Episode 4: It's Going, Going, Scone!
On their way to Marguerite City for their first Anora Gym Battle, our heroes are taking a wander through a small town to check out the sights. The narrator laughs Although, as per usual, Ash once again has something certain on his mind…
"Oh man! I'm so hungry!" Ash complains as he and Mircea wander past various shops and stores.
"We didn't eat that long ago, and you're already hungry?" Mircea sighs.
"Hey, I just really like eating." Ash retorts, holding a hand to his stomach.
Mircea looks up to a large sign saying 'Reyn's Desserts and Delights.' A picture of a Slurpuff and a new Pokemon Ash has not seen before are on either side of the sign.
"Maybe we can go in there and get you something to eat?" Mircea turns to Ash.
"Awesome! I could eat everything they have here!" he declares excitedly and darts in through the front doors.
"A-Ash! W-wait up!" Mircea gasps and follows after him.
When the two of them walk inside, they stop and stare at all the bright, vibrant colours plastered around the small but cozy cafe. Various Pokemon are plodding around, carrying plates of all kinds of food, and a few customers are busy tucking into their meals at the tables nearby.
"Wow, check out this place!" Ash exclaims, his eyes dart around at all the sights and smells.
A young woman with big round glasses, long flowing dark-green hair, with a curl at the top, wearing a bright orange and white apron approaches, a big, cheesy grin on her face.
"Hi! Welcome to Reyn's Desserts and Delights! My name is Reyn, and it's so awesome to meet you!" She beams brightly. "Can I get you two a table?"
"Y-yes please." Mircea nods shyly.
"Great! Let me just… oh dear…" Reyn starts to fumble around in her pockets, before getting out her notepad and pen.
"There we go… now, what would you two like to order?" she says, her smile returning.
Ash and Mircea sit down together at their table and glance through their menus. Ash looks up at Reyn and points to one of the meals listed on the menu.
"'Scuse me, but what's the 'Sweet Supreme'?" he asks.
"Oh it's one of the best dishes in this cafe!" Reyn grins, her eyes twinkle with little stars. "It is crafted not only by me, but also by the lovely Pokemon that work here."
She turns to the left and holds an arm out as a few Pokemon walk over to the table. One of the Pokemon is a Slurpuff, its signature big tongue hangs out its mouth to one side. Another one is a Miltank. And the third Pokemon is one Ash is not familiar with, though Mircea remembers it a little.
"H-hey, that's an Applin. I've read about that Pokemon before in a book when I was a kid." he explains, "But this one is kinda different to the one I remember."
The Applin looks up at them both and Ash gets a better look at it. It is coloured a shiny golden, with tiny angelic like wings on its back, heart shaped eyes on the top and a small green tail at the back.
Ash holds his Pokedex up to the Applin and activates it.
"Applin, the Apple Core Pokemon, and a Grass and Fairy combo type. In the Anora Region, Applin spend a lot of their lives outside in bright sunshine, and constantly eat honey and nectar, which causes their golden colour. When they shed their skin, it is often used in many meals and desserts."
"Woah, I've never seen an Applin before." Ash gazes at the small, apple-shaped Pokemon which continues to look up at him.
"The Pokemon here in my cafe are always on hand to help make the meals and desserts you eat as perfect as possible." Reyn grins, as she adjusts her big glasses slightly, before she kneels down and picks up her Applin off the floor and holds it in her hands.
"Lil' Applin here has been my buddy for a while. I don't actually own any of the other Pokemon here but Applin has always been by my side." she gleams, before putting Applin back down on the floor as someone calls her from the kitchen nearby.
Ash and Mircea watch her leave before looking back at their menus.
"Honestly, Reyn! You should be getting the customers their food right away! Not chatting with them, you're wasting precious time and money!" a woman around the same age as Reyn snaps angrily.
Ash and Mircea glance up from their menus and watch the conversation unfold.
