Poffins

To get in sync with Zangoose, Bai Shi spent extra time training in the wild.

Both he and his Pokémon had built up a fair amount of fatigue.

On top of that, their supplies were nearly gone.

After thinking it over, Bai Shi decided to stop in a nearby town for a short rest.

While buying supplies in town, Bai Shi discovered a kind of Pokémon Food called Poffins.

Made from several kinds of Berries, they resembled pastries and served much the same purpose as Pokéblocks from the Hoenn Region. They were a specialty of the Sinnoh Region.

They tasted better and were more nutritious than ordinary Pokémon Food.

Of course, they also cost considerably more.

As a local, Bai Shi had heard of Poffins before and had wanted to buy some for his Pokémon to try.

Unfortunately, money had been tight, and he could never bring himself to do it.

Now that he had made a tidy sum in Oreburgh City, Bai Shi could afford to be generous. He bought a small bag.

Unlike the ordinary all-purpose Pokémon Food he had bought before, Poffins came in different flavors.

Different Berry recipes produced different flavors of Poffins.

Different kinds of Pokémon preferred different flavors.

And nearly all of Bai Shi's Pokémon shared the same type.

So most of the Poffins he bought were flavors suited to Normal-type Pokémon.

He mixed in a few suited to Flying-type Pokémon.

Those were specifically for Staravia, in case it disliked the Normal-type flavors.

"Everyone, come try these!"

Bai Shi handed the Poffins to his four Pokémon.

The moment they caught the scent, all four began wolfing them down.

Zangoose, the newest member of the team, was the most dramatic. It nearly wept with happiness.

It had completely forgotten how disdainful it had been when Bai Shi first caught it.

"Looks like everyone likes them."

"Good thing I splurged."

Seeing his Pokémon full and looking thoroughly satisfied, Bai Shi nodded to himself.

He decided to buy more and make Poffins a staple of their diet.

Since Staravia seemed to prefer the Flying-type flavors,

Bai Shi stocked up on both kinds.

He also bought a few other flavors, just in case.

As pastries, Poffins had a fairly long shelf life.

Stored properly, they would not spoil anytime soon.

Their taste and benefits might decline compared to freshly made Poffins, but not by much.

They would last until he reached Hearthome City, where he could restock.

Though he had spent quite a bit, Bai Shi did not feel the least bit sorry.

What was the point of earning money if not to spend it?

Besides, eating Poffins regularly would help his Pokémon grow faster.

As their Pokémon Trainer, Bai Shi was hardly losing out.

Spending money on his Pokémon was far more worthwhile than spending it on himself.

"Once I have a place in Twinleaf Town, I could buy some equipment and ingredients and try making them myself."

"If it works, I could cut out the middleman and learn a useful skill."

"More importantly, I could make food tailored to each of my Pokémon's tastes."

The more Bai Shi thought about it, the more practical it seemed. He made a mental note of the idea.

As it happened, there was a Cooking Classroom here that taught people how to make Poffins.

He could sign up for a short course during his few days of rest and learn the basics.

That would prepare him to make Poffins at home later.

Besides learning to make Poffins, Bai Shi found time to review how his Pokémon's training was going.

"Zangoose has gotten very good at Agility. It can start practicing ranged moves."

"Dunsparce has been working its wings harder lately, hoping to manage short flights."

"Maybe because it keeps crashing, it somehow learned Body Slam by accident. That's a nice surprise."

"Staravia is trying to learn Take Down, but its body isn't strong enough yet, so it hasn't made much progress."

"On the other hand, its Gust is showing signs of developing into Air Slash."

"As for Stantler... as long as it keeps up its Confusion training, I'll let it do as it pleases."

Overall, each of his Pokémon had made progress in its own way.

If they kept it up, sooner or later they would be able to hold their own.

Bai Shi was naturally pleased.

"This town isn't far from Hearthome City."

"With my current strength, I should at least be as good as Dawn was during the Double Battle Tournament, right?"

"If I get paired with a stronger teammate, I might actually run into Paul."

"Then I could catch Chimchar before he gives it away..."

"Wait, no. I have Zangoose!"

Bai Shi suddenly remembered that Paul's Chimchar was afraid of Zangoose.

His chances of winning Chimchar over had been slim to begin with.

With Zangoose around, they had probably dropped to zero.

He had snuffed out the last glimmer of hope himself.

"How did I forget about that?"

The realization hit Bai Shi late. He slapped his forehead in frustration.

That was a Chimchar with Special Blaze!

Flint, the Sinnoh Region's Fire-type Elite Four member, had an Infernape—Chimchar's final Evolution—as his ace Pokémon.

And Bai Shi was certain Paul's Chimchar had just as much potential as Flint's.

In other words, catching it could give him a shot at becoming an Elite Four-level Pokémon Trainer.

"Oh well. Zangoose is great too. I should focus on raising it."

"If I get Chimchar, I'm lucky. If I don't, it wasn't meant to be. No point dwelling on it."

"Besides, even if I got incredibly lucky and caught it, I might not bring out all its potential the way Ash did."

Bai Shi shook his head, trying to talk himself out of his regret.

A Pokémon in hand was worth ten in the wild.

For him, focusing on the Pokémon he already had was the better choice.

If there was one thing this world had plenty of, it was Pokémon.

Bai Shi refused to believe he would never find another with similar potential.

And if all else failed, once he was strong enough, he could even try for a Legendary Pokémon.

Wasn't catching a Legendary Pokémon even more tempting than catching Chimchar?

Bai Shi still remembered a few things about the Legendary Pokémon from the story.

He simply knew he was not strong enough yet and had no desire to throw his life away.

"What I need now is to keep my feet on the ground, not chase impossible dreams."

Bai Shi settled down and continued attending cooking classes, working hard to learn how to make Poffins.

Once he had learned, it would be time to set out for Hearthome City.