Type: Steel
Shipping: AlolaNewsShipping

One-Shot 12/Final: Status Update

Ash, Pikachu and Rotom had exited a grocery store with a few bags in Ash's and Rotom's arms. They strolled through Hau'oli City on an errand. "I believe the Akkala Coffee Beans were the last on the list," Ash assumed.

"Almost," Rotom corrected. "If I'm searching the list of groceries we need, we still have to get a few loaves of bread rolls." Ash irked to the oversight.

"It's either one thing or another, Rotom."

"This time, I can't blame you. Professor Kukui did give us a long list. At least we're nearby the bakery to pick up those loaves." As they stood by the door, Pikachu noticed a news van parked just next door.

("Is that the Alolan News?") he squeaked. Hearing Pikachu, Ash and Rotom turned to the news van as well.

"Must be a big event coming up," Ash guessed. Rotom had a doubt about it.

"I haven't heard of anything related to 'a big event'," he relayed. Ash would simply ignore the news van, but the announcer from the Charjabug Race saw him and rushed over to his side.

"There you are!" she cheered. Ash and Pikachu seemed surprised to see her coming towards them. "I'm glad to see you're doing alright!" It took awhile before Ash realized who the young woman was.

"Hey, you covered the Pokémon Pancake Race and the Charjabug Race!" he recognized.

"That's right! I'm Anna. I also cover the news." Ash welcomed the name and wanted to introduce himself.

"I'm Ash from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region. I was the Support Runner for the Sophocles Lab Team with Kiawe and Sophocles."

"I remember… You took that header from the Charjabug of the Electric Princess Team. I actually wanted to see you about that. Looks like you're doing alright given the circumstances." Ash huffed a giggle to the concern.

"That's Ash for you," Rotom buzzed. "He never stays down, despite the amount of pain he'll be in." Anna giggled as she felt relief to the news.

"That's good to hear," she said. "Anyway, I have a couple of things with you I wanted to do. So, wanna have an interview done?" Ash blinked to the request.

"An… interview?"

"Here's the deal: I wanna start interviewing important people of Alola so that I raise awareness to those who may find interesting… like you for instance." The reasoning gave Ash an idea on her process.

"Okay, I'm game for it." The Pokémon sighed to the acceptance.

"Figures he'd say that," Rotom groaned. Pikachu saw something across the street and offered a suggestion.

("How about in there!") he squeaked to the pancake house. On a window was a stack of pancakes with green frosting and sprinkles. The design in the frosting was a wreath.

TRY OUR NEW HOLICAKE STACKS!

Ash and Anna giggled to the thought. Inside, Nina and Raichu delivered the Holicakes that were on the poster. "Here we go," she offered. "Three stacks of Holicakes!" Ash and Pikachu looked excited to try the stacks.

("Eat them while they're hot!") squeaked Raichu.

"Thanks!" praised Ash and Anna. They looked at the Holicakes.

"I smell maple and peppermint in here…" Ash grinned. He and Pikachu cut a piece of the stack off and took a bite. They savored the minty syrup and gushed wildly. "So SWWEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" Anna laughed to their reaction as Nina and her Alolan Mouse Pokémon attended more customers. This gave Anna a chance to do her interview.

"Alright, Ash," she called as she brought out a recording device. She placed it in the middle of the table. "Can we start?" The nod from Ash gave Anna the go-ahead to start. "Now, you originated from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region."

"That's right," he answered.

"And I bet this isn't your only other region, otherwise the bond between you and Pikachu wouldn't be as strong as it is now." Ash and Pikachu nervously chuckled to the belief.

"Good point. I've been to Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh…" The region names told Anna about his past travels.

"My goodness! A global traveler… I could only imagine what it's like. Anyway, how has Alola been for you?"

"Great. Pikachu, Rowlet, Litten and Lycanroc have helped me pass two Grand Trials from Melemele and Akkala."

"Really!? Then you have the Grand Trials on Ula'Ula and Poni to look forward to!"

"And meeting more of the island guardians like Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele." Anna awed who Ash met.

"Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele? That's awesome!" Everyone enjoyed the Holicakes and soon stepped out. "That hit the spot!"

"Tell me about it."

("Same here!") squealed Pikachu.

"That was an easy interview to Tackle attack!" buzzed Rotom. "Great… Professor Kukui's starting to rub off on me." Anna giggled before she had another offer.

"I bet you haven't seen Melemele Island from high up," she pondered. Ash blinked to the point.

"No…" he thought.

"Then, I'll give you a chance to see it from above!" she offered as she threw her Pokéball. "Magnezone, come on out!" The Pokéball opened to show Magnezone, the Magnet Area Pokémon. There was the platform Anna rode on to view the scene and she boarded first. Rotom gave Pikachu a lift while Anna hoisted Ash onto the platform. "Okay, Magnezone… skyward!" Magnezone flew to the air with Ash and Anna holding on to the railing. After a minute or two, Magnezone was hundreds of feet in the air, just below the clouds. Looking down, Ash and Pikachu viewed the island from atop.

"WOW!" he yelped. "Melemele Island… it's bigger than we thought!"

("So much to chase!") awed Pikachu. Anna seemed to admire Ash and Pikachu's joy.

"You like?" she asked. Suddenly, something came out of the cloud above. A shadow casting behind those made the group turn around. The Meowth Balloon gave the answer away.

"Team Rocket!?" he gawked. "Is no place safe?"

"If asked is no place is safe, we'll give the answer out!" proclaimed Jessie.

"Noble answers are what we're all about!" added James.

"The beauty's so radiant, the flowers and moon hide in shame… A lonesome flower of evil blooms in the fleeting world, becoming Jessie!"

"A hero from the justice and heart of evil appears before thee, becoming James!"

"A black star becomes bright, da deeds of villainy reveals, becoming Meowth as he takes flight!" mewed Meowth.

"Team Rocket, time to fight~!" announced Jessie and James.

"Dat's right!" cheered Meowth.

("Of course!") squawked Wobbufett as he popped out. Ash and Pikachu had to act as Team Rocket emerged.

"You came back from Pallet Town?" gawked Ash. "Does Bewear go wherever you go?"

"That's none of your twerpy business!" scolded Jessie. "Now, we're getting Pikachu!" She brought out a bazooka before pulling the trigger. A missile was shot before it broke to reveal a metal claw. It looked like Pikachu would be snagged.

"Now, Magnezone!" ordered Anna. Magnezone lifted the magnet arms which began to pull the claw from Pikachu. It caught the Magnet Area Pokémon but did nothing to flinch it.

"Nice catch, Magnezone!" cheered Ash. Jessie seemed distraught as Rotom knew the ordeal.

"Of course, Magnezone's Special Ability: Magnet Pull!" he calculated. Jessie pulled to retract the claw, but it wasn't budging an inch.

"Hey, stop being so attached to it!" she complained. Anna had the perfect move to rid Team Rocket.

"Now, Magnezone!" she repeated. "Use Magnet Bomb!" Magnezone powered up before releasing powerful blue orbs which killed the burner and fabric. Claw destroyed, balloon destroyed and Team Rocket began to fall. Ash watched and grinned.

"Team Rocket's making landfall!" he taunted.

"NOT FUNNY!" they shouted. Before they could hit the ground, Bewear emerged and caught the trio before they made impressions… or depressions to the streets.

"Maybe you should help us out instead of bringing us back home!" complained Jessie. Ignoring her, the Strong Arm Pokémon sauntered away with Team Rocket in its paws.

"We're off with a new blast…" they whined. Watching from above, Anna seemed astounded to finding a Bewear with them.

"Does that Bewear belong to them?" she questioned.

"We're… not sure at this point," Rotom shrugged. Magnezone brought the group down to relax and continued their shopping. They got PokéBeans for the Pokémon back at Kukui's home and other groceries. Anna drove Ash and the Pokémon back with the news van. All stepped or flew out to where Kukui spotted them.

"Hey, I didn't expect the news to stop by!" he awed. "Are you doing interviews now?"

