"ash? is that you?"
she gets to the door and opens it looking to see who's there.
"ah! hello! long time no see, brock!"
standing in front of her is brock, 3 years older and with a big smile on his face.
"hey ms. ketchum. it has been a while hasn't it?" says brock
"yes, it's so good to see you again. my, you've grown a bit since I last saw you" says delia smiling
"ha well yeah kinda" says brock scratching his head
"so I imagine you're here to see ash like the professor said?" she says
"oh yeah, just had to come and congratulate him. oh and enjoy the occasion a bit. is he here?" he says
"oh no not yet. he's supposed to be on his way. you can wait for him here" she says
"ok thanks" he says
"huh?" says delia as she notices someone standing a couple feet behind brock
brock notices her looking and says "oh yeah I brought someone along with me. let me introduce her. ms. ketchum, this is frontier brain lucy"
lucy stands wearing a sleeveless light blue top with light blue mini-skirt. she bows after being introduced.
"it is nice to meet you miss" says lucy
"ah, nice to meet you as well. oh my tea is almost ready. you two should come inside and try some while you wait for ash" says delia
"ok and thanks ms. k" says brock as he and lucy walk in the house
moments later brock and lucy are sitting on the couch in the living room as delia sits on a loveseat while sipping tea.
"so brock how have you been doing the last few years?" asks delia
"oh great. I've pretty much mastered every breeding technique there is. my goal of being the best isn't far away" says brock
"oh how nice brock. so lucy, are you acquainted with ash too?" delia says
"well yes miss. he battled me a couple years ago when he competed in the battle frontier" lucy says
"ah, yes I remember that. so then you two came together. you both wanted to see ash?" says delia sipping tea
"well er, actually I kinda wanted to bring lucy with me. you see, uh she's my... well she's my.. girl.. friend.." says brock blushing a bit
"huh?! wait, you two are dating?!" says delia with a surprised look
"w-well yeah. for quite some time now" says brock scratching his face while lucy looks down blushing
"oh how wonderful! you two look real good together. you've got quite a beautiful young woman here brock" says delia putting her hands together
"yes, yes I did. though getting her away from her sisters was quite the challenge hahaha" says brock
"brock!..." says lucy
"aw don't be shy lucy" says brock looking at her. she looks away blushing
"so ms. ketchum when is ash supposed to be here?" says brock
"oh, any minute now. he should've been here already. that's my ash, always late" says delia laughing a little
"well we can wait for him" says brock smiling
delia nods and says "I believe some of his other friends will be here too. want more tea?"
just then somebody knocks at the door.
"oh that might be him now" says delia
she walks over to the door and opens it. looking out she smiles seeing someone.
"oh, hi. come in"
meanwhile in town ash and serena continue walking down the path, taking in the scenery as they go.
"well my house is right around the corner" says ash
"pika pika!"
"right, let's hurry!" says serena
the group sees ash's house in the distance and begin to walk faster. as they walk over a hill ash hears a familiar, taunting voice.
"well well well, pallet towns hero has arrived"
ash and serena stop and look at the person talking. ash quickly realizes who it is, none other than gary oak. gary has also grown some in 3 years but mostly looks the same as before.
"who's he?" says serena
ash takes a step forward toward him and says "gary!... my old pallet town rival"
gary smirks and says "yup. it's been ages since I saw ya, ash ole friend. you've made quite a name for yourself huh? winning the indigo league, being named honorary elite 4, and now the whole town's throwing a party for your homecoming. you're the real deal man. however, don't let that fame go to your head ashy boy"
"hmph" grunts ash while serena gives gary a cold glare
"yes mostly I've been assisting my grandpa with his work the past few years but I've been training hard as well. heh, you know what? maybe I should enter the next indigo league and win it. so then, I can be the one... to take that spot from you!" says gary pointing at ash
ash looks up and is about to say something but serena steps forward.
"hey!"
serena shouts pointing at gary. he looks at her.
"who do you think you are, talking to ash like that?! he's the champ for a reason! he traveled all over the world and trained hard in solitude for 2 years to get that spot! he earned it! someone like you could never take that spot from him!"
"tch, who are you? his girlfriend or something?" says gary
"actually I am, smartass" says serena
"serena!..." says ash looking at her