Chapter 587: The Chef of the Medicine King Gang

Back in the room.

Everyone was chatting and laughing together.

Hu Pa curiously peeked behind Baimu and asked, "Xiaobai, what happened to those few people?"

"They got off work."

He replied offhandedly, then smilingly changed the subject: "Hu Pa~ want to eat something good?"

The moment she heard about food, Hu Pa instantly tossed Team Rocket's trio out of her mind, her eyes sparkling. "Yes yes yes! Let's go eat donuts!"

"I never said donuts."

Baimu firmly shook his head—this one had a donut obsession; no matter how much good food she ate, she'd always end up thinking donuts were better.

He announced to everyone, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's getting late—shall we find a restaurant and chat over a meal?"

The moment he finished saying this, Ash and Pikachu's stomachs immediately rumbled like muffled thunder.

The two scratched their heads in perfect sync, sheepishly saying, "Sorry, after a battle we always get hungry really fast, hehehe…"

"Pika~"

"Hahahaha!"

The group burst into good-natured laughter, then at Baimu's suggestion headed to the main branch of 【Golduck's Smile】.

Walking out of the room.

Clemont's steps slowed slightly, and with a hint of worry he quietly asked, "If I remember right, that place requires a reservation in advance, doesn't it?"

"I booked it a few days ago, and it's a private booking. I made the reservation under the name of the Lumiose Conference champion celebration banquet." Baimu looked at Clemont's incredulous expression and replied with a light laugh.

A few days ago?

Hadn't the League Conference only just begun back then?

He had way too much faith in Ash!

Clemont couldn't help asking himself whether he could trust Ash's strength to that extent; after his thoughts turned over, he looked at Baimu again, and admiration surfaced in his eyes.

Being able to trust a friend like that is also quite an impressive thing!

Meanwhile.

Baimu recalled Dragapult, who had finished surveillance—Team Rocket's trio really were just as he had figured: geniuses at taking action, but useless at planning.

Warned not to tell Giovanni, and they really didn't discuss it with Giovanni at all.

Was it because Team Rocket's trio weren't loyal enough?

No.

They were simply just stupid.

Team Rocket's trio had their own special behavioral logic, and that was more than evident from the fact that they had handmade a set of white Team Rocket uniforms and chased a single Pikachu across so many regions.

"Being stupid has its perks too."

Baimu smiled and patted Dragapult on the head. "Good work."

Dragapult: "?"

Is the Trainer calling me stupid? He must be talking about those two people and those two Pokémon.

Clutching some lingering doubts, it returned to its Poké Ball.

——

【Golduck's Smile】 main branch.

Located on the first half of Winter Avenue in Lumiose City.

This area gathers many of Kalos's renowned three-star restaurants, so it also has the nickname "Gourmet Avenue."

To survive here, a place either has a long history beloved by locals, or possesses a few signature dishes capable of conquering the palates of seasoned gourmands.

Without a doubt, Golduck's Smile is the latter.

Once owner and head chef Rococo's luminous cuisine was unveiled, it captured the palates of countless food critics; some busybodies even dubbed it "Food of the Gods," earning it tremendous success in a short time.

The main branch where he serves as head chef has had its daily reservations fully booked every single day since.

The reason Baimu managed to secure a private booking was mainly because he made the reservation under the name of the conference champion—"Ash."

Of course, Ash hadn't won the championship at that point yet; it was simply that Rococo, as a former League Conference participant whose sights had been set on Elite Four member Siebold, found this exceedingly bold customer very interesting.

He even made a point of standing at the shop entrance waiting.

"Hahahaha, so you're the one who made the reservation, Ash? I thought you were just some braggart kid, but I didn't expect you to actually win the championship!" A handsome young man with brown hair draped over his shoulders and a styled beard laughed heartily as he stepped forward and gave Ash's shoulder a heavy pat.

"Huh? But I…"

"Pika?"

Ash and Pikachu turned to their friends in bewilderment, quite certain they had never spoken with the man.

Baimu stepped forward quickly, raising a hand: "Sorry, I'm the one who made the reservation, Mr. Rococo. I apologize for using my companion's name."

"You?"

Rococo looked him up and down, and when his peripheral vision caught Hu Pa playing with Bonnie, he suddenly said, "Have you eaten my cooking before?"

The latter nodded: "Yes, just last month."

"Hahahaha, no wonder you looked so familiar. But casually making a reservation under someone else's identity isn't acceptable…"

Rococo's gaze swept quickly over the group's varied expressions, then he suddenly laughed: "How about this, kid—I was planning to have a heated battle with the champion, but since Ash isn't the one who made the reservation, you'll have to take his place!

