Chapter 1: A Deal for a Deal

"Paul? And…Gary? What are you guys doing here?"

Standing before Ash Ketchum were two of his biggest rival competitors in the battling industry. It had been roughly eight months since he had heard from or seen either of them, though this was not especially surprising due to the nature of their work.

Gary's intelligence and persistence blossomed favorably into greater research opportunities that took him around the world. His "expertise" was highly sought after and his publicized findings have granted him a near-celebrity status in the scientific community. After all, not just anyone could stumble upon ground-breaking information related to Pokémon evolution. With the recent developments of mega-evolution in the battle circuit, Gary was expected to continue to surpass expectation and illuminate the hidden mysteries of the Pokémon world.

Paul had one thing and one thing only that he was concerned with: Battling and being the best at it. He had taken a minor break to reevaluate his battling style after suffering his most important defeat at the hands of the man he now stood in front of. As much as he had initially hated it, he did have a grudging respect for Ash and as such decided that his team deserved his respect as well. After all, he wasn't the one taking all the hits, was he? He trained and he trained harder than he had ever trained before. Not just his team either, but his body and mind. He studied relaxation and focus techniques to hone his battling skills; he passed on the knowledge that he had gain to his team and meticulously focused on how to bring out the best performance of each teammate.

As a result, his battling had garnered monstrous results along with the attention of higher-class trainers. Paul's first victory came at the total conquering of the Kanto Battle Frontier. Naturally, there were struggles along the way. Paul learned from these experiences and went to challenge the Kanto League. What was truly surprising was that he gathered the required eight gym badges in a record time of one month and won the Kanto League Conference while only having one of his Pokémon ever defeated. It was considered an incredible accomplishment and many were expecting great things from Paul, some going so far as to declare him a future Pokémon champion. However, he has temporarily resigned from battling circuits to focus on training once more these past six months.

Ash was well aware of these two's recent performances in the world that he once travelled. The key word being "once".

For the past two years, Ash Ketchum had no longer involved himself in Pokémon battling or training. As such, he didn't really have a reason to travel anymore and instead settled home with his mother. From Pallet Town, he would occasionally visit Viridian City and Pewter City in order to pick up miscellaneous packages that would be ordered by his mom or Professor Oak. His mother had picked up a job as a waitress for a local restaurant that opened up in Pallet Town, so he spent most of his day with Professor Oak while assisting him whenever Oak needed it. Ash enjoyed being with the professor since it allowed him to spend time with all of the Pokémon he had acquired throughout his journey. Not only that, but Ash would also be exposed to important information that Oak would often discuss with other professors or people of importance. It was Ash's main way of staying up to date with the rest of the world since Ash soon realized that the news was largely inconsistent and unreliable. In relation to news…

Without a letter or call to inform him otherwise, he was quite unprepared to see his two former rivals standing in front of the door to his and his mom's house. He was happy enough to see them, as with all of his friends, but was also curious. Why were they here?

Paul wore his trademark stoic expression with a seemingly permanent semi-frown. He glanced around at the inner workings of the house behind Ash before his eyes rested firmly on Ash and said, "So are you going to let us in or not?"

"Yeah Ash. It's kind of rude to just let us stand out here. Didn't your mom teach you any manners?" Gary added teasingly, a half-hearted smirk creeping on his face.

Ash snorted in response and stood inside to let the two in. "Of course, my esteemed guests. I certainly missed you two's humbling presences," he replied with no small degree of exaggeration.

After letting the two come inside, he directed them to sit on the couch. Ash asked if either of them wanted something to drink and while Gary was a good human being and politely declined, Paul grunted, shook his head, and looked at Ash as if he was an idiot for merely asking.

"Good ol' Paul. Glad to see that he stuck with his winning personality."

