Chapter 47: The Pokémon School Open House!
"...And in some cases, their appearances are different from other regions. Because... the Alola region is an island region... and they have... adopted to their environment?" Ash frowned, looking confused.
Kaito raised his head from his book to see the Kanto Trainer struggling to find the right word to explain how the Alolan Pokémon have different appearances from the Pokémon that lived in other regions.
Upon seeing Ash struggle with the right word, the Alola boy could only give his friend a sheepish smile.
"Hate to break it to you, but that's not the right word... but you're close." Kaito reminded, causing Ash to groan and frown down at the essay he was writing.
"Ugh... yeah... I figured when I said that... But if it's not adopted, then..." Ash started to say before he began to scratch his head, causing Rowlet and Litten to see where their Trainer was struggling.
Vulpix and Eevee did the same until Ash thought of a simple solution to be able to fix the mess that he was in.
"Oh yeah, I know! It just means the Pokémon look different!" Ash exclaimed as he started to write it down on the report. But that was when the Rotom Pokédex floated over to stop him and correct him.
"Ash! Hold on! You need to be more precise! The difference between Alolan Pokémon and Pokémon from other regions has long been studied and it can't be summed up as simply as you're stating it!" Rotom buzzed in seriously as it revealed a whole set of data inside it!
"If you look at the data, it's easy to see!" Rotom buzzed, causing the Kanto Trainer to pale a little and twitch at the huge amount of information that Rotom had inside of it as he couldn't help but be nervous at how much data there were.
"Data...? Me read that? By the time I'm done..."
"Read it!"
"Ugh... I'll have turned into an old grandpa... I can't do it! I CAN'T do it!"
The Kanto Trainer grabbed Rotom off of his sight as he groaned, feeling too much pressure building up on him as the Alola boy sweat dropped at the device and the Kanto Trainer arguing over on what should be written and said.
"There are a lot of important things in this!" Rotom buzzed in protest, until the Alola boy spoke up with a reminder of what Ash knew and didn't know about regarding to the Alola region's culture and difference from the other regions.
"A lot of important things that Ash doesn't seem to get, since he's not used to be dealing with this sort of thing... This is sort of the first time you're explaining in a presentation, right?" Kaito asked, earning a sheepish nod from the Kanto Trainer.
"Yeah... Oh boy, I'm feeling older already..." Ash groaned, as he felt his soul slipping away.
Upon seeing it, Kaito blinked in surprise before he comically fanned the soul back into Ash with a small fan that he had kept in his bag.
Pikachu and Rockruff turned their attention to their human friend, with Buizel and Kaito's Rockruff coming over as well. Upon seeing the four, Ash called out to his Electric Type partner with an elderly tone.
"Hey, Pikachu... I'm ready for my oatmeal now..." Ash groaned, earning a raised brow from the Alola boy.
"Be more determined about this. You're always determined to enter a battle and to train with your Pokémon... Try to think of this presentation like that." Kaito advised, causing the Kanto Trainer to sigh.
"But this is nothing like a Pokémon training or battle... This is a big presentation we're talking about... where friends and family all gather around to see it!" Ash protested, only to get a reminder from his Alola friend.
"The same goes for when you participate in a Pokémon League Conference... except that event has a lot more people that our little school presentation" Kaito reminded, earning a sweat drop from Ash before he sighed.
"This is more pressuring and boring..." countered Ash as the Pokémon watch the two bicker a little over the school presentation.
Kaito's POV
You're probably wondering what Ash and I are talking about... You see, Principal Oak announced a few days ago that we were going to have a Pokémon School Open House with one of us having to present of what we learned so far in school.
And with what we were talking about so far, I'm sure you can guess on who was picked...
Yep... It's Ash. Believe me, he didn't take it very good at all. I mean, I can't blame him.
He's more of a brawn than brains and he prefers to be battling and training to demonstrate to the others on how a battle or training can be done. But this? The knowledge of the whole Alolan islands and how Alolan Pokémon live?
That's a no... But of course, Prof. Kukui and Principal Oak were set on their decision. So now... I'm here at Prof. Kukui's house to try and lift Ash's spirits up so that he could be prepared for the Open House... which is tomorrow.
End POV
Prof. Kukui came over with a plate of cookies and something to drink for the boys and the Pokémon as he smiled to see how the boys were progressing.
"Working hard? Looks like you're struggling." Prof. Kukui questioned, causing the Kanto Trainer to complain about it.
"Prof. Kukui? I can't do this kind of stuff. Lillie, Kai, or Sophocles are a million times better at this than I'll ever be..." Ash groaned, earning a chuckle from the Alolan Professor.
"Now don't say that. A lot of guests are going to be here for the Open House. As a student, you have the critically important job of showing how hard you've all been studying. Just turn up your Superpower!" Prof. Kukui reminded calmly.
"A lot of guests, huh...?" Kaito spoke as he turned to see Ash looking more down than ever.
"I'll need more than Superpower to do this stuff..." Ash sighed as he took a cookie before taking a bite out of it.
The sound of a small cookie crunching woke Rowlet up as he tried to come over and take one, only to have Vulpix and Litten take one each from the plate, surprising the Grass Quill Pokémon a bit.
"Examining the differences between Pokémon from the Kanto region and Alola. You're the only one who can address that. Which is why Principal Oak specifically picked you." Prof. Kukui explained, as Ash rubbed Pikachu's head to signal that he was okay.
