Larry hated being right.

Four days since both the party and Geeta's rendezvous at Uva Academy, the mountain of paperwork had tripled at the Pokémon League offices.

It wasn't just the usual amount of catch-up he had to do after burning away a day at the party. But now Geeta came back and was instantly talking about something new that the Pokémon League is helping arrange called the "Academy Ace Tournament".

Or "School Battle Brawl" as she would occasionally default to calling it.

Something to do with Uva Academy celebrating its faculty and its students by… hosting a whole bunch of battles in the courtyard of Mesagoza. That's it. Larry had no idea why this was something the League needed to be involved with, unless it was just Geeta not wanting to pay for it from her own personal funds.

Regardless, League involvement of course meant that he, Rika, and the other employees of the League Offices were being tasked with collecting data and forms for this ambiguously "regularly held" event.

What, are they just going to start it up every time someone walks up to the desk and says 'Let's do a tournament'?

And on top of that, Larry and Rika in particular had been "volunteered" to take up the lion's share of all Geeta's assignments for the weekend (with Larry also still being expected to take part in the monthly Gym inspection, because of course) because… surprise, surprise, Geeta decided she wanted to compete in this exclusive tournament herself.

The perks of being the boss, I guess. Sets up an entire cross-promotional event out of nowhere and then reaps the benefits without having to do any of the legwork for it.

I don't know if I feel worse for all those kids she and her team are going to beat up… or just myself.

So for the past four days, the whole department had been up to its knees with extra work. Larry, having been bound to work in the offices to get his projects done instead of from his "home office" in Medali, had never heard his wing of the office so loud before.

As if work wasn't already giving me chronic headaches.

And even late into the evening, when he expected to be home, he and Rika were staying late, catching up on their ends of the work, making up for the sins of party past and the stresses of tournament future.

By the third day, the office had run out of coffee.

This afternoon, the dimly lit, mostly empty office was silent except for the constant sounds of strenuous keyboard tapping, computers humming, ceiling fans spinning, Rika tapping her finger or her foot, and Larry's occasional grunts of fatigue.

"Siiiiiigh."

Another huge sigh erupted from Larry's desk, prompting Rika to look up from her computer, where she spied upon a man who just looked done with the entire world. Larry's whole back was slunk from his chair and his face was fixed upwards at the bright computer screen.

Rika pushed up her reading glasses and took a look at her own screen. Her load of forms and reports was just about done, and she only had a few more spreadsheets to double-check and a couple letters to sign off on.

Easy stuff. I could totally get this all done in the morning.

So she saved everything she had open to the cloud, shut her computer off, and got up from her desk to walk across the aisle to Larry's workstation.

"Larry."

"Mm."

Rika put her hands on her hips and sighed dramatically.

"Well, you told me not to ask this anymore, so I'm just going to say it this time, as a friend. Go home, and get some rest, and I'll finish whatever you have left today."

"Answer's still no," he replied.

"Well, consider it boss's orders then, since Geeta also wanted me to remind you you're supposed to be cutting back on your overtime."

This one earned a slight side-eye from Larry. "After giving me this amount of battle data reports to proofread and approve? That woman's more two-faced than a Scovillain."

"Come on!" Rika sighed, exasperated. "Why do you always do this to yourself? You're practically on burnout over there and you look like the zombies in the movies I watch with my buddies."

"I'm flattered by your compliment."

"Look, I know you and I are both perfectionists. But all you're doing is burning yourself out by being so intense with your work. Besides, you've known me long enough. You trust that I can do my end of the work just as thoroughly and efficiently, right?"

"Sure," he said, still not looking away from his screen. "That's you. Doing your own work. And this is me. Doing mine. With no hassle. I never go up to you and say, 'That looks like something you can't handle on your own. Want me to grab it away from you?' So leave me alone."

Rika grunted upwards to the ceiling, sick and tired of her co-worker's stubborn attitude.

My man really is a sour plum when all the coffee's gone.

