BraviaryScout
Connoisseur of Memes
- Location
- 'Murica
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Hi guys, Brav here having finished playing Legends: Z-A and being very impressed by the story. This whole thing came out in a spur of the moment, strike while the iron's hot kinda thing. I felt like the croissant curry meme and various reactions to MZ dialogue and dynamic between them was a good spot and so this was written in the span of a couple days after finishing the game.
Though this is a one-shot, I've put quite a bit of worldbuilding and would be open to making this a full on story and it will include this chapter in it! Currently gauging on whether there's interest for me to continue this in the meantime.
That being said, I hope everyone enjoys. Kudos and comments are most welcome! Let's dive right in!
Whatever other plans Paxton might've had when he took this trip to Lumiose City was thrown out the window in the first hour. A really pretty girl asking him to star in her advertisement for a hotel he'd never heard of, his own bag getting snatched and then commanding a pokemon in a battle to get it back.
Then he got roped into the nightly Z-A Royale, joined said really pretty girl along in a very interesting band of other trainers in said hotel on a mission to protect the city. What better of a way to celebrate with a home cooked meal?
A one-shot with a reaction to croissant curry, team bonding and other food debates.
Whatever the hell it was, it smelled amazing.
Paxton’s stomach growled rather audibly from aromas wafting out from the hotel’s small kitchenette next door.
Taunie was busy at work inside, unseen but with a symphony of sizzling pans, bubbling pots and the ticking of an oven. While he was no professional chef, Paxton had enough skills to be able to cook for himself when neither parent was present. That credential wasn’t enough to prevent the blonde from shooing him out of the kitchen, insistent that his help wasn’t necessary.
That’s what led him to sit down at a well worn mahogany table alongside the other two teammates of Team MZ he had only recently met. And all that came from him partaking in the nightly ZA Royale tournament that was all the rage right now in Lumiose City.
The new folks intrigued him. Naveen was a teenager about his age with dark skin and meticulously done braids. From what he could gather, the guy was very much the introvert, but crisp and to the point. When he did speak, it felt like it was needed to say and he often had a more pragmatic outlook. If he was just a little more talkative, Paxton figured they’d get along very well. Naveen was very much into clothing and fashion, but when he wasn’t doing the sewing commissions, he kept himself busy watching something on his phone with a surprising amount of attention.
What little info Paxton had gotten out of him was that he was actually born and raised in Lumiose, but stayed at Hotel Z for the extra studio space. Between everyone else on the team, he had seen Naveen around the least amount of time.
The trilby hat he got from Naveen earlier in the day wasn’t something Paxton expected and he figured it was just another throwaway once the other boy had said it wasn’t his size. But somehow, the hat fit him as if he was meant to wear it.
It looks stylish for Lumiose standards.
Then there was Adelida or rather Lida as she had liked to be called. She hated her formal name. A fair-skinned girl that was a year or two older and almost a full head taller. She took great pride in making sure her long jet black hair was perfectly combed and in a top bun. Her own aspirations brought her to Lumiose to become a dancer in the footsteps of her elder brother.
While Naveen had maybe said a couple sentences since sitting down at the table, Lida was the complete opposite; a total chatterbox. Paxton barely got a couple of questions asked to pass the time before Lida excitably talked and talked. He wasn’t sure if it was just part of her quirk or if it was nerves meeting a new person. Unovans and Alolans were especially known for this when traveling abroad.
Nevertheless, he found he actually liked Lida quite a bit. Just hearing something excitable she talked about, whether it was her pokemon, dancing or foodie spots. Paxton had no doubts that Lida could put away a copious amount, especially from having to burn so much energy on her daily dance routines. She had taken enough of a liking to him to already call him “Pax” which was something he only felt comfortable hearing it from close family or friends.
Like Taunie, he also found her to be quite attractive. It didn’t help matters that she openly told him one of her own vices was to read Elite Four Shauntal’s takes on romance novels.
Yeah, this is a good group to share my first shot of framboise with.
Lida had taken the conversation to ask Paxton about what life was like in Anistar when Taunie entered the room after absent for nearly an hour. She set a plate in front of Naveen that had a jambon-beurre baguette sandwich. A quintessential Kalosian food that used simple ingredients and was simple to prepare. Next to it was a pile of pommes frites.
Damn, she made that all herself?
“Alright, the spécialité is coming right up!” Taunie straightened the apron and walked back out. Paxton did not miss Naveen rolling his eyes at what she said.
Ungrateful? I’d be more than happy to scarf down that sandwich of his.
Next came a bowl for salad and a bottle of dressing. Then a plate of tartes with sweet fruit preserves on top. What she brought out as the main course got an ecstatic reaction from Lida, but upon a closer look, he honestly had no idea what to make of it at all.
Three plates with a carefully shaped base of steamed rice and topped with-is that brown curry?
Why is it solid like that? What made him even more perplexed was sitting around the outside of the shallow plate were three croissants.
“Bon appetit!” Taunie grinned over at him. She yanked off the apron and tossed it on a hook atop the door. “It’s time to dig in!”
Paxton swore he saw the damn thing jiggle like a gelatinous blob.
“What…what even is this?”
“I don’t get what you don’t get about this! It’s my original creation! I call it croissant curry! Made it to be the hotel’s sought-after signature dish! It pairs Lumiose’s delectable croissants with the legendary curry from the Galar region to bring out the best in both!
“Ooh man, that scent sends my appetite into overdrive!” Lida could barely contain her excitement. “You’ve outdone yourself again Taunie! I could eat your cooking forever!”
“I reject that monstrosity altogether.” Naveen said sourly, giving Paxton’s plate a repulsive stare. He had to imagine the other boy would shoot lasers out of his eyes to incinerate it if he willed.
Now it was Taunie’s turn to roll her eyes. “You say that all the time when I make this, but you seem to polish off anything I cook.”
“I-I was just raised better than to let food go to waste. Especially when you live in the gastronomic capital of the world.”
“You’re so particular Naveen!” Lida had wasted no time in already wolfing down a mouthful of the curry and tore off the end of a croissant. “Maybe it’s because you’re Lumiose born and raised!”
“I eat many other things.” Naveen said, his defensive tone remaining stagnant. “And to be fair, I’ll go to war with any Lumiose cafe out there for your jambon-beurre against theirs. But I draw the line at croissant curry.”
