You Are My Father, I Am Your Son, a pokémon fanfic

You Are My Father, I Am Your Son

By Fox McCloude

Indigo Plateau…

After so many years of trying and failing, he finally felt he would step over that insurmountable wall and get that little spike off his shoulders. Ten years had passed since his first Pokémon League, Ash Ketchum was back at the Indigo Stadium, no longer among the Top 16, 8 or 4. It was the second time in a Pokémon League's finals, and he was determined to win that day. Nothing would stop him.

His opponent, some guy named Koutei Ryu, was a skilled trainer, and had given him a run for his money to his (arguably) strongest team. The only ones left on the battlefield were Pikachu and his opponent's Raichu, both of them locked in the final brawl to determine the tournament's winner.

"Raichu, use Focus Punch!"

"Rai!" The evolved rodent jumped back and began charging up his right fist for a devastating blow.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash ordered in turn.

"Pika!"

While Raichu readied his Focus Punch, Pikachu moved from his side of the field at full speed, leaving a white trail in his wake. Once he was in range he jumped forward, but as soon as he came close Raichu finished charging and delivered his punch right to Pikachu's face, knocking him back a few yards. The unevolved mouse fell on his back shortly after.

"Use Thunder!" Koutei shouted.

"Rai-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Raichu summoned a devastating lightning bolt over Pikachu before he had any chance to ger back on his feet. The yellow mouse cried out in pain, but endured the attack all the time it lasted. Many years and battles against his evolved form had given him more than enough experience to take attacks just as strong as or even stronger than that.

So after a couple seconds, once the attack was over, Raichu and his trainer were left with their jaws hanging open.

"No way!" the second called out. "How can a Pikachu take an attack like that?!"

"We've had worse than that," Ash said, as he raised his left wrist. "Let's end this now. You ready, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and assumed the same pose as his trainers.

Before his opponent's shocked glance, Ash and Pikachu began moving in unison while an electric discharge surged from the crystal on the bracelet, surrounding the trainer and then channeling into the rodent to charge him at full power. With the same synchrony, both of them pulled the right fist backwards, to deliver the final blow.

"This is our real power!" Ash shouted. "GIGAVOLT HAVOC!"

"Pika… CHU!"

Pikachu punched forward, firing a sphere with all his electric power concentrated towards Raichu. The evolved mouse and his trainer were so shocked they couldn't do any move to dodge until it was too late, and the sphere hit Raichu head on, creating a lightning explosion like no other. A huge cloud of smoke and dust kicked up, hiding the result from everyone's sight and leaving the crowd in deadly silence.

Once the smoke was clear, Pikachu was still standing, gasping and unable to move, but still standing. Raichu, on the other hand, laid on the battlefield upside down, unable to take the Gigavolt Havoc's explosion, and still giving sparks from the attack's residual energy.

"Raichu is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" the referee announced as he raised the red flag towards Ash. "The match and the tournament are for Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town!"

"This is awesome, ladies and gentlemen!" the MC announced. "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town ends the match and the Indigo Conference's tournament with an electrifying display of power!"

The scoreboard over the stadium darkened Raichu's icon under Kotei's face, and after doing so Ash's photo zoomed in, causing the golden letters of "WINNER" to appear while many fireworks went off around them. At the same time, the crowd in the stadium immediately arose to give a standing ovation.

"We did it… we really made it," Ash said, almost unable to believe it, pumping his fists and then raising them to the sky. "WE WON, WE WON!"

Without wasting a second he ran to pick up his tired but victorious partner to give him a big hug. He would have also given his opponent a friendly handshake, if it wasn't because he recalled his Raichu and left through his side without sparing any words. But that didn't matter. It didn't matter in the least.

At that moment, all that mattered was that he finally made it. He had broken his losing streak in Pokémon League conferences, and in doing so, he had climbed another step on the ladder to the top, another step to become the Pokémon Master he had always dreamed to be. Nothing could ruin this moment in any way. Nothing at all.

At night…

Following the award ceremony and the subsequent closing ceremony for the Indigo League, Ash was back at the Pokémon Center. Never in his life had he felt so tired at the end of a day: all he wanted was to sleep like a log that night. Once his Pokémon were rested, he'd go back to Pallet Town flying on Charizard's back. In fact, Pikachu had already gone ahead of him to dream land, as he laid curled up on the bed.

At the other corner of the room, on top of the table next to the window, the winner's trophy rested. It was quite a bit bigger and heavier than the one he received back in the Orange League. And more than that: having won it meant that, should he chose to, he had the chance to challenge Kanto's Elite Four, the select group formed by the region's top four trainers, only surpassed by the Regional Champion. And if he could beat them all, he'd earn the right to challenge the Champion himself for the title.

'One more step… one step closer to become a Pokémon Master,' Ash thought. Excitement rushed through him. Today's victory had just been the beginning. He still had a long way to go, and he didn't plan to stop in the near future.

*KNOCK! KNOCK!*

Suddenly, a couple knocks on the door interrupted his thoughts, and Nurse Joy's voice called him out from the other side. "Ash, are you still awake? Sorry, but you have a call through the reception's line."

"A call?" Ash sat up on his bed and donned the slippers to open the door. He had gotten plenty of calls that day, most of them from his closest friends to congratulate him on his victory. "Who is it?"

"I don't know, they just said it was a call from the Ranger's Union in Almia," the nurse said. "They said they need to talk to you ASAP."

Ash wondered who could be calling him from the Almian Ranger Union. He had some friends in the Fiore Ranger Union, but as far as he knew he didn't have any acquaintances in Almia. Confused, but deciding to not to let his caller waiting, the boy followed the nurse downstairs to the reception hall.

Once in front of the phone, the boy grabbed the auricular and pressed the button to answer. Strangely enough, the screen showed the«Audio Only» icon, so couldn't see who was calling him.

"Hey there, champ. Congrats on your victory," they greeted him from the other side. It was an unknown voice, but strangely enough, there was something familiar Ash couldn't quite identify.

"Uh… thanks?"

"What's that? Don't you recognize my voice, don't you know who I am?" the voice replied, apparently offended by that.

"Should I?" Ash inquired. He managed to catch his caller actually sighed in resignation.

"Well, I guess that's to be expected for so long. Sorry I can't talk you face to face, but I could only get a very old phone where I am right now. In any case, I couldn't miss the chance to congratulate you for your Indigo League victory."

"Wait, hold on, care to leave the mystery and tell me who you are?" Ash asked.

"What's the matter? Don't you recognize the voice of your own father?"

The last word left Ash frozen in place. That was why he felt the voice was so familiar. He hadn't heard it in years. Fourteen years to be exact, so it obviously had changed, but now he understood.

"Ash? You still there? Ash?"

Ash didn't realize when he'd hung the phone. His father's voice just kept echoing in his head. His father, the same father who left his and his mother's life almost one decade and a half ago, and whom he hadn't seen since then. In fact, if it weren't for the photos of him Delia still kept, Ash would have probably forgotten what he looked like.

Ash didn't even bother to look at Nurse Joy, he simply walked upstairs back to his room. However, after that brief talk, there was no way he could sleep well that night.

"Why now… after so long?"

Route 1 to Pallet Town, one week later…

Ash phoned his mother that he'd take a while longer to return. Instead of flying on his Pokémon's back, the trainer chose to take the 'scenic route', saying that he wasn't in a hurry to return.

