Chapter 2: Ash's House
A/N: Hello everyone, I hope that you all are enjoying this story so far as I certainly am enjoying writing for this story. Sorry for uploading a little too early, it is just that I have been having way too much fun with writing this story. Without further to do… let us get ahead with the story….
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Once Ingrid stepped out of the lab, she could not help but take in the scenery around her. She saw a beautiful town in the distance and she even saw a flock of spearow flying over the town. Her bulbasaur seemed to enjoy the site too as Ingrid thought it would be best to let her bulbasaur walk alongside her.
"That town over there is called Pallet Town and I live right in that white house with the red roof over there," Ash said, gesturing in the direction of his house. "Ah yes I see it" Ingrid said as she noticed Ash's house in the distance.
Both Ash and Ingrid began making their way down the steps leading up to the lab but as Ingrid was doing so, she noticed something that she did not notice before. "Crap, I am walking with just my socks on" Ingrid muttered to herself. "Huh? What was that?" Ash asked Ingrid. "Oh! It is just that I just remembered that I am not wearing any shoes at the moment" Ingrid replied. "Oh no, that is not good. Look it is okay since I can carry you with ease to my house" Ash said. "It is alright Ash because I think that I am fine like this" Ingrid replied. "But are you sure?" Ash asked with a concerned expression on his face. "Positive" Ingrid replied.
Eventually the two made their way down to the gate at the entrance to the lab and the gate opened on its own for them to leave. Once out of the lab, Ash and Ingrid both made their way across the bridge which Ingrid stopped to look down at the river to see if there were any water type pokemon but to her surprise, there were not.
The two both did some more walking from here on out as Ingrid looked around to observe her surroundings. To her, Pallet Town was peaceful and quiet as it was a far cry from the loud and noisy atmosphere of the city in which her university was located. Being in Pallet Town alone made Ingrid miss living with her parents, her younger brother and the family dog in their three story house in their quiet small town of Cold Spring, New York, similar to the peaceful atmosphere that this town has to offer.
"Ah yes and finally we are here!" Ash announces as he and Ingrid both walk to the front door of his house. Ash then opens up the door to his home and he, with Ingrid trailing closely behind, comes in.
"Mother! We are home!" Ash announces. "I am coming dear!" Ash's mother shouts as she then frantically runs down the stairs and straight to her ten year old son who is standing at the bottom of the staircase waiting for her.
"So how was the visit?" Delia asked Ash. "Oh it was fine…" Ash replied as while he and Deilia were just talking with each other, Ingrid decided to take a look at the pictures hanging around the wall of Ketchum residence. While looking at the photos, Ingrid noticed one photo that really stood out to her from the rest.
This photo appeared to show a young Ash Ketchum, around the age of seven or six with his mother beside him. Then Ingrid noticed a tall man with brown hair, wearing a red and white jacket and even wearing a red and white cap with an emblem of some kid attached to the front of it. Ingrid assumed that this man was Ash's father so she began to closely inspect the photo.
"Brown hair, red and white cap, red and white jacket. No! Just no it can't be!" Ingrid thought to herself as the realization suddenly hit her.
"Is… is Ash's father… Red?" Ingrid thought to herself as she could not believe the revelation that just hit her.
"It has to be Red! I mean that man in the photo fits Red's physical description so it just has to be him!" Ingrid finally thought to herself.
Before she could think further about the photo, Ash mentioning her name snapped her out of her thoughts and back into reality.
"Ingrid I want you to meet my mom and mom I want you to meet Ingrid," Ash said to his mom and Ingrid as the two ladies both turned to face each other.
"Wow Ash's mom looks gorgeous" Ingrid thought to herself.
"Hello there my name is Delia Ketchum and I am my little Ashy's mother. It is also a pleasure to meet you" Delia introduced herself as Ash just blushed from embarrassment. "Hey there, I am Ingrid, and this here is my partner, Bulbasaur. It is also a pleasure to meet you" Ingrid introduced herself and her bulbasaur. "Why hello there Bulby!" Delia said as she rubbed Bulbasaur's forehead, eliciting a happy sound from the grass type pokemon. Ingrid and Ash both could not help but smile.