Paxton just sat there helping himself to a bowl of salad, watching the debate get heated and enjoying the back-and-forth. After pouring some vinaigrette, he slid the bottle over to Lida.
“Sorry that this got so heated Paxton.” Taunie apologized to him. “We have a lot of different tastes, as you can tell.”
He waved her off. “No, it’s fine. I’m just as passionate about food as the rest of you.” To give her the benefit of the doubt, he told himself he’d at least try it.
“But for real. I’m really glad you showed up here. You’ve been great company!”
“Yes, big same!” Lida joined in. “Having you around makes me feel like things might work out okay for us!”
“Work out?” Paxton was a little confused.
Taunie put her fork down. “See, I formed Team MZ to protect Lumiose. When I first got here, AZ started to get worried about something saying that there’d be a growing crisis coming soon. I wasn’t sure what to make of Lumiose at first, but after I spent so much time here around the people and pokemon, it grew to a place I love with all my heart. I wanted to protect it.”
“AZ said that this is perhaps where I’m fated and meant to be when I first got here.” Paxton said. “Did he say that to all of you?”
“Yeah he did.” Both Naveen and Lida were nodding in agreement. “Why?”
Paxton shook his head. “It’s nothing. Just me thinking to myself. I’m glad to be here.”
“I’m done with the thinking part!” Lida shoved another spoonful of rice into her mouth.
“Yes! Let’s eat!”
Okay. Let’s do this. The teen could hardly believe himself that he was trying to mentally prepare eating a meal.
His fork touched the top and easily sliced off a portion of the congealed curry. Just try not to imagine it’s from a pot that’s sat on the stove for days. Along with a helping of rice, he held it up to his mouth and suddenly became aware that everyone else had their eyes on him. Taunie and Lida leaned forward with hopeful anticipation while Naveen looked as if he was going to be brutally judgmental.
“What?”
“Go on.” Taunie smiled at him. “Try it!”
Oh god, the jiggliness. The conflicted part was that in spite of that, it smelled incredible.
Paxton took his first bite and his palette was immediately bombarded with intense flavors; the curry was incredibly rich, buttery and there was just a slight hint of spiciness. The potatoes and vegetables that had simmered in the gravy were perfect, firm enough to yield to a bite. Wow. This actually tastes really really good!
However it was the texture of the pectin that had been mixed into the gravy, thickening it to where it had taken on something firm and gelatinous, likely to keep its shape. The temperature of the food wasn’t quite hot, which likely was because the pectin would break down if it were hotter.
The whole thing reminded him of a terrine or pate, except those were often served cold.
It went about as he expected, but he just couldn’t get past the texture. The whole thing reminded him of if someone were to leave a pot of curry and the fats used to simmer the meat and vegetables began to congeal and solidify.
He had no complaints about the croissants. They were still piping hot and extremely buttery and flaky. If there was anything to change on that, he’d point right back to the curry part being more of its usual gravy than a solid. Having an overabundance of the tasty gravy was part of Galar curry’s appeal, with the strong flavors being soaked up by rice, naan or other form of carbs. Croissants could work.
So while Taunie was likely thinking she just got a breakthrough and reinvented the wheel, Paxton had to probably err in the middle between Lida and Naveen's opinion of the dish. The taste was immaculate and the concept pretty darn creative, but the presentation and that texture was what kept it from being great.
“I’m with Lida.” He started, causing the other girl to squeal in delight. “The taste is awesome and you perfectly cooked the curry.”
Now for the part he really didn’t want to say out loud, especially when it was for someone who cooked for him unconditionally. The first rule in dining was to never insult the person cooking your food.
“Now I’m no food critic, so don’t take this the wrong way…but I feel like it needs a little work and it’ll be a knockout.” Okay, that might’ve sounded better in my head.
“Oh.” Taunie’s expression was rather unreadable, but her tone didn’t go defensive. “So you like it?”
“The taste? Absolutely. If it were me, I’d maybe see about making the curry more of a sauce rather than a gigantic blob.” He gestured to the mound in the middle of the dish. “More like what they do in Galar. You sop up the leftovers with what rice you didn’t eat with the meat and vegetables. Croissants are a bit unusual, but not a bad option.”
Naveen’s eyes shot up in between bites of his sandwich and he threw up his arms. “Merci! Finally someone else says it!”
“I…okay.” Taunie appeared to take the criticism well and smiled again at him. “I guess it’s still kind of a work in progress. I’m always open to cooking more different things, it at least would make Naveen a little less opinionated.”
“Hey, it’s only the croissant curry I have an issue with.”
She ignored him. “Besides, it gets harder when we have more people with different tastes. Some stuff takes more time like a coq au vin.”
“I’m generally not a picky eater, so pretty much anything you make I'm not gonna complain.” Paxton told her and gestured with his fork towards the half eaten croissant curry. “A few exceptions of course.”
“You’re still gonna eat it?” Lida asked him.
“Of course. It’s either eat what’s made or blow an obscene amount of money on takeout. Have you seen the prices on some of the places around here?”
“Yeah, fair.”
“So Paxton, you’re from Anistar City?” Naveen asked, unsure if it felt like being grilled or genuine curiosity. “I know the food there’s a little different.”
“Not that much different.” Paxton answered. “We love our pastries and breads as much as anyone else in Kalos. But yeah, there's some local specialties that are hard to find outside.”
Taunie perked up. “Oh, I could try making some of your local Anistarian foods! What’s your taste?”
“Let’s see,” Paxton put a finger on his chin. “Flammekueche.” When he got puzzled reactions from everyone, he had to remind himself that not everyone in Lumiose was going to be overly familiar with the Anistarian dialect. There was a Kalosian name for it as well though.
“You might know it as tarte flambée.”
“Oh I’ve heard of that one!” Taunie said. “It’s that flatbread that has onions, lardons and creme fraiche!”
“Yeah that’s the one! There’s a ton of small eateries around Anistar and Couriway that serve them around the clock. Best ones are those freshly made!”
“I think that’s doable. I’ll just have to find a recipe online.” He watched her jot something down on her RotoPhone. “If it’s anything like the socca we went for yesterday, then I know you’ll have good taste.”
“I appreciate that. Really. At the same time though, I came to try out the Lumiose food scene. But it’ll be nice…to have a taste of home.”
