I'm scolding myself for posting this because I told myself that I wasn't supposed to uplaod another story onto until I finished one of the other stories I've already written but this story is complete so I think I'll let it slide just this once. Yes, it's a one-shot.

Rated T for dark thoughts, teenager things and only the slightest bit of swearing that I probably could have gotten away with if I'd rated it K+ but I'll rate it T for the other things.

WARNING: before you read any further I'll have you know that this story contains spoilers for the end of the series and later episodes, so if you don't want to know you don't have to read. Have fun!

Ash was on the road home with Pikachu on his shoulder… again. May and Max had gone home to Petalburg city with May's Grand Festival trophy and several ribbons that May could be proud of. Brock had gone back home to Pewter city, returned to his family and his budding little brother, Forrest. That left Ash and Pikachu to travel home alone.

Pikachu was worried about its master. Ever since that one night after they'd left Pewter city with now friends beside them Ash had seemed so distant and lost in thought. He hadn't talked about it, even to his little yellow buddy and that's what made Pikachu worry the most.

Ash had been thinking a lot since the first night in a while that he'd spent alone with Pikachu knowing that his friends weren't anywhere to be found and that they wouldn't come looking for him. He wasn't lost. But he was little bit scared of what he'd started to think about. He'd beaten Annabel, he had a Hoenn League trophy and he had all of his Pokémon friends that had all become very powerful Pokémon but there was a heavy weight on his chest. It was like something was missing… something very important like a super-secret, classified government document. He didn't have his friends beside him… that was one problem but not the whole problem. He was wondering what he was supposed to do. He was sure that he wasn't a Pokémon Master yet. Annabel wasn't a Pokémon Master and yet she was the most powerful opponent he'd ever faced. And what exactly was a Pokémon Master? He hadn't thought about that before. Was it the person who knew everything about Pokémon? Was it the person who had caught every single kind of Pokémon in the world? Or was it the person who was so ahead in power compared to all of the strongest trainers that they could never be beaten? He was doubting his own dream. He didn't know what he was supposed to accomplish to fulfil it.

Delilah liked to sit in the front yard a lot, especially on beautiful afternoons like today. Cloud cover was there but it was very scarce. Mimie served up a tray of tea and biscuits and sat with her at the little white table. That particular afternoon though, she got a very wonderful surprise. A little yellow Pokémon – a Pikachu – bounded in through the front gate and pounced onto the table. Delilah just adored Pikachu since one was her son's first Pokémon (and because they were very cute of course) and at first this sudden appearance of one only meant just that to her. It wasn't until Ash appeared at the front gate smiling coyly that it truly became wonderful. She jumped out of her seat and ran to hug him.

"Oh Ash," she cried. "I missed you so much."

Ash told her about his accomplishments in the Hoenn region and showed her some new Pokémon that he'd caught. He didn't forget his Hoenn League trophy, his gym badges or his Battle Frontier badges, of course. Delilah was excited to say the least. Her motherly pride in her son swelled dramatically. She could already picture herself displaying Ash's trophy and badges up on the china cupboard and showing off to her neighbours.

Even so, she could tell that something in her son wasn't right. It became more apparent to her during dinner. Ash was unusually quiet. She had imagined that he wouldn't be able to stop talking about Hoenn and about all of the people he met. She couldn't figure it out at all. It was like he'd crawled into shell and didn't feel like coming out. Perhaps she'd have to make him come out.

"Ash, I'm sure you had many adventures in the Hoenn region," she said brightly. He nodded unenthusiastically. So far it wasn't the reaction she was hoping for. "I would just love to hear about some of them."

There was no way he could get out of this one. Delilah knew he'd had hundreds of little adventures. She'd even been a part of a few, like that time a couple of years back when Ash had to dress up as a Mr Mime a be a part of a circus act and less appealing story of the day she had been hypnotized by Entei and forced to play mother for lonely little Molly.

That's when he started to tell her about the day he got possessed by an evil spirit from the past while running around an ancient temple. Not the sort of story she really expected to hear. She was thinking that he'd tell her about the battle in which he beat Annabel or tough gym leader or about some exciting trip up the famous Hoenn volcano, Mt Chimney. Pikachu was just as disturbed by Ash's choice, she could see.

