Chapter 25
Later that night, Lok is put to bed and the Pikachus are sleeping too with Lok. Misty had repatched up Dillon's wound on his arm. She wrapped the gauze with a baby blue handkerchief with the Cascade Badge embroidered on it. Dillon is in his room laying in bed staring at his pokenav. After separating from Jane, Amy, and Romeo, Dillon has been looking at his lockscreen a lot. He was scared he'd never come back to his time, which meant he wouldn't see the picture again. Maybe he should print one for if he ever time travels again? That way, it'll be safe in his wallet.
Sighing, Dillon finds himself switching between his contacts and his lock screen a lot. He wants to see a certain new gym leader, but he's scared. He's never been more scared in his life. He'd gladly face Team Flare and Team Rocket again, he'd gladly try to bring Ash home again, but he can't bring himself to call her. Mew. He knows he isn't scared to call Granite, though he can't call her.
Fortunately for him, knocking on his door gets his attention. "Come in."
The door opens to reveal Ash. Walking inside, Ash sits at Dillon's desk. "Hey, Dillon."
Dillon sits up on the side of his bed to face his father. "Hey, dad."
Ash gives Dillon a small smile. "I like it when you call me dad."
"Me too."
After a few silent moments, Ash breaks it. "I remember a time when Team Flare kidnapped a girl, and my friends and I teamed up with her brother to rescue her."
Dillon's eyes open wide in shock. So Ash does remember. Dillon knows his father had many outstanding adventures in his youth; thus, Ash might not remember meeting certain legendaries. "In Kalos?" Dillon breathes out.
Ash frantically looks around and hushes his son. "Shhh. Your mother hates hearing about Kalos. It only makes us argue."
"About Serena." Dillon answers and Ash nods in defeat.
"For the record, Dillon, Serena kiss me. I didn't kiss her."
"You do know mom is mad because she found out through Uncle Brock, and you didn't stop Serena from kissing you?"
Ash groans. "Your mom always says I'm dense." The man then smiles again. "But I'm glad you think she's happily married with three kids." Ash's grin grows. "She is a strong gym leader and an even better mother." Especially because she raised Amy and Dillon without him. Ash is proud of the woman he married. He doubts anyone else would be as strong as she was when he left. It's why he loves her.
"It's been 20 years, dad. How do you remember that?" Dillon knows his father can barely remember the grocery list.
Chuckling, Ash leans back in his seat nostalgically. "Ever since you told me Misty gets married and has three kids, it was on my mind a lot. I always had a crush on her, but I didn't know I did. I was a naive kid, Dillon." Ash closes his eyes. "It bothered me so much that after Serena kissed me, I had to go see your mother. It felt so wrong having someone else's lips on mine." Ash opens his eyes again. "I thought you changed the future by telling me Misty has three kids though."
"Huh?"
"When I left, we only had you and Amy." Ash nervously sighs. "I was scared her third kid would be with a new man who'd treat her better. And that would be her happy marriage, Dillon. But when you were so against Pokemon journeys, I thought you had changed the future. Misty and I would be married with two kids only."
"I'm glad I didn't change anything then." Dillon smiles at his father who returns the smile.
"Me too. I'm glad everything worked out."
The two sit in silence until Dillon asks, "Why did you visit mom after Serena kissed you?"
Ash's face flushes and he stutters a bit before taking a deep breath to answer his son coherently. "I wasn't happy with her kiss. I wanted to kiss your mother instead, so I visited her." A lot happened afterwards, but Ash won't bore Dillon with the details now. The man meets his son's curious gaze. "My word of advice is the same as your mother's, Dillon: don't ever forget your old friends. I still regret having my first kiss be with Serena, and your mother lets me hear it all the time. Don't make the same mistakes as me."
Dillon finds himself looking away where his eyes land on his pokenav in his hands. Clicking it on to see the lockscreen, his eyes land on the bluenette before he looks back at his father. With newfound energy and courage, Dillon stands up to grab his bag. "Tell mom I love her! I gotta go, dad!" To Ash's surprise, Dillon hugs him. "Thanks, Dad!"
Ash is still stunned, so once he hears the front door slam shut, he smiles slightly and walks back to his room with Misty. "What was that?" Misty tiredly asks. She hates being a light sleeper, though it does have it's perks if she ever gets burglarized.
"Dillon left. He says he loves you." Ash tells her as he climbs into bed beside her.
