Who I Am - Lightning99

Chapter 24:

Reconciling Heartbreak

"Hello? Is this Grace Yvonne?" Delia asked the television monitor, whereon a woman with dark, mahogany brown hair looked pensive as if trying to work out who her caller was. Red looked up from his Pokégear curiously.

"Yes, I'm Grace. Who is this?"

"My name is Delia Ketchum. I'm Ash Ketchum's mother, a friend of your daughter's. I received your number from Professor Sycamore. I hope you don't mind," Delia replied.

"Oh, Delia! No, of course not!" Grace replied, nodding with what appeared to be recognition. "I-I am so sorry for your loss…"

"Oh wow, the news has reached as far out as Kalos?" Delia asked, laughing lightly to herself. Grace looked momentarily mortified. "Yes, I suppose his placement in the League would have made him quite famous. Thank you for your concern, but you needn't worry. Ash is alive and well. I spoke to him earlier this morning."

Grace gasped, clapping her hands together. "Really?! That is excellent news! But how? I saw the news, the same as everybody else. I've answered numerous calls intended for Serena from friends of theirs in hysterics, asking if it is true."

"Truthfully, the article was fake the entire time. We were all deceived into believing it."

"I see… Oh, I'm sure Serena will be delighted to hear that when she returns home," Grace said.

Red watched Delia frown and turned back to his Pokégear, awaiting a response to the message he sent half-an-hour ago to the person he needed one piece of information from. He had to confirm one final query to puzzle the entire situation in his head, to begin planning reconciliations, preparing precautions, and formulating countermeasures. He had to protect his son, after all.

"I see, so Serena hasn't returned home just yet?" Delia continued in the background.

"No, she hasn't. Is something the matter?"

"Not entirely, but I'm sure she's hurting right now, more than you would think given the situation…." Delia said.

"What do you mean?" Grace asked, as nervous sounding as a Skitty in front of a stranger.

"It is a little bit complicated. Do you have some time?" Delia asked.

"Yes, of course," Grace responded quickly.

Oak had said not to tell anybody the story, but Grace deserved to know about her daughter at least. She wasn't getting the whole story. Red just hoped that, by doling snippets to separate parties, he wasn't spinning too complex a web. He didn't want to involve too many people. Then again, they should probably tell Ash, too. Red scratched his head and sighed. He'd have to think on it.

While Delia recited the situation concerning Serena, as well as her and Ash's prior relationship, Red stared relentlessly at his Pokégear. Despite his focus, he couldn't stop himself listening to the story. It wasn't pleasant at all, especially when Grace voiced how close the pair had been in Kalos. He truly felt for them. A person's first love was an important moment in their life. To have had that so ruthlessly ruined…

Mid-way through Delia's explanation, Red's Pokégear pinged. Red hastily opened the message. No. I did not know of such plans.

I didn't think so, Red responded, relieved because he had had his doubts. Had the response been any different though, he would have sworn to Arceus more than once, and probably yelled his frustration into a pillow. Well, silently yelled into a pillow, because Grace was on the call. Maybe he'd pull a 'Blue tantrum' instead and trash the living room. He wasn't too sure yet.

I would not lose faith in you had you shown distrust in me.

Naturally, Red messaged back.

Indeed. Thank you for the information. I will have to keep a closer eye on the situation at hand and investigate further. Do I have your permission to use it?

Yeah.

Excellent. I shall contact you again when I have more information. Remember, delete this number.

I know, Red thought, quickly doing as told. He glanced back at the conversing mothers, reattuned to the conversation, waiting until it finished.

"To think all of that has been going on without our knowledge… Our children have been through too much in their young lives," Grace commented when Delia finished. "I can only imagine how much my daughter is hurting right now, how confused she must be…"

"Yes, that is why I contacted you. Now that I know she hasn't left, there is only one place she could be. I will go and talk with her right away," Delia announced.

"Thank you, Delia, sincerely. And please, tell her I'm worried about her," Grace pleaded.

