Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. If I did Team Rocket would be more competent and mature like they were in Unova or they wouldn't be around at all.

Since both chapters are relatively brief, I figured I would upload two today. Enjoy!

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me."- Matthew 25:35

Careful not to wake Clemont or Pikachu, Ash unzipped the tent and stepped out into the crisp dawn air. Closing the tent flap behind him and turning, he wasn't surprised to see Brock up and already getting breakfast ready. What he was surprised to see was that Serena awake as well, already dressed in her signature red skirt, black top, and pink hat. Both of them were huddled over the camp fire. Serena was laughing lightly and something Brock had just said, head back and one hand resting on his forearm. Ash stopped in his tracks, stomach lurching. "Must be hungrier than usual," he thought to himself. Aloud he said, "Morning guys. You're both up early."

The two friends turned to look at Ash. Serena quickly dropped her hand from Brock's arm. "Morning to you too! We just started getting breakfast ready, so it might be a little while. Brock was just telling me about the time a Whiscash swallowed your badge case. Did you really jump in after it and almost drown?"

"Well, it's not like Brock hasn't had moments he would rather forget," Ash shot back, somewhat defensively. A soon as he said this her realized that he was actually irritated at Brock, which was weird. Shrugging it off as a symptom of the early hour, he walked over the two and adopted a more playful tone. "Well Serena, there's something I swore to Brock I would never bring up again…but uh, you never made any promises." He beckoned her closer.

Intrigued, Serena closed the distance between herself and Ash. Ash then leaned over and whispered something in her ear. His closeness and the fact he was clad in only his night clothes set her heart racing. Chuckling, Ash leaned back, stretched out his arms, then began walking out of the clearing to change, grabbing his backpack as he went. As he was getting out of earshot, Ash heard Serena ask, "So Brock, can you tell me about your time on the Orange Islands. I heard Professor Ivy…"

Brock recoiled visibly at this. "Don't mention that name," he exclaimed. Composing himself somewhat, he then yelled, "ASH!" Ash smirked and kept walking, whistling as he went, distantly hearing Serena admonish Brock to keep his voice down so as not to wake the others.

Before long Clemont, Bonnie, and the two Electric Pokémon were up, breakfast was done, and the group was back on the road again. The conversation was again dominated by reminiscing about journeys gone by. The three Kalos natives were amazed at what they were hearing. Although some of the stories seemed not too dissimilar from their own adventures, meeting world famous trainers like Cynthia and Lance, tangles with Teams Magma, Aqua, and Galactic, and encounters with Legendary Pokémon all seemed to defy belief. They had of course known Ash had been on his journey for a while. But from the way it sounded Ash and Brock had experienced more in that time than most people did in a lifetime.

At one point Serena couldn't take it anymore. "Ash, why didn't you tell us about any of this stuff? I mean, we knew that you'd down well in other Pokémon Leagues, even placed Top 4 in Sinnoh…but you saved the world for God's sake. You'd think you would have mentioned that."

Ash chuckled nervously. "It wasn't like that…I mean, it was, but I had a lot of help. Plus, you may have noticed but I'm not so good with telling stories." It was true that Brock had dominated most of the conversation, with Ash throwing in observations and comments at various points. "Besides, most of the fun in telling these stories is remembering it together with the ones you were with."

"I guess…" Serena sighed, trailing off. "And here I was thinking you jumping off Prism Tower was an isolated incident."

"You did what!" This time it was Brock's turn to be surprised.

"Yeah, Ash dove off to save Pikachu and was rescued by a flying Mega Blaziken," Clemont supplied. "A Garchomp went on a rampage and Ash here was the one that stopped it. I'm surprised something like that wasn't on the news in Kanto. It was all over the TV here."

Brock shook his head. "I don't get to watch TV much so for all I know it may have been. Ash, you didn't mention this when we talked about your time in Kalos."

"Well it's like you said Brock, I suck at telling stories; plus, I didn't want to get you worried. As for the news, I'm guessing it didn't get much attention in Kanto," Ash said. "If it had, mom would have seen it and she would have been on the next plane to Kalos."

"You bet she would have Ash, and I would have been with her," Brock echoed, clearly upset. "I know you were trying to help Pikachu but what were you thinking? Did you even consider how you dying would affect everyone that cares about you, especially your poor mother. None of us would want you to do something so reckless…Pikachu included."

"Well it worked out didn't it?" Ash shrugged.

"It 'worked out' because you got lucky Ash. You didn't save Pikachu…Mega Blaziken saved the both of you." Pausing and running has hand through his hair, he continued. "I'm not trying to get in a fight with you Ash. You know I've always admired your dedication to people and Pokémon…just be more careful. Think first sometimes buddy, it will save you and everyone else a lot of headache and heartache."

Ash sighed. "I hear ya Brock. And you're right, I wasn't really thinking about mom or any of my other friends or partners. I'll try to do better in the future," he said, bowing in contrition as he did so.

As Ash straightened from his bow, Brock put a hand on his shoulder. "That's all I ask man. That and call or write more often!"

Laughing at this, Ash nodded.

Brock turned to the others. "And I expect you guys to try to keep him from getting into too much trouble. Now let's get going."

The group resumed their walk, having briefly paused when Ash and Brock's exchange had grown serious. They had covered about half the remaining distance to Reflection Cave when they encountered their first traveler of the day. He was an older man, clad in hiking gear and sporting an overgrown beard, a rarity in fashion-conscious Kalos. When he saw group of kids walking toward him, he slowed his pace and waved in greeting.

