"Alright! We're off," Ash cheered, walking down the dirt road with skip in his step. Pikachu swayed back in forth with Ash's stride, smiling.
"Are you always so energetic?" Alain asked, unable to stop from smiling himself. Ash's energy was infectious.
Ash sheepishly grinned. "Yeah, it's exciting to be in a new region. There's always so many things to see, new Pokemon; everything is always so different."
"How many regions have you been to?" Alain asked. Kanto was obvious, Kalos in the near future and apparently Unova was on the list as well. Two (three eventually) was impressive.
"Five," Ash answered. "Six if you want to already include Unova."
"F-five?" Alain asked, surprised. That many? He had no idea that Ash was that well-traveled. That meant Ash was spending roughly a year per region?
"Yeah. Kanto, my home region. We actually did that one twice. Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn and the last one we just came from was Sinnoh," Ash said. "It never gets old, starting a new region. Just an adventure waiting to begin."
"Pika!" Pikachu said in agreement. We had lots of fun.
"Where are you from again, Alain?" Ash asked.
"Lumiose City in the Kalos Region," Alain answered.
"Kalos huh?" Ash said. "I've never been to Kalos, maybe we'll go there next."
Alain smiled. "Kalos is very far away from Unova. It was a long plane ride, we have several layovers."
"Yeah Unova is pretty far out of the way from Kanto," Ash agreed.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu pointed into the bushes. What's that?
Ash and Alain stopped, seeing something purple stick out of the bush. "What on earth is that?" Ash asked.
"I don't know," Alain said. "It doesn't look like a Pokemon."
"Who are you calling a Pokemon!" Out of the bushes popped a girl.
Alain and Ash looked at each other, baffled. "We're not?" Alain said. In fact, he had said she didn't look like a Pokemon.
"Do I look like a Pokemon with this cute face?" the girl demanded.
"No. We're sorry?" Ash replied, holding his hands up.
Instantly the girl relaxed. "Right, right. You just need to apologize and it's fine!"
"Who are you?" Alain asked. Strange girl.
"I'm Iris! And you two have a long way to go as Trainers if you think I'm a Pokemon," Iris said. She held out a fruit. "Isn't that right, Axew?"
Axew stuck his head out of her hair, jumping to grab the fruit. "Axew!" Yum!
"Pika Pika-Chu," Pikachu said, waving at the Axew. He jumped off Ash's shoulder and down to the ground to greet Axew. Hello Axew.
"Is this a Pikachu?!" Iris said, reaching down to pick up Pikachu. "I had never seen one before!" She cuddled him tightly. "You're so cute!"
"Wait-" Ash started.
It was no use. Pikachu let out a devastating bolt of electricity, shocking Iris. He wiggled free from Iris' grip, darting to hide behind Ash's legs.
"Ah! Iris, are you alright?" Ash said. He pulled out capsule from his backpack, expanding it. Out of it came a case of berries. "Here eat a Cheri Berry. It will help with the paralysis. Sorry, but Pikachu doesn't like being handle that roughly."
Iris accepted the berry with a thankful nod, taking a bite. "Thank you," she said weakly. "I'm sorry Pikachu."
Pikachu flattened his ears. "Chu pikapika pikachu." I don't like when people hug me like that.
"I'm Ash, from Pallet Town in Kanto Region," Ash introduced himself.
"And I'm Alain, from Lumiose City in Kalos Region," Alain said.
Iris blinked. "Kanto? Kalos? That's from two different ends of the world."
"We met yesterday through our regional professors," Ash said with a grin. He blinked, realization dawning in his eyes. "Was Professor Sycamore here for the conference too?"
Alain shook his head. "Professor Sycamore researches Mega Evolution. He wanted to look at some older stories of Mega Evolution and since Professor Juniper researches the origins of Pokemon, she seemed like a good starting point."
"Mega Evolutions?" Iris and Ash asked.
"It's a phenomenon we're seeing all across Kalos," Alain explained. He wondered how much was actually safe to say. Ash, he trusted the information to, but Iris was brand new. "When a bond between a trainer and a Pokemon is strong enough, with the aid something we're calling Mega Stones, Pokemon undergo a brief change, usually during battle."
There. That should be good enough.
"Wow," Ash said. "That's neat. Can all Pokemon do Mega Evolutions?"
"We don't know," Alain said. "More and more Pokemon capable of Mega Evolution are being discovered every day. The only consistency so far is that all the Pokemon capable of mega evolving have been in their final stage of evolution."
"Got an example?" Ash asked.
Alain hesitated for a brief moment. "Well, Charmander as Charizard has a Mega Evolution," he said.
Hearing his name, Charmander broke free from his Pokeball. "Charmander!" I heard my name!
"Hey there Charmander," Alain said, giving him scratch. "Do you want to stay out of your ball?"
Frankly, until Charmander had evolved into Charizard, Charmander and later Charmeleon had spent more time out of his ball instead in it. Alain hadn't cared either way, and Charizard only (grudgingly) stayed in his ball more frequently as his large size made it difficult to walk through the dense forests.
"Char!" Yes!
"Okay," Alain agreed. If Charmander wanted to be out, he could be out.
"Hey it's starting to get late," Ash said. "We should probably move a bit further down the path and find a place to camp together. We're also going to need to find food."
"I can show you what's edible!" Iris said. She gave them a sly look. "I get the impression that if I let you pick by yourself, you'll end up getting poisoned."
"I'm not that bad!" Ash proclaimed.
Alain scowled. "I'm not either."
