Ah, I'm back, had to skip a week 'cause a plotbunny ran away from me and nothing made sense any longer. Anyhow, I think I caught up with it again, so I'll be fine for next week ;)
Hope you enjoy this chapter!
"…We had good intentions," Clair says as she crosses her arms in front of her chest.
"And now we still have an awful lot of food left."
"Well, it's not going to go bad soon anyway, so it's hardly a problem. There's a little one down here who might have gotten his hopes up, though?"
Lance peers down the couch and sees his nephew, asleep in the Gliscor's arms.
"Doesn't look like a problem to me, he can still call anyone he wants. He's pretty good at that, anyway."
"I'm not the persistent brat you think I am, it's just that Riley's trick made me able to see memories of pokémon and one showed me last night that professor Brunet's research about weird pokémon leaked towards Team Rocket," Ash huffs as he straightens, clearly not having been sleeping. "How was I supposed to know she was gonna call you anyway, she could have just run my name through the trainer database and get it over with but no, of course, she wouldn't because she knows about the leak too."
"… You think too much, Ash," the man says as he leans down on the armrest of the couch. "You're going to have to remember that I'm a policeman through and through, so if you're going to say anything like that to me, I would like proof."
The teen frowns at him but then grabs something from mid-air and hands it to Lance.
"Here you go, then."
The man is bewildered and he straightens to read the paper he's just received. His surprised look changes pretty quickly and his sigh is so loud it nearly sounds like a groan.
"You're kidding me."
"Doesn't seem like it," Clair says, unsure what to say.
"Oh, I'm not bothered that my nephew is doing police work, he can come work with me for all I care, he's good at it, clearly!" Lance exclaims, making a wild motion with the paper. "It's the fact that the breach in the pokémon league become such a sensitive issue to me that this," he says while holding up the paper. "-escaped from my attention."
"I'm sorry," the boy utters.
"You're the only one who shouldn't be sorry, you've brought this to my attention, Ash. You should be proud, if professor Brunet would have asked for an investigation, she wouldn't get it because there was never a breach signalled inside the pokémon company, just in the pokémon league. So you've helped her and you should definitely tell her about it too."
"… Are you sure it would go down well?" he asks. "I mean… She's gonna ask where I got the info from."
"You have no issues saying it to us and you definitely shouldn't be scared of being honest to her. She's more than ready to help you with the mysterious pokémon who have attacked you."
"She is? She knows?"
"Not yet, the professor is going to need your help with-"
The man gets interrupted by the doorbell but Clair offers to go see who it is. Lance frowns and now the boy looks at him in confusion.
"We're snowed in, kiddo. All our guests called off, I don't even think anyone left home at all."
"Oh, okay."
"Sorry about Barry, you're going to have to call him."
"That's fine, I still gotta wish each friend of mine a happy New Year anyway, I won't skip him just because he's somehow annoying everyone," Ash shrugs. "I'm sorry about the euhm… file-thing. I didn't mean to keep it from you and I'm sorry if I made you feel bad about wanting to talk to me about not calling professors. I didn't mean to."
"I'm sorry too and frankly, I think I'm just going to shut off my phone at night anyway."
Ash nods but then turns to the hallway much earlier than Lance can hear the voices. He's a bit confused about it but doesn't remark it, he knows his nephew is a special kid. Lance is over the moon to see Cynthia and Lucian, even though they're looking so cold. Just as he wants to tell Ash how pleased he is that they're going to have a little party, after all, he sees that the kid isn't there any longer. No, somehow, the boy has made it up the stairs, into the guest room and pulled two blankets out.
The two accept it gratefully and by itself, the action is innocent but Lance severely underestimates the effect Delia's lack of motherly feelings had on his nephew. He's like a tiny adult in the house, the man is pretty sure Ash would manage just fine without them and he finds that a bit scary. Next to that, these clear, sporadic displays of his abilities aren't bad, per se but he never imagined it would be this versatile. Personally, Lance thinks it's super handy, he would do a lot to have someone like Ash in his group of police officers, they'd be invisible… But this entire piece of drama that happened showed exactly why he should avoid placing the teen under his vigil any closer than this. It's clear as day, his nephew has become a weakness of his. And while he can trust Ash to take care of himself, he can't trust himself to be any less worried when the boy is in any form of danger.
It's ironic that, of all his guests, Lucian has also made it here today. Granted, he has probably travelled along with Cynthia and she owns a private jet. So when she wants the plane to fly, it will fly, no matter what circumstances. But still, maybe he can ask the man to have a moment with Ash, he knows no one better than to make anyone with any kind of ability to feel better about themselves. To everyone's annoyance, he was Will's advocate during one of the major accidents the young man caused and well… Ash is much better than Will in that aspect so he figures a chat with Lucian could do the teen a whole lot of good.
While Clair and Lance are busy with preparations, Ash remains in the living room and he's full of worry for the two adults who are slowly starting to warm up.
"Is it getting better?" he asks as he pauses rubbing Cynthia's hands.
"Y-yeah," she shivers. "Thank you, Ash."
"I didn't think it was so bloody cold outside, I mean, I get it is snowing but-" the boy turns to look at the window and gasps when he sees the snow is already piling up against the window about halfway up. "… Are we gonna be safe?"
"This is typical Johto weather, kiddo," the man says and offers a weak smile as he's rubbing his arms. "For the few times I've been invited here, I've nearly always needed to travel through a thick layer of snow. This year it caught up to us way quicker than we expected, though."
Ash stares at the ceiling for a minute before focussing back on Cynthia's cold hands. He figures that, if it's typical for Johto to have such snowstorms, the roof was probably made to endure the weight. There was a lot of roof to cover too and most of it was black, slanted tiles so maybe it wouldn't even stick on it. He didn't know, Pallet Town has a sea-climate, it could get very cold but the only time he had witnessed snow was way back in his youth when there was an issue with a couple of pokémon. Otherwise, the weather in his 'home' town was usually always the same, bland holiday weather he had quickly grown bored with.
As much as he liked extreme weather, just because it was so different from what he was used to, this snow blanket was testing the boundaries of his comfort. The boy wonders whether the pokémon outside are all safe, he remembers how quiet it had been early this morning. They must have known but-
"Oh!" he exclaims and shoots up, yet stumbles as his left leg makes a weird turn due to his prosthesis slipping in his sock.
