The next day, Viridian High

Viridian High was exploding that day. Many couldn't believe what they were reading; Lucario had a partner! And a teenager their age made it even cooler!

"OMG they better be a girl! There aren't many girl teen heroes after all!"

"No way! Besides the name screams out male!"

"I wonder if they're cute!"

These were many of the comments currently going around in Viridian High as everyone continued to talk about the new hero now protecting Viridian

"I can't believe Lucario, the same hero who said he didn't want a teenage partner... now has one!" Gary exclaimed in English class as Leaf tried to tune out the brown haired teen, wanting to focus on her book

"I think everyone is surprised by the news Gary, not just you" Dawn said with a chuckle at the boy's antics Dawn knew both him and Ash were fans of the local hero since the two could go on for hours talking about their favourite heroes, especially Ash

"Can you imagine! I mean do you even know how lucky that kid is! To be fighting side by side with Lucario! What does someone gotta do to become a partner to a superhero around here... I swear if Ash were here, he'd be jumping at the chance to become a teenage hero himself"

"Where's Ash anyway? I mean the bell is about to ring soon" May said as she sat down next to Dawn

"Hmm good question. Ashy-boy is rarely late, especially due to not wanting to get detention and all" Gary said grabbing his phone and dialing Ash's number

"Hey Ash!" Gary exclaimed as soon as his call was answered and put it on speaker so only he, Dawn, May and Leaf could hear and talk with the raven-haired teen

"Gary, can't- whoa- I can't talk right now" Ash was heard over the phone and what seemed like gunfire was heard in the background and also shouting "Any chance you could call back later?"

"What are you doing, you're literally going to be late to class!" May seriously said, however she was worried about the gunfire

"In case you haven't heard, I'm actually in the middle of something" he said and glass was heard being shattered as well as Ash cursing "Just give Ms. Bertha an excuse for- Damn it, look I got to go!" Ash said as he suddenly hung up, leaving his friends to stare at the phone in confusion

A few others who had heard the conversation were chuckling as they thought Ash might be ditching class to play video games… if only that were true

15 minutes into class and Ash still hadn't come yet. Gary was seen checking his phone the entire time, texting Ash about where he was while May on the other hand was the only one nervously glancing at the door every minute.

Ms. Bertha took notice of this and sighed "Is there something the matter Ms. Maple? You've been glancing at that door for the last 10 minutes" she asked, as everyone turned towards the brunette

"Well... you see... um..." May tried explaining

Luckily for her, the classroom door was slammed open and standing their as if they had just run a marathon was none other than Ash "Sorry... I'm... late" he said in between breathes

"Care to explain why you are almost 20 minutes late to class Mr. Ketchum?"

Ash ignored his teacher for the moment as he moved towards his desk, taking a seat and pulling out his supplies as Ms. Bertha glared at him and repeated her question

"That's a funny story Ms. Bertha, you see a very strange thing happened" Ash started saying, but Ms. Bertha cut him off and gave him a warning. Ash nodded and sighed in relief once she left him alone

When Gary had called, let's just say Ash was on his way to school but soon noticed a breaking and entering happening along the way. Due to not being in costume, Ash had to improvise and as such took longer since he had to work on not being spotted by the attackers and the cameras. He should also count himself lucky for bringing an extra set of clothes with him since his previous had gotten some blood on them. Another reason he took long was due to having to change clothing… but 15 minutes late isn't that bad… it could have been worst if he had arrived at the end of class

Unknown to him, while he was lost in his thoughts, May was sending him concerned glances as she wondered about the gunshots yet again from the phone call and Gary was looking at his best friend with an unreadable expression

'Just what are you hiding Ash… I know you're hiding something and I swear, I will get to the bottom of this soon'

Opening his phone, Gary scrolled through his saved notes and opened the one he was looking for: Ash's Secret: What could it be?

With that he started typing his latest observation;

- arrived late to class (Ash never has before unless due to Paul and his gang)

- phone call resulted in hearing gunshot firing and shouting (video game or actual?)

Taking another glance at his friend, Gary noticed something red peaking out from his backpack. If Ash were really involved with something involving gunshots… it would only stand to reason that the red thing is blood… still that didn't help him figure out the secret

'This might be harder than I thought' was his last thought on the matter as Ms. Bertha called out his and Nate's name to present their project

60 minutes later, Science class

Gary opened his binder and sighed. Ash was right, Science has to be the worst class ever. The brown-haired teen should count himself lucky and that he and Ash basically almost have the same schedule expect Math and Art as he could now carry out his plan

However, one problem... where on earth was Ash now?! Gary seriously didn't think his friend could be ditching before, but right now he was starting to think that maybe his early assessment was wrong

Mr. Rowan soon entered the classroom, dragging a familiar shade of raven hair into the class with him. Many stared at the scene and then started laughing, while Gary could only imagine the embarrassment his friend must be feeling right now

"Mr. Ketchum, care to explain why you were planning on ditching my class?" Mr. Rowan asked as Gary looked shocked 'So Ash was planning on ditching after all!'

