A/N. Ok, so maybe I might be updating a little too quickly… But you guys seem to like it so…

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EP 9: Of New Beginnings


While Ashe had been more than ready to leave Kanto behind, she'd never actually expected to get as far as she actually had. She'd had plans, yes, but she'd only hoped that they'd succeed. Could only hope, because from the very beginning everything had been set up in someone else's favor.

She could've gotten caught by her mother as she was packing up the stolen supplies and the only belongings she'd felt she needed. Prof. Oak could've caught her as she was stealing from his lab. Any and all manner of things could've gone horrendously awry for her as she'd made her admittedly rushed getaway. And even with Lt. Surge's teachings at her back, she'd still had no clue as to what she was really doing.

If Ashe had been the type that believed in such things, she might've attributed a lot of her success thus far as being Lady Luck smiling upon her.

But Ashe didn't believe in luck, nor did she believe in something as contrived and steadfast as fate.

The world may have continued to turn regardless of what she'd done or was going to do, but she'd have been damned twice over before she'd let herself be condemned like that.

Overdramatic as that might've sounded, she would get the last word in, in regards to her own life and how it was run. And she refused to let her grandparents turn her into a doll.

And in the center of an ocean so large and expansive just thinking about it left her dizzy for hours, with the little yellow mouse that had so quickly become her best friend napping in her lap, and a bright yellow badge still pinned to the collar of her shirt, she still couldn't believe it.

She was stunned, admittedly. With how well things had gone once she'd left Vermillion City.

Lt. Surge had not lied when he'd promised her that the pilots and flight attendants would not question her if she showed them the gym badge he'd given her. It was apparently a free pass to getting on any airplane of her choosing. Though she highly doubted that such a seemingly insignificant piece of metal could hold so much sway all by itself.

She could understand if she'd had more in her possession, but it was just the one. So maybe it was more of the power that came behind the person who bestowed said gym badge. She had the faintest of feelings that there was way more to the electric-type specialist than what Ashe had been able to see at first.

There had been stories in those eyes the man hadn't been willing to share.

But Ashe hadn't been all too willing to ask either.

It was all in the past now though; her time with Surge, her days spent feeling all too trapped in her own home as her mother seemed perfectly content to whittle her own life away living in the same town, doing the same things, and waiting for a husband that probably didn't actually want to come home.

Not that Ashe could blame the man, considering how eager she'd been to leave that little town in her own dust.

That had probably been the biggest surprise that had hit her in such a short amount of time. That she finally understood her father when all that she'd seen before was a man that had been a little too eager to leave, and never seemed to want to stay for any given length of time.

He had probably hated that little town just as much as she had grown to over the years.

How could she even begin to hate him for that?

She was letting her thoughts wander though, into contemplative, possibly unwelcome territory. And from the look of the scenery speeding by the tiny window as the plane shook slightly and some saccharinely sweet voice suddenly came scratching rather violently over the intercom system, the plane was finally landing.

"Ok, Sparks," she said after a few moments of silence, watching the other passengers as they milled about collecting their luggage and trying not to trip over each other in the process. She gently shook the little electric-type awake, watching little red cheeks spark slightly as awareness dawned in little brown eyes, and what was quickly becoming her best friend cooed at her from her lap.

"Pika." He chittered slowly climbing up onto her shoulder as she gave him a scratch behind the ears, a familiar gesture that was more habit now than anything else.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please make sure all personal belongings have been collected as you leave the plane." That same voice intoned as she stood up, the pikachu now securely latched onto her shoulder as she swung her ever familiar backpack onto her shoulders and shuffled out in the ever slowing single file line.

Breaking from the line and disappearing into the ever-growing crowd was far easier than anything she'd done so far, and she had found it moderately strange how thoughtless the move was, navigating the crowd in such a way that she never came under threat of bumping into anyone.

Was it the crowd? Or was it her?

"Well, Sparks. We're here." She said, an unusual sense of finality hitting her like a slap in the face. "Welcome to Kalos."

"Pika."

Neither said anything about the pokédex buzzing in her right hand, nothing but static filling the screen.


It was official, Ashe was gone.

