Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, I do not have any rights to Pokémon and I do not make any money from writing these stories/poems.
Written For: The Pokémon Writing Diversity Challenge, If You Dare Continued Challenge, The Leap Year Challenge.
Prompt: Hope, Write a slice of life fic, Write an expanded cannon fic.
Learning And Excitement
Depression wrapped around Delia as she stared down at the picture with a soft, sad smile on her face. All around her curious eyes stared at her, searching for clues and answers to her reaction of the picture that they had handed her. Letting out a soft sigh Delia looked up from the picture with eyes full of memories and turned to look at her precious Ash's old school teacher and the current school class.
"Is there a problem, Delia?" Mr. Johson asked as he stared at Delia with concern dancing in his eyes. "I hope we did not upset you or say anything we should not of. I know that sometimes there can be unspoken rules amongst trainers and their families about something's..."
Whispers broke out amongst the group of students at their teacher's words as they curiously glanced between their tutor and the person they were visiting. As Delia gave Mr. Johnson a small smile and shake of her head the classes attention returned to her, their eyes stayed glued on her while they tried to make sense of just what was going on around them.
"No, it is fine Mark...it is just that I sort of miss my precious Ash, it has been so long since I have been able to see him last in person," Delia said with a depressed sigh as she became lost in her own small word ignoring the new wave of curious whispers and begs for more information to come her way. "But that is how things are for us who have to wait at home for our loved ones to return home from their journeys. One of my few joys is being able to see just how strong and mature Ash has become during his newest Pokémon Journey while also being comforted about the small fact that he is safe, uninjured and has made it back home in one piece."
"Thank you for sharing that small bit of information with us Delia," Mark said softly as he shot his class a sharp silent look which held a clear message. "I hope you do not mind me asking but is there no days like...Travelling Pokémon Trainers Return Home holidays at all? Or any similar holidays?"
Delia let out a soft watery chuckle. "I wish Mark, I dearly do but that is not the case. While both Ash and I wish dearly for some holiday like this to be real and popular it is not. Besides with how many Pokémon Trainers there are and with them all being scattered within the different regions it would be hard to find the Pokémon trainers from our home town and bring them back somehow."
"Could we not just get their family or friends to send them a letter or give them a phone call or even a text or an email?" Mary, one of Mark Johson's female students, asked curiously. "The message about the holiday could get passed around that way."
"I wish dear but it would either take too long, or with how far spread out the trainers are the letters would miss them. The best chance if anything like this supposed holiday of yours to happen and might work would be by word of mouth though our mouths and by passing on the information to Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy. It would still be hard though as it would be hard to work out which trainers are from our town and which are not."
"See everyone? A Pokémon trainers' life is not just filled with excitement and adventures, it is also filled with loneliness, angst, and painful wishing to see your home again. Does everyone now understand why with every new set of Pokémon trainers who set out just over half of them return home within the first three to four months for and become normal members of the town?" Mark said in a lecturing tone causing his class to nod their heads with wide eyes. "Your task for this term is to work out a solution to this problem for the Travelling Pokémon Trainers and their families. The person or group who manages to come up with a method that might actually work will find their idea put into action. So-"
At their teacher's words whispers of excitement broke out amongst the class. Ideas and thoughts flew between the students in a wild whirlwind as excitement and whispers flooded the room. In response Mark shot his students a proud smile before turning his attention back to his worried friend. As their eyes met Mark gave Delia a proud and comforting smile.
"See? In no time at all we will be having a new town wide holiday, one where your son will be more than happy to return home for," Mark said as he reached out and gently patted Delia on the shoulder in a comforting manner. "If you want I could see about asking Professor Oak to track down young Ash using that special chip on all Pokémon trainer's Pokedex's to see where he is and maybe use that information to phone the closest Pokecenter and leave a message for you both to talk?"
Delia let out a soft thoughtful hum. "Thank you Mark but I do not want to be a bother to my son, I bet that he is all caught up in some new and strange wonderful journey with amazing new friends and exploring exciting new places. It is best if I wait for Ash to contact me instead of bothering him..."
Delia's words washed over the room calling an unexpected hush to fall. Worried for his class Mark turned his attention away from his dear friend and back to his class. Worried and concerned eyes met him as he gazed softly at them.
"Class?" Mark asked softly, not wanting to worry his friend at the strange quietness of his class.
