Chapter Eight

Pallet Town looked no different than the day Ash had left. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, really. All the buildings to have collapsed, maybe, or the grass to be brown and dead, or the sky to have been burnt red and filled with smoke. Maybe he was just expecting for some sign that the place wasn't the same without him, that once he'd left it'd fall to ruin.

As he looked out the window of the car, though, he saw no discernible differences. There wasn't even any fearful tension, like there had been in Celadon, nor were there homeless people begging, or buildings towering towards the clouds. Rather, people were still out and about, the adults tending to their gardens in the afternoon sun and the kids playing their childish games. Everything was just as he'd left it.

The thought made him smile. At least Kanto still had at least one place of innocent, joyful hope.

As they passed by his house, he pressed his face against the window, trying to make out any signs of life inside. There was nothing. The lights were off, the curtains were drawn, and the gate was shut. The sight made him worried at first, but he noticed with relief that the garden was still well-kept. Wherever his mother was, she hadn't been gone long.

Daisy parked the car at the bottom of a hill. "Okay, we're here," she announced, stepping outside.

Ash remembered the town well enough that he didn't have to ask where 'here' was. There was a path of steps leading up the grassy hill, and he knew that at the top sat the lab. He stepped outside and looked up, a lump rising in his throat.

Something wasn't sitting right with him. He felt… off, like he wasn't supposed to be there. A darkness had grown in him since he'd left, and it seemed wrong to taint such a happy place with it. It was as if his mere presence had cast a shadow over the town, and he feared that it would never go away.

He climbed the stairs, just as he had done back at the start of his journey. The action was the same, but it felt so much different now. Back then, he'd been so excited, so full of life, and he'd taken the stairs two at a time, desperate to arrive in time to get his first pokémon. Now, there was so much weighing down on him that the trip was harder, more exhausting.

He cast his mind back to those first days, trying to bring back some of that youthful enthusiasm, but every good memory was ruined by newer, more painful ones.

The first time he'd laid eyes on Pikachu was a memory he had cherished dearly, even if the beginning of their friendship had contained more shouting and electrocution than he'd have liked. But now, thinking of it just brought back images of Pikachu being stolen in Kalos, and then turning against him in Giovanni's office.

Then there were all the times with Misty and Brock, which were truly wonderful, albeit often difficult. Again, those thoughts were damaged. He'd abandoned them, twice now – once ten years ago and then again that very morning. There was no more happiness there, just guilt.

By the time he had reached the top of the steps, he was gasping for breath and there were tears in his eyes. "Looks like you're getting too old for this," Gary said with a smirk as he joined him at the top.

Ash would have snapped back with a clever retort, but he was too exhausted. Not that Gary or Daisy were doing much better, though. Despite the smug satisfaction on his face, Gary was breathing rather heavily as well, and Daisy was clutching her back. Why had the walk seemed so easy before, yet so difficult now? Ash supposed that adult bodies just weren't made for stairs that steep.

"Come on," Gary said, trying to mask his exhaustion. "Let's go."

Like everything else in the town, the lab looked just as Ash had remembered it. There was a deep, painful sense of nostalgia as he gazed at it, which only increased as they walked inside.

"Gramps!" Gary called out as he entered the foyer. "That's us back!"

There was a shuffling noise from behind one of the doors as it swung open. It was everything Ash could do to not break down at the sight of the professor. He had gotten old. Of course he had, that's what time does. But maybe because everything else had stayed the same, Ash had been expecting him to as well.

The lines on his face were more apparent than they had ever been, and his hair had lost what little colour it had left. He was thinner now as well, his lab coat hanging loosely off of him, and he was leaning heavily on a wooden walking stick. There was a solemn, serious look on his face, far removed from the smile Ash remembered, but the moment that he looked at the group, he seemed to light up.

"Hey professor," Ash said, his voice almost sounding like a child's again. He suspected that, no matter how old he grew, Professor Oak would always make him feel like that reckless ten-year old kid he'd once been.

"I think you three had better come this way," the professor said, walking back through the door.