"Do you know what is edible around here?" Iris asked slyly.
"No…" Ash said.
"Then leave it to me!" Iris bounded off, climbing up a tree.
"Are we… are we okay with just letting her do as she pleases?" Alain asked. Even Mairin was less pushy then this and Mairin practically followed him all the way to Hoenn and onto a dangerous battlefield between two legendaries.
"I've found," Ash said resigned, "that it's better to just let them do as they please. Less yelling from girls like her. Let's just look for a place to set up camp."
They found a nice clearing just a few feet away from their original location. The sky beginning to turn a beautiful shade of orange.
Ash pulled out a square capsule, shuffling through the screen and pressing the button. Then in a flash of light, a tent materialized.
"That looks like one of Capsule Corps newest models," Alain remarked. He had seen it in the magazine on the flight over. Capable of storing up to 100 different items in one little capsule. Handy for traveling on the road.
"A treat to myself," Ash said. He drove stakes into the ground, to secure the tent down. "It has enough room for the two of us, if you're willing to share, and I have a spare one if Iris wants to borrow."
"I don't mind," Alain said. "I was ready to throw down just a sleeping bag." He hadn't actually come with a full gear to be camping outside, not having expected to start on a journey with Ash. The sleeping bag was the only thing he had found in Nuvema Town.
"Nice, I like sleeping under the stars too," Ash said. "But new region, until I know what the weather is like that night, I prefer not wake up wet. I'm sure Iris could tell us, but first night."
That made sense. Alain nodded in agreement.
"Back!" Iris said, arriving with arms full of red fruit. "Think this will be enough?"
"Looks like enough," Ash said. "Thanks Iris." He summoned Oshawott and handed both Pikachu and Oshawott a fruit each.
"No problem. Hey, if you two came Nuvema Town, did you see that strange thundercloud yesterday?" Iris asked.
"Yes," Alain said. Charmander picked up his own fruit and was munching away. Tepig let loose a small burst of flame, charring her fruit before munching down on it. "Professor Juniper believed it was caused by Zekrom."
"The legendary?" Iris said excitedly. "That's so cool!"
Ash flinched. "Y-yeah."
Alain could relate to that. Nothing about yesterday was 'cool'. Terrifying was more accurate. Not as bad as facing against Kyogre and Groudon, but they could have seriously gotten hurt yesterday. It wasn't anything to take lightly.
"I want to meet Zekrom!" Iris said. She jumped onto a tree branch, raising her arms to the sky. Axew followed up after her and cheered with her.
"I'm sure you will one day," Ash said. "This world is filled with so many mysterious Pokemon."
"Ah," Alain said. "She fell asleep."
Sure enough, Iris was curled up in the tree branch, Axew snuggled in his arms.
"I guess she doesn't need the tent," Alain said.
Ash leaned back, gazing up at the sky. "It sure is pretty tonight. This is the first time we're seeing these stars."
"Pika pi chu." It's always so different.
"From now on, we'll be walking under this sky, huh?" Ash said.
Alain looked up at the sky, feeling something settle deep inside. It was comforting, being outside. And with the stars above, it looked truly limitless. A shooting star passed overhead, leaving behind a trail of white across the dark sky.
"Ah, a shooting star," Alain said.
"Charmander!" Charmander said, jumping to his feet and pointing excitedly. Oh, make a wish!
"I guess that means something good will happen!" Ash said, pumping his fist. "Right Alain?"
Alain smiled. "Right."
May tomorrow bring a bright and hopeful future.
-.-.-
"I wonder where Iris went," Alain asked. When they had woken this morning, Iris had disappeared, leaving no trace of her behind.
"If we run into her, we run into her," Ash said. "In the meantime, we have a new friend!"
Pidove cooed, flying circles around the two of them. Ash had caught Pidove just a few minutes ago, sending Pikachu out to attack.
"Pika!" Pikachu waved. It was a great battle!
Oshawott, insisting he wanted to be out of his Pokeball, climbed up Ash's shoulder and pushed Pikachu off.
Ash pulled Oshawott from his shoulder. "No, Oshawott," he said firmly. "That is not nice. We don't push others like that."
"Osha Oshawott!" But I want to ride!
"Pika Chu. Then ask. I would have gotten off.
Pikachu frowned at Oshawott, looking disappointed at him.
"I can't believe you're so excited to catch a Pidove. Just like a child," Iris said, jumping down from the tree. Axew split the fruit he was carrying with Pikachu.
"Hello Iris," Alain greeted.
Ash intervened before Oshawott could do something drastic. "Oshawott," he scolded. "Don't be jealous. We still have extra fruit." He pulled out from his bag and offered half to Oshawott and the other to Pidove. "And Pidove is great, Iris!" He went on to offer another half to Charmander and Tepig.
"I think you two make a good match," Iris said with a light scoff.
"What's that supposed to mean," Alain said coldly.
"Nothing, nothing!" Iris said with a wave.
The whirl of mechanical gears was their only waving before two hands shout of nowhere to grab Pikachu and Axew.
"Pikachu!" Ash said, twirling around.
"Axew!"
Alain blinked, stunned to see that familiar pair of Team Rocket grunts standing before him. They were here too? Wait, come to think of it, Ash had mentioned Team Rocket in his story about what happened at the harbor.
"Give Pikachu back!" Ash shouted.
And they were still trying to take Pikachu? And here Alain had thought that one time he and Charizard helped saved Pikachu was a one time thing. But why were they targeting Pikachu?
"Who are they?" Iris asked.
"So glad you asked," the redhaired woman asked.