"You cannot think like that Mrs. Ketchum, I am sure that your son really wants to talk with you much more than he can right now," Lyla said gently and softly as she slowly took a step towards Delia with a hint of uncertainty on her face. "Does...does your son have some sort of special Pokémon Trainer mobile phone that he can use to get into contact with you?"
"No, and there is no such thing as a special Pokémon Trainer's mobile phone," Delia answered with a watery chuckle as she held back the threatening tears. "If there was such a thing then there would be connect problems with the mobile phone going in and out of any possible service areas. You have to remember children that my son and others as Pokémon trainers travel off the beaten path. They explore never explored caves and mountains and much more. They also explore the sky, underground, and even underwater with the help of their Pokémon's special moves and abilities."
"And has your son explored such places?" Malcolm asked curiosity, unable to help himself from asking as a hint of curiosity entered his voice. "Do you have any photographs that we can see of your son doing these things?"
"Malcolm!" Both Lyla and Mark snapped out sharply in warning causing the young male student to freeze and wince.
"What? I was only wondering! And I thought that it would be the polite thing to do too," Malcolm complained with a huff causing Lyla and Mark to pause for a moment. "Are you not meant to change what you are talking about if you are upsetting someone? Especially your host? Mum told me that I have to keep in mind that there are certain topics that might upset people and that I should wait for a bit until I bring up the topic again."
"I hate to admit it but Malcolm's right," Lyla said with a put out sigh making laughter and a 'hey!' to come as a reply. "We are sorry Mrs. Ketchum, we should not be asking you about just an upsetting topic. Can you please tell us how you speak with your son while he is travelling? Maybe we can come up with a way to make things easier for you both."
"Good idea Lyla," Mark said quickly as he looked between his student and his friend. "Delia, maybe you can tell us all about one of the adventures that your son told you about during his travels?"
"Well...I guess that I could tell you about the time my son brought home the berry seeds causing a new craze to catch on," Delia said with a light hint only for a surprise gasp to wash over not only the class of students but also their teacher. "I take it that you know of the berries I am talking about?"
"The berries you are on about is the ones that came from that far away region, brought to ours by a Pokémon trainer and from there...well we now have berries for both humans and Pokémon growing everywhere are the berries you are on about?" Malcolm asked in excitement as he did his best to get his words out of his mouth in a mumbled excited mess. "Your son was the one to bring back the packages of seeds that we learn about and use and see in our everyday life to our little region?"
Delia smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, he brought the seeds along with a few recipes and also several other items with him when he came back home after his journey. Just like Ash always does when returning home from travelling in another region. Just a sweet, kind and thoughtful boy."
"Wow, I bet that he saw and did not amazing things but super amazing things! The more you tell us about being a Pokémon trainer the more it sounds like you do not only capture and train Pokémon while travelling and challenging gyms and contests but you also become a rare ingredient hunter of sorts!"
"I guess you could say that but after meeting all of the different types of Pokémon trainers that my son has brought home with him over the years I have learnt that there are several different types of Pokémon trainers," Delia replied with an understanding smile on her face. "Some like to watch Pokémon while drawing them, others like to take photographs, some like to just use one type of Pokémon, some train in one spot and wait for other trainers to come to them, some trainers work in Pokémon gyms and the list goes on and on. In fact my Ash is always telling me about new types of Pokémon trainers. Just the other day when I got a chance to talk to him for the first time in a while I found out about these Pokémon trainers called Sky Trainers who like to raise flying type Pokémon and fly alongside them in the sky, both for an everyday simple fly with a tiny bit of training in it and also during a proper fully fledged Pokémon battle."
"It seems that young Ash has really not only come on in leap and bouts since he was in my class but he has also grown into a great and honourable young man," Mark said with a small smile of memories as the image of a curious four year old Ash. Hearing a soft, polite cough Mark broke out of his thoughts and turned back towards his class where another student of his, Jack, was giving him a pointed look. "What is the problem Jack?"
"Sir, just how old is this Pokémon trainer Ash? With everything that you have been telling us since we meet Mrs. Ketchum it seems like he is your age," Jack answered with a studious stare at his teacher and the person they were visiting. "But you said Ash is our age, fifteen years old..."
"Yes, I did and Ash is fifteen," Mark replied with a nod of his head, only to his confusion his class broke out in sharp surprised gasps and Jack's eyes widened. "Is there something wrong with how old Ash is?"