More than four weeks into the search and it had been determined, that with as slow moving as information was in Kanto, there was really no hope of ever finding the renegade thirteen year old. They weren't going to give up hope, no, but a lot could happen in four weeks and, and it could be safe to assume that Ashe wasn't even in the region anymore.

Deliah had taken the news particularly hard, and if the screaming and yelling from the other room was anything to go by, she was still in stark denial of the fact that her daughter had actually managed to get out of Kanto.

Gary hadn't nearly been so surprised though, considering that in four weeks he could've easily been in Saffron City with his past track record. But Ashe wasn't him, didn't nearly have enough experience to make such a long trip in such a short amount of time.

And yet, she'd somehow managed it.

Far as he could tell, she'd actually done a decent job of eluding the police, or really any substantial form of authority, if the sheer lack of information and leads was anything to go by.

She'd made it as far as Pewter City, from what anyone could tell of the leads they'd managed to dig up, before just vanishing into thin air.

Gone, just like that.

She'd left everything behind without even a singly glance back, and probably hadn't hesitated to do so once the thought had occurred to her to run away.

And Deliah was reeling from it. Even with the realization that she didn't know her own child, the woman just simply refused to believe, let alone cope with the fact that her child had gotten so far so quickly with only the bare minimum of information to go by.

Kalos and Unova.

Two regions so very far away, but entirely impossible to get to without any aid. And with the estimated amount of money Ashe might've had on hand, she couldn't have possibly afforded such a trip.

Getting on a boat was expensive, even for most trainers just starting out on their journeys. And would've been a complete impossibility without a strong flying-type and a good sense of direction. Supposedly, and ideally, Ashe had neither. And even if the thirteen year old had had the money, it wouldn't have mattered.

The only three ports in Kanto with a boat bound for either of the regions would've been cancelled due to that freak storm that had made crossing the ocean a fool's errand. And the one plane that been set for Kalos had been essentially grounded for another few weeks.

A plane was even more expensive than a boat, and yet still they hadn't been able to turn up hide or hair of his childhood friend.

She'd simply vanished without a trace.

And at this point the only two people who could probably find her at this point were up on a mountain and refusing any form of human contact that didn't come in the form of a challenger, and just as impossible to find as Ashe had become.

Or had been, considering that one of them was currently staring him down across the table.

"So remind me again, how one thirteen year old girl who's never set foot outside of Pallet, let alone gotten farther than Viridian City, managed to vanish into thin air?" The tone was jovial, joking, completely disregarding how potentially serious the situation was.

"Blue…" His was the exact opposite, serious and warning, but hadn't that always been their way? Worse off than his relationship with Ashe, was his relationship with his own older brother. Blue, the five-second-champion, who'd stood at the top at one point only to be knocked down by his own mute rival. The ever growing enigma that had been the now pokémon master and constantly disappearing champion, Red.

And if he paused to actually think about it, the last time he'd actually ever seen Blue anywhere within ten miles of Pallet Town, had been six years ago. Six years ago when the older trainer had stormed out of their home, eyes flashing fire and disappearing into the equally stormy night. Leaving nothing behind save for two shell-shocked siblings and a sorely disappointed and equally angry grandfather behind.

They hadn't heard a word from him since, and he'd been just as gone as Ashe.

But he'd never left Kanto after that.

Gary was willing to bet every bit of money that he owned that Ashe wouldn't be found within miles of the region. Let alone actually in it.

"She was in Vermillion you know…" Blue's contemplative tone was the only thing that probably shook Gary from his thoughts, causing him to look up at the young man before him as if he'd grown a second head in the short time since their last little exchange.

"What?"

"Vermillion City, she was there." He repeated, blue eyes sparkling with none of the sarcastic tone he used to wear like the clothes on his back.

It was honestly strange, hearing such a soft tone from someone he'd only ever heard the most scathing of words from before, even though they'd never actually been directed at him. And come to think of it, hadn't everything that had ever gone wrong in their lives, hadn't all those nasty fights their single grandparent had with his second eldest, almost always been started by the elderly professor?

