" Misty the stove!" Ash screeched as he grabbed Totodile. " Turn it off!"

" Huh? Ah!" Misty jumped from her needlework and ran to the stove, turning it off before sighing and wiping her head. " With Brock gone for the day, taking care of the house is hard!"

" Yeah, it i- CINDAQUIL STAY HERE!" Ash ran to the fire Pokemon and grabbed it just as it was about to go to the pantry.

Pikachu quickly slammed the door of the pantry shut and sighed. " Pika pi...."

" Toge toge!"  Togepi said from the TV, where it was watching a nature documentary.

Ash grabbed the remote and switched it to the Oak laboratory show. " Well, we might as well see what's going on back in  Pallet Town."

Misty leaned back on the counter, and Ash leaned forward on the couch.

" Today marks the day the top Pokemon trainer, Ash Ketchum, left the town of Pallet. Right now he's traversing through the Johto Region, but he's very busy. I got a call from him yesterday, after talking to him nearly a month ago! Anyway, today also marks the day....."

Ash turned the TV back to the nature documentary and sighed. " Well, I completely forgot. Happy anniversary, Pikachu."

" Pika!" Pikachu said as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

Misty laughed. " Wow, someone's energetic!"

Ash laughed too. " Yeah! It's nice t- MISTY THE OTHER STOVE! TURN IT OFF!"

Misty lunged for the stove, but it was too late. The food that had been boiling in the pot had burned.

Ash looked down, depressed. " Well there goes my lunch."

" Oh, don't worry, Ash! I can make my Misty surprise soup! With the forty seven ingredients. I'll -"

" NO!" Ash yelled

" Pika Pika pi!" Pikachu yelled urgently, waving his arms.

Misty narrowed her eyes. " You don't trust me as a cook, do you?"

" That's..... One way to say it."

Ash chuckled nervously as Misty narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed by his response. "Oh, come on, Misty," he stammered, holding his hands up defensively. "It's just... your cooking is, uh, unique! Like... one of a kind!"

Misty folded her arms. "One of a kind, huh? More like one of a kind of torture to you, isn't it?"

Pikachu snickered, covering his mouth with his little paws, while Totodile bounced up and down in delight, clearly amused by the argument unfolding.

"Look, how about we make a deal?" Ash suggested, glancing nervously at the burnt pot. "Maybe... I can handle lunch, and you can keep an eye on, uh, the stoves?”

Misty huffed but eventually relented, rolling her eyes. "Fine, Ash, but only because I don't feel like explaining to Brock why both stoves almost burned the house down."

Ash grinned, relieved. "Great! Now, where did Brock keep those ingredients again?"

Pikachu climbed onto Ash’s shoulder, nodding supportively, while Togepi happily cheered from the couch. "Toge toge!"

With Misty watching the stoves and Ash determined to keep his lunch safe from "Misty's surprise soup," the group managed to avoid further disasters—at least until Totodile found its way into the pantry, causing another round of chaos.

As the kitchen bustled with activity, Misty sighed and muttered, “Brock, you really have no idea how much we need you right now…”

" Well that went well." Ash said brightly as he put the food onto the table.

Misty looked at the stains on the wall. " Yeah." She said with a sweatdrop. " Well."

Ash scratched his head.." we're gonna have to tell him what's with the wall, right?"

Misty nodded. " Yeah. But let's not dwell on that. Let's eat!"

Ash nodded and took a big bite, then looked at Cindaquil. " Come on, Cindaquil. Eat your Pokemon food."

Cyndaquil sniffed its food hesitantly before taking a small nibble, seeming satisfied with Ash's choice. "Cynda!" it squeaked happily, flames flickering on its back in excitement.

Pikachu grabbed a few bites of its own food, while Totodile chomped down enthusiastically, spraying crumbs everywhere. Misty glanced at the wall with a sigh, picturing Brock’s reaction to the mess. "We definitely need to clean that before he gets back."

Ash took another big bite, oblivious to Misty's worries. "This isn’t so bad! I think we did pretty well without him!"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "If by ‘well’ you mean not burning down the house, then sure."

They both burst into laughter, with Pikachu joining in. The kitchen might’ve been a bit chaotic, but they were proud of their meal. Even with all the mishaps, there was something nice about taking care of things together, and they knew Brock would get a good laugh out of it too—after a bit of cleanup, of course.

After finishing their meal, Ash and Misty exchanged a determined look, knowing their work was far from over.

"Alright," Ash said, rolling up his sleeves, "let's tackle this list before Brock comes back."

Misty groaned as she eyed the laundry pile in the corner. "Why does he have so many extra clothes for us to wash? We don't even wear half of this stuff!"

Pikachu and Togepi looked at each other, as if realizing they were about to be drafted into household duty too.

"Alright, Pikachu," Ash said, kneeling down, "you can help with the laundry by shocking it dry once we’re done rinsing."

"Pika?" Pikachu's eyes widened but it nodded with a determined salute.

"Totodile, you can help rinse off the dishes!" Misty added. Totodile gleefully bounced over to the sink, splashing water everywhere as it eagerly began "helping."

Together, they managed to get through the laundry, with Misty scrubbing and Pikachu giving the final drying shocks. Then came the dishes, which turned into a mini water fight thanks to Totodile’s enthusiasm. Finally, they tackled the big task of cleaning each Pokémon—Cyndaquil, Totodile, Chikerita, and Pikachu.

By the time they finished, they were soaked, tired, and the kitchen was sparkling clean. They flopped down on the couch, exhausted but proud. Misty sighed, wiping her brow. "We did it... and somehow didn't burn the place down this time."

Ash laughed. "Yeah, Brock might actually be impressed!"

Just then, the door creaked open, and they froze as Brock stepped inside, looking around with a raised eyebrow. He glanced at the spotless kitchen and then at the exhausted pair.

"Looks like you two managed okay," he said, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But...what's with the burn marks on the wall?"

Misty and Ash looked at each other, sweating nervously.

"Uh... long story!" Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.