Po-ta-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a... curry?

[indigo_events]

Who: Everybody! The Snorlax! The Munchlax! The Mystery Guests!
Where: Route 39
When: March 20th and 21st
Summary: Lets cook some curries.
Rating: General.
Log:


Early spring brings with it bright sunshine and slightly chilly air, green shoots of new grass poking up from the earth as farmers survey fields that have laid bare all winter. Across Johto and Kanto (and who knows where else?), windows and doors are thrown open to air out spaces closed up for the winter, the commencement of a mysterious rite known only as ‘spring cleaning.’

At MooMoo Ranch, it heralds an additional rite: the yearly tradition that precedes the tilling of those fields and the sowing of seeds:



THE GREAT CURRY COOKOUT

Let’s just be up front about this: the entirety of Route 38 smells absolutely amazing. Traditionally (you’re going to hear that word a lot here), the curries cooked up by the locals are made of whatever leftovers from the previous year’s harvest that may be found kicking around the various parlours and cellars, but because humans can’t eat the berries that Pokemon can, and because they want to eat too, and because once you let humans at a recipe, they can’t not experiment with it...

If you can imagine a curry, someone has either made it, is in the process of making it, or is preparing to make it right the heck now. There are some dishes that don’t seem too out of place: sausage curries, curries with tinned meat or beans added to the mix, mushroom curries, curries decorated so cutely that they flood your Poke-Instagram page, potato curries, herb-laden curries, spice-tastic curries, coconut curries, curries accompanied by savory burger steaks...these all at least seem like normal curry variants, right?

And then there’s the odd stuff. Curries topped with swirls of spaghetti, boiled-egg curries, instant-noodle curries loaded up next to curries topped with a medley of fried foods, toast slices resting on beds of curry, leeks grilled and whole on curries, apple curries, salad curries, curries with whole bones kept in them to add additional flavor, tropical curries with decorative flowers added on the side, cheese-covered curries, even...whipped cream curries…? Uh...sure, okay! There’s even the rare smoked Slowpoke Tail curry, the tail packages labeled with “CRUELTY-FREE SLOWPOKE TAIL” and seals of legal and bureaucratic approval. Dry, sweet, spicy, bitter, sour - you name it, there’s a curry for it!

It’s a little weird, though, right? All this curry, and, uh, all these Snorlax… and Munchlax… wait, actually, when did those start to show up?! Is this… safe??? The locals don’t seem surprised in the least, but there sure are a lot of them…. did they all really come down from the mountains?

Is this part of the tradition, too?!

Good question!

Lucky for YOU, any trainer (un?)fortunate enough to be caught standing still for one second too long by one of the elderly locals (or walks too close to one, or accepts a curry offering from one) will be treated to a retelling of the story behind both the Snorlax and the curry. Turns out, the salivating Snorlax and the just-as-hungry baby Munchlax are not just part of the tradition -- they’re the reason for it!

Long ago, in the day of so-and-so’s grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother, the Snorlax and Munchlax were a downright menace. Every year, once the snows would start to melt, they’d start coming down from the mountains to the north in droves, descending upon the farms and fields just as that year’s planting began to sprout like a plague of very hungry caterpies, gobbling up everything in sight until nothing but barren earth remained. They even busted down fences and barns in their pursuit of fresh food! Proper menaces to society, right here.

At first, the farmers tried to battle the Snorlax, but it did not end well. Their Miltank and Tauros herds weren’t meant for battle, and Snorlax are as mighty as their appetites! Then one year, a young farm girl had an idea! (Depending on who's telling the story, it might have been a farm boy. Or just a farmer, gender unknown. It is always, mysteriously, someone in the teller's family tree.) Rather than trying to fight off the Snorlax, this mysterious individual suggested inviting them all to one big dinner. They could cook up all the leftovers from the last harvest, have a big feast out of it and feed the hungry Snorlax so they'd leave the seedlings alone.

And it worked! The Snorlax were happy, the fields were left alone and the fences and barns kept standing strong.