"That's true, but... it's not like Ash was the only one who learned about how the Pokémon here in Alola and the Pokémon in the other regions are different." Kaito reminded, earning a shrug from the Alolan Professor.
"Well... the decision has been made, so there's not much we can do from here." Prof. Kukui reminded sheepishly, earning a raised brow from the Alola boy.
"That's putting a lot of pressure onto Ash, especially since he's not used to this sort of stuff." Kaito thought before the Kanto Trainer questioned the Professor on who were the guests coming into the Open House.
"So who's coming to this Open House, anyway?" questioned the Kanto Trainer, with Kaito being the one to answer.
"We've talked about it before during class. People such as friends, family, and maybe even people from other regions so that they could learn on what the Alola region is all about and on what's different about this place than the regions they're from." answered the Alola boy.
"That's right... Basically, anyone can attend!" Prof. Kukui added, before the cries from Kaito and Ash's Pokémon caught his attention as they realized that they all wanted more cookies to snack on.
"Haha... Okay, okay! I'll go get some for all of you, too!" Prof. Kukui chuckled before he took the empty plate to get some more snacks for the Pokémon to enjoy.
Before he could do so, there was a doorbell ringing as it caught everyone's attention. Upon hearing it, the Kanto Trainer got up first to answer the door.
"Let me get the door..." He said as he ran over before opening it.
"Who is it?" Ash asked before he blinked in surprise to see...
"Mr. Mime!"
"Hi, sweetheart! How are you doing?"
It was Delia and Mr. Mime! The Kanto Trainer was surprised at his mother and her helping Pokémon appear at the door.
"Whoa, it's Mom and Mr. Mime!" Ash exclaimed with his Electric Type partner looking ecstatic to see two familiar faces. But that wasn't the only surprise for the two as two more familiar faces came to see them!
"Hey, little brother... How are you?"
"Hi, Ash..."
"Whoa...! Big bro!? Luna!? You guys, too!?" Ash exclaimed, as he felt like his jaws were going to drop.
(Pokémon Opening: Breathe English Subbed)
(I do not own this ending song)
A music chart full of positive words
Giving a supportive push even when you didn't ask
(Kaito opens his eyes, before revealing the Sea Gauntlet, which began to shine brightly)
(The opening title reveals itself on the screen)
You are doing your best already
Don't know why you're rushing and forcing yourself to change something
(Shiho trips, much to Seita's surprise until Kaito helps his little sister up, causing Shiho to smile)
(Kaito is joined by Buizel, Vulpix, Eevee, and Rockruff, before he turns to see Ash and the rest of his classmates calling to him while running towards him)
Do you think that you're not good enough now? If you don't act quick enough
(Hau is eating a malasada with Pichu and Eevee before he blinks, turning to the window of the malasada shop to see dark clouds)
(Camilla is enjoying her time at the beach with Austin, Comfey, Fomantis, Litten, and Cutiefly until she notices the dark clouds)
Can you not make it to the future?
(Kaito watches the sky as he sighs before Ash puts his arm around his shoulder, much to his surprise as Ash grins at him)
(The boys watch with Shiho, Seita, Eevee, Rowlet, and Vulpix, seeing Buizel and Pikachu sparring together, with Ash's Rockruff and Kaito's Rockruff against one another)
The negative is only an important fragment of
Your spectacular journey
(Kaito is near the ocean until he turns to see unknown people sending out their Pokémon to attack him)
(Kaito tries to defend himself only for the enemies to blast all their attacks on him)
(Just as Kaito looked like he was hit, a giant thunderbolt repelled the attacks, revealing Zeraora)
Why not just be as you are
If you make an unassuming voice, it will echo
(Storm clouds gather before a giant wave splashes in the air)
(Camilla holds her necklace to her, looking afraid until she's comforted by her Pokémon)
(Akira walks up on a cliff with Rockruff, who has a strange gemstone attached on its rock collar)
I've heard it from a well-known phrase, before you know it, it will still remain unchanged
(King Kaisuke reunites with Shizuka, who smiles at the Sea King with tears welling up in her eyes)
(A Primarina uses Oceanic Operetta, as the giant water orb explodes, splashing water everywhere)
Even if it doesn't become famous, it's still your song
(Kaito and Ash faces Zeraora with Pikachu and Buizel as the battle gets intense)
(Kaito opens his eyes again, only to be sleeping on the beach with all of his friends and Pokémon)
(Opening End)
After Ash had let his family and Luna into the house, the mother and the elder brother greeted the Alolan Professor with Luna greeting alongside the two.
"Professor, it's nice to meet you in person! I'm Delia, Ash's mom! Thank you for looking after my son!" Delia greeted, with Isamu and Luna following along.
"Thanks for having us over, Prof. Kukui. I'm Luna, and I believe you've met Isamu when he and Mrs. Ketchum visited Alola for the first time the same day when Ash decided to stay here." Luna spoke softly, with Isamu giving a small nod, as if he was agreeing to what his girlfriend was saying.
In response, Prof. Kukui could only smile at the rest of the Ketchum family and Luna greeting him as he greeted back in response.
"No problem! I totally enjoy having Ash here! He's a great student!" Prof. Kukui assured, causing the mother to smile pleasantly.