"Sir, if Ash is our age should he not be in our class? Here with us now?" Jack asked as a frown coloured his face. "After all the law states that we have to stay in education until we are at least sixteen years old. Also, would he of not been in our class to begin with?"
"Ah, I understand what you are saying now but to answer your question when a person wants to become a Pokémon trainer they are put on a...let's say a fast and hard track to completing their schooling that you are all doing right now so they can finish it by the time they are ten years old," Mark explained easily, enjoying the way that his class's eyes all seemed to of widened. "Also, during this time the person takes part in what I can only describe as a second school with the same amount of work needed to be put in but this time it is aimed towards gaining their Pokémon licence and getting them to know and learn everything that they will need to know for being a Pokémon trainer. As for what class Ash was in...well do you remember the young black haired child who joined us now and then who was from another class? And he always seemed to be working ahead or on harder things then you all?"
"Wait! Are you saying that the black haired kid when we were five, the one that was always happy and smiling, was Ash?" Malcolm asked in surprise as he stared at his teacher with an open mouth expression. "But...you mean that Ash, even at that age was doing all that work...wow, I suddenly feel lazy."
"I understand what you are saying Malcolm but no one has ever said that the life of a Pokémon Trainer is an easy one. Many people do it for the pure love of Pokémon or their passions or because of a burning desire deep inside of them," Mark explained with a glance at his friend as he shot Delia a worried look. "Then again this is why we teach this unit in schools for and why it is just a big one for. You all need to at least be aware, understand and value a tiny bit what Pokémon trainers do for us. They bring us back not only new Pokémon and new exciting stories to be told but they also bring back different products, knowledge, bonds with others in other regions, new items, different foods, different and new cultures and ways of doing things and so much more."
"When you put it that way Mark, I think that my Ash deserves a very big treat," Delia said happily as she sent Mark a silent thank you. "What do you think I should get him? Any ideas?"
"I think that we should do what we talked about at the start!" Lyla said quickly before anyone else could answer Delia. "We need to find a way for Pokémon trainer Ash to be able to get in contact with his mother easier or at least develop a new holiday that means he can easily come home without any problems...but what and how?"
Jack suddenly spoke. "Or we could do something where a certain amount of the Pokémon trainer's family members go out to see them but that might not be possible...Maybe a holiday to come home for?"
"A Physic type Pokémon could maybe teleport them home?" Malcolm suggested with a shrug of his shoulders. "The Pokémon could teleport themselves to the Pokémon trainer with a note written by someone saying what is going on? And the Pokémon could maybe wait until the trainer was ready to be teleported home? We could have loads and loads of Physic type Pokémon so it would not exhaust them because something tells me with what we have learnt and found out about Pokémon trainers they would be very upset and angry if anything happened to a Pokémon."
"These are all wonderful ideas and thoughts but please remember that sometimes a Pokémon trainer might find it hard for whatever reason to take part in what you plan due to what they are doing," Mark said knowingly with a wise tone in his voice. "Remember the contests, gym battles, clubs, exploring underground or underwater or places like volcano's. Pokémon trainer's might want to return here for whatever you all might have planned but they are not always able to."
"Then maybe we could get the Pokémon to wait until the Pokémon trainer is able to come with them?" Malcolm suggested with a thoughtful expression on his face. "And we could get in contact with all of the Pokémon trainers to arrange an agreed time and date so they know when to expect the holiday to take place? Maybe we can get in contact with the trainers to see when they are able to come back home?"
Lyla let out a low hum of agreement. "I like Malcolm's ideas...the problem I think is that we do not know how many Pokémon trainers there are for our town. Sir, do you?"
Mark nodded his head. "Yes I do Lyla, the answer is not a simple one. You all know when Professor Oak gives out the Starter Pokémon to the new Pokémon trainers thanks to all of the publicity that happens, but what you do not know is that there can be more than the normal three Pokémon trainers that everyone knows about. There can be any number within reason. After all while most trainers begin their journey with the normal and standard Pokémon we all know about not all of them do. Every year around thirty people of various ages leave our town, some make it and become a travelling Pokémon trainer while others find it too hard and turn back. Those who turn back are able to put their skills to use with helping to protect the town from any wild Pokémon."
"My son, Ash, did not start out on his Pokémon journey with any of the three standard Pokémon, in fact he started out on his Pokémon journey with a very adorable and spirited Pikachu," Delia said, unable to help herself a small smile bloomed on her face at the memory of the pair just after their first meeting. "They were just so cute together! They even began to play catch!"