"I had a warm-up with Ash," she explained. "I'll need to review my questioning before I do another one at Aether Paradise." Kukui nodded to the notion.

"I understand," he accepted. "Let me Stockpile Ash's run and start on dinner." He took some of the groceries inside, giving Anna a chance.

"I heard that Professor Kukui's working on developing a Pokémon League Conference," she told Ash.

"Really?" he gasped. "Do you know where?"

"If I recall, it's said to be on Ula'Ula Island." The name of the island made Ash wonder.

"That's the next island I wanted to try." Anna sensed the determination billowing from the trainer.

"You may see something there. In any case, I'll be covering it with the news." The announcement gave Ash a hint of who to expect.

"Gotcha…" Without warning, Anna came forward.

"And I know you'll be there as well." She leaned in and gave Ash a kiss as Kukui came out again, this time with Ash's other Pokémon watching as she hugged his lips with hers. They gasped as she held the kiss while popping her foot up, toes above her knees.

"A Sweet Kiss?" he muttered. Rotom became excited to the kiss and began taking many pictures.

"This is incredible!" he shrieked while flying around the two. "The Alolan reporter is in love with Ash!? This is big news! Headline worthy!" Ash remained stunned after Anna released her lips.

"I'll see you later, my new favorite story," she teased as she boarded the news van and drove off. "Maybe another interview at dinner…" Kukui grinned before walking to Ash.

"I gotta say, you look like a Thunder Wave has you stiffed," he joked. "Did she use Lick?" Pikachu thought it may have been the syrup from the pancake house.

("Peppermint Syrup's long lasting,") he chuckled. The next day, Ash arrived at the Pokémon School, meeting with his classmates.

"Alola, Ash!" greeted Mallow.

("How are you doing?") asked Steenee.

"Alola, Mallow," Ash returned the greeting. "I'm doing alright… Though I heard Professor Kukui's got a little bit of a conference with Island Kahuna Hala." To Lillie, the reason seemed to have the possible Pokémon Conference in question.

"He was discussing about it just after your battle with Misty," she pointed out. "I just wonder if it'll be held on Mount Lanakila." To Snowy, it was her home.

"That's right," Kiawe noted. "Didn't Rotom say that Snowy's origins were from that mountain on Ula'Ula Island?" Rotom recalled that moment.

"I'm glad someone other than me has it filed in their database," he nagged. Mallow snagged Rotom and held him by the spike on the head.

"We each have a database, Rotom," she mulled. "It's called a brain!" While Mallow dealt with the Plasma Pokémon, a new question arose.

"So, if Professor Kukui's not teaching today," Sophocles wondered. "Does that mean Principal Oak will? Maybe Professor Oak is stopping by?" The answer came but it would be a surprise for everyone.

"Guess again, Sophocles!" she called out with a snicker. All turned to find Anna at the front desk. All gasped to who it was.

"It's the play-by-play woman!" gawked Kiawe. Sophocles smiled to the sight.

"That's not a bad Substitute the professor pulled off," he joked.

"I'd say more of a Baton Pass," Mallow laughed. Anna offered to introduce herself.

"I'm Anna and today, I'll be your substitute teacher," she named herself. That's when she winked to Ash. "So, ready to learn from me?" Ash's face became red with embarrassment. The Pokémon gawked to the sight, not sure what happened. The class saw Ash's face, confused to the reaction.

"Ash, your face is red," Lana pointed out.

"Did something happen between you and Anna?" asked Lillie. Rotom flew in for some sharing.

"I believe this is where I have a little Show and Tell for the class," he acknowledged as he showed the interactions between Ash and Anna.

"WHAT!" they shrieked. Ash felt the world reading his story of him and Anna becoming Headline News.

END of STEEL, END of VIII

(It took eight volumes to have over 100 girls after Ash. I'm sure your favorite's in one of the eight that I've done. If not, let me know. Anyway, that will do it for 2018. In 2019, there's gonna be new stories after Domino's Trainer and Pokéotic which I'll continue on the first. As for now, I wish everyone a [little belated] Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.)