Coffee Tier - Deleted Chapter Feb 2025

Author's Note:

Hey fellow coffee drinkers, sorry this is a little late. I had meant to release this on Singles Awareness Day, but got waylaid by all sorts of personal issues.

Anyways, this was originally part of Chapter 117 but it wasn't fitting with the flow of overall pacing, so I removed it.

I went in, fleshed out the deleted portion and gave it an overall polish to come up with this month's bonus release.

The chapter is an entirely standalone slice of life sequence and contains no spoilers.

Thank you all once again for your extra generous support. Arceus knows I have been ingesting an unhealthy amount of caffeine this month. Please enjoy this special release I have for you today.

For context, Nina and her fellow Gym Apprentices are enroute to Pallet Town to meet with Professor Oak and obtain Pokedexes for the twins. Along the way, they stopped by Viridian City (because Nina wanted to ride the tram) and had lunch in one of the fancy restaurants owned by Bobby's dad.

***

“Welcome to Grena.” The maitre d’ bowed towards the four lovely young ladies that graced the restaurant’s door as he gently ushered them inside, away from the cold.

“My name is Jean Pierre and I will be your server for today,” said the man in a bespoke tailored suit. “It is a pleasure to have you here with us today, Miss Jones, Miss Mizuhana, and of course, the two lovely Miss Tendous.”

Nina and Beverly were each holding onto the hand of a twin. The two junior apprentices weren’t exactly used to being treated in such an exalted manner. On the other hand, the high-born Beverly and the secretly adult Nina were unphased.

But despite all the pomp and circumstance, the interior of the restaurant was surprisingly rustic, cozy even, with bare walls, simple white tablecloths on wooden tables, and a crackling hearth on one side. It almost felt to Nina like she had stepped into a really old European style abode somewhere in rural Italy.

“Would it be okay if we sit by the hearth?” Nina asked, eliciting excited nods from the twins. They were all craving some warmth after spending a whole day out in the snow and biting winds.

The maitre d’ responded with a genial smile and words of affirmation as he led them towards a table close to the hearth. The restaurant itself was fairly empty, just a couple of tables occupied by, presumably, tourists having a casual lunch. It made sense, this was a very high-end farm to table sort of establishment, not exactly a place where the locals would go to on a daily basis.

And honestly, if not for the standing invitation from Nancy, Bobby’s mom, and because they were passing by Viridian City, Nina probably wouldn’t have come here either. She had never been one for these sorts of fancy restaurants.

The moment that the girls sat down, an excessive amount of waiters came by and asked their guests if they would like Shuckle juice or water for their aperitif. 

“Here is our lunch menu for your perusal. You will also find a corresponding drinks menu at the back as well, with non-alcoholic options available.” With a synchronized flourish, Jean Pierre and his colleagues presented beautiful, hand-written sheets of quality paper in front of each of the table’s occupants in one smooth motion.

The twins were awed, but Nina had to hold herself back from laughing out loud while Beverly just rolled her eyes at the gaudy performance. Glancing around, Nina determined that there were probably more servers present in the restaurant right now than customers — truly an experience of excess.

Nina read the text before her, most of the menu items were quite straightforward, just simple dishes made using heirloom varieties of common vegetables grown in their farm, decorated in fancy jargon. But Fuyumi and Natsumi clearly looked overwhelmed by the alien cursive writing in front of them, so Nina asked the head waiter to give them a rundown of their options.

“Certainly,” responded the friendly maitre d’. “Our lunch menu consists of five courses. The first being an appetizer of mushroom croquetas — all grown onsite with our indoor cultivation room. A ‘mush’ room if you would.” Nina and Natsumi laughed at the joke, but Beverly and Fuyumi were not impressed.

Jean Pierre cleared his throat before continuing. “Next is the soup course; a hearty winter soup composed of some of the root vegetables that are available in this season, all grown in house of course. The base is a mushroom stock made using dried wild mushrooms we foraged during the autumn season, adorned with either the choice of smoked Magikarp or a potato croissant for the vegetarian option.”

The waiter then presented them with three choices for the main; a 90-day aged Miltank steak from a local ranch, miso black cod, fresh from Pallet Town, and charred cauliflower with a miso glaze.