Ash took a seat in a chair and pulled himself to Gary and Paul. After a quick stretch of the arms and neck, he looked at his guests with a slight smile. Ash wasn't quite sure what was supposed to happen next. He's managed guests before, true, but the vibes that he was getting from these two were…odd, to say the least. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had a feeling he knew what their visit was about. At least on Paul's end for that matter. Ash still hadn't worked out a reason for why Gary was here.

Ash glanced at Paul. It looked like he was stewing in a pot of boiling water with how sour his expression was growing. Paul appeared to be losing whatever patience he had for being here and Gary seemed to have picked up on that. The young researcher shot Paul a look that seemed to relay a message of "don't you dare" to impatient one. Paul took a deep breath and diffused himself, training his eyes back on Ash with his usual expression.

"Okay, so what is going on here? What do you two want?" Ash was quick to say after seeing that display. It wasn't the most host-ly thing that could have been said, but it hesitation was something that Ash had no desire to entertain. "Is there something wrong?"

Paul opened his mouth to speak before Gary interjected, "Nothing is wrong per say, it's just that…well…" he trailed off, unsure of what to say. Personally difficult conversations were not his forte and he had long ditched the cocky attitude that would have made this easier to handle. "Paul and I have been in contact for a while now. My interests and his interests seemed to have aligned somewhere down the road these past few months. It's thanks to him that my research has been going as well as-"

"Gary, you are getting off the subject of why we are here. I'm not stalling any longer. This is ridiculous," Paul finally said, silencing his supposed partner with a look of frustration. He then turned back to Ash. "You. Why are you not training? Why are you not battling?"

Ash stared back at Paul with an equal intensity before letting out a sigh. The former trainer scratched the back of his head and let out another small sigh. "Is that all? I thought I already told everyone why I stopped…doing everything I used to," Ash said with a slight shrug. He rubbed his chin, looked at the ceiling, and then looked back at Paul with a sad smile. "I realized that it just wasn't for me in the end."

"Bullshit and you know it," Paul retorted almost instantly. "I could maybe understand that coming from someone else. But not you. You, who essentially have mastered the art of persistence. You don't give up on anything."

"I gave up on training. Isn't that all there is to it?" Ash simply responded as he started to get up. "Looks like you were wrong about that whole 'not giving up on anything', huh?" Ash continued, stretching his legs in order to avoid eye contact with Paul. "Technically, I didn't give up. I just moved on."

"Sure looks like giving up to me. The Ash I knew of-"

"The Ash you knew of decided to grow up a bit and face the facts," Ash interrupted. He jumped to his feet from a particular stretching position and stared down Paul. "Not everyone can be an amazing battler with the talent and team to become the best. I recognize my past accomplishments and am proud of them, don't get me wrong. But I was never going to be a Pokémon Master. I was never going to be champion. I was going to be someone who was almost good enough!" Ash suddenly realized he was raising his voice and toned himself down, weariness seeping into his voice as he said, "I was always someone who was almost good enough. My loss in the Kalos League taught me that."

Paul's expression, initially hardened by fury, softened a near indiscernible degree. While he didn't have much of it, he had learned compassion over the years. Still, he turned away with a curt tch and resigned himself to his thoughts. Clearly, he needed to think about what was just said and how to approach Ash's situation.

Gary, who was silent for the most part, decided that this was a good time to speak. He didn't want to give the impression of good cop/bad cop, but this situation that Ash got himself in needed to be addressed. He had heard from his grandfather that Ash was becoming increasingly quiet and reclusive, which was a stark contrast to his happy-go-lucky and social personality.

"Ash, I think it's long overdue for you to suck it up."

Wow, not the words that Gary meant for Ash. Gary had meant to carefully bring Ash back from this defeatist attitude and get him interested in what he knew Ash loved to do. Like a parental figure, perhaps. Gary did think himself in a place of mental maturity to make that claim. But instead, the rival in him seemed to have reared its ugly head at a really bad time.

"Huh?" was all that Ash said, too surprised by Gary's words to think of anything else. "You think…what?"

