The soft crunches of snow beneath their shoes were the only sounds that could be heard coming from the two humans as they traveled down the snow-covered, dirt road leading away from the Oak Laboratory. A young man dressed in light blue jeans, and a white, long-sleeve tee-shirt that's currently covered with a black and yellow vest, all topped with a red, black, and blue travel cap was leading the way with a smile on his face. Traveling behind the boy was seemingly a younger girl dressed in black tights, some old band's teeshirt that the girl didn't listen to over her chest, with a large coat that was absolutely one or two sizes too big for her. She gave a small sneeze and jerked her head down, which made the girl's huge, almost unmanageable head of hair to come flying forward and cover her face, causing the boy and the Pikachu riding on his shoulder to laugh.
"Sorry about the walk. You've never been well in the cold, have you? The Lab is the closest to route 1 and a bit ways away from the town so that the Pokémon don't really bother anyone else. Don't want Snorelax to want some snacks and go on a food raid, right?" Ash said with a smirk as he watched his friend wrestle her hair back into its proper place and rub her nose.
"Yeah. I guess that makes sense… But where's your house, though? I thought that you lived near the lab?" Iris asked after finally subduing her wild hair. Not having Axew nestled inside of it always made it feel way more wild than it usually was, along with making her feel kind of exposed, though she was sure that he was off having plenty of fun out with the other Pokemon back in the Corral and she was just worrying over nothing…
The young man just turned to look back ahead of the duo, stopping and pointing at the large collection of buildings that they were heading towards. "Oh! I'm not taking you to my house just yet. I wanna show you around Pallet Town! It's way different than anywhere in Unova. I think you'll like it!" He stated while stopping to wait for the girl to catch up
Iris couldn't help but smile upon seeing the town in front of them. While small compared to the places in Unova that she was used to, it looked like a quiet, cozy town surrounded by farmland, as far as she could tell. "Wow… and where's your house? Do you live actually in the town or around it?" She asked while looking over towards some of the houses that just dot the countryside. She had always loved houses like those. Being so comfortable while being between civilization and nature. Once she's a Dragon Master and has a lot of money, maybe she'll buy a house like that and have a room for each of her Pokemon inside!
She didn't notice that she was smiling in her daydream of one day being a homeowner but the boy beside her did, just being happy to see her smile and pointing towards the southeast. "Mine and Mom's place is over that way. We have some land and mom usually spends her time gardening in the spring and summer. Her stuff and whatever Brock cooks up are pretty much the only veggies I'll eat." Ash stated while rubbing his belly, imagining his mother's and Brock's food in his head.
"You can be such a kid, you know that? You gotta eat ALL veggies, Ash. How else will you finally manage to grow up?" The girl said, rolling her eyes at her friend's usual antics before starting back on the walk towards the town in front of him this time.
"Oh yeah? And what about that Broccoli that Brock couldn't get you to eat?" The young man said with a smile while glancing over at his Pikachu with a knowing look. The young girl seemingly froze in her hypocrisy while giving a small gulp.
"B-broccoli is NOT a vegetable, it's a mushroom! It's got the stem that like, floofs out like mushrooms do. An um… uh…" the girl trails off while snapping her fingers, Pikachu just calling out for her with a 'Pika!' "- yeah! What Pikachu said! It's in that family."
"Uh huh, right. Totally. And asparagus?" Ash said casually with his arms behind his head. Walking past the seemingly frozen girl with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. The crunching of snow beneath his shoes was what finally broke the girl out of her frozen state.
"That smells like pee and you know it! I am not putting anything that smells like pee in my mouth, Ash! That's just plain gross!" Iris sputtered out while jogging to catch up with her friend, even if it was just to yell at him some more.
"It's just plain a vegetable, is what it is!" Ash said while laughing at his friend's antics. He had always missed getting into arguments about nothing in particular like this with either Iris or Misty after getting to Sinnoh. He liked Dawn and Zoey perfectly, but they rarely got into meaningless spats like he did with the previous two girls he traveled with. He liked to imagine that this was what it was like to have siblings, even if he did view Brock as an older brother the longer the journeys they spent together.
