Inside the Sunshine Gym, Qingyu and Nemona were in the kitchen preparing dinner.
"Qingyu, are we having sandwiches again today...?"
As she sluggishly reached out to pass Qingyu the ingredients, Nemona weakly voiced the question weighing on her soul.
Before coming to Paldea, she had never imagined the cultural differences between regions would be so vast. Even their everyday food was completely different.
Who ate sandwiches as their staple food every single day? Even culinary wastelands like Galar and the Unova Region had other things to eat!
"Hm? We could make something else, actually, but we might need to go to Cabo Poco for ingredients."
Nemona's complaint instantly fired Qingyu up. He rolled up his sleeves and started heading out of the gym.
"Huh? No need!!! Qingyu!"
Only then did Nemona realize she had nearly made a terrible mistake. She immediately reached out and grabbed Qingyu's wrist.
"I think your sandwiches are absolutely delicious! I could eat them for another ten years without getting tired of them!"
"I love sandwiches more than anything!"
"Oh, I see."
Qingyu stopped helplessly, looking a little disappointed.
I'd thought I finally had a chance to put my cooking skills to use again...
"Vee!"
"Ri!"
With their backs to Qingyu, Eevee raised its big tail high, while Riolu gave Nemona a thumbs-up.
Nice work! We almost had to see our Trainer's stomach-turning cooking again!
It wasn't that Qingyu was some master of culinary disasters. The dishes he made just looked a little too much like avant-garde art...
In short, sandwiches were still easier to stomach.
Just as Nemona and Qingyu's two Pokémon silently formed a united front, someone opened the gym's front door.
"Hey, Qingyu! Nemona!"
Arven appeared before them, looking a little more energetic and wearing a bright smile.
He was also carrying two