"What's wrong?" Cynthia asks as she shoots up, giving him a worried look-over. "Are you hurt?"
"No, no, I'm fine, I'm fine."
He's able to wave her off and wants to go to the kitchen but stops dead in his track when there's suddenly a wall in front of him. A veritable wall with some strange, swirly wallpaper on it. Ash frowns because he doesn't remember it even being here and he's pretty sure Clair would throw a fit if she saw this kind of design over all the walls.
"… Ash?" the woman asks hesitantly. "Are you sure you're alright?"
The teen just nods, he's too focussed on this sudden wall in front of him. His hand just phases through it too so he's convinced it's just a hallucination or something. Still, he's not comfortable walking through the wall and moves to the far right, where there's an actual doorway or rather, just an opening in the wall. After that, there are no more sudden changes to the interior and he gets to Lance alright.
The man isn't too worried when he tells him about how Riley left and is probably caught up in the snow right now. His logic is reasonable enough, Lance knows that their friend moved over the border and that it's not even snowing in Kanto at the moment. Still, despite knowing that his teacher is likely fine, something doesn't sit well with Ash.
"Uncle?"
"Yes?"
"Was there a wall once?"
"Where?" the man asks.
"Like, a wall creating a little hallway between the living room and the kitchen."
Ash just sees Clair perks up in the background.
"Yeah, there used to be one alright but I somehow always walked against it when I was a kid. It only took one serious injury for Lance's father to decide to knock the wall out," she answers. "Why are you asking, though?"
"I think I just saw it," he answers but the icky feeling gets a bit stronger. Why would he be seeing something like that now, anyway?
It's only when Lance shoots forwards and grabs a cabinet door seconds before it would have hit his niece that Ash figures he's somehow prevented an accident. His uncle had been on the way to the living with some soup for their guests. If anything had happened, Clair would've also gotten seriously injured. And she would have been, Lance can lift the door off its hinges.
"Holy sh-…. Ugar," Clair curses. "That was a close one. Thanks, Lance."
"No problem," the man says but his eyes are on him now and all Ash can do is smile sheepishly.
Lucian's attempts to talk to the boy all end ups in small talk and it's only clearly bothering the man when he's not in Ash's view. Which is easy, the boy moves to his room shortly after his sixth attempt at having a serious conversation. So of course, Lucian comes to lament to Lance who also doesn't understand his nephew's unwillingness to talk about his abilities.
"We shouldn't pressure him into talking about it," Cynthia says, now feeling like her old self again since she's all warmed up, especially thanks to Ash's gentle care earlier. "I feel like his behaviour stems from something deeper than just Lucian approaching him so directly."
"Didn't he say something about disliking being singled out?" Clair pipes up.
"I have many regrets that I wasn't there to help him when he was there to help Sinnoh," the Champion sighs ruefully. "Though I have a feeling that I wouldn't have been very helpful at all, it may still have made Ash feel like attention is a good thing… And well, usually, he is targeted because he's so nice and usually has a good following. People know and like him and Ash might not realise it but he's got a big influence in the pokémon league. Any idiot can look in the trainer database of the pokémon league and see his connections. Almost every professor has some researched linked to him, he's got the support of over three dozen Gym leaders and almost every elite trainer as well as nearly every Champion. Look at me and tell me to my face that Ash isn't the ideal person to befriend? And of course, those with bad ideas will automatically assume his usability but yes, here we are. He's been taught not to trust strangers by experience, most likely."
"Certainly not by his mother, I'm sure," Lance comments dryly. "I'm usually not too aware of what he's doing, I trust him to take care of himself because he likes it that way. If he needs help, he'll come to ask me, I know that so… I'm not sure what to do, he's alright to talk to me about it, as long as I keep my face neutral. So I don't understand why he won't talk to you, Lucian."
"As long as you keep your face neutral?" the man repeats and he sounds plenty indignant. "How can you say it like that's a good thing?"
"I'm sorry, you know I've had a bad experience with the supernatural in Orre. I can't do any more than just accept it, can I? And it's not like I've cursed at him for doing anything."
"Well, good, it's illegal to tell anyone not to be themselves at home and you know that," Lucian huffs.
"… Really?" Ash's voice asks, sounding very meek and soft.
"Yep. It's why everyone's got their panties in knots, Will lives on the Indigo League grounds so he's got every right to do whatever he wants."
Lance knows it's not the right way to approach his nephew, the boy's face changes instantly and he's got a vague suspicion Ash just promised himself to never set one foot into the Indigo League again. He's not sure what happened with Will but he does know that, once you've done something bad to the boy, he's going to remember it for a while. Whether he was going to act like it or not remains to be seen and is probably dependant on how bad the situation had been.
"Come here," the man says, not bothering to say anything about Will and his shenanigans, for he knows the young man well enough and lays his arm around the boy when he comes to stand next to him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Ash answers, as per usual. "You're not mad at me?" he adds very softly and it surprises Lance.
"Whatever for?" he chuckles. "You've not done anything wrong, kiddo, why would I be mad at you?"
"I dunno. People get mad over the silliest things and you seemed upset this morning."
"We've already talked that over, though?"
"Yeah but I like, diverted the attention away from the issue."
"There never was an issue, you were right all along, the professor acted perfectly like someone who was expecting a call from someone shady and it was just your misfortune she took you for that shady person. Other than that, there's nothing unusual about what happened so I'm ready to let go of it when you are."
"'kay," the teen says and snuggles into his side when Lance pulls him into a sideways hug.
"What were you doing upstairs, anyway?"
"Ah!" Clair says. "Now that we're all here, it's time for snacks."
Ash seems happy with the idea so the man motions him to sit down on one of the chairs, right next to him and Lucian on his other side. The teen doesn't make an issue out of it, he even smiles at Lucian when the man turns to look at him.
"I was texting some friends," the boy answers eventually. "Some are a bit nearer to New Year's day that I am so I wished them a Happy New Year in advance. They appreciated it and even asked why I thought about them this year while I never bothered the other years… But I figure even New Year's day is just another day if you don't pay special attention to it. It's not the day itself that's special, it's the people you celebrate it with that make it worth celebrating."
Cynthia smiles widely at Ash, nods and Lance already knows what's coming.
"You sound like you've not celebrated it often, though?"