"It's GROSS!" Iris yelled out, causing Ash to stop walking and buckle over just because he was laughing too hard. Iris just let out an annoyed groan as she began making her way past the boy and toward the town that they were originally headed for.
"THIS is Pallet Town! Welcome." Ash said as they walked onto the sidewalk for the first time. Small groups of people going about their day, several Pidgeys sitting on the rooftops and staring down at the newly arrived duo. In truth, it wasn't that big. It wasn't very big at all. Just a square of roads with some shops around it. General store, hairdressers, a feed and seed store, Pokémon grooming, and even a small bakery that advertises their new poffins! The duo finally stopped when they were standing in the center of the square beside a fountain that was probably used to attract bird Pokemon.
"It's… nice." Iris couldn't help but smile at her friend's enthusiasm for such a small town. It reminded her of the Dragon Village, in a way, just with more building and less of a feeling of weight added onto her as she walked around behind her friend. "So you've lived here all your life? It must have been nice." Iris said as she tried not to sound jealous. Jealous…? Why would she be jealous of this? This place didn't have any awesome dragon Pokemon or someone like the Elder to guide it.
Iris shook the thoughts from her head and instead tried to focus on the buildings and landmarks that surrounded her. This place seemed much too lively for the small town that Ash had told her that he grew up in. Maybe it was due to the festival or something… or maybe she just wasn't used to having people look over at new arrivals and welcome them with a wave or a 'Hey there', unlike in the cities of Johto that she traveled through that made her simply feel insignificant and small.
"Yeah, I did! It's a pretty awesome place but I don't try and stay long. There are so many more things to do out there. People to meet too! Oh hey!" The young man made a big smile as he jogged over to an older woman with an Arcanine who waved to the boy, leaving Iris alone for a few seconds as she looked around. Everyone in town seemingly turned their heads to smile at the duo who had entered. Giving them anything from a welcoming nod to a happy wave and calling out to Ash, Pikachu, and his friend. It felt… weird. In the Dragon Village, outsiders are usually welcomed cautiously and pretty much told to get lost if you weren't trying to become a Dragon Master or were there to provide something for the village, so this welcoming feeling that she was feeling was a little eye-opening for her. No wonder Ash was so welcoming to her when they had first met! However, she was brought out of her thoughts by her friend making his way back to the girl.
"Sorry! She's an old friend of Mom's and wanted to say hey. Do you want to do anything in town? Need to get anything in the store or some Pokemon food? Professor Oak buys everything he gets through the guy here in town so he charges good." Ash said with that same, warm smile that he always seemed to have on his face. Iris looked in the direction where he gestured when he mentioned Pokemon food.
"Thanks but… maybe not today. Besides, I think that they're closing now?" Iris muttered the second part as she watched a man exit the shop and turn to lock the door behind him, giving a small wave to the duo before turning to walk away as Ash sheepishly waved back in embarrassment.
"Yeah I guess it's around that time, isn't it? Sorry, Iris. I guess our battle took a bit more time than I thought, but hey! We have all day tomorrow! The festival is the day after that so everything will probably be closed. Anyway, you wanna go to my house?" Ash asked as he turned to face the girl who was currently still watching the man walk away from his shop.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure, let's go!" Iris said as she looked up to Ash with a smile on her lips. The elder boy nodded with a grin before turning and starting to walk down a different road that the two had entered. Iris hurried behind him but stopped once they exited the square, looking back inside to give it one last look. This… was a nice, little town. She may just move here after she becomes a Dragon Master! Iris just snickering to herself as she imagines all the chaos that she would cause for Ash and how much her Pokemon would enjoy the Oak Corral.
"I visited the Lake of Rage in Johto. It was… kinda boring, to be honest. I expected to maybe see some Gyarados or something but it was just some Magikarp around. One even jumped up and hit me in the face!" Iris yelled out loudly, causing both Pikachu and his trainer to snicker at the girls' misfortune. Iris just grumbled grumpily at the duo as they walked down the dirt path. "Ugh… so when will Brock be here, anyway?"