"Of course. I will have to call you again when the situation is less dire," Delia said, jovially.

"I would like that!" Grace said. "Alright, it's time I go and feed Rhyhorn! I'll–"

"Mr Red!" a young, bubbly voice cried out, accompanied by a stampede of feet on the stairs. Bonnie bounced into the room, a Swablu in her arms — one of Red's many Pokémon. His Pikachu padded down the stairs after her, looking exhausted. Red smirked to himself when Pikachu glared at him, a look he knew was faux resentment. His Pokémon couldn't hide anything from him. "Look! Look at how fluffy her wings are! Amazing, right?!"

Smiling gently, Red nodded, rustling his hand atop Bonnie's head; she cooed almost like a Pokémon, giggling to herself. That was the only way he could show any affection, any acknowledgement.

"Bonnie! It's been a while!" Grace said sounding happily surprised, waving through the screen.

Bonnie spun around. "Aaaaah! Serena's mother!" She rushed towards the screen. "What do you think?! I'm almost as good as Serena now!"

Grace and Delia giggled in unison. "My, Serena will have to practice some more!"

Bonnie giggled. "Next, I'm going to style Wooloo!"

"Just be careful not to hurt him, alright?" Delia said.

"Alright!" Bonnie cried, darting from the room once again. The eager slam of her door from upstairs was quite the amusing sound.

"Bonnie is staying with you, then?" Grace asked.

"Yes," Delia said. "I intend to offer Serena the same when I speak with her, at least until she leaves."

"I see. Thank you very much," Grace said, bowing.

"Oh no, no need for that, please!" Delia said, waving her off in a panic.

"I feel I have to…" A roar sounded from off-screen, stealing Grace's gaze. "Well, there's Rhyhorn calling. On that note, I'll speak with you soon. Thank you once again, Delia," Grace said. She waved. Delia reciprocated and ended the call.

Delia fell back into the cushions, tossing her arms out. "That went better than I could have hoped."

"You seemed to get along well," Red commented, finally finding his voice.

"Do you think? Well, worried mothers are feathers of the same Swanna," Delia said.

"It seems so."

"Has Blue replied?"

"Yeah," Red said. He hated lying to Delia, but he couldn't tell her. Not yet. He knew she would understand, but the time wasn't right. But just as he lied, he felt a little better as a call from Blue did ping onto his Pokégear.

"Excellent!" Delia said, clapping her hands. She jumped to her feet. "Alright. I'll go and explain everything to Serena, bring her back home to stay until she leaves, and make us some delicious pancakes when I return!"

"I do love a good pancake."

"Right?!" Delia said cheerfully, almost skipping into the kitchen.

Red glanced down to his Pokégear again and accepted the call. "Yo, Red! You get a good talk with my old man?" Blue's voice blared through the speaker.

"I got a lot more than I'd hoped for, to be honest."

"No kiddin'? Alright, well, I'll leave that matter to you," Blue responded. "On another note, I've got a proposition for ya. You get in touch with Ash yet?"

"Well, Delia did, but yeah," Red said.

"Does that mean you can contact him any time now?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I've got his Kalos Pokémon sittin' right here, stealing all my Pidgeot's food and cramping my team's style!" Red laughed. "Kiddin', kiddin'. Actually, I was wondering if you could get in touch with him and send them over. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

"It would have to be Delia — I don't want to meet Ash for the first time over the phone — but we can do it."

"Gotcha," Blue said. "I thought he might want them back, you know? Is that a plan then?"

Red unconsciously nodded, his years of gesturing rather than speaking making his movement automatic. "Uh — yeah. Do you have his whole team?"

"Nah, I've got a fire-bird thing, some cocky winged guy who thinks he's a luchador and a black Dragon-Type with speakers for ears. I only went to Kalos on holiday. I forgot their names. Help me out here?"

Red laughed again. "Let's see… Probably Talonflame, Hawlucha, and Noivern?"

