Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon
Preparing for Hoenn arc – Chapter 3 – Reflecting, Planning, Training and Departing!
The Previous Years…
It was the same story for Ash… once again he had failed to win a league after getting so close. Finishing in the top four in the Kalos League left a bitter taste in his mouth, although it was better than his top eight finish in the Unova League. Still, the seventeen year old had a lot of fun in the Kalos region especially with his new friends, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie.
As he, and his best buddy, Pikachu, looked down at the small, humble Pallet Town from the top of a large hill, Ash reflected on his Kalos Journey.
Unfortunately, like he did with all of his friends, they had to split up as they all had different paths that they needed to take. Clemont and Bonnie returned to Lumiose City, with Clemont ready to become a full time Gym Leader after learning much from Ash during their time together through the Kalos region, and Bonnie had to wait patiently until she was ten for her to get her first Pokémon. Serena, on the other hand, had won enough keys to attend the Master Class Pokémon Performance and she had performed well, falling just short on beating Aria.
Serena then chose to go to the Unova region with Shauna, Tierno and Trevor to check out a few Pokémon Musicals since they were insanely popular in the Unova region. Plus Pokémon Showcases had just opened up, so she and Shauna were determined to compete. Of course, Tierno was heading to Unova to compete in the Unova League and Trevor wanted to go since Unova Pokémon could only be found in Unova with a few exceptions.
Still, his journey through Kalos climaxed when he lost to a teen boy named Calem, who was Serena's childhood friend, in the battle to make it into the final two. It had been a disappointing end, especially after the terrific comeback that Pikachu and Charizard mustered up, but in the end it fell short. It had been the first and only battle that Ash had ever had against Calem, and his inexperience against Calem was the telling difference. It reminded him of battling Paul back in the Sinnoh region, just the way Calem was able to read his battling style and counter accordingly. Perhaps if he battled Calem during his Kalos journey like he did with Paul, then things may have been different.
Four of Ash's Pokémon had been taken down by Calem's impressive battling style, and Ash only managed to defeat two of his. Staraptor had fallen to Haxorus, Snivy and Starmie fought a draw, and Gliscor also fell to Haxorus. Gible stepped in, and Ash was finally able to take down Haxorus after Gible evolved into a Gabite. However the victory was short lived, as Calem's next Pokémon, Sylveon, defeated Gabite easily. Pikachu was the one that saved him from an embarrassing defeat, defeating Calem's Sylveon and Swellow back to back, before Ash withdrew him after Calem released his Chesnaught. Charizard took down Chesnaught but then Calem released the Pokémon that Ash hadn't predicted he would use… his Tyranitar.
Calem hadn't used it for the entire tournament, and Ash had assumed that he was saving it for the final round. Ash had been expecting Calem's impressive Gallade, Alakazam, or Gengar. Worst of all, was that Tyranitar was capable of Mega-Evolving, and that had been Charizard's undoing. Charizard was his strongest Pokémon, even stronger than Pikachu, and had Tyranitar not been capable of Mega-Evolution, than Ash believed that his Charizard would've won. It wasn't to be, though. Both Charizard and Pikachu fell to Mega-Tyranitar.
He learned afterwards that while Chespin had been Calem's first Pokémon officially, he had actually raised and trained a Larvitar several years before he got his Pokémon License. Still for most, they would have viewed his performance against Calem as a good one since the trainer from Vaniville Town had only lost two Pokémon at most in his previous battle and Ash managed to take out five of them.
However, it didn't matter what they all thought, Ash wasn't satisfied with the result.
Ash clenched his right fist as he thought about that result. Charizard had been angrier than Ash had ever seen after the fight, causing him to send the fire lizard back to the Charicific Valley. Liza had informed him that her Charla was now capable of Mega-Evolving thanks to Clair discovering the required stones. Charizard is a Pokémon with enormous pride and insatiable hunger to become stronger, desiring to be the most powerful Pokémon in the world, and while Mega-Evolving was route that could help Charizard achieve the greatness he desired, Ash knew that Charizard right now would refuse it. Charizard had returned to the Charicific Valley for one reason, and one reason alone. To defeat the Mega-Evolved Charla.
Until Charizard could defeat opponents he respected that were capable of Mega-Evolving, without himself having to Mega-Evolve, Charizard would never consider that route to becoming stronger.
It had been a shame that his Greninja had been too injured in his fight the previous day. The special bond that Ash had with Greninja that allowed the ninja Pokémon to utilise a unique and one of a kind of method of Mega Evolution, one that didn't even require any Mega Stones.
Charizard hadn't been the only deeply wounded by the battle. Pikachu had been depressed about it for a couple of days. None of the electric mouse's attacks had been able to cause much damage to the powerful armoured Pokémon, and Pikachu felt responsible for costing them a place in the final two. Ash didn't realize how seriously down Pikachu was about the battle until Meowth from Team Rocket had furiously told him. The talking cat Pokémon informed him he had been observing Pikachu over the last few days, while performing his duty selling goods to the crowds that Pikachu had been considering evolving into Raichu.
