Chapter 14: The Farewell Tour

It had been a week since Ash helped the Mew Mews stop Sardon and the Predisite created with Team Rocket having infusers. Ash and Corina have been closer as a couple. Megan and Mimi learned the truth after they were caught by the monster Sardon created and watching Zoey and Renee transform into Mew Mews, then Ash and his Pokémon helping out and giving Sardon one heck of a reminder. At Corina's mansion, Corina's undoing the bandages to Ash's left arm while Megan held Pikachu. When the bandages came off, Ash's arm was normal. "Look at that, your arm's normal again!" cheered Mimi, Taillow on her shoulder.

"It does," Ash agreed. He twisted his arm around, no pain felt. "It feels normal again." Megan and Corina giggled.

"It does bite that you and Corina are dating," Megan pointed out. "But after what happened over the week since they attacked, I kinda figured you're out of my league… and not because of these guys." Taillow cawed in understanding.

"I still got excited after you showed me more of those Pokémon, including that baby Togepi," Mimi added.

"Who wouldn't?" laughed Corina. "It does make me look forward to several years and after we marry." Ash and Pikachu gulped to Corina's wish.

"Anyway, it'll be difficult to keep the secrets of the Mew Mews and Pokémon," Megan started. "Though, neither of us can just run away from home and become trainers."

"And you're planning to return to your world you've been exiled from?" wondered Mimi. Ash and Pikachu blinked to the word used.

"Uh… exiled?" repeated Ash.

"You know, banished," Megan clarified. "Kicked out…" Understanding, Ash learned about the word.

"If that's what it means, I'm not letting my dream go to waste because of a Pokémon Gym Battle," he pronounced. "I have to face my fears and get through them, one way or another." Megan came forward and hugged Ash.

"You Great Dane," she nicknamed. "Go for it!" Ash giggled to the nickname, even though he had no idea what Megan referred to. The next day at school, news came around classrooms about a discovery.

"You're… transferring?" one blond boy believed. Ash nodded to the query.

"I know I haven't been here long and I do wish I could stay," he shrugged. "But, circumstances…"

"Hey, at least you'll have both arms since the arm's good to go," a raven-haired girl pointed out. "I heard you saved Corina at work in an accident. I'm surprised it was a minor injury with how it was wrapped up." Ash huffed a chuckle.

"I'm tougher than you'd believe," he reminded. The Beckies arrived to see Ash and surrounded him.

"Ash, we heard that you're leaving this school," the blond Becky recalled. "It's not because of us, right?"

"No, it's with my situation," he corrected. "It's out of my hands at this point."

"Well, that's too bad," the redhead Becky sighed. "Though, to be honest, seeing you with that rich brat is not going to reflect good on you. After all, only thing on their mind is money, even if they're set for life."

"You'd be better off with the three of us wherever you're transferring to," the gray-haired Becky suggested. "You may have gone on that date with her, but you have a much better time with us." Ash scoffed to the Beckies' proposal.

"Oh, but you see," he started with a sinister grin. "Corina's the one who started to love me, and I learned a lot about her. Of course, do you know how close our love is? The fact that we did more than rehab is a bit of an understatement as I began to love her and it wasn't about the inheritance." To the redhead Becky, Ash had proceeded far in his relationship with Corina.

"Wait… You two didn't-" she hiccupped. Ash's sneer gave the Beckies a clue.

"She couldn't get enough of my body, even when we washed each other," he continued. "I was there to comfort her when we slept and we could feel our hearts just pounding for each one. Oh, the thrill of our hearts' wanting one another and knowing who my girl is, there's nothing you can do but accept. So, sorry… but this Ketchum has his Bucksworth with Corina." The Beckies' eyes were so wide and fearful, they had little answer for Ash's tale. They quickly imagined Ash and Corina in bed with their clothes, including undergarments, strewn over Mickey. The image had Corina moaning with thrill, her head jerked to the air. They jumped, literally, several feet in fear of their own picture.

"You- You fiend!" the gray-haired Becky snapped.

"I can't believe you!" the blond Becky gawked.

"We should've been the ones to take it!" the redhead Becky bargained. They bolted out of the classroom as Zoey and Bridget entered. Ash seemed a little puzzled to the Beckies' bailout.

