After that, Larvitar ate much more slowly. Although he looked extremely fierce when he bit chunks off the plate, he understood that the plates had to be left behind once the staff reminded him.
Luther and Ash had calculated the half-hour dining time in advance. It was just enough time for Snorlax to eat his fill and then happily return to sleep.
Marill also managed to eat until she was full. This way, she could float on the artificial lake and rest instead of constantly crowding around Luther, trying to lick whatever he was eating.
Before a new batch of Pokémon Trainers arrived at the restaurant, Luther and Ash left with their Pokémon, all of them thoroughly satisfied.
Before leaving, Luther asked Larvitar specifically if he was full.
Larvitar patted his belly, hesitated for a moment, and then picked up a plate of sliced berries from the table. He tried to tuck it into his arms to take away and eat later. Unfortunately, his tiny, stubby arms couldn't hold it steady, so Luther had to carry it for him.
Back at the artificial lake beside the Contestant Village, Luther tossed Marill into the water and let her play with the water sports equipment.
The other Pokémon dispersed during their free time. Milcery called Larvitar over to play, but he stared at a damp patch of ground near the lake. For some reason, he felt like taking a bite.
Luther, who was sitting on a nearby bench enjoying the cool breeze, noticed Larvitar's conflicted expression and immediately understood what was bothering him.
After all, he had warned Larvitar not to dig holes everywhere.
Eating soil was probably an instinct Larvitar was born with. Even if other food could satisfy this urge, Larvitar's heart was likely still itching to try it.
"Don't dig a hole. Just take a couple of bites, then smooth the ground back out."
Luther's words made Larvitar's eyes light up. After rubbing against Luther affectionately, Larvitar turned to sniff the slightly moist soil. He pried up a small chunk with his little hands and popped it skillfully into his mouth.
Luther had only ever read about this soil-eating habit in the Pokédex. Seeing it in real life was quite shocking, especially since Larvitar wore a thoughtful expression while chewing as if comparing the taste of dirt to restaurant food.
Marill, floating on the artificial lake, watched Larvitar repeatedly stuff mud into his mouth and stared at him sideways in a daze.
When Larvitar finally ran off to play with Milcery, and Luther went to check on the Charizard that Ash had sent over, Marill seized what she thought was the perfect opportunity.
She quickly swam to the shore, sniffed the neatly smoothed patch of ground that Larvitar had leveled carefully, flipped up a clump of dirt with her hand, and stuffed it into her mouth.
An unbearably bitter, earthy taste exploded across her tongue, mixed with a faint fishy smell from the lake water.
"Bleh!"
Marill gagged and spat repeatedly. Then she used her Water Gun to blast the remaining mud out of her mouth.
It was truly awful. She couldn't understand how Larvitar could eat it so calmly.
Etorre's Kingdra had been watching from a distance the whole time. After observing for a while, it quietly dove beneath the surface of the artificial lake. It felt that if it kept watching, its intelligence might start to decline.
Ash's Charizard arrived early to adapt to the tournament environment.
To properly adjust each Pokémon's condition, Ash adopted Etorre's method of sending out a different Pokémon in every battle.
This approach effectively disrupted the opponent's targeted strategies. After all, once the competition reached the Top 64, all competitors could access information through the Pokémon League database.
The more Pokémon a player used in the preliminary rounds, the more their opponents would have to research and prepare against.
Hiding Pokémon, concealing strategies, and using multiple Pokémon with different battle plans were common tactics in major tournaments.
Charizard's appearance drew the attention of Dakota's Darkrai. Darkrai, who had been hiding in the shadows, revealed itself.
Dakota froze. Had Darkrai sensed something that he himself had failed to notice?
Charizard and Darkrai stared at each other for a moment before both calmly looking away.
After briefly interacting with Ash, Charizard flew over to the sleeping Snorlax. It rested its head against Snorlax's belly and began to nap.
Meanwhile, the head chef in charge of Luther's section of the Contestant Village restaurant stormed into the operations office of the Sinnoh League.
"I don't care. I want more chefs assigned to help us prepare food. If not, then allocate a larger share of food from the other restaurants to us."
The Pokémon League official in the formal suit looked troubled. "Each restaurant has a fixed number of staff. If we give you more people and another restaurant suddenly gets more à la carte orders than buffet diners, they won't be able to handle it."
"They don't have a Snorlax, Marill, and Larvitar combo sweeping through their kitchen like we do!"
The official hesitated. Then, he spotted Cynthia and Bertha walking past the office and hurriedly opened the door to call them in.
"Oh? Luther has a Larvitar now?" Bertha's interest was immediately piqued by the Ground-type baby Pokémon.
After hearing the explanation, Cynthia smiled.
She wasn't surprised by how much Marill and Snorlax could eat. Clearly, the restaurant had managed before. But now, with an additional Larvitar...
Besides, the restaurant not only provided free meals to contestants but also served paying tourists.
"The solution is simple," Cynthia said. "Aren't there plenty of sailors on the supply ships bringing ingredients over? They can have their Pokémon dig up some soil from the seabed and deliver it along the way."
"Let Larvitar eat some dirt mixed with regular food. That should solve most of your problem."
Bertha's suggestion instantly brightened the previously worried head chef. He left in high spirits, not even bothering to say thank you.
Since Bertha was stepping down after the tournament, she had arrived early to Lily of the Valley Island.
Seeing Cynthia stroke her chin thoughtfully, Bertha asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Luther's team lineup," Cynthia replied.
Bertha thought for a moment. "There's nothing seriously wrong with it. Clear roles, well-trained."
"I mean, he still can't fly," Cynthia said with a laugh.
Bertha couldn't help but chuckle.
One of Cynthia's top picks for this year's contest, Luther, had defeated opponents at the Core Gym level, but he still didn't have a single Pokémon that could carry him in flight.
The Altaria Cynthia had lent him had already been returned. Luther had insisted on catching his own Altaria.
"By the way, where's Hakuya?" Cynthia asked.
"He's already reached the harbor near Lily of the Valley Island. He should arrive tomorrow."
Cynthia stopped walking. "Won't you stay a couple more years? Hand things over after the next conference. That way, whoever replaces you will have an easier time."
Bertha smiled. "If you keep thinking like that, rookies will never grow."
"This year's conference has produced so many outstanding rookie Trainers. It's also the Lily of the Valley Conference with the highest number of participants in history. Even the tournament format had to change because of it. Everything is moving in a better direction. I should follow that momentum and make changes proactively."
(End of Chapter)
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