She groaned as she lay down on her bed. It had been an exceptionally long day. What with lessons from the professor taking up her entire morning up until noon, and then she had to prepare for her Orre trip she was taking with the rest of the class...
Geez, it tired her just thinking about it.
Since the professor's students were all Dex holders, and most of her friends were Dex holders, she wouldn't feel left out by most of them, but she didn't know the trainers from Hoenn, Unova, or Kalos. That didn't really matter, though, as she knew Johanna 'Pearl' Berlitz very well, probably more than she knew Blue. She'd met Platinum and Diamond as well, who were probably some of the weirdest people she'd ever known, with Ethan Hibiki, who kept bragging that his son was going to be named after himself, and Crystal Courier, who was pretty much an all-around diva.
So pretty much everyone was either a narcissist, weirdo, or she hadn't met them yet.
Joy.
But hey, isn't that what trips are supposed to do? Let you see new things and meet new people?
As she was pondering on the meaning of the word 'trip' (she had even taken it to Webster) she heard the doorbell ring. Wondering who it could be at 1:30 in the morning, she walked through her house to the from door and opened.
There stood Red, standing out in the rain dressed in his jacket with an umbrella in his hands.
"Oh, Red!" She gasped as she took the wet boy's hands and pulled him into the house. "You know you shouldn't be out in the rain this late! You'll catch a cold!"
He smiled embarrassedly while rubbing the back of his head. "Well, you know..." He got to work on removing his sopping wet jacket.
She stared at him a little bit. She realized she was staring and stopped, giving him a hard look.
"Now why on earth are you over here so late?" She scolded him.
"Well, I know you have trouble picking clothes, and since the trip's coming up..." He stopped, looking down as if embarrassed.
He felt her hug him, and he looked up to chestnut brown eyes looking back at him.
"Thank you." She told him. "That's very sweet."
They both walked up to her cluttered bedroom, taking in the sight of the rather large suitcase in front of them, almost completely empty save for a few toiletries.
Red sighed. "Let's get started, shall we?"
Leaf looked at him and nodded.
Red rubbed his chin as if he were thinking real hard about something. "Well, let's see... we'll be gone for a week, four days in Orre, three traveling there... so that means you'll need at least seven outfits. See? It's not that hard."
Leaf lowered her eyelids. "No crap, Sherlock."
Red put his hands up in the air. "Really? How hard can it be to choose seven outfits?"
Leaf scowled at him. "I have to make sure they look good, doofus. Plus I have to choose a swimsuit."
Red rolled his eyes. "Okay..."
So they both went through Leaf's closet, choosing the best combinations of skirts, tank tops, t-shirts, sport shorts, and sunglasses. They ended up with what Red would say to be too many outfits. Leaf was worried she didn't have enough.
"Leaf, we're staying on Gateon Beach. We shouldn't need to change every hour." Red mumbled.
Leaf scoffed. "You don't know anything about clothes. You probably just brought jeans, shorts, and a t-shirt."
By the blush on Red's face, she could tell she was one hundred percent correct.
Red looked at his watch, the time reading 2:30 am. He grimaced, wondering what his mother would say if she found out.
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck the ground outside. The loud resounding boom of thunder scared Leaf somewhat, and she immediately ran into Red, clutching on to him for protection. Well, Red didn't expect this sudden behavior. He fell over, a loud "oomph" escaping his mouth.
Leaf looked up, realizing she was laying on top of him. Embarrassed, she blushed as she looked into his grimacing face.
"Uh, hi Red." She said feebly.
"Hi Leaf." Red groaned in pain as he stood himself up, Leaf sitting down on her bed again.
"So..." Leaf started, twiddling with her hair. "Are you gonna go home now?"
Red shrugged. "Yeah, I'd better. Don't want mom to completely rip me to shreds when I get home."
And with that, he put back on his jacket and left the house.
-present-
As Ash and Red sat together in the cave, they talked a lot about Ash's journey.
"So I've been through Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos so far." Ash recounted the nations on his fingers.
Red crossed his arms, impressed. "That's a lot for your age. When I was fourteen I was still on a mountain."
His attention shifted towards the hat on Ash's head.
He picked it up off of the young boy's head, examining it. "Do you know where this hat came from?" Red asked his son.
Ash looked up, trying to remember. "No, I don't believe I do."
Red smiled. "This was the hat I wore on my journey, all through Kanto and Johto."
Ash smiled. "I wore that on my trip through Kalos. So I guess it's a journey hat, huh?"
Red nodded and grinned. He looked off. Remembering the few pictures he saw of his son, he remembered some of the pictures he saw of his son's companions.
"So lets start with your companions." Red started. Ash listened in closely.
"So from what I've heard, you traveled Kanto and Johto with Brock, the gym leader, right?"
Ash nodded.
"He was only two years older than me when we fought. He's in his late thirties, you know."
Ash's eyebrows rose. He knew Brock was lying about his age, but he didn't know he was in his thirties.
"And that Misty girl?" Red asked. Ash nodded, confirming the name of the redheaded girl he almost hated at this point.
"Well, she's the daughter of the Waterflower gym leader I fought and won against on the second try. That was a wild battle." Red stated, reminiscing.
Ash nodded. Misty once told him that her mother was killed in a car accident while he was in Sinnoh. He thought it best not to tell that, though.
Red looked out of the cave, as if he was worried. Before Ash could ask, though, Red continued.
"And from what I know, you're dating that Maple girl?" Red asked his son.
Ash nodded. Red smiled. "Good choice."
Ash laughed a little, before hushing himself. I wouldn't exactly be the best if he was found out with a wanted man.
Ash and Red continued to talk about Ash's journey, from friends to Pokémon.
Suddenly, Red stopped talking, and put up his hand to hush his son. Ash tuned his ears into the dark of the cave.
"...he's probably not down here, that crafty bastard." A voice growled.
"Shut up! We were given orders to examine the whole cave. Now we are going to do so." Another, more tense voice.
Red looked to his son. "Any ideas?" He asked Ash.
Ash remembered that he had Infernape on him, but he couldn't use it without the sound of a pokéball.
Instead, he looked towards Espeon. The catlike creature mewed softly as it knew exactly what to do. Using it's extrasensory powers, it located two lowly armed men with pistols just at the mouth of the cave, slowly proceeding towards the group.
It nodded to its trainer, indicating that there were indeed men in the cave.
"Alright Espeon," Red whispered, "use Extrasensory."
A faint blue glow surrounded the cat, and in a few seconds the group heard shrieks of pain as the men's heads felt like they were split open.
Red returned his Pokémon to the pokéballs, and the two with Pikachu and Espeon ran out of the cave just in time to avoid the grunts.
Red scowled at the cave, and signaled towards Espeon. The cat growled, and two sounds, distinct from another, one a wet snap sound, another a gurgling pop, were heard.
The trainers escaped, the two headless grunts, laying in a pool of blood, remaining unfound.
Okay, so do you guys remember that 'Fanficritic' thing? I still don't have any suggestions for one-shots. I'd like it if you were to give me something to work with... Please?