Chapter 5: Café Chaos
Ash and Pikachu began to stir to the morning sun. Quickly, Ash got dressed in uniform for another day at school. The two found the kitchen with Wesley designing cookies in the shape of a cat's head. "Hey, those look good," he complimented.
("Makes me wanna eat that,") Pikachu squeaked.
"Hey, calm down, Pikachu!" laughed Wesley. "Elliot and I had discussed new items for the café." This made Ash and Pikachu look to each other.
"Really…" hushed Ash. "Anything that you have in mind?"
"As a matter of fact, a few. We're actually considering a coffee-style ice drinks and baked goods like Kitty Krispies made of marshmallow, crispy rice puffs and shaped to look like kittens." Pikachu became intrigued to the idea. "You wanna help out?"
("Could I?") the Mouse Pokémon wished. Wesley nodded before giving Ash some buttered toast.
"See ya at the café!" waived Ash before he left. Bridget was there on the sidewalk.
"Good morning, Ash!" she greeted.
"Hey, Bridget," he welcomed. "You're taking me to school today?" Bridget giggled to the thought.
"Well, not really. It does feel good to have a bit of company." They headed to school. During class, Ash drew triangles like on a chalkboard which also had partial circles inside with various numbers.
'Perhaps with my PokéDex,' he thought. 'I might come up with names and designs of treats our customers will like. I'm not criticizing Elliot and Wesley's ideas with new material. It's… actually a great idea to attract more of them.' Zoey entered the classroom to find Ash drawing Pikachu's ears on a kitty's head with squinted eyes.
"Hey, Ash!" she greeted. Ash looked up to find the captain of the Mew Mews.
"Something going on, Zoey?"
"Not really, though, I'm a little excited for new doos items Wesley's making and Elliot's approving." That's when she noticed Ash's drawings. "By the way, is that a Pokémon?"
"It is, and one of my friends has it: Skitty." Hearing the name, Zoey cooed in sheer delight.
"Skitty sounds so adorable!"
"It is. Even more, Skitty can evolve into Delcatty." Moans lisped from Zoey.
"Cute!" Zoey's cute face sprung cat ears from the top of her head, alerting Ash.
"Whoa, are those real!?" Hearing Ash, Zoey blinked before feeling her head and the ear, gasping to the discovery. She pulled the ears down.
"It's, um… It's a long story. Skitty and Delcatty are so adorable, I'd just want one right now!" Her excitement made Ash laugh. "Oh, are they the only kitties in the Pokémon World?"
"No, another pair which evolve are Meowth and Persian." His answer made Zoey's eyes widen.
"So, Persian cats exist in your world too? Is it possible if I see them on that hand-held you have?"
"I'd love to, but I don't think it'll be appropriate and whoever else hears it will be asking me questions and expose who I am." The realization made Zoey retreat.
"Oh, good point. Maybe at Corina's place tomorrow, given permission. Besides, Café Mew doesn't open until the afternoon and we're off until then."
"Yeah, sounds good." That's when Megan entered the room.
"Hey, Ash!" she called. "Some of the boys want you to join them in a little pick-up game in the gym. They have mesh jerseys to help with teams." Ash and Zoey glanced to Megan's offer. After an hour, Ash was in a new gym with a basketball court and hoops on both sides. A group of boys had mesh jerseys, red and green. Watching the boys dribble the basketball, shooting at the hoops, passing the ball around, Ash quickly had an understanding of the game.
"So that's basketball," he muttered. One boy saw him.
"Ash, come on!" he urged. "Get a red one, you'll team with them!" Ash followed and dressed the mesh over his shirt. He stepped onto the court where the red team had possession. Girls in the gym stopped playing to see Ash compete. His visual study helped Ash in playing as he passed the ball around when his path was guarded. One time, he saw a path to the basketball hoop and took it, only to be knocked down from the hip by a player wearing a green jersey. He sprawled and hit the hardwood. Others were worried that he was injured when someone not in a jersey blew a whistle.
"Blocking foul!" he ruled as he chopped both of his hips. The fouling player pulled Ash up.
