"Cough, cough—Miss Cynthia, could you please rein in your Glaceon—"
Hayashi was having trouble holding it together. He felt as if he were going head-to-head with Anna Nishikinomiya—and not just the normal Anna, but the full-powered version, eyes turning into hearts, face flushed, panting heavily.
That level of terrifying was like Jeanne d'Arc herself!
"?"
Cynthia, who was arranging training sessions, turned her head in confusion. Then she saw her Glaceon's perverted expression and couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
Glaceon, what's wrong with you? In our household, you're practically a refined young lady, usually appearing with the nickname "Ice Eevee Princess." How did you go from ice sculpture to clown sculpture?
"Eevee!"
Sylveon had her tail tucked between her legs as she whimpered at Hayashi, "Master, I want to go back in the ball!"
Good heavens! Sylveon, who dislikes staying in Poké Balls and clings excessively to Hayashi, was actually volunteering to take refuge in one. What a spectacular sight!
Seeing Sylveon's near-tearful expression, Hayashi quickly took out a Poké Ball and recalled her.
"Eevee—"
Watching Sylveon disappear before her eyes, Glaceon's face fell with disappointment as she lowered her head dejectedly.
Why are you avoiding me?
Could it be... I get it now!
Glaceon's hope reignited as she raised her head, thinking, 'It must be that my passion isn't strong enough yet—it hasn't reached her heart! Next time, I'll be even more passionate!'
So you've been wrong from the very start!
Cynthia covered her face with her hand, her lips twitching as she said, "Glaceon, didn't I ask you to teach Ninetales? Why are you here?"
Indeed, Cynthia had brought most of her main team this time:
Spiritomb was responsible for Gengar's Ghost-type training;
Roserade handled Gengar's Poison-type and Tropius's Grass-type;
Togekiss oversaw Tropius and Corvisquire's Flying-type;
Glaceon tutored Klahh, Milotic trained Milotic, and Eelektross instructed Pikachu.
The only missing type, Fire, was personally handled by Cynthia herself.
This was comprehensive training.
Only an all-rounder Champion could pull this off—though of course, there are also Champions who specialize in a single type, right, Lance?
"Eevee-vee!"
Glaceon looked at Cynthia with an innocent expression.
I taught her Ice Beam! She's practicing now, so I slipped out to see the pretty girl! Ehehe, Sylveon is so cute, way cuter than any other Eevee I've seen, guhehe, guhehehe...
Watching Glaceon's innocent face instantly revert to a lecherous grin, Cynthia couldn't help but sigh into her palm before turning to Hayashi with a complicated expression. "Well... my Glaceon is that kind of girl. I apologize in every possible way."
Hayashi also twitched his lips before forcing a laugh and waving his hand. "It's fine, other Glaceon can restrain themselves... right?"
Given Glaceon's strength, if it really wanted to do this and that to Sylveon—like grooming her with its tongue or something—Sylveon probably wouldn't have much ability to resist, let alone run back into my arms.
From this perspective, Glaceon still has some boundaries... probably.
"Ahaha..." Cynthia let out a dry laugh, feeling that she couldn't continue this topic any longer, or else her Glaceon would eventually suffer a ruined reputation! Yes, she absolutely had to change the subject!
She looked up at the sky, then turned her head and said, "Speaking of which, the power gap between the Pokémon in your team is pretty extreme!"
Indeed, Gengar's level had already reached 59, just one step away from breaking through to level 60 and reaching Elite Four-tier strength. But among the other Pokémon, the highest level was Tropius at 47, while the rest of the babies were mostly between levels 10 and 20.
Hayashi glanced at the little ones training nearby and said, "Well, that's due to various reasons—"
He briefly explained that he, Erina, and Hisako were rookie Trainers who had only just started their journey this year, then mentioned how they had caught Gengar and Tropius.
'R-rookies? Rookies in their twenties?' Cynthia was stunned—mainly because, in the Pokémon world, rookie Trainers usually set out on their journeys around ages 10 to 12. Both Cynthia and Steven Stone had made names for themselves in their teens, yet Hayashi was telling her he hadn't started his journey until his twenties?
What was the difference between that and becoming a professional athlete at 25?
Unable to help herself, she rubbed the bridge of her nose and awkwardly shifted the topic again. "You caught Tropius because of the taste of your food? That must mean the level of your team's Pokémon Chef is pretty high, right?"
Hayashi said proudly, "If we're just talking about cooking skills, there probably isn't a single person in this world who can match them."
