Next chapter is here, enjoy people! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon! If I did, the anime wouldn't make up random moves that don't exist or make no sense whatsoever.
~Guest: There is no cute ground type for Pikachu, so you should scrap that.
Never had the intention to give Pikachu a ground-type GF. ;)
~Guest: I can never find anything that makes me not like this story, every chapter is just amazing... Looking forward to your next chapter.
Thanks a lot! Hope you like how I portrayed Delia here. ^^
~DragonClawFromQ: After so many years of fighting Gary and blue and reading about them in a so much fanfiction, I've never seen him act like this much of a pushover.
Ash is just that strong, and he gained Gary's respect. :)
''Meloetta!'' Speech
'Meloetta' Thoughts
Ash's smile was contagious, to say the least. The rapidly approaching Jeep, which was driven by none other than professor Oak himself, had his mother waving at him enthusiastically.
''Ash, honey!'' Delia yelled over the sound of the car.
''Mom! Hey!'' Ash waved back excitedly. He'd kept contact with his mother almost daily. But this was the first time he could actually hug her ever since he began his journey, and that's exactly what he did.
When the Jeep pulled to a stop in front of the flower shop, Ash leapt into his mother's outstretched arms with the joy of a small child. ''Mom! I've missed you so much!''
''Oh, Ash! I've missed you too,'' Delia replied to her son warmly, gently holding him in her embrace. ''And look at all the cute pokemon you've caught! They're even more adorable than seeing them on the big screen,'' she added, eyeing each of them with delight in her eyes.
Ash's pokemon all gave exciting cries of their names.
''Yay! Grandma!'' Sylveon cheered, followed closely with Azumarill in tow.
''Hi Sylveon and Azumarill. You guys have grown a lot, haven't you?'' Delia greeted them.
''Syl!''
''Azu!''
Delia giggled, and petted them both while Rapidash, Pikachu and Meloetta watched.
''Ash definitely has his kindness from his mom,'' Pikachu noted.
Meloetta nodded her head. ''She's one of the sweetest women I've ever had the pleasure to meet.''
''My father could learn a lot from her,'' Rapidash added. ''She's so nice.''
Meanwhile, professor Oak had gotten out of the car as well. ''Ash, Gary. It's good to see both of you doing fine. Though I expected nothing less from you boys,'' he said.
''You got it, gramps,'' Gary replied, ''though I've to train a lot more if I want to defeat the hero kid over there,'' he joked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Ash.
''You weren't using your strongest pokemon, Gary. Rapidash wouldn't have stood a chance against your Blastoise, and I'm not sure about Sylveon either,'' Ash said with a smile.
''But you weren't either, Ashy-boy,'' Gary countered, grinning. ''So, in the end, I've to train either way.''
Professor Oak patted his grandson on his back, while Delia—after greeting and giving affection to all of Ash's pokemon—was chatting with Ash. ''So,'' professor Oak started, ''did you get what you were looking for?''
Gary shook his head. ''No, unfortunately. The guy who owns this flower shop is a renowned geologist, but even he doesn't have a Moon Stone for sale. I've searched Mt. Moon high and low as well, but I couldn't find any. I don't know how else I'm going to evolve my Nidorina.''
Professor Oak looked thoughtfully. ''And that item you won at a pokemon tourney wasn't a Moon Stone either?''
''No, it wasn't. The rumors were that the prize was a rare item and that it would surely evolve your pokemon, but when I won the tourney, it wasn't even a stone. It was a capsule.''
''A capsule, you say?'' Oak asked.
Gary shrugged his shoulders. ''I don't know what I can do with it either. It looks like some sort of pokemon vitamin like an Iron or Zinc, but I'm not going to give it to one of my pokemon unless I'm sure what it does. Hence why I want you to look at it.''
Professor Oak nodded his head. ''Very wise indeed. I shall analyze it once we're at the pokemon center.'' He now looked at Delia and Ash. ''Are you guys coming with us?''