"I-I'm sorry… I just get really excited talking to new people…" Reyn shuffles her feet awkwardly, looking down with embarrassment. The other woman holds a hand to her head and groans.
"Reyn, Reyn… this isn't good for business, I'm really not sure why I still keep you around here… I bet that Pokemon will be back for more of our food now that our backs are turned-"
Suddenly, a loud crash sound rings out from nearby a closed door. Reyn and the other woman race off to the source of the crash.
"Hey, where do you think they are going?" Mircea asks.
"We should probably help them!" Ash declares and follows after them, Mircea follows behind him, though as usual, rather apprehensively.
As Ash and Mircea follow Reyn and the woman through the door, they stop as they see a ton of upturned boxes and crates, various snacks and sweets scattered across the floor, and in the middle of the mess, a small and round mouse-like Pokemon, stuffing its face with as much food as it can possibly eat. It then stops and turns to face the four people.
It is coloured a mix of grey, white, yellow and pink, almost like some kind of vibrantly coloured sweet. It has big ears with curved bite marks at the top in both of them. A long curvy tail protrudes its round body, and a thick smell of honey and sugar seems to emanate from it. Ash gets out his Pokedex as the Pokemon looks up at him, though with closed eyes that make it look permanently asleep.
"Rodicious, the Edible Pokemon, and a Normal type. Rodicious are a very common Pokemon in the Anora Region and were known for being eaten by people many years ago. They can eat an endless supply of food, though have trouble hiding their distinct sweet smell from predators. Rodicious are also known for being rather slow and always sleeping."
"Ro?" Rodicious looks up at Ash before stuffing a big doughnut in its mouth and races off, clutching several sugary treats with it.
"Come back, you thief!" The woman Reyn is with shouts and chases after it, out the back door of the food storage room.
"Rodicious often shows up here to steal food to eat, it's a Pokemon known for being insatiably hungry!" Reyn explains before following close behind.
"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash declares as Pikachu leaps off his shoulder and the two of them chase after Rodicious.
"Wait up!" Mircea calls and races behind them.
As the four of them chased after Rodicious, Ash looked down and noticed that Rodicious was moving very slowly.
"It's not really fast, is it?" he asks, as Rodicious stops moving and turns back to face them.
"Careful, Rodicious is preparing to attack!" the woman exclaims, as Rodicious begins to inhale and puff out its cheeks, before letting out a massive Yawn.
As the attack hits everyone surrounding it, they all start to stumble slightly and feel rather sleepy.
"Wh-what's going on?" Ash asks, before he trips over with everyone else and falls on the ground.
When Ash wakes up a little while later, he glances around as he begins to stand on his feet. As he looks around, he notices that Mircea and Reyn have vanished, and he was left with just Pikachu and the woman Reyn had been talking to earlier.
"Wh-where is everyone else?" Ash yawns as he looks all around for any sign of Reyn or Mircea.
"Rodicious probably hid them from us somewhere, we should start looking for them." the woman gets up off her feet after waking up and she and Ash start to walk together through the woods.
As they walked along, Ash managed to get a proper look at the woman. She had bright, poofy red hair with curls all-round the top, a white and green apron around her chest.
"Why were you so angry at Reyn for? She was just trying to be friendly?" Ash asks her, rather annoyed by her earlier attitude.
The woman sighs. "Well, my sister Reyn is really ditzy and clumsy, very forgetful too. Our family business has always strived for excellent quality in service and no slacking whatsoever."
"Maybe you could try being a little less harsh to her? She seems to be fine at her job to me." Ash replies.
The woman looks down at her feet before glancing back over her shoulder at Ash as he walks alongside her.
"By the way, my name is Poppy." she says, a small smile forming on her face, though very faint.
"I'm Ash Ketchum, and this is Pikachu." Ash replies, stroking Pikachu's ears.
"Pika!" Pikachu replies with a smile.
"Well, Ash, do you have any way of tracking down Reyn and your friend?" Poppy asks.