"You're spacing out on me again," Blue cut through his thoughts once again. This time fully aware that Gary wasn't paying attention any more. "You used to do that a lot when you were younger. It drove Grampa crazy, but… Well, you know how things were between the two of us."

Gary sighed at that, hands clamped together as he contemplated the lines in the wooden table's surface before finally speaking.

"You said she was in Vermillion City… You saw her there?"

"I didn't," at the quirked eyebrow that Gary couldn't help but give him, he elaborated. "I didn't, but Red did. Ran into her at some back alley café that he frequents apparently."

"Wait, Red? The mute champion, the one that never comes down from that fucking mountain? He came down to join the rest of us normal folk who don't like freezing to death?"

Blue barked out a laugh at that, hand slapping against his knee and shoulders shaking as tears brimmed his eyes. Gary hadn't heard him laugh in years, not since their grandfather apparently lost it and started putting all that pressure on his shoulders. The same pressure he'd put on Gary's own, if he stopped to think too long about that.

"Yeah, that Red, Gary, that Red. Contrary to popular belief, the idiot actually does like human company. Just not as much as say, you or me."

"Right… I'll believe it when I see it."

"Anyways," Blue snorted, giving Gary the strangest look he'd ever seen in the older boy's eyes. As if he could beg to differ, as if Gary would in fact see that eventually. "Red ran into her at this café… Or rather, she ran into Red, and he tried to confront her about it or something… I don't know, I think he might've threatened to call Deliah, and she snapped apparently."

"Ashe? Snap at people? No?"

"Yeah, yeah wise guy, shut up n' let me finish the damn story already."

"Arceus, she didn't actually manage to hurt Red, did she? What she'd do pull some big scary legendary pokémon and sick it on him."

"No, but the kid apparently has some balls on her. She sent out this little fire cracker of a charmander, Mew only knows where she got the damn thing from, and Red being the idiot that he was sent out his charizard in response. Some chaos broke out, and she disappeared in the ensuing havoc that followed. So he doesn't have a clue as to where she went. He tried to find her, but he came up pretty short obviously."

"Oh hell." The two dissolved into peals of laughter at that. Red often had a bad habit of overreacting to certain things and one of those was apparently anything that could be remotely taken as a challenge. Someone sent out a pokémon, he sent out one of his strongest to correct whatever bout of stupidity had led that person into thinking they actually stood a rattata's chance against him in the first place. It's what had originally sparked his rivalry with Blue, and had led to such a horrendous fall out between the two all those years back.

Suddenly though, all merriment was gone from Gary's face, and it must've showed as Blue eyed him strangely.

"Wait a minute…"

"What?"

"Where did Ashe get a charmander from? She doesn't have any pokémon…"

"I don't know, Red didn't say… And I don't think Ashe was up for telling." Blue replied, leaving forward slightly, "And I wouldn't say that anymore if I were you, if what Red saw was true and he wasn't just seeing fire-related mirages, she had at least three pokémon on her at the time."

"There was a pokédex missing from the lab…"

"What?"

"When I got back from Unova, after trekking through Johto to get here. Gramps told me he'd had this little goof up the morning the new trainers were supposed to be getting their starters. One of the pokédex hadn't been started up like the rest, and he'd apparently placed a primeape that was being used in one of his little experiments alongside the others starters."

"So…"

"He'd assumed it was some sort of mistake he'd made late in the night, but a couple of days ago, when one of the aids was taking inventory, it was discovered that one of the pokédex had been taken."

"And if Grandpa ever takes a pokémon from one of the back shelves, even by accident, he makes sure to replace them with another pokémon." Blue's eyes widened as he slowly caught up with what Gary was getting at. "Shit she stole a pokémon and used a primeape to replace it."

"If the list that aid showed me was true, she didn't just steal that charmander. She stole two pokémon. And the pokédex."

"Double shit…"

They were silent for a couple seconds, thoughts turning over in nauseous mess that left both equally dizzy.

