//------------------------------// // "Aim to be a Cake Master!" // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Equestria. Ponyville. SugarCube Corner. Afternoon. Preparing for the arrival of Opal with some extra guests, Pinkie Pie and those at SugarCube Corner were preparing for a competition against the Ballonlea Gym Leader. It was all making the best sweet-filled food they could muster to match that of Opal, who was said to be a great cook. And since it came from the mouth of Bea, who greatly enjoyed SugarCube Corner's food, they should not take that lightly at all. "Okay, Ash. We'll make you a better cook. I can teach you right away." PInkie Pie said, opting to train to Ash who was determined to improve. Because Ash, in all honesty, is a terrible cook. He can make an appealing appearance but the taste is rather abysmal. And he knows this himself. "I'll make you the best cook you can be." "Thanks, Pinkie," Ash said, already having an apron on. "What do you want me to do first?" "Well...I mean it can't be that bad, right?" Pinkie Pie looked over at the Cake Family who shook their heads. It was that bad since Dawn told them but Pinkie Pie was rather judgemental. "Try making those poffins that you know how to do." "Okay. I can do that! I'll be a Cake Master in no time! Watch me!" Ash would get to work, recalling the recipe for poffins. He would use all the ingredients at his disposal, attempting to make the best batch of poffins he could muster. Pinkie Pie, Nessa, Bea and the others watched as Ash was rather clever in remembering the ingredients to making this delicacy. However, Pinkie Pie would notice the fault in this. Ash tended to go overboard. This would cause the poffins to taste different than what they usually are. Her eyes widened as Ash would stir the mixture, making some of it spill everywhere. Nessa would sway to the side, attempting to avoid her clothes being sullied by Ash's cooking. Pinkie Pie had an incredibly bad feeling about this with how Ash was baking these muffins. "Done!" Ash finally finished his poffin. In the bowl, they appeared nice and squishy, but they also had an ominous purple aura emanating from them. This aura was intimidating Pinkie Piwe and the others as they could see it with their own eyes. No special magic or ability required. And just by looking at this aura, they could feel the horror of these poffins. "Exactly like how I remember them." "Pi...Pikachu..." Pikachu stepped back, scrunching his face. "Well, let's see what they taste like." Pinkie Pie would be the one to take the risk. So did Mew, who was always curious and did everything Pinkie Pie did it seems. Both grabbed themselves a single poffin with Pinkie Pie tossing it into her mouth and Mew taking a single bite. Just one consumption and bite out of these poffins and a reaction already came through. With their eyes opening, they had a vision to perfectly explain how this tasted and felt. It felt like a meteor had suddenly crashed into the planet, destroying everyone and everything that lived there in a matter of seconds, leaving the planet as nothing but Ash and space dust. That is how it felt to them. "Mmm...Yeah. This is bad!" Pinkie Pie grimaced before stumbling. The taste of Ash's poffins were just that abysmal. "So he sucks at cooking...Yes!" Nessa pumped her fist. That was one thing she could beat Ash in to overtake his fame. If this mattered that much. "I can take advantage of this without a doubt!" "Alright..." Pinkie placed her hoof on Ash's back, trying to stand tall after that devastating taste. "You really need that training. Let's get it done before Opal gets here." Ash would undergo training from Pinkie Pie, learning from her to become a better cook. He had the appearance down but it was all about the taste more than anything. All the while Opal was on her way with her guests. Since this was bound to be a contest of cooking Opal suggested, some would come by to see this for themselves. Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack and many of their friends gathered with some too busy to show up but they would be saved some food depending on how this goes. Even Goh and Chole, passing through the Pallet Town gateway, would show up at SugarCube Corner. "I'm hoping we get to taste some of this food," said Chloe. "How long do you think it'll take for them to get here to Equestria?" "Oh, I think that's them right now," Fluttershy spoke, spotting the arrival of the competitors. And their way of showing up was in a car. Specifically, a Charizard Car in the style of the Flame Pokemon itself. Everyone watched in amazement of this Charizard Car as it caught them off guard. Especially with how well-crafted it was to resemble the Fire-Flying-Type. "Oh, that's so cool!" Ash, Rainbow Dash, Pikachu and Scootaloo had their eyes light up at the sight of the Charizard Car. It may just be a stylized car but the presentation is what made it so unique. "Well, it seems like you're ready." Arriving at the scene was none other than Opal herself. And of course, Leon and Red were with her, with the extra guest being none other than Raihan. Each of them stepped out with Leon being the last, confirming that this was his car since he was at the helm. Some would've confused it for being Red's since he has a Charizard as well. "Red? You're here too?" Ash spotted Red, who nodded in