Ash managed to snap Pikachu out of that train of thought, declaring that Pikachu was great the way he was, and that he couldn't forget that he had defeated two of Calem's Pokémon and had taken a fair amount of damage. If it wasn't for Pikachu, then he would have lost that match far earlier. Ash took complete responsibility for the defeat as he hadn't been able to adjust fast enough to Calem's battling style.
On the trip back to Pallet Town, Ash thought hard over his entire Pokémon Battling career, and he came up with some strong realizations.
All of his losses in each Pokémon League were his fault.
He'd always looked back on his match against Ritchie and blamed his inexperience and Team Rocket for the loss. Now though, when he looked back, he had to question the Pokémon that he used. He knew from the beginning which Pokémon Ritchie was going to use, as he had used them all in his previous matches. So he knew that Charmander was going to be used, and yet he used Squirtle against Butterfree. He could have used Muk… then he may have been able to use Squirtle on Charmander, and Bulbasaur on Pikachu.
His battle against Harrison, his mistakes also cost him. It was a common mistake that he tended to make upon reflection, and that was not substituting his Pokémon. Ash always knew that Blaziken would be the last Pokémon Harrison would use, and Harrison knew that Ash would save Charizard for last. Perhaps he could have caught him off guard and used Charizard early, using him to defeat several of his Pokémon, allowing him to use several of his own Pokémon against Blaziken. Still, he wasn't too disappointed with his performance as he had progressed further into a league, and Charizard had only just lost.
Sinnoh was the exception. Having to battle against a trainer with Legendary Pokémon was always to be a tough ask to win, especially since he wasn't able to use Infernape or Charizard. Infernape had been too banged up after defeat Paul's Electivire and Charizard was in similar condition after battling Paul's Torterra. Ash would always look back on that match with pride as Torterra had been an absolute beast, easily Paul's strongest Pokémon and Ash knew that none of his Pokémon, except Charizard could have defeated it.
It was his next conference when he took a step back in his development.
His performance in the Vertress Conference had been a complete and utter embarrassment. It was right up there with his performance in the Indigo League. Honestly, Ash couldn't quite work out which one was worse… Charizard not obeying him or losing to only five of Cameron's Pokémon while he used six. Ash had been able to lock his bitter thoughts about the tournament deep inside his head while he fought against Team Plasma and travelling through the Decolore Islands, but he reflected heavily on it when he got back to Pallet Town.
The answer to why he lost to Cameron was plainly obvious. Over confidence. To be honest, looking back on his Unova journey, Ash breezed through the gym challenge. He only used Pokémon he caught in the Unova region and whenever things started to look dicey, Pikachu always turned things around. He never had to have a single rematch against a Gym Leader throughout his entire Unova journey and he had gotten so damn arrogant, that he honestly believed that he could defeat the Unova League with just the Pokémon that he used in Unova.
It had been a costly mistake…
Pallet Town, Backyard of Professor Oak's Laboratory…
Currently Ash was lying on his back, with his hands behind his head, in the middle of a short grass lawn. About forty feet from where he lay, all of his Pokémon were together interacting happily. Ash turned his head to observe them all for a moment.
Professor Oak was currently studying the Tyrunt that Ash had been given towards the end of his journey when he met up with Grant, and Tracey was currently in Cerulean City visiting Misty. Ash smirked for a moment, wondering if perhaps Tracey and Misty had become more than friends. The seventeen year old was no longer the dense idiot when it came to romance, after all, he was close to becoming an adult and so it was natural for him to notice girls.
It was during his travels through Sinnoh where he first really started to take an interest in girls, with a few exceptions travelling through Kanto and Johto, like Giselle for instance. Many had expressed amusement that he travelled with so many girls and had never hooked up with them but Ash had his reasons.
He was too young when travelling with Misty, plus she was more like a sister to him and he wasn't really interested in dating. His relationship with Iris was similar to the one he has with Misty. He had been too focused on his Pokémon Training, and his desire to become to a Pokémon Master to pursue a committed relationship.
Although, Ash found himself being attracted to Dawn and Serena when he travelled with them, but he never tried to pursue a romance with either of them due to his commitment on becoming a Pokémon Master.
His musings were interrupted suddenly when he noticed Quilava showing off his Flamethrower by unleashing the fierce torrent of flames into the sky. Infernape and Emboar both followed up by firing their own Flamethrowers into the sky but they were much tamer looking compared to Quilava's. However it was what happened next that really caught Ash's attention.
He sat up sharply and observed curiously as Quilava seemed to instruct them on how to improve the power of their Flamethrowers. Looking a few yards to the left, Totodile and Palpitoad were having a similar interaction with Totodile showing off his Hydro Pump and then demonstrating to Palpitoad how to make his stronger. Buizel and Dewott were both colliding into each other with their Aqua Jets, trying to determine who was stronger.
In that moment, it suddenly struck Ash just how he could make all of his Pokémon stronger.
How was he now only realizing this? Ash thought in bewilderment. By using all of his Pokémon, not only did it give him some variety, and more unpredictability but he could also have them battle each other and gain experience quicker. Ash could have screamed in frustration. If only he had thought of this earlier. He could have won a league by now!