"Well, I already logged out." Rika scooted over a chair from the empty desk next to Larry's and plopped herself down on it. "So I have nothing else to do right now. And if you're not going to relent, then I guess I'll just sit here and practice my Clodsire mating calls."

Finally, the typing stopped. And Larry swiveled his chair over. His eyes looked heavily strained, the way Hassel kept warning him they would as long as he kept them glued that close to his screen for so long.

"That's your idea of a threat? I thought you were trying to raise me up, not force me to double my migraine prescription."

Rika flashed an evil smile and took off her glasses. Then, after a few taps of her throat, she took a deep breath, and released a long, obnoxious, throaty…

"OOOOORRRRWWWWOOOOUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHAAAAAAAAA."

"Stop," Larry said in the middle of it. "Stop it," he said again.

But she didn't. She took another deep breath and…

"ORRRRRRRWWWWWOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU-"

"Okay!" He said at just a slightly louder octave, Larry's idea of 'raising his voice'. "You win. Just please stop making that noise."

"There's my dude!" Rika got up and patted him on the back. "It's a beautiful day out, and the sun hasn't even gone down yet. Why don't you go somewhere nice and treat yourself for all the hard work you've done this week? Enjoy yourself. Live a little for once."

"I feel like I'm being infantilized."

"Not at all! I do the exact same thing for myself! Positively goes a long way, and you gotta be your own disciplinarian sometimes. That's what my therapist used to tell me."

Larry sighed. Rika's laidback attitude was something he felt like he was never going to understand or relate to. If she was in his position, maybe that would finally be what breaks her down to his level. Then she'd be billing up that therapist again.

But he also understood by now that trying to argue with Rika when she got herself going this hard would just leave him more irritated. So he cut his losses, gathered everything up in his briefcase, and hoisted himself up from his chair. Soft groan included as his back tensed up.

"Whatever. I'll probably just grab something to eat and then go home and sleep," he said, walking towards the elevator.

Rika shrugged. "Whatever works! A little self-care today is one less frown line tomorrow."

Larry hit the elevator button and cocked his head back.

"Why does everything you say tend to sound like an insult?"

Then he got inside and let the doors close in front of his back. Rika just smiled back and swiveled herself around as she cracked her knuckles.

"Alright! Time to—"

"POOF!"

Suddenly, one of her Poké Balls burst open from over at her desk, and Rika's Clodsire came tumbling out, crushing her desk chair into pieces as it landed on the ground with a huge thud.

"ORRRWUUGH!" Clodsire cried.

"Geez. Did I really sound that convincing?" Rika chuckled.


A defeated man stood outside the League building. Fists clenched. Feet rocking both and forth.

Already, he was feeling tempted to just turn around, march back in, and tell Rika that she could make as many whale calls as she wanted.

But, unfortunately, his body ached and felt resigned to not making any more effort. There really wasn't much he could do now besides go home and head straight to bed.

Larry's stomach growled however, to remind him of the only other thing that motivates him. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, apart from a sandwich wrap he brought for a ten-minute lunch break.

Too bad that office microwave seems to sap all the sustenance out of anything you heat up in it.

Okay then. Where to hit up at this time of day? A lot of restaurants are probably experiencing dinner rush right now. Not my ideal setting. … … …

"The Treasure Eatery's always calm at dinner. I could just go there," he mumbled.

Sigh. I eat there almost every single day. Rika wants me to go somewhere special, I guess I should try to make it more exciting for myself.

I just need to know what else is quiet like the Eatery. Somewhere small and out of the way…

Larry's head cocked up. There was a Fidough running around on the field in front of him.

Cozy and quiet…

The Fidough ran with its tongue out for several seconds, before plopping itself down on the grass and starting to scratch itself on its ear. Its… doughy… bun… ear.

"…There's an idea."


The atmosphere at Patisserie Soapberry was still a busy one this day. But everything was at a much lower, and more preferable, output than the day of the festival. With the Olive Harvest having fully completed its celebrations, the shop was seeing a closer to normal amount of customers.

