Siebold Restaurant.
The restaurant where Wayne chose to have lunch was a one-star Restaurant in Hearthome City, called Siebold Restaurant.
It was a branch established by the Water-type Elite Four member from the Kalos region, Elite Siebold, and it welcomed Pokémon diners.
As a Pokémon-friendly establishment, the interior featured many Pokémon-themed designs, including chandeliers crafted from Berries.
Wayne ordered a filet mignon and a ribeye steak for himself and Lucario, plus a specialty Pokémon dish from the restaurant's menu for Dragapult and his other Pokémon.
"Lucario."
(It's not as tasty as what you make.)
Wayne agreed with Lucario's assessment.
"I rarely make steak. I'll try it next time."
After all, this was merely a branch of Siebold's restaurant empire, not the prestigious three-star Restaurant in Lumiose City where Elite Siebold himself served as head chef.
Being only a one-star establishment, the head chef's culinary skills were merely above average—not reaching the standard Wayne considered truly 'delicious.'
His palate had been thoroughly spoiled by his grandfather, after all.
Wayne could even identify a chef's cooking mistakes or poor habits.
"Woof!" (๑＞＜๑）
Arcanine, eating from its own bowl while eyeing Wayne's plate enviously, shed tears over the ribeye steak.
Wayne had forgotten one crucial detail—this was also a Battle Restaurant.
It was exactly noon.
The restaurant bell chimed.
"It's battle time!"
"Let's see who will be today's lucky customer to win a free meal!"
The Berry-shaped lights overhead flickered rapidly, eventually stopping on Wayne.
Oh no, an actual spotlight!
In games and anime, Battle Restaurant settings existed. Ash and Brock had even teamed up to participate once.
James in a dress had been involved too, if Wayne remembered correctly...
If someone disregarded their dignity entirely, they could theoretically bankrupt the restaurant...
"Dear customer, we cordially invite you to battle. If you do not wish to participate, please remain seated."
If the first person selected declined, the restaurant would redraw.
The atmosphere suggested they'd lose significant money if nobody earned a free meal by noon.
Given that they'd drawn Wayne, this probably wasn't a rigged selection.
"Do you want to participate?"
Dragapult, Lucario, and Arcanine quickly shook their heads. Only Metagross and Drakloak showed enthusiasm.
"Since you want to participate, let's do it."
The Battle Restaurant segment wasn't meant to harass customers but rather served as an entertaining performance.
The restaurant featured a large water arena where a Primarina swam gracefully.
The opponent was a Primarina with Fairy typing, so Wayne naturally wouldn't send Drakloak into a type disadvantage.
Even though Primarina's strength wasn't particularly impressive—only at the senior-junior level—it had clearly evolved recently.
However, after consuming the Shiny Rayquaza's Dragon Scale and Wayne's daily feeding of perfect-quality Energy Cubes, Drakloak's strength had reached the professional-junior level, though evolution remained some time away.
Wayne estimated Drakloak would only evolve when approaching Gym level.
Seeing Wayne stand, some customers applauded politely and turned their attention toward him.
"Hey, he looks somewhat familiar."
"He's that Breeder who maintained Champion Cynthia's ace Garchomp."
"That's him! No wonder all his Pokémon look so strong."
In the Pokémon world, the vast majority of people were extremely passionate about battles, even non-Trainers.
This was why the Pokémon World Championships and the newly established Master League had flourished.
The woman in an elegant gown curtsied gracefully.
"Greetings, honored guest. I am Miss Misandei, the restaurant head chef's daughter, and this is my partner, Primarina."
This Primarina possessed a Hidden Ability.
Regular Primarina had the Torrent ability.
However, this one had Liquid Voice, which converted all sound-based moves into Water-type moves.
This way, the commonly used Disarming Voice, while still not very effective against Steel-type Metagross, would at least deal slightly more damage.
Miss Misandei had wavy hair and appeared roughly Wayne's age, perhaps slightly older.
What Wayne didn't realize was that his selection wasn't actually random—who got chosen depended entirely on the selector's preference.
Miss Misandei, being a fan of Wayne's, had chosen him specifically because she wanted to battle him.
"Go, Metagross."
The appearance of the Shiny Metagross made every customer present turn their heads.
"Primarina, Disarming Voice!"
Primarina raised its head, and an ethereal melody resonated from its throat.
"Confusion."
Wayne could have chosen the more powerful Psychic, but with Metagross's strength, that might result in an instant knockout.
Metagross was already at Professional-Advanced level, infinitely close to Gym level, and its type advantage was overwhelming against Primarina.
They were offering a free meal. No need to embarrass them completely.
Confusion and Disarming Voice collided midway, creating ripples across the calm water as two water spouts suddenly erupted.
Metagross understood Wayne's intention to preserve Miss Misandei's dignity. It used Confusion to manipulate the two water spouts.
The attack struck Primarina while preventing her from losing consciousness immediately.
The impact of the twin water spouts interrupted Primarina's Disarming Voice and pushed her backward with Confusion's force.
"Primarina, Sparkling Aria!"
"Psychic!"
Both sides exchanged moves in a pure contest of power.
After an entire swimming pool's worth of water had been displaced, Wayne felt it was sufficient. "Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
"Stop it, Primarina! Hyper Voice!"
Even Primarina, with her beautiful singing voice, sounded harsh when using Hyper Voice.
Metagross's supercomputer-like brain calculated rapidly, manipulating water flow to block Primarina's Hyper Voice while simultaneously obstructing her line of sight.
Metagross's metallic body burst through the water curtain, and Meteor Mash struck Primarina's neck precisely!
Primarina's body slammed into the water with tremendous force, sending up a massive splash before gradually floating to the surface.
"Primarina!"
Floating motionless, Primarina's eyes showed telltale swirls—she'd lost the ability to battle.
The referee raised his arm quickly. "Primarina is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner is customer Wayne!"
"According to the rules, Mr. Wayne receives a complimentary meal!"
Clap clap clap—
The spectating customers applauded generously.
Amidst cheers and applause, Wayne and Miss Misandei left the battle stage.
Miss Misandei curtsied once more.
"Thank you very much for showing restraint."
During the battle, Miss Misandei had already realized Wayne was holding back. She could feel it clearly.
"Not at all. You battled well too."
Wayne remained purely polite and wouldn't admit to holding back.
"May I be so bold as to request your autograph?"
Wayne paused briefly. "Of course."
So she was a fan. If he'd known beforehand, he wouldn't have held back—he should have gone all out.
Just by fighting one battle, Wayne enjoyed a satisfying lunch without paying.
Battle Restaurants were simply wonderful!
...
Time passed swiftly. At four o'clock, Cynthia's call came through. "I've arrived in Hearthome City. Where are you?"