And we're back with another chapter. Last time the cruise on the S. S. Anne went without a hitch, but the short vacation isn't over yet. Next up is Porta Vista, and by extension, a beach episode. Enjoy

XXXX

Ash yawned as he got up. Looking at the time, he noticed it was a bit later than they'd usually get up…no surprise considering how much they'd partied the night before, he'd even taken plenty of photos and videos to send to Serena before bed, hoping she'd enjoy it as much as they all had. Looking around, it seems everyone else was similarly tired from the party the night before, so with that in mind, he quietly got out of bed, and went to the bathroom.

As he brushed his teeth and soon stripped off the clothes he wore to bed, he had to admit, having access to showers and the like was always something that made being in towns a nice break from being out in the woods. Oh well, his parents always did say the intermittent hardship helped build character. Stepping into the shower, he enjoyed the feel of the warm water for a bit before soon stepping out and drying himself with a towel (and grabbing a hair/fur dryer to help get the more stubborn bits dry faster). Once he was done, he quickly put on a bathrobe and walked out of the bathroom, and as it so happens, Pikachu was already up, Brock already stirring too.

"Morning," Ash smiled as Pikachu ran up his leg and was soon on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek affectionately.

"Morning. You're up early," Brock yawned.

"Try you being up late," Ash snorted, to which Brock noticed the time.

"Huh, guess we had a bit too much fun partying last night," Brock chuckled.

"It was the last night of the cruise. I think we all have the right to cut loose this time," Ash chuckled.

"Fair enough," Brock nodded. "Anyway, we should get ready. We're arriving in Porta Vista today," he said as he got up and went to have a shower of his own, while Ash quickly got dressed for the day.

When he and Pikachu got out of the room, they saw Misty coming out of the room she was using, a tired yawn escaping her mouth. "Morning," Ash greeted, Pikachu greeting her as well cheerfully.

"Morning," Misty said back. "So we're getting off today?" she asked, looking a little disappointed.

"Pretty much, yeah," Ash nodded. "Felt too fast?"

"Kinda," Misty admitted. "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted."

"Besides, the next stop is Porta Vista. I don't think our 'vacation' is over yet," Ash chuckled.

"True," Misty chuckled in agreement. "So I guess we'll enjoy it a bit longer."

"But our vacation's not over or not, I hope everyone has everything packed up," Brock said, having finished his own shower.

"Already packed up," Misty nodded.

"I made sure everything I needed was packed up last night too," Ash nodded as well.

"Great, so after breakfast we've got a couple of hours before we disembark," Brock said, right as their stomachs growled. "And I think we should get on that soon," he added with a light chuckle.

"Yeah, we should probably get on that," Ash chuckled in agreement, Pikachu chuckled as well as the group soon left the room.

XXXX

"Guess today's the last day," James mused. Breakfast time was often packed due to the various passengers present, and as a result, seats weren't always plentiful. This morning had it such that the two groups inexplicably had to share a table.

"Pretty much, yeah," Ash nodded as he ate, Pikachu doing the same next to him, though he did occasionally shoot the Rocket Trio a weary glance. Not nearly as bad as when the cruise had started, but he was still suspicious of them.

"So after we get off, it's back to business as usual then," Jessie said with a slight sigh.

"It doesn't HAVE to be that way ya know," Brock pointed out.

"I know what you're probably gonna suggest, and that's a no," James said a bit dryly.

"Da cruise was fun, but we got a job to do," Meowth said.

"Alright, if you're sure," Misty shrugged. These three weren't as bad as they'd initially thought…but that didn't change that they were part of a criminal group.

"We'll send you flying again if you come after Pikachu," Ash said with a hard frown.

"Don't think we're going to lose so easily either," Jessie smirked a little.

"Still it was fun just being normal people, but that's how it is," James chuckled a bit.

"Glad you enjoyed it at least," Brock chuckled a bit. No point in bringing down the mood anymore than necessary.

"And don't worry, we're not gonna make any moves right after we leave the ship. Not like we'd be able to get away with it anyway," Jessie added.

