Chapter 8: Bake the Loss at 425 Degrees,

then let the learning rise!

After getting Maggie sent to his mom, Keifer got his head back into the game; it was just barely past noon and he still had plenty of daylight ahead of him for enjoying his 18th Birthday.

If he was at home, he surely would've spent it with his mom, but now he was out on his own. He tried to reach out to Kassi via a call but she never picked up.

It sucked a little but he still had his team with him. They all celebrated together at an outdoor café that evening for dinner, and that night he spent some quality time with Buttercup and Rina, finding that the latter indulged in the more sexual aspects of life too.

And the next morning, he received his League Uniform, alongside an explanation of how it would work. All challengers were required to wear the Uniform upon starting a Gym's Challenge and up to either winning or losing out at the end. Depending on how many Pokemon there would be in battle against the Gym Leader, parts of the outfit would disappear and release a mist-like pheromone driving up one's libido, making it much, much harder to focus.

With his uniform now on, Keifer figured that the tightness was definitely deliberate; showing his muscles off nicely, but also letting the world know his small butt was firm.

Setting out from the Budew Drop Inn, he made it to the Motostoke Stadium in time for the Opening Ceremony; all challengers were required to be there for it, and he swore he caught glimpses of Kassi, Kat, Wolf and even Cross at some point or another in the sea of hopefuls.

The Chairman had gone on for a bit about the challenge and after he finished with his first round of speeches, the Gym Leaders walked out onto the pitch, everyone in the stands going even crazier at that point, and then, finally, Chairman Rose ended the ceremony, declaring that the League Season had begun at long last!

And instead of sticking around for autographs or to partake in attempting to find a sponsor early, Keifer immediately sat out; he wasn't gonna keep his journey waiting!

It didn't take too long for him to get to the western end of the city; Keifer finding himself back on a dirt path just around noon. Route 3 could typically take almost an entire day; a long path down through the countryside that ended at the entrance to one of Galar's many popular tourist attractions (and trainer hotspots), the Galar Mine.

Keifer had never been through there nor seen it; he and his mom had just never thought to go. He did hear that there were pretty crystals and gemstones in it, however.

He'd see them soon enough. Throughout the early afternoon, he alternated around his team as he fought other trainers and people who challenged him to battle.

A few of the battles put him on his back foot, but he still powered through; he wasn't in the big leagues quite yet afterall.

His strangest fight that afternoon had been against a Patrol Officer who honestly creeped him out. Maybe it was his face, or how his favor was worded, but Keifer thanked Arceus that Lupin took out the guy's Growlithe in just 2 attacks.

A little past two, he stopped to have lunch with his team. He had gotten some sandwiches from a Deli in Motostoke that morning and as he let almost everyone out, he contemplated letting Kira out.

On one hand, he didn't doubt that she'd get upset. On the other… she had to eat too, and Keifer wanted to get through to her.

In a flash, Kira appeared and Keifer felt a nasty pain jab at him as Kira spoke.

"How many times will I have to tell you that I do NOT want to be let out unless it is to FIGHT!?" She was, of course, mad at him.

"Kira, you can't always just fight. You need to rest and eat." Keifer offered a sandwich to her. He was a little surprised when she took it from him (not surprised by her yanking motion, but still), and bit into it…

"Honestly your terrible cooking from last night was better." She spat her bite out and tossed the sandwich back to Keifer, he caught it on instinct and couldn't quite explain what happened next.

One moment, he felt upset with Kira… the next the sandwich was an absolute mess in his hand, like it had been broken into chunks by a hammer somehow.

"Kira must've…" His hand shook a bit. Surely, Kira had blown the sandwich up…

Right?

"Pop!" Rina ripped him from his rapidly spiraling thoughts, a jet of water coming from her that cleaned his hand off.

"Thank you, Rina." Keifer smiled to the small seal, and when he went to reach for his sandwich…

"So, THESE are the rest of your partners? Cool team." He looked up and over his shoulder to see someone that-

"Hey! You're that girl I saw in the Elevator last night – we both had a noise complaint at the desk. Mina, right?" The girl nodded politely.

"And your name is still Keifer, right?" The two chuckled, Lupin running up to Mina excitedly, just like how he did when she entered the elevator the night prior.