Never mind. Alain would ask questions later. "Charmander, Fire Fang! Break Pikachu and Axew free! Tepig, Ember! Keep them back!"
Tepig let out a burst of fire, causing Team Rocket to step back from the scorching heat. Charmander rushed afterwards, jumping upward, fire gathering in his mouth. He chomped down on the mechanical arm, snapping it in half. Pikachu and Axew dropped the ground.
"Charmander, let's finish it off with Dragon Rage!"
Charmander leaned back, energy pulsing and let out loose a stream of bluish fire. It exploded upon hitting Team Rocket, sending them flying into the air.
"Not again!" Team Rocket cried out as they disappeared into the distance.
Pikachu jumped down from the plateau into Ash's open arms. "Pika pipi chu," Pikachu said, Thanks for the save!
Ash hugged him tight. Pikachu nuzzled his cheek to Ash's face, smile wide on his face. "That was amazing, Alain!"
"Ah. It was nothing," Alain said. "Just… who were they?" He hadn't gotten their names last time either.
"It was still amazing," Ash said. "You, Charmander and Tepig moved before even I could and I've been facing them for a long time."
He trailed, off grimacing lightly. "They're Team Rocket. Criminals who go around stealing Pokemon. They've been following me forever, always trying to capture Pikachu."
"Forever, and they haven't been caught?" Alain asked. How long had they been following Ash?
Ash shook his head. "Those three, Jessie, James and Meowth, they're…" He shrugged, trailing off.
"Pikaa," Pikachu agreed. It's complicated.
"They're annoying and it's frustrating that they keep trying," Ash said softly. "But those three have a good heart."
"You should report them," Iris said. Axew was back in her arms.
"Yeah…" Ash said non-committedly.
"Well Pikachu is pretty special," Alain said. "I guess I can see why they keep coming after him."
How many Pikachus could take down a Metagross and a Tyranitar? During the finals, Alain hadn't so much sent out Charizard, his ace, early so much as Pikachu forced his hand to. Even then, Pikachu still managed to land several good hits on Charizard. Alain had wondered briefly, what a battle between the two would have looked like, if Pikachu had been at full health.
But that was why fighting against Ash was so exciting.
Both Ash and Pikachu looked at him, an unreadable look in their eyes.
Alain blinked, looking away. The tips of his ears burning. "Was it something it I said?" he asked with a light cough.
Ash smiled. This time it wasn't so energetic, gentler, more tenderly. "Thanks Alain," he said.
"Yeah! Thanks Alain," Iris agreed.
Alain felt flustered. He wasn't- it wasn't. "You- The Pokemon Center should be coming up soon?" he finished instead.
He wasn't used to be thanked like that.
-.-.-
Ash rested his elbows against the railing, staring up at the starry night sky. By the time they had reached the Pokemon Center and waited for Nurse Joy to check over their Pokemon, the sun was low in the sky and they had decided to just stay at the Pokemon Center instead of continuing on into the night. Ash believed in enjoying the rare comfy beds as they came.
"Pikapi." Ash
Ash smiled as Pikachu hopped up to the railing, joining him.
Alain looked back, it seemed like Alain was still in the bathroom. "Alain is certainly something, isn't he?" Ash asked softly.
"Chaa," Pikachu agreed. He's nice.
Ash couldn't quite his finger on it, but there was something different about Alain. It hovered at the tip of his senses, something he didn't quite understand.
What was surprising was just the steadfast belief Alain had in Ash. When Professor Sycamore asked Ash to let Alain joined, Ash had been expecting a combination of Gary and Brock. Definitely smart, and definitely caring about Pokemon. That was pretty evident with the way Alain treated his Charmander.
And when Professor Sycamore said Alain was having a hard time, Ash had been expecting moodiness and shyness. While there were signs of that, Alain was turning out to be polite, curious but without usual pushiness Ash often found himself under fire, and surprisingly, a strong trainer despite his claims that he wasn't one.
But what was weird was the way Alain just sided with him. Alain took offense against Trip's barbed insults against Ash; it even popped up against Iris' slightly condescending tone.
Ash had yet to meet someone who just… believed that he could be a strong trainer. His mother, despite her support, had gently rebuffed his dream growing up. It had taken several days or weeks of travel with his previous companions to warm up to the idea that maybe Ash knew what he was doing. Misty and Brock were special cases, seeing as Ash really was an idiot back then. Even Brock, no matter how understanding he was, gave Ash a few exasperated looks back then.
(And to be fair, Ash showed up with Pikachu at a Rock Gym. But seeing as he won his badge with Pikachu, he deserved the benefit of doubt. Type Advantage wasn't everything.)
Iris looked like she would follow the same pattern. But Alain, Alain hadn't even needed any proof, just took Ash at face value that he was something special and that was so strange.
Even Alain's acknowledgement of Pikachu. Sure, Ash knew Pikachu was special. And he meant that in a less than 'Pikachu-is-my-partner' way and more like 'Pikachu's-Thunder-is-capable-of-felling-legendaries' way.
Ash was sure Alain didn't realize that particular tidbit but...people didn't normally acknowledge Pikachu was 'special'. Most who were familiar with Pikachus, would constantly ask why Ash hadn't evolved Pikachu into a Raichu. They were always surprised that Ash continued to win his battles with Pikachu. His friends, even Professor Oak, were so desensitized, they just accepted Pikachu's ridiculous power levels as just something as Pikachu did, no questions asked.