Delilah observed in days to come that Ash had definitely become distant to the world. The first thing she said to him didn't usually get through the first time and he'd become surprisingly helpful around the house. He had a sad, dark aura around him that Delilah was afraid would be contagious. He was most help in the garden and liked to water the plants the most. One sunny day while he was doing just that Delilah watched him closely. He seemed unaware of his surroundings and had developed a blank stare. Some of the spark had left his eyes, which was so disappointing to Delilah. Perhaps he was having 'boy problems' and it was all a 'boy thing', like PMS and perfect body image were 'girl things'. In that case she didn't understand. Maybe if he was having wet dreams she'd be able to comprehend his problem. That could be it! That would explain why he wasn't talking and why he always insisted on doing the laundry. He might be afraid that he would let his little secret slip and it would all be revealed. That made sense. But what if it wasn't that? No, Delilah didn't understand at all.

A few days later Ash and Delilah were working in the garden again. The garden work had become routine for Ash by now. While he was weeding the garden his mother was picking the vegetables. He looked up to the hills. He hadn't been turf-boarding for ages and wondered if he was still good at it. He noticed a few leaves on the trees were starting to turn golden. Autumn was coming early. Pikachu sat beside him chewing an apple piece. The little Pokémon also looked up to the hills to see what Ash found so interesting. As Ash stared at the hillside he began to notice that there was a low mist hanging around the tree trunks. That's what made him think of Misty.

Her image instantly came to mind. Ash had already come to terms with his feelings for her but now he began to wonder what exactly had attracted him to her in the first place. At their first meeting it hadn't even been an intimate attraction that brought them together. It was just Misty's broken bike that she had stubbornly demanded that he repaid her for. She even made the excuse that she only stuck with him for all of his adventures because she wanted him to repay her for the bike. Ash wasn't stupid and knew that that wasn't the case. Maybe he was attracted to one of her qualities, physical or not. The way she always wore her ponytail to one side, her dedicated love for water Pokémon, her stubborn phobia of bug Pokémon, her competitiveness and strong will, how when she screamed or yelled in rage an entire stadium would die down into silence, her massive strength that she always found to beat people with that paper fan or that annoying red mallet, the way she stood like she was the boss of everyone, how she was so friendly and spoke so sweetly when she wasn't fired up or mad or even the way she held those little Pokémon in her arms so gently. Ash had definitely never thought about that. The first time she'd held a Pokémon that way was when she first obtained Togepi. That took his memories back to the day when they all had a tournament with Team Rocket to see who would have the baby Pokémon. Even though Ash had won Misty got the Togepi because it refused to be owned by anyone else. And when Togepi evolved in Togetic and left to look after the Togepi of the Mirage Kingdom she'd filled the space in her arms with an Azurill. Ash really couldn't say why she'd done that in any other way except that she needed to have something to cradle. It had become like a habit for her and her arms never seemed to get tired. Maybe that was her maternal instincts already setting in. He started to think about how well she'd fare as a mother.

Delilah picked the cucumbers tenderly and looked over to her son. He was staring at the hills covered by a low mist with a small but bright smile on his face and a sparkling shine in his eyes. Her mood was brightened by this change in Ash's demeanour. As he turned back to the garden bed and continued to weed it he muttered something in low voice that Delilah almost didn't catch but only just managed to.

"…A good mother."

Was he talking about her or another woman? Maybe he was talking about a girl! Delilah put the last of the cucumbers in the basket and took it inside to put it on the kitchen table. She'd occasionally thought that his sad demeanour was caused by the sudden finish of his journey and that he wasn't ready to settle down for even a moment. He was still young, only a teenager. But that little snip out of his thoughts had made his mother think otherwise. Perhaps he was thinking about getting married? Goodness! And having children? Oh my. Maybe Ash was ready to settle down.

She picked up another basket that was on the table and went back outside to start picking the tomatoes and all the while was debating with herself. Should she talk to him about it, or should she leave it? She was afraid that if she didn't intervene in some way he might never find someone to love. Most boys his age were already trying to get girlfriends but Ash was definitely different. She decided she'd keep quiet about it but be so subtle that he'd never notice.

