Pallet Rainbow
Chapter 1: The Homecoming
From the top of the hill he could see all of the town, the houses, the little market place, and the famous laboratory with it's signature windmill. Pallet Town never changed, and he liked that, it was familiar, safe, home! Ash Ketchum breathed in the fresh familiar air. " Well Pikachu here we go!" He cheerfully said to his little yellow pokemon which was seated on his right shoulder. "Pika!" It replied. Ash bounded down the hill, excited he was almost home.
"Locked?!" Ash stood before his front door, only to find that he couldn't get in, he hadn't taken his key with him on his journey, didn't want to lose it now did he? "Mom must be at the Professor's place!" He concluded. So he set out for the short walk to the laboratory across the bridge and to the top of a small hill. Even as he approached he could hear the sounds of many
different Pokemon playing together happily in the sunshine, the sound lifted his heart and without even realising it, the sounds spurred him into a run. He ran to the fence and stood on the bottom post so he was raised off the floor. "Hi everyone!!" He called to the playing pokemon, some squealed in delight, some smaller one's seemed confused, they were new additions so didn't recognise the strange boy on the fence. "And hello to you too Ash" Ash knew that voice straight away, he turned to face the young man who had spoken to him, the young man with green hair, red headband and a friendly smile. "Tracey!! It's good to see you!" Ash proclaimed. "You too buddy" Tracey beamed back. "Come on I just finished my rounds, let's go inside." Tracey set off for the lab, Ash closely followed.
People closely scrutinized her, a stranger in town, bruised and carrying a small bundle. They did not interact with her, just let her walk on by. It's not that the girl seemed scary or threatening, just that it was obvious that she needed no help, she had a purpose and sometimes it's best just to leave a person to it. So the people of Pallet subconsciously did so, she wasn't a bother to them, leave her to her business. The girl was heading towards the laboratory of the world renowned Professor Oak, what they didn't know was that she knew him very well, and wasn't as much of a stranger than they thought.
As they got inside Ash was met with the onslaught of female embraces. "Ash! I'm so happy to see you! You've grown since last time, I hope you've been changing 'you know what' every day" Of course this was his mother Delia Ketchum. "Oh Delia he's so handsome, just like his father, but he has your smile. Oh Ashy what a young man your turning out to be!" This came from the other lady to embrace Ash, it took him a few moments to gather his thoughts and realise who this lady was. She was in fact Maggie Sullivan, an old friend of his parents, Ash guessed that she had come to visit to the professor and his mother. Ash heard Tracey stifle a laugh at his current situation, he saw an opportunity for revenge. " Mom I'm so happy to be home, and to see you again Miss Maggie, but I can't have all this attention to myself. Tracey is turning out to be a fine young man don't you think?" Both ladies squealed and bounded towards Tracey and he was engulfed in the deadly hug. He deduced that Ash was fully aware of how the ladies acted around each other, and the fact that they got overly sentimental when it came to the young people in their lives. Tracey shot a glare in Ash's direction, who just raised his eyebrows in amusement, clearly despite his age, his mental age hadn't changed. "Well why don't we have lunch and Ash can regale us his latest adventure" The professor had chirped in at the perfect time. Over sandwiches, cakes and berries galore, Ash told his companions of his journey with the breeder Brock, a very good friend of both him and Tracey. Of how he won countless battles and despair of yet another Brock seeing pretty girl meltdown. Of the pokemon they saw and people they met, and of a very interesting battle with a girl he knew all too well, the Cerulean City Gym leader Misty. Towards the end of their journey, she had paid them a visit while taking a break from the gym. The battle had been the most intense the two had ever had, Ash had won, but just barely. Misty had improved a great amount, and changed in herself, she was more mature, and captivating. Of course Ash didn't share the last part with any one, although Tracey suspected the latter, it was obvious in the way Ash described her. But being the good friend he was, he would not about to embarrass his friend, Tracey was sure that Ash was still confused about his new found feelings. " I'm so proud of you Ash, you've matured so much on this journey. Why do you have to grow up so quickly?" Delia mused. " So where is Brock now Ash?" The professor asked. " He said he wanted to pay a visit to his family and then he'll make his way here in a few days." They all chattered happily for some time. The professor hailed the ladies with his latest poems, while Ash described the pokemon he had encountered to Tracey. It was about an hour later when there was a knock at the door, Tracey stood up from his seat. " I'll get it Professor." " Thank you Tracey." He made his way to the door, and opened it to a girl around his age. Her face was bruised and muddy, her hair matted with mud also. In her arms was a small trembling bundle wrapped in a used to be pink blanket. She looked him right in the eyes, half smiled and said. " You know I could murder a hot drink right about now!"