Chapter 3: Elite & Greet
Brock, Misty and May had a taste of what Totsuki had to offer from Soma and Ash won an exciting battle with a trainer's Aggron. Ikumi, Megumi and Erina escorted Ash, Max and Pikachu inside the resort. While they began to find Soma and the rest, a limousine emerged from the same tunnel as the buses before. Who would be inside? At the resort, Ash, Max and the girls reached the kitchen with the rest. "Hey, guys!" greeted Soma. "Did you show Tiger off, Mi-Meat?" Ikumi irked to Soma's tease.
"First off, don't call me that in public, Soma," she growled. "And second, no. I'm not risking Tiger's mentality with so many people around!" Brock wasted little time and grabbed Ikumi's hands.
"That may be a thing to discover once I offer a way to tenderize that heart of yours with my cooking!" he proposed. Ikumi gawked to Brock's approach. Max approached and snagged Brock's earlobe, hurting Brock and breaking his hold as Hisako returned to Erina's side with some documents.
"It's off to the meat locker with you!" he scolded. Ash, May and Misty sighed as Ikumi brushed off her hands.
"Max has learned a lot from me, apparently," Misty muttered.
"Aren't you glad I don't act like that?" asked Ash.
"You do with Pokémon," May reminded. Ash gawked to May's retort. Seeing Max, Soma had a thought.
"Momo might enjoy that boy as a decent friend," he studied. Erina and Megumi wanted to smack Soma about the remark.
"Sure, if Momo was half of her age," Erina reminded. Ash and the younger girls blinked to the director's comment. Rindo came over to see the ordeal.
"Hey, did that guy propose to you, Director?" she asked. Erina shook her head.
"It was me," Ikumi corrected as she raised her hand. Soma had a moment to pet Pikachu.
"A little cute guy with a lot of charm," Soma motioned.
"And Pikachu beat an Aggron with some unique abilities," Megumi informed.
"Oh, you did?" awed Soma until he brought out a bite-size omelet with tomato sauce. Seeing a small fork, Pikachu cut a piece off with the side of said fork and dipped it into the sauce before trying it.
"I recall that style of omelet when you made 200 of those in such a short time," Erina remembered. When Pikachu took the bite, his mind raced. In it, he could feel himself emitting an impressive amount of electricity that clouds were evaporated. In reality, Pikachu passed out with a big grin. May caught the fork.
"Is Pikachu okay?" she asked. Seeing Pikachu's face, Ash laughed.
"Pikachu's just fine," Ash assured. "By the way, who are you? And what did you do to make Pikachu happily pass out?"
"Oh, it's a sauce of ripe Roma tomatoes with a sprinkle of a mint leaf and parsley," Soma started. "I also added fingernail-thin onion slivers cooked into the omelet to add a touch of flavor that you'd need sharp eyes to find." Max returned and heard Soma's listing of ingredients.
"Whoa, who could do something like that?" he awed. "Not that I'm complaining, but that's pretty cool!" Rindo palmed and petted Max's head.
"Such a simple recipe, unlike that 'Pork Roast, Just Kidding!' that you pulled off," Erina scoffed.
"Ask me to do so, and I'll be able to provide it again," Soma retorted. Erina sighed and jerked her head to stop facing Soma, Misty and May noticing.
"Soma Yukihira, always trying to impress our director," Ikumi muttered. The younger set gasped to Erina's title.
"You're the director!?" repeated Max.
"Indeed, little one," Erina confirmed. "My name is Erina Nakiri, director of the Totsuki Culinary Academy."
"It's a school where students learn numerous methods in making foods," Misty summarized. Ash awed the reasoning of the Academy.
"Wow, your school sounds exciting!" he awed. "I can see how Pokémon Food can be made better by attending!"
("So can I!") agreed Pikachu. Megumi petted Pikachu's head.
"And I am Hisako Arato," Hisako voiced. "I'm Erina's secretary in helping of her position." Ash offered a handshake, but neither girl offered a hand back. The others glared at the two with how rude their rejections were.
"Anyway, what about this 'Tiger' Soma mentioned?" wondered Misty. Ikumi nodded, thinking it's okay to show off Tiger.
"Here's Tiger!" she voiced as she released Tiger.
"It's a Growlithe!" laughed Max. Tiger reached, tackled and licked Max.
"A Growlithe is a loyal Pokémon to have around, uh…" started Ash. "We didn't get the rest of the names."