"Sorry about that," he apologized.
"It's all good," Ash shrugged off. Zoey, Mark and Bridget watched on as Ash performed basketball. One time, he received a pass and shot from a few feet from the arch. Players huddled for the rebound but the ball bounced off the backboard and into the hoop. Teammates clapped hands with Ash from that shot.
"Ash is one heck of a team player," Mark remarked. The girls looked to Mark a little befuddled.
"Team… player?" repeated Zoey.
"He sees his team before himself," Mark brought up. "It would take normal basketball players a few more seconds than it takes Ash to read the situation. It's like he prefers to think on the move rather than stationary." Bridget cupped her chin to which she had a conclusion.
"This is the first time Ash has played basketball," she believed. Mark and Zoey blinked to Bridget's study.
"First time?" she repeated. "He made a 3-pointer from far beyond the arch!"
"It was also his first shot," Mark pointed out. After an hour, the gym emptied out and everyone would leave school for the day. Ash was with his co-workers on their way to Café Mew.
"You don't have basketball in the Pokémon World?" questioned Zoey. "You were five for five, all three-pointers and not even within a meter of the arch."
"I also saw 12 assists," Bridget added. "Are you sure you've never played the game before?"
"Positive," Ash snapped a reply. "Tennis is a sport I can do, baseball… though, basketball is a lot of fun and a lot of exercise." Zoey giggled to Ash's experience.
"So, now that the day's done," she started. "What about those cats as Pokémon?" Ash dug into his bag and pulled out his PokéDex. After flipping through a few pictures, there was a picture of a pink stumpy kitten with a cream-colored face that looked like a rotund crescent moon and pin-like tips on its bulky pink tail.
"Here we go!" he announced. Zoey and Bridget looked to the Dex and cooed it.
"SKITTY, THE KITTEN POKÉMON," it registered. "SKITTY HAS BEEN POPULAR WITH HUMANS FOR ITS CUTENESS. ONE OF ITS ACTIVITIES IS CHASING ITS TAIL."
"Oh, it's so cute!" cooed Zoey.
"And my friend, May, has one," Ash mentioned. "Anyway, here's its evolved form." The next picture was a bigger cream-colored kitten with protruding whiskers for cheeks, purple ears and neck pillow like fur with a purple flower-shaped fluff at the tip of the tail.
"DELCATTY, THE PRIM POKÉMON," it computed. "DELCATTY IS THE EVOLVED FORM OF SKITTY. DELCATTY PREFERS TO SLEEP DURING THE DAYTIME AND REFUSES TO BATTLE MOST OF THE TIME."
"That's a laid back cat," Mark smiled.
"For sure," Bridget giggled. That's when Zoey remembered Persian.
"What about that Persian you mentioned?" she requested. Ash scanned the Dex before finding a grown pale tan cat with a red jewel mounted between the eyes.
"PERSIAN, THE CLASSY CAT POKÉMON," it named. "PERSIAN IS THE EVOLVED FORM OF MEOWTH. IF ITS TAIL IS RAISED, IT WILL POUNCE IN A SHORT MOMENT." Nodding, Zoey seemed satisfied.
"I think Delcatty's more for you," Mark teased. "Anyway, let's get to the café." Within half an hour, they were in uniform and ready to work. Ash's Pokémon helped with stock for Wesley while the Mews helped customers and Ash helped people to their seats. Megan and Mimi entered.
"You still have energy after that game?" asked Megan. Ash laughed to the question.
"I'm not easily tired," he eased. "Besides, it actually makes me wanna play more."
"I hear you," Mimi believed. "And Corina is coming by." Corina reached the podium with a few menus.
"So, I heard Zoey wanted to invite you over to my place tomorrow," she recalled.
"She did," Ash confirmed. "It's okay, right?" Corina's face was of amusement.
"I'll have to inform my staff before I call Zoey to be sure about you coming," she mentioned. Ash nodded, though she wanted Ash to come over. As the store continued, Elliot reached Ash's podium.