"Good, we'll hold you to that," Ash nodded as they continued with breakfast.

XXXX

A few hours later and breakfast was over, while everyone on board the ship was done packing up their things as the sight of the sandy beaches of Porta Vista were soon coming into view. Some of the passengers opted to enjoy the remaining time inside till it was time to go. Ash and his friends on the other hand opted to wait on deck, enjoying the weather as well as the view of their destination.

"There it is, Porta Vista," Brock smiled.

"It's as beautiful as I always thought it would be," Misty smiled before taking a picture. She definitely wanted to remember this for years to come.

"Between the water and the beach, I can see why people see this place as a major vacation spot," Ash whistled, while Pikachu watched from his perch on Ash's shoulder, the mouse looking at the scene before them in wonder, eyes sparkling a bit. "I wonder if my parents and Professor Oak are here yet," he couldn't help but wonder.

"I'm sure they are," Misty smiled. "Even if they aren't you can always give them a call next chance we get."

"That's true," Ash nodded with a slight smile.

"And even if they aren't here yet, well…it's a nice beach. No reason not to enjoy it while we're here," Brock added.

"That goes without saying," Misty chuckled as they watched the ship pull into port.

Once the ship came to a full stop, the passengers started disembarking, and were soon looking out at the wide sandy beaches, green palm trees, and of course the wide blue ocean that they'd been sailing on for the last week. Needless to say, many were eager to get on the beach or get into the water.

XXXX

A large splash happened as they dove into the water. Once they'd found a spot for them to change their clothes and stored their stuff, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu wasted no time in hitting the beach, or in this case, the water. Literally.

The water bubbled a bit, before the four resurfaced. "Not that the pool on the S. S. Anne was bad, but nothing quite beats a place like this," Ash chuckled. He was currently dressed in a pair of blue swimming trunks.

"Not to mention Porta Vista is considered the Alola of Kanto by some," Misty chuckled. "I'm REALLY glad I won that pass," she grinned. She was wearing a red two piece bikini in contrast to her usual fighter outfit which looked like an olympic one piece mixed with a surf suit. Plus it also showed off her figure better than her more fitting fighter outfit, something she seemed pretty happy to do considering they were on a beach.

"So we might as well enjoy the surf and sand as much as we can," Brock agreed. He was dressed in a pair of green swimming trunks.

Pikachu let out a 'Pika!' of agreement as they all enjoyed the water.

"Well then, we've got plenty of time," Ash chuckled. Earlier he'd managed to contact his parents and Professor Oak. As it turns out they would be a little bit late, so that meant they'd have some extra time to just enjoy themselves. After all, it wasn't as if they were in a BIG hurry to go anywhere. With that in mind, the three continued to take the chance to enjoy the beach.

Ash and Misty opted to go further into the water, and with Misty's help, both of them were diving deeper, able to see the beautiful sights underwater, the various mix of Water Pokemon and several mundane fish species swimming around, both of them enjoying the sight while Misty even swam along with some of them, Ash doing his best to keep up, though making sure note how deep he was, especially as he felt the need to breathe, and soon resurfaced quickly.

Misty watched him go with a light chuckle before going further by herself, smiling as she saw the beautiful coral reef that stretched before her, the various Pokemon that lived in the reef coming out curiously, Misty more than happy to entertain them as they played around her, the Vaporeon practically dancing alongside them.

Ash by then had managed to refill his lungs before soon diving again, and the Riolu couldn't help but smile a bit at the sight, not just because it was quite an entrancing sight, but because of how much fun Misty was having with the Pokemon, enough so that he had fun just watching…for as long as his lungs would allow anyway.

Meanwhile, Brock opted to not join them, instead enjoying the water in the more shallow areas, since even if he had trained himself to be able to swim, Rock-types like him didn't care much for going into deep water, since they tended to need more energy to stay afloat. That was why after a bit of swimming, he'd gone back to the shore, and decided to just enjoy the sand, Pikachu joining him, as the little mouse didn't care much for spending TOO long in the water.

