Pokemon: The Roar of the Neo Battle Frontier
Summary: After leaving for three years, Pallet town's favorite son makes his way back to where it all started. But Ash comes back stronger and wiser than before as the leader of the newly opened Johto Battle Frontier. What does the future have in store for him? AshXHarem
A/N: Thank you for all the people who reviewed chapter 1 of this fanfic! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon
Chapter 2
"Okay let me get this straight." Gary Oak said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You, Ash Ketchum, after finishing your training under Brandon and doing a lot of preparations, are now a frontier brain for the Johto Battle frontier that opened just six months ago." He said to which Ash just nodded. "Yup, that sounds about right." He replied nonchalantly as the others who had been silent until now finally let out what they were thinking.
"Ash! How could you not have told us about this in three years?!" Misty shrieked, looking absolutely indignant. "That's right, you never mentioned this in your letters!" Iris added as both girls loomed above him with righteous fury in their eyes. "In fact, you stopped writing to us ever since last year!" By now, even Ash couldn't remain calm and weakly held his hands up. "But I did mention in my letters that I was training to be a frontier brain, and just the fact that I went to train under Brandon should say it all."
"It's not the same thing to say that you're training to be a frontier brain and that you're already one. Besides, don't you know how worried you made us when you suddenly stopped giving us occasional calls or letters?" May chided from where she was, both of her hands on her hips, and looking pretty cross. "Ah, I was really busy the last past year…" He weakly offered, but it didn't seem to appease the girls. "Look, I'm really sorry for making you guys worry about me, and not telling you guys about it…"
"But I honestly thought that you guys had already gotten my latest letter." He said and a still upset, but slightly curious Dawn voiced out the question that was on their minds. "What do you mean by latest letter, Ash?" She asked as Ash hurriedly explained. "I sent a letter to you all, about a week ago about how I became a frontier brain. I even had it express mailed." As soon as he said that, Brock asked the question that saved his life from the wrath of four females.
"Where did you send those letters from, Ash?" He asked and Ash thought about it. "I sent it from Violet City, but that day Pidgey Mail was closed so I went and sent them through Farfetch'd Mail instead." He said as the gang gave a collective groan. "That makes sense." Max said, but when it seemed that Ash had no idea still on what was going on, decided to fill him in. "Ash, didn't you see the news? Farfetch'd Mail went on a week-long strike."
"Oh, no wonder you guys didn't get my letters." He said simply and seemed to want to say something more when the doorbell rang. Professor Oak frowned before going over to the door, who on earth could it be at this time of night? When he opened the door, he saw a man wearing a hat with a Farfetch'd logo on it, holding a large bag filled to the brim with letters. "Express delivery mail for Professor Samuel Oak, and Tracey Sketchit." The man said before handing two letters to the older man.
When the professor Oak saw who the sender was, his expression turned wry. "You wouldn't have a letter addressed for Delia Ketchum in there as well, would you?" He asked as the man looked surprised before he took a letter out from his bag. "Yeah, I do. But how did you know that, sir?" He asked as the professor sighed. "The sender of these letters; and that one in your hand is in my living room as we speak. Being interrogated by his friends about a letter he swears he sent through your carrier."
The man looked sheepish at that. "Sorry about that, sir. But the strike only ended this morning. So we were only able to start sending the letters this afternoon." He said, but the Professor just waved him off. "No, don't worry about it. There was no way he or you could have known that the strike would happen. But you might as well give me the other letter to save you the trip from going to Delia's home since she's here as well. Arceus knows that you've got your work cut out for you."
The man hesitated for a second, but one look at the bag full of letters was all it took for the man to hand the letter over to him with a grateful nod before giving a curt farewell and leaving to deliver the other letters meant for the people of Pallet town. Professor Oak then went back inside where curious looks met his return. "It seems that Ash's mail has finally arrived." He said before sitting back down on the couch. "Does this mean I'm off the hook?" Ash asked and exasperated looks were sent his way.