"Yep, Ash had those in his team," Delia confirmed, stopping at the door to grab her jacket again.

"What else did he have?" Red asked.

"Hmm… Pikachu, a Goodra, and a Greninja, which I'm sure you know by now," Delia replied.

"Nah, only got the three. I'll – huh? What was that, Yellow? You want another glass of water?"

"Yes pleeease!" Yellow's chipper voice sang in the background.

Blue gave a quick 'tsk'.

"Excuse me?!" Yellow cried, obviously having heard his disgruntled noise.

"Nothin'! Give me a sec, I'm in the middle of a call," Blue said, sounding exasperated.

"I've got broken bones here, you ass! Don't sound like you're the one being hard-done-by!" Yellow's voice yelled back.

Red could tell Blue cringed on the other side of the call. "But I'm on a call…" he repeated.

"I'm sure Red would do it for Delia immediately, wouldn't you, Red?" Yellow said.

"Oh, hell no!" Blue yelled. "Sinking low enough to play that card, huh?! Fine!" Blue said. "I'll bring 'em over later, Red. I gotta tend to my lovely wife."

"Thank you," Yellow called in a sing-song voice.

"Dad! Bring me an ice pack!" Daisy's voice yelled.

"One thing at a time!" Blue yelled back, and the call ended.

Red and Delia were left laughing. The Oak family never changed.

When they calmed down, Delia made for the door. "Oh, Delia," Red said, stopping her momentarily. "Could you do something for me? Seeing as Blue is bringing Ash's Kalos Pokémon over later, there's something I want you to ask Serena to do."

"Of course. What do you need?"

It certainly wasn't as effective as Refresh was at cleansing a status ailment from a Pokémon, but doing exercise was a useful distraction for a short while, and the shower that followed felt as if she was bathing in a pool of Potions. At that moment Serena wasn't overly bothered by her appearance in terms of hair, make-up, and clothes, but she took pride in her fitness. She had to maintain it to be able to dance in her performances, after all.

That wasn't to say her light jog around the glowing mid-day forest and her dancing practice had been as enjoyable as usual. Far from it, in fact. She felt a sliver of enjoyment and that satisfactory exhaustion afterwards, but anything more was a dream. It was hard to forget that Ash had been the one to inspire her training, that she had seen him running around and wanted to join in. It was hard to forget that he was the one that helped her decide on her path in life, her goal.

But now, if only to keep herself doing something, anything, Serena at least felt resolved enough to fix her hair after her shower. Only a quick brush, to make sure it wouldn't knot. Afterwards, she wandered into the living room area, where her Pokémon were sitting around, eating some Pokémon food. She quickly prepped food for herself and joined them.

Mealtimes were different now. Before, when they were still together, it had been her, Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie, and all of their Pokémon. Now, it was her and her Pokémon alone. She was sure they felt the same loneliness she did, the lack of camaraderie that had once had her eager to wake up the next morning. She had lost a lot more than the boy she loved.

Serena had eaten three-quarters of her sandwich when a glassy pang repeated through the room three times. Then, a voice. "Hello?" Thankful that she had at least brushed her hair, Serena quickly finished the sandwich in time for the visitor's next call. "I'm coming in…"

Serena rushed to her feet, carrying her plate over to the sink. She didn't know why she was panicking so frantically. It was only another person.

"Ah, there you are, Serena. I thought you might be here." Serena recognised the voice. She spun on her heel and gasped. Delia Ketchum stood in the doorway, smiling in a way that reached into her heart: soft, caring, motherly.

Of all the things she should have felt in that moment — remorse, sadness, shame — Serena was scared. Scared of what more Delia had to say after their last meeting, after giving her and the whole room that haunting look of disappointment. Somebody else's disappointment in you was a lot more difficult to handle than their sadness.

"Are you alright?" Delia asked. Serena must have looked just as tense as she felt.

Delia's question seemed to jolt a nerve. Serena regained her composure somewhat. "O-Oh, yes, I'm ok…" Serena muttered, looking anywhere but at Delia herself. She couldn't face her. Not now. She wasn't ready.