"Oh, yeah, euhm," the teen utters and looks at his uncle for reassurance, only continuing after he's smiled at him, a sign that it's okay -even though Lance doesn't think Cynthia will ever stand for the subtle and effective abuse Ash has suffered through. "I wasn't home often, trainer season, you know?"
"Are you sure? I know that the Lily of the Valley conference never takes longer than the second week of December, surely that would have left you with enough time to travel back home and celebrate New Year there."
Lance is about to tell her not to press the matter any further, he can see how it's affecting his nephew and after Lucian's unwanted prodding, he's pretty sure that, if she continues and forces him to blatantly tell her his mother didn't care for him, Ash would just leave to 'go talk to his friends' and stay upstairs until it was time for lunch. However, the teen sighs and shrugs.
"I euhm… usually lingered. There euhm… were always some problematic issues that needed solving and it wasn't always easy to leave my friends so I would kind of draw it out as long as possible. And my mom really didn't need me to be at home during the New Year's."
There, there it was. At least the teen has the decency to be honest about it and while Lance very much doubted that the 'issues' he referred to were anywhere near problematic, he doesn't say anything about it to correct his nephew. It's highly likely that he just meddled with something under the guise of wanting to help just to draw out his stay in the region. With a mother like that, the man really understood why his nephew did it, though. And he can see that Cynthia got the memo this time too, her demeanour changes immediately.
"Well, I like you a lot, Ash so will you do me the honour of celebrating New Year with me?"
"Absolutely, I would love too," he replies and his smile is as radiant as the sun. "Of all people, I know especially you would be patient with me."
Lance can't help himself as he gently grabs a hold of the boy's hand. It gets Ash's attention on him and it's clear he doesn't understand why this is happening but the idea that no one ever told the teen what a wonderful kid he really was, hurts more than the man likes to admit.
"And of all kids in the world, you're pretty much the only one I know who can stand the four of us together so I would be delighted to have you with us too, Ash," Cynthia says, still smiling despite a clear sadness in her eyes.
"Ah, thank you," the teen says simply and then turns to Lucian. "If that's the case, sir, could I ask why you acted like I was the Mamoswine inside the room that no one wanted to talk about earlier?"
"… Did I?" the man asks. "It certainly wasn't my intention, if you want an honest answer, I was trying to get you to talk about your ability."
"Were you? Why?"
"I feel like it's a great start to a friendship, honestly. Nothing beats waving your freak flag around with someone who doesn't care."
"I think it would just be the start of a surface level kind of friendship," Ash answers and he turns to look at his hands. "How are you supposed to tell what kind of person I am through my abilities when I don't know what I can do with them, what they can do to me… or you? You can just assume whatever you want right now too and you'll be just as right when you do it based on my abilities. Why are you even interested in them?"
"I love special people."
"… So you love yourself too or am I thinking too deeply into it?"
"Spot on, Ash," Lucian answers proudly though Lance feels like it doesn't take much talent to see the pride in the man's stance and behaviour. "You can do anything if you set your mind to it."
The teen doesn't look impressed by the statement and is clearly more interested in the plate of food Clair is bringing in. His face scrunches up when he sees the vegetables on the tray served to him.
"So you can do anything?" the boy asks.
"I can try."
"Can you try and eat these pickles, then? I really don't like them."
Lucian begrudgingly takes the pickles off the teen's plate and it's ten times funnier to Lance because he knows the man doesn't like them either. Nevertheless, if he wants to befriend his nephew, Lucian's going to have to make some sacrifices. He never knew that Ash had such a paranoid streak and it seems he's just sitting here so nice and calmly because the man's with Cynthia, someone he does know and trust. It's comforting to know that he's aware not to just trust any stranger but again, Ash has been taught this lesson through experience and that's exactly what makes him feel bad about introducing Lucian to him at all. Lance wonders how it would have gone if the party hadn't fallen through because of the snow and if the teen would have escaped to his bedroom much quicker. He'll never know now but he makes a mental note to keep a close eye on the teen whenever he's in a comparable situation. Perhaps the day they'll be driving towards the league building to discuss Ash's status as a handicapped trainer will be a good time.
The teen sits on the bed and stares at his hands with intent. He's curious why everyone just knows how he's got an ability and how he usually has to correct them on how he's got more than one. Are people gossiping about him? He knows a lot of people and he's pretty sure they will have met others who also know him and he knows nothing better to bond over than gossip. Ash isn't sure whether he likes that he's the subject of that gossip but it's somehow easier for him to correct them on his multiple abilities than telling them he has two out of nowhere. He still wishes he could tell them something more so that he doesn't automatically become someone to giggle about but what is he supposed to do when everyone just… expects him to just know?
At least Mewtwo has the decency to show him what to do but then again, there were only so many ways to lift something with your mind, right? He's got no idea what to do with his hands now, all he knows is that his pokémon rather prefer the right one that the left one. Ash figures it's got something to do with the fitting of his prosthetic limb, the shell passes his knee a bit and it's hard and uncomfortable. His pokémon nearly always lay their head or go sit on his leg so they would make contact with him and well… But then again, Pikachu's so small, he fits just nicely on his upper leg and yet his buddy doesn't go and sit there. Ash tries it out but Pikachu crawls over to the right side anyways.
'Huh,' he thinks and looks at his left hand.
And then to the suddenly head that's popped up and is now resting on the back of his bed.
"Hi," Ash says and the Lugia somehow disappears… only to jump back on the bed as a small, plush size creature.
"Greetings, Chosen," it says and the boy's heart melts.
"O-oh, you're wonderful," he utters as he gently takes a hold of the legendary pokémon, who doesn't protest against the action. On the contrary even, the Lugia eases into the gentle embrace and lets out a soft sigh.
"At first, I came to teach but this is not a bad position to be in. Not at all."
"I didn't know you guys could shrink."
"Only if needed. And you, Chosen, need guidance," Lugia says and Ash gets an uneasy feeling in his gut. "Do not fret, everyone does at one point or another. This is just your time and I have been looking forward to it since the first time we met."
The boy is surprised to hear it, he didn't think… oh, it's talking about his Aura, isn't it? He knows he had Aura for a while now so that's not strange at all.
"Not just your Aura, Chosen. It takes time to grow into power and it is your time to learn how to deal with it, for you are still growing and it would overwhelm you if we procrastinate on it."