"How nice! Thank you so very much!" Delia thanked, causing the younger Ketchum brother to look up at his mother and then to his elder brother and girlfriend.
"So how did the three of you and Mr. Mime get here, anyway? Did Mr. Mime win tickets for a vacation again?" asked Ash, causing Isamu to shake his head and explain the reason of why they were here.
"Actually, no. This time, we got a notification that there was going to be a Open House at the Pokémon School in the Alola region. And then there was the part when we heard that you were going to have a presentation during the Open House." Isamu explained.
That caused Ash to pale as he sweat dropped, shocked to hear on how his family knew that he, of all people, would be the one presenting.
"Huh!? How did you find that out!?" Ash exclaimed in shock.
"From Principal Oak. Your mom and brother invited me to come along since I'm technically going to be a member of the Ketchum family after all..." Luna explained, before nudging Isamu, who blushed a little in response.
"That's right! And after what we've heard, we can't wait to hear what you'll say!" Delia agreed, causing the Alolan Professor to chuckle.
"She's a proud mother, with your brother being a proud brother. Seeing their youngest member of the family in the spotlight!" Prof. Kukui chuckled, causing Ash to gulp as Kaito watched it all happen.
"Oh boy... The pressure is on for real now..." thought the Alola boy, as he smiled sheepishly for his Kanto friend.
"Plus, we wanted to see your new Pokémon friends. That's them over there, right?" Isamu asked, gesturing to where Litten, Rowlet, and Rockruff were, causing the younger Ketchum brother to blink before he smiled and nodded to him.
"Yeah... That's them." Ash said, before Luna greeted the Mouse Pokémon.
"It's so nice to see you again, Pikachu!" Luna giggled before she rubbed the Mouse Pokémon's head. The Mouse Pokémon cooed happily, feeling relaxed and happy from the gentle touch she was getting from the Kanto Champion.
While Luna was greeting the Electric Type, Delia came over to see the three Alola friends that Ash has made so far during his stay in the Alola region.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet Rockruff..."
"Ruff!"
"And Rowlet!"
"Row..."
"Litten!"
"..."
While Rockruff greeted Delia and the two Champions, Litten and Rowlet were both asleep or uninterested with the meeting. Isamu and Luna noticed this, but Delia took no offense to the lack of greeting from the other two as she smiled gently at meeting her youngest son's new Pokémon friends.
"It's so nice to meet you, Rocky and Rowlie and Littie!" Delia greeted, causing Rockruff to bark back happily. The others sweat dropped at the choice of nicknames the mother had given out, causing Isamu to sigh.
"Mom... do you seriously have to call them that? We already have Mr. Mime as Mimey..." Isamu reminded, causing the mother to smile in response.
"I think little nicknames are cute, just as I called Mr. Mime our Mimey!" Delia explained, causing the elder brother to sigh.
"Figured..."
"Oh..." That was when Luna turned to see Kaito and his Pokémon team, excluding Silvally. Upon being noticed, the Alola boy gave a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed that he hadn't yet to introduce himself yet.
"Ah... Sorry. Guess I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kaito... People call me Kai, for short. It's nice to meet you again, Mrs. Ketchum and Isamu. And you must be..." Kaito greeted, before turning to Luna.
"My name is Luna. Luna Wright. The current Champion of the Kanto region!" Luna explained, stopping Kaito short.
"Another Champion? And this time, she's the Champion of the region that Ash lives in..." thought the Alola boy, which Isamu noticed as he gave a little chuckle.
"I think you stunned him a little by explaining of what you are to the Kanto region..." Isamu reminded, causing Luna to give a sheepish smile, before she reassured the Alola boy to calm him down.
"O-Oh... Don't worry about my status. Luna will be just fine." Luna assured softly, earning a small nod from the Alola boy.
"Bu bui!"
"Vul!"
The cries caused Luna to look down, along with Isamu and Delia as they watched to see Kaito's four team members coming over to greet the newcomers. Buizel knew who the mother and the brother was, but the other three didn't.
"Oh my...! There are more of these little cuties...!" Delia commented, causing Kaito to explain and introduce his team members.
"Ah... right... These are my team members and a part of my family. This is Buizel..."
"Bui!"
"...Rockruff..."
"Ruff!"
"...Vulpix..."
"Vul!"
"...and Eevee!"
"Vee!"
"Nice to meet you all..." Isamu greeted, giving a gentle smile to the four Pokémon, causing them to all respond back happily. Luna on the other hand, held Eevee in her arms, smiling softly as the Normal Type stiffened at being touched by someone that she didn't know.
But the small rubbing from Luna's hand calmed her down, giving her the sign that this human could be trusted.
"Ah... Eevee always stiffened when someone she didn't know got near her, but... it looks like she trusts you a lot already." commented the Alola boy, before Isamu explained the little talent his girlfriend had.
"Whenever Luna comes across a young Pokémon... she has this sort of talent to be able to make them trust her by rubbing the spots that the young ones like to be petted on the most. Like your Eevee here, for example." Isamu explained.
"Oh..." That allowed the Alola boy to understand, before the younger Ketchum brother introduced Rotom to his family and to the Kanto girl.
"Oh right! Almost forgot! This is Rotom! Rotom's also a Pokédex!" Ash explained, allowing the three to turn and see the Pokédex floating up to them and greet them with a buzzing smile and voice.