"I think what Gary said was what literally everybody else has been thinking. And I do mean everybody," Paul said. "You are currently quite pathetic, Ash. And while I understand that taking multiple losses are tough, I know for a fact that you have a thick enough skin to deal with it. I heard all about your journey as a trainer from Gary." He paused to let his words sink into Ash. "I'm going to be honest. I don't think that either of us can convince you to get back into battling. Or so, at least with words. Especially after two years of being off the grid."

"However," Gary picked up on, finally seeing that this conversation was on track with what they had previously discussed, "We have a deal for you, Ashy-boy! And it's one that I'm sure you will be very interested in."

Ash rolled his eyes. What could they possibly offer that would be worth the struggle of getting back into battling. He was just about to get into the Pokémon Commentary industry since he knew about battling and his previous accomplishments would help with him getting into such a competitive business. It was a good plan with good money and good opportunities down the road. To give that up at this point in his life would be to commit to battling. Being seventeen years old meant that it was time for him to consider his future and he couldn't be jobless forever.

"I don't think that I'll be interested in anything that involves battl-"

"Gary and I can set up a meeting with your father," Paul interrupted rather rudely. He hated the idea of bribing people with stuff like this, but he surprisingly cared enough about Ash to do it. In a roundabout sort of way.

"A meeting with my WHAT?" Ash stumbled backwards in shock and fell right onto the chair behind him. "Are you serious?" Ash said in a hushed tone. He stopped himself and then launched himself into a tirade of questions. "Where is he? What is he doing? How come he isn't here? Does he know where we are?"

"Ash, listen." Gary held up a hand to silence the understandably curious teenager. "We can't answer any of those questions. Mainly because we don't know." Seeing Ash quickly deflate and possibly never recover, he quickly added, "That's not to say that you can't meet him though. We worked out a deal with someone who knows where your father is. If you decide take up both of our conditions, we can guarantee that you'll meet your dad."

While Ash was excited at the idea of meeting his dad after all this time, for more than one reason, he couldn't help but also be skeptical. Some random person who knows who is dad is managed to conveniently get into contact with Gary and Paul for some fishy deal that just happens to benefit Ash? Those are the sort of conveniences that people will use as an example for how to spot a scam.

"Ash, I know what you are thinking and I can say that Gary is right," Paul scoffed, getting Ash's attention in the process. "I would put my honor as a trainer on it. You will just need to have faith in us that we can hold up our end of the deal. Got it?"

"I know how this may seem Ash, but can you trust us?" Gary asked hopefully. "I'd stake my reputation as a researcher on it."

Ash didn't quite know what to say. Again. He found himself in a position that he would have never guessed just earlier this morning. This has been a strange afternoon and he almost wished that his mom was here to help him deal with it. Almost, yet he wanted to make this choice for himself and maybe for his mom too. She deserved to see her…significant other after all of this time of not knowing where he was. Granted, all he had to base this decision was the words of two former rivals who he hadn't heard from in months. It wasn't the sturdiest of foundations for such a decision, but Ash knew deep down what his answer was going to be. He didn't know if he hated or liked himself for it. But first, Ash had a few burning questions that he knew they could answer.

"Why do you guys care so much? My life doesn't affect either of you in the slightest." Ash looked at Paul warily. "Especially you."

Paul returned Ash's look and said, "Honestly, you are right. As it stands, I have no real gain for helping you out of your pitiful state." Ash was going to say something before Paul continued, "However, I do have you to thank for my recent accomplishments. Without me experiencing losing to you in Sinnoh, I probably would have plateaued in my training and battling skills. I didn't have the proper mindset of a great trainer and you showed me that in our final match. I too took a break, but instead it was to adopt the core of your trust and respect of Pokémon into my own. Only then did I set out to accomplish my goals. Consider this a sort of repayment on my part. I will help you and your team back into shape and for no cost either." Paul stopped to give Ash a rare smirk. "People would pay for my teachings, you know."