Actually, the real reason was that, after hearing his father's voice through that phone, he felt he wouldn't be in the mood to celebrate his victory in the Indigo Conference as much as he would have wished, and perhaps in the worst case he'd probably lash out on his mother or someone else back in Pallet Town.

The walk had helped him calm down a bit, but he couldn't get that spike off of his shoulder. Talking to his father, brief as it was, had been disturbing in more than one sense, but fortunately he hadn't run into any mishap on the way home.

"Fearow!"

"Aw, no," he muttered as he recognized the squawk and the wing flapping that followed.

On pure reflex and without turning around, Ash quickly ducked as he knew exactly what was coming. As he rose back up, he saw a very familiar figure, one that brought him both good and bad memories, but more of the latter than the former

"Fear, fearow!" the familiar, brown bird with a long beak and red crest squawked again as he fluttered in front of Ash, staring at him in anger.

"You again? Aw, come on, that happened years ago. Can't we just put it behind us?"

"Row, fearow!" the bird shouted before lunging with a Drill Peck, forcing, forcing Ash and Pikachu to jump to the sides to avoid it.

Despite the years, and even when the passing of time and the scars from their previous confrontations every time Ash passed through his turf were more than evident, the angry bird hadn't changed one bit. He was still as stubborn and bitter as the day Ash left for the first time in his Pokémon journey, and made the mistake of throwing that stone at him. He became the flock's leader and remained at that place, always vigilant in case Ash showed up again, but fortunately Ash's Pidgeot and his own flock were also close by and willing to escort him through that path, even fighting their territorial enemies directly if it came to it.

As the years went by, the Spearow flock diminished as they either got themselves caught by trainers or migrated elsewhere, to the point they were all scattered across the route and no longer interested in continuing with Fearow's personal crusade. Ash himself actively tried to avoid crossing paths with him to save annoyances, but now he was so upset he didn't notice the path he had taken.

"If there's no other way," Ash said with resignation. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu unleashed a discharge when the bird came back for another go, stopping him in midair. The bird was left giving off sparks, but quickly shook off the electricity and with a furious squawk he charged again, closing his wings and spinning like a drill while a spiral energy surrounded him: a Drill Run attack. He managed to hit Pikachu and knocked him away for a moment, and then directed his attention to Ash, but the trainer jumped aside and Fearow kept going until he crashed against a large tree.

"Holy Arceus, this bird is way more stubborn than Swellow when he's angry," Ash muttered between his teeth, and then yelled out loud. "Stop it, I'm not in the mood for you today!"

"FEAROW!" the Flying-type shrieked once he freed his beak, ready to attack again.

Ash felt his patient was running out. All he wanted was to walk back home in peace and forget about his talk with… that man. Was it too much to ask?

"I'm sick of this," he said as he stood back up. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME, LONG BEAK?! COME AND GET ME!"

He did a "bring it" gesture before running in the opposite direction, so as to give Pikachu time to recover from the last blow. The rodent shook his head and immediately ran to help him, charging to tackle Fearow from the side using Quick Attack.

"Pikapi, pikachu!"

"I'm fine!" Ash replied, assuming that was what he was asking. "I'll distract him, you just be ready when I tell you!"

Fearow shrieked again and charged at Pikachu to get revenge for that last blow. At least now they had the advantage because Fearow couldn't focus on both at the same time, so they'd exploit it for all that was worth.

"Hey, ugly bird, here I am!" Ash shouted, running between the trees.

Fearow charged at him with a Fury Attack, giving a quick barrage of pecks one after another. Pikachu stayed far, but on alert as he waited for Ash's signal. The trainer kept dodging the pecks, wing slaps and claw slashes without much difficulty, until he intentionally stopped in front of a large boulder, beckoning him to come.

"Come on, here I am!" he shouted as he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"ROW!" the bird shrieked once more as he closed his wings and did his drill spin again.

Ash jumped out of the way, letting Fearow crash against the boulder. Pieces flew all over the place after the impact, and Ash grabbed one between his hands, as big as a football.

"Stand by, Pikachu!" the trainer shouted. "Hey you, think fast!"

Fearow barely turned around and saw what was coming. Just like that time, the human had thrown a stone at him, but unlike the last time, it was much bigger, and it came flying much faster than before, and he wouldn't be able to dodge.

"FEAR!" the bird cried out when the stone hit him in the abdomen, knocking the air out of him and then some.

Years had given Ash plenty of extra throwing strength in his arms, and given that he threw Pokéballs all the time, they were always in shape. His aim wasn't shabby either: he deliberately avoided throwing the stone at his head so he wouldn't kill him or cause him permanent brain damage.

But now, he had the perfect chance to end that issue once and for all.

"Pikachu, jump on him and use Thunder at full power!"

"Pika!"

While Fearow was still trying to regain his breath, Pikachu used Quick Attack to give himself a boost and jumped on his back. Next, he summoned a large lightning bolt from the sky, unleashing a discharge of over one hundred thousand volts, an attack so massive the nearby Pidgey and Rattata fled in panic.

Once he was done, Pikachu jumped off of his foe's back and let him slump on the dirt path, half-cooked from the last attack.

"Fea… row…" he muttered as he tried to glare at him in defiance.

Ash sighed with resignation. "You chose the worst day ever to mess with me." He then pulled something out of his pocket. A black ball with yellow streaks on the upper half: an Ultra Ball.

"I'm sick of this game, but maybe my friends can teach you some discipline. You're not gonna annoy me, or anybody else for that matter, ever again."

And with those words, he threw the ball at the fallen bird. It hit him softly and transformed him into red energy to absorb him, then falling to the ground as it began to shake once, twice, thrice, until it finally stopped and the activation button stopped blinking. The *PING* went off to signal a successful capture.

Unusual for Ash, he simply picked up the ball and sighed as he shrank it to put it back on his belt, not bothering to do his victory posed whenever he won a badge or caught a Pokémon. One of his advantages of not carrying Pikachu's ball with him was that it allowed him to carry a full team and at the same time to have an empty slot all the while in case he needed it, like now. That way he could avoid causing Tracey and Professor Oak troubles at the lab by sending them a potentially problematic Pokémon.

"Let's go, Pikachu," the trainer said as he turned over his feet and went back to the pathway.

Pikachu jumped back to his trainer's shoulder and the pair continued their walk. At that pace and without further issues (which were unlikely anyway), they'd be back in Pallet Town before nightfall, just in time to have dinner at Ash's home.

Pallet Town, a few hours later…

The sky had already darkened, and the denizens of the peaceful town in the Kanto region, home of the most renowned Pokémon Researcher in the world, as well as the most recent Indigo Conference winner, had already retired to their homes for a good night's sleep.

Ash had supposedly been prepared a grand welcome party for when he arrived flying on Charizard, but since he chose to come back home on foot, he asked them to cancel it. Delia had warned him they wouldn't be amused by his choice, but he didn't care. At the time, all he wanted was to get to his home and have some peace and quiet.

"Oof, home at last," he said as he stood before the door, taking a deep breath before grabbing the doorknob and take on his usual cheerful expression before entering. "Mom, I've returned!"

"Welcome home, Ash!" The woman quickly rushed to her son, catching him in a big hug and kissing both of his cheeks affectionately. "You too, Pikachu!"

