Here it is: part 2 of The Dinner Party!

This one came out pretty long...and that's not even including the long list of characters below this paragraph! But hopefully you'll all enjoy these appearances from some of your favorite characters!

Aiden and Michelle: 12 and a half

Elizabeth: 7

Koa: 14

Basil, Kokum, Sage: 13

Kahula: 12

Damien: 12

Rosie: 9

Kalili: 9

Kady: 5

Bella: 5

Clara: 3

Alex: 1

Lucia: 5 months


The Dinner Party: Part 2

The next day, the Ketchum house was absolutely buzzing.

The Alolan gang had been the first to arrive; Lillie, Lana, Sophocles, Kiawe, Mallow, and their three children: Koa, Kahula, and Kalili. Both Ash and Misty were surprised, largely because Mallow in particular had a habit of being a bit scatterbrained and, in turn, showing up to events late. The surprise was evident on both Ash and Misty's faces from the second they opened the door and saw Mallow leading the charge.

"She basically dragged us all out of the hotel," Kiawe tiredly informed the couple. "Needless to say, she's very excited about helping out with the cooking."

"You really don't mind not taking a day off from the kitchen?" Misty asked nervously.

"Nope!" Mallow quickly chirped. "I love cooking! I'll do it anytime, anywhere!"

"Hey, as long as you're happy!" Ash chuckled, moving out of the doorway and extending his arm. "Come on in!"

The group entered the house, looking around as they walked in. Aiden, Michelle, and Elizabeth had been lingering by the foyer, and as soon as they saw the three other kids enter, they made their charge. The six of them all happily reunited, excitedly chattering as they moved into the next room.

"Well that didn't take much," Misty giggled.

"It's perfect!" Mallow exclaimed. "Nothing to distract us while we cook! C'mon, Misty!"

Without another word or any further guidance, Mallow marched straight into the kitchen. Misty blinked and turned towards the rest of the group, who seemed just as thrown off as she was.

"She's never been in our house before, but she knows exactly where the kitchen is."

"It is impressive," Lana admitted.

"Why don't you guys have a seat in the living room?" Ash suggested. "We left out a bunch of snacks in there, and I can get everybody something to drink!"

"Now you're talking my language!" Sophocles chuckled.

"Maybe I should help you out with the drinks," Kiawe warily suggested. "You juggling that many glasses at once can't end well."

"I'd argue, but you're probably right," Ash quipped.

Before either one could move for the drinks, however, the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it," Ash offered, heading back into the foyer. This time, it was Iris and Cilan with their own three children: Basil, Kokum, and Sage. "Hey guys!"

"We're not too early, are we?" Iris fretted. "Cilan was totally freaking out about being late and driving me crazy, but now I'm thinking we showed up too soon."

"It's better to be early to an affair than late," Cilan patiently reminded her.

"Nah, you're fine!" Ash assured them. "You're actually not the first people here."

"We're not?" Iris asked, obviously surprised.

"My friends from Alola just got here a few minutes ago," Ash explained. "Mallow was really excited about helping Misty out in the kitchen, so she brought everyone here with her."

"Dragged us here with her," Sophocles corrected from the next room.

"Oh, Misty needs help in the kitchen?" Cilan asked, his eyes shining. "I'd be happy to lend an extra hand as well!"

"Really?" Ash questioned. "You don't have to-"

"No, please, let him help," Iris breathed. "Otherwise he's just gonna bore us all with train talk."

"On the contrary, trains are the exact opposite of boring!" Cilan practically gasped. "But I'd be happy to wait to discuss the latest advances in locomotive technology until after I've assisted in the kitchen."

"Yeah, you do that," Iris teased, smirking at the jubilant connoisseur.

"Where are Aiden and Michelle?" Sage suddenly spoke up, her eyes flickering between Ash and the space behind him.

"Sage, don't be rude," Cilan softly warned his daughter.

"It's totally fine!" Ash chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they all headed downstairs. Their friends from Alola are with them too. I'm sure they'll introduce you and you'll all get along great!"

"Go on," Iris gently nudged the three. None of them hesitated to scurry inside the house, knowing exactly where the stairway to the basement was.

"I'll just head on into the kitchen and see where Misty and Mallow are at," Cilan informed his wife and friend, offering Ash a small bow before brushing past him.

"Well, we also brought you some fresh berries," Iris sighed, smiling as she handed Ash a canvas bag full of the colorful produce. "Thought it might be a nice addition as a dessert, especially since the Pokémon can eat them too."

