AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Like I said, we have a sudden change to the HBW team as they step foot in Sinnoh. As well, this is a few days before the last chapter, but we will be all caught up by the end. This chapter was a lot of fun to in building up the friendships here. While a short chapter, the next one will cover a lot more events. Also, I got a lot of comments about how Neo Dynamax a Pokemon outside of Galar. This is more due to the band that Leaf stole that allows this, so they do not need power spots. This is something that was not going to be mentioned once Sonia came back, but I'll say it now as it did bring a lot of confusion. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
See the most recent Save State Chapter for Cover Art details.
Chapter 40 – Cooking Before Combat
A few days prior.
A Corviknight taxi landed in a city with brown brick roads. Exiting the taxi were Weiss, Blake, and Hilda, "We finally made it to Sinnoh." The hotheaded trainer said as she stretched her arms, "And this should be Hearthome City"
Blake looked around at the city in awe, seeing numerous unique buildings. However, her eyes caught that of a familiar structure to one she saw in Hoenn, "That must be the gym." She commented.
Weiss also looked around, but her eyes caught a massive dome-shaped building in the distance, "Is that where the Pokemon Contests are held?" Weiss commented, "It's even bigger than the gym."
"Yep, Those are pretty popular events here." Hilda said, "But, neither of you are ready for the challenge yet." She said with her knuckles on her hips, "We have to do some training beforehand."
"Makes scenes," Weiss commented, "I don't know how these contests work."
"And I should make sure Absol has a full move set before going to the gym."
"Correct, and I know what we can do first." Hilda said with a smirk, "We're going to go make sweets."
"…" Blake and Weiss looked on with blank expressions.
"Follow me," Hilda said as the two did so. They walked towards a house with a sign near the door. However, they could not read the sign before the hotheaded trainer pushed them into the house. Blake and Weiss looked over the open room, seeing it more like a kitchen.
A lady was seen standing near a table with an odd blender on it, "Hello," She said with a smile on her face and a bow, "Here you may cook Berries and turn them into Poffins."
"Poffins?" Blake asked.
"They're like cookies mixed with berries." Hilda confirmed, then looked back to the lady, "We'd like to bake some." She then turned to Weiss, who was tugging on her shoulder.
"Hey, why are we here?" Weiss asked.
"You see, Poffins can help raise a Pokemon ability in a contest." Hilda spoke, "So, you're going to make some to help Feebas before taking stage." She then turned to Blake, "You can help too in case she sucks at cooking."
"Hey," Weiss said in offense, then rolled up her sleeves, "I'll show you that I can excel at anything." She said before seeing a basket of an assortment of berries, "… Uh…"
"Need help?" Blake asked.
"No," Weiss said before seeing Oran berries, recalling having tried them before, "Oh, I'll pick these." She said to the lady, who then gestures to the blender. The white heiress walked over to see it already filled with a kind of dough, "Uh…" Weiss said before dropping the berries in the blender. She then looked back to the others, who all waited, "…" The white heiress looked back to the blender and started to press the button, causing the dough to swirl, "…"
"…You gonna stir it as well?" Hilda asked.
"Yes, of course," Weiss said before noting a wooden stirring spoon nearby. She picked it up and began to stir to the left. However, she was having trouble pushing through the dough at first, "Tsk." She gritted her in trying to stir harder, but some of the dough spilled out and onto her skirt, "Oh no." she said before running over to the sink to wash it out.
"That's why you wear an apron." Hilda said, "Better get back before it mixes wrong."
"Shut up, I know!" Weiss said as she ran back to return to stir, "Gah, why does it feel like it is spinning the other way now?"
"Because it is," Hilda commented, "Times almost up." She said as Weiss stirred harder, "Don't let it get burned."
"It cooks while it mixes?" Blake asked while Weiss stirred, then heard a dinging sound. She then saw Weiss scoop out the dough onto a tray, then showed the results. They looked like chunks of charcoal, but small sprinkles on them, "Oh…"
"Well, try it," Weiss asked.
"Typically, the chief tries their food first," Hilda said with a smirk.
"Tsk, Fine!" Weiss said before angrily picking up one of the burnt Poffins and biting into it. However, a deep crunch was heard as her eyes widened, followed by a tear in the corner of her right eye, "BLA!" she spat out the burnt Poffins, coughing the chunks out. She then looked back to Hilda and Blake, both of whom had a deadpan look as they had bits on their face, "Sorry."
"It's fine," Blake said as she wiped her face with a nearby napkin, "Weiss, you don't know how to cook, do you?"
"…I never had to before." Weiss responded, slightly looking down, "And nobody had time to show me how." She said before feeling a hand on her right shoulder.
"Then let's show you how," Hilda said with a smile, causing Weiss to respond in kind.
The white heiress waited as Hilda and Blake made their own Poffins. After finishing, they showed them with a smile on her face. The white heiress picked up Hilda's first, which had a red tone to it, "Wow, these are great!" she said as the hotheaded trainer had a wide smile on her face. Weiss then looked over to Blake's batch, which had a more whitish color, "And these are good too." She said after trying one.