"So that is the only thing you haven't told us, right? You're not hiding anything else?" Iris asked as she regarded Ash. "You say that as if I was intentionally hiding the part about me being a Frontier Brain." He muttered before adding. "Oh, wait there is something! But not really, it's more off a new interest I picked up over the years than anything else." He said which seemed to shock everyone. But it was Delia Ketchum who had been serving the gang some after dinner coffee and tea who recovered first.
"That's great news, Sweetie!" She exclaimed as she finally sat down on the couch. "Yeah, that's great Ash. But exactly what managed to pique your interest?" Tracy asked as Ash grinned before answering. "It's archeology." The effect was instantaneous as the elder Professor Oak spat out his tea, while the other reactions that were garnered from the others were spluttering, choking on coffee, with the most mild reaction being eyes widening.
"Wha-What did you just say Ash?" Gary Oak asked in between coughs from almost choking on his coffee. "I said it's archeology, but you guys are acting as if I said that it was going on a killing spree with a chainsaw." He said, sounding a bit upset. "We're sorry, Ash. But this is quite an unexpected flavor coming from you." Cilan apologized and Brock added. "Cilan's right. In all our years of traveling together, you never really showed much enthusiasm for archeology, Ash."
"Well, when you're training under Brandon for two years straight, it's impossible not to get interested in it and I was pretty interested in it before, but I was just so focused on the Pokemon leagues at the time." He replied before his face turned thoughtful. "By the way you guys, what time is it?" He asked and Dawn answered him. "It's nine twenty eight." Ash's eyes then widened in horror as he hurriedly stood up. Pikachu, who had been quiet thus far, let out an urgent "Pika!" before hopping onto his shoulder.
"Professor Oak, can I use your phone?" He asked, the words coming out rushed. "I don't mind, my boy. But where's the fire?" The old man asked as the raven haired teenager made a beeline for the man's lab. "Sorry Professor, no time to talk. Have to call Baby!" The others' eyes widened at his words. Was it possible that after all these years, Ash had finally? They stayed there for a few more seconds before following after the teen. They had to know, and there's no way that they would miss out on this.
If Ash or Pikachu found it strange that everyone had followed after them, they didn't voice it out. But then again with how focused they were on the phone, they probably didn't notice the gang standing behind them anyways. After four rings, the person on the other end of the call finally picked up the call and an image appeared on the monitor. The group had to stifle their gasps when they saw that the person on the other end of the line was a beautiful teen with long chocolate colored hair and eyes.
But the most surprised were Brock and Misty who recognized who the teen was. "Hey Giselle." He greeted as the girl frowned as she looked down at her wrist watch. "You're almost late." She replied as the raven haired teen scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, kinda got sidetracked." He offered as Giselle sighed. "Well, whatever. At least you called before nine thirty; otherwise Baby would have started crying again." She said before adding. "Just wait a second, I'll go and get her."
"Thanks." Ash told her as the girl disappeared from the view of the monitor for half a minute before she returned with something in her hands that started whining as soon as it saw Ash on the monitor. "Here Baby, it's your daddy Ash." Giselle said, which got the gang infinitely curious about what or who she was holding, but they couldn't see as Ash blocked their view. But it seemed that things were starting to go their way when Giselle spoke again. "By the way, why do you have an audience behind you?"
Ash and Pikachu looked surprise before turning back to look at their family and friends who were standing behind them some distance away, looking sheepish. But with that movement, they all got a clear view of what Giselle was holding and inwardly sighed, yeah; they thought it would be something like this. Ash looked confused as to why everyone was there before his face brightened up. "Hey guys, since you're here let me introduce you guys. This is Giselle and in her hands is Baby."
Ash then turned back to the monitor. "Giselle, Baby, meet my mom, Professor Oak and my friends." He said as Giselle gave them a small formal bow. "Nice to meet you all." She said before continuing. "But since I already know Brock and Misty, "it's nice to see you guys again" is probably more applicable for them." She said and both Kanto gym leaders gave her matching grins. "It's nice to see you again Giselle." Misty said as Brock nodded.
