Back at Motostoke City, we pay a visit to Yoshida's Coffee, where the owner offers us the chance to engage in battles. Afterwards, as a token of appreciation, they gift us various Sweets, mentioning that these items are crucial for evolving Milcery.

"Take a look at these... There's the Strawberry Sweet, Love Sweet, Berry Sweet, Clover Sweet, Flower Sweet, Star Sweet, and Ribbon Sweets," I exclaim, listing the various types of Sweets that can influence the evolution of Milcery into different forms.

And since it is still daytime, so we try to put some sweets on the Milcery, but nothing happens. Flora says, "I think you need to spin them around."

"Shall we try this?" I suggest, offering the Milcery the Strawberry Sweet. As it holds the Sweet, I attempt to spin it, and to our amazement, the Milcery evolves right before our eyes, transforming into a Vanilla Cream Alcremie.

"Is that really it?" Alice gasps, clearly surprised by the sudden and successful evolution of Milcery into the specific form of Alcremie.

Alcremie (Vanilla Cream): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning clockwise for less than 5 seconds during the day with a sweet. When Alcremie is content, the cream it secretes from its hands becomes sweeter and richer.

"Let's try the counterclockwise spin," Alice suggests, emulating the same action with the Love Sweet. Astonishingly, the Milcery evolves once again, this time taking on a different form of Alcremie.

"Now it's Ruby Cream!" Alice exclaims, amazed by the unexpected outcome.

Alcremie (Ruby Cream): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning counterclockwise for less than 5 seconds during the day with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on a sweet and tart flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

"So, we spun less than 5 seconds to get those two variations," I note while checking the Pokédex. "What if we spin it for more than 5 seconds?"

Alice and I decide to conduct the experiment once again, this time spinning the Milcery for a longer duration. Surprisingly, the Milcery evolves into two different forms after more extended spinning—revealing itself as Caramel Swirl and Ruby Swirl.

Alcremie (Caramel Swirl): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning clockwise for more than 5 seconds during the day with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on a bitter flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

Alcremie (Ruby Swirl): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning counterclockwise for less than 5 seconds during the day with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on a mixed flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

"Considering it also listed 'Daytime,' I wonder if the other forms might evolve at night," Flora speculates.

"It's possible. Let's head back to the Budew Drop Inn and try this out," Elena suggests as we make our way there.

Upon entering the Budew Drop Inn, we're taken aback to find Marnie and Morpeko standing before the hero statue Sonia had shown us earlier.

"Uhhh, Challenger Ash, right? Out givin' it your all, even this late, huh? Hey, help with somethin' for a sec. I want t'see if I'm ready for the next leg of the Gym Challenge," Marnie requests.

"Of course, I'm up for a battle," I respond. Marnie seems pleasantly surprised and remarks, "Wicked! Got some fight in you, huh?"

Unexpectedly, Team Yell appears, rallying behind Marnie as they start cheering fervently. "Marnie is unbeatable!" "Go, Marnie!" The enthusiastic chants echo, though the loud cheering from the grunts causes Marnie to wince slightly.

"We can't let them out-cheer us. We need to support Ash too," Gloria urges.

"Absolutely! Go, Ash!" Alice shouts, joining in to counter the enthusiastic cheering from Team Yell, rallying our support behind me for the upcoming battle.

Marnie initiates the battle by sending out her Croagunk, while I counter with my Hatenna. She expresses her determination, saying, "I'll feel awful if I lose... But there's no way I'm gonna!"

Marnie commands her Croagunk to use Mud Shot, but my Hatenna swiftly uses Protect, safeguarding itself from the attack. Following this, Hatenna retaliates with Confusion, dealing significant damage to Croagunk. In response, Croagunk uses Poison Jab, successfully poisoning Hatenna. However, Hatenna manages to overpower Croagunk with another Confusion, ultimately defeating the Pokémon.

Marnie switches her Pokémon to Scraggy, posing a type advantage that prevents Hatenna from using Confusion. As Hatenna prepares to employ Disarming Voice, Scraggy moves swiftly and strikes with Headbutt, landing a decisive blow that causes Hatenna to faint. Initially surprised by the sudden turn, I swiftly send out Farfetch'd in response.

The battle between Farfetch'd and Scraggy begins with both Pokémon clashing using Brick Break. The intensity of the exchange escalates until Marnie's Scraggy attempts a High Jump Kick, but misses its mark. Taking advantage of the opportunity, my Farfetch'd capitalizes with a Brutal Swing, successfully concluding the battle in our favor.

"It'd be no fun if things ended just yet... That's why we aren't givin' up!" Marnie, determined not to give up easily, sends out her final Pokémon, Morpeko. The energetic Morpeko enters the field with a smile as Marnie instructs it to use Aura Wheel.

As Morpeko begins its spinning attack, I command Farfetch'd to block it with its leek, successfully deflecting the move. However, as Morpeko stands back up, its demeanor changes, and its body turns a dark shade of purple.

"Hmm, I think this move expresses my feelin's. What do you think? Use Spark," Marnie commands.

Hangry Morpeko executes the move, striking my Farfetch'd and causing it to faint. Subsequently, I send out my Pikachu to continue the battle. Morpeko reverts to its normal state and attempts a Bite. Thinking quickly, Pikachu counters by using Iron Tail, prompting Morpeko to bite the iron.

