Ri2's review : haha, indeed he does sound a bit like a hobo. He did become slightly more famous than successful. Everyone knows who he is around the regions and that's why they invite him to go share his stories. He is not recognised as the Pokémon Master officially. I try to give him a bit more « old, grumpy » style character and you'll get to find it through the stories.

Grandpa Ash Stories – Aromatisse

Ash : Hello to all ! Thank you for the invitation, I love being here in Kalos !

*crowd cheers*

Ash : Oh the memories this region holds for me, there are so many… One in particular comes to mind ! Of when I visited Parfum Palace.

Kid 1 : I love it there, the garden is beautiful !

Ash : Indeed it is, but it has its dangers…

Teen 1 : Dangers ? Like what… Flowers and shrubs ? *scoffs*

Ash : Young lady, let me tell my story and you'll see what I mean. It was a looong time ago…

Teen 2 : LONG LONG LONG TIME…

Ash : *AHEM*, not THAT long… I'm still quite young ! Anyway, I received an invitation to go to Parfum Palace where they would be holding a « ball » style party for many trainers. Very posh, wasn't really my style. BUT, my friends all wanted to go and they managed to convince me by saying I could find strong trainers there to battle. So we managed to get some nice suits and off we went the night of the ball ! The place was very well decorated, and since it was a nice warm evening the party was extended to the garden that had a small bar set up on the side, as well as a huge buffet. Needless to say I spent a good amount of time there, eating all the delicacies that Kalos has to offer !

Kid 2 : Nothing about that seems dangerous..

Ash : I'll get there ! I was disappointed because from all the trainers that were invited, a lot of them were much older than my group. I walked around for a bit, trying to spark a battle with some of them, but they all called me a savage and that it was not the time nor the place ! What a bummer, I was about to fall asleep… My friends had gotten into conversation with some guests and were completely oblivious to my despair ! Poor me…

Teen 1 : You sound like you were really needy.. Why couldn't you join the conversation with your friends ?

Ash : Miss, I was at the peak of my life ! So full of energy and stamina, I wanted to battle and become the best, have adventures and travel ! I did NOT want to spend an evening acting like an old man sitting around talking about the weather and news. So, as you know, there are the four hedge mazes in the garden of Parfum Palace, and the guests were advised to not go as they were under maintenance. I was upset, I wanted to try the maze ! So I waited until everyone was distracted and me and Pikachu sneaked through one of the maze's entrances. We walked around for a bit, a dead end here and there, but it was amazing ! Much better than to listen to old crones. Then, suddenly, we start to sense a faint smell of something amazing. A flowery smell… Aromatic… Like a million flowers in bloom on a fresh spring morning ! It was wonderful. We tried to follow the smell and after a while we managed to get to the center of the maze ! And there it was… the origin of the smell !

Kid 3 : A giant flower !

Ash : Almost ! It was an Aromatisse ! It was dancing around, leaving a trail of the pleasant aroma behind it. Pikachu and I felt hypnotized by it, such fluid movements ! And then… it saw us. And when it did, it froze immediately ! No more pleasant scent ! It disappeared in a second !

Teen 3 : Ahahaha ! I can imagine, seeing your face it got scared !

Ash : *AHEM*, it was not particularly my looks that scared it. It was actually staring at Pikachu ! I think it wasn't used to seeing other pokémon, and felt threatened ! I immediately put my hands up and said that we weren't going to hurt it, but the Aromatisse was having none of it ! It started to wiggle side to side with a mean look, and suddenly we felt like we would pass out… from the stench !

Kid 1 : What stench ? You farted ?

Ash : AH, my farts smell better than whatever that smell was ! It was so foul, would even make a grown Muk cry ! Aromatisse has the power to switch scents and aromas, to either attract or send pokémon away ! It was clearly trying to make me and Pikachu leave, but I was trying to make it understand that we were no threat. The stench kept getting more and more intense, Pikachu was having trouble breathing, and I decided to back away slowly with him so Aromatisse could be in peace… It. Did. Not. Work.

Teen 2 : Why ?

Ash : Well, I didn't understand why but as I was backing away slowly with Pikachu in my arms, who was now passed out, for every step back I gave, Aromatisse would give one towards me ! I felt like a little bambi in front of a powerful tiger ! So defenseless ! I had no other pokémon with me, and even if I did, no one could survive this stink ! I decided to turn around and starting running as fast as I could to the exit… Bad. Idea. Trying to find an exit out of a maze while you're carrying your passed out pokémon, running from a big purple puffy ball of putrid smell is NOT a good combination. I kept hitting dead ends and when I had to turn back I always had to run past Aromatisse, and the closer I got to it, the worse the smell got.

Teen 3 : It never attacked you though ?

Ash : I WISH IT HAD ! Any pain would be better than what my nostrils went through. But no, I think it was toying with me. It seemed even amused at making the smell worse whenever I had to pass next to it to try and find another path ! Eventually I was close to going through the shrubs of the maze, poke holes in it, but then I thought that it might have been a much too big expense for me to refund and my wallet was very thin at that moment. So I tried calling for help… Big. Mistake. Opening my mouth to scream, only made the stink come faster through my throat, I almost choked !

Kid 2 : My mom says Aromatisse are very nice ! I don't believe your story, they would never hurt anyone…

Ash : OH. Well your mother was NOT there that evening with me, was she ?! She can't possibly know ALL the Aromatisse that exist in the world. This one was particulary mischievous ! I guarantee you. And I have witnesses ! Because after running a lot I was getting close to the exit, and I started to hear the guests complain about the smell, so I followed the sounds of the commotion until I managed to get out of the maze and join my friends. As soon as I did, I fell to the ground, still holding Pikachu. They called Nurse Joy to come and help, I couldn't speak as I was affraid of opening my mouth again. I could only mumble Aromatisse over and over, until Nurse Joy understood and looked at the maze. Aromatisse was jumping in the air above the hedges, as if it was laughing, looking at the crowd ! Later, I heard from the security team that the maze had been closed precisely because that Aromatisse likes to come once a while to the maze, and gives off a nice aroma as long as its not bothered by anyone.

Teen 2 : So, why did they say it was "under maintenance" if actually they could have just warned people about Aromatisse?

Ash : I think they wanted to avoid mentioning it, because Aromatisse is a fairly rare pokémon and they didn't want people to try and capture it. I guarantee you I would also have gone inside the maze just to see Aromatisse, had I known it was there.

Teen 1 : So, the only danger was bad smell ? Plus, it was because YOU disobeyed the rules, otherwise nothing would have happened to you.

Ash : Oh you're such a goody goody ! You're going to tell me that you never broke a rule ?

Teen 1 : I avoid it. Rules are there for a reason !

*Ash stares at Kid 1 and whispers : Laaaame*

*Kid 1 laughs*

* Teen 1 crosses arms in front of chest and turns head to the side*

Ash : The truth is kids, breaking rules IS wrong, but once in a while there are a few rules that can be… bended… for the sake of adventure ! Otherwise you're all just a bunch of Mareep's following orders all the time. I'm a free spirit ! Just like that Aromatisse… I broke the rules, but I was awarded with an experience that I will never forget for the rest of my life ! Even if not a pleasant one.

Kid 2 : So you're telling us to break rules to have better life experiences ?

Ash : EXAC...

*micro gets cut*

Host : WELL, that was a very nice story Mr. Ketchum, but please refrain from inciting law-breaking to our younger generation please ! But thank you for the story, let me escort you back to your hotel.