Nina and Natsumi were conflicted on the choice of the cauliflower or cod, so the two of them agreed to order one each and swap bites. Beverly and Fuyumi were quite firm on their choice of steaks though.

“And finally we have desserts of sticky toffee pudding with a side of homemade vanilla ice cream, and petit fours of candied Berries with your choice of after-meal beverages.”

Nina nodded and confirmed her companions' selection. “Espy would love it here…” She mused. “Do you cater to Pokemon by any chance?” The girl asked.

Jean Pierre nodded in affirmation. “Indeed. Any Pokemon of the lower medium sizes are allowed, however, we would like our guests to refrain from bringing in any Pokemon like Muk or Trubbish and the like, for obvious reasons.”

Nina laughed. “Of course, I have an Espeon who has quite the discerning palate. I think Espy would be quite upset if I left her out from this experience. Your food is safe for Pokemon consumption right?” That last question was superfluous, since any food good for humans was also good for Pokemon.

The maitre d’ beamed a bright smile, his teeth so polished that he might as well have used Flash. “Certainly, we have a special menu for Pokemon. The menu items are much the same but made using ingredients more pleasant to a Pokemon’s palate. I shall also get my colleagues to prepare a cushion for Miss Espy.”

Nina thanked the man and released Espy from her Pokeball. The Espeon emerged with a regal poise as she appreciated the interior of the restaurant with a discerning gaze.

Nina held back a smirk, her little princess might appear stoic on the surface, but she could tell from their mental link and her waving tails that Espy was super excited to partake in the gourmet culinary experience.

After having her fill of the architecture, Espy sauntered over to a spot next to the hearth and tapped her feet on the ground to instruct the wait staff to place her cushion there. It was honestly kind of cute how snobby she was being, and good thing the waiters were well trained enough to interpret the gesture.

Beverly laughed and released Vapey from his Pokeball as well as she egged the Vaporeon on with an encouraging “Go get her, boy.”

Vapey looked a little sheepish, but after a few more encouraging nods from his trainer, he puffed up his chest and approached Espy’s seat with a stiff gait. This elicited a disdainful eye roll from the Espeon, but she was willing to endure the burden of Vapey’s company if it meant being able to titillate her taste buds.

“Gosh they’re so cuuute!” Natsumi swooned, eliciting a chuckle from Nina.

“Careful now, Vapey. Espy’ll kick your ass if you get too chummy.” Nina chimed. It was amusing to see Vapey’s awkward attempts at courting, but she wasn’t too worried. Espy could take care of herself. She then turned towards the waiter who had a new set of Pokemon specific menu in hand and asked her to just show it to Espy since she was smart enough to read it on her own. “Just make sure she doesn’t pick any of the alcoholic beverages okay? Unless you want a drunk Psychic wrecking your shop.”

“No need to worry, Miss Jones. We do not serve alcohol to minors and Pokemon in our premises,” assured Jean Pierre.

“Big Sis Nina…” Fuyumi tugged at the sleeve of Nina’s sweater with a feeble look in her eyes. “This place is really expensive right?” The girl whispered, after the wait staff had all left.

In response, Nina just smiled warmly and gently caressed her junior on the head. “Don’t worry, Bev will be paying today, just think of it as an extra coming of age gift.”

“Wait, what?!” Beverly exclaimed, eliciting a smirk from Nina.

“Oh? Are you not their favorite Big Sis? Isn’t it only right that you put your money where your mouth is?” And right on cue, both twins turned towards the older girl with Baby-Doll Eyes, causing Beverly to clamp up and glare at Nina with a twitch. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for my own share.” Nina added. “Can’t have the great Miss Mizuhana strain her coffers now can we?”

Beverly scoffed at the girl’s words. “Hmph! Don’t worry, little Nina, your favorite Bis Sis will pay for you… If you ask nicely that is.”

“Thanks Big Sis Beverly!” All three girls exclaimed at the same time. Completely shutting down any excuses the senior apprentice might have.

“Heh. You underestimate my stinginess, Bev. Pride has no place when it comes to saving a buck!” Nina grinned in triumph.