"One-on-one, one round decides the winner. If you win, I'll pull out all the stops to entertain you and waive the bill; if you lose, then sorry, you'll have to find yourselves another restaurant."

Lumiose City, Winter Avenue.

Also known as 【Battle Avenue】.

Diners can enjoy certain discounts by battling the restaurant owners in Pokémon battles.

Hearing Rococo's words, Ash got excited on the spot and instinctively turned to look at the spot beside Serena—where Dawn was—and it happened that she had just turned her gaze that way too.

The two said in unison: "Lakeside Grand Hotel, Seven-Star Restaurant!"

The others wore puzzled looks one after another. Xiaogang explained with a smile: "There's a hotel by Lake Valor in the Sinnoh region. To enter and dine there, guests must first win a Double Battle."

A Double Battle?

Serena heard this and glanced at Ash, who was brimming with enthusiasm. Seeing him staring fixedly at Loco Moco with a look that said he wanted to step onto the field too, she inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief yet felt a touch of melancholy.

The perceptive Dollo noticed her companion Shana gazing at Baimu as he lowered his head in thought, and couldn't help asking: "What's wrong?"

Shana replied: "I feel like I've seen him somewhere before…"

The chubby Tierno said: "Maybe at some competition? Speaking of which, what's this guy's name? I don't think I heard him introduce himself."

"Yurika seems to call him Big Brother Baimu," Dollo said.

Shana froze for a beat, then glanced at Dollo before looking back at Baimu, her eyes brimming with pleasant surprise. "Baimu! Yes! Baimu! That's him!"

Dollo and Tierno looked on in puzzlement at their inexplicably fervent companion.

"Just use your Hologram Communicator to check his blog!" Shana could hardly contain her excitement at that moment.

Although her goal was to become the Kalos Queen among Pokémon Performers, how could she possibly not pay attention to the Contest — a world-famous event perfectly suited for girls.

And as the most dazzling star among this year's Coordinators, Baimu's name had successfully reached the ears of every Contest enthusiast.

After watching Baimu's performance at the Showcase, Shana's admiration and reverence for him became unstoppable.

The reason she hadn't recognized him earlier was, on one hand, that her attention had been on Kotetsu and Xiaogang, and on the other, she hadn't expected Baimu from Hoenn to show up here.

"Go for it, Baimu!"

She couldn't help cheering him on.

Not far away.

Baimu gave Shana a friendly nod and asked: "Excuse me, may I add a reward?"

Loco Moco's smile didn't waver: "Just say it!"

"If I win, may I come into your kitchen and help out as a kitchen assistant once?" he asked tentatively.

"Kitchen assistant?"

Loco Moco, who had just been about to change his expression, now wore a strange look. "Why would you want to be my kitchen assistant?"

Baimu answered honestly: "Because I want to learn Glow Cooking from you."

To many chefs, this statement would be considered an offense. The kitchen is the battlefield commanded by the head chef; the recipe is the military manual held in his hands. For an outsider to brazenly walk in and claim he wants to steal that manual?

However.

"Hahahahaha—"

Loco Moco burst into laughter, his eyes full of curiosity and delight as he looked at Baimu. He declared loudly: "I accept!"

A chef who hated the rigid modularization of cuisine and the privatization of recipes more than anything — how could he possibly refuse such a proposal? He wished everyone would come learn his Glow Cooking!

To that end, he made videos, published recipes, and repeatedly appeared on various food festivals, all so that Glow Cooking would not become a cuisine lost to time.

Besides, even if Baimu were a complete novice who only got in the way, at worst he could be put to work tidying up and doing odd jobs.

The kitchen is the head chef's battlefield — once you're in, you think you don't have to follow orders?

Not a chance!

Loco Moco clapped his hands, and immediately a crowd of people poured out of the shop, beginning to clear the clutter around the area and open up a space suitable for battle.

The rest stepped back in unison.

"Can Baimu do it?" Serena was a little worried. She felt Loco Moco was a very powerful Trainer, because chefs and waiters from surrounding restaurants were crowding around with smiles to cheer him on.

Hu Pa flew up to her face and said solemnly: "Of course Xiaobai can! Xiaobai is even stronger than Xiaozhi!"

"Huh? Really?"

Ash didn't feel the slightest bit offended by what it said. He even said happily: "Baimu is that strong? I really want to battle him once."

Hu Pa proudly crossed its arms: "Of course Xiaobai is the strongest."

"Right here?"

Baimu glanced left and right. The spot was too close to the shop's glass door, and he was a little worried about breaking the glass. The distance between the two Trainers was also a bit too close.

Loco Moco waved his hand: "Relax, you won't break anything. You won't get the chance."

Huh!

In the simulated storyline, the chef didn't seem this arrogant, did he?

His brow lifted slightly, but a smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Seeing Loco Moco's personality outside the simulation and interacting with him truly made him happy.

