"Daddy, look at what I made!" Miette looked up at her father, beaming with pride, bright red eyes and all. Near her feet, the small cotton Pokémon that followed her around was reaching up on its toes to see inside the bowl.

"What is it, sweetie?" He lifted his daughter up to sit on the counter, so the four-year old girl could meet his eyes.
"It's a Poképuff mixture for Swirlix! But I need to put it in the oven so we can eat them, and Mommy says I can't use the oven on my own." She hadn't yet noticed Swirlix, who was slowly climbing its way up kitchen chairs to reach the bowl.
"Well, have you tasted it yet?" Her father turned around, grabbing two spoons from a kitchen drawer behind him.
"But it's raw!"
"If it tastes awful now, how do you expect it to taste good when it's cooked?" Her father handed her a spoon, which she slowly scraped a side of the bowl with. "Hmm... Keiba Berry as the main flavor, with a hint of Petaya?"
"Yep! Guess what else I put in there!" Miette smiled as she placed the tip of the spoon in her mouth.
"Sugar and flour?"
"Of course, but guess what secret ingredient I put in!" Miette pulled the spoon out of her mouth, reaching for another dip in the dough.
"It's a secret, is it? In that case, don't tell me! It's your secret." He grabbed the spoon out of Miette's hand before it could touch the dough again. "Remember, no using the same spoon twice."
"Sorry, Daddy." She laughed a bit.
"I'll start getting the pans out to get it cooked, but what about the frosting? Would you like to get started on that?" Her father lifted the bowl up high, to reveal Swirlix. It fell face first onto the counter with a moan. "Take Swirlix with you too, will you? It's getting tempted to eat the entire bowl just being here."
"Actually..." Miette burst into a fit of laughing before finishing.
"This is the second batch you've made, because Swirlix ate the first one while your back was turned?"
"How did you know?" Miette's face grew a hint of red, mostly masked by the childish smile on her face.
"Back when Delphox was just a Fennekin, it would often do that to me. Now, hurry along and start making your frosting! We don't want the puffs to be ready before the frosting!"
"Okay!" Miette reached her legs down, struggling to touch the ground. Her blue hair bounced in the air as she hit the ground, holding her arms out to catch herself as she fell. She landed with a stagger, recovering quickly and running off, Swirlix following behind. "This is gonna be really good, Daddy! I promise!"
---
Miette was 14 when she got her first part-time job in her parent's bakery. Powdered Dreams: A Family-Owned Bakery for people and their Pokémon!
Kalosian law said she had to be 16 to work in the kitchens, but any work in the environment of the bakery had her please.
The name of the bakery had always made Miette smile. Through their family's baking, and one day her baking, people and Pokémon would rest from their work and studies, becoming re-energized to continue chasing their goals.
For the most part, she loved her work. The now-evolved Slurpuff joined her in her work every day, helping her carry out orders and keeping company behind the counter.
"Welcome to Powdered Dreams! What would you like today?" Miette's voice rose with her mouth as she smiled at the customer in front of her and their Scraggy.
"Do you have any Poképuffs that will make Scraggy stronger?" The boy appeared to be only a bit older than herself. A trainer as well, apparent by the badges on his hat. There were five of them, one shinier than the rest. It was the badge of Lumiose, the city they were in, and had likely been just won. Miette guessed they had come to celebrate victory over the gym that their leader Clemont held.
"I'm sorry, but you must be confusing puffs with blocks or berries. They're all very similar, but have a few vital differences, which make it easy to get confused. Pokéblocks will increase factors that can help Pokémon in contests and performances, and certain kinds of berries can enhance Pokémon in battle. The Poképuffs we make here aren't meant to increase the power or appearance of Pokémon, just their friendliness." As she explained the three treats, she watched the boy grow increasingly bored, an almost pained expression on his face.
"I didn't ask for an explanation, I asked for an item. Can you give it to me or not?" He let a fist fall on the counter, shaking a display nearby. The frustration was clear in his body, and very contagious to Miette. Her smile continued to stay on her face, but now with much strain.
"Sir, if you were listening to me, you would have your answer."
"Well, why would I listen to such an annoying person?" His voice rose to a shout, causing a few heads to turn.
"Because I know everything about this bakery and you clearly know nothing?" Her voice had rose to shouting by the end of the phrase, the fakest of her smiles now gone. The shrill voice of the girl caused all the eyes of the customers to turn and watch.
"Whatever, not like some prissy girl could do anything more than try and be something that she isn't meant to be. She acts like she knows everything about everything when she's only in the business because it's family-owned."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Her hands dropped with a heavy slam on the counter, knocking a nearby display over.
The sound of the deserts dropping to the ground was a quiet one, but with the silence that had been held by their argument, everyone clearly heard it.
"You're not meant for this."