"… You mean, I had the psychic ability too?"
"Indeed so. We would not have been able to talk at all if that was not the case."
Ash blinks but then again, his mom rarely took him to see a doctor, he just as rarely got sick. And if he did, it usually didn't need the involvement of brain scans… or else they would have noticed he was weird from the start.
"There is nothing unnatural about you, Chosen."
"Oh…" he just says and lets go of the pokémon in his arms. "So, you're here to help me realise something?"
"Your doubts are bothering me."
"I… I'm sorry, I didn't know that."
At that point, the small Lugia pushes its head against his left hand and Ash frowns. He puts his right hand on Pikachu's head and it draws the usual purr out of his buddy. Still… the difference is clear.
"Why do you like my left hand so much, Lugia?" he asks.
"The right is often thought of as the strongest, the most useful. In many cases, this is correct, I believe I can trust you to extend that hand to assist me. But the left is underestimated and not often thought of as useful, unless, of course, the human suffers from an injury on the left. Then it shows just how often it is used, how often humans used both hands when true force is needed."
"… You mean… You can feel the force of my Aura in the left and the care in the right?"
"Correct," the pokémon says and it sounds pleased. "What would you like to do with your left?"
"Basically the opposite of the right," he responds, knowing it's useless to lie to a pokémon, psychic or not. They know. "Not in the way that I want to cause something to die when my right can heal, it's just…"
"Destruction," Lugia finishes for him. "That is exactly what you want. You wish to protect still but this time, with force, should the right fall through."
Ash nods, he feels bad for admitting it. Everyone thinks he's such a nice kid and even Cynthia compliments him on his manners. He's not sure whether he likes being able to destroy anything but he's got this feeling of helplessness and he's angry. The chances where he's able to use this aggression are so rare and often too big for him to even use it… because he's so small.
"Not in mind or powerful, Chosen, be assured of that," the pokémon says. "Can I ask, have you ever destroyed one of your ping pong balls?"
The idea itself makes him feel sick but then the innocent sphere on the desk suddenly became something else. It started to look like that evil ball the masked man used to catch Celebi in, a dark ball, if he recalls correctly. It's not a good memory at all, he knows the Celebi nearly died and he feels so angry. His left hand squeezes… and not much later, there are pieces of ping pong ball flying everywhere. It's still funny to watch, the pieces are bouncy still and they instantly have Gible and Gliscor's attention, who try to catch them all. But no matter how amusing it is to see the two pokémon chasing the almost uncatchable, translucent remains of one of his creations, the dread following after the destruction is far worse than he imagined.
"I… I don't want to do this," he says and if it had been possible to shake off his left hand, he certainly would have done so at this moment. "I don't want to cause this much harm, what if it's a person, o-oh no…"
"I believe that you have excellent knowledge of what makes something harmful or harmless. Not to mention that, next to your foolproof defence, you also have the best idea about good and bad people. I trust you to be able to know whether it is a good moment to use the ability, Chosen."
"B-but… what if I don't?"
"You will. Trust me on that."
"And me," Mewtwo's voice suddenly says. "You have my trust too."
'And mine,' a completely different but just as familiar voice adds.
Ash tears up and hugs Lugia closely. He's never felt this feeling before, no one's ever had such blind faith in him. His friends perhaps but in the times where they showed that trust, they usually had no other choice. He was always the only idiot standing in the front line anyways…
"It graces you, friend. And a little destruction is never bad, especially not when it is all you can do," Mewtwo says as it plops down to sit next to him. "Would you tell me that I am bad if I told you I destroyed a Team Rocket base?"
"Well no, you have a good reason and nothing good comes from those buildings anyway."
"They why would you feel sorry for yourself, friend?"
"… I don't know," Ash says as he absentmindedly rubs circles on the happy Lugia's back.
Mewtwo doesn't look very happy, though and the way it grabs his shoulder tell the boy enough. That the pokémon actually makes a jab towards his mother, now that's something he didn't expect.
"The care from your birth giver leaves me grieving for what could have been, you realise the difference between the freedom you're given now and the passive-aggressive control from the past too. You should forget most of her insults, she knows little difference between a compliment and a comment meant to defame you," the creature says but continues after looking at him. "Do not look so surprised, you saw my memories and I saw yours. You wanted me to see them or else I would not have been able to, you were steering the direction, not me."
"It's… okay, I'm sorry, I forgot about that," Ash chuckles nervously. "I'm just… Do you think she was a bad person, Mewtwo?"
"Some people should not have a living soul under their care and your mother is a prime example of it. But no, it does not make her a bad person. Just very stupid, she could have asked for help at any given moment yet chose to do it all by herself."
"I'm not good at that either."
"Oh yes, of course you do everything by yourself, it is you on the battlefield, fighting it out with a pokémon. You are all alone while travelling a region, of course, the curse of a family, how could I forget?!" the pokémon exclaims dramatically and now even Lugia is giving it the stink eye.
"There's no need to be so sarcastic, I get it."
"I need you to understand that you are not nice because of what your mother has done to you, friend," Mewtwo sighs. "You are nice because you choose to be, you choose to be different from her because you knew that what she was doing was not good. Why are you hanging on to these sentiments if you have known for such a long time?"
"No one is perfect."
"But of all mistakes to make, abuse is hardly a mistake she would not have noticed to make within the first week of your birth, friend, do not delude yourself, I have gone and seen her, she is convinced that she is right in how she treated you. I heard her say that you deserved every bit of it and I had to leave before something happened. I had to remind myself that you are okay, you are alive and out of her reach if not for good, if that is how she truly feels about motherhood."
"Ah," Ash says. "So this is where it's coming from, you're upset."
The pokémon huffs but the teen chuckles. It's not nice to know everyone knows what his mother fails to understand but he can't help her, even if he wanted to. He's already realised he's quite happy here and now that he's surrounded by friends, the boy feels like he's landed in a pretty good position in life.
"Am I not allowed to be? What some pokémon would do to mother a child… only for me to see with my very own eyes that… that there are humans who just throw that opportunity away. It is such a waste, no matter who the child is. Abuse is never okay."
"I know. And it's okay to be sad sometimes, Mewtwo, anything is worth crying over."