"Thanks," Blake said before taking out one of her Pokeball. In opening it, Espurr emerged onto the table, "Do you want one too?" she offered her Pokemon.
"Es?" Espurr said in confusion at the confection. However, after a sniff, he took the treat and ate it. The restraint pokemon's eyes lit up as he bounced around in joy, "Es! Es!"
"Looks like you got a fan of your cooking," Hilda said before she tired one, "Though, these are a bit milder than mine." She said before turning to the others, "I'll go by some more berries while you too use up the rest here making another batch."
"Okay," Weiss said before Hilda left, casing her and Blake to look back to the basket, "So, how did you learn to cook?"
"Well, it was Yang." Blake answered, a soft smile on her face, "She didn't like that I only was only eating tuna for a while and needed to expand my palate." She then turned to the white heiress with a smile, "Trust me, when I was starting, my food came out even darker."
"Really," Weiss said with a giggle, "I think I recall Ruby saying Yang was the cook in their family for a long time." She said after having a look of remorse, "That was after her mom died."
"Yeah," Blake said in remorse as well, but feed another Poffin to Espurr, "Yang told me Ruby's mother had an amazing cookie recipe that only Ruby knew how to bake."
"Heh, I wonder if that would translate to these." Weiss said as she picked up another Poffin, but did not eat it, "My mother never taught me how to cook anything." She said before looking to Blake, "Did yours?"
"Only tea," Blake said with a smile forming, "I can show you after you have Poffins down path."
"Thanks, I'd like that," Weiss responded with a smile as well.
Hours later in the day, after many attempts, Weiss presented her batch of Poffins. They had a bluish color to the with Blake and Hilda trying one. Both girls had a smile form on their faces, each giving the white heiress a thumbs-up. Weiss smiled in glee before taking out one of her Pokeball. She then went to the sink, filled it with water, then sent out her Feebas. The fish Pokemon swam in the water, then looked up at her trainer's treat. Weiss feed her Feebas the blue Poffin, who happily splashed in the water.
"Congratulations, you can now make Poffins." Hilda said, "That was step one."
"Step one?" Weiss said she turned to her, "What's even the plan?"
"As I said, you will partake in a Pokemon Contest." Hilda said, "I heard that's a good way for Feebas to evolve."
"I see, but what even is a Pokemon contest?" Weiss asked.
"Is it different than the gym challenges?" Blake added.
"It's a bit flashier of an event." Hilda said, "Basically, you show off your pokemon's moves in a first event to wow the crowd, then do it again in a battle against other trainers." She then focused on Feebas in the sink, "Apparently, it's these types of events that can lead to your pokemon's evolution. Something about showing off its true beauty."
"True beauty," Weiss repeated, looking back to Feebas, then smiled, "Okay, we'll do it and win."
"Great, now you need to think of a routine and get a contest dress." Hilda said, but then examined the white heiress, "On second thought, you should be fine with what you have on now."
"Hey, this is not some frilly dress," Weiss said with crossed arms and a scowl, "This is a combat skirt."
"…Still a dress, so it's okay for the contest." Hilda said with Weiss looking back with half-open eyes, then turned to Blake, "The two of you can practice together so that Absol can get some new moves for the gym battle." The hot-headed trainer said before sighing, "Something I didn't realize is this gym leader only takes challengers during contest performances."
"I can only challenge the gym when Weiss is performing?" Blake asked, "Then I'll just wait until afterward."
"We can't afford to wait," Weiss responded, then smiled, "Don't worry, I can trust that you will win your third badge."
"And that you'll win the contest too," Blake with a matching expression.
"Alright then," Hilda said with her knuckles on her hips, "Let's train!"
Present-day.
"And training is done." Hilda said as Weiss and Blake stood before the Contest building, "You've done all you can to prepare, but are you sure you don't want me in the crowd to cheer you on?" she said with a smirk, "I can yell pretty loud to boost your score."
"I'll already have an audience, but Blake will be in the gym all alone." Weiss responded, smiling at her friend, "If you finish early, then the two of you can come and see me in the main event."
"Will do," Blake responded.
"Heh, you sure are confident," Hilda said with a smirk, "Don't let it go to your head." she said before walking away with Blake, "Good luck!"
Weiss waved back before entering the Contest Hall. The floor was decorated pink, and the wall was decorated to an exorbitant amount. She made her way to one of the helper decks, seeing a girl at the counter, "Welcome, would you like to register for a Contest."
"Yes, my name is Weiss Schnee." The white heiress answered, "I would like to enter into the beauty category."
"Wonderful," the desk helper said before handing Weiss a form, "Please fill this out, and do list which two Pokemon you will be using for the event." She said as the white heiress did so, but the helper tilted her head, "You know, you look kind of familiar?"
"Huh," Weiss responded, then smiled, "It must be your imagination." She said before handing the form back, "I guarantee you, there's nobody in this world like me."
"I see, if you say so." The helper said as she opened the doorway, "Your entry is number eight. Good luck."
"Thank you," Weiss said as she walked by. The helper looked back at the whiter heiress with a smile but then focused on the symbol on her jacket. The helper then had a look of focus before working on her desktop.