"What an honor! Meeting Ash's Mom, his brother, and his friend, and not to mention... they're both Champions from other regions!" Rotom buzzed excitedly, amazing both Luna and Delia while Isamu just raised a brow of amusement.
"That's amazing! You can talk. I'm impressed! Hello there, Dexy Wexy!" spoke Delia, as she inspected the Pokémon that was in the Pokédex for a bit while giving it another nickname like she did with the rest of Ash's Pokémon, while Luna smiled.
"It's nice to meet you too, Rotom! I hope we can get along while we're here." Luna greeted politely.
While the two girls were busy greeting the Pokédex, Mr. Mime greeted the two Rock Types, causing the two to bark positively in response before the Psychic-Fairy Type turned to greet both Rowlet and Vulpix.
While Vulpix greeted the Mime Pokémon back, Rowlet remained asleep, causing the young Fire Type to nudge Rowlet to wake him up, only for nothing to happen.
"Rowlet likes to sleep a lot." Ash explained, causing Isamu to chuckle.
"Sounds like someone that I know..." Isamu teased, causing the younger brother to look a little flustered.
"What's that mean...!?" Ash complained, while pouting.
"I still remember the days you've overslept... especially the time when you woke up late and got Pikachu from Prof. Oak when we started our journey." Isamu chuckled, causing his younger brother to pout at his brother for reminding him of his bad times that turned into a good time.
Just as Ash was about to retort back, Rowlet let out alarming chirps, startling both Mr. Mime and Vulpix, before the Grass Quill Pokémon went back to sleep. That caused Luna and Delia to giggle while Ash and Isamu chuckled.
Kaito on the other hand, just sighed and scratched the back of his head, not having an impressed look for the Pokémon's habit of waking up suddenly before quickly going back to its usual nap.
"It looks like you're having a lot of fun here." Delia commented, causing the younger Ketchum brother to smile back, agreeing with his mother's words.
"Yeah, it's super fun!" Ash assured, causing Delia to giggle while Isamu just gave a small smile, realizing that it was a good idea for his younger brother to stay in the Alola region for a while so he could learn new things about the region that the people do regarding to Pokémon.
As for the younger brother, he turned to Rowlet, trying to wake his Grass-Flying Type friend up.
"Hey, Rowlet. Wake up, okay?" Ash called, causing the Grass Quill Pokémon to perk up and open his eyes to see Mr. Mime making a funny face at him! At that, Rowlet chirped in surprise to see the funny face while Eevee and Vulpix giggled together.
As for Litten, he walked off to find a better place to nap at, until he felt something picking him up! He glanced back in surprise to see that it was his Trainer's mother!
Delia took the Fire Type in her arms and began to stroke his chin gently, causing Litten to stiffen and freeze up, while shocked at the sudden feeling he was getting from being touched at the spot that he didn't expect it to be stroked at!
"Oh, Littie! Your fur is so nice and fluffy!" Delia giggled as she continued to stroke Litten's chin.
In response, the Fire Cat Pokémon yowled in shock before he began to soon calm down upon realizing on how good it felt of being stroked on the chin. And in a matter of seconds, Litten groaned in pleasure, calming down from the stroke on the chin.
"Amazing! I've never seen Litten so calm!" Rotom expressed its surprise before it began to take pictures, causing Ash to make a sheepish sigh before explaining.
"Yeah... Our mom's just got a way, similar to how Luna does it..." Ash explained, before the Alolan Professor remembered of what he was supposed to do while talking with Delia and the two Champions.
"Hey, we were just about to have some tea. Care to join us?" Prof. Kukui offered, causing the mother to smile while the two Champions responded politely to the nice offer.
"I would! Thank you...!"
"If it's alright, then yes."
"Yes, please."
"I can take care of it!" Ash called out as soon as his family and friend agreed to join in for some tea.
"Thank you very much, Ash." Prof. Kukui thanked as the younger brother headed for the area for where the cupboards are, trying to find some cups for the Professor and his family to have. Pikachu and Rotom followed, before Kaito and Buizel did the same.
As the boys searched for some plates and cups, they both overheard of the conversation that Prof. Kukui brought up regarding the Open House and the presentation the younger Ketchum brother was going to do.
"What's this?" Delia asked, suddenly noticing a familiar paper on the table, allowing the Professor to explain.
"Ash's report. It's what he'll be presenting during our Open House!" Prof. Kukui explained as Isamu took a look at it.
"Looks a bit complicated... Can little bro take it during the presentation?" Isamu asked, noticing on how complicated the presentation might be for his brother, as Ash was never the type to explain complicated stuff very well.
"I think he'll do just fine! I can't wait to hear about what my little boy's been working on!" Delia spoke, taking a look at the contents of the report.
"I don't think I've ever heard or seen him do something like this..." Luna admitted, as the conversation went on. While they were talking, Ash went pale and sat on the kitchen floor, groaning about the presentation he'll have to do when the event occurs.
"Man, what am I gonna do? I'm not so sure my report's gonna be any good at all!" Ash groaned, causing Kaito to sigh.
"There's nothing much you can do about it. I mean, it's either present what you have or don't present at all. Presenting just a little is better than presenting nothing in front of everyone, right?" Kaito reminded, causing the younger brother to groan.