The closest town to Pallet town was Jacaranda town. It was only a short bus ride away and was a bit bigger than Pallet town. There were some things in Jacaranda that just weren't present in Pallet. For example there was a shopping mall… Pallet town didn't have that. Residents of Pallet town usually took a trip to Jacaranda at least once a month because luxuries like shampoo and perfume could never be bought in the tiny town. Delilah's first idea to get on the bus to Jacaranda came to her when she noticed that Ash's clothes were getting too small for him. She hadn't bought him new clothes since she'd bought him a new travelling outfit and his entire wardrobe was literally getting far too small. So she put all of his old clothes in a box – except for his favourite cap that he'd won in a competition – and organized a day to go shopping for new ones and while they were there, Delilah might as well do some shopping of her own.

It was while they were at the mall that Delilah noticed a teenaged girl standing outside a clothing shop for older women all by herself. At her feet was a grass-type Pokémon that Delilah couldn't name but her son probably could. Another thing Delilah noticed was that the store the girl was standing in front of had a huge sale on! This was the chance Delilah needed. She approached the teen with Ash tagging along behind her, completely distant.

"Hello there," Delilah said sweetly. The teenaged girl turned to her. She was a lovely-looking girl with bright red hair and brown eyes. She dressed more appropriately than most girls her age and had only a few freckles on her cheeks. "I couldn't help noticing that you were standing here all by yourself. You're not lonely, are you?" Delilah asked.

"I am a little bit," the girl replied honestly. "My mum's been in the shop for hours. She's going crazy over all of the bargains."

"You know, I don't think I'd mind browsing around a bit myself," Delilah admitted. "Ash, would you mind waiting with this lovely girl? Just for a little while." Ash nodded and Delilah skipped into the clothing store excitedly but she kept an eye out for the pair of teenagers standing outside.

Ash stared at the girl for a moment. His gaze trailed down to the Chikorita at her feet and then back to her face.

"Hi," she said pleasantly. "I'm Naomi. Can I know your name please?"

Ash was quiet for a while. "I'm Ash."

"It's nice to meet you Ash," she replied. "And your Pikachu. It's so cute! Does it have a nickname?"

Ash shook his head.

"My Chikorita does. I call it Chilli. Don't you think that name is cute?"

"I suppose," Ash said. "I've never really thought about nicknaming Pokémon and I don't do it anyway."

"Nicknaming Pokémon is so much fun," Naomi told him. "It's thinking about the nickname that's the most difficult part but it's also the most fun part. Than after that calling your Pokémon is always fun and so addictive. I never refer to Chilli as Chikorita when I'm talking about it because I'm so used to using its nickname."

"That's… interesting."

Delilah's inner self was jumping for joy. She seemed to have hit the nail on the board with this one. Ash and the teenaged girl were hitting it off just the way Delilah had thought they would. Slowly she was losing her concentration on the way her little scheme was going when she started to find things that she liked a lot. When she finally decided she'd buy three outfits and paid for them she looked at the entrance to the store. Ash and the girl were gone! Delilah grabbed her new clothes and ran out of the store determined to find them. She might have called the police if she hadn't found them eventually outside an ice-cream parlour. They were sitting at a table with a milkshake each and their Pokémon in their laps. Ash was smiling while he talked to her and she smiled back so Delilah decided she wouldn't interrupt. At a turn in the conversation Ash asked a question and the girl looked very surprised, almost disgusted but her expression softened and she laughed when Ash explained. She gave him her reply with a smile. Another woman approached the couple and started talking to the girl. The woman and the girl – obviously mother and daughter – walked away with each other, leaving Ash sitting at the table all by himself.

Delilah was curious to know what kinds of things Ash had talked about with this girl. So on the bus ride home she asked, "what were you and that little girl talking about, Ash?"

Ash snapped out of his trance and looked up at her. "Oh, you mean Naomi? She reminded me of Misty a little bit but she was so different."

That wasn't the question Delilah had asked but she had an answer she was satisfied with so she let it slide. "How so?"

"She's devoted to the Pokémon type she loves and she doesn't like bug Pokémon or carrots."

"What are some of the things that make her different to Misty?"

"She thinks Tentacool are disgusting."