Misty cuddles up next to him. She loves sleeping next to Ash. "He's a good kid." She plants a kiss on Ash's cheek. "I love you, Ash."
The man smiles and kisses her forehead. "I love you too, Mist." Ash then looks at the moon outside the window where he sees the silhouette of a Charizard flying past it. "You're a great mother."
"Don't forget that." mutters the woman.
"I never have." Soon, the two slip off to sleep.
Vermillion City Gym - Aurora's POV
After waking up and getting the triplets ready for school, LayLay and I went to the gym. Lt. Surge is still training me, but I have more control over the gym's operations now. He says I'm a quick learner. I mean, it's easy to learn when I have so much free time. The triplets help me a lot when they're out of school too. To think, we were once Vermillion City scums, and now, we're the most respected family in the city.
I only had one early morning challenge, so now I'm working on my other chores. Office work gets boring. It's why I use my time to take care of the Pokemon. I also train my other pokemon, even though I don't use them at the gym, like Arcanine and Dragonair. Because I don't have a receptionist until the triplets get home later, I try not to be in the office in case a challenger arrives. It's another excuse to spend time with the pokemon in the battle arena.
"Pachi!" Pachirisu exclaims and runs off. Why's she doing that? I curiously watch her sprint out of the arena and then I hear footsteps. Of course. She would only do this for one person.
Standing up, I walk over to greet the boy walking into the battle arena. To my surprise, he hugs me. "Hey, Aurora."
"Hey, Braxton." I smile at him. This is Braxton's second time visiting since he was first in town due to the power outage. He says he likes to check up on his mother, but he's still on track to compete in the Hoenn League. Braxton has always been a great battler. Although Pachirisu still holds a grudge against him, I've since learned to move on from it. Braxton has changed, and he apologized.
"I got you something." Braxton smiles and extends a hand out to reveal a necklace with a small thunderbolt charm on it.
"Thanks, Braxton, but I can't."
"I bought it for you." Braxton shyly smiles. "Please take it."
I know he likes me. He's confessed plenty of times, and he gets more confident each time. However, I don't feel the same way. He's just a friend. "Thanks." I smile warmly and take the necklace. He wants to put it on me, but I won't let him.
"Aurora, you know I like you. Can't you give me a chance? I promise I'm not the same person I was before."
"I know you're not." Those eyes of his continue to plead with me. I don't trust love. My father loved my mother, but he left us when she got killed. "But I don't wanna date."
Sighing, Braxton nods. "I know. I don't wanna push you, but can you think about it? I already visit you a lot. I'd stop traveling to help you with the gym."
"You visit your mother."
"And you." He smiles sincerely at me. "I need to get back home, but I'll visit before I leave again." Braxton hugs me again, which I'm still not used to.
"I look forward to it, Braxton." For some reason, I find myself grabbing his arm before he can walk away. Why did I do that? When his curious gaze meets mine, I mentally panic. Mew, Aurora! What are you doing? "Uh, wanna battle?" Yes! That must be it! We always battle when he's in town. It's tradition.
"I'd love to."
Outside
"Pachi!" Pachirisu chases after the angry boy. Pika worriedly follows beside her.
"Go back to the gym, Pachirisu!" Dillon exclaims. Coming here was a mistake. He should've never even thought about visiting. He knew he was fine without her in Johto. Just because his mother was lonely when his father was traveling, it doesn't mean Aurora is too! She's getting along just fine with Braxton!
When Dillon arrived at the gym, he was happily greeted outside by Pachirisu. Once Dillon and the electric mice entered the gym, he heard voices in the arena. Peeking in, he saw Aurora and Braxton happily talking and smiling. He then saw Braxton give her a necklace, and when she reached out to hold his hand before he could walk away, that's when Dillon lost it. The raven haired boy stormed out of the gym with the electric mice following closely behind. They're now a ways from the gym.
"Pikapi!" Pika calls up to Dillon.
It was a fucking mistake. They're both just communicating with each other out of obligation. Well, now that Dillon knows she's okay, he doesn't need to think about her anymore. She's just fine. And he's just fine being in Johto. Coal is tired from all the flying, so Dillon opts to just buy a boat ticket from Vermillion City to Johto.
Seeing Pachirisu's white fur in the corner of his eye, Dillon looks back at the mouse. "Go back to the gym, Pachirisu!"