Team Rocket was probably the only ones who did realize it and wasn't that a strange thing that a couple criminals who follow Ash around were the people closest to the truth about Pikachu.
"Chu pikapi pika pi." You're thinking too hard.
Ash scratched Pikachu. "Hopefully this region will be quieter."
Pikachu scowled. "Chu chu. Pipika pikachu." We already met one legendary. I don't think it will be.
Ash closed his eyes, remembering Team Galactic. "We could use the break," he said softly.
"Pika." Absolutely.
"Hey, by the way, don't let Oshawott bully you," Ash said. "I'll keep telling him, but-"
Pikachu waved off Ash's concern, shaking his head. "Pikachu pika. Pipipi pikachu chu." I got it. If I have to, I'll break out the Thundershocks. But he's mostly just too young.
"I can always count on you," Ash said with a smile.
-.-.-
Iris hummed. "I'm glad we were able to help Dan and the spa."
Alain jotted down a note in his book. "I had no idea Sandile could wear sunglasses," he said. Some Pokemon had stronger, more visible personality quirks and it was always so interesting to tell them. He sent an image of Sandile off to Professor Sycamore.
They had just come from Dan's family resort, helping them solve the issue with the sand baths and the local Sandiles. It turned out, the Sandile were just trying to help, but it had made for well… an interesting day.
Ash grinned. "But we made a new friend, didn't we?"
"San Sandile San." I can't wait for all the fights we're going to get into. Sandile crawled along the ground.
Alain was also strictly not thinking about the danger Ash had put himself into. "You weren't burn too badly were you?" Alain asked Ash.
"Nope! I'm fine, doesn't even hurt," Ash said. "Ah!" He pointed to the city in front of them. "Striaton City! I can challenge the gym here."
"What are you talking about," Iris said, a teasing lilt to her voice. "This is Accumula Town. Striaton City is the next city."
"Eh?!" Ash said, surprised.
"You didn't even know that? Such a child."
Alain scowled, annoyed. "I'm pretty sure you're the youngest here, Iris."
"No way," Iris said. "I'm thirteen."
"Fifteen," Alain said.
"Fourteen," Ash said.
Iris took a step back in shock. "What! No way!" She shook her head. "A-anyways! There's a Pokemon Battle Club in this city. Do you want to go?"
"Sure! Let's go!" Ash said.
That did sound really interesting.
-.-.-
Ash felt a wave of nausea crash on him as he recognized a Tepig approaching the food that Iris had laid out to trap the strange Pokemon Don George had asked them to help capture. It looked sickly, covered in dirt and so thin Ash could see its ribs. A dirty rope was entangled around its snout and Ash had the terrible realization it probably couldn't eat with that on.
He crept out the brushes as quietly as he could. Tepig noticed him right away, nervously taking a step back.
"Hey," Ash said, cooing quietly.
Tepig took off in a fright.
No! If it escaped, it wouldn't be able to get that rope off. Ash ran off after it, passing by Alain as he did so.
"Ash?"
"It's a Tepig," Ash shouted over his shoulder, more concerned about keeping up with Tepig.
Tepig flew around the corner, skidding to a stop as it realized it was a dead end. It nervously looked back and forth for a way to escape.
Ash approached it as slowly as he could. Arms extended out, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. "It's okay," Ash said softly, trying not to frighten it even more.
Tepig tried to dash forward, trying to pass Ash. Ash's reflexes were quicker, and he quickly scooped it up.
"It's okay," Ash said, trying to calm it.
Tepig just trashed further and let out a dark cloud of soot. Hacking, Ash shook his head, trying to clear the air around him.
"There's nothing to be afraid about. You just want to eat that yummy Pokemon Food, right?" Ash asked, keeping his grip firm but not too tight. Mentally he grimaced. Tepig was so light, lighter than Pikachu. As he feared, Tepig was so thin and gaunt looking, nothing but skin and bones.
Tepig stopped trashing, blinking up at Ash and another wave of nausea hit Ash as he recognized the fear in Tepig's eyes.
Someone had hurt this Tepig.
Not every Tepig was raised in a lab. It wasn't uncommon to find the regional starters in the wild. There were plenty of colonies, if one knew where to look. But given how close this town was Nuvema Town, this was most likely a Tepig from Professor Juniper's lab.
Which meant a Trainer had done this.
It wasn't accidental tangling of rope in Tepig's snout. This Tepig was honestly afraid of humans.
Ash remembered Charmander, remembered Chimchar and a white-hot anger ran under his skin. He never understood how some Trainers could just abandoned their precious Pokemon.
Tepig trembled in Ash's hands. Ash gently sat him down, tugging on the rope. "I'll get this off," Ash promised.
"Ash."
Ash glanced to the sit, to see Alain had joined him, looking concerned at Tepig. Behind him, Iris stood hand to her mouth as she looked at them in distress.
"I'll let Nurse Joy know," Alain said quietly. "I'll also tell Don George, if I can find him."
"Thanks," Ash said.
"Don't give him a full-sized meal, once you get the rope off," Alain cautioned. "If he hasn't eaten for as long as it looks like, that much food will make him sick. Give him water too. Bring him to the Pokemon Center as soon as you can."
"I'll go get some," Iris said.
"Right," Ash said. Thank goodness Alain knew what he was talking about.
Alain took off. Ash tugged free the rope just as Iris came back with a small bowl of food and water.
"See, Iris got you something yummy to eat," Ash said, letting go of Tepig.
It looked back and forth between the food and Ash.
"Go on," Ash encouraged.
