Disclaimer: I do not own 'Pokemon' or any other franchise.

Edited chapter!

Home coming

A lone Spearow flew up in the sky carefully searching the trees below for any sign of breakfast. It was fairly early. The sun had just risen just a while ago. But as they say, the early bird catches the worm. Spearow spread his wings further as he glided along enjoying the morning breeze while keeping his eye out for any potential target. He was a bit away from home, but he liked flying.

He gave a happy squawk as he found his soon to be meal. Taking a moment to glide further, he tucked his wings in to swoop down. Today was a good day it seemed. As he prepared to do so, his eyes suddenly caught sight of something. They widened in alarm and he flapped his wings furiously to put more distance his 'target' and himself.

He was not ready to face a human trained Pokemon, especially if said Pokemon happened to be the same Pikachu who hurled a lightning bolt at his flock six years ago.

Ash Ketchum smiled as his faithful yellow rodent came running up to him.

"Ready to hit the road again buddy?" he asked as he placed his hat on his head.

Pikachu took his usual spot on his friend's shoulder. "Pika!" he replied happily.

Ash dusted his pants and patted the rodent. The little guy was just as excited as him to be home it seemed.

"I'm excited too Pikachu. We'll be home soon," he said.

Ash breathed in the fresh air surrounding Pallet town and started walking. After his journey in Sinnoh, he was finally glad to be back. As they say, there is no place like home.

His slow walking turned into a light jog and eventually into a full out sprint as his finally caught a glimpse of his home town. He grinned as Pikachu whined in protest and got down from his shoulder and ran alongside him. The small Pokemon in his path scurried away as Ash hurried past them. He paid them no mind, however, as he neared the town.

"We're here Pikachu. Pallet town," he said getting a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Race you home."

It was just like any other day in Pallet, nice, peaceful and quiet. That's what the owner of Pallet's Pokemart thought too as he opened his shop. He was startled by the sudden shout at the end of the road and turned to see a figure with a hat dash past him.

"Hey! You're cheating! No quick attacks!"

The owner shook his head and smiled as he brushed off the disturbance. It looked like somebody was back in town.

Pikachu shouted triumphantly as he reached the Ketchum residence before Ash. He turned to gloat to his trainer only to have dust cloud his vision. When it cleared, he was confused to see Ash quite a bit ahead of him still running without any sign of stopping.

Ash turned and grinned at Pikachu. "We moved remember? I told you about it."

It took a few moments for realization to dawn on Pikachu's face by the time which Ash was far ahead of him. His eyes widened before he went chasing after his trainer.

"Wait up, damn it! I don't know the way!"

Ash laughed as he heard Pikachu shout behind him. Perhaps Pikachu was angry? The chase continued for a while with Ash leading Pikachu in circles and Pikachu trying to shock Ash. By the end of the chase, the inhabitants of Pallet town clearly knew that Ash was back. Ash ended up in front of a larger house that his previous house, panting and arguing with Pikachu.

"I won! Not much of a speedster, are you?"

"You cheated all the way!" Pikachu retorted though his trainer couldn't understand him.

Ash laughed as Pikachu rapped him on his head with his tail. Dusting his clothes so that he wouldn't appear filthy in front of his mother, he raised his hand to knock. Just as he was about to do so, the door when it opened and Ash found himself staring at a large man who was a couple of inches taller than him. He stared at the raven haired man for a while before his mouth turned upwards to form an uneasy grin, his hand slowly lowered to his side.

"Hey dad..." he greeted hesitantly.

The man, Ash's father, had his mouth twisted into a cheery grin, seemingly not noticing his son's hesitance.

"Long time no see kiddo! Come on in."

He stepped aside with and gestured with his hand- a rather large hand.

Ash stepped inside and took a moment to look at his father. He hadn't changed much over the years he hadn't seen him. Still the same six foot height, vibrant but hard brown eyes and the same short raven hair . The man seemed to have gained a bit more muscle to his already large frame with his torso appearing larger thanks to the tight tank top he was wearing.

Ash's father was back it seemed. Having been gone for most of his childhood, it felt like seeing a stranger. He was glad to see his father, yes, but he didn't know how to react after seeing him in person after a long time.

Ash once again flashed him a quick but uneasy grin and turned to look at the house. It was fairly large, larger than his previous house and by the boxes lying about, things were still yet to be arranged. It seemed that his dad had at least earned some money in all those years being away. He could definitely like this house.

His face split into a full and happy grin as he caught sight of his mother descending the stairs. That was a person he could happily react to.

"Ash!" she cried happily, "and Pikachu too!" The little rodent squeaked happily at the greeting.

Delia quickly came near him and wrapped him up in a hug. "Look at you. All grown up and strong."

Ash was a good bit taller than her now, having to bend down a bit to hug her, something that he didn't fail to notice. He dipped his head and blushed but his momentary pride was ruined by Ash's father.

"He's still a runt though," he said with a cheeky grin. Ash's grin flattered at that. Though he knew that his dad was only joking, he couldn't stay composed. This kind of familiarity from his dad felt alien to him. Delia sensed his discomfort and spun around to face her husband with her hands on her hips.

"He's still a growing boy Alex. He'll be taller than you soon," she said with a huff.

Alex brought his hands up in defense. "All right all right. Calm down."

"Say dad," Ash called. "Is that your Vileplume?" he asked jerking a thumb towards a Vileplume who was helping Mimey move the couch. It was odd seeing new Pokemon in the house, especially seeing a Vileplume who seemed to be helping Mimey. Mimey never let anyone do his work before. Never.

"Oh That's your mom's Pokemon." Alex replied as he set the television in it's proper place.

"Mom's?" asked a surprised Ash. Alex nodded and set about moving the fridge next, casually lifting it over his back despite it being rather heavy. Ash shook his head. At least all that bulk wasn't just for show. "And do you need a hand?"

Alex shook his head. "Nah, I got this. And your mom has a bunch of other Pokemon too. They're resting in the garden."

Ash was surprised. His mom had shown no interest in capturing Pokemon before. Even Mimey had been acquired accidentally. His unasked question was answered as him mom entered the room.

"Alex made me capture a couple of them. They're a great help around the house too," she said and sat down on the couch and took a nearby towel and wiped her forehead. A proud grin made its way to her face and she looked at Alex. "I even battled a couple of times too. I can see why you like it so much."

Ash's mouth dropped open at that. His mom? Battling? He couldn't even think of those two in one sentence. He couldn't imagine his sweet mother standing on the end of a field and shouting orders at a Pokemon. Alex noticed his look and laughed.

"Surprised," he asked. "I was too. She's rather good at that. Guess it runs in the family huh?"

Ash nodded dumbly, still too surprised to speak.

"She even defeated me once using Mimey." Now that really caught him off guard considering his dad used a pretty strong trainer before taking up a job in the league. Plus imagining the apron- wearing Mimey battling brought an involuntary snort.

Delia blushed a bit. "It wasn't that hard…"

Alex gave her a deadpan look. "Were you trying to be modest or did you deliberately insult my training skills?"

Ash suddenly broke out laughing at that.

It was good to be home.

A/N: A short chapter of getting Ash home.

Next chapter will deal with the explanation of the summary of this fic. I believe the story will get interesting from there. I didn't want to deal with any of that in this chapter.

And once again I ask you to help me improve my writing. Is my writing style bearable? What are the mistakes I have made? How can I improve? Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Read and review!