"Oh, I'm Ikumi Mito," Ikumi named before turning to Megumi who had Pikachu in her arms. "The one enjoying Pikachu is Megumi Todokora and that's Rindo Kobayashi." The younger kids awed the students of the Academy.
"And you're all upcoming chefs," May admired. "I can't wait to see what you all have to offer!"
"Tell me about it," Ash giggled. "I'm willing to try anything!" In a flash, Soma shoved a grilled tentacle smothered in peanut butter in Ash's mouth. Pulling the chopsticks in Soma's hand, it came out of the mouth with a trace of melted peanut butter still on.
"Hey, I'm always willing to offer," he joked. Ash swallowed the grilled tentacle before collapsing to his knee. He gagged a little. Max offered a glass of water.
"Here, Ash!" he presented. Ash took the glass and chugged the water in one gulp. Once washed, Ash breathed a little easier.
"Me and my big mouth," he groaned. "What was that?" Ikumi and Tiger helped Ash back up.
"Soma's grilled squid tentacles covered in peanut butter," she briefed. "Most of us have had a taste." Ash shook his head at the taste.
"The first time I had peanut butter and didn't like it," he moaned. "Hopefully, the dishes will be real, especially with Prima around." This sparked Misty's interest.
"Prima!?" she gasped. "As in… Prima of the Elite Four!?" Ash nodded.
"She's here, alright," Max backed up. "She judged Ash's battle." Misty became elated to hear about Prima on the island.
"Wow, Prima of Kanto's Elite Four!?" repeated May. "I wanna know where she is!" Those from Totsuki blinked, confused to the hype.
"Elite… Four?" repeated Megumi. May decided to voice for the others.
"The Elite Four are the region's strongest Pokémon Trainers with the region's Champion being the ultimate goal," she started. "The Elite Four specialize in specific Pokémon Types."
"I battled Prima in the Orange Islands, who specializes in Ice-Type Pokémon, but lost," Ash admitted. "Same thing with Agatha, who specializes in Ghost-Type Pokémon." Megumi had chills run down her body. Tiger barked in concern.
"Megumi?" called out Soma. Tiger pawed Megumi's knee, which snapped her from her trembling.
"Tiger?" she noticed. She petted Tiger, praising him.
"So, your Elite Four and our Elite Ten Council are pretty similar," Erina compared. The trainers blinked to the mention from the Director.
"Elite Ten?" repeated Ash.
"They're Totsuki's ten best chefs," Megumi briefed. "The seats are for those who've accomplished culinary feats surpassing others, clinically in Food Wars." Now, the kids were more befuddled.
"Food Wars?" repeated Misty.
"Stay long enough, and you'll see one," Ikumi promised. "Besides, the top seat of that Council stands with us, as well as another member of the seat."
"You mean yourself?" guessed May.
"Well, I wish," Ikumi sighed. "Soma holds the top spot while Megumi has the 10th seat." The kids and Pikachu awed the members of the Council as Ash approached Megumi.
"Hearing that, I'd like to try something from you soon," he wished. Megumi hiccuped at the request.
"Yo-You wo-would?" she stuttered.
("Same here!") added Pikachu. This brought more pets to the Mouse Pokémon.
"Who knows, it might help out in that Street Tournament," Soma suggested. Ash nodded as Erina sensed something about the young boy.
'What is it about Ash that's catching my interest?' she thought. 'Could he be someone who could dethrone Soma? It's… interesting to say…' After the meeting, Ash, Misty and Pikachu were part of a growing crowd as the TotsukiMon Convention had begun. Hundreds of people have gathered to be part of the convention. Totsuki's students were introduced to plenty of foods that seem to have come from around the world, including Soma's samples of a roast with potato, mushroom and onion in the middle.
"Hey, that's the 'Pork Roast, Just Kidding!' dish," Daigo realized.
"I know!" smiled Soma. "I had some extra time to prepare for this." Daigo sighed with a smile. That's when he spotted another booth garnering attention and behind the booth off Deviled Eggs was a silver-haired teen girl in the white chef's uniform. "Alice has egged some people over." Satoshi laughed to the pun.
"Good one, Soma," he laughed. Hisako, wearing a similar chef's outfit, approached Soma's booth.
"Yukihira, substitute!" she ordered. "You have an interview."