That was when the creature in the teen's arms began to whimper, which caused Ash to immediately turn back to the monitor. "Hey what's wrong, Baby?" He asked as the Vulpix began pawing at the monitor. "She just missed you like every other day that you've been away." Giselle answered before adding. "How long will you be away by the way? Because I already have half a mind to send her to you, Ash." She said as Ash began to subconsciously scratch Pikachu's ears, which caused him to let out a happy squeal before lying down.
"Has she been causing trouble?" He asked, but the other teen just shook her head. "No, but she hasn't been eating as much since you've left and she seems to get more withdrawn with each day that passes." She replied which caused Ash to frown. "That's not good. Well, I'm not really on the road anymore, so I guess it would be okay if you sent her to me." He said as Giselle nodded. "Yeah, that's probably for the best." She agreed before asking. "But who do you plan on sending back?"
"I'll send Bellosom back." He answered simply as Giselle nodded. "Alright then, just wait a bit. I'll go get Baby's Pokeball." She said before walking away from the monitor with the Vulpix, who didn't seem to want to go away from the machine that showed her trainer. "Shh. Baby, don't worry. I'll be sending you to him in a few minutes. Just wait for a little longer, ok?" She said soothingly as the Pokemon slowly ceased her struggling.
Once they were gone from view, Ash turned back to see everyone who looked like they wanted to say something. "Is something wrong?" He asked, not knowing the torrent of questions that he had just unleashed. "Why did Giselle say Daddy Ash, a little while ago?" "Why was that Vulpix so small?" "Did you really name that Vulpix, Baby?" "Why was your Vulpix with Giselle?" "What is your exact relationship with Giselle?"
Ash seemed to be taken aback from all the questions, and was about to attempt to answer a couple of them when the chocolate haired teen returned with a Pokeball in her hand. "Ash, I'll send Baby to you now." She said as she returned the Vulpix back to her Pokeball. Ash had given her a small nod as he pulled out a Pokeball from his belt and enlarged it before putting it in the Pokeball transporter, with Giselle doing the same thing before pressing some buttons in the machine.
Suddenly, the machine began charging a bright white light that fell on the Pokeball, engulfing it before it disappeared and another one appeared in its place a few seconds after. Ash grabbed the Pokeball and held it over the monitor. "I got Baby's Pokeball safely." He said as Giselle nodded before taking the Pokeball on the transporter from her side. "Bellosom's Pokeball has also arrived safely here." She told him as she held it up so that Ash could see.
"Thanks, Giselle. By the way, how's everybody doing?" He asked conversationally. "Everyone's doing fine over here. Right now, they're all doing their own thing. Want me to call them?" She offered, but Ash only shook his head. "Nah, no need to bother them." He told her. "Oh yeah, your third was asking when you're planning on coming back." She commented nonchalantly before adding. "Apparently, there's a chance you'll get a challenger soon."
Ash's eyes seemed to light up at that as he looked at his Pikachu, who seemed to share his excitement. "Is that so? Did she also happen to say when?" He asked as Giselle thought about it for a moment before replying. "If he manages to beat the frontier brain tomorrow, then probably in a week's time." She answered as Ash nodded. "Then that's enough time. I was originally planning on staying here for a couple of days before returning to Johto."
"Well, that's fine too. Give me a call tomorrow night, and I'll give you an update on the result of the match. No point in you leaving early if the challenger loses and needs to have a rematch first." She said. "Yeah, that's probably for the best. Well, I've probably taken up enough of your time. I'll call back again tomorrow for the update, and give everyone my regards, Giselle." He told her as she nodded before ending the phone call.
