Chapter 47: Warning: She’s About to Eat Her Words
Outside the Celadon Department Store in Celadon City...
Raina stood before the enormous building with her hands on her hips, her head held high, and an exceptionally determined expression on her face.
"No! Eevee, we came here to challenge the Gym. We can’t start stuffing ourselves with food every time we reach a new city!"
"Eevee! Eevee, Eevee!"
"Nothing you say will change my mind today! Even if the sky collapses and the world ends, I, Raina, will challenge Celadon Gym first!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Misty]: My Raina is so sensible~
[Brock]: ...Why does this feel like she’s tempting fate?
[Misty]: Quiet! You’re not allowed to slander my Raina!
[Violet]: I bet she’ll enter the department store within five minutes.
[Lily]: I bet three minutes.
[Daisy]: Two minutes.
[Misty]: Hmph~ Pointless slander is still pointless! You’re all simply jealous of me~~
[Daisy]: (¬_¬)ﾉ←
[Violet]: (¬_¬)ﾉ←
[Lily]: (¬_¬)ﾉ←
[Misty]: Wait, what are those expressions supposed to mean?
[Daisy]: Just keep watching~
The video continued playing.
Just as Raina lifted her foot to leave, the enormous electronic screen hanging above the department store’s main entrance suddenly lit up.
[CELADON DEPARTMENT STORE—DESSERT PARADISE—FINAL DAY!!]
[LIMITED-EDITION DESSERT LUCKY BAGS—FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED!!]
[Contents: Moomoo Milk Pudding ×2, Miltank Fresh-Milk Cheesecake ×1, Combee Honey Cream Puffs ×3, Tropius Fruit Daifuku ×4, plus a chance to receive a mystery Berry Ice Cream voucher!!]
At the same time, a dessert commercial began playing across the screen.
Pudding wobbled—boing, boing—on a plate. The cream atop a cheesecake gleamed beneath the lights, and golden honey filling poured from a cream puff as it was pulled apart.
Raina turned her head, her mouth falling open into a perfect circle.
Eevee lifted its head, its ears standing completely upright.
Gengar also emerged from Raina’s shadow, rubbing its round belly with its chubby claws.
Three pairs of eyes locked onto the screen simultaneously.
Raina lowered her head, allowing her hair to conceal her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was low and resolute.
"...Eevee."
"Eevee?"
"I’ve thought about it carefully. The Gym isn’t going anywhere, but the limited-edition desserts really are only available for one more day."
"Eevee."
"So..."
"Eevee, Eevee, Eevee?"
Gengar had already pressed its face against the electronic screen, nearly drooling over the food.
Raina grabbed the straps of her backpack and turned toward the department store entrance, determination blazing within her eyes.
"Eevee! Gengar! We’re doing this to replenish our energy so we can perform better during the Gym challenge! You understand, right?"
Gengar floated toward the entrance and pointed at the nearby floor directory.
B1: Food Court
3F: Dessert Paradise
5F: Pokémon Specialty Goods
Raina stared at the directory and took a deep breath.
Then she broke into a sprint.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! The limited-edition desserts are going to sell out!"
Eevee was nearly thrown from her head and could only cling desperately to her hair.
"Eevee, Eevee, Eevee!"
Gengar floated behind Raina, somehow already carrying a shopping basket.
[VIP Chat Group]
[Misty]: ??????????
[Daisy]: Hahahahahahahahaha!
[Violet]: Twenty-three seconds. Including the time she spent standing there silently, it took Raina exactly twenty-three seconds to change her mind.
[Lily]: I bet three minutes, so I lost. Raina has proven through her actions that I don’t understand her nearly well enough.
[Misty]: ...
[Daisy]: Misty, why aren’t you saying anything?
[Misty]: Did I say something earlier?
[Lily]: You said, "My Raina is so sensible."
[Misty]: That wasn’t me! Asher said it!
[Asher]: ???
[Violet]: The chat history is still there. We can simply scroll upward.
[Misty]: The system is malfunctioning.
[Lorelei]: ...This is the first time I’ve seen someone stubbornly deny something so blatantly obvious.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Hahahahahahaha! There it is! She broke after twenty-three seconds!"