A few would come and maybe sit at a table for a little while, but most of them just placed orders and went in and out. Katy and her staff of chefs were hopping to and fro, but with nowhere near the intensity as the day of the festival had given them.

Smells of freshly made goods filled the air, as new things popped out of the kitchen oven and onto trays and cloches at a rate of every few minutes.

Larry flinched a little when he opened the door and rung the bell, and a shop filled with patrons and Krista, the chef out front, all turned towards him.

Huh. So this is what this place is like open.

Krista almost dropped the tray full of topper cakes she was holding when she saw him.

"Well, well, well! So the cat did come back the very next day! …Or few days."

"Cat?" Larry repeated.

"LARRY!"

The volume of Katy's excited yell startled both him and Krista. She hustled out from inside the kitchen and right up to where Larry was standing.

"I was hoping I would see you again!" Katy said happily. "It's so great to have you visit our shop agan!"

"Likewise," Larry nodded.

Katy still had a warm, glistening aura about her, but something about her seemed even more radiant and bubbly to Larry. He supposed maybe she was feeling less stressed today. …The amount of glitter in her hair right now was probably also contributing to her sparklines.

"So! Did seeing a Fidough run around remind you of our freshly baked dough and make you eager to come back for seconds?"

Larry's face seized up. "H-how did you-!?"

"Hee-hee! Sorry! That's just a joke we greet people with sometimes! Somehow, it keeps turning out to be true for a lot of people. So what are ya here for today? Oh! Uh… I hope you weren't hoping for any more of my Bug-Berry cupcakes. I was serious about them being a one-time thing."

"Oh, don't worry, I figured that," Larry waved her off. "No. I got off of work early, not necessarily by choice," He muttered that last part more to himself. "And… to be honest, that evening made me think about the fact that I've… never really been here before. I don't always have a sweet tooth, but… I am kind of in the mood for something doughy today."

Katy giggled. "Doughy, you say? You might just be in luck. Krista, is the new cinnamon coffee cake under the display counter?"

"Right here, Chef!" Krista reached under the display shelves and pulled out a cloche.

She handed it to Katy, who popped the lid off to reveal something steaming that instantly made Larry's mouth water.

A freshly-made brown colored cake with white frosting melting down the sides and bits of cinnamon sprinkled on top. It was cooked in a circular mold and the size of a large dinner plate.

"Cinnamon coffee cake, you said?" Larry asked, gazing down at it.

"Yup! It's a new recipe we're trying. I haven't made a whole lot of coffee cake in my career, so I'm spreading my wings. We've had them out on display for a few days now, but so far only one person has ordered one and taken it home. Personally, I'd love the opinion of a true connoisseur," she remarked, flashing a wink.

Larry tensed up. "Uhh… a cinnamon cake sounds very good tonight, actually. I could use something with a kick like that after the kind of day I've had."

Larry did look substantially more… tired than he did the day he came by before, Katy had quickly noticed. His eyes looked a bit baggier, there was more of a croak in his voice, and his back was slouching quite a bit. Granted, she figured this was just the result of seeing him on a workday.

"Great!" Katy clapped. "I have to tend to the kitchens again, so I'll leave Krista here to serve you."

She set the cake down and headed to the kitchen. Just the cinnamon bits on top made Larry feel pools of drool coming up inside his mouth.

Krista got out a cake shovel. "Alright! How many slices?"

Larry perked up. "Slices?"

"Yyyyeah," Krista replied, confused. Then her eyes lit up. "You weren't… wanting the whole thing!?"

"Not necessarily," Larry conceded. He looked at it a bit more and said, "I'll settle for half."

"We're not exactly liable for you getting diabetes from our stuff, you know," Krista grumbled.

Just then, Katy's head poked in from the kitchen doorway.

"Is everything okay in there, Krista?"

"Y-yes, Chef! Sorry, Chef…"

"I'm sorry too," said Larry. "I think my appetite for today must have startled your assistant."

"She'll get over it," Damian said snidely from the other end of the counter. Krista hmphed in response.

Larry held up a number of fingers. "I'll just take three slices, please."