"I am not sad. I am mad. Mad that some… woman makes me feel like your accident was a good thing, that it was okay for it to happen because it landed you in safe hands. It should have never happened but I feel so rueful at the idea we would have never met or become friends like this again."
"But we are," he says and softly butts his head against the pokémon's shoulder because somehow, sitting down, Mewtwo's taller than him. "So don't worry about it, time's not reverting on me if I have a say in it and as far as I'm concerned, everything's pointing at me being alive for a pretty long while, so we can be friends for just as long."
The creature butts its head against his this time and remains there, gently purring. Ash has to admit that Mewtwo had a nice purr, one of the better once he's heard and of course, Pikachu has the close second, he loves to hear that his pokémon love to hug and attention as much as he does. As far as his mother is concerned… he doesn't feel a need to go back yet. He's not been homesick just because Lance and Clair are doing their best to make him feel at home. He already knows the house and the occupants, including some of the moody dragons downstairs that usually seem quite pleased to see him but too lazy to move to come to have a sniff and no, Ash was not going down those stairs without Lance. He doesn't know much about Dragon-type pokémon but he knows that pride has a lot to do with their behaviour so he absolutely doesn't want to act rude around them.
Yeah, he'll wait until he's safely introduced by their trainer… though it makes him wonder what it would be like if he took any of his friends downstairs. Ash won't do that when Lucian and Cynthia are there to meet them, of course, they might panic, after all. But he thinks Lance would like to have a chance to pet a legendary pokémon, he didn't seem averse to meeting new pokémon, not even after Deoxys bumbling attempt at making contact. Maybe he could do it after he had some of his other pokémon with him…
Ash is right, other than the first time he's ever tried cherry cola, there's nothing very special going on this evening. The thick layer of snow prevents the large firework show from continuing, or so the very colourfully dressed broadcaster announces when Lance puts on the TV. Clair instantly switches channels to this loud and noisy concert of a band Ash knows nothing about but it's nice background music. And just when the last seconds of the year pass, it becomes clear that the amateurs aren't nearly as concerned about snow as the professionals.
"Your pokémon don't seem to be bothered by the noise of fireworks, hm?" Cynthia asks.
The teen nods with a smile, he knows they're used to much worse noise and they're tired. He's not one for rules but he's not an anarchist either so he's usually in bed between ten and eleven, if not nine if he's really tired. So yeah, he can make an exception for New Year's but this evening means even less to them so they go ahead and have a snooze.
"They're pretty chill with everything. Unless it's something new but if I'm there they usually turn around to check if it's okay and then go investigate."
"As with every great trainer," she says softly but her smile doesn't waver this time. "Do you have any New Year's resolutions this year?"
"I wanna be a better person and trainer than last year, definitely," he answers enthusiastically, or at least, as enthusiastically as he can muster when he's actually pretty tired -Riley still woke him up at five in the morning today. "And I wanna go to Kalos and win something this time around. Oh, and before I leave, I wanna do something nice for Orre too."
"Those sound like excellent resolutions to me," Cynthia beams. "How nice, I wish I had something to improve," she adds cheekily.
"Yeah, I think you're pretty perfect too already. There's no need to change a winning team either, is there?"
She giggles and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying over to Lucian. Ash is confused but mostly tired so he shuffles over to Lance with his sleeping Pikachu in his arms.
"Uncle? Can I go to bed now?" he asks.
"Of course, buddy, make sure to still brush your teeth though," the man says so the teen slouches up the stairs after making sure everyone knew he left and does his very best not to fall asleep with brushing his teeth.
His busted lip still looks a bit red and while he heals pretty fast anyone, he doesn't need himself poking out his eye with his toothbrush. He almost considers going to bed in his clothes but sees the neatly folded piled on the desk -Clair's handiwork- and already knows he'll feel guilty if he just leaves it there. So he changes and drops into bed with a content sigh.
"Today has been a good day. And this part of tomorrow also… Or is today already tomorrow?" he says, mostly to himself, and sees that the clock on the nightstand shows it's almost one o'clock in the morning. "Ah…"
"Is there perhaps room for some more?"
The boy looks up and smiles when he sees Lugia giving him an expectant look as it's sitting on the back of the bed.
"Of course," he says and holds up his arm.
He's already half-way asleep by the time Lugia gets there but he's awake enough to feel that there is someone else coming along. Someone fluffy.
"O-oh," the teen utters as he sees the super small but insanely cute Ho-Oh sit there, looking like a chick. It's about as tall as a Pidgey and it's his new favourite thing ever. "You're amazing."
The pokémon gives Lugia a look but Ash is lost on what must be a very partially mental conversation, Ho-Oh doesn't even chirp. Part of him is happy that it doesn't, it would kill him with how cute it would be. Whatever Lugia said seems to have worked, the Bird-type settles against his side, while the other snuggles against his chest. Gible let out a grunt in warning, Lugia's tail came a bit too close for comfort but not close enough for a fight to break out.
'Good,' the teen thinks and with one last plush of his mind -he's too tired to lift his arm- the light switch flick off.
"Chirp."
Ash barely contains a chuckle and his heart swells. It's so adorable but the chick ahem… Ho-Oh had looked adorably grumpy at the situation so he doesn't dare to move. Not that he has the energy to do it anyway but maybe that's for the best.
'This year is going to be the best,' is the last thought that crosses his mind as he falls asleep with a smile on his face.
The boy yawns silently and he doesn't really want to get up because he doesn't feel rested at all. But once he saw it was eight in the morning, his usual waking time, he couldn't stay in bed. His arm accidentally touches something fluffy and Ash cringes… but the Ho-Oh doesn't even stir. Its little head is sticking into its fluffy feathers, making the pokémon look like one ball of fluff. It's super adorable and it brings a smile to his face.
Pikachu suddenly jumps up as soon as Ash raises from the bed and so he quickly pets him to make sure the pokémon doesn't panic. Lugia is still partially a Water-type and while he knows the pokémon could deal with a bit of electricity, there are nicer ways to get woken up. Not to mention Gliscor's weakness to Pikachu's attacks and the last thing he wants is to deal with a bummed out bat. His buddy is right behind him when he sneaks out of the room but Ash doesn't mind. It makes him feel at home, Pikachu always followed him everywhere in Pallet too.
