Thanks to those who've reviewed! I appreciate it! This concludes my short Author's Note, thanks!
Recap...
"Then let me come along Ash. I'd be glad to go with you. Being an Operator is something I could do, I know I wouldn't be suited for being a Ranger. I can be a Breeder and an Operator at the same time." Brock went running after Ash.
"Okay. Then let's go. You're welcome to come with us to the next town Dawn. You'd be on your own from there, but you'll be able to contact your mom."
Defeated, Dawn sighed and said,"Okay, I won't be able to snap you out of this, so I'll have to go along for now."
"Then it's settled, we'll drop you off at the next town."
Present Time...
Starting off after cleaning up their campsite at the Lake Valor lakefront, the gang started of for Pastoria City. The entirety of the walk back was unusually silent, no one willing to speak.
The time it took them to get to Pastoria was tense. Even the Pokémon could feel it within their pokeballs.
The trio had arrived at the city without interruption at 10:00. Not bothering to speak, Ash headed towards the Pokémon Center so he could have the egg checked out.
"Hey Ash, where are you going?" asked Brock.
"I'm going to the Pokémon Center real quick. I wanna have this egg that I found checked out. Then I'm gonna call my mom and tell her that we'll be home soon. Do you think you could go buy tickets?"
"Sure." Facing his other companion, he asked,"What about you Dawn? What are you gonna do?"
"I'm not sure. I might just get some supplies and head out on my own. I don't think I could find Zoey for a while anyways. Maybe get in touch with her though, then we could travel together."
"Alright then. I'll be back soon with the tickets okay Ash?"
"Sure. C'mon Dawn. Might as well have the others healed too, right?" with a smile, Ash turned and walked into the building without waiting for an answer. Huffing at his impatience, Dawn soon followed.
Waving, Ash shouted,"Hey Nurse Joy!"
She looked up from the computer she'd been working on to look for who called her. Nurse Joy was surprised to find Ask Ketchum running up to her.
"Hello again Ash. I don't mean to be rude, but what are you doing here? Didn't you just leave town yesterday?"
Looking a bit sheepish, Ash replied,"Yeah, but I decided last night to head back home. I found an egg just before that though and I was wondering if you could check it out to see if it's okay?"
"Well of course. It's my job after all. Now let me see the egg please."
Beaming at her, Ash took off his backpack and unzipped it. Taking out the egg he handed it to her. The egg was blue and black. The black on it was shaped in a wierd pattern at the bottom. It looked like a black circle with lightning coming out of it. Somewhat like the sun did in some ancient painting the nurse had seen.
"Do you know what Pokemon this might be?"
"I think that it might be a Lucario egg. I'm not really sure." he lied.
Nurse Joy looked at the egg for a minute before disappearing into a different room. A couple minutes later, she came back with the egg in an incubator.
"As far as I can tell, it looks just fine. Just keep it as warm as you can all right?"
"Of course Nurse Joy! I'll give it all I've got!"
"Hey, Ash. I just wanted to say, thanks. Thanks for everything. You're a great friend and I hope that one day, we might meet again. You too Pikachu. Good luck to the both of you."
"Same goes for me Dawn. There's nothing better than a friendly reunion. Sure, it'll a bit lonely for now, but just wait. You'll make lots more friends as you travel."
Then Ash turned, leaving Dawn there as he parted with her. He could faintly hear Pikachu speaking in the background but all he could hear as he raced away from the Pokémon Center was the wind rushing past him. With a smile on his face he went down to the docks to find Brock. He found him sitting on a bench looking out at the water.
"Hey Brock, I'm here!"
The man smiled as he saw our resident hero running up to him, frowning when he saw the egg incubator.
Pointing at the incubator he asked,"Where'd you get that Ash? You didn't have it last night."
"Actually, I did. It was just in my bag. I found it in the forest. Now c'mon Brock, we gotta get to the boat."
"Alright Ash! Just wait up, you don't even know which one it is!"
Exasperated, Brock ran right after his companion to make sure he didn't get lost.
Next Time: The Boat Home
Our heros travel home in preparation to head off for Almia. Brock isn't so sure of this new idea of being an operator. He wants to support Ash and his new dream of becoming a ranger, but he becomes insecure. What if he isn't cut out for the job? Nothing worries him more than not being able to help his friend.
Ash is excited to see the egg hatch, a bit overeager to get home, and (seemingly) ready to leave home once more for a new task. Ready to conquer the unknown, he prepares for a new life. One filled with even more evil than just Team Rocket. Well, more than Jessie, James, and Meowth to be more accurate. Saving the world seems to be his life's purpose, but with the new job will there be even grater risks?
Brock is getting cold feet. Check out next time to see if he makes it or chickens out.
Ash is getting excited. Will he make it or break it at Ranger School?