DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN POKEMON IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM
Notes:
For this story, I primarily took inspiration from the stories Play it Again, Ash by MrWriterWriter and Ashes of the Past by Saphroneth. This story is essentially my take on the whole time travel genre with Ash actually growing up. I liked the Play it Again, Ash by MrWriterWriter but it hadn't been updated in several months and had a few holes in the plot. Thus I decided to put my own spin on things. Note that this is NOT PLAGARISM.
Now onto the Story.
Pokémon speech in Pokémon language = "Italicized"
Arceus speech = "Bold"
Human Speech = "Regular"
Thoughts = 'thoughts'
Chapter 01 – Facepalm
In a higher plane of existence, known as the Hall of Origin, outside the realm of people and most Pokémon, stood, Arceus, the creator. Here, he would observe the goings of the mortal world and on this day, was focused upon his chosen, Ash Ketchum and his ascension to the rank of the first ever champion of the Alola region.
But as the creator observed his chosen, he began to wonder why it took him so long to successfully win a league. Surely, for a mortal blessed in the ways of Aura and who had successfully dealt with the world's criminal scum and their crazy plots to screw up the world, winning a league should have been child's play. Yet something was off.
As He probed deeper into the soul of the Chosen One, the sight of enough suppressors to limit the young man's potential to that of a mere child was rather concerning. The suppressors also seemed to limit his biological state to that of a ten-year old.
While the concept of time was rather limited for an immortal entity such as himself, where a few decades passed as mere minutes to his perspective, he definitely knew that humans usually aged, and that Ash Ketchum should have definitely at this point, been around 19-years old.
He recognized the energy signatures of the suppressors, that of some of His children, Dialga, Palkia and Ho-Oh.
Summoning the Lords of Space and Time and the Guardian of the Skies, who in surprise stated, "Hoopa stole Silver's crate of poffins, not me!".
"Umm, we shall come back to that matter later, but for now, here me my children, for I have seen something concerning."
"For some inexplicable reason, the Chosen One, Ash Ketchum, happens to be affected by mystical suppressors that have limited his cognitive and biological state to that of a ten-year old human, and it just so happens that these suppressors have your energy signature upon them.
Care to explain?"
"It's your fault."
"No, it's yours."
"No, it's Ho-Oh's."
"No, it's not my fault."
"Yes, it is."
"Ok it might be my fault but it's for a perfectly good reason."
"Care to explain Ho-Oh."
"Yes Father" replied Ho-Oh. She then dove into her tale of how an innocent wish, made by a ten-year old Ash Ketchum on the day his journey began, wishing for his adventures to never end. How upon hearing such an innocent wish, decide to grant it, and enlisted Dialga and Palkia to aid her in placing the suppressors to prevent him from growing up. And how they took a part of his lifeforce required for ageing and placed it in its own dimension and timeline, which had taken the name of Red.
"So in essence, because of a wish made by the exhausted and slightly delirious Chosen One on the first day of his journey, asking for his adventures to never end, you, Ho-oh, made a perfectly innocent and accidental wish come true by taking half of the Chosen One's soul and essence responsible for him ageing, maturing and growing up, gave it to Palkia who in turn, put it in an alternate reality where that have goes by the name of Red, as then asked Dialga to suppress the Chosen One's ability to age and grow, and placed a mnemonic damper on everyone around the Chosen One, such that they would never realize that he never grew up. This in turn, is why the Chosen one has never won a League properly, had some very near brushes with death, apparently forgets about his older Pokémon for some reason, and is still an innocent virgin who has yet to register that at least six different females throughout the 9 years of his journey, are interested in MATING WITH HIM!", sighed Arceus, who at this point, could really use a glass of vodka with Lum berry essence.
"Please tell me there is a solution to this because at this rate, the next time there is a major catastrophe, the Chosen One might fail because HE's STUCK AS A FRIGGIN' TEN-YEAR-OLD!"
"All we need to do is bring both versions of the Chosen One here, merge them and their timelines back together, and reset everything back to the day the wish was made."
With a clap of thunder, two humans appeared in the Hall of Origin. One from the Alola region, and one from the peak of Mount Silver.
Just as Ash Ketchum was reeling from the thrill of beating Professor Kukui and Tapu Koko, a sudden flash of light blinded him, and he appeared in a large hall, where before him stood several legendary Pokémon. They felt familiar, yet he could not for the life of him recognize them.