"Chaaaaaa!" the rodent said, delighting himself as the woman stroke his cheeks as well.

"Mom, stop it, I'm not a kid anymore," Ash said, both amused and embarrassed.

"You'll always be my baby for me, that'll never change," Delia replied.

Ash sighed in resignation: indeed, some things never changed. As much as he loved his mom, sometimes her displays of affection could be too embarrassing for his taste. He wasn't a child anymore: he had outgrown her in height by several inches, but she'd never see him that way, it seemed.

"You must be starving. You're just in time, dinner is almost ready."

"To be honest I'm not that hungry," Ash said with full sincerity.

Delia immediately gave him a slightly accusing glare. "Alright, who are you and what have you done to my Ash?"

"Mom…"

"Really son, you're always hungry," the woman said. "That stomach of yours seems not to have a bottom, we both know that that."

"I ate a lot along the way, and I'm really tired, that's all," he assured. "I'll go get some sleep, you can save it for tomorrow if you want."

Ash was about to walk upstairs and go to his room. It wasn't fully true that he wasn't hungry, but sincerely with his current mood he didn't think he couldn't enjoy his food as much as he'd like. At the time he just wanted to drop himself on his bed and sleep, and maybe he'd regain his appetite in the morning.

But as it was expected, Delia knew him better than himself, and her motherly intuition didn't take long to discover why her son seemed so upset at that moment.

"You're thinking about your father, aren't you?" she asked.

Ash stopped halfway up, and turned to look at his mom in surprise. Delia's expression remained immutable as she approached the stairs and looked into her son's eyes. Pikachu jumped off his trainer's shoulder, as if wondering if there was a history behind that.

"How about we have dinner first and then we talk about that at ease?" Delia asked with a smile.

…

Ash thought his lack of appetite wouldn't allow him to enjoy the food, but fortunately, the flavor of his mom's cooking proved him wrong. Before realizing, the trainer had devoured the sandwiches, steak, scrambled eggs and juice, and he even had room for some cookies for dessert.

Once they were sated, mother and son went to the latter's room, to start their talk. Pikachu was so stuffed he fell asleep almost immediately after he finished eating, and now he rested deeply and peacefully on his trainer's lap, while Ash stroked him idly as he sat on the edge of his bed. His mother had brought a chair to seat in front of him, and they could finally begin.

"Your father actually called me first," the woman explained. "He told me he wanted to talk to you, but I suggested that he waited until the competition was over. Looks like I was right."

"No kidding," Ash said. "I wouldn't have focused on the match with something like that in my head."

"But judging by your face, you didn't even try to talk to him, did you?"

"What's there to talk?" Ash asked. "He just up and left our lives, never to return. I have nothing to say to him."

"Ash… you're being too harsh," Delia said. "You can't live holding a grudge like that forever."

"Why are you defending him?" Ash asked, avoiding the raise in his voice so as to not to wake Pikachu up. "As far as I'm concerned, that man stopped being my father the moment he left Kanto."

"Ash… do you think it was an easy choice for him?" Delia asked. "And before you say yes, let me remind you how things went down."

…

For seven years, the Ketchums' house was full of joy, laughter and love all over. Despite Delia's father reservation, Jaycen proved himself a good man, an exemplary husband and father who loved his wife and son like no one else.

Jaycen hailed from Fiore, in the Ranger Union, and had retired from active duty in search of doing something different with his life. That was what eventually led him to Kanto, and to try his luck as a Pokémon Trainer. He wasn't too bad, although he never actually won a Pokémon League Conference, Top 4 being the farthest he got to before he retired to form a family with Delia. And according to her, the day Ash was born was the happiest in their lives for both of them. Nothing that could ruin their happiness.

Or so it seemed, until that fateful day. Jaycen was now in front of the hardest decision in his life.

"I need you to understand, Delia. It's a lifetime opportunity," he said. "Fiore is a beautiful region, you'll love it there."

"I'm sure it is, Jaycen, but it's a completely different lifestyle," Delia said.

"Come on, if I could adapt to Kanto's lifestyle, what prevents you from doing the same in Fiore?"

"What about Ash?" Delia asked. "He's just seven years old. He's gotten used to Kanto's lifestyle, and all of his friends live here."

Unbeknownst to them at the time, little Ash was overhearing behind the kitchen's door. He didn't get everything what was going on. His parents almost never fought, but for some reason there was some tension in the air, even if they spoke softly to each other. Why did he feel something was wrong?

"Jaycen, Ash's dream is to become a great trainer and be a Pokémon Master one day," said Delia. "He won't be able to do that in Fiore; there aren't any trainers or a Pokémon League to compete."

"He could be a great Pokémon Ranger," Jaycen said. "You know our job is very important, and he could even come to enjoy it."

"But what if he doesn't?" Delia pointed. "It'd be too much of a drastic change for someone his age. I don't think it's a good idea for him to go live there. And to be honest, I don't want to leave Kanto either. I was born and raised here, it's my home."

"In that case, what do you propose?" Jaycen placed his hands on his waist. "How are we going to solve this, if it comes down to Ash? The Ranger Union needs me, and I have to answer their call soon."

The boy kept listening. Were they arguing about him?

His mother remained silent a few seconds before sighing and giving her answer. "I propose we ask Ash what he thinks about this. Let him be the one who decides where he wants to be. As this concerns him too, I think he deserves to have a say."

…

Delia finished her story, and Ash sighed. Of course he remembered that night, and he knew exactly what came after. His parents asked if he wanted to stay in Kanto, or move to Fiore. The little boy answered without hesitation that he wanted to be a trainer and thus he wouldn't leave Kanto, and that sealed the decision. The next day, his father packed his stuff and left. He and Delia began the divorce proceedings, and while they took a bit, there weren't any major complications.

Except one: for the first weeks, young Ash cried in sorrow and anger because his dad no longer lived with them. He constantly asked: "Why did he leave? Doesn't he love us anymore? Why is he leaving us?", among other things. Ash was way too young to understand what happened. Delia tried to comfort him as best as she could, but the wound was still there, and even after so many years it didn't fully heal.

And now, suddenly he returned, calling him after years of not talking to him, as if nothing had happened. How dared he, after leaving their lives like he did?

"So what I was supposed to say?" Ash asked. "Something like 'I missed you, Daddy', or something like that? He's been absent from my life for over a decade, who needs him? As far as I'm concerned, that man isn't my family anymore."

"Ash, take that back," Delia said in a severe tone.

"He left us, Mom!" the boy snapped raising his voice, causing Pikachu to perk up the ears. Fortunately he didn't wake up or shocked him. "He just up and abandoned us, he never tried to contact us in any way. He lost the rights to be called my father when he crossed that door and never came back to this house."

"Ash… you don't really mean that, do you?" Delia asked. "Or have you forgotten that in the time we lived together, he always showed that he loved you?"

The trainer frowned, but he couldn't really refute that. Admittedly, Jaycen had been a good father to Ash until he turned seven, always treating him well and teaching him what he knew as best as he could. And it wasn't like he just left on a whim or something, but… Ash found it hard to accept.

"Listen, Ash; you're not the only one who was hurt by his departure. It pained me too that he choose his career over his family," said Delia. "But even if we aren't married anymore, and even if he made mistakes, I accept that by all his faults Jaycen is a good man. You owe him your life as much as you owe me. He might not be my husband anymore, but I'll never renege of him as the father of my son."

