Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 410: Cake Battle—First Come, First Served! (BONUS)

"Yoji! Yoji, Yoji!"

Larvitar excitedly greeted Johan and Charcadet upon their return, congratulating them on their victory.

"Goka!"

Charcadet, acting like an elder, gently patted Larvitar's head.

Though, in reality, they were about the same height.

Johan's battle against Dino had ended, marking a fantastic start to the tournament. The crowd was still fired up from Charcadet's blazing performance.

Arriving at Cynthia's private suite—

"Congratulations, Professor Johan!" Flint was the first to offer his praise, followed by the others.

"It was just a Round of 64 match," Johan smiled, not making a big deal of it.

Though, since Flint was being so enthusiastic...

Next time Flint made a mistake, Johan would consider letting it slide.

With nothing urgent coming up, Johan stayed to watch the rest of the battles with them.

Down on the battlefield, Guzma stood with one hand in his pocket, his face wearing an arrogant smirk as he casually waved his hand.

"Pinsir, finish it—Guillotine!"

Pinsir viciously grabbed Swanna. At such close range, there was no chance for the attack to miss. The overwhelming force delivered devastating damage.

"The winner is Guzma!" the referee announced, raising the flag.

"Swanna!"

The opposing Trainer rushed onto the field, cradling their unconscious and heavily injured Swanna.

Guzma shot them a sideways glance, sneering.

"Battling is about destruction! If you're not prepared for that, then go home and cry!"

With that, he shoved both hands into his pockets and walked toward the exit without even bothering with the customary handshake.

"Weaklings—and weak Pokémon—don't deserve to shake hands with the great Guzma!"

The audience, though somewhat intimidated by Guzma's aura, remained mostly silent.

Meanwhile, a group of Team Skull members cheered wildly for him.

There was no denying it—Guzma's behavior had rubbed many people the wrong way.

Yet, there were still some spectators, drawn to the thrill of violence, who cheered him on.

After all, Guzma had just steamrolled through three opponents using only his Pinsir.

As the battles continued, none of the other matches ended in a similar one-sided sweep.

However, there were still plenty of interesting moments—

"The winner is Louis!"

Following the referee's announcement, the victorious burly man raised the umbrella in his hand and pointed it directly at Johan's suite.

His intention was crystal clear.

He was challenging Johan!

The entire stadium erupted in shock.

The last person who had openly challenged Johan on the tournament stage was Paul...

And in the end, Paul got absolutely demolished by Gengar.

"Are Trainers these days just this bold?" Flint murmured, swallowing nervously.

Fitzwilliam glanced at him.

Weren't you just as bold back then?

Actually—no.

Flint was even bolder.

He had challenged Cynthia over a hundred times.

Meanwhile, Johan was focused on something else.

The name "Louis"... sounded oddly familiar.

Wasn't he the guy who lost to Alain?

The one with a Garchomp?

"Professor Johan, aren't you going to react?" Flint asked.

"Hm?"

Johan snapped out of his thoughts and smiled.

"His courage is commendable."

The Sinnoh League sure knew how to put on a show.

On the first day, they had scheduled Johan's battle as the opening match to maximize hype.

If that had just been luck, then when the matchups for the Round of 32 were announced, it became very clear that the League was deliberately stirring up drama.

Johan vs. Louis.

The very same Louis who had challenged Johan on stage.

Just like that, the internet exploded.

"Round of 32 matchup—Professor Johan vs. 'The Umbrella-Wielding Louis'!"

"Oh ho ho! Damn, I cannot wait for this battle!"

"Which Pokémon do you think Professor Johan will use? Gengar? Ninetales? Dragonair?"

"My vote's on Gengar! No particular reason—I just wanna see someone's soul break."

"But what if—just what if—Professor Johan actually loses?"

"LMAO. That'd be even funnier!"

Online, the spectators were eating up the drama.

The bigger the spectacle, the better.

One thing was certain—

Both the Lily of the Valley Conference and Louis were raking in attention.

The Round of 32 and Round of 16, which usually didn't draw that much hype, were now skyrocketing in popularity.

Of course, Johan wasn't the only Trainer making waves.

This year's Lily of the Valley Conference had attracted many strong competitors.

The one Johan was paying the most attention to?

Tobias.

He, too, had effortlessly swept his opponent in a 3-0 victory.

And his lead Pokémon?

Darkrai.

A Mythical Pokémon—one of the very few ever seen in an official League tournament.

Instantly, Tobias became the center of attention.

Aside from him, another standout was the so-called "Emperor of Destruction," Guzma.

With his brash attitude, cocky demeanor, and ruthless battling style, he had cemented himself as a major figure in this tournament.

These three—Johan, Tobias, and Guzma—were receiving the most attention.

Other notable Trainers included:

Ka Wu, a seasoned veteran from Hoenn known as the Unyielding Flaming Fighter. Magua, a powerhouse from Galar dubbed the Crusher of Solid Rock.

