Story set 5 years after the end of the series.

I was inspired by some other English language fics about pokeshipping to write this one.

I'll stick to the kanto and johto pokemon and characters because I don't know much about the newer generations :(

For a better reading experience, I will leave the name and artist of the songs that would play in any scene of the chapter if it were an anime ;)

Song: Some Are - David Bowie.

It was another sunny day over Pallet Town. So routiney that it was just as fresh and bright as the first time, eight years ago, that naive, dark-haired boy had gotten up late from bed and received his first Pokemon, a surly Pikachu he never imagined he would become. in your inseparable friend. Now, everything had changed in the Ketchum household, and in the lives of those around the old champion.

The song of the Dodrio from Professor Oak's laboratories resounded as it had for years, although the bird no longer sang with the same power that its three heads allowed. The old house where Ash and his mother resided looked quiet and dingy. There was not as much life as years ago. The lights were rarely seen on. From time to time old Mr. Mime swept up the leaves that fell on the sidewalk, but rarely did he appear to the young coach, now an adult.

The neighbors weren't saying much either, most of them too busy with their own business to pay attention to what was going on inside the house. Almost all the old acquaintances of the Ketchum family still resided in the town, except for a few who had already emigrated to seek their fortune and a better standard of living in other cities in the Kanto region or to other regions.

The sun streamed through the windows of Ash's old bedroom. It was after ten in the morning. Lazily, he got up from the bed and marched towards the bathroom. His old trophies and photographs still hung on the walls, covered in dust. The boy accompanied by his Pokémon, Professor Oak, his most faithful friends Misty and Brock, his mother, celebrating his birthday... Everything like a forgotten altar, like an old graffiti that fades on the worn wall of some alley . Everything was part of a past that seemed increasingly distant and that at times completely disappeared from the boy's mind...

Ash was in a bad mood. It wasn't the first time he felt like this. The feeling was like the winter mist hanging over his head, growing more compelling and painful. These five years since his great triumph and the great recognition it had given him had proven to be too dizzying, so much so that the boy had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. But all he knew is that his world had been turned upside down forever. And not in the best way. Currently, only the mime Pokemon that had been owned by his mother and Pikachu were accompanying him. The rest of his Pokemon remained in Bill's storage system, either free on Professor Oak's property or released by Ash himself. I hadn't had a Pokemon battle for two years, not even as a hobby. He had done it for a reason. He had grown tired of being a Pokemon trainer. It was not for less.

Just one year after he parted ways with his loyal friends, Misty and Brock, a corruption scandal broke out in the Pokemon League. The result of the scandal forced Professor Oak to retire from his work with the League, as he was sidelined for being one of the few League deans to refuse to take bribes to admit the new champion, who had used stolen Pokemon to win. the kanto championship The government of the Kanto region, due to pressure from certain power groups of the League, had resolved the issue in a highly questionable manner, causing great annoyance and even protests organized by professional and amateur Pokemon trainers: the League had concluded to abolish the need for a license to train Pokemon.

The result had been catastrophic, making the Kanto route 16 and 17 motorcycle gangs become real threats that spread throughout Kanto, occasionally looting the most unprotected towns such as Silver City or Lavender Town. The police could barely contain them, plus it was rumored that Team Rocket had returned, but this time they were operating much more discreetly, due to pressure from the Johto government to fix the Slowpoke tails trade between the two regions. The routes had become extremely dangerous, even when the trainers of the Pokemon gyms in the main cities of Kanto collaborated with the police to keep the roads between cities as safe as possible. And to make matters worse, the biker attacks and the suspension of licenses, had caused a shortage of Pokemon items worsening the economy of Kanto, reducing the salaries of gym leaders, employees of the Poke Center, Poke Mart and all those whose job activities depended on the mysterious creatures.

As if that weren't enough, Ash had his dreams of being a Gym Leader or being part of the Elite Four interrupted due to an unexpected and cruel trick of fate. Delia Ketchum had come down with an aggressive form of cancer that proved inoperable. Although Professor Oak tried to help her by using remedies for Pokemon and together with Ash they traveled to all the nearby regions looking for a cure, they failed to encourage or cure the terrible illness of the young champion's mother. Delia Ketchum died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, just months after her cancer diagnosis. Mourning and grief had made Ash extremely depressed, and he only had a brief visit from Misty at the funeral, as Brock had to testify in court to defend himself against charges that he was being wrongly accused of fraud. from the Pokemon league.

Misty, however, had to leave immediately back to Cerulean City because stranded Goldeen Banks appeared on Route 24, according to the police, who had possibly tried to be illegally captured them. After his mother's funeral, he hadn't seen Misty or Brock since. He didn't feel like it either. They didn't call him on the phone or send him a letter to see how he was doing, so he didn't want to contact them either. He was upset with them, and he preferred to stay that way.

He was physically and mentally tired. The future looked increasingly black. With no interest in continuing to work in his mother's family restaurant business, he rented it out to Gary Oak's sister, Daisy, who had now become the manager and head cook. However, the restaurant's profits had fallen and it was in danger of going bankrupt due to the economic crisis that was plaguing Kanto. Pikachu had also caught the apathy of its owner. He was now sleeping most of the day and had become somewhat irritable, which cost Ash many unexpected electric shocks. To heck with the world, Ash told himself as he lazily ate his cereal with cold milk. Just bad news, every day, as Ash absently flipped through the channels on his TV. The few trainers that were in Pallet Town besides him had withdrawn to collaborate with the defense brigades on the intercity routes. There wasn't much left to do in the small town of Kanto.

His life had become monotonous and there seemed to be nothing else out there of interest to him. Eat, sleep, play video games and repeat everything the next day. In order not to humiliate himself in front of his old rival, he had not accepted a position as a trainer in the Viridian City gym. He couldn't allow his pride to be a mere underling of Gary, let alone that Gary was suspected of being one of those who had covered up for the fraudulent champion in the Pokemon League, which had caused Ash to feel even more repulsed by him. , although Professor Oak fully trusted his grandson. Not to say that the pay wasn't that good and the restaurant earnings gave him good enough to live very austerely with only Pikachu and Mr. Mime. Perhaps if he returned to Pokemon battles again, he would find some reason to live again, even though Kanto was an increasingly unsafe region to travel alone. He felt like he had lost his experience for Pokemon battles and would surely fail if he tried again. He was a castaway in his own home. Devoid of dreams and forgotten by all the people he had once considered friends.

*The song would play here*

He looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't really have much to lose. A self-destructive impulse, perhaps, was telling him that it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a walk around there in search of adventure even with all the problems that could be found along the way. It was either that or stay forever in his house to die slowly and painfully inside until the situation in Kanto became truly unbearable. But the truth is that the routine had fed him up. Maybe a little action would excite him.