"Your Greninja is so cool! Is it your strongest Pokemon? Are your other Pokemon that strong? Of course they are, they've gotta be! Why doesn't your Pikachu stay in a Pokeball? Is it true that your Sylveon is the first of its kind?"
"Hey, calm down a minute!" Ash raised her hands, a little defensively, at the young boy in front of her, glancing at Serena with raised eyebrows.
A fan, the honey blonde mouthed from behind him, eyes twinkling.
"Let's take this a little slower so I can actually answer your questions," Ash told the boy, amused. His aura radiated innocent excitement and awe, helping her relax a bit among the strangers who had joined the group of people she knew in the restaurant. She was grabbing lunch with everyone and Gary before their next round of matches. "First off, what's your name, and what was your first question?"
"I'm Max Maple, your biggest fan," the boy said seriously, either not hearing or just ignoring the coos coming from all the adults. "And is Greninja your strongest Pokemon?"
"He's actually tied for third with Pikachu here," she replied with a smile, her Electric type grumbling but not protesting. "My strongest are Titania and Oberon. My Sylveon and Espeon," she added to clarify. "They've been with me the longest, so I've had more time to train them. But the rest of my team are still very strong, and they're all still working to get even stronger. Now, what was your next question?"
"Why doesn't your Pikachu go inside a Pokeball?"
"He doesn't like them, and I respect his wishes because he's one of my precious friends. Besides, he's small enough that it doesn't matter if he's in a Pokeball or not."
Intrigued by her answer, it took Max a moment to get back on track, though she nudged him into a chair while he thought. Soon enough, he nodded and turned back to her. "And your Sylveon? Is she the first Sylveon?"
"She's the first recorded Sylveon, yes. It's possible that she's the first ever, but either way she's still a very rare Pokemon."
"She's very pretty," a slightly older brunette girl offered, shrinking in her seat a little when Ash looked at her. She tugged at her yellow bandanna, then at her matching tank top and bike shorts. "I'm May, Max's older sister."
"Only by a few years!"
Grinning at the display of sibling rivalry, Ash quickly exchanged introductions with Max's family. She didn't even jump when a hand snatched her cap off her head from behind.
"Hey, Gary," she greeted, holding her hand out without even turning around. He snorted but obediently returned her hat, but not before he ruffled her hair, and dropped down in a chair a few spots away next to Daisy. "How long did it take you do beat your opponent?"
"Few minutes," he shrugged, viridian irises bright with curiosity. "So, heard you got another foreign Pokemon? What beastie did you trade for this one?"
Rolling her eyes as the table quieted and turned to her, Ash waved a hand at Professor Sycamore. "Technically none. Back when Greninja was a Froakie, Professor Sycamore had brought him along on the trip we met."
"And you explained to me exactly what his issue with being a starter Pokemon was, without even bothering to look up from your training notes," the man replied dryly. "He decided he would like to stay with Ashka, so I entrusted him to her. I'm glad to see it worked out so well."
"On a side note, how long have Titania and Oberon been mates?" Daisy interrupted. "Last time I saw them, Titania was still keeping his dorky self in line via excessive force."
"Good question. One I don't have an answer to, because she surprised me at three in the morning this morning with four eggs and a very smug muzzle," Ash deadpanned, shooting her furry friend a flat look. Titania tilted her head elegantly, every bit of the motion a subtle threat to shut up unless it was to say how proud she was of her and the beautiful eggs sitting cozily in their incubators. With a defeated sigh, Ash tapped Oberon's Pokeball, releasing him so he could check in with his Queen. He levitated himself across the table and into the lap next to Titania, which happened to belong to Norman, as Titania had chosen to occupy Caroline's.
"I see Oberon's as dramatic as ever," Gary smirked. He grabbed two of his own Pokeballs, releasing Umbreon and…
"You evolved Vera?" Ash looked over the slender Jolteon with appraising eyes. "She's gorgeous!"
"And she knows it," her pseudo-brother replied with a low chuckle. Vera smirked, and she and Umbreon crawled over several laps to greet their long-time friends and fellow Eeveelutions.
"Your Pokemon are all so friendly," Norman noted, slight surprise coloring his voice as he exchanged a glance of amusement with his wife, since both of them now had two Pokemon using them as chairs.
