Chapter 2
Clemont rolls out of bed when the sun starts to peek over the horizon the next morning, too keyed up with nerves and excitement to try and keep sleeping. Ash is due to make his debut as Lumiose's Gym Leader robot today!
"Today's a big day, Ash," he whispers, mindful of the fact that Bonnie is still asleep. "Your first day as a Gym Leader! I'm sure you'll do well." Their battle yesterday had proven that, even if Clemont was still stumped over some of the details. Ash would do fine today. Still, it couldn't hurt to just check things over one last time, could it…?
Which is how Bonnie finds him a few hours later, still in pyjamas and wielding a screwdriver at a time most normal people would only just be waking up. "Morning… geez Clemont, did you even sleep?"
"What?" Clemont says absently, still focused on his work.
Bonnie just shakes her head. Typical. "Come make breakfast, I'm starving!"
/\/\/\
After breakfast, Clemont activates Ash in the workshop (he's learnt his lesson about carrying the robot down several flights of stairs) and the three of them walk down to the Gym. Clemont can tell he's not the only excited one (although his is bordering on acute nerves) by the way Bonnie leaps down the steps two at a time. Ash keeps pace with him, although it seems to Clemont – and maybe this is just Clemont's imagination – that the robot would like to follow Bonnie's lead and rush down as well.
They've still got some time before challengers usually start turning up, so Clemont takes the opportunity to introduce Ash officially to his Pokémon since they'll be working together after all. Magnemite is the most curious, being the only one who hasn't seen Ash before now. "Everyone, this is Ash. He's a robot I made to help me out at the Gym sometimes, so please listen to him in battle like you would with me, okay?"
There's a chorus of agreement from his Pokémon. Magneton twirls around Ash with a happy buzz; Ash returns the greeting with a grin. "Thanks guys! Let's do our best!"
Not too long after that, the first challenger of the day shows up and Clemont takes a spot next to Bonnie in the stands. As the robot and Trainer exchange greetings, he tries in vain to stop his hands from trembling. It's a useless attempt. Clemont lets out a big breath instead, trying to calm his nerves.
Nope.
"Ahhh, this is so nerve-wracking!" he confesses quietly to Bonnie. She smiles reassuringly at him and pats his arm – don't worry, it'll be fine! – and returns her gaze to the battlefield, where robot and Trainer are now taking their place at either end. With his heart thumping loudly in his chest, Clemont watches the battle begin.
He needn't have worried, however. Ash shows the same flair for Pokémon battles that he did in their battle yesterday, handling Magnemite and Heliolisk like he's been their Trainer for years rather than a single day. For Clemont, it's actually rather amazing to watch all of his programming being translated into the real world like this. There's a strong sense of pride in his work as he watches Ash battle, but that doesn't stop him sighing in relief when Ash wins, nor smiling at the way Ash waves his arms excitedly at his Pokémon the second the defeated challenger is out of sight.
The next few battles go the same way. Ash doesn't win all of them, of course – Lumiose is not meant to be an impossible Gym, after all; if the challenger is strong enough, that should be recognised – but he battles well enough that Clemont feels comfortable in leaving the Gym in the robot's care so that he can work on his inventions. That was the original point of all this, after all.
/\/\/\
"That was a great battle!" Ash tells his opponent. "I had fun! Your shared strong will showed through your attacks. Here's the Voltage Badge – you've earned it!"
"Thanks!" the other Trainer says, taking the badge from Ash's hand and showing it to his Pokémon. "Look at that, Delphox, we won a badge!"
The fire Pokémon lets out stream of fire in celebration. Unfortunately, it's still a little tired from the battle and its aim is off, sending the fire streaming towards Bonnie, who has come out onto the battlefield.
Bonnie hears someone yell 'Watch out!' as she stares wide eyed at the streak of fire barrelling towards her. "Ah!" she cries and shuts her eyes, throwing a hand up to try and block the flames in vain. When the expected blow doesn't come, she peeks wide-eyed over her arm to find Ash has dived in front of her to take the hit.
"Are you okay?" the robot demands. She nods, still wide-eyed.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" the Trainer cries in horror, running over. "Are you both alright?" Beside him, the Delphox also makes a distressed sounding apology, looking worried.