Ash looked into his mother's eyes, so similar to his own. Delia spoke with full sincerity and with a great warmth in her voice. From what he could remember, his parents were very much in love in the time they lived together, and while she suffered and tried to put a brave face for both of their sakes, he could see she didn't hold anything against him. Why couldn't Ash do the same?

"There's something else you should know," Delia said. "You might not believe this, but even if he didn't contact you directly, he's been following you closely. And even if we've been separated, he hasn't forgotten about us."

"You don't say," he replied, not buying it.

"You want proof? Let me show you something, hold on a minute." Delia stood from her chair and left the room.

Ash was left intrigued, wondering what his mother wanted to show him. The trainer placed Pikachu on the bed so as to not to disturb his sleep and glanced around. His room hadn't changed that much along those years, the only evidence of time passing being the photos of himself with his friends along his Pokémon journeys. He had used them to replace the photos of himself and his father so as to not to have reminders of the man who, as far as he considered it, had left them to pursue his own career.

Delia returned a few minutes later, bringing a paper with her. The woman sat in front of her son again, handing him the paper so he could take a look.

Curious, Ash grabbed it and glanced at it. The heading indicated it was a legal document with the seal from Kanto's Regional Bank, the opening of a trust fund. Skipping the legal stuff, what got Ash's attention was that said fund had been placed under his name, with the signatures of Delia Ketchum and Jaycen Warden (his father's original surname) as the ones authorizing. The date indicated it had been set up shortly after his eleventh birthday.

"Shortly after your first league, he called me," Delia explained. "As it turns out, he saw you an TV, and he was quite impressed that you made it to the Top 16 in your first competition. He was happy to see you were chasing your dreams with so much enthusiasm."

"Tch, yeah, just to see me lose when Charizard refused to obey me," Ash said dismissing it.

"He also told me he was doing well back at the Ranger Union, and even though we were apart, he wanted to make sure we would always be provided for," Delia continued, ignoring his remark. "So he offered to transfer some money every month in case we needed some help."

This got Ash's attention, even though he didn't say anything. The trainer knew his mother made a living with the family restaurant, and she was doing quite well even though she ran it by herself. But then… if his father had sent them money every month…

"Of course, I didn't even touch a penny of it," said Delia, answering his unspoken question as if she had read his mind. "I agreed only on the condition that all that money was for you. So we agreed to leave it in a trust fund, and we've been increasing it since then."

"And why are you telling me this now?" Ash asked.

"Because you've already turned twenty-one, so the fund is now legally yours and you have total access to it." Delia pulled out another paper, with a more recent date. "Take a look at this."

Ash grabbed the paper and looked it up and down. It was a record of bank operations, showing all the movements of said account. There were only deposits and the monthly interest raise; not even a single retire. As Ash went forward, he was shocked to see so much money to his name. He was no expert, but estimated he'd have enough to buy himself an apartment at the most expensive sector in Celadon, and still have enough to live well for four or five years if he spent it wisely.

But that wasn't important right now.

"Why didn't he ever try to contact me?" the boy asked, suddenly regaining his nonchalance as he recalled his own opinion about his father.

"You think he didn't?" Delia asked. "Calling from Fiore isn't cheap, and he doesn't always has the chance. But whenever he did… you were gone in another journey, and you know how hard it is for me to contact you. The best he could do was to wait for the League Conferences, and hope for you to appear in them."

Ash was left in shock. So his father had seen his Pokémon League competitions? His first defeat as a rookie in Indigo when Charizard refused to obey, his quarterfinals in the Silver, Ever Grande and Vertress, his semifinals against Legendary Pokémon in Lily of the Valley, and his first grand final in Lumiose.

And of course, his recent victory now that he had returned to Indigo.

"So… he's been seeing me all this time?"

"Yes, believe it or not. Your father has followed your career closely. The last time we talked, he told me it was getting harder to talk to you the more time passed, so I suggested him to call you after you won the Indigo League. Specifically after, because I knew you'd be unfocused if he called you before."

"Well, that was very considerate of him," Ash admitted. With such weight of mind he wouldn't have had his mind on the match. "But I still don't see what you're trying to get at."

"Ash… you can't hold that grudge against your father for the rest of your life," Delia said. "Look, it's not like I'm in a hurry to go back to his arms, but I've already long forgiven him."

Ash stared into Delia's eyes again. The woman's glance was quite strange at the time. It was rather severe, yet also compassionate. She wasn't exactly begging him to do as she said, nor she was imposing it. She just tried to say that it was what he had to do, and it was the right thing, for his own sake.

When her son didn't reply at all, the mother insisted once more. "Look, if you heard my version of the story, I think you should at least hear his too, don't you agree?"

Ash sighed again. When it came to those arguments, his mom would always win. Delia could sometimes be affectionate to a fault, even to the point of embarrassing him (like his constant reminder of changing his underwear everyday), but when she was right, she was right, and he had no place to argue.

And admittedly… he didn't feel good about holding that grudge inside, so he finally accepted it.

"Alright, you win. We're gonna give him a call or what?"

"Don't worry, that won't be necessary," said Delia. "Tomorrow you can meet up at your old playground. I'll tell him to see you there."

"Wait, what did you just…?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? After he called me, he took the first plane he could to come here, and he's staying at the restaurant's inn. I told him maybe I could make you change your mind."

"Mom, did you…"

"Son, in the end the choice to see your father depended on you. If you didn't want to, he'd be gone without saying a word, and you wouldn't even know. But I'm glad you made the right choice. You two really need to talk."

Ash rolled his eyes, but he had to laugh inside. His mother always knew how to win those battles against him without effort when she had to. Then again, she had a point. Maybe it was about time for a chat with his father, if only to bury that hatchet once and for all.

The next day…

Ash and Pikachu got up unusually early that morning. As if Delia had anticipated them, when they went down to the kitchen they found she had left a note in front of the fridge, saying that his breakfast was inside and he just needed to warm it in the microwave. Said breakfast consisted in a large sandwich, thicker than three stacked volumes of Delia's favorite recipe encyclopedia, and a large glass of milk. The trainer smiled and mentally thanking his mom (who was still asleep) ate his breakfast without a hurry, again unusually for him.

After he went back to his room to get dressed, the trainer left the home. Mimey was still asleep on the house's couch, so he carefully closed the door to not to wake him up, and with a sigh, he walked to the meeting point to see his father.

Said meeting point was a clearing near the river, a large place to play and relax, far from everything and everyone. Ash hadn't gone back to that specific place in a very long time, as it brought him too many memories, both happy and bitter ones. Memories of his early years, when he and his parents were still a happy family, and the subsequent years when his father was gone.

Thus, he chose never to go back there, and in order to replace the bad memories, he decided to focus full time in his dreams of becoming a trainer.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu suddenly said, pulling him out of his trance.

"Huh?" Ash glanced ahead, and then he noticed who else was in the clearing.

Even from that distance he could tell who it was. The man in front of him, comfy resting against an Arcanine, seemed to be in his forties, had jet-black messy hair like Ash's and the same facial markings on the cheeks. He didn't look as tall as Ash recalled him, though that was probably because Ash himself had grown and now they had similar height. Except for the black eyes and some minor lines evidencing the age gap, Ash could almost see his own reflection in his father's face.