Tepig took a hesitant step forward, sniffing at the food. Once it had judged it safe to eat, it chowed down on it. Just as the bowl was nearly empty, Tepig's eyes began to droop. Ash gently scooped him up.
"Tired, aren't you?" Ash said. "C'mon now, let's get you to the Pokemon Center."
-.-.-
Alain felt… weary. That was a good word. Weary.
Never before had waiting in a Pokemon Center lobby been painful. Iris had pulled her legs to her chest, staring out the window. Axew was curled up in her arms.
Ash stared at the double doors that Tepig had passed through with Nurse Joy, face set in a frown. Pikachu sat next to him, mirroring Ash's expression.
Alain just felt tired. Charmander sat on his lap, his weight and warmth were a comforting promise.
Today was a stark reminder that not every Trainer treated their Pokemon with kindness. Bitterly, Alain wondered how many starters he had helped Professor Sycamore raised had been abandoned on the roadside like trash. He tried not to think about it, choosing to give the new Trainers the benefit of the doubt.
Don George had just left, but not before telling them he had recognized the Tepig. Alain nearly bit his lip at the story of Tepig's abandonment by a Trainer who had thought it was too weak. Just because Tepig had lost when it had the type advantage, that was outrageous-!
'I have no need for weaklings.'
Alain drew in a sharp breath. The echo of Lysandre's words, the taunting challenge, the threat of taking away his Key Stone and Charizardite X.
"Char?" Charmander looked up at him, placing a claw on Alain's shoulder. What's wrong?
Alain shook his head, smiling reassuringly at him.
Nurse Joy stepped out into the waiting room. Ash was instantly on his feet, walking over to her.
"How is Tepig?" Ash asked.
Nurse Joy gave him a sad smile. "He's stable," she said. "But I would like to keep him for a few nights more. He's terribly thin. It's good thing you brought him in when you did. I'm not sure how many more days he would have last. He's going to have a long road to recovery."
"If he's willing to come with me, I'll take him," Ash said.
"Ash!" Iris said, jumping out of her seat. "That's too much work!"
"It is a lot of responsibility," Nurse Joy agreed. "It won't be an easy road to rehabilitation."
"I know," Ash said. "I've done it before. Tepig won't be the first abandoned Pokemon I helped."
"If not, Professor Juniper, even Professor Sycamore, can help," Alain said.
"At least let me try," Ash said. "It'll be Tepig's decision either way."
Nurse Joy smiled. "True. It is best to let Tepig decide.
-.-.-
Alain's Tepig stared down into her bowl as if it held all the answers in the world. The round yummy pellets, however, held no answers for the brewing questions on her mind.
'What's wrong?' Charmander asked, munching on his Poke Food.
She flinched, startling out of her thoughts. 'N-nothing,' she said.
Charmander paused his eating. 'What's wrong?' he asked again.
Tepig shuffled, bouncing on her feet, her hooves clattering softly against the floor. She threw a look over to where Alain, Ash and Iris were eating. The humans carried on with their conversation, unaware. 'Alain's… Alain's a good person, right?'
'The best!' Charmander said.
'H-how long have you been with him?' Tepig asked.
'Over three years,' Charmander said, waving his arms excitedly. 'Dad gave me to him when Alain got his Trainer license.'
'Three years?' Tepig asked. That... that sounded like a long time. 'Dad?' Who was Dad?
'Yup,' Charmander said. 'Dad is Professor Sycamore. You met him back at the lab.'
Professor Sycamore… Professor Sycamore. Tepig remembered the man with poofy black hair and a white coat just like Professor Juniper. 'Why do you call him dad?' she asked.
'Alain thinks of him as dad and I'm Alain's so that makes him dad to me too!' Charmander said proudly.
His cheer washed away as a more serious look replaced it. 'But that's not what bothering you right?'
Tepig shuddered. That was… that was something. Conceptually, she knew the more time a Pokemon spent around humans, the wiser they got. Professor Juniper's Minccino seemed to wise, always with a word of encouragement. Minccino could always explain those foreign concepts that didn't really make sense whenever Professor Juniper tried to explain it. Even Snivy, who had been a bit older than her, had grasped concepts like years and months faster.
And there was… the Tepig they had met today. She remembered him, fuzzily. He had left the lab several… months (? She was sure the term was months) ago.
Tepig had been abandoned because he was too weak.
She… didn't like fighting. It was instinctual, but if she had the option, she didn't really like fighting. It was okay against those bad guys Team Rocket, but she thought about the Battle Club and the way Ash and Pikachu had jumped quickly into a fight and she didn't like it.
'Alain wouldn't… abandon me because I'm weak right?' Tepig asked.
'No,' Charmander said without hesitation. 'He will help you get stronger instead.'
'W-what if I don't like to f-fight?' Tepig asked shamefully, looking down.
'Alain's not a Trainer,' Charmander said. 'And even if he was, he won't make you fight if you don't want to.'
'B-but…'
"Charmander!" 'Alain!'
Before she could stop him, Charmander went running over to Alain. Fear gripped her heart; what was Charmander doing? Tepig rushed forward, butting Charmander in the stomach but he sidestepped her.
"Charmander? Tepig?" Alain asked, looking down at them.
'Tell her she doesn't have to.' Charmander waved his arms, pantomiming out an explanation.
Shame washed over Tepig and she kicked the ground. She had been so happy Alain had picked her. He seemed the nicest, the calmest. Something about Trip was unsettling and Ash was just… energetic. Now Alain was going to find out and she was going to be sent back to the lab or worst abandoned like that other Tepig!