"Three slices? Are you sure?" Katy asked, now fully standing in the doorway. "We'd gladly let you take the whole thing home if you want."

The noise Krista proceeded to make was comparable to the sound of a Donphan charging up its roll.


Finally, everything got sorted, and Larry took an empty table with his cake. The whole cake. He had won out in the end.

Larry set his jacket on the chair and had a fork and knife in hand to cut out a slice for himself. As he ate the first bite, mixed feelings turned to warm facial expressions and increasingly excited sounds of "Mmph!" and "Mm!"

"So… verdict is sounding pretty good, then?"

Katy was across the checkout counter, apparently having traded places with her staff who had all taken to the kitchen. In fact, there seemed to be few if any customers coming in now, meaning the Soapberry was nearing its twilight hours for the day.

Larry swallowed his bite and craned his neck towards the adjacent Katy. With a napkin to his mouth, he cleared his throat.

"It's very good. You used a great balance of ingredients. The coffee cake was the right amount of warm and crisp, and the cinnamon complemented its flavor well without overpowering it. As a new menu item… I'd say it's a solid A."

"Is he a part-time food critic too?" Damian wondered as he peeked from the overhead kitchen window.

"Ohh, I'm so glad!" Katy cooed, her hands cupped together.

Larry chuckled to himself. "I was right."

"Right about what?"

"I should have come here much earlier. I think I've been missing out."

"Well gosh! It warms my heart to hear that," Katy responded. "Having one of my colleagues in the League become a regular was something I never would've expected before your visits this week, so that is the highest praise I could ask for!"

As she wiped down the counters with her rag, she smiled to herself and began humming. Larry closed his eyes and ate to the sound of her humming. It was… rather comforting.

"Are there any places like this in Medali? Bakeries that specialize in sweets, I mean?"

"There's a few," Larry said, swallowing a bite. He wasn't normally a fan of talking while eating, preferring to get the pleasantries out of the way before the meal is served, but Katy was a very talkative person, he'd realized by now. Clearly interested in conversing with an equal too, and Larry didn't mind humoring her at all. "And I've been to them. They're okay."

Another bite. "When it comes to sweet stuff in Medali, I'm normally just content with the onigiri balls they make at the Treasure Eatery."

"What is Medali like?" Katy pondered, resting her chin on her hands. "I'll be honest… I've never spent much time in a city that big. I've been a country mouse most of my life," she shrugged. "Big cities have always been more my sister's thing."

"Medali's a nice city," Larry said thoughtfully. "It's actually not as big or bustling as you would think. We have our fair share of skyscrapers of course, but it's still… peaceful. On the smaller side, in terms of area. And people too, I suppose." He softly chuckled to himself and then said, "You really notice how quiet of a town it is after you've been in a business meeting somewhere much huger like Levincia."

Katy snickered too in reminiscence. Geeta had more than once held a business meeting for all the Gym Leaders in one of the for-rent office spaces in Levincia. It was… certainly a lot. Much easier to understand how that type of city, so loud and so bright, breeds someone as rambunctious as the young flighty Iono.

Larry looked at her meaningfully for a bit. "I think… you'd probably like it there. In Medali."

"Hmm. Maybe I'll have to plan a visit someday."

"You should," Larry smiled.

There was a bit of silence after that, Larry continuing to feast on his cake, while Katy went back to humming and still did cleanup around the counter area.

Eventually however, she leaned over the counter again.

"So do a lot of strong trainers come to Medali?"

Larry had a big bite of the coffee cake in his mouth, which he took his time swallowing, while holding up a finger to say "hold on".

Katy gasped. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, blushing. "I shouldn't be pestering you so much while you're trying to eat!"

"You're fi-hi-ne," Larry coughed, as he dabbed a napkin over his mouth.

"It's just not often that I have company while enjoying a meal," he explained. "It's not a bad thing, though." He thought for a bit and said, "I would probably rather you sat down here though so I don't have to keep turning my neck."

Katy giggled. It was pretty clear to her by now that Larry truly is blunt as people say, but it didn't offend her. In fact, she found it strangely charming. So she tossed down her rag and accepted Larry's request to join him.