In Hayashi's mind, purely in terms of culinary skill, even Erina could only rank at Tier 3 right now—
Tier 0 was Chef Mao, Tier 1 was the top chefs from Toriko and the world of Cooking Master Boy, Tier 2 was the next tier of chefs like Gin Dōjima and Jōichirō, and only then did Tier 3 include people like Erina.
But that didn't mean Erina was bad, okay? After excluding the prodigies in Tier 0, the legends in Tier 1, and the masters in Tier 2, Erina in Tier 3 could absolutely crush any Pokémon Chef in this world without breaking a sweat.
Faced with Hayashi's answer, Cynthia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and tease, "Seems like you're pretty confident in your companions' cooking skills, huh?"
"Not just pretty confident!" Hayashi looked at Cynthia with a faint smile. "To put it in perspective, it's about as confident as you are in your Garchomp!"
If Satoshi's signature Pokémon was Pikachu, Leon's was Charizard, and Steven Stone's was Shiny Metagross, then Cynthia's was undoubtedly Garchomp!
It was her ace, the one and only trump card she would think of in a desperate situation!
"That's some incredible confidence!" Cynthia laughed. "I'll be looking forward to today's lunch, then."
It must be said, Cynthia is quite the diplomat! One of Professor Oak's conditions for recruiting her was the Pokéblocks made by Erina, but she deliberately pretended not to know, allowing Hayashi to show off—unfortunately, Hayashi had already learned the truth from Professor Oak, but that didn't stop him from flaunting his girlfriend.
"Please look forward to it!" Hayashi flashed a confident smile. "When it comes to cooking, Erina has never disappointed!"
...
...
After a morning of training, the Pokémon of the trio (barely including Sabrina) all had a sense of "having learned something"—especially a certain Gengar, who, after a century of non-combat life, had nearly forgotten all the experience it had accumulated before!
Now, thanks to Spiritomb and Roserade, it had finally awakened its century-old stiff... no, its century-old battle memories, leveling up to 60 and officially stepping into the threshold of Elite Four-tier strength.
Of course, the focus of this scene wasn't on the newly promoted Elite Four-tier Gengar, but rather on Cynthia and her companions sitting at Hayashi's dining table for the first time.
"Burp—"
Cynthia tried her best to suppress the burp, but it surged up, and she simply couldn't hold it back.
"It seems Champion Cynthia is quite satisfied with Erina's skills."
Hayashi glanced at the empty bowl in front of Cynthia and couldn't help but smile—no matter who you are, if you praise Erina's cooking, then we're sworn siblings from different parents!
"I couldn't be more satisfied."
Cynthia's face flushed slightly as she wiped her lips with a napkin, sighing sincerely. "I'm endlessly grateful that I accepted Professor Oak's invitation."
If she had missed out on this level of skill, she might not have minded in ignorance, but realizing later what she had missed would surely have made her regret it so much she couldn't even eat her favorite ice cream...
Hm!? Ice cream!?
Cynthia pondered for a few seconds before asking, "Um, Miss Erina, do you make desserts? Like, say, ice cream?"
"Desserts?"
Erina answered without hesitation. "Of course I do."
While desserts weren't her strongest suit, as a chef, how could she not know how to make them?
"!"
Cynthia's eyes sparkled. She coughed lightly into her right fist, feigning composure as she said, "Well, I wonder if I might have the honor of tasting some?"
"I can, but I'm missing some ingredients. I might need to borrow from Professor Oak—" Erina blinked. "First, honey from Combee, and eggs from either Chansey or Blissey."
Cynthia replied without hesitation, "There's no need to trouble Professor Oak for those—I can provide them! Leave it to me!"
Erina's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "Then let's get started right away! I'd love to see just how delicious ice cream made with top-tier ingredients can be!"
...
...
Top-quality fresh cream provided by Alcremie;
Eggs from Blissey;
Fresh milk from Miltank;
Sugar refined from Combee's honey;
Premium cream strawberries provided by Alcremie.
Looking at the ingredients laid out before her, Erina couldn't wait to begin her work.
First, she separated the egg yolks from the whites, saving the latter for stir-fry later. Then she added sugar to the yolks, whisking until they turned pale. Next, she poured milk into the pot... Finally, it was time for Glaceon to use Icy Wind to chill the mixture.
"Done—!"
Erina placed the freshly frozen ice cream on the table and declared with confidence, "Alright, everyone, dig in!"
Erina's Special · Easy Homemade Ice Cream!
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