Ash shrugged, handing a pleading Max her PokeDex to silence his begging to use it, with a quiet warning to not drop it. "Since they already know everyone else at the table, you being here puts you on their 'family' list. It usually takes them a few days to warm up to strangers, but we're all already accepting of you in their eyes, so they just follow the lead. Plus, I hear several of you have complimented Queen Titania, so of course she's decided that you are suitable subjects for her," she teased, earning a round of laughter. "Also… Serena! I haven't actually met your Pokemon yet, what gives?"
"Sorry! You were just so tired, yesterday… here." Her friend pulled out her own Pokeballs, released her team of three. "This is Mimi, Kofurai, and Felix. Guys, you remember Ashka from our calls, right? And Mimi, you already know her."
Mimi beamed in response, waving to Ash before hopping over the table to Titania and thus Caroline. Kofurai flared her white fur with a soft cry of greeting, and Felix waved before he climbed up to Serena's head, both remaining with their trainer.
"Nice," Gary said, already pulling out his PokeDex.
"Oh, how cute!" Daisy squealed. "Serena, you wouldn't happen to be interested in Contests, would you? Your team would be perfect for it!" When Serena expressed her lack of knowledge of Contests, Daisy forced Gary to switch seats with her and quickly set to indoctrinating the younger girl on the career.
Seeing that everyone was returning to their conversations, Ash glanced at May. The young girl was frowning, avoiding looking too long at any of the Pokemon and not trying to enter any of the conversations around her. Sharing a slightly concerned glance with Pikachu, Ash focused her aura senses in the girl's direction.
Wariness, mild fear, confusion… loneliness. Was she... afraid of Pokemon? Ash caught Oberon's gaze, and his eyes glowed slightly as he scanned her thoughts. A brief sentence exchanged with his mate, and when she agreed, he turned back to Ash. He nodded to her request, then stared at Daisy until the teen nodded slightly and passed the incubator she was holding to Serena with a whisper. Serena then passed it to Ash, who tapped Max's shoulder and requested a seat switch. Still busy exploring the wealth of knowledge in her PokeDex, he just nodded without looking up and stood, sliding in front of her so she could sit next to May.
"So, May," she greeted quietly. The girl jumped slightly, eyes lingering on Pikachu for a moment before she met Ash's gaze. "Ever seen a Pokemon egg before?"
"No…"
"Would you like to hold the incubator?"
"... Sure," May said hesitantly, carefully hugging the tube to her. It took a few seconds for her to realize that nothing would happen, and she then relaxed, looking at the egg curiously.
"Hard to imagine there's a baby Pokemon inside of that little egg." Ash hid a smile at the slight wonder that crossed the girl's face. For some reason, she felt like she needed to show May the positive things about Pokemon. All of the Maple family were familiar to her, that strange power making her fond of them. It was possibly the nicest sensation that power of knowing had ever given her. "That's an Eevee egg, by the way."
"What's an Eevee?"
Since Max had her PokeDex, Ash just described one. "They're small, cute Pokemon with soft brown and tan fur, with pretty brown eyes. Their fur is the same colors as their egg, see? They're Normal types, but if they want to they can evolve into many other types. Titania, Oberon, Umbreon, and Vera－all the ones with your parents－all started out as Eevee. This and the other eggs are the children of my Titania and Oberon."
"They're all very pretty," May admitted after a long look at the four Eeveelutions, and then looked down at the egg with a little more interest. "Daddy spesh… spe-ci-a-lizes in Normal types. He doesn't have an Eevee, though."
"Eevee are pretty rare in most regions," Ash explained, happy to see the girl opening up and her negative aura beginning to recede. Pikachu's ears twitched, curious as to what his trainer was up to but content to watch for the time being. He slid down to her lap, nuzzling her stomach until she started stroking the fur on his back.
May followed the motion, not realizing how she inched closer in her seat. "… What type of Pokemon is that?"
"This is a Pikachu, he's an Electric type. You can pet him if you want."
"I… I'm okay just looking," May smiled awkwardly, clutching the incubator a little tighter. Her gaze flickered around the table, as if checking to make sure no one was paying attention before finally admitting to what was clearly bothering her. "I… don't really like Pokemon. I mean, I think lots are cute, but I'm not very good at being around them. I'm not like Max," she whispered. "I'm not that smart so I don't know anything about them."
