Hey Guys! I'm back with another chapter! Sorry about the late update, I've been really busy with my youtube channel recently, so updates for both my stories may be a bit slow.

Anyways...

Enjoy Chapter Fourteen!

Chapter XIV:

"Mom- Can't breathe!" I gasped against my Moms rough hold. She had been holding me in a tight embrace ever since we had arrived, and Nathan was snickering behind me and Bryce and Aria just had amused looks on their faces.

"Oh! Sorry dear." My mom mumbled sheepishly as she let go of me. I drew in a sharp breath now that I could breath. "No problem mom, I'm glad to see you too."

My mom frowned slightly and looked toward my side and my belt. "Scarlet, where are you're Pokemon?"

"The Pokemon Centre. We stopped there before coming here." I replied, fixing my jacket from where my mom's crushing hug had ruffled it. "We need to pick them up at about nine."

My mom smiled and looked towards my travelling companions. "Nice to see you again Nathan, Bryce. How are you two?"

"Doing great Mrs. Ketchum." Bryce smiled.

"Training hard." Nathan nodded back.

Mom turned to Aria with a smile, "who might this be?" and Aria smiled back nervously.

I put a hand on Aria's shoulder and grinned. "Mom this is Aria, she is a Pokemon Researcher from Sinnoh. She's hoping to meet Ean, and Nurse Joy said he came down to the Gym. Is he around?"

My mom nodded. "Your father and I invited him to dinner, so he should already he at the house. You and you're friends can join us of course."

"Oh no Mrs. Ketchum, I couldn't." Aria protested. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense dear, honestly it's no problem. You do want to meet Ean don't you?" My mom smiled, and Aria blushed lightly. "I guess..."

Again Nathan scoffed. "Stupid know-it-all-" I elbowed him sharply in the ribs and he gasped and moaned clutching his chest.

"Shut it Thanny. You better be on you're best behaviour for dinner. Wouldn't want Dad's Pikachu to shock some sense into you." I smirked, crossing my arms in satisfaction.

(Line Break)

We arrived to my childhood home in less than five minutes after exiting the gym. The house was down the street from the gym, a large two story family home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, with a large pool in the backyard and overall, seemed to reflect the colours blue and green, as though imitating the ocean. It could easily be identified as the water gym leaders home anyway.

My mom was whistling happily as she lead the four of us up the front porch. She opened the front door effortlessly and led us inside. "Ash? Look who's home!" She called, hanging her jacket up in the closet.

"Who is it Mist?" My heart ached when I heard the voice I hadn't heard in months, and when my dad poked his head out from behind the kitchen entrance, I raced forward and leaped into his arms. "Dad!"

My dad stumbled back in shock, before his face lit up with delight. "Princess! You're home! But- I think you're getting to big for this." He gasped, and I giggled and leaped out of his arms to beam up at him.

I heard a chuckle from behind me. "Scarlet sure is a little princess around her parents." Bryce smiled with his arms crossed, and Aria nodded with a grin on her face. "I don't blame her. I miss my parents too."

Nathan didn't say anything, but his eyes were sparkling and his mouth curved upwards into a smile.

I heard footsteps coming from the kitchen and I looked behind my dad to see a small redheaded boy come racing towards me until he tackled me in a hug and I fell flat on my back in shock.

"Scarlet's home! Scarlet's home!" Austin giggled in glee, hugging me tightly and not letting go. From beside me, Pikachu was running around my body in quick circles a look of excitement on his face. "Pikapichu!" The tiny mouse cried, licking my face.

"Uh, I'm glad to see you guys too." I began, lifting Austin gently off of me.

Everyone began to snicker at how uncomfortable I looked, until one laugh echoed throughout the hallway. I saw brown hair and the flash of glasses, and a familiar blue eyes boy strode over and extended a hand for me to take. I took the boys hand and pulled myself to my feet, dusting off my jacket and smiled. "Thanks Ean." I sighed.

Ean grinned back, "No problem Scarlet. Great seeing you again." From behind me I heard Nathan huff in irritation. I turned around for a second and shot him a look, silently telling him to behave. I honestly don't get what is with those two.