Ash frowned at the last quip from Paul, but accepted his answer. It made sense considering Paul's personality. He was prepared to call out Paul if Paul had said it was about being a good friend or having a soul. Gary gave a fake cough to break up the tension.

"Anyways, I cannot say that my reasons are purely humanitarian either," Gary started with. He knew that Ash was looking for practical reasons and honesty, which he was going to give him. "My research on evolution has taken a turn for the most interesting. Paul has managed to acquire a Pokémon that can mega-evolve along with the equipment necessary to use it. However, he cannot seem to get it to mega-evolve no matter what we try and it is halting my research. I am hoping that you will be able to help him mega-evolve his Pokémon. In addition, I wish to study your Greninja and the 'Ash-Greninja' form, which would be most efficiently done in battle," Gary wrapped up as he remembered to add on the study of Ash's Greninja at the end. "I do care about you Ash. I figure this deal would work out for all of us."

"A deal for a deal."

Ash nodded, accepting Gary's answer as well. He would be happy to help Gary with his research, though allowing Gary to study the Ash-Greninja form would definitely require him to get back into serious battling. It's not a form that can just be summoned for the sake of test tubes. He certainly didn't understand that much about it himself. He could only experience it. Clemont probably knows more and Ash is surprised Gary didn't just go to him. They both like science, so they would get along, right?

"I'll…think about it guys. Just give me a day or two to mull it over, alright?" Ash responded carefully. He pretty much already knew his answer, but he wanted to run it by a few people first and get their opinion. He was no longer so focused on being rash.

"You aren't saying that just to get us to go away, are you?" Paul brought up, making sure that he wasn't wasting his time with is.

Ash shook his head. "No, I wouldn't do that. I would just tell you upfront if I didn't want to do it."

That seemed to satisfy Paul and he stood up. "Then I think we are done here. No offense, but I'm not interested in pleasantries."

Gary just stood up and extended his hand towards Ash. "I'm not so barbaric with manners, but I must be off. I do have some other reports to work on." He shook hands with Ash, who took his hand firmly. "You have both of our numbers. Just call us and let us know what you decide."

The two guests made their way to the door and left while shutting the door. Ash waited a couple of minutes before barreling past the door and shouting, "Paul, you are still a jerk!"

Even at a distance, Ash could feel Paul's glare reaching into his soul.

:The Next Day:

"So what do you think, Pikachu?"

Pikachu's response was to run over to the dresser, take Ash's hat, run back to Ash, run up Ash's back, place the hat on top of Ash's spiky unkempt hair, and climb on Ash's shoulder where he used to ride in the past. Pikachu then gave a bright, confident grin and said, "Pika!"

Ash couldn't help but grin in response. Pikachu's energy was infectious and the small electric mouse not only seemed okay with it but actively excited to do it. When Ash had stopped training altogether, the news shocked Pikachu. After all, Pikachu had been through multiple slumps with Ash and Ash always seemed to bounce back in the end. Despite this, Pikachu respectively accepted Ash's decision and planned to support whatever he ended up doing all the way. From conversations with the rest of Ash's team at Professor Oak's lab, they all seemed to share similar sentiments with Pikachu. Some were more disappointed than others, like Sceptile for example, but they didn't hate Ash for it. Pikachu wasn't even sure that the others outside of the ranch even knew that Ash had stopped training, like Charizard and Squirtle. Pikachu would have immediately relayed the news to everybody, but Pikachu wanted to give that responsibility to Ash. More fun that way.

