Friday, what happens on Friday? Oh, Right! A new chapter! Feel free to leave constructive criticism or ask a question.
Chapter 11: Improving
(A Few Days Ago)
Stella and Ash were once again being visited by Mateus to check up on Stella's progress and to get an update on information for Stella's case. However, Mateus did not come alone, he brought his full team with him to introduce them to Stella. In addition to Buddy, his Shiny Umbreon, He also brought in Charchy, his Shiny Charizard (male), Mirai, his Meowstic (female), his Decidueye (male), Gol, his Cinderace (male), and Weiss, his Weavile (female). After some time and a nice conversation, Mateus was just about ready to leave when…
(Mateus and the group then hear something.)
"W-what was that? Eon?" Asked Stella. "It came from the kitchen." Said Ash. "Let's check it out." Said Mateus. The trio then went to the kitchen to check, hearing the sound again, Ash then opened the cabinet door. "Pancham! Pancham Pan! (Yeah! Here we go!)" Cried Pancham, who then proceeded to use Ash as a spring before running off with his hat. "Ash! Are you okay? Eon?" "I'm fine Stella. I've been dealt worse. My question is how did a Pancham get in here?" "That would be my fault. A little while back, I found an injured Pancham and took it back to the Pokémon Center. After they healed many of his injuries, I nursed him back to health in my own home. Since then, he's been a bit of a handful. Sometimes he can even sneak into my office and hide there for hours. I've got to find him before he accidentally hurts himself." "Mateus, we'll help you. Eon." "Thank you." The trio then split up with Ash searching the main floor, Stella searching upstairs, and Mateus searching outside.
(Upstairs with Stella.)
"Pancham. Pancham." Said Stella, calling out to Pancham. With her Fennekin closely following her, Stella had hoped that she could find Pancham so that he could be safe. Stella had gotten a surprise when she went into her room. "Pancham! (Let's Go!)" Cried Pancham as he jumped, landing on Fennekin's fluffy tail. Fennekin then noticed her tail was messed up. "Fenn! Fenne Fenn Fennekin?! (Hey! Why did you mess up my tail?!)" Cried Fennekin with a tone of fiery anger. Stella then had to lightly restrain Fennekin with her feelers to prevent her from lashing out at Pancham. "Pancham. Pancham Pancham Pan Pancham. (I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your tail.)" Stella noticed to the sorrow in Pancham's cries. "Why have you been rowdy to Mateus and us? Eon?" "Pancham Pan, Pancham Pancham. (It's because I, don't have anyone.)" "You're a wild Pancham wanting to be caught by someone." "Pancham. (Yes.)" "And you've been acting the way you are so you can have a Pokémon battle you to get caught." "Pancham? Pan Pan Pancham? (Wait? You're part Sylveon?)" "Yes I am. I-I'll explain it more later. Eon." "Pancham. There you are." Said Mateus "Mateus?" "Yes, Stella?" "Is it alright if I catch him?"
(Present Time)
After Stella caught Pancham, he quickly got along with Fennekin and was overjoyed to finally be a part of a team. Stella was happy to have another Pokemon with her alongside Fennekin. Ash, however, was not home since he had another league meeting to attend. This time he was able to tell Stella and even have Mallow visit to watch her while he was busy. "So Mateus let you catch him?" Asked Mallow. "Yes. He saw how I communicated with him and decided that it would be best if he was under my care." Said Stella. "Pancham is really adorable. I'm actually a bit jealous you have one." "How come Tsareena doesn't play with other very much? Eon?" "Tsareena is someone who likes to relax after working hard, but she can be playful when helping me take care of Lana's sisters or if small or younger Pokémon ask to play with her." "Is it true that Tsareena can kick really hard? Eon?" "Yes. Not only that, Tsareena are also very quick and agile. But they can also be caring as they as known to protect Bounsweet from being eaten." "Oh. Eon." "I see that you finally found a use for those sunglasses." "Right! Eon!"
(Flashback, A Few Days Ago)
"Pancham, can please give Ash his hat back? Eon?" Asked Stella. "Pan? Pancham Pancham. (Why? But I like it.)" Cried Pancham. "I know! If you give Ash his hat back, I can give you something to place on your head. Do we have a deal? Eon?" "Pan, Pancham. (Hmm, Okay.)" Pancham then returns Ash's hat before returning to Stella's room. "These sunglasses were originally given to me from a friend of ours, but I couldn't find an outfit that would look best with them. I think these will look good on you." Stella then places the sunglasses on Pancham's head. "You look so adorable with them! Eon!" "Fennekin! Fenne Fennekin! (I agree! They look nice!)" Cried Fennekin.