Ash ponders for a moment before…
"Oh yeah! I choose you, Hoopkoo!" he calls as he throws a Poke Ball up into the air and Hoopkoo flies out of it.
"Hoooooo!" it calls.
"Hoopkoo! I need you to help me out with finding Mircea and Reyn! We think that a Pokemon named Rodicious has taken them somewhere!" Ash calls up to.
Hoopkoo nods its head and flies off over the trees.
"Hoopkoo has a distinct sound it can make that Mircea might be able to hear." Ash explains as the two of them continue to look through the many trees and bushes.
Meanwhile, in another part of the woods, Mircea and Reyn are waking up near each other. Mircea gives a loud yawn as he looks around at the many trees surrounding them.
"Wh-what happened?" he asks, confused.
Reyn manages to wake up after him and adjusts her big glasses.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I remember that we got knocked out by Rodicious' Yawn attack… and then… Well, we're now."
The two of them look around and gasp as they both see Rodicious as it stands nearby.
"Ah! It's R-Rodicious again!" Mircea squeaks in fright.
"Ro ro, rodiiiii!" Rodicious squeaks at them, waving its arms about in the air.
"I think Rodicious wants us to follow it." Reyn gets up off the ground and begins to walk after Rodicious, Mircea gets up and follows behind them both a few seconds later.
The two of them follow Rodicious all the way over to a large clearing, where there is a large crowd of many other Rodicious and a much bigger mouse-like Pokemon standing in the middle. It has many of the same attributes as Rodicious only it is much bigger, rounder, has rather bulky arms and legs, and has a large terracotta pot-like object around its body, with holes for the arms and legs. Like Rodicious, this Pokemon also has its eyes closed.
"I guess that must be their leader…" Mircea muses as they approach the large circle of Rodicious.
"Dorrrrr!" the large mouse in the middle roars at the approaching Rodicious.
"Ro ro!" Rodicious replies, waving its arms up to the leader, then back at Mircea and Reyn.
"What are they saying?" Mircea asks Reyn.
"I think that this Rodicious here is trying to tell the leader something about us." Reyn replies.
The two of them watch as Rodicious points to the leader then back to Reyn.
Rodicious then jumps in front of Reyn and starts miming the actions of stirring something, along with acting like a chef almost.
"Oh! I get it!" Reyn exclaims. "Rodicious wants me to help cook something for their leader!" She jumps up and down and in excitement and hurries over to the giant mouse Pokemon.
Overheard, Hoopkoo looks down and starts to tweet loud enough for Mircea to hear. He glances up and smiles happily when he sees Hoopkoo.
"Hey Hoopkoo! Good to see you!" he calls up, "Tell Ash that I'm doing just fine!"
Hoopkoo nods and flies off to find Ash and Poppy.
Ash and Poppy are still wandering aimlessly through the woods until they stop and see Hoopkoo flying above them.
"Hoo hoo!"
"Hey, Hoopkoo! Have you found Mircea and Reyn?" Ash calls up.
"Hoo!"
"Alright then, lead the way!"
Eventually, Ash and Poppy, led by Hoopkoo, arrive at the clearing, still filled with the many Rodicious. They stop once they see Mircea and Reyn, the latter of whom is stirring a big spoon in a giant pot, the smell from which is filled with sugary sweetness.
"Reyn, there you are!" Poppy exclaims.
"Hey, who's that Pokemon there?" Ash asks, lifting up his Pokedex in front of the giant mouse Pokemon.
"Dorcotta, the Edible Pokemon, a Normal and Rock combo type, and the evolved form of Rodicious. A lot of the food that Dorcotta eats is then transferred into a hard substance similar to that of terracotta that forms around the Pokemon's body. Whilst very slow and lazy, it does possess a lot of strength, though finds it hard to put it to good use."
"What's it doing?" Ash asks Mircea.
