8Ash stepped out into the open. Several Pokemon was bunched in groups, happily chatting or doing a sort of activity. A lake was taken over by many water pokemon. A field of grass was inhabited by grass and bug pokemon.
Ash had barely enough time to admire the scene when a herd of Tauros came charging towards him.
"Easy guys! I missed you too," said Ash laughing. He was knocked over onto his butt.
The reply to him was a snort.
Ash got up and walked around greeting his Pokemon that he had not seen for some time.
"Heh . . ."
"Hey Gary, do you want to go out for dinner?" Ash offered. "My treat."
Gary looked thoughtful. "Well, why not? I suppose so."
Ash smiled. "I know where we can go. It's in Pewter City, we should bring Brock too!" Ash said cheerfully.
"Your playfulness and cheerfulness reminds me of a girl." Gary smirked.
"What exactly are you implying?" Ash challenged.
"Ash, isn't it obvious?" Misty giggled. Then she widened her eyes. "Wait, I'm going to change before going! Thank god I left some clothes at your house!" Misty squealed and dashed off.
"Apparently not," Gary shrugged. A silence overcame the room, which was broken a minute later by a distracted Ash.
"I hate you guys," Ash muttered under his breath.
"I heard that," Misty teased, strutting into the room in a white dress with tank top sleeves and a silver bow tied around her waist. A pearl necklace and bracelet and dangly diamond earrings topped her outfit off.
"Why, I apologize dearly, milady," Ash said in a fake British accent.
Misty glared at him, but couldn't hold in her laughter. She burst into a fit of giggles.
"Hey, are we going or not?" Gary asked.
"Yes." Ash frowned.
Ash called out his Latios and his Dragonite. "You'll be using Dragonite," stated Ash.
"Sure." Gary lit a cigarette. After taking a puff, he offered it to Ash.
"No thanks, I quit a while ago," Ash replied politely.
"Wise choice," Gary commented. "Too bad for me I can't stop. Damn these things, I feel like I want more every day."
Misty climbed onto Latios and took off with Ash. Gary and Dragonite quickly followed.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the gym.
Ash knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Ash opened the door to face what seemed to be a younger version of Brock. Clearly, the boy was surprised.
"Hey Mr. Pokemon Master!" the boy exclaimed.
"Hey Forrest! Where's Brock?" Ash greeted.
Brock barged out of a door to look at Ash. "Hey, you need something Ash?"
"Hi Brock-o! Misty and I were planning on –"
"And me," Gary interrupted, bursting through the gate entrance.
"And Gary," Ash murmured. "Well, we were going to go out for dinner, and the place is right here in Pewter City. We were wondering if you wanted to come," Ash explained.
"Okay, sure," Brock said, accepting the offer gratefully.
Ash recalled Latios and Dragonite and went outside again. Brock was following him.
"Hi Brock!"Misty called from outside.
"Hey Misty!" Brock said coolly.
The four started walking with Ash in the lead. Five minutes later, they approached a large building with Pokemon in Pewter in neon letters. A line of about seventy people stretched from the inside to out.
"Wow." Gary looked shocked. "I'm hungry though. I can't wait this long."
As if on cue, a woman wearing a navy blue collared shirt and gray khakis came outside. She stared at the group, but focused her eyes on Ash. A moment later she ran inside.
Two women dashed outside. One was the lady who ran outside and in just earlier, and the other was a different lady. She wore a tight purple sleeveless with a fat lavender ribbon tied around her waist. It showed her body perfectly. To go with it, she wore a long puffy gray skirt that reached her ankles.
The skirt reminds me of Bianca's, Ash thought as they approached him.
"Are you Ash Ketchum, the Pokemon Master?" asked the lady in the blue.
"Are you kidding? Of course it is!" The lady in purple widened her eyes and stood, frozen before coming to her senses five seconds later.
"We are honored to have you come to Pokemon in Pewter Restaurant," the purple lady said, her head lowered into a small polite bow. "My name is Kristen and I am the owner of this restaurant."
"I'm Jacqueline, and I'll be your waitress for tonight," the lady in blue said. "Follow me to your table."
She led them through the crowded diner and into a short hallway. To the right was a door marked VIP that she pushed open, revealing a beautiful room. Posters on the wall made it more home-like, and a round table covered in a white tablecloth was placed in the center of the room. Chairs surrounded the table and a turning platform was in the center for the food.
"Wow, this is nice!" Misty complimented, her eyes glittering.
"We are pleased to have you tonight. Professor Oak the 2nd, the gym leader of Pewter City, the Pokemon Master, and the gym leader of Cerulean City are all here tonight. What made you choose this restaurant?" Jacqueline asked.
"Oh, I remembered once when my mother brought me here when I was a kid. I enjoyed the food," Ash replied.
"Who is your mother?" Jacqueline pressed on.
"Delia Ketchum," Brock answered, barging in. "And you are quite beautiful, you know?"
"Delia, oh, I remember her. She was my childhood friend," Jacqueline murmured. Her eyes seemed to be distracted, as if memories were coming back to her.
Brock realized he was being ignored, so he kept talking. "I believe it was fate that brought us together today. You, a lovely lady of Pewter City and me, Brock, the gym leader of Pewter City. It must have been all Cupid's work. So let us bond together today and live together forever as love –"
Brock stopped talking as Croagunk popped out of his pokeball and poison jabbed him in the side.
"Urgh, perhaps . . . our love . . . might not be as perfect . . . as I thought . . ." Brock stuttered as the jab paralyzed him throughout.