(Well, except that one year with ol’ man Gregory’s barn, but that had very little to do with the Snorlax, and far more to do with ol’ man Gregory’s fierce enjoyment of the special sake brewed by the monks of Sprout Tower, a very terrible bet, and one prized herd of Miltanks and really, if you don’t watch it, you might be stuck listening to that old tale as well.)

Obviously, since the current farms and fields are still intact and going strong, the feast not only worked, but held strong as a tradition. But hey! It’s a fun story, and the curry is good! And oh my ARCEUS, you have heard this story so many times from so many old farming folks you are so tired, please, you just wanted to find a bathroom, yes, thank you for the bowl of curry, you really must be going now-

Only… there’s something weird about this year’s gathering. Something unexpected.

In addition to the Snorlax and Munchlax lumbering down in droves for a good meal, another kind of Pokemon has emerged, lured by the delectable scents, and it’s not one that many folks have seen before. Keen-eyed trainers can spot them just about everywhere: lingering under the eaves of the roofs, peeking out from behind bushes and tree branches, but most of all, slowly drawing close to the source of all those delicious smells, their voices ringing out like clear little bells.

That’s right, Milcery are swarming!

Unfortunately, the Snorlax and Munchlax don’t seem too keen on sharing their special once-a-year treat. Hangry tempers are starting to flare up, the bubbling of many pots and pans joined by low grumbling as the Snorlax and Munchlax are starting to stake claim against these strange newcomers. In fact, someone should probably get out there and try and calm the situation down.

Which doesn’t mean take out your pokemon and start any battles! Anyone trying to do that will get a right scolding by one of those inescapable geriatric storytellers. Do you want to cause some sort of stampede here like what claimed ol’ man Gregory’s barn? No sir! (Who’s sir? We’re unclear.) There will be no battling here. Put on your best smile! Break out that cheery personality, and try to actually peacekeep. Or if that isn’t your thing, maybe try and help out with the cooking. With this many cooks around, there is always someone who needs an extra hand to peel some potatoes or dice some carrots, right? If you got a particular hankering, why not claim one of those may pots and pans for yourself and start preparing your own prized curry?

Because judging by the mass of Snorlax, Munchlax, and Milcery? We are going to need a bigger curry.

Comments

[fingersandteeth]

"Carly," Steven says, not having the smallest shred of pity in him in this moment to be anything but utterly amused by all of this. "I told you about my boyfriend."

[insidescoop]

"AaaAAAAAHHH!! No!! No, don't use that against me that's not fair!!" It's extra fair. "Oooof!!"

...

"It's Jolyne..!" ... "She's going to be here in a few hours... ...and....we might have hooked up at the festival..." ...Oh boy.

"...We're taking it slowly though! Cute stuff first!"

[fingersandteeth]

"Jolyne, huh," he says. "Should I beg her not to take my man?" Okay, okay, stupid jokes aside... "But no, no, that's great. I'm glad you've found someone. Did you guys light a lantern together?"

[insidescoop]

"You are so lucky I actually know that reference -!" Ooof!!!

But, yes, stupid jokes aside... "...We...might have yes...and asked each other after that..."

[fingersandteeth]

"Good," Steven says, softly, resting his chin on his hand. As much as he's teasing, he really is pleased for her. "So. Does she make you happy?"

[insidescoop]

Look at what you've done to her Steven. Look! She's a wobbly eyed mess!

...

Hopefully that clears up before Jolyne gets there? "Yyyessssssss...!!" is said through half happy tears, because that's just how Carly gets, apparently. "And she's really cute but more than that she's just really direct about lots of things and..! And..!"

Okay breathe girl-

[fingersandteeth]

Okay, time to extract some kleenex and pass it on.

"I'm glad, Carly," he tells her sincerely. "You deserve to be happy. So have you been on any dates since the lantern-lighting?"

[insidescoop]

"Ohhhhh..." Just. Using that kleenex, thanks. Fortunately just for tears. But!

"We actually haven't! She's been working on her gym challenge...which of course means since we're in kanto, she's been in a cave almost the whole time since then! There's two cave systems to pass through, I almost thought she wouldn't make it here!"

[fingersandteeth]

"Oh god, right, Kanto's like that, isn't it? Just-- caves everywhere. As far as the eye... can't see." Steven shakes his head. "Well. I'm glad she is going to make it. And seeing you again after she's been stuck in a hole will make her feel better."