After he and Sonia had 'finished up', he'd been asleep for a little while… until the sounds of multiple someone's having what sounded like the absolute sexual time of their lives managed to come through the walls, despite the soundproofing.

Keifer had stepped into the elevator, and right before it closed, Mina had stepped in to go talk to the front desk about it as well. During that time, they exchanged names and chatted a bit, Lupin pawing at Mina excitedly for attention, which she gave to him in the form of pats.

"Yeah. This is the rest of my team currently. Buttercup the Bayleef, Rina the Popplio, Rascal the Starly, you already met Lupin-" She was holding the little guy in her arms. "And…"

Kira was now sat at the edge of their little lunch camp-spot. She wasn't facing them. "That's Kira."

"Did you not catch her on the best terms? Looks like she blew that sandwich up when I got close." Mina had a slight eyebrow raised.

"My aunt gave her to me. I'm not sure completely what's wrong with Kira, but I won't give up on trying to get through to her. She was so nice and sweet when I was younger… I know that side of her is still there." Mina nodded to him. "Arright, instead of being mopey, how's your morning been? Want a sandwich?"

Keifer offered one of them to her and as they ate, Mina shared how her morning had gone.

Turns out, the other day, she had spent some time with Wolf and Kat herself, alongside a girl named 'Amber'. And as for today, she'd had a pretty similar start to Keifer; check out the city a bit and then start heading towards Motostoke.

"Lot of people challenging me to get into the Bakery, but not a single one even made it to the door." She joked and despite both them laughing, Keifer went a little red. The amount of challengers Mina got had likely been why he'd gotten past her on the Route; must've been fighting more.

That was a very common thing in the Pokephile Challenge; girls got battle challenges way more often than guys, the key reason being, of course, sexual favors.

A thought started to spin in Keifer's mind.

Mina said she hadn't lost yet.

He himself hadn't lost any battles that morning.

He knew that, to get stronger, you had to battle those who were stronger than you to learn and grow… so who better to challenge than the girl in front of him.

"Mina… what if me and you had a battle! Neither of us has lost today." A small grin spread on the girl's face as the two finished their lunch.

"Hmm… alright. But what can you give in return; assuming you want a go at me like all the other guys?"

"That… honestly didn't even cross my mind. And uh…" Keifer tapped his chin in thought too for a moment. Mina was very pretty, he wasn't gonna deny that after she mentioned it, the thought of getting a trip to the private bakery seemed nice.

"This morning, I expanded my TM and TR collection. Would you want a few of the rarer discs if we battled and you won?" Keifer pulled up the library on his Rotom Phone and let Mina scroll through it; her eyes lit up at some of the choices.

"Sounds fair enough to me. Are you sure you wanna battle me though? I can promise that I'm not some rookie." She definitely had confidence in her voice…

But Keifer was confident too.

"I already passed on one opportunity to battle someone stronger than me. I can't do that again." Mina nodded. Once Keifer's partners had finished eating, he withdrew them all and they made space for their battle.

"2 on 2 sound good Keifer?" Mina called out to him and he nodded.

"That works for me!" Keifer grinned as he reached for his first ball.

"Then let's do this!" Keifer expected Mina to throw her ball; but he was shocked as rather than do that, she soccer-kicked it with style; her first partner appearing in front of her as did Keifer's.

"Arright, I've got the matchup!" Rina stood defensively in front of him as Mina's Houndour snorted some flames, an aggressive look in its' eyes. "Rina, Aqua Jet!"

"Eclipse, brace yourself! Sunny Day!" As soon as Mina called the move, the heat turned way up, and as Rina struck Eclipse, her move's power had been lowered by the harsh sunlight.

"Rina, don't give up! Bubblebeam!" Keifer called out to her, and she let the move fire out!

"Eclipse, take it head on with an Ember!" Nothing out of the ordinary it seemed; the two moves collided and while one would expect the obvious matchup to win out, it was clear Mina had done a fantastic job training Eclipse. The Hondour's Ember managed to break through the Water Move and before Keifer could call for Rina to dodge, a bit of the fire struck her.

"Pop!" It had definitely hurt a little, but it at least hadn't burned.

"We need to end this quick; even IF that heat is making it harder." Keifer thought in his head. "Rina, use Aqua Jet!"