It hadn't exactly been the welcome Ash had been expecting, and he shot a confused look at Gary. Gary just shrugged and followed after his grandfather, with Ash and Daisy sticking closely behind.

The room they had walked into was a dining room, with a large, wooden table sitting in the middle. Despite its size, there were only three people sitting there, including the professor who had taken his seat immediately. Ash froze in shock when he saw the other two. Sitting on the professor's left was Tracy, looking taller and more mature than he had once been. But it was the woman on the professor's right that really took him by surprise, for sitting there, looking up at him with wide eyes, was his mother.

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them sure how to react. They had of course talked frequently over the past few years, but only over the video-phone, and that couldn't really compare to meeting in person. Eventually, though, his mother stood up and hurried towards him, pulling him into a wet, teary hug.

He was still too surprised to move at first, but after a while he put his arms around her, firmly holding her shoulders.

"I'm so glad you're back," she whispered softly. Ash had a feeling that if she tried to speak any louder, her voice would fail her. After a while, she cleared her throat and pushed him away from her, holding him at a distance. "Let me get a look at you. Oh, look at how much you've grown."

He gave her a sad smile. He wasn't the only one who had changed. She looked so much smaller than he remembered, almost as thin as the professor, and her hair was unkempt. He realised then how much he'd hurt her. No, not just her – everyone. Every smile they had given him, every reassuring glance, every friendly word – it was all for show. They were all just trying to hide their true feelings, to spare him from finding out the truth.

He knew they didn't hate him. Maybe they had at one point, but they had all moved on from that. No, it was more like they were filled with an intense sadness, one that he had caused. And even if they didn't hate him, it didn't matter, because at that moment, seeing what he'd done to his own mother, he hated himself more than anyone else could.

"I'm sorry," he said. She shook her head, as if to say that he had nothing to apologise for, but he saw through the lie. "No, I am. I'm sorry. And I swear that I'll do whatever it takes to make up for it."

"Oh, Ash," she said, wiping away her tears. "You don't need to make up for anything. Just you being here is all I need."

He wasn't sure how true that was, but he could sense that there was no point in arguing, so he gave her another quick hug and joined her at the table. Gary and Daisy had already taken their seats and were quickly filling in the details for the professor and Tracy.

"So, Ash," Professor Oak said, "you went into the Rocket's tower with Misty and Brock, correct?"

Ash nodded, and he could feel his mother's frightened gaze on his neck. "Yeah. They took Pikachu there, so we went to get him back. We failed, though, and Misty and Brock got caught…"

The professor sighed and leaned back in his chair. "This is a problem… I thought those two knew better than to do something so reckless."

Daisy snorted. "Telling my sister not to be reckless is like telling the ocean not to be wet."

"Yes, well, be that as it may," the professor said, "we could be in serious trouble. It's easy for Giovanni to take two gym leaders breaking onto his property as a threat from the league. If we don't handle this carefully, we could end up getting into serious trouble with the police."

"Serious trouble?" Ash said. "Two of our friends have been captured. How much more trouble could we get ourselves into?"

"It isn't that simple, I'm afraid," Tracy said. "If we try to save them, it could start a war between the police and the league. There's no way we could get out of that without putting civilians at serious risk."

"Well can't somebody else go?" Ash asked. "Someone not affiliated with the league?"

Gary scoffed. "Like who? Name me one trainer strong enough to take down Giovanni."

Ash gave a defeated sigh. He was right. There was no single person strong enough to take Giovanni down, especially considering he now had full control over Mewtwo. But surely there was something they could do? If there was, he couldn't think of it, and so he promptly closed his mouth and stopped talking.

"Well, there's no way we can work this out today," the professor said. "We'll just have to wait for Team Rocket to make the first move, and then we'll see what we can do from there."

It didn't seem like a great plan to Ash, but he couldn't think of anything alternatives. Just sitting there and waiting didn't sit well with him, but what else was there to do?

"Anyway," the professor said, forcing a small smile, "I believe it's time for dinner. Delia, do you think you've made enough for Ash as well? Nothing helps you feel better like a good, solid meal."