With them both on the beach, Brock proceeded to take in the sights, both that of the beach…and of course the various beach goers. It WAS a beach, so of course he was going to enjoy the sights, and there were plenty of them as is. Besides, it was a fair trade since he definitely noticed a few of the girls on the beach eyeing him too. One advantage of being a Gym Leader, especially one like the Pewter Gym, the training he went through was great for attracting some attention. Keeping it on the other hand…he was working on that.

As Brock was having his walk, Pikachu sighed a bit at seeing Brock up to his usual antics, the mouse having decided to lie on the Rhydon's shoulder, using it as a nice spot to sun bathe while drying his fur. As he enjoyed his ride, he closed his eyes a bit, enjoying the warmth of the sun…before his nose picked up on a nice smell.

The moment the smell hit him, Pikachu immediately perked up, catching Brock's attention. "Something up, Pikachu?" he asked the mouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu said, getting up and pointing at the direction from which the smell was coming from, and not long after Brock noticed the smell too.

"Hey, something smells good. Want to check it out?" he asked, Pikachu eagerly nodding.

With their heading set, they soon went forward and found…a rather interesting sight. A pair of seaside restaurants, the one on the left notably pretty upscale and fancy looking, while the one on the right was simpler and more modest. The smells were coming from both of them as far as Pikachu could tell, but looking at each of them…it was pretty obvious which they'd probably choose.

"The one on the right may not look like much, but at least it's got open seats," Brock chuckled, Pikachu chuckling in agreement. The two of them soon went to the more simple looking shop and took a look at the menu that was put up front. The menu was a fairly simple mix of stuff you'd want to eat on a hot sunny day mixed with a few more filling options that you'd find at street vendors and the like. All in all it was a good enough selection, and considering the modest number of customers, and the smells coming from inside, it was likely that this place promised a pretty good experience.

That and they had a pretty good feeling that a major part of the lower customer number was due to the shop next to this one, which just screamed fancy in comparison. "Definitely want to try this place, but I think we should probably wait till we're all together," Brock mused.

Pikachu seemed a little disappointed at not being able to try the restaurant now, but he ultimately nodded in agreement. He wouldn't be happy if the others went and ate without him, so he'd wait. With that in agreement, the two turned back and soon found their way to where the group had agreed to meet after they were done. Good timing too, as it seemed Ash and Misty had come back from their swim, Misty was lying on a beach towel enjoying the sun, while Ash was sitting on another beach towel not far away…notably busy trying to wring out all the saltwater out of his fur, something that was…clearly taking a while.

"Having some issues?" Brock asked in mild amusement.

"Some," Ash grumbled a bit, using a smaller towel to try and dry himself better.

"Ah yes, the downside of having fur. I remember how THAT went," Misty teased.

"Har har," Ash said dryly. "Wait till we find a snowy mountain or something," he shot back with a light glare, even if that just earned a few amused expressions, Pikachu even going over to him and jokingly offering consolation.

"Jokes aside though, how was your walk on the beach?" Misty asked.

"It was good," Brock smiled. "The beach is nice, and there's…plenty of stuff to see," he said, gaining a bit of a blush, causing Ash and Misty to look at him a bit dryly.

"Really?" both of them deadpanned.

Brock coughed politely. "That aside, how was your swim?"

"Pretty good, though I think Misty had the most fun," Ash said.

"Being a Water-type has its advantages," Misty chuckled. "There's just nothing quite like swimming with the fishes and the Pokemon to enjoy the sea."

"Huh, kinda wish I could have seen that now," Brock couldn't help but say, Pikachu trying to imagine the image, and ended up thinking of the water show he'd seen all the way back in Cerulean City.

"Maybe next time," Misty said, winking a bit.

"Maybe," Brock chuckled. "Anyway, we found a restaurant that looks pretty good, and after today, I figured we'd all like a bite to eat."

"That sounds pretty good, yeah," Ash nodded, idly rubbing his stomach a bit. "It's been quite some time since breakfast."

"No arguments here either," Misty agreed.

"Alright then, let's go," Brock said as he and Pikachu quickly led the way.

