The Ketchum Family

Back in the Saddle Again

This chapter takes place a few days after the previous one.

Ash has traveled with the kids to Paul's gym and is set to confront him. What will happen when the two old rivals face off? Meanwhile, Kiawe is on the reserve, taking care of the Pokémon. He has some ideas on how to improve things. How will they be received?

I worked to mix in some humor into this chapter. I hope you get a laugh or two out of it. As usual, please leave your thoughts and leave a vote if you like the read.

As the first rays of sun started to creep over the horizon, Kiawe stood admiring his work. Surely Ash would appreciate this simple yet timesaving improvement to the reserve. Standing behind him were his and Ash's Charizard. Both of them were ready to make this test run a success. The two beasts had many large bags of Pokémon food piled next to them and they eyed each other with measured consideration.

Within a few minutes, Ash's many Pokémon started drifting in from all over the reserve, ready for breakfast. Since it was the first day of the week, normally there would be food set out for them, however, this was not the case today. Instead, the creatures were greeted by the sight of a large stack of empty bowls and a strange looking device Kiawe had constructed.

Kiawe grinned as the Pokémon looked around, searching for their meal. He stepped forward and spoke in a loud, authoritative voice.

"Okay, everyone! Today we're gonna be doing things a little differently."

The Pokémon looked at the man from Alola with puzzlement and skepticism. A few grunts and groans sounded as they began to wonder if they were going to get their meal.

Kiawe smiled and picked up one of the empty bowls. "I know usually we just set a bunch of food out for you, but I decided to take a little inspiration from how things go on my family's farm."

A couple of the flying types glided in and landed at the edge of the crowd. More than a few of the Pokémon were murmuring about this odd change of schedule.

Kiawe walked up to the device he'd built and gave it a pat with his right hand.

"On the farm, we have a lot of Pokémon, and in order to keep them all fed, we've taught them to use feeders like this one."

Kiawe positioned the bowl he was holding under a small metal spout. He then gripped a small pull cord in his free hand.

"You see, when you want to eat, you just get a bowl and pull this thing here‑"

Kiawe pulled the cord and a small pile of Pokémon food was dispensed into the dish. A few of the Pokémon sounded impressed however most appeared indifferent.

"And you've got a meal," Kiawe continued. He held the half-full bowl out to Oshawott who immediately looked unhappy at the small portion.

Kiawe looked out at the gathered Pokémon and smiled. "This way, Ash and I don't have to spend a lot of time getting all your food set up and you don't have to worry about us not being here."

The Pokémon all silently stared back, not quite seeing the point of all this. Oshawott abruptly spoke up in a crabby voice, very dissatisfied at its amount of food.

Kiawe glanced down at the water type and laughed. "Don't worry, this way you can choose how much food you get. If you want more, you just pull the cord again‑"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of many of the Pokémon lit up and happy cries sounded. The entire group pushed forward, suddenly eager to get their fill. Oshawott placed its bowl under the spout and immediately jumped up to pull down the cord. Food poured into its bowl and the feisty water type grinned excitedly. For good measure, it pulled the cord again, piling its bowl high with tasty food.