"I heard from Zoey that you wanted to make some new items to sell?" he questioned.
"Well, I don't know what I can use but I can design some treats after some Pokémon," Ash confirmed.
"It sounds risky. I'd rather not expose your home to these customers."
"I know, but-" Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes were two men in vests over shirts with red and white stripes. They had square glasses and have been scoping out the maids and most of the customers. Quickly, Ash and Elliot sensed a problem. Kikki came to Mark with an issue and pointed to the two men.
"Looks like the jackpot," one of the men sneered. He had long black hair and was a bit pudgy. "This place is known for the cute ones."
"I would've preferred the waitresses wearing traditional pumps than boots," the other man judged. He was a bit leaner but shorter than his comrade. "But that's not necessarily a deal-breaker. The menus aren't much to look at. Wish they had more on the chocolate side."
"Well, don't worry too much. Two waitresses are on my radar: that green-haired is a cutie." His eyes were on Bridget while his friend focused on Corina.
"Then again, that blue-haired is more adorable on top." With Corina's back turned, the lean man followed the blue-haired. This made Ash and Elliot start to pursue. The redhead Becky became concerned for Corina. Wesley reached the lean man before tapping his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, but can I help you?" he politely asked. The lean man balled a fist. Ash snagged a teapot as the lean man swung at Wesley. He bent himself backwards to dodge the punch as Ash chucked the teapot. His throw clocked the lean man in the temple, cricking his neck sideways and knocking him flat out and away from a frightened Corina. The pudgy man saw his friend fall while the girls screamed, fearful of who they could be after.
"Oh, you'll be sorry for that!" he barked. However, Mark and Elliot's hands caught the pudgy man.
"You might wanna think again!" scowled Elliot as Mark scored a punch to the lower back and Elliot smashed an elbow into the neck that propelled him to Ash.
"Cool, a heavy bag!" he grinned as he raced to the pudgy man and fired a flurry of punches into the pudgy one's gut. Renée came out after Ash fired so many punches, no one was able to keep count.
"Duck!" she called. Ash jerked his body down as Renée scored a flying kick to the face. The battered and bruised man fell to the ground in pain. The lean one tried to get up, still woozy from the impact of the shattered teapot. Renée grabbed his collar. "Leave… now…" The lean one seemed to grin as his aching hand reached for Renée. Grabbing the bamboo stick, Mark swatted the lean man's hand.
"That wasn't a request," he scorned as the lean man winced at the pain and grabbed the smacked hand. Renée and the boys soon threw out the two, literally into the trash in the back. When they returned, Corina came to Ash. The ladies cheered to their heroes.
"Thank you, Ash!" she cheered as she kissed his cheek.
"Hey, they deserve a part of it," he laughed as he pointed to the other boys and Renée. Becky came forward and hugged Ash.
"That was awesome!" she cheered. "I may not like Zoey or Bridget, but no one deserves what they're after!" Mimi and Megan joined in hugging and kissing. Mark, Elliot and Wesley weren't immune, caught within the romantic scrum. After closing, the Mews and Pokémon helped clean up.
"That was awesome, Ash!" cheered Kikki. "You threw that teapot on point!" She nuzzled Ash's face, making Pikachu chuckle.
"Something tells me that Ash has practiced it a lot," Corina suspected.
'Baseball or boxing?" joked Wesley. Ash nodded to Wesley's claim.
"I've been use to throwing my Pokéball with accuracy," he bragged. "It's like throwing a fastball in baseball." Taillow cawed to the claim. "It's how I caught Taillow who's helped out a lot. Also, I've trained myself to box so that's why I helped stopped those two." Bridget's eyes sparkled a bit.
"Your world sounds more and more amazing," she complimented.
"I'd say we all meet up at my place tomorrow for more of his world's explanation," Corina suggested. Pikachu agreed to the idea before others did.
"Seems like now's the appropriate time for that," Ash surrendered. "I'm in as well." The Mews laughed, knowing that Ash would give them a crash course in Pokémon. To Corina, it meant a chance to get closer to Ash.
TO BE CONTINUED…