"Brock's going to be here the day of the festival, around the afternoon, I think. He's spending time with his family right now and his final is in the morning. The festival is at night and the fireworks start at six. Misty's gonna be there too and I think that you will like her. Just… please don't call me a 'little kid' around her. She'll start calling me that constantly whenever she's around." The young man pleaded with his friend while rolling his eyes. Realizing the mistake he had made far too late he turned his head to see the girl looking at him with a menacing smirk.
"I'll think about it…" Iris stated menacingly while Ash turned his head to look back at the snow-covered road in front of them with a groan. "Anyway… It'll be great to see Brock again. I've missed him a lot… and his food…" Iris stated the second part a bit quieter than the first as she rubbed her stomach. While she was fine with eating just berries and some microwaved meals once in a while, the feeling she got when eating something cooked with love and care specifically for her always gave her a big smile.
"Oh, if you think that Brock's cooking is good, then my mom's will have you looking like a Munchlax! I think she mentioned something about making Yakitori tonight and it's gonna be so good! I usually have 4 bowls of the stuff." Ash couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl with excitement while his Pikachu wiggled up and down with glee at the promise of his trainers' mother's cooking, much to Iris' amusement. "Oh! There it is just ahead!"
The duo stopped at the peak of one of Pallet Town's many rolling hills and looked over the vast, snow-covered vista, one with a content smile on his face, the other being one of wonder and excitement as she had become enamored with the beauty of her friends home. Looking at where the older male was pointing, her eyes landed on two houses relatively close to each other which were backed by some small woods. While she didn't know which one was exactly her friend's home, she at least knew their destination now.
"It's… beautiful, Ash. You grew up here all your life?" Iris couldn't help but be left awestruck for a few moments before hurrying after her friend as she had been standing there in awe while he walked ahead of her. The Village of Dragons was much more wooded than this so having such an open space to see the beauty of the hills was a welcome change.
"Oh yeah! You should see it in the spring and summer though. You can't see them because of the snow but a lot of the space is farmland where people will plant rice and grains and stuff." Responded the trainer while casually walking towards his home with his hands in his pockets. Iris stopped to try and imagine the farms but couldn't for whatever reason. The idea of all the beautiful, free, open space being filled up was just disappointing to her.
Not knowing what else to talk about and her hand gliding against the white fence of a house that the duo were walking by, Iris just spoke without thinking. "Hey… so that woman that was behind you on the VPS, that was your mom, right?" She grimaced after asking that. She knew the answer, of course, but just wanted confirmation for some reason.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. That was my mom! I guess we do look a bit different so that makes sense. Different hair color, y'know?" The young man said calmly while keeping his eyes focused on the road, Iris was satisfied with that response at the moment so they two walked in silence for a bit before…
"Is that… banging?" Iris mumbled to herself as she stopped walking, leaning her head towards the grove of trees behind the dual houses with her hand forming a come for her ears, causing her friend to snicker.
"Oh, that's just our neighbors. They plan to do something BIG for the festival. It's going to be great, I'm sure, but they won't tell me what it is. They're the ones that live in the house right next to ours." The male said before pointing to the quaint house with a red fence and a Meowth-themed mailbox.
"What… I'm not even gonna ask. Knowing you, you'll probably give me some 'little kid' answer like 'a giant robot' or something." Iris grumbled while rolling her eyes at her friend's usually chaotic and crazy life. Grumbling even more when he and Pikachu began snickering to themselves.
"You have no idea…" The male trailed off, just looking down at the snow on the ground and shaking his head with a nostalgic smile. "Anyway! Here we are!" The male called out before stopping and standing in front of a white gate that led into a very nicely painted house with a white fence surrounding it.
"It's… nice," Iris said as she looked up at the home, just taking it all in with a nervous gulp. Why was she nervous? This is her friend, Ash. Surely his mother must be some kind of saint or something.