"Well, it's good to hear that I have the support of my best buddy!" Ash laughed joyfully and looked at his wall. This certain section was aligned with plaques of his previous adventures. He smiled and looked down the row of each one:

Indigo Plateau Conference: Top 16

Silver Conference: Top 8

Ever Grande Conference: Top 8

Lily of the Valley Conference: Top 4

Vertress Conference: Top 8

There were two exceptions to these accomplishments: The Orange League and the Kanto Battle Frontier. Both are fairly unofficial when it comes to league regulations, but they both are difficult in their own right to accomplish. Ash had beaten the Orange League and the Kanto Battle Frontier and had awards for both located on a nearby desk. What had filled his heart with a bit of sad nostalgia these past two years had now excited Ash. He might be looking forward to battling again. Maybe he'll even compete in a tournament sometime in the future.

Now that Ash thought about it, the specifics of the deal weren't wholly clarified. He was asked to train and battle again, but nothing really else. How much training and battling would fulfill his end of the deal and allow him to meet his dad? And for that matter, what did this stranger that Gary and Paul deal with talk about? Why was he withholding information about his dad? What did he have to gain?

There were too many questions and not enough answers. Ash hated to be left in the dark, but it seems like Paul and Gary were almost just as lost as he was. Regardless, worrying about it now wouldn't be especially helpful to anyone. If it's truly important for him to know, he will know. Somehow, someway.

Right now, it was almost time for his mother to be back soon. He would have to tell her about what he was planning to do, yet he was hesitant to do so. Was he really going to tell her about his father? He wasn't sure if that was the best course of action. If on the horrible chance it was impossible to find his father after all, he wouldn't want to have her expectations raised only for them to be mercilessly shattered. She has endured a lot of pain over the course of many years. She just now finally seems to be throwing off the shackles of her past and living life again. She was always a good mother, but she always carried a sort of heavy sadness around her when she thought nobody was looking. Now, she's working as a waitress and having fun doing so if the bright smile she wears out the door is any indication.

Ash walked to the kitchen and nearly smacked himself at the sight of these dishes that needed to be cleaned. He had completely forgotten to do them thanks to the bomb that Gary and Paul had dropped on him before being on their merry way. Ah well…

"No time like the present," Ash mused with a small chuckle.

Pikachu generally hated doing the dishes, so the electric mouse was content to simply watch Ash struggle with the small mountain of dishes. This wouldn't have even been that big of a problem if Ash didn't eat so much in one sitting. So now, Ash was having a war with the dishes with his trusty soap and sponge as the only weapons in his arsenal. Along with a healthy dose of water, of course.

In only about a fifteen minutes, Ash managed to clear away the sink of all dirty dishes. He wiped his forehead of the sweat that somehow made its way up there.

"I guess I had some energy to spare there," he said to himself before looking around and groaning, "Why do I sometimes feel like I talk to myself too much?"

A swift unlocking sound rattled from the front door. The door slowly swung forward to reveal a still-sort-of-young-looking mother trying to balance groceries while talking on her phone. She didn't even notice that her son had left the kitchen and was staring at her struggles for a good moment. With a pfft, Ash quickly took the groceries, freeing up his mother Delia Ketchum. She was very engrossed in her conversation.

"Yes, I understand that you want me there this weekend but you have to…no, that's simply not true! I would never try to…now don't give me that! Yes I…yes I know that Mr. Huckleson but-"

Delia abruptly stopped talking. Her eyes widened before she looked at her phone screened and puffed her cheeks in mock frustration.

"He hung up on me! Of all the rotten-"

She was caught off-guard and stopped talking when her only son ran up and nearly tackled her with a hug of pure affection. She almost giggled at the adorable site and returned the hug with all of the motherly affection she could muster. A short while later and they both released each other.

"Hi sweetie. How was your day?" she asked, ready to hear about how he did nothing but watch television all day. She wouldn't have been surprised, considering how reluctant he had been to leave the house as of late. She didn't want to bother him if he didn't want to talk about it. Not the best parenting, she knew, but she tried to talk to him when he was upset before and…and well that didn't go over so well. Maybe all he needed was time.