In response, Hangry Mode Morpeko emerges once more, and this time, its Aura Wheel, now a Dark-type move, deals significant damage to Pikachu.

"What? But that move is an Electric move?" Gloria expresses confusion.

"When Morpeko is in Hangry Mode, the move becomes Dark-type," Alice explains.

Despite the challenge, Pikachu manages to prevail using Quick Attack, ultimately defeating the Hangry Mode Morpeko in an intense battle.

As the Team Yell grunts succumb to defeat, Marnie acknowledges our victory. "You beat me...Guess you must not be too bad after all, huh?" she remarks. Embracing Morpeko in her arms, she adds, "I guess I'd better get to bed and rest up for tomorrow. You'd better get some sleep. too."

With that, Marnie walks away, trailed by the Team Yell grunts as they depart from the scene, leaving us to contemplate the battles ahead and the rest required for the challenges looming on the horizon.

During our dinner that evening, one of the Milcery cunningly snatches a sweet unnoticed and begins to spin around with it. As we watch in amazement, the Milcery starts to evolve, and much to our surprise, it transforms into a Rainbow Swirl Alcremie.

"A Rainbow Swirl... that is probably the rare one..." Helen gasps.

Alcremie (Rainbow Swirl): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning for more than 10 seconds during the evening with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on a complex flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

That night, we make the decision to complete the evolutions of the remaining Alcremie variations we have – Matcha, Mint, Lemon, and Salted. With careful execution and dedication, we successfully achieve the evolutions, welcoming Matcha Cream, Mint Cream, Lemon Cream, and Salted Cream Alcremie to our team.

Alcremie (Matcha Cream): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning clockwise for less than 5 seconds at night with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on an aromatic flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

Alcremie (Mint Cream): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning counterclockwise for more than 5 seconds at night with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on a refreshing flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

Alcremie (Lemon Cream): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning clockwise for more than 5 seconds at night with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on a sour flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

Alcremie (Salted Cream): The Cream Pokemon: Fairy Type. Evolve from Milcery after spinning counterclockwise for less than 5 seconds at night with a sweet. The moment it evolved, it took on a salty flavor. This is because of the way its cells spontaneously shifted during evolution.

To our pleasant surprise, we realize that the sweets adorning our Alcremie's body can be easily removed and replaced with another sweet variant. This newfound ability significantly reduces the need to capture an additional 54 Alcremie variants to fill the Pokédex, providing us with the flexibility to interchange and showcase various Alcremie forms using the sweets we already possess.

The following morning, we encounter Marnie in the lobby. "Mornin', guys." she greets us.

"Hey, Marnie, are you headed to challenge Kabu too?" Alice inquires.

"Nah, I've got my sights set on the Electric Leaders. They're pals with my brother. That friend of yours already went off to challenge the next Gym. Kabu's League Card is supposed to help against him, but I ended up with a few copies, so I'll give you one. Don't look so chuffed. It's no big deal." Marnie replies, handing over the League Card to us.

"Take this, too... A little somethin' for our battle yesterday." Marnie hands me two Burn Heals, adding, "Bet you'll have no trouble beatin' that "man of fire" Kabu chap, right? Why don'cha get over to Motostoke Stadium and get that Gym Badge already?"

Alice joins in, "I'm also looking forward to challenging the Electric Leader. So Ash is the only one taking on the Fire-type Gym."

Marnie nods in agreement before bidding us farewell, and we make our way towards Motostoke Stadium, eager to face the Gym Challenge ahead. We also get a look at Kabu's League Card.

Kabu is a Pokémon Trainer who was invited from the Hoenn region. There were a few times where he was very close to becoming Champion, but victory always seemed to elude him at the last moment. Because of this, he adopted a no-holds-barred approach to battling for a time, but even that did not bring the results he wanted. He even dropped to the minor division at one point, but after a fantastic battle with Leon, he regained faith in his own potential. His motto is to keep learning and training as long as he is alive.

"Well, that's Dad for you. He never gives up until it's over," Helen remarks, prompting a collective chuckle among us.

I'll end the chapter right here and you have it, Marnie's Rival battle and a bunch of Milcery evolutions into Alcremie. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be Ash's third Gym battle.

Ash and Alice's Pokemon:

Venusaur, Charizard x2, Blastoise, Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Meowth x2 (Kantonian, Galarian), Machamp, Farfetch'd (Galarian), Gengar, Kingler, Koffing, Lapras, Eevee, Snorlax, Meganium, Typhlosion (Hisuian), Espeon, Mantine, Sceptile, Linoone (Galarian), Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Gallade, Samurott, Audino, Garbodor, Zoroark, Stunfisk (Galarian), Greninja, Meowstic x2, Aegislash, Hawlucha, Decidueye, Lycanroc (Dusk), Mimikyu (Shiny), Melmetal, Raboot, Drizzile, Greedent, Corvisquire, Dottler, Thievul, Eldegoss, Dubwool, Drednaw, Boltund, Carkol (Shiny), Applin x2, Barraskewda, Toxel x2, Sizzlipede, Hatenna, Impidimp, Alcremie x9 (Each Flavor), Kleavor