I turned to Bryce and Aria, who were looking at Ean in interest. "Guys this is Ean, Professor Oak's great grandson. Ean, this is my cousin Bryce, a training Pokemon Breeder, and Aria, a Pokemon Researcher from Sinnoh."

Bryce nodded once with a smile and Aria beamed. "Nice to meet you Ean."

"Likewise." Ean smiled.

"Alright, you guys can come on over into the kitchen and relax." My mom smiled, turned her back to us and entering the kitchen. Once she had disappeared, I heard her call once more. "Dinner will be ready soon, so you can all have a seat at the table!"

We all found seats around the large cherrywood table, my parents sat at the head and foot, Pikachu, Austin, Aria, and I sat along one side and Nathan, Ean and Bryce sat on the other.

Dinner soon was served, a large platter of chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, corn and cranberry sauce. As a special welcome home treat, my mother had even made Yorkshire Pudding which I quickly devoured.

"So how is you're journey so far?" My mom asked us all with a smile while serving herself, careful to avoid the carrots. "Have you caught any new Pokemon?"

I nodded touching my belt to pull out the Pokeball before remembering they we're in the Pokemon Centre. I moved my hands to the plate in front of me instead, putting a spoonful of potatoes i my mouth. "I caught an Aron!" I said after swallowing the food.

My dad looked impressed. "Really? Those guys sure are tough! How did you manage to beat one?"

Nathan chuckled. "She didn't. Team Rocket had injured Aron while mining through Mt. Moon, and Scarlet caught him and healed him."

I flushed red and glared at him. "At least I helped him! You were just standing there like a Stanler in headlights!"

Nathan huffed and crossed his arms. "I was going to help him alright? He just surprised me."

I glowered at him and turned back down to my food silently, and my mom chuckled. "Have they been arguing the whole journey Bryce? That could get annoying really fast."

Bryce shrugged. "Eh. I figured out how to separate them real fast. I was more worried they would scare Aria off."

The brown haired girl shrugged and adjusted her glasses. "They didn't scare me so much as make me laugh. They argue like an old married couple."

The table erupted into laughter while I flushed in embarrassment and a tint of pink appeared on Nathans usually cocky face. I quickly tried to change the subject.

"What about you Ean? Did you catch any new Pokemon?" I asked with a smile.

Ean nodded and ran his thumb over a pokeball on his belt. "As a matter of fact I did. I found a stray Mareep on a ranch outside Viridian City. He evolved into Flaaffy yesterday."

"Flaaffy?" I asked with a perked eyebrow. "I think you've mentioned those once or twice Dad."

I pulled out my Pokedex and the purple computer began to talk.

Flaaffy, the Wool Pokémon. Flaaffy builds up electricity in its thick coat of fur, but is unaffected by it thanks to its rubber-like skin.

"Scarlet." My mom warned with a disapproving glance. "No Pokedex at the table."

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Sorry mom." I mumbled while putting away the computer.

"So my Dad said you won a Boulder Badge Ean." Bryce smiled, trying to carry on the conversation.

"Umm, yeah. But it was a close fight. He nearly beat me." Ean smiled humbly.

Nathan scoffed and mumbled something I couldn't hear, but Ean turned his head sharply and glared at him. "What did you say?" He growled lowly.

Nathan flicked hair out of his eyes and casually swallowed a bite of chicken. "I just said you must not be that great of a trainer. Scarlet won in under ten minutes."

Ean looked slightly taken aback. Bryce and Aria raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. My parents looked confused and Austin squealed in excitement.

"Yay!" He cried. "Scarlet's a good trainer!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked in agreement. "Pika!"

I flushed and ducked my head, fiddling with my jacket. "Nathan come on, you know that's not true. Steelix nearly squeezed Growlithe until we lost."

Ash stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Steelix squeezed your Pokemon huh? Sounds familiar. How did you get out of that?"

"I told Growlithe to use ember on his tail." I said recalling the memory with a smile. "Steelix was so surprised he let go of Growlithe. I copied your idea when you were battling Gary a few months ago and Electivire grabbed Pikachu with his cables. You had Pikachu use iron tail to break free."