"Pika?" Pikachu lean over from the table edge where he had been sitting to look down at them. 'What's wrong?'
'Tepig doesn't want to fight. I'm trying to get Alain to understand that,' Charmander said.
'What kind of Pokemon are you that you don't want to fight,' Oshawott scoffed. 'You're just scared.'
Tepig let out a flare of embers. It wasn't because she was scared!
"Tepig?" Alain asked.
'Don't be like that, Oshawott. Tepig has her reasons.' Pikachu said. 'Ash!'
"I think Charmander is saying Tepig doesn't like fighting?' Ash said, looking at Pikachu for confirmation. Pikachu nodded.
The rest of the Pokemon stared at Pikachu in shock.
'How!?' Charmander asked. 'All you said was his name!'
Pikachu smiled. 'That's how close Ash and I are.'
Tepig nervously looked at Alain, afraid of his reaction.
"Is that so?" Alain asked. He gave her a friendly pat. "That's fine, Tepig. I'm not a Trainer like Ash is. You don't have to fight if you don't want to. All I ask is that you keep training so you're strong enough to defend yourself, in case someone like Team Rocket comes by."
...That was fair. Tepig wouldn't want to be kidnap like Pikachu and Axew almost were. And if that meant training enough to be able to get free, she could do that.
'See, I told you,' Charmander said, smugly. 'But Alain would make a great Trainer if he tried it.'
Tepig ignored him and launched herself into Alain's arms. She was so happy she had an understanding Trainer.
Coming with Alain was the best decision she had made.
-.-.-
"An abandoned Tepig, I see," Professor Sycamore said. Despite the tiny hologram image, Alain could see the way he furrowed his brow, a frown working its way onto his face.
"Yeah," Alain said, clutching his phone a little tighter.
"I'll go over the records with Professor Juniper," Professor Sycamore said. "If we can figure out which trainer it is, we can report them to the police for abandonment and neglect, especially since Tepig is in such a bad condition."
"Thanks," Alain said. He was sure that Professor Sycamore and Professor Juniper would figure it out. Then it would be justice for Tepig.
"And how are you holding up?" Professor Sycamore said gently. "It's been about a week."
"It's… different," Alain said.
Even from before, it was different. Back then, before Mairin, it was just Alain and Charmander traveling. They went at their own pace, went looking for ruins instead of aiming for cities.
But this time, he had Ash and Iris. They were traveling slower, and it was different. Ash continued to be amazing. Iris… despite Alain's reservations, was helpful. She had the background knowledge of someone who grew up in Unova which was great.
"I don't like Iris' condensing tone," Alain said firmly. "She keeps calling Ash a kid. She's the youngest of the three of us."
Professor Sycamore laughed. "And Ash?" he asked.
"Ash is passionate," Alain said. "He's willing to take Tepig in."
"Oh? That isn't an easy job to rehabilitate a Pokemon," Professor Sycamore said.
"He said it wouldn't be the first time," Alain said. He wondered about the story behind those words.
"Then I'm sure he will do a fine job," Professor Sycamore said.
"Charmander is enjoying the trip. He's taking every chance to be out of his Pokeball. I think he may evolve soon," Alain said, rambling on. It would really take one good battle to push Charmander into his next stage, if his partner wanted to do so. Which was most likely. Alain had gotten that impression from him. Plus, despite what he told Tepig, Alain wouldn't mind… training again. Getting strong enough to face Ash again.
(And with Team Flare lurking around the corner, he would have to start building a team strong enough to handle them.)
"My Tepig doesn't want to fight though which is fine," Alain said. "I guess today's events weighed pretty heavily on her mind, with the other Tepig."
"I imagine," Professor Sycamore agreed. "Let Ash know if he needs anything, we'll be happy to help."
"I will," Alain said. "Did you find anything with Professor Juniper?"
"There are rumors about a Mega Rayquaza," Professor Sycamore said excitedly. "It predates even the legend back in Kalos with Lucario."
Alain mentally winced, remembering the roar of Mega Rayquaza. The sizzling heat as Draco Meteor rained down on them and how overwhelming power. Normal Rayquaza was already a legendary of immense power, adding in Mega Evolution just boosted that power to even crazier levels.
He had let the mission drive him, let it blind him and Charizard had nearly died, he had nearly died, Mairin got mixed up in-!
"-lain? Alain?"
Alain jolted of his thoughts. "A-ah sorry," he quickly apologized, swallowing the guilt.
Professor Sycamore gave him a sad but understanding smile. "It's fine."
He was still worrying the professor.
"So how long will you be in Accumula Town?" Professor Sycamore asked.
"Until day after tomorrow," Alain answered, grabbing onto the change of subject. "Nurse Joy won't release Tepig before that."
Alain heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Pikachu letting a content 'Chaa'. It looked like Ash was done with his shower. "I have to go," Alain said.
Professor Sycamore nodded. "Take care and stay safe, Alain. Good night."
"I will, you too," Alain said. "Good night."
The call ended, the hologram image of Professor Sycamore fading away just as Ash opened the door. Pikachu was resting on his head, looking blissed out.
"Pikachu sure looks happy," Alain said.
Ash laughed, gently lifting his partner and placing him on the bed. "Yeah. I gave him a real good wash and brushing plus a massage. It normally makes him all gooey like melted chocolate."
"Professor Sycamore said if you need any help with Tepig, let him and Professor Juniper know. They'll be happy to help," Alain said. "They'll also look into records to see if they can figure out which Trainer Tepig used to formerly belonged to, so they can press charges. Showing the Trainer pictures to Tepig would be the easiest but…"
"There's no telling how Tepig will react," Ash said. "Not an option right now at least."