"Maybe, but I don't know how I'm going to present! It's like I have to memorize everything that I write and present it with all the words on the top of my head! I can't do that...!" Ash complained, only for Rotom to bring more bad news of what Ash might mess up on.
"You have a 20 percent chance of successfully completing your report, which means you have an 80 percent chance of failing miserably!" Rotom buzzed in, earning an incredulous look from the Alola boy.
"Thanks for dropping more weight onto him, Rotom." Kaito spoke sarcastically while Ash groaned once again.
"That's just great... Isn't there anything I can do to change that?" Ash asked, causing Kaito to think a bit before Rotom brought up a solution for the younger Ketchum brother.
"There is a way..." Rotom started, alerting the two boys with Ash being more into on what might come out.
"Yeah!? What is it!?" Ash exclaimed as the Pokémon Pokédex began to explain of what the Kanto Trainer can do to prevent himself from humiliating himself from everyone and the entire class, but the more Rotom spoke, the more Kaito began to like the idea less and less.
"That's a bad idea... What if you speak too fast for Ash to keep up with? The voice recording seems fine, but there are often times when you'd like to bring out the details a tad too fast for everyone to speak. If you do that, then Ash will be in a much bigger trouble." Kaito reminded.
"But it's either that or failing miserably with only 20 percent chance of success!" Rotom buzzed, causing the Alola boy to sigh.
"I know..." agreed the Alola boy as he scratched the back of his head.
Meanwhile...
While the rest of the Ketchum family and Luna spoke with Prof. Kukui, Litten was enjoying himself in Delia's arms, as he felt comfortable from the attention and the stroke he was getting on the chin.
"Littie is just the cutest little thing." Delia commented as Litten meowed in pleasure, as if he was starting to agree with what Delia was saying.
But the moment he opened his eyes a little to see the looks that the two Rockruff, Rowlet, Vulpix, and Eevee were giving him, the Fire Cat Pokémon widened his eyes in both realization and embarrassment as he tried to get off of Delia's arms.
But another stroke on the chin calmed him down immediately, causing him to groan in pleasure from the stroke on the chin.
The Johto Champion chuckled, finding a little amusing to see the Fire Type to act all cool when he easily loses that cool upon his weakness being exploited.
Even the Alolan Professor found this a little funny for Litten losing so easily just by being stroked on the chin.
"Ahaha...! She's got you wrapped around her finger, huh?" Prof. Kukui questioned, before Delia looked to see the rest of the Pokémon, with Luna doing the same.
"Do you all want some care and love, too?" Luna asked. And in response, the rest of Ash and Kaito's team rushed over and jumped into both Delia and Luna's arms, much to Litten's discomfort as he yowled upon being pounced on by his friends.
"You're all so cute...!" Luna giggled as she rubbed the heads of both Vulpix and Kaito's Rockruff, while Ash's Rockruff and Rowlet got into Delia's arms, getting on top of their Fire Type friend, much to his annoyance.
"We're back!" Ash called as the guests and the Professor looked to see the boys coming over with cups of tea for everyone to enjoy.
"Oh! Thank you, you two." thanked the Professor as both Ash and Rotom smiled, while Kaito gave a sheepish smile, trying not to make it look like he was concerned for the plans Ash and Rotom made for the Open House tomorrow.
But upon seeing Delia and Isamu starting to talk with Ash, the Alola boy began to frown, recalling of his parents as he began to wonder on where they were, and if they were busy or not.
That evening...
Kaito arrived home to see his siblings watching some cartoon on the family TV.
"I'm home." Kaito called, catching his siblings' attention.
"Welcome home, big bro!"
"Hi, big brother!"
Seita and Shiho wasted no time greeting their big brother as they ran into his arms, causing the Alola boy to chuckle before he hugged them back. Kaito's team all greeted the young ones as well, as the Alola boy watched to see it happen.
Soon, once things have calmed down for a bit, the Alola boy sat on the couch, sighing.
"Is the Open House going to be big tomorrow, big bro?" Seita suddenly questioned, causing Kaito to give a sheepish smile to his little brother.
"It sure will, little brother. Many families and people from Alola is going to visit. Heck, even people from other regions might visit too so that they could learn more about Alola and the Pokémon living here..." Kaito explained softly, as he felt a bit tired for today.
"Are Mommy and Daddy going to come, too?" questioned Shiho, causing Kaito to pause for a moment before he responded to her question.
"I'll try to find out if they can come or not. Don't get your hopes up too high, though..." Kaito reminded, earning nods from the two as they knew what their brother was trying to say.
With that being said, Kaito headed over to where their phone machine was at as he dialed in his mother's number, hoping that she would pick up. After a few minutes, he was about to hang up, until the call was received on the other hand.
"Yes?"
"Ah... Mom?"
"Oh... Hi, honey. What's the matter?"
The question Kaito received from Shizuka made the Alola boy unsure on how to respond as it's been a while since he got to speak with his mother due to her job with Liana regarding Water Type Pokémon.
"Mom... um... did you hear anything about Dad?" Kaito asked, causing Shizuka to smile softly. That caused Kaito to blink as he hadn't seen his mother smile like that, unless it was something good...
"Kazuma just contacted me... he said he'll be coming home soon!" Shizuka explained, causing the Alola boy to widen his eyes in surprise.
