Chapter 2:
Whoopsies
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"Talking"
"Thoughts"
"DEITY (OLYMPUS MON) SPEECH"
Line Break
"Ok, now, just sit still."
Ash grunted, flinching lightly as the doctor shone a light in his eyes.
Delia sat to his right, soothingly rubbing his back.
The doctor hummed, "Well, his eyes are fine—no discoloration, proper dilation," he reached into coat pocket, "Now, I'm going to need you to stick out your tongue and say 'Ahh'." Ash complied.
The doctor pressed Ash's tongue down with a popsicle stick, shining the light down his throat, "…Throat's looking alright too." He removed his instruments, allowing Ash to close his mouth.
"However, just to be safe, I do need to draw some blood for testing," the doctor gazed questioning at Delia.
She sighed, nodding her consent, and from his seat, Red reached into her purse, pulling out the candy bar they'd brought along in case the doctor had to bring out a needle.
However, just as her husband grasped the candy, Ash stuck his arm out, rolling up his sleeve, "Ok," he stated.
Red dropped the bar on the floor, and Delia's eyes widened in disbelief. Ash hated shots—well, needles in general—ever since he was a baby.
The doctor smirked, tapping Ash' leg, "I admire the enthusiasm kiddo, but I don't have the proper tools on me. A nurse will come by in a few minutes." With that said, he left the room.
She shifted over, looking her son in the eyes, "Sweetie, you're okay with getting a shot?" Even if he'd been in a funk for the past few days (discounting the fact that he—along with Gary—had been found unconscious by the lake), Ash was deathly afraid of needles. Heck, last time she practically had to put him in a chokehold to keep him still.
Ash, whose attention was previously on his father, turned to face her. He nodded a confident frown on his face, "I'll be fine."
And just like that, it clicked, and a warm feeling spread through her heart. Her little boy was putting on a brave face for his daddy! Oh, if these were any other circumstances, she'd hug him close to her chest and coo over how brave and strong her little man was becoming!
But, these were not such times. Instead, she clasped his hand in her own, beaming warmly at him.
A nurse came in a few minutes later, with those special needles they use for drawing blood.
The nurse smiled sweetly at Ash, "Hey there kiddo, I'm going to need you to extend your arm for me." Ash did as requested.
As the nurse sterilized the injection site and tied a rubber band around his arm, she said, "Now, you might feel a little pinch when the needle goes in, but I promise that it'll only last a second."
Ash hummed lightly, flexing his fingers.
The nurse hummed a wordless tune as she checked her tools one last time. She then nodded, moving the needle to that it hovered just above Ash's vein. She lifted her eyes to meet his, "Are you ready?" He nodded, and she stuck the needle in.
Delia winced as the tool pierced her son's flesh, and brought her free hand up to Ash's back, softly whispering that her son was such a big, brave boy.
Within a minute, the nurse had drawn enough blood, taking the needle out and quickly putting a bandage in its place. She smiled, "There, was that so bad?"
Ash poked the bandage, shaking his head. "Nah," he replied.
The nurse chuckled, putting Ash's blood in a pouch, "The results should be in by the end of the week." she said to Delia.
As she cleaned up, the doctor entered the room once more. "Well, that should be all. I'll give you a call once the tests come back. Unless you have any more questions?"
Delia shifted her eyes to her husband, then to her son, then back to her husband. Red nodded, gesturing for Ash to come down.
Careful of his bandage, Ash did so, slipping on his shoes and heading for the door. Red smiled, ruffling Ash's hair. He grunted, pushing the hand off him, only to smile as Red held the candy in front of him. Muttering a quick 'thank you', Ash snatched the bar, quickly unwrapping it.
Smiling, the doctor turned to the nurse, "Nurse Jill, would you please escort Ash to the front room?"
Jill nodded, gesturing for Ash to follow, which he did after eyeing the nurse for a moment.
As the door closed behind the pair, Delia noticed a sharp change in Red's mood. He narrowed his eyes, stood straighter, set his face in a frown. Delia suppressed the urge to chuckle, always so serious, her husband.
"Doctor," Delia began, entering a more serious mood herself, "What do you think, will Ash be okay?"
The doctor spread his hands out, "Well, the blood test will tell us definitively, but from what I can tell it's Pokérus."