"I have an idea," Ash told her, and then stood, putting Pikachu back on her shoulder, raising her voice a bit so the table could hear. "I'm gonna go see when the next round of matches will be announced. May, wanna come with me? I think they have some cute bandannas you might like to see in a stand on the way."
Confused but willing to follow along, May nodded and slid out of her chair, still holding the incubator carefully. She looked back at her parents, only moving when both nodded their permission, and followed Ash out of the restaurant.
"We're not going to check the matches, are we?"
"We will, but not yet. I wanted to talk with you first… over here, it's quieter." Ash led the younger girl to a small, out of the way courtyard with a pretty fountain in its center. Only one other trainer was there, but they were taking a nap on the opposite side. Sitting down on a bench, Ash waved May over and waited until she was settled, thinking over what she wanted to say.
"You don't have to be book-smart to be good with Pokemon," she said finally, startling her companion. "You don't have to know a bunch of facts to enjoy their company, either. Sure, it helps, but you don't have to know everything. Your brother seems to have a lot of information memorized, but you know what? That won't help him interact with Pokemon. Pokemon aren't stats you can memorize, they're living creatures who are just like humans. They have things they like and don't like, they have their own personalities. They make friends just like we do, they have rivalries, and they have hobbies just like we do. For example, my Pikachu loves ketchup. That's not in any book about Pokemon, but its his favorite treat."
May stared at the yellow mouse for a long moment, before her face screwed up as she tried to hold in giggles. She failed, bursting out into gleeful laughter that rang out in the soft breeze. "K-ketchup? Really? Why ketchup?"
"Who knows? But do you see what I mean? You don't need to feel bad for not knowing a ton about Pokemon, because there's always something new to learn anyways. You can take things at your own pace. It doesn't matter if it takes you longer, or you end up doing things differently than everyone else. You aren't them, they aren't you, and that's okay."
"Pika pi," Pikachu nodded, jumping down to the bench between the two girls, motioning to first the egg, and then May. "Pika pika chu!"
Confused, May looked to his trainer, and Ash smiled as she put together what her partner was trying to convey. It was a good idea, but she'd have to ask Titania and Oberon first. "I think he's telling you that maybe you should make a Pokemon friend of your own. You don't have to be a battler," she added, seeing the protest building. "Serena has Pokemon, but she doesn't battle. They're her friends, and yes they can battle but its mainly for protection. Some trainers battle, some compete in Contests, others travel and see the world, and others just enjoy the company of their Pokemon. Just think about it, okay?"
"... I guess," May said thoughtfully, looking back down at the incubator.
"Alright, now let's go check out the matches and those bandannas I told you about. Let me know if you see one you like, I'll get it for you since you went along with my little speech."
XxXxX
Ash sighed at her opponent as he sent out his last Pokemon, a Poison type. Oberon's tail twitched, amused, his paws tucked beneath his chest as he loafed on the top of one of the many large rocks littering the field. He had yet to move from his chosen spot, having used his psychic abilities to one-shot both of the previous Pokemon sent against him.
"And the Red trainer chooses a Nidorino! How will it fare against the young Pallet trainer's powerful Espeon?"
"Not well," Ash muttered. "Oberon, put it to sleep and have at."
Cackling, Oberon used Psychic to force Nidorino to meet his gaze, using Hypnosis and following up with Dream Eater. The red energy was leeched off the Poison type, quickly absorbed by Espeon. In a matter of seconds the sleeping Nidorino was exhausted, and the referee called the match and Ash's victory.
His work done, Oberon levitated himself back to his trainer, circling her lazily and high-pawing his partner in crime before returning himself to his Pokeball. The crowd cheered at the display, and Ash had to wonder at her luck so far. The preliminaries were intended to weed out the weakest, she knew, but she'd been matched with some borderline rookie trainers. It set a very high standard for her, one she intended to uphold as the competition got even harder. So far, she had yet to have a single Pokemon defeated, and had swept her matches with the same Pokemon she first sent to the field. Only three of her Pokemon, Pikachu included, were known to the public.
"What a display of power! Ashka Ketchum will now move on to the third round of this Pokemon League competition!"