Riley's not back yet so the bathroom is his to use this time around… but after a good fifteen minutes later, he emerges downstairs, straight into what looks like a warzone. He finds it hard to believe that the four polite adults he left alone last night -or rather, early this morning- trashed the entire living room but well, it wasn't him so who else could it have been? Upon closer inspection, Ash finds several bottles of what looks to be expensive champagne but he doesn't find the energy to start cleaning it up until after he's had breakfast.
As he's collecting the bottles, he notices the Ho-Oh totter down the stairs and it still has the same grumpy expression as yesterday. Maybe it's just how its face looks but it is utterly adorable. Lugia comes flying downstairs a couple of seconds later and it approaches him instantly.
"Do you live alone?" it asks.
"Ah no, no, I think they're still asleep. Must be, look at how much they've been drinking," he answers as he holds up yet another bottle. "This is the fourth one I've found."
"I suspect that drinking too much you do not mean water?"
"No, it's alcohol."
"Ah."
The pokémon remain silent after that but that just suits Ash fine, he's got a lot of cleaning to do and he's not pleased with how they left this place. Granted, they were probably mad drunk at the time and he's got no right to complain -or so his mom kept telling him when he voluntarily started cleaning up a mess- but still… He can't just go and sit in this mess either, there are hazards everywhere and what is that smell? Upon closer inspection, he finds a bag still half-full of what looks like cheese chips someone's sat on. It's spilt between the cracks of the couch a bit and he groans when a bit more spills as he removes it.
He's going to have to vacuum anyway, the hoover isn't that loud that it'll wake anyone up but Ash knows that bumps against walls and furniture sound way worse when you were outside the room and the hoover has this annoying high pitched whistling tone that'll definitely span over the whole house. He notices the pokémon fleeing to the corner of the room and when he approaches said corner, they flee to a different one. All but Ho-Oh, who won't move at all. Ash has to pick it up and put it on the table to vacuum the part of carpet it's sitting on and even then he's got to put it back on the ground or it won't move at all.
"Why are you acting this way?" he asks without any malice behind it, mostly because he still thinks the pokémon's being adorable.
The Ho-Oh stares at him and Lugia doesn't appear to want to help him find out what's bothering it. Perhaps it's moody because it doesn't want to look cute? Ash personally wouldn't mind but there are pokémon who get their kicks of looking fearsome and dangerous, everything the legendary bird absolutely isn't.
"You hungry?"
A chirp and the boy smiles widely at the pokémon. He's more than ready to feed any pokémon, he takes the fluffy Ho-Oh with him to the kitchen and now that the hoover and the annoying noise are gone, all his pokémon follow, including Lugia.
"Food?" it asks. "Are we *-*?"
Ash blinks.
"Can you repeat that?"
"*-*?"
"I… I can't hear it."
"Oh, so it is not related," Lugia says simply and while the pokémon didn't make an implication he had just proposed something odd, the teen feels his cheeks become red. He doesn't like not knowing what someone is talking about and it gets worse when it's pokémon doing it.
"I-I'm just trying to be nice," he stammers, trying his best not to look at the pokémon as he jams a couple of berries in the pokéblock machine. "It would be rude to make food for my pokémon and not you."
"So it is!"
Lugia sounds very cheerful all of a sudden and hops over the tabletop until it reaches him.
"… Are you okay?"
"Yes, very happy," the pokémon says and butts its head against his arm. "You are very nice."
Ash continues to make the food, unable to say anything in response to that. He gets it, he really does but hell, why did he always have to deal with these kinds of situations? He can hardly just… grab the pokémon and hug the soul out of it, right? He can't leave his pokémon hanging either, they know he'll finish the food eventually but just stalling it to hug another pokémon? That's just asking for trouble. So he continues, vowing himself he'll hug Lugia and Ho-Oh later.
However, as he watches the pokémon eat -a curious sight as they're mostly sitting on the table, while Gliscor's the only one who's gone to take a seat on one of the chairs- Ash feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. It startles him immensely, not only had he forgotten that the device was still there, it just doesn't stop vibrating! He's confused as he pulls it out and sees a massive amount of messages pop up, his friends are all arguing in the group chat again. There are all kinds of insults popping up so quickly, he can't follow it -as per usual his issue with these kinds of small screens and group chats where everyone just… kind of doesn't wait their turn to speak up- so he groans and puts his phone on plane mode. Just the short glance at the screen made his head hurt and he just remembers how badly he dislikes his friends being mean to each other.
Ho-Oh hops over to him and at first, Ash thinks it's because it's still hungry but when it continues until it lands into his lap, he's not sure what to think. Expectant beady eyes look at him and the teen can't help but smile at it when he realises the pokémon wants to snuggle because he's feeling bad. It somewhat helps, hugging the fluffy creature feels nicer than expected, even if he's overly careful. It's so fluffy he fears he might squeeze straight and he doesn't want to hurt it. However, the sound of the door of the kitchen open makes the two legendary pokémon disappear and it's pretty much the first time Ash has ever been disappointed to see his uncle.
"… Good morning," he says, despite the man not looking like he went to bed.
"Morning," Lance answer as he tiredly rubs his eye and moves straight for the coffee machine.
Ash feels Pikachu jump on his lap and he can see Gliscor carefully place two plates on the counter. They must've finished eating and a nudge on his right leg makes the teen look down. He sighs, he recognises the signs of a pokémon wanting to be recalled and both Gliscor and Gible clearly don't want to be here. His uncle is still out of it, his coffee cup being the centre of his attention for now. Ash gets a bit worried when Lance goes to sit all the way at the other end of the table, he usually doesn't move over than far.
"… Had a nice party?" he asks hesitantly.
"Other than Lucian drinking himself half-dead, yeah, sure."
"Is he okay?" the boy asks, worried because if the man had downed those four bottles all by himself, it's hardly surprising his uncle was acting this way.
"Yeah, sure. I spent the night watching him."
Ash doesn't respond to that, giving care was just as much a voluntary act as cleaning up a mess and there was no reason to complain about it. Besides, no one but Clair and Lance would know where to get the champagne from so one of them must've supplied the man with booze during the 'party'.
"God, you're not complaining, are you?" the woman says as she comes into the room. "And it were just small bottles, Ash."
"If the contents say there's one litre in it, it's one litre of champagne, no matter if the bottles are small or the size of a house," he answers calmly.