(Present Time)
"He really does love those sunglasses, huh?" Asked Mallow. "He hasn't tried to take Ash's hat since. In fact, he sometimes sleeps with them on." Said Stella. "Do you want to return to tutoring?" "Of course! Eon!" While tutoring with Mallow, thoughts begin to pop up in Stella's mind. "Your reading and writing are improving greatly." "Thank you. Ash and the professors are helping me improve every day. Eon." "Looks like all that help is paying off." "Mallow, Is it alright if I ask you something?" "Of course, go right ahead." "How would you describe Ash's cooking? Eon?" "Ash's cooking. He does try, but things don't always go according to what he imagines." "H-how so?" "Haha. I remember one time when we were in school, Ash tried to make a cake for Lillie's birthday party. Not only did he manage to mess up on making the batter, but he also managed to burn the cake completely. Hahaha. After Ash realized he messed up, he called me over and I was able to bake the cake he wanted bake for her. Oh hoho. I did let him decorate the cake and he did a great job on that." "I-isn't that embarrassing? Eon?" "At the time, yes, it was super embarrassing for Ash. But now when we both look back, we tend to laugh about it." "Oh." "Time has a way of making fond memories out of strange moments." "Mallow, is it alright if you could teach me how to cook? I know it's sudden, but I'd like to learn something new and I'm tired of eating toast with Oran Berry Jelly." "Stella, it's alright. I'd be honored to teach you how to cook." Really?! Eon?!" "Of course. Cooking is a life skill that everybody should know and I'm surprised that Ash hasn't asked me to teach him yet. I'll teach you all of the recipes I know and how to use the techniques to for them." "Thank you Mallow."
(Hours Later)
Ash was tired from the meeting. It was usual to expect for league meeting to take hours, but to take the entire day was something else entirely. Ash's tiredness from the meeting was so large that he simply hopped on Charizard with Pikachu in tow and simply went home, of course he didn't even notice his stomach rumbling until he got home. "Damn, again. It's probably too late to head to Aina's. Oh well, guess its toast with Oran Berry Jelly for dinner tonight." Ash then opens the door to enter his home. "Hello Ash. How was the meeting? Eon?" Said Stella. "Hi Stella. The meeting was tiring, going on and on for what felt like days. I thought you had fallen asleep." Said Ash. "I'm still up because I was working on something and playing with many of your Pokémon." "W-wait? Where's Mallow?" "Oh. Mallow had to leave early due to her family restaurant needing her for some orders. Eon." "Oh, Okay. What's that delicious smell?" "Come here." Stella then leads Ash to the kitchen. "Pancakes?! Did you order these from Aina's Kitchen?" "No, I actually made these myself." "How?" "I asked Mallow to teach me how to cook and there were some cookbooks on the shelf and I decided to make the first recipe in the book. Eon." Ash then sits down and starts eating. "H-how do they taste? Eon." "Not bad! A little burnt around the edges, but they're great! You said that this is from the recipe from one of the cookbooks from the shelf?" "Y-yes. The first one." "That cookbook was my mom's. She used to make pancakes like these all the time for breakfast." "Really?!" "Yeah. My mom knew how to make amazing food. She even promised to teach me before I left for my journey." "She never did, did she? Eon?" "No, unfortunately just when she was getting ready to teach me, she unfortunately got sick and never recovered." "I'm sorry. I should have tried a different one." "No, Stella. I like that you're using it. And if you want to keep using it to improve your cooking skills, you can." "Really Ash." "Yes. I was always afraid of asking someone to teach me how to cook since I thought it wouldn't be same as her teaching me and some people think it's strange for a guy to cook." "W-what did your mother say?" "She always told me that everyone should cook since waiting for someone while you could do it yourself was foolish." "Your mother seemed like a nice person. Eon." "She was. My mom was really nice, but she took no crap from others. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind or overcome another hurdle, but she also took no criticisms from those who spoke negatively of how she was raising me and she lashed out at those who called me or her vile names when they found out that dad was not in the picture." "W-what kind of vile names?" "Names that no mother or child should ever hear." "Oh." "I miss my mom. Some nights, I just feel like I'm empty without her, I wonder if she's out there in the stars or whatever looking down at me. Sometimes I wish at that night I realized that it may have been my last time seeing her, so that I could make peace with her before she left." "I think if your mother was here now and looked at what you have since, she would be proud of you. Eon." "Thank you Stella. I really needed that." Although both Ash and Stella were happy. They realized that they were both very tired after a long day. With that, they both went to their rooms and proceeded to fall asleep for the night.
*End of Chapter 11*
I almost forgot! Before we go I have a few messages to say,
To Those Who are Favoriting and/or Following This Story: Thank you so much! you have no idea how much joy it brings for me to entertain all of you.
To Everyone: I hope you all have an excellent weekend.