Chapter 9: Origin of the God Tongue
"Let the Food War… begin!" shouted Diego. Erina turned on the stove while Jessie attacked the fridge. Those sitting above the kitchens watched the different preparations between the two as Joichiro, Delia and Pete anticipated the results. Erina reached the fridge after that and gathered her ingredients, including the eggs which were the primary item of the Food War. Erina cracked eight eggs and dropped the yolks into a mixing bowl, discarding the eggshells. Jessie tossed the eggs, not cracked, into her mixing bowl as well as globs of raw meat. The eggshells were in the mix. Then, she poured every drop soy sauce, hot sauce and mayonnaise into the bowl. Erina applied a little butter to the skillet before swigging the hot pan around. As that butter melted, Erina chopped up parsley and chives. On the side, she steamed rice while chopping up the spikes off the tomato-like berry. She grilled onion and shrimp on a separate skillet, caramelizing on and in cooking oil. After mixing the egg yolks together, she saw the empty preheated skillet ready to use. Those in the seats above awed Erina's effort.
"The Director directing breakfast traffic like a pro!" awed May as she sat by Satoshi, Ryoko and Max.
"You can see why she was once a member of the Elite Ten before Soma stormed in," Ryoko briefed.
"Erina, I don't think I need to worry," Max laughed before turning to Jessie and her mess of a kitchen. "Jessonya, on the other hand…"
"Don't even ask," Satoshi groaned. Erina had a pan after scrambling the eggs and laid the steamed rice, forming a layer. Her short scrambling of the eggs provided a nod from the director. She poured the runny eggs on top of the rice, letting it bleed between the steam. To Soma, the dish was one he'd recognize.
"Egg-covered rice pilaf?" he guessed. Nearby, Ash turned to Soma.
"Pilaf?" he repeated.
"Seems like she's adopting a little from me," Soma snickered. Erina whipped out another pan onto a burner to pour the rice on, simmering the blend and adding some of the sliced berry in it. She slung it around, causing the rice to briefly exit the pan before catching it over and over. The two worked feverishly to finish their meals for the judges. When Erina finished, her dish was unique as the wild rice pilaf had pieces of the berry spikes and a light brown texture implied while the main dish was an omelet with grilled shrimp, caramelized onion, more of the berry inside with feta and a rich milky texture. Erina wiped her forehead with her wrist. Three plates were prepared, one for each judge. She placed the food on the tray and carried it over to the judges' table.
"Erina has completed her EGGcellent dish, or two for this matter," Diego punned. The judges had deadpan looks.
"Not funny!" they scorned. Diego gulped to the quick reply. Jessie quickly finished a gargantuan pile of purple something. Erina was the first to present her dish.
"Alright, Miss Nakiri," Pete greeted. "Seems you have a special rice pilaf with the omelet." Erina smirked to the notice.
"The rice pilaf is a bit special as I used the runoff of the egg yolk to give protein and absorbs the enzyme that is the egg's mitochondria," she began. "Then, I added the soft spikes of Tamato Berry, sprinkle a dash of feta and parsley to give it a milky aftertaste. As for the omelet: caramelized onion and shrimp mixed with bell pepper and bits of Oran and Tamato Berries, ripe for sweetness and spice… and there is a glaze of peanut butter to counter the sweetness to a degree of balance, a discovery by Soma himself." Joichiro seemed interested in the egg-rice pilaf.
"Mixing runny egg to the steamed rice," he repeated. "How interesting."
"A gust of wind of a new direction for me," Pete awed with an eyebrow raised.
"Well, let's try it," Delia urged before they all had a scoop of the pilaf. The tasting of the pilaf made the judges' mouth dance a little. "The egg simmers the sizzle of the Tamato Berry perfectly and adds the right amount of zest by the yolk!"
"Not to mention the rice is steamed perfectly for the absorption of the yolk and enzyme," Joichiro added.
"As an idealist of combinations, uniqueness tends to show no bounds and this is a new blend of rice that I could enjoy for years to come!" concluded Pete. Then, the omelet was next. Each one had a chunk of the omelet. In Joichiro's mind, his body ripped through his clothes. Pete's mind had him becoming zen and Delia's mind had her feeling like a child enjoying breakfast again.
"This is what a breakfast should be like!" cried Delia.
"A combination like this is enough to take me on a zest of ingenuity!" awed Pete.
"The peanut butter is a kooky ingredient," Joichiro criticized. "But it does add zing and coats the Tamato Berry perfectly." The three were satisfied with Erina's creation. Now came Jessie's mess as she presented a purple glop of a dish. Whatever was under the sludge was the food she prepared.