After all, there was a quite a gap in power between his Pokémon he caught prior to Sinnoh since he had a couple of years to train them further. If he was going to win the Hoenn League, then he would need to bring the others up to their level.
Still, he looked over his Pokémon carefully, and began pondering some observations. He quickly got to his feet and he called out to his constant companion. "Hey, Pikachu!" The electric mouse currently had his back turned to Ash, and was talking animatedly with Bulbasaur.
The moment Ash called out to him, he saw Pikachu's ears perk up, and turned around to face him, "Pika, pika?" The electric mouse squeaked, confused. Surely they weren't heading back yet, he had been catching up with all the others for less than an hour.
"I'm heading home!" Ash surprised him, "There's some stuff I need to think over! You can stay here and catch up with everyone. I'll be back later!"
"Pikachu!" Ash's starting Pokémon waved goodbye cheerfully, before turning back to Bulbasaur, reengaging their conversation. Ash ignored the many confused looks from his Pokémon, all of them wondering about the slight change in Ash.
Pallet Town, Ash's Bedroom…
His mother was out for the moment, most likely up at Professor Oak's, while Mr. Mime was out the front doing some gardening. Ash had his suspicions about the true nature of his mother and the professor's relationship but he had no proof of it, and he could very well just be grasping at straws.
Currently Ash sat at the desk in his room, with a sheet of paper with the names of all of his Pokémon. Next to each Pokémon, he jotted down their types, and the list of the attacks that they could use and the attacks they could learn. With a sigh, Ash looked over the list of his Pokémon's moves and thanks to the information provided in his Pokédex, he could see the moves that each one of his Pokémon could learn Paul was right, he really was an amateur with his Pokédex.
Observing the list, he took in some major factors that he was currently lacking in. One of them was the lack of moves his Pokémon had that would be strong against Pokémon with a type advantage and another clear factor was the gaps in the different kinds of Pokémon that he had obtained over the years. He had a good variety of Pokémon but the lack of Psychic, Ghost, Fairy, Ice and Steel type Pokémon was glaring.
Leaning back on his chair, Ash began to reminisce about some of the Pokémon that he probably could have captured but didn't. Pokémon like Larvitar, and the ghost trio in the Pokémon Tower within Lavender Town were ones that immediately came to mind. There was also another that crept into his mind, a Ghost and Dark Pokémon that he helped imprison after he, Dawn and Brock accidently set free. That Pokémon had been destructive, attacking villages and hurting innocent people until he and Pikachu put a stop to it just as the old Aura Guardian had done 500 years ago.
Could Spiritomb really be evil? Ash had never heard of a Pokémon being truly evil. After meeting Mewtwo at Mount Quena, he had his memories restored about the events that happened on New Island, and initially Mewtwo was the closest Pokémon that Ash had encountered that could be considered evil. However, it soon became apparent that Mewtwo had simply been hurt and used by humans, and struggled to find his purpose in this world which caused his superior powers to go to his head.
Perhaps he went about stopping Spiritomb the wrong way. He never truly tried to find out the Ghost Pokémon's reasons for attacking villages, but it was content to leave them alone and come after him. Maybe all it wanted was revenge against the Aura Guardian and his Pikachu for sealing it away for 500 years. According to the old woman that helped them seal away Spiritomb, the legend said that the Aura Guardian had stopped Spiritomb's rampage, but what if that wasn't the truth? Legends over time can completely change.
Should he risk freeing and trying to capture Spiritomb and hope that he could tame the powerful Ghost Pokémon or let it rot in the Hallowed Stone Tower? Pikachu was a lot stronger than he was back then, and it wasn't as if it was against the rules for him to use more than one Pokémon if he needed. He would ask Pikachu his opinion about it later.
Ash got up off his chair, it was time for him to use his greatest advantage. Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Pallet Town, Professor Oak's Laboratory…
The sound of cursing, and the frustrated loud tapping of keyboard keys kept the elderly Professor Oak from getting some vital sleep. The professor walked slowly through the hallways of his laboratory in a white vest, blue pyjama bottoms and a black robe, rubbing his sleepy eyes. It took him several minutes to finally reach the room where the sounds were coming from and he was surprised to see Ash staring intently in front of a computer screen.
"What're you doing, young man?" Professor Oak muttered sleepily. "It's after 1 in t-the m-m-morning." He yawned, while covering his mouth politely.
"What do you know about Spiritomb?" Ash demanded, ignoring the professor's question.
"Spiritomb?" The professor blinked tiredly, "The Ghost and Dark type Pokémon from the Sinnoh region?" He tried to clarify, his sleepy mind making it hard for him to picture the Pokémon. "Not much. I've never even seen one."
"I see." Ash murmured, not taking his off the computer screen.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I met one when I travelled through the Sinnoh region." Ash replied, taking his eyes off the screen to scribble down a note on the pad that he had sitting on the desk next to the computer.
"Ah, okay then. Keep it down will you?" Professor Oak told him, turning away intending to go back to bed for some valuable shut eye. However he froze when his mind finally perceived what Ash had just informed him. If there was one thing that could instantly wake the elderly professor up it was information about a Pokémon that he had little knowledge about.
