Chapter 2

Pokemon Trainer and A Lone Scientist Student

Character Age:

Ash Ketchum - 15

Rio Futaba - 16

A boy with raven-colored hair, named Ash, walked through the school hallway all by himself; his usual partner and best friend Pikachu had stayed back at Professor Oak's Lab for some reason.

The Professor had asked if he could borrow Pikachu for today; apparently, he needed the Electric Mouse Pokémon for something, though he didn't really explain why. For Ash, that had felt odd, maybe even a little suspicious. Professor Oak was usually quite elaborate about things he was working on, but not this time.

Oh well... Ash had no time to dwell upon it, he told Oak that he would go visit the Viridian City High School to meet 'a close friend', so he bid the professor and Pikachu farewell for now.

"I think the last time I went to this place was like... a year ago; no, it was even longer…" Ash said thinking out loud about the last time he had visited Viridian City, during his days as a Pokémon Trainer in Kanto as a beginner.

As Ash continued to walk through the hallways to find the specific club room where he was expecting to find his friend. 'This high school is just like a mountain maze…' he thought.

After wandering around for a while, he decided to ask one of the school students if they knew where to find his 'close friend'. As Ash had anticipated, she was indeed a member of the Science Club and he got directions where to find the club's room; turned out it was located on the ground floor at the end of a long corridor.

While on his way there, some thoughts went through Ash's mind:

Would she have changed? They were still in the final grade of elementary school when they had last seen each other.

Maybe she had made lots of new friends with students and classmates? Would he still be her closest friend? Or would she have forgotten him?

Ash was wondering about all that, as he hadn't seen her for years! Did he forget her? No! Why would he forget her? He felt in his pocket, where he still had a key chain in the form of a test tube, a token she had given him before he went on his Pokémon journey; as good luck charm, and so he would have something to remember her by. Ash didn't forget about her, he remembered it all till this very day.

It had taken Ash some effort to find out where his friend had gone. After his Kalos Journey was complete, Ash had decided to return to his hometown and went to Pewter Elementary School where he and his friend first met. He was able to find one of their teachers from back then, a woman who looked in her 30s, named Hisako. She told Ash that his friend was not here but after she graduated from Middle school, had enrolled in Viridian City High School, one of the best public schools in Kanto. After thanking Hisako for this information, Ash decided to go home first, then he would go to Viridian City to find the person who was once his closest friend.

Ash Ketchum remembered her as a shy and introverted young girl with a lack of self-confidence. To make things worse, she was lonely, without any real friends, and easily got bullied. Those kids were calling her stupid names because she wore glasses, which made her look like a nerd in the eyes of their classmates. Having a strong interest in science and also being very smart made her stand out even more from the rest.

Being a bit of a crybaby, she often went hiding in bathrooms or go to other places to avoid embarrassment.

When Ash first met her, he quickly became her only friend, as he treated her very differently from the other kids in her class. She even changed a little because of him…

When Ash finally located the Science Club room, he smiled. He decided to walk straight towards the sliding door, then inhaled deeply and exhaled to let out his breath, before opening it. He saw a lone female scientist student standing near an open window. Apparently, she was having a conversation with a person outside, where the PE grounds were.

"Okay, Kunimi, for this experiment, can you take one final measurement, so we have enough data to process?" the young scientist said to the person outside.

Feeling a sudden draft going through the room, due to the open window and Ash opening the door, the young female student turned around. "Rio Futaba" it read on the nametag pinned to her lab coat. Her eyes became big as these met Ash's, seeing him standing in the door opening.

'Could that be? Is that really him?!' Rio was shocked; For all these years she thought he would surely have forgotten about her, even though from her side, it felt like her friendship with him remained unbroken. It seemed he actually remembered her. Before she knew, Rio wanted to dash forward towards him, but was stopped by Ash.

"Oops, seems I may have disturbed you two in here? You're busy with some important test or so, right? I can come back later, see y…" Ash said, thinking that it would be rude to interrupt.

He turned around and closed the door, but suddenly...

Rio Futaba quickly rushed to the sliding door and opened it again, making Ash turn around, and found her herself in front of him. "Ash!" Rio shouted, as she lunged forward, and threw her arms around him, making him lose his balance, causing both to fall on the floor.