"Here you go!" she offered. "Scrambled eggs mixed with mayonnaise, Slowpoke tail, sliced pepperoni and wrapper bacon!" The judges looked horrified to the dish.
"What the hell…" mulled Jorchiro.
"Is this… even edible?" asked Delia.
"And did you say... a Slowpoke Tail?" questioned Pete.
"Come on," Jessie urged. "Royalty would eat this." To Delia, the Food War was over.
"Do you know that Pokémon are not supposed to be eaten, even if it is a part that was removed?" Jessie blinked, not sure what the deal was. "You're suppose to use regular food and nothing that has any tracing of a Pokémon."
"Jessonya, you're disquaified!" Pete weighed. "Trying to make use eat a Pokémon... You… are… the worst! And if I heard, you own a restaurant on Seafoam Island. With this disaster that you made, you'll be under a health and safety investigation for your presentation as you are disqualified from this Food War." He hit the blue button, marking a vote to Erina. Delia and Joichiro slammed their hands on the blue button. In a unanimous 3-0 vote, Erina was the victor.
"If you did this in Totsuki," Joichiro mulled. "You'd be expelled on the spot and no culinary school would accept you after that. You are a disgrace." Jessie became horrified, her heart crushed as the man she began to admire destroyed her dream with the judgment. Her anguish ballooned at the result and the people began to chant back at her.
"DISGRACE!" they repeatedly chanted. The calls made Jessie snap and raced for the judges, but James and Meowth came in, expecting her to lash out and attack.
"You'll pay for this!" yelled Jessie. "YOU'LL ALL PAY! MARK MY WORDS!"
"This is no time to argue, Jessie!" yelled James as he and Meowth wrestled Jessie out of the arena. As people tended to the kitchens, Erina reached, hugged and kissed Ash on the forehead with their friends watching. Ash's face became red, embarrassed.
"Never lost your touch," Soma smiled.
"Like hell I'd lose the God Tongue to someone who throws things together like that," Erina smiled. As she broke her hug, May offered a question.
"So, what's up with the God Tongue?" she asked. Hisako decided to speak up on Erina's behalf.
"The God's Tongue is a special culinary ability within Erina since her birth," she started. "It can detect the level and type of salt, cook times, even find ingredients like wheat germ used inappropriately. Erina can determine the level of heat and sweetness in one lick." Erina nodded to Hisako's description.
"Not one person has been able to supersede this trait I have," she bragged. However, she growled at Soma. 'At least until Soma's little style broke the tongue.' Max pondered to Erina's God Tongue a little more.
"That must be something if you can detect what you need to make your dish perfect," he awed.
"It's a delicate balance that only two people could master by having the God Tongue," Erina advised. Ash nodded, knowing that balance was key in making food. Day turned to early evening and after the stop at the Pokémon Center, Ash and Pikachu were out of there with Megumi, Misty and May.
"That was a trial by fire," Misty huffed. "Still, winning by the skin of his teeth is something Ash does."
"I'm not that bad, Misty," Ash mulled. "I'm in the Semifinals." May nodded to the information.
"I bet you can't wait to get your hands on the prize," she teased.
"And Pikachu was just as spectacular against that Skarmory," Megumi pointed out. "I also saw Pete in the stands after trying out Jessonya's cooking. He must have a strong stomach trying something that horrible." With the night approaching, Megumi had an offer. "May, Misty, would you like to join me and the rest of the girls?" Misty and May blinked to the offer. There was an open air bath in the early evening. The girls, including Misty and May, soaked in the open air bath. Rindo, Ryoko, Yuuki, Alice, the girls filled the tub and Misty, Rindo and Yuuki let their hair down. The overwhelming development of women made Yuuki feel insecured.
"So, this is what Megumi invited us to," Misty awed as she held a blue armless mouse with a buoyant ball on the tail.
"At least it lets us meet with other girls," May hushed. Ikumi saw Yuuki's head sinking into the water. Her eyes were on Misty and May as they had a bit of a development among their younger bodies.
"Yuuki?" asked Ikumi. Alice came over to the trainers who had a chance to talk to each other.
"What!?" snapped Yuuki while her mouth was submerged.
"Any reason you want to drown yourself?" questioned Ikumi. Yuuki's eyes darted to Misty and May as someone else wanted to join. Delia entered the bath.
"Oh, I haven't had a bath like this since I was in Silver Town," she awed.
"Oh, that pricey resort that was in the woods behind the main stadium?" guessed Misty.