XXXX

As Ash and Co. were off to get lunch, on another section of the beach, the Rocket Trio were enjoying the beach. Jessie was lying down on a beach lounge chair, a pair of sunglasses over her eyes and dressed in a red bikini that showed off her figure quite nicely, the Pyroar looking like she was enjoying just laying in the sun.

Not far away, on a small pier near where she was sunbathing, Meowth and James were on said pier. James was dressed in an Alolan shirt and swimming trunks, with said shirt being left open while the Roserade seemed to have his attention focused on something in the water. On the opposite side of the pier, Meowth was sitting on the edge, and inner tube around his midsection, no doubt in case he fell into the water, while he was holding a fishing rod, his focus fully on the lure that was slowly bobbing up and down on the water.

"You're really serious about this, huh?" Meowth asked, throwing a glance at James as he spoke.

"Well of course," James chuckled. "You can't expect him to grow if I don't raise him well," he said with a fond smile.

"Well, you're gonna be working at that for a long time then," Meowth sweat dropped, right as his lure was pulled into the water. "Oh hey, a bite!" he said, pulling at the rod, and after a few moments, reeled in his catch revealing…a Tentacool. The moment he saw that, his face fell a bit. "Oh…I was hopin for something big and juicy," he said in disappointment. The Tentacool apparently took offense at that and raised its tentacles which sparked, causing Meowth to tense. Fortunately before anything could happen, something shot out of the water and rammed into the Tentacool, knocking it away. Said something revealing to be a Magikarp, but rather than the usual red scales, or even the gold scales of a shiny, its scales were colored a dark gray with a black spot on its forehead. Something about how Magikarp had different scale colors all over the world.

"Nice one, Magikarp," James smiled. "You've learned Tackle already. I'm so proud of you!" he praised, to which Magikarp splashed around happily, glad to have a kind Trainer like James after spending so long with that Salesman.

Meowth stared for a long moment, before he blinked "Ok… so we MIGHT get a Gyarados within a week… dat's kinda awesome," he mused…before another thought crossed his mind. "Wait…that way is the…" he trailed off…right before they heard Jessie shout in a mix of pain and surprise…as it turns out the Tentacool that had been sent flying towards the beach…had landed on her.

"Uh oh…" James and Meowth gulped as the Tentacool was flung off, and now Jessie was looking at them…and boy was she pissed.

Both of them soon dove into the water to escape the angry Pyroar.

XXXX

Back with Ash and friends…

"This place is really good," Ash said after swallowing some of the yakisoba he'd ordered. Currently he was dressed still in the swimming trunks from before, but he'd opted to wear his jacket as well as his hat. To his side, Pikachu let out a happy sound of agreement as the mouse was in the middle of slurping up his own portion, which considering his size, was a lot.

"Yeah, the place may not look like much, but the food is good, and the prices aren't bad," Misty agreed as she bit down on some grilled corn she'd ordered. She was also still wearing the swimwear from before, but had opted to add a white t-shirt on top.

"Glad we found it," Brock agreed as he bit down on the skewers he'd ordered, before looking towards the kitchen. "Our compliments to the chef," he said. Unlike the other two, he'd opted to keep the same swimwear without any additions.

"Why thank you," the owner said. He was an elderly Seismitoad Pokemorph wearing an orange Alolan shirt with a green leaf design to it, and a straw hat on his head. He had short gray hair, with a short beard on his chin. He was currently in the dining area of the restaurant, as when the group had entered, it was right as the last wave of customers had left for now, so the shop was quiet at the moment. "I'm always happy to hear people enjoy my food," he smiled.

"Well the food really is good. And this kind of stuff by the beach is always great," Ash nodded.

"Though, speaking of which, mind if we ask something, Mister…" Misty trailed off.

"Moe. The name's Moe. And yes, what did you want to ask?" Moe said.

"Well its about the next door restaurant. What's up with that place?" Misty asked. The look Moe gave screamed of lemons.

"Uh…if you don't want to answer you don't have to," Brock quickly said.

"No, it's fine," Moe sighed. "That shop is Brutella's Shop," he said.

