Pokémon: Reborn as Lucario

Chapter 101: The Cold Drink Culinary Showdown

"What you are to make is... the classic dessert of a cold drink shop—shaved ice."

Shaved ice, huh? Anyone with hands can make that thing. Rio breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at the serious-faced Ralts. Beside them, Ming Rizhao was whispering, translating the dessert master's topic and requirements to her Pokémon.

"You can use any ingredients you like. The time limit is two hours. Your creations will be judged by me—the legendary Tongue of God."

"Come now, let's see which of you gentlemen can bring me a pleasant enjoyment. Begin your art."

After the dessert master finished speaking with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he left the kitchen.

I don't think you should be eating shaved ice; you should be eating Mapo Tofu.

Rio's fur stood on end a little from the dessert master's strange smile.

"Hehe, that's right, Sneasel! Let us present a dish that even the master of the Tongue of God will admire!"

Following the source of the voice, Rio observed the three groups that had entered the final selection.

At the far left of the kitchen was a red-haired youth. At this moment, his hands were clenched into fists, his face showing a "I'm about to burn up with passion" expression as he spoke to his cool and aloof-looking Pokémon.

Sneasel, a Dark and Ice-type Pokémon. Its whole body was covered in black fur. Most noticeable were its silvery-white claws and its sharply pointed red left ear.

However, facing its passionate owner, the Sneasel maintained a cool and aloof posture, looking somewhat impatient.

"A Sneasel... It feels a bit out of place for this type of Pokémon to be making desserts."

Perhaps it was because Fighting-types and Dark-types were naturally at odds with each other, but Rio always felt the urge to hit the Sneasel with an [Aura Sphere].

"Calm down, calm down. Let's look at the next group..."

Rio naturally wouldn't attack another Pokémon for no reason, so to divert his attention, he quickly turned his gaze to the next pair.

"Smoochum, we have to do our best too!"

"Mchuu, mchuu! (Pokémon Language) Let's go, let's go!"

A young girl, about the same age as Ming Rizhao and wearing a chef's apron, was also seriously discussing with her Pokémon. Her partner was a Pokémon that resembled a little girl, with golden hair, pink skin, large eyes, and thick lips—the Ice and Psychic-type Pokémon, Smoochum.

Observing this, Rio discovered a common point between these two opposing groups.

"Hmm? Their Pokémon both have the Ice-type. It seems they've all come prepared."

Leaving aside other cold drink desserts, just taking the shaved ice for this selection competition as an example, since it was a dessert with ice as its theme, when it came to the control of ice, could any other type of Pokémon claim to do it better than an Ice-type Pokémon?

"I wonder if Ruru has thought of what kind of dessert to make yet?"

Rio was a little worried and returned to his own little team.

"How about it, Ruru? Have you decided what to make yet?"

Ming Rizhao looked at Ralts with great anticipation. In her heart, Ralts was an existence whose domestic and culinary skills were maxed out.

Ralts lowered her head and thought for a moment, then, in a voice full of confidence, commanded her trainer and little companion.

"(Pokémon Language) Xiao Zhao, go to the ingredients area and get some fruits. Remember to pick ones that look good and are a bit riper. You can taste them to see if they're sweet enough before making your choice."

"(Pokémon Language) Rio, go to the freezer and select some ice cubes. Then use your ability to cut the ice cubes. You must cut the ice as finely as possible, but also remember not to crush it directly into powder; it needs to have a certain grainy texture."

Ralts, standing before the cooking station, had lost her usual gentle, soft-spoken demeanor. Instead, she was like a great general, giving commands with authority.

The intensity of this aura was so strong that even Ming Rizhao, who would normally chatter on about anything and everything, obediently followed the instructions.

"Go to the freezer and select some ice cubes, right?"

Rio nodded and walked to the huge freezer. He jumped up to hang onto the freezer, and just as he pulled open the freezer door, he selected a crystal-clear, chillingly cold block of ice.

"Excellent! It'll be you!"

His heart filled with joy. Just as Rio was about to reach out and take the ice block he had chosen at a glance, suddenly, another hand with silvery-white claws also reached out, wanting to pick up this same block of ice.

"It's you?" Rio turned his head to look. That cool and aloof Sneasel was also looking in his direction.

"(Pokémon Language) It seems you also have good taste, knowing that this block of ice is a superior material for making shaved ice. I have to praise you for that." A look of appreciation appeared in Sneasel's eyes, then its expression turned stern. "(Pokémon Language) However, this block of ice is mine!"

"(Pokémon Language) [Thief]!"

An aura full of malice emanated from Sneasel's body. Then, its right hand deftly reached out, attempting to steal the ice block before Rio could react.

"Hmph, don't even think about it!"

Whether it was for his trainer's motorcycle dream or for the dignity of Fighting-type Pokémon, Rio could not let Sneasel steal the ice block just like that.

Rio thought righteously, and his hands also counterattacked.

"[Brick Break]!"

Holding his palm vertically, Rio chopped sideways, directly knocking Sneasel's hand away.

"(Pokémon Language) I will not fail to get what I've set my eyes on!"

Sneasel, not giving an inch, engaged in a fierce struggle with Rio. Of course, so as not to damage the ice block, the two Pokémon were limited to grappling with only one hand each. It was basically a back-and-forth of you reaching out to directly take the ice block, and me slapping your hand away, then giving you a sneaky grab back.

"You've got some skills!"

The intense struggle even caused beads of sweat to appear on the foreheads of both Pokémon.

"(Pokémon Language) Same to you!"

Finally, at a certain moment, both Pokémon simultaneously reached for the block of ice. But unexpectedly, their hands slipped, and the ice block flew directly out of the freezer.

"Mchuu? (Pokémon Language) Huh? Why did an ice block fly out? Alright, I'll take it."

Smoochum, who was panting as it ran over to get ice, was startled to see the ice block fly in front of it. But it quickly reacted, catching the ice block with its psychic power and then running back to its trainer with a beaming smile.

"…"

Rio and Sneasel silently looked at each other.

"Hmph!" x2

The two Pokémon were no longer in the mood to continue their struggle. They re-selected their ice blocks and returned to their own cooking stations.

"Huh, Rio, why are you all sweaty?"

Ming Rizhao, who was tinkering with fruit juice, looked at her Pokémon curiously.

"It's nothing. It's just too hot, made me sweat."

Rio said irritably, placing the ice block into a metal basin.

A group of question marks appeared above Ming Rizhao's head.

Ralts, on the side, was making chocolate sauce and reminded them, "(Pokémon Language) There's not much time left, only a little over an hour. Let's hurry and prepare the materials."

The small interlude passed. Rio also had to figure out how to cut the ice as finely as possible according to Ralts's request, while at the same time not crudely crushing it directly into powder.

"Cutting, huh? I'm good at this." Rio extended his claws, which were coated with a steely metallic color, then his eyes faintly glowed. "I'll use [Metal Claw] to cut the ice, and then... [Detect] to control the size of the cuts!"

"Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!" After a dazzling flurry of movements, the originally spherical block of ice was directly shredded into ice shavings, which scattered into the basin, piling up into a small mountain of shaved ice. If one were to look with a magnifying glass, one would be very surprised to find that each ice shaving was almost of equal volume, and they were still sharp-edged, extremely close to a powder state yet still maintaining a certain shape.

"Done!"

Rio was also satisfied with his masterpiece. After learning that Ralts didn't need help with anything on her end, he quietly went to observe the creations of the other two groups.

☆☆☆

-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE

-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER

☆☆☆

-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!

-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper

(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)

If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you