"Hail friends and well-met. Where are you headed this fine summer's day?"

The group returned this greeting individually, but it was Brock that answered the stranger's question. "We're actually on our way to Reflection Cave."

"Ah, I just came from there. I spent all night in the cave looking to catch some Rock Pokémon. It was a long night but I got a few, so it was quite worth it."

"Really," replied Brock, "that's why we're going…or at least, why I'm going. See I'm visiting from Kanto for a few months and I'd love to catch a Rock type native to Kalos while I'm here. I used to be a Gym Leader and Rock types were my specialty."

"Ho-ho, a visitor to Kalos and a former Gym Leader to boot," the man boomed. "Well, I welcome you to our fair land! Have you been here long? And what about the rest of you? Visitors as well? Oh, and where are my manners? I am Dunstan."

After the group had made introductions and explained the circumstances that had led them to travel to Reflection Cave, Dunstan shared a bit about himself. Long ago he had been an office worker in Lumiose City but, having tired of the fast-paced, high stress life of the big city, quit his job and retired to the countryside. Now he made a modest living off growing fruits and keeping Combee. He also traveled when he could to catch new Pokémon.

"You see," he explained, "I never had the chance to go on a journey of my own when I was young. My family was too poor to afford it."

At this four of the five friends looked down somewhat guiltily. As the child of a world famous Rhyhorn racer, Serena had never needed to worry about money. Between their dad's shop and the Gym, Clemont and Bonnie, while nowhere near as well off as Serena, had no problem funding their journey. Even though the restaurant only made the Ketchums a modest living, there had never been any talk of Ash not going on a journey, and prize money had helped make things much easier. Only Brock, who at one time had to financially support nine brothers and sisters on his own, nodded understandingly.

If the hiker noticed their expressions, he paid them no mind. "So I stayed in school, went to college, and found the best-paying job I could. But now," he said smiling, "I have the time and the money to be a trainer."

Ash was quick to recover his composure. "So are you planning on challenging any Gyms?"

"Haha," he laughed, "that's a young man's game. Or young lady's," he said, nodding at Serena. "My humble desire to catch interesting Pokémon and test their skill in battle."

"All right!" Ash responded, striking a battling pose. "Then how about a battle with me?"

This time it was the hiker's turn to look guilty. "I would love to son, but my Pokémon and I are completely exhausted from a whole night spent in the cave. But I must confess that your spirit for battle is to be commended and I feel quite sad to have to refuse your challenge. To make up for my slight against you, please take this Dusk Ball." At this the hiker removed a small Pokeball from his pocket with a distinct dark green pattern. "Consider it an apology for being unable to battle and a token of admiration from one trainer to another."

Ash took the Dusk Ball from the hiker. "Thanks! But what exactly is a Dusk Ball?"

At this Brock responded. "A Dusk Ball is a Pokeball that is super effective at catching Pokémon in caves or at night. Because they're even better than Ultra Balls when used this way they're quite sought after. They're also hard to make, so they're a bit expensive too."

"Sounds cool," Ash responded. He then turned backed to Dunstan. "But it was Brock that really wanted to catch a Pokémon in Reflection Cave. I hope you don't mind if I give it to him instead." Ash looked at the hiker expectedly.

"Ho-ho, of course I don't mind! I'm happy to be of help to a group of young trainers." Turning to Brock, he said. "Godspeed young man, as I'm sure you know, Rock types can be quite strong and have a constitution to match. You'll need every bit of determination you've got, and that ball to boot!"

Giving a shallow bow, Brock responded, "Thank you sir. And best wishes!"

Waving goodbye to the group, the hiker continued on his way home while Ash and his friends resumed their walk towards Reflection Cave. As Clemont, Ash, and Bonnie began a conversation on raising Electric Pokémon, Brock and Serena each shuffled along, lost in their own thoughts. Brock, fingering the Dusk Ball absently, was carefully considering the coming afternoon's adventure and how to best use it to accomplish two goals: catch a new Pokémon and confront Ash about Serena's feelings. Neither would be easy. As for Serena, she was caught up in thinking about her relationship with Ash, both worried and hopeful for what the next few days would bring.

Ash jumping off Prism Tower was definitely in-character, if monumentally stupid. In canon they just totally gloss it over…but even in a world where 10 year olds are allowed to go traveling in the wilderness alone, I think Brock's reaction is right on the money. On the flip side, Brock may have grown up some, but that doesn't mean he's ready to talk about whatever it was that happened with Professor Ivy.

As for my reference to the economics of the Pokémon world, it's money another attempt to add a dose of realism, not my attempt at any sort of political statement. Even with camping out most of the time, journeying can't exactly be cheap, especially when you factor in the cost of feeding Pokémon. The only two explanations are a massive government subsidies or self-funding. Given what we see in the anime (e.g. in a society where Pokémon are clearly so important culturally and economically, there are few traveling trainers relative to apparent population level) I judge the second more likely, though the presence of so many Pokémon Centers may indicate it's a mixture of both.

I used the example of Ash and Brock to point out that, while hard, under these circumstances it's not impossible for someone in the middle/lower middle class to fund a journey, particularly if they win a lot and garner some sort of prize money / sponsorships. Is it a perfect explanation? Hardly, but it fits the facts. It can even be said to enrich (pardon the pun) the characters. For example, it gives the sacrifice Delia makes in letting her son follow his dreams an even greater dimension and provides Ash with another selfless motive for becoming a Pokémon Master: improving his family's economic lot. It also is a good reminder to us all that there are many with far less than we.