The group paused, expecting him to tell them the name of the place. "...no seriously, that's what it's called," Moe said.

"What kind of a name is Brutella?" Ash couldn't help but ask, Pikachu looking confused too.

"That would be me," came a rather high pitched voice…that seriously made them think it belonged on the 'wicked witch' type character in a children's show. Moe immediately had a sour expression, but quickly adjusted it to a more neutral look as he turned around, while they also shifted their gaze to look at the source, revealing a rather short Granbull Pokemorph, so short that well…she'd literally come up to roughly half Moe's height. She was dressed in a pink armless dress which definitely fit a beach setting…but it also gave the image of something more suited for someone…a LOT younger than she was. On her head was long red hair that was styled into what could only be described as a pair of braided pigtails. All in all it really felt like an old woman trying to look like she was a lot younger.

"Looks like this place is as shabby as always," Brutella said with a condescending smirk. "How you haven't closed down is beyond me."

"I'll have you know I have more than enough customers to get me by," Moe glared. "I'd have more too, but we all know SOMEBODY went and built her restaurant right next to mine," he said.

"So what if I did? I'm allowed to build where I like," Brutella smirked. "Besides, I had to find a way to keep the bottom feeders out of my restaurant," she said, causing Ash and Co. to glare at her, because she'd basically implied everyone who dined here were bottom feeders, but Brutella paid them no mind. "More importantly, I'm here because I'm looking to take back what you owe me."

"What are you talking about? I still have time, and I've almost paid off all that I owe!" Moe said with a glare.

"True, but some things came up and I need the money by today. Not to mention you forget, the loan's gonna generate interest too," Brutella smirked.

"Hey now, interest was never in the agreement!" Moe shouted.

"Well too bad, because I'm the one you owe," Brutella smirked, clearly enjoying this.

"Then I hope you have that interest written down on a legal document." a voice from behind said, making Brutella snap back around quickly to see…

"Dad!" Ash realized with a smile, seeing his father standing there in a casual shirt and a pair of black swimming shorts.

"Hey, mind your own business. This has nothing to do with you," Brutella glared.

"Sorry, but I don't make it a habit of ignoring someone who's clearly trying to extort someone. Unless you agreed in paper to the application of interest, that won't hold up if we took this to the police," Carmine said, not remotely worried about the glare. He'd seen much worse.

Brutella seemed like she wanted to say something, but also knew she couldn't win that argument, so with that in mind… "I'm still expecting the remainder of what you owe me by the end of tomorrow. So pay up or I'll be taking the collateral we agreed on."

"Not my boat!" Moe gasped. "Fine, I'll get you your money by the day's end. I only need a little more for that anyway," he glared.

"Alright then, I'll be holding you to that," Brutella smirked as she left the shop, Carmine watching her leave with a frown.

"Well…she's rather unpleasant," he couldn't help but say.

"You don't know the half of it," Moe groaned. "But thanks for that. I'd have been in trouble if she had actually charged interest."

"It's no trouble at all," Carmine smiled.

"Still, thank you. Anyway, I heard what the kid over there said. I shouldn't be taking your time," Moe chuckled a bit.

"It's fine. Watching Dad put that old hag in her place was sooo worth it," Ash smirked a bit.

"Ash Ketchum, mind your language," Carmine chastised…though the look on his face made it clear he fully agreed with the choice of words as he took a seat at the table they were on. "But just this once I suppose I can let it slide.

"Great to see you too, Dad," Ash chuckled.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Ketchum," Brock and Misty said as well, while Pikachu went up to Carmine and cheerfully greeted him, Carmine chuckling a bit as he petted his son's Starter.

"It's nice to see all of you are well. How has the Journey been so far?" Carmine asked.

"Quite a lot of things really. After last time we actually ran into Red along the way," Ash said.

"Oh? And how was he doing? Well I hope," Carmine asked. That was his nephew after all.

"He's doing great. His Charmander even evolved into a Charmeleon," Ash said.

"He even managed to Teleport all of us to town…even if he got the landing a bit off," Brock added with a light chuckle.