"Come on! Let's go in! Knowing Mom, she's probably already made dinner by now." The sixteen-year-old said with a smile before grabbing the girl's hand abruptly and dragging her towards the door before she had the chance to sputter out any insult or worry.
She could barely take in the sights before her easily excitable friend grabbed onto the girl's hand to begin dragging her. Iris barely had a chance to blink before she was rushed through the door into the warm and welcoming home with an enthusiastic 'Welcome home!' from the older boy.
It smelled… well, it smelled amazing inside. No wonder it did because, looking around in complete awe, there were candy apples everywhere! Any free spaces in view of the duo were filled with styrofoam mats that had sticks of pierced and dipped apples pierced through. They were all dried and had those glossy surfaces that reflected the light beautifully. The girl couldn't help but smile as she looked around while her friend walked off towards the kitchen after taking off his jacket and shoes.
Delia hummed softly to herself while she stirred the steaming pot that she was residing over. The woman looked over at the clock on the wall and raised an eyebrow in response to seeing the time. Ash had rushed out to go pick up his friend some time ago. She figured that the two must have gotten into some Pokemon battle or something because he sure was taking a while. No matter! She was used to waiting and had no trouble doing so just as long as her son was happy, and how fortunate her son was to be excited to see a friend after a long time is a joy that Delia knows well. So Delia shall simply wait for his return. Waiting while making some delicious Nabe for the trio, or maybe more, to have when they arrive.
Looking over to her diligently working Pokemon, Mimey, she couldn't help but smile as she saw him hurriedly rushing candy apples out of the kitchen to place in some random location around the house. While she could've done the prep work tomorrow… she couldn't deny that she just wanted to get it done and over with already. Having so many apples and supplies in the house was already making her feel cramped so she might as well just make them to get it over with. She could spend all day tomorrow over at the Oak's residence while Ash practiced his fireworks routine that way. It was rare that Ash was home nowadays but she wanted to spend as much time with her son as she could, after all. He and Brock will be heading back to Sinnoh two days after the festival, after all.
"Oh! Mimey, dear! Did you throw the extra queen sheets in the wash like I asked?" Delia calls out after being reminded of Brock due to their departure. The festival goes well into the night so Brock and Misty are probably going to stay the night that night, at least, she was going to invite them to, anyway. She and Misty usually got some food whenever she happened to be near either Pewter or Viridian City. She must admit that it is nice! While she can be a bit… wild at times, she can certainly understand how that girl and her son had become such close friends.
Satisfied with the happy 'Mime!' that Mimey gave her, she flashed the Pokemon a quick smile before adding the mushrooms. "Thank you very much, dear. Once you finish moving the apples for me, please feel free to rest. You've done so much and I appreciate it." She thanked her Pokemon truthfully while turning to give him her full attention, causing the Pokemon to just give a small, waving motion that Delia understood as 'Don't worry about it!', causing the woman to roll her eyes and turn back to the pot as her friend got back to work. That Pokemon just never stopped moving for some reason. Maybe he just enjoyed seeing Delia smile the same way that Delia enjoyed seeing her son smile. Oh well. She may never know but that's fine for right now. People love Pokemon and Pokemon love people, just as her late grandmother would say.
Delia stood cooking for a while when she was brought out of her peaceful silence by the sound of the door opening along with the cheerful cries of 'Welcome Home!' from her ever-delighted son. Just giggled quietly to herself as she shook her head. Not announcing anything yet as they were probably freezing out there in the snow and just allowed them to bask in the warmth of the house and its fire coming from the fireplace in the living room. She looked up with a smile as her Son walked into the kitchen to see what his mother had been preparing for dinner.
"Hey, mom! Sorry that we took so long. Me and Iris had a battle and things got… busy after that…" The boy said with that careful tone in his voice which indicated that something wasn't completely right. She gave her son a puzzled look before carefully nodding as he glanced over to the dark-skinned Unova native who was currently trying to wrestle her floofy hair out of the zipper that it had somehow gotten itself stuck in. The woman didn't quite know what had happened but just gave her son an understanding nod, which he seemed to understand.