Gary had called Ashe a lot of things in the past. All varying degrees of unnecessary, rude, and even sometimes true. But he'd never once taken her as a thief of any kind. But then again… 'She'd been desperate to leave Pallet, and there's a lot of dangerous wild pokémon between here and Viridian. Not even counting the Viridian Forest and Pewter City. Ashe may be a lot of things, but she's not stupid… She'd have at least thought of this to some degree. She stole them because she needed them… But why take two?' Why take two indeed. Ashe was a creature of spontaneity, which seemed to literally be her only habit.

It was entirely possible that she'd only meant to take one, as a just in case, and had stumbled upon the second while looking for something to replace the stolen pokémon with. But it was also possible that the second pokémon was entirely unrelated to the charmander Ashe had apparently taken from the lab.

Someone else could've also broken in. But how many people knew that the security alarm on the window in the back room didn't work and wouldn't wake anyone up provided one was careful.

Only Ashe, the aids, his grandfather, and himself. They hadn't even told his older sister Daisy, and Blue hadn't been around at the time. And Gary certainly been in any rush to inform the older boy.

"Blue?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you come back?"

"Huh?" It was entirely appropriate reaction all things considered. Questioning Blue's unexpected presence in the Ketchum home had come from about as far out field as Gary could've probably gotten away with. There was no lead up, nothing that would've given way to such a thing. His own thoughts hadn't even led up to that.

But he had to know, before the older boy disappeared again.

"Why risk running into Gramps. Let's face it the two of you get along worse that a zangoose and a serviper. You've done nothing but fight ever since that one devastating loss to Red." Blue actually winced at that, but Gary had to give him credit where credit was due. He hadn't started yelling at him when he brought up the one sore topic that had been what originally sent him flying out of their home without any sort of pause or glance backwards.

"Gary, what are you trying to get at?"

"Why come back now, when no one's heard a word from you in over six years. You were perfectly content to let everyone think you were dead, why show up now. And why here?"

"Big questions Gary, a lot of big questions. And I don't think I can answer all of them." Gary made to say something at that, but was quickly silenced as Blue put both his hands up, eyes begging him to not fight or yell. To just this once sit back and listen. "I don't think I'm ready to answer those questions just yet."

"But regardless you're not staying." There was something final and accusing in his words, but he didn't think he could bring himself to care. Blue was doing it again.

He was abandoning them.

"Yeah," he acquiesced, not looking guilty in the least. Gary only wished he could be that calm. "But I was thinking of taking you with me this time…"

"Wait… What?" It appeared that Blue had beaten him in the surprise, out-of-left-field responses.

"Gary, you heard me say that. And both of us know you heard me say that. You're not a dumb kid, you never were. And you're old enough to make your own decisions. You should know that there's more out there than just Pallet Town. Red might find that hard to believe, and I know Deliah and the old man have you thinking the same. But it's true and we both know that. You can't live your entire life constantly playing yo-yo in order to please him!"

There was no need to elaborate on who 'he' was. They both knew without it being said.

"But Blue…"

"But nothing Gary. We both know that man will never be happy with us. Nothing we do is ever going to please him."

"So you're going to try to talk me into running away, just like you?"

"Yes, actually. I am. Face it Gary, Gramps, as well as he means, is ruining our lives. Unintentionally or not. And you can't tell me that you like being a pokémon trainer. We both know you don't. It's fun, but even I can see that you'd much rather be doing something else."

"Well, maybe I do… but…"

"Gary." It was all it took really, honestly. All it ever took. Blue had always been a rock in a storm for the three siblings. What with their elder sister being far too emotionally fragile to whether all the shit that got flung their way.

Their parents had been about as constant a presence as Ashe's own father, and he wasn't even about to get started on Red's, who very well could've been dead for all they knew and heard about the man. And their grandfather had always been so drowned in his research that he'd barely had time for them.

Blue had always been there though, until the professor had pushed him away.

"Ok."

"Good, and Gary?"

"Yes?" he responded, sounding and feeling like he was in a strange dream of some sort. He went stiff, body scrunched together and looking like he fully expected to get hit for no reason as arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a rather unexpected hug.

"Never, for a second, doubt that I didn't miss you and Daisy."

"O-Ok."


A/N. So apparently my goal this chapter is to make you all feel something. Don't ask why, I'm not entirely sure myself. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading! Please leave a review and see ya!