Ash said nothing, but Gary noticed the slight shameful expression on his face. Whether that was for being caught or because he was planning on ditching, Gary didn't know

Sighing, Mr. Rowan motioned Ash to take a seat as the teen did that, taking his seat beside Gary. Making sure that the teacher wasn't looking, Gary took out his phone and messaged Ash

G: Dude, what is up with you? First English, now Science! Are you trying to get expelled or suspended?!

It took awhile, before Gary finally noticed the three small dots indicating that Ash was texting

A: No... I didn't mean to come late to English. Some stuff just came up and as for right now, I was going to go to the principal's office and change the attendance to late

Gary felt back now for thinking about Ash actually ditching, but still what else was he supposed to think?

A: I'm sorry I cut you off when you called me. I know you only called to know where I was... it was unfair of me to just hang up on you and the others

G: It's fine... judging by the gunshots we all heard, you probably had good reason to hang up like you did

Gary knew better than to ask about what had occurred during that time. Although he really wanted to question Ash about the details... there was that small voice in his heard warning him against that and so he decided to just leave it alone

He saw Ash texting back when he suddenly stopped and Gary looked over at his friend in confusion only to see Mr. Rowan in front of his desk with a stern expression

Sinking into his seat to make himself not be seen, Gary could do nothing but watch as his phone was yanked from his hands by his teacher and soon left. Sighing he noticed Ash slowly bring out his phone from his desk and Gary stared at him in shock; how was he able to hide his phone from Mr. Rowan! Both he and Ash were deeply concentrated on their phones

To make matters worse, both Ash and Gary's eyes widened when Mr. Rowan suddenly placed the phone on the projector and showcased their conversation to the whole class

The class turned towards the duo and Gary realized they must be wondering about the whole gunshot comment... well seems Ash will have to tell the story now

Knowing there was no way out of this Ash told his story about what had caused him to be late but bending the truth slightly since he wasn't all the keen on anyone finding out about his status as Riolu's true identity. Ash knew he was already an internet sensation due to yesterday's debut. He had expected people to react to the news yes... but he didn't think they his whole school would go crazy with all this... were teenage heroes that big a deal to other teenagers... scratch that, he should know that yes, they are since he went crazy when he heard about Robin's debut

After he had explained his story, most of the students looked pale at what Ash had said... Gary was the worst of them as he suddenly realized that his call could have almost killed his friend!

Mr. Rowan silenced the classroom, but even Ash could tell he was shaken up by his story... maybe he should have made it more PG rated or something... oh well to late now

Lunch Time

Ash and Gary didn't talk to one another until lunch. Both had decided not to comment about what had happened during Science and to keep it between them. It was better since neither wanted their friends to react like everyone else had

There was one thing bothering Gary however... why was Ash even in that area in the first place. He's walked with Ash to school once, it was during there first day in Viridian High, and he knew that the place his friend mentioned wasn't on the route towards there school

"So, care to tell us why you were so late to school today, Ash Ketchum" May asked with crossed arms and everyone at the table minus Ash thought it was cute how much May seemed to care for Ash's well being. Ash on the other hand looked at her with an unreadable expression

"I don't want to talk about it" was all he said causing the girls to look at one another and decide to drop it for the moment. If anything, Ash might have already told Gary, so they might be able to get the answer they want from him

"Anyway, Ash! Did you see Lucario has a teenage partner!" Gary suddenly exclaimed, deciding a change in conversation was needed

Ash, who had been drinking some water, almost choked when his childhood friend had mentioned that. Once again Ash had to wonder how his life would change if anyone were to discover the truth

"I heard about it! I can't believe it! I remember once hearing that Lucario straight out denied the motion of ever getting a teenage partner" May jumped in

"People have been known to change their minds" Dawn calmly said, taking a bit from her lunch

Leaf, seeing no escape from this, sighed and decided to just join in "Based on what was told, he or she seems to be about our age... do you think the teen goes to our school?"

"W-what makes you t-think they m-might go to our s-school?" Ash asked, trying his best to not show his discomfort at the way the conversation was going

"Lucario is known to mostly protect Viridian. Sometimes he's been heard of going over to Saffron too, but that's rare. It only makes sense that the teen goes to Viridian High" Leaf explained

'If anyone is likely to find out the truth... Leaf is the first one on my list. But knowing Gary, he might also try as well...'

"-Ash"

"What! I'm not Lucario's partner! I'm the loser kid of Viridian High, what makes you think I can be Riolu! He's literally got powers and I don't!" Ash said in a panicked tone, causing Gary to raise an eyebrow in suspicion at his reaction

"I know you're not Riolu. I was asking your opinion on the matter is all" Leaf said with an eye roll, making Ash sweat drop at the way he almost blew his cover

'Note to self, work on not blowing your secret identity... also maybe learn to lie'

Ash, while finally getting his wish of becoming Lucario's partner, knew his life was about to get more complicated than just balancing school and being a hero... hopefully whatever happens he'll be able to handle it in the end

Haven't updated this or any story for awhile, sorry bout that. I've been busy unfortunately, but here's the newest chapter for this fanfic. Ash is now an internet sensation! Oh also next chapter a Young Justice character will be making an appearance as such I adjusted the age of Dick Grayson in the chapter I mentioned his age just so you know :)