"Right," Alain said.
Ash scowled. "I can't believe there are Trainers who would abandon their precious Pokemon."
Alain didn't say anything. He could believe it, could even understand it. Sure, he hadn't known the reason why, but Lysandre and his minions, they could often leave with one type of Pokemon and come back with another and Alain had never understood why. At least until Lysandre had told him there was no need for weaklings in Team Flare.
"I guess there are just some people like that," Alain said instead. "People who believe that strength is the most important thing."
"That sounds like something Paul would agree with," Ash said bitterly.
"Paul?"
Ash flinched. He gave Alain a wary look that looked so foreign on him. It didn't match up with Ash's normally energetic personality.
Not meeting Alain in the eye, Ash looked out the window. "Paul was my rival in Sinnoh," he said. "He… was a very effective trainer. Strong too. An experienced trainer who had traveled through Hoenn, Johto and Kanto before arriving in Sinnoh."
"Anyways, Paul has… this habit," Ash said, struggling to get the words out. "He dislikes weak Pokemon and releases them if they do not meet his expectations. He checks what moves they know, creates harsh training schedules, never offers praises, and only demands that they get stronger."
That… that was a plausible training method. In fact, as far as Alain knew, it was the recommended training method that many serious Trainers subscribe to. It was approved by the leagues, in nearly handbook about training strategy, the advice countless people preached. Paul's method, especially the praise part, sounded harsher than it needed to be, but still a plausible training method.
It was a method that Alain himself had somewhat subscribed to, though more out necessity than desire. He had needed heavy hitters to complete his mission, just due to the danger that was involved, so he purposely didn't catch Pokemon that didn't have the kind of firepower he needed. That was how he ended up with ridiculously powerful Pokemon like Metagross. And when he didn't a full team to complete with in League, Lysandre had supplied the Pokemon, all fully trained and ready to go, to fill gaps in his team.
As a result, he hadn't… exactly bonded with his previous Pokemon team. Charizard was the only one Alain had bonded with, just out the sheer amount of time spent they spent together, but Alain had been under impression that was because Charmander had been his starter whom he had raised from his egg. The ability to mega evolve due to their bond had been bonus.
(Briefly in the back of his head, Alain had wondered what would have happened if he had been given Metagrossite instead. He hated that he didn't have a clear answer. He certainly wouldn't abandon Charizard, but… would he have spent more time with Metagross instead to encourage a bond strong enough to mega evolve, leaving Charizard on the side, somewhat neglected?)
But yes, just like this Paul character, Alain used to create harsh training schedules and asked that his team step up to them. With a note of discomfort, he didn't actually know if they actually liked it or were just following orders. The only one he did know was Charizard who had gladly threw himself into getting stronger with pride.
Alain didn't really like this bit of self-reflection.
"It was frustrating," Ash said, continuing on, ignorant of Alain's thoughts. "Because people would praise him for how strong he was. Paul was the perfect representation of what a serious Trainer aiming for the Champion position looked like."
"You don't agree," Alain said.
"No," Ash said. "Iris will call this way of thinking childish, but I've always believed that believing in your Pokemon is far more important. Type Advantage isn't everything. You can't just win on strength. You can't win on passion either, but what's the point of strength, if it destroys yourself in the process?"
Alain choked, guilt drowning him. Because that was exactly what he did to himself. So, taken in by the idea of being the strongest to protect everyone only he had failed to protect anything-
"Alain?" Ash asked.
Alain took a fortifying breath. "You have a point," he said, voice shaky.
Ash really did. Type Advantage meant nothing sometimes. Pikachu packed a punch harder than almost all of Alain's previous team. He could proudly point out that Charizard had been at a disadvantage against Greninja and still came out on top.
Ash gave him a puzzling look, but let it go. "I believe in my Pokemon. There are different types of strengths and you can learn from losing too," Ash said. "I can… respect Paul as a trainer, but as someone who loves Pokemon, I can could never approve of his methods. We disagree with on that point."
The dark bitter tone in Ash's voice was odd to hear. Alain had never heard it before, it was jarring, not matching with his mental image of Ash.
"You really don't like him, do you?" Alain asked.
"It's- It's complicated," Ash said. "He seemed to lighten a little after League. But yeah…" He trailed off with a faraway look in his eye.
"Anyways," Ash said. "Paul had a Chimchar."
Alain's stomach dropped. He didn't like the sound of this.
"Chimchar is a strong capable Pokemon. It had an extremely powerful Flame Wheel attack that Paul was impressed with. But it wasn't something Chimchar would do on a regular basis. In fact, Chimchar had done it previously only because he was being chased a group of wild Zangoose that left him terrified of all Zangoose," Ash said.
"So, Paul threw him into a harsh training regime, that involved having his Pokemon attacking Chimchar in hope so drawing out that power. When I found out about it, I intervened and took Chimchar to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy told Paul and Chimchar would be unable to battle." Ash clenched his fist tight. "Paul ignored that warning."
Alain drew in a sharp breath. That was too extreme. There was pushing each other to your limits and going beyond, but this sounded far too much like abuse.
"We were in Hearthome City for a Tag Battle Competition and I was teamed up with Paul. The opponent has a Zangoose that caused Chimchar to freeze up," Ash said, softer, sadder. "Once Paul realized that Chimchar still couldn't summon that power, he just stopped giving Chimchar orders. After the competition, Paul released Chimchar."