"What do you know about how much was in that bottle anyway?"
'Ah, she's hungover,' he realises and stands up from his seat.
He's got his pokéblock tools in his arms and he's about to walk past Clair, back on his way out of the kitchen.
"Because I cleaned up the living room and found all four of 'em empty," Ash says sassily and walks out.
He can hear her splutter some kind of response but he's not listening to her any longer. There's a fine line between being parental and just condescending and he doesn't need to take that kind of crap from her. His phone is off-limits too but he figures he might just go upstairs and hope that Ho-Oh and Lugia will come back of he's on his own.
An hour of silence passes and Ash is still absentmindedly scratching Pikachu's back all the while thinking about what had just happened. He knows he can't apply reason to Clair possibly still drunken remarks, there's no way either Lance or her could have missed the obviously clean living room. Or hadn't they realised the state of it when they left? He doesn't care much, it's clean again and he's ready to let bygones remain bygones. He's already put his phone back on vibrate, seeing his friends had stopped arguing with each other. So far, Ash doesn't have the best impression of New Year's Day and then his phone vibrates a lot harder.
"Hello?" he asks as he answers the call.
"Good morning, am I talking to Ash Ketchum?" a smooth, female voice asks.
"You are, yes. How can I help you?"
"I am calling you on behalf of the pokémon league. We are trying to finish up your new profile for you to be able to start the new trainer term on time."
"O-oh, alright," he says and his heart jumps. Had Lance forgotten there was a deadline for those league regulations to be applied? "I'm not aware of what is going to happen, though."
"I am aware of that, it seems like the meetings got postponed for some reason. Nevertheless, we have been in close contact with your doctor and physiotherapist and they were both impressed by your drive to regain your stamina as well as the enthusiasm to overcome your handicap. It is good to hear and as such, we are willing to help."
"Will you talk me through it?"
"With pleasure, Mr. Ketchum," she says, still sounding pleasantly smooth and calm. "There are a lot of measures that do not apply to you, though the first and foremost measure is the need for a companion pokémon. We often advise trainers to choose a pokémon that can carry them, in case of an emergency but in your case, we are willing to make an exception, seeing you are at low falling danger. This exception will also cause another measure to be implemented but I assure you, it is harmless. By allowing you to have your partner pokémon, a… let me check… ah, a Pikachu as a pokéhelp, a bot will be linked to your trainer card and it will occasionally check up on you. It is advised to answer the messages when it sends them, if not answered, the bot will contact the emergency services and give them your coordinates."
"Will I be able to use that bot to call for help if needed?"
"Of course, it is there to help you, no matter the issue. The bot itself does not have a memory card and will be updated often, to secure privacy breaches so you can rest assured that your safety will remain our priority."
"Thank you. The pokéhelp thing, what does it actually mean?"
"A pokéhelp is there to help and defend you when you find yourself in a helpless state, sir," she answers. "In your case, it will give your pokémon the right to fire at will, though it needs to be in constant connection to you. We also have thought about a rubber around the cable, so that your pokémon won't damage you as well."
"Like a harness?" Ash asks and his lip raises in disgust. He doesn't mind Pikachu near him, the pokémon's usually on his shoulder anyway but to have him tied to his middle? And really, a harness? Pikachu would just wiggle out of it if it bothered him.
"Indeed but the one you will receive in the mail is specially designed for Pikachu, they are known to escape from bonds quite easily."
"Oh, okay," he says, figuring they'll just have to deal with it. "I don't think the world is like, ready to allow Pikachu the right to fire attacks at anything he wants, though."
"Ready or not, the world will just have to deal with it. We have determined that your partner is the ideal candidate to keep you safe and it has proven that it is an excellent judge of character over the years. People will just have to learn to behave around you in order not to get attacked."
Ash smiles widely at his pokémon, who gives him a very evil grin in return, his eyes shining with glee. Seems like Pikachu likes this attitude as much as he does, which is hardly surprising, they've grown to be very similar in tastes over the years.
"Thank you, I appreciate that you like Pikachu as much as I do."
"There is no need to thank me, we hold the happiness of our clients in high priority and it seemed ill-advised to force you to get used to another pokémon while you already settled with Pikachu. Should you not have been a trainer yet, then, yes, we would have given you a trained pokémon but there is no reason to do so right now."
"So I'll get the harness in the mail, as well as another trainer card?"
"There are other benefits, I assure you, the least being that you get priority to certain events. The bot is also experimental, feel free to leave feedback if you enjoy or dislike using it."
"Oh, okay, thank you."
"You're very welcome. Can I give the green light to these measures, sir?"
"Yeah, sure, go ahead," he says because he would do anything to just… get out and not get stuck in a place where people don't really… you know? He's happier outside anyway and his Wanderlust is starting to itch every time Clair says something rude to him. Granted, she's full of character, he knew that already and they had been friends before. But living with someone isn't the same as seeing them occasionally, that much is sure.
"Alright, that's perfect, Mr. Ketchum, thank you. You will get the package with all the necessities as well as your new trainer card delivered to you tomorrow at two."
Funny because that would coincide with dr. Knight's visit but maybe the man could help him. Ash isn't sure if Lance is up to the task right now, seeing he's taking vigil over Lucian.
"Okay, I'll be expecting it."
"Have a nice day," the lady says and she still sounds as happy as before, a nice change to any of his interactions with adults.
"You too. Bye."
He's confused about a lot of things as he ends the call, though and he regrets that he didn't voice those questions he's got earlier when he still had someone to answer them. This harness Pikachu was supposed to wear was going to be attached to him, right, so was there going to be a harness for him too? How else was he supposed to keep Pikachu attached to him? And was there an option not to do that? He would love to occasionally unclip it too, he didn't want to rob the pokémon of his freedom either. It was already bad enough that Pikachu was stuck with him instead of a normal trainer.
"Pichu, pi!" the pokémon exclaims happily and tackles him straight in the stomach, nuzzling him.
"Why are you so happy, then?" he chuckles and then sees that evil little grin again. "Oh, yes, yes, you can attack everything you want now but be careful, okay?"
"Chu."
"The last thing we need is another criminal spotting you and thinking you're extraordinarily powerful. I doubt that stealing a pokéhelp is any more glorious than any other pokémon but some are just that stupid or desperate enough to do it."