"It's okay, it was an accident. I'm sure Delphox is tired after that battle, right?" Bonnie says, smiling at the fire Pokémon.
"Just try to be more careful next time, alright?" Ash adds, receiving a frantic nod from both Trainer and Pokémon.
With a few more profuse apologies, the Trainer and his Delphox depart. Bonnie turns to Ash, ready with thanks, but is distracted when she sees the robot frowning at his arm. "What's wrong?" Grabbing Ash's hand, she pulls his arm down for a closer look. It doesn't move properly; peering closer, Bonnie can see that some of the metal has warped in the fire. "Oh no! You're hurt, why didn't you say?"
"It's nothing." Ash shrugs.
"You should get Clemont to fix it; he's probably up in his workshop making something now anyway," Bonnie says decisively. Almost on cue, there's an explosion somewhere above them that makes dust rain down from the ceiling of the Gym.
"What was that?!" Ash yelps in alarm, looking around wildly.
"Oh, one of Clemont's inventions probably just exploded," Bonnie says dismissively. "It happens a lot."
"What?!" Ash replies, incredulous at the nonchalant tone. A bit of fire won't hurt him much, but surely a real human being caught in an explosion is incredibly dangerous? "Quick, we'd better go see if he's hurt!" He races off.
"Ah, wait for me!" Bonnie calls after him, following.
.
.
.
From his place of refuge on the floor, Clemont surveys the wreckage of what was going to be his newest invention with a rueful sigh. He's trying to figure out exactly where he went wrong when the doors to his workshop fly open and Ash skids to a stop inside, looking around frantically. "Clemont!"
"Over here," Clemont replies automatically, still blinking in shock at the robot's unexpected appearance. "How did your Gym battle go?"
"It was fun, Magnemite did really well but we still lost in the – that's not the point! We heard an explosion! Are you alright?!" Ash bends forward, looking him over critically. Clemont leans back slightly, feeling uncomfortable under the close scrutiny.
"I'm fine, really," he assures the robot, who still manages to look unconvinced.
Bonnie chooses that moment to stick her head in the door, drawing everyone's attention (much to Clemont's relief). "See? I told you," she says to Ash. "His invention blew up, like always."
"Not everything I make blows up!" Clemont protests indignantly. Bonnie raises an eyebrow at him and he flaps a hand in Ash's direction for emphasis. Ash blinks and then looks towards the blackened bench of the workshop considering.
"You were making something?" Ash asks curiously.
Clemont scratches his head in embarrassment. "Yes, I wanted to make a machine to help with the cleaning. I clearly got something wrong though…"
"That's so cool!"
Clemont looks up at Ash in surprise at the sheer amount of emotion in the robot's voice. Ash's eyes are glowing as he looks down at Clemont again. "You could really build something like that?"
"That's the idea," Clemont replies cautiously, starting to get to his feet. Ash may only be as tall as Clemont himself, but looking up at him from his seat on the floor is still starting to hurt Clemont's neck. A metal hand thrusts itself in front of his face, offering help. Clemont gladly accepts and lets Ash pull him to his feet, noting with satisfaction that the robot's balance and co-ordination remains steady. Ash is still only a week old, but he seems to be holding together well.
Speaking of... Clemont thinks, peering more closely at the robot's hand still in his grip. The metal panel of Ash's forearm is buckled and warped from some sort of fire damage. "Oh no, you're hurt!" he exclaims in dismay, examining the damage. "What happened?!"
"It's fine, it's not like it hurts…" Ash trails off as Clemont starts to rummage around on an undamaged workbench. Neither of the siblings appear to take any notice of his words.
"Ash blocked a fire attack from hitting me!" Bonnie informs her brother. "It wasn't Delphox's fault though…"
"What?!"
"Uh, guys…?" Ash tries again. "It's not that big a deal…?"
Clemont lets out an 'Aha!' as he unearths a screwdriver triumphantly and then hurries back over to Ash. "Could you sit down there and hold out your arm please? This should only take a few minutes to fix."