He scooped the last of the rice into his mouth and finished off the half-eaten croissant. Yeah, this was tasty. Once I got past that texture.
“What else? Oh yeah, there’s baeckeoffe; which is an old old Anistarian stew that has beef, mutton, pork, potatoes and onions, all slowly simmered in a dry riesling.” Paxton gave a dramatic kiss between two fingers. “Absolutely divine. Except it’s rarely seen outside of Christmas time. The flavor is insane and there’s nothing better than walking around the Anistar Christmas market with a piping hot bowl of baeckeoffe.”
He smiled at the old memories that surfaced after mentioning it. “My parents took me to them almost every year when I was a kid.”
“I heard that’s one of the top sights in all of Kalos.” Taunie said. A dreamy faraway look was in her eyes for just a fleeting moment. “My mother talked about it when she went one year. The glow from all the stands and festivities all around cause the Vesper sundial to have this ethereal glow that could be seen across the entire city! She said it was incredible, unlike anything else you’d ever experience.”
“Yeah. It’s really pretty. Pictures don’t do it justice. At all.”
The dreamy look was back. “Thanks for sharing that, Paxton. Maybe one day, I’ll get to go and see it. I've always wanted to.”
“How about this holiday?” The words were already out of his mouth before it had a chance to register in his mind. “I’ll take you.”
Taunie saw his eyes meet hers, somehow knowing he meant every word of it. Her face flushed and she suddenly felt hot. Across from her; she noticed a flicker of a smile play across Lida’s face.
Oh no, don’t tell me she’s thinking that-
“Ooh! That really does sound divine!” Lida said, seemingly unaware and causing Taunie to internally sigh with relief. “There’s no way I’m gonna stay like this between your talking of food and Taunie’s cooking of it.”
“Then you’ll really like this one. Kouign-amman.”
“I’ve actually had that one.” Naveen spoke up. “It’s a butter pastry that is known for being as difficult to make as it is rich.” Off to his side, he thought he saw Lida’s mouth openly drool.
“Yeah. I’m sure there’s a boulangere somewhere in here that has them.”
“That seems a little…advanced.” Taunie said after a few moments. “I’m more than willing to let the bakery handle that one.”
Everyone laughed at that. Paxton finally felt the last of his guard slip and he relaxed. It felt so weird, the chatter between them all felt like it flowed naturally as if he had known these people for years as opposed to a day.
“Speaking of which, we’re all the ripe drinking age of eighteen right?” When he got nods from everyone else at the table, he reached down and set down the bottle of framboise. The four extra small glasses that Taunie brought in were divided as he unsealed the cap and poured a shot, one for each of them.
The blonde shot him a knowing smirk. “No wonder you were so determined to get your bag back if you had that thing in there!”
Both Paxton and Lida laughed at that.
“Yeah. No way I’m letting that guy get away with a full bottle of Anistarian framboise.”
He took a glass as did the others of Team MZ.
“I just want to say, thank you all for having me and taking me in on this team. I got told that this trip was going to be full of surprises…and that statement’s been holding up surprisingly well. I’m really glad to be here and be part of a team, part of something more.”
A grin spread across his face. “To Team MZ! Salut!”
“Salut!” Taunie, Lida and Naveen echoed him. He clinked his glass against hers and then the other two before they all tilted their heads back to down the strong liquor.
The conversation seemed to come naturally after that. Mostly between him and the girls. Naveen had gone back to looking at his RotoPhone, jumping in for input every now and then. The rounds of laughter grew as Team MZ swapped stories, ranging from those involving family members to others that were even more laugh inducing. Before long, Paxton felt so incredibly at ease with them.
And it’s all thanks to Taunie just randomly walking up asking for me to be an extra in her advertisement. Who would’ve guessed? I think so far, the experience here in Lumiose has been great.
AZ’s troubled sleep may have been from what had been weighing on his mind.
The giant’s own personal room had to be redone when he had first purchased the building to convert it into a hotel. Though the foundation of the door behind the concierge desk couldn’t be modified; the ceiling was stretched an extra four feet so that he wouldn’t have to hunch over to avoid being struck by his ceiling fan.
”I hope ya ain’t plannin’ to move somewhere else.” The older man that headed Racine had told him. ”Changin’ a floor like that ain’t cheap.”
A number of other things had to be changed around to accommodate the size of his nine foot frame. Two king sized bedframes had to be joined together, with a custom mattress pad laid over the gap. Clothes were hard to come by, but the man who had lived for three millennia was grateful for the boy Naveen’s stay. The young man was more than happy to help mend and tailor out special clothes that only AZ himself could wear.
However tonight, it seemed that it wasn’t just those dreadful thoughts that kept him from a restful slumber. Normally he found himself sleeping quite soundly when Floette was next to him, but when he first glanced over the nightstand, he saw that the small designer plush bed where she normally laid was empty.
Then the voices drifted from the lobby, he recognized them as Team MZ. Normally they retired an hour or two before midnight, putting the hotel in a very comfortable silence. Taunie was the exception on occasion. Her being a competitor in the ZA Royale tournament did mean that there were nights she didn’t return until two or three in the morning. She always made sure afterwards to stop by his room to let him know that she had gotten back safely or leave a note at his door if it was much later than usual.
While she was eighteen and an adult in her own right, it did bring him peace of mind that she’d be okay for the rest of the night. Now with Paxton also competing and staying under their roof, he hoped that the boy would do the same thing. Something told him he would follow suit.
With a groan, he threw off the covers and used his cane to stand up, unlocking the door and ducking through the threshold. The voices were much louder now, coming from the hotel’s dining room. He saw that the liquor cabinet had been opened and Paxton’s framboise, his Anistarian schnapps that he had brought along, was missing.
It didn’t take Emma’s detective skills to deduce where it ended up.
“Come on Paxton, there has to be something you don’t eat!”
“Oh you’ll all love this, just by how awful it was. Even you, Naveen.”
“I feel like I’ve been put on the spot.”
“So you know how when people say the absolute best type of food in a place that is so saturated with it is kinda subjective? I’ll go with Galar curry for example. Hammerlocke has tons and tons of curry houses, sausage roll bakeries and eateries and they’re all pretty damn good. For every one mediocre bad place, there’s ten good ones. But then you turn around and try to find something like Unovan style pizza and for every ten mediocre bad places there’s only one good.”