Red raised his hand to his throat, rubbing it. Delia, for her part, blinked twice, "Pokérus? Samuel found him and Gary by the stream, both of them unconscious! Pokérus-"
"Delia," Red gently interrupted, "Pokérus has a wide variety of symptoms. From something as simple as a runny nose to as dire internal bleeding."
"Thankfully it hasn't come to anything that extreme," the doctor said, "Though the fact that two boys experienced the same symptoms is odd—I believe the Oaks are scheduled for the afternoon." He shook his head, "Regardless, there's been a strain floating around Western Kanto for the past few weeks. Nothing major though; assuming the blood tests come back negative—which I'm fairly positive they will—Ash should be fine in a week."
Delia sighed, relieved at the doctor's words.
"Doctor," Red began, "Ash…are his nerves alright?"
Delia and the doctor both turned to face Red. At their questioning stares, he elaborated, "When the needle entered his vein, he didn't move—not even a flinch."
Delia sucked in a breath, she didn't even think about that, and she held his hand!
The doctor frowned, "I don't believe so—he passed the reflex tests and he didn't report any numbness. Maybe your boy is tougher than he looks." He then shrugged, "Give it a few days. If his nerves are dulled, you should notice bruises or injuries on his body that he doesn't react too; if that happens, there are tests we can perform to determine the extent of the damage."
Delia and Red nodded at that, and after thanking the doctor for his time, left to join their son.
Line Break
Delia hummed lightly as she looked sifted through their movies.
"Anything good?"
She smiled, "I'm looking for Ash's favorite movie; 'Striaton James and the Gem Fossil'." Her smile widened at her husband's soft groan. "Aw, it's a good movie!"
"It's tripe!" he said as he sat down, "Completely stomps both the original movies and logic itself!"
Delia snorted, popping the movie into the player, "It's well-grounded in its established reality."
Red furrowed his brows as Delia sat next to him, "…Clefairy can't learn 'Earthquake'."
Delia sighed, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder, "'Mimic', dear."
"The last move shown on screen was 'Earth Power', not 'Earthquake'!"
Delia reached up, giving Red a quick peck on the cheek, "Of course dear."
Red grumbled under his breath but stayed quiet.
After a couple minutes, Delia sat up, turning around, "Where's Ash?"
Red turned as well, "He said he wanted to wash up." At Delia's furrowed brow he added, "I sent Mimey after him to look after him
Delia's face softened, but she still stood, "I'm going to ch—"
"Mi-Mime!"
Delia and Red bolted from the couch, running to the bathroom. Only to pause at a second cry from Mimey coming, not down the hall, but to their right, towards the kitchen.
Delia spun around, only to pause just before she entered the kitchen.
Red stopped just before bowling her over, "Why'd you stop?"
"Do you hear that?" Delia asked, narrowing her eyes in concentration.
Red shook his head, "Wha—"
Delia ignored her husband's burgeoning question, eyes widening as she identified the sound. She strode forward, crossing the threshold.
There, in front of the sink—standing on a stool—was Ash, wearing a pair of gloves far too big, scrubbing a pot under running water, Mimey, just off to the side, staring at Ash clean. The Pokémon's ears twitched, and he looked over his shoulder. "M-Mime!" he exclaimed.
Ash turned at Mimey's call, frowning when he saw his parents. "Oh, hey Mom…Dad. What's up?"
Delia stepped forward, "Ash, sweetie, what are you doing?"
Ash shut off the sink, "Uh…the dishes?"
Delia nodded, "Yes, I can see that." She pursed her lips, "…Why?"
Ash shrugged, "They were just here, so I figured I'd do 'em."
"O-oh…well you didn't have to do that." She pursed her lips, "Why don't you come to the living room, we've got a movie all ready to go!"
Ash smiled, "Ok," and quickly took off his gloves, dashing for the living room.
"No running in the house," Delia reflexively called.
As Ash replied an apology, Delia and Red exchanged bewildered stares. "Has he been helping you with the dishes?" She asked.
Red shook his head, "No, and I can assume he hasn't done the same with you."
Delia nodded, then turned to Mimey as he called out to them. The pair turned, and Mimey gestured to the wet dishes. Delia smiled, shaking her head, "Leave those for later Mimey, we've got a movie to watch."