"Really!? When...!?" Kaito asked, causing Shizuka to think about it before she explained.
"The soonest would be around the day after tomorrow." Shizuka responded, causing Kaito's smile to slowly fade away a little. The day after tomorrow would mean that Kazuma would miss the Open House at the Pokémon School.
"Oh..."
"What's wrong, honey?"
The question caught Kaito's attention as he gave a sheepish smile, trying to cover up the sad look he had just had, before he wanted to ask his mother about the Open House event that was occurring tomorrow.
"Well... I was hoping... that you and Dad would be..."
That was when the Alola boy stopped, realizing that his desire for his parents' attention would have the chance of making things more difficult for them as they seemed to have plans, such as Kazuma struggling to come back home while Shizuka was still working with Liana.
"Honey?"
His mother's voice caught the boy's attention before he quickly shook his head in response, reassuring that he was fine while keeping the sheepish smile on his face.
"It's nothing, Mom... I just wanted to know when you and Dad could come back..." Kaito lied, causing Shizuka to look concerned.
She wasn't dense. She knew that something was bothering her son. But pressing him about it might make him retaliate in a bad way, which made the mother silent about what she wanted to ask about, so she slowly nodded in reluctance.
"Okay, sweetie... Your father and I will try to come sooner than the day after tomorrow, okay? Sleep well..." Shizuka advised, earning a nod from the Alola boy.
"Mm. Good night, Mom." Kaito spoke before he ended the call.
As soon as he did, he gave a heavy sigh. He was happy... a little, now that he knew that his parents were going to return so that they could be a complete family again. But hearing that Kazuma wouldn't be able to arrive for the Open House made him sad a little.
He was hoping at least that the two of them... or even one of them would be able to attend the Open House. But at the expression Shizuka had, it would seem as if she was busy handling something at her side.
Not hearing the concerned call Buizel said to him, the Alola boy got back up and headed to his room, unsure of how to feel for the upcoming event tomorrow.
The next day...
The Pokémon School was beginning the Open House, and it was already crowded. Visitors were already gathered around in different places. Some were parents of the children attending the school, while some were the townspeople.
All the students were helping their parents or guardians understand of what the Pokémon School is all about. As for Ash, he was guiding Isamu, Delia, and Luna around with Kaito accompanying the Ketchum family with his two siblings.
"Oh my! It's quite the big event!" Delia commented, as she was amazed with the number of people that were already around the school.
"It's open to everybody who lives in the town as well!" Ash explained, causing Luna to be awed at the sight.
"No wonder there's so many people around... This School seems big enough for everyone in Melemele Island to come and see..." Luna commented, before a familiar lady came over to the two families, taking notice of them.
"Oh, it's you, Litten dear!" Anela spoke up, coming over to the families. Delia noticed this and smiled at the kind lady.
"Littie must be your friend too, huh?" Delia questioned, with Litten meowing in greeting and responding to the Ketchum mother's question. Ash smiled, along with Kaito, as the two knew that Anela was the one who looked after Litten before Ash had caught the stubborn Fire Type.
"She's always looking after us. Alola!" Ash greeted, with Anela greeting the younger brother back.
"Alola! I wouldn't have missed this lovely event for the world! I'm so glad to see my Litten getting along so well!" Anela smiled gently, as she smiled down at her little Fire Type friend.
"So sweet! Littie's a doll!" Delia commented, with Anela agreeing with the Ketchum brother.
"Oh yes... Aren't you?" The kind lady spoke as he petted the Fire Cat Pokémon, causing the Fire Type to purr in response, liking the smooth and gentle touch that Anela was giving her, like she always have done in the past before he joined Ash's team.
Luna could only giggle from the face Litten was giving off from the content he felt from being held and petted on.
Later...
The two families were in the Pokémon School building as they all looked around to see what was inside, and noticed how the decorations were set for the visitors that were visiting in the Open House.
"My, it's so big!" Delia commented, noticing the Alolan Exeggutor statue as Luna and Isamu watched it as well, with the Kanto girl being rather amazed like the Ketchum mother was.
"Ash! Kaito! Alola!"
Everyone turned to see Lillie coming over with Snowy in her arms and with her butler, Hobbs, by her side.
"Isn't this wonderful... Alola, Master Ash. Master Kaito." greeted Hobbs, causing the boys to greet their acquaintance and friend back.
"Alola, Lillie. Alola, Hobbs." Kaito greeted back, with Delia being rather surprised at the title Hobbs has given to her youngest son.
"Master Ash...? Really?" Delia questioned, before Kaito explained for the Ketchum mother this time.
"Hobbs is a butler who works for Lillie and her family." Kaito explained, before Ash introduced his family to his friend and her butler.
"This is my Mom! And this is my big bro and his girlfriend!" Ash explained, introducing the three to Lillie and Hobbs, causing Lillie to smile in understanding before she introduced herself and her little partner.
"I'm Lillie! And I'd like for you all to meet Snowy." Lillie introduced, causing Snowy to coo happily before Hobbs expressed his gratitude for the support Lillie's friends had done for her before Snowy has hatched.
"I'm grateful that both Master Ash and Kaito always looks after Miss Lillie in such a nice way." Hobbs explained, causing the mother to smile.
"How sweet! Although I'm sure Ash is the one being looked after." Delia chuckled, before she spotted Snowy in her arms.
