I would like to thank everyone for the immense support you've given the first chapter of Servant of the Pokémon. Here is the second chapter.
I'm not sure what the upload schedule will be, or if there even will be one. They'll be posted when they're posted, I guess. Enjoy!
The journey from the Red Light District to the apartment complex wasn't very eventful. In fact, it passed in such an inebriated haze that, come daybreak, it was unlikely Ash would remember any part of it. (Not that he'd want to.)
More than once, Ash took the incorrect subway line and had to double back after a few stops. Saffron City's public transit system might have been extensive, but it was far from foolproof; if you were genuinely a fool, you could easily get lost in the system for hours.
Fuck it, I guess I'd better take a cab.
By the time Ash had this thought, it was past four in the morning. The stars couldn't fade when they had never truly been visible, but the sky was getting just a little bit further from pitch-black. Sooner or later, the sun would be up, and Ash would have spent the whole night away from Serena.
Speaking of Serena, when she woke up, she was going to be irate. And for that, Ash would only have himself to blame. Not only would his girlfriend and domestic partner be upset, but so would his closest platonic companion, Pikachu.
Ash was able to flag down one of the few taxis still operating at this ungodly hour. As soon as he told the driver his destination, the driver (a dark-skinned man with thick sunglasses) swiveled around to face his client.
"Who are you, sir?"
Ash stiffened up. "What do you mean?"
"I'm asking what your name is. It's standard operating procedure for all the cabs in Saffron City."
"Oh" Ash replied blankly. "I'm Dan. Dan…Larkin." The idea of giving this man his real name sounded just a little odd, so Ash chose the first pseudonym he could think of.
The driver frowned. "If you say so, Dan." His tone suggested that he didn't believe Ash, but that he was far too tired to press the former hero any further on this.
At one time, Ash reflected as the cab weaved its way in and out of light traffic, I was a hero. It used to be that Kanto looked up to me. They not only respected me as a hero, but some of them even worshiped me like one would worship Arceus.
But those days are long gone. Now I'm just like anyone else - the only difference is, I know exactly what it's like to be famous, and I know just as well that I won't get to experience it again. I'm now a nobody. I went from hero to zero, and it's anyone's guess if I'll ever get that glory again.
I'm not posting that video online. It was just for personal use, that's all - just an outlet to vent my frustration about the way things are. I hope nobody reads into it - but who am I kidding? Nobody's going to watch it anyway!
After a surprisingly long distance, the taxi pulled into the parking lot for Ash's apartment building. The meter showed a suspiciously large amount of money due - Saffron City cabs were notorious for overcharging their riders. (Of course, what could you do? The service had already been rendered; were you just going to stiff your cabbie?)
"That'll be the amount of money posted on the meter" the driver barked unnecessarily. "You can pay for it, right?"
Ash nodded. "Just give me a second."
It was then that the driver recoiled. "Do I smell…is that alcohol on your breath?"
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't" Ash half-said, half-slurred. "Why'd you care?"
"I care," the driver continued testily, "because I'm concerned about the state of our city. We can't just have tons of young men like you ruining the place with your tipsy behavior - we really can't deal with it anymore!"
"Well, you drove me here," Ash muttered. "I'll pay you all the Poké I owe, so you might as well take the money and run."
"Was that a threat?"
"Nope," Ash responded, trying to keep his tone as measured as possible. "It's not a threat. I'm giving you exactly what you want."
Once he'd settled the bill, Ash entered the apartment complex. The receptionist, a woman named Mrs. Moreno, was not present, but this was quite alright. Ash already had the key, and besides, in his current state, a talk with Mrs. Moreno was not what the doctor ordered.
After taking the elevator to the seventh floor and unlocking the door to the proper apartment, Ash stepped into the mercifully air-conditioned suite. Even with just two bedrooms, it was one of the more spacious flats in the city; the city's housing bubble didn't have much more room to grow before it burst.
"I'm home!" Ash called out. In his current state, he expected Serena to come out of the room they shared, arms held out wide to embrace her boyfriend. He thought Serena would be happy to see him, just like she usually was. But it was almost like Arceus had decided to tell him: Oh, you sweet, sweet summer child.
Serena Courtland was still in her pajamas as she stormed out of the bedroom, her eyes bloodshot and livid. She sized up Ash like an Arcanine about to pounce on its prey.
"Where were you?" she screeched, bending forward and pulling her fists back as though she were about to do what some would call a "Naruto Run."
"No…nowhere" Ash stammered, realizing that all the excuses in the world wouldn't have been enough to convince Serena that he was in the right. For no matter what he said, the fact remained that he'd deserted his girlfriend all night just to get totally wasted in the Red Light District - the optics weren't great, to say the least.
"How could you be nowhere?" Serena bellowed, balling her hands up into fists. "Saffron City is massive, Ash - did you just decide to lose yourself in it the way you always do?"
That's exactly what I did. At least, that's what Ash would have said had he possessed the necessary integrity to do so. As it was, he could barely manage a shrug.
There must have been a staring contest, but everything was still rather hazy to Ash. Before long, it seemed he had won.
Serena sighed, unclenching her fists, and continued with the following:
"Look. I'm not going to lash out at you any more. Quite frankly, after staying up all night worrying about you, I don't have the energy. I'm not even mad at you anymore, just disappointed."
I'm not even mad, just disappointed. Those words hurt more than simple anger, because with anger, at least you had the right to defend yourself. With disappointment, there was nothing to do but admit you'd fucked up.
"I'm sorry, Serena - I just…".