My dad looked impressed, and he had a proud gleam in his eyes. "Interesting tactic. You certainly take after me."

Ean smiled as well. "Hey that was a good idea Scarlet. I never would have thought of that."

"Yeah you wouldn't have." Nathan bit with a smirk.

Ean turned to him and scoffed. "Well what about you Nathy-boy?" Nathan looked outraged, and my Dad roared with laughter at the familiar nickname. "I saw you in that last contest. You didn't even make it to the semi finals!"

"I would have, if I hadn't battled Rhianne! And I almost won anyway, even against an Elekid! Could you have done that with a water type Pokemon Geek?" Nathan retorted with a glare.

"Both of you cut it out!" I groaned turning to Aria and Bryce in exasperation. "Now do you see what I have to deal with?"

Aria and Bryce shared looks of amusement. "We had to break up three of your fights with Nathan on the way here Scarlet." Bryce snickered. "We're used to it."

That reminded me of something. "Mom has Ean challenged you yet?" I asked, my voice perking in obvious interest.

Ean shook his head before my mom could respond. "No. I need three Pokemon to challenge the Cerulean Gym, and as of right now I only have two."

I turned to my mom quickly. "I have three Pokemon Mom! Can I battle you?"

The table got silent as I waited for an answer from my mom. To my disappointment, she shook her head.

"No Scarlet. I will not battle you."

My mouth dropped open and I gasped. "What? Why not?"

My mom just smiled. "I already decided you're going to battle me last. That way I know for sure you will be ready for the Pokemon Leauge."

I groaned and slapped my forehead. "Well this sucks."

Everyone laughed and I smacked my head hard against the table while groaning.

(Line Break)

After dinner, we went back to the Pokemon Centre to retrieve our Pokemon, and Growlithe jumped into my arms with glee. "Growl!" The puppy barked in happiness, and I laughed and snuggled the fire type.

"I'm glad to see you too buddy! Now that you're all refreshed and ready to go I think it would be a good time to ask my Dad a few things to help us out. I need some advice on battling, and who better to ask than the Pokemon Master?" I grinned, and the puppy barked in excitement.

Ean, who had walked with us and talked with Aria about Pokemon Research along the way, had just managed to hear the last bit of what I said. "Hey that's not a bad idea Scarlet." He smiled. "Maybe I'll ask Mr. Ketchum for advice as well."

Nathan rolled his eyes and smirked. "Yeah, because you need all the help you can get."

Ean narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "I would like to see you try and beat me Nathy-boy."

"Quit calling me that!" Nathan glowered. "I almost prefer Thanny more!"

The five of us laughed and Bryce turned to Aria in question. "Would you like to battle me Aria? We could help each other improve a little more."

Aria shrugged. "Why not?"

Nathan and Ean were glowering at each other in fury and reaching for Pokeballs. "I'll battle the Pokemon Geek any where at any time." Nathan snarled.

"For once I agree with you Contest Scrub." Ean bit back.

I rolled my eyes and turned to Growlithe. "Can you separate them buddy?"

Growlithe nodded and puffed out a single flame right between the arguing boys, causing them to yelp in surprise and fall backwards.

"Alright you two shut it down." I barked, grabbing both boys by the collar and pulling them to their feet. "Let's go find my dad."

It took a bit of time but soon we were able to get my dad out of the house and into the grassy field behind our pool. The five of us lined up to face him, and my Dad smiled at us, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder looking equally excited.

"Alright you guys, today we are going to work on you're strengths and weaknesses in battle. You are all going to have a practise battle, and I will watch you carefully, and help point out what you need to work on. If you would like, I can help you learn a few cool moves as well. Misty will be out shortly if any of you have a water type you would like to train."

I beamed. "Hey that's awesome! I really need to work with Buizel a little more."

Nathan and Ean perked up, seeming to forget about their dislike for each other as they tried to work on ways to help their Pokemon. "Mudkip could use a bit of training." Nathan nodded while fixing his bandanna.

Ean fiddled with a Pokeball while smiling. "Squirtle and I haven't trained in a while either."

Ash tapped his chin thoughtfully while pointing to Bryce and Aria. "You two can go first, followed up by Nathan and Ean."

