"Pikapi…" the yellow mouse shakes his trainer again worriedly. When Pika woke up a few minutes ago, he noticed he and Dillon are alone in the field. There is no sight of that green Pokemon. However, now Dillon isn't waking up, which is scaring Pika. Standing back, Pika sparks up his cheeks to deliver a thundershock attack on Dillon. Hearing Dillon groan makes Pika feel better, though Dillon still isn't awake.
Before the mouse can use another thundershock attack, he hears rustling nearby and stands guard ready to protect his unconscious trainer. Glaring at the area of the bushes, Pika spots a Pikachu run out in confusion, but Pika recognizes this PIkachu. "Pikachu!" Pika cries in excitement as he sprints over to the Pikachu.
However, the Pikachu doesn't recognize him at all and stands aggressively to shock his feet, causing Pika to jump back and dodge the attack. Why is Pikachu attacking him? Soon, four people emerge from behind Pikachu.
"You can't run off like that, Pikachu!" The raven haired teen scolds his Pokemon.
Panting, the blonde boy says, "Wait, Ash, look!"
All four children see the injured Pika standing defensively in front of his trainer. Even though Dillon can be an asshole, Pika knows Dillon will protect him no matter what. Dillon has protected him plenty, and as his Pokemon, Pika will do the same. With his cheeks sparking, Pika shouts for them to leave. "Pi pika!"
Pikachu translates, but instead of leaving, the raven haired boy slowly approaches them. This makes Pika send a warning shock by his feet. Pika can't trust these people. He can't trust anyone until his trainer wakes up. "Pika!" he warns them again as the other Pikachu glares at him.
"I want to help, Pikachu." the boy says to Pika. "Is he your trainer?" He points to the still unconscious Dillon. Pika doesn't trust this boy, but he wants to. Dillon might be very hurt. The mouse slowly nods as his gaze doesn't waver from the children.
"Be careful, Ash!" the dirty blonde girl calls over to him in fear. She doesn't like it when Ash puts himself in danger, but Ash does anything for his friends and Pokemon. It's a reason why she likes him.
Ash? The blonde boy had mentioned that name earlier too. However, there are a lot of people named Ash now due to Dillon's father being the champion. What if these children recognize Dillon? No. Pika can't allow his trainer to get that unwanted attention, so he sends an even more powerful thunderbolt attack at Ash's feet, causing Pikachu to send one his way too.
The two Pikachus glare at each other, both ready to protect their trainers. The four children hesitantly watch the scene until everyone hears a low groan. Pika's ears twitch as his attention turns back to his shifting trainer. "Pikapi." Pika whispers.
When Dillon opens his eyes, he winces from the sunlight. Just what happened? One moment, they were in Ilex Forest looking for Amy. The next, a green Pokemon flies out of nowhere and attacks them. Although sore, Dillon is glad that he's not hurt. Looking over, he spots the worried brown eyes of his loyal companion, which makes him sigh. "Stop looking at me like I died, Pika." huffs out the boy.
Since Dillon is still laying on the ground, he doesn't notice the other people and Pikachu. Pika snuggles into Dillon's side, which usually annoys the boy, but given the current circumstances, he'll allow it. Pika is scared for him. Of course Pika would react this way. When Dillon hears someone clear their throat, he quickly sits up. Fighting the urge to groan and let people know he's uncomfortable, Dillon glares at the four children in front of him.
However, when his eyes land on the raven haired boy, his jaw drops. This Ash is younger though, like Dillon's age. And shorter and smaller. Dillon rubs his eyes while the others look at him in confusion. Maybe Dillon is seeing things? That was a nasty fall and he was unconscious. But when Dillon removes his hands, he still sees the young Ash. What is happening?
The young blonde girl looks between the strange boy and Ash because Dillon's eyes are glued on Ash. Why is this strange boy looking at Ash like this? What's going on?
After the initial shock, Dillon stands up, but he stumbles. The raven haired boy, although confused, tries to run over to support him. Pika stands between them protectively, which keeps Ash away. "Um. Did you wanna travel with us until you feel better? You look pale." Ash passes Dillon a waterbottle.
Shaking his searing headache, Dillon replies, "Nah. We'll be going."
"Pi ka!" Pika shouts, making Dillon glare at his mouse for always getting involved.
When Dillon glares at his worried Pokemon, he mutters, "Let's go, Pika."
The mouse won't take this response from his trainer. They still need to find Amy, and Dillon isn't looking too good. What can Pika do if Dillon passes out? Or if Dillon gets into danger? They don't have Coal to fly him to safety anymore. "Pikapi!" insists the mouse.
Before DIllon can retort, the blonde boy says, "I think you should travel with us until you feel better. Just in case."
