The Cafeteria
The cafeteria stood as a two-story structure, split cleanly between a transparent kitchen and a wide dining hall. The space was large enough that even a Snorlax would not feel cramped.
Before it became a breeding facility, the building had once been a Pokémon restaurant, later sold off after foot traffic dwindled. Back then, there was no Wild Area outside, only this single structure standing alone.
Inside, trainers and their Pokémon ate together in a steady rhythm of movement and sound, bowls and chopsticks filling the room with constant motion.
Amanda Black spoke softly, her voice calm as she said, "I won't control your portions. Take whatever you want."
No one replied. Eating took priority. The table was filled with the clatter of utensils and focused silence.
Earlier, Shion had been talking nonstop about the Mapo Tofu, repeating how strong and satisfying the flavor was.
The dish sat steaming in the center, red broth wrapping white tofu in a sharp, fragrant heat. The moment Cynthia saw it, it drew her attention.
She took a portion of rice. The sauce spread across the grains, coating them in a deep red sheen. The aroma carried both chili heat and the sharp numbness of Sinnohan peppercorns.
She tried a bite.
Cynthia was not unfamiliar with good food. She had eaten across many regions and styles, yet this combination of heat, spice, and depth felt distinct in a way she did not expect.
Austin placed an open bottle of Moomoo Milk in front of her.
After a sip, the sharp spice settled, leaving the flavor clearer and longer lasting. The dish felt even more layered than before.
"Delicious," Cynthia said.
"If it gets too strong, try the candied sweet potato, or Mochi," Austin said.
The candied sweet potato and Mochi had been prepared by his father. When it came to sweet dishes, his father had always been the reference point in the kitchen.
Austin's version was solid, but still behind his father's. His father's, in turn, still could not match the standards set by his grandfather.
Cynthia preferred sweet food more than spicy dishes. She lifted her chopsticks and pulled a thin strand of caramelized sugar upward, stretching from the plate before it broke cleanly.
She could not call it the best she had ever tasted. That memory belonged to Grandpa Alex's version, crisp outside, soft inside, with a sweetness that felt complete rather than simple.
That was the dish that shaped her preference for sweets.
Halfway through the meal, Cynthia's attention shifted toward her Pokémon.
Because she had arrived in a hurry, she had not brought any Pokémon food. The group was eating what Austin had prepared instead.
She watched them, unsure how they would respond.
Garchomp and Lucario had already cleaned their bowls completely.
Gastrodon, newly teleported in, stared at its empty dish as if considering whether it should still count as food.
Glaceon had finished first and was now grooming itself. The motion looked casual, but its eyes kept drifting toward the Pokéblocks in Ryu's bowl.
Cynthia opened her mouth to stop any theft, but Ryu simply tilted its bowl and pushed more than half of its contents toward Glaceon.
"Cario."
"Ceon~."
Glaceon abandoned its pretense of grooming and immediately resumed eating. Within moments, the bowl was empty again.
Cynthia paused.
This was not the usual behavior she expected.
Across the room, Machamp was scooping food with all four arms, eating without slowing down.
Zenith controlled Pokéblocks with Confusion, moving them one by one into its mouth in a steady stream.
Every Pokémon was fully focused on eating, the entire hall reduced to a quiet concentration that left Cynthia watching without interruption.
This immediately pointed to one conclusion. The quality of the Pokéblocks Austin made was genuinely high.
With that thought, Cynthia's attention shifted to the Pokéblocks in the Jigglypuff's bowl, the one closest to her. She picked one up.
"Jiggly?"
The pink Pecha Berry cube was crystalline pink, with no visible impurities. Even before tasting it, the soft sweetness in the air made Cynthia pause.
A perfect quality Pecha Berry cube.
Perfect quality Pokéblocks were extremely difficult to obtain on the market. Even as a Champion, Cynthia did not encounter them often.
The reason was simple. Very few people could actually produce them.
Perfect quality Pokéblocks, made from something as common as a Pecha Berry, made it even more unusual.
The energy density in Pecha Berries is relatively low. To reach perfect quality, the user must extract and refine nearly every usable trace of energy without loss.
Cynthia had not seen Austin's production process at the time. She had been out with Shion and missed it.
If this had come from her grandfather, she would not have been surprised.
The issue was that Austin had made it, and he was not even twenty yet.
A nineteen-year-old Pokéblock maker at this level.
That was rare.
"Did you make this?"
Austin nodded. "Yes. I cannot always get perfect quality, though. It is about fifty-fifty."
It was likely a temporary spike from an improved technique state. That afternoon batch had all turned out perfect quality.
He also had no intention of selling perfect Pokéblocks in bulk, at least not publicly.
High pricing would limit buyers. Low pricing would attract resellers. Either direction created problems.
That was also why perfect Pokéblocks rarely appeared on the open market. They were usually custom orders.
Cynthia placed the Pecha Berry cube back into Jigglypuff's bowl.
"It is still impressive, nevertheless."
Leon crossed his arms with clear pride. "Of course. The most profitable part of the Black Crest Jubilife Breeding House now is the Pokéblocks my son makes."
The berries were grown in-house, keeping production costs extremely low.
Even so, the high-quality Pokéblocks Austin Black produced could sell for 297, 000 Pokédollars per portion.
Location also mattered. Jubilife City had high land value, which pushed operational costs up. Outside that, demand would not support the same pricing.
A portion referred to one full bag. A careful trainer could stretch it across multiple uses. A heavy-eating Pokémon would finish it in a single sitting.
The price was normal in the high-end training market.
To raise strong Pokémon, both talent and nutrition mattered.
Cheaper methods existed, but they slowed growth and reduced performance.
The upper tier of trainers simply invested in quality.
For comparison, Red's Snorlax monthly food cost reached millions. The group chat discussion put it near two million Pokédollars.
Even a single bowl of ramen at 880 Pokédollars made the scale clear. One million would still be over a thousand bowls.
Poké Balls, in contrast, were relatively affordable at around 500 Pokédollars each.
Cynthia looked at Garchomp, who was now sitting in a completely unguarded posture, hands on its belly, fully satisfied.
She said seriously, "I would like to order Pokéblocks from you."
Others might not be able to secure that level of supply. Cynthia could.
"Production is fine," Austin Black replied. "Transportation is the issue. To keep quality stable, deliveries need to happen once a week."
Poké Balls could be transported through storage systems, but food quality degraded if handled improperly.
"I am usually in Jubilife City, Eterna City, and Lily of the Valley Island. I also return to Celestic Town from time to time."
A low growl followed.
"Pult!"
Dragapult made its presence known.
Ryu and Lucario responded almost immediately, both Lucario translating the intent without hesitation.
(She can handle delivery.)
. . .
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