Next to him was an unusual yet familiar looking trainer, who oddly looked a lot like him, except for his hair, which was a light brown and his facial structure. Heck, he could have passed for his cousin to the average eye.
Before he could ask what was going on, the unknown trainer, for some stupid reason, chucked a Poké ball at Arceus, who promptly crushed it.
The unknown trainer shouted "Hey! Pokémon aren't supposed to stop Poké balls".
He then proceeded to chuck Poké balls at the other legendaries, who in turn, bonked them right back in his face. Arceus, having enough of the byplay, knocked him out.
If Arceus could facepalm, He would. From what Ho-Oh had told Him, He knew it would be bad, but didn't expect it to be to this degree. He needed the advice and expertise of a master of the Psychic Arts to look into their minds and see how screwed up they were.
Recently appointed Master of the Psychic Arts, Mewtwo appeared and asked "Lord Arceus, … Ash, what brings you here?".
"Are you another new Pokémon?"
"Why does Ash Ketchum not recognize me?"
Arceus knew that this was going to take a while, and he could really use that Lum berry Vodka.
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One long explanation later…
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Looking into their minds, Mewtwo made the startling observation that Ash struggled to remember events more than a year old, being the reason as to why he didn't recognize any of the Legendary Pokémon present. Meanwhile, Red lacked any social life and had no existence aside from being a trainer.
"May I proceed with the merging."
"You may"
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The screams of Ash Ketchum having his mind forcefully repaired of all the damage done due to the suppressors along with the merging of Red's psyche with his own were rather unpleasant in Mewtwo's opinion. The removal of the suppressors also unleashed Ash's innate capabilities with Aura, which helped speed up the healing process.
Within Ash's mind, all the emotions that had been suppressed for all these years, the angst, the horniness, the ability to care for people as more than friends and family and most importantly, the cognitive growth that should have happened as he aged were all restored.
As he processed all these new emotions, he felt like breaking down and sobbing for the rest of eternity. So many foolish mistakes, so many bad choices, and all the ruined chances for love that he could have had. Overall, he felt like a terrible person, and didn't know how he could go back to his life now.
"If it's any consolation, you were not the only one affected by this whole fiasco."
"Mewtwo!"
"Hello Ash, it has been a long time my Chosen One."
"Arceus, Ho-Oh, Dialga, Palkia … what… what is going on?"
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Another long explanation later…
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"You mentioned how I wasn't the only one affected by this whole wish screwup."
"Ah, in order to ensure nobody around you noticed that you were not growing up, Ho-Oh placed a rather questionable mnemonic dampener on everyone around you. This also messed up the ability of the people around you to have stronger than friendship level emotions towards you in the long term."
"What do you mean questionable?"
"Questionable in the sense that if Ho-Oh had made a mistake, no one would know you even existed."
Ash really wanted to bang his head against the wall and cry. He pulled himself together and asked the big question, "what now?"
"Now Dialga and Palkia will be merging both your timeline and Red's timeline and restoring reality. You will now be sent back to the day this whole mess began, the day you left for your journey."
"I will also be joining you, as your life tends to be anything but boring" replied Mewtwo.
"But first, you must be educated in the ways of Aura, for which Mewtwo shall aid in teaching you."
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One crash course in the ways of Aura later…
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"Now that you have been educated in the ways of Aura, it is time to send both you and Mewtwo back."
"So, we will essentially be on our own", sighed Ash, who was going to seriously miss the friendships he had made, both human and Pokémon.
"Do not fret, for we will not be alone" replied Mewtwo.
Before Ash could ask what he meant by that, in a flash of light, the Hall of Origin disappeared, and he knew only darkness.
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As the sun rose over Pallet town, a Mr. Mime was sweeping the front porch of a quaint two-story home. In the first bedroom of said home, an alarm rang signaling it was 7:30 am in the morning.
A familiar voice spoke "Ash, I believe it is time to get up".
"Uhh…". Cracking his eyes open, Ash Ketchum took in the sight of a familiar green ceiling. He let out a yawn before the voice spoke again.
"Ash, today's the day remember."
Recognizing the voice, he noticing it came from across the room. "M…Mewtwo".
"I believe that Mew-owth would be more appropriate for my current form".
"Wait what?"
