Pokemon Journeys: Masters 8 Tournament

Chapter 13 - Heading to Hammerlock

Today was the day for another quarterfinals match of the Masters 8 Tournament. Sinnoh Champion Cynthia would battle Kalos Champion Diantha to see who would be the stronger pokemon battling queen. Ash and Serena landed at Wyndon City and were about to take the train to Hammerlock to watch the battle. However...

"Let's have some food first before we watch the match in the Hammerlock Stadium," Ash's stomach was rumbling for food like always, "I will bring you to a place with some good food."

Getting off the plane, Ash held Serena's hand and ran to the shop which sold Ash and Goh some scones earlier. It was where Goh met Scorbunny for the first time.

Serena giggled, "Ash, slow down. We have time." But her inner OS acted differently: Oh my Arceus! He is holding my hand! He is holding my hand! Is this a date? I will take that as a yes, even though it's a small one!

Ash followed the sweet scent of the scones and ran to the shop. He greeted the shopkeeper, "Your sweet little ball thingy smells really good today!"

The shopkeeper greeted Ash, and then saw Serena next to him, "They are called scones, buddy. Ooo, my beautiful lady, welcome to the shop...That's your new girl, isn't it? Where's your previous one, eh?"

"A new girl?" Serena was surprised as she backed off and removed her grip from Ash's hand. Did I leave him too long that he already has someone else?

"What do you mean? That's the second time I come here..." Ash tried to understand what the shopkeeper meant, and then he remembered Goh, "Or do you mean Goh, the one with the grey T-shirt and two red hairclips? He is a boy!"

"He is a boy? That's certainly some news," the shopkeeper laughed, "I'm sorry, Kalos Queen. Pick some good food and enjoy it with your champ. The meal is on me."

I thought I lost my chance! I'm still worthy! Phew! Serena was relieved and picked two scones and a cup of coffee, "Do you watch my performance too, sir?"

"My wife watches your showcases very often," he explained, "But when you yelled at your boy in the mic during the quarterfinals, you are pretty much well-known throughout the world. You didn't see that coming, eh? You are a celebrity now."

"I didn't think too much when I yell at him...But thanks for the meal," Blushing really hard, Serena smiled and got her food to sit somewhere nearby.

"You watched my battle too?" Ash asked and sat next to Serena and placed his 4 scones and milk tea on the table.

"Yeah. And thanks to you, my house here gets destroyed," the shopkeeper smirked, "Which is a good thing because I can stay away longer from my nagging and annoying wife now. What a relief!"

The two teens laughed at the joke and minded their own business.

Ash asked Serena, "Do you remember the time when we eat outside of a shop, and then Diantha appeared, and we shared some of our cake with her?"

"How can I forget that?" Serena joked, "The small cake that could be finished with one bite. I never felt so hungry after eating that. And then she promised you a battle where you got absolutely demolished."

Ash scratched his head, "Yeah, that's why I want to see her battle in the Tournament. I still think her Mega Gardevoir is strong since Greninja never finished her off."

"I am sure you can defeat her now!" Serena comforted him, "You won against Alain, you can easily defeat her."

Ash smiled at her and clenched his fist, "Thanks, Serena. You sound excited about the battle too."

"Yeah, I can take some notes of how Diantha battles. Maybe I can use some of her moves in my future contests and performances," Serena explained, "Come on, eat up. If we keep talking like this, we will miss the match."