"You've seen one?!"
Ash didn't remove his eyes from the computer screen and nodded, "Yeah, Pikachu and I were forced to seal it away."
"Please Ash!" The elderly professor pulled up a chair, and sat on it only a few metres from Ash, "Tell me everything!" He requested eagerly.
For the next ten minutes, Ash explained everything in detail about his confrontation with Spiritomb and how he was forced to seal it back into the Hallowed Tower.
"And now you're wondering if you made the right decision." Professor Oak stated, folding his arms across his chest and looked thoughtful.
Ash nodded, his eyes were finally off the computer screen as he stared at the man he considered a mentor. "Yeah, back then Spiritomb was so angry and dangerous that I just reacted and sealed it back into that tower. I didn't even try to understand it, or at the very least find out why it was attacking villages." Ash admitted feeling ashamed. "Is it possible that Spiritomb is just that, evil or could it simply be misunderstood in some way?"
"Yes, Spiritomb could just be evil." The professor answered softly, "There are some people out there in the world that are simply born messed up, and I would imagine it would be the same for some Pokémon."
"So should I leave it there? Or go back and try to catch it, and help it get rid of its anger?" Ash desperately needed to know what he should do.
Professor Oak took a deep breath and gave Ash a proud smile, "Ash, you've accomplished some incredible things ever since you started your journey when you were ten years old. You've stared down and saved Legendary Pokémon because you followed your heart without question and without doubt. Do the same here. If you do that, then you'll find your answer."
"Thanks, Professor."
As the elderly professor stood up and prepared to head back to bed – he needed a good rest at his age after all – he remembered the recent calls that had come in looking for Ash. "Sorry, young man, I completely forgot."
"Forget what?" Ash raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Over past two days there have been some calls for you that I've been meaning to inform you about." Professor Oak tapped his chin in thought for a moment, "I believe one of them was Mr. Baker from Sinnoh and a Ranger Mason from the Pokémon Preserve up on Mt. Silver."
Ash couldn't hide the surprise on his face, "Umm, really? Yeah, I'll call them both in the morning."
"Okay." Professor Oak nodded, "Good night, Ash, don't stay up too late, okay?"
Ash simply gave him a thumbs up before turning back to the computer screen. He had jotted down all of the moves that his Pokémon currently knew and he was using the valuable source known as the internet to cross check the Pokémon that he had that were capable of learning different moves from different types of Pokémon.
Such as for instance, whether it was possible for Infernape to learn the likes of Solar Beam in order to deal with Water types. His entire career as a Pokémon Trainer, Ash never cared about type disadvantages, believing that a Pokémon's determination and belief was enough to overcome any type disadvantage. However logically it would help make that belief a reality if his Pokémon had some moves that could deal strong damage to opponents that had a type advantage over them.
And so by the time he turned off the computer, and lay his head on his soft pillow, Ash resolved to teach all of his Pokémon at least one move that was strong against the elements that they were weak to. Every single one of them that were capable of doing so, except for the other 29 of his Tauros, and for those Pokémon that already had one of those moves, then he'd simply teach them a new one.
This would all have to be accomplished before he headed off to the Hoenn region.
Pallet Town, Backyard of Professor Oak's Laboratory…
"Okay, so we're all here!" Ash declared with a bright grin as he looked over all of his Pokémon that he currently had here at Professor Oak's Lab. All of them, bar Charizard and 29 of his Tauros's, were all standing or sitting opposite to him right now, looking at him intently. Even Squirtle had come down after being granted a week leave from the Squirtle Squad. They were all pumped up since Ash had told them all that he had some special training for them.
"Now, I got off the phone not long ago after talking to Mr. Barker and Ranger Mason, so within two weeks, I'll be heading to Sinnoh followed by a brief trip to Johto and then finally to Hoenn! Also I know over the last few years, I've only used the Pokémon I catch in that region to take on the gyms before using all of you in the conferences, except for Unova which wasn't fair to you all. This time, I will be rotating all of you when I'm Hoenn, so you'll all get your chance to battle!"
Ash still had more to say but he never got the chance as he was engulfed in hugs by many of his Pokémon and fell to the ground laughing.
When their hugs ceased, and allowed Ash to get back to his feet, he took the chance to try and finished what he wanted to say.
"So the training that we're going to do over the next two weeks is a coordinated session where every one of you all will learn a new move." Ash paused, and waited for his Pokémon to cease cheering. When they finally settled down, he continued, "Now, Bulbasaur, can you pair with Pikachu and teach him how to use Grass Knot? That's a move that would've come in handy against Calem's Tyranitar."
"Bulba!" The seed Pokémon agreed enthusiastically.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu thanked him.
The two of them went off to an open space to begin training.
"Okay." Ash grinned, "Now Squirtle, can you teach Greninja to use Ice Beam?"
With his sunglasses firmly in place, Squirtle gave Ash a salute and Greninja went along with the turtle Pokémon.
"Staraptor… can you please take Snivy and Gliscor and teach them Aerial Ace?" Ash requested of the predator Pokémon.