"They were off in a hurry," Bridget noticed.

"Ash, you didn't, right?" a carmine-haired boy guessed.

"Of course, I did," Ash confirmed. "What, did you think we did something in bed?"

"We all did," the raven-haired girl shrugged. "Did you and Corina…" She whispered in Ash's ear to clarify the finding. Ash gawked and stifled a laugh.

"We've slept with each other but that's it," he corrected. "Are you saying that's what those three thought I did with Corina?" Even Zoey and Bridget laughed to the Beckies' wild imagination.

"Now the question is who's gonna tell the Beckies the truth?" pondered Bridget.

"No one," Zoey snapped with a smirk. "Let them sweat it out." When the school day ended, Ash received hugs from the girls and handshakes from the boys. At Cafe Mew, Ash, Zoey and Bridget arrived to find a small cyan bird with clouds for wings.

"What's that?" asked Bridget.

"It's a Swablu," he replied as he had the PokéDex out.

"SWABLU, THE COTTON BIRD POKÉMON," it registered. "SWABLU BATHES IF IT GETS A LITTLE DIRTY, WHICH IS HOW IT KEEPS ITS COTTON-LIKE WINGS SPOTLESS." Swablu bounced around while Wesley emerged with a water bowl.

"Wesley, how did you get a Pokémon?" asked Zoey.

"Funny enough, I was on my way here when Pikachu heard a rustling," Wesley began. "We came and saw this Pokémon struggling. We brought it in to get refreshed and didn't struggle. First time I've seen a Pokémon like this, let alone nursed it." Swablu chirped happily about the treatment.

"But knowing that you found a Swablu," Ash believed. "You found a way back home." Wesley nodded to the news. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Don't tell us that Renee's calling in," Zoey sighed.

"Too soon to tell," Wesley denied. "Let me get it." He answered the phone and held the receiver to his ear. "Café Mew, Wesley Coolridge speaking. May I help you?" Corina and Kikki arrived and soon saw the gathering. "Yes?" Renee also joined, disproving Zoey's guess. "You heard correctly, Ash Ketchum does work here." Pikachu jumped onto Wesley's shoulder. "You wish to speak with him?" Ash came forward to Wesley while Elliot entered and listened in. Wesley turned to Ash and nodded. "Luckily, we still have to prepare the cafe for service today. I'm sure to let you talk to him." He offered the phone to Ash.

"Someone from school, I bet," he huffed.

"Actually, it's from the zoo," Wesley clarified. Ash's eyebrow twitched.

"Huh?" he irked. "The zoo? What do they want with me?"

"Not quite sure," Wesley shrugged. "All they told me is that they have something important." It made Ash curious.

"Well, I guess I should know," he surrendered. "This is Ash…" Corina came close to her boyfriend, hoping to know as well. "Yeah, I remember alright." Just then, Ash's eyes ballooned. It was something shocking. "What!? Really!?" Pikachu became curious to the news. "You're… serious?" Hearing the contact, Ash bobbed a nod. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can! Thanks for telling me!" With the line disconnected, Ash hung up the phone. "I gotta take off for a bit! There's no time!"

"Alright, but don't stay too long!" warned Elliot. "We have less than two hours before the café opens!"

"Plenty of time!" grinned Ash as he zoomed to the zoo. To Kikki, the zoo had something for Ash.

"Is Ash getting a reward from zookeepers?" she guessed. Wesley, Elliot and Pikachu shrugged. At the zoo, Ash arrived and met with the zookeepers who guided them to a closed habitat covered by drapes all over.

"We weren't sure how to approach the issue with Mika," one zookeeper addressed. "She's in here and… you'll see." Ash nodded before going in. There's barely enough light for Ash to find the Siberian Tigress with several tiny kittens. Ash gasped to the sight.

"Oh my gosh…" he hushed. "A litter…" Mika heard Ash's whisper and turned to Ash. "Hey, Mika… These your kids?" Mika chuffed to Ash's discovery. One kitten came to Ash who offered a hand to it. "Wow, you want to meet me?" The kitten sniffed at Ash's hand before licking it, mewing to enjoying the human. It playfully tried to bite Ash's hand but it couldn't pierce the skin. Still, tears came from Ash's eyes. "I wish I could take one of you home, but I can't. It wouldn't be fair to your mom." Some of the kittens came to Ash while the rest stayed by Mika.

