Big Eater

Two more pairs of eyes watched Roy leave at the same time.

They belonged to Stone and Steven in the spectators' seats. After watching the entire battle, Stone looked thoughtful, then turned to the Mediterranean Director and asked:

"Th-this... is he also a student at your academy?"

For a moment, the Mediterranean Director did not know how to answer. It was not as though he had not seen the battle just now. To put it honestly, it was downright disgusting.

"Uh... Mr. Stone, have you forgotten? He's the student you recommended back then."

So it was him!?

After hearing the Mediterranean Director's words, Stone excitedly slapped his thigh. He had nearly forgotten about it.

When the old man from Mt. Pyre had come to find him, he had wondered what sort of favor the other party wanted. In the end, it had merely been about enrolling a student. It was nothing major, so he had agreed without much thought.

What puzzled him was why such a mysterious family had asked him for help.

Didn't he know that the family trainers on Mt. Pyre were all taught by themselves? Why had they sent someone to Rustboro Academy?

And he had heard that the two heirs of Mt. Pyre had left behind a little girl?

Why had that turned into a boy now?

Countless questions flashed through Stone's mind. Roy was like a bug, leaving him unable to figure out what was going on.

Steven, meanwhile, was thinking about how he would have commanded Onix to defeat Roy if it had been him. But after thinking for a long time, he still could not come up with a good strategy.

Roy's combo was simply too disgusting. If it had been his Metang instead...

No, his Metang seemed to be countered by the other side.

Steven watched Roy's back as he was about to leave the battlefield. They had not even battled, yet he somehow felt disgusted anyway.

As if sensing something, Roy turned around and looked toward the spectator seats, meeting Steven's gaze. After freezing for a moment, Roy did not feel awkward at all and offered a polite smile.

He waved at Steven before leaving the battlefield.

Steven looked in the direction Roy had gone with a thoughtful expression.

Did he know him?

Many people in the arena who had just watched the battle began discussing it. Most of them talked about the tactics. Though disgusting, they were undeniably effective.

So this was how Ghost-type Pokémon battled?

Seeing the system's Popularity Points leap to 900, Roy was thrilled. Sure enough, even notoriety was fame!

The Popularity Points gained from such disgusting tactics were no lower than the points he earned from doing good deeds.

He had even seen Steven just now. Although Steven did not know him, Roy's understanding of Steven was no less than that of the protagonist, Ash.

The heir of Devon Corporation, the Hoenn League Champion, one of the Masters Eight, owner of a Shiny Mega Metagross—strength, looks, and wealth all combined to form Steven's image.

"Grrr!"

Feeling his stomach's dissatisfaction, Roy headed to the largest cafeteria in the academy. It resembled a hotel buffet, and they even sold Pokéblocks.

When Roy arrived, he discovered that the food in the cafeteria was free! As long as no food was wasted, students could eat as much as they wanted. Of course, wasting food came with punishment: a week of cafeteria volunteer work.

Naturally, human food was free, but Pokéblocks had to be paid for, and they were not cheap.

The moment Roy heard the word free, he could barely move. He had not brought many Poké Dollars with him to begin with, and now he could save a huge amount.

He hurried over to the noodle section to choose his food.

An uncle stood at the serving window, while the one cooking the noodles inside was actually a Machoke.

"Sir, I want this, that, and..."

Roy rattled off dishes like he was reading a menu and immediately ordered an entire table's worth of food, leaving the uncle making noodles utterly dumbfounded. Eight bowls of ramen!?

"Student, can you finish all that? If you can't, you'll be punished."

"Sir, don't worry. If I can't finish it, I'll clean the entire cafeteria for you."

"Good!!!"

He liked the kid's guts. He wanted to see just how much this kid could eat. His hands did not slow as he began making Roy's noodles.

The Machoke in the kitchen responded and tossed Roy's noodles into the boiling water.

Before long, a steaming bowl of fragrant noodles appeared before Roy, the aroma rushing straight into his nostrils.

Back on Mt. Pyre, he and Pheobe usually ate whatever the old woman made. The two elders preferred lighter flavors, so Roy never found the meals particularly satisfying.

But the noodles made by this uncle were perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Roy grabbed his chopsticks and started eating.

By the time the uncle brought over the second bowl, Roy had already finished the first and was waiting for the next one.

That speed made the uncle, who had worked in the cafeteria for five years, feel as though he had met a worthy opponent. It had been years since he had encountered such an eater.

"Old buddy, step it up!"

"Machoke!"

Very soon, people eating in the cafeteria noticed the unusual scene around Roy and gathered around to watch an eating show.

The surrounding crowd had started out simply enjoying the spectacle, but now they were too shocked for words. In the end, their expressions grew increasingly solemn.

Little Fatty also wandered into the cafeteria from the battlefield in a daze. Roxanne, the boss lady, had just lost the battle, and he did not even know how she had lost. If he had gone up instead, he would only have lost faster.

Now, only food could ease his mood.

The moment he arrived at the cafeteria, he was drawn to the crowd gathered around Roy.

"Wow! He can really eat! That's already the fifth bowl."

"The sixth! He's starting the sixth bowl!!!!"

What was going on?

Seeing a group of people gathered around something, Little Fatty relied on his size advantage and squeezed into the crowd.

There, he saw the unforgettable figure. Roy was currently slurping down bowl after bowl of ramen, occasionally praising the uncle's cooking.

Surrounded by the crowd, Roy looked like a Snorlax that had not eaten for three days. He did not seem especially fast while eating, but his frequency was terrifying. He held grilled chicken wings in his right hand while his left hand used chopsticks to stuff ramen into his mouth.

Could he be the reincarnation of a starving ghost?

This was already Roy's tenth bowl of noodles. The stacked bowls and chopsticks on the table were nearly half a person tall.

Finally, after finishing his twelfth bowl, Roy burped, wiped the soup from the corner of his mouth, then calmly got himself a cup of ice cream from the dessert station and left under everyone's stunned gazes.

"N-no way!"

Little Fatty—how could he eat that much too?

He could not beat Roy in presence, could not beat him in looks, and there was no need to even mention strength.

Only eating. Only eating!

Eating was his proudest specialty, yet now he had lost to Roy in that too.

And why was it that Roy had eaten so much, yet his stomach did not even look bloated? Was that right?

Little Fatty now looked as though a Ghost-type Pokémon had sucked away all his spirit. He had been defeated by Roy in the field he was best at.

Even dinner tonight no longer seemed as delicious.