Simply put—

This year's Lily of the Valley Conference had way more elite competitors than usual.

Fans online had reached a consensus:

"This tournament is way too stacked. Most people can't handle it!"

For Dino, however, this realization made him feel a lot better about his loss.

During an interview, he said:

"Professor Johan told me—he won today, but the future belongs to me!"

The reporter interviewing him hesitated before carefully pointing out:

"During the Indigo Conference, both Otani and Melanie also received that exact same compliment."

Dino: "???"

While the internet was buzzing with discussions—

What was Johan doing?

"Left—move it a little left—yes, perfect! Good job, Flint and Infernape."

Johan nodded in satisfaction.

In the League's commercial district, at a small shop near the edge of the area—

Flint's Infernape perched on Flint's shoulders, securing a sign above the stall:

Sunbeam Café!

Inside, a Indeedee duo and an Alcremie were busy setting up.

They carefully placed cakes and pastries—prepared earlier in Rustboro City—into the display case and on the counters.

"Great work, everyone," Johan said with a smile.

"Farrr~!"

"Fetch'd! (o(〃'▽'〃)o)"

"So this is what you meant by bringing them here—opening a temporary café!" Steven finally understood.

"Well, with the tournament's popularity soaring, why not?" Johan placed his hands on his hips, nodding in satisfaction.

He could already tell—

The hype for this year's tournament was only going to increase.

As for the Rustboro café?

It'd be temporarily closed.

Right now, he was here to cash in on the tournament traffic.

Johan had a feeling—

His café's coffee and pastries were about to sell out.

"Of course, it's not just about that."

Johan gently patted Indeedee on the head.

"I also promised them I'd do this."

"Farrr~!"

"Hm?" Steven was puzzled.

"Come on, let's grab some snacks. With Indeedee's baking skills and Alcremie's fresh cream—this stuff is incredible!"

Meanwhile—

Cynthia sat inside the café, staring at the Alcremie Cake in front of her, spoon in hand, hesitating.

It was so cute.

Could she really eat it?

Gengar, however, had zero hesitation.

It had already demonstrated the proper eating method—one bite at a time!

"Yoji!! (ω)"

Larvitar's eyes sparkled as it stared at the table full of pastries.

"The ones here are for us to eat freely," Johan said. "But everything made after this? Those are for selling."

Because if he let them eat as much as they wanted...

They wouldn't need a café.

They'd clear out the inventory in minutes.

"Draaa!!"

Dragonair cheered as it joined the feast.

Kubfu's fur was already covered in whipped cream—cleaning up later was going to be a huge task.

Ninetales, on the other hand, ate more gracefully. Yet, for some reason, its cake was disappearing just as fast as Tinkaton's.

"Goka!"

Just as Larvitar was about to dig in, Charcadet stopped it, looking serious.

We have to serve the guests first. That's proper hospitality!

"Yoji?"

Larvitar tilted its head, confused.

It then watched as Charcadet picked up a plate with a minty, cream-filled Alcremie Cake and carried it over to Flint and Infernape's table, carefully placing it in front of them.

Flint was nearly moved to tears.

"As expected of a Fire-type Pokémon! It knows who the real Fire-type expert is!"

See? Flint thought.

This Charcadet had personally delivered them a cake!

"Th-thank you...!"

But before he could finish his sentence—

Charcadet bowed politely, then promptly took the Mareep Wool Cake in front of Flint and the Boltund Hot Dog in front of Infernape and carried them back to Larvitar's table.

Now, Charcadet had the Mareep Wool Cake, while Larvitar had the Boltund Hot Dog.

Flint and Infernape looked at the single remaining cake on their table... then at the two dishes that had just been taken away.

At the same time, identical question marks appeared over their heads.

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Flint & Infernape: "???"

"Yoji!! (ω)" Larvitar exclaimed.

I get it now!

"Goka~" Charcadet calmly motioned with its hands.

No need to be surprised—this is just normal procedure.

Infernape gave Flint a side-eye.

"Ku? (￢_￢)"

This is your so-called 'Fire-type affinity' huh?

Flint opened his mouth, but he had nothing to say.

All he could do was sigh internally.

Professor Johan's Pokémon really are something else...

"Eat quickly before Gengar devours everything," Johan reminded Cynthia and Steven.

This was a cake battle—first come, first served!

"This cake is so cute... I almost don't want to eat it," Cynthia murmured.

"Don't worry. Indeedee and Alcremie can always make more!" Johan reassured her with a grin.

"Farrr~"

Indeedee proudly presented another tray of desserts.

Ta-da! A brand-new creation—Gengar Chocolate Pudding!

Cynthia's eyes immediately lit up.

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar, its face covered in whipped cream, suddenly felt a chill run down its spine.

It looked up, only to see Cynthia slicing a Gengar-shaped pudding in half with her spoon.

Then, it turned its gaze toward Larvitar.

The little dragon's expression seemed to ask—

"Is that pudding... the real Gengar?"

"Ka-kaah..."

Gengar gulped.

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