This almost fatally strong hug momentarily knocked the wind out of Ash, but he quickly regained himself and hugged her back. For a while they both laid down on the floor, not saying a word. Rio was the first to break the hug, and she got up again, then offered her hand, to help him getting up as well. All this with a broad smile on her face.

"It's been a long time since our last time I saw you, Ash Ketchum." Rio Futaba said, with a shy giggle, a bit embarrassed about her behavior.

"Eeeh… Likewise…" Ash replied.

'Wait, what did I do? We haven't seen each other in years, yet I just go hugging him right from the start!?' Rio Futaba thought, as she took a step back.

"D-Do you still remember me…?" She said, while fidgeting with her fingers.

"Well…" Ash responded.

"Ah, good! So, that test tube I gave you before you left, must have really helped to not forget about me, I guess."

"Uhhh...perhaps. It's just that…" Ash said as he turned his head away to another direction.

"Wait! So that means you don't really remember me?" Rio said, feeling somewhat in shock.

"it's somewhat in between remembering and forgetting you, I guess… sorry Futaba-chan," Ash added, as he scratched his head.

Rio Futaba pouted, not satisfied with his answer.

"What I mean is that you're quite a bit different from how I remember you from back then…" Ash explained; "Although it seems it's mostly your appearance that has changed, you do look cuter than I remember, but your personality is still very much the same," Ash sheeply honestly said scratching his head.

"Oh... thank you…" Rio said shyly with a little blush.

Ash chuckled "I don't mind about that, seems I gave you a little praise, even though I didn't mean to. Not that you don't deserve it, you do look cute."

As Ash gave Rio a headpat with his hand and softly and gently brushed her hair. Rio blushed even more while she looked around anxiously to check if no one was watching them. Which didn't seem the case, so Rio decided it was okay to enjoy the headpatting for a little longer; 'This feels so good...'

"Okay Ash, that's enough for now." Rio ordered Ash to stop the headpats, as she expected Kunumi to soon be finished with the experiment, outside on the PE field.

Ash stopped and reached into his pocket, then took out something and presented it to Futaba.

"Here's your test tube back. Didn't you once ask me to return it to you the day we would meet again?" Ash said, as he handed over the keychain to Rio.

"I want you to keep that item for now. It's still yours, as a gift to you." Futaba said; "I'm glad that you held onto it for all these years."

"Wait, it's mine?"

Futaba nodded with a smile and held his open hand, put the test tube in it, then closed his fingers with her other hand; "Please keep it."

"Oh, okay then." Ash said as he put back a test tube in his pocket. "Thanks! I'll shall treasure it."

"You're welcome."

"So, do you have some free time today?" Ash inquired.

"We usually have lunch break between twelve and one, but we skipped it today, to finish this last test. I could make some tea for you if you want. Or do you prefer coffee these days? Maybe we can chat a little meanwhile?" Rio suggested

"Sure! Tea please!" Ash said to her as they walked back into the Science Club Room.

"Futaba-chan, I finished that last experiment and…"

Kunimi's eyes gazed at Ash: "Who is this guy?" he asked, pointing at the stranger talking with his classmate.

Rio Futaba introduced the visitor to her classmate and explained where she knew Ash from.

"I see…" Kunimi said; "My name is Yuuma Kunimi, pleased to meet you."

"Likewise" Ash said.

"Will you join us for a cup of tea, Kunimi-kun?"

"Sorry, Futaba-san, but my math teacher wanted to have a word with me about the recent exam, so it will be for another time."

"Okay, good luck with that!"

"See ya! I'll talk to you later!" Kunimi replied, as he walked away.

Futaba poured the tea in two cups while Ash told about the challenges that he had faced including a lot of other sorts of stuff that would make Rio Futaba would like to hear to listen more in her ears. Time went by fast and before they knew, the sun already started setting. So, Futaba asked Ash to wait outside as she had some last things to do before being able to leave as well.

Ash saw students and teachers all pouring out of the building, as he leaned against the school gate. Finally, Rio came outside too. She had re-arranged her hair in a ponytail and swapped her lab coat for a regular school uniform. As the two walked along the street, they came across a bakery and both feeling a bit hungry, went inside to buy some Melon Bread. Thinking they were together, the person behind the counter handed them a couple-sized portion. Ash and Rio ignored this at first, until the same happened when they went to a nearby convenience store to buy some bubble tea, with the employee hinting they looked good together. Ash tried to explain they were "just friends" but Rio signaled him to let it be.

