A/N: This story switches the chronological order of Ash's XY/Z Journey with his Sun & Moon adventures. Also, for the first couple chapters the writing is a little wonky, as I was still finding my footing as an author. But I promise the future chapters will have a much higher overall quality. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! ~ Future Zeptzy.
Ash is coming in on a high! After winning both the Alola League and the following exhibition match with his Alolan father-figure, he's feeling great. He loves Alola with all of his heart, but his wander-lust call's out to him. So, he now he finds himself on a plane ride to the next region- This one in particular being Kalos.
"Alright Pikachu! It's finally time for our next journey!" He feigned excitement by jumping in air and pumping his fist.
He had heard about Kalos from Professor Burnet, she had name dropped it a couple times. A brand new region meant new adventures and opportunities for our hero. So of course, he couldn't not go and compete in the gym challenge.
It had been a while since he had been to actual gym, the mere thought managed to get his blood pumping!
With his and Pikachu's faces squished against the glass plane window- he stared out at the ocean below.
It was time for another Journey- and he couldn't wait to get his feet on the ground.
Lumiose City
"Ugghhhh" called out a pink haired girl as she flopped down onto her bed. Arceus, her life was boring. Sure, being the queen of Kalos had some cool perks, and she got to do what she loved for a job ... but besides that, she found her life so to be so... dry. She spent most of her time practicing performing and interacting the media. There is nothing more straining then practicing for hours on end only to be bombarded by those pesky reporters. They followed her everywhere she went, putting her "personal life" constantly on display for the world to see. Well, it wasn't like she had much of the aforementioned "Personal life" but she liked to pretend it was interesting.
Because In reality- It really, really wasn't.
She had a set schedule for her day to day routine. There was never a falter in it, always following it to a tee; Thanks to her manager.
Over and over; rinse and repeat. Her life was a cycle.
"Speak of the devil" The girl muttered into the pillow she was face down on when her manager opened the door to her room.
"Quit sulking Aria, you have a performance to prepare for" The older woman said as she made her way to Aria's bedside.
She pushes up her stylish grey sunglasses with her left hand.
Aria sighed and rolled over. Her untamed, watermelon pink hair sprawling all over the place
"Would it kill you—to let me sleep in for one day?" She asked between a yawn
The woman scoffed "Yes"
Aria rolled her eyes "Of course it would..." She mumbled under her breath, hoping Palermo wouldn't hear
"You have 10 minutes to get to the gym"
Aria swung longer legs up and around the bed. She sighed as her tall, six foot three frame stood up straight, towering over the grey-haired frowning woman. (195 Cm)
"Yes Ma'am" she spoke in a sarcastic and annoyed tone. Earning herself a frown from the older lady.
10 hours later
"Wow, Check out this city! It's sooo huge! I don't even know where to go!" Ash exclaimed as he walked through the foreign streets of lumiose. His plane had landed about an hour ago and he had been exploring the city.
"Now, if I recall correctly, Burnet said to lookout for professor sycamore's lab. Isn't that right buddy?" he asked his Pikachu that sat atop his shoulder. The electric mouse Pokemon cooed in response to Ash's question
"Alright then, onward we go!" He declared to nobody in particular as he took off in a random direction. He would just walk in random directions until he found the professor's lab.
It was a full proof plan.
...
...
Okay, maybe his plan wasn't so full proof after all.
Ash groggily dragged his feet towards a large tower that seemed to be the center of town. There was a stage setup at the base. A shiny hardwood floor draped in pink curtains lined with blue-peddled flowers. Around the stage gathered multitudes of people and Pokemon. Their attention seemly on a young lady with long pink hair. She was being interviewed by a group of reporters. Ash stared at her from a distance as she talked to the reporters with a confident smile.
Ash wasn't one for fawning over woman. One would refer to him as 'Dense'. Gary once said "Ash, I swear to god- you're denser then a fucking neutron star"
Not to mention his old friends constantly joking that he has the ability 'oblivious'.
But that doesn't mean he's blind. He's knows a pretty girl when he's see's one, and holy Arceus damn did she check out.
Long pink hair draped down passed her waist, Side-swept bangs and strawberry eyes capturing his attention. She bore a fancy dress that fit snugly on her body. Revealing elegant curves that captured the attention of just-about every male in the vicinity.
Including the 'dense-as-a-rock Ash ketchum' ™Lana
The effect didn't last long as he was snapped back to reality by a thud, followed by a loud explosion. He quickly did a 180- and was meet to the site of a young man about his age standing alongside a little girl. He was a bit taller then Ash himself.
