Pokemon Journeys: Masters 8 Tournament

Chapter 33 - Home Sweet Home

A/N: 😏

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Previously, on Masters 8 Tournament...

Ash defeated Cynthia in the semi-finals and would face Leon in the finals next. The 10-year-old received intel from Gary that Leon would be using Eternatus during the finals, and the only way he could win against Leon was to have his own legendary in his team. Finally recovering from the hospital, Ash had made the decision of which legendary to invite to his team, and Serena offered to go with him.

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Ash retrieved his pokemon from the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy has finished treating Ash, and today will be his last day at the hospital. He had planned for the next steps to prepare for the finals.

Brock was at Ash's ward doing some final check-ups on his good buddy, and he believed Ash was good to be discharged. The drying-pan doctor once again praised the Alola Champion for an immense battle with Cynthia.

Ash was thinking of something else. He requested Brock to go out with him if he was free because he needed certain advice...

"Can you please teach me how to cook?"

Brock raised his eyebrows, but then thought of Ash having Serena as a girlfriend, he would need something to impress the girl. Brock agreed and spent the afternoon with Ash after he was discharged from the hospital, bringing him to supermarkets and grocery stores to buy some cooking ingredients.

That night, the doctor led the 10-year-old to his Airbnb flat he was staying in, and made sure Ash was cooking under his help and supervision. The boys enjoyed the moment as they recalled their amazing journey traveling together through the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions. Ash was never a fast learner when he did things properly. He had been making mistakes here and there during the cooking session, but with the patience and dedication Ash had, Brock was motivated to keep teaching the dense little kid.

Brock guessed that Ash asked him for cooking tips because he wanted to be a good boyfriend for Serena. On the other hand, Ash wanted to learn to cook because all this time during the tournament preparation, Serena had been the one to take care of him, but he almost never returned the same favor to her.

It's time to pay back and give her a surprise...

The dinner was decent, but for Ash's first try at cooking a proper meal, and with Brock stepping in to prevent the stove from exploding, it was not half bad. Ash knew he still had much to learn, but he was grateful for Brock's unconditional help. Brock offered to help whenever he had questions about cooking and reminded him that Cilan was also a great help in this regard if he happened to be busy.

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The next morning, Ash gathered with Serena at the airport. According to Ash's decision, they would go to Alola and try to persuade either Tapu Koko or Nebby to temporarily join his team for the finals. If that didn't work, then they would head to Cero Island to get Mewtwo's help. Either of these options were gambles that most likely wouldn't work, but they were some of the strongest pokemon Ash could think of, and had the highest chance that they would help.

If both failed, he would not have enough time to get another legendary, and then he could only beg the other champions to appear and assist in case Eternatus went rogue.

Serena sat next to Ash on the airplane, "Ash, are you sure this is gonna work?"

Ash shook his head, with a glimpse of seriousness and panic on his face, "No...I rather hope I do not know Leon will use Eternatus...because now that I know, I must do something about it."