Siebold Restaurant.
The restaurant where Li Wei had lunch was a one-star Snorlax Restaurant in Hearthome City, named Siebold Restaurant.
It was a branch opened by the Water-type Elite of the Kalos region, EliteSiebold, and allowed Pokemon to dine inside.
As it was a Pokemon Restaurant, the interior had many Pokemon-themed designs, including Berry chandeliers.
Li Wei ordered a filet and a ribeye steak for himself and Lucario, and a special Pokemon dish from the restaurant for Dragapult and the others.
"Lucario."
(It's not as tasty as what you make.)
Li Wei agreed with Lucario's assessment.
"I rarely make steak, I'll try it next time."
After all, this was a branch of Siebold's restaurant, not the three-star Snorlax Restaurant in Lumiose City where Siebold himself was the head chef.
And being only a one-star restaurant, the head chef's culinary skills were merely above average, not reaching the standard of 'delicious' in Li Wei's mind.
After all, his taste buds had long been spoiled by the old man.
Li Wei could discern a chef's cooking mistakes or bad habits.
"Woof!" (๑＞＜๑）
Arcanine, eating what was in its bowl but eyeing what was in the pot, shed tears of envy for the ribeye steak on Li Wei's plate.
Li Wei had forgotten one thing: this was also a Battle Restaurant.
It was exactly noon.
The restaurant bell rang.
"It's battle time!"
"Let's see who will be today's lucky customer to win a free meal!"
The Berry lights above shone continuously, eventually landing on Li Wei.
Oh no, this really is a spotlight!
In games and anime, there are Battle Restaurant settings; Ash and Brock even teamed up to participate.
It seems there was also James in a dress...
If one disregarded dignity, one could even bankrupt the restaurant 233...
"Dear customer, we cordially invite you to battle. If you do not wish to participate, please remain in your seat."
If the first person drawn did not wish to participate, the restaurant would redraw.
It had the air of losing a lot of money if they didn't get someone to get a free meal by noon.
Given that they drew Li Wei, it probably wasn't a rigged gimmick.
"Do you want to participate?"
Dragapult, Lucario, and Arcanine quickly shook their heads; only Metagross and Drakloak were eager to try.
"Since you want to participate, then participate."
The Battle Restaurant was not a segment meant to trouble customers, but rather a performance segment.
The restaurant had a large water arena, with a Primarina swimming freely within it.
The opponent was a Primarina with the Fairy typing, so Li Wei naturally wouldn't send Drakloak to go against type.
Even if Primarina's strength wasn't particularly high, being only at the senior-junior level, it had clearly just evolved recently.
However, after Drakloak had consumed the Black Rayquaza's Dragon Scale and Li Wei's daily feeding of perfect-quality Energy Cubes, Drakloak's strength had already reached the professional-junior level, though it still had some time before evolving.
Li Wei estimated that Drakloak would only evolve when it got close to the Gym level.
Seeing Li Wei stand up, some customers gently clapped and turned their attention to him.
"Hey, he looks somewhat familiar."
"He's that Breeder who previously maintained Champion Hirona's ace Garchomp."
"It's him, no wonder his Pokemon all look so strong."
In the Pokemon world, the vast majority of people are extremely passionate about battles, even if they are not trainers.
This is also why the Pokémon World Championships and the newly established Master League have been able to develop.
The woman in the gown across from him curtsied.
"Greetings, honored guest. I am Miss Misandei, the daughter of the restaurant's head chef, and this is my partner Primarina."
This was a Primarina with a hidden ability.
Regular Primarina's ability is Torrent.
But this one had Liquid Voice, which turns all of her sound-based moves into Water-type moves.
This way, the commonly used Disarming Voice, although still not very effective against Steel-type Metagross, would at least be slightly better.
Miss Misandei had wavy hair and was about the same age as Li Wei, perhaps a bit older.
What Li Wei didn't know was that his selection was actually a fixed draw; who was chosen depended entirely on mood.
Miss Misandei, being a fan of Li Wei, chose him because she wanted to have a battle with him.
"Go, Metagross."
The appearance of the Silver Metagross made the customers present couldn't help but turn their heads.
"Primarina, Disarming Voice!"
Primarina raised its head, and an ethereal song resonated from its throat.
"Confusion."
Li Wei could have chosen the more powerful Psychic, but with Metagross's strength, it might quickly turn into a one-shot knockout.
Metagross was already at the professional-senior level, infinitely close to Gym-level, and its type was also super effective against Primarina.
They were offering a free meal; there was no need to embarrass them.
Confusion and Disarming Voice stood in opposition in the middle, ripples spreading across the calm water, and two water spouts suddenly rose.
Metagross understood that Li Wei didn't want Miss Misandei to lose too much face. It used Confusion to control the two water spouts.
It both hit Primarina and prevented her from immediately losing consciousness.
The impact of the two water spouts interrupted Primarina's Disarming Voice, and Confusion pushed her backward.
"Primarina, Sparkling Aria!"
"Psychic!"
Both sides were exchanging moves, purely a contest of power.
After an entire swimming pool's worth of water was used, Li Wei felt it was about enough. "Metagross, Comet Punch!"
"Stop it, Primarina, Hyper Voice!"
Even Primarina, with her beautiful singing voice, was so noisy when using Hyper Voice.
Metagross's supercomputer-like brain rapidly calculated, manipulating the water flow to block Primarina's Hyper Voice, while also obstructing Primarina's line of sight.
Metagross's metallic body crashed through the water curtain, and Comet Punch accurately struck Primarina's neck!
Primarina's body slammed into the water, splashing up a huge amount of water, and her body gradually floated to the surface.
"Primarina!"
Floating on the surface, Primarina's eyes were already swirling, having lost its ability to battle.
The referee quickly raised his arm, "Primarina is unable to battle, therefore the winner is the customer Li Wei!"
"According to the rules, Mr. Li Wei receives a free meal!"
Clap clap clap—
The spectating customers were generous with their applause.
Amidst cheers and applause, Li Wei and Miss Misandei walked off the battle stage.
Miss Misandei curtsied.
"Thank you very much for going easy on me."
During the battle, Miss Misandei already knew that Li Wei had been holding back; she could feel it.
"No, you fought well too."
Li Wei was a purely polite person and would not admit he held back.
"May I be so bold as to ask for your autograph?"
Li Wei paused, "Of course."
So, she was a fan. If he had known she was a fan, he wouldn't have held back; he should have gone all out.
Just by fighting one battle, Li Wei had a satisfying lunch and didn't have to pay.
Battle Restaurants are simply too good!
...
Time flew by, and at four o'clock, Cynthia's call came, "I've arrived in Hearthome City. Where are you?"