He wasn't ready for what came next, though…!

"Solarbeam!"

Keifer's heart plummeted. Rina couldn't move fast enough; her attack had struck for some damage, but before Keifer could speak, the crazy powerful grass-type move broke free from Eclipse and blasted Rina hard, sending her flying into the air before she crashed at Keifer's feet, unmoving.

"Rina!" Keifer's heart twisted as he lifted the fainted Pokemon in his arms. "Rina… I'm sorry." He felt his sadness trying to boil over; just two attacks… Mina said she was strong, but… this was a whole other level.

"I'm guessing you didn't think about that." Mina had his attention. "Type matchups aren't everything, especially when you can use coverage or moves that shoot down the power of your weakness." She winked at him and Arcdamn was it sweet, sexy and frustrating all at once!

"Note to self… expect my enemy to have their butt covered." Keifer took a deep breath; he still had a chance… if she'd listen…

Keifer hesitated for a second; Solar Beam would obliterate Lupin before he could get a hit, Buttercup would get burned by the boosted heat and Rascal didn't have anything Super Effective…

"Kira, come out!" In a flash of light, the Kirlia appeared in front of him, and even Mina raised an eyebrow. "Kira, that Pokemon is dangerous, we need to-"

"I can handle this!" Kira snapped his mouth shut.

"Well, we're not gonna hesitate; use Bite!" Mina called to her Houndour and Eclipse started to charge at Kira. Her eyes suddenly started glowing and a wave of Fairy Energy – seemingly a Dazzling Gleam, fired loose from her hands, crashing into Eclipse!

The Pokemon howled in pain, still somewhat standing.

"Kira, again!" Keifer called out and Kira was quick to action, landing another Dazzling Gleam and knocking the Pokemon out!

"Eclipse, return!" Mina recalled the fainted Pokemon. That was the first one she had lost all day. "So not talking much? That's smart strategy using your Pokemon's telepathy." Keifer rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

"Well uh… can't really call it that Mina, but I think me and Kira are starting to get in sync!" Keifer spoke in a hopeful tone, hoping that, maybe, that'd rub off on Kira; this was the first knock-out they had gotten together without a fight between the two of them.

"Well, regardless, I won't be letting a Rookie like you beat me anytime soon – Corvus, come on!" Mina kicked her second ball into the air and in a flash of light, a Skarmory appeared in front of her with a powerful, metallic shriek.

"Kira, what do you have to fight back?" Keifer tried to push that thought out to her; like how he'd sometimes push thoughts to Arthur back home.

He got no response.

"Corvus, let's wrap this up! Steel Wing!" Mina called the attack out and her Skarmory moved surprisingly fast. "Don't let up on them for a second – leave no room!" Keifer watched, desperately trying to push his thoughts to Kira as she kept trying to strike the Skarmory with psychic moves, each one doing seemingly little damage…!

"Kira, you need to jump back! Use Hypnosis!" Keifer had remembered the moves she had access to; afterall he hadn't been able to fully battle with her that much.

"Don't let them Corvus!" Mina pushed her partner harder, and right when Keifer thought that Kira was going to obey….!

CRRaaaaRRRAAAACK!

Two glowing, steel wings crashed into Kira's body, the Kirlia going breathless and she was sent crashing into a nearby tree, sinking to the ground without any fight left in her…

Now Rina and Kira fainted.

Now, Keifer had lost.

The emotions bubbling inside of him tried to boil over; Keifer quickly ran up to Kira, pushing his frustration down…

"Kira… thanks." He wanted to believe that she had been listening… he didn't want to be negative. Withdrawing her after not getting any response, Keifer was surprised when there was a peck on him.

"For you!" There it was again-

"Oh, Corvus!" Mina got the attention of them both. Corvus had been holding a steel feather to Keifer. "He offers that to make little splints or casts when he thinks that he's gone too far."

Keifer nodded, trying to find his words. He took the offered feather and just put it gently in his bag.

"You… okay?" Mina sounded genuinely concerned.

"I… man! You were…" Keifer sighed. "You were awesome when you kicked my ass." Mina chuckled.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I wasn't a rookie." Mina pulled something out of her bag, and Keifer audibly gasped when he saw that it was a badge case.