“Uh huh.” AZ heard a collective of agreements.
“So, my parents and I…we just happened to come across the one bad curry place in Hammerlocke. Amazingly, there were still customers there, but my dad had suggested they were tourists and didn’t know better.” Paxton paused for a second. “Anyway, we put our orders for curry in and when the food comes out, I kid you not that my mom looked mortified.”
“Why’s that?” Taunie asked.
“Because the curry was thin, like vegetable soup.”
“Aww man, what?!” There was a chorus of similar repulsive reactions, followed by more laughter.
“Like seriously. How do you mess that up?! Curry isn’t even hard to make!” Taunie managed to choke out between fits of her own giggles.
“By adding croissants.” Naveen said, causing another round of laughter.
“I legit don’t know! It was in a restaurant too! So that means someone has a recipe, tasted it, thought nothing was amiss and greenlit the thing to be added to the menu!”
“While I despise that thing Taunie makes with every bone in my body, what Paxton just described doesn’t even deserve to be deigned as curry. That just sounds like meat and vegetables with flavored broth.”
“Yeah I don’t mean to say you or your parents messed up in going there.” Lida told him. “But you and your parents messed up by going there. You didn’t even check the reviews online?”
“Uh no. There weren’t many places open at that hour.”
"Though I've never heard anything like that, I did hear that people from Alola like to put pinaps on pizza."
"Woah!" Both Paxton and Taunie were the ones surprised at that. "Hang on a sec, Lida. Now that is a crime. Unovans didn't die in wars for their pizza to be violated like that!"
Even overhearing their conversation in the next room, AZ chuckled to himself. Kids.
“But I’ll tell you the other one." He heard Paxton say. "Quiche.”
Dead silence lasted for maybe a few seconds as AZ imagined the rest of the team staring at Paxton with flabbergasted reactions.
“There’s no way you’re gonna put quiche below croissant curry!” Oddly enough, it was Naveen who was the first to jump into the argument defensively.
“Yes. Yes I can.”
“Oh wow, Naveen here actually defending a food!” Lida gasped. She and Taunie were clearly enjoying the newly ignited debate between him and Paxton. “Now that’s a surprise!”
“It’s an iconic Kalosian food!”
“Yeah that’s not eaten by real men!”
“Okay, that’s an old Unova saying because they think they’re so macho. Besides, that phrase was coined tongue in cheek. And let’s be honest, it’s not really that much different than your flammekueche.”
Taunie leaned towards Lida so only the other girl could hear her as the boys bickered back and forth on the newest food debate. Similarly, she was bewildered that their newest team member could get Naveen so animated and talkative. “Should we try and stop them?”
The other girl just shook her head and gave a lopsided grin to the bickering boys. “Nah, this is entertaining. I’m enjoying every second.”
“Come on man. Scrambled eggs on a buttered pie crust?! That doesn’t sound remotely off to any of you? When’s the last time you walked into a Kalosian cafe or bistro and gone, damn I’d kill for that quiche?”
“You’d still eat it if you were starving and there was literally nothing else right? And it's not that much different than a Paldea tortilla!”
“Obviously. It might not be my absolute favorite thing in the world, but I’m not stupid enough to refuse food like that if I’m starving to death.”
AZ heard another long moment of silence before Paxton and Lida burst out in laughter.
“Relax man. I’m fuckin’ with you. As far as I’m concerned, food is food and we all have our preferences.”
The conversation turned more relieved as Paxton reassured Naveen that it was just good natured ribbing. He didn't quite catch Naveen's response. AZ was very nearly about to step in to politely request that the teenagers turn the volume of their chatter down when he stopped.
“I think we should probably start turning in.” They heard Taunie suppress a yawn. “We’re starting to get a bit loud and I don’t think anyone wants to deal with a grumpy AZ.”
“Yeah.” A couple apologies were mumbled and the shuffling as they began to collect the dishes.
“Here, I’ll help you.” He heard Paxton offer to Taunie.
“Thank you Paxton, but I’ve got it.”
“You cooked. I’ll clean. It’s the least I can do. I can’t just sit down, eat dinner and then leave.”
“I know, but you’ve done more than enough in helping me and joining Team MZ. Really. The whole joining the Royale, becoming a trainer and providing us all with some good entertainment with your free-spirited takes. T-Thank you for offering. How about next time?”
“Yeah. Yeah of course. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight Taunie.”
“Goodnight Paxton. I’ll see you tomorrow morning!”
AZ had quietly closed the door to his own bedroom when he heard footsteps head towards the elevator. The noise from the dining room began to subside as Team MZ began to retire for the evening. Soon enough, the comfortable silence he yearned for began to return.
He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, trying not to think of the Zygarde cell. Of the fast approaching future and what omens it carried for the teenagers residing in his hotel.
They’ve been tasked with protecting Lumiose…protecting it from what was to come. A cataclysm befalling this city was fast approaching; one that will test all of them to their limits. They will need each other more than ever when that time was upon them.
He shook his head grimly, knowing that it weighing on his mind would only make things worse. It was very possible that the sought after strongest Mega Evolution user that he prophesied to stop the calamity was sitting in the very next room.
An Anistarian among them. Fate can be just as cruel or ironic of a mistress as it can be benevolent.
AZ knew the work ahead for them would start tomorrow, the next day and the days and weeks after that. A soft trill made him smile as he saw Floette slowly float and spin around with her tall black and red flower. Her happy and excited energy told him everything about how she enjoyed being in the company of Team MZ during their dinner.
He definitely agreed with what she had thought too.
Let them have tonight.
And there you have it! I'm quite happy with how this has turned out from just a couple days of writing and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.
Food & Drink
Brav
Though this is a one-shot, I've put quite a bit of worldbuilding and would be open to making this a full on story and it will include this chapter in it! Currently gauging on whether there's interest for me to continue this in the meantime.
That being said, I hope everyone enjoys. Kudos and comments are most welcome! Let's dive right in!
Whatever other plans Paxton might've had when he took this trip to Lumiose City was thrown out the window in the first hour. A really pretty girl asking him to star in her advertisement for a hotel he'd never heard of, his own bag getting snatched and then commanding a pokemon in a battle to get it back.
