Moltres carefully flapped its wings, making sure no stray sparks fell—if it accidentally set fire to the orchard, it'd never hear the end of it from Luxray and Serperior.
Moltres was baffled—it hadn't even done anything but shout, and the invaders all vanished?
What a disorganized mob.
It shot a worried glance at Lucas. Would Lucas think the job was too easy and back out of his promise for a second helping?
Just thinking about it made Moltres's mood plummet. Even if its protested, it'd have to face a pack of fierce Pokémon first.
What a tough life for a guest.
It barely acknowledged the Dragonair's thanks and landed with a gloomy look.
Lucas, meanwhile, was playing with Serperior's tail tip.
"Hm?"
He hadn't noticed Moltres's mood shift, but before he could ask, Serperior, feeling its territory threatened, wrapped Lucas up with its vines and glared at Moltres—the sneaky bird—before stalking off.
With Growlithe around, Lucas tended to favor Moltres. Serperior couldn't out-compete, but it could remove Lucas from the situation.
Lucas, being dragged away, could only think: What about my opinion?
Watching Lucas being hauled off, Moltres felt even more wronged. Clearly, Lucas was trying to deny the promised reward by staging this whole thing with Serperior.
It'd never suffered such injustice before—all it wanted was an extra helping! What was wrong with that?
Unable to bear it, Moltres decided to stage a hunger protest and went back to its birdhouse to sleep.
…
Lucas, meanwhile, was blocked at the door by Ceruledge and Alcremie before he could go find Moltres.
"Ceru~." "Alcremie~"
Lucas paused, glancing at the clock—it was already ten. Time to prep lunch.
"Fine, let's make lunch first. Moltres has a big heart. He should be fine."
Lucas comforted himself. Despite Moltres's legendary pride, its was more like a Grass-type: easygoing, lazy, a foodie, and very patient with Growlithe.
But Moltres wasn't lacking in determination—it'd even completed a diet challenge during training with Swampert and Politoed.
It probably wouldn't brood over something like this.
Feeling reassured, Lucas took the apron from Ceruledge's sword and entered his domain—the kitchen.
With Ceruledge's help, lunch went smoothly, and in no time a feast was ready. It was only 11:30.
Ceruledge used to help out of guilt, but now it truly enjoyed cooking, and Lucas could sense its genuine happiness.
With time before noon and Moltres's bonus meal ready, Lucas wondered if a mere second helping was reward enough.
Hard work deserved proper recognition.
What else could he offer Moltres?
Lucas's gaze fell on Alcremie, who was observing nearby.
Right! After evolving, Alcremie could now produce not just regular whipped cream but unique flavors matching its appearance.
Lucas's Alcremie had a milky Salted Cream flavor—he'd tried it and thought Moltres would love it.
That's it!
No other Pokémon had tasted this new flavor yet. Offering it as a reward would be perfect.
Plus, with the fresh berries harvested under Moltres's protection, Lucas quickly envisioned a dessert: Fruit Cheese Salted Cream Cake!
He sent Ceruledge to fetch fresh berries and invited Alcremie to help make the cake.
"Alcremie~!"
Alcremie nodded excitedly—its dessert spirit was burning!
They had all the tools and ingredients: eggs, corn oil, milk, flour, mixer, oven…
First, the cake base: mix oil and milk, sift in flour and cornstarch, add egg yolks, blend smooth.
Beat egg whites with sugar and lemon juice to stiff peaks, fold into the yolk mixture, pour into the pan, and bake.
With Alcremie's help, everything went smoothly, and Ceruledge soon returned with a basket of fresh berries.
"Thanks."
Lucas washed the berries and made a bowl of cheese sauce.
Once the cake base was ready, Lucas spread cheese sauce on top, then called Alcremie forward.
"Alcremie~!"
Alcremie eagerly piped its milky Salted Cream whipped cream over the cake, and Lucas smoothed it out.
Finally, he arranged the berries on top.
The special Fruit Cheese Salted Cream Cake for Moltres was done!
Lucas couldn't wait to see Moltres's reaction.