''I actually want to look inside this flower shop for a while,'' Delia admitted, and then her eyes gleamed. ''Oh, Meloetta, sweetie! What do you say you accompany me for a bit? Just the two of us? It's been so long since I've went shopping with a friend!'' She gave the petite legendary a kind smile.
''Mel mel!'' she agreed instantly. It was a perfect opportunity to buy something nice for Ash. Beside the flower shop, there were some clothing shops and a bakery too.
''Wonderful! Now you boys move along. We'll meet you at the pokemon center.'' Both Delia and Meloetta giggled as they went inside, while Oak and Pikachu looked at them flatly. 'Women,' they thought.
''Okay! We'll see you at the pokemon center!'' Ash had called after them. He then faced Gary and professor Oak. ''I'll go on Rapidash, if you don't mind.''
''Sure,'' Oak responded. ''Gary and I will book a room in the meantime.''
The two drove off while Ash mounted his fire-type. ''Okay, Rapidash! Let's roll!''
The sweet fragrances of the flower shop reminded Meloetta of the box of perfumes they'd gotten from Erika after defeating her. It was almost overwhelming. Yet Meloetta couldn't help but look in awe at all the amazing colors of the flowers. It was like she was a kid in a candy shop.
''Now Meloetta, dear. Which flowers would you like to give to Ash?'' she asked the legendary. Delia's tone was teasing, something that didn't go unnoticed by Meloetta, who blushed in embarrassment while Delia giggled.
''Don't be shy now,'' Delia cooed, ''Do you really think I wouldn't notice you two had a thing going on? The way how you latch on to my son whenever he gives me a call makes it very obvious, love. I think you make a rather adorable couple,'' she said, smiling sweetly.
Meloetta's cheeks were burning hotly now. She had hoped Ash's mom would be ignorant about their relationship for a little while longer until she had bonded with her some more, but she had known all along, and apparently she was okay with it too. That was a huge relief from Meloetta's shoulders, at least. Not everybody was okay with a pokemon and human relationship. Meloetta wondered why Delia was so open about it, but decided not to question it.
''Melo mel,'' she replied shyly, a small smile forming on her lips.
''Are you trying to tell me that you like Ash?''
Meloetta nodded her head. It wasn't exactly what she said, but it was close enough.
''So, did you kiss him already?'' Delia now asked teasingly.
''Mel!'' Meloetta replied with a squeak, her cheeks turning a shade of scarlet to color of a beet. She now began to understand how embarrassing a mom could be.
At the same time, a buff looking guy entered the shop with a Scrafty and Krookodile behind him. He was definitely from out of Kanto, that was for sure. His carried himself with an air of superiority. As such, he didn't care his bulking physique smashed flower pots from their racks here and there. His faced stayed stoic the whole time.
''C-can I help you?'' a rather small woman at the cashier asked. The hulking giant didn't say anything, and just pointed at the most expensive flowers in the entire shop; the Kanto Dragon Orchid.
When the frightened employee had carefully gotten the flowers, holding them out to him with shaking hands, the big guy was about to leave with them without paying, however, Delia and Meloetta were blocking the exit rather effectively.
''Out of my way,'' he replied gruffly. ''I don't want to hurt you.''
''I think you got it wrong here. We're not going to leave until you've paid for those flowers and all the flower pots you broke,'' Delia replied with a scowl.
''You've got nerve. I'll give you three seconds to move.''
Delia looked at Meloetta competitively. ''Well, I've left Mimey home to take care of the house, but I did bring two of my old pokemon when I went to Alola years ago. Let's battle this guy together!''
She threw two pokeballs in the air, and out came a Ribombee and a Mimikyu, two pokemon Meloetta had never seen before. They were both small and adorable, but one look at them also told her they were quite powerful.
''Your time's up,'' the buff guy said. ''Boys,'' he directed to his pokemon, ''Go get them.''
Five minutes later—and without the help of Meloetta—the buff guy was dealt with accordingly. The owner of the shop had been on his lunch break when the incident happened. When he had heard everything from his employee, he was more than grateful. ''Please Mrs. Ketchum, I insist. Take these Kanto Dragon Orchids with you as a reward,'' he offered the woman.