Then he got roped into the nightly Z-A Royale, joined said really pretty girl along in a very interesting band of other trainers in said hotel on a mission to protect the city. What better of a way to celebrate with a home cooked meal?
A one-shot with a reaction to croissant curry, team bonding and other food debates.
Whatever the hell it was, it smelled amazing.
Paxton’s stomach growled rather audibly from aromas wafting out from the hotel’s small kitchenette next door.
Taunie was busy at work inside, unseen but with a symphony of sizzling pans, bubbling pots and the ticking of an oven. While he was no professional chef, Paxton had enough skills to be able to cook for himself when neither parent was present. That credential wasn’t enough to prevent the blonde from shooing him out of the kitchen, insistent that his help wasn’t necessary.
That’s what led him to sit down at a well worn mahogany table alongside the other two teammates of Team MZ he had only recently met. And all that came from him partaking in the nightly ZA Royale tournament that was all the rage right now in Lumiose City.
The new folks intrigued him. Naveen was a teenager about his age with dark skin and meticulously done braids. From what he could gather, the guy was very much the introvert, but crisp and to the point. When he did speak, it felt like it was needed to say and he often had a more pragmatic outlook. If he was just a little more talkative, Paxton figured they’d get along very well. Naveen was very much into clothing and fashion, but when he wasn’t doing the sewing commissions, he kept himself busy watching something on his phone with a surprising amount of attention.
What little info Paxton had gotten out of him was that he was actually born and raised in Lumiose, but stayed at Hotel Z for the extra studio space. Between everyone else on the team, he had seen Naveen around the least amount of time.
The trilby hat he got from Naveen earlier in the day wasn’t something Paxton expected and he figured it was just another throwaway once the other boy had said it wasn’t his size. But somehow, the hat fit him as if he was meant to wear it.
It looks stylish for Lumiose standards.
Then there was Adelida or rather Lida as she had liked to be called. She hated her formal name. A fair-skinned girl that was a year or two older and almost a full head taller. She took great pride in making sure her long jet black hair was perfectly combed and in a top bun. Her own aspirations brought her to Lumiose to become a dancer in the footsteps of her elder brother.
While Naveen had maybe said a couple sentences since sitting down at the table, Lida was the complete opposite; a total chatterbox. Paxton barely got a couple of questions asked to pass the time before Lida excitably talked and talked. He wasn’t sure if it was just part of her quirk or if it was nerves meeting a new person. Unovans and Alolans were especially known for this when traveling abroad.
Nevertheless, he found he actually liked Lida quite a bit. Just hearing something excitable she talked about, whether it was her pokemon, dancing or foodie spots. Paxton had no doubts that Lida could put away a copious amount, especially from having to burn so much energy on her daily dance routines. She had taken enough of a liking to him to already call him “Pax” which was something he only felt comfortable hearing it from close family or friends.
Like Taunie, he also found her to be quite attractive. It didn’t help matters that she openly told him one of her own vices was to read Elite Four Shauntal’s takes on romance novels.
Yeah, this is a good group to share my first shot of framboise with.
Lida had taken the conversation to ask Paxton about what life was like in Anistar when Taunie entered the room after absent for nearly an hour. She set a plate in front of Naveen that had a jambon-beurre baguette sandwich. A quintessential Kalosian food that used simple ingredients and was simple to prepare. Next to it was a pile of pommes frites.
Damn, she made that all herself?
“Alright, the spécialité is coming right up!” Taunie straightened the apron and walked back out. Paxton did not miss Naveen rolling his eyes at what she said.
Ungrateful? I’d be more than happy to scarf down that sandwich of his.
Next came a bowl for salad and a bottle of dressing. Then a plate of tartes with sweet fruit preserves on top. What she brought out as the main course got an ecstatic reaction from Lida, but upon a closer look, he honestly had no idea what to make of it at all.
Three plates with a carefully shaped base of steamed rice and topped with-is that brown curry?
Why is it solid like that? What made him even more perplexed was sitting around the outside of the shallow plate were three croissants.
“Bon appetit!” Taunie grinned over at him. She yanked off the apron and tossed it on a hook atop the door. “It’s time to dig in!”
Paxton swore he saw the damn thing jiggle like a gelatinous blob.
“What…what even is this?”
“I don’t get what you don’t get about this! It’s my original creation! I call it croissant curry! Made it to be the hotel’s sought-after signature dish! It pairs Lumiose’s delectable croissants with the legendary curry from the Galar region to bring out the best in both!
“Ooh man, that scent sends my appetite into overdrive!” Lida could barely contain her excitement. “You’ve outdone yourself again Taunie! I could eat your cooking forever!”
“I reject that monstrosity altogether.” Naveen said sourly, giving Paxton’s plate a repulsive stare. He had to imagine the other boy would shoot lasers out of his eyes to incinerate it if he willed.
Now it was Taunie’s turn to roll her eyes. “You say that all the time when I make this, but you seem to polish off anything I cook.”
“I-I was just raised better than to let food go to waste. Especially when you live in the gastronomic capital of the world.”
“You’re so particular Naveen!” Lida had wasted no time in already wolfing down a mouthful of the curry and tore off the end of a croissant. “Maybe it’s because you’re Lumiose born and raised!”
“I eat many other things.” Naveen said, his defensive tone remaining stagnant. “And to be fair, I’ll go to war with any Lumiose cafe out there for your jambon-beurre against theirs. But I draw the line at croissant curry.”
Paxton just sat there helping himself to a bowl of salad, watching the debate get heated and enjoying the back-and-forth. After pouring some vinaigrette, he slid the bottle over to Lida.
“Sorry that this got so heated Paxton.” Taunie apologized to him. “We have a lot of different tastes, as you can tell.”
He waved her off. “No, it’s fine. I’m just as passionate about food as the rest of you.” To give her the benefit of the doubt, he told himself he’d at least try it.
“But for real. I’m really glad you showed up here. You’ve been great company!”
“Yes, big same!” Lida joined in. “Having you around makes me feel like things might work out okay for us!”
“Work out?” Paxton was a little confused.
Taunie put her fork down. “See, I formed Team MZ to protect Lumiose. When I first got here, AZ started to get worried about something saying that there’d be a growing crisis coming soon. I wasn’t sure what to make of Lumiose at first, but after I spent so much time here around the people and pokemon, it grew to a place I love with all my heart. I wanted to protect it.”