Turning his attention back to the four children, Dillon angrily tells them, "I'm fine."
"No, you're not! You look like you're gonna pass out any moment now!" Ash glares at him. Why is this boy being so hostile? He should just accept help when he needs it.
"I don't need your help."
This comment makes Ash glare at him. How dare this strange boy be so rude to them who are only trying to help him? "Your Pikachu is hurt! Let us help!"
Dillon nods at Pika, and the electric mouse reluctantly hops onto Dillon's shoulder. "Nah. Don't need your help." Despite letting his father back into his life, Dillon still feels like he can't rely on Ash. The boy fears the disappointment that he would often experience when Ash was first the Kanto Champion. Therefore, Dillon doesn't want to risk feeling those emotions again with this young lookalike of Ash.
In frustration, Ash shouts, "You're such a reckless trainer! You can't get out of this forest with an injured Pikachu!" Ash knows this will only make things worse for the boy and the Pikachu.
"I've gone through Ilex Forest before. I can do it again." Plus, the Pokemon in here are far weaker than Pika's level, and Dillon has his other Pokemon on him.
"Ilex Forest?" the blonde boy asks quizzically. "This is Kalos, not Johto."
This comment makes Dillon stop in his tracks as he looks at Pika. Kalos? How did they end up here? There are regional restrictions preventing those from Kanto competing in Kalos. Dillon now turns to the four children again with his eyes landing on the young Ash. "What's your name?"
"What's your name?" the little girl asks defensively, but Dillon ignores her.
Fortunately, so does the friendly oblivious Ash who grins widely at Dillon. "Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"
To their surprise, Dillon squats down to the ground and loudly groans, making Ash concerned that Dillon is hurt. However, with his head in his hands, Dillon now asks, "What year is it?" He's heard plenty of stories about his father's time traveling days involving Celebi. Since Ilex Forest is home to Celebi, that could be what happened to him too.
When Ash says a year 20 years prior to the year Dillon believes it's supposed to be, the annoyed boy looks up to meet Ash's confused brown eyes. "Celebi."
"Celebi?" Ash curiously asks. Why is this guy talking about Celebi?
"Wait." the blonde boy being the smarter one catches on quickly. "Did you time travel?"
Standing up again, Dillon looks up at the clear sky above. "Probably. I was in Ilex Forest 20 years in the future before all of this."
"Is that even possible?" the older girl whispers.
With his goofy grin still plastered on his face, Ash exclaims, "Yeah! It is! I've traveled through time a few times before!"
Dillon looks at Pika who seems to be more shocked than him. Scratching the mouse behind the ears makes Pika relax. "Calm down, dude. We'll find Amy and get home."
"Piii…" Pika's ears droop with worry.
"Wait!" the shout from the small girl gets everyone's attention. Her intense eyes stare directly at Dillon's annoyed ones. "Why did you ask Ash what year it is?" How did this boy think he was in the future? Else he wouldn't have asked Ash for the year.
Shrugging, Dillon replies, "I ran into Celebi. Figured this must be what happened." He doesn't want these people to realize he's Ash's future son because Dillon doesn't want to change the course of history and prevent his birth. Yes, he caused a lot of trouble growing up, but he's happy with his life now. He's fixed a lot of things and he can't go back to a world he doesn't exist in. There's still so much he wants to do.
Since he's in Kalos, he knows this is the region of his mother's arch rival. What was her name again? Dillon's eyes fall on the dirty blonde girl. His father had told them about all of his traveling companions in the past, but Ash only keeps up with the Slates, Haydens, and Shinjis.
While Dillon is trying to think of their names, the blonde boy says, "I'm Clemmont Citron. That's my sister Bonnie, and that's Serena Yvonne."
Nodding, though Dillon now remembers the names, he acknowledges them. "I'm Dillon...Kay." He can't help but smirk a little as he recalls his fake name from last year.
Walking over to the other four, Dillon pats Ash's shoulder. "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer. I don't know this place and I need to find my sister."
"Uh. Your sister?" the blonde girl asks the future teen.
"Yeah. I think Celebi sent her here first." Dillon then furrows his brows in frustration because Amy is in Kalos without her strongest Pokemon. Mew. This is all so annoying.
"Wow. Do you think you'll be stuck here?" Bonnie curiously questions him.
Shaking his head, Ash beats Dillon to an answer. "No way! Celebii always sends people back to their time!"
Dillon is relieved to hear this, but this young Ash is very annoying. Why is he so chipper? Who can be this happy all the time? Even Amy has her down days, and she's not this hyperactive. Sighing, Dillon checks his pokenav which is all wacked out. It must be because he's in the future. Well, that rules out trying to call Amy. Where could she be?
