where I need money.”

Lacey’s expression dropped, and she hurriedly looked around the room. I closed my eyes and put on the best “I’m deep in thought,” look I could manage, when she suddenly gasped and I opened one up to peek at her.

“Pastries! You came here to buy some, right? Most will go to waste if I can’t sell them, so if you help me, I’ll let you take whatever you want! Please! I’m begging you, I don’t have anyone else to turn to!”

Ninetales vigorously nodded her head behind Lacey, and I huffed, pretending to be only partially satisfied.

“I suppose that works. I’ll help you out with your Alcremie if you provide me with as many pastries as I want. Do we have a deal?”

I held out my hand and Lacey finally succeeded in her attempts to grab it, violently shaking it up and down. Ninetales jumped in excitement in the back, then started to bark out her selection to the two Alcremie behind the counter, who hurriedly put what she asked for into boxes. I began to list off items I wanted as well, as Lacey returned to her post to grab everything I pointed out as well.

Eventually, we had half a dozen boxes of sweet treats, and I had to stop, feeling a bit guilty if we took any more. I sent out Florges to help carry them, and opened the door to let Ninetales and her out.

“Can you two make your way back to where we’re staying?” I said, not willing to reveal I was working with the Professor. “I’m going to stay here to help out Lacey, alright?”

Both of them nodded, more than excited to get a head start into eating the food, and headed back to the lab, Ninetales carrying a bag of boxes in her mouth, and Florges holding a stack in her arms.

Once they were gone, I turned back to Lacey and put on the best professional smile I could.

“Alright, let’s talk.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Lacey had two Alcremie, one with vanilla cream and orange flower decorations, and the other with lemon cream and yellow star decorations. She also had a number of them in the back, one of every flavor except for the rainbow swirl, each of whom helped her out with flavoring her treats. The vanilla and lemon Alcremie, very creatively nicknamed “Vanilla” and “Lemon,” were her main two who had worked with her the longest, and they stayed at her feet as we sat at a table within the bakery to begin our discussion.

“So you said you wanted the help of a Fairy Type specialist, but I’m not a baker,” I said. “I understand you work with Fairy Types exclusively, but I’m not sure how I can help you outside of battle advice.”

Lacey looked hesitant to say anything, but Lemon pressed its hand to her leg while Vanilla looked at her expectantly.

“Well... do you know about Pokémon Showcases?” Lacey said.

I furrowed my brows.

“It sounds familiar, but I’m not entirely sure what they are. I only arrived here in Kalos last week, so I’m not caught up with all of the cultural differences here just yet,” I said.

“But you’re familiar with Contests, right?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Good. A Pokémon Showcase is like a Contest, except instead of showing off a trainer’s Pokémon exclusively, there’s a big focus on the trainer and Pokémon performing together. Trainers that compete are called Performers, and it’s a very popular competition here in Kalos. There’s a national level competition where Performers are meant to gather Princess Keys to ‘unlock’ a chance to compete in the Master Class event, but I’m not interested in that.

“Instead, I want to compete in the local, Junior Class event, which happens monthly to determine a city’s local Princess. It doesn’t connect up with the national Showcases, but it’s a good way to advertise my business. If I want to actually start selling what I make, I need to win.”

Huh.

I crossed my arms as I thought of ways I could help out with her request. I hadn’t been expecting that at all, but considering how much I focused on moves, it was definitely something within my area of expertise.

“I think I can work with that. Have you competed before?” I asked.

Lacey suddenly slumped where she was sitting.

“I... I have. I got knocked out in the first round, so I couldn’t do the freestyle performance. The initial themed stage is always the same here: Poké Puff baking, but I didn’t make it interesting enough to get voted in.”

Lacey crinkled her nose and frowned.

“Not to mention I was matched up against Juliette and her Slurpuff, who managed to put on a better show and trick the judges into thinking her Poké Puffs were better. I know I can make it to the next round when the Showcase happens again in two weeks, but I’m not confident I can pull off a full victory.”

I hummed.

“I have to ask: You said she ‘tricked the judges into thinking her Poké Puffs were better.’ Are they actually better?”

Lacey pursed her lips and cocked her head.

“Huh. I don’t know. I’ve never tried any.”

I stood up from the chair and stretched, already having found the first thing to help Lacey with.

“Well then, I guess we should find out how they taste. I can help you with making sure your Alcremie are in a good state for your performance later, but for now, let’s visit your rival.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Slurpuff’s Bakery was absolutely packed. Unlike Lacey’s completely empty store, there was a line going out the door and into the street. Lacey and I moved to the back of the line, and she tightened the strings of the hoodie she put on when we left to better hide her face.

“Are you sure we need to do this?” she asked. “What if she recognizes me?”

I shrugged.

“So what? You have to check out the competition anyway, and if you know what her stuff tastes like, you can compare it to your own to know how to improve. Worst case is she just doesn’t sell to you, which I doubt will happen because if she already spread bad rumors, she’d probably want to brag about her baking, too.”

Lacey didn’t say anything but groaned and kept her head down, and the line into the bakery moved surprisingly fast.

Unlike Lacey’s bakery, Juliette’s bakery was much larger and had the advantage of having more baked goods for sale. However, I noticed the selection wasn’t nearly as large as Lacey’s, only containing the classic five flavors of Poké Puffs: Sweet, Sour, Tart, Chocolate, and Coffee. Generally speaking, the intention for Poké Puffs was to have Pokémon eat them, but humans could eat them, too.

When it was our turn at the counter, Lacey refused to speak, so I was forced to order.

