Usually, Ash wakes up around the same time as Misty, and once he does, he usually calls out to Misty, but this time he didn't, which is why Misty found it odd.
When Misty changed her clothes and came out into the living room, she smelled a fragrance that permeated her very being, instantly clearing her somewhat hazy mind.
"It smells so good, what delicious thing did Aunt Delia make today?" Misty murmured as she walked into the kitchen, and what she found there wasn't Delia or Brock, but Ash!
"Ash? Why are you making breakfast today?"
"My hands were itching, so I got up to make breakfast. It's almost ready, just wait a little bit longer." Ash turned his head and smiled at Misty.
Pikachu was standing on the kitchen table beside him, eagerly rubbing its tiny hands, its face full of drool. Not to mention the taste, just the smell had surpassed all the dishes it had ever smelled before.
Pikachu didn't know when Ash acquired these skills, but often Ash wakes up feeling like a brand new person, learning things he didn't understand or couldn't do before he slept. Pikachu seriously suspected Ash was learning in his dreams.
But all of that was unimportant; what mattered was today's breakfast!
After hearing Ash speak, Misty didn't leave, she stood beside Ash holding Togepi, watching him. Ash wasn't doing much, just waiting for the seafood porridge to finish cooking, as all his preparations had been completed by the time Misty woke up.
Now all he had to do was wait for the porridge to cook.
After a while, Brock and Delia returned from outside. They actually woke up around the same time as Ash, but since Ash assured them he would take care of breakfast, they decided to go out to buy groceries. Brock also picked out some supplies, preparing for their trip to the Orange Archipelago.
As soon as they opened the door, the alluring fragrance hit their noses, making their throats itch with desire.
"Smells so good, Ash, what have you made? Did you use spices? It smells amazing!"
"Weren't you making seafood porridge, Ash? Did you make something new?"
Confronted with their questions, Ash didn't answer. He took a wet kitchen cloth and walked up to the clay pot, then abruptly lifted the lid!
In an instant, a golden light erupted from the pot, making the entire house shimmer with dazzling golden brilliance. The unsuspecting Misty and others instinctively covered their eyes, feeling utterly bewildered.
What's going on? Did Ash put a flashbang in the breakfast? This light is way too bright, comparable to the thunder released by Pikachu!
Once the light faded, they lowered their hands from their eyes, smelling a fragrance now several times stronger than before.
"This scent... Is this really seafood porridge, Ash? What did you add to it!" Brock darted forward. His keen sense of smell and rich experience instantly led him to conclude this was indeed seafood porridge, but the scent was overwhelmingly potent, far beyond any spice he knew. What was going on?
"This is my special Clamp Tide Condensed Fresh Golden Porridge, give it a try!" Ash said confidently. The group looked into the pot and found the porridge's color matched the golden light radiated before, equally golden.
"Golden porridge? How did you make this?" Misty covered her lips lightly, speaking in astonishment.
"The rice Ash used was originally golden millet, but though it's called golden, it's actually just ordinary yellow. Cooking it into such a dense gold color likely involved the use of sesame oil, plus the crab paste from the crabs, but what caused the glowing effect earlier?"
Culinary expert Brock quickly uncovered the secret of the Golden Porridge. Although the saturated golden hue was slightly beyond his expectations, it was still within the realm of normal cooking, but what was the golden light that exploded just now?
Did Ash really add a flashbang to it?
"It's special effects; I added special effects~ Try the taste first." Ash casually skimmed over the glowing incident. Saying it was special effects wasn't entirely wrong, even Ash didn't know the principle; he just knew how to make it.
When culinary creation reaches an extreme, this kind of golden light can appear; as for its source... perhaps it's accumulated from the aura of heaven and earth?
But that's not critical, the light, as Ash said, is just a special effect. Whether the taste and effect are good can only be judged by eating it. However, judging by its smell, it surpasses any dish Ash has ever tasted.
As the steaming Golden Porridge was placed on the dining table, everyone picked up their spoons, shouted in unison, "Let's eat!" and eagerly scooped the first spoonful into their mouths.
As soon as the cloud-like porridge base touched the tongue, it dissolved, the crab claw's sweetness, shrimp's springiness, combined with the glutinous fragrance of millet, sliding down the throat into the stomach, the warm feeling instantly enveloped their whole bodies.
Everyone, including Ash, trembled simultaneously, a feeling hard to describe rising through their bodies.
"So delicious, Ash! And after eating it, it feels as if my whole body is being massaged; what is this, it's so magical!" Misty was the first to step forward to express her opinion. This porridge was undoubtedly the best she had tasted in her life of over a decade.