Delia stepped into the room. "I hope I'm not intruding," she said, "but there is something I'd like to talk with you about."

"W-With me?" Serena asked, steeling herself to momentarily meet Delia's eye.

"Yes," Delia said, taking a seat at the table between Sylveon and Braixen. She reached down, stroking Sylveon's head gently, causing the alert Fairy-Type to calm down and curl up on the cushions. Delia looked back up at Serena. "It's about this whole situation. Do you mind?"

Yes, Serena thought. She hadn't prepared herself for Delia's sudden arrival. But she refrained. She took a moment, debating her options. On one hand, she was terrified. On the other, this sudden arrival was a fortunate chance. She had to be strong. So far, she had been weak, hiding from it. She had to do better.

Serena took a deep breath and shook her head, reclaiming her seat. She resolved to hear Delia out. Though, her whole body was shaking.

"Thank you," Delia said, nodding her head in a tiny bow. At the same time as she massaged Sylveon's ears and stroked her hand up and down her back, Delia looked up at Serena. Her eyes were tranquil, satisfied, calming even. It was a presence Serena had needed. They didn't have the coldness of steel in them as they had the other day, that plain, dull look of despair and anger. Something had changed, and it made Serena feel a lot more comfortable around her. That seemed to be her natural temperament.

"What, umm, do you want to talk about?"

"Well for starters, your hand in Professor Oak's plan," Delia said. Serena looked to the ground, feeling ashamed. Of course, that was what it was about; it was only natural. Serena didn't know how she would respond to anything Delia might say about the subject, though. She was as confused if not more so than Delia probably was. "You are very confused right now, aren't you? You don't know why you took part. Am I correct?"

"Y-Yes!" Serena exclaimed, feeling beyond surprised. She had expected Delia to berate her with that firm yet motherly tone, not uncover the truth like some psychic detective. "How do you know that?"

Delia nodded her head, seeming satisfied with herself. "Yes, I thought so. It seems you weren't fully conscious during the whole incident, up until my last visit here. You see, Red and I visited Professor Oak this morning to figure out the truth behind this whole situation. And we discovered that you had been hypnotised the whole time."

While Serena was shocked into an almost paralytic state, Delia continued to explain the entire situation regarding her part in the ordeal as she had been told by Professor Oak. Unable to say anything nor give her input, Serena listened, attempting to process the truth. It made sense: she had acted without proper thought, carried out actions unlike herself, and had had a lack of free thought at the time. It made so much sense.

By the time Delia finished detailing her recount of Oak's confession, Serena sat with her head in her arms, folded over the tabletop.

"How are you feeling?" Delia softly asked.

"…Conflicted," Serena tearily replied, sniffing to keep them back. A large part of her was pleased that she hadn't truly betrayed Ash's trust, his love, but he hadn't known that when he died. There was no way for her to reconcile the heartbreak.

"Yes, I can understand that. You believe he died with a false view of you, right?" Delia asked.

"Yes."

Giggling to herself — an action that somewhat offended Serena — Delia spoke the single sentence Serena has been wholeheartedly wishing to Jirachi for. "It's a good job Ash is alive then, isn't it?"

In response, Sylveon sat upright again, and Braixen and Pancham grew increasingly attentive, and Serena couldn't hold the tears back.

"He-He's alive?" Serena asked, her voice catching, wavering, breaking. Delia responded with a cheery nod. Serena gasped and collapsed back into her arms, sobbing out the relief that flooded through her.

Delia shuffled around the table to sit beside Serena, hugging her around the shoulders, rubbing her back affectionately. Comforting her. How Delia didn't seem to be the slightest bit hesitant, the slightest bit awkward, Serena didn't know. But she appreciated the gesture. She needed it.

The room was silent and emotional for a little while until Serena's feelings calmed down. "I'm so relieved…" she muttered.

"As was I when I heard the news," Delia said.