Mimey clapped his hands, bowing his head, "Mister Mime!" and strode for the living room.
Delia and Red soon followed, both pushing the current development to the back of their minds.
Line Break
Red's eye twitched as he re-read the Scott's proposal of various 'Battle Facilities' across the world. He didn't find anything immediately wrong with it; too be honest, the idea of having dedicated areas for trainers to test their mettle and better themselves sent his pulse racing. But it all seemed too…grand. For god's sake, the man wanted to have Legendary Pokémon—multiple of the same species! —stored away 'in case we find a worthy challenger'. Ridiculous.
*Do-do-di-di-di Do-do-di-di-di Do-do-di-di-di-di-di-do*
Red flipped open his phone, grunting as he saw the caller. He put it up against his ear. "Hey Red," his best friend said.
"Blue. How's Gary?"
Blue clicked his tongue, "Same as Ash, hit with a sudden strain of Pokérus." Red grunted, "Although…" Blue trailed off.
Red tilted his head, "Although what?"
"Gary…he's been acting strange."
"How so?"
Blue sighed, "I mean, usually he'll act like his normal self—watch T.V., read his comics, play videogames—all that jazz. But, sometimes I catch him just…staring."
"At what?"
"Me, Leaf, all the photos on the wall and on the mantle. It's," he chuckled briefly, "It's almost like he's seeing it, us, for the first time."
"Yeah, Ash has been acting a little strange too."
"Mmh?"
Red furrowed his brow, "He's…cleaner."
"Um…you mean he's washing behind his ears?"
Red snorted at the lame joke, "He almost never used to pick up after himself—always leaving his clothes, toys, and dishes wherever." He leaned back in his chair, "Last night, after dinner we all went to the living room to watch a movie, and Ash said he wanted to wash up—thought he meant he wanted to wash his hands or something; turns out, he was doing the dishes. And then, this morning, Delia found him doing a load of laundry; correctly."
"Huh…you know, Gary's been acting more…mature too, I guess." Red hummed, prompting Blue to continue, "Ok, you know that article for Pokémon Monthly me and Leaf are writing?"
"The one about how Items can affect Pokémon Evolution, right?"
"Yeah that. Anyway, I'm heading over to Pop's lab—he's been holed up there for the past few days, wanted to check up on him, on top of getting him to edit it for us—when I realize that I left it on my desk. I head on back, and I find Leaf poking her head through the office's door. So, what else is there to do but sneak up behind her and find out what's going on. I leaned in close, and asked her, 'What you doing?'; naturally, she freaked, flinching back and—"
"Get to the point."
Blue huffed, "Fine, Mr. Impatient. Anyway, turns out Leaf found Gary reading our paper you know, before he caught sight of Leaf and I peeking in on him."
Red furrowed his brow, "And he…understood it?"
"I mean…he looked pretty into it, nodding at certain parts, narrowing his eyes an tracing bits along with his finger..." he trailed off, leaving a pause in the conversation.
"D—" Blue sighed, "Can Pokérus affect the brain?"
Red shrugged, letting out a sigh of his own, "Delia and I haven't found anything that would suggest it."
"Hmm," Blue grew silent once again.
Red inhaled slightly, "…Why don't you and Leaf bring Gary over tomorrow for dinner, get the kids together."
Gary hummed, "Tomorrow? That can work. Yeah, let's do that. Been awhile since I've had Delia's cooking."
Red grunted, "Tomorrow then."
"Sure. Smell ya later," and with that, Blue disconnected.
Red smiled softly. He then set his phone down, turning his attention back to Scott's email.
Line Break
"Now remember sweetie," Delia said as she watered some plants, "Gary's been sick like you, so try and cheer him up, ok?"
Ash nodded, "Sure mom," but inwardly, he was freaking out a bit. Sure, him and Gary were friends—thankfully, the 'Lake Ball' incident had yet to occur, if it would at all in this new, strange Universe—but Ash was still, mentally, way older than the nine-year-old Gary Oak. Still, if his friend (time-space shenanigans notwithstanding) was sick, he'd be darned if he didn't do his best to cheer him up.
There was a knock on the front door, and soon after, Mimey cried out, "Mister Mi-Mime!"
