My Pokémon Story of Seasons

Chapter 90 The Final Four

Just as the forest tortoise was feeling smug, the worm on the other side suddenly realized that it seemed to have mastered some new move.

How long ago was the last time he learned a new move? Tuotuo couldn't remember.

Anyway, this situation hasn't happened for a long time since he started living at Sunshine Ranch with Grandpa Yang.

"Worm!"

Tuotuo straightened up and roared at the sky! In the next instant, a vast amount of fighting attribute energy gathered on his body.

There was a loud bang!

A huge rock outside the yard suddenly exploded, and Tuotuo worm crushed it into powder by ramming it with its body.

Pounce! This move is called a pounce!

Jessica's mouth slowly opened, wide enough to fit an egg.

The power to shatter boulders with this strike would make it perfect for digging tunnels.

Tong Hua was immediately delighted. Although it wasn't as economically viable as the grassy grounds of the forest turtles, this pouncing move was still quite formidable.

"You guys are awesome!"

"Game." "Worm."

The forest turtle and the worm exchanged a glance, both happy for each other's growing strength.

"Today's meal was definitely worth it, but unfortunately, the effect can only be triggered once—"

Tong Hua thought to herself, then looked at the other Pokémon around her who had also eaten the food.

Milkcan, Foam Chipmunk, Mini Fu, and Saltstone Treasure—the four of them don't seem to have changed much.

The two Celebi that are probably sneaking a bite in the kitchen right now are too, but the effects of the food have definitely taken hold.

It's best to observe what changes might occur later. After lunch, everyone rested for a while.

The kids started watching TV, and Tong Hua, having nothing else to do, joined them.

The cartoon playing on TV seemed to be from the Sinnoh region, telling a funny story about a Xeno'jiiva cat and a Rattata cat playing pranks on each other.

"Why does it look a bit like Tom and Jerry?"

After watching a few episodes, seeing that it was almost time, Jessica and the others headed to the cooking competition venue together.

"Speaking of which, the village chief hasn't gone home all afternoon."

On the way to the competition venue, Tong Hua suddenly spoke up.

"Yes, Grandpa is very busy today. He has to attend almost every event."

You probably saw him at the agricultural product judging area this morning, right? He's probably still scoring with the other judges right now.

After listening, Tong Hua nodded thoughtfully, and the miniature Fu he was holding nodded frequently in his arms, mimicking his gesture.

Before long, the group returned to the stage for the culinary showdown.

Compared to the morning, the number of onlookers seemed to have doubled.

The once spacious audience seating is now somewhat insufficient.

Unfortunately, in order to prevent the three large Pokémon—Turtle, Worm, and Rapidash—from affecting the other spectators, Jessica led them to sit on the outermost edge of the viewing area.

"Keep it up! You have to make it to the next round!"

"Terrible!" "Oh my!" "Fou!"

Big Milk Pot and Salt Stone Treasure, along with Forest Turtle and Tuo Tuo Earthworm, also cheered for Tong Hua.

"Hmm," Tong Hua responded to the crowd, and then walked straight onto the stage.

After a whole afternoon of setup, only four cooking stations remained on the stage.

The host and referee was still village elder Jack, who rushed back in a hurry. He was still panting when he pulled out a megaphone from his waist and started shouting.

"Ahem, the third round of the competition is about to begin. All four contestants, please prepare yourselves! Ahem!"

Tong Hua glanced at the other three male contestants beside her. None of them seemed as individualistic as they had been in the first round.

However, it might be due to the different aesthetics in the Pokémon world. It always feels like everyone's hair color and clothing exude a kind of temperament that is different from ordinary people. Some people have bright red hair and look like they are good at controlling fire.

Some people have a full head of silver hair and earrings that look like spice bottles hanging from their earlobes.

Even more shockingly, some of them were completely naked from the waist up.

Her clothes ripped off before she even ate anything! Is this even fair?!

Tong Hua shook her head. Looking around, she realized that she was the only one in the room with short black hair, an average build, and the most normal-looking person.

At the very front of the stage, there were many shelves filled with various ingredients.

Tong Hua glanced at the ingredients and felt they were all quite fresh, probably because they were related to the upcoming third round of competition.

"Cough cough." Old Jack finally recovered and slowly raised the megaphone to speak.

"The third round of the competition will test your eye for selecting ingredients!"

