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In the past, Ash usually woke up around the same time as Misty and would call out to her, but this time he didn't, which made Misty feel strange.
When Misty changed her clothes and came out to the living room, she smelled a heart-piercing fragrance that instantly cleared her groggy mind.
"It smells so good! What delicious food did Auntie Delia make today?" Misty murmured as she walked into the kitchen, only to find that it was neither Delia nor Brock, but Ash!
"Ash? Why are you making breakfast today?"
"My hands were itching to cook, so I got up to make some breakfast. It's almost ready, just wait a bit," Ash turned his head and said to Misty with a smile.
Pikachu, standing on the kitchen table nearby, rubbed his little paws in anticipation, his face full of longing. Setting aside how it would taste, the smell alone surpassed all the dishes he had ever smelled before.
He didn't know when Ash had acquired this skill; in any case, Ash often woke up looking completely Refresh, like a different person. Many things he didn't understand or know how to do before sleeping, he would suddenly master after a nap. Pikachu seriously suspected that Ash was studying in his dreams.
But those were trivial matters; the important thing was today's breakfast!
Misty didn't leave after hearing that; she just stood next to Ash holding Togepi, watching him. Ash didn't do much else afterward, just waited for the seafood porridge to finish simmering, because by the time Misty woke up, all his preparations were actually done.
Now, they just had to wait for the porridge to finish cooking.
After a while, Brock and Delia returned from outside. They had actually woken up about as early as Ash, but since Ash had confidently claimed breakfast duty, the two of them simply went out to buy groceries. Brock had also picked up some supplies in preparation for their trip to the Orange Islands.
As soon as the two pushed the door open, that alluring fragrance drilled straight into their nostrils, making their throats itch with craving.
"It smells so good! Ash, what did you make? Did you use spices? It's so fragrant!"
"Aren't you simmering seafood porridge, Ash? Did you make something new?"
Facing their questions, Ash didn't answer. Instead, he took a damp kitchen cloth, walked to the clay pot, and lifted the lid!
Instantly, a beam of golden light burst from the mouth of the pot, and the entire house flickered with a dazzling golden glow. Caught off guard, Misty and the others instinctively covered their eyes, their minds filled with utter confusion.
What's the situation? Did Ash add a flashbang to the breakfast? This light was too blinding, almost as dazzling as the lightning released by Pikachu!
Once the light dissipated, everyone lowered their hands, and at the same time, they smelled a fragrance countless times more intense than before.
"This scent—is this really seafood porridge, Ash? What did you put in there!" Brock rushed forward. His excellent sense of smell and rich experience allowed him to judge instantly that it did indeed have the scent of seafood porridge, but it smelled far too good, far exceeding any spice he knew. What was going on?
"This is my special 'Clam-Wave Concentrated Freshness Golden Porridge'. Give it a try!" Ash said with full confidence. Everyone looked into the pot and found that the color of the porridge was the same as the golden light from before—a vibrant golden yellow.
"Golden porridge? How did you do that?" Misty said, slightly covering her red lips in shock.
"Because the rice Ash used was originally golden millet, but even then, it's usually just a normal yellow. To simmer it into this kind of gold, he must have used sesame oil and added the crab roe from the crabs themselves, right? But what was with that glowing just now?"
Brock, the culinary expert, instantly saw through the secret of the Golden Porridge. Although simmering it to such a rich golden color was somewhat beyond his expectations, it was still within the realm of normal cooking. But what was that burst of golden light just now?
Did Ash really add a flashbang to it?
"It's special effects, I added special effects~ Taste it first." Ash casually brushed off the glowing situation. Saying he added special effects wasn't really wrong; even he didn't know the principle behind the glow, he just knew how to make it.
When cooking reaches its peak, that kind of golden light appears. As for the source of the light—perhaps it accumulated the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?
But that wasn't important. The glow was, as Ash said, just a special effect. Whether the taste and effects were good could only be known by actually eating it. But in terms of smell, it was more fragrant than any dish Ash had ever eaten.
When the steaming Golden Porridge was brought to the dining table, everyone picked up their spoons, shouted "Itadakimasu" in unison, and impatiently took their first spoonful of porridge.
The porridge base, as dense as a cloud, melted the moment it touched the tip of the tongue. The sweetness of the crab claws, the springiness of the shrimp, mixed with the waxy fragrance of the millet, slid down the throat and into the stomach. A warm sensation instantly enveloped the whole body.
Everyone, including Ash himself, shuddered involuntarily as an indescribable feeling rose throughout their bodies.
"It's so delicious, Ash! And after eating it, I feel like my whole body is getting a massage. What is this? It's too miraculous!" Misty was the first to voice her opinion. This porridge was definitely the best she had eaten in over ten years.
Besides the deliciousness, the most important thing was that she could feel her physical condition was better than ever before. Her whole body was warm, as if she were soaking in a hot spring.
January mornings were cold. Even wrapped in thick down jackets, their bodies would still shiver slightly from the cold, especially their unprotected hands, which the freezing weather had turned red.
But with a bowl of porridge in her stomach, Misty's frozen red hands returned to normal, her fair little face turned rosy, and a wave of warmth welled up in her heart.
The fatigue from their long journey seemed to vanish completely at this moment.
Along the way, sleeping in sleeping bags and sometimes staying up late had left Misty with many accumulated aches and pains. After finishing this bowl of porridge, they seemed to have completely disappeared.
It was hard to imagine that this was the effect of just one bowl of porridge.
If a young person like Misty felt this way, there was no need to mention Delia. From the first bite, Delia didn't say a word. It wasn't until she finished that she put down her bowl and chopsticks, closed her eyes, and showed an expression of indescribable comfort.