Ash takes a seat as instructed amongst the ruins of Clemont's attempted invention. Clemont sits opposite him and sets to work unscrewing the bolts holding the metal plate in place. "A fire attack, huh?" he muses absently as he works. "No wonder there's this amount of damage…" The inventor notes with relief that none of the wiring underneath seems like it has been damaged. Fixing this should be a simple task. It would be good if Ash was resistant to fire though… that way this kind of damage won't be a problem in the future. Hrm…
Mind whirling with possible ideas, Clemont almost misses it when his robot speaks up again. "You don't have to worry, really…"
"Don't be silly!" Bonnie jumps in. "Of course we're going to worry! My brother made you, so you're practically part of our family!"
"Family…" Ash repeats slowly.
Clemont looks up from his work on Ash's arm and smiles at the robot. "Bonnie's right. It's my job to look after you after all, especially if you get injured! Thank you for protecting Bonnie."
"Of course I'd protect her!" Ash replies instantly. "She's…" the robot hesitates, "'family' after all, right?"
The siblings exchange a surprised glance between them before beaming at him. "Right!" they reply in unison, looking pleased. Ash tilts his head slightly in confusion but his eyes glow softly.
With the bolts unscrewed and a little bit of effort, Clemont manages to lever off the damaged plate. He checks the wiring underneath – as I thought, everything's fine, thank goodness! – and gets up to find a replacement piece. While he rummages around once again on his workbench, Ash takes the opportunity to look around properly.
"All of this is stuff you've made?" the robot asks. There's a note of awe in his voice.
"Hm? Ah, that's right, you probably haven't seen much of it before now. This is my workshop," Clemont explains, inspecting a piece of metal. This should do nicely! He brings it back over to Ash, who is still looking around at the room. The robot's eyes are glowing again. I wonder if that really is his way of smiling…?
"My brother's inventions are really great! Even if they're always blowing up in the end," Bonnie adds, much to Clemont's embarrassment.
"Science is so amazing!" Ash declares. The declaration brings a smile to Clemont's face as he starts to screw the new panel into place.
"Ever since I became Gym Leader, I haven't really had much time to work on my inventions because I was so busy," he tells Ash. "That's why I made you, to help me out at the Gym. You've been doing really well! Thank you for all your hard work."
"I should be thanking you!" Ash replies, making Clemont look up in surprise. "If you hadn't made me, I wouldn't be able to have such fun battling or meet new Pokémon!" The robot nods to emphasise his words.
Clemont smiles, looking down again. He still can't access the locked file in Ash's AI so he's no closer to understanding exactly how the robot manages to act so human, but Ash's enthusiasm is difficult not to smile at. "There we go," he says with a pat to the new panel on Ash's arm. "All fixed!"
"Ah, thanks!" Ash says, holding his arm up and examining it. "Wow, it's as good as new!"
"Luckily there wasn't that much damage," Clemont says as he replaces his tools back on the workbench. "Still, please try to take better care of yourself."
"I will." Ash pauses for a moment. "…Is it okay if I come watch you work some time?"
"Huh?" Clemont is taken aback, not expecting such a request. He's so used to Bonnie's scepticism when it comes to his inventions that to have someone actively taking an interest – even if it was just the robot he'd built – was new. Still, Ash is starting to look disheartened by Clemont's lack of response, the glow in his eyes dimming, so Clemont finds himself blurting out "Sure, if you'd like to."
Ash instantly brightens. "Awesome! I'll come by when I'm not at the Gym!" the robot promises and Clemont smiles.
.
.
.
The days fall into a routine after that. On the days that Ash is in charge of taking Gym challenges, the robot spends most of his time down in the Gym, either battling Trainers or just playing with Clemont's Pokémon. The first time Clemont had come down on a break to see how Ash was doing, he'd been surprised to see his robot and his Pokémon laughing and chasing each other around. Clemont had spent a long time watching them all; this was after all yet another activity that he was sure he'd never programmed into Ash's code. The strange thing was, Ash's code seemed to be evolving every time he had a chance to look at it, much more than the simple learning system he'd programmed was capable of doing. He hadn't had much time to muse about it after that though, because Ash had spotted him in the stands and demanded he come down and play as well.