"Ahhh, you're right, this is better." As she scooched her chair forward, she remarked, "It's not too often I get to sit down in my own patisserie."

"So where were we?" Larry asked with a smirk on his face.

Two of Katy's staff chefs, Krista and Damian, were discreetly peeking in at them from the kitchen doorway.

"Smooth, dude," Krista observed. She turned to Damian and asked, "So why haven't you ever offered me to sit with you when you're lazing about?"

"Ehh!?" Damian turned his nose away from her. "Hmmph!"


"I'd say it's about a 50/50 ratio."

"Really?" Katy marveled. "With all I hear about you being one of the tougher battlers in the region, I figured you'd be out there dominating those poor Trainers more."

"Do people say that about me?" Larry asked mid-bite. A bit rude to talk with food in his mouth, but he considered it strange to hear that he's talked about at all.

"Mm-hm," Katy nodded.

"I don't consider myself anything more than average when it comes to battling." He took another bite, and then posited, "If that is what they're saying, then they're probably talking about my other team, when I have to use all Flying-types."

Katy pounded her hands on the table. "Of COURSE! How did I forget!? You're part of the Elite Four too! That's… that's amazing! You're the most prestigious one of us all!" Larry just kind of shrugged modestly. "How did you make that happen?"

"Just got lucky, I guess." Larry decided that was a nicer way to put it than "I was nominated to the position by two people I'd never met and then basically pressured by Geeta to say yes."

"Talk about lucky!" Katy was so in awe she had her hands out in excited fists. "You essentially get to experience double the amazing challenges from trainers all over Paldea with the strongest teams of Pokémon! That must be extraordinary!"

"That's… one way of looking at it, I suppose." Something about Katy's glee and optimism seemed to shutter out Larry from resorting to any of his usual pessimistic remarks like "More like twice the work raising a team and filling out battle reports".

In fact, he was starting to feel envious. Katy seemed to have almost a childlike excitement for tough Pokémon battles.

Does she not experience a lot of those as a Gym Leader herself?

He felt himself being reminded of a time, that seems so long ago now, when he felt that same burning energy as a younger, more eager trainer.

If only one could go back to those days…

"Hmmm? Are you okay?" Katy tilted her head at Larry, whose gaze had been fixed down to the table.

"…Yes. Sorry about that." He cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Apparently in his daze, he had eaten the last few bites of his cake. "I was just thinking of… Well, it doesn't matter."

Katy chuckled. "We've both been getting caught in a haze, haven't we?"

"I guess it's the air of conversation putting our heads in the clouds," Larry remarked.

"Ooooh! That was a solid metaphor!" Katy's smile changed to a look of surprise when she looked down. "…Oh my word. You really did eat the whole thing."

"Yes," Larry responded, in the tone of a man who seemed genuinely unaware that this was a big deal. "It was very delicious. I'm glad to know those cupcakes weren't a fluke," he said, gleaming his eyes at Katy.

"Oh! Oh…" Katy felt her own eyes twinkling. She had trouble hiding the blush coming along her face. "You really know how to make someone feel praised!"

"I mean every word of it too." Larry couldn't help himself from smiling widely at how enchanted Katy's face was.

Her joyous manner and optimism really was infectious, he realized. At that moment, he noticed he hadn't been thinking about work for quite a while now.

…Which is a huge rarity for him. Time really did fly by like a pleasant breeze in the wind. A fact that really presented itself to him when he looked at his watch.

"Hm. I should probably get going soon."

"Oh my heavens!" exclaimed Katy when she herself caught eyes on the big Ariados-themed wall clock. "When ever did it get that late!?"

"Our heads really were in the clouds," Larry joked. "They carried us all the way into a different time zone."

Katy laughed at his joke, which prompted Larry to start laughing softly too. The second time he'd found himself letting go like that. ….It didn't hurt his gut as much this time.

"Looks like it's time for me to get going," Larry said, standing up and getting his jacket on. "Thank you for this, Katy. It was a very wonderful meal."