"… Oh…"

Ash's new clothes fit him a lot better than his old ones but Delilah was still concerned. While she was watching him do the dishes with his back turned to her she looked closely at his clothes… they were quite dark. Ash had always preferred dark clothes over lighter ones, even when he was little he picked blues over reds and purples over yellows but he was also a fan of bright clothes. These colours were more subdued and a lot darker than Delilah believed was his preference. He might just be going into a new phase in his life. There were a lot of teenagers who wore dark clothes at this stage in their years. It was also common for them to wear makeup too. What did they call themselves again? Emo… or something like that. Delilah really couldn't keep with teenage fads. She could understand now why her neighbours told her that it's always easier to take care of children over teenagers.

While she was sitting up in bed late that night she sighed and massaged her temples. She'd been doing too much deep thinking these past few days since Ash had returned. Delilah only wished there was someone she could talk to comfortably with about the problems Ash had. Maybe she was the one who needed a partner, not Ash.

Ash sat out on the front yard with a hand brush and his Pikachu. He was supposed to be grooming his Pokémon but instead he was staring up at the hills with their golden-leafed branches. Pikachu was curious of its trainer. It had never seen Ash wear a long black jacket before. The wind was particularly nippy today and there was complete cloud cover. A little boy with a Mudkip suddenly came up to him. He had tanned skin and dark, spiky hair. He looked at Ash's Pikachu just when Ash had decided to start brushing it.

"That's a pretty Pokémon," he said.

"Thanks."

The little boy kept staring and cocked his head to the side. "Are you a Pokémon breeder?"

"No, I'm just a trainer," Ash replied.

"My big sister is a Pokémon coordinator. She said that I should be a breeder so that I can make her Pokémon prettier. Can a Pokémon breeder make Pokémon prettier?"

"If they're good," Ash answered.

"Do you know any Pokémon breeders?"

"I do… and he's pretty good."

"I bet his Pokémon look really pretty then," the boy said. "Did he make your Pokémon pretty the way it is?"

"Pikachu has always been like this. I think it's just because it's healthy. A really healthy Pokémon will have a nice coat."

"But Muddy doesn't have any fur."

Ash looked down at the Mudkip.

"Mud!" it said to him.

"No… but Mudkip is a different Pokémon completely. Mudkip should have shiny skin if it's healthy and you can keep it healthy by making sure the skin always stays moist."

"What does moist mean?"

"It has to be a little bit wet," Ash explained.

"Bobby!" called an older teenaged girl. She had the same colour skin as the little boy but slightly lighter hair in two ponytails and blue eyes. A Bulbasaur hopped along at her heels and continued to run towards Bobby when the girl stopped at Ash's gate. "What have I told you about walking into people's yards without their permission? That's so rude."

"It's okay," Ash covered for him. "I let him in. He just wanted to ask me stuff about Pokémon breeding for his sister's sake."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, suddenly brightening and jumping towards Ash and Pikachu. "Are you a breeder? You must be because of the state of your Pikachu's coat."

"He's not a breeder, Kiyomi," Bobby told his sister. "He's a Pokémon trainer. It's completely different. But he does know someone who is a breeder and he tells me that I should keep Muddy's skin healthy by keeping it moist."

"So you do know a breeder!" Kiyomi exclaimed.

"Why is it so important?" Ash asked.

"I'm a Pokémon coordinator so I need my Pokémon to always be at the top of their condition and their game when they're competing. If I had a Pokémon breeder to help me it would make winning the contests so much easier."

"I suppose that reason is plausible," Ash murmured. "But your Bulbasaur already looks great."

"I know my Bulbasaur has the potential to be even greater than it is right now," Kiyomi argued. "That's why I'm looking for a Pokémon breeder to help it."

"Well then good luck with that."

"Where does your Pokémon breeder friend live?" asked Bobby.

Ash pointed his thumb over his shoulder in a completely random direction that wasn't even the right direction for the city he named. "Over in Pewter city."

"What! That far away!" Kiyomi moaned. "Do you know anyone who lives a bit closer?"

Ash shook his head. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"That's fine," Kiyomi sighed. "Bobby's going to do his best to become a Pokémon breeder anyway. Right, Bobby?"

Bobby nodded excitedly.

Ash watched as the siblings left and sighed. "That girl reminded me a bit of May and that little boy is sort of like Brock. And they reminded me of Max and May together," he told Pikachu.