"What did you do?" Alain asked.
"I asked if Chimchar wanted to come with me," Ash said. "It was rough. Chimchar didn't relax for a long time, remembering the long-lasting impacts being in Paul's care and kept… expecting me to treat him the same. He wasn't used to being treated with kindness and patience. It took a while for him to get over his fear of Zangoose and there were a couple times where he lost control, but it was fine."
"Where is he now?" Alain asked. Chimchar wasn't with Ash in Kalos; Alain didn't even know Ash had a Chimchar.
Ash pulled out his phone, pulling up an image and handing it to Alain. Alain took it, blinking in surprise as he recognized the Pokemon.
"He evolved into an Infernape?" Alain asked, looking in awe at the picture of Ash and Infernape, arms linked around each other's necks.
"Strong enough to win against four of Paul's Pokemon at League," Ash said smugly. "Right now, he's enjoying a break at Professor Oak's ranch."
He took the phone back from Alain. "Paul and I butted head over training strategy many times. Admittedly, the rest of his Pokemon thrive under his training regime, but Infernape is more than enough proof to me that it's better to raise your Pokemon with love and care." He gave Alain a wry smile. "Does that make me an idiot?"
"No," Alain answered immediately. He knew, had proof, had faced off against Ash, witness the love and care Ash poured into his Pokemon: his Pikachu capable of felling Pokemon ten times stronger than him, his Bulbasaur with that beautiful Solarbeam, Ash-Greninja with his unique bond and Infernape who had grown strong enough to defeat his previous trainer's prized Pokemon.
Ash stared at him surprised.
"Why is that surprising?" Alain asked. Ash was practically living proof.
Tilting his head, Ash said slowly, "Paul… is a perfect representation of a standard strong Trainer."
Oh. Oh. Alain could draw the parallels. Paul was perfect representation of a standard strong Trainer… which made Ash the unorthodox one. Admittedly, true but...
"Most people would say I'm being silly," Ash said, words still coming out slow and measured. "It's fine if you want to raise your Pokemon with love and care, but that's something for breeders or casual trainers. Trainers aiming for League, for the Champion's position, need to be made of stern of stuff, need to be more focused on power. There's no room for kindness, no room for weakness."
Alain hated that it sounded like Ash was reciting those words like reading them from a book, words hollow and empty.
"Why do you think that's okay?" Ash asked.
Alain mentally flailed. It wasn't like he could tell Ash that he knew exactly how powerful Ash was because they had battled against each other. If Charizard wasn't able to mega evolve they would have los- wait, Mega Evolution.
"Mega Evolution," Alain said. "While we're still researching it, we know that stronger the bond is between a Pokemon and its Trainer, the more powerful Mega Evolution is. And you can't get a strong bond with a Pokemon if you don't raise them with love and care."
Technically, Professor Sycamore probably didn't know that, but it was true.
Ash looked at him with a starry look in his eyes. "That sounds amazing."
"Yeah," Alain agreed. "So Tepig?"
"I'll ask if he wants to come with us tomorrow, assuming Nurse Joy let me see him," Ash said.
"Based on what you said about Chimchar, I think you'll do great in helping him," Alain said.
Ash smiled. "Thanks Alain."
-.-.-
-Two Days Later-
"There we go," Iris said, pointing ahead. The three of them stepped out the forest, looking down the road.
Ash broke out in a full grin. Pikachu grinned just as widely, brimming with excitement. "Is that?" Ash asked.
"Yup," Iris said. "Welcome to Striaton City."
Ash and Pikachu's Crazy Life: 3 vs Alain: 2
Woot! And now we finally got the ball rolling.
There's a lot going on in this chapter. Alain gets to meet Team Rocket again (which is... confusing to him lmao). Tepig FEELS everywhere. And as the Sandile episode shows, I won't be rewriting every single episode. That's boring. You can assume, if I skip the the episode, it more or less went down like canon just with Alain somewhere. I'll cover any major divergence. Like picking up Sandile... (Ash... I can't believe Sandile followed you for 60 episodes before you caught him. Oshawott for three episodes was bad enough. Welcome to Unova, the region where Pokemon stalk you.)
Eventually though, we'll derail enough that aside from the order of gyms and some of the big events (I'll probably do episodes/movies where they meet legendaries for example) we won't be following the anime at all ahaha. That's the goal at least.
As shown, Ash isn't quite the sunshine child he acts like he is. Peeking into his head is interesting. The contrast between Paul and Ash was always fascinating because in a lot of ways, Paul isn't wrong. He walks that thin line and you can argue whether his treatment of Chimchar was training or abuse. But, Paul is basically the video game trainer most of us are in RL when we play Pokemon, the one that cares if we have the best IVs and abilities, discarding old moves for stronger ones, grinding and leveling up to beat gyms, breeding to get strong Pokemon, etc. Ash is more like your 10 year old self who just got Pokemon for the first time and is ride or die with his starter, no matter how poor their stats are. Neither are wrong and that's what makes the comparison between the two interesting.
To answer some questions.
Is there ships? Nothing currently planned.
Will Ash be smarter? Well, he won't be making all those newbie mistakes that he always does at the beginning of every new region. If he does, it's not for the reason you think. (You could argue it's stupid that Ash throws a Pokeball without even weakening the Pokemon... but with Ash, sometimes that's a legitimate strategy.)
Is Ash still the Chosen One? Yes
Are you doing the movies? That's where all the world saving fun is, so yes lol
Alright, onward to the first gym and one of our big divergences.
Please leave a review on your way out.