“AZ said that this is perhaps where I’m fated and meant to be when I first got here.” Paxton said. “Did he say that to all of you?”
“Yeah he did.” Both Naveen and Lida were nodding in agreement. “Why?”
Paxton shook his head. “It’s nothing. Just me thinking to myself. I’m glad to be here.”
“I’m done with the thinking part!” Lida shoved another spoonful of rice into her mouth.
“Yes! Let’s eat!”
Okay. Let’s do this. The teen could hardly believe himself that he was trying to mentally prepare eating a meal.
His fork touched the top and easily sliced off a portion of the congealed curry. Just try not to imagine it’s from a pot that’s sat on the stove for days. Along with a helping of rice, he held it up to his mouth and suddenly became aware that everyone else had their eyes on him. Taunie and Lida leaned forward with hopeful anticipation while Naveen looked as if he was going to be brutally judgmental.
“What?”
“Go on.” Taunie smiled at him. “Try it!”
Oh god, the jiggliness. The conflicted part was that in spite of that, it smelled incredible.
Paxton took his first bite and his palette was immediately bombarded with intense flavors; the curry was incredibly rich, buttery and there was just a slight hint of spiciness. The potatoes and vegetables that had simmered in the gravy were perfect, firm enough to yield to a bite. Wow. This actually tastes really really good!
However it was the texture of the pectin that had been mixed into the gravy, thickening it to where it had taken on something firm and gelatinous, likely to keep its shape. The temperature of the food wasn’t quite hot, which likely was because the pectin would break down if it were hotter.
The whole thing reminded him of a terrine or pate, except those were often served cold.
It went about as he expected, but he just couldn’t get past the texture. The whole thing reminded him of if someone were to leave a pot of curry and the fats used to simmer the meat and vegetables began to congeal and solidify.
He had no complaints about the croissants. They were still piping hot and extremely buttery and flaky. If there was anything to change on that, he’d point right back to the curry part being more of its usual gravy than a solid. Having an overabundance of the tasty gravy was part of Galar curry’s appeal, with the strong flavors being soaked up by rice, naan or other form of carbs. Croissants could work.
So while Taunie was likely thinking she just got a breakthrough and reinvented the wheel, Paxton had to probably err in the middle between Lida and Naveen's opinion of the dish. The taste was immaculate and the concept pretty darn creative, but the presentation and that texture was what kept it from being great.
“I’m with Lida.” He started, causing the other girl to squeal in delight. “The taste is awesome and you perfectly cooked the curry.”
Now for the part he really didn’t want to say out loud, especially when it was for someone who cooked for him unconditionally. The first rule in dining was to never insult the person cooking your food.
“Now I’m no food critic, so don’t take this the wrong way…but I feel like it needs a little work and it’ll be a knockout.” Okay, that might’ve sounded better in my head.
“Oh.” Taunie’s expression was rather unreadable, but her tone didn’t go defensive. “So you like it?”
“The taste? Absolutely. If it were me, I’d maybe see about making the curry more of a sauce rather than a gigantic blob.” He gestured to the mound in the middle of the dish. “More like what they do in Galar. You sop up the leftovers with what rice you didn’t eat with the meat and vegetables. Croissants are a bit unusual, but not a bad option.”
Naveen’s eyes shot up in between bites of his sandwich and he threw up his arms. “Merci! Finally someone else says it!”
“I…okay.” Taunie appeared to take the criticism well and smiled again at him. “I guess it’s still kind of a work in progress. I’m always open to cooking more different things, it at least would make Naveen a little less opinionated.”
“Hey, it’s only the croissant curry I have an issue with.”
She ignored him. “Besides, it gets harder when we have more people with different tastes. Some stuff takes more time like a coq au vin.”
“I’m generally not a picky eater, so pretty much anything you make I'm not gonna complain.” Paxton told her and gestured with his fork towards the half eaten croissant curry. “A few exceptions of course.”
“You’re still gonna eat it?” Lida asked him.
“Of course. It’s either eat what’s made or blow an obscene amount of money on takeout. Have you seen the prices on some of the places around here?”
“Yeah, fair.”
“So Paxton, you’re from Anistar City?” Naveen asked, unsure if it felt like being grilled or genuine curiosity. “I know the food there’s a little different.”
“Not that much different.” Paxton answered. “We love our pastries and breads as much as anyone else in Kalos. But yeah, there's some local specialties that are hard to find outside.”
Taunie perked up. “Oh, I could try making some of your local Anistarian foods! What’s your taste?”
“Let’s see,” Paxton put a finger on his chin. “Flammekueche.” When he got puzzled reactions from everyone, he had to remind himself that not everyone in Lumiose was going to be overly familiar with the Anistarian dialect. There was a Kalosian name for it as well though.
“You might know it as tarte flambée.”
“Oh I’ve heard of that one!” Taunie said. “It’s that flatbread that has onions, lardons and creme fraiche!”
“Yeah that’s the one! There’s a ton of small eateries around Anistar and Couriway that serve them around the clock. Best ones are those freshly made!”
“I think that’s doable. I’ll just have to find a recipe online.” He watched her jot something down on her RotoPhone. “If it’s anything like the socca we went for yesterday, then I know you’ll have good taste.”
“I appreciate that. Really. At the same time though, I came to try out the Lumiose food scene. But it’ll be nice…to have a taste of home.”
He scooped the last of the rice into his mouth and finished off the half-eaten croissant. Yeah, this was tasty. Once I got past that texture.
“What else? Oh yeah, there’s baeckeoffe; which is an old old Anistarian stew that has beef, mutton, pork, potatoes and onions, all slowly simmered in a dry riesling.” Paxton gave a dramatic kiss between two fingers. “Absolutely divine. Except it’s rarely seen outside of Christmas time. The flavor is insane and there’s nothing better than walking around the Anistar Christmas market with a piping hot bowl of baeckeoffe.”
He smiled at the old memories that surfaced after mentioning it. “My parents took me to them almost every year when I was a kid.”
“I heard that’s one of the top sights in all of Kalos.” Taunie said. A dreamy faraway look was in her eyes for just a fleeting moment. “My mother talked about it when she went one year. The glow from all the stands and festivities all around cause the Vesper sundial to have this ethereal glow that could be seen across the entire city! She said it was incredible, unlike anything else you’d ever experience.”
