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Chapter 20

3 Months Later

Ash had returned back to the League now that the new tournament season has started. He returns every weekend to spend time with Misty and Clementine, which allows Lily to enjoy her weekends. Lily works at the gym to help Misty out as well as to keep an eye on Nathan whenever he comes. Nathan usually drops by on the weekends because he is too busy with work on the weekdays, but occasionally, he will grace the Waterflowers with his presence on random week days.

Misty is also visibly pregnant, which the media has caught a hold of. She isn't really hiding it though, but now, critics and gossipers are claiming her and Ash are getting married due to Misty trapping him or to their mistake. Lily does her best to keep these articles away from her angrily hormonal sister.

Clementine attends school now, and thankfully, Lily can pick her up when Misty is stuck at the gym. Misty takes it upon herself to at least drop off her niece in the mornings, which Lily appreciates as she can sleep in. Daisy and Tracey had also recently announced that they're expecting, which made Clementine even happier at having more playmates. Misty and Ash congratulated them, especially now that their children will be growing up close in age.

Lily is watching reality TV on her tablet when the gym's phone rings. "Hello?" She answers boredly.

"Oh hey, Lily! I got off from the League early. Is it okay if I pick up Clem today? I want to surprise her!" the voice on the other line exclaims.

Lily smiles and appreciates the extra time to watch her show. "Sure, Ash! See you later!"

A few hours later, Misty walks into the lobby after bidding her recent challenger good luck and that she will always be at the gym ready for a rematch. Once the trainer sadly leaves, the gym leader glares at her sister who is intensly focused on the tablet. "Lily!" Misty exclaims.

In a fright, the pinkette jumps up and sees the fuming redhead. "Oh. Like hey, Misty. You didn't need to yell."

"Why are you here? You're late to Clem's school!" shouts the fuming pregnant woman.

"Relax, Misty. Ash said he'd do it." Lily then sits down again and resumes her video.

"Ash?"

"Yeah." says the older woman annoyedly. Misty drops the topic as another trainer walks into the gym.

Cerulean City Public Poke' School

Clementine is waiting patiently outside with the other pickup kids. She is sitting on a bench swinging her feet when a purple haired boy approaches her. "You're weird, Clementine!" He teases her while the teachers are not nearby.

Clementine glares at the boy. His name is Cole, and he repeatedly makes fun of her every day. He is smart enough to do it while the teachers are not paying attention, so he has never gotten caught. However, Clementine's Auntie Misty has raised her to stand up for herself and others. The bluenette sticks her tongue out at the boy. "You're just jealous of me, Cole!"

The boy's dark blue eyes look at her deep green ones. "My mommy says you auntie forced the champion to marry her!"

This irks Clementine and she gets off the bench to hit Cole. The boy angrily hits her back, and soon, the teachers are prying them apart. "Don't say mean things about my auntie!" Clementine cries.

Cole's mother arrived in the middle of the scuffle and runs up to the circle of teachers. She sees the fresh cut on her son's face and glares at Clementine. "You! Your family is bringing shame to Cerulean City!" exclaims the woman.

"Mrs. Blackbone, please calm down." Ms. Beeny holds the woman from approaching the scared little girl. Cole gives Clementine a triumphant smirk as she looks around worriedly for her Auntie Lily. She knows all of her aunts will stand up for her no matter what, but she doesn't see the familiar pink head. Soon, everyone ducks their heads as a huge gust of wind flows through the clear sky.

"That's the champion!" astounds some of the kids. Once Ash returns Charizard, he gets ready to look for his niece when a bunch of kids surround him. He gives them all a nice smile but doesn't recognize any as the bluenette.

A teacher approaches him. "Hello, Mr. Ketchum! How can we help you?" he asks the champion.

Ash, still searching around the playground says, "I'm looking for my-" he spots her crying by two adults and another child and sprints over there with Pikachu on his shoulder while ignoring the children trying to talk to him. The man pushes through the circle and picks up the bawling bluenette. He holds her close as Pikachu nuzzles her too.

"Whoa! Mr. Champion!" Cole's eyes sparkle up at him, but Ash ignores the boy. He looks at the fuming woman and then at the woman with a name tag who he assumes is a teacher.

"What happened?" he asks the teacher. The teacher explains that all she saw was the two fighting. She doesn't know who started it. Cole's mother rudely interrupts saying it must be Clementine who started the fight since her son is an angel. She threatens to sue the school if they side with the girl just because Clem's family is famous.

Annoyed, Ash looks to his niece who has since calmed down. "Clem, I'm not mad, okay." He gives her a reassuring smile. "Can you tell me what happened?" He moves so that the only thing in her gaze is him and the wall. She doesn't see the glare coming from Cole's mother. "Can you tell me what happened?"

The girl takes a shaky breath. "Cole made fun of Auntie Misty, so I hit him." She says as more tears fall down her cheeks. Pikachu licks some of them as best he can.

"See! She confesses to hitting my son first!" exclaims Mrs. Blackbone. "Punish her!" she demands from the teacher who can only sigh.

Ash then looks back at the group. "They're 4, ma'am. Kids fight all the time." he looks at the scratches on Clementine's arm who he assumes she got from Cole. Ash then bends down and sets Clementine on the ground. He whispers in her ear, "You need to say sorry for hitting Cole. Hitting is not okay."

"But, Uncle Ashy!"

"Clementine." Ash gives her a stern look and she sniffles before turning to Cole.

"I'm sorry for scratching you, Cole."

Mrs. Blackbone smiles victoriously. "Okay. Let's go, Cole." The boy looks at Clementine, his mom, and then at his hero, Ash.

Ash senses the boy's gaze on him and smiles at the purple haired kid. "Hey, Cole, right? It's always good to apologize after you do something wrong, even if you had a good reason to do it."

"Do not lecture my son when you can't keep your goods to yourself!" Mrs. Blackbone angrily says to Ash who continues to ignore her; although, the man is very annoyed with this parent.

Ash winks at Cole. "I know you're a good kid, Cole." He then stands up and grabs Clementine's hand while Pikachu hops on her head.

Mrs. Blackbone grabs Cole's arm to drag him away too when Cole breaks out from her grasp and runs to Clementine. "I'm sorry for saying mean things, Clem!" He cries with tears streaming down his face. "And I'm sorry for hitting you! Don't hate me!"

Clementine looks up at Ash who gives her a warm smile. She lets go of him and hugs the boy. The bluenette then pulls away and smiles at Cole. "It's okay, Cole! Let's be best friends!" He gives her a tearful smile back and a nod before running back to his angry mother.

Ash bends down and picks up Clementine. He plants a kiss on her cheek. "I'm proud of you, Clem! Let's go get some ice cream!"

"Yay!" The girl cheers as she wraps her small arms around her uncle's neck.