Serena was silent. She couldn't believe it. Ash had died the day after she disappeared. "What… What kind of accident was it?" Serena whispered slowly. She realised it was difficult for Misty and Tracey to explain what had happened. "A landslide," Tracey answered. Serena nodded, grateful to know how it happened but saddened at the same time. She then wondered something. She knew what happened now, so how had she reacted when she got back. "How long was it before I went back?" Serena asked after a long silence. Misty and Tracey were clearly confused by the question. "I don't understand Serena," Tracey replied. "When I went back to my time… how long was it after what happened," Serena elaborated. "You never went back Serena," Misty told her scowling. Serena was shocked. Misty turned to Tracey. "You didn't tell her, did you?" Misty realised. Tracey looked down sadly. "I thought if I could protect Celebi and Serena, then I might be able to get them back and maybe Ash… could have been saved," Tracey murmured. Misty's angry eyes softened. After a few minutes of silence, it was clear no one wanted to speak anymore on the subject at that time. Misty excused herself and Tracey left to check on Mrs Ketchum. Serena sat there alone for a while and then decided to go outside. Maybe things would be easier out in the fresh air with the Pokémon.
Serena walked silently through the grounds. She saw many Pokémon. She spotted Ash's Totodile staring sadly in to a pond. She was very upset to see this Pokémon looking so depressed after seeing how happy it had been with Ash. She moved on before she could cry at the sight of the pitiful Pokémon. She saw Ash's Muk lying in a small, filthy puddle. She saw Ash's Bulbasaur stopping a quite heated argument between a Marill and an Oddish and once the argument had been resolved it quietly continued its rounds. She saw Ash's Scraggy trying to head-butt Ash's Donphan but both Pokémon didn't seem particularly in the mood to battle. Serena couldn't believe the difference in the Pokémon. It had only been a few hours ago for her when all these Pokémon had been happy and full of life, stampeding to greet their trainer.
"Sad isn't it?" Tracey commented from right behind her. Serena wiped away a tear and nodded. "Ash's Pokémon were very close to him and when he… after what happened a lot of them just gave up. In fact Bayleef took it really hard and well it passed away a couple of months after the accident. Ash's Charizard returned to the Liza to train with her Charizard, Charla. Ash's Greninja just plain disappeared right after the accident. It hasn't been seen since," Tracey continued watching the Pokémon with Serena. They stood together silently for a while. "How's Mrs Ketchum?" Serena asked softly. "Better. Whenever Team Rocket's mentioned around her, she can't always handle it. Especially if it's really out of the blue, like today. She can have a panic attack and sometimes even faint. I just took her home. When I started working with Professor Oak, Ash asked me to keep an eye on his mom when he was travelling. After the accident, I just kept doing that," Tracey explained. Serena nodded and smiled. "He really asked you to do that?" Serena retorted, she had always admired Ash for always being so thoughtful. Tracey nodded.
"I can't help but think that you guys gave up a bit too easy earlier," Serena remarked, mentioning the theft. Tracey scowled. "Things have changed a lot Serena. Now Team Rocket's in charge. A few months after what happened to Ash, Team Rocket made their move and completely took over Kanto. Then from there they took over Johto… Hoenn, Sinnoh… Unova, Kalos… everywhere. The first thing they did was stop trade and travel between the regions. They sent everyone back to their native regions unless they had special circumstances. Then they passed a law that allowed them to take any Pokémon they wanted as long as they weren't legally made untouchable. That was the first thing Professor Oak did. He made sure all the Pokémon here were legally untouchable. It was one of the last things he did before he died of a particularly violent virus," Tracey explained. Serena was staring at Tracey. "You said that Professor Oak was out in the field," Serena reminded him, accusingly. Tracey nodded. "I did, I was talking about Professor Oak's grandson, Professor Gary Oak. Gary used to do research for Professor Rowan in Sinnoh but he was one of the first people sent back to their home regions, just like Dawn, May and Iris. He took over after his grandfather passed away," Tracey elaborated. Serena shook her head. This wasn't right. Team Rocket weren't meant to be in control. Ash wasn't supposed to be gone. The Pokémon in front of her were meant to be happy not the shells of depression she saw.
It was difficult to take in and Serena was in danger of being sucked into these thoughts and losing her composure. That was until she heard a voice behind her. "You must be Serena," the voice stated. Serena turned around and saw a young man at a similar age to Tracey. He had auburn hair and had a Meowth standing beside him. The Meowth looked extremely nervous and cowered slightly behind the man. "Hey Gary," Tracey greeted the man. Tracey always called Gary by his name, as he always had even though most people call Gary Professor Oak like his grandfather before him. Gary nodded in greeting. Serena remembered that Gary had known Ash. She smiled nervously in greeting. "We should talk. Let's go find Misty," Gary continued. Serena scowled, how had he known that Misty was around? Gary noticed the scowl of confusion. He smiled. "It's become a bit of a tradition for a bunch of us to get together this time of year to remember Ash. Misty has never missed a single year so it follows she's here," Gary explained softly. He seemed to be a lot more understanding than Misty had been and a lot more confident in what he should tell her than Tracey had been. Serena instantly knew that he could and would answer any of her questions.
Well, I know not a lot of action happened in this chapter but I feel that it's important to explain how much has changed. I felt I should fully explain what Ash's death meant. Feel free to review and let me know what you think of the story so far but for now.
Until the next chapter.