confirmation. He would then turn to face Raihan, trying to recall who he was. "And uh...Raihan." "Glad you remembered me. But why am I here?" Raihan groaned as he wasn't too big on showing up here at all. The expression on his face said it all. "Why is he here, actually?" Bea asked Nessa, curious if she knew. "You see...Opal's not only obsessed with pink, but it seems she's also focused on wiping out dragons as a whole. She tried getting Raihan to become a Fairy-Type Gym Leader as well, even dressing him up in pink." Nessa explained, knowing quite a lot about Opal. "She might as well be a full-on Fairy in human clothing." "Talk about dedication..." Bea uttered with disbelief. "Look at you all." Opal observed everyone here at Ponyville, giving them her signature stare. "You all would look good in pink. Every last one of you." Her eyes then intensified, intimidating the citizens. Opal now had them on their mind. Pinkie Pie gulped, trying to mask herself within SugarCube Corner so that Opal doesn't notice her at all. However, with just one head turn, Opal spotted her as she failed to hide from the Ballonlea Gym Leader. "No way!" Pinkie Pie screeched. "I was right to choose this place and it was worth the travel. You all will be needing these." Her hand would suddenly unveil a few Poke Balls. By dropping them, the Pokemon would emerge, being of the same species but with differences. "Milcery." "Alcremie!" Multiple of the same Pokemon showed up. Specifically, this Pokemon known as Alcremie as there were eight of them here, having different colours on them. "Oh, who are they?" "Milcery. The Cream Pokemon. This Pokémon was born from sweet-smelling particles in the air. Its body is made of cream. They say that any patisserie visited by Milcery is guaranteed success and good fortune." "Alcremie. The Cream Pokemon. Vanilla Cream Flavor. Alcremie can produce whipped cream, which becomes richer the happier Alcremie is feeling. Desserts made using this cream are invariably delicious, so many pastry chefs strive to have an Alcremie as their partner. When it trusts a Trainer, it will treat them to berries it’s decorated with cream. When Alcremie is content, the cream it secretes from its hands becomes sweeter and richer." Other Pokedex entries came in for the other Alcremie flavours that stood before them. Ruby Swirl, Ruby Cream, Matcha Cream, Rainbow Swirl, Lemon Cream, Salted Cream, Caramel Swirl and Mint Cream. "How about it? Who wishes to become a Fairy-Type Gym Leader?" Opal questioned. But no one here was looking to be a Gym Leader. "Uh, pass..." Applejack said as many of them passed up on that offer. They were fine with what they had. But Opal would not give up. Not when so many prime candidates were here. "No matter. You might be convinced after this. After all, most of you will be competing." "What do you mean most of us?!" The residents of Ponyville all gasped as Opal instantly dragged them into this. "You all have the perfect aura for it. You're just missing pink aprons and pink all over but we can sort that out." Opal smiled, intimidating them all. "And just you wait, Red. Those colours of yours will be lightened eventually." "...!" Red, still having that serious look on his face, twitched for a moment. Unfortunately for him, since he was the opposite of pink, he was a target of Opal the second they met. Now Ash and the others knew why Red was here. "How'd you and Red meet by the way, Leon?" Ash asked, curious about Red and him being present in the same area. "We met up not too long ago. I think it was about 4 weeks after that wish went through. It's a long story." Leon replied. "No time for that story. Prepare yourselves for this bake-off." Opal interrupted. "Well, I-" Before Rarity could say anything, she noticed how Raihan was staring at her and everyone else, cutting her sentence off with this singular glare. "Don't say no...!" Raihan eyed them down, pleading that they do not deny Opal's request. From the look in his eyes, he was doing this for their own safety. "Trust me." "W-We can try." Rarity stammered, taking Raihan's words to heart. He seemed genuinely worried about this and no one could escape Opal's request. "Splendid! Now, I don't exactly have enough Alcremies for all of you. So you will have to share Alcremies back to back and decorate a cake together. An Alcremia flavour chooses the trainer based on that flavour, so I wonder what it'll be like for all of you. Will your cake be Powerful? Gentle? Energetic? Mysterious? I'm expecting delicious foods that perfectly capture your personalities. "Okay. Time to put what Pinkie Pie taught me to the test." Ash held his hands out, looking at them. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Twilight looked at her hooves, trembling at what could come from this. Especially if it was Ash's cooking. "..." Red lowered his hat as it looked like he didn't want to be here at all. At least, not participating in this. However, one look at Opal made him realize that running away was pointless. "This sounds fun!" Out of the other citizens here, Fluttershy was eager to try it from the start, clapping her hooves. The Alcremie would all scatter at once, trying to find the trainers that work with their flavours. A Vanilla Alcremie would go straight for Fluttershy, choosing her first. This Alcremie had a heart-shaped sweet on its head to signify its attraction to the pegasus. Rarity was selected by a Salted Cream Alcremie with a star-shaped sweet and Rainbow Dash received a Rainbow-Swirl with a flower-shaped sweet. "Oh, that smells like Caramel...That's the one for me!" Ash said, choosing the Caramel Alcremia which also had a star-shaped sweet. This Alcremie would also gravitate itself towards Applejack. Since there were many cooks, each of the Alcremie would also focus on different trainers to try and share them. Now that everyone had an Alcremie, it was time to get this competition started. Canterlot. Meanwhile, over at Canterlot, Celestia was still busy with her work, doing everything in her power to try and break through Magehold's defences. However, when in deep thought, her eyes would flare open. What was this feeling? This sensation? Her thoughts about Magehold and the Dread League were immediately thrown to the side as if something of greater importance had come up. Well, not exactly in the sense that it depended on everyone's well-being but more along the lines of her own cravings. "I can feel it." She hopped off her throne before closing her eyes. "That feeling...How long has it been since I've sensed it? Probably only a few months but still. I know this feeling." "Gardevoir?" Passion, who was playing with Arcanine and Philomena, noticed Celestia's rather sudden reaction. "Oh, I do know what this is! With a bit of Sweet Scent added on...That to me sounds and smells like cake! Excellent!" Celestia exclaimed with joy ih her eyes and heart. Cake. Her favourite food. It was as if she had a sixth sense for cake as she already detected the sudden emergence of many cakes. And there was only one area where that was possible. Without a second thought, Celestia had to see this for herself. She hadn't come up with anything for the Dread League yet so this was a nice way to kill some time. When looking at Celestia's expression, Gardevoir, Arcanine and Philomena already knew what was about to come. Perhaps this is the bad feeling that Twilight felt earlier. They had a plethora of ingredients to choose from, chosen by Opal and SugarCube Corner as well. Droves of tables were laid outside since there wasn't enough room in SugarCube Corner for these to fit. Not everyone here was skilled at making cakes. They could cook but cakes were a different class of cooking. And yet, they would try their best, specifically using guides to help them out. "Cremie!" The Alcremie would make things easier for them, pouring cream from their hands into their bowls to finish one part up. But everyone else would have to handle the rest. "Hm, I wasn't taught how to make a cake but this'll do!" Ash grinned, rubbing his hands together. He grabbed the necessary items, using a knife to spread the cream all over the base of the cake. Already, he was making a mess, moving his hand too quickly as the cream would fly elsewhere. "..." Red looked at his cake as he received a star-shaped Vanilla Alcremie as well. The Trainer from another world scratched his har, not sure what to do next. All he could do was observe everyone else and copy them. "Hmph. I know what I want to make." Rarity said, already having a plethora of decorations on her side as she wanted her cake to be as beautiful as it could be. She would throw as many gemstone decorations onto the cake with the Salted Cream Alcremie cheering her on. "Cakes are like pies, right?" Applejack grumbled, trying to figure this out herself. "I'll just wing it and do what I do best." Everyone else tried their best when looking at the guides, hoping that they wouldn't mess up horribly. But some did want out of this so they wouldn't take it too seriously. But the ones who did take it seriously made some progress. Especially the Cake Family, who were working in perfect sync with each other. They knew how to make a cake so this wasn't a problem for them at all. The same went for Pinkie Pie. Those from SugarCube Corner were fine from the very beginning. "This is fun, isn't it?" Twilight said after using her magic to whip up this cake. Speaking of whipping, cream would fly out because of Ash and Rainbow Dash who were rapidly spinning their cake mix around. "It is," Leon said, being surprisingly good at this for someone who tends to get lost and loves battling a lot. Not many would expect this from the World's Strongest Trainer. "I'm gonna whip up the world's best-tasting cake ever! Watch me!" Raihan was certainly passionate about it. If Leon was competing, then he had to do so while also trying to 1-up him. "Come on...!" Rainbow Dash growled as her cake mix was stuck from spinning it too hard. The stickiness of this mix became an issue as she attempted to pull it off. Some were also having problems with their cakes. The problems ranged from playing around with the cake mix too much as these were mainly done by foals or even missing some ingredients and putting them in a tad too late. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and other foals were just having fun playing with this cake, slowing their progress down while those with no baking knowledge fumbled their ingredients horribly. And with so many to choose from, it's no wonder. "W-What's Ash doing?" Roseluck said as she and many others noticed Ash's method of baking. It was rather intense. More intense than everyone else here. The same went for Red as he decided to wing it, using brute force to make this cake. "Oh? Such passion." Opal, who was also getting involved, noticed the passion flaring out of Ash and Red. One was passionate about finally get something to taste right while the other was just doing what he could to make a decent enough cake. Opal would then feel that same passion brimming out of Rainbow Dash and Raihan as they had rather disgruntled faces. "That kind of passion works well for the energetic colour that is pink!" However, the longer they stared, the more they saw Ash going overboard with his baking, making Pinkie Pie gasp. Everyone else did add decorations but no one went above and beyond more so than Ash. Pinkie bit her hoof at this as Ash put every decoration under the sun in this cake. Chocolate, Pokemon-shaped flavour decorations, biscuits, icing, sweets and so much more. Ash's approach was certainly on the more rambunctious and lively side. As for Red, he was always a silent person so his cake would perfectly represent him. As mute as possible with minimal decorations. But even if there were so few decorations, much like Red, this cake could pop as the progress was slowly showing it. "That looks grim..." Berry Punch spoke after looking at Ash's cake and how it was developing. "I feel sick just looking at it..." "Umm...Uhh..." Applejack was still struggling as her side of the family wasn't known for making Apple Cakes. By now, she was wishing that the family member that knew how to make Apple Cakes was here right now. That would save up so much trouble. Nevertheless, she would persist. "Hmph. This'll be easy." Nessa confidently said, believing that she had beaten Ash in this category before it was even over. Judging by everyone's reactions, she might as well have won. At least she had experience with baking cakes thanks to Opal. "I doubt even I could stomach that..." Bea grimaced. Arriving at the scene was none other than Princess Celestia. She couldn't wait to see this so teleportation was what she ended up using to get here immediately. The Sun Princess jumpscared everyone, appearing without warning. But some expected this. If many cakes were involved, then Celestia would be involved. It was only a matter of time before she found out. "Made it on time!" Celestia said with joy before rapidly moving her head around, making afterimages with it. "Where are the cakes?" "Oh. The Ruler of Equestria. She would also look splendid in pink." Opal gazed at the Ruler of Equestria. "But...I won't try my luck." However, for the first time, Opal held herself back. She was fearless in front of everyone, including Leon. But when it came to Celestia, she'd rather not take her chances against the ruler of this entire land and nation. "Ah, it's only in the process of being made?" Celestia leaned in, looking at Twilight's cake and how it was still being made. "Just a bit longer, Princess Celestia. Then all of these cakes will be available for you." Twilight squeed before seeing cake mix fly into the air by those struggling and playing around. "M-Most of them anyway." "I can't wait! Why didn't anypony tell me about this sooner? Oh well, it doesn't matter." Celestia giggled, watching everyone work on their cakes. She was absolutely eager to see how each of them would turn out. To her, it was a buffet or a gourmet. Fit for a Princess Eventually, most would finally finish their cakes, all having unique designs to them that fit them perfectly. Most were based on their Cutie Marks which were also based on their names. The Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't have names that fit their marks, so they unified their skills to end up making one single cake together. A Shield Cake. Perfect for their marks. Twilight's cake had multiple stars around them for her own Cutie Mark. Rarity, as seen before, had gemstones around them. Even the shape of the cake resembled that of a diamond. Fluttershy kept it simple since she also had baking knowledge. This was thanks to her time with the Pokemon at the Pokemon House, feeding so many of them that all had their preferences. But to honour her Pokemon, she had decorations of Audino, Bayleef and Raboot on it. Applejack and Rainbow Dash did everything in their power to make these cakes possible. And for what they could muster, it wasn't so bad. They made passable cakes that were generic at best. Applejack went the extra effort to put one of her apples on top while the Rainbow Cream perfectly fit Rainbow Dash. Raihan made an impressive cake as well that had mainly fruits on top of it. Leon's cake fittingly had a crown decoration on top. Chloe's cake looked stylish as well with all those lemons on the side. Unfortunately for Goh, his Grookey licked everything off the cake, having a full stomach and lying on the side. All of the cream was gone as Goh could not complete his cake. The same went for those who were struggling from the beginning. Mr and Mrs Cake along with Pinkie Pie made the biggest cake here, outclassing the rest in size. Nessa and Bea added style to theirs as well. But in Bea's case, it was all about aggression. Her cake looked bulkier than others, fitting her Fighting-Type style. Nessa had a lavish cake that could only be matched by Rarity's. "Impressive. Even though most of you have no experience, you still managed to pull it off. I'm impressed." Opal