If Misty was just tired from travel, then Delia had accumulated injuries and illnesses from years of doing housework. Her body wasn't made of iron, and she had the typical ailments of a housewife, such as back pain, a stiff neck, and shoulder pain.
But now, Delia only felt her body was more comfortable than ever.
"Ash, when did your cooking become so good? Did you go to a culinary school during your journey?"
Ash replied somewhat helplessly: "Mom, a culinary school couldn't teach this level of skill, right? This is my own realization—um, I just suddenly became enlightened after a nap!"
Ash's ability to talk nonsense was still mediocre, but he didn't know how else to answer, so he could only use the metaphysical explanation of 'enlightenment' to justify his cooking skills.
On the other side, Brock no longer knew where he was. He went directly to scoop another bowl of porridge and feasted. Taste was one aspect, but on the other hand, he felt his lost vitality returning!
Young people, you know how it is—the porridge Ash made actually had such a miraculous effect. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe Ash had truly mastered a brand new cuisine, but regardless, such an opportunity to replenish one's spirit and vitality was once in a blue moon. Even if he ate until he threw up, he had to have a few more bowls!
Misty and Delia also added another bowl. Generally, they didn't eat much for breakfast; for one, they really couldn't eat that much in the morning, and for another, they were women with very strict requirements for body management.
Especially Misty; in the summer, she wore midriff-baring tops, and her family Gym was a Water Gym. She might swim frequently after going back to take over the Gym, so she couldn't let her figure get out of shape.
But now, they only wanted to eat until they were stuffed!
And so, a large pot of porridge was wiped clean in just ten minutes!
Misty patted her slightly bulging belly, crying in her heart while sighing—I ate too much, but it was really delicious!
"What a pity, Ash is leaving today. Mommy won't be able to eat such delicious food anymore~" Delia said pointedly.
Hearing this, Ash directly pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Delia: "Here, this is the recipe for the seafood porridge I just made. As long as you strictly follow this recipe, Mom, even if the taste can't reach my level, it should be about seventy or eighty percent there. If you have nothing to do at home, just practice it."
Glowing cuisine sounds miraculous, but to put it simply, it depends on the combination of ingredients, the heat, and the measurements.
As long as the application of ingredients is done to the extreme, anyone can make glowing cuisine.
However, to achieve this point, it's basically impossible without battle-hardened cooking skills. But then again, Delia's cooking was definitely top-notch. With decades of housewife experience, although she couldn't compare to professional chefs, her cooking level was world-class.
With the recipe Ash gave her, even if she couldn't make glowing cuisine, she could at least reach eighty percent of the level, which was enough for Delia to satisfy her cravings at home.
As for why Ash didn't give Delia recipes for other dishes, it was mainly because he didn't know what else he knew right now—
A-rank rewards weren't as detailed as S-rank ones; he didn't have so-called recipes, he just had the instinct for cooking engraved into his body.
As soon as he touched ingredients, the matching method would automatically generate in his mind, and then he would produce a perfect dish. Afterward, Ash could rely on the successfully made dish to reverse-engineer the recipe.
The process was a bit strange, but the result was good.
So the only glowing cuisine recipe Ash currently possessed was this 'Clam-Wave Concentrated Freshness Golden Porridge'.
Delia quickly snatched the recipe from Ash's hand, her beautiful eyes shining as she looked at the text on the paper. For her, this thing was like Ash obtaining a secret manual to become a Pokémon Master; the attraction was infinite.
Looking at his mother's serious expression, a smile couldn't help but curl on the corner of Ash's mouth. This recipe should give his bored mother something to do at home.
"Goodbye Mom, I'll send you new recipes on the phone when I invent them. Remember to check your messages!" Now phones had developed into touch-screen phones, and images could be sent via text.
It was said that the League was currently researching software that could interact, integrating calls, videos, messaging, and pictures. If it were really invented, it would be very convenient.
Delia and Mr. Mime waved goodbye to Ash at the doorstep. As Ash disappeared into the distance, a look of reluctance appeared on Delia's face: "Ash... be safe."
She knew that Ash's trip to the Orange Islands was definitely not just a simple vacation. Although Ash was being secretive, she could vaguely sense that this trip would be dangerous. Even so, she didn't stop Ash.
A young eagle must fly in the sky sooner or later, not to mention that the current Ash was no longer a young eagle. Having won the Indigo Plateau Conference, he was a Superior level Trainer even on a global scale, second only to Elite Four Class Trainers.
Delia would worry about Ash, but she wouldn't restrict him. She also knew she couldn't do much; the best choice was to pray at home for Ash's safe return.
On the other side, after leaving home, Ash's group went to Professor Oak's Lab and obtained that Poké Ball that couldn't be opened, the GS Ball.
The GS Ball had the letters GS engraved on it. The top half was golden and the bottom half was white. No one knew how this Poké Ball was made, and no one knew how to use it.
Whether it was thrown at a Pokémon or an attempt was made to force it open, the Poké Ball wouldn't budge an inch.
If brute force were used, it might destroy the Poké Ball, but that would be meaningless.
So they still needed to find a way to open the Poké Ball normally to conduct research on it.
"This Poké Ball... has the power of time and space." When Ash got the GS Ball, Mewtwo's voice rang in his heart.
Her perception had always been very sensitive. Ordinary people couldn't sense the power on the GS Ball, but she could.
If Ash used his Aura to sense it, he might also be able to feel the power on it, but Mewtwo only needed to be near it to passively sense it. This was a God Domain Level Psychic-type Pokémon.
"The power of time and space? Was it created with the power of Dialga and Palkia?"
"It doesn't look like it. Inside this Poké Ball, there's that power your Charizard possesses, plus another equally matched power. The two powers superimposed and caused a mutation, eventually becoming this Poké Ball."
"The power on Charizard? The rainbow wing!"