The Queen's Heart

Madison, Rain, and I finally landed on the mainland. We found ourselves on a beach and Rain and I got off of her back. “Ah, Sandy Beach, one of the best beaches in all of Pokellon.” said Rain. “Pokellon?” I asked. “Pokellon is the name of this region your in Pyro. It’s rather large, but has many places for young adventurers like you to go and explore.” said Madison. “Awesome.” My stomach growled. “I see your hungry.” she said. Luckily I still had my backpack. Too bad the food my mom packed was so soaked even I can‘t cook them with my Flamethrower. “Great.” I said in disgust. “Not to worry Pyro. There’s a restaurant not far from here. The best on Sandy Beach.” said Rain. “Great, then let’s go.” “I’ll leave you boys to go on your adventure. I‘m no good on dry land in terms of travel, but Pokellon has many canals and rivers. Perhaps we‘ll see each other again.” said Madison. She swims off as Rain and I wave good-bye to her. The 2 of us then went on our way.

As we walked along the catwalk, we saw many beachgoers, mainly Water-types and those who can swim and tolerate water. We soon found 2 beach restaurants. “Never seen that one before. Must be new.” said Rain. “Hm?” The one on the far right is the Queen’s Heart. It’s been here on Sandy Beach for years. This new one…I never seen it before.” “Maybe they’re moving into a new building. The other does look a little beat up.” I said. “You can’t replace tradition. Come on and let’s go get some grub.” said Rain. So we made our way to the restaurant. We passed the bigger one, but got ambushed…by a promoter. “Welcome to Sandy Den, the new hippest, hoppest restaurant on Sandy Beach. Come taste our 5-Star Clamperl Chowder, not made from actual Clamperl, hahaha.” We walked pass the promoter and continued on.

We came to the Queen’s Heart and entered. Despite the outside appearance, the place was busy. We found a table and a Nidoqueen brought us our menus. “Welcome to the Queen’s Heart. I’m Ariel and I’ll be your waiter. How may I serve you?” “I’ll have the Sharpedo Fin Soup please.” said Rain. “Is that really made from the fins of Sharpedos?” I asked. “Oh no. We don’t actually use those. It’s just a name.” said Ariel. “Hmm…I’ll have the Tamato Berry Surprise.” I said. It grew dead quiet all of a sudden. “Uh…something wrong?” I asked. “No one orders that these days. It’s so spicy not even Fire Pokemon will eat it.” said Ariel. “In that case, I’ll have a bowl of it.” I said. Nervously, she took the menus and headed to the kitchen. “Pyro…are you sure you want that?” asked Rain. “Yep.” I said smiling. Ariel and another Nidoqueen came out with our orders. Ariel gave me a bowl of the red soup. “Well…bottom’s up.” I ate and drank the brew without hesitation.

Everyone watched in awe and shock as I finished it in less than 2 minutes. Smoke then came out of my nose and my cheeks grew redder than usual. “Waaaa! He’s gonna blow!” said Rain as everyone took cover. I burped a decent flame. Everyone soon rose out of they’re hiding spots and saw me. “Whew…you called this spicy Ms. Ariel? It’s good, but my mom makes hers even spicier.” I said. “Wait…you…” “Hahaha. Guess the Fire Pokemon in these parts aren’t exactly tough enough. Could I get one more bowl?” Um…sure.” She went to get me a second bowl. After our meal Rain and I paid for it. “Tasty. Got the fire in my belly and then some.” I said. “Your something else Pyro.” said Rain. Suddenly a Kangaskhan came in. “Oh no. Not again.” “Huh, what’s wrong Ms. Ariel.” I asked. “That Kangaskhan right there. She runs the Sandy Den, and…” We soon saw the chef, who was a Nidoking. “Again? Look, we already told you were staying here Ms. Kanga. We’re not budging. The Queen’s Heart is important to us.” “I see. She’s trying to run this place out of business.” said Rain. “Huh? No no, you got it all wrong. She wants my mom and dad to come work for her.” “Huh?” said Rain and I. “Look King, I can respect that this place holds a lot of memories for you, especially since its name for your late wife. But consider coming to work for me.” “I’m sorry Ms. Kanga, but I have to say no.” said the chef.

I watch as the conversation went on. “My dad loves this place, and my older sister too. They’re both good chefs, and I hope to be one myself.” “I take it that it was you who made the Tamato Berry Surprise for me.” I said. “Huh? How did you know?” You got a bit of Tamato juice on your apron.” I said. She laughed. “Hmm…I got an idea.” I went to approach the 2. “Excuse me, but if I may ask.” “Oh, it’s the little firecracker who withstood the Tamato Berry Surprise.” said the chef. “Huh? This little kid withstood that?!” said Ms. Kanga. “Sorry for intruding, but I believe I know a way for you to settled this. Why not have a sort of iron chef competition? We do it all the time where I’m from.” “An iron chef competition? Sounds good.” “You two can compete against each other.” I suggested. “Ok then. If I win you and your daughters must come to work for me King.” said Ms. Kanga. “And if I win me and my daughters will stay.” They shook claws and Ms. Kanga leaves. “Uh dad, is that really necessary?” asked Ariel. “Yes. This restaurant means a lot to me, so this is the only way now.” Ariel looks down. I hope in the end this works, or it‘ll blow up worse than the Tamato Berry Surprise, I thought to myself.