The trainer took a deep breath. How should he approach him? It wasn't like he wanted to run off and yell "I missed you, Dad!", but he didn't want to go and punch him in the face for every year he was absent from his life and Delia's. To be honest, he didn't know what to feel at that moment.

And he was so deep in thought, he failed to notice Pikachu had jumped off his shoulder, until he felt the discharge pulling him out of his trance, causing the local bird Pokémon to fly off the trees in panic.

"AAAAAAAARRRGHHH!" the trainer shouted as he was being electrocuted. It wasn't the first time, and over the years he had built up tolerance to Pikachu's discharges, but that didn't mean he liked them. "What the heck was that for, Pikachu?!"

"Ash?" his father said. The attack had alerted him and his Arcanine had tensed, but relaxed once they saw who it was. "Ash, is that you?"

Ash turned around to see his father, and then glanced aside to his partner. The Electric-type laughed behind his teeth, but gestured with his head for him to move forward. Well, that solved the issue of breaking the ice and establish contact.

"Hey… Dad." He raised a hand to greet him, and tried to smile.

"Look how much you've grown," Jaycen said, with a clear tinge of pride in his voice and giving a genuine smile.

For some reason, Ash couldn't help but feel a sting in the chest, but not a negative one. In fact, it felt… nice.

"Mom fed me well," he replied, trying to play along. However, he quickly decided to put things clear. "Listen… don't take this the wrong way, but I just came because she convinced me that you and I needed to talk."

"Yeah, I get that." Jaycen nodded. "Should we sit somewhere?"

…

A few minutes later, father and son had sat by a small hill next to the passing river. While Pikachu had broken the ice, the tension was still in the air, if not as bad as Ash thought it would be, yet still palpable. Jaycen seemed to take notice of it, so he tried to defuse it a bit.

The father started by asking questions to his son. He had seen his Pokémon League competitions plenty of times, and even sometimes he saw him involved in events that threatened the regions or even the world. Sometimes, when he thought his son's life was in danger, Jaycen was very close to leave his post and rush to his aid, even though he couldn't get there in time.

Because of that, he started following the Pokémon League Conferences much more closely, always anxiously waiting for Ash to show up. He'd always celebrate his victories and regret his losses, but he was glad to see he always managed to get a little further. Also, he dared to ask if he had meet a pretty girl somewhere, though Ash replied he'd keep that one to himself, even if Jaycen caught on the slight blush in his son's cheeks.

While Ash could appreciate that his father had been up to speed with his deeds, and was rather open to answer his questions, he hadn't forgotten why he had come in the first place. Now it was his turn to ask questions.

"Enough talking about me. I really need to know, why did you decide to contact me after so long? And why now of all times?"

Jaycen thought for a bit before answering. His expression turned into a slight grimace, but he gathered up courage to give him an honest and (hopefully) satisfactory response.

"I guess… because seeing you win made me feel inside," she said. "I was so proud to see you stand there, victorious, with that trophy in your hands. After so many years of hard work, you finally stepped up, and it was just the beginning."

"You were a trainer once, weren't you?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I was." Jaycen nodded. "When I left Fiore, even though I liked being a Pokémon Ranger, I wanted to experience other things, to do something different. That's why I came to Kanto in the first place. But to be honest… I never did as well as you did."

"Really?" Ash asked as he arched an eyebrow. "Mom always spoke highly of you as a trainer."

"Oh, I wasn't bad, I assure you. But I never made it past the quarterfinals in a Conference. Hard as I tried, I never made a ranking higher than Top 8 in any tournament. You on the other hand, surpassed me in your fourth league making it to the semifinals."

"Yeah, and I went down one rank on the next one," Ash reminded himself, a little bitter about it. Even though he had accepted that defeat, the circumstances had been a tad… strange back then.

"But you went up again in the next, and you almost won," Jaycen added. "Like I was saying, I never had your determination to be a trainer. I started thinking that maybe being a Pokémon Ranger was my true calling, and I'd have returned to Fiore after my fourth failure… until I met your mother."

Ash stared at his father. Seeing the look on Jaycen's eyes, it seemed his feelings for Delia hadn't completely died. He wondered if that was why he had chosen to carry her surname instead of his while they were married.

"You like being a Pokémon Ranger?" Ash asked.

"Being a Pokémon Trainer is exciting, I admit it. But being a Pokémon Ranger… that's a very important labor," asked Jaycen. "You should know that: one of my contacts mentioned you once. Her name was Solana."

"Yeah, I know who she is," said Ash. It was a rather small world after all. "So tell me… you don't have any regrets for going back to Fiore and leaving Kanto? Leaving… us?"

Once again, father and soon looked at each other. Ash hoped he hadn't sounded harsher than necessary after saying those words, but he needed to know. He wanted to know.

"The answer is… yes, and no," Jaycen replied. "I don't regret going back to Fiore. Like I said, being a Pokémon Ranger is important, and we always help many people and Pokémon. It's a full time job, as you see."

"I'm glad for you," Ash replied, trying to not to make the sarcasm in his voice too evident. Did he really care so much for his career as a Pokémon Ranger that everything else, including his family, was secondary to him?

"But what I do regret is… having left you and Delia behind," he continued. "Sometimes I wonder if there was another way. I know at the time I didn't believe I could keep a long-distance relationship, but… over the years I began to think differently."

Ash glanced at his father once more. Much to his surprise there was genuine regret in Jaycen's face. That wasn't the face of a man who had chosen his career over his family. It was the face of a man who took a path he came to regret dearly, but it was too late to change back. And he knew it.

"Was that why you sent us money all this time?" Ash asked.

"It was the least I could do," Jaycen replied. "Being a Pokémon Ranger took up a lot of my time, so I could never come to visit you and your mother, until now. But at least, I wanted to make sure you'd always be provided for."

"Well, to be honest I never lacked in anything… barring a father, I guess," Ash said as he tried to hold the bitterness. Maybe that was why he had come to see Professor Oak as a surrogate father figure of sorts, even though he was old enough to be his grandpa.

"I know it's a bit late to say it, but… I'm sorry."

Ash glanced at his father sideways, and rolled his eyes slightly. The strange part was that he felt neither moved nor angry. Maybe he was just… amused, to think that after so long he still asked for forgiveness about something he had long put behind him, or maybe not as much. At the time, though, he simply couldn't laugh.

"Dad… to be honest right now I don't know what to think. I don't know if I'm ready to forgive you, or if I'll ever be able to. You can't expect that after leaving for over ten years, one day you just call me and reappear in my life like nothing has happened."

Had he been too blunt in saying that? Ash wasn't actually good to express his emotions when they were negative. He preferred to keep them to himself when he was depressed, and when he was upset he would unleash them in anger bursts. At the time, he didn't know exactly how he felt, or how he should expressed it.

His father, on the other hand, sighed and stood back up. Looking into his eyes, he took a deep breath before speaking up again. "I understand. I know this must have been very hard for you. I'm sorry if my presence makes you uncomfortable, but I thank you for listening to me. I am glad we could talk after so long, my son."

And with no further words, he jumped onto his Arcanine's back, and with a couple of kicks in the side, they rode back to town. Ash glanced in their direction until they got lost between the trees.

"Pikapi," he heard his partner saying, pulling him out of his trance.

