Chapter 7: Food War of Legends
Ash had advanced to the next round of the tournament, but another battle had been set. After seeing Delia confronted by Kojiro, Joichiro halted his advances. In his retort, Kojiro challenged the Elite Ten Alum to a Food War. Ash, Erina, Hisako and Pikachu arrived at a small arena where there were two sets of kitchens on each side and a booth at the far end. Each side had a fridge, sink, stove, cutting boards, knives, whisks, pots, pans… a smorgasbord of tools in a kitchen. One kitchen was marked blue and the other was red. "It's a good thing that I arranged an arena for this occasion," Erina nodded. Ash and Pikachu came to the booths in the back.
"So a panel of three judges determines the best meal," Ash assumed. "It's just like the Pokémon Contests May participates in." Hisako seemed interested in Ash's description.
"Care to explain?" she asked.
"Like this, there's three judges who watch and weigh in on Pokémon and their Coordinators in two rounds: the Appeals Stage and the Battle Stage," Ash started. "The Appeals Stage has each Pokémon perform on stage style and grace to their moves. The top eight go on to the Battle Stage where they have a five-minute Pokémon Battle where a score is displayed. There are three ways to win in that: you render the Pokémon unable to battle…"
"Like what you've been doing in the tournament," Erina pointed out.
"Yeah, like that," Ash shrugged. "You wipe out the opponent's score or you have more points than your opponent after the five minutes. At the end, the victor of the Pokémon Contest is given a ribbon. Five of them grants you a place in the region's Grand Festival." Hisako scoffed, not interested with Pokémon Contests.
"I see," Erina pondered. Hisako seemed a little taken aback.
"Director?" wondered Hisako.
"It's easy to see the comparison," Erina briefed. "Imagine if the Food War was based on the chef's cooking and rather the food. Soma would dominate the world on the spot… not that I would approve of the notion."
"Hey, learning that Soma and Joichiro cook on trial-and-error," Ash brought up. "I wouldn't be surprised if what he has in tomorrow's Food War is risky."
"To cook or to eat?" questioned Hisako. Pikachu had a laugh to the question addressed as Soma, Max and Remy entered. Megumi and the Pichu brothers followed soon after.
"Showing the kid around the arena, Erina?" asked Soma as the group approached. Pikachu hopped down to reach Megumi and the Pichus.
"Isn't it obvious, Soma?" scoffed Erina. "Besides, I still await the next challenge that removes you from your number one seat."
"And you believe Ash is the one, even though he's not a student?"
"Do not misinterpret my reasoning of having Ash with me. I'm merely having an exchange of information."
"Oh, I bet there's more that you want to share with him." The comeback embarrassed Erina, cheeks burning red, and she wasn't happy.
"SHUT UP, YOU INGRATE!" The argument allowed Max and Megumi to huddle back with Ash.
"I'm not sure what's going on myself," Max shrugged. "Are you trying to do a Brock yourself?" Ash groaned and palmed his face.
"Max, stop…" he mulled. "Should it matter if a girl is younger or older than me?"
"Well, not too much older," Megumi added. "Or… too much younger." Ash and Max shot a look back at Megumi.
"That's not the point!" they snapped back. Megumi took a step back from the reply. After the little time together in the arena, Megumi was in the kitchen and cutting vegetables and the Berries. Ash, Pikachu and the Pichu brothers joined as Megumi turned to a white bucket that had a spinning handle.
"Megumi?" he called. Megumi jumped at the notice, fear quickly causing her to jump.
"Don't do that!" she yelped.
"Sorry!" gawked Ash. Megumi calmed down, a hand on her chest.
"No, I'm sorry. I don't like it when people sneak up behind me." This caused the Pichu to squeak in apology. Megumi petted them in forgiveness. "And you're still young. You'll learn soon enough." The Pichu brothers squeaked in relief. Pikachu began to examine the bucket with a strainer with Ash looking on.
"Anyway, what's this?" he asked. Seeing the device, Megumi threw slices of a banana-like Berry into it.