The large grey and white bird Pokémon chirped in agreement and flew off with Snivy and Gliscor following.
This continued for the next few minutes as Ash assigned his Pokémon to help teach the others certain moves. Muk was asked to teach Krookodile and Palpitoad how to use Sludge Bomb and to show Scraggy how to utilise Poison Jab.
Buizel was asked to teach Totodile Aqua Jet. It may be an impossibility since for Totodile, Aqua Jet was a breeding move, and so if he didn't have the right bloodline, then he wouldn't be able to learn it. They would find the answer soon enough.
Donphan went off to teach Meganium to use Earthquake.
Infernape and Emboar paired off with Snorlax and Rhyhorn to teach them Flamethrower.
Boldore and Tyrunt began teaching Tauros, Heracross, Hawlucha, Hitmonlee, Torterra and Gabite how to wield Stone Edge.
Talonflame took on the task of teaching Unfezant, Noctowl and Leavanny to use Steel Wing.
Eevee began teach Dewott and Kingler how to utilise Dig.
The remaining Pokémon either helped out wherever they could, went off to relax until it was their turn to begin training or went off to do some personal training.
Of course Ash went around helping out wherever he could, and giving general encouragement to all of his Pokémon. Of course he had to do his own training as well, he couldn't just force his Pokémon to do all of the work. So he done multiple sets of push ups, sit ups, some weights, and a few running laps.
"I'm sure you must be enjoying this, Delia." Professor Oak said, observing Ash training all of his Pokémon from inside the lab. Delia was standing a few feet from him, looking out the same window with a bright grin on her face. "It's not often Ash decides to stick around for a couple of weeks."
Delia nodded, "Of course, unfortunately these couple of weeks will pass by quickly, so I better enjoy it while I can." She turned away from the window, and headed out the room, "I suppose I should get started on some new clothing for him."
Professor Oak simply shook his head, and continued looking out of the window. It certainly was an interesting sight, seeing Pokémon teach other Pokémon different moves.
By the end of the day, Ash had long ago discarded his shirt as his work out caused quite a sweat and he sat down to watch all of the Pokémon that had begun learning a new move to see how they progressed. Some had already learned how to use their new move, and simply needed practise on mastering it. Pikachu, Meganium, and Greninja were all in this category. Totodile was the only Pokémon that had mastered his move, but Ash wasn't surprised since it had been a water type move. Most of his Pokémon showed signs that they were close to learning the attack and some others still needed more time.
That night, Ash fell asleep outdoors with all of his Pokémon with the next day promising to be just as fulfilling. It was nice to simply hang out with his Pokémon here in Pallet Town.
Buizel and Squirtle partnered with Gabite the next day after he learned how to use Stone Edge and the Dragon type Pokémon began teaching them how to use Dig so they could avoid electric type attacks. After teaching Pikachu how to use Grass Knot, Bulbasaur then got instructions from Muk on how to use Sludge Bomb.
While all of his Pokémon were training hard, Ash took the chance to head out into the forest on Route 1 to check on Pidgeot and Pikachu went with him.
"Pidgeot!" Ash called out as he and Pikachu walked along a thin dirt road surrounded by large trees.
"Chu pika!" Pikachu shouted walking beside Ash.
The two of them had arrived at the forest where Pidgeot was for a few minutes now and still they didn't see any sign of her.
"Do you think that she is still here, Pikachu?" Ash asked his starter worriedly. He hoped that she didn't hate him since he hadn't been by here for a few years now.
Pikachu's ears perked up when he heard the sound of wings beating in the air and he spun around and with extreme excitement, he began pointing to the sky, "Pikachu pi pika!"
Ash spun around and, to his delight, he saw a familiar large bird Pokémon flying eagerly towards him. He heard her chirp happily and she landed gracefully only a few feet from them.
"You're looking stronger than ever, Pidgeot." Ash praised her and he softly petted the side of her neck. For such a tough looking Pokémon, it amazed Ash that her feathers were so soft. Pidgeot responded by biting Ash softly with her beak. Pikachu jumped excitedly onto her back, "Pika-pika!"
Pidgeot chirped in reply and Pikachu laughed and not for the first time did Ash wonder what his Pokémon talk about.
A loud amount of chirping suddenly entered Ash's ears and he looked up to see a large flock of Pidgey, Pidgeotto and to Ash surprise, a couple of Pidgeots.
"Do you want to come with me, Pidgeot?" Ash asked her hopefully and he held out her old Poké Ball, "Or do you want to stay with your flock?"
Pidgeot gave him a sorrowful look before signalling to one of the Pidgeot's to come down and it landed gracefully next to her. Ash's old Pidgeot nuzzled into the side of its neck giving Ash a clear answer.
"I see." Ash smiled sadly, but he truly was happy for his old friend, "This must be your mate. I understand." He patted her beak softly, "You better look after yourself, ya hear?"
Pidgeot chirped happily, which Ash took that to be a yes, and with sadness in his eyes, he watched as his beloved Pidgeot fly off with her mate and the rest of her pack. She was a part of his family, now and forever but she had her own family now. He wouldn't officially release her though and he knew that she didn't want him to. As long as she was technically still his, she couldn't be captured by another trainer that wanted to split up her from her family.
