Soon, the challenger was approached by a young woman clad in a full-body suit resembling a cartoon dragon. She was holding an adorable little Fuecoco in her arms. "Hi there! So you're here for the non-traditional challenge. My name's Andrea. Follow me this way." She invited the green-haired youth into the Gym proper.

In a remote corner of the ranch, a picnic table had been set up, filled with a sprawling selection of ingredients: From dairy to various meats, veggies, condiments, and even some vegan options. A plate had been set in the middle with two bread slices already prepared.

"To prove that you're worthy of the Monster Badge, you'll have to make your sandwich using exactly five ingredients." The strangely-dressed girl explained the rules. "Your Pokémon are allowed to help too, by the way." She added with a playful wink, taking a step back and allowing Lam to do his work.

lam logan

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

“Nice t’meetcha, Andrea! I’m Lam.” Her aesthetic is a curious one, though it doesn’t faze him any—routinely accustomed to his partner, Ikarus Rook , wandering around their home in a cozy mimikyu shroud-blanket-thing. His smile remains lax and easygoing, and he observes the gym with obvious curiosity as she leads him to the sandwich-making portion of the arena.[break][break]

“I’m on it, boss!” he replies with a grin, giving her a little salute as he seats himself at the picnic table to get started. His shinx is quick to hop up on the bench beside him.[break][break]

“Okay, fam. You know me— we’re skipping the deli cuts.” While he ponders over what to use first, the shiny shinx takes it upon himself to kick the sandwich up a notch from the jump. All charged up, sparks zap the bread to give it a little extra crispiness. Nice and toasty. It earns him an affectionate noogie on the head as he purrs. “Good job, Noodle. You didn’t char it this time, your control is getting better.”[break][break]

Noodle agrees with a little feline chirp.[break][break]

What they need first is a base spread, and if they want a sandwich with a nice kick to it…horseradish sauce will do nicely. His other two pokemon watch on as he diligently layers the spread on each piece of bread.
[break][break]

6c|DdqUP

[break][break]
tldr; noodle is here for moral support but uses spark to try and toast the bread a little. ingredient #1: horseradish sauce (+10 for toasties?)

[attr="class","bottom"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shinx color-shiny"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-pidove"]

Lam began his sandwich-making labor by having his Shinx roast the bread with its electricity. He proceeded to pick horseradish as his first ingredient, spreading the sauce on each slice of bread. All the while, the strangely-dressed Gym leader keenly observed him, smiling imperceptibly at his choices.

"I dunno... It looks a bit charred to me." The draconic cosplayer casually chimed in, as if intentionally trying to psych him out. He still had a long way to go, leaving plenty of room for error.

lam logan

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

He looked back over his shoulder with a nervous grin, stuttering out a short laugh as he gave the gym leader a thumbs up. Shrugged a little. “That’ll just…give it some character!” He patted Noodle on the head again, in reassurance. “No worries little guy. It’ll still be great.”[break][break]

Well, hopefully.[break][break]

He could work under pressure! It would be great—totally edible food. He made veggie sandwiches all the time! Surely this would be just as good as the rest. “Okay, what next..” He landed on cheese, peeling a few slices to line the bread. “Stay alert, Poppy! You’ll be up next!” he said to the pidove, who fluttered down to an empty space on the table, ready to assist.

[break][break]

nNkE5pCQ

[break][break]
tldr; trying not to get psyched out!! ingredient #2: cheese

[attr="class","bottom"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shinx color-shiny"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-pidove"]

The eccentric girl stared long and hard at the confident green-ette. Whether his argument had convinced her was left intentionally vague, but nevertheless, she didn't call the challenge off, which meant that he at least hadn't failed... yet.

The next ingredient Lam picked was cheese, which perfectly fit the cheesy line he'd just delivered. "Nice pick. You can't have a sandwich without cheese! This one is made from the finest Moomoo Milk." Andrea mused, grabbing a spare slice and giving it to her Fuecoco, who munched on it noisily.

lam logan

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

“Couldn’t agree more. Good to know this is the good stuff.” Cheese was the reason he wasn’t full vegan, honestly. It had to go on there, but the praise was welcome. It meant he was going in a better direction than the horseradish.[break][break]

“Alright…next up, tomato. Poppy, do your thing!” His pidove chirped brightly as he set the tomato down in front of her. Tiny wings stretched out and soon she was slicing up the ingredient with some carefully placed cuts of AIR SLASH.[break][break]

“Awesome, Pops. Here-“ he handed one of the leftover slices for the little bird to gobble up happily as he added them one by one to the sandwich as well.

[break][break]

UIKK3RyI

[break][break]
tldr; poppy the pidove cuts up the tomato with air slash! ingredient #3: tomato (+10 for Pokémon assist)

[attr="class","bottom"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shinx color-shiny"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-pidove"]

His sandwich already had the sauce and the good stuff. Tomatoes were the next logical step. Only a brute would make a sandwich without any veggies. Mmm, potassium!