Ash turned towards Pikachu. Many years together had taught him to read his partner's expression with a single glance, and at the time, he was trying to tell him that he wasn't happy with the result of the talk. And once his father was out of sight, the trainer exhaled a sigh.

"I'll have to apologize with mom for this," he said. "She made us come here for naught."

"Pikapi," said Pikachu. Ash turned towards him again, and his expression clearly was one of disapproval.

The worst part was that deep down, Ash knew Pikachu had a good reason to be angry. Why was it so hard for him to swallow his pride? Why there had to be a part of him that genuinely wanted to forgive his father and have him as a part of his life again?

The next, next day…

While he had originally planned to start his training first thing in the morning, Ash didn't feel in the mood to get up that morning. When the light filtered through his window, he curled up between his covers and refused to leave the bed. It was already past 9:00 am when his mother got tired of waiting and knocked directly.

"Ash, are you going to get out of that room? Breakfast's been ready for over an hour and is cold by now."

"Hmm..." Ash groaned. Even though he didn't want to get up, his stomach had been demanding food for quite a while, and finally hunger overcame his pride. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

The trainer pulled the sheets off himself and put his pants on. Pikachu jumped over his shoulder after he put on his shirt and donned the slippers to walk out of the room. Normally he'd always walk down the stairs in a hurry for breakfast, but that morning his mood still soured his appetite. He'd only go to eat because he was too hungry to wait more, so he might as well try and enjoy it.

However, that day there weren't only two familiar faces to greet him at the table. There was another.

"You?! What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Your mother said she won't let me go until we've talked," Jaycen said, giving his ex-wife an aside glance. "If it was for me, I'd have left to avoid any more troubles."

"That's right," Delia said. "Lucky for me that I caught you before you left."

"I knew I should have left last night," Jaycen replied. "Delia, why do you keep insisting in this? Ash already said everything he wanted to say to me, and I think he was pretty clear about what he thinks about me."

"But you still haven't," Delia said. "Anyway, there'll be plenty of time for that after breakfast. Ash, take a seat."

Ash rolled his eyes, but when his stomach demanded food again, he grudgingly sat on his chair, deliberately not looking ahead to avoid seeing his father's face. Delia served his food and the boy began eating slowly, seeking to hold back the inevitable talk as much as possible.

It was weird; with his mood that morning, Delia's normally delicious cooking didn't taste as good as usual, and he spent the next half hour almost forcing himself to swallow the food.

Silence fell upon the Ketchums' dining room. It was almost unbelievable that the last time the three of them had eaten together by the same table had been fourteen years ago, and tension in the air was so thick it could almost be cut by a knife.

And indeed, that was exactly what happened: unable to bear with the infernal silence, Delia grabbed a knife and brusquely stabbed it on the table to get Ash and Jaycen's attention, causing them both to recoil in surprise and almost fall backwards.

"Mom!" Ash cried out.

"Delia, by Arceus, don't do that!" Jaycen shouted as well.

"I'm sorry, but it was the only way to break the tension," the woman said, never losing her motherly and sweet tone. "I told you we're going to solve this, and as it turns out I know the perfect way for you to do that."

"You don't say," Ash said.

Ignoring Ash's snarky tone, Delia continued. "First of all, Ash, Jaycen, I need you both to look ahead."

"Mom, stop joking."

"I'm serious about this," the woman insisted. "Do it, or I'll be mad."

Ex.-husband and son had a chill going down their spines at those words. Both of them knew Delia's character: she could be a sweet, kind and unfailingly motherly woman, but whenever she was angry… it went without saying that nobody should be within her vision range or arm's reach to risk and incur in her wrath.

More fearful for their physical integrities than anything else, Ash and Jaycen turned ahead and locked their gazes into the other.

"So, now that your eyes have met, do you know what that means?" Delia asked.

Ash and Jaycen didn't get what she meant. What was she getting at? That said, it wasn't as terrible as they thought, and they even felt the tension went down a little bit.

Delia waited for a bit, and seeing they didn't catch the message, she decided to clear it up. "You know how the saying goes: when the eyes of two trainers met each other, they have to battle each other."

"Are you trying to say that I have a battle with him?" Ash asked in disbelief.

"Ash, you once told me that the best way for trainers to understand each other is through battle," Delia insisted. "Maybe that's just what you two need."

"You've got to be kidding me. He's not even a trainer anymore, his skills must be rusty by now."

"Hey, that hurt, son. Just because I haven't had official battles in a long time, it doesn't mean my skills have gone dull." Jaycen gave a smug smirk. "Or perhaps… you might be afraid to compete against your own father?"

"Is that a challenge?" Ash replied. "Pikachu and I could kick your butt any day of the week!"

"Pikapika!" Pikachu nodded as he agreed with his trainer.

"Then bring it on, show me just how strong you've grown!" Jaycen retorted as he stood up too.

"You're on! Don't go home crying after I beat you!"

While father and son glared at each other in defiance, the casual observer could have spotted the sparks flying out of their eyes and clashing with one another, literally. Delia, for her part, simply smiled. She knew her son and ex-husband better than anybody, and she knew that by appealing to their pride she'd find the way for them to face each other.

Her plan had worked: that was the only way for them to settle their differences once and for all.

One hour later…

At Oak's place, Delia requested the Pokémon Professor to provide them of an ample terrain to have a sparring match with nobody to bother them. They were now at a rocky quarry, with plenty of spots for hiding but also enough room to move around. Ready to face one another, on one side stood Jaycen and his Arcanine, and on the other Ash and Pikachu.

"Alright, this'll be an unofficial one-on-one battle. The first one to defeat the other's Pokémon will be the winner," Delia declared. "Are you ready?"

"I couldn't be more ready even if I wanted," Ash said, pumping his fist with determination.

"Heads up, son; I won't go easy on you just because we're family," Jaycen replied with the same tone.

"And now, start!" Delia raised her hand and lowered it immediately.

"Pikachu, begin with Quick Attack!"

"Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

Both Pokémon charged at each other with their speed attacks, Pikachu leaving a white trail behind and Arcanine creating a burst of air around him. While they were evenly matched in speed, Arcanine won out the clash thanks to his bigger size and Pikachu was knocked backwards, but he quickly spun around to land without problem.

"Thunderbolt, now!" Ash called.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed his discharge against Arcanine, causing the lightning bolts to rain over the large dog, who stood firm to take them.

Jaycen grinned at Pikachu's power display. "Arcanine, Flame Charge!"

"Grrrrr!" Once the Thunderbolt ceased, Arcanine roared and stomped furiously on the ground, before setting himself ablaze and charge at Pikachu at full speed.

"Dodge!" Ash called.

Pikachu jumped out of the way to avoid the initial charge, but Arcanine turned around and still engulfed in the Flame Charge went for another go. The attack's effect was immediate and the speed boost allowed him to hit the electric rodent just when he landed back on the ground, sending him to fly through the air.

"Pikachu, Electroweb!" Ash shouted.

"Pikapikapika, chu-PI!" Still in midair, the mouse shook his tail and fired the electric sphere that dispersed into a net, catching him in place.

"Now, Volt Tackle!"

As soon as he landed, Pikachu coated himself in electricity and charged at Arcanine, jumping to ram the large dog while he was still restricted by the previous attack. Pikachu hit Arcanine from the right side, managing to push him back but without knocking him, down, and the electric net vanished shortly after.