"That makes five, doesn't it, Pikachu?" Ash murmured.
"Chu." Pikachu nodded sadly as the flock began to grow smaller the further they got. Within seconds, they were no longer in sight.
Butterfree, Lapras, Goodra and now Pidgeot were all Pokémon that he had released throughout his journey. Squirtle, Charizard and Primeape were sent away for training, along with Gliscor but she was back now, permanently. However he kept in contact with Anthony over the years, enjoying hearing about Primeape's impressive achievements, and within a year of training with Anthony, he became a P1 Champion. It soon became clear that Primeape didn't want to come back and so Ash officially released him into Anthony's care.
"Time to get back and check on everyone's progress." Ash sighed, before grinning down at Pikachu, "Race ya there!"
"Pika!" The electric mouse cheered chasing after Ash.
The result was obvious… poor Ash never had a chance.
Pallet Town, Ketchum Residence…
"I guess this is goodbye for a while, then." Ash grinned, looking down slightly at his mother and the professor with Pikachu on his shoulder and he wore the clothes that his mother made for him proudly.
The three of them stood just outside the front door to Ash's house, with the sun still rising in the background. It was certainly kind of Professor Oak to come down so early in the morning to say goodbye to him.
Delia let out a sad smile, before pulling him in to a tight hug, "Now be careful out there Ash, and keep in touch every week."
Ash chuckled lightly, giving his mother a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry, I will."
"Remember to follow your heart, Ash." The professor advised, grasping Ash's right shoulder and gave it a confident squeeze. "It's never led you astray and it never will. I'm looking forward to all of the Pokémon that you'll catch in Hoenn, just try and make sure that none of them are energetic enough to ruin my lab when you send them." Professor Oak requested, before looking away and muttering, "Unlike a few that you've sent me in the past."
"I'll keep that in mind." Ash chuckled sheepishly.
"Look after him, okay, Pikachu." Delia said to Pikachu as she gave him a soft pat under his chin causing the electric mouse to sigh in contentment. "Pikachu!" He promised her.
"I'll see you all later!" Ash shouted, running off down the dirt road towards Route 1, with Pikachu clinging to his shoulder.
"I knew those two weeks would pass by quickly." Delia sighed, as she watched with sadness but also joy as Ash moved beyond her view. It broke her heart every time Ash left her, but she also knew that he was out trying to achieve his dream, and she would always encourage him to go for it. "I wonder how tall he'll be when I next see him. When he left for Kalos, I was still taller than him but when he came back…" She broke off, as tears began to form in her eyes and she found it hard to continue. It was certainly a shock for her to see that her son had become taller than her.
Professor Oak placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Its hard watching your children grow up, and even harder when you don't get to see most of it, but you should be very proud of your son. You did an exceptional job raising him."
Delia wiped away her tears and gave him a thankful smile, "Thank you, Samuel."
Route 1…
As Ash walked down the dirt road leading towards Viridian City, with Pikachu walking by his side, he thought about the task that was before him.
"Are you sure you want to do this Pikachu?" Ash glanced down at the electric mouse. "We don't have to do it."
"Pikachu!" The electric rodent shook his head, "Pika pi pika!" He said firmly, his red cheeks crackling with electricity demonstrating how eager he was.
Ash grinned, and clenched his right fist tightly, "You're right! We're a lot stronger than before! We can do this!"
"Pika!" Pikachu mimicked his action, pumping his own tiny fist.
"Besides, we've got Totodile, Quilava, and Heracross with us, so it should be a piece of cake!" Ash declared. He kept two slots open for two new acquisitions he intended to get in the Sinnoh region. Their excitement was interrupted when they heard a loud giggle echo through the forest they were in. Pikachu's ears perked up and his eyes shone with glee as he recognised the feminine giggles. He rushed ahead with Ash immediately chasing after him, before he came to a stop only a few feet away from the largest and thickest tree in the forest. When Ash reached Pikachu's position, his eyes widened at what he saw.
Though he had thought of the possibility, he didn't actually expect it to happen.
What he saw was Misty in an intense lip lock with Tracey, and it was clear that Misty was the one in control considering she was the one pushing him up against the tree.
Tracey looked the same as ever, except that he was slightly taller than Ash. Misty, on the other hand, had changed a lot over the past couple years. She had moved past her awkward teenage stage and had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, and Ash had to admit that he preferred her long orange hair that fell down below her shoulders over her previous short haired look. Currently she wore a yellow sleeveless top matching shorts while Tracey wore his usual loose green t-shirt, reddish-brown shorts.
Suddenly Ash saw that Tracey's hands were heading towards Misty's shapely rear and he decided that he needed to put a stop to this before he saw something he really didn't want to.
Ash let out an uncomfortable cough at the sight which immediately made them break apart, and Ash grinned when he saw their faces turn completely red in embarrassment when they released who had interrupted them.
"Sorry to interrupt, but… huh?" Ash suddenly murmured, "I don't really know why I did, ha-ha." He chuckled sheepishly.