"H-Have you confirmed it?" Serena asked.

"I have indeed," Delia replied, "I spoke with him earlier this morning."

"Where is he? Is he alright?!"

Delia chuckled to herself. "He's perfectly fine, there's no need to worry. Surprisingly, he's on the other side of the world, a place called the Alola Region."

"On the other side of the world…?" Serena repeated in a deep breath. That meant it would be a lot more difficult to visit him, and she wanted to see him right away. She had to tell him the truth, let him know she still loved him.

Suddenly, as she began to process the situation, she had a painful revelation, one that thrust her into another state of confliction. Ash currently believed she betrayed his trust and his feelings for her.

"How do you feel now?" Delia repeated.

"I—"

"You're still conflicted, aren't you? Because of the whole hypnosis situation?" Serena nodded.

"Believe me when I say, I understand. I too have been a victim of such manipulation. Once, back when Ash was much younger — oh, during his first few years as a trainer — I was manipulated to believe I was another girls' mother. Throughout that situation, I had no recollection of Ash being my son until the spell was broken. Afterwards, I was distraught. I hated myself for a little while because I had completely forgotten my own son. I felt that by forgetting him, I had betrayed him. It was not by my choice, but I completely neglected his existence.

"But neither of us are at fault in these situations. They happened because of other people, other Pokémon. We have to live with what happened and try to reconcile afterwards. To this day I still feel bad, but I've gotten over it, and so has Ash, if he even recognised the true nature of the event in the first place. He was always so clueless as a child. You must do the same now. When Ash finds out the truth, all that's left is you forgiving yourself, because I know for a fact that Ash will forgive you, probably even before you tell him the truth."

"He is like that, isn't he?" Serena said, smiling once more.

"He is. So, please, Serena, forgive yourself. You are not at fault. When you next see Ash, be brave, be confident," Delia said, rubbing the girl's arm affectionately.

Serena nodded her head, newly resolved thanks to Delia's speech. "I will."

"Before you go off adventuring to Alola to meet Ash I think you should head home first. It's amazing that you and so many others are so devoted to him, but I contacted your mother a short while ago, and she is worried about you. You should go and see her," Delia suggested.

"Yes, that's probably the best idea," Serena said, her voice reclaiming an iota of her former joy.

"Excellent!" Delia said, clapping her hands together. "In that case, Red has given me a request for you, if you are up for it. It's all for Ash's benefit, of course."

"Sure!" Serena eagerly said, the fire in her heart burning brighter than ever before. "What's the request?"

"Red would like you to find Ash's Goodra and Greninja back in Kalos. Then, since I know you want to see Ash, he requested that you take them to him in Alola," Delia said.

Serena nodded immediately. "Leave it to me!" As much as she wanted to see Ash, that sounded like an important task, one that would benefit Ash in the long run.

"Excellent!" Delia said, sliding along the settee and to her feet. "Now, we have one final task today!"

"What task?" Serena asked confusedly.

"Fixing your messy hair. Honestly, you've got such beautiful hair, but one simple brush won't fix anything. Come with me! We're making you look like a supermodel!" Delia said, marching cheerfully towards the guest rooms. Serena could only giggle and follow along.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Brock said, rubbing his chin in contemplation as they — Ash and Brock — sat on the bench to the side during a break in Ash's training. "You're telling me your Pokémon's cries make sense to you?"

"No," Ash replied, squeezing a jet of water into his mouth, wiping his lips. "Not exactly. They still don't make sense to me audibly, but I can understand them. Uhh, as if I translate them, you could say. But it's all in my head, you know? I don't actually hear anything different."

"Huh," Brock muttered.

"Any ideas?"

"None, sorry," Brock denied. "I've never heard of anything like that."

"Honestly, I kinda think it has something to do with the Bond Phenomenon."

"Hmm, that might make sense," Brock said. "Clemont should know more about that, right? Why don't you call him over? I mean, now that everything's been sorted, you trust him again, don't you?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to ask you first, seeing as we're the closest, but… yeah," Ash said. He turned to the side, where Clemont and Dawn were chatting beside their bags, gathering some food from within. "Clemont, Dawn!" he called, waving them over.

