Pokémon.

Pocket Monsters.

—

Ash: 16

Misty: 16

Brock: 23

Gou/Hop, Marnie, anyone else: 16

Pikachu: 16 (in PokéYears)

—

Chapter 2:

Ash, Gou, and Koharu are in Saffron City, seeing Hop off. He's going to Johto for a while.

"Bye Hop! Stay safe!" they all say as he got on the train.

Ash was thinking about his friends. So he wanted to go and see them. So a few weeks ago, he scheduled a big reunion with all of them (and trust me, he's made a lot throughout his journeys!).

Misty immediately responded "Yes! I'll look forward to it!" and Brock said "I'll take some time off."

There were a lot of people that came, even his Alola friends! Serena somehow got ahold of the info and decided to come (even though Ash purposely avoided telling her because he didn't feel like getting stalked right then).

They all meet at Professor Oak's Lab. Pallet Town got lots of money into it once Ash became well-known. It wasn't just some sleepy town, it became an attraction to people touring Kanto. Ash's mom, Delia, had opened many more restaurants in all 8 regions! She usually stayed at the original Pallet location, but today she was off duty. She was there to cater to the 21 people and their many Pokémon there.

Beforehand, everyone had decided to go to Oak's Lab, but Ash had decided to go with Gou and Koharu to Ash's house first to see if anyone was there. Nobody was there so they went to Professor Oak's Lab, where they found everyone in the backyard.

Delia was dressed in a nice sundress, had her hair down and was barefoot—a carefree look to her.

"Surprise, Ash!" everyone says, happy to see their good friend.

"Aww, thanks, you guys—aaaaah!"

Serena had tackled him on the ground. She was squeezing the life out of him and kissing him. To be honest, everyone thought it was VERY pathetic and they all sweat dropped. Finally Ash

Everyone is catching up with their friends and their Pokémon.

"Oh! There's Misty!" Ash said to Pikachu.

"She's...petting a bug Pokémon? She's always been really scared of them..." Ash said, confusedly.

"Oh, hey Ash! You're finally here! Did it take you a while?" Misty said playfully.

"Ha, we decided to stop at my house for a sec first. Of all people, I think you're the worst with directions, Mist." Ash shot back and winked.

Gou decided to go off on his own. A girl with...really long hair was playing with her Kyurem-a Dragon and Ice type. He thought that the Pokémon was really cool-looking.

"So, you're a friend of Ash's?" Goi says.

"Yeah! I'm from Unova, my name's Iris! Nice to meetcha!" Iris said brightly.

"Nice to meet you, Iris! You know, I think you're familiar. There was an article about you in TRAINER magazine, it was super good!"

"Oh yeah, that was a fun interview I did. One of Ash's other friends, Leaf, interviewed me! In fact, she's here now! We can see her later!"

"Ah, that's interesting. So, what was Ash like on his travels?"

"Funny story, actually! He was such a little kid..." Iris said wistfully.

"Huh, looks like everyone's getting along!" Ash brightly says.

"Agreed. This is a great party! Oh, Dawn and the other girls are calling me over. I'll definetly talk to you later, Ash!" Misty says with a wink.

"I'm counting on that, Misty!" Ash says.

Koharu ventures off to find some fun. She finds a green-haired man playing with a Purrloin.

"Hello!" she says.

"Why hello there! Say, I'm detecting an intense sweet flavor from you and your Boltund. You definitely have a very good connection. Is that your Partner Pokémon?" Cilan says inquisitively.

"Yes, it is! Had him since a long time back."

"That's good, that you two have a good connection. Do you have Purrloin? I used to be very afraid of them, yet I realized that they were very majestic creatures."

"No, actually. I do know that Ash has one, though." Koharu says.

"Yes, that very same Purrloin I couldn't stand to be with! However, I got over my fear and I use one in my Gym, the Striaton City Gym."

"You're a Gym Leader?" Koharu says, surprised.

"Why yes, I am! My brothers and I share the title of Gym Leader. I also was a companion of Ash."

Misty, May, Dawn, and Leaf are all chatting.

All the Alolan friends of Ash are talking with Delia, who is happily practicing her Alolan with them.

Max is discussinf about the newest developments in Pokémon biotech with Gary and Professor Oak.

Brock provides comedic relief, cracking jokes every so often to random friends.

Serena is (unsuccessfully) looking for Ash, who escaped her mighty grasp (Serena is such a yandere!)

Clemont is looking after Bonnie, who's looking for a girl for Clemont.

A Loudred shouts, grabbing everyone's attention towards it.

"Time to eat!" Delia says.

A collective cheer can be heard—everyone is excited to see Delia's famous catering!

END OF CHAPTER 2