Still, Clemont finds himself stopping by the Gym every time he needs to stretch his legs. He knows Bonnie makes sure to watch all of the robot's Gym battles the way she always watched Clemont's own, because she and Ash usually end up recounting some of them over dinner.
When the Gym closes for the day, Ash makes good on his promise and comes to visit Clemont in his workshop. The robot is always curious and keeps up a continuous stream of questions about what Clemont is making or doing; he sounds so eager that Clemont can't help but oblige him with answers no matter how involved he is with his current project. He loves talking about science and his inventions and Ash never seems bored by any of his explanations. Of course, whether or not the robot actually understands anything Clemont explains is a different story, considering the usual response is just an enthusiastic 'Science is so amazing!', but Clemont doesn't mind either way.
It also makes it easier for Clemont to make various repairs and upgrades on his robot. They were usually hardware-only upgrades, because Clemont had learnt the hard way that Ash really hated code upgrades after he spent an hour chasing the robot around Prism Tower before he gave up from exhaustion. But Ash was unfortunately a magnet for attracting trouble. After the Delphox incident, Clemont had spent time coming up with a way to make sure Ash wouldn't be hurt by fire attacks again. Or electrical attacks for that matter, after the time Ash tried to pat Magnemite on the head without considering first that metal scraping metal was not a pleasant sensation for anyone. Clemont had spent a full two days rewiring Ash's arm after that, Magnemite buzzing around Ash anxiously despite both Ash and Clemont's assurances that the robot was okay.
Yes, Clemont will admit it's definitely much less quiet and much less lonely in his workshop nowadays with Ash around.
Of course, that's not to say that Clemont neglects his duties as Gym Leader. He takes his responsibility seriously and so, more often than not, challengers still face him rather than Ash. Although Ash always seems disappointed about this – but Clemont, I reeeeeally wanted to battle today! – his robot still comes to cheer Clemont on with Bonnie in every single one of his battles.
Sometimes when the Gym has closed, Clemont and Ash hold their own battles for training, although given they share Clemont's three Pokémon they can only ever have a one-on-one Pokémon battle. Clemont can see how Ash has been learning from all of his battles with the challengers to their Gym and getting stronger for it. However, that spark of unorthodox ingenuity from their first battle continues to shine brightly, pushing Clemont's limits further every time they battle. It's incredible and amazing and it still makes no sense according to Ash's code. Clemont has never come across something like this, something that science cannot explain. It should frustrate him, but instead both the inventor and the Gym Leader inside of him find it inspiring.
Other times, Ash insists that they train alongside their Pokémon as well and makes all of them – Clemont, his Pokémon, even Bonnie if she's around – run around the Gym a few times, much to Clemont's eternal dismay. Watching a robot and your younger sister overtake you easily on their third lap when you're only on your first isn't the best for one's self-esteem. Still, Clemont knows he could refuse – it's not like he has to do all this unnecessary running – but as always Ash's enthusiasm is hard to ignore.
"Why – why are we – running?!" Clemont demands in between great huffs of air, hands on knees.
Ash calls back from the other side of the Gym. "A good Trainer doesn't just train his Pokémon, he's gotta train his body too!"
"You're a robot – you, you don't even – need to exercise!" Clemont wails, envious of the way neither Ash nor Bonnie seem to be out of breath. Well, not that Ash needs to breathe, but it's the principle of the thing. Why did I agree to do this?
Ash just laughs, jogging past him. "Ahaha, come on Clemont!"
"You're such a Slowbro!" Bonnie adds, skipping past. Magneton floats up beside Clemont, making a worried noise of inquiry. If only he could float around like the magnet Pokémon! Then he wouldn't have to worry about running…
Filing the idle thought away for further examination, Clemont just sighs and starts to jog slowly again, trying to ignore the way his legs feel like jelly. Well, if it makes the two of them happy…
/\/\/\
Still, one-on-one battles by themselves aren't really enough training, so one day Clemont heads out for almost the entire day and leaves Ash behind to deal with the Gym. Even with Bonnie's reassurances that her brother is (probably) fine, Ash remains worried throughout all of his Gym matches of the day. Clemont has never left the Tower for this long before; what if something happens to him?