Meanwhile.
Hilda and Blake stood at the Gym entrance, entering to see an attendee standing near some statues, "Oh, you must be the challenger for the world league." He said with a smile, "To meet our gym leader you must pass her test and make it to the end of her maze."
"Maze?" Blake said before turning to Hilda, "Is this like the one in Dewford?"
"I think so, from what I heard it's about the same concept." Hilda answered, "Only a bit spookier."
"Sorry, but we remolded to one of our older designed." The attendee responded, "The concept now is the most terrifying thing we would think of to put gym challengers through. One wrong answer and you are in for battles of life and death."
"If it's answering questions, then I already have practice in that too," Blake said smiling back.
"Very well, don't say I didn't warn you." The attendee said as she pointed to a brown platform, "Stand there and you will be taken to the first trial." He said before looking to Hilda, "I can show you the path to the viewing area if your friend makes it to the end."
"Cool," Hilda said before looking to Blake, "Don't get too scared."
Blake smiled before walking to the platform, which raised to take her to the next floor. There, she found an open space with a wooden sign before three doors. The black-haired girl walked up to the sign, seeing what her question was, "What is three plus five plus seven? Left door equals two, middle door equals sixteen, right door equals fifteen." The sign read.
"…" Blake looked on with half-open eyes, then walked through the right door. In it, she saw another sign read, "Correct! Congratulations!" the sign read as another platform was behind it, "…" Blake remained silent as she moved on to the next platform and the next math question.
Meanwhile.
On the contest stage, an announcer in a blue bowtie held a microphone, "That was an amazing performance by contestant number seven." He said before gesturing towards the curtain, "Now, time for contestant number eight. Give it up for Weiss Schnee!" he said as the curtain raised to reveal the white heiress, who raised her head with a smile at the crowd applauds.
Weiss then readied two Pokeball, one in each hand, "Feebas, Vulpix, time to take the stage!" she said as she tossed out both balls with a smile, causing the fish and snow fox Pokemon to appear.
"Fee!" Feebas exclaimed.
"Vul!" Vulpix cried out in joy.
The crowd roared in excitement at the sight of one of the Pokemon, "Awe, what a cute Vulpix." One person said, "I think that's the Alolan form." Another added, "It looks so fluffy!" another cheered. However, some were not as excited as the other of Weiss' team members, "But what is with that fish?" one member said, "It's so ugly!" another added, "Put it back in its ball!" another called out.
"…" Weiss remained quiet as she shut out all other notices, only focusing on her Pokemon, "Vulpix, use Mist!" she called out with the snow fox Pokemon expelling the chilled winds from its mouth, covering the area in the fog, "Feebas, use Splash!" she called out with the fish Pokemon hopping in the mist. The crowd was then in stunned silence as the fish pokemon's body seemingly swimming in the air. Its body carried the cooling winds as its scales glistened in through the fog. "Now Vulpix, show then Ice Shard." The white heiress said with the snow fox Pokemon firing the chunks of ice at the fish Pokemon, "Feebas, use Flail on them."
"Fee! Fee! Fee!" Feebas said while swapping each shard with its back fin. The crowd was in awe of the power of each hit, mesmerized at the chunks that were pulverized into powdered snow that showered over the area.
"And now, the final moves," Weiss said with a smile, "Aroura Beam and Scald!" she said with Vulpix unleashing a stream of colored light from below, while Feebas aim its blast of hot water from above. The two attacks collided with an explosion that pushed away from the mist and the powered snow. The crowd could not see for a split second, but upon looking back at the stage a rainbow of light radiated from the white heiress, who curtsied as she held Vulpix in her left arm and Feebas balances on her left hand.
The moment was then followed by a roar of applause and cheers. Weiss smiled as she recalled her Pokemon, then bowed again. The Announcer walked over while clapping as well, "Wow, what a performance to end on." He said as Weiss walked off stage, "We have seen so many, but only the top four will make it to the battle rounds."
Weiss walked behind stage to where the other participants waited. There were eight in total. The white heiress stood near a wall in silence as she waited for the results to be announced. Suddenly, a monitor overhead turned on. All participants looked on in anticipation, seeing one portrait after the other appears. However, after the first three, Weiss was not seen. A pause in the reveal made the white heiress hold her breath. As the image appeared, she let out a sigh of relief, "We made it." She said with a smile as she looked down at her Pokeballs of Vulpix and Feebas, "Now, time to win this whole thing." Weiss said as she tightened her grip, ready for the next round to begin.
AN: There you go, nice little backstory for Weiss and Blake as they bond before their respective challenges. The Poffin stuff was nice to references and like this way of breaking down the cooking trope of the rwby cast here, (If you want to know my ranking based on their skill: Roman, Yang, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Neo). Blake is set to challenge the Ghost type gym, but must first face the scariest thing of all, math…yep, they went back to that in the remakes. On the plus side, Weiss gets to the first round of contest, which I make more like the anime with two Pokemon preforming at the same time. That let me be a bit more creative with the display, which I liked how it turned out. She made it past the first round, but still has some battles to overcome. Next chapter will have her matches, as well as Blake's gym battle. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.