I know it's been a pretty long time, but I did promise I would be back. I kept realizing that I didn't have the time to be writing when I had my internship. The internship went well, and I did get some money out of it - money I'll probably spend donating to candidates for office.
But yeah, this is SnowLucario. Enjoy the story, and don't forget to review.
Pallet Town was located in the southwestern part of the mainland of Kanto. For the most part, it was a good place to live. Rarely did crime occur, and the schools were some of the best in the region.
The area had the typical small-town feel, the kind that would make pretty much anyone want to live there. Delia Ketchum and her son were no exception.
About a quarter of a mile away from the town center, there was the Ketchum household, a fairly small home that was surrounded by trees. It was early morning, and neither member of the house was stirring.
The sky got lighter and lighter. It wouldn't be long before the sun rose over Pallet Town, and, when that happened, it would soon start streaming through the windows. Ash had planned to be awake before then, just because he needed to be ready for school. It was a sad reality of being eighteen years old, you still had to go to school, go through all that trouble in order to get good grades, and hopefully get a good job at the end of it.
Ash had always wanted to be a Pokemon trainer - after all, he'd craved adventure since he was much younger. His mother had always told him that it would be a good idea to find more viable career options, and, for the most part, she was right. For that reason, Ash had decided, he wasn't going to get a Pokemon until after he moved out and was on his own.
Right now, Ash was still asleep in his room. He had no idea of the day that awaited him, but that was about to change, as the beeping of his alarm began.
Suddenly, the black-haired boy sat bolt upright in his bed. He hated getting up, but he hated the annoying sound of his iPad's alarm even more. Since one was worse than the other, he had to choose which was the lesser of two evils. And he had to go to school, so, he figured, he might as well get up.
Stretching his arms, he reached over to silence the alarm. Climbing out of bed, he proceeded to the bathroom in order to brush his teeth. He then took off his pajamas and headed downstairs, to a place where he knew food would be waiting.
Food.
Ash didn't know why this was, but food was one thing he desired above all else right now. It was literally tearing him apart, the fact that he hadn't eaten since last night. Even though it was usual to break one's fast after sleeping through the night, Ash felt hungrier than he usually did in the morning.
Why the hell am I so hungry? It feels like I could eat a Ponyta. Er...please don't tell that to the ones at the stables.
The young man wiped his forehead, which had started to sweat slightly from the warm morning. It was only 6:28 AM, per his digital clock, but it was already in the mid-seventies, and it was only going to get warmer as the day went on.
As Ash walked into the kitchen, he saw that his mother wasn't up yet. This wasn't anything particularly unusual, as she always tended to be a little later to get up than he was. It wasn't something that worried him by any means.
He poured himself a large bowl of cereal and started eating it. It took away the worst of the hunger pangs, but it only managed to take the edge off of his overall desire to eat. He felt like a squirrel storing up fat for the winter, that was how hungry he was.
And then he remembered something.
School wasn't until tomorrow.
Ash slapped himself on the forehead, unable to believe his own forgetfulness. He'd really thought that he had to be ready for classes this morning, but then he remembered that his senior year of high school would not begin until the next day. Until then, he'd simply have to spend the day wondering what was going on.
I could call Serena to ask her, Ash thought. But would she really want to know that?
Serena was one of Ash's friends. If you had probed him really closely, he might have admitted that he did have somewhat of an attraction to her, a desire to be more than just friends.
He wasn't sure if Serena had those same feelings for him. To be honest, he kind of doubted it. However, he knew that it made sense to tell somebody about the way he was feeling.
Why would I confide in Serena about this and not my own mother?, he couldn't help but wonder. That was one question to which he would have a very difficult time finding an answer.
Eventually, his mother came down from her bedroom. Delia Ketchum was still in her pajamas, wearing slippers on her feet. Judging by how unkempt her hair looked, it was clear that she hadn't even bothered to look more awake than she generally appeared to be when asleep.
"Good morning, Ash" she said. "How's your last day of summer vacation going?"