Katy bowed gracefully to his compliment. "It's a pleasure to serve a happy customer." As she stood up, her face twisted a bit. "Although… hmm."

"Is something wrong?"

"You said 'meal' just now. I hope I'm right in assuming you did eat dinner before coming here."

Larry was silent.

"…That wasn't the only thing you've eaten today, right?" Katy was looking increasingly alarmed.

Larry blinked. "Does a microwaved sandwich wrap count?"

"LARRY!"

Katy's sudden outburst drew the attention of Krista, who had been so preoccupied with organizing display sweets behind her that she almost fumbled a dessert tray.

"Uhhh… everything okay over there?"

"I think my appetite for today must have startled your head chef," Larry commented, leaning from around Katy's disapproving frame.

Katy's face was getting red again, this time for a different reason. Larry was amused at first, until it looked like she was really going to steam. Then he took a step back, suddenly feeling a bit unnerved.

But. She let that boiling anger go and sighed heavily as she crossed her arms.

"In spite of… that, I'm actually really happy you stopped by again." With another sigh, she seemed to be right back to her happy, grateful self. "I really mean it this time when I say I hope you'll come by again… as long as you remember to actually eat something nourishing first."

"Heh. We'll see."


Larry was suddenly struck by a beautiful sight the minute he walked out the door.

Just like that, he found his feet frozen to the ground. He even set his briefcase down. Larry just wanted to stare at the beauty in front of him until the end of time.

Katy softly opened the door behind him, ostensibly to look at the same thing he was.

"What a splendid sunset," she smiled.

"It's a gorgeous sunset, is what it is," said a mystified Larry. "I don't think I've ever seen the evening sky look this beautiful before."

"Hmm! Closing shop at the end of the day is something I often look forward, because the sun's always just at a prime position where the walk home is absolutely marvelous."

Larry spotted a flock of Starly flying high in the skies above them. The sight of such a familiar bird Pokémon made his smile grow bigger.

"If I'd ever seen a sight like this, it's probably been from the blinds of a small window. It's usually already dark when I finish working…"

"Oh? Well… the night air must be beautiful in its own ways too," Katy supposed, trying to find positively in Larry's candid response.

He stifled a chuckle.

"It's funny," Larry commented, as he picked up his briefcase again. "I was going to call a cab but… it's still light enough outside. Maybe I'll take a little hike back to Medali. It's a nice, breezy evening and by the time I get there, I'll probably be exhausted enough to sleep well. … Maybe."

"Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea!" Katy agreed. Then she said with a smirk, "It'll also help you walk off all those carbs."

"Yes, ma'am!" Larry chuckled. Krista was walking out of the shop too, ready to go home. So he made a big wave and said as loud as he could muster, "I'll see you folks around."

"You too!" Katy and Krista both waved in unison.

Once he was out of earshot, Krista put an arm to her employer's shoulder.

"Y'know… I didn't know what to think of him when he first came here. But I guess Larry really is the gentleman that everyone says he is."

"Yes…" Katy said softly, a gleam in her eyes. "Yes, he is."


Larry got himself a bottle of water from a stand on the street. And as he walked outside the Cortondo limits, the evening breeze truly began to kick in. He felt it in his hair, in the way it blew his tie back.

A couple of Mareep were running along the hill, bouncing and happily baaing.

And, weirdly enough, Larry too had a bounce in his step. He walked stridefully up the hillside. With a smile on his face.

His day had started so full of work and unbelievable stress, nothing but eyestrain and painful tedium for hours on end… and yet. For once. He had put it aside almost entirely.

It was like that was all a million years in the past, and all he could focus on was the fun time he had at the patisserie. Eating that delicious cake. Having a fruitful conversation with the lovely Katy.

Rather than feeling exhausted, drained of energy, and head full of stress about what lay tomorrow… Larry was feeling something truly seldom and valuable.

Bliss.

As he reached the top of the hill, gazing at the long stretch of road ahead of him, only one thought came to his mind.

Today felt nice.