As Ash looked across the room, he saw what appeared to be a shiny Meowth, golden fur and all, but with unusual yet striking purple eyes instead of the normally seen narrow pupils. it also happened to be standing upright like Team Rocket's Meowth.
He stared at the Pokémon in silence for a few moments before speaking out "So it wasn't a weird dream".
As a spark of realization hit him, a slew of memories came to the forefront of his mind.
His mother introducing an 8-year-old him to said shiny Meowth, who stayed with the Ketchum family ever since.
A 9-year-old Ash listening to a story about a Mime Jr his mother had ever since she was a little girl, who was now a Mr. Mime currently sweeping the yard.
A 13-year-old Ash receiving the Talk from his mother and being unable to look at any of the girls in Pallet town for a week without blushing.
A 15-year-old Ash Ketchum receiving his accelerated education diploma along side Gary Oak, making them legal adults and official Pokémon trainers, granting them access to the legendary Pokédex made by Professor Oak and one of the three unique Kanto starter Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
These were just some of the many memories that went through Ash's conscious at that moment.
As he came out of his memories, Mew-owth asked, "are you alright Ash."
"Yeah, I'm fine, but some of these memories I didn't have before. What's going on with that? And why does my voice sound different?"
"First, in order to safely merge both timelines and restore order, certain events were changed. For example, instead of you catching Mr. Mime and leaving him with your mother, Delia Ketchum got a Mime Jr egg when she was your age many years ago, who evolved into a Mr. Mime a few months before you were born."
"Is that why I remember Professor Oak saying that only Gary and I would get starters, because I clearly remember that the starters were already taken when I went to get them the first time around."
"That was a result of Professor Oak hiding the other starters to maintain the timeline due to the whole Celebi incident that occurred with Sam in Johto."
"So, should I go on time or be late like before? I don't want to not get Pikachu as my starter".
"Trust me, everything will work out just fine and going early or late won't change anything."
"And what about my voice sounding different?"
"Look in a mirror and you'll see."
As Mew-owth went down to the kitchen he thought about the real reason he had decided to come back with Ash. Arceus had offered him a chance to be reunited with Amber, who would be reincarnated in this new timeline, not as a clone, but as an actual person, though he had warned that it could take several years for her to be reincarnated.
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As Mewtwo entered the kitchen, he heard Delia Ketchum call for him. According to this timeline, he was a wild Meowth who had hung around the Ketchum residence for the past 7 years.
"Meowth dearie"
"Yes Mrs. Ketchum"
"Has Ash woken up yet? Today is his big day."
"He should be down in a few minutes. I'll go check anyways."
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Meanwhile in Ash's room…
Looking in the bathroom mirror, the first thing that stood out was that he was definitely not a ten-year-old. According to his memories he was now 15, which would explain his deeper voice. Secondly, he felt the urge to look for something missing, something under his bed.
In a small cardboard box labeled childhood comics, were a pile of magazines that were definitely not child friendly comics. There were several editions of the PokéStar magazine, a series of adult magazines. What was most striking was the label on the front page, a picture of a rather familiar redhead who was definitely blessed by puberty, making a rather seductive pose wearing a blue two-piece that barely covered her blessed bust.
The sight of it brought some unique emotions that needed to be worked out.
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Mew-owth knocked before entering Ash's room. When Ash called "come in, I'm ready", he was treated to the sight of Ash wearing a pair of black jeans and a black undershirt, with a blue and red open jacket. The outfit was topped off with the familiar sight of a Pokémon expo hat, and a pair of fingerless gloves with red accents.
"How do I look?"
"Like a trainer running late to get his starter".
Looking at the clock, and realizing that it was nearly 8 a.m., Ash raced out of the house straight towards the professor's lab.
Behind him, he could hear his mother calling "I'll have breakfast ready for you."
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As Ash made his way to the professor's lab, he noticed a crowd form outside the lab. Though unlike the original timeline, it was much smaller, and mostly made up of cheerleaders.
The one person he didn't want to run into stood in his way and called him out. "Look at what the Pidgey dragged in" came the unmistakably smug tone of Gary Oak. "So where's your …"
"Shut up Gary, I'm not in the mood to deal with you. So if you'll excuse me, I have a starter to get."
"Hey! You know who you're talking to" said one cheerleader.
"Yeah, he's Gary Oak." Said another.
"Don't care. So, if you'll excuse me ladies and Gary."