"Ah, there they are."
Ash followed his mom to the door, eyes widening a bit as he caught sight of Blue and Leaf Oak. Granted, he'd seen pictures of the two (to say nothing of the scant memories that surfaced after the fog lifted) but still, a bit of a shock.
However, he did not have much time to register that feeling, as the moment Leaf caught sight of him, she cried out, "Ash!" and strode forward, lifting him up in a hug. "How's my favorite nephew?"
Ash stilled at that—he and Gary were cousins?!—but more memories surfaced, and he eased into a smile, "You're not really my Aunt, you know?"
She pouted, setting him down, "You and Gary," she muttered under her breath.
"Don't know why you keep that up, Ma," a young, familiar voice drawled. Ash shifted his head, smiling at the sight of Gary standing under the doorframe, arms crossed and a sly smirk on his face, "Last thing I want is to be related to Ash, might catch his lameness."
Despite everything, Arceus's intervention, waking up with two extra family members as a nine-year-old (with a much greater mental capacity), Ash couldn't keep the frown off his face, and found himself treading a path both sets of memories were well-versed in. "Well, maybe if we were related, you'd have a better sense of humor."
Gary sniffed, tilting his head up and away from Ash.
Blue chuckled, "Okay, okay, save it. Give it another year and you two can settle your arguments the way nature intended, through a battle."
"Well, if you two," Gary pointed to both Blue and Red, who had just come in from the backyard, "would lend us some Pokémon, we wouldn't have to wait."
Blue smirked, ruffling his son's hair, "Woah there! Getting a little big for your britches! I don't think either of you could handle Pokémon of our caliber just yet.
Gary frowned at that, as did Ash, though the latter expected it was for very different reasons.
Gary huffed, "Whatever," and walked forward, poking Ash's shoulder, "You get that new copy of Pokkén Weekly?"
Ash recalled the shrink-wrapped magazine he got in the mail yesterday. When he nodded, Gary smirked, pushing past him, "Race you upstairs!"
Ash stumbled slightly, then grinned, dashing after, "Oh no you don't!"
"Boys! No running indoors," not one, but two matronly voices shouted.
Ash and Gary froze, slowly looking behind them.
"Yes, Mom."
"Sorry, Ma."
The two then slowly made their way to Ash's room. After entering, Gary quickly found the magazine. He turned towards Ash, a frown on his face as he fiddled with the wrapping, "You haven't opened it yet?"
Ash scratched his cheek, "Well…I've been a little busy."
Gary looked down, "Yeah…that's fair," tore open the wrapping, opening the magazine, and sat down on the floor, gesturing for Ash to read as well.
They'd barely made it a few pages, when Gary said, "Hey, what starter are you thinking of getting? After all, it's only a year away."
Ash's breath caught in his throat. He'd done his best to push thoughts of his beloved starter in the back of his mind—after all, Pikachu might not have even been hatched yet.
"I mean, you're always going on about getting a Charmander like your old man."
Ash stilled at the reminder of his father—he hadn't considered that at all. First time around, he only got Pikachu because he was late! Before, his mom had left the house to meet with the other parents of the kids who'd earned their starter from Professor Oak; hence the alarm he unwittingly broke.
"Personally, I don't think you're up to the task of a Charmander."
But now he had two parents, and there was no way both of them would leave him alone and potentially miss such a big day. But not getting Pikachu, that…the thought alone was unbearable.
"Nah, I think a Pikachu is more your speed."
Ash wallowed in despair for another minute, before jolting as Gary's last sentence sunk in.
He whirled around to face Gary, who had an indescribable look on his face, "After all, you're both small, frail, stubborn."
Ash gulped, "Gary…I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you're favorite Pokémon is Umbreon."
As the words left Ash's mouth, a weight lifted off Gary's shoulder. The boy slumped forward, dropping his hands on Ash's shoulders, "Thank god! I thought I was going mad!"
Ash gently pushed Gary back, looking him in the eyes, "Gary, what do you remember?"
Gary gulped, running his hands through his hair and looking up at the ceiling, "All I know is that I was in Kalos doing some research on Fossils in Glittering Cave, and next thing I know I wake up, in my house, nine-years-old, with a writing headache that tells me the two people hovering over me are my Ma and Pop!" Gary dropped his head back down, panting, a disbelieving smile worming its way onto his face, "Ash, I never knew my parents; all my life it's just been me and Gramps."