Suddenly Ash was sure that Misty's red face from embarrassment immediately turned into a red face of anger, but thankfully, Pikachu was able to prevent her blow up.
"Pikachupi!" Pikachu cried leaping into her startled arms.
"H-Hey Ash." Tracey greeted his old friend nervously, fixing his green shirt that had been slightly out of position. It was understandable why he was nervous, he thought to himself. He wasn't sure how Ash felt about Misty, and he had heard talk around Pallet Town how the two of them would eventually get together. He knew how Misty truly felt about Ash, she had explained it to him before they began dating, but that didn't mean that Ash would be fine with it. He hoped that he wouldn't lose his friendship over Ash, but he knew that he couldn't break up with Misty.
"Hey Trace!" Ash greeted him cheerfully, "How ya been?"
Tracey began to relax, it certainly didn't seem like Ash was upset. "Things have been good. It had been quite busy at the lab the last few months so getting a few weeks off was really great."
"What about you, Mist?" Ash inquired, "How's the Cerulean Gym? Haven't made it close down, have you?"
Misty scowled at him, her red face now back to her usual colour. "Of course not." Misty rolled her eyes, "In fact, it's one of the toughest gyms in Kanto!" She boasted proudly.
"I can vouch for that!" Tracey beamed, looking at his girlfriend with loving pride, "When her sisters ran the gym, it was ranked last in overall strength in Kanto, and now it is right up there with the Saffron and Viridian Gyms."
Ash whistled, "I'm impressed." He truly meant that. Ash couldn't deny that he was curious to check it out and see how strong Misty had become over the years. From what he remembered, because her sisters lack of interest in Pokémon Battling, the Cerulean Gym had been close to closing down until Misty went back.
Misty grinned as Pikachu jumped out of her arms into Tracey to give him a hug, and the orange haired girl walked over to Ash. "It's good to see you again, Ash." Misty said, and gave him a short hug.
"You too, Mist." Ash grinned, "Now onto important matters, how long has this been going on?"
Misty blushed, "A couple of months." She admitted, rubbing the back of her head bashfully.
"I'm happy for you both." Ash smiled, and Tracey let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Now Tracey… Misty is the closest thing I have to a sister." Ash informed the professor's aid sternly. "So I know her quite well, and listen, there's, uh, something I want to tell you about her."
Misty raised an eyebrow, but didn't interrupt. She was quite touched that he thought of her as a sister.
Tracey had a feeling he already knew what Ash was going to say, and he quickly interrupted before Ash had the chance to say it. "I know. I know. You'll kill me if I ever hurt her."
Ash shook his head with slight grin, "Oh no, no." Ash assured him, "No… She'll kill you."
Tracey glanced over at Misty and she smirked causing him to pale lightly. Ash quickly patted his shoulder, "Good luck."
Tracey shook his head, banishing the thought of Misty killing him. He had no intentions of hurting her. "So where you headed now?"
"I gotta go to Sinnoh for a bit, then Johto before heading to Hoenn." Ash answered with a bright grin.
"Jeez Ash." Misty grumbled with a grin, "You can't help but put Hoenn off, can you?"
"I know, but I wouldn't be going to Sinnoh and Johto if it wasn't important." Ash chuckled.
"You should hurry Ash." Tracey informed him, "Hoenn is a really beautiful place, and there are some really interesting kinds of Pokémon."
"And it has the best beaches!" Misty declared happily.
"You've been there, then?" Ash raised an eyebrow curiously. "When did you go?"
"Couple of years ago. You don't think that I stay at Cerulean City every day of every year, do ya?" Misty answered brightly, "Even Gym Leaders get some vacation time during the year, and whenever I do, I travel to other regions to capture some new Water type Pokémon! And Tracey here recommended the Hoenn region because it had a lot of Water Pokémon for me to catch!"
"And…" Ash waited for a moment but Misty didn't go on. "What Pokémon have you caught over the years? Have you even been able to catch any?" Ash finished with a teasing smirk.
"Of course I have! I've caught a lot actually over the past five years! In fact I've caught eighteen – soon to be nineteen – Pokémon since I became a Gym Leader!" Misty retorted indignantly, impressing Ash. "In Hoenn, I caught a Mudkip that has evolved into a Swampert, and I also caught a Spheal that's now a Walrein, a Sharpedo and a Pelipper. Not to mention, my Togepi evolved into a Togetic, my Goldeen is now a Seaking and Horsea has become a Seadra!"
"Been to Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos, I presume." Ash said, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"Yep!" Misty beamed, giving him a wink, "I caught and received several Pokémon from each of those regions. In Sinnoh I caught a Bibarel and Gastrodon, while Professor Oak put in a good word for me to Professor Rowan and I was given a Piplup. It's evolved into a Prinplup now. When I was in Unova, I received an Oshawott from Professor Juniper that's now a Samurott, and I also caught a Panpour, Carracosta and a Swanna."
"The Azurill that hatched from an egg that I gave her has become an Azumarill." Tracey piped up, and Ash remembered the little cute Pokémon that Misty had shown him when he visited Cerulean during his journey to compete against the Battle Frontier.