“Yeah. It’s really pretty. Pictures don’t do it justice. At all.”
The dreamy look was back. “Thanks for sharing that, Paxton. Maybe one day, I’ll get to go and see it. I've always wanted to.”
“How about this holiday?” The words were already out of his mouth before it had a chance to register in his mind. “I’ll take you.”
Taunie saw his eyes meet hers, somehow knowing he meant every word of it. Her face flushed and she suddenly felt hot. Across from her; she noticed a flicker of a smile play across Lida’s face.
Oh no, don’t tell me she’s thinking that-
“Ooh! That really does sound divine!” Lida said, seemingly unaware and causing Taunie to internally sigh with relief. “There’s no way I’m gonna stay like this between your talking of food and Taunie’s cooking of it.”
“Then you’ll really like this one. Kouign-amman.”
“I’ve actually had that one.” Naveen spoke up. “It’s a butter pastry that is known for being as difficult to make as it is rich.” Off to his side, he thought he saw Lida’s mouth openly drool.
“Yeah. I’m sure there’s a boulangere somewhere in here that has them.”
“That seems a little…advanced.” Taunie said after a few moments. “I’m more than willing to let the bakery handle that one.”
Everyone laughed at that. Paxton finally felt the last of his guard slip and he relaxed. It felt so weird, the chatter between them all felt like it flowed naturally as if he had known these people for years as opposed to a day.
“Speaking of which, we’re all the ripe drinking age of eighteen right?” When he got nods from everyone else at the table, he reached down and set down the bottle of framboise. The four extra small glasses that Taunie brought in were divided as he unsealed the cap and poured a shot, one for each of them.
The blonde shot him a knowing smirk. “No wonder you were so determined to get your bag back if you had that thing in there!”
Both Paxton and Lida laughed at that.
“Yeah. No way I’m letting that guy get away with a full bottle of Anistarian framboise.”
He took a glass as did the others of Team MZ.
“I just want to say, thank you all for having me and taking me in on this team. I got told that this trip was going to be full of surprises…and that statement’s been holding up surprisingly well. I’m really glad to be here and be part of a team, part of something more.”
A grin spread across his face. “To Team MZ! Salut!”
“Salut!” Taunie, Lida and Naveen echoed him. He clinked his glass against hers and then the other two before they all tilted their heads back to down the strong liquor.
The conversation seemed to come naturally after that. Mostly between him and the girls. Naveen had gone back to looking at his RotoPhone, jumping in for input every now and then. The rounds of laughter grew as Team MZ swapped stories, ranging from those involving family members to others that were even more laugh inducing. Before long, Paxton felt so incredibly at ease with them.
And it’s all thanks to Taunie just randomly walking up asking for me to be an extra in her advertisement. Who would’ve guessed? I think so far, the experience here in Lumiose has been great.
AZ’s troubled sleep may have been from what had been weighing on his mind.
The giant’s own personal room had to be redone when he had first purchased the building to convert it into a hotel. Though the foundation of the door behind the concierge desk couldn’t be modified; the ceiling was stretched an extra four feet so that he wouldn’t have to hunch over to avoid being struck by his ceiling fan.
”I hope ya ain’t plannin’ to move somewhere else.” The older man that headed Racine had told him. ”Changin’ a floor like that ain’t cheap.”
A number of other things had to be changed around to accommodate the size of his nine foot frame. Two king sized bedframes had to be joined together, with a custom mattress pad laid over the gap. Clothes were hard to come by, but the man who had lived for three millennia was grateful for the boy Naveen’s stay. The young man was more than happy to help mend and tailor out special clothes that only AZ himself could wear.
However tonight, it seemed that it wasn’t just those dreadful thoughts that kept him from a restful slumber. Normally he found himself sleeping quite soundly when Floette was next to him, but when he first glanced over the nightstand, he saw that the small designer plush bed where she normally laid was empty.
Then the voices drifted from the lobby, he recognized them as Team MZ. Normally they retired an hour or two before midnight, putting the hotel in a very comfortable silence. Taunie was the exception on occasion. Her being a competitor in the ZA Royale tournament did mean that there were nights she didn’t return until two or three in the morning. She always made sure afterwards to stop by his room to let him know that she had gotten back safely or leave a note at his door if it was much later than usual.
While she was eighteen and an adult in her own right, it did bring him peace of mind that she’d be okay for the rest of the night. Now with Paxton also competing and staying under their roof, he hoped that the boy would do the same thing. Something told him he would follow suit.
With a groan, he threw off the covers and used his cane to stand up, unlocking the door and ducking through the threshold. The voices were much louder now, coming from the hotel’s dining room. He saw that the liquor cabinet had been opened and Paxton’s framboise, his Anistarian schnapps that he had brought along, was missing.
It didn’t take Emma’s detective skills to deduce where it ended up.
“Come on Paxton, there has to be something you don’t eat!”
“Oh you’ll all love this, just by how awful it was. Even you, Naveen.”
“I feel like I’ve been put on the spot.”
“So you know how when people say the absolute best type of food in a place that is so saturated with it is kinda subjective? I’ll go with Galar curry for example. Hammerlocke has tons and tons of curry houses, sausage roll bakeries and eateries and they’re all pretty damn good. For every one mediocre bad place, there’s ten good ones. But then you turn around and try to find something like Unovan style pizza and for every ten mediocre bad places there’s only one good.”
“Uh huh.” AZ heard a collective of agreements.
“So, my parents and I…we just happened to come across the one bad curry place in Hammerlocke. Amazingly, there were still customers there, but my dad had suggested they were tourists and didn’t know better.” Paxton paused for a second. “Anyway, we put our orders for curry in and when the food comes out, I kid you not that my mom looked mortified.”
“Why’s that?” Taunie asked.
“Because the curry was thin, like vegetable soup.”
“Aww man, what?!” There was a chorus of similar repulsive reactions, followed by more laughter.
“Like seriously. How do you mess that up?! Curry isn’t even hard to make!” Taunie managed to choke out between fits of her own giggles.
“By adding croissants.” Naveen said, causing another round of laughter.
“I legit don’t know! It was in a restaurant too! So that means someone has a recipe, tasted it, thought nothing was amiss and greenlit the thing to be added to the menu!”
