Pokemon Journeys: Masters 8 Tournament

Chapter 35 - Time

Previously, Ash challenged the four Tapus in Alola and caught Solgaleo for the Masters 8 Tournament Finals. Ash and Serena's dating relationship was disclosed and widely spread by reporters and broadcast centers.

The duo received many messages. Most were congratulations and compliments, and some were teases and taunts made by their closer friends. But they didn't mind the teases: they were authentic and showed who were true friends with toxic mouths.

That night, Ash and Serena had dinner at Professor Kukui's house, where the adults had made dinner for them. It was a warm and cozy night for the family.

Serena took a picture of the four of them having dinner, along with the food on the table, and the pokemon enjoying their food in the background. She turned on the black Xerneus social platform app and posted it to her feed, "My New Alola Family!"

Ash saw Serena typing on her phone and ignoring the food, "What app is that?"

"Xerneus, or just 'X' like the CEO describes...oh, have I added you yet?" Serena questioned.

"Is it a social platform? I've only heard of the blue bird one," Ash shrugged, "But I don't have an account in that either."

Professor Burnet added, "It's the same app. The new CEO acquired the Blue Bird company and turned it into this black Xerneus thing, or 'X' as he described. No one liked the idea."

Ash was never too into social media or things like that. He had been too focused on his pokemon training and left other things out. He would not even bother to get a Rotom Phone if Professor Cerise did not give him one, unless it had Pokedex installed.

Serena was different. As Kalos Queen and an idol for many, she took Palermo's advice and opened a few social media accounts to share her daily lives through shorts and posts. This was to keep her relevant in the celebrity world. Palermo was already mad when Serena did not want an account manager to manage her posts and comments.

Lei was hungry, and he wanted more food, so Burnet left the table to breastfeed him, leaving Kukui and the lovely couple in the dining room.

Kukui asked the boy, "Ash, the finals is coming very soon. Are you ready to face Leon?"

Ash kept munching on his food, "Not yet. I still need to train more. I only have two useful days for training. I am going back to Kanto tomorrow and train, so I can be ready for him."

"You/We are leaving already?" Kukui and Serena were both surprised.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, tomorrow morning, back to Kanto. I need to get my pokemon trained in Oak's Lab: they can spar against each other. Are you coming with me, Serena?"

She nodded, "I am taking days off from my Kalos Queen duties already, just to stay with you till you are finished with this Tournament."

Ash gave her a hug, "You are so sweet, Serena."

The girl blushed and accepted the hug, "Will you be with me when it's my turn to compete?"

Ash smiled, "Of course I will support you."

Kukui witnessed everything as they broke the hug. He knew he was the third wheel, so he stood up and went to the kitchen to clean things up. "You know what, Ash? At first I wished that you would fail to catch Nebby, so you could stay here a bit longer, to train, to challenge again, bring Serena around Alola, whatever. But now I realize how selfish I am."

Ash laughed a bit and continued with the food, "Don't say that, Professor Kukui. I will come back again when this is done, I promise."

The adult smiled, "You better do that. There are a lot of challengers wanting to dethrone you, and there will be even more once you win the whole thing."