Me and the team continued on our way to Rifia Town in order to get closer to Floji. A few hours ago I managed to catch four Pokemon at once: Chespin, Scorbunny, Oshawott, and Pichu. And I'm pretty sure with my jacked-up team, the Floji Gym Badge was as good as mine.

"But you can't be so sure about that," Ash interrupts me. "You don't know what'll happen until you challenge the Gym, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," I say. "But I'm just saying that I'm pretty confident with my team. Although I've been thinking..."

"Thinking about what?"

"I've got six Pokemon. And I have the ability to fight, so my team's basically seven instead of the regular six. I wonder how that'll affect me in my battles?"

"I'll tell you this, David. When I was traveling the world, some Gyms I've been to restricted how many Pokemon I could bring to a Gym Battle. For example, I could only bring three out of six Pokemon to a Gym Battle. Maybe the same's for you?"

"Oh, really? Well, I'm definitely throwing myself into the Gym Battle- I love to fight. And considering Floji's Gym is Fire-type, I could bring in Oshawott... But who else could I bring? I don't know the limit of how many I can bring to the fight."

"Why don't we find out when we get there?" Robert suggests. I've noticed that for a while he seemed kind of pumped up for something.

"Sure thing, Robert," I agree. "But why're you so excited to go to Floji?"

"Oh, about that... Not only Floji's my home, but there's a Pokemon Fest coming up!"

"Pokemon Fest?" Ash repeats.

"Surely you've read about it in David's brochure. A Pokemon Fest comes around once a month, and it's one of the most exciting events in Terelm! The Fest's split into two parts. In the first part, you get on stage and rock out."

"'Rock out?'" I repeat.

"What I mean by that is that you play music at Floji Stadium! It's not necessary to participate, but it's super fun. The second part is where the main event happens- battling! You rent a Pokemon related to the team you sign up for, and fight for your team's honor!"

"That sounds so cool!" Ash exclaims, eyes sparkling. "I wanna go do that right away!"

"But what about our Gym Badge?" Allison asks.

"The Gym's not going anywhere, Allison," Lynn says. "It couldn't hurt to go to the Pokemon Fest, right?"

"Well... I guess you're right!"

There was one thing I had on my mind, though. "Play music?" I say. "I don't think we know how to play any instruments... Except you, Robert. Based on your words, you've played music onstage before, right?"

"Spot on," Robert says. "I play electric guitar. I usually leave it at home when I set out. Aaron also helps me out with the music, and he plays drums."

"Only guitar and drums?" Rotom says. "I don't think that's enough for a complete rock band. So how do you pull it off?"

"Trust me, I know our instruments are a little lacking. But maybe you guys could help us out."

"Oh, really?" I say. "I'd definitely want in on that action. Don't you guys agree?" Everyone else nods. "Oh, another thing... Does everyone really need to play rock music?"

"No. We're allowed to do whatever type of music we want, but everyone just picks rock for some reason. And I'm not exaggerating- literally everyone who played music for a Pokemon Fest played rock! And I bet this month's gonna be no exception. Not that's a bad thing, mind you."

"So why don't we stick out? Let's do orchestral music!"

"O-Orchestral?!" Lynn blurts. "But we're nowhere near the amount of required people for an orchestra!"

"We could just keep it minimal, like how Robert and Aaron do it."

"Oh... Well, alright."

And right after she said that, we were greeted by an all-too-familiar sound: Ash's stomach grumbling. Man, that guy really does have a bottomless pit for a stomach!

"Heh..." Ash chuckles. "I guess I'm a little hungry."

"Actually, why don't we take a break?" Allison suggests. "I'm pretty sure the Pokemon Fest's in something like a week, and we'd still have time even if we made a pit stop."

We agree, and with our Ninjask-like speed, we had the camp set up in a flash. Ash, Allison and I sent out our Pokemon to roam around. Of course, we were all kinda hungry, so we decided to make some food.

"Hold it!" I exclaim. "Remember the first time I tasted your cooking? I ended up... fainting, remember?" I really wanted to say "vomit," but that was way too blunt. And I wasn't wrong- everyone saw me faint after I ate their Mystery Food X.

"But you pitched in too," Allison grumbles. "You can't put all the blame on us."

"Yeah," Lynn adds. "I think Allison and I were meaning to tell you that."

"Well... true," I admit. "But I think it's mainly because of you. Who knows? Maybe I could do it this time. Sorry about that."

I walk over to the cooking pot and ponder what to put in. Since I didn't have any key ingredients, I decided to just make basic curry. I consulted Rotom's advice for any Berries that could be spicy, and it suggested that I use Cheri Berries. I didn't have any in my inventory, and there weren't any around, according to Rotom's analysis. But it reported there were Tamato Berries in the vicinity, which could go just as well.

I didn't have to walk far from the camp to find Tamato Berries, and I picked up about four. I threw them all in at once.

"Wait, David!" Rotom gasped. "You shouldn't-"

"Shouldn't do what?" I ask.

"Ugh... never mind. It's too late anyway."

I was kinda confused why Rotom seemed a little agitated, but I put that aside and focused on making the curry. Remembering the steps the girls taught me from our first curry catastrophe, I was able to serve up some plates of spicy curry.

"Hey, guys!" I call. "Curry's ready!"

I set up the table, and put everyone's plates in front of them. Everyone seemed to be pleased with my creations, but Rotom remained on edge.

"Hey, David," Aaron says. "What'd you put in the curry?"

"I wanted something spicy, so I put in Tamato Berries. It should be pretty good!"

"Spicy, huh? My favorite!"

Afterward, we were set to dig in. Even Robert and Aaron looked pretty eager. We all took in a spoonful at the same time... and it wasn't until then that I realized I made a grave mistake.

Apparently I made the curry too spicy, and that's probably an understatement. As soon as the curry hit everyone's taste buds, they all practically breathed fire and freaked out. I think their combined "Flamethrowers" could have burned down a small forest.

Surprisingly, Aaron and I were the only ones who could handle it. Aaron? Probably because he's a Fire-type. As for me, I think it's because I resist Fire-type moves. But I don't know how those were related.

And it was at this moment I discovered that Liana and Chloe have an affinity for overly-spicy food. They immediately fainted as soon as they stopped spitting flames.

"What the heck is this?!" Lynn shrieks after she calms down.

"This is like if fire was converted into food, it would be this!" Allison shouted.

"Oh boy..." I gulp. "So... Apparently I'm capable of making Mystery Food X...? Geez... Now I know how it feels for others to hate MY cooking..."

"What do you mean, 'you're capable of making Mystery Food X?'" Aaron glares at me skeptically. "It's awesome!"

"Uh-huh... Don't get me wrong, I'm able to enjoy it too... But for the rest of the guys? Man..."

"D-David," Chloe gasps. "I... don't think I'll ever trust you to cook again..."

"Yeah. I never thought I'd use my own label on my own food..."


The one in which Robert reveals his hype for going to Floji. And David discovers he sucks at cooking, even when the girls aren't helping him.

I'm starting to run out of ideas for "in-between-town" chapters for this fanfic. I hope I can come up with stuff soon...