"Wow! A white Vulpix!" Delia commented, noticing Snowy as the younger Ketchum brother explained of how Snowy was different from a regular Vulpix.
"Snowy is an Alolan Vulpix, which means it's an Ice Type Pokémon." Ash explained, causing Isamu to remember the Kanto Vulpix he had seen in Kaito's team, before he turned to the Alola boy.
"That would mean... the Vulpix we saw as a part of your team would be..." Isamu started to say, before Kaito smiled with a nod.
"Mm. Vulpix is the same Pokémon Egg that was the Egg that you and Ash delivered to Principal Oak when you all came to visit Alola for a vacation." affirmed Kaito, allowing Isamu to understand as Vulpix came up between Shiho and Seita before making a happy cry.
"Vul!"
"Ah... I see..." Luna giggled, understanding the difference. At that moment, the Principal began to walk over, greeting his students and the visitors that were attending the Open House with the students.
"Alola! So nice to see everyone here!" Principal Oak spoke as he walked over, before Delia smiled and greeted the principal of the Pokémon School.
"Alola, Principal Oak! Thanks very much for letting me know about this." Delia thanked, giving a polite bow to the principal who notified her of this event. Isamu and Luna did their greeting as well, which Principal Oak smiled and nodded at.
"No problem at all! I'm sure you're going to enjoy watching your son toot his Rhyhorn!" Principal Oak commented, making a Rhyhorn face expression, causing Kaito to sweat drop while Luna gave a confused look.
Later...
The three students went on ahead with Shiho and Seita joining their big brother as they all headed for the classroom to where the presentation would take place. Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, Hau, Kiawe, Camilla, and Akira were already there as the three came in to see their friends waiting.
"Alola, Ash! Lillie! Kai!" Mallow greeted them as the three came over to where the rest of the gang were.
"Alola!"
"Alola! Whoa... so many people!" Ash pointed out, noticing how many people there were on who wanted to see the presentation. There was Lana's mother, along with Harper and Sarah.
There were Sophocles' parents, Anela, Camilla's parents and her brother, and some other townspeople that lived in Melemele Island. Joining the parents and the townspeople were Hobbs and Delia, along with Isamu and Luna, as the others noticed this.
"Ash, is that your mom and brother? They came all the way from Kanto to see you?" Mallow asked, causing the younger Ketchum brother to smile sheepishly in response.
"Yeah... Sure did. So where are your folks?" Ash asked, causing Mallow to smile sheepishly at the question.
"Well... My Dad couldn't come because they have to run the restaurant." Mallow explained, with Kiawe explaining his reason.
"My parents are working on the farm." Kiawe added, with Hau adding in his reason for his parents' absence.
"My mom is helping Tutu out with something and my Dad is off somewhere overseas..." Hau spoke sheepishly, before Sophocles pointed out that his parents came.
"Both my mom and dad showed up! Hi!" Sophocles called out, as he waved to his parents. The mother and the father of the Electric Type user noticed him and heard his call, causing the two to wave back at him.
"Oh hey..." Ash blinked, noticing the two speaking to Delia, while Isamu and Luna continued to wait for the presentation to begin.
As for Lana...
"Oh boy... My mom and my two little sisters came..." Lana groaned, causing the group to turn and see Harper and Sarah running around as they were both excited to see so many Pokémon and seeing how big the classroom was, along with the school.
"Oh boy..." spoke Kaito, as he understood the pain that Lana was in, as he had experienced on how rowdy Lana's sisters can be when it comes to seeing things that they think is exciting to them.
"We want to go to the Pokémon School, too!" The two cried out together before Lana's mother held them in her arms, getting them to stop running around and calming them both down at the same time.
"All right... When you're a little older, okay? Settle down!" Lana's mother spoke as she took the two rowdy girls away, with Lana sighing with a bit of annoyance.
"You're going to present in front of everyone, huh..." asked Akira, with Camilla raising a brow at the Kanto Trainer.
"You think you're going to be okay?" Camilla asked, causing the Kanto Trainer to give a nervous look before Mallow and Hau asked familiar questions.
"Are you nervous?"
"Do you need some help with the presenting?"
It was at that point when Lana tried to encourage the Kanto Trainer to do it even with the amount of pressure being placed onto his shoulders.
"You can do it!" Lana assured, causing the Kanto Trainer to be even more nervous from the encouragement and the questions that was being given to him as he gave a sheepish smile, before his eyes looked around swiftly.
"T-The thing is... I'll be just fine!" Ash assured nervously, causing Kaito to raise a brow at him. He wanted to say something, as if to encourage Ash from using his own words instead of letting Rotom do the work.
But at seeing the number of people counting on him or even encouraging him to go on, the Alola boy realized that if the truth was spilled now, then Ash would probably crumble down already before the presentation had started.
"I can only hope that Rotom doesn't mess up the way on how Ash would speak..." Kaito thought as he looked back to see Shiho and Seita conversing with Luna, while Isamu watched them talk with each other.
And yet, there was still no sign of Shizuka or Kazuma anywhere.
"I should've figured..." Kaito sighed, as he remembered what Shizuka had clearly said last night, about his father not being able to come until tomorrow. And with the way Shizuka seemed to be doing, it seemed to be the same for her.
