When someone asks you why your cooking is so delicious, even moving them to tears, what is the standard answer?
The answer is: "I added onions." Or, "I used a flashbang!"
"Onions…?"
Hikaru blurted it out on reflex, then immediately realized that was not the point.
The key was not what ingredient you added. It was the cooking technique.
Mm, also… once onions were mentioned, Celebi's head inevitably popped into his mind.
Dendra's cooking skill was so catastrophically bad that even when she made something as simple as a sandwich, she could give her friends stomachaches.
Her sandwiches had been evaluated as dry and hard, with a pungent smell, and absolutely no taste when you chewed them.
Honestly, Hikaru really could not understand how you could mess up something as simple as a sandwich like that. If you told him she overcooked curry until it turned into mush, that would at least still be somewhat understandable—
Dendra: "The secret is… onions? Or maybe Scallion Berries?"
"Y-Yes! That's it! So what I've been missing is onions!"
She clenched her fist in excitement. "I've been to a lot of restaurants, but honestly, not even the dishes at the Kofu Lounge can compare to this meal!"
"I don't know if it's just because I'm really hungry—no, wait, every time I go to a restaurant I'm really hungry…"
Hikaru: "I know the Kofu Lounge. Isn't that a really famous restaurant in the Paldea region?"
Dendra: "Our Paldea region is famous for its cuisine! All kinds of delicious dishes are renowned around the world! But even so, it's still not as good as…"
She was already spacing out, as if she had fallen into some kind of fantasy.
Hikaru could only pat her awake. "Wake up. The onions aren't the important part."
"My point is, even if you have premium ingredients like onions, without good cooking technique it still will not work."
Paldea really did have a lot of restaurants.
Whenever you came to a human town in this region, you could always run into someone who knew how to cook. It really felt like walking into the culinary world of Cooking Master Boy.
On top of that, there were a lot of dishes here that were Chinese cuisine or Japanese cuisine…
Come to think of it, why are all of Spain's 'signature dishes' foreign food? This Spanish flavor is not authentic at all!
"Vegetables' own steam is the most natural form of umami. The key is how you use cooking methods to draw that flavor out."
"Do not slice eggplant too thin. Leave it at about half a finger's thickness so it can hold its shape while stewing. Tomatoes need to be seeded and cut into large chunks so they don't just break down into paste. When it comes to peppers, tear off the white inner membrane, otherwise they'll turn bitter when stir-fried."
"Remember to cut the onions into thick strips instead of fine shreds. You need those thicker fibers so that when they braise, they can release their sweetness properly."
"Different vegetables and Berries all need to be handled in their own ways. Once you process them appropriately, you pair them with the right seasonings—olive oil and minced garlic, fresh waterside herbs and basil. Paldea is most famous for its olive oil, right?"
"In general, the heat when braising is also critical. A high simmer and a low simmer produce completely different results. Normally it takes a long time to get it right, but with a Pokémon's help, and a little bit of psychic power, we can easily shorten the cooking time."
"Um, are you all right? You look like you're about to lose the will to fight."
Hikaru studied Dendra's eyes. At this point, Miss Dendra already had that little swirly-eyed look going. She still maintained a polite smile, but her brain had clearly entered a scrambled state.
As expected, asking a PE major to learn all this stuff was just too hard for her. She was better off doing what Benga did—running into the mountains, lighting a campfire, and living like a crazy caveman.
That said, when it came to battle knowledge, she actually understood quite a lot.
"This is just the basics. If we go deeper, then we need to talk about knife work, steaming, braising, stir-frying…"
Dendra's expression was filled with profound exhaustion, as if she had just gone through a death match.
"I… I get it now! Cooking is just like training your Fighting-type techniques. It's an absolutely amazing discipline!"
Hikaru: "Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not. Humans and Pokémon alike have things they can do and things they can't. There's no need to force yourself. But if you really want to learn a simple braised-vegetable method…"
"I can teach you a little. But it costs you."
"You need to bring me back some rare ingredients. Uncommon vegetables, secret seasonings, rare Berries. Or maybe ancient treasures and antiques are also fine."
"In the cooking world, there should be this kind of rule too, right? If you want special recipes and special techniques, you have to bring useful ingredients in exchange!"
"Rare ingredients?" Dendra fell into deep thought.
As a total disaster in the kitchen, she really did want to improve her cooking. She had gone to famous restaurants to ask for advice, and watched online videos.
But as a star athlete, her most conspicuous trait was "the brain gets it, but the hands don't." Or sometimes, "the brain doesn't get it either."
"R-Right!"
Dendra suddenly clapped her hands. "Chili Essence!"