complimented them all. "And to those who couldn't, well done for trying your best. Now, let's see what-" "Ta-dah!" Ash showed off his cake which made everyone's jaws drop. Opal even had a surprised look on her face when looking at this mess. Everyone at least kept a consistent theme with their cakes but Ash went crazy with his. "Well, that's certainly Ash..." Twilight uttered with a slight chuckle. The chaotic nature of this cake did match Ash perfectly even if it was rather odd to look at it. To many, it looked unedible with how much was thrown against it. There was no consistency at all. "..." Red finished his as his cake was the complete opposite of Ash's. But his also didn't look at that edible at all. It just looked dry. Completely dry. Both Ash and Red managed to come out with the strangest cakes by far. "Now! For the moment of truth!" Opal exclaimed. "It's time for you all to get a taste of each other's cakes. Go around and don't be shy to rate and criticise." The time to taste all of these cakes was now. Many went around while some would take a breather to recollect their energy. Opal went straight for the cakes that Pinkie Pie and the Cake family made, curious about their amazing skills. PInkie and the Cake Family had the same sentiment. Both sides dug in with Opal using a spoon and the ponies using their mouths. Mew would simply dive in head-first to get a bite. "Hmm...Mmmm!" Opal obviously loved it, spinning around with joy. "Marvellous! I knew it would be good but I didn't think it would be this good! SugarCube Corner lives up to its expectations and more! The perfect sweetness has been here all along!" "Mmm-mmm!" Pinkie Pie jumped for joy. "Oh, I take back everything I thought! This is great! It feels like everything I've ever loved eating is in this cake!" She would then start snacking on the cake just like Mew, not slowing down for a moment. "It is, isn't it?" Mrs Cake vehemently agreed after taking a bite out of this cake. "I wonder why we were so worried in the first place?" "No clue." Mr Cake replied as they both forgot why they were worried about Opal's skills. They completely missed the fact that it was because she was so good that they could be outdone. But there was nothing to fear. Both were great. In fact, they might as well be equal. "Applejack's yours isn't that bad. But it does taste like your apple pies a bit too much though." Fluttershy said, noticing the apple in it. "I did what I could...Apples are what I know best." Applejack sighed before taking a bite out of Twilight's cake. "Mmm...Nice." "Oh yeah! This is the flavour of a champion! Such a colourful aroma and sweetness!" Leon's cake was complimented by Princess Celestia. "I love it!" "Gee thanks, your majesty." Leon thanked Celestia who would move on to the next cake. She couldn't sit still for a minute, too focused on all of these cakes and wanting a bite out of all of them. She was moving so fast and become a white blur that she didn't even need teleportation. It looked like her speed had exceeded her teleportation magic in this instance. Raihan had a showy cake and Celestia could tell. So could Opal. But to Celestia, it didn't matter if it was showy. It tasted good and that was all that mattered. Opal even gave him points for the taste with Raihan standing proudly. Even if Goh's cake was ruined by Grookey, the fact that the Grass-Type devoured it all proved that it did taste good. And if it was finished, it would've tasted even better. Goh still got some points for that. Rainbow Dash, who went wild and struggled, made a decent cake too, having a different clash of flavours thanks to the Rainbows. But it fit her perfectly as there was one domination flavour that satisfied the mouths of many. Sufficed to say, most of them had good-tasting cakes. Ranging from decent to splendid. Celestia was a happy pony but there were two cakes that have yet to be tasted. Ash and Red. "Hmm...Now what do we make of these?" Opal said as she and Celestia stood before the cakes of clashing personalities. Spirited and Silent. "I wouldn't eat that at all..." Twilight grimaced at the sight of these cakes. Everyone else looked more horrified at Ash's cake. No one looked eager to try it except Celestia and Opal. The question was, who would eat what first. Red even looked at Ash's cake, surprised by its appearance before gazing back at his. He wondered which was the odd one out here. "..." Red would try a bite out of his own cake, using a spoon to do so. By quickly placing it in, the Silent Trainer would freeze for a moment. "Oh? Tasting your own cake? How is it?" Opal asked. "...!" Red gave his response. Immediately, he would punch the table in front of him, lowering his head. Everyone gasped, fearing that Red's cake was terrible from the way his fist was trembling. Celestia and Opal would then take a bite out of it. "Ah. You're just disappointed it's not as tasty as you thought it would be." Opal spoke as Red's cake was not half-bad at all. He just wanted it to be better than what he wanted. "But it's still a satisfactory taste. Take pride in that, alright?" "Mhm. You did your best." Celestia said. "For the most part, Red's cake tasted good and was serviceable. But now came the monstrosity that was Ash's cake. Celestia, Opal and everyone eyed it down, still mortified by it. "Alcremie and I put our all into this!" Ash said