"Hey what about me?" I asked with hurt in my voice.

"You Scarlet." My dad smirked mischievously. "Will battle me."

I recoiled in surprise, and suddenly found it hard to breathe. "O-okay." I whispered.

Bryce and Aria made stood across each other and called out their Pokemon. Bryce threw out Larvitar and Aria threw out Chimchar.

Although both trainers battled hard, Aria ended up winning the fight.

"Alright I see now." My dad smiled. "Bryce, you're not a bad trainer, although like Uncle Brock you're very defensive." My dad ruffled Bryce's hair as our cousin frowned. "You had a couple of chances to attack that you missed because you were worried about your Pokemon's safety. Try working on finding those angles to get an attack in. Otherwise you're pretty good."

My dad then turned to Aria, who was looking uncertain.

"Aria, you're not bad either. You just need to focus on you're Pokemon's speed. By the time you call an attack, you're opponent has already countered. Try practising speed with Chimchar okay?"

Aria and Bryce nodded and thanked my Dad who just waved his hand. "I'm a Pokemon Master, it's my job to make sure trainer's are preforming to the best of their abilities. Now, Ean and Nathan, let's see what you guys got!"

When Ean and Nathan stood across from each other, they glowered and reached for their Pokeballs.

"You're going down Pokemon Geek." Nathan snarled.

Ean scoffed and waved his hand. "Whatever Nathy-boy."

Nathans eyes narrowed and he picked up a pokeball and tossed it carelessly. "Beautifly showtime!"

"Flaaffy stand by for battle!" Ean shouted.

Both Pokemon appeared, narrowing their eyes slightly at the sight of such hostile looking trainers.

Both trainers battled furiously, and the Pokemon refused to give up.

"Beautifly! Use poison sting up in the air and then use gust to push it into Flaaffy!"

Beautifly complied, shooting poison needles directly at Flaaffy.

Ean bit his lip and furrowed his brow. "Flaaffy, destroy those needles and hit Beautifly with thunderbolt!"

Flaaffy sent the spiralling shock wave directly at Beautifly, and the Pokemon couldn't spin out of the way in time. The shock went through Beautifly causing the bug type to cry out in pain, and the butterfly Pokemon hit the ground with a thud.

"No!" Nathan gasped, and I winced as he returned Beautifly with a sad sigh. "Good job Beautifly. I'm proud of you."

Ean looked delighted at his win, returning Flaaffy with a grin. "Awesome job Flaaffy!"

"Alright you two, that was a very good battle." My dad smiled. "Nathan, don't look so down. You did really well. I'm impressed with the way you combined multiple attacks like that. You truly are you're fathers son." he paused and looked at Ean, frowning slightly. "You Ean, did very well also, although there is one thing I noticed. You rely solely on clean up moves. It works for now, but I am warning you, it wont work when you move up through move gyms. Try practising counter attacks, and smaller moves to do more damage."

Ean and Nathan nodded, slowly taking in what my dad told them.

My dad turned to me, his face replaced with a look of steely determination. "Alright Scarlet, time to see what you're made of Princess."

My dad and I stood apart from each other, and we gave each other determined expressions. From the corner of my eye, I could see my mom and Austin had arrived, being filled in by Bryce and Aria. From the sidelines, I could see Nathan and Bryce sit on far ends of each other, Ean smiling but Nathan giving him a glare every once in a while.

My dad grinned and turned to Pikachu. "Alright buddy, get on out there!"

Pikachu nodded and leaped onto the battle field. "Pi! Pikachu!"

I sucked in a sharp breath. Pikachu. My dad's strongest Pokemon. I needed to use my strongest as well then.

I turned to Growlithe with a determined smile. "Alright buddy you ready?" My puppy Pokemon barked with determination and narrowed his eyes at my dads electric mouse.

I took a deep breath and smiled. "Okay. Let's go Growlithe!"

And thats the chapter! If you enjoyed, please consider leaving a review!

Next chapter:

Ash and Scarlet have their first ever battle! A solo one-on-one commences, and Ash chooses Pikachu! Will Scarlet and Growlithe be able to pull through?