Holding up a hand to the crowd, she nodded at her opponent and left the field. Tomorrow she would continue her prelim matches, on the grass and ice fields, and from there she'd need to research her next opponents even more carefully, although until the main rounds of the competition there wouldn't be much available. She was hoping she wouldn't go against Gary until the main rounds, but she still needed to be prepared just in case.
At least we're back to being proper friends, she thought as she made her way to the Pokemon Center for a routine checkup. Gary had given up on his strange concept of rivals after her first near-death experience. Plus, Max had been keeping his spare time occupied, as both were total nerds and Gary had lots of Pokemon for Max to meet and fawn over. On the other hand, May had decided that Ash made a good surrogate sister, so when she wasn't with Daisy or Serena she was attached to Ash's hip, often holding the incubator of the same egg Ash had first offered her to hold.
Despite Ash's worries, Titania and Oberon had found her idea acceptable; they'd even gone a step farther and offered one more egg, to make things fair, so long as Ash promised to arrange visits. Seeing as she would be challenging Hoenn's League anyways, and Norman was apparently a Gym Leader there, she had no issues with it. Luckily, all four eggs were due to hatch soon, as all the walking around and being doted on had ensured they would hatch quickly. May had even shyly asked Professor Oak to teach her how to help care for them, and despite her fears she caught on quickly.
After her stop by the Pokemon Center, Ash made her way back to Samuel Oak's large house in the League Village. Due to his position, he owned a lot of property, and thus everyone had migrated towards spending their free time at the literal mansion. There was plenty of space for the Pokemon to all be set loose, and while Ash and Gary had taken care to keep as much of their teams a secret from each other as possible, they still let everyone else meet their Pokemon.
Ash also had received several messages from Surge and Lance, congratulating her for winning her matches so far and wishing her luck. Surge had also told her to keep winning just like she'd been doing, because he was winning a lot of money off of her and he wanted to keep it that way. Of course he was betting on her. She wasn't even surprised.
She was greeted at the door by an excited May, dragged to the large living room where Titania was curled around her eggs. All four of them were softly glowing at regular intervals.
"How long?" She asked Samuel, kneeling down by her partner and scratching behind her ears, earning a hearty purr.
"They've been glowing like that for an hour or so," he informed her. So just as her last match of the day had started, then. "I expect, given their good health and the excellent care Titania has been giving them, and the addition of young May's efforts, that they should hatch sometime this evening. This is quite exciting, it's very rare for Pokemon to have so many eggs all at once, and for them to hatch so close together! It's a very nice opportunity for us to observe, we're grateful Titania has agreed to let us watch. Oh, Ashka, I received a call from some acquaintances of yours? A Misty Waterflower and a Brock Harrison. They were wondering if they could visit, as they said they haven't seen you in a while."
Surprised, it took Ash a moment to respond. She hadn't exactly forgotten about her previous traveling companions, but it had been months. As they had parted on good terms, she didn't have any real problems with them. And… now that she thought about it, it would be nice to catch up with them. They'd been good traveling companions.
"Yeah, sure. We traveled together for a bit when I first started my journey," she explained to the many questioning faces. "They're both former Gym Leaders. Are they going to come here?"
"I invited them to dinner with us, as Grace has so graciously offered to cook for our ever-growing group," Samuel said with an amused smile. "That Brock offered to help, though, so they should be here soon."
"Brock's a fantastic cook, everybody, so we're lucky." She announced. She grinned as Charmander darted over, cheering. "Yeah, you really loved his homemade Pokemon food, didn't you? I'm sure he and Misty will be happy to see you."
It was Norman who spoke up next, from his spot on the nearby couch. "It sounds like you were pretty good friends, what made you split off?"
"... When I first got Charmander, actually. Back then… Charmander's first trainer wasn't a good person, and was an even worse trainer. I needed to focus a lot of my attention on helping Charmander recover, and when you travel in a group you kind of want to interact with those people, right? I didn't have a lot of spare time, or the energy to talk to them, since I was really worried about Charmander and getting him healthy again," she explained, a little lost in those memories. She'd also been wary of humans in general, far more than she was now. It startled her to realize just how much she'd opened herself up to interacting with people. "Anyways, they understood my situation so we ended up exchanging info and going our separate ways."
"What did Charmander's first trainer do?" May asked, honestly confused. "What even makes a bad trainer?"