"What the heck was that?" He asked the to nobody in particular
The lemon-blonde young man, spoke up
"Oh, that ..." he trailed of before resuming "I dropped one of my newest inventions"
Ash raised an eyebrow "I'm sorry?"
The little girl beside him was the one who responded to his plea for answers. She pointed towards the ground, there laid a small and boxy looking piece of metal
"My big brother- Clemont- is a clumsy inventor who dropped his newest invention" She said in a cute and high voice
"Oh, I see" Ash responded as he eyed the box again "I- Uh- I hope it didn't break?" He spoke again, as if he was asking a question
"It will be fine" Clemont said as he bent down to pick the box up "There doesn't appear to be any exterior damage. Worst case scenario, a couple wires came lose, should be an easy fix" Clemont twirled around the box in the sunlight, double checking for any damage
'...But it exploded?'
"Oh. Alright then ..." Ash trailed off, he felt the slight awkwardness radiating off the inventor. He locked eyes with him and stuck out his hand "Hey, my name's Ash, Ash Ketchum. It's nice to meet you" Ash spoke in his usual friendly demeanor, which seemed to be enough to get a smile out of Clemont. The young inventor met hands with our hero "Clemont Citron. It's an honor"
Ash smiled and shook the man's hand for a second longer until breaking away and bending down, becoming eye level with the girl he's traveling with. He smiled warmly, she returned a smile radiating the same aura "What's your name?" He asked her
"Bonnie!"
"Awesome name!" Ash said enthusiastically as he high fives the younger girl
"Oh! Also!" The little girl spoke again, as she moved her hands to a small yellow bag perched on her left shoulder. "This is Dedenne!" As if on cue, a small, cute, pikachu-clone popped it's head out.
"Woah! Awesome! I've never seen that Pokemon before" Ash marveled as he stared at the Pokemon
The blonde inventor spoke up "You haven't?" His tone sounded surprised and confused "Dedenne are very common pokemon around here, I'm surprised you've never seen nor heard of it"
Ash broke his stare and shifted his gaze to Clemont "I've only just arrived here in kalos. I'm starting my journey here today!"
"Oh, So that mean's your a new trainer" Clemont Asked, not really as a question, but as if he had deducted it
"... Yeah, I guess you could say that"
"So, what brings you to lumiose city? If you're starting a journey in Kalos, I certainly wouldn't suggest starting here"
"Actually, I'm here looking for professor sycamore's lab. Burnet told me he could give me a pokedex"
Clemont chuckled and pushed up his glasses, causing a strange glint to appear on them (Badass anime style baby)
"If that's what you're looking for—Maybe we can be of some assistance"
"Really? Awesome! That'd be a huge help" he said, putting emphasis on the 'huge'
"Of course we can! We know this city inside and out!" The little girl cheered
"Thanks guys, that means a lot!"
"It's no problem at all" The girl followed up "C'mon" She started skipping along "Try not to be as slow as my big bro"
After running for a while, Ash had deducted that if his ability was 'Oblivious' then Clemont's had to be 'Slow Start'.
Aria let out an exasperated sigh as she placed down her phone onto the counter. Arceus damn, she hated those interviewer's. They always ask the exact same questions. It's like a single, repeating loop of absolute anarchy.
Ok- Maybe she's exaggerating a little. Key-word being 'little'
She would to tell the media to shove it, but of course, she couldn't.
Apparently that's not good for one's reputation
Who would've guessed
"I. Hate. Those. Fucker's" She said while opening the door to the dressing room, Her manager trailing a meter behind.
"Pay them no mind, they're just a part of you're routine. The media need's constant updates about things nobody really cares about"
"If nobody cared about it why do they even bother"
"Stop asking questions"
Taking seat on her chair, she let out another sigh
"How long until it start's ?"
"That's another question"
"Yeah, about a different subject"
Palermo shot a quick glance at her watch "45 minutes"
Before Aria could form a response "Do your basic stretches. I expect a absolutely extravagant performance. Everybody in lumiose will be watching"
Aria let out yet another sigh before standing and un-clipping Fennikin's pokeball
"What else is new" a sarcastic tone coming out with her words. Which only earned her a dirty look from her mentor
The Sycamore laboratory
"Ah! Ash Ketchum, Marvelous! Kukui informed me that you would be stopping by!" Exclaimed a man with long black hair, his tall frame draped in a white lab coat.