So when a familiar blue-and-yellow figure finally walks back through the doors of the Gym, Ash hurries over and wraps his arms around him in a tight squeeze like he has seen Bonnie do before, drawing an 'oof' from the blond. Clemont flails in his grip for a few seconds, clearly taken aback. "Ash?! What are you doing?"
"Are you alright?" Ash asks, releasing Clemont and looking him over for injuries. Other than a few scuff marks over his clothes and his hair in disarray, the human seems okay. "You were gone all day!"
"Ah, I'm sorry." Clemont looks apologetic. "I didn't mean to worry you; I went out to find something." With a proud smile, he shows Ash the Pokéball in his hand. "I'd like you to meet the newest member of our team! Please come out, Bunnelby!"
A grey and brown Pokémon with large ears pops out of the Pokéball with a bounce. "Bunnelby!"
"Woah!" Ash exclaims, crouching down for a better look. "I've never seen that Pokémon!"
Bunnelby seems a bit thrown off by the appearance of a large metal human but doesn't move away, so Clemont introduces them. "Ash, this is Bunnelby; and Bunnelby, this is Ash. He helps me out at the Gym, so please listen to him too." Bunnelby looks up and nods agreement.
"Bun!"
"A Bunnelby, huh?" the robot asks, searching the Pokédex data stored in his memory banks and accessing the entry on Bunnelby: Normal Type. It has ears like shovels. Digging holes strengthens its ears so much that they can sever thick roots effortlessly. "Your ears are really strong, huh? Ah, that's so cool!" Ash says to Bunnelby. "Pleased to meet you! I'm Ash."
"Bun!"
Clemont smiles as they shake hands, pleased at how well the two of them are getting along. It seems Ash's affinity for Pokémon extends beyond electric types. "We had an odd amount of Pokémon here at the Gym before, but with Bunnelby we can finally have two-on-two battles as well," he explains to Ash. "Plus, I figured you should have some practice outside of Gym matches at fighting a Pokémon that isn't an electric type."
Ash's eyes light up at the prospect of a battle. "Awesome!" he exclaims, jumping to his feet. "Let's battle then! Magneton!"
The magnet Pokémon floats over as Clemont grins, his glasses catching the light as he pushes them further up his nose. "Heh heh heh! I thought you might say that, so Bunnelby and I did some training before we returned. We don't intend to lose!"
"Bunnelby!" the Pokémon by his side adds in agreement.
Ash is already halfway back to the battlefield, Magneton at his side. "Neither do we!" he calls back over his shoulder.
"Good luck, both of you!" Bonnie calls, dashing over to the sidelines to watch in safety. Ash and Clemont take their places at either end of the battlefield, facing one another. Excitement is already fizzing along Clemont's veins.
"Go, Magneton!"
"Go, Bunnelby!"
/\/\/\
"So what do Pokémon Trainers actually do?" Ash asks later that evening, propping his head up on his hands. He's already seated at the dinner table with Bonnie, watching Clemont serve up dinner for himself and his sister. Beside the table, Bunnelby and the other Pokémon eagerly dig into their own dinner, enjoying a well-deserved break after their earlier battle. Although Ash doesn't need to eat, spending time with the siblings is always much more preferable to shutting down. This isn't the first time that Ash has stayed for dinner; it's reached the point that neither Clemont nor Bonnie seem to find his presence in their kitchen unusual anymore.
Ash's question, however, is unexpected enough that it makes Clemont pause while passing Bonnie her plate. "Pokémon Trainers…?" he repeats in surprise. What an odd thing to ask.
"They're people who keep Pokémon and look after them!" Bonnie says happily, tugging her plate from Clemont's grip. "And they get to travel around with them on a Pokémon journey!" She grins at Ash, a wide smile that makes the robot wish he could return it.
Clemont recovers from his surprise and sits down. "Yes, that's about right," he confirms. "Most Trainers travel around the world, catching and training Pokémon and earning badges at Gyms like this one."
Clemont has been around Ash long enough now to interpret most of the robot's 'expressions'; if Ash were human, Clemont would be on the end of a wide-eyed look of surprise right now. "There are other Gyms?"