At realizing that it was hopeless on believing that they would come in time, even if it was late, the Alola boy exhaled a sigh, catching Lana's attention as she turned to where her friend was looking a bit sad about something.
"Hmm..."
Later...
Soon, the presentation was soon to begin as Prof. Kukui came to the classroom to greet his students and the parents, guardians, and the townspeople that were waiting to learn from what the students have been learning so far.
"Alola, all!" greeted the Professor, which the students returned.
"Alola!" greeted the students, as the Professor walked up to the front of the classroom, before explaining about the Open House that's occurring today.
"I know a lot of your parents are visiting today, but let's make it a normal day and keep learning about Pokémon, just like we always do!" Prof. Kukui reminded calmly, causing the students to respond back with agreements.
"Right!"
But as for the younger Ketchum brother, the approaching time for the presentation was making him nervous as he was hoping that the plan he's done with Rotom would succeed without any problems.
It was only a few minutes later where the Alola Professor turned to the Kanto Trainer, calling him up so that he could present in front of the class and the visitors of the Open House.
"All right, Ash! It's all yours!" Prof. Kukui called out, causing Ash to slowly get up with a nervous smile on his face.
"Yes, sir...!" Ash gulped before he scooted over to where the blackboard was, but in doing so, Camilla and Mallow frowned at the way Ash was walking in, as they found it weird.
"He must be really nervous..." Akira commented, with Camilla giving the boy an incredulous look.
"You would be too if you were up there..." Camilla retorted quietly, causing the boy to sweat drop and give a sheepish smile.
Soon, Ash cleared his throat and began to present for the whole class.
"Now! I'd like to talk a little bit. About the Pokémon who surprised me when I first came to Alola region from Kanto! First, I was surprised how the Pokémon I knew so well in Kanto looked completely different in Alola!" Ash started as everyone listened.
But Kaito knew that it wasn't Ash really talking, but Rotom, who is using Ash's voice to make it look like the Kanto Trainer was actually doing the presentation!
Flashback
"If there is a way, then tell me what it is!" Ash requested to Rotom, who had suggested that it had a way to make the presentation a lot more easier for the younger Ketchum brother, with Pikachu, Buizel, and Kaito listening, too.
"Believe it or not, I now possess the capability of voice sampling!" Rotom buzzed, causing Ash to mishear as he frowned at what it had just said.
"Who's this Sam?" Ash asked, causing Kaito to fall over.
"Voice sampling... Not Sam." Kaito corrected with a sigh as he got back up.
"Exactly! You'll understand if you try it. First off, simply say something to me!" Rotom buzzed, causing the younger Ketchum brother to think of what he could say before he came up with the words.
"Say something to you? All right... My name is Ash, and I came here from the Kanto region." Ash spoke, making the introduction. At that moment, Rotom began to analyze the words that Ash has spoken before...
"Analyzing... Analyzing... Analyzing... Sampling complete!" Rotom spoke, before...
"I'm Ash! Nice to meet you!" Rotom spoke in Ash's voice, shocking Ash and Pikachu, as well as both Buizel and Kaito, as they couldn't believe on what they have just heard from the Rotom Pokédex.
"Oh man! That's just so weird!" Ash exclaimed with Pikachu expressing his surprise, too!
"Now I can sound just like you! Will you let me do the presentation, then?" Rotom asked, causing Ash to think for a second before he responded with a grin on his face.
"Sure! That would be great!" Ash exclaimed, causing Rotom to feel confident about tomorrow.
"Leave everything to me!" Rotom buzzed, as Kaito frowned at this.
Flashback End
"This is just wrong, but... I don't know..." Kaito thought as he continued to believe that this was a bad way to present, as this was sort of cheating, and lying to the people that were expecting so much from the younger Ketchum brother.
To be continued...
Kaito's Team:
Buizel (M): (Ice Beam, Agility, Rain Dance, Aqua Jet)
Rockruff (M): (Crunch, Sand Attack, Rock Slide, Howl)
Vulpix (F): (Ember, Roar, Baby-Doll Eyes, Quick Attack)
Eevee (F): (Quick Attack, Swift, Attract, Dig)
Silvally: (Iron Head, Air Slash, Swords Dance, Slash)
Next chapters:
Chapter 48: Family Work Together to Win!
Chapter 49: The Masked Problem to Crack!
Chapter 50: The True Feelings Trapped by the Mask
Chapter 51: Goodbye Sophocles! Moving Away!?
Chapter 52: A New Chef! Kaito's Wish!
Next chapter preview:
Isamu: Something's weird here... I know Ash is a good Trainer who knows some things about Pokémon, but not so much of the complicated stuff...
Ash: The Pokémon that I've met so far, well... They've taught me so many things that I needed to know the longer I spend time with them...
Hau: Well, if that's the case... then I wanna learn more as I spend time with the Pokémon that I know of!
Kaito: Mothers... Fathers... Most of the others have their relatives or guardians visiting but... did neither of them have the time...?
Shizuka: I feel like it's been a while since I've spent my time with the kids... Have I been a neglectful mother...?
Kazuma: I think it's me that's been very neglectful of the kids, honey... But... I did learn a few things from the truth that I wanted to learn.
Events that occurred:
- Kaito and the others meet Luna for the first time
- Ash is to present the Alola presentation in front of the whole class and parents