"Yep! I was just wondering if I could get myself a kalos pokedex" Ash said while standing in the entry of a large lab. His new-friends to his right
"A pokedex huh? I'm sure we could help you out with that!" The man- Proffesor Sycamore- Exclaimed once again.
He was clearly in a good mood.
Matching the positive vibe emitting from the man, Ash smiled and thanked him "Thank's that's be a huge help- I just hope I'm not being to much of a bother"
"Of course not! Part of my job is giving new trainers a partner Pokemon and Pokedex, so this is no big deal"
Ash smiled gratefully as the man reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pokedex
Ash gushed over the small device once in his hands, It might've been his 7'th one but that didn't change the amount of excitement he felt once it was in his grasp. He smiled upon seeing it wasn't alive.
It was also reassuring to know that the Kalosian pokedex doesn't spend 90% of it's time watching Alolan Decetive Laki & forming conspiracy theories.
Suddenly, a small, blue, water-type Pokemon appeared behind sycamore.
"Hey, who's that Pokemon?"
Later That Night - Lumiose Tower
"Fennikin use fire-spin!, Spritzee- dazzling gleam!"
Two Pokemon moves collided in a small explosion of flame and sparkle, lighting up the night-sky as if it were a fireworks display. The background music that was once blaring stopped perfectly in sync with the explosion, leaving only 2 Pokemon and their tired trainer.
The Crowd roared in response to the spectacle. Aria smiled and panted. Her arms stil lingering in the air, palms facing the moon.
She was exhausted, performing takes a lot more energy then one might think. Even being in tip-top shape, it's still draining.
She gave a little wave and soaked up the audience's reaction- It was the thing that gave her the most Joy.
Unfortunately- that joy didn't last long.
There was a more ... fierce roar that echoed through-out the city. Followed shortly after by a purple hyper-beam lighting up the sky.
The screams of the performance audience penetrated the once still air.
Aria dove to take cover.
People cried out:
"Lookout!"
"Take Cover"
"Run for your lives!"
"Uh oh"
"Crap."
"At least endgame wasn't spoiled for me"
"I CANT DIE! I'M STILL A VIRGIN!"
"OH- Fuck!"
"...Bruh. Aint no way"
"DUCK!"
"Duck?"
"GOOSE! Wait-"
It didn't take long for the news's helicopters to arrive. Apparently, the Garchomp had scaled to the top of Lumoise tower. She wouldn't know because she was cowering behind a piece of rubble.
After about 5 minutes of sitting in a crouched position, she got up. She took a survey of the area. Buildings and roads were torn up. People were scattered along- looking up at the tower. She eyed a group of people, and recognized two of them.
Palermo and Professor Sycamore.
She ran her way over, making sure to keep her hands atop of her head just-in-case. A otherwise useless safety precaution she had learned in grade school.
"Palermo! Professor!" She called out- grabbing their attention.
Standing among the two adults she recognized, were three others. There was a blonde little girl, who looked to be the younger sibling of the young-man next to her. Aria recognized him as-well, he was lumiose city gym leader. In the middle of them was another young-man who appeared to be same age as Clemont.
When she got to them, they all had different reactions.
Palermo Sighed in relief, glad her successor was still alive and kicking.
Sycamore smiled weakly, trying his best to remain positive. Mainly because the current situation was anything but 'Marvelous'
Clemont looked shocked, seeing a celebrity running around scared and frantic during a crisis was certainly strange. As the media often painted them as deity's above regular people. It was certainly grounding. But he, of course, had more pressing matters to attend to.
The little girl beamed with excitement- clearly forgetting about the rampaging Garchomp."Woah. You're Aria!"
The short ravenette with the Pikachu gave her a once over and turned away. As if he couldn't care less. His sights clearly set on the Garchomp nearing the top of the towers.
She had never gotten that kind of reaction before. Even during a crisis such as this- people still stopped to stare.
Palermo hugged Aria tight the second she got into the group.
"Palermo! What's going on?" She asked through a muffled voice- courtesy of Palermo's designer jacket.
"From what I gather Garchomp's being controlled by a collar of some sort-"
"It was team rocket! I saw them!" The girl exlaimed
Clemont pushed up his glasses "It's true, I also-"
Clemont was cut off by the Ravenette trainer in the back of the group "Alright! I've had enough of all this! Can't you see Garchomp's in pain! We can't just stand here and do nothing!"