"Iris, dear! Come here. I'm so excited to finally meet you! Ash has told me so, very much about you." She said calmly as she motioned for her son to take over the job of stirring the pot so that she could walk towards the girl who had finally managed to defeat her jacket. She gave a warm welcome to the girl as the young one quickly tried to wipe the wrinkles out of her shirt and give a traditional bow, making Delia smile brightly.
"Thank you for welcoming me into your home!" Iris said with a bit of cautiousness in her tone of voice while seemingly looking past the woman into the kitchen, taking a glance in that direction, she spotted the duo of Ash and Pikachu giving the girl a thumb's up before immediately turning to go back to stirring the pot once they realized that the humans mother had spotted them. Delia just gave a delighted scoff as she turned back to the girl and held out her hands to gently hold the girl's arms so that she would rise. Looking into the girl's Maroon eyes with the Ketchum's signature smile.
"No need for that here, dear. Welcome to my home. Come! Take off your shoes and come into the living room. You must be freezing in that." She motioned to the girl's simple, cheap-looking t-shirt before looking over to Mimey as he walked down the stairs, giving the Pokemon a wave. "Mimey, dear! This is Ash's friend, Iris. Could you please add another log to the fire for her?" She asked while letting go of the girl's arms and turning to give the Pokemon her full attention as the twelve-year-old took her shoes off.
"Oh! There's no need for that, Miss Ketchum. I'm great! Please, there's no need to-" The young girl was interrupted by the woman simply placing her index finger upon the girl's lips and speaking with a kind, yet assertive tone of voice. Looking the girl in the eyes once more as she spoke while Mimey hurried off to fill the lady of the house's request.
"Iris. You are Ash's friend, as well as our guest. I will not have it be said that I do not treat my guests with anything other than the highest respect that they deserve. Now come, your legs must be tired." the mother said to the blushing girl who couldn't seem to get a word in edgewise while walking around her body and guiding her towards the couches located in the living room. The woman takes special note of the girl's physique and build. Skinny and lean but not terribly so. She had been eating well but probably not the right things for a growing body such as her needs like protean. The duo eventually made it to the couch where Delia let the girl sit right next to the fire while taking a peek inside the kitchen.
"Yeah, Iris. You're not winning this one. Just sit and relax. Mom's orders!" The older boy called out from the kitchen while digging through the fridge for something while Pikachu used his Iron Tail as a spoon to stir the pot while his trainer was distracted. The poking gave a terrified 'Pika!" as the rodent turned its head to spot the glare from Delia staring right at it for using its tail. "Hey mom, do we have any more Shit-!" The trainer let out with a yell before jumping back from his mother's look of death. The boy physically shaking as he turned to pick back up the spoon and begin stirring, causing the woman to head back into the living room and sit on the couch directly across from the girl who was giving Mimey a pat on the head as thanks.
"I'm sure that Mimey is grateful for the thanks. No matter how hard I try to get him to calm down and take breaks, he never does. Mimey, will you please sit and relax a bit now? If not for me, they for Iris and making her feel comfortable?" She pleaded with the ever-working Pokemon who finally relented and gave a nod before walking off to go somewhere in the house. Finally, she turned her full attention back to her guest who just shot the woman a nervous smile while holding her hands out towards the fire. "So Ash tells me that you're on a journey to be a Dragon Master! Do you have your Pokemon on you? I would love to meet them." Delia spoke calmly with a smile towards the girl.
"I don't have them on me right now because they're at the lab right now," Iris spoke with a happy tone in her voice. Just like many other great trainers out in the world, Talking about their Pokemon filled the girl with pride and happiness. "Though if you want to know what I have, I have an Axew, Excadrill, Emolga, and… a Dragonite…" Her voice trailed off a little as she shamefully stopped looking the woman in the eyes and instead decided that the carpet at Delia's feet was much more interesting at the moment.