Not just any Badge Case, though…

An Indigo League Badge Case with all sixteen badges.

"…I almost feel like I stood a better chance against Sonia!" Keifer laughed to himself. "Well Mina, I'm a man of my word, and… don't think I could flake on you even if I wanted to." Keifer pulled up the BoxLink on his Rotom Phone and went to his TM/TR library. "Here, as promised. Does… 3 discs sound fair? I can do more if it doesn't!" He added quickly; He… hadn't really had a major loss yet, so he wasn't super positive how to level the stakes when he had forgotten to set his own at the start of the battle.

"Thank you so much! And three sounds fair." Mina added as she took Keifer's Rotom Phone into her hands. "Holy Arceus… how long have you been collecting these for!?"

"Over 10 years." Mina did a double take. "My grandpa got me started on it when I was younger. I inherited some of his collection when he…" Mina nodded, not pressing further.

"Hmm… Flamethrower for Eclipse; Dark Pulse too, and… Iron Head for Corvus!" Mina put her details in and the discs were sent to her. "You took that pretty well – some of the other guys earlier weren't too happy they lost to a baker." Mina teased him and Keifer chuckled.

"Hey, no one's unbeatable. And thus, the undefeated streak of the crazy Greenhead known as Keifer comes to a dramatic end…!" Keifer made a mock announcer voice and the two shared a few laughs.

"Well…" Mina tapped her chin in thought. "Guess I better get going; I'm scheduled to fight Milo tomorrow evening." Keifer nodded, but a thought crossed his mind as Mina had started to walk away…

"Hey, Mina!" Keifer ran up to her. "We're both heading towards Milo. And… I learned a lot while battling against you."

She saw where he was going with this, and the girl tapped her chin in thought.

He had been a good sport during their battle, but more importantly, even though she didn't listen…

His Kirlia had forced her to bring in one of her Indigo League Partners. Mina saw something in Keifer. Maybe it was the same thing Blue saw in her…

"Do you wanna travel together to Turfield?" Keifer nodded.

"And… I was hoping that maybe you could tell or show me a few things? I'm fighting to become Galar's next Champion, no matter what it takes… and I can't do that if I'm barely able to make ground in a fight I have no business winning."

Humility.

"Sure. And maybe you can show me how a Galar Boy roughs it out at night." Mina teased him, Keifer going red as they started to walk together, towards their next destination.

Throughout the afternoon, Keifer and Mina quickly formed a system; they took turns battling trainers and Wild Pokemon; after Keifer won a match, sometimes Mina would have things to say – explaining what he did right and how he could improve.

And when she battled, Keifer watched and learned. Mina would switch around and pivot her team; she didn't take much time on decisions and she struck her opponents down fast.

Each battle, Keifer grew a little. He started being more proactive in longer battles; 3 on 3's, he swapped partners around, one on ones he didn't hesitate to use Buttercup and Kira more.

The latter had actually struck up a mental dialogue with Mina. Keifer wasn't entirely sure what was exchanged between the two, but now Kira would listen to very simple commands in battle via telepathy from Keifer. It wasn't perfect… but to Keifer, it was a step in the right direction.

Mina noticed it too; She expected Keifer to either let the advice roll off or barely implement it, but he rolled with it; he absorbed the info like her mama's kitchen sponge. He was getting better.

By the time the sun started setting, Keifer and Mina found a nice camping spot just off the last stretch of the path to the Galar Mine; some nice shading, the works.

Keifer was proud of how much progress he felt he and his team had made; Rascal, Rina and Lupin had gotten plenty of experience in, Buttercup had refined her current skills and, maybe he was pushing his luck, or it was because Mina was around… but he felt a little better with Kira.

"Lemme get camp setup, Mina." Keifer figured it was his turn to try and impress. Pulling his Boxlink out, with several flashes of light all of his equipment started appearing; Picnic Table, Cooking setup and his tent.

"Holy Arceus Keif, did you bring your mom's entire kitchen with you!?" The two shared a laugh. "I'll have to upgrade my own Boxlink – I've just got a tent and a cooking pot."

"It's worth every dollar Mina, trust me; In a flash of light, all of Keifer's bed spreads and blankets appeared in the tent.

