Chapter 2
"Get up Dillon!" comes a high voice.
"Get out Amy!" yells an angry grunt from under the covers.
The girl, Amy grabs Dillon's pillow and starts hitting him with it. "If you don't wake up, I'm getting Politoed!"
Dillon groans again and grabs the pillow as Amy tries to hit him again. He puts it under her head so she cannot get to it and goes back to sleep.
"Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you.' Amy tells him warningly. The 12 year old leaves the room.
As Dillon drifts back to sleep, he is hit with an intense wave of cold water that shoots him off the side of his bed. In a fit of rage, he looks over at the culprit and spots his mother's Politoed laughing and dancing with his sister. He stands up and walks over to the pair pushing them out angrilly. Dillon sighs and then looks at his wet room. The boy shrugs and grabs his towel to hit the shower.
After a nice shower and packing his non-wet clothes, Dillon heads down the stairs. He'd rather not go to Pallet Town, but prefers not wasting his breath arguing a losing battle with his mom. He checks the clock and notices that it is 9:15 in the morning.
"Eat your breakfast quickly. We need to leave by 10!" his mother tells him. He can tell she is still upset from last night's ordeal, so he grabs a bowl and fills it with cereal and milk. His mother has never been a good cook, so they ordered out a lot or just ate frozen foods when his aunts were not around. Granted, his mom was also very busy with the gym so she couldn't cook often.
By 10AM, like Misty had said, the family was on the road to Pallet Town. Misty and Amy sat in the front while Dillon sat in the back wishing he had his pokenav and headphones to listen to music. Even though Amy looked just like Misty, her hair was black and short with a hint of red when in the sun and her eyes were hazel like her father's. She got her mother's porcelain skin, but her father's outgoing and optimistic attitude. She was definitely the champion's daughter, and many people believed she would be just as great if not better of a trainer.
Dillon looked just like his father except for having his mother's cerulean blue eyes. Unlike Amy, Dillon had jet black hair and a tan. His hair was buzzed into a low fade and his diamond studded earrings glistened on each ear. There was also a time when the media and public believed Dillon would follow in his father's footsteps; however, those opinions disappeared after his many arrests throughout the years. He is currently known as the disappointment, even though his mother continuously defends him when these critics arise. Maybe that's why he didn't complain on this trip he didn't want to be on? Maybe that's why he never argues with his mother? She has always had his back and has never abandoned him...unlike someone else.
"Dillon." Dillon breaks from deep thought and grunts to his mother. "Do not grunt at me young man or so help me Arceus I will pull over and spank you on the side of the road."
Dillon, knowing his mother was definitely serious, responds, "Yes, mother?" Misty and Amy roll their eyes at the mother part, but like Dillon, Misty picks and chooses her battles.
"Your dad is going to be there. I expect no fighting, especially since we will be at grandma's and all the distant family will be there." She tells the annoyed boy.
"He is not my father."
"Can you stop saying that?" Misty asks him. Amy notices a hint of pain in her mother's eyes.
"He won't even be there. He's not my dad." Dillon says nonchalantly again. Misty sighs and focuses back on the road. Although Ash had came home for a weekend 2 months ago, Dillon was busy running with his gang and missed Ash. He hadn't seen Ash in over a year.
"Hey mom! Can you tell me the story about how Aunt Leaf proposed to Uncle Gary?" Amy quips from the passenger seat. Misty smiles at her daughter. She was definitely like a young Ash who was always trying to make everyone happy.
"Hmm. Yeah. That was a funny story. And an even funnier day." Misty giggles.
A few hours later
It is about 4PM when the Ketchums pull into their grandmother's driveway. Before Misty can even close her car door, her mother-in-law tackles her into a huge hug. "Misty, my dear! I missed you so much! You are so thin. Are you sure you're eating? You should take a break from the gym and focus on fattening yourself up!" Delia gushes over her daughter-in-law. Misty smiles sheepishly and hugs Delia back.
"Thank you Delia. And do not worry about me! That is why we are in Pallet Town on this little break from life." Misty tells Delia. The older woman smiles and then gets engulfed in a hug by her granddaughter.
"GRANDMA!" Yells Amy. And just as quickly as the young girl hugged her grandmother, she was in Mimey's arms. Misty sweatdrops.
"She is definitely like Ash." Misty says. Delia laughs and then turns to her grandson. He hugs her and gives her a light peck on the cheek.
"Hey grandma." He says in a monotone voice. Delia, who has experienced first-hand her grandson's rebellious nature smiles at him. As Dillon starts to walk towards the front doors of the house, Misty stops him.
"Uh uh. You are grounded, young man, so that means, you bring in all the luggage." As she says this, she presses the button on her car keys that opens the trunk. Then she takes Delia's arm and walks inside. Dillon rolls his eyes but starts unpacking.
Once everything is in the respective rooms, it is almost time for dinner. Although he would never say it, Dillon loves being with his grandmother since she makes the best home-cooked meals. He got tired of frozen, fast, canned, boxed, and his aunt's vegetarian foods. His aunts were the Sensational Sisters, so they had to watch their figure.