He then took a deep breath, before turning around again. But before anyone could say anything, he held out his hand up first. "I know you guys want me to answer some questions, but can that wait after I take care of Baby first?" He asked and the others reluctantly gave their agreement as he threw the Pokeball in his hands up and released the Pokemon inside. "Vul." Baby cried as she began to limp towards her trainer who scooped her into his arms.
It was only when the Vulpix walked that they noticed the metal brace on one of her hind legs. "Goodness gracious, Ash! What on earth happened to that Vulpix?" Professor Oak asked as he went closer to get a closer look at the Pokemon. "Ah, it's a bit of a long story. You mind if I tell it while I give Baby some food?" He asked and it seemed that no one had a problem with that, and in a matter of minutes the gang was back at the living room sitting on the couch once again as Ash fed the Vulpix with a baby bottle.
"So, Pikachu and I were walking around the forest two weeks ago when we heard this really loud growling noise and when we went to check it out we found Baby, who looked really close to collapsing. She was being attacked by a Nidorino because she accidentally encroached in his territory while she was looking for food." He said as the others looked horrified at just the mere thought. "Pikachu scared him off good though with a good thunderbolt and I took that chance to get Baby to a Pokemon center."
"According to Nurse Joy, Baby was just a few days old at the time." He said as he removed the now empty baby bottle away from the Vulpix mouth. "She had to stay in the ICU for the night, and it was touch and go for a while. But Baby pulled through." He said as the Vulpix began nuzzling her head to his face. "The next day, I tried finding Baby's parents. But according to the Ranger who was stationed there, Baby's mom had been attacked by a poacher and taken somewhere a few days earlier."
"So I decided to take her with me, since it would be the same as leaving her to die if I left her back at that forest. But one of her legs got really injured, so Nurse Joy needed to give her a brace." He said as he patted the top of the Vulpix head, who cooed happily. Pikachu, who had been sitting on the arm rest next to Ash then jumped down to Ash's lap before making funny faces which seemed to make Baby laugh. "But since I spoil her so much, the others kept calling her my baby, until the name stuck."
"Hence the name. and it didn't take long for them to give me the nickname Daddy Ash since they said that Baby sees me as her dad." He summarized as the others gave fond smiles at that, it was so like Ash to end up as a Pokemon's daddy. "That explains why Baby looks so small for her kind, she probably didn't get enough nutrition when she was in that forest. Not to mention if you take into account her young age." Professor Oak mused and Ash sighed.
"It's not just that Professor. For the first few days, Baby didn't really eat a lot. It's only recently that she's started to eat a bit more." Ash said as he looked at the Fox Pokemon on his lap who seemed to be chatting animatedly with Pikachu. "Baby also gets really scared of strangers, whether they're human or Pokemon. The only ones she gets along with are the people and Pokemon back at my Frontier station." Professor Oak shook his head sadly at that. "I'm sure that her time back at that forest had caused a trauma."
"But I'm sure that with constant care, like you're giving her now, she'll be able to get over it one day." He said as Ash nodded. That was when Baby let out a small yawn, before curling up into a ball. "Oh? Looks like playing with Pikachu tired my Baby out." He cooed to her and she gave a soft whine before falling asleep in his lap.
He then turned back to his family and friends. "I'm a man of my word so if you guys have any questions, fire away. But not too loud, ok?" He told them as they nodded and May was the first one to speak up, well whisper, more like it. "What's your exact relationship with Giselle?" She asked and Ash answered her in a voice just as soft. "She's part of my Frontier Crew." The next one to ask was Max. "What's a Frontier crew?"
Ash took a few seconds before answering. "A Frontier Crew is a group of people who help a Frontier Brain run his or her Station." Cilan then went next. "How many people do you have in your crew, Ash?" He asked and Ash answered immediately. "Seven." He answered as the gym leaders in the group's eyes widened. "That's a big number. Does it take that many people to run one Frontier Station?" Brock commented as Ash shook his head.
