Chapter 3: loving family
"wha-what do you mean proffessor? Ash can't be an elite four. he isn't that skilled right? he's just a fluke..." Tracey was utterly shocked when he heard Ash became an elite four member.
Ash had a straight face the entire time, but on the inside, our hero was laughing his ass off. "I am, Tracey. I'll reïntroduce myself... the name is Ash ketchum. sinnoh's strongest elite four member, and future champ of the sinnoh region."
Oak looked with pity evident in his eyes. "he's not a fluke Tracey... if anything, he has archieved more then you all combined."
Gary got more and more aggravated during the conversation. "gramps... why the hell are you siding with Ashy-boy over here? Tracey's your student, and I'm your own grandson. Ash isn't anything to you."
"true... Ash may not be family, but he's been your best friend, and rival since you two were four. unlike what you guys told him, he IS a talented trainer, he's proven that to you by now. red and Delia were alway like siblings to your mother and yellow would not have wanted that you hurt her best friends' son like how you did!"
Gary flinched at the name of his mother. "sorry gramps..."
Oak looked at his grandson with a stern look in his eyes. he sighed. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Gary."
Gary cast his gaze towards Ash, and looked at him with pleading eyes.
"I-I'm sorry Ash... two years ago, I... I did something horrible to you... I told you, that you always relied on dumb luck, while you always were always able to do INCREDIBLE stuff... I... I guess I was just jealous of you and the others used that to set me up... can you find the mercy in your heart to forgive me?"
Ash sensed that Gary's aura was not giving any negative pulses, indicating that he wasn't lying, and sincerely wanted to patch things up.
"BULLSHIT! GARY, ARE YOU SERIOUSLY APOLOGIZING TO ASHY 'THE FLUKE' KETCHUM?!" Tracey roared in anger, his eyes were wide in disbelief. the plan they made years ago was falling apart, and if proffessor Oak was right, it was falling apart fast. his eyes narrowed and turned his head away from Gary
"tch'. and here I actually thought that you were better than that... but if it's come to that. sorry proffessor, but you'll have to choose. me, or the fluke."
Oak shook his head, and glared at Tracey. "get out Sketchit. from here on out, you are officially fired!"
Tracey's face darkened. Ash felt the negative emotions building up fast. before Tracey began chuckling...
"heheheheh... I-I'm fired? honestly... fired?"
Tracey cocked his head.
"I-I gave you seven years of my damn time... studied my ass off to follow your footsteps... to get fired? IMPOSSIBLE! YOU CAN'T FIRE ME YOU OLD FART! I DID EVERYTHING YOU WANTED, AND NEVER ASKED ANYTHING IN RETURN, AND YET YOU FIRE ME JUST LIKE THAT?!"
Tracey completely snapped.
"DON'T FUCKING MESS AROUND WITH ME YOU OLD FUCK!"
he jumped at proffessor Oak, his fist clenched, ready to punch the crap out of the old man, until Ash jumped in between. his eye was sky blue, and he raised one finger. Tracey jabbed but Ash stopped his fist with the tip of his index finger. Ash's face darkened considerably. his lone eye shining ominously in the darkness.
"oh no you don't..." it was nothing more than a whisper.
before Tracey could even react, Ash got behind him with an impressive burst of speed, leaving nothing behind but a blue trail, and jabbed him in a bundle of nerves in the neck, successfully knocking him out.
"Tracey, Tracey, Tracey... what to do with you now..."
Ash suddenly grinned as an evil idea popped up in his head. he wrote a note, and taped it stuck onto Tracey's shirt. he then proceeded to whisper something to metagross, who nodded. the pseudo-legendary's eyes lit up in a brilliant sapphire, and in a flash, Tracey disappeared. Gary and Oak looked at each other with a look of confusion on their faces.
"what did you just do?!" gary watched his old friend grin manically.
"sending someone a present... he...hehehe...heheheheheh" Ash chuckled like allen walker when he was winning a gamble... (D. gray-man fans will know what I mean...)
Gary and Oak thought the same thing, and sweatdropped. 'better stay on his good side... this guy has some serious darkness.'
"as for YOU, Gary oak... I'm willing to forgive you... but you'll have to earn my trust, once again... good to have you back, my old friend..."
for the first time in two years, gary saw Ash's eye turn it's original, warm amber colour. Ash grinned his trademark goofy grin, and his stomach started growling...