Since his mom slept in Ash's room and Amy always slept with Grandma, then Dillon had the guest bedroom to himself. He chose to stay in his room rather than spend time with Amy and Mimey in the living room.
"Ding dong!" Dillon hears the doorbell. He pays no attention to it since he is sure the women downstairs will get it. Next thing he knows, Amy is at his door with Politoed. Dillon rolls his eyes and curses himself for not locking his door.
"What do you want?" He asks his younger sister.
"Mom says for you to come greet Uncle Gary, Aunt Leaf, and Kaz or Politoed will water gun you again." Amy and the frog smile menacingly. Dillon groans and gets up. He did not want to sleep in a wet bed tonight.
He follows Amy and the frog pokemon down the stairs and into the kitchen. There, he sees his mother and his grandmother. He notices a man in a green shirt and jeans with spiky auburn hair. The man turns and smiles at Dillon. "Hey Dillon! Man! You look just like your dad!" Dillon looks away at the mention of his dad, but unlike with his mother, chooses not to correct his Uncle Gary.
There is a woman next to Uncle Gary who has long brown hair and deep green eyes. She is of a slim build and is wearing a white top with light blue jeans. Dillon hugs her and pecks her cheek. "Hello Uncle Gary. Hey Aunt Leaf." He says in his same monotone voice.
The brunette boy in the kitchen who is a year younger than Dillon and a spitting image of Uncle Gary smiles. "Heya Dillon! Remember me?" he snarks jokingly and pats Dillon on the back.
"Kaz will be going on his pokemon journey this year. I just had him stay back a few months to help me out a bit, but I'll be letting him go after the reunion this weekend. I trust my boy will still be able to get all the badges in time for the Indigo League challenge." Gary smiles proudly.
"Really?! Whoa! Who will your starter be?" Amy asks her older cousin with wide eyes.
Kaz smiles. "It's a surprise. I'll show you when I come challenge your mom for my Cascade badge!" he says enthusiastically.
Misty looks at Kaz and smiles. "I won't go easy on you just because you're my nephew." she tells him playfully. Kaz laughs.
"I know Aunt Misty, and I'd expect you to go harder on me because I am your nephew!" The boy shoots a bright smile her way, which Misty can only guess he learned from his father.
Dillon leans against the wall of the kitchen with his arms crossed and clearly annoyed by the constant chatter about pokemon and pokemon journeys. He did not see a point in them. If anything, they just drove people apart and being a pokemon master is a useless dream...and occupation. Dillon's attention snaps back to the conversation when his aunt asks if he will finally be starting his pokemon journey this year, even though he is a year late.
Before he can respond about how he feels like pokemon journeys are stupid, his mother interrupts. "He cannot go on a pokemon journey until he is a year free from any arrests, but he just got arrested last night, so you can ask him that question again next year." Dillon rolls his eyes as his mother puts his business out to his relatives.
"Can I go now?" he asks annoyed. Misty shoots him one of her famous sharp looks she's been giving him lately.
"I did not raise you to be that rude."
Dillon sighs. "May I please go back to my room, mother?" Now it is Misty's turn to roll her eyes, but she nods and the boy leaves.
After dinner, Dillon did what he does best, hide in his room. He would normally be running around town and mean mugging pedestrians with his gang, but they were in Cerulean. Besides, Pallet Town was too small of a town to do anything fun. He had taken a nap since he did not have any electronics. He was woken up to Amy knocking on his locked door telling him to come say bye to their relatives. Dillon groans again but knows the sooner he gets it over with, then the sooner he can retreat back to his room.
As Dillon walks down the stairs, he overhears his mom talking to the Oak family, 'I'm sorry Ash wasn't here today. He probably got caught up at the league again. We'll see him on Friday though!"
Leaf hugs Misty. "It's okay! We'll see him when we see him. It was nice seeing you again! Tomorrow, let's do dinner at my place!" Dillon is in the living room at this point while Misty agrees.
The Ketchums bid farewell to the Oaks. Delia and Misty sit in the living room while Amy and Mimey go play in grandma's room. Dillon decides to use this time to grab a cup of water. He hears his grandmother speaking, "I'm so sorry Misty. Just know, you and the kids are the most important things to my Ashy-boy."
Dillon rolls his eyes. "Nah. We're not." the boy thinks
"He told me he was supposed to be in Pallet Town for dinner today and that we could spend a few days together as a family before the Haydens and Shinjis arrive on Friday." Misty says angrily. Delia puts her hand on her daughter-in-laws shoulder. "I haven't seen him in almost 2 months! If he does not show up this weekend, I will go to the league myself and drag him back here." Delia laughs, and Dillon smiles. He loves that his mother is a very strong woman. Maybe that is why he does what she asks of him?
As he finishes his glass of water and washes the dish, he walks past the living room to the stairs. He stops at the foot of the stairs and looks at his grandmother and mother. "I wouldn't be surprised if you have to drag him from the league yourself," he says and then heads up to his room.