Malcolm snorted and shook his head. "I heard from my big brother who was there that Ash Ketchum and Pikachu could not stand each other. The Pikachu kept using its electric shock attack on everyone and refused to go inside of its Pokeball. I guess that your son has released it into the wild right after he managed to capture another Pokémon, right Mrs. Ketchum?"
Delia sweet shook her head negatively. "No, in fact it is the total opposite. Pikachu and my son are as close as ever, they are almost glued at the high. From what I know and have seen when they get separated they will both do their very best to find one another again and will not stop until they do. Ash and Pikachu hold a very close bond, one that is unbelievably deep."
"It sounds like that whatever we do for our new holiday we will have to make sure that we include the Pokémon that the Pokémon trainers have or else there might be problems," Malcolm said with a small frown as he thought over not only Delia's words but also his older brother's words and what he had seen with his own eyes around town. "I never realised until now just how important and close the bond between Pokémon trainers and their Pokémon are. It makes me think of an almost family bond, one that I have with my parents or my brother...I wonder if there is a place that this big holiday can be where we can house them all?"
"We can simply hold whatever you all plan outside with a few tents, covers and such set aside ready for any rain or bad weather," Mark said kindly, his eyes shone with keen interest as he followed and watched the development of his student's thoughts. "From all of these different questions I take it that you have an idea or two that you can share with us?"
Lyla spoke first. "We could get a proper professional to help us create a special phone like device for Pokémon trainers that can somehow connect to whatever the closest network is for phones and onto a special one if they are out of range. The mobile phone could also act as a tracking device for when a Pokémon trainer gets lost or injured. I do not know how successful it would be though...what with your earlier comments and all about mobile phones."
"That sounds like a rather big project but one that I would love to see up, running and completed," Delia said with one of her normal smiles on her face. Even though she knew that something like this new mobile phone was not possible and she did not want to get her hopes up at the same time she did not want to upset or insult any of the kind children in front of her.
"I can have a word with the Pokémon trainer classes and their teacher to see if we can get together and work on this mobile phone idea," Mark said in a thoughtful tone gaining an excited cry from his class. "They might also be able to help you all think of a way for Pokémon trainers and their families to be closer and have this holiday held. After all they are all preparing themselves to become trainers and with the classes all being at different ages and levels and stages it would be a great mix."
"This is going to be amazing!" Lyla said with an excited smile on her face. "This is becoming so much bigger than I ever thought it might be...at this rate do you think that what we come up with for the holiday might not only be a class project to be forgotten on a bit of paper but to be put into action?"
"Because there are a lot of people not only in our town but all over the region who are in similar positions to myself and my son," Delia said with an understanding smile on her face at Lyla. "In the more busy and larger towns there are even groups that have been set up for people who have a travelling Pokémon trainer family member to go to and see everyone."
"See? Whatever you all come up with for this holiday will be looked at seriously it seems, as long as you do not suggest anything stupid," Mark finished as he shot his friend a thankful smile. "Now then, does anyone have any final questions for Mrs. Ketchum? I do believe that we have taken up enough of her time."
"Ohh, but sir," Malcolm complained with a wine sounding tone to his voice. "I really want to stay and talk to Mrs. Ketchum some more. I want to hear all about the many adventures that her son has gone on and about those really cool Pokémon battles that he must take part in. Can we not stay for just a tiny bit longer? Just so that Mrs. Ketchum can tell us some stories about her son? I bet that if you let us do that then everyone will be happier and it might even help us to come up with a really great idea for the holiday. Please sir, what do you say? Can we stay for a bit longer so we can hear all about-"
"While I am sure that would be nice Malcolm I am sure that Mrs. Ketchum would like to get back to her normal routine and we have to get back to the school with enough time to spare so you can all write up what happened here today, write down some suggested ideas for us to all go over tomorrow then home time," Mark said as he politely yet sternly cut his student's ramblings off. "I am sure that Mrs. Ketchum would not mind if we set up another visit with her so we can find out even more."
"If you would all like I could let your teacher know when my son is coming home next, that way you can all meet him and his Pokémon, and maybe even some of his friends from far away regions," Delia said with a soft motherly smile on her face. As a wave of excitement and agreement broke out Delia turned her attention to Mark. "Is that okay with you Mark? I should of checked with you before throwing the idea out there shouldn't I?"
