Pokémon: Journeys of Chaos & Order (Reboot)

Chapter 36 - Tears for Fears!

"Hey, guys, we're back!" Ash exclaimed as he and Serena opened the front doors of the Cerise Laboratory.

They both looked around for a few seconds in confusion as they noticed that their friends and other research fellows were nowhere to be found.

"That's weird... where are they?"

"They did say that they had something important to do..." Serena reminded. "Maybe they went out together for a mission since we weren't here..."

"Maybe..." Ash pondered, putting a hand on his chin.

It wasn't unlike Goh to leave everything behind to go on a mission that may involve him catching a new Pokémon, but Chloe was more... for lack of a better word, responsible than that. If Professor Cerise really did send them on a mission without them, she would've left a note or sent a text or something. He knew that something was up... he could feel it in his jellies.

Or maybe it was something else, as a strange gurgling noise cut his train of thought and caught his and Serena's attention.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I'll give you three guesses..." Ash chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "First two don't count..."

"I guess it is just about time for dinner..." she giggled. "I'll whip us something up in no-time!"

"Great! We'll help you out!" Ash exclaimed as he picked up his Poké-Balls.

"Are you sure?" Serena asked, raising an eyebrow. "No offense, but you don't come off as the cooking type..."

"Doesn't mean I don't wanna learn..." he replied with his usual smile before calling out all of his Pokémon. "Alright guys, it's dinner time and we're all gonna help Serena make us food!"

Pikachu, Frogadier, Rockruff, Chimchar and Dragonite all responded well, and while it took him a second, Grovyle decided to cooperate with the group. Ash smiled at Grovyle's growth (no pun intended). He knew it was only a matter of time until the two of them can harness the awesome power of Mega Evolution.

Serena also smiled at how much Ash and his Pokémon were willing to help her. She felt as though she wouldn't be with one foot inside the Master Class without all his support. And his enthusiasm sure was contagious, as she called out her Pokémon to help out as well (minus Noibat, who was still a baby).

The process of making dinner wasn't as disastrous as Serena had anticipated. Sure, there were a few incidents and one or two burns, but that was to be expected from a novice cook like Ash. But he got right back up after that, like he always did.
Grovyle and Frogadier helped them out with cutting, Pikachu and Pancham chatted as they brought the food from one place to the other, Chimchar and Braixen unleashed their Flamethrowers to cook the food just right, Dragonite kept an eye on Noibat and was sure to add a pinch of love to their meals.

And Rockruff and Eevee? Well they had the most important job of all... Taste testing!

Rockruff just aggressively devoured everything that came into its bowl, which made Eevee uncomfortable. Lucky for her, Pikachu was there to calm her down and help her eat.

...

"Tada!" Serena and Ash exclaimed together as their meal was done.