"DIBS!" Mina jokingly leapt into the tent, taking a moment to rest on the pillows with her Clefairy named Star in her arms. "Hey Keif… what kind of cooking ingredients do you have? You ever have Authentic Kanto Ramen?"

"I try to buy fresh every day – and… I've had Ramen before." Mina walked out of the tent and put a finger on his lips.

"Not that trashy microwave or 5 minutes on the stove Ramen. I mean genuine Kanto Ramen. Now lemme see what ingredients you have." Keifer let her take a look at his Boxlink, Mina's eyes lighting up when she saw he had everything she needed. "This is perfect! Let me use those pillows tonight, I'll cook you the best ramen you've ever had… and maybe let me take another disc or two." Mina winked and Keifer didn't hesitate.

"Deal." The two smiled, and as Mina got to work, Keifer noticed how Rina quickly was at the girl's side; seemingly offering to help as his other partners played with some of Mina's.

Star, who Keifer learned was Mina's Clefairy, was using Metronome to summon all sorts of different fun combinations of moves for Buttercup to reflect with her screen moves. Eclipse and Lupin chased a ball around that Rascal knocked away with gusts of wind, and Corvus, the Skarmory that had offered Keifer one of his feathers was currently preening hims-

"Ball!'

"Ball!"

Keifer's eyes shot down, both Lupin and Eclipse expectantly wanting him to throw the ball, as now Rascal was learning some preening tricks from Corvus.

Why did they say, did he hear th-

"Rock!"

"Hound!" They both barked again, Keifer shoving the thought out of his mind as he threw the ball for them, both of the puppy-like Pokemon chasing after it.

Keifer looked around and found Kira; she was near the cooking pot, seemingly speaking with Mina again as Rina helped the Johto Cupcake with cooking.

Mina had told him that she had seemingly gotten Kira's respect, which wasn't a big shock to him.

"Something… something definitely happened between her and a man. Even your male partners, she has extreme disdain for. Try and play to her strength; how she's strong if and when you fight with her."

Mina's words had stuck in his mind since earlier; Keifer had battled a postman he actually had known since he was a kid; same guy who brought mail to everyone in Postwick for several years. Pat had a strong Delibird, but Kira managed to overcome it. She listened to Keifer during the match because of what Mina had told her.

The Johto Cupcake didn't exactly tell Keifer what she had said to Kira, but maybe… it was having a positive effect.

The smell of Mina's cooking quickly started an assault on Keifer's nostrils, his stomach gurgling excitedly…

When the wait was over, Mina had been right; it was hands down, the greatest ramen Keifer had ever had in his life; the blend of spices and berries that made the broth were hot, yet had a good tang to them. And not to mention, Mina made the noodles beyond perfect.

Mina had let her team out to enjoy the meal as well, her partners interacting with Keif's throughout dinner.

And when the sun had gone down finally…

"Hey, Keif… remember our deal earlier? That I'd get those pillows?" Mina's tone had changed from her usual, and Keifer felt all the blood rushing somewhere else. "Think you can properly thank me for dinner too?"

"O… of course." Keifer hoped he didn't gulp or sound nervous. He had just met Mina to- ah fuck that. It was the gentlemanly thing to do and he was literally in the Pokephile Challenge.

And Sonia had been right; it'd do him some good to sleep with some other girls and not just shag up with his mom and aunt. (Even though they were perfect sex partners.)

Getting a grip…

"You're right… I'm a man of my word Mina, and I think I know how to thank you for dinner." The two started getting a little handsy on the way to the tent; Mina guided Keifer's hand closer to her chest, while her other one 'accidentally' landed to rest on the bulge pressing against his jeans.

Keifer copped a feel, Mina's face going a little red as his hand gently groped at and massaged her left breast through her top.

Mina, opting to go even further, reached into Keifer's jeans as they entered the tent, getting a feel for his impressive manhood as the two began to kiss, their lips smashing together before their tongues began a battle for dominance, all the while articles of clothing began to fall to the ground of the tent.

Moonlight from the open top-flap above let Keifer get a good look at Mina; her tan skin matched the pink lace bra and panties she wore perfectly, and her lithe curves were driving him wild with fantasies and desire.