“Hi, I’d like a mixed selection of your deluxe Poké Puffs, in a box please,” I said.

“Certainly! I’ll get that for you shortly. Is your friend going to - Lacey?”

The thin woman with blonde hair held back in a ponytail gasped, and Lacey shrunk in on herself.

“I knew something reeked. What, your food was so bad you had to come to me to buy something decent?” She let loose a cruel smirk. “Of course I can help you with these treats. I’ll make sure to give you the best in the house.”

The woman, who I assumed was Juliette, quickly filled up a box with fifteen deluxe Poké Puffs as a Spritzee floated around her. She placed three of each flavor into rows, then placed the box on the counter, and pushed it specifically towards Lacey.

“No charge, of course. It would be cruel to taunt someone over how much better my baking is by charging them for the treats.”

Lacey groaned again and I took the box she clearly didn’t want to carry. Juliette waved as we left, and I purposely just gave her a tight smile in response, not saying anything else. Juliette reminded me of how Winston used to be when I first met him, and I could see why Lacey was so upset by her presence. Heck, once she started speaking to Lacey like that, I was also upset by her presence.

“Cheer up,” I said, nudging her shoulder as we walked down the street after leaving the bakery, “at least you managed to trick her into giving you free stuff.”

“I’m not sure how that was a trick,” Lacey groaned.

When I arrived back at Lacey’s shop, which had been temporarily closed in her absence, I found that Ninetales and Florges were standing outside waiting for me. The boxes they had carried out earlier were gone, and Ninetales looked simultaneously a little sick and a little guilty. As I watched, Florges gave her a quick puff of Aromatherapy to help with her upset stomach.

I raised my eyebrow at that, but didn’t comment on how Ninetales obviously gorged herself while I wasn’t present. Lacey unlocked the door, and we entered the building.

Once we were inside, I let the rest of my team out and began to place Poké Puffs from both Juliette and Lacey onto the plates. My Pokémon licked their lips when they saw them, and Mawile’s large jaws visibly drooled.

The second I gave them permission to start, they tore into them, practically all of them going for Juliette’s first. I narrowed my eyes at that, and stared at the two treats on my plate.

The two Poké Puffs I got were the chocolate ones, and they had a similar presentation with a chocolate swirl of frosting and a candy bar on top, but there wasn’t anything that stuck out between them. I took a bite of each one to compare, and found that I liked Lacey’s more.

Lacey’s frosting and decorations carried a lot more of the flavor, and the actual cake-like interior was softer, whereas Juliette’s was slightly more bland, and the interior cake was more similar to a cookie, crumbling I bit into it. It was clearly a difference in style rather than quality, although Lacey’s had a much richer flavor.

Lacey had done the same as I had, taking a single bite of each, and when she looked up I brought up what stuck out to me.

“Both of them have their ups and downs, but I prefer yours. Our Pokémon, however, all immediately went after Juliette’s. Did you notice that, too?” I asked.

“Yeah, I did. It’s strange. What’s the deal with Juliette’s Poké Puffs that everyone wants them first?”

As far as I could tell, even with the bite taken out of them, the two Poké Puffs still didn’t have anything visible that made one more appetizing than the other. However, when I considered there might be something not visible about them that made Juliette’s stand out, I remembered what Lacey said earlier about Slurpuff having a great sense of smell. I leaned forward to sniff it, and finally understood why all of the Pokémon tried Juliette’s first.

“I got it,” I said, lifting up my head to look Lacey in the eyes. “Juliette is using her Slurpuff to choose better smelling ingredients, and her Spritzee to make sure it smells good. If you’re getting judged on which one is better, initial impressions are important. Even more, if they’re only eating a bite at a time, of course they’re going to choose the one that smelled better!”

Lacey suddenly stood up and held her arms out above her head, her fists clenched.

“I knew it! There was no way Juliette’s baking was better than mine! I’m the better baker! Ahahahahahaha!”

All of the Pokémon in the bakery paused where they were eating and stared at Lacey, me included, after her sudden outburst. Noticing she was suddenly the center of attention, Lacey shot back down into her seat and pulled down her head, her face bright red.

“Um, okay. Yeah, so her Poké Puffs smell better. What can I do to make them choose mine instead?” she asked nervously.

I rubbed my chin in thought, and looked over to where a few of her Alcremie were cleaning up the mess my Pokémon made. As they did so, I noticed that one of them in the back, a teal one nicknamed Mint, brought up its hands and created small twists of mint frosting on the back of Lemon without it noticing. It giggled at the prank, and Lemon suddenly turned around and used the same move to make similar yellow swirls of frosting on Mint in revenge.

As I saw the two Pokémon use Decorate as a joke, my eyes went wide and I realized what Lacey could do.

“Well, first impressions matter, right? She might have the advantage on smell, but with your Alcremie’s expertise with decoration, you can pull the same with its appearance.”

I looked over to Lacey, whose eyes started to widen upon realization of what I was saying.

“If we can practice your Alcremie’s Decorate move, I’m sure your Poké Puffs will be that much more attractive to the judges!” I said, excitedly.

Lacey jumped up once more.

“Then what are we doing waiting here? Let’s get started!”

I shrugged.

“Tomorrow, actually,” I said. “I need to head back to meet with some people arriving today. How does noon work for you?”

She sat back down.

“That works, too.”

====================================================
Author Note:

In case it wasn't clear, I'm not a baker.

Pokémon mentioned in this chapter:
Alcremie
Azurill
Combee
Dedenne
Slurpuff
Spritzee

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