He and Scraggy walked out without saying a word, leaving Miette to face the stares of the awestruck customers. Her face flushed as she could do nothing but look at the knocked-over display.
---
It bothered her.
Sure, it was only one kid who didn't know anything he was talking about, but he was right, to some point.
She was only in the business because of her family, and she had been one of the worst bakers. Starting young meant nothing when her level of talent stayed on that of a six-year old's.
Miette and Slurpuff sat outside the bakery on the curb, waiting for the decision her father would make after the argument in the shop. More likely than not, she'd be suspended from working for a period of time, and the time she would have normally had to wait to enter kitchen work would be extended.
Then she saw Slurpuff out of the corner of her eye. It was holding a colorful flier of some sort, eager for Miette to see. It depicted young girls in extravagant outfits, posing with their dressed-up Pokémon.
"Sick of everyone praising trainers? Here's your chance to show off the wonders of Pokémon in a different way! Trainee class Pokémon Performance being held in Lumiose City soon, with guest star Queen Aria!" Attached to the flier were small rip-off papers that held contact information.
A performer.
Miette had seen performances before, but never thought about being a performer. To her, all it took was being pretty and a bit of coordination.
Then again, if she couldn't bake, what else could she do?
She heard the bell of the door ring behind her as her father came out the door. Before he could say anything, she popped up, looking him in the eyes. She held the flier tight in her hands.
"Before you say anything, it's okay, I quit. I'm gonna be a performer!"
---
She lost.
The Master Class had taken her years to reach. Miette had guessed she had entered over 30 contests. Of them all, she had reached the finals in no more than seven of them, only winning three. After each of the failures, she found herself back in a kitchen, baking the problem away.
Then she got to Master Class, and didn't make it at all.
She was happy to see Serena advance so far, almost beating out Aria herself.
But there was the bitter regret for not practicing more. The time she should have spent practicing, she spent baking. She could have beaten Serena, Shauna, or even that Jessilie to the semifinals, but she didn't. She wasted precious time on something she had given up on, ruining the one goal she felt she could actually achieve.
It took all her courage for Miette to finally return to Lumiose City a week after the Master Class had ended. She called her parents to let them know of her return and failure before flying back into Lumiose City. Slurpuff and Meowstic by her side, she wandered through the streets back to Powdered Dreams.
It had been over two years since she gave up on her dream of baking. She knew how disappointed her family would be to see her back, a failure. Just like all those years ago.
The bakery was a small lot on Jaune Plaza, but as she approached it, she could see it light up in the night, a contrast to the darker neighborhood of Lumiose.
She noticed one thing on the shop that was different than when she had left. There was a banner draped across the sign naming the bakery. It was unreadable from her distance, but the curiosity led her to add some speed to her step. Slurpuff and Meowstic followed behind her, trailing as she broke into a run.
The banner had a light blue backdrop, with large teal text. "Congratulations to our Master Class Participant, Miette!" Through the shop windows, she could see people gathered. She didn't hesitate to push open the door.
"Welcome home!" Her father's voice was the loudest of the small crowd that had gathered.
The next few moments blurred by in Miette's eyes, mostly shrouded by the tears that were forming. She ran to her parents, who each grabbed her in a hug.
"I'm sorry I lost. I guess I disappointed you again." Miette mumbled the words, not expecting anyone to hear.
"You did so good, sweetie." Her mother's warm voice whispered in her ear. "Winning isn't everything."
They remained in the hug for a bit longer before Miette finally pulled away. "So, all Master Class participants had to win three keys first, right?" Her father asked, to which she nodded. "Why don't you tell us about those wins?
"Oh, well, each contest has a different primary round to pick up to eight finalists. They're all themed differently, because the Kalos Queen has to have many different qualities. Some of them are fashion contests, some of them are knowledge tests, and some even involved baking. I guess it's kind of ironic that almost all of the primary rounds that I won and advanced to finals in were baking, including the three wins I had."
"Well, look at my daughter, everyone! She baked her way into Master Class!" The pride her father took in her confused Miette.
I quit baking. I'm a performer.
"I know you're a busy performer now, but we've been meaning to ask if after you've settled down, you'd want to come back to the bakery?" Her mother interrupted, holding an apron. It was very simple, a pale pink with blue trim, and an embroidered Poképuff in the bottom corner. All bakers in the kitchen wore similar uniforms.
Miette paused and thought for a moment. Slurpuff ran into her legs behind her, shaking her from her thoughts, bringing her to a decision. Calmly, she spoke.
"Performing was fun, but I'm no good at it. Baking, on the other hand, is everything I've ever wanted to be. I'd love to come back."
A few people cheered as she put the apron on.
It was in a way she hadn't expected, but putting on the uniform apron of the bakery symbolized everything she had wanted as a kid.
She was a part of the business her family held, and now she knew what she wanted.
She wanted to bake.