His Pikachu responded with a sound of agreement.
The professor turned to Ash "What do you plan to do-" But he was already gone- running full speed ahead towards the tower- a Froakie in tow
Clemont reached out "Ash wait! You can't-" Only to be stopped by Sycamore.
"Leave it- there's no stopping him"
It didn't take long for Ash to find way to scale the tower.
"But professor- what if he get's hurt?!" The little girl exclaimed, holding her hands up, gesturing towards the giant building.
As the boy was scaling the tower, she could almost feel the determined Aura flowing off him all the way from the ground.
Palermo eyes the boy with a look of indisputable eviction "Does he have the IQ of a potato? Who in their right mind would climb to such heights without safety equipment"
Aria watched in horror as one of the piece's of the latter snapped. Luckily, Froakie was there to save him using his froubles.
The professor sighed "Is there any police on scene?" he looked around and spotted only a single officer jenny.
"Let's just hope Ash can pull his usual magic then-"
That comment earned him a couple looks.
"What? I'm quite the optimist"
Aria clenched the fist over her chest. Her anxiety spiking through the metaphorical roof. She had no idea what was happening up there, but the stray hyper-beams going off gave her a pretty good idea.
She didn't know what do to do.
She didn't want to stand around like everybody else, but what was she supposed to to?
Nothing. That was the reality.
She hated that reality.
Nobody likes feeling useless.
"PIKACHU!"
His voice echoed throughout the entirety of the area surrounding Lumiose tower. The platform beneath the electric mouse-Pokemon had gave out.
His trainer didn't even hesitate.
One-step, then two.
The next thing everybody knew- he had taken a nose dive of the very same platform that had given out a second prior.
"Ash!/Oh No!/Holy Dunsparce!/Dumbass/ THIS IS NOT MARVELOUS!" She heard the multiple reactions from the people around her- but Aria could only gasp and stare.
'Is he... is he gonna-'
The second the boy had gotten his Pikachu- he wasted no time. He flipped his body around and called upon on of his Pokeballs.
All within a fraction of a second, he had done said flip around, un-clipped a pokeball, threw it and saved himself by bringing out a massive-fire breathing ... dragon?
With a mighty roar, a massive fire-breathing Fire/Flying type materialized and swooped in, catching the boy on his back mere meters from the ground. The less then a second from becoming gravity's latest victim.
Charizard made haste with his rescue attempt and caught the boy long before he became nothing but a puddle on the black-top. Much to the releif of all spectators
It then proceeded to land the boy on the ground— safe, sound & completely unharmed.
It seemed to be scene ripped directly out of a dream, or a miraculous miracle, but it was not a work of fiction. It indeed, was reality.
She let out the biggest sigh of aptitude and relief. Happy he didn't go splat.
Aria found herself standing behind the group of people who had approached Ash. Bonnie, Clemont and the professor being in the front.
"Are you alright?" Bonnie frantically Asked.
Ash simply nodded and scratched Pikachu's cheek.
"Yep. If Pikachu's alright then I'm alright too! Isn't that right bud?"
"Pi-Ka-chuuu~"
"Are you crazy?!" Clemont practically yelled. His bony arms waving in the air sporadically
Ash just waved off the older frantic lemon-blonde and gave a nonchalant shrug in response "Depends on who you ask"
He looked extremely calm for somebody who just took a nose dive off the top of lumiose tower.
Ash then gestures towards a now grounded Garchomp and Froakie.
"You guys need to calm down. Froakie and Pikachu managed to save Garchomp. Pikachu's all safe now and everything's great!"
Ash then walked passed the flabbergasted crowd and approached Aria.
She looked down to meet his gaze. The top of the boy's head didn't even reach her shoulder, yet he didn't seemed bothered by it.
'He's a lot shorter then I thought-' ...Isn't the hero supposed to be big and strong? Or was that just in fairytales?
"Hey there! Sorry for the lame introduction before— I was just worried for Garchomp"
She was about to tell him it was alright and he need naught worry— but was beat out by a frantic Bonnie.
"Holy Freaking Caterpie! It's Aria!"
For the next 39 seconds, Bonnie then proceeded to fangirl, leaving Clemont embarrassed, Ash confused, the professor amused and Palermo beyond annoyed.
Then, as if a tidal wave crashing over a small beach, Bonnie realized she was missing a crucial step.
Aria was wife material..
..And Clemont needed a wife.
The stars have finally aligned!