proudly along with Alcremie. "I wanted to match Alcremie's cream and so I tried making the tastiest cake I could do! So dig in and have fun!" "Alcremie!" "Well...Looks can be deceiving." Celestia did look a bit hesitant in front of this cake, which was very uncommon. The fact that she was giving off such an expression proved that this cake was something else. Everypony feared what could happen if Princess Celestia took a bite out of this. What would happen to their princess? They bit their hooves, putting them together as they started praying to Arceus himself. Now that the worlds were unified, Arceus was at the top of them all so putting their faith in him was the best option now. They took a bite. And much like Pinkie Pie, they both had a certain reaction to it that made everyone gasp. Pinkie pie closed her eyes, fearing that she hadn't taught Ash enough if this was the case. However, it was the complete opposite to Pinkie PIe's reaction. "Oh my goodness..." Celestia and Opal uttered with disbelief as they had a vision of what this tasted like. They envisioned the blossoming of a new world. Nature was growing at high speeds with a bounty of life emerging. The Sun flared through the azure skies, blessing this new world as the stars above could also be seen. A beautiful new world had been opened up for them both. "This...This is the best cake I've ever tasted!" Celestia shouted, surprising everyone. "IT IS!?" No one expected this. How could that behemoth of a cake be the best thing here? Let alone the best cake that Princess Celestia has ever tasted, even surpassing that of SugarCube Corner. "It has an unusual flavour that makes me want more!" Opal said gleefully, taking another bite. "Fantastic! Absolutely Fantastic!" "It's that good?!" Pinkie Pie was flabbergasted. "I only taught him for a few hours though! How'd he get that good so quickly?!" "Oh, let me try!" Soon, everyone would flock to Ash's cake, wanting a bite out of it since it was that good. If Celestia loved it, then it must be otherworldly. Mr and Mrs Cake were also surprised to see this. How could someone learn that fast and be so good? They all took a bite out of Ash's cake and it was as amazing as they expected. Bliss and harmony met their hearts. They felt like melting as they all had visions of what this cake felt like to them. No other cake managed to make them feel this way which made this one all the more special. Even though Red was still keeping his composed and silent face, his smile confirmed that this was amazing as well. "I don't believe it...He beat me again?!" Nessa cried out in anger, shocked and infuriated that Ash beat her in this category as well. And she was so confident this would be the one as well. But her anger soon turned into happiness after tasting the cake. "Oh but it's good though...I've never felt such pleasure!" "Mhm!" Bea and Daisy greatly agreed, stuffing their mouths with Ash's cake. Ash rapidly went from being a horrible cook to a stunning one. Ironically, his worst-looking food was tastier than his best-looking food. Perhaps that was the trick to it that Pinkie Pie spotted. Now Ash could cook for himself. But it was only one thing. "It's decided! You are the one I will battle!" Opal pointed at Ash, declaring a battle. "Any trainer that can create that flavour, must be equally as interesting in a battle." "Awesome! I've been itching for a battle!" Ash cheered. "Let's get this going, Opal!" "Pika-Pikachu!" They took their positions, using Ponyville as a battlefield. Now that so many of them had gathered, they would watch this battle after filling their stomachs with joy. Some would even choose to eat while watching this battle, mainly focusing on Ash's cake more than any other. Since Ash had the best-tasting cake, he was chosen for this. "Wait does this mean Ash is eligible to be the next Gym Leader that replaces Opal?" Scootaloo asked. "I don't think so." Twilight shook her head. "Maybe. Hopefully. Not sure." "I'm glad it's not me though..." Pinkie sighed with relief. "Very well. I'll be the ref." Standing in as the referee was none other than Champion Leon. "Bring out your Pokemon, both of you." "Alright, Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash chose his tried and true partner, Pikachu. "Pikachu!" "It's up to you, Alcremie!" For Opal, it would be one of her Alcremie. In this case, a Ruby Cream Alcremie. "Alcremie!" "Let the battle begin!" "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" "Pika! Pika-Pika!" With a flash of light, Pikachu took off, approaching the Cream Pokemon at lightning speeds. Before Alcremie can react or even hear what Opal has to say, Pikachu tackled it. "Cremie!" "Now, Iron Tail!" "Pikachu!" Pikachu would immediately follow up his first attack with an Iron Tail. By hardening his tail, he would swing it upwards, striking Alcremie yet again. And once more, Opal hasn't said anything. She was simply watching. "Why's she just watching him?" Rainbow Dash noticed, wondering why Opal wasn't giving out a command or fighting back at all. She was just letting Ash and Pikachu attack freely. "More and more!" Ash suggested a continuous Iron Tail Attack. "Pika!" And Pikachu would deliver, continuously striking Alcremie with Iron Tail. "Yikes, he's fierce with it," Raihan observed. "And that Pikachu has some pretty good speed actually." "Awesome, Pikachu!" Ash