''I couldn't possibly take them. They're so expensive!'' she rebutted.
''Nonsense. The safety of my employees is far more important to me.''
This went back and forth for a while, until Delia finally gave in and accepted the luscious bundle of flowers from the owner.
''Melo melo!'' Meloetta spoke up when they both headed outside and into the direction of the clothing store.
''They are very pretty, I agree, Meloetta. Or were you talking about the power of my pokemon?''
The legendary made a gesture that she meant the latter and Delia giggled. ''Ash is not the only one who's dream is to become the very best, like no one ever was,'' she revealed. ''You see, when I was younger I used to have the same dream. I was a serious trainer back then. But things changed a lot when I got Ash. I was still a teenager, almost reaching the age of twenty. The responsibilities forced me to quit being a trainer and take care of my little boy.'' She looked at Meloetta to gauge her reaction and gave her a wink. ''Now that Ash has been out of the house, I've been able to train a bit again,'' she explained joyfully. ''Both my Ribombee and Mimikyu are in pretty good shape, wouldn't you agree?''
Meloetta nodded her head. They'd no trouble taking down that Krookodile and Scrafty. Although they had a massive type advantage, that was still very impressive. She also had a lot of respect for Delia; giving up on her dream to take care of Ash instead must've been no small feat, especially at such a young age.
Not much later, when the two had walked into the clothing store, Meloetta instantly knew what she was going to buy for Ash.
''A new hat? That's a nice gift,'' Delia said sweetly. Once they were done shopping, they stopped at the bakery for some sweets, and then headed into the direction of the pokemon center.
''I'm sure everybody's going to love these cinnamon rolls,'' Delia chatted. ''Especially Ash.''
Meloetta had to giggle at that remark. Ash really loved to eat, especially if it was something sweet like a pastry.
''Did Ash battle Gary just before we arrived, by the way?'' Delia asked curiously. ''It looked like they had a friendly brawl going on.''
Meloetta nodded her head, and explained as best as she could how the battle went down.
''I see. They grow up so fast, don't they? Not just Ash and Gary, but you and the other pokemon as well. Poor Nidorina, though. Gary's been searching crazy for a Moon Stone to evolve her, and when he thought he finally won one, it was something else instead.''
''Mel?'' the legendary questioned.
''Oh, didn't you hear a couple hours ago? Gary was talking to the professor how he won an item that was a capsule instead of a Moon Stone. They're probably analyzing it right now.''
'A capsule? Could it be?' Meloetta's eyes went wide for a moment. 'And Ash has a Moon Stone he got from that crazy scientist guy too!' Immediately, the petite legendary began to drag Delia along with her Psychic.
''H-hold on, Meloetta! What's the rush all of a sudden?''
She didn't answer, and only gave a melodic chirp. Soon, the pokemon center was in sight and the happy legendary shot inside. Several trainers looked at her in awe, while Delia followed her in bewilderment
'I'm about to kill two Pidgey with one stone!' she thought happily.
Once they had found the room Ash, Gary and professor Oak were staying in, they were greeted by them warmly. When Meloetta had shown Ash his new hat—who was overjoyed by the gift—he decided to wear it instead of his old one, and he jokingly placed that hat on top of Pikachu. ''There, buddy. Now you can be a pokemon trainer too.''
Surprisingly enough, it fit him rather well. ''Oh wow, it really suits you, Pikachu,'' Ash then said genuinely. He definitely had that cuteness factor going on, with his ears being pinned against his head thanks to the accessory.
''Chaa!'' he replied, apparently very grateful that his trainer gave him an item that was so precious to him. ''I'm going to wear this with pride!'' he exclaimed. Both Meloetta and Delia giggled.
''I've also got a surprise for you, Pikachu,'' Meloetta suddenly said, her voice almost overflowing with happiness.
''Oh? Did you buy something for me too?''
''Not exactly, but you'll see. Just watch.''
