"Al… Alcremie…"

"Al… Alcremie~…"

Soon, all the Alcremie caught the sweet scent coming from Lin Feng and gathered around him, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"Bounsweet!?"

Bounsweet popped its head out of the sink and called out to Lin Feng.

After spending so many days together, it had completely let go of its initial wariness and now truly saw Lin Feng as its Trainer.

Still, it found one thing odd: its previous Trainer had never smelled this sweet.

This scent… was making it want to cuddle up close to him.

"Alright! The cake's done! Let's carry it over to the plantation and enjoy it together!"

Gently setting down the little "Matcha" Alcremie in his hands, Lin Feng carefully lifted the giant cake and called out to everyone nearby.

Naturally, he had no intention of selling this cake. It was a special treat for all his Pokémon to share.

Sure, there's a tradition of eating cake for birthdays, but most of his Pokémon didn't even know when they'd been born, so birthdays weren't really a concern.

Why worry about such rules?

If you want cake, then eat cake!

"Gardevoir." (You all go ahead. I'll tidy things up here and use my psychic powers to help these little ones catch up with you.)

Gardevoir, who had been quietly watching, finally spoke up. Her gentle eyes swept over the scene, filled with calm and warmth.

After so many years of wandering and drifting, she treasured moments like this more than anything.

"Thanks a lot, Gardevoir~"

Lin Feng gave her a cheerful grin.

As if suddenly remembering something, he glanced at her status screen.

[Pokémon: Gardevoir]

[Gender: Female]

[Ability: Telepathy]

[Potential: Gold-tier]

[IVs: HP (31) / Attack (18) / Defense (26) / Sp. Atk (31) / Sp. Def (31) / Speed (31)]

[Level: 79]

[Moves: Growl, Confusion, Mystical Fire, Double Team, Misty Terrain, Disarming Voice, Psychic, Draining Kiss, Moonblast, Future Sight…]

[Description: A shiny Gardevoir who, due to certain circumstances, possesses exceptionally strong resistance to status conditions…]

[Friendship: 60 (She finds you very interesting and is beginning to rely on you.)]

[Happiness: 40 (Feels great~)]

"Oh, right! I've been meaning to give you something special and kept forgetting. Here, this is for you."

Setting the cake down, Lin Feng took out a single Rare Candy from his storage ball.

It was the only Supreme Rare Candy he possessed, one he'd obtained during the whole Mewtwo ordeal.

The reason he'd held onto it was simple: he hadn't had any Pokémon strong enough to handle the immense surge of energy it contained.

But Gardevoir was now at a crucial point, sitting right at Level 79, making her the perfect candidate for it.

"Gardevoir?" (What's this?)

Gardevoir peered curiously at the candy in her palm, puzzled.

Strangely enough, she couldn't see through it at all.

Still cradling the cake, Lin Feng grinned. "It's just the thing for you. It should help you resist curses even more effectively."

With that, he set off toward the plantation, a crowd of little Pokémon trailing behind him.

Gardevoir remained behind, staring at the candy in her hand. She tried probing it again with her psychic powers, but still couldn't detect anything amiss.

She chuckled softly, wondering if she'd simply grown too cautious after living in the wild for so long.

Then, shrugging off her suspicions, Gardevoir popped the candy into her mouth.

"Gardevoir?"

Almost instantly, energy surged through her body, and she felt a profound shift deep within her.

Had she just broken through that barrier?

…

Meanwhile, in the plantation

As Lin Feng arrived carrying the giant cake, the first Pokémon to rush over was Torchic. It stared at the towering cake, eyes wide with shock, its usual half-closed eyes open so far they were nearly round.

"Chic! Chic!" (So big! So delicious!)

Was there going to be a midnight snack!?

"Hold up, hold up!"

Lin Feng gave it a gentle nudge with his foot. "We'll eat once we get to the right spot!"

Torchic wasn't the least bit upset. It chirped a couple of times in agreement and then scurried closer, sticking to Lin Feng's side. That's when it finally noticed that besides Bounsweet, Lin Feng was trailed by a dozen or so floating Pokémon who looked like little ice creams.

They hovered in the air, all pastel and pink, radiating a delicious aroma.

Bounsweet explained, "Bounsweet…" (These are Pokémon that produce amazing whipped cream~)

"Chic?" (Seriously?)

At the mention of food, Torchic became even more intrigued by the group of Pokémon floating behind Lin Feng.

But the Alcremie seemed rather uninterested in Torchic. Instead, they collectively squirted cream at him, covering his entire face.

One blob even landed right in Torchic's beak. Its eyes immediately lit up.

It was seriously delicious!

With that taste on his tongue, he stared even more intently at the enormous cake in Lin Feng's hands.

It looked so big!

Behind Torchic, Snivy stood with Alolan Vulpix perched at its side, glaring disdainfully at the overly enthusiastic firebird.

Once they arrived near the cleared patch of land by the barn, Lin Feng carefully set the cake down on a table inside the barn to ensure it wouldn't topple over. He then pulled out a small table and arranged some plates on top of it.

After placing the cake on the table, he began cutting it up. He set aside a portion and stored it in his Poké Ball to save for Pidgeot when it returned later.

Then he proceeded to carve up the rest of the cake into multiple small slices.

During all this, Seel, coaxed over by Bounsweet's cheerful calls, came flopping across the ground with its signature happy noises.

Even the Caterpie, who'd already been fast asleep inside the barn, woke up and crawled toward the heavenly scent, squirming forward as fast as it could, afraid it might miss out if it was too late.

"Miltank!" (Smells so good, so good~)

Naturally, the Miltank were no exception.

After all, this cake offered them some significant benefits.

"Don't rush, don't rush. There's plenty for everyone…"

Lin Feng beamed as he dished out cake slices for each Pokémon. He listened with delight as the system rewarded him repeatedly with notifications of happiness gained.

Finally, he carried a large plate of cake to the edge of the reservoir and looked at the Milotic shimmering gracefully in the moonlight. "Here, this is for you."

There was no other choice; Milotic was simply too large to come ashore without trampling the crops.

Still, that wasn't a big problem. Next time, if they held an event like this, he could always have Gardevoir levitate Milotic out of the water with psychic power.

For now, though, feeding her by hand would do just fine.

"Milooo~"

Milotic lifted her head above the water, gazing at Lin Feng joyfully. Yet she seemed unsure how to take a bite, so she extended her long tongue and gently curled a piece of cake into her mouth.

Watching Milotic polish off the entire portion in just a few bites, Lin Feng couldn't help asking, "Do you want more?"

Milotic nodded enthusiastically. "Milooo~" (I'd love some more…)

Nearby, the Alcremie gazed around at all the Pokémon happily devouring the cake they'd helped make, and a warm sense of pride bloomed in their hearts.

Maybe… this place wasn't so bad after all?

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