Next, all contestants, please stand in front of the stage and choose the one you think is the best quality from all the ingredients in front of you.

Using this ingredient as the core, each person prepares a dish within thirty minutes.

The two who create the most delicious and relevant dishes will advance to the final showdown!

Tong Hua and the other three came to the front of the counter. The four of them were two meters away from the shelves, but they were all carefully scanning each ingredient.

A truly skilled chef can distinguish the quality of ingredients without even touching them.

With just your eyes and nose, you can roughly distinguish the best quality ingredient from a group of ingredients.

Tong Hua, of course, could not do such a thing.

However, he doesn't need to do that, since he has a cheat code. He just needs to touch all the ingredients and then choose the best quality one from the [Recipe Encyclopedia].

However, you still need to control your energy consumption a bit. If you use the "high-speed cooking" or "straight-stepping" skills too many times during the cooking process, you might be so tired that you fall asleep during the final battle, just like you were in the morning.

"Then let's begin!"

At Old Jack's command, the other three contestants shot off like arrows.

Two of them are professional chefs from Chicory Village who work at the same popular restaurant.

In other words, the two have secretly formed an alliance and agreed to advance to the finals together.

The other contestant is from Fengrao Town; his exact workplace is currently unknown, but judging from the speed at which he selects ingredients…

He must be a professional chef.

"I choose this one!"

"I've made up my mind!"

The two chefs from Chicory Village each chose a piece of beef as their core ingredient. Then, they began selecting the accompanying ingredients for their dishes.

"I see. The dishes you make must highlight the core ingredients."

In other words, one must have a discerning eye for selecting core ingredients; otherwise, the overall potential of the dish will be limited by the quality of those core ingredients.

After her intelligence was enhanced, Tong Hua couldn't help but think about everything she saw.

Like a conditioned reflex, this is probably the trouble of being too smart.

He analyzed the rules as he leisurely walked towards the shelves. The other three contestants were already enthusiastically preparing the ingredients.

The sounds of chopping on the cutting board and sizzling oil in the pan were incessant.

Tong Hua's fingers seemingly casually brushed over rows of ingredients, and the information in the [Recipe Guide] refreshed his mind like flowing water.

With her enhanced intelligence, Tong Hua's brain processed this information at an extremely fast pace.

Among the various dishes, I kept searching for the one that could reach grade B quality.

While Tong Hua was still searching slowly, Jessica and the Pokémon in the audience were getting anxious for him.

But then I thought, Tong Hua cooks so well, if I can make it, then it's basically a sure thing.

"Go, Xiaotong!" Jessica shouted loudly at the stage.

"Oh my god!" "Terrible!"

The Pokémon jumped and shouted, hoping that Tong Hua could see them through the crowd.

"Worm." The considerate Tuotuo lowered his head and let the others sit on his head so they wouldn't be blocked by the front-row audience.

However, Tong Hua was not in the mood to respond to the Pokémon at this moment. It took him a full ten minutes to finally check all the ingredients, and then he quickly returned to the cooking station with the selected ingredients.

"It's done."

Just as Tong Hua was about to start cooking, two contestants from Chicory Village finished cooking at the same time.

These two men, one with red hair and the other with muscular, shirtless bodies, don't look like brothers at all.

However, they are actually brothers.

Old Jack and the other two judges walked up to the two cooks' station and asked in surprise.

"So fast? Are you sure you haven't forgotten any cooking steps?"

"Of course." The two contestants looked very confident. "If the food isn't served in ten minutes, the customers will run away."

"Please enjoy, my dish is—"

The two spoke in unison, as if they had planned it beforehand, and said with perfect understanding, "Chicory Village Special, Double Flavor Steak!"

The two men simultaneously lifted the lids of their plates, revealing two perfectly seared steaks to the judges.

One piece is sprinkled with black pepper and coarse salt, while the other is drizzled with a deep red sauce made from local wild berries. The side dishes are simple roasted endive and mashed potatoes.

After tasting the beef, Old Jack and the other two judges nodded: "The cooking time was excellent, and the quality of the beef was brought out."

The speed was amazing, and the taste was perfect.

"Yay!" Upon receiving such praise, the two brothers immediately celebrated, as if they had already secured their place in the finals.

Meanwhile, another silver-haired contestant from Fengrao Town also completed his work.