"guess it's time for dinner. I've gotta go, but I'll be back by tomorrow. LATER EVERYONE!"
Gary, proffessor oak, and Ash's pokemon all waved, before returning to their daily businesses.
"he never changes, does he?"
Oak smiled fondly before walking back to the lab.
"oh he did change. he finally grew up Gary. you just have to look below the surface." he said cryptically.
back at Delia's home, Ash finally got to eat his mother's fabulous food again. afterwards he released three cherish balls, and celebi, meloetta and darkrai appeared in the kitchen. he threw the other three up in the backyard. entei, lugia and latias jumped out. seeing them, his mother became estatic.
"OH MY ARCEUS, ASH! WHERE DID YOU CATCH THEM?!"
Ash smiled, before ruffling entei's manes, and stroking lugia's snout.
"well... you remember lugia, and celebi, right? I befriended entei when I visited molly's father, and he wanted to come with me... meloetta became my friend when I travelled through unova, but I never got the chance to introduce her. latias came with me, when I visited Bianca and her grandfather Lorenzo in alto mare. thank arceus, because now no-one can abuse the defence system anymore. and darkrai wanted to come along, after I attended Alice and Tonio's wedding along with cynthia and lucian. though we did have to restrict baron alberto, from stopping the wedding... did you know that dark void can also be used as a sneak attack?"
his mother was staring quite curiously at meloetta and darkrai.
"Ash? isn't darkrai the legendary nightmare pokemon?"
darkrai's shoulders slumped, and he sighed.
"I'm sorry... my lady...I can't help it..."
Delia sweatdropped, before smiling. she walked over to the kitchen counter, and held up four rainbow-coloured feathers.
"these are cresselia feathers. it'll cancel your nightmares for me, Ash, pikachu and Mimey. Ash told me that all legendary pokemon possess the skill pressure, so they won't be affected by your dormant power. this way all of us can sleep tight, and you guys won't have to stay in your pokeballs."
"th-that's... nice... thank you...very...much"
Delia beamed at darkrai's friendliness, and she ruffled his hair. (or the white smoke-like stuff on top of his head...)
Ash smiled at his mother's bonding with the black shadow pokemon, before he spoke up in a warn tone.
"I don't care what other people say about you. you're a nice guy, darkrai. besides, you guys are all my family. that includes you too buddy."
"pika-chu!"
"bi-beee"
"me- melo- me"
"he's right darkrai."
"yup, yer the brooding uncle of our disfunctional little family"
"tas! latias!"
"they're right sweetie. Ash sees all of you as family."
darkrai, genuinely touched by all this kindness, blushed slightly and chuckled.
"family... I guess... I can live with that... thank you all..."
they all talked until midnight, and then everyone went to sleep. except darkrai. he sat on the roof next to Ash's window and gazed at the moon.
he closed his eyes and linked is mind to Alice's. inside her dream, he saw her sitting under the old oak tree. she smiled when she saw him and hugged him.
"you know... I really miss you, but I know you have a greater destiny than our boring old town... is Ash treating you well?"
"yes... he treats me... with... a lot of... respect... and kindness..."
alice beamed brightly at that.
"thats good to hear..."
"he... his mother... and his... other pokemon... accepted me... into... their family. I'm... quite happy." darkrai rumbled fondly.
her smile broadened with every word, and hugged him again. with everything he had been through, and done, he deserved a family. she told him that he could stop by anytime. she then said her goodbyes and darkrai returned to his own mind.
three-thousand miles away, in alamos town, Alice woke up with a few tears trailing down her cheeks, and a small, fond smile on her lips. Tonio woke up from her soft sobs, and put his arm around her. Alice sobbed, and smiled at the same time.
"Alice. what's wrong?"
"n-nothing honey... darkrai visited me. and told me that he found what he wished for, the most."
"and that is?" he asked incredously.
"a loving family..."
tonio laughed softly at that and hugged her closely.
"it seems that we all found our own little family then didn't we?" he asked her while rubbing her belly, which was slightly swollen.
Alice grinned and lied back down.
"Tonio. do you wanna tell Ash about this? or do you want me to?"
Tonio lied down too as he huffed a bit.
"let's tell him together. I mean it's his godchild after all."