"Thanks, that's great!" Ash cheered. "Come on, I'll take you into the living room."

Ash led the dragon master into the next room, where Lana and Sophocles were sitting next to each other, picking out of the bowls of chips and pretzels sitting in front of them.

"Lana, Sophocles, do you guys remember Iris?" Ash asked, motioning towards her.

"Oh yeah, the Unova champion!" Lana marveled, her eyes widening in excitement.

"Nice to see you guys again!" Iris giggled.

"You too!" Sophocles returned.

"Ash! I thought you were going to help Kiawe!"

The Pokémon Master looked up sheepishly, finding Misty had poked her head out of the kitchen doorway and was glaring at him.

"Well, technically he was going to help me…"

"It's no problem," Kiawe assured Misty as he slipped out of the kitchen, carrying a tray with filled glasses. "I actually think it might be better to keep Ash away from things that could spill or break."

"Not a bad point," Misty airily agreed.

"Guys!" Ash whined.

The doorbell rang again, alerting Misty's attention.

"Oh, Ash could you-"

"I'm on it," Ash grumbled, turning back towards the door.

"Thank you, Ashy!" Misty called, bringing a delicate blush to her husband's face. He had never gotten used to being called that in front of other people. He didn't mind Misty using the nickname, but in front of their friends? That was a little embarrassing.

Shaking it off, Ash opened the door and let out a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.

"Brock!"

"What's up, bud?"

The two friends locked hands and shook before raising them up and letting go. Suzy, Brock's wife, was standing next to him with their daughters Bella and Lucia.

"Hi, Suzy!" Ash greeted the Pokémon breeder.

"Hi, Ash, nice to see you!" Suzy returned.

"I brought a little something for dinner," Brock informed Ash, handing him a plastic shopping bag filled with plastic containers.

"There's multiple things in here," Ash replied, peeking into the bag.

"Fine, I brought some things for dinner," Brock corrected himself. "I know Misty said not to, but I wasn't about to show up empty handed."

"Don't worry, she'll act all tough and scold you for doing it, but in reality, she's going to be grateful," Ash assured his best friend. "She literally has both Mallow and Cilan helping her out in the kitchen right now. Not because she wanted to; they both insisted."

"Oh, so I could go in there and help out too without getting my head cut off?" Brock snickered.

"If you want to try it," Ash chuckled.

"I will," Brock replied, grinning at the younger male.

"Bella, do you want to go play with the other kids?" Ash sweetly asked the older of the two girls, bending down to look her in the eyes.

"Yeah!" Bella cheered, her brown eyes sparkling.

"I'll take her downstairs," Ash offered, holding his hand out towards Bella who happily took it. "You guys head into the living room!"

"I think I'll come with you so I can say hi to the kids before I attempt to lend a hand in the kitchen," Brock said. "Just in case Misty ends me."

"She won't end you!" Ash laughed. "Well, probably won't."

"Comforting," Brock teasingly commented.

"Come on, Bella!" Ash cheered, playfully skipping away from the front door with the girl's hand still in his. "Let's go see your friends!"

"Kay!" Bella giggled.

The two soon reached the basement door, Brock trailing calmly behind them. Ash opened up the door, Bella curiously peering down the stairs when the sound of boisterous chatter and laughter came blasting from below.

"Wow, sounds like they're having a lot of fun down there!" Ash marveled.

"I wanna see!" Bella squealed.

"Just make sure you go down slowly, okay?" Brock called. "I don't want you to fall and get hurt."

Bella nodded her head and reached over to grab the railing, slowly descending the steps one foot at a time.

"Aw, look at how good she listens to you," Ash chuckled. "I wish my kids were that cooperative!"

"I'm sure they are when they feel like it," Brock laughed. "Trust me, Bella isn't always so ready and willing, either."

They followed Bella down the stairs, and were greeted by the older children split off into different groups. Aiden, Koa, Kahula, Basil, and Kokum were gathered around the TV, engaged in some kind of video game tournament. Michelle and Sage were sitting behind them on the couch, watching what appeared to be different contest appeals on Michelle's tablet. On the other side of the room, near the wall, Elizabeth and Kalili were giggling while showing off their dance moves to one another. Almost instantly, that's who Ash knew Bella would be best off with, and it seemed Bella did as well.

"Lizzie!" Bella cried, scurrying towards the redhead.