"Pachi chi ri pa risu!"
"You saw her! She doesn't need me! She's happy with Braxton!" Dillon is tired of others trying to push him to see Aurora. She obviously doesn't want to see him anymore. It's infuriating. Yes, he finds himself forgetting about her when he's in Johto, but she still means a lot to him. He would never replace her. Not even with Jane.
However, Aurora clearly replaced him with Braxton. Isn't Braxton supposed to be in Hoenn this year? That's an even further away region with longer time zones. She can find time to communicate with him but not Dillon? It just shows to Dillon who she truly prioritizes. This was a mistake and he just wants to get as far away from it as he can. Aurora doesn't need him anymore. Thus, Dillon won't need her anymore.
"Pikaaa…" Pika sees Pachirisu hesitate to leave. He approaches her to hug her. "Pi pikachu pi pika." Nodding reluctantly, Pachirisu nuzzles Pika's face.
"Don't let her know we were here." Dillon coldly tells Pachirisu whose ears go flat with concern. She wants to tell Aurora so that Aurora comes to see Dillon before he leaves. Nevertheless, Dillon doesn't want it.
"Pi." Pika's intense look makes Pachirisu respect Dillon's wish.
"Chi!" She then runs back in the direction of the gym, leaving Dillon and Pika to wait for their boat.
When Dillon feels Pika's eyes on him, he snaps, "Don't lecture me."
Sighing, Pika hops on the bench to sit next to his trainer. He then notices Dillon's bandages coming undone. It must've been from sweating due to him running from the gym. Pika nudges Dillon's injured arm, making the boy look at it.
Dillon's scowl deepens as he fixes the gauze. His mother's handkerchief is long gone, but he doesn't care. He doesn't care about anything right now. All he feels is the numbness in his heart he's mastered for years since Ash left. Emotions are stupid. They only hurt people in the end. It's why Dillon was so cold to the world before. It's the best way for him to deal with this unfair world.
Vermillion City Gym - Aurora's POV
"Pachirisu!" Mew! Braxton is long gone, so where is she? I need her in case a trainer comes in. Pachirisu is my strongest Pokemon. I know she hates how me and Braxton are friends, but she needs to get over her grudge already. He's changed.
Walking into the lobby to look for her, I spot trash on the ground. Why are people always littering? I have plenty of trash cans in the gym! Arg! When I pick up the trash, I realize it's actually not trash. It's soft. Looking down at it, I see it's a baby blue handkerchief. Did someone lose this? It seems nice. Maybe there's a name on it somewhere? Where's the tag? Wait. This embroidery. It looks familiar...Mew, where have I seen this before?
"Pachi!"
"Pachirisu!" I'm so happy she's back! If she was outside, how come she waited so long to come back inside? She would've seen Braxton leave. However, she is out of breath. Did she go for a run again? "Where have you been?"
"Pachi chi ri pa risu pachi!" Oh. So she was at the pier. Does she like the water like that? Water?
"Don't run off too far next time. We could get a challenger, and I need you." I scold her Pokemon. Looking back at the item in my hand, I know where I've seen it before! I feel like such an idiot! This is the cascade badge! The Ketchums haven't visited in a while, so how did this get here? And I swear I've been cleaning the gym. I would've noticed this if the Ketchums left it. Maybe I'll ask Misty about it when she visits this weekend?
Sighing, I pocket the handkerchief to pull out my pokenav. Still no messages or calls from him. I left him a voicemail weeks ago! Apparently he called Granite yesterday, but he can't call me? Did he really replace me with that Jane girl he's traveling with? I fight back the tears threatening to fall from my eyes. This sucks. Dillon was my first friend, and my closest friend. I thought our friendship was strong, but here he is forgetting about me now that we're not traveling together anymore.
"Pachi…" Pachirisu hops on my shoulder to affectionately nuzzle my face.
"I'm fine." I lie to her. However, she knows when I'm lying and when I'm upset.
Unlocking my pokenav so I quit seeing the lock screen photo, I vow to not wait on Dillon anymore. He can contact me when he wants to. Right now, I have someone who actually wants to talk to me, and I'm holding out because I'm waiting on him. I put the pokenav to my ear, and the call is picked up almost instantly. I'm not ringing forever and sent to voicemail, like I am with that asshole.
"Aurora?" He answers.
"Let's go out tonight, Braxton."