Clemont can't help but smile at the robot's surprise. "Yes, in other towns. They all have their own specialty – Lumiose is an Electric-type Gym – but there are Grass-type Gyms, Fire-type Gyms and so on."
"Awesome!"
"And when they earn eight badges in one region," Clemont continues, "they can compete in a big regional battle tournament. Here, it's called the Kalos Championship League. The winner gets a chance to face the Elite Four and the Champion – they're the best of the best at Pokémon battles," he adds, seeing Ash's blank confusion. Did I really forget to add any of this into his knowledge database? the inventor wonders. He gets distracted by Bonnie though, who is trying to stealthily hide her carrots under a lettuce leaf while he talks. "Bonnie, you should try eating your carrots," he chides. Bonnie merely sticks her tongue out at her brother and continues ignoring the vegetable's existence. Clemont sighs.
"Wow, a battle tournament?!" Ash exclaims, apparently not noticing the siblings' behaviour. Clemont thinks that if it were possible for a robot to look starry-eyed, Ash would be doing it right now. Ash turns to him, head tilted in confusion. "Hey Clemont, why don't you do any of that? You're a Trainer, right?"
Clemont fiddles with his fork. "Yes, but I'm not really interested in collecting badges…"
"Ehhh? Why not?!" Ash cries in disbelief.
"Well, I'm a Gym Leader for one thing, so I couldn't anyway," Clemont explains. "But taking part in the League was never my goal; I took on the role of Gym Leader to help me master Electric-types of all regions. This is an Electric-type Gym, so naturally challengers will come prepared with strategies to counter that. If I can defeat them, then maybe I can grow as an Electric-type Trainer myself."
"They call my brother the Electric-type prodigy here in Lumiose!" Bonnie informs Ash proudly.
"Is that so? Good for you, Clemont!" Ash says, eyes aglow. Metal hands curl into determined fists. "We'll just have to make this Gym an awesome one so that lots of Trainers will want to come and battle and help you grow!"
You've helped me to grow too, Ash. Clemont may have created Ash as a robot able to learn and grow, but it seemed that he himself was learning a lot from being around Ash as well. "Yeah!" he replies with an answering smile.
"I'm gonna be a Trainer when I turn ten!" Bonnie declares. "I can't wait! I'll be able to keep my very own Pokémon!"
Clemont's smile softens; Bonnie has been looking forward to being able to look after her own Pokémon almost since she could walk. Only a few more years, huh…
Across the table, Ash manages to look wistful. "Ahh, that sounds so cool. I wish I could go on a Pokémon journey and meet lots of new Pokémon…" He looks over to where Clemont's Pokémon are enjoying their dinner. "You guys would like that too, right?"
All of the Pokémon chorus a reply, making Ash laugh. "The outside world must be so exciting!" he comments, reaching out to scratch Bunnelby's head.
His words cause Clemont and Bonnie to both stop eating and exchange a startled glance. Ash has never left the Tower, Clemont realises. Of course, there's no reason for him to do so, but… I didn't know he wanted to.
We should do something, Bonnie mouths at him behind Ash's back. Clemont agrees with her – Ash's hard work deserves something, at least – but what could they do?
Ash doesn't notice the pause in the siblings' eating, preoccupied as he is with Heliolisk coming over to demand some affection as well. Nor does he leave out Magnemite and Magneton, who are hovering nearby (they, too, remember Ash's disastrous attempts to pat them), handing out kind words of praise as easily as the pats he bestows upon Heliolisk and Bunnelby. Both Clemont and Bonnie huff in amusement as they watch Ash slide off his seat onto the floor to be immediately swarmed by the group of Pokémon.
The subject isn't broached again for the rest of the night, although it remains in the back of Clemont's mind. Unfortunately, Clemont gets distracted when Ash volunteers to help wash the dishes and then proceeds to fry the circuitry in his hand because it didn't occur to him that electricity and water don't mix. Clemont spends the next two days fixing Ash's hand and drawing up plans for waterproofing his robot.
He doesn't forget their conversation, though.
Thanks for reading! :D