Elizabeth landed the pirouette she'd just been performing and beamed at the smaller blonde girl. "Hi, Bella!"

The younger girl jumped into the older one's arms, and Elizabeth was happy to lift Bella off the ground as best as she could. There wasn't that big of an age difference between them, which was why they got along so well, but Elizabeth couldn't help but to also view Bella like a younger sister, and loved doting on her as a result.

"Aww, she's so cute!" Kalili gushed.

Ash smiled. Mallow had told him that Kalili was very similar to Elizabeth in that despite being the youngest sibling, she adored younger kids and babies, to the extent that she often acted like an older sister or even a mother to the younger students at The Pokémon School back home.

"Bella, this is my friend Kalili," Elizabeth informed the younger girl as she placed her back on her feet. "She's all the way from Alola!"

"Have you ever been there?" Kalili excitedly asked.

Bella silently shook her head.

"Well, you should come visit sometime!" Kalili declared. "It's so pretty there! And it's warm and sunny all the time!"

"Kalili lives on a ranch with all kinds of Pokémon," Elizabeth added. "And she goes to a school that's all about Pokémon, too! So…Kalili knows a whole lot about them!"

"Wow," Bella marveled, her eyes widening.

"Yep, it's super cool!" Kalili commented. "You must like Pokémon then too, huh?"

"Yeah!" Bella chirped. "My mommy and daddy are Pokémon breeders, and my other daddy is a Pokémon doctor! They teach me all about Pokémon."

"That's awesome!" Kalili squealed.

"Anyway, Kalili and I were just practicing dancing," Elizabeth told Bella. "Kalili dances just like me, except she does stuff like hula dancing."

"Ooh, can I show you what I just learned in gymnastics?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, I'd love to see it!" Elizabeth giggled.

"Me too!" Kalili cheered.

Ash and Brock had managed to melt away in the background as the three young girls effortlessly bonded with one another, not at all needed to prod it along.

"That was easy," Brock chuckled.

"Elizabeth and Kalili are like clones of each other, personality wise," Ash mused. "It doesn't surprise me that she and Bella hit it off like that! Those three are going to have the best time."

With Bella settled, Ash and Brock headed back upstairs. When they got there, they saw that Dawn, Kenny, Serena, Clemont, and their children had all arrived in the meantime. Dawn and Kenny's daughter Kady was timidly playing with Serena and Clemont's daughter Clara, while Serena was holding baby Alex in her arms. She turned and saw the two, however, and her face lit up.

"Oh, there you guys are! Iris said you were both around."

"Yeah, we just came from downstairs," Ash replied. "That's where all the kids are playing, if Kady and Clara want to join them!"

"That sounds like fun!" Dawn crowed. "Do you girls want to go play with the other kids?"

Neither one seemed eager to go. Kady and Clara were a bit more on the timid side, and weren't as familiar with everyone else to be comfortable. Ash, of course, didn't want to see the girls be nervous, but he also didn't want them to miss out on anything.

"Aiden, Michelle, and Elizabeth are down there," Ash informed the young girls, whose eyes suddenly widened. "You want to play with them?"

"Yeah!" Kady squealed. She became quite a bit more outgoing when those three were involved, which Ash knew would be the key to getting her excited.

"I'll take them downstairs, since you guys just came from there," Dawn offered. "Come on, girls!"

Dawn gently took the girls' hands and led them towards the stairs. Kenny and Clemont were already talking to one another, so Serena turned back towards Ash with a smile.

"Dawn and I both brought some dessert," she told the Pokémon Master. "We worked together last night to bake all of it, which was so much fun!"

"That's awesome!" Ash crowed. "I can't wait to try everything!"

The Kalos Queen suddenly heard all of the commotion coming from the kitchen, and nervously looked over Ash's shoulder. "Um, does Misty need some help in there?"

Ash too looked over his shoulder and glanced at the kitchen for a moment before chuckling. "Nah, she's got a lot of help in there already. That's probably why you're hearing all of…uh…that."

Serena smirked. "You're worried, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but not about Misty," Ash sighed. "I think I should go check on her assistants."

Ash slinked off towards the kitchen, just poking his head into the doorway. Mallow was busy cooking at the stove, while Cilan was checking on the food in the oven. Misty, meanwhile, was trying to shoo Brock away from a cutting board full of vegetables.

"Everything good in here?" Ash called above the din.

"Yeah, just fine!" Brock assured him, picking up the cutting board and carrying it away from Misty while she was distracted by her husband.