The young man chuckled. "Please don't remind me. I don't like having to remember that".
Delia shrugged. "Suit yourself. I do hope that you are looking forward to school tomorrow, though".
Ash smiled. "I am".
It was true. While he was on summer vacation, he typically didn't see his friends too much. It always seemed like most of them had summer jobs. Some were trainers, or lifeguards, or camp counselors, or any number of occupations that were typically practiced during the warmest season of the year. Now, though, he was going to get to see his friends again, and he couldn't be happier about that.
"Well", Delia said, "is there anything you'd like to tell me, Ash?"
With the expression on her face, it was clear that Ash's mother knew, or at least suspected, that something was going on that her son wasn't telling her. It was the kind of expression that made the young man's blood run cold. Not with fear, but with the understanding that his mother knew.
"Yes" he said after a brief pause. He was a little surprised himself that he was that forthcoming, but he knew that his mother would only have continued to press him on this matter. It was probably better just to get it over with.
"What is that?"
"I'm feeling hungrier than usual today" Ash replied. "And not, like, a little hungrier than usual".
Delia once again looked at her son with what, it seemed, was an extra layer of scrutiny. "Yeah?"
"I feel like I could eat a Rapidash, even though I just had a bowl of cereal. That's not usual, is it?"
"No" Delia replied. "It isn't".
"I'm thinking of calling Serena", Ash said, "just to let her know what's going on, to ask her if she has any ideas".
His mother's eyes became as wide as dinner plates, and Ash had to resist the urge to facepalm, if only because doing so would have given him away immediately as someone who trusted Serena at least as much as he trusted his own mother.
"You can do that" she said, after seemingly miraculously preventing herself from fainting from surprise. "We should probably also take you to Dr. Donnelly, because you know he'd want to know about that".
Dr. Donnelly was the doctor Ash had been to ever since he was born. Ash could picture him right now - a fairly burly figure in his early sixties, with graying black hair and a wide smile. He was very kind, often referring to himself as the "hired help", because all he ever aimed for in life was to do right by his patients. Ash considered himself very lucky that his doctor was like that.
But, back to the main suggestion his mother had made...
"Yeah, sounds like a good plan" Ash replied. "Let's do that, but I just want to tell Serena what is going on first".
His mother smiled, an expression that appeared slightly mischievous. "Are you sure that you're not...you know...".
Ash could feel his cheeks turn red. "No, Mom, I'm not in love with Serena! I'm just good friends with her, that's all!"
"Okay, then..." Delia said. "Call her if you'd like, but don't expect me to do the speaking for you. I'm just going to be staying out of this for now, except that we will be making an appointment with Dr. Donnelly for later. I am worried about this".
Ash nodded, but he felt exasperated. It seemed to him as though his mother had been implying that he wasn't mature enough to handle a solo, one-on-one, conversation with a girl. As someone who was 18 years old now, a legal adult, it irked him to no end.
He walked over to the phone and punched in Serena's number. He was glad that he remembered it, but it did embarrass him a small amount.
So what if I enjoy talking to Serena more than I do talking to my male friends?, he asked himself. Why does that matter, and why is it even remotely a problem?
"Hello?" the female voice on the other end asked him.
"Serena!" Ash exclaimed. "It's been forever since I talked to you".
"Ash...it's nice to talk to you as well. I was wondering why you called just now".
The young man was generally not one to avoid the conversation that had to be had. You could have called him brutally honest, and that would be true. He said what needed to be said, no exceptions.
"I'm having...weird symptoms" Ash replied. He was very careful in his choice of words.
"Like what?" Serena asked. "Oh, Ash, I hope you haven't gotten sick or anything like that...you wouldn't want to miss the first day of your senior year!"
"Don't worry" the young man said. "I'm not sick or anything like that. I'm just feeling a lot hungrier than usual, and I have no idea why. Have you ever experienced anything like that?"
The answer Ash got from the other end of the line could only be described as chilling.
"Yes...I have. Indeed, I am right now".