"Bulldoze, Arcanine!" Jaycen shouted. Arcanine growled and raised both forelegs to deliver a hard stomp on the ground and send a seismic wave at Pikachu.

"Jump and dodge!" Ash shouted. Boosting himself as hard as he could, Pikachu leapt into the air, saving himself from the Ground-type attack and getting above Arcanine. "Now, Iron Tail!"

"Chuuu-PIKA!"

Pikachu spun in the air as he coated his tail in metallic energy, and using the gravity he dropped down to deliver a tail strike right on Arcanine's head. The giant fire dog tensed and groaned, but held firm in place.

"Your Pikachu is really strong, son," Jaycen said with pride.

"Ah yeah? Your Arcanine's pretty good too," Ash replied. "Not too bad for someone so rusty as a trainer."

"Hey, we might not have had official battles, but in my line of work we don't slack off on the training," Jaycen defended himself. "Arcanine, Flame Charge!"

Again, the dog charged coated in flames and increasing his speed. He was perfectly capable of keeping up in speed with Pikachu, who in turn had to take advantage of his smaller size to be a harder target and keep his distance.

"Pikachu, jump over the rocks and use Thunderbolt!"

While Arcanine was chasing after him, Pikachu hopped between the rocks and launched electric discharges one after another. Arcanine dodged them with minimal movements, barely tilting the head so the bolts would overshoot him.

"Quick Attack!" Ash shouted, and Pikachu immediately rushed to charge.

"Dodge and use Crunch!" Jaycen countered.

Arcanine jumped to dodge Pikachu's charge, and opening his jaws, he bit the electric mouse's tail, causing him to cry out in pain. With a violent head shake, he threw him at one of the nearby rocks.

"Flare Blitz!"

"RAAAARRRRGHHH!"

Arcanine roared and charged against Pikachu while he was still dazed against the rock. The impact was so hard that it simultaneously sent Pikachu flying through the air and blasted the rock to pieces, forcing both opponents and Delia to take cover and avoid getting hit by the flying shards.

Before Pikachu could stand back on his feet, Arcanine jumped on him and trapped him under one of his paws, growling him in defiance as he kept him pinned against the ground.

"Ready to give up?" Jaycen asked.

"We don't know the meaning of that word," said Ash. "Use Thunder!"

"Pi… KAAAAAAAAA!"

Even choking under Arcanine's paw, Pikachu managed to execute his attack, summoning a lightning bolt to fall from the sky on the fire dog, forcing him to let go. The mouse quickly took the chance to slip away and put at safe distance to avoid another retaliation.

"Extreme Speed!"

"Dodge with Quick Attack!"

Arcanine charged at Pikachu, who dodged with a leap. The dog phased through the white streak, and Pikachu jumped from one rock to another trying to confuse him as he went to hit Arcanine's sides. Arcanine was fast alright, but his bigger size made it much harder to change direction, while the electric mouse could quickly bounce off the walls and the rocks much easier, making his movements harder to predict.

Jaycen took notice of that and decided to eliminate that terrain advantage. "Arcanine, blow all those rocks with Flare Blitz!"

Arcanine roared again and engulfed himself in another flame burst, even more intense than the previous one, and started running from one rock to another at full speed, destroying them with a single tackle and clearing the path from any cover Pikachu could use.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt at full power!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu jumped to the air, dodging Arcanine's Flare Blitz and unleashed his electric attack. The dog flinched slightly, but a few seconds later he shook off the attack as if it was nothing and let out a furious roar that shook the whole place, the trees, the stone shards, and even Delia and Ash, causing Pikachu to tremble in the air and land badly. Jaycen however remained unfazed.

"Use Crunch again!" Jaycen shouted.

"AR!" While Pikachu was still stunned, Arcanine jumped on him and caught him between his jaws. The mouse cried out in pain and his trainer quickly became alarmed.

"Pikachu, no!"

"Jump with him and use Flare Blitz against the ground!"

Arcanine jumped in the air with Pikachu between his teeth, and when he reached the apex of his jump, he flamed on and fell like a fire meteor. There was a large explosion and smoke everywhere, and Arcanine quickly emerged from it, giving off red sparks from his attack's recoil and evidencing tiredness.

Jaycen had to hold on the urge to let out a smirk, since he was sure that no matter how strong he was, his son's Pikachu couldn't have endured an attack like that.

Which was why, when an Electroweb flied off between the smoke and hit Arcanine in the face spreading out, the former-Trainer/Pokémon Ranger was left in shock in more than one sense. Furthermore, the Electroweb was even larger than normal, and shortly after Pikachu shot himself to hit Arcanine with a Quick Attack without Ash telling him anything.

"Well done, Pikachu!" Ash cheered.

"Wow, I'm surprised, son. Honestly, I was thinking I had already won." Jaycen, while admittedly somewhat dismayed to have failed with the last attack, quickly forgot about it due to the pride he felt for his son's and Pikachu's power.

"We never give up until the very end. We've come this far and we're not backing down, are we?"

"Pikapika!"

"Then be my guest! Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Once again, both Pokémon locked themselves in a speed brawl, trying to get into the other's blind spot to attack. They were both injured and worn out, but the adrenaline and the drive to win kept them going. Just like their masters.

While the Pokémon fought against one another, Ash realized that he didn't see Jaycen as the man who abandoned him and Delia. At the time, he only saw him as an opponent who gave his all, showing him his full strength, and his full determination. Just like he always did. For the first time in years, he was seeing Jaycen as his father, and to a certain point, it was almost like seeing himself in a more mature version.

Incredible as it sounded, he had to admit it inside: they were sharing a great moment. He was enjoying that battle as very few, normally battles of the caliber of a League finals, against a great rival or a particularly powerful opponent. Would it be enough to forget about the abandonment? At least for the time being, maybe so.

"Let's end this now, Arcanine!" Jaycen shouted. "Use Flame Charge to trap Pikachu!"

"AR!"

Arcanine started running in circles around Pikachu with the Flame Charge. With his already impressive speed boosted by the repeated use of the attack, the dog created a fire ring that raised a wall around the electric rodent, but without stopping, he closed in more and more until he was at minimal distance, clearly with the intent to suffocate him until he fainted.

Ash clenched his fists, grudgingly admitting it was a good idea. The fire ring became hotter and hotter and cut Pikachu's retreat in every direction. He couldn't use Quick Attack to escape on the risk of crashing against Arcanine and get rolled over… but maybe there was another way out.

"Pikachu, jump out of there using your tail!" the trainer shouted.

Pulling off an effort to endure the heat, Pikachu rested over his tail and used it as a spring to shot himself up in the air, surprising Jaycen. The shock left him unable to give orders to Arcanine, who was too busy running in circles to notice how Pikachu had escaped the fiery prison, but it gave Ash the opening to launch his counterattack.

"Thunderbolt, now!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The electric mouse launched his discharge towards the fire ring, and as expected Arcanine ran right into it, stopping dead on his tracks. Once it was over, both of them faced each other head on and charged against one another with Quick Attack and Extreme Speed.

The clash continued for a while, until they both landed on the opposite ends of the field in front of their respective trainers. They were exhausted, and they only had enough energy for one last blow to end the match. The time had come.

"Flare Blitz!"

"Volt Tackle!"