He took a moment to steady himself, "…What happened?"
Thus, Ash explained, as well as he could, how Cyrus destroyed the Universe, how Arceus meant for things to play out, and how things ended up as they were now.
After Ash finished his tale, Gary sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Man…have to admit, for all his faults, Cyrus is impressively determined."
Ash giggled, "Arceus said almost the exact same thing."
"Well, great minds think alike I suppose."
Ash rolled his eyes, "Whatever," and the pair fell into a comfortable silence. Only for a cold realization—more chilling than not meeting Pikachu—to sweep over his being.
"The necklace!" he shouted.
Gary jumped backwards at the sudden exclamation, but he quickly caught on. "Wait, you mean the main reason Arceus sent you back in time?"
Ash nodded frantically, hurriedly tossing clothes and small toys over his shoulder.
"How the heck could you lose that?!" Gary said as he joined Ash in his search.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was busy being unconscious and reconciling the fact that my Dad's still around!"
Gary paused for a moment, "…That's fair."
The searched for ten minutes, trashing Ash's room in the process, but came up empty.
Gary pinched the bridge of his nose, "Okay…could your parents have found it?"
Ash shook his head, "No. Mom, at least, would have mentioned it."
"What about Mimey?" He frowned, "Wait, didn't your Mom get him after you—"
"Started my journey, yeah," Ash finished, "Apparently, in this timeline, he was a trade my Dad got, but Mimey took more to housework than battling, so Mom kept him around instead of sending him with Dad's other Pokémon."
"…That's a really weird change."
"Yeah…" Ash trailed off, before shaking his head and smacking his cheeks lightly, "Grr, focus! Where could it be?!"
Gary thought on the problem as well, but then snapped his fingers, "The lake! We were found at the lake, maybe it was left there."
Ash let out a breath, exiting his room, "It's a start."
The pair barreled down the stairs, rushing for the front door.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Ash and Gary froze, slowly turning to face Leaf. Gary smiled uneasily, "Just heading out Ma, Ash's room got boring."
Ash nodded along with Gary's answer, plastering a wide smile on his face.
Leaf pursed her lips, walking forward, "I don't think you two should leave. After all, you're both still shaking off the Pokérus."
Gary pouted, closing the gap and clasping two of her fingers in his hands, "Please Mama," he coyly—coyly—mumbled as he stared up at her with wide, child-like eyes, "We'll be reeeeally careful!" he stressed.
Ash stared wide-eyed at the display, and almost fell over as Leaf cooed and clicked her tongue, "Alright, but get back before sunset."
Gary smiled widely, moving forward and hugging his mother, "Thanks," he said, and quickly went out the door, Ash trailing just behind.
After making some distance from the house, Ash asked, "Gary, what was that?"
Gary chuckled uneasily, "It's, uh, something I've been doing—had done—whatever; when I do that, she almost always caves in to what I want."
"…Well, it was weird."
"Eh, nothing I haven't seen you do."
Ash opened his mouth to retort, but slowly closed it as memories from both this life and his old one came to the forefront of his mind, detailing the exact thing Gary described.
Line Break
As Leaf watched Ash and Gary run off, a voice behind her said, "You really think that was the best idea?"
She scoffed, "Ah, they'll be fine. Besides, they shook off the worst of their bout of Pokérus better than you did."
Red hummed, narrowing his eyes as he watched the boys shrink into the distance. After a moment, he called out, "Mimey."
The barrier Pokémon quickly came into view. "Mime-Mime?"
Red jerked his head towards the two boys, "Keep an eye on them."
Mimey tilted his head, "Mis-Mime?" he said, pointing behind him.
Red waved his hand, "I'll help Delia, you just keep an eye on Ash and Gary."
"Mister Mime!" the Pokémon saluted, and marched off towards the boys.
A/N: Before anyone starts talking about timeline issues, let me just say that the base timeline—the 'orb' which Arceus tacked stuff onto—is the Anime timeline, so the world still mostly revolves around Ash. Keep that in mind if you have questions about how the Game timeline fits into this. Otherwise, be sure to leave a review. Later.
