Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
As the Sun was beginning to shine over Route 2, our beloved trainer; Ash Ketchum was trailing his old companion, Pikachu as they ran towards their old home. "Come on Pikachu! We need to get home as quickly as possible!" He picked up his pace as the duo avoided running through the tall grass. His companion cheerfully responded through his natural speech, sharing his trainer's enthusiasm.
'I can't wait to see my Mum again' He said to himself as a huge smile appeared on his face. It took them only a few minutes to reach the infamous Viridian Forest. Skidding to a stop, Ash and Pikachu stared at the Forest entrance for a minute. "What do you think Pikachu?" His companion smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Let's go!" The duo then ran into the forest.
A few decisive battles later, they reached the entrance of Viridian City; and like the first day Ash went out on his journey, the duo was greeted by Officer Jenny. "Is that you Ash?" She asked, greatly surprised. "Of course Officer Jenny, who else would I be?" He chuckled as he shook the hand of the stunned officer. "I can't believe you would come back" A few people near the post overheard the conversation and stared at Ash in amazement, or from the minority; hate.
"Well I'm here, aren't I?" He joked as he became slightly awkward at the stares of the people. Officer Jenny noticed this and turned towards the gathering crowd. "Now! Don't you crowd Mr. Ketchum here, he's tired and wants to go to the Pokemon center, isn't that right?" He nodded, but the crowd wouldn't disperse as they began to take pictures of the eighteen year old boy. The officer sighed and turned her attention back to Ash. "Want to ride the motorcycle, for old times sake?"
"Yes please" He said sheepishly. Officer Jenny and the duo then boarded on the motorcycle and drove past the crowd. Ash heard a few gossips here and there, kind of embarrassed at their remarks whilst Pikachu just glared at the guy that said that he was a cheater.
Sooner or later, they arrived in the Viridian Pokecenter, of course crashing through the front door. Nurse Joy stared at Officer Jenny in annoyance before she caught glance of the trainer with the blue cap. "Ash?" He waved his hand as he and Pikachu left the motorcycle, wobbling. "The one and only" Officer Jenny remarked as she revved up her motorcycle.
"I'll just hold off the crowd you made, Ok?" Ash nodded in appreciation before the officer left the center. Though, the ones that were already in the center were still quite surprised at his arrival, not because of the motorcycle (since they were already used to it), but solely on the presence of the duo.
"Hey Nurse Joy, still remember me?" He quipped as he approached the counter with Pikachu on his shoulder, their smiles showed no sign of fading from their faces. Her expression turned from shock to genuine happiness. "How could I forget the one that saved this very center when he was just starting out? I'm really proud of you Ash"
"Thanks a lot, it means a lot to me" He laughed, still quite embarrassed from the attention he was getting. Pikachu raised his hand as he also wished for attention. Nurse Joy giggled and patted Pikachu on the head. "-And you too Pikachu, you were very strong when you battled Cynthia" Her expression then turned into confusion. "Actually, how did you manage to do that Ash? It was practically next to impossible" He shrugged and placed Pikachu on the counter whilst giving his Pokedex to Nurse Joy. "Training, very hard training; that's all I can say" Nurse Joy got the hint and hooked Pikachu to a machine, then she inspected if he was still at his top shape; then she grabbed the Pokedex and inserted it in the computer.
"There have been some rumors about you, you know?" Nurse Joy said as she unhooked the cable, and waited for the computer to load in the results. "About me cheating? I didn't cheat, its just what I said; its just because of hard training" He replied as he eyed the computer, more specifically the results. Nurse Joy widened her eyes as she viewed over the information. "The Pokemon League knows about this, drug tests stated that Pikachu never took in any kind performance enhancing drugs; its all in the training"
"Well, I believe you; if the Pokemon League had no problem with this, then I can't say anything else" Ash chuckled as Pikachu climbed up his arm. "Thanks Nurse Joy" The Nurse smiled back and saved the information into her computer. "Well, whatever training you did with Pikachu, I bet its incredibly hard"
"Pikapi!" Pikachu wholeheartedly agreed, as he smirked at his trainer. "So what made you come back Ash?" She curiously asked, while she was inputting that he was currently present in Kanto, Pokedexes were also exclusive passports for trainers. He scratched the back of his head, unable to think of an answer. "A friendly visit, oh and I'm sorry that I only now gave my Pokedex here and not while I was at Vermilion; I was excited" He replied sheepishly.
"No its fine, good luck with the visit then" Nurse Joy handed him his Pokedex and bowed. Ash bowed back and turned around; eager to reach Pallet town. "Oh, and before you leave" He stopped and turned around before Nurse Joy handed him a small box that was wrapped in gift wrapper, the box was not heavy and was also quite small. "Open that when you return back home, it was given to me by a certain someone" Ash narrowed his eyes for a moment, confusion clear from his eyes before he shrugged and slid it inside his pockets.