"I'm sorry about that," Ash said, embarrassed. "He has a little bit of a . . . mental issue."
"No problem. What would you like to eat today? Appetizers?" Jacqueline asked.
"Anything you recommend?" Gary responded promptly.
"Well, the Onix gyoza are pretty good," said Jacqueline tentatively.
"Sure, we'll get two plates of that," Misty approved.
"And for your entrees?" Jacqueline said, a questioning look in her eyes.
"Again, what do you recommend?" Gary asked.
A rush of confidence seemed to overtake Jacqueline. "The Dodrio nuggets are quite good. And the steamed Stunfisk. Also, the Ground and Rock soup is delicious."
"Alright, three plates of Dodrio nuggets, two plates of steamed Stunfisk, and two bowls of the soup. Also, Delia seemed to enjoy the stir fried Torterra greens, could we have some of those? Just two plates," Ash said with a nod.
"Alright. And for your drinks?"
"I'll take a beer," Gary decided.
"Ice water for me please." Misty's eyes sparkled happily.
"Iced tea," selected Ash. "And I know Brock will take a Coke," Ash added, speaking for Brock who was still rather stunned.
"We'll order desserts later," Misty piped up.
The waitress ran over the list just to confirm and then disappeared. A friendly conversation passed between the friends.
Ash's stomach growled.
"Someone's hungry," Misty joked.
"Whatever," Ash snorted.
Jacqueline returned with a tray of drinks. She set each drink on the table before leaving.
Ten minutes later, Jacqueline came holding two plates of little gyozas. They were all shaped like Onix, with the ripples of the gyoza as the body and a head and tail formed specially with the dough.
Ash lunged for one and gobbled it up. "Mm," he commented with his mouth full.
"Manners, Ash," Brock reminded gently, coming back to his senses.
"Sorry, he's hungry," Gary apologized to Jacqueline.
"No problem!" Jacqueline laughed, excusing Ash's poor manners.
Another ten minutes later, Jacqueline returned holding two plates of steamed Stunfisk, three plates of fried chicken shaped like Dodrio, and two bowls of soup.
"Cool!" Brock exclaimed, glancing at the soup. It was a light brown, with eggs and fish balls died and precisely cut to look like mini rocks.
"The steamed fish looks good," Gary stated.
"The Dodrio nuggets are so cute!" cooed Misty.
"They all look good to me," Ash said, his stomach growling once more.
They all burst into laughter.
After they all stuffed themselves full, they all knew they had some room left for dessert.
When Jacqueline came to pick up their trays, Ash spoke up. "I'd like to order the Phanpy mini cakes and the Machamp fondue."
Jacqueline nodded. "Sure." A while later, she was back again.
"Oh, the fondue looks so good!" Misty gasped. A large sculpture of Machamp was placed on the table. His two top fists were carved into bowls, filled to the brim with melted cheese. His two lower fists were carved into bowls as well, one filled with melted milk chocolate and the other with white chocolate.
Even the head if the sculpture was scooped out to make room for a variety of "dippers". Strawberries, mangoes, bananas, apples, bread, broccoli, carrots, and cherries were arranged nicely inside the bowl.
A plate of four mini cakes was also placed on the table. It was like taiyaki, the Japanese cake with filling. They were shaped like Phanpy.
The gang had fun dipping their fruits and other "dippers" inside the cheese and chocolate. They gobbled up the cakes in no time, especially Ash who still had a lot of room left to eat.
Thirty minutes later, they finished their meal and were all stuffed until they couldn't eat anymore.
"That was the best meal I've had in a long time," Gary laughed heartily.
"Delicious," Brock agreed.
Jacqueline came in. "I hope you enjoyed your meal, come back soon!" she exclaimed, standing by the door.
Ash cleared his throat. "Ahem."
"Yes, Sir Pokemon Master?" Jacqueline asked.
"Bill?"
"Oh, no, compliments of Pokemon in Pewter."
"Delia wouldn't approve," Ash argued, shaking his head.
Jacqueline stopped at the mention of Delia. "Alright," she murmured, defeated. She left the room and then walked in again slowly holding a receipt.
Ash took the receipt. It read $200. He placed his credit card on the paper and removed the four fortune cookies on the black tray. He passed them around before handing the bill to Jacqueline. Jacqueline went out again to punch in the payment with Ash's credit card. One minute after, she was back. She returned the credit card.
Ash thanked her and cracked open his fortune cookie.
An event will happen that will change your life in the near future.
Misty furrowed her eyebrows at her fortune. She read it aloud. "An event will happen that will change your life in the near future."
Ash looked stunned. "That's the same thing I got," he gaped.
"Interesting." Gary looked slightly confused.
"I think she did that on purpose," Brock said quietly.
"Whatever, let's go," Ash volunteered, changing the subject.
Gary, Misty, and Ash accompanied Brock to the gym before parting ways with him. Next they flew to Cerulean City, where Misty decided she would stay at Ash's house for the time until they got the house. She grabbed a bag which she packed with clothes and other necessary items for a week's stay. Finally, they landed at the laboratory where Gary got off.
"Thanks for the meal, Ashy boy. It was damn good," Gary called as the two disappeared into Ash's house.
Ash and Misty went into the house where they got ready for bed. Misty and Ash snuggled into Ash's twin bed and packed tight for the cold night.
Thanks again! Reviews are the fuel to my fire. Disclaimer: I do not own! Wow, this is the longest chapter I
have EVER written.