"Hey!" Misty cried.

"I'm helping, and that's final," Brock playfully scolded. "You won't miss out chopping some vegetables, I promise."

Misty groaned and rolled her eyes. "We invited you guys over to have fun and relax, and all you three have been doing is slaving in the kitchen. I feel bad!"

"Oh, don't!" Mallow laughed. "It's not like you forced us. We all wanted to help out!"

"Mallow is right," Cilan agreed. "In fact, cooking happens to be very relaxing for me!"

"Same here!" Mallow chirped.

Misty sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll never understand, but fair enough."

"Kenny, Dawn, Clemont, and Serena are all here," Ash informed his wife, who raised her eyebrows in interest. "Dawn just took Kady and Clara downstairs to play with the other kids."

"Good, so almost everyone is here!" Misty cheered, clapping her hands together. "We're only missing…May, Drew, and the kids."

Brock chuckled, not bothering to look up from the vegetables he was cutting. "Leave it to May to be the last one to arrive."

"She does love being fashionably late," Misty laughed.

The doorbell rang, and Ash's eyes widened. "It's like she heard you."

"I'll get it," Misty offered, a smile on her face. "I think I need a break from the kitchen, unlike the other chefs."

Although she strode past Ash, he eagerly followed after her. When Misty opened the door, she grinned as soon as she saw their expected guests standing on the other side of the threshold.

"There you are!" Misty teased.

"It's May's fault," Drew plainly stated.

The brunette shot her husband a glare. "Hey! It wouldn't have taken me so long to get ready if you hadn't hogged the bathroom for over an hour doing your hair!"

Ash chuckled nervously. "She was just messing with you guys. We don't actually care if you're on time or not."

"I am glad I did mess with you, though," Misty quipped. "That little story about Drew was hilarious."

Drew grumbled incoherently. Misty just smirked and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, glancing down at the two children standing between their parents. "It's nice to see you, Damien, Rosie!"

"You too!" They both chirped.

"All your friends are hanging out in the basement," Ash told them, jamming a thumb over his shoulder. "Why don't you go join them?"

"Okay!" Rosie giggled, scurrying into the house.

"Thanks!" Damien added, following after his sister.

When the two got down into the basement, everyone was still in the same groups and doing the same things as before. Damien was quick to join Aiden and the other boys, who were happy to catch him up on what had been going on in their video game.

"Basil and Kahula just had an awesome fight," Aiden explained, emphatically motioning towards the TV. "Kahula used Charizard, and Basil picked Sceptile. We totally thought Kahula had the advantage since he could pull out Charizard's fire type attacks, but Basil got the upper hand with all the punches and kicks."

"This game is so great," Damien chuckled. "Aren't the assist Pokémon so cool?"

"Yeah!" Kokum chimed in. "Kahula drew Cubone and Diglett, and Basil got Emolga and Fennekin. We're still waiting for someone to get the legendary assist Pokémon, though."

"I played this with one of my friends back home, and he managed to get Reshiram and Cresselia," Koa told the younger boys. "There was no way I could beat him after that, but honestly, it was so cool I didn't even care."

While the boys continued to fuss over their video game, Michelle and Sage were still watching videos on Michelle's tablet. They had just finished watching an appeal that Michelle had seen firsthand at one of her contests, and Sage was completely impressed.

"That was amazing!" Sage gushed. "The way those two Espurr worked together to make those illusions was insane!"

"That's exactly why I love being a coordinator," Michelle giggled. "Every contest I've ever been to, I always see something that amazes me."

"I wish contests were more popular in Unova," Sage sighed. "I could watch them every single day and never get tired of it!"

"But it must be really fun when your dad is a gym leader and your mom is the champion!" Michelle stressed. "You can watch really cool battles whenever you want!"

Sage raised an eyebrow. "You mean like you with your mom and your dad?"

"Uh…I guess you have a point," Michelle sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

"It's okay," Sage admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "But I don't really think my parents are super cool, you know? I love them, but…they're a little lame. My mom is cooler than my dad, though."

Michelle lolled her head as she thought about it. "I think my mom is really cool. My dad is pretty cool too, even though he sometimes seriously embarrasses me."

Sage smirked and threw a hand down. "At least your dad doesn't go on crazy tangents about trains! He'll do that anywhere and everywhere, it's cringe worthy."

"Yeah, my dad doesn't talk about trains to total strangers," Michelle laughed. "That's pretty rough."