"Pikachu," his Pokémon replied as if to say, 'me too.'

Delilah watched the heavy dark clouds outside from indoors with a hot cup of tea in front of her. Mimie was happily sweeping up the kitchen. Delilah could hear its happy singing in its own tongue. It was windy outside and already dark and Ash wasn't home. A while later it started to rain. It was soft at first but then it became harder until it was a full-fledged downpour. She could hear a faint ringing but it was so distant to her. She wondered where Ash could have gone and then suddenly Mimie was standing in front of her.

"What is it Mimie?"

Mimie made a gesture that looked like a telephone. Delilah got up and went to answer the device. "Hello, Delilah speaking? Oh, hi Tracy."

Tracy waved to her on the camera. "Hi. I just called to make sure Ash got home okay."

"Do you know where he was?" Delilah asked suddenly and full of concern.

"Yeah, he was here at the lab. He said he wanted to visit all of his Pokémon and catch up with the professor."

"Is Professor Oak doing alright?" Delilah asked. "I haven't seen him lately."

"He's fine. He recently sent this kid off with his first Pokémon. I've never met such a brat! He thought he knew everything about Pokémon. Anyway, Ash should be on his way home. We offered to let him stay the night but he said that you might get worried."

Delilah jumped slightly when the door slammed open and then shut again. "That must be him. Thank-you for your concern Tracy. It was lovely chatting with you."

"That's alright Ms Ketchum. Bye."

Both lines hung up. Ash had probably run up to his room already… or to the bathroom getting Pikachu and himself dry. Delilah sighed for the umpteenth time that day. She couldn't fix her son and it bothered her a lot.

For Delilah the season changed quickly and before she knew it, it was winter. The days were darker and shorter and it snowed and awful lot this time around. It kept Ash busy, shovelling the garden path since there were no leaves on the trees to rake anymore. Ash's sad aura seemed to have filled the house by now. Even Mimie and Pikachu were feeling a little bit down and not as enthusiastic.

Then one day, when the snowfall was light and the breeze was cold someone knocked on the door. Delilah was about to go and get it but Ash was ahead of her. Standing at the door was small party of people that Ash knew very well: May, Max, Misty, Brock, Forrest and another person who seemed to be a friend of Misty's. They were all dressed warmly for the dark, cold day.

Delilah watched them all sitting around the kitchen table having their own conversation. Ash seemed happier than ever and Delilah suddenly realized how the change in Ash was caused.

"Misty, who's your friend?" asked Ash.

"This is Jayde," Misty replied. Jayde had a long fringe that almost completely covered her eyes and wore dark makeup and clothing.

"How'd the two of you become friends?" May questioned. "You look like completely different people."

"I came first in a beauty contest ahead of Misty's sisters," Jayde replied with a lot of attitude showing through her voice, "even though I dressed like trash. Her sisters were bitchy about the whole thing."

Azurill bounced around on its tail on the floor with Pikachu chasing after it.

Delilah sat down in the living room with a smile on her face. Whenever Ash left she was patient and always waited for him to return. This time she was hoping that he would stay for a long time so that she could have him all to herself for a while but that was never going to happen. He hadn't quite found what he was looking for and if he had to go away on another long journey to find it she had to let him. Ash would never stay with her until he went and got married or had children and he would probably never even get married and have children. But he would always be the son she was most proud of because he was her only son. His goal was a lot harder to achieve than they'd both realized. He had more spark left in him than she'd realized and she also found that she had only a little bit less faith in him than she'd realized but people can only get so close to one another in any relationship. There will always be secrets told to friends and kept from family and vice versa. Delilah even thought she was a bit foolish not to realize this sooner.

He had to be a Pokémon master and she had to be a mother who loved him and cheered for him no matter what.

Only one little note thing: I don't know about turf-boarding really, I forget what they called it but I call it turf-boarding. That's when you get a snowboard or any other board that doesn't have any wheels and you ride it down a hill that has really nice, soft, slippery turf. Where I come from people don't actually do it because it's too dry for the grass to grow nice and soft, so we go snowboarding and skiing at the beach on the soft sand! It's so much fun.

This is the first Pokemon fic I've posted on so I would really like some reviews. I know it's a bit dark but so what. It's got a kind of happy ending.