Hi! This is a Pearlshipping story that takes place right after the Sun and Moon series.
"We're finally back home in Kanto. Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash cheered before running off forwards, full of eagerness. He quickly ran across the lush green grass that overlooked the area of Pallet Town. Once again, Ash Ketchum was home. Pikachu smiled as he stayed perched on Ash's shoulder.
Ash was so excited to be back home; he couldn't wait to see his mum and tell he about his latest adventures in Alola. He knew she'd be so proud of him when he would show her the shiny trophy that he'd received for winning the Alola League.
He'd competed in many leagues, but each time he'd fallen a little short, each time he'd won nothing. Although it was frustrating, he never let those defeats upset him, instead he used them to try and motivate himself to do better next time. However, this time he'd won a league. He'd fought hard and managed to win the Alola League. He'd worked hard for it, and the trophy he bought home was a reminder of his great feat.
After a short run from just outside the edge of Pallet Town, Ash and Pikachu had arrived outside the tidy garden that lay in front of his mother's home. The house sported a pale green roof with bright white walls. Ash reached out without hesitation, pressing his index finger against the doorbell adorning the front entrance to the cosy house. Ash was expecting his mother to answer the door, then get super excited to see him again.
The wait was not long for the door to swing open, however, his mum wasn't the one who opened it. Standing in front of the door were several people who he knew.
"Ash, welcome back!" A Female voice exclaimed, leading Ash inside the house. "Congratulations on your Alola League win, you were awesome! It's so great to see you!" Dawn exclaimed while reaching her hand up for their signature high five.
Ash was smiled and responded, "It's great to see you too, Dawn!" Ash replied while high fiving her.
Just then, Ash was pulled into a huge hug by none other than Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum.
"Ash, you're finally back home!" The mother exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you, I saw your Alola League battles, I thought you truly deserved to win the title. Oh, I'm so happy and thrilled that you won. Ash was now beaming at seeing how happy his mum was, it was great to have her fully support his goal and choices.
Once Delia let go of Ash, he gazed around the room, looking at all the people there, all of who he immediately recognised. He noticed Brock, Dawn, Tracey and May all standing around the room. Ash's mother then spoke.
"We decided to get some of your friends over here to celebrate your amazing achievement. They're going to stay over for a few nights. Oh, and we're going to play a couple of rounds of bowling tonight at the Pallet Town Bowling alley," Delia explained.
"That's so great, I'm looking forward to that!" Ash exclaimed.
"That's good to hear. Now, why don't we have some lunch?" Delia asked while looking at the long table that was adorned with a variety of fruit, breads, vegetables, rice, pasta and much else that she had cooked. All of Ash's friends didn't waste a minute taking a seat, scarfing down one morsel after another.
Dawn was faced opposite of Ash, which gave them the perfect opportunity to talk to each other.
"Dawn, how's your contest carer been going since we last met up in Unova?" Ash asked, "I bet you won a Grand Festival, right?"
"Well, I flopped at the Johto Grand Festival, I only finished in the top 16, however, I made a good recovery in Hoenn. I finished the winner of the Hoenn Grand Festival." Dawn explained.
"Great job, Dawn, I knew you'd win a Grand Festival, especially since you were awesome in the Sinnoh edition and came so close to winning it," Ash exclaimed.
"Thanks, I got most of my skills, like the Ice Aqua Jet combination, and inspiration from you," Dawn replied with a slight blush finding its way to her cheeks. The both of them stared at each other for the next few seconds, Dawn was about to break the silence when suddenly, a light tapping noise could be heard.
Brock tapped on his glass of water with a metal teaspoon, then proceeded to give a toast…
"I'd like to congratulate Ash on his much-deserved success at the Alola League, cheers!" Everyone briefly tapped their glasses of water together before Brock continued. "And now that I see most of us have finished eating, let's go and get ready for the game of bowling!"
"Awesome! I haven't played a game of bowling since I was last in Hoenn, which was many years ago!" May exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Everyone rushed from the table excitedly, except Dawn, who sat there feeling disappointed that Brock had, un-intentionally, stopped her from saying what she was going to say to Ash. She wanted to tell him how much she had missed him, and whether he still remembered the lyrics to their duet they had formed together when they were bored one afternoon during their Sinnoh adventures together.
"Oh well," Dawn said to herself, "I can always speak to him later tonight at the bowling alley." She then went upstairs to prepare for tonight's trip to the bowling alley.
The next chapter will take place at the bowling alley.
Thanks for reading! See you next time!