There it was. That was probably the thing that Ash had tried to tip her off about. Delia's days as a trainer had taught her many things about trainers and their Pokemon, such as the few moments when a trainer was reluctant to talk about their Pokemon, they were having trouble. "Well, that seems like quite the team composition there, Hon! Those all sound like all-stars to me. Now then, weren't yo-"
"Ah shoot! I've got to get back and feed them!" Iris yelled out with a gasp as she jolted up off the couch with a panicked look in her eyes. The startled girl caused Ash to let out a yelp from the kitchen as what sounded like empty pans crashed down onto the floor with loud 'Clangs!', causing the girl to look in the direction of the kitchen with a guilty expression. "Ash…? You okay?" She asked nervously before seemingly deciding that her friend was fine as she looked back to Delia. "Look, I'll be right back! You two start eating without me! I'm so s-"
"Iris! Calm down… Let me call him before you go running off. Please? It's starting to get dark and I don't want you to get lost out in the snow." Delia spoke calmly before gently guiding Iris back to sitting on the couch while she gestured for Pikachu to come over and sit on her lap, which the yellow mouse happily did without complaint. The mother shoots the girl a stern look before going to walk upstairs and sit at the VPS while Dialing the lab, giving a wave to Gary as he picks up.
"Hey, Miss Ketchum. Yeah, we already fed Iris' Pokemon right after she left, if that's what you're calling about." Gary said with that confident smirk that he had when he knew that he was right about something, causing Delia to just let out a small giggle and hang up immediately while shaking her head. Walking downstairs while Iris was scratching behind Pikachu's ears worriedly.
"They've already fed your Pokemon, dear. Please calm down. I've known Professor Oak and Gary a long time and they've always taken care of Pokemon even better than they care for themselves most days." Delia said with a comforting smile while standing to the side, between the couch that Iris was sitting on and the kitchen. She tilted her head a bit with worry when the young girl didn't look relieved.
"How much will the Pokemon food be? I don't know if I can pay all at once but…" Iris said as she gently placed the Pikachu off her lap and stood up to reach into her pocket to pull out an old wallet. Most money matters in the current day were handled by a trainer's pokedex or civilians' Pokegears/Xtransceivers so this struck Delia as a bit odd… Well, all of her son's friends that he had brought home had struck her as odd so this wasn't completely out of the ordinary, just concerning.
"Iris, Professor Oak has never charged me anything for feeding and taking care of my Pokemon. That isn't about to start now, okay?" Ash called out while poking his head around the corner into the living room with a reassuring smile. That look that he was giving the girl seemed to work as the girl slowly slid her wallet back into her pocket with a nod. "Now come on and eat! I think that the food is done! I think you'll like it, Iris. It's called Nabe! Brock made it for us once or twice in Unova. It's like a um… uh… little help here, mom? I forget what's in it." The boy looked to his mother sheepishly with a gulp, causing Iris to groan.
Iris' look of annoyance just put a smile on the elder woman's face as the girl walked past her into the kitchen. "Ash! I'm not completely clueless, unlike someone I know! I know what Nabe is! I've been in Johto this whole time, remember?" The young girl nagged at Delia's son like they had been friends their entire life. Delia walked into the now crowded kitchen to begin gathering things such as the bowls and utensils needed to set the table to keep herself occupied.
"Hey!" Ash called out with an unusually loud and serious tone of voice, causing Delia to stop setting the table and turn to her son in disbelief that he just raised his voice. "Don't call Brock clueless like that. That's just mean!" The young man said while not being able to burst out into a small smile at his little joke, sputtering into small laughs that made his cheeks puff out. Iris just stared up at her friend in seeming disbelief before leaning forward into little giggles as well. It seemed that Ash's joke had worked! Or well… his giggling at his attempt at a joke had caused the girl to begin laughing along with him.
Delia just stood in the dining room while staring at the two with her hands on her hips and a small scoff as the two children in front of her were overcome with giggles. The Pikachu ran over and climbed onto the table to stare at the two humans with a concerned expression, causing the woman to reach out and scratch its head.
"Don't worry, Pikachu. They're just being silly."