"Ingrid will be staying with us for a while, mom" Ash said to his mother as she had just got done petting Ingrid's bulbasaur. "Of course I am perfectly with that" Delia said as she turned to face Ingrid. "So Ingrid, you can stay up in Ash's room if you like," Delia said to Ingrid. "I am fine with that, thank you Mrs. Ketchum" Ingrid replied. "You are most certainly welcome" Delia replied as Ingrid began following Ash upstairs to his bedroom.
As Ingrid was walking up the staircase, she turned back to see the picture of Ash's father one last time before she continued walking up the stairs.
Eventually, Ash and Ingrid arrived at Ash's room as Ingrid could not help but look around. She noticed so many things from all of Ash's gym badges Kanto through Unova, the snorlax beanbag and even the poliwag pencil sharpener to name a few. "Welcome to my room" Ash happily said. "Which bunk do you want to sleep in?" Ash asked Ingrid. "I think I will choose the bottom bunk," Ingrid answered. "Alright then, I guess I will sleep on the top bunk" Ash replied.
Ingrid then looked over her shoulder as she saw her bulbasaur excitedly running around the room as it appeared to be very curious of its new surroundings. "Hey Bulbasaur! Please slow down!" Ingrid pleaded. "Eh it's fine. It is okay to let your bulbasaur explore my room as it is just very curious that's all" Ash said as he put his bag down right by his bed as he hopped onto the bottom bunk with his pikachu doing the same shortly after. Ingrid then looked over as there she noticed a globe sitting on the desk near Ash's bed.
"Hmph… maybe if I take a look at that globe over there then maybe I can learn more about the Pokemon World" Ingrid thought to herself as a lightbulb popped up in her head.
"Hey Ash! Is it okay if I just analyze that globe over there since maybe it will be a great way for me to relearn this world's geography?" Ingrid asked Ash. "Sure, go for it," Ash replied.
Ingrid then walked over to the globe and picked it up as she began to analyze it. Much to Ingrid's surprise, the Pokemon World's geography is very similar to that of Earth's.
Ingrid noticed many landmasses that all looked too familiar to continents back on Earth such as Africa, Europe and even Asia as well.
She also noticed a landmass that very closely resembled Japan as she figured that this is where the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh regions would all be located since they were all based on different parts of Japan after all.
Ingrid also noticed a landmass that looked a whole lot like the UK but then she recognized it as the Galar Region and very close to this region was an area that upon closer inspection. Ingrid realized that area was the Kalos Region.
Not too far away from this area was a set of islands that made up the Alola Region, which was located pretty close to the Unova Region.
Ingrid then finished analyzing the globe as she put it back on the desk and walked over the snorlax beanbag and slumped down on it. She then patted her lap for Bulbasaur to come over which it did then it curled up on her lap as she began to gently stroke its head which it enjoyed.
"You are beginning to remind me of my family's golden retriever back on Earth" Ingrid thought.
"So Ash, is it okay that we watch a little bit of tv since maybe it will help me relearn this world?" Ingrid asked Ash. "Of course! Besides, I haven't watched tv in a while now for all I can remember so maybe I too want to know what is going on" Ash replied as he walked over to the table, grabbed the remote and turned the tv on. The channel that came on appeared to be called the Pokemon Battle Channel and it cut to show an aerial shot of a big pink stadium crowded with thousands of spectators.
"Is that… Wyndon Stadium from Pokemon Sword and Shield?" Ingrid thought as she saw the all too familiar stadium on tv.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the second round of the Masters Eight tournament in the World Coronation Series! I hope that you all are looking forward to today's matchup!!" The announcer said as the crowd erupted into cheers.
"Now let us introduce our competitors! First up… she is the Sinnoh Region champion, her garchomp is a formidable opponent! Give it up for Cynthia!" The announcer introduced as the elegant looking woman Cynthia stepped out onto the battlefield.
"Geez, Cynthia not only looks gorgeous in real life but she also looks really intimidating as well as I remembered how I struggled so much with trying to defeat her on my Pokemon Black save file when I was younger" Ingrid thought.
"Next up… he is the Hoenn Region Champion, his metagross is a formidable opponent! Give it up for Steven!" The announcer introduced as Steven Stone himself stepped out onto the battlefield.
"Wow Cynthia and Steven!" Ash excitedly said. "Have you ever met them, Ash?" Ingrid asked. "Of course I have! Well Steven I have only really known him for a short time but Cynthia, I have interacted with during my journeys in the Sinnoh and the Unova Regions" Ash replied.
