In the following days, Hayashi and the others settled into a very regular routine.
From Monday to Friday, the team would stay at Professor Oak's lab, training under Cynthia's guidance.
On weekends, Cynthia would return to the Sinnoh region to handle her affairs, while the team took the opportunity to travel to other regions, enjoying local delicacies and unique sights.
And so, before Hayashi knew it, half a year had passed in this world—unlocking his ability to carry living beings during interdimensional travel.
...
...
"Whew—"
Cynthia exhaled wistfully, setting down the controller in her hands. "Today's the last day, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Hayashi nodded. "Thanks."
The months of training had brought them much closer—no longer needing formalities like "Miss Champion" or "Miss Cynthia."
"I really am going to miss this—" Cynthia stroked the game console nostalgically. "I was just a few achievements short of finishing Resident Evil."
'So is it us you'll miss, or the console and Erina's cooking?' Hayashi shot her a sidelong glance before resting his chin on his hand. "Just take it with you. It's just a console—no big deal."
"Wouldn't that be too much?" Cynthia stood up and, under Hayashi's deadpan stare, swiftly dismantled the console, power cord, and cables before stuffing them into her backpack.
If you'd hesitated even a little, I might've believed you actually felt bad about it—
Hayashi facepalmed.
He remembered Cynthia differently—at first, she had been the picture of grace, elegance, and approachability, like a refined lady. How had she ended up so shameless?
Who corrupted her!? This is outrageous!
After packing up the console, Cynthia sighed regretfully. "Thinking about never tasting Erina's cooking again makes me sad."
"So?"
"So how about a feast tonight?" She blinked.
Who taught her to be this shameless, who!? Hayashi grumbled internally but nodded. "Sounds good to me."
...
...
That night.
Professor Oak's lab, backyard.
"Cheers—!"
Amidst the cheers, Hayashi, Erina, Hisako, Sabrina, Cynthia, and Professor Oak gently clinked their glasses together.
"Whew—"
After setting down his glass, Professor Oak sighed nostalgically. "Half a year really passed in the blink of an eye."
Hayashi nodded deeply, his expression full of emotion. "Yeah! Thinking back to when we first met, Professor, your hair was still so thick..."
Professor Oak roared in anger, "My hair is still thick now!"
Hayashi blinked innocently. "Well, it does seem a bit thinner than before."
Cynthia nodded beside him. "It does seem that way."
"W-what!?"
Horrified, Professor Oak pulled out his Pokédex and turned on the front camera to examine his head in a panic. "N-no way? I've been careful not to stay up late recently..."
From an angle he couldn't see, Hayashi and Cynthia exchanged a glance—
'Well done.'
'Thanks for the praise.'
Now, the question arises—who exactly was it that corrupted Cynthia? Some protagonist ought to reflect on that.
"Ah, just thinking about how hard it'll be to enjoy such delicious food in the future makes me sad," Cynthia sighed, staring at the dishes before her. "Hey, Erina, how about you prepare a hundred years' worth of meals for me, three times a day?"
"What kind of food has a shelf life of a hundred years?" Hayashi couldn't help but retort. "Even the bones would be gone by then!"
With her hopes dashed, Cynthia slumped onto the table listlessly, muttering, "I don't wanna be Champion anymore..."
Hayashi leaned close to Erina's ear and teased, "Erina, does this count as you 'capturing' a Champion with your cooking?"
Erina stifled a laugh and swatted him lightly.
"Ugh, damn it!"
The more she thought about it, the more frustrated Cynthia became. She straightened up, glared at the food, gritted her teeth, and started eating again.
Hayashi couldn't resist asking, "Weren't you already full?"
Cynthia stubbornly lifted her chin. "If I won't get to eat this again, I'd better eat as much as I can now!"
Hayashi gave her a complicated look. Sure, you want to eat more, but does your stomach agree?
Sure enough, after just two more pieces of braised pork, Cynthia clutched her stomach in agony—so full, so painfully full!
The invincible Cynthia had fallen.
...
...
The next morning, Cynthia hugged Erina reluctantly, then climbed onto her Garchomp's back with a dazed expression and left Professor Oak's lab.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Hayashi clicked his tongue three times to express his thoughts.