"A very hard-to-obtain, rare ingredient that comes from a special Pokémon! You can only find it in a few areas like South Province (Area Six)!"
"Sorry, I was too loud just now!"
Seeing Hikaru's slightly puzzled look, Dendra happily explained, "In the Paldea region, the local specialty dishes use the shed front fangs of a Pokémon called Capsakid in cooking, so the flavor is extremely spicy."
"And after that Pokémon evolves, it can produce an even more precious, even hotter, and with a hint of sweetness, Chili Essence."
"At the famous chain restaurant Jade Palace Garden, they serve Mapo Tofu made with this Chili Essence. It's fiery hot and richly fragrant. Once you eat it, you'll never forget it for the rest of your life!"
Mapo Tofu—any Japanese-style game that features Chinese cuisine is basically guaranteed to feature this dish.
The flavor of the Japanese-modified version of Mapo Tofu does differ from the original, but there is no need to nitpick about whether it is "authentic" or not.
Hikaru: "Chili Essence… You mean the stuff from Scovillain?"
Dendra: "Eh, you know about it?"
Hikaru: "I have only heard of it. I've never actually seen it in person."
Dendra: "Yeah, that Pokémon is really rare. Capsakid only shows up in places like West Province (Area One) and Asado Desert. As for its evolved form, Scovillain, it only seems to appear in the mountain zones."
"South Province (Area Six) has tall mountains. That hollow south of Cortondo—that cave system—has Scovillain inside it!"
"According to the survey report published by the Paldea Academy, it seems they need a Fire Stone to evolve, so only the Capsakid lucky enough to find a Fire Stone can complete their evolution."
"However, the sunlight in the mountains and forests isn't very strong, at least nowhere near as strong as in the desert, so Capsakid have a hard time making it into the dim mountain caverns to look for Fire Stones."
Hikaru nodded.
Even though Paldea was littered with random dropped items, evolution stones were still quite rare. Otherwise, Steven Stone would have come here to buy them wholesale ages ago.
Why bother mining ore at that point? One stroll around the mountains and you'd have your pockets full of evolution stones. All the rock maniacs in the world would be swarming Paldea three or four times over, like a locust plague.
Seriously, are the Pokémon in this place mainly "ingredient producers" or what?!
"Don't tell me there are legendary cooking utensils and a Dark Cooking World too, along with all these rare ingredients. Is this really the set of Cooking Master Boy?"
Hikaru muttered to himself.
And honestly, there really was at least one such "legendary kitchen tool." The most famous one was a kitchen knife forged from Skarmory feathers.
"Okay! To grasp the essence of cooking, I'm going to hunt down some Scovillain later!"
Dendra had found a new direction for her journey. It was not just the grand festival of Fighting-type battles and bullfighting; it was also a chance to level up her cooking skills. It was like a bright future had opened up right in front of her eyes!
Well then, now that they had eaten and drunk their fill—
"Moo!"
Tauros had been waiting impatiently for quite some time. It poked its Trainer with its horns, and only then did Miss Dendra snap back to her senses. Her cheeks flushed slightly, clearly embarrassed.
"Ah! I almost forgot—right, there's also the battle!"
"I was so focused on cooking that…"
"It's fine. Now that you're full, you've got even more energy, don't you?"
Hikaru stood up and started walking toward the ruined church's entrance, and with a rustle, everyone in the church was getting to their feet as well.
One after another, they surrounded Dendra and Tauros, flowing with them toward the exit. Only now did Miss Dendra finally get a clear look at the Pokémon gathered inside the church!
A snow leopard, a giant dragon, a colossal sword, an iron dragon, a holy knight, an undying wyvern, a young lady of flowers, a little squirrel with wings, a cybernetically-modified giant bug—
Aside from Charcadet, Riolu, and Larvesta, she did not recognize almost any of them!
"So spectacular…" she whispered.
Tauros at her side also had not expected that it would be watched by so many Pokémon with such powerful auras.
It actually felt even more nervous like this!
"Kadunk!"
Charcadet took up its stance, staring at the Tauros in front of it whose whole body was likewise taut. The bull's hooves pawed at the ground, and water sprayed from its nostrils. Since it was the Aqua Breed, naturally there was no hot steam.
But its power had not diminished in the slightest!
"Tauros (Paldean Form, Aqua Breed) has five weaknesses: Flying, Grass, Electric, Psychic, and Fairy."
Hikaru reminded Charcadet,
"Unfortunately, you do not know a single move of those types."
"But do not worry."
"Normal, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Ghost, and Dragon all still hit it for neutral damage."