[insidescoop]

"Well there's caves in Johto too! Just... ...most of them are farther into the region..." A sigh...

And then a grin. "Yep~! That's what I'm hoping at least~ I even got a present ready!"

[fingersandteeth]

He rests his chin on his hands. "What are you getting her?" he asks. "I always get Jack records and things for cooking."

He actually brings home little things like that fairly regularly. They're the one thing he refuses to borrow Jack's credit card for or try to expense to Team Rocket--anything he gets for his boyfriend has to come from his money.

[insidescoop]

"Oh...nothing like that, I'm not sure I have enough of a pin on her interests for that yet..." Jolyne isn't hard to read per-say, but she's a bit guarded about the personal and it shows. She doesn't think it's quite safe to get anything quite like that Yet...

But! "It's actually a pokemon~ And I'm bundling it with my last hidden ability candy~ I didn't really have any use for it, so I figure, it's best this way right?"

[fingersandteeth]

"It's probably easier to know that when you live with them," Steven admits. And when they're as self-centered (in a strangely adorable way) as Jack is. "And oh, that's a great idea, the hidden ability thing. Which pokemon?"

[fortuneglass]

"Mnnnnnh definitely... ...and oh! Applin!"

She grins. "I don't have one, but I was able to look into their entries anyway thanks to who I was with...but the hidden abilities for its evolutions are really great~"

[fingersandteeth]

"Oh right," he says. "You're traveling with those two old hippies that just got married. The Universes?"

[insidescoop]

"...Well that's one way to put it...Connie actually travels with us as well right now! I've been showing her the ropes~"

[fingersandteeth]

Steven smiles. "Good," he says. "I'm glad you're helping her out." He adds after a moment, "I remembered that Mr Universe was giving away mystery eggs. Which might have been apple dragons. That's, ah, the reason for the topic pivot."

[insidescoop]

"Ohhh~ Well it turns out they were~" Carly laughs, grinning. "...Though I feel like she'd have liked an oricorio too, dancing birds and all..."

[fingersandteeth]

"I wouldn't mind a purple one someday myself," Steven admits. He just. Wants every ghost. Is that so much to ask?

[insidescoop]

"Purple? That one was..." ........

"...How many ghosts do you have..."

[fingersandteeth]

Steven takes a moment to count them up. "Seven right now. Out of nineteen. Not counting anyone's eggs or babies. But Armin said at one point he'd send me one that's a haunted anchor."

[insidescoop]

Carly just whistles at that.

"You have the number of missing ghosts even huh...really going for collection! Maybe I should keep an eye out for you~"

[fingersandteeth]

"I mean, nineteen's the number of my pokemon, not how many ghost types there are," Steven says. "But. Uh. Yeah. I kind of am. I guess maybe part of this whole... extended coming out process is also owning up to... god, I've always thought of it as our 'morbid fascination.'"

[insidescoop]

"Oh!" oops.

"...oh god there's probably so many more than just 19 ghost types huh..." Oops. She does blink though. "Ehh? Why morbid? Ghost pokemon can be cute right~? I mean I have Mimi-chan, and Baby-Boo...and then Red Buster..."

Carly they're creepy,

[fingersandteeth]

Steven laughs. "I mean, to be a ghost, you usually have to be dead first, don't you? Isn't that morbid enough? Especially from the standard American perspective that finds death and the dead discomforting." But then he smiles fondly, gently at Carly. "I don't. Not really. Not at all. It's not even just that Mexican-Americans are in general more comfortable with that shit than most Anglos, although we are. It's... maybe you could say it's a family thing, on my father's side? My favorite uncle was studying to be a pathologist. I always thought my little sister was going to follow in his footsteps--it surprised the hell out of me that she got an English degree from a CSU school instead.

"But, you know, it's a little weird, right? So I always used to be-- kind of quiet about how interesting I find those things. And I taught Charley to be too." He shrugs. "I'm... trying not to be ashamed so much anymore. Of-- well, a lot of things. The 'morbid fascination' included--which, ah, I stole as a phrase from an Andrew Bird song."