A Courageous Heart

Chapter 11

-Ash-

Frowning, Ash looked in the mirror at his chest. His bandages were finally off, hopefully for good, but it allowed his scars to stand out in vivid detail. Cuts and scraps all up and down his chest, back, and arms from the talons and beaks of the spearow sat as deep furrows in his skin. Then there was the burn from the rat. The lightning scar had seared its way up his chest, tendrils branching out to his arms and partway up his neck.

He couldn't even change up his look yet because, while they were healed to the point that he didn't have to wear the bandages anymore, they were still tender. Just wearing a t-shirt had been painful as the fabric rubbed the sensitive burn with every step and every breath.

"Ash, you there?" hearing Mallow's voice, Ash quickly started rewrapping his scars, not wanting them to be stared at.

"Yeah, just give me a moment." Ash hastily covered the burns and opened the door, Mallow blinking when she saw the hastily reapplied bandages.

"Were they not healed enough?" the verdette Alolan looked concerned at the sight of his chest rebandaged, "You should have gotten me so I could redo these."

"I, uh-" Ash worked to think on what to say as Mallow gently guided him back into the room, quickly undoing the bandages that he'd struggled to apply to himself, let alone so hastily.

"They…they don't need the bandages." Mallow blinked as she saw the state of the injuries, "Then, why-?" her question trailed off as her eyes widened a hair in realization.

"Yeah." He looked away, feeling embarrassed by it all.

"Ash…" Mallow trailed off, seemingly unsure what to say before her expression hardened "Coat on, you're coming with me." Ash blinked in confusion as Mallow dragged him off, his Pokémon quickly hurrying after as Mallow drug him out of the Pokémon Center they'd been staying in.

Five minutes later he found himself sitting in a clothes shop not far from the beach, a new pair of swim trunks in a bag beside him. Currently he was waiting for Mallow to finish deciding on her own new swimsuit.

"Alright Ash, how does this look?" Mallow's voice roused him from his wandering thoughts as he looked up, not sure what he was expecting. But he knew he wasn't expecting the grass trainer to be wearing a stunning emerald bikini.

"I-I-I-I-" Ash stammered, tongue feeling like it was stuck in his throat as he saw just how beautiful his travelling companion really was.

His stunned reaction had Mallow blushing red, "I…I'll take that as a yes." Mallow coughed as she gathered the clothes she'd been wearing earlier "Now you go get changed and come on." Confused, he got up to do as she said, finding her having paid for the swimsuits by the time he got back out.

"So, why are we-?" he gestured to the trunks he was wearing under his trench coat in confusion.

"That is coming off too." Mallow started tugging off the covering black coat that he could at least hold closed away from the scars to hide them, "And we are going to the beach."

"Wait, we are?" Ash blinked, refraining from face palming as he processed given that they'd just bought swimsuits and were near a beach. Was he really that out of it?

"Yes." Mallow stuffed his coat into the duffel bag with their other clothes before giving Ash a tender look, "You need to get used to your scars Ash. I don't like seeing you look in the mirror and hate what you see there."

"I…I can try." Ash promised Mallow, giving the hand she placed on his arm a gentle squeeze. The smile she gave him definitely made the upcoming effort worth it.

-Giovanni-

Sighing in frustrated exhaustion, Giovanni paced around the office of the Cerulean city gym. The place covered and dust and clearly not utilized since the last proper Gym Leaders had vacated. At least the cleaning crew he'd hired removed the obscene sinus destroying amounts of dust that had been left behind.

"Boss, you wanted us here?" hearing the familiar and distinct voice of the talking Meowth in his forces, Giovanni looked up.

Jessie Murrow, James Morgan, and the talking Meowth. They made up one of the more…unusual Team Rocket groups under his employ from either team.

Jessie's mother had been his own mother's top agent in the original Rocket organization, causing Jessie herself to join to 'follow in her footsteps'.

James on the other hand was from one of the riches old money families in Kanto. The boy had run away as a child, wanting to make his own way and not be forced into an arranged marriage with a sadistic woman he loathed. The boy had joined Team Rocket for the sense of control.

Meowth on the other hand was an anomaly. A talking Pokémon, the only one he had ever encountered, that was treated with scorn by its own kind. The Pokémon had struggled and fought for love and respect only to get kicked down again and again. The talking Pokémon had joined Team Rocket for the feeling of power, to never feel weak again.