"Reyn over there is helping Dorcotta and the Rodicious make meals. From what I gathered, the Rodicious are led by Dorcotta to steal all the tasty treats from Reyn's cafe because they either can't seem to make good tasting food for themselves or because they just love how good the food at the cafe is." Mircea explains.
Ash, Mircea and Poppy sat down together and watched as Reyn seems to be giving many instructions to Dorcotta on how to cook and bake.
Eventually, all the Rodicious and Dorcotta cheer happily.
Poppy watches the scene unfold with interest, a smile forming on her face.
"What did they say?" Ash asks with interest.
"I think that Dorcotta and the Rodicious just wanted to be able to get a good meal. Dorcotta has been trying to cook itself but can't seem to make a good meal for the Rodicious. So I think they brought me here to try and help them with their problem."
"Well, you certainly did a great job, sis." Poppy smiles.
"Aw thanks, Pops!" Reyn giggles, her signature bubbly smile returning.
"Well, I better get going now. I'm glad I could help you all out." she calls to the Rodicious and Dorcotta, who all wave goodbye to her happily.
"We better get back to the cafe now." Poppy chuckles and the four of them walk all the way back to the town.
Back at the cafe, Ash and Mircea have finished eating a large meal and are getting up from their seats and getting ready to head out again.
"Well, thanks so much for the meal. It was great!" Ash beams happily.
"No problem, I've had a pretty fun day today." Reyn smiles. She then takes two quick glances at both Ash and Mircea. "Are you two Pokemon trainers by any chance? You know, travelling around the region? Catching Pokemon and battling Gym Leaders?" she asks.
"Y-yeah, why?" Mircea asks.
Reyn looks back at the kitchen and hurries over to it. Ash and Mircea look at each other and follow her inside.
"P-Pops.. I-" Reyn begins as she enters the kitchen.
"I know, sis. You're once again so unsure of what your goals in life are. I know that you wanted to travel around Anora and try being a Pokemon Trainer." Poppy replies, as she turns to face Reyn whilst whisking in a bowl. "If you are absolutely sure of leaving the cafe, that's totally fine. You go out and have some fun."
"I-I-..." Reyn begins to bawl, and holds her hands up to her face. "Thanks so much, Pops!" She rushes over to her sister and hugs her tightly.
"Ahhh… you're kinda choking me, sis!" Poppy gasps.
"Oh! Sorry…" Reyn stops hugging her instantly and dries her glasses.
"So you want to be a Pokemon Trainer?" Ash asks as he approaches Reyn.
"Ye-yeah! I'm really not sure though if I'd be good at it…"
"Don't worry!" Mircea exclaims as he follows behind Ash. "Ash here is a fantastic trainer, and I'm following in his footsteps to be a better trainer!"
Ash chuckles and blushes bright red. "Maybe you should come with us? It would be nice to have some more company."
Reyn turns to look at Poppy who gives her a thumbs up.
"I'm sorry for being harsh on you over the years sis. Hopefully this will get me out of your hair." she giggles.
"I-I'll make you proud of me, sis!" Reyn beams happily, pulling in Poppy, Ash and Mircea for one big hug.
"Too tight, too tight!" Ash gasps.
"Everything ready to go, Reyn?" Ash asks a few minutes later, as he watches Reyn pack a very large backpack full of maps, pots and pans, camping equipment, food and Poke Balls.
"Yeah! Man, I'm psyched!" she squeals. "I'm gonna go out there and do so much stuff you won't believe it!"
Ash laughs happily, and eventually, he, Mircea and Reyn all gather outside and start walking out of the cafe, whilst saying goodbye to Poppy.
And so, our heroes have now gained a new travelling companion in the form of the bubbly Reyn. Having helped out some Rodicious and their leader Dorcotta with a cooking problem, Ash and Pikachu are once again on the road towards their first Gym Battle in the Anora Region. Even more adventures and excitement await our heroes as the journey continues…
To Be Continued...