"He would hurt Charmander on purpose," Ash told her, very seriously to impress the severity of her words. She was relieved she could talk about this in her little Fire type's presence now, as he now understood that none of it had been his fault, and he was happy with her. "He didn't feed him enough, he beat him up, and then he abandoned Charmander by telling him to wait on a rock for him when it was going to rain.
"Misty, Brock and I found him on that rock before the rainstorm and convinced him to at least take shelter at a nearby Pokemon Center until the storm blew over. That's where we found Damien, bragging about how he abandoned Charmander. Damien was a terrible person, and even said that Charmander should have stayed out in the rain and died.
"It hurt Charmander very badly, because he loved his trainer like most Pokemon do. We made sure Damien was reported and arrested by Officer Jenny for Pokemon abuse, but Charmander took a long time to recover." Ash took a deep breath, rubbing the smooth scaled on Charmander's head. He warbled, leaning into the touch, eyes telling her that it was okay to continue. Smiling at him, she glanced up at a wide-eyed and horrified pair of children, Max having slowly approached during her story.
"Charmander was only recently hatched back then, so the abuse he went through caused some permanent damage. It's why he wears that Everstone; evolving could actually kill him. He's not allowed to battle, either, his body's too frail. But he's a very important part of my team, isn't that right, Coach?"
Charmander nodded, chortling, having accepted his lot in life and making the most of it. He'd found his place, and found joy in the family they'd built together. At Titania's soft croon, he scampered over to her, nuzzling her face affectionately, and curling around her eggs to help warm them.
Ash turned back to May and Max, resting a gentle hand on each of their shoulders. "A trainer is responsible for their Pokemon's well-being. They are our important, precious partners and friends, so it's important to treat them well. Sometimes, we meet bad people and bad trainers. If you find out that they are mistreating their Pokemon, you should tell the nearest Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny so they can help those Pokemon."
"We will," they chorused, and Max added, "I'll study the laws about Pokemon abuse so I can make sure to help the most I can."
"That's the spirit," Ash smiled, ruffling his hair, and then let out the rest of her Pokemon. Pikachu, seeing that the serious lecture was over, jumped over to May. She'd gotten over her wariness of most Pokemon, or at least the ones that didn't look scary. The girl giggled, carrying him over to the rest as they gathered around their Queen.
As if sensing the mood needed lightening, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Serena called, already on her feet and walking down the hallway. Ash could hear the two familiar voices, and Serena's cheerful greeting as she let them in. "Misty and Brock are here!"
Standing up, Ash moved towards the hallway, smiling when the two rounded the doorway. Misty brightened, going in for a hug, to Ash's surprise. Still, she didn't pull away until the redhead did, and then clasped forearms with Brock.
"Long time no see," Brock grinned, Misty nodding in agreement. "How've you been?"
Ash laughed a bit as she nodded. It had been about four months, at least, since she last saw them. "Pretty good. Had a few adventuring mishaps, but everyone's intact so all is well. How've you two been? Come on in, get settled, we've got a lot of people here so get ready to do some story-telling," she joked as she ushered them into the living room, her words causing May and Max to shuffle in anticipation. "Charmander, guess who's here?"
"Char?" He lifted his head from where he'd been snoozing, half on Titania and half on Houndoom. "Charmander!"
He was up in a flash, sprinting over to say hello to the humans he remembered helped rescue him. Both the older teens immediately crouched down to greet him, obviously happy to be remembered and missed.
"You've certainly recovered well, Charmander, your scales look great," Brock praised, inspecting the small Fire type with experienced hands. "And your tail flame is hot and bright, good."
"I'm happy you've gotten better, Charmander," Misty added with a smile, receiving a happy chirp in response, and then her eyes trailed over to the little crowd of Pokemon a few feet away. "Oh my gosh, Ash, when did Titania have eggs? How cute!"
Ash retold that little fiasco for the entire group, and then the topic eventually gave way to the 'story time' the youngest kids were so eager to hear. Even Gary, Daisy, and Calem joined in with their own memories of traveling. As entertaining as most of them were, it was actually an innocent request from Serena that sort of blew Ash's 'cover' of having a normal journey like the rest of the trainers.
"Oh, Ashy, tell us about how you found Mimi! You said you got her in the Safari Zone here, but you didn't give any details."