The pokémon purrs as he strokes Pikachu over the back and Ash sighs deeply. He wonders what's going to become of him when he's finally in another region. Granted, the new trainer season doesn't start until the end of January, which still leaves him with a month to train and get to the best state of body he could get… But they obviously didn't trust him if they were placing a bot on him to check where he was, right?
A knock on the door snaps him from his reverie.
"Come in?" he asks and the door opens to reveal Cynthia in a very basic outfit.
Like, super basic, a pair of black trousers and a grey, loose T-shirt. It's very unlike her, her hair is tied up in a messy bun at the back but most importantly, she looks happy so Ash smiles back at her.
"Hi, Cynthia."
"Good morning," she says. "I thought I'd come to check up on you, it's unlike you to isolate yourself."
"Oh, no, it's fine, I was taking a call. I'll come back downstairs if you-"
He stops as he sees her close the door behind her. The teen watches her approach the bed and she suddenly kneels in front of him, laying her hands on his knees.
"Ash, I want you to be very honest with me."
"… Okay?"
"Lucian was not kidding when he said it wasn't legal for anyone to tell someone to keep their ability at bay in their own home. It is part of a law that also stops people from abusing their abilities outside of the house. I had been hoping he would succeed in telling you that but since he failed, I think it's my responsibility to check whether you're happy here."
The woman sounds serious, it scares Ash a bit and he feels like this could possibly be a turning point in his life. But honestly, he's got no complaints, Lance was a decent man and while Clair was a bit rude from time to time, so was he. He wasn't suffering and they only told him off whenever he had done something bad with his abilities. Otherwise, they didn't even mention it and he was sure that his uncle was doing the utmost to not acknowledge it but he didn't actually ignore it either.
"I am happy here. Not right now, though, I mean, I'm really worried about Lucian, he should have really minded his manners. Or is this usually what happens at a party?"
Cynthia blinks but shakes her head, an amused smile appearing on her face.
"Not at all, I don't know what made him feel like drinking that much, it's not a habit of his. I didn't think you liked him a lot, though."
"Hm? Oh but I do. He's nice, I like mellow people. Some can just go from zero to a hundred for no reason and I find that really scary. Or am I wrong?"
"You're not," she answers. "Neither Lucian nor I would freak out on you, I promise you that."
"… Are you two dating?" he asks and Cynthia's face becomes red the moment the sentence leaves his mouth.
"No, no, we're just good friends, Ash, we're not dating. Goodness, he's ten years older than me."
"Ah, so you've been thinking about it," he says and if possible, she becomes even redder. "It's okay, you can still be good friends as well."
"Y-yes," she utters but then brings her hand to his face, straight to his still hurt lip. "What's this about?"
"I fell. I'm kind of prone to fall when I'm wearing socks and all the right conditions for me to fall came together a couple of days ago. Socks, trying to hurry and a Flygon tail. Not a good combination, though I'm glad it's just a split lip. It could've ended way worse for me."
"Quite," the woman says even though her eyes go over to the horizontal scar over his face, just a little above his nose. "Well… You're clearly not unhappy if you can say things like this. Are you going to stay in your room? Or do you want me to teach you a game downstairs? It's very silent down there now, Lance isn't in a good mood so he's gone shopping for something and Clair's passed out on the couch. And Lucian… well, he's asleep in his room. Deeply asleep."
"Does he have a bucket with him? Just in case?"
Cynthia looks queasy just thinking about it so he agrees to come to play a game with her but not before he's gone to Lucian's room to bring him a bucket. The man is dead to the world but Ash remembers his mother complaining about men vomiting all over the place when drunk or hungover and seeing there's carpet everywhere, he figures Lance would appreciate it. Or not, though he won't care about that. Instead, he focussed on Cynthia's game when he gets downstairs. She's a good teacher and she tells all he needs to know about chess and even jokes he might spring a game on Agatha when he sees her. Ash doesn't think he'll be very good at it but still, he's got nothing better to do than to listen to her. And he likes seeing her smile anyway.
There's really nothing more special about New Year, not the evening before or the day after. Any day can be special if you try hard enough and his family and their guests sure did seem to have done their best to make New Year's Day as unenjoyable as possible. The only nice thing that had happened after Cynthia had successfully taught him how to play chess -defeating your teacher in a game apparently meant you understood- was Lance thanking him for having given Lucian the bucket, meaning the man had used it. After that, he made himself scarce -there was just too much information about the poor man's state- and much rather hid in his room, sneaking some of the snacks Clair had reluctantly made for the four of them upstairs with him.
Today, though, everyone seems to be their normal selves again, though the boy is a bit fearful of the reaction he'll get from Cynthia when she learns he's got a therapist… and how Lance will react when the man learns he's taken matters in his own hands with the pokémon league. And lo and behold, after a somewhat tense dinner -Lucian still looks a bit like death and in no state to travel back, thus, forcing Cynthia to overstay her welcome too because she's not leaving without him- both dr. Knight and the box arrive, at the same time. And the box is way bigger than Ash had thought it to be but he'll be damned if he isn't the one carrying the thing to the living room.
The face Cynthia pulls when dr. Knight introduces himself is nothing short of apocalyptic and the man has to explain to her that he's a therapist, not a psychologist. He's not here because his patient has mental issues, he's trying to help him get over some behaviour issues stemming from his mother's lack of guidance. If anything, it seems to upset the woman even further but dr. Knight clearly has her blessing. Lance, on the other hand, doesn't react so well to the box, in fact, he wants to search the contents of it before Ash sees it, for security measures.
"It's from the pokémon league." He says quickly. "A lady called saying that she wanted to finalize my trainer profile so that I could join the new trainer season."
His face falls and he comes to sit next to him with the loudest, deepest sigh Ash has ever heard come from him so far.
"That's not what I meant when I told Mr. Goodshow that we ought to leave the decision up to you," he says as he runs a hand down his face. "Dear Lord, are you okay, Ash? What did they tell you?"
"She was really nice, didn't say anything mean or unreasonable."
"Are you sure? They didn't force you to accept anything?"
"The lady was super kind, uncle, she said nothing unacceptable at all. You and I know there would have been some changes because of my accident and you have no idea how glad I am it's just a bot and not a person following me around and tracking my movements."
"What!?"
… Oh, bother.
End of chapter fifteen