Ash sighed as he drummed his fingers on his desk. If science was his least favourite class, math must be his second least as he tried to make sense of what the teacher was explaining
If Ash were being honest, he'd rather be doing another one of Lt. Surge's impossible gym challenges or be training his powers with Riley. Anything would be better than this torture! Seriously who is going to use any of this once done with school?
"Mr. Ketchum, would you care to tell us the answer to this question" Ash heard his teacher ask suddenly which caused him to jolt from his position sightly
'I swear these teachers are out to get me' Ash thought as he looked at his notes and sweat dropped at the mess they looked 'Let it be known my note making skills deserve an award' he sarcastically thought
"We're waiting Mr. Ketchum" the teacher once again said with crossed arms
Ash once again sweat dropped and he heard a few of his classmates chuckling. Trying to ignore them all, he looked at the board and tried to make sense of the problem
On the board was an image of a triangle with only two sides having a number. Ash remembered something about this being trigonometry and to use something called sine or cosine law... but that's about it
The teacher sighed at this "Would anyone else care to help Mr. Ketchum" he asked as another student raised their hand, Ash taking note that it was the leader of the swim team; Misty Waterflower
"Yes, Miss Waterflower, the answer" the teacher called on her as she said the answer and the steps needed to get there "That is correct. Glad to see most of you are listening to what I have to say... while others seem to be drifting off"
Once again the class chuckled as Ash tried to hide himself behind his textbook, not noticing the smug look Misty send him. What a great way to start the day...
Soon the bell rang, and all the students started making their way towards their next class and just as Ash was gonna leave, his teacher pulled him aside
"Ash, your grades have been slipping the past few weeks and I know you know the material. You better improve your grades soon, otherwise you won't pass the class and I'm sure you don't want to repeat either" he seriously said as Ash dreaded at having to repeat math next year. Nodding at what his teacher was saying, Ash was soon excused and ran towards his most favourite class... science with Mr. Rowan
Walking into the classroom, Ash slowly sat down in his seat and decided to lie his head on his arms. His moment of peace was short lived as he felt someone tapping his shoulder
Sighing for the millionth time that day, Ash lifted his head and saw it was none other than Dawn as Gary sat down in his seat beside him
"Today we'll be having our test that I spoke of last time. I hope you all studied and are ready" Mr. Rowan said as soon as he came into the classroom
Ash's response is to slam his head onto the desk. He had forgotten about the test, being to distracted with learning to gain control over abilities. It seemed more important than learning the periodic table and chemicals
Gary and Dawn gave him a slight glance and sighed at his reaction. Guess he didn't study again
'Mom is gonna kill me if she gets another call from Mr. Rowan... hope I can at least get a 65%' the aura user thought as the test was soon placed on his desk
Hey, at least he still has after school aura lessons to look forwards to!
After school, Riley's place
Ash walking into his mentor's apartment, happy that the school day was over. Calling out Riley's name, he soon realized he was alone and the house was empty. Shrugging of his backpack, Ash made his way into the living room and saw a piece of paper with his name on it
Reaching to grab it, Ash read what it said;
Ash,
If you are reading this, I am probably not back home yet. I want you to practice your aura manipulation today. Once I get back, I'll explain the exercise of today.
Riley
Since Riley most likely had plans with aura manipulation, it was probably best he practice his aura control. While he may have control enough to not make his aura appear at school at random times... didn't mean he was able to call it on command yet
Deciding to try with some distractions this time around, Ash turned the TV and was surprised at what was on the news. Sitting down, he turned the volume up high
"I'm here at the scene of the crime where Lucario was in a fierce battle against the villain known as Bisharp. This time around, Bisharp happened to get the upper hand on our hero and was unfortunately injured on the scene"
Ash was so focused on the news report he didn't notice the door opening and revealing a slightly wore out Riley Gen, who was glad to be back home and get some rest. until setting his eyes on the teenager currently watching the report on Lucario and Bisharp. Riley mentally face palmed at forgetting about Ash and their lesson for today. Pushing himself from the wall, he needed to get cleaned and bandaged up before he could continue training the teen
"Still Lucario was able to capture the villain before he got away and is now being sent to Viridian Asylum. Many are wondering if Lucario is going to follow the trend and get his own partner soon or will he continue to go at protecting Viridian solo. According to polls, many are saying that Lucario is likely to get a partner soon, with crime rates rising in Viridian and other places, he'll need all the help possible"
'Get a partner... like Robin and Speedy?' Ash thought, still not noticing Riley as he was limping over towards the washroom 'I wonder what it would be like to be out their fighting crime... especially with my favourite hero. Bet the other partners have fun... I'd love to try it out myself, but no way would Lucario allow me to join with the limited control I got over my powers'
Finally, Ash heard a crash and felt someone else in the house. This caused him to curse for not being more aware of his senses. Riley had told him many times that one day he'd be able to sense others without the need to concentrate, explaining that the more a person uses an ability the more natural it becomes, needing little to no effort of concentration to activate it
But since Ash has yet to be at that level, he needed to concentrate. Closing his eyes, Ash could sense a figure in the washroom... but the aura felt very weak. If there's one thing Ash knows is bad, is a weak aura as it could mean two things. 1) the person was wounded or 2) they were dying... Ash hoped that they were only wounded
Walking carefully into the washroom, Ash saw none other than Riley passed out on the ground. Panicking, Ash checked his pulse and sighed in relief when he felt it still beating
"Riley, don't you dare die on me" Ash said to himself, trying to find a first aid kit or something to stop the bleeding "Wish aura could help heal people, cause I really don't know what to do. I know aura can heal since it helped me out, but I wish I could give you some of my energy to speed up your recovery" the young aura user whispered softly as he looked at the white bandages in his hands
Grabbing his phone and opening YouTube, Ash slowly copied the tutorial and although not the same, it did help stop the bleeding slightly. Satisfied with his work, Ash helped Riley onto his couch and looked at his mentor sadly as he went into the small training room to practice for awhile and to check up on Riley occasionally
Ash was able to finally make a few aura constructs, thought with a lot of concentration required and did a few homework sheets. He hoped Riley would be alright, and not overdo it tomorrow. Aura healing or not, he should take it easy after receiving a wound like that
Leaving the older aura user a note, Ash made his way towards the bus stop to take him home. He didn't have to wait to long and soon he was going back to Pallet Town. A thought suddenly came to Ash while on the bus 'Wasn't Lucario said to been injured... I mean Riley looked to have been stabbed and the villain Bisharp's signature weapons are his dual bladed hands... it could also just be a coincidence... but is it possible... could Riley be Lucario?'
Ash is beginning to suspect something about Riley and if he's connected to Lucario. This was basically a filler chapter to set up the big reveal that Ash is soon gonna get. Another thing is Robin and Speedy were mentioned here. So timeline, Speedy AKA Roy Harper isn't a clone in this story and he's already Red Arrow. Robin is Dick Grayson currently, and the team has already been form and is doing missions for the League. In terms of Ash's age he's 11 in this story, unless I mentioned it before and have to change, he's going to be 5 years younger than Dick who is 16. Alright enough info, till next time everyone :)