"Oooooh~ Aria!" Bonnie did a elegant twirl and landed in-front of the Kalos region celebrity. She was in a proposing position. Her arms extended forward and her face morfed into a look of plead. "Won't you please take care of my brother! I think you'd make a dependable wife for him! Not to mention you're the Kalos queen! It's perfect!"
"Hehe. Ici nous aller. Marvelous. Another one of Bonnie's sudden proposals"
"Huh?"
"W-wife?" Aria recoiled back.
"The Kalos Queen?" Ash was just growing more & more confused
"What in the fu- "
"BONNIE! Please! I told you to stop this a million times!"
A mechanical Aipom arm then proceeded to pick up the little girl. It had come from Alemont's back-pack of poorly named inventions.
He was now carrying her and walking away, feeling a whole slew of mixed emotions ranging from shame to embarrassment. It was bad enough when she did that on regular girls ... but on the Kalos queen. Oh God.
"Geez, this is so embarrassing! Why do you always do this?!"
The little girl crossed her arms and huffed "because I need to find you a dependable wife!"
"Who even gave that idea! Bonnie I'm only 18!"
Their voices grew quieter as they gained more and more distance.
Ash starched the top of his head "What was that?"
The professor shrugged "She does that sometimes, it's best to not question it"
"Noted"
Ash then turned to the pink haired girl. A questioning look in his gaze as he peered up.
"Bonnie said something about you being Queen..."
"I mean, Kind of-"
Ash stared at her for a second "-Kalos has royalty?"
He quickly bowed and apologized "My sincerely apologists- I did not mean to be disrespectful"
Aria giggled- confusing poor Ash even more "I think you mean 'Sincerest Apologies'."
Ash stared at her yet again- his piercing Auborn eyes leaving their mark on her strawberry pink ones. He then recoiled in embarrassment "Sorry! I'm not all that good with fancy words & stuff y'know... or just words in general" He scratched the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.
" It's fine, I'm not actual royalty, you don't have to apologize"
Ash clutched his chest and let out a breath "Thank goodness— the last time I had to bow and it was weird "
The last time?
Ash extended his hand "I'm Ash Ketchum. It's nice to meet you"
"I'm Aria, its an honor-"
Their hands touched.
Fireworks.
Call her cliché, but she felt something run through her body that could only be accurately described as sparks of electricity run through her entire upon making contact with the boy. Causing little explosions to go off in her heart.
She jumped back and sputtered, beyond flustered— it was like those encounters she's read about in one of those cheesy romance stories. What she dubbed to be the 'first touch sparks'... or whatever.
She looked up to him— to see if he had any reaction.
He did posses one, but it was not what she was looking for.
The poor boy was just confused.
"Uh?"
Ash darted his eyes towards the Pikachu on his shoulder "Was that you buddy?"
'So he did feel it too!'
The electric mouse Pokémon shook his head.
Ash then turned to meet Aria.
"What the heck was that...?" He mumbled under his breath.
Ash pulled his hand away.
Aria just stared at him "Did we— did I— Oh my"
Suddenly Bonnie appeared out of nowhere.
"Hold it!"
She jumped up in between the teen and adult.
"I felt a disturbance in the force— What. Happened. Here?"
They both stared at her blankly. Having yet to respond to her appearing out of thin air, now somehow holding a magnifying glass and wearing a detectives hat.
Palermo felt like gagging; they clearly both forgot that 'static electricity' is a thing. Although, with the boy, she wouldn't be surprised if he had never even heard of 'static electricity'. She could already just tell he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
The professor just smiled while muttering his favorite word "Très bien! Marvelous!"
Aria was trying her best not to get flustered. This was like the beginning to a romance story. (Pfft. Not like she has read any before or anything... she just heard it from a friend... yeah a friend!)
Both had somehow gotten-over Bonnie appearing out of thin air.
Whilst Clemont could be seen running in the distance. Slow as a slowpoke.
As for Ash? Well he was just so confused.
Maybe Pikachu did accidentally shock us? I mean... he said he didn't but what else could've happened?
Ash just shrugged it off "Yeah. It was probably Pikachu— sorry about that Aria."
Ash bowed in apologized in the traditional Kantonian way.
Aria nervously waved him off "Its Alright Ash— I'm sure Pikachu didn't mean to"
Pikachu tilted its head to the side confused. "Pikaa?"
Aria fiddled with the end of her sleeve.
There was no need to worry, those sparks were just Pikachu...
Right?
It didn't take a genius to see that was anything but the case.