Ash trailed off there, because any excuses he could have come up with just scattered in the wind like a million dandelion petals. They were all so feeble next to the reality that he'd made a mistake, and he couldn't fix it. All he could do was make Serena trust him again, and that would take quite a while.
When Serena did not respond, Ash posed a question. "Are you going back to sleep?"
She shook her head. "At this point, it's probably better not to. It's getting light out. I don't want to mess up my sleep schedule any more than I already have."
Just then, the yellow electric mouse Pokémon known as Pikachu came bounding out of the bedroom. Evidently, he hadn't spent the night in his Pokéball, though that was neither here nor there.
"Pika! Pika! (Good morning!)" Clearly, Pikachu wasn't prepared for what was about to happen between his master and his master's girlfriend.
"Look," Ash said, "it's probably better not to make Pikachu upset. Are you going to watch some TV?"
Serena shrugged. "I'll probably just go on PokéTube. Cable's declining, after all; they say streaming is the promised land."
"Fair enough."
Serena's gray eyes lit up as she gave her boyfriend a sad smile. She then collapsed on the couch and used the remote to turn on the television.
As soon as she'd navigated to the PokéTube app, however, Serena's face turned almost as pale as the white sheets of the bed she shared with Ash. She dropped the remote.
"What's wrong?" Ash enquired, following his instinct of being a chivalrous, caring boyfriend.
Serena did not reply.
"Serena, what's going on? Why did you seize up right there? Is something bothering you?"
The young woman could do nothing but gently gesture at the screen. Ash sat down next to Serena, put his hand around her back, and glanced at the TV. Right away, he wished he hadn't.
The first video on the Recommended section of PokéTube was titled, "I'm Running For President - Ash Ketchum." The uploader's username was listed as BurnerR.
"I don't get it," Ash gulped. "This has to be some kind of joke."
"Well, it's there," Serena mumbled. "And look at the thumbnail. That's you, isn't it?"
Indeed, although the thumbnail was almost too dark to make out who was in it, there was no mistaking Ash's spiky black hair and tan face if you looked closely enough. His eyes weren't completely lucid, as though he'd recently been drinking.
"There has to be some kind of explanation," Ash muttered.
Even Pikachu no longer bounced up and down with his typical energy. His tail was tucked in now, and his face was contorted into what can only be described as a pouting expression. One thing was certain: He wasn't his normal happy-go-lucky self.
"I'm sure there is," Serena echoed, but she didn't seem fully convinced. Her eyes remained transfixed on the TV screen, and it was plain to see that she was barely breathing.
"Well, let's click on the video and see what it's about," Ash said halfheartedly, though he felt certain he'd regret it. (Sure enough, he did.)
Serena did as she was told and clicked "play."
In the video, a very inebriated-looking Ash Ketchum stood unsteadily in front of a camera. His mouth was contorted into what can only be described as an "angry smile." (That might sound like an oxymoron, but when you're drunk, that isn't always the case.)
"Hello, everyone" the Ash on TV slurred.
"Everyone?" Ash wondered. Who was I talking to, anyway?
Even then, he had a sinking feeling in his chest. His heart was turning to lead, and it would soon sink to the bottom of the ocean. Perhaps "everyone" literally meant everyone.
Serena didn't appear pleased either. She dug her heels into the ground, pinching her thighs as if to make sure she was really here. That this was real life.
"You all might not recognize me," the Ash on TV continued, "but that's about to change. By the time you've listened to this message, you'll know exactly who I am."
Pikachu's golden face was now a paler yellow, his normally-red cheeks having faded into green. The electric mouse's stomach audibly rumbled, and Ash cringed at the thought of having to scrub Pikachu puke out of the carpet…it wouldn't be fun.
The Ash on TV resumed speaking in a slurred manner. The Ash in the apartment could scarcely believe his eyes, and yet they were telling him the cold, hard truth. What a rude awakening!
"There are days when I wish I were President of Kanto. In that office, I could do so much good for those Pokémon who are horribly mistreated by their owners. Not just their owners, mind you, but the entire establishment!"
As soon as those words had left Virtual Ash's mouth, Serena turned to glare at her boyfriend. She was gritting her teeth so hard, Real Ash felt certain she'd end up chipping one.
She didn't say anything, but Ash got the message loud and clear: What were you THINKING?
Meanwhile, Pikachu had run off towards his litter box. Judging by the heaving noises emanating from the shared bedroom, it wasn't pretty.
With every word Virtual Ash uttered, Serena's body grew increasingly tense. She no longer looked angry, at least not at Ash - she didn't know how to express the anger in a remotely healthy manner. She'd basically become one of those "trees" at the Petrified Forest in Far North Kanto.
Every syllable uttered by Virtual Ash was identical to what Real Ash remembered saying several hours previously in the Red Light District. It was as if he needed any further reminder that in a city as vast as Saffron, you were never, ever alone.
"Are you all right, Serena? Should I get you some water?"
Dammit, I should have known that would make her angrier. I can't treat her that way, not when she's already got it in for me!
Serena did not even glance at Ash as she stared at the upper part of the TV screen. "Twenty-three million views."
"What?"
"Look at the screen."
Sure enough, and to Real Ash's horror, PokéTube had in fact been able to deliver twenty-three million views for his rant. It was safe to say that he'd gone viral.
"That's…a lot," Ash mouthed.
"Indeed it is" Serena replied, now seeming far more lucid. "Now, you were already famous by virtue of what you've done. I'm already famous by virtue of being connected to you. But this is something else…".
Before Serena could finish that thought, the door to their apartment was knocked so hard that the floor vibrated.
"Arceus, Ash! Look what you've done!"
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