"I heard that it was founded on some hot springs and the main guests' hotel had no vacancy," Delia pointed out. Yuuki mulled to how developed May and Misty were, despite being younger than her. Seeing Delia's developed body just as she joined the rest made her cry. Ikumi soon realized the issue.
"Hey, not everyone has it," she assured Yuuki. "There may be people who've had similar fates with body figure." Yuuki felt ridiculed and sunk herself deeper into the bath. Ash, Max and Pikachu joined the boys in the recreation center. They saw Soma and Takumi playing cards that looked smaller than normal.
"What are they playing?" asked Max. Pikachu was as curious.
"Soma likes to bring out Hanafuda to the boys on occasion," Satoshi referred. Ash's eyes lit up.
"Wow, you play Hanafuda as well?" he believed. Satoshi, Max and Pikachu gasped to Ash's claim.
"Wait, you know how to play this game!?" gawked Max.
"Yeah, Mom taught me a few years before I became a trainer," Ash added. "Some of Mom's teachings of Hanafuda tend to help with situations down the road."
"Okay, Ash," Daigo voiced. "If you know Hanafuda, I challenge you."
"Got it, Daigo!" accepted Ash before turning to Max. "Come on, you'll see how the game's played." Max became interested. Daigo handed Ash a few cards to which Ash laughed at, seeing his hand. After her bath, Delia was in the kitchen and kneeding dough. Joichiro came in.
"Hey!" he greeted. Delia turned to the alum from before.
"Oh, Soma's father!" she greeted. Joichiro scoffed to Delia's offered title.
"That's like me calling you Ash's mother. Besides, we learned each other's names being introduced earlier today."
"And Ash was able to determine who it was by Team Rocket's Meowth. He's told the students about them after Erina's God Tongue talk… Makes me wish for a restraining order against them, not that it would help out." Another scoff came from Joichiro.
"Well, we have strong sons so…" That's when Joichiro noticed the fresh dough. "What's on the menu tonight?"
"It's Ash's favorite, Deep Dish Chili Dog Pizza."
"Wait, pizza and chili dog? I wonder if we should have Pete join us for that. It seems right up his alley." Seeing the boiled hot dogs, Delia knew they were ready to cut the pork to pieces.
"And he should be feeling better after Jessie's disaster." She reached for the handle, but missed and touched the pot itself. "AH!" Instantly, she reeled back hard into Joichiro who caught her as she fell back first.
"Whoa, easy!" He held Delia up as Ash and Soma heard the yelp as they were on their way to the kitchen.
"Sorry."
"You're alright." Checking her hand, Delia looked for a blister or two as Joichiro also held to monitor. Feeling his hand, Delia felt her heart skip.
'His hand… His hand is so firm. I never felt this with my husband… so why is my heart just… beating so earnestly?' She wasn't the only one feeling a sudden skip of the heart.
'This feels kist like Tamako when I took her hand in marriage. Did- No, Tamako couldn't have been reborn… yet, it feels like her hand.' The two parents suddenly looked to each other, wondering if this was a sign of lost love joining. Ash, Soma and Pikachu gawked to the two as Megumi also joined, her hand on Ash's free shoulder.
"Dad?" quietly gasped Soma. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Mom?" shuttered Ash quietly. "What's this all about?" To Megumi, it was a joyous belief.
"This feels like we should help out," she whispered. Ash and Soma looked to Megumi, disproving the idea.
"They're adults," they mulled. "They'll be fine." Megumi didn't think Ash and Soma understood what she meant.
"No, I mean-" she tried to speak but sighed. "Come here!" The small bunch retreated from the entrance. "I feel like your parents are a great match that should be together! After all, your dad could use some love after what happened to your mom, right Soma?" The named boy sighed, thinking that it was a bit overboard.
"I know my dad can take care of himself," Soma dismissed.
"Maybe, but Ash…" addressed Megumi. "We haven't seen your dad. Did he die?" Ash shook his head.
"I wouldn't know since I never saw him," he mentioned.
"But since the two are together, perhaps we can work together to make a candlelight dinner in a couple of days," Megumi proposed. While Pikachu liked the idea, Ash and Soma had looks to say otherwise.
"They may look like an ideal pair," Soma muttered. "But it's too soon."
"Yeah, they just met," Ash added. Megumi could only wonder what to do. The Pichu brothers heard Megumi's idea, wishing to help make it possible.
TO BE CONTINUED… IN 2022.
(This story will continue in January. Meantime, keep the votes going as I start the AshMas soon.)