Mark shook his head. "No, no, it is okay, in fact I was thinking of setting up more similar meetings like these with you for other classes and year groups. If your son is home from his travels or you get news from him maybe you could let us know? I could set it up so we can keep track of a Pokémon trainer's travels and see just how much distance they cover."
"Now that would be a great idea! It would tick off everything and more we need to learn while also making it fun!" Lyla said in excitement as ideas bounced about in her head. "Can we do it for next term? And follow Mrs. Ketchum's son from there?"
"Delia?"
"Well...Ash has just gone off to start a new Pokémon journey in the Karlos region the other day, he will, like always, give me a call as soon as he sets down in his first town of the region. I can always ask him if it is alright, maybe he could even send things back home for the class or classes?" Delia suggested as she shot Mark a questioning look. "In the mean time, as I'm sure Ash will not mind, maybe you could get everything ready? A map of the Karlos region, some books on the few types of Pokémon we know from there and such? You won't find out much to begin with as Professor Oak has asked Ash to explore and gather information on the region."
"Hmmm, this is starting to sound more and more like a very good idea, it could not only be a class thing but with how small our school is it could be a school wide activity for the assembly every day and maybe indivuial classes, this has a lot of promise. It looks like I will have to talk to the Headteacher about this," Mark said with a thoughtful expression on his face as he felt the hopeful looks of his class on him. "Could you go ahead and ask Ash for us Delia? Also, if he agrees do you think he could send us a few items from the Karlos region? That is if you would not mind playing postman for us?"
"I would not mind at all, it would give Ash's travels a new dimension to them," Delia said with one of her normal smiles causing the students to give a cry of excitement. "I will even see if Ash will not mind switching out one of the Pokémon he caught in the Karlos region so Professor Oak or I can show you all. This is getting to be very exciting, I cannot wait to see what sort of holiday's you all come up with for travelling Pokémon trainers and their families!"
"We will come up with the greatest idea ever seen! This holiday will change things for the better!" Malcolm promised with a large hyper grin on his face. "We can swap ideas with one another and make this our big project, I bet that most of us would even be willing to work on this outside of class time, like during half term and such. I have to ask though if there is any big no no's that we should not do with our holiday's...like hurting a Pokémon or calling everything they are doing for us while travelling worthless...is there anything else that we should know about, you know, just in case one of us puts our foot in our mouths and says something that we-"
"I will let you know everything that you will need to know as we go along, I promise you that I will not let you upset my son with any comments that might come from you all not knowing any better. If you say anything wrong or horrible then I will tell you, we will take this all one step at a time," Delia promised with a warm smile on her face. "At the moment all you need to know is that my son, like all Pokémon trainers care a great deal for their Pokémon, so be careful not to insult or hurt their or any Pokémon."
A chorus of 'okay!' came from the group in reply to Delia. Nodding her head Delia turned her attention back to Mark who was looking at her with an amazed look on his face. Seeing that her friend was slightly loss in his thoughts Delia spoke first.
"I will contact you and your class as soon as I get the chance to talk to my son and see what he thinks of this idea. Knowing Ash though he will be more than happy to take part," Delia said kindly causing Mark to snap back into realatity. "Can I ask...what do you have planned for your class to do next?"
"Right...errr...thank you Delia, you have been a big help," Mark said quickly as he ignored the snickering coming from his class. "Thank you again, as for us, it is getting very close to home time and we need to get back to the school so the students can get their belongings together, quickly write what they have found out today and gather their homework and go home."
"Then it was nice meeting all of you, I hope that everything goes to plan and we see each other again very soon," Delia said with a smile as the students began to get themselves ready to leave, seeing the expression in their teacher's face and the promise of home time worked its magic. "I look forward to hearing all about this holiday that you will be creating and other ideas for travelling Pokémon Trainers and their families. It was nice to meet you all."
"Class," Mark said in a tone that all of his students knew the answer too. "Before we go do you have anything to say to Mrs. Ketchum?"
"Thank you for telling us so much," the class said as one with practiced ease. "It was nice meeting you, thank you again and good bye."
End of One Shot.
And this is what I have been working on since the start of this month. I'm sorry that it caused me to ignore my other stories that people have been wanting me to update. But I am wondering...does anyone think that I should turn this one shot into a full length story? Or should I just leave it as a one shot?