"I actually lucked out my first day exploring," Ash admitted. "Pikachu took point, guiding us around some of the more problematic Pokemon there, and since we weren't in any hurry we just sort of wandered. It's a real pretty place, the biospheres are super well done, and we took a break near a river. I'd set out some Poffins for a few of the Psyduck and Slowpoke in the area and had some Poke Puffs for me and Pikachu that Mimi must have smelled. She hopped out of the bushes and right over to us. Pikachu talked with her a bit, I offered her a Poke Puff, and that was that. Once I said Serena could make them too she was all too happy to be caught and sent over."
The shiny Buneary nodded, oblivious to the dark look Pikachu sent his trainer. Ash tried to shrug it off, but Gary paused, eyes narrowed.
"Wasn't that the same day you ended up fighting off Team Rocket?" He accused.
Ash winced, the motion translating as a guilty expression to the gathering. "It wasn't my fault! They sprang up out of nowhere by the lake and tried to capture all the Dratini. They already knew I was there, so I sort of had no choice. It's not like they would have just let me run off to report them…"
"You earned yourself a concussion and a hospital trip," Samuel frowned, lightly scolding. "I'm glad you were willing to protect those poor Dratini, but you really do need to be careful."
"Wait, you had more encounters with Team Rocket?" Serena demanded. "Ash!"
"It wasn't my fault! I didn't go looking for them, stuff just happened!"
"That's when you turn around and run!"
"And get sniped in the back? No thanks!"
"Ugh, Professors, please, do something about this trouble magnet…"
"I tried," Samuel said dryly. "She ended up meeting Legendary Pokemon and then getting into even more trouble. Speaking of, who wants to see a picture of Lugia?"
With everyone sufficiently distracted, Ash breathed a sigh of relief, although she stiffened when Brock and Misty dropped down to the floor on either side of her, effectively cutting off escape.
"So as soon as we're not supervising you, you go off and get into life-endangering situations with a criminal organization?" Brock murmured, concerned and a little upset.
"At least you're alright," Misty sighed, but glanced at the long-sleeved jacket Ash wore. "You're not wearing that because you're cold, are you?"
"... No. But nobody else besides Serena and Grace have seen the scars yet, and I'd kind of prefer the kids to not see them at all."
"Come help me out with cooking then, maybe make some of those Poffins," Brock said, pulling her to her feet. He spoke loud enough for the trio's departure not to draw suspicion, and Ash trudged along behind him with Misty bringing up the rear after she told them where to go. She accepted her fate, despite regretting what was about to happen.
Brock waited until they had finished pulling out the things she'd need to bake. "How bad?"
With a wince, she slowly peeled off her jacket and training gloves, avoiding meeting either of their gazes as her mess of scar tissue was exposed. She knew the ones on her wrists looked terrible, several inches wide and still fresh-looking despite the Ditto cells. Since she only wore a tank top beneath, it was easy to see how the scars continued across her back and sides. The four feathers on her chest pulsed with soft light and warmth, comforting, even as the former Gym Leaders gasped.
Tanned, calloused hands gently took her own, turning her forearms this way and that as they inspected the scars there. "Ash, these are from shackles."
"... I was the one who exposed Giovanni," she whispered, shuddering as flashes of the fights surfaced. "After I beat him for his Gym Badge, he wanted me to join Team Rocket. When I said no… it took me a few days to escape and rescue my team, and then I had to fight him again, and… the same Pokemon that sunk the SS Anne, they called him their secret weapon, I managed to get him to listen to me. To show him that Team Rocket was using him like a tool. He… dealt with the Rocket base, and got me to safety, but I was already beaten to hell and back, so there was only so much healing Ditto cells could do."
"Oh my Mew." Misty pulled her into a hug, and Ash let herself relax, to accept the comfort offered. "Brock…"
"Yeah. Ash, you know we can't just walk away now that you told us, right?" At her raised eyebrow, he gave her a lopsided grin. "You're going to challenge other Leagues, right? We'll go with you. With your luck, you'll need all the backup you can get. Besides, friends should stick together. You can tell us the rest of your 'little misadventures' later, okay?"
Friends…
"Alright," she said, unable to say anything else. The day had proven to be a bit too much for her.
From around the corner of the doorway, viridian and viridian met crystal and ice blue, and four trainers slipped back to the living room, a silent promise exchanged.