"Raina: Even if the sky collapses, I’ll challenge the Gym first.
Electronic screen: Final day for limited-edition desserts.
Raina: What is a Gym?"
"Her eyes changed! They really changed! Was that blazing determination actually sincere?!"
"It was sincere. It was simply directed toward the desserts."
"I captured the moment Eevee was nearly thrown off her head! Its expression was adorable!"
"The most ridiculous part is that Gengar already had a shopping basket! When did it even pick that up?!"
"Ghost-type Pokémon move seven times faster than humans. Grabbing a basket only takes a fraction of a second."
"Are you being serious?"
"I made it up."
The video continued playing.
Raina charged into the department store. Eevee bounced wildly atop her head, all four paws clutching her hair for dear life.
"Third floor! Third floor! The limited-edition desserts are waiting for me on the third floor!"
"Eevee, Eevee!"
Unable to free its paws, Eevee could only point toward the elevators with its tail.
"The elevator is too slow! We’re taking the stairs!"
Raina made a sharp turn and rushed into the stairwell.
Gengar passed directly through the wall to take a shortcut and waited for her at the top of the stairs.
The moment Raina saw the dessert counter, her eyes lit up. She practically flew toward it and pointed at the limited-edition desserts on the menu.
"Are—are there any left...?"
Raina raised her head and stared fixedly at the employee behind the counter.
The employee was intimidated by her overwhelming intensity and took half a step backward.
"Y-yes! There are three limited-edition sets remaining!"
"I’ll take all of them!"
The employee hurriedly began packing the desserts.
Eevee stared at the Berry ice cream inside the display case, its eyes sparkling as it repeatedly poked Raina’s arm with one paw.
Without even looking back, Raina waved her hand grandly.
"Take it."
Meanwhile, Gengar revealed a broad grin, floated toward the sample station, and swept every single sample into its shopping basket.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Gengar is raiding the sample station!"
"Those are samples! It isn’t an all-you-can-eat buffet!"
"Gengar: Samples? What are samples? I only see free little cups."
"Employee: Each customer is limited to one sample.
Gengar: I’m not a person."
"Eevee’s eyes are glowing! They’re genuinely glowing!"
"Eevee: I will eat these desserts today. Not even my Trainer can stop me. I have spoken."
"Raina: Have you forgotten who’s paying?"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Mallow]: Raina leaning over the counter is so adorable! She completely turns back into an ordinary child whenever food is involved!
[Lana]: Her presence is completely different from when she’s battling at a Gym... That contrast is so entertaining.
[Dawn]: I completely understand her! Whenever I see a dessert shop while traveling, I can’t make myself keep walking either!
[Max]: The last time my sister wanted the newest Pokéblocks in Slateport City, she forced me to wait in line with her for five whole hours.
[May]: Max!
[Steven]: So I’m not the only person willing to go to such lengths for a hobby.
[Wallace]: No. You’re still the only person here who would live inside a mine for the sake of stones.
[Steven]: Didn’t you once spend an entire day at a beauty salon so Milotic could receive special care?
[Wallace]: That was a perfectly legitimate beauty treatment.
[Steven]: Then wasn’t mine also a perfectly legitimate collecting expedition?
[Phoebe]: You’re equally ridiculous. Stop arguing.
[Glacia]: Agreed.
[Acerola]: Dessert Paradise sounds wonderful~ I want to try it too! Are Celadon City’s desserts famous?
[Erika]: Y-yes. Dessert Paradise at the Celadon Department Store is considered one of the finest dessert shops in the entire Kanto region.
[Acerola]: Do you visit often, Erika~?
[Erika]: ...Occasionally.
[Iris]: How many times a week?
[Erika]: ...Seven.
[Ash]: That means you go every day!
[Wulfric]: Young people nowadays eat far too many desserts. How are your teeth supposed to remain healthy?
[Valerie]: Mr. Wulfric, don’t you eat enormous piles of popsicles every day?
[Wulfric]: That’s different.
[Gary]: ...I understand now. Everyone has the potential to become stubborn when called out.