“While I despise that thing Taunie makes with every bone in my body, what Paxton just described doesn’t even deserve to be deigned as curry. That just sounds like meat and vegetables with flavored broth.”
“Yeah I don’t mean to say you or your parents messed up in going there.” Lida told him. “But you and your parents messed up by going there. You didn’t even check the reviews online?”
“Uh no. There weren’t many places open at that hour.”
"Though I've never heard anything like that, I did hear that people from Alola like to put pinaps on pizza."
"Woah!" Both Paxton and Taunie were the ones surprised at that. "Hang on a sec, Lida. Now that is a crime. Unovans didn't die in wars for their pizza to be violated like that!"
Even overhearing their conversation in the next room, AZ chuckled to himself. Kids.
“But I’ll tell you the other one." He heard Paxton say. "Quiche.”
Dead silence lasted for maybe a few seconds as AZ imagined the rest of the team staring at Paxton with flabbergasted reactions.
“There’s no way you’re gonna put quiche below croissant curry!” Oddly enough, it was Naveen who was the first to jump into the argument defensively.
“Yes. Yes I can.”
“Oh wow, Naveen here actually defending a food!” Lida gasped. She and Taunie were clearly enjoying the newly ignited debate between him and Paxton. “Now that’s a surprise!”
“It’s an iconic Kalosian food!”
“Yeah that’s not eaten by real men!”
“Okay, that’s an old Unova saying because they think they’re so macho. Besides, that phrase was coined tongue in cheek. And let’s be honest, it’s not really that much different than your flammekueche.”
Taunie leaned towards Lida so only the other girl could hear her as the boys bickered back and forth on the newest food debate. Similarly, she was bewildered that their newest team member could get Naveen so animated and talkative. “Should we try and stop them?”
The other girl just shook her head and gave a lopsided grin to the bickering boys. “Nah, this is entertaining. I’m enjoying every second.”
“Come on man. Scrambled eggs on a buttered pie crust?! That doesn’t sound remotely off to any of you? When’s the last time you walked into a Kalosian cafe or bistro and gone, damn I’d kill for that quiche?”
“You’d still eat it if you were starving and there was literally nothing else right? And it's not that much different than a Paldea tortilla!”
“Obviously. It might not be my absolute favorite thing in the world, but I’m not stupid enough to refuse food like that if I’m starving to death.”
AZ heard another long moment of silence before Paxton and Lida burst out in laughter.
“Relax man. I’m fuckin’ with you. As far as I’m concerned, food is food and we all have our preferences.”
The conversation turned more relieved as Paxton reassured Naveen that it was just good natured ribbing. He didn't quite catch Naveen's response. AZ was very nearly about to step in to politely request that the teenagers turn the volume of their chatter down when he stopped.
“I think we should probably start turning in.” They heard Taunie suppress a yawn. “We’re starting to get a bit loud and I don’t think anyone wants to deal with a grumpy AZ.”
“Yeah.” A couple apologies were mumbled and the shuffling as they began to collect the dishes.
“Here, I’ll help you.” He heard Paxton offer to Taunie.
“Thank you Paxton, but I’ve got it.”
“You cooked. I’ll clean. It’s the least I can do. I can’t just sit down, eat dinner and then leave.”
“I know, but you’ve done more than enough in helping me and joining Team MZ. Really. The whole joining the Royale, becoming a trainer and providing us all with some good entertainment with your free-spirited takes. T-Thank you for offering. How about next time?”
“Yeah. Yeah of course. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight Taunie.”
“Goodnight Paxton. I’ll see you tomorrow morning!”
AZ had quietly closed the door to his own bedroom when he heard footsteps head towards the elevator. The noise from the dining room began to subside as Team MZ began to retire for the evening. Soon enough, the comfortable silence he yearned for began to return.
He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, trying not to think of the Zygarde cell. Of the fast approaching future and what omens it carried for the teenagers residing in his hotel.
They’ve been tasked with protecting Lumiose…protecting it from what was to come. A cataclysm befalling this city was fast approaching; one that will test all of them to their limits. They will need each other more than ever when that time was upon them.
He shook his head grimly, knowing that it weighing on his mind would only make things worse. It was very possible that the sought after strongest Mega Evolution user that he prophesied to stop the calamity was sitting in the very next room.
An Anistarian among them. Fate can be just as cruel or ironic of a mistress as it can be benevolent.
AZ knew the work ahead for them would start tomorrow, the next day and the days and weeks after that. A soft trill made him smile as he saw Floette slowly float and spin around with her tall black and red flower. Her happy and excited energy told him everything about how she enjoyed being in the company of Team MZ during their dinner.
He definitely agreed with what she had thought too.
Let them have tonight.
And there you have it! I'm quite happy with how this has turned out from just a couple days of writing and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.
Food & Drink
- Jambon-beurre - Literally ham/butter. Jambon-beurre is a popular, simplistic sandwich that's served on a baguette loaf and an iconic French food. More than three million jambon-beurre sandwiches are eaten every day in France.
- Coq au vin - Braised chicken stew. Another iconic French dish that's made with chicken, onions, lardons, carrots and braised over red wine such as burgundy.
- Socca - An unleavened crepe made from chickpea flour. A popular street food in eastern France and western Italy.
- Terrine - Terrine is similar to pate where the ingredients are grinded together and cooked in a pot mold. It's usually made with more gamey meats such as pheasant or boar and served cold or room temperature.
- Flammekueche - Also known as tarte flambée. A dish originating from Alsace, it is a thin oval shaped bread dough that is covered in creme fraiche, cheeses, onions and lardons. Contrary to the name, it is cooked in an oven and not actually set on fire like a flambé.
- Baeckeoffe - A dish originating from Alsace. Baeckeoffe is meats such as beef and mutton, sliced onions and potatoes cooked in a special ceramic casserole dish. The meat and other ingredients are marinated in Alsatian white wine for several hours and then cooked in the dish with a tightly sealed lid by a rope of bread dough. It's a popular Alsatian food during Christmas time.
- Kouign-amman - A pastry originating from Breton that uses flour, sugar, yeast and butter to create layers of laminated dough and baked so the sugar slowly carmelizes. It is well known for being a difficult and time consuming pastry to create.
- Framboise - Also known as himbeergeist. Raspberry schnapps. It is mainly produced in Alsace and the Rhineland in Germany.
Brav