"This is a dehydrator," she named. "My specialty is with veggies and how I dehydrate them. It preserves the vegetables and allows them to last longer." Ash and the Mice Pokémon awed the purpose.
"This can do that?"
"Of course. Imagine that you had leftover squash and that you could use for later. This can keep it fresh for longer than normal."
"That's amazing. I didn't know that you could do that with veggies." Then, a thought. "Could you do the same for fruits?"
"You can, but with the right ingredients, you can turn dehydrated fruit into candies." The Pokémon became excited to try candied fruit. Ash picked up the spiked tomato.
"I can start to imagine making Tamato Berries into a candy." That's when Megumi had a question of her own.
"By the way, where's Soma?"
"He's showing Remy around. Also, Misty seems to be getting a little attached to Takumi." The Pokémon brothers nodded to Ash's claim as they came out to see Soma and Remy with the Mouse Pokémon snacking on a slice of a blue berry.
"I still find it hard to believe you named this little guy after the animated movie," Ryoko awed.
"I know, and that it was able to point out ingredients like Remy did for Alfredo!" pointed out Satoshi.
"Right?" laughed Soma. "But like Professor Oak said about Tiger, there are times the Pokémon choose the trainer. I probably wouldn't mind too much."
"But it makes us want a Pokémon, too!" cried Yuuki.
"Same here!" added Daigo. Alice and Brock smiled at the scene while Erina and Hisako just watched. After a night, the next day occurred as the arena became packed with students, trainers and others as Ash, Delia and Soma with the Pokémon sat in the upper deck with the kitchens set and turned on. Wearing the white uniform, Erina came out to the floor. Kojiro, from a side entrance, eyed Delia.
'Soon, I will show you that you are the rightful one to my cuisines,' he thought. Takumi and Misty sat together as did May and Max, and Alice and Brock. Suddenly, a spotlight struck Pete who stood in the center between the booth and the kitchens.
"Pete!?" gawked May.
"Did Erina arrange him to stay?" wondered Max.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" started Pete. "Boy, girls, Pokémon of all ages! We welcome you to the TotsukiMon Convention's Food War! Now, unlike Pokémon Battles, these chefs will battle to see who has the better plate! Before we get the chefs out, let me introduce the three judges to weigh in on the food offered!" One spotlight struck a raven-haired man in an orange polo shirt similar to Max's with glasses over brown eyes and white slacks. "First judge is Diego!" Next was a grown redhead woman in a yellow summer robe under a blue dress. Ash, Misty and Pikachu's faces gawked to the sight of the woman. "Next judge is Kumquat Gym Leader and owner of the Kumquat Hotel, Luana!" The Pichu were wondering about Pikachu's reaction. So did Delia.
"Something wrong, Ash?" she asked.
"Let's say Luana mistook me for her son, Travis, when we visited her resort," Ash remembered. Delia snorted a giggle.
"Last judge…" restarted Pete as the last spotlight flashed Prima. "Member of the Elite Four in Kanto, Prima!" The three judges waived their hands to the cheering crowd. All three headed to the booths in the same order as their introductions. "Now, let's bring in the combatting chefs! Both are Totsuki alums and both have been members of the Elite Ten Council. Let's start with the First Seat of the 79th Generation: Kojiro Shinomiya!" Kojiro emerged and reached Pete, all while eyeing Delia. "His opponent is the Second Seat of the 69th Generation: Joichiro Yukihira!" Joichiro emerged as well, reaching Pete. The girls screamed for joy at Joichiro's arrival to which he acknowledged by waiving.
"Of course, the father of the current First Seat and his 'Anything Goes' style," Kojiro mocked. "And as only a Second Seat, you bow to me."
"Wow, I can see where dignity disappeared before my boy made it emerge again," Joichiro scoffed. "Now, you're after a woman that you happen to lay your eyes on? What has happened to you?"
"That's for me to know and you to just walk away from!"
"Can't. After all, you challenged me to this."
"So I did… What you should do when I flambe the smart mouth of yours is rescind your legacy. You may have been the second seat but all you'll have is shame."