The pair took their seats, handing out the food. "Thanks," Ash said, taking a bite of a Mallow-made sandwich. Whilst mid-mouthful, much to Dawn's obvious dissatisfaction, Ash relayed the information to the pair and asked Clemont his opinion. The night before, Ash hadn't been able to ask Brock about the situation due to their eventful reunion, so he asked the group to accompany him for the day to do so. Seeing as Mallow, Lana, and Kiawe departed to start their Trial Captain training, Hau went to watch someone called Royal Mask at the Battle Royal Dome along with Kukui and Hala, and Lillie went to visit somebody in a lab, it was the perfect time to discuss.

"Wow, so you can understand what they're saying?! That's incredible…" Clemont responded to the explanation. "That's so much more efficient than that one invention I made…"

"That sounds… bizarre. I know I have no idea what this Bond Phenomenon is like, but do you genuinely think it's a result of that?" Dawn asked.

"From what Ash has said, I'd believe so," Clemont surmised. "Interestingly, it occurred right after the League, and the crisis in Kalos, correct?" Ash nodded. "We all saw how powerful Greninja had become — no, how your whole team had become by the end of it. Maybe the crisis was the final spark that gave way to the true potential of the phenomenon or something like that. Maybe it wasn't secluded only to Greninja, but it's more than that. Ash, Oak said you've used it before in helping Infernape control his feral Blaze, and probably with Pikachu too, somehow. I imagine your thinking isn't far wrong."

Now that Ash thought about it, his shoulder had been hurting after the battle with Hala, in the way his body had ached whenever Greninja fought. "It makes sense it would have something to do with bonds. I mean, originally, I couldn't understand Rockruff or Litten, but after bonding and helping them, I could."

"I see… Maybe it's time I build some new Clemontic Gear: The Battle Pulse Meter V2," Clemont said.

"Ooooh, those bracelets that helped Greninja and me before? Yeah, that could work," Ash said.

"It's decided, then! I'll do my best to make them as quickly as possible!" Clemont said energetically.

"Clemontic Gear?" Dawn asked.

"Clemont's an inventor," Ash explained. "He makes a bunch of inventions he calls his Clemontic Gear. Some of them work, others explode in your face," Ash said, unable to stop himself from smiling.

"Wow, I never knew that… That's impressive!" Dawn said.

Clemont fiddled with his glasses, "W-Well, thank you."

"Man, science is so amazing," Ash said, grinning up at Clemont, and he grinned back. Just like the first time they met.

"If you don't mind, I have a question for you this time, Ash," Brock asked, rather sternly.

"Sure," Ash said, eating a few berries.

"What actually happened on the day of Pallet's attack? I mean, to you. I know everything else."

"When the attacks started coming, everyone was scattered around the yard because of the force. I was thrown into the lab and almost crushed under the rubble. I managed to get free, get some of my loyal Pokémon, and flee into the forest. From there, I got a plane out here. It's nothing exciting, although I did get a big cut up my side because of it," Ash explained. He lifted the corner of his shirt until it unveiled the large healing cut.

The trio leaned in to examine it, but they all looked confused. "Uhh, Ash, this scar doesn't look recent," Dawn said.

"Huh?" Ash asked. He looked. It wasn't a cut anymore, but a large, whitening scar that looked months old. "What the—" Ash asked aloud.

"Wait, is this from the attack?" Brock asked.

"Yeah," Ash said. "It was a lot worse yesterday. The others commented on it — I mean, it's obvious when you're only wearing swimming shorts."

"You must have some amazing healing abilities. What, is this another benefit of your Bond Phenomenon?" Dawn asked. It sounded half-serious, more like a joke.

"Healing abilities?" Ash asked, pondering the phrase for a moment. He widened his eyes when he realised what happened. "Tapu Lele…"