cheered. "Let's switch it up now!" "Now that reminds me of an impatient child." Opal finally spoke with a smile on her face, seemingly not worried at all about this. "It reminds me of Red and Leon, actually." "Cre...Alcremie!" Suddenly, Alcremie shook off the damage like it was nothing. All those super-effective hits and it was standing strong and healthy. "Woah!" "Now...take a look at your own Pokemon closely," Opal suggested as Pikachu and Ash would focus on one of thing. Pikachu's tail. On Pikachu's tail, there was cream on it thanks to all those continuous Iron Tails. "Pika?!" "She reduced the power of Iron Tail with all of that cream building up!" Twilight gasped, figuring it out. "It's a lot like Cinccino's scarf!" "Now, it's my turn! Use Attract!" "Cremie~!" Alcremie would twirl before winking at Pikachu. Out of it came a swarm of hearts. The hearts would rapidly spin around Pikachu, who closed his eyes to try to avoid it. But it didn't work. The hearts got a hold of him and put their full effect into motion. Pikachu was now infatuated. "Pika! Pikachu!" "Use Dazzling Gleam!" "Alcremie!" Now that Pikachu was like this, Alcremie took the chance to strike, unleashing an outburst of rainbows in the shape of a dome. This rainbow dome blew Pikachu back, managing to knock the attract out of him with how powerful it was. The Mouse Pokemon rolled on the ground before sliding to recover. "Pi...! Pikachu!" "That cream's a way to defend? Awesome..." said Ash as Opal was finally going on the offensive. "Dazzling Gleam!" "Mie!" Along came another rainbow dome from Alcremie with Ash ready to respond. "Electroweb!" "Pikachu!" Pikachu would interrupt this by using Electroweb, throwing out an electric orb which soon turned into a giant net. This net grabbed the rainbow dome, trapping it in place before crushing it. "You do know how to use your resources to your advantage," Opal said before holding her Poke Ball out. "But are you prepared for what will happen next? Equestria still has that energy within it." "What energy?" Ash asked, tilting his head. "The power of Dynamax, of course. It never went away at all even after the worlds merged. It is still here and prime for us to use." "Dynamax is still in Equestria?!" Pinkie Pie gasped along with many others. This power was still present within their land. Not just Galar. "I'm going to have some fun with this!" She returned Alcremie as her Dynamax Band would instantly go off. The Poke Ball would find itself lightning up, expanding to a larger size than what it usually is. The Fairy-Type specialist would then launch the ball into the air, summoning the super-sized Alcremie from within. But it wasn't just a bigger Alcremie. This Alcremie had a Gigantamax Form. A dark purple cloud would emerge above as Alcremie emerged with a new form, gradually growing in size. Lightning burst out of her body along with the sky as her body now resembled a towering, five-tiered cake. The apical tier of the cake resembles Alcremie's regular body, though it's wearing a bow and its whipped-cream hair is styled into a flamboyant swoop. Each layer of the cake features a variety of sweets that can be used to evolve the pre-evolution Milcery. The bottom tier of its body is frosted yellow and adorned with an alternating row of star sweets and dotted frosting. The second tier is frosted pink and features a magenta bow topped with a clover sweet. The third tier is frosted blue and encircled with a row of flower sweets featuring a berry sweet arch. The fourth tier is frosted pink and encircled with love sweets and three red clouds, with the central sweet being larger than the rest. Lumps of whipped cream surround Gigantamax Alcremie's body between each of her tiers. It was the perfect representation of the Pokemon's flavours. "ALCREMIE!" "It's beautiful..." Celestia was the most amazed by this. A giant cake? Truly a wonderful sight. Her eyes were locked onto Alcremie as she wished that this wasn't a Pokemon. Then, she would start going to town, devouring every tier as Rainbow Dash and a few others used their Pokedex on this new form. "Alcremie. The Cream Pokemon. Gigantamax Form. Cream pours endlessly from this Pokémon’s body. The cream stiffens when compressed by an impact. A harder impact results in harder cream. It launches swarms of missiles, each made of cream and loaded with 100,000 kilocalories. Get hit by one of these, and your head will swim." "Huh. There's no barrier for this place, I just realized." Leon spoke, startling everyone as usually, Dynamax Battles in stadiums have shields to protect everyone from the colossal damage. But not here. "You're saying this now?!" Twilight bellowed at Leon. "I can handle that." An entranced Celestia instinctively put up a protective shield around everyone, choosing to be the replacement for the Dynamax Barrier. "G-MAX Finale!" Opal yelled with greater intensity in her voice. Very surprising despite her age. "CREMIE!" Gigantamax Alcremie caused giant cream projectiles to fall down from the dark purple Dynamax sky and onto the Mouse Pokemon. The cream would splatter, making a mess out of the place as Pikachu was struck by one of them dead-centre. "P-Pika!" "Oh, no! Pikachu!" Ash yelled as Pikachu was being bombarded by a seemingly endless stream of cream. Pikachu was no longer seen as he was covered in it all. The only