"We can give Ash one if he wants," one zookeeper offered.

"You heard him," the other zookeeper denied. "He'd want to let Mika raise them." Ash felt at ease. After his time with Mika and her kin, Ash returned to Café Mew where Swablu rested on Corina's shoulder preparing the café for customers. Returning, Ash got to the back with a huge smile. Everyone noticed.

"Uh oh…" sneered Renee. "What happened at the zoo?" Ash turned to the girls that gathered.

"I got to see Mika's babies," he informed. The girls became excited.

"I bet they were adorable!" cheered Kikki. Ash laughed, agreeing with Kikki.

"A couple of them wanted me to hold, but I'm not taking any of them from the mom," he added.

"I don't blame you," Elliot sided with Pikachu on his shoulder. "I wouldn't want this guy being a Siberian Tiger's lunch."

("Not to mention my aftertaste,") Pikachu joked. Corina approached her boyfriend.

"Ash, Swablu's already trusting me, which is inspiring," she expressed. "Have wild Pokémon come to you on random?"

"I've had a few and when they wanted to come with me, I brought them on board," Ash briefed. "Normally, trainers find Pokémon, but there are times where Pokémon find the trainers." Kikki became intrigued with the information.

"Pokémon choosing trainers?" she repeated. "Does that mean that Kikki's Pokémon can find me!?"

"There's a chance," he believed. Pikachu ran out from the back with a Pokéball in marble size.

("This can help!") he offered. Dropping the marble in Ash's hand, the trainer realized Pikachu's wish.

"Pikachu also believes Swablu should be yours and this is the way to be sure," he explained as he held Corina's hand and gave the marble to her. She looked puzzled before pressing the tiny button. It morphed into a ball. It surprised her.

"Wait, isn't this one of yours?" she assumed.

"Not really," Ash shook. "Otherwise, there would be a Pokémon already in it." Zoey and Wesley laughed. Deciding what to do, Corina's held a finger out. Swablu leaped onto her finger before she bobbed a nod.

"Swablu, let me take care of you," she declared. Swablu felt ready to join.

"Throw the Pokéball at Swablu and you'll have it," Ash instructed. "Normally, you'd have to weaken a Pokémon through battle, but sometimes like now… it wants to join you without conflict." Corina accepted the role before she cocked her arm back.

"Let's work together, Swablu!" she spoke and threw the ball. It hit Swablu before it morphed into a red light and entered the ball that opened. It closed and the ball wiggled around for a couple of seconds. Finally, a chime. "Is it… mine?"

"Honey… Swablu's yours," Ash confirmed. Corina picked up the Pokéball and hugged it.

"Now, we have a Pokémon for our team!" cheered Zoey. After a little extra cleaning up, Cafe Mew opened. Everyone did their usual parts and some of the girls started to cry, hearing that Ash was leaving.

"Is there a chance we can see you again?" one customer asked.

"We'd like to know what's going on," another customer wished.

"As much as you guys helped me, it's not my call," he admitted. "I will miss you guys." Knowing Ash would remember them, the customers smiled. After the day, Ash and Pikachu returned to the mansion where Ash and Corina had Pikachu and Mickey join in bed. Swablu perched itself by the window.

"Bridget's bullies thought we 'did the dirty?" joked Corina. "Even if I wanted to have it with you, it's too soon. Besides, I'm not ready to be like Mika."

"Neither am I," he joined. "I'd rather take it nice and slow. To think, I learned that battling Norman and we're going to see about getting back to my friends." Mickey came to Ash with a sad face. "I know, Mickey… I'm gonna miss you too." Mickey licked Ash's face, much to their enjoyment. The next day, Ash and Pikachu looked back to the city that greeted him when the other city exiled him. "Megan, Mimi, classmates… the Beckies…"

"It's hard to say goodbye to a place that's been good to you," Kikki sympathized. Ash nodded.

"I'm done running from the issues," he pronounced.

"Then, let's go see Petalburg City," Wesley urged. With the Mew Mews, Mark, Wesley and Elliot, Ash and Pikachu were ready to return to the Pokémon World. It was time he faced his fears.

TO BE CONTINUED…