"This match will be a three-on-three battle! Now without further to do… trainers send out your pokemon and let the battle begin!" The announcer excitedly said as the battle soon began.
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About halfway through the battle, Ash excused himself to go to the bathroom which Ingrid didn't mind. After a while however, he came back as for a second Ingrid suspected him for being out of the room for a long period of time. But then she shrugged it off, thinking that Ash had to use the bathroom very badly.
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"Wow, that was one heck of a battle!" Ash just simply said as he stretched his left arm. "I'll say, those champions both really know how to throw a good battle but Cynthia especially since she won in the end" Ash added. "I know… just watching them both battle like that makes me wonder if there are stronger trainers out there," Ingrid commented. "There probably are," Ash replied.
"Ash, Ingrid! It is time for dinner!" Delia shouted from downstairs. "Alright I am starving! Let's go Pikachu!" Ash happily said as Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder as he began running out of the room. "Alright Bulbasaur, let us go have something to eat" Ingrid said to her bulbasaur as a happy sound elicited from its mouth and it began following Ingrid out of Ash's room.
Eventually, Ingrid and Ash both arrived in the kitchen in which Ingrid saw Delia setting down what appeared to be a cheese pizza that had toppings shaped like a pokeball in the center of it.
Ingrid also saw both a Mr. Mime and what appeared to be a helioptile which if that pokemon belonged to Alexa then Ingrid was sent here sometime before the events of the X anime then it had to be when Ash returned to Kanto from the Decalore Islands. Ingrid's suspicion about Alexa being here with Ash was confirmed when she saw the brown haired woman herself taking a seat at the end of the table with Professor Oak sitting across from her.
Ash took a seat next to Alexa, meanwhile Ingrid took a seat at a lone side of the table. Ingrid could not help but look at all the food in front of her. She saw nachos, what looked like fish, bread and…..
"Is that jelly?" Ingrid thought.
"So Ash and Ingrid, what will you both like to drink?" Delia asked Ash and Ingrid. "Orange juice is fine," Ash answered. "I am okay with water" Ingrid answered as Delia gave them both their beverages and then took a seat across from Ash.
"Oh Ingrid. I am sure that you haven't met Alexa yet haven't you?" Ash asked. "No I haven't" Ingrid replied. "Alright well Ingrid this is Alexa and Alexa this is Ingrid" Ash introduced as the two ladies made eye contact.
"Hello there I am Ingrid and I just got my first pokemon from Professor Oak earlier today" Ingrid introduced herself. "Well it is nice meeting you, Ingrid. I am Alexa and I am a journalist. I am also from the Kalos Region" Alexa introduced herself.
"So Ingrid, I was wondering. How have you and your bulbasaur been doing?" Professor Oak asked. "Oh we have been both doing just fine," Ingrid replied as she looked over to see Bulbasaur eating its food while interacting well with the other pokemon. Which was enough to bring a smile to Ingrid's face. "Well that is good to hear" Professor Oak said.
"So mom I have something important to tell you" Ash said as Delia just gave her son a blank stare. "See tomorrow, Alexa and I will be heading out of here. We have already bought our plane tickets and everything and I plan on continuing my journey to become a pokemon master" Ash added.
"Tomorrow!?" Delia exclaimed. "Yeah, that's when we are going to be heading out of here" Ash replied as Delia just had a blank expression on her face. "The Kalos Region is up next and I'm going to win the league over there. You know I've still got my dream and this is the next step mom!" Ash said with courage building up in his voice.
"Oh Ash, sweet innocent Ash. Only if you know how badly you will get your ass kicked by Alain in the Kalos League" Ingrid thought.
"Then you will have to win all of the Kalos gym badges first. You can start out by challenging my little sister's gym" Alexa added. "Your little sister?" Ash asked. "Right, she's a Kalos gym leader" Alexa replied. "Wow! Then you've gotta take us there as soon as we arrive 'kay?" Ash asked, standing up from the chair that he was previously sitting in. "Pikachu!" Pikachu happily exclaimed.
"You're still up for new challenges aren't you?" Professor Oak asked. "You bet!" Ash replied. "Pika!" Pikachu once again happily exclaimed.
Delia took a deep breath before beginning to speak as a smile entered her facial expression. "Of course, I'm really not surprised" Delia just simply said before getting up from where she was previously sitting and walking away from the table and pretty soon, out of the kitchen as a whole.