"No, you can run it with just three people. But I dunno, I'm just a bit different from some of the others and have a pretty large crew. But while it may seem like a big number, they all have different roles." He said as it was Tracey who asked the question on everybody's mind. "What do you mean by different roles?" Ash grinned before he began listing down the roles. "Second, Third, Breeder, DoIA, Chef and Apprentices." He said and before anyone could say anything, continued.
"Second is short for second-in-command, which is pretty self explanatory. Third, is also short for third-in-command, who is also the director of external affairs. The Breeder role; is also self explanatory. The DoIA, is short for Director of Internal affairs. It's this person's job to manage and take care of our living conditions and stuff. Chef, that's another one that's self explanatory. Finally, Apprentice is someone who learns directly from the Frontier Station."
"But the only ones that are absolutely mandatory for every Frontier station are Second and Third. If you have them, then you'll manage somehow." He said as they all nodded. "Then what role does Giselle have?" Dawn asked. "She's my DoIA." He answered as Misty gave a small smile. "But to think, what were the odds that your DoIA would be someone you already knew." She said as Ash blinked before scratching the back of his head. "Of course, she'd be someone I'd know. I invited her."
That caused an immediate reaction from the others as they all opened their mouths, but Ash was faster and put a finger to his lips and shushed them before looking meaningfully at the sleeping Pokemon in his lap. Which was a pretty funny sight to see for the others since Pikachu had also subconsciously done the same thing, at the exact same time as Ash. But instead of roaring with laughter like they wanted they stifled their laughter behind their hands for Baby's sake.
It took a minute before they could remove their hands without a risk of laughing like mad men. But once they did, Gary cleared his throat before asking the next question. "What do you mean by you invited Giselle, Ashy boy?" Ash glared at the elder teen for the nickname, but answered anyways. "I invited her, as in literally asked her to join my Frontier Crew, just like everyone else who's part of my crew. A Frontier Brain has the right to invite people to join their crew."
"The only time that Scott will assign people to a Frontier Brain is when they don't or can't find anyone to invite. But before that happens he'll give you a list of potential crew members, and the Frontier Brains can pick out crew members from that very list." He explained. The next question came from an unexpected source as Ash addressed the one who raised her hand. "Yes, mom?" He asked and Delia spoke. "Honey, does that mean that you're crew is full of people you know well?"
Ash grinned at that question. "Not just my crew, the other Frontier Brains and a lot of the members of their crew are people I know. It's practically a reunion every time we get together." He said which garnered a couple of curious looks from the others. But Ash only wagged his finger at them. "Ah, ah, ah. No spoiling the surprise." He said and Iris crossed her arms. "Why won't you tell us, Ash?" She asked and the raven haired teen chuckled. "If you knew their identities, you'd all have a fit of laughter."
"While I can't exactly tell you guys now, I plan on letting you guys find out when you guys meet them in person." He said which seemed to surprise them. "What do you mean by that Ash?" Dawn asked. "Well, I was planning on taking you guys with me to Johto." He answered simply as the others gaped. "Just when we're you planning on telling us that, Ash?" Professor Oak spluttered as Ash scratched his cheek. "I was planning you guys after dinner, but I got sidetracked."
His friends sighed at that. "You really haven't changed, Ash." Misty commented before continuing. "Well, I don't mind going to Johto, but mind giving us any details about the trip?" A look of confusion appeared on Ash's face at that. "Details?" Misty sighed before Brock spoke up. "As in the date, time and how we'll get there." He supplied as understanding dawned on Ash. "Ah, well we could get there either by plane or by boat. But as for the date and time that will depend."
"Depend on what, Ash?" Cilan asked as Ash grinned. "It'll depend on what happens in the challenger's match with the frontier brain tomorrow. If he wins, then we'll leave earlier." He replied as the others nodded in understanding. "But do you think the challenger will win tomorrow, Ash?" Max asked as Ash's grin turned into a smirk. "Well, I guess can give this to you guys as a teaser. The challenger will need to be really good, because he'll be going up against Paul tomorrow."
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