Mina also got to take a good look at him, too; a well-built frame, somewhat tanned skin from years of farm work, and the raging boner pushing against his boxers begging to be released…

The two found themselves at opposite ends on the bedroll, putting Mina's face in front of Keifer's boxers and Keifer's head between her legs and thighs, face to face with Mina's panties.

"Show me what you've got, Keif…" Mina teased him as she stripped his boxers away and gave his cock a few playful pumps, letting it smack against her cheek when it sprang out.

If she was gonna tease him, so was he. Keifer pulled Mina's undergarment down and let his pointer finger glide across her entrance, making sure to rub at her sweet spot with each pass; each time he did Mina would either shiver from the surges of pleasure running through her body or let out a light moan as she massaged his shaft and fondled his balls in her hands.

It was Mina who broke the teasing first; Keifer shuddered when he felt Mina take him into her mouth, jolts of pleasure and excitement running down his spine as she started skillfully giving him head.

Not wanting to leave her out to dry, Keifer began to lick at Mina's entrance, his tongue dipping in and out as he teased her one last time before going all in, Mina's back arching as she gasped, the feeling practically electrifying her senses as Keifer began to eat her out.

As the two 6'9'ed each other, their arousal and desire for release only grew; Mina sucked on Keifer harder, pulling his cock deeper into her mouth as he drove his tongue deeper into her folds, lapping away Mina's pussy and the slow flow of her love juices.

It didn't take much longer for the two to bring one another to their first climaxes of the night; Mina's blowjob was giving Sonia's serious contest as she could feel Keifer's balls tightening in her gentle grip, where as Mina's love channel started trying to clamp down on Keifer's tongue as the Rookie and Ace trainer climaxed. Keifer's load of hot cum shot into Mina's mouth, some getting on her face as her love squirted out into and on Keifer's mouth/face.

"Holy fuck… I almost trapped you between my legs…" Mina had to stop herself from dragging Keifer's head in further during her climax.

"I… could say the same thing…" Mina had sent Keifer far over the edge; based on his face, you'd think he was a virgin who just got lucky. "Arceus Damn Mina… I'm glad I met you."

She giggled. "Was it the ass kicking, learning, cooking or the blowjob?"

"How about all 4?" They both laughed and shared another kiss; albeit, more tender this time, the two rubbing against one another to keep the sexual tension alive. When they pulled apart…

"I wonder… think you can still show me how a farmboy like you treats a girl like me?" Mina teased Keifer as she got on top of him, rubbing herself against his shaft. If Keifer could've been any harder, that tease would've done it.

Placing his hands on Mina's ass, Keifer grabbed and brought the Johto Cupcake down on his cock, Mina's love channel stretching and squeezing around him right after accommodating for him. Both parties gasped, Keifer having to will himself back from the edge as Mina swayed her hips a bit with him still inside, the feeling and sight almost driving him back over the edge then and there.

"Fuck you're big…" Mina moaned as she began to ride Keifer, the greenhead quickly timing upward thrusts with Mina's movements, his hands, still holding her ass, guiding each bounce like a symphony of lust. Each bounce and thrust, Keifer pushed deeper inside of Mina, the Johto Girl moaning loudly in ecstasy.

From there… it became a blur. At one-point Keifer was holding Mina while she peppered his neck and face with kisses that bordered on bites, his cock slamming in and out of her tight love channel, and at another Mina was back on top, riding him reverse-Miltank girl.

Climax after climax was shared between them; Mina would need Mothersbane for sure in the morning if she didn't want her bun in the oven statement becoming true, and after a 'final' round of lustful climaxes between the two, Mina and Keifer crashed out on the bedroll, pillow and blanket spread, breathing heavily.

"Holy…"

"Fuck…" Keifer finished for the Johto Cupcake as they both laid there in nearly stunned silence. They had fucked for what felt like hours, the moon now higher in the sky above them.

Keifer would be lying if he said this wasn't the best sex he'd had in some time, hands down. That's not to say his other sexual partners were bad, far from it…

Mina had just awoken something in him.

The two slowly made out, some of Keifer's seed slowly oozing out of Mina as the two recharged little by little.

And before they could continue their lewd acts… they were joined by two polar opposites in the tent…

And the night only got kinkier as Sparks, Mina's Chandelure and Rina joined in on the fun, the hazy, lustful blur of the night being one none of them would soon forget.