"That's good to hear. I'll admit, I was a bit surprised when I heard he was also going on a journey," Carmine smiled. "I'm happy to hear that he's doing well."

"Not just that, let's just say there's something I want to show Professor Oak when we see him," Ash said, looking quite excited.

"Really now? It must be quite something if you really want to show Professor Oak this," Carmine chuckled.

"Hey, speaking of Professor Oak, where is he? And Mrs. Ketchum too," Misty asked.

"We're right here," came Professor Oak's voice as the older Arcanine walked into the restaurant, dressed in a pineapple themed Alolan shirt and a pair of shorts. Following shortly behind him was Delia, the Zoroark dressed in a green one-piece with a small white jacket/coat on her upper body, which showed off her figure quite nicely.

"We would have all been here at the same time, but somebody decided to go on ahead," Delia said, playfully ribbing her husband.

"Hey, I WAS leading the way," Carmine shot back playfully.

"I'm just happy to see both of you again," Ash smiled. "Oh, and Professor Oak, you'll never guess what I did," he added.

"Oh? What DID you manage to do?" Professor Oak asked, interested in seeing what it was. His answer was Ash releasing three Pokemon…revealing Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.

Professor Oak blinked a few times, before he properly processed what he was seeing. "Well now, I honestly am not fully sure what to say," he said, squatting down a bit so he was more to the level of the three Pokemon. "I hope this isn't revenge for your first day," he said jokingly.

"Huh, never thought of it like that," Ash sweat dropped a bit, since while he never regretted getting Pikachu…he HAD spent quite some time thinking of who would be best to start with. And now here he was with all three.

"In all seriousness though, nice work," Professor Oak smiled. "I can confidently say that you've done something that very few Trainers manage to do in their first year. If this is any indication of what you can do, I think your future is very promising," he smiled.

"Though speaking of accomplishments," Delia spoke up, before going over to Ash and frowned a bit. "I hope you haven't been getting into any trouble after last time. You need to take better care of yourself, young man," she said sternly.

Ash and his friends…sweat dropped at that one. "Ah…define 'trouble'," Ash chuckled a little nervously. "And for the record, other than when I got Squirtle, I haven't been in any serious trouble after the last time we were together. No promises on the future though…"

Delia gave him a hard stare, before sighing and pulling him into a hug. "Just be careful, okay?" she said.

"I'll try," Ash said with a wry smile.

"That's really all we can ask for," Carmine sighed as he joined in the hug. "You really are our son. For better or worse."

To the side, Misty, Brock, Professor Oak and Pikachu looked at the scene, having decided to give the family some space. "...anyone else feel like they're a third wheel for something?" Misty sweat dropped.

"I…kinda know the feeling…" Brock sweat dropped.

"Pika…" Pikachu sweat dropped as well.

"Oh don't worry about it," Professor Oak chuckled. "That family is just very close, but because of that Carmine and Delia worry for Ash a lot," he said, before his expression softened. "If I'm being honest, hearing about what Ash has been up to, it makes me feel like I'm seeing the past replay itself again…with modifications obviously."

"Huh?" Brock and Misty said as they looked at him in confusion, Pikachu tilting his head.

"Oh, nothing important." he said with a shake of his head. As he did though, he idly glanced towards the kitchen…and noticed Moe scratching his head in the way of someone who was wracking his brains.

Now curious, Professor Oak went into the kitchen, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu watching him go curiously. "Is something wrong?" Oak asked.

"Ah…well…it's not so much wrong as it is a problem," Moe said. "But I really couldn't trouble you with this," he sighed.

"It's no trouble at all. If there's a problem maybe I can offer a solution," Oak said with a friendly smile.

"Well…it's about the last of my debt. The good news is I can probably make enough money to cover it by the deadline," Moe said after a moment. "The problem is, if I want to do that I'm gonna need at least double the customers I usually get. Maybe even triple…" he frowned.

Oak frowned at that. "And with your competition next door…" Oak started, seeing the problem.

Moe just nodded at that. "Yeah, unless I have a REALLY good day this afternoon and tomorrow, I might end up losing my prized boat, and I can't have that happen. I've worked my whole life to one day be able to travel the world with that boat…"

"That's terrible, and she wants to take it away anyway?" Brock frowned.