All three had joined the Black Rockets…and had been some of the worst agents he'd ever seen. Every time they tried to commit a crime, they managed to ruin the attempt in absurd ways that still hurt his head to contemplate. After three years and not even so much as a stolen candy bar to their name, he decided to give them one final shot.

Their names and faces were unknown outside of himself and the upper echelons who were aware of the truth of both factions. So, he had them transferred to the White Rockets, the three at least unwaveringly loyal even if they were incompetent as criminals.

And the change was immediate.

Competency, efficiency, creativity, success. When they weren't committing crimes, the trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth were some of the best field agents the Rockets had ever had.

And Giovanni rewarded success.

For Jessie he gathered the rumors of her mother, the subtle clues that she might still be out there, and shared them with the red-haired agent. Investing resources into finding the woman so Jessie could reunite with her.

For James he rescued the boy's Growlithe and used his ties with the League to have the boy's parents investigated and then arrested for their various crimes. The boy's 'fiancé' was caught as well and now James Morgan was a free man with full access to his family fortune.

For Meowth, he'd given the talking Pokémon a position of authority, teaching a few other willing Pokémon how to speak the human language and even gathered the Meowth gang led by a Persian from the city of Hollywood that had taken him in.

"Yes, I did." He turned to the trio "I have a new task for you." They snapped to attention as he passed over a picture of Ash "This is Ash Ketchum, a young man I travelled with for a time. The boy's potential is astonishing, and he has an impressive and still growing team of Pokémon. My hopes are to have him join the White Rockets at some point, be a roaming agent comparable to the Iron Masked Marauder from the Black Rockets." Although hopefully with less migraine inducing stupidity from that masked drama queen.

"The kid's that good then?" Jessie took the picture as she inspected Ash.

"Yes. Although given he's the son of Bruno and my Ex." He would never admit he found the trio's gaping expressions entertaining, "It's hardly a surprise. Even Bast favors him, having left her daughter in the young man's care." That statement, as he knew it would, conveyed to the trio just how much he was invested in getting Ash to join the White Rockets.

"So, what's our job?" James pressed, taking the photo from Jessie.

"Follow and observe for now." Giovanni kept it simple, "I've already got them set to meet up with my son, Silver, for the S.S. Anne cruise. I want you to follow and observe until they've met up and then find an excuse to approach him. Bring up the idea but don't let him know that I'm the one suggesting it."

"Um…why don't you just make the offer yourself?" Meowth blinked in confusion.

"Because he might think it's pity or from me just being fond of his mother." Giovanni explained. While he truly loved the woman he was married to, he was still fond of Delia as a friend still. She had been an amazing woman.

"Understood sir." The trio snapped to attention and saluted, "Where is he now?"

"I'm having a Zubat follow them for now." He handed over a tablet with a tracker symbol on it "You have your orders, move out."

"Sir!"

-Ash-

Glaring angrily, Ash stared down his opponent, making sure to stay between their line of sight and Mallow "Larvitar, use Brick Break!" Ash shouted as his first stage Pseudo Legendary charged, fist glowing white.

"Dodge it Raticate." The smug bastard across from his called out to the large rodent Pokémon, the pricks posse cheering eagerly.

"Screech." Ash called out as Larvitar smirked viciously, letting out a truly titanic scream right by the running Raticate, the large brown Pokémon stumbling and rolling from the painful sound, "Now!" the Brick Break slammed into the Raticate hard.

"You little shit!" the wannabee Jock growled as Mallow cheered behind Ash, making him grin. The fight had started because the bastard across from him had tried to grope at Mallow, something neither Ash nor his team were willing to let slide.

"Bite." Ash decided to prove the concept of 'talking isn't a free action' true by capitalizing on his opponent's distracted attempt at 'banter'.

"Raticate, no!" the jock gaped as his Pokémon got knocked out from the attack, eyes replaced by swirls as the lifeguard acting as a ref on their break called the match in Ash's favor.

"Way to go Ash!" Mallow's cheer caused him to grin before he found his face burning red as he felt her hug him from behind, arms carefully wrapped around him to avoid aggravating his scars.

The hug felt amazing, he could smell the scent of tropical flowers coming from her, and he realized he had it bad and had no idea what to do.