"When I visited Kalos, I was able to catch a Slowbro and a Lanturn. Also Professor Sycamore gave me an egg that will hatch into a Froakie." Misty grinned, "And Professor Elm gave me a Totodile when I visited him two years ago, and it just evolved into a Feraligatr a couple of days ago."
"Wow, I'm surprised that all these Professors are giving you starter Pokémon…" Ash mused, "How'd ya convince them to do that?"
Misty looked sheepish, "Actually I've got you and Professor Oak to thank for that." She informed him, "You've made quite a lasting impression on them, and they were happy to help me out since the professor vouched for me and also told them all that we're best friends."
"You're welcome." Ash grinned.
"Speaking of Professor Oak, he also gave Misty a Squirtle." Tracey grinned, with his hands in pockets.
"I owe that one to you." Misty grinned at him lovingly, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.
It was hard to for Ash's brain to comprehend that this was the same Misty that he travelled with. Who knew that someone with such a rash temper could be so sweet?
"Squirtle is now a Blastoise, and over the years while fishing here in Kanto, I've managed to catch a Krabby that is now a Kingler, and miraculously, I was even able to find a wild Vaporeon."
"Seriously?" Ash raised an eyebrow, "Where did you find that? Finding a Vaporeon in the wild is really rare, Mist."
Misty nodded, "Yeah, after catching her, I soon learned that it had been abused and released from her previous trainer. It took a long time to gain her trust, but it was worth it. She's so adorable!" The red head squealed, "And of course that leaves one final Pokémon that I caught recently. I've finally got my hands on a beautiful Tentacruel!"
Ash shook his head, and with a side glance to Tracey, and judging by the look on his face, Ash deduced that even her boyfriend didn't share her enthusiasm for Tentacruel's appearance.
"Still, I can't believe how many of your Pokémon you've been able to evolve over the years." Ash mused thoughtfully, "How'd you do it?"
"Is it really that surprising?" Misty retorted with a grin, "I always rotate my Pokémon each time a trainer comes to challenge the gym. Plus since all of my Pokémon are held at the Cerulean Gym, I have access to them all every day. I don't just sit around, or swim around while waiting for trainers, you know. We do a lot of training!"
"Really? Wow, I'm actually impressed." Ash smirked at her. "Never thought I'd be saying that to you."
Misty puffed her cheeks angrily and pulled out a Poké Ball, "How 'bout a battle?! I've always enjoyed wiping the smirk off your face!"
Ash's smirk widened, and he reached for Quilava's Poké Ball. He'd love to see Misty's face when she beat one of her beloved Water Pokémon with a fire type.
"Pikachu pi pika!" The electric mouse interrupted, tapping his wrist with his paw, signalling to Ash to be careful about the time.
"That's right!" Ash's eyes snapped down to his wrist to look at the time, "At this rate I'm gonna be late!" He looked over at Misty and Tracey, giving them an apologetic smile, "Sorry guys, gotta hurry and catch my boat! We'll continue this next time!"
With that, Ash bolted down the road with his partner Pikachu running alongside him leaving behind a chuckling Tracey, and an annoyed Misty.
"Bah!" Misty scoffed irritably, pocketing her Poké Ball. "He ran because knew he was going to lose."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's why." Tracey chuckled.
Misty just gave her a boyfriend a death glare and Tracey suddenly regretted his sarcastic remark. Ash was right, he was going to have to be careful if he wanted to survive this relationship.
"Sorry." Tracey muttered.
Misty rolled her eyes, of course Ash would have to remind Tracey about her temper. He should really know better by now. Ash didn't know that she had chilled out a lot in the past few years. Growing up she had been constantly in her older sisters shadows and they flaunted it, making her become quite an angry girl. However now she was completely recognised as the Fourth Sensational Sister, by both her older sisters, and the public. Most of her temper issues were now fully in control.
Time to remind Tracey about who she was now and not who she used to be.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't kill you." Misty grinned assuredly at him, grabbing her his hand bringing it to her bum. "Now where were we?"
Tracey grinned widely and kissed her passionately. He truly didn't have to worry, as he would never hurt her, no matter what.
End of Chapter
If you like it then please leave a review. If you don't like it, then don't read it.
A few things, I didn't go into too much detail about Ash's training since I find it kind of boring to read, and it's boring to write. I much prefer to simply show the improvement when Ash uses them in actual battles.
Before I get flamed for all of the Pokémon Misty now has, and how many have evolved, let me explain. First of all, Misty's six strongest Pokémon vs Ash's six strongest = Ash wins easily. Ash's strongest Pokémon are way above Misty's. Also Gary in his first year, caught over 200 Pokémon, and I've had Misty catch 18 or so in like 5/6 years, so it's not that big of a deal.
In the anime, from when Misty left the anime, Ash has caught 20 or so Pokémon, so even canon Ash has caught more than her.
Also I've also hinted at the possibility of a Delia x Samuel pairing, but it's only Ash's suspicions. I have no plans to write about the pairing, and neither will I confirm on whether they're together or not. That's all entirely up to you.