"That's the kind of person Brutella is, but at the time I really needed the money and she was the only one willing to give me the loan," Moe sighed. "Well, guess all I can do is hope for the best…"

Brock and Misty looked at each other, and between Moe's troubles and the fact that they…really didn't like Brutella just from that small interaction with her… "Can we help?" Misty asked.

"Huh?" Moe blinked.

"Yeah, we want to help. I mean, its your dream, isn't it? No way are we gonna let someone like Brutella stop your dream," Brock said.

"If I can help I'd be happy to pitch in too," Professor Oak said with a smile.

"You'd really do that?" Moe asked.

"Of course," the three of them said, while Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Hey, what's going on over here?" Ash asked, as he and his parents had finished catching up…and had noticed the sudden interest in the kitchen area. They were quickly filled in on what was going on and well…they were quickly interested in helping too. Needless to say, Moe couldn't help but smile and thank them greatly for being willing to help.

XXXX

With them all agreeing to help, they took a moment to go over what they could do to help. The obvious was that they could help with Moe with the restaurant in the normal way, namely the kitchen and waiting tables. However, that wouldn't fix the main issue of the fact that Moe's restaurant was modestly popular. Enough that he could make a good enough profit to pay off his usual monthly installments while having money to save, but not enough for him to really pay off the amount needed by tomorrow.

So to fix that they'd need to attract more people too. For that the restaurant needed some kind of hook. Maybe some extra publicity too. After thinking about it carefully, they came up with a few ideas. For starters they needed to really hook in, so they considered giving a 10% Discount. Moe was a little unsure at first, but Oak assured him that that wouldn't be a problem, because he'd suggested they make use of the fact that well…he was THE Professor Oak. His lectures and talks of Pokemon and Pokemorph relations would attract hundreds of people. Now, imagine if the admission price was…simply dining at the restaurant.

The moment he explained that idea, Moe could already see where this was going. A slight discount would mean nothing against the sheer number of customers he could potentially get with that kind of a deal. From there it was a matter of some publicity, so they'd opted to draw up some fliers that they could give out the next day especially to REALLY attract the people.

Of course, that left the next issue. Serving that many customers. Moe wasn't too worried about space as being a beach restaurant, he DID have a stock of rarely used tables, beach chairs, and umbrellas to make an impromptu alfresco dining area. The problem was being able to serve that many people. Fortunately they had it covered. For starters, Delia and Brock would help in the kitchen. With their experience and skills, it wouldn't take long for them to get the feel for the style of cooking of this restaurant which would greatly help in getting out orders faster. Ash even opted to add Charmander and Pidgeotto to help with the kitchen, with Charmander helping keep the stoves hot to save up on some of the fuel, while Pidgeotto would help with the barbeque grills by fanning the charcoal flames.

Next was a matter of serving tables. That was easy enough, since Ash, Misty, and Carmine would be waiting tables to keep up with the increased orders…and they'd probably help attract some customers too since well…between natural looks and lifestyle, nobody was gonna pretend there wouldn't be any customers who'd see them as eye candy. Ash even called out Bulbasaur to help out on that front, since Bulbasaur's Vine Whip could be used to quickly deliver orders as well.

Last, but certainly not least would be advertising. After drawing up some quick fliers at a local shop, they set up plans for handing out fliers…and for this one they opted to make use of a bit of special publicity, namely Pikachu, Squirtle, and Clefairy would be handing out fliers, as their natural cuteness mixed with the slight novelty of Pokemon doing that would definitely attract some people too.

With everything planned out, it was a simple enough matter to start the plan. As the time was running short, Oak opted to only do one lecture today, compared to the three he'd do tomorrow. This was aimed more for the evening to dinner crowd. The flier team immediately went to work handing out fliers, the plan catching the attention of quite a few people, and thus they became aware of 'Beach House Moe', while the regulars were intrigued by the fact that Moe had somehow gotten Professor Samuel Oak to do a lecture in his restaurant. As such, curious customers started coming in, with the table team more than ready to welcome them, and even Oak being there as proof that 'nope, we are NOT pulling your leg'.