Charcadet braced itself for battle!
"And you too." Hikaru looked at the big black bull.
"Moo?" Tauros raised its head as if to say: Me too?
Hikaru: "Over the course of this battle against my Charcadet, you should be able to polish your close-quarters combat. When I said I'd help you earlier, that was not a lie."
"Moo…" Tauros felt confused, and at the same time, deeply skeptical.
It turned to look Charcadet over again.
Come on now. Even if your Charcadet is wearing armor, it is still just a little weakling of a Pokémon. There is no way it can take even one proper hit from me!
Its spirit was impressive, sure, but it was way too weak!
Could a Pokémon like that really help it refine its melee style?
This bull had thought Hikaru was going to send in one of those other "strong ones" nearby to fight it.
Tauros let out a helpless sigh, tinged with disappointment.
Hmph… a little guy like that… I'll probably knock it out cold with just one good headbutt.
As expected, a bull like me still wants to fight those stronger Pokémon!
Dendra could tell her Tauros was underestimating the opponent, and quickly slapped its back.
"As a martial artist, you must never underestimate any opponent!"
Tauros just shook its head indifferently.
Fine. Since you insist, I'll get a little serious and send it flying.
Tauros focused.
Its Ability activated!
"My Tauros's Ability is Intimidate!"
"When a Pokémon with this Ability appears in battle, it lowers the opposing Pokémon's Attack by one stage!"
Dendra launched the first offensive!
"That hammer is your battle equipment, right? Nice, nice. In bullfighting matches, they also let some Pokémon carry shields or blunt weapons to clash with Tauros. After all, Tauros have pretty nasty tempers!"
"Okay then, here comes the first move!"
"Aqua Jet!"
With lightning speed, it lunged at its opponent. A move that was guaranteed to strike first!
Tauros' eyes went wide.
A black-haired fighting bull using Aqua Jet, a priority move like that—
Even if the base power was not that high, once you added the force of a charging bull and same-type attack bonus, the resulting impact was terrifying.
Not to mention, Water-type moves were super effective on Charcadet!
Take this! Let me show you how those horns feel!
The charging bull, and the bright red Charcadet—it almost unconsciously evoked one of Paldea's ancient bullfighting legends.
In the instant the water bull charged in—
That first-strike attack was so fast it was almost impossible to react in time!
At that critical moment, Charcadet's whole body suddenly shone!
It rolled!
Boom!
Tauros' vision was flooded with blinding light. Its eyes saw double, and its horn stabbed through nothing but air. It completely missed the Charcadet!
Hikaru: "That move just now was…"
"Not bad."
"Even after a not-so-long journey, you've already gained something."
This was a move you could no longer learn in the ninth generation, one Game Freak had removed from the internal data.
In theory, most Fire-type and Grass-type Pokémon could learn this move, and in a certain generation it had even been an HM.
That battle technique, which burst forth with dazzling radiance, was—
"Flash!"
It unleashed a brilliant light, lowering the opponent's accuracy. It could also light up dark caves!
It reduced the target's accuracy by one stage!
Strictly speaking, this was not a priority move.
But no matter how fast a priority move was, it still took time to actually strike.
Light, on the other hand… as long as you can trigger it, it is there instantly!
Among his traveling companions, only Torterra and Larvesta knew Flash.
And now, he had gained another partner who could call on the light.
"No matter how strong the Pokémon or how powerful the move, if it cannot hit, it cannot do anything."
"In theory, lowering accuracy is absolutely deadly. But for weaker Pokémon, it becomes their one hope of turning the tables."
Charcadet's body was glowing, and the light only grew more intense!
The piercing light shone straight ahead!
"Kadunk!"
The honorable knight began its battle.
Its hammer scraped along the ground, sparking as it went.
O sun, illuminate my path!
Its cloak snapped in the wind, fluttering loudly.
Tauros shook its head. By the time that sense of danger finally reached it, the little knight had already swung its warhammer down!
By sacrificing its own defenses and charging in, it rushed the opponent down. An advanced technique built around constant close-quarters engagement!
This was not a battle style that an apprentice knight like Charcadet should have been capable of using!
The Tauros that had been looking down on Charcadet, dismissive and overly confident, now suffered its harshest blow yet!
The swinging hammer made its horns buzz.
The burning embers danced a magnificent dance.
Even hard stone would be smashed to pieces by that strike!
Even Miss Dendra was stunned.
As a martial artist, of course she could recognize that combat technique at a glance!
It was the strongest of the mid-power Fighting-type battle styles.
"That was… that was Close Combat?!"
(End of Chapter)
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