Being able to battle him was an unexpected delight.

Bring it on!

Let me see the Golduck that can rival a Mega Alakazam!

Without hesitation, he tossed the Poké Ball.

Thud!

A flash of Bai Guang.

"Guooo~"

Aggron appeared, lazily swishing its tail.

"Yo! You see my signature is Golduck, and you still send out a Rock-type Pokémon? Or do you think Steel-type resists Water-type?"

Loco Moco snorted lightly, pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket, and said: "Go! My partner!"

Thud!

"Gwaa~"

A Golduck, as languid in demeanor as its signature, landed on the ground, yawned, and scratched its cheek with a webbed claw.

"I'm not one for pleasantries, so don't blame me for striking first, kid! Golduck! Psybeam!"

Loco Moco displayed an aggressiveness perfectly suited to the simulation.

"Croak!"

Golduck's eyes lit up; the overwhelming telekinesis transformed into invisible waves in the air, sweeping toward Aggron.

All Baimu's expression unchanged, "Metal Sound!"

"Grooowl—!"

Aggron roared at the top of its lungs; the two long horns atop its head shimmered with brilliant silver light, and visible silver low-frequency sound waves collided with the telekinesis transmitted by Golduck.

Hmm!

But strangely, the two did not crash and explode against each other; the telekinesis spread very smoothly onto Aggron's body, and Metal Sound likewise spread smoothly around Golduck.

Before Loco Moco could rejoice, Golduck was already clutching its ears in agony.

"Croak—"

It squeezed its eyes shut and let out a hoarse cry; the low-frequency sound waves made its head split with pain, making it difficult to use moves normally.

First round, move broken!

A wave of astonishment rose from the surroundings.

All Baimu gazed at the anxious Loco Moco for a moment, then spoke: "Now! Don't give it a chance to release the pressure! Rush in and use Thunder!"

"Grooowl!"

Aggron set its heavy steps in motion; though its massive form was like a small mountain, its charging speed was by no means slow, and since the distance between them was already short, it reached Golduck in just a few breaths.

Crackle—

A ball of lightning condensed between its two horns emitted a dazzling light, then transformed into a thick bolt of lightning that crashed through Golduck's body!

Crash!

The thunder was deafening!

The storefront glass could not withstand such a fierce impact and shattered suddenly, but fortunately it was safety glass and did not scatter all over the ground.

The watching crowd, hands over their ears, watched the white haze before their eyes gradually fade, and looked at the composed Aggron in the arena with faces full of disbelief.

The opponent was Loco Moco!

A former tournament runner-up!

And yet powerless against this boy's Aggron?

"He won?"

Ash and the others looked at the scorched Golduck sitting limply on the ground with a dumbfounded expression, and couldn't help laughing together, "All Baimu won!"

Dinner was settled!

Loco Moco helped Golduck up, looked at the tall Aggron before him and All Baimu behind it, his lips trembled slightly before he said: "How did you know?"

"I am an admirer of your cooking, so naturally I've watched recordings of your matches."

All Baimu answered with a smile.

Golduck has two traits in the simulation—

One, its psychic abilities are extremely powerful.

Two, the more it is attacked, the more powerful its psychic abilities become.

So as long as you take Golduck down in one go, you don't have to worry about this thing making Aggron "feel pain," and while its telekinesis can indeed whip Onix around like a whip—

In the early stages, it's easily interrupted by external mental stimuli, and Metal Sound happens to be a very effective suppressive move.

Plus, the distance between the two Pokémon was really just that short—

The difference in time between the telekinesis wrapping Aggron and Metal Sound hitting Golduck was probably only a fraction of a hundredth of a second.

In such a short time, you'd need Celebi and Dialga to sense it.

"Hmph, hmph hmph, hahahaha—"

Loco Moco snorted twice, then burst into hearty laughter, recalled Golduck, and nodded: "Very good! Your strength is quite impressive! I hereby officially declare you my kitchen assistant for today! Everyone, come inside!"

With a grand sweep of his hand, the servers immediately ushered the group into the restaurant.

"Kid, don't blame me for not warning you. The kitchen is the most sacred place in the world; if you do anything to insult it, don't blame me for my temper."

Loco Moco raised both arms, and immediately someone walked behind him to put a kitchen-specific apron on him.

A confident and domineering aura radiated from him, his shoulder-length brown hair flying, like a male Pyroar.

"My kitchen assistant position isn't something you can just do whenever you want!"

He pulled his gaze away from the stunned All Baimu, clapped his hands loudly, and declared in a clear voice: "Young men! Let's get to work!"

"Yes, Chef!"

In the semi-open kitchen, the united shout of the many cooks made one's heart tremble.