After walking around some more, eventually they found a bench in a park and sat down there peacefully for a while. As the sun had now almost fully disappeared behind the horizon, the lights in the park had turned on already.

"Hey, Ash?"

"What is it, Rio?"

"Maybe now you can tell a little more about what you've been doing since we last saw each other?" Rio asked, with a smile.

"Oh yeah, Sure! I'll tell you everything!" he replied enthusiastically.

Ash started talking about traveling from region to region. How he had fought many Pokémon Battles including his numerous encounters with Team Rocket. About the many new friends he had made, and the new Pokémon he had caught along the way, which eventually had become almost like family to him. Ash felt that having a strong bond and true friendship with his Pokemon had always been the most important goal for a trainer.

Among his wonderful adventures were also the challenging battles with the eight Gym Leaders in each region, as well as participating in the Pokémon League. Rio Futaba was listening to his story with full attention; She enjoyed hearing every word, most of the time with a broad smile on her face.

She thought about how Ash had grown so much into a happy and strong young man, while still being quite humble. It felt like he was having better life than her. She was aiming for a career in Scientific Research while he was seeing the world.

"Did you know I was watching you in every Pokémon League in every region you participated?" Rio asked, as she put one finger on her chin.

"Wait! Really?"

"Yes, seemed like you were into some pretty fun and serious fights there. You beat those stronger trainers, including your rival. Somehow, each time you managed to improve yourself."

"Well, mostly…" Ash commented, as he looked at the ground for a moment.

"You mean how you lost in the finals of the Kalos League? But still, you managed to end up in second place, that shows what a strong trainer you have become. I'm just a Scientist Student. All I do is perform research and study experiments. So don't give up on becoming "the very best", okay? I'm rooting for you, next time you'll win, I'm sure of it!"

"Thanks Rio, I appreciate that a lot," Ash with a smile on his face.

"That's more like it. But with all that talking, we totally forgot about the food we bought," Rio said.

"Oh yeah! I'm as hungry as a Snorlax!" Ash said, with a chuckle.

Rio gave Ash a piece of the Melon Bread, which he gladly accepted. Rio started taking small bites and sips of her improvised dinner, but Ash started eating so fast that suddenly he nearly choked. Rio quickly put her bottle of bubble tea, which was already open, to his mouth, and urged him to take a good sip. Luckily this helped to wash down the piece of food that had been stuck, and Ash soon stopped coughing.

"You shouldn't eat so fast..." Rio sighed.

Ash folded his hands together to apologize.

"It's okay, just be a bit more careful from now on."

Ash nodded, then offered his bubble tea to her.

"What are you doing?" Rio wondered.

"Just giving you some of my drink in return, since I drank some of yours," Ash said.

"You didn't have to, but thanks…" Rio replied, then accepted his offer and sipped from his bottle until she had gotten about the same amount as Ash had drunk from her bottle.

"Okay, We're even now." Rio said with a chuckle as Ash blushed a little from embarrassment.

The sun had now fully sunk behind the horizon and a bright moon lit the park. They decided it was time to head out and walked to the exit.

"C-Can I hold your hand?" Rio suddenly asked.

"Huh, what for?" Ash wondered.

"My hands are a little cold, and besides, we're 'friends', right?" Rio Futaba explained.

Ash nodded and opened his right hand, offering it to her.

"Oh sure, I didn't mind about it then, go ahead."

Rio was happy with his reply and they continued walking through the streets together, holding hands. The city looked beautiful with its many lit buildings and other bright city lights. Ash tightened his grip, causing Rio to blush a little. But she managed to contain herself, so he wouldn't notice her feelings.

Ash looked at the moon, a radiant blue light up in the sky.

"Hey Futaba…" Ash started, making her turn her head; "The moon is so beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it sure is…" Rio agreed as they both stopped for a moment, to look up, then continued their nighttime walk together.

To be continued…

Good Morning or Evening, Everyone! EmmalynTheQuiet here! Finally, I uploaded Chapter 2. I'm so very sorry for taking the story update for so long forgive me for that. Since this is an Ash x Rio Futaba Oneshot story a very rare pairing story right? Don't sweat about that.

Also, Thank LatiosFan for rewriting this story I will give credit to him for that. I am so awful at writing something like grammar or possible errors. Please check out his fanfics. They're a really good story. Hahahaha

So anyway thank you guys for reading this and hopefully, I'll see you again next time. Sayonara!