"Actually pretty good for once. I even did the dishes and changed my underwear," Ash proudly proclaimed as Pikachu cheered along with him. He laughed and crouched to scratch Pikachu behind the ears.

"Wow, I am truly impressed. It's not every day that my Ashy remembers to do the dishes, let alone his undergarments too," Delia responded back with a small smile. She was not above sarcasm when it came to dealing with Ash. She had even noticed lately that he picked up her jabbing tone and sarcastic quips. He was always good at adapting.

"Thanks mom." He nearly stuck his tongue out at her when she wasn't looking. He stopped himself when it realized that it wasn't the most mature thing to do. "Anyways, I have news."

"Oh? What is it dear?" she said, half-listening as she busied herself with the groceries.

"I'm considering training again."

Delia didn't even flinch at the supposed "big news", but she did slow her movement a bit. A side-effect of running information through her head, perhaps. Better to not let Ash know just how surprised she really was.

"Really? Why is that? Why now? Weren't you going to become a commentator of Pokémon?"

Ash, a bit disappointed at the lack of surprise from his mother, went on to say, "Well, Gary and Paul came by yesterday and encouraged me to start training again."

"After two years of saying nothing to you about it? How strange that they would show up now of all times." Delia remarked as she continued to think to herself.

"So, what do you think? About me training again." Ash managed to ask. He was unbelievable nervous right now, which was why he approached this topic the way he did. If he introduced it slowly to his mother, he wasn't sure that he would have ever been able to say it. He really wanted her approval and support. He also knew that she very much supported the idea of her son having a stable job in the future.

Delia didn't say anything immediately and instead continued to put groceries away. On one hand, she could see his love of training from miles away and was quite sad to see him abandon his craft. It clearly had a negative influence on his overall happiness and seemed to have shaped his personality to be a bit more…cynical. Not as naïve as he used to be. On that note, his decision to stop battling and training seems to have given him a more adult perspective. This last year or so Ash has obtained a lot of maturity, for which she could not be more proud of. He seemed to be taking his future seriously, which in turn allowed her to give him the space that he needed. Knowing that her son is always safe is a big bonus to her as well.

However, Ash needed her support in what he decides is right. He has grown enough that she knows he put a fair amount of thought into this. She needed to trust in his decision making and be there for him.

"Ash, as a mother I cannot say that I'm not worried about this decision," she started, "but I will, if you choose to do so, support you all the way in your training. There is a certain love that you have for your Pokémon that I haven't really seen from anyone else. There is also a love of battling that you have deprived yourself of. You refused to even battle recreationally. It isn't my place to tell you what to do. It is my place to tell you when I think you are making a choice that can hurt yourself or the people around you. With that said, I have your back."

Ash let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and had to wipe away some tears that were forming. He didn't know how much he needed to hear that. "Thanks mom. I really appreciate that."

He truly meant it.

But that doesn't mean that he had to mention that his father was involved. It was better this way.

After another hug, Ash ran upstairs with Pikachu in tow. He closed his door and pulled out his phone. The screen illuminated and he scrolled through the options until he landed upon "CONTACTS". Scrolling through his contacts he found Gary's number first.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and dialed the number.

*Ring*

*Ring*

*Ri-

"Hello? This is Gary Oak speaking. Sorry, I'm rather busy-" Ash heard a gigantic CRASH before the voice on the phone continued, "…with a big problem right now. Call me back in a few days."

"Gary, it's me! Ash!"

A brief pause. Then a nervous laugh.

"Oh, hey Ashy-boy! You called earlier than I expected."

Ash raised an eyebrow at Gary's tone during that statement, but decided to not question it. "You and Paul should meet me in Viridian City by the gym tomorrow. I'll be waiting there to give you my answer."

"Why can't you just tell us over the pho-"

And then the voice simply stopped talking. Ash looked his phone and saw that he was clearly hung up on. Or the call dropped. Either way, Ash just shook his head and wondered about what could have possibly been happening over there.