"Cynthia's probably depressed now."
Hisako tilted her head. "Why would Cynthia be depressed?"
"When she hugged Erina just now, I saw it clearly—" Hayashi smacked his lips. "Their 'hearts' collided, and Cynthia's expression froze."
"Ah—"
Hisako instantly understood. She glanced at Erina's figure and said proudly, "As expected of the young mistress!"
No wonder Cynthia was depressed. Being outmatched in 'heart size' by a younger girl—anyone would be crushed.
Upon hearing Hayashi and Hisako's words, Erina's face instantly turned bright red as she hugged her chest and exclaimed, "Just where are you two focusing your attention!?"
"Erina's nice body!"
"The young miss's charm!"
"Shut up!"
"Yes—" x2
After some playful banter, the trio returned to their room and began taking stock of their gains over the past six months.
During this period, Hayashi's team had captured every type of Pokémon capable of independently producing gourmet ingredients (or processing materials)—
Cutiefly, which spreads high-quality pollen;
Beedrill and Combee for honey collection;
Farfetch'd that selects and cultivates premium leeks;
Bounsweet yielding top-tier fruit juice;
Even the extremely rare Chansey—through Cynthia's connections with the Joy family—they'd secured ten of them!
However, introducing genes from creatures like Tauros, Emboar, Unfezant, and Basculin remained impossible for now—Hayashi couldn't simply draw Tauros blood and inject it into wagyu cattle expecting them to instantly "poof" into evolution, could he?
Beyond these Pokémon, the trio had also collected various berry seeds. Upon returning to the Shokugeki world, they could begin cultivation—with Tropius's Harvest ability assisting, there should be no difficulties.
"What a bountiful harvest—"
Hayashi clicked his tongue wistfully. "Still, it's hard to leave this world behind."
Hisako nodded in heartfelt agreement. "Who could bear to depart from such a fairytale-like paradise?"
Compared to other worlds, the Pokémon world (anime version) was unbelievably idyllic—a carefree realm brimming with adorable creatures that anyone without ulterior motives would adore.
Erina reached out, grasping both Hayashi and Hisako's hands as she murmured, "If we love this world, we can always visit again. But..."
Hayashi continued her thought, "But we can't afford to stop moving forward now!"
Though lacking grand ambitions, Hayashi at least needed to resolve the God's Tongue's curse before taking any real respite, right?
"Alright—"
Hayashi took a deep breath. "Let's pack our things and bid farewell to Professor Oak—"
Just then, a swirling portal of pink-purple light materialized before them.
"!"
Hayashi instinctively stepped back while swiftly summoning the Interdimensional Gate. Yet as his hand touched the doorknob, a voice so soothing it could heal wounded souls resonated in his mind.
"Traveler from another world, please wait—"
"I mean you no harm."
Hayashi paused mid-motion, eyeing the mysterious portal warily. "Erina, Hisako, did you hear that too?"
The young women tightened their grip on Hayashi's arms, nodding rapidly.
"Who are you?" Hayashi demanded, raising his voice.
"Me?" The voice carried a hint of amusement. "I am what the residents of this world call the Creator God, Arceus! Hmm, also known as... the Llama in your terms."
'Oh snap!'
Hayashi felt a chill run down his spine. He forced a dry laugh and said, "Uh, about the alpaca thing, I can explain—"
"Explain? Explain what?"
As Arceus's voice sounded again, its figure emerged from the Interdimensional Gate—since Hayashi wasn't willing to go over, it would come instead.
"From the moment you appeared in this world, my gaze has never left you."
'Damn, weren't you supposed to be sleeping in Michina?'
"The one sleeping in Michina was just my avatar," Arceus tilted its head slightly. "Surely no one actually believes the God who created the world could be left on death's door by a meteor the size of a small asteroid?"
'Yikes, the movies misled me! Wait, is this thing reading my mind?'
"Your expressions are just too easy to decipher."
'!'
Hayashi removed his hand from the doorknob, then said with a pained expression, "Alright then! So, oh benevolent Creator God, what exactly do you want from me? Is it about not allowing Pokémon to leave this world?"
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