thing sticking out was his tail. "Are you alright, Pikachu?!" "Pi...Pika! PIKA!" Unexpectedly, Pikachu was starting to grow. The cream around him would expand as his body was growing in size. Everyone watched this sudden turn of events as the mouse Pokemon was growing wider and wider by the second. Ash hadn't even used his Dynamax band which was in his bag at the moment. "Impossible!" Nessa looked up with amazement. "Don't tell me that he...!" No. This was the cause of Pikachu's own action. He had eaten the DYnamax Cream, allowing the energy from it to affect his body. He ate his way out, resulting in him taking on his Gigantamax Form. Gigantamax Pikachu, in all his bloated glory, was here. "PI!" And the second he reached his Gigantamax Form, with his mouth open, he ate one of the cream projectiles from G-Max Finale, nullifying the damage. "PIKA-PIKA!" He would then slap his tummy, making a bouncing sound as it jiggled around. Just this action made everyone laugh at how goofy and adorable Pikachu was. Pikachu was just like Ash. Both of them knew how to turn the tables in the wildest way possible. No one expected Pikachu to Gigantamax in this way. "W-Well...This is certainly a development!" Opal was flabbergasted, much like everyone else. ""PIKA!" Pikachu thanked Alcremie for the taste and Alcremie was indeed grateful for the compliment, even if it was not on purpose. "CREMIE!" "I can work with this! G-MAX Volt Crash!" Ash struck his fist forward. ""PIKACHU...." Unfortunately, Gigantamax was still not Pikachu's style. And with this bloated and full state, he could only pat his belly, too full to attack. "That was too much food for him it seems!" said Bea. "What a drawback after that effort of Gigantamaxing!" "That's not an ordinary Gigantamax." Leon shook his head while holding onto his hat. "It just got big eating all of that cream. Pikachu just Feastamaxed! That's what I'll call it!" Leon gave a name for this method of Gigantamaxing. It was certainly unique, making everyone confused and laugh out loud, but it looked like it was only possible if facing off against an Alcremie. At least in this state. Right now, Pikachu was too full to do anything else. He wanted to savour this taste more than anything. "My goodness...I suppose I'll call off this battle." Opal chose to end the battle between her and Ash. "What a unique and humorous duo you two are." Ash rubbed the back of his head while Pikachu sighed with relief, especially in his stomach. A truly strange battle that had an abrupt ending. No one saw it developing in this way but this whole day has been quite the event. Afterwards, with Pikachu returning to normal, everyone would wrap, eating the rest of the cakes here. There was still plenty to go and some would even try taking them home with them. "Ah, that was fun, wasn't it?!" Leon laughed. "I had a blast watching that all play out!" "Yeah. It was. I guess the reason I came here was overshadowed by that." Nessa added. "It's been a while since most of us from Galar have hung out like this. We rarely meet up, don't we?" "Right," Raihan replied. "Maybe we should do this again sometime." "If it means I get to eat more sweet-filled foods, so be it." Bea smiled, only in it for the food. "Leon! I can't wait to battle you again someday!" Ash declared to the World's Strongest Trainer. "Because I'm climbing the World Championships Rankings!" "I'm looking forward to it," Leon said, waiting for Ash at the end. "If you can make it." Raihan shrugged. "I doubt you can get past me if you manage to get that far." "He won't once it's me that overthrows him." Nessa would then get in front of Raihan, declaring that she would be the one to beat Ash and drop his rankings. "I'm afraid that opportunity will be mine." Bea even chimed in. Ash certainly had quite the competitors from Galar. "I'll take you all on." Ash grinned. "I'll beat everyone for sure!" "Pikachu!" "..." Red smiled at this response from Ash. Just the kind of response he was looking for. And in Red's case, he was hoping to battle Ash again someday. They still had to complete their battle from before. But at the moment, Red would wait until Ash was ready. "What now?" Pinkie Pie asked. "What are you gonna do?" "Heading back to Galar. But...I'll give you a recommendation. Come over to Galar sometime. Not too far from now, we'll be having a special event there. Maybe around the time the next Pokemon Festival comes along and we'll add that event to it." "Oh, we'll be there," Celestia reassured. "Right now...I'd love one of those Alcremies. Why didn't anyone tell me such a POkemon existed? I could have as much cake as I want with an Alcremie with me..." Celestia closed her eyes, dreaming about having an Alcremie. "Then come to Galar tomorrow or today, your majesty," Opal suggested. "You'll find an Alcremie there. But it must be an Alcremie that chooses you. Not just one that you spot." "Well, I know what I'll be doing tomorrow then." A fun day has come to an end. And everyone here received a bliss of paradise with the cakes they managed to consume. Ash has grown as both a trainer and a cook and everyone might've received a sweet tooth for a moment. It was all worth it, even if Opal is rather ominous. Pinkie Pie was just glad to have dodged her grasp thanks to Ash's cooking and Pikachu's Feastamax as the journey continues. Chapter 85 End.