Gary Oak had seen and experienced many things in his life. Ash Ketchum ignoring him was not one of them.
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As Mew-owth caught up to him, he said "was that really necessary?"
"Yes, it was. While we may have made up after the Silver Conference in the original timeline, until then he didn't hesitate to remind me that he was always ahead. Maybe now, he might grow up earlier."
"Understandable. For now, let's go pick up your old friend."
They entered the lab to find the professor jolting down something on a clipboard. Upon noticing them he looked up. "Ah, Ash come in. And Meowth…if only I could study you" he muttered under his breath.
"As I said before, if you can catch me, you can study me."
"No…" the professor sighed.
"Um, what's going on between you and the Professor Meowth."
"He saw me having a discussion with the local Pokémon. Well after fangirling…"
"I did not" huffed the Professor. "I was simply astonished at a sight of a Pokémon speaking fluently in English."
"After he went fangirling, he asked if he could run a few tests to see if it was possible to replicate. I told him he could if he could capture me".
"I came close one time…"
"He pretended to be a Caterpie and failed at it – rather miserably."
"Now this is great and all, but I came to get my starter Pokémon."
"Ah yes. As I mentioned before, you and Gary were the only ones to earn the right to one of the three elite Kanto starter Pokémon this year, along with access to the Pokédex and the services of my ranch to keep Pokémon beyond the six-Pokémon limit."
"Gary already left with the Squirtle, so you still have the choice between Charmander and Bulbasaur." To which he opened two Pokéballs sitting on a counter, releasing the two Kanto starters.
Unfortunately, the professor's hand slipped, and knocked over another pokeball, one with a familiar lightning bolt on it, releasing the Pokémon within.
In a flash of light, a familiar electric mouse appeared and cried out.
PIKA-PI
"Wha…?" Samuel Oak's jaw dropped when the wild Pikachu that he had caught the night before for chewing on the building power lines zipped on to Ash's shoulder and nuzzled in his cheek like they were best friends.
"Hey Ash! What's going on? Why are we at the lab? You look older for some reason? Weren't we just in Alola last I checked?"
"Calm down Pikachu, it's a long story. And Professor, I'll take Pikachu as my starter."
…
"Um Professor?"
"Uh…Ok, I guess. Pikachu seems rather attached to you, and I had a hunch you wouldn't pick a traditional starter. Along with Pikachu's pokeball, here are 5 complimentary Pokéballs and your Pokédex, which will also function as your trainer ID."
"Hey Ash, can I thunderbolt you?"
"Sure, why not."
Piikaa…CHUUUU
Mew-owth threw a protect just as Ash was enveloped in a blast of electricity that lasted for a few seconds.
"Feel better buddy?"
"Ahh, just like old times. Now let's hit the road."
"Thanks professor, I've got to go home for breakfast and get packed before I leave. Bye!
"Good luck Ash. Huh… that was unexpected" Samuel Oak commented, as he noticed several things - Ash had been unharmed from that thunderbolt, it appeared to him that Ash had understood what Pikachu said, the very Pikachu that had been antagonistic to everyone else had become really friendly to Ash meaning Ash had a very natural talent with Pokémon.
It must have just been his old age, but he was definitely sure that that Pikachu was a lot more fit that it was yesterday, as he remembered catching a chubby Pikachu, not a lean and fit one. Must have been seeing things in his old age.
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Meanwhile, across the globe, at the exact same time Ash Ketchum woke up in the new timeline, many Pokémon suddenly evolved and gained skills and knowledge they didn't have before.
A pokeball on the waist of a trainer who dropped out of school and went by the name of Damien exploded, releasing a massive Charizard that soared into the skies outside of Celadon, leaving said trainer with third degree burns and life-threatening injuries.
A Snorlax sleeping off the coast of the seven grapefruit Islands started floating across the ocean towards Kanto.
An injured Chimchar surrounded by a trio of violent Zangoose was enveloped in powerful flames, resulting in the Zangoose being roasted by an Infernape using Flare Blitz.
A Snivy in the lab of Professor Aurea Juniper pops out of her pokeball and promptly activates the two Pokéballs next to hers releasing a Pignite and an Oshawott, who then promptly work together in an attempt to access the Pokémon Storage System.
A Froakie in a nursery in Kalos wakes up late in the night and promptly evolves into a Greninja, who then proceeds to break out of the facility.
Like this, many more incidents occurred that day all over the world.
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