"Thanks again!" He shouted as he tried to leave the Pokemon center, the people were now trickling in and taking pictures of him and Pikachu, while some were trying to get an autograph. He kindly gave them their autographs before he scampered off to Pallet town with Pikachu.
Pallet Town
"Come on Pikachu! We're almost there!" He could already see it, the silhouette of his old home. He skidded to a stop when he reached the gate entrance of the house. The day was already at its peak and the wind was humid. Both Ash and Pikachu were terribly sweating from their marathon.
They stared at the house for a moment, examining it as if it was the first time they saw their home. The white walls were certainly clean, the glass was scrubbed and the roof was freshly red; like it was newly painted. The flowers were also in bloom, extravagant in their aromas and looks. But there was something dead in the atmosphere. The duo clearly sensed this as they looked over the house again, the aura of the house was grim and although it was maintained well, it looked like someone died recently.
"Do you sense that Pikachu?" His companion nodded as he jumped off his shoulder, the aura of the place was incredibly sad and as they approached the front door, the intensity of the atmosphere surrounding the house went worse. They stopped before the door and hesitated for a moment.
"What do you think will be my mother's reaction, Pikachu?" His companion shrugged as the rodent stared at the wooden door. They hadn't been in this house for five years. "Well we won't find out until we go in, right?"
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded. Ash brought up his arm and knocked on the door, before the duo waited for literally five minutes. It was only when they knocked for the fifteenth time that somebody answered, rather rudely. "Who's there!" The voice was feminine yet grumpy and it seemed like she was greatly annoyed by his knocking. Ash looked at Pikachu for a moment before he had an idea. As his companion saw his trainer's smile, he smirked; getting a gist of what he was going to do. Ash coughed and pinched his neck.
"It's your husband, Red Ketchum" He deepened his voice as he tried to mimic the voice of his deceased father. The duo were trying their best not to laugh, but as they were about to burst; they heard heavy and angry footsteps from the other side. "You think I would be fooled by your pranks, huh! You'll pray to Arceus tha-" The door abruptly swung open, and an old woman was seen on the other side. Ash stared at his mother for a moment, a smile still on his face. "Pray about what, mother?" All of a sudden, tears began to form in the eyes of the old haggard Delia Ketchum. It was at that moment, Ash found himself being hugged by his old mother. He was surprised at how fast she jumped at him, she was so fast in fact that he bet his life that Latias couldn't even see her speed when she embraced him. Pikachu was equally surprised but came back to his senses fast enough to leave the two alone for a moment.
Ash embraced her mother back and stroked her mother's her back, trying to ease her tears away. "Mum, I was just gone for five years" He joked as he took in the old scent of her. "Don't you say that mister! You haven't even visited me even once, do you know how lonely I was!? I thought you have gone Red on me" Ash sweat dropped as she used his father's name as an adjective. Though he didn't stop her from scolding him as she tightened her grip around him, scared that he would disappear again for another five years.
"Yeah, sorry about that" He laughed as Delia pulled away and wiped her tears from her face with his thumb. "Though I understand why you didn't come back, I'm really really sorry Ashy" His smile faltered for a moment, but it came back stronger as ever. He had forgiven her and all his friends, he had avenged his Pokemon already; that was enough for him.
"Hehe, don't think about it; its not really a sin to me" He helped her mother up and led her inside the house. "But your pokemon..." She looked at his belt, there were none attached except for one pokeball; which was for Pikachu. "I'll get new ones; don't worry"
They sat down on the living room couch, Mr. Mime wasn't in the house but was at the store; buying groceries. Pikachu plopped itself down in the kitchen and stole a bottle of ketchup, pleasuring himself with the taste of the condiment. "So Mum, have you watched my battles on the Pokemon Arena?"
"Every single one Ashy" Pure pride was emanating from her, when she watched him battle; she was worried when he battled with only one Pokemon, Pikachu. But she was shunned, incredibly stunned when she saw him mow down every single challenger in his path. His smile while he battled was different, his smile was of confidence and power, it eased yet intimidated whomever he faced.
"That's my mum" He laughed before he yawned, tired from all the running he did. He did come all the way from Vermilion city, from there he used the Diglett tunnel until he reached Route 2, then from there he headed south towards Pallet town.
"You should rest, its obvious that you're tired" He nodded in appreciation and went up to his room, Pikachu trailed him with a ketchup bottle in his hands. Although before Pikachu stepped on the first step, Delia said to Ash's companion. "You were very strong Pikachu, I'm proud of you too" The pokemon gave his trainer's mother a thumbs up before he followed Ash up the stairs. Delia sat back on the couch and smiled.
"My son's so strong, even stronger than his father, he'd be certainly proud" She said to herself as she remembered the headline on the newspaper. 'The Trainer that Won the League with One Pokemon'
A/N
What do you think? Good? Bad? Both? This is a different take on the usual betrayal stories as I kind of liked them. Please review what you think, and favorites and follows would certainly help inspire me to write more. But other than that, thanks for reading.