"I think I just said too much," Alexa said. "Well after all, the boy just got home," Professor Oak said before putting some food in his mouth.
Delia then re-entered the kitchen with what looked like a sour expression on her face.
"Hey mom" Ash just simply said.
Delia's face then suddenly turned to a smile as she then pulled out both a hat and a blue and white shirt from behind her while saying, "ta-da!!!".
Ash's face then turned to a smile as he ran towards his mother. "I figured this was coming so I made you some new clothes for your new journey" Delia said as she put the hat on Ash. "Aw thanks a lot mom" Ash happily said as he noticed his pikachu quickly approaching from behind.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu happily exclaimed. "You like it buddy?" Ash asked as he bent down to be close to eye level with Pikachu. "Ha! Ha! Me too!" Ash said. "Pika!" Pikachu happily exclaimed.
"I knew that you'd want to go right away so I had them ready," Delia said. "You're the best" Ash said as a happy sound elicited from his pikachu. "And Ash, good luck on your Kalos Region journey. I'll be waiting to hear that you won the league" Delia said once more. "Thanks, I will, that's a promise!" Ash replied as his pikachu once again made a happy sound.
Alexa and Professor Oak both laughed before happily looking at one another.
"Well, I want you to eat plenty tonight so you can be ready for your trip" Delia said to Ash. "Sure!" Ash replied before everyone all just laughed.
Once Ash sat back down, he turned to me as if he had something to say to me. "Oh Ingrid, I have something exciting to tell you" Ash said as Ingrid wondered what he had to tell her. "See about when I had to use the bathroom while watching tv. The reason why I took so long was because… I had to buy you a plane ticket so that you can come with Alexa and I to the Kalos Region" Ash excitedly said as Ingrid could not believe he just told her.
"Wow Ash you really didn't have to, I mean… you really did not have to do this" Ingrid said. "Oh no it's fine, besides. It will not be fun without you. So what do you say? It is okay if you don't want to come since I'll understand" Ash said. "I'll go," Ingrid replied. "I mean I've always wanted to see the rest of the world anyway" Ingrid added. She then turned to face her bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur! Are you looking forward to heading to Kalos tomorrow?" Ingrid asked as a happy sound elicited from her pokemon.
"Alright well then don't you two forget since our flight leaves from the Noivern Airlines Terminal at Viridian City International Airport at 9:00 am tomorrow morning" Alexa said. "Ah yes, right! We still need someone to drive us to the airport though" Ash replied. "I can drive the three of you there," Professor Oak said. "Thank you professor" Ash happily replied as he then began digging into his dinner.
Ingrid was now looking at the food in front of her as she was so excited to eat this food in front of her.
"I am about to eat like a horse or as the saying may go in this world, I am about to eat like a ponyta" Ingrid thought before she began digging into her food.
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Ingrid entered her bed as she was reminiscing about the day that was to come. She could not believe that she was only in the Pokemon universe for about less than 24 hours and yet she was going to a new region this early.
She was excited for her adventures to come as she knew for a fact that she would be meeting friendly faces such as Clemont, Serena and Bonnie. But she would also be meeting the bad guys aka Team Flare. Most especially, having to deal with Team Rocket's annoying antics a lot which will get annoying very quickly.
She was however thankful that Delia was kind enough to give her a new pair of shoes after finding out that she was only in her socks.
But one thing that had been on Ingrid's mind, was how her family might react to her disappearance. She really missed her life back on Earth even if it was miserable with school and all that. But this was her new life now and she assured herself that eventually she would return to Earth but that for now, she had to survive in this brand new exciting but kind of scary world.
Ingrid then turned to face her bulbasaur who was resting on her stomach. "Good night Bulbasaur" Ingrid said as she then fell asleep in preparation for the big day that was to come.
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A/N: Hey y'all, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter as I had a fun time writing it. I tried my best to adapt a few scenes of the final episode of the Best Wishes anime. I also thought that it would be fun to make Red, Ash's father. Also in this canon, Gary's father is Blue. Even though Red and Blue both will not be appearing in this story, I thought that this was just a fun little detail to add. I hope that you are all looking forward to the next chapter as in that one, we will be traveling all the way to the Kalos Region as I will be adapting episode one of the X anime. Have a good day!