The out-of-the-box thinking of utilizing Pidove's Air Slash to cut the tomato elicited a round of applause from the young PokéManiac. "Oooh, clever! Those are some quality cuts too. Look how straight they are!" The onesie-clad woman observed, her smile only widening when she saw the little birdie being fed one of the leftover slices as a reward.

lam logan

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

Job complete, Poppy fluttered back to nest in Lam’s hair, atop his head once more. “Pops is tiny, but she’s a pro!” he agreed brightly when Andrea praised her tomato slicing capability. Pidoves were wildly underrated, in his opinion. “She’s like a little Swiss army bird, really.”[break][break]

Lam talked as he worked, peeling a couple of crisp lettuce leaves from a head of the leafy vegetable that had been placed on the table. Even though it was sorta a flavorless addition, it’d add a nice crunch to counter the softness of the tomatoes inside of the sandwich itself.
[break][break]

6d_qiPc8

[break][break]
tldr; gonna need some lettuce for a little cromch! ingredient #4: lettuce

[attr="class","bottom"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shinx color-shiny"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-pidove"]

Lettuce was another common ingredient. Lam had made a strong opening with that horseradish, but now he was playing it safe... Perhaps a bit too safe. Would that prove to be his downfall? As the sandwich neared completion, the tension would only grow. What if the Gym leader deemed him unworthy?

"Hmm, I'm not too sure about the lettuce. It doesn't seem to fit the whole composition." Andrea commented, her excitement from earlier gone, replaced with unspoken disapproval. Was she not impressed by the challenger's choices, or was this another deliberate attempt to misguide him?

lam logan

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

Lam grimaced at the disapproval. “It’s cool, we still got this, don’t we, buds?” Noodle, at least, mewed his agreement. If anything, the lettuce had been Lam’s bad and not theirs.[break][break]

He thought he’d spied some vegan options when he’d first sat down. Where was it…where did it go… his fingers drummed the tabletop anxiously as he looked. Aha! There it was— the tofurkey. But as a veggie substitute, it could be a little bland sometimes. Depending on the brand.[break][break]

But not to worry! That’s where Habanero came in. Turning to the scovillain, he presented the vegan deli slices. “We’re gonna kick these up a notch!” Not needing another cue, the spicy pepper pokemon, seasoned it with SPICY EXTRACT. [break][break]

He tried to give the scovillain a high five, but since they don’t have hands, Habanero bonked one of their foreheads against the flat of his palm instead. And with that…the sandwich was complete and ready for appraisal.

[break][break]

ZzHb0wlT

[break][break]
tldr; habanero the scovillain seasons the tofurkey with spicy extract! ingredient #5: tofu(rkey) (+10 Pokémon assist)

[attr="class","bottom"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shinx color-shiny"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-pidove"]

Lam added the tofu, while his Scovillain added the spice. Andrea's Fuecoco waved its tiny arms in excitement. Evidently, the baby crocodile was an avid fan of spicy foods.

With that, the sandwich was ready for review. The novice Gym leader leaned over the picnic table, measuring the sandwich's length with her eyes, carefully picking it up and assessing its weight, and even sniffing it to get an idea of its scent. "Hmm, the presentation could use some work. The ingredients aren't evenly spread out, but they're not spilling out either. Overall, I'll give this an average grade of 47."

The draconic cosplayer stepped back, smiling widely. "But I'll let you be the final judge! Here comes the final stage of the challenge... You must eat this sandwich together with your Pokémon!" The young, costumed woman proclaimed.

lam logan

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

“Yeah lil dude, the spicier the better, huh?” he said brightly to the little fuecoco when he seemed to get hyped over the peppery uptick on the sandwich. Cute little guy, really.[break][break]

“Oof, I think you’re right,” he said with a relenting nod. “The neatest part was by far Poppy’s handiwork with the tomatoes!” He was quick to praise his Pokémon, at least. His brows rose at the final stage, and he looked over at his crew. “Hungry, you guys?” Overeager, his shinx tried to chomp down on one end of the sandwich before he could even divide it up.[break][break]

Picking up a nearby knife that he’d been using to spread the horseradish earlier, Lam divided up the sandwich into four portions to make sure that each helper got a piece. “Bottoms up!” Then he took a big ol’ bite.[break][break]

Yeah, this sandwich was definitely mid, much to Lam’s chagrin. The first thing to hit him was the heat. Maybe a bit too much. It felt like steam was about to come out of his ears, but the bunch of them suffered through it. It at least didn’t seem so bad for Habanero, who was literally a spicy pepper.[break][break]

Was that weird for the scovillain? He didn’t seem to mind. “All…done.” Lam puffed out a breath once they were all finished, his face red from the spiciness.

[attr="class","bottom"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-shinx color-shiny"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-pidove"]

The dragon-hooded girl keenly observed the challenger without saying a word, a veil of shadows obscuring her visage. She watched as he let his Shinx nibble on the edge of the sandwich. She watched as he divided it up into four portions, sharing it with his whole team. She watched as they all suffered from the extreme spiciness (except the Scovillain).

When all was said and done, Andrea let out an abrupt, elated cry. "That was so CUTE! I could tell how bonded you are with your Pokémon just by looking at y'all!" The flamboyant Gym leader exclaimed, before reaching into one of her costume's pockets and pulling out a handcrafted badge shaped like a nondescript creature's head. "You deserve this Monster Badge! Congratulations!" She happily handed the badge over to Lam.

lam logan

☉