"Okay, and when I win, the woman you want is off-limits." The exchange made Kojiro steamed.
"This has the making of a good cookout," Luana joked. Joichiro and Kojiro retreat to their kitchens: Kojiro in the blue side and Joichiro on the red.
"On today's menu," Pete read from a card. "It's Ratatouille! Luckily, these two have shopped around for the ingredients needed. With that, let the Food War… BEGIN!" The combating chefs turned on the stoves. The two began slicing zucchini, onion after peeled, eggplant and bell peppers… but Joichiro also sliced the blue berry, a pear-like berry with some red dots and a pink berry that looked like it had three claws. Watching, Ash observed both styles as Parmesan cheese was being grated.
"I see what a Food War has," he studied. "It's not only a match of styles, it also brings creativity."
"Indeed," Soma confirmed. "It can be a battle of wits and imagination." A sauce is mixed with parsley, salt, garlic and the Parmesan cheese. Kojiro and Joichiro brought out a saute pan and began to line each with the vegetables, Joichiro adding the berry slices.
"It's just like the Confit Byaldi Ratatouille from the movie," Takumi realized. While they made finishing touches to their Ratatouille dishes, Ash sensed something off and turned to Delia… who disappeared. As that happened, Luana released a yellow humanoid creature with a huge mustache across its snout and holding a spoon in each hand which the arms came from brown shoulder guards. The ears were hard and pointy. Prima had a pink hippo that stood straight up on its hind legs and a large spiral conch shell with eyes appearing to bite its tail, literally. Diego had a gray hyena pup by him. When the chefs removed their dishes from the oven, they had a spiral of the vegetables in a theme. Both had onion, eggplant, pepper and zucchini in that order with Joichiro having berries between the vegetables. Kojiro presented his first.
"Here is mine," he offered. Joichiro waited for his chance as the judges shared their pieces of the dish and shared it with their creatures.
"It's what to expect from a dish and that the tastes are refined," Diego surveyed.
"It's a definite taste of what they have in their world," Luana offered.
"But it's typical and there's no real zing implied," Prima judged. Kojiro wasn't happy with the results as the Pokémon had their turn. The three didn't have much of an opinion.
"And now, it's my turn," Joichiro declared. Seeing Joichiro's Ratatouille, Kojiro scoffed.
"Is this the infamous Yukihira style that your son got from you?" he mocked.
"You wouldn't know until you try it," Joichiro snorted. The judges took Joichiro's Ratatouille and tried it. Their eyes began to widen.
"Oh… wow!" gawked Diego. "This is a prodigious extension of creativity!"
"It feels as if a paradise for the Pokémon was served and the combination of Sitrus, Oran and Perism Berries adds that kick!" awed Luana.
"This is a great blend of both worlds, not sticking with one and no doubt my Slowbro would love it a lot!" added Prima as the Pokémon tried the other Ratatouille. They acted as if they tasted something heavenly. Kojiro seemed to be panicking as the judges hit the red buzzer. All three lights were red.
"It's unanimous!" realized Pete. "The winner of this food war is… Joichiro Yukihira!" The crowd cheered as Kojiro threw down his tie.
"Okay, Soma's dad is awesome!" laughed Max.
"And to think, I learned from him!" added Soma. Outside, Ash and Pikachu found Delia with the Pichu brothers.
"Mom?" called Ash. "Is something wrong?" Delia her head from her son.
"It's… personal…" she muttered. Ash wanted to say something when a dejected Kojiro emerged.
"You don't need to address her right now," he argued. "Besides, I should be the one to comfort her." He gave Ash a stern look as he approached Delia… only for Joichiro to clasp his head.
"Did you forget the wager?" he warned. He wanted to argue but he decided to cut his losses.
"This isn't over for me," he advised. "You will be mine soon enough." With that, Kojiro walked away. Delia looked at Kojiro, wondering his ordeal. Ash and Pikachu were worried about their mother. What could it be about?
TO BE CONTINUED...