Nearby, the younger girls had stopped practicing dance and gymnastics and were now fawning over Kalili's Oricorio.

"I've never seen a real one before!" Bella squealed, scratching the top of the bird's head as the creature happily cooed.

"It's so cute!" Kady agreed.

Clara just smiled as she gently pet Oricorio between her beady eyes.

"Oricorio is the best partner ever!" Kalili declared. "We love to dance together, and she helps me help out on the ranch and everything! She even comes with me to school!"

"I wish I had a partner Pokémon," Elizabeth sighed. "My mommy and daddy said I can't have one until I become a trainer."

"But you kind of have some Pokémon, right?" Kalili asked.

"I have Wurmpie and Heartley," Elizabeth confirmed with a nod. "I just can't battle with them and stuff like that. But I play with them all the time!"

"I wanna have a Vulpix one day, like my mommy," Bella chimed in, beaming at the older girls.

"Ooh, I want a Piplup!" Kady giggled. "My mommy has one, and my daddy had one too, but now it's an Empoleon."

Clara, however, was still silent. Elizabeth smiled and leaned forward on her palms, smiling at the little girl. "What about you, Clara? What kind of Pokémon do you want?"

The little blonde thought about it for a short moment before squeaking, "Fen-kin!"

"Fennekin?" Elizabeth trilled, Clara nodding in confirmation. "That's such a cute Pokémon!"

"Kids! Dinner!"

All 12 children whipped their heads around, glancing up towards the stairs. Then, before anyone could process it, they all went trampling up like a pack of Tauros. Mallow, who had been the one to call for them, appeared stunned as the large group went racing past her.

"Works every time," Mallow remarked, smirking to herself.

The children all gathered around their table in the kitchen, clamoring for food. The adults, meanwhile, watched from the doorway, partially impressed and partially horrified by the kids' actions.

"They must really be hungry," Lillie breathed.

"Or just really gluttonous," Drew muttered.

Serena gently tilted her head. "You know, I don't think our table is going to look that much better."

"That's true, we are sitting with Ash," Dawn noted.

"And Sophocles," Lana added.

"Kiawe's borderline," Mallow called as she closed the basement door.

Cilan emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands off an apron that was tied around his waist. Iris took notice and raised an eyebrow.

"Where'd you get that from?" She questioned.

"Oh, it's Misty's," Cilan replied. "She said she never uses it and was more than pleased to offer it to me!"

"And of course you took her up on that," Iris snickered.

"It could be worse," May mused, glancing at the light blue apron embroidered with water type Pokémon. "Brock used to wear a frilly pink apron all the time when he cooked for us. I mean, I thought it was kind of cute, but still."

Misty suddenly appeared before the group, smiling widely at them. "Okay guys, now our share is ready! So if you all want to head into the dining room and take your seats, that'd be great!"

The adults filtered in far more calmly than the children had, and even managed to fill their plates in an orderly fashion. There was only one hiccup when Ash, Sophocles, and Kiawe had slowly started an eating competition, but it was quickly fanned out by Misty and Mallow.

"Guys, this food is amazing!" Kenny gushed.

"Yeah, looks like all that hard work in the kitchen paid off," Clemont agreed.

"I'm just lucky I had some really great chefs to assist me," Misty giggled.

"Hey, any time!" Mallow laughed.

"Plus, I don't think we're going to have any leftovers," Misty continued brightly. "That's a big plus, considering I don't have an industrial sized fridge."

"I'm surprised you don't," Brock snickered.

"Me too," Misty admitted. "Maybe I should invest."

"You should've invested years ago," Drew noted.

"I probably would've been happier that way," Misty snickered. "Less of a cluttered fridge to have to clean out and try to stuff things into all the time."

"Well, I'm just happy we could all get together and hang out!" Ash suddenly piped up. "This has been really fun!"

"We should do big get-togethers like this more often!" Lillie agreed.

"Oh, we could do it in Alola next time!" Mallow suggested, her green eyes bright. "We could have it right in the restaurant!"

"My restaurant in Unova could host it as well," Cilan added.

"Or Lumiose Tower," Clemont offered. "It might not be a restaurant, but it's certainly big enough!"

"I'm up for anything," Misty chirped. "As long as I get to be an assistant in the kitchen next time instead of the head chef."


This was basically one big friend reunion. The more companions they add, the harder it is to write them all in together, especially in such a short story. But I really enjoy all these characters and wish they'd show up together more often!