The shop soon filled up from there, and with the kitchen team hard at work, they were able to keep up with the orders that came in, and with a few pointers from Brock and Delia, Moe even found a way to improve the flavor of his food too while keeping the core he wanted to maintain. All in all, the plan was a success, and when it came time for Oak's lecture…well…there was QUITE an alfresco dining site set up for a large crowd, some even having been from the line that originally was aiming to go to Brutella's Place, but opted to shift when the activity next door drew their attention.

However, not everyone was happy. Brutella glared at the sight of Moe somehow having been able to turn things around. With this many customers, he might actually pay off his debt in time. Now, one might wonder why she seemed so hell bent on taking Moe's boat. One might even think there was some deep personal reason, some history maybe…but that person would be wrong. The reality was that Brutella was ultimately simply a spiteful old hag. She enjoyed having a sense of superiority, to the point she'd come to enjoy watching Moe struggle and squirm as he worked hard to pay off his debt while running his business, something she'd purposely made harder to do by setting up her restaurant right next to his and purposefully making it in a way that it would definitely attract customers better than the simple, almost rustic, shop that Moe had set up.

In short, she'd rigged the game in her favor purely out of spite. As such, the thought of Moe very possibly 'winning' this game and paying off his debt…it made her grit her teeth in annoyance. She was going to see to it that Moe didn't manage to pay off that debt one way or another.

XXXX

"Thank you! I really can't thank you all enough!" Moe said happily after the last customer for the evening left. After crunching the numbers he'd managed to make a little over a third of the amount he still owed. If they could keep up the momentum then they could very well make more than enough to pay off the debt by the end of tomorrow.

"It was our pleasure," Delia said with a kind smile.

"We're just glad we can help you fulfill your dream," Ash smiled.

"And for that you all have my eternal gratitude," Moe smiled. "Well then, since its closing time, and I just got a big profit today, how about I russell up something special for everyone? Consider it my thanks for all the help you've given me today and the help you'll give me tomorrow."

"That sounds great," Brock said, earning several sounds of agreement from the Pokemorphs and Pokemon present.

"Alright then, you all just wait here. I'll make one mean barbeque for everyone to enjoy," Moe smiled as he immediately went into the kitchen and got to work.

As the sounds of cooking could be heard, a thought crossed Ash's mind. "Hey that reminds me, wasn't there something you said you wanted to tell me?" Ash said, looking at his parents.

"That's right, we DO have something we want to tell you," Carmine said, as he and Delia shared a warm smile.

"Mind joining us for a walk first though? Don't worry we'll be back before the food's ready," Delia said.

"I'd have said yes even if we'd end up a bit late," Ash chuckled, before looking towards Pikachu who looked ready to join. "Can Pikachu come along?"

"Of course he can," Carmine smiled as the family soon left the restaurant. They didn't walk for long, just along the beach a bit, before they stopped at a spot where they could enjoy the breeze, Delia even stepping a bit into the water and enjoying the feel of it against her feet.

"So, what's going on?" Ash asked, Pikachu looking curious too.

"Well, you know how your Father has been able to stay longer than usual lately?" Delia started, earning a small nod.

"Well…let's just say we made up for lost time so much that…" Carmine said, the couple blushing a bit as Delia gently rubbed her belly.

THAT was when it hit Ash. "No way…" he said in shock, Pikachu's expression mirroring his.

"Yep. You're going to be a big brother soon," Delia smiled happily.

Ash could only stare with SO many emotions and thoughts running through his head at that. But one thing was for sure. Their lives had just changed in a very big way.

XXXX

Surprise! Yeahp, I went there. Aside from the typical stuff you'd expect from a beach episode, I dropped a real bombshell here. Ash Ketchum is officially going to be a big brother. Oh sure its a bit of an age gap for the eventual sibling, but its not really an issue. Let's just say Pokemorphs are able to handle parenting for longer than humans can and leave it at that. Lol. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.