From the outside, the restaurant appeared antiquated, the weathered oak doors flanked by a pair of worn brass posts. But as Adriano and Edward stepped inside the latter was instantly awestruck. Appearing to be two stories on the outside, the second floor had been knocked out to create a grand ceiling, complete with delicately carved arches spanning the width of the building. The restaurant also extended father back than looking at the façade outdoors would assume, cleverly hidden due to the buildings on either side. Tables and chairs were dotted around the room, waiters weaving around collecting people’s orders as busboys swooped in quickly once they were done to clean and reset the table for the next group.

The star of the show, however, was the grand stage set at the back of the room. A usual restaurant might have some performers or musicians, but currently two Pokemon were duking it out to the applause of the whole room. On one side, a nimble Umbreon was carefully avoiding the attacks of its opponent, a frenzied Vigoroth. Wildly swinging its arms around, the Vigoroth was slowly backing the Umbreon into a corner, limiting the amount of space available to dodge. Finally forced to face it head on, the Umbreon saw a chance to counterattack, sending a vicious Night Slash under the Vigoroth’s upraised arm. The Umbreon bared its fangs in triumph as it felt its claws connect, only to become confused when a force gently wrapped around its paw and the view turned upside down. Crashing into the stage with a bang, it was instantly knocked out.

“Wow! How did Vigoroth do that!?”

Edward’s eyes were practically popping out of their sockets as he watched the Vigoroth salute the crowd to the clapping and cheers of the patrons.

“Utilizing its superior speed and cunning, Vigoroth set a trap for Umbreon.”

“Huh?”

Edward and Adriano turned to look at the person who had started talking.

“Vigoroth knew when Umbreon needed to attack and he waited for precisely that moment to use Counter. Using the force from that move, he grabbed the Umbreon’s leg and pulled it off balance before delivering the final blow downwards with Hammer Arm. This resulted in that instant K.O. you saw.”

The speaker was a young man, dressed in an impeccably clean waiter/chef outfit, complete with gold buttons and a half-apron tied around his waist. With matching blue hair and eyes, Adriano instantly recognized him as Cress, one of the three partnered gym leaders of Striaton City.

“Yeah, that makes sense! How’d you know all that? And who are you anyways?”

Cress gave Edward an amicable smile.

“Vigoroth is a regular here at the Striaton Restaurant. I’ve had the opportunity to watch and battle him more than once. And to answer your other question, my name is Cress, and I am a waiter at this fine establishment. Are you two here for a meal, or a battle today?”

Adriano glance over at Edward only to be taken aback at the very unsubtle puppy-dog eyes Edward was giving him.

“Alright, we’ll have a meal and then a battle. And this kid—"

Adriano gestured at Edward.

“Would like the house special. Extra vegetables.”

Cress’ eyes sparked with amusement as he and Adriano shared a conspiratorial glance.

“Very well then, allow me to lead you to your table.”

Ignoring Edward’s complaints about not liking vegetables, the group set off. Pausing to grab a few menus from a rack on the wall, Cress led the duo to a table for two, located off to one side but with a clear view of the stage. Reminding them that he would be back shortly, Cress left the two of them to ponder over the meal choices as he attended the other people in the restaurant. As Adriano watched Cress flit around responding to various problems, you never would have guessed that the cool and collected gym leader had such a mischievous streak. ‘After all these years, they’re still doing it. I guess they get a kick out of surprising newbies. We’ll see how Edward stacks up against Cilan before we start intensive training’.

Ordering their food, the two sat back to enjoy their somewhat overdue meal, watching the next fight that had just begun. This time, it was a Breloom versus a Hitmonchan and the two seemed to have no intention of using any tricks, simply throwing as many punches at the other as fast as possible. Hitmonchan seemed to be gaining the edge, mixing in Ice and Fire punches along with its normal attacks that forced the Breloom to parry or sidestep the super effective blows. On the other hand, the Breloom’s punches were unpredictable, extending or contracting to prevent the Hitmonchan from dodging them. While lacking the raw damage of Hitmonchan’s attacks, it provided a steady stream of damage that was slowly whittling it down. It took much longer than the previous fight, due to the endurance of both Pokemon, but by the time Adriano and Edward were finishing their food Hitmonchan had finally collapsed, leaving a triumphant Breloom standing over its body.

As the Pokemon were directed offstage, Cress finally came back around to the table for the next section.

“Alright Edward, you’re all set up. We’ve selected a good matchup for you from our volunteers, so if you’d just follow me, we’ll get started.”

Edward glanced at Adriano for confirmation, and he nodded.

“You got this. But if you lose, I’ll make you fight Audino as well.”

Edward winced, but followed Cress without another word.

Adriano put his feet up on the newly vacated seat and sipped his drink.

“AND NOW, OUR NEXT CHALLENGER ALL THE WAY FROM NUEVMA TOWN! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR EDWARD GILLIGAN!”