"Okay!" accepted Soma. "By the way, the next batch is five minutes from being done." Hisako nodded before Soma stepped away. At a booth away from the action was one where a young redhead woman with longer hair than Misty and May combined waited. She wore glasses and a green shirt.
"You're listening to DJ Mary, coming to you live from the TotsukiMon Convention on Seafoam Island where we get a taste of new worlds," she voiced as Soma approached the booth. "One thing about how Totsuki Culinary Academy is their seats, otherwise known as the Elite Ten. Somewhat different from the Elite Four in the regions of Pokémon. I have the young man at #1 of the Elite Ten Council of Totsuki, Mr. Soma Yukihira!" Soma applied a headset as he wrapped his arm back up.
"Thanks for having me on, DJ Mary," he greeted.
"No problem, Soma. How has it been in the past couple of days?"
"Easy to get along with the people and who knows, I might be going back with more than knowledge heading towards graduation."
"Right, I heard about it from Erina who was in the booth earlier. By the way, what do you mean 'more than knowledge'?"
"If I get a chance, I might be like Mi-Meat and bring home a Pokémon."
"Oh, the Growlithe that I saw by her… I hope so, too. Anyway, what do you think your goal is with the TotsukiMon Convention?"
"It's fairly easy to answer: We hope the people who come to the convention have knowledge in cooking, not just for themselves but also the Pokémon they have around." Hearing nearby, Erina sighed, fluster fading.
'Here I am, thinking he would pull the same shenanigans as he did at the Opening Ceremony,' she thought. There were a handful of battles as well that took place. As the sun set, Misty and May found Prima where they talked about what had happened since Misty and Prima last saw each other. Ash's friends met other students, including other members of the Elite Ten and learning that Erina was a former member of the Council.
"That was a great day," Rindo giggled as they entered the resort. "And I saw that Ash is in the main stage of the Street Tournament."
"Hey, I can't wait to get into battle mode!" he voiced. Just then, they viewed a score of women surrounding a restaurant.
"Hey, what's going on over there?" asked Max.
"Well, I can tell you one thing for sure," Brock grunted. "It's a paradise of Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies!" There were a few teal-haired women in police uniforms with skirts and stiletto pumps and pink-haired women with loops for their designs and nurse uniforms to go with other women like DJ Mary. Prima also came by. Brock made a move, only to be stopped by Megumi wielding a table tennis paddle. There was enough force to knock him unconscious.
"Can we stick to the more non-violent ways?" mulled Ash. As the group approached, they saw a tall and rather muscular brunette man with a few bangs over his face. He wore a similar shirt to Soma. He made several unique dishes like a ramen with rich broth and a seafood soup which had clams and oysters in it. Looking, Ash began to drool at the food.
"Seeing all of that, I'm starving!" he giggled. Misty and May gawked and eyes replaced by hearts as the man stepped out.
"A lot of hungry customers!" he laughed. "Come on in." Misty and May couldn't hold in their excitement.
"That hair, those eyes, they are a man's look!" listed Misty.
"And those muscles make me wanna be lifted by him!" added May.
"Hey, all I'm interested in is the food," Ash scoffed.
"That goes for me as well," Max joined. However, Soma gasped to the man.
"DAD!?" he shouted. The trainers and Max turned to Soma with shock.
"DAD?" they repeated. The man turned to Soma and smiled.
"Great timing, Soma," he greeted. "I could use a hand in the kitchen. After all, we got a lot of customers to feed tonight."
"You got it!" accepted Soma. Misty and May's worlds shattered, learning about Soma's father.
"We… were… loving a… dad?" stuttered May.
"Somethings… too good… to be true…" trembled Misty before they fell.
"Wow, that's one way to react," Max gulped. Soma's father came to the trainers with Megumi stepping up to introduce.
"Yeah, he's also a former Elite Ten Council member and Soma's dad," she greeted. "Joichiro Yukihira." Joichiro nodded as Brock came to the father.
"I heard you need help in the kitchen," he volunteered. "I've been cooking for a long time! I can help out!"
"You got it!" allowed Joichiro as he pointed to the kitchen.
"This will be a disaster," Daigo muttered. Max nodded, remembering what Soma fed Ash before.
"Why don't you all come in?" Joichiro offered. "It's a taste of Restaurant Yukihira." The kids agreed and joined in the feast inside. The TotsukiMon Convention is off to a great start. What more is there to offer?
TO BE CONTINUED...