After walking for some time with Dillon following the talkative four, Clemont hangs back a little to ask, "Are you from Johto then?" Dillon did say he thought he was in Ilex Forest.
The future teen ignores him. Dillon isn't here to make friends. He just needs to find his sister and leave. They have Jane's contest tomorrow. And Dillon was supposed to challenge Whitney afterwards too! He'll have to scold Amy again when he finds her, though he ultimately hopes she's okay.
"Are you just gonna ignore him?" Bonnie chimes in as the group stops walking.
Dillon looks at them and groans. This is very annoying. "You're the ones who insisted I travel with you."
"You should still respond when someone asks you a question." Serena knowingly tells him.
Shrugging, Dillon walks past them. "Don't need your help then." Although Dillon knows his mother doesn't like Serena due to Serena having a huge crush on Ash, Dillon has nothing against the girl. None of these people have done anything to him, but he just doesn't want to interact with them when he'll be leaving soon. He's never going to see them again...well it won't be the same the next time he sees them.
"Hey!" shouts Ash who grabs Dillon's shoulder to face him, causing Pika to hop off to the ground. "We're trying to help you! Why are you being so rude?"
"I didn't ask for your help." Dillon glares at Ash's chocolate orbs. The future teen still has a lot of rage from Ash's abandonment, even if Dillon shouldn't take it out on this young Ash.
"Don't you care about your Pokemon?" Ash exclaims referring to the injured Pika.
Dillon scoffs at Ash. "All you care about is Pokemon." Unlike Ash, Dillon values both people and Pokemon. He'll never let Pokemon training interfere with quality time with those he cares about.
"You don't know Ash!" Serena defensively butts in.
Chuckling in amusement, Dillon backs up away from them. "You don't know him." As soon as those words leave his mouth, Dillon mentally curses himself for losing his temper. The stress of not knowing where Amy is is also adding to his self control.
"Pika!" Pika scolds him, causing Dillon to let out an annoyed groan.
Looking back at the glares from the group, he puts his hands up in defeat. "Okay. I'm sorry. Can you help me find my sister?"
"If you stop being mean to us!" Bonnie exclaims.
Dillon bites his bottom lip, but Pika tapping his leg makes him know what he needs to say. Swallowing his pride, he mutters, "I'll be nicer to you."
After a few awkward minutes of everyone silently standing around each other, Clemont clears his throat. "Uh. Okay. Let's keep walking." He nervously scratches the back of his head while leading the group down the path. "Can you tell us what she looks like? Or do you have a picture?"
Sighing, Dillon pulls out his pokenav to show them the staticy screen. "I have pictures on here, but it's not working." Pika hops back on his shoulder. "She's 13, this tall, dark red hair with brown eyes. Maybe has a Larvitar with her?" He looks at Clemont. "I'm from Kanto, by the way."
Ash's eyes light up in excitement. "Where in Kanto?" He's surprised to have met a Kanto native in Kalos, especially one who time traveled.
Frowning, Dillon gazes down at the ground while he walks. "Cerulean City."
"Whoa! My first traveling partners is from Cerulean City! She's the gym leader there!" Ash grins.
"Pikachupi!" PIkachu cries happily at the thought of their first traveling partner.
"Misty Waterflower?" Clemont curiously inquires. "I didn't know you traveled with Misty?" Being a gym leader, he knows of the other gym leaders in the world, though he's never met Misty himself.
Nodding, Ash exclaims, "Yup!" He then looks back at the quiet Dillon. "Is she still the gym leader?"
Pika worriedly watches his trainer, but Dillon gives Ash a straight face. "Yeah." As much as Dillon wants to smile at the thought of his strong mother, he doesn't want to smile at Ash. Well, he doesn't want to smile in front of these strangers.
"Do you know her?" Ash is very excited to share stories about his old friend. Serena, though, is jealous seeing Ash's behavior towards another girl. Just who is this gym leader Misty Waterflower?
Dillon takes in a deep breath. He could lie and all the questions will stop. But he never wants to lie about his mother. It pained him having to do so in front of Aurora last year because Dillon loves his mother a lot. He doesn't want to seem like he's hiding her from the world, like Ash made her feel.
Fortunately, before he can answer, a loud eruption occurs up ahead. Flocks of Pokemon are fleeing from that direction. "Let's go!" Ash tells the group, and everyone sprints over to the commotion.
Once they reach the clearing, they spot people dressed in bright orange suits. "Team Flare!" Bonnie shouts angrily.
Team Flare is trying to vacuum up the wild Pokemon. Noticing the children, the admin commands his team to capture their pokemon. "Get them!"
"Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Ash extends his arm for Pikachu to run off.
"Sludgebomb!" Dillon orders as he throws out a pokeball for Weepinbell to come out.
"Go, Luxray!" Clemont joins them.
Calling out her own Pokemon, Serena says, "Let's help, Sylveon!"
As the group is engaged in battles with Team Flare while also trying to stop the vacuum and free the captured Pokemon, they don't notice someone quickly approaching. "Wing attack!"
Dillon and PIka look towards the voice they instantly recognize. When Dillon's eyes rest on the redhead on the other side of the clearing, he yells out, "Amy!"
This gets the girl's surprised attention because she only came here to help after she saw all of the fleeing Pokemon. Her parents have always taught her to help when she can, especially against these criminal organizations. When Larvitar had ran away from the daycare, Amy chased him into the forest where she eventually found him. However, she then met Celebi before she blacked out. She's grateful to see her brother, though Amy has never seen these people in red suits before. Shouldn't the criminal organization in Johto be Team Rocket?
"Watch out!" Dillon exclaims when he spots Noctowl get sucked up by the vacuum after getting paralyzed from Team Flare's Electivire. When Dillon sees Amy also get sucked into the vacuum, he angrily rushes across the field of pokemon battling. "Amy!" He needs to save her. Now that he's found her, he needs to make sure she's okay.
"Help, Dillon!" Amy cries through the glass chamber. She's out of Pokemon, and it was a risk coming to help because Noctowl is already very injured. She's starting to regret leaving Burn behind, but she didn't want Eevee to feel scared all alone. Amy did just get Eevee, so she didn't want Eevee to feel abandoned.
"Stop!" Ash shouts before tackling Dillon to the ground, which makes them both narrowly avoid a flamethrower attack.
With Dillon struggling under Ash's hold, the future teen says, "Let me go!"
"Are you stupid? You could get hurt running into a battle!" Serena yells while running up beside Ash with her Sylveon placing a protect around them.
"She's my sister!" Dillon glares at the two. Focusing on Ash, Dillon says through clenched teeth, "She's my family. Something you wouldn't understand."
They're both confused by what Dillon is saying and why he's directing it at Ash, but Dillon uses this as an opportunity to slip out of Ash's hold. Sprinting through the battle again, this time with the injured Pika helping to clear the way, Dillon closes in on the tank and vacuum.
Seeing as how they're clearing losing, and they have enough Pokemon, as well as a trainer, the Team Flare Admin commands his team, "Retreat!" The fire pokemon release smokescreen attacks, causing Dillon and Pika to cough while shielding their eyes. The last thing Dillon sees before the smoke completely engulfs the clearing is Amy's apologetic brown eyes.
Once the smoke is gone, Team Flare is nowhere to be seen. In a panic, DIllon sprints around the clearing and peeks into the brush. "Amy!" He worriedly shouts. "Amy!"
"Kachu!" Pika yells too. Not only does he sense his trainer's distress, he also loves Amy and fears for her. "Pi!"
"Was that her?" Clemont asks, but Dillon isn't paying attention. He's in too much of a frenzy to care about these people. Thus, when Clemont grabs Dillon's shoulders to get his attention, Dillon finds himself shoving the boy to the ground, which angers the other kids.
"Hey! Don't push him!" Ash runs in between the two.
With his seething anger, Dillon grabs the front of Ash's shirt. "This is all your fucking fault!"
"Ash did nothing! We were saving you!" Serena glares at Dillon.
"You shouldn't have held me back! Now they got away! Now she's gone!" shouts Dillon.
"We'll help you find her! We said we would!" Ash tells him.
"I don't believe a word you say." Dillon lets go of Ash and walks away. He has no idea where Amy is, and he doesn't have any flying Pokemon right now. However, he's tired of relying on Ash. Dillon knew this was a bad idea. However, Ash won't give in like this, so he grabs Dillon again, causing the future teen to pin him against a tree. "Don't fucking touch me, Ash."
"Let him go!" Serena rushes over with the blonde siblings.
"You too, Ash!" Clemont tells his friend. If Dillon doesn't want their help, then they don't need to help him. Dillon is very angry and explosive. Moreover, Clemont doesn't want to risk anyone getting hurt from this future teen.
"You can't save her alone!" Ash challenges Dillon's blue eyes.
"I don't need your help."
"I'm helping you! I don't leave people who need help!"
Chuckling, Dillon tightens his hold on Ash, making Pikachu's cheeks spark more menacingly, so Pika stands between them. While Pika agrees with Pikachu, he needs to protect his trainer too. "You left us before. You can do it again." With that, Dillon roughly releases Ash before returning Weepinbell and walking away.