Meloetta floated over to Ash's backpack, and rummaged through the various items, until she found the Moon Stone. Picking it up, she floated over to an astonished looking Gary and held it out to him.
''That's a Moon Stone!'' he exclaimed. ''Ashy-boy! You had one all along? I really need it to evolve my Nidorina. I know Meloetta is already offering it to me, but are you okay with it too?''
Ash hesitated for a moment, but then Meloetta pointed to the capsule professor Oak was researching and let her voice be heard. ''Meloetta mel melo mel!''
''You mean to say you want to trade the Moon Stone for Gary's capsule? But we don't even know what it does yet, do we, professor?''
''Not yet,'' he muttered. ''Although it looks very familiar. I'm sure I've seen a couple before on my travels, but that's a long time ago. It's certainly as rare as the Moon Stone, so trading the items would be fair.''
''Melo Melo,'' Meloetta said, enveloping the capsule in her Psychic.
''Hey! I was not done with that yet!'' Professor Oak said almost desperately. However, Meloetta just blew him a teasing raspberry, and offered Gary the option to trade the items again.
''I guess Meloetta knows what it does,'' Gary noted. She nodded her head and pointed at Pikachu.
''It's something for Pikachu?'' Ash questioned doubtfully. Pikachu perked a brow too.
''You're not telling me you're going to feed me that pill, right?'' he asked flatly.
''I sure am!'' she chirped.
Not much later, Gary had accepted the trade with Ash's approval and a shrug of his shoulders, more than happy he finally had a Moon Stone. Once that was arranged, everybody looked expectantly at Pikachu when Meloetta handed him the capsule.
''This is my gift to you,'' she whispered sweetly. ''I hope you like it.''
Her words were filled with so much warmth and genuine care that Pikachu shredded all his suspicion. With a bit of hesitation, he took the pill. He glowed brightly for just a split second, and then gave a burp. ''Huh, that was weird,'' he muttered. ''What just happened?''
Some of Professor Oak's old memories resurfaced, and he instantly remembered what the purpose of that capsule was. ''Now I remember!'' he exclaimed. But before he could explain, Meloetta was already showing the effect.
She had wrapped herself around Pikachu affectionately, nuzzling her cheek against his. ''Admittedly, I've wanted to do this for quite some time now,'' she said lovingly, while Pikachu was panicking greatly.
''What are you doing? Stop! In a moment, you'll be paralyzed worse than a Caterpie about to be swooped by a Pidgeotto!''
However, Meloetta kept rubbing her cheek against his, much to his embarrassment, and instead of his Static activating, nothing happened.
''It seems the Ability Capsule has worked splendidly,'' Meloetta cooed.
''What do you mean? And stop hugging me!'' the embarrassed electric-type said.
''None can do, Pikachu. You've to endure it.''
Pikachu groaned while Oak explained. ''An Ability Capsule can change the ability of a pokemon. Meloetta is showing it quite effectively, since Pikachu's Static is no longer present. Now, he has the ability Lightning Rod, which means all electric-type moves have no effect and instead increases Pikachu's special attack by one.''
''Wow, really?'' Ash asked with a big smile. ''That's so great!''
Pikachu was in shock for a moment. ''You… you took my Static away,'' he muttered to Meloetta.
''I told you I was going to find a solution,'' she whispered, her embrace caring. ''Now find a girlfriend already so I can tease you for eternity.''
Instead of laughing or making a teasing joke of his own, Pikachu held back his tears. ''Thank you,'' he said genuinely, and reciprocated the hug at last. Meloetta cooed and held him close.
'They really are one big family,' Delia thought warmly as she saw Ash scooping up both Pikachu and Meloetta in his arms and hugging them tightly. 'I'm so proud of you, Ash. You've already grown up so much. I'm sure that your father would be proud too.'
So there it is! Did you guys like it, love it, hate it? Review please, I love them even more than Waffles. :D Next time, Sylveon and the battling Eevee brothers. Until then. ^^
~Syrup-Waffle