Both Pokémon coated themselves in fire and electricity respectively, ready for the final clash. Normally, Arcanine would have the advantage in weight and size, but Pikachu knew what to do in this situation. Instead of simply running forward, once he gained enough momentum he leapt to the air and spun out to increase his attack's power, like an electric drill. The Flare Blitz collided against the Volt Tackle and they were evenly matched for two seconds, until the latter finally overpowered the former and Pikachu went through Arcanine, knocking him backwards.

A second later, once the smoke cleared, Pikachu was standing on all fours, gasping and sparking with the recoil damage, looking back while refusing to let himself drop on the ground. But Arcanine, laying on the ground, struggled one last time to get back up, until he succumbed.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner!" Delia declared raising her hand.

Satisfied with the result, Pikachu dropped himself on the battlefield. Ash immediately rushed to carry him, while Jaycen verified Arcanine's condition.

Once they both made sure their Pokémon were okay, father and son faced one another once more. Somewhat cautiously, they approached one another until they were face-to-face, and remained silent.

"Nice battle, son." Jaycen extended his hand.

Ash hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't disagree. It had been a nice battle alright, and somehow, he felt as if he had competed against himself. That was unusual, but he had to acknowledge he had liked it.

Smiling, Ash shook his father's hand. "Yeah, good battle. I have to admit it, you're much stronger than I expected."

"Oh, so you expected less from your father?" Jaycen said with a smug smirk.

Ash chuckled at that, but he couldn't say anything. Meanwhile, Delia smiled inside. Her plan to get those two to settle their differences turned out just as she had hoped. Maybe even better, considering they were able to smooth their tensions like mature men.

The following morning…

Ash had meant to catch his dad at the inn before he left, but by the time he arrived, much to his shock he had left leaving the pay for his stay, and a note for him. For a moment, the trainer was rather angry that he left just like that, but the rage diminished as he read the message.

Dear son:

I know you're going to be angry that I leave without saying goodbye, and you have all the right to be. But to be honest, if I see you and your mother I don't think I'll be able to leave later, and I need to go back to work. I hope you understand, although I won't hold it against you if you don't forgive me for that.

Ash simply rolled his eyes. Not a bad start; while his father wasn't that good to talk, at least he didn't do so bad in writing.

After yesterday, now more than ever I regret not having been present in your life. Even since I saw you as a rookie, I saw you compete, always so cheerful and full of determination and hopes. And after our battle, I can see how far you've come as a trainer, and I couldn't be more proud.

'It wasn't just me,' Ash thought. 'I've always had my friends, Mom and my Pokémon for support.'

Thinking about it, maybe it had been better that his father hadn't contacted him then, even with good intentions. Considering how hurt he was for his departure and still too young to understand why things had happened, the least he'd have done would have been giving him a good punch in the face.

That said, if the next time we meet you still want to punch me in the face, I'll accept it. It's the least I deserve for having left as I did.

Ash almost laughed. He wasn't sure if it was because his father's note had answered his thoughts, or because he wasn't actually angry anymore. Admittedly, he still had plenty of things he wanted to drop on him, but now… they no longer weighed on him as much as before.

When Jaycen left he cried for days. He was angry, he didn't understand why he had left them. Ash's mind then traveled to a very specific memory, a night shortly before that argument.

…

"Ash, I want you to answer me something: do you like living in Kanto?"

"Of course! All of my friends are here!"

"And… wouldn't you like to know Fiore? Perhaps becoming a Pokémon Ranger?"

"No, I don't wanna be a Ranger! I wanna be a Trainer, a Pokémon Master!"

…

At the time he didn't understand, but perhaps Jaycen wanted Ash and Delia to leave with him to Fiore, because he didn't want them to be separated. He wanted them to be a family. And perhaps, he also thought Ash could have been a good Pokémon Ranger.

I'm happy you're doing so well on the path you chose. Delia did a great job even without my help. You've become a great trainer, and I know you'll continue to grow even stronger. Keep working as hard as you can and I know you can do anything you want.

Hopefully we'll see each other very soon. Take care, and also watch over your mom for me.

Despite not being present in his life for so long, despite having lacked a fatherly figure for over a decade, suddenly Ash didn't felt that grudge inside anymore, or at least not as strong as before. And to know that he was proud of him, so genuinely, felt nice.

He was about to stack away the note, until he folded it and noted there was something else written. The trainer quickly read it:

P.S: Delia said after this you're planning to challenge the Kanto Elite Four, and then compete for the Kanto Regional Championship. Just so you know: you better not to lose or I'll disinherit you from the fund I left you. Don't you dare put me to shame.

Ash frowned slightly, until he realized it was just a joke and laughed. First, the fund was legally his now that he was twenty one. Second, he didn't believe his father would actually would take his inheritance just over a simple defeat.

"What's so funny?" Delia asked. Ash looked over his shoulder, and saw his mother peeking behind him trying to see the note's contents. Not like he intended to hide it from her anyway. "Oh, I see now. Your father always had a particular sense of humor."

"I can see that," Ash said, and then, unsure as to why, he sighed.

"Is everything okay?" Delia asked. "I hoped that could at fix things between you two at least a little."

"Yeah, it really helped, but really Mom, you're not expecting that we're back to be one big happy family overnight with just a battle and a note. Sure, it's a start, but… we need time."

"I know, I know," Delia said. "It's not like I want to rush it. It's okay to take it slow."

Take it slow. That sounded very odd for someone like Ash, who liked to jump to action and do things as fast as possible. But if it came to fix his relationship with his father, Ash knew that was the better way.

And he genuinely wanted things to be fixed. It could take months, perhaps years, but he did want those wounds to heal. Delia was right: Jaycen was his father, and Ash would always be his son. That would never change, no matter how much time passed.

FIN.

Author's notes:

Okay, so, this was originally written in Spanish for the past Father's Day. It had been ready for a few months, but… I got a bit lazy to translate it, with so many things in my mind. It was meant as a gift for my dad, since I drew a lot from my own experience as I grew up for this.

Out of the stories I've seen in the Pokémon fandom dealing with the grand mystery that is the identity of Ash's father, most of them follow many trends (of him being Giovanni from Team Rocket, Red from the games, and even sometimes Professor Oak), or they base on Takeshi Shudo's notes (about him being a Pokémon Trainer who left in search for his dreams and failed). I personally wanted to try something different, to show Ash's father from a more "human" perspective, a man who made mistakes and has to live with their consequences, but who is ultimately a good person with the best intentions. Like I've said, a lot of this is based on my own experience with my parents' divorce, which was more due to disagreements about where and how they wanted to raise me. And while it didn't end on bad terms, I was too young back then to understand that and I lived with quite a bit of resentment for years. Fortunately, I and my dad have already reconciled, even if we don't see each other that often, and we've mended our relationship. That said, for my children's sake, I hope I never have to make them go through something like that.

Lastly, this story is set in the same continuity of "Aiming for Kanto's Summit", so you might call this a prequel. The Electroweb was a last-minute edition: I replaced one of Pikachu's attacks for the Electroweb in light of him learning it in the Sun & Moon anime while I was writing the original version. I actually think it's more useful than the Electroball (which I've never liked that much), but I still miss the Volt Tackle.

I think that's it. Hope you guys enjoyed it. It's a way to practice writing stuff other than shipping. I'll appreciate if you share your thoughts.