Life was good.

That was a thought that frequently buzzed through Ash Ketchum's mind, these days. The worst aspects of life he'd known, after all, were all more-or-less behind him. Poachers? Evil teams? World-ending threats? There was always the rare nutcase, sure. But, for the most part, that sort of thing was in the dustbin of history where it belonged.

Hell, Volo was the last terror he'd encountered, and that'd wrapped up neatly enough. A power-hungry maniac from a century ago was now a retired Champion-turned-historian.

Now, the worst thing to lay before Ash's eyes was a table full of dirty dishes, from breakfast. Several messy children and their two diligent mothers; Dawn and Serena, had already filed out for the day. The former bunch to school, and the latter for another day at work for their successful Poké Styling boutique. No one had had time to clean up the used glasses, finished plates of pancakes, toast, and omelets, rushing out the door at their own pace to start the day.

And, given that he, as the last Brain of the Battle Frontier, rarely saw a challenger, he was the designated stay-at-home dad. He'd have to deal with that mess… which was fine. He'd get to it.

But that was a problem for future Ash. Right now, all of the morning commotion had left him hungry, and what was left of their meal smelled damn good. He sat back down and cut off a large piece of the cheddar, pepper and onions omelet he'd prepared to put on his plate.

He wasn't sure where his partner Peeks had gone, but he was bound to be around somewhere. At least he wouldn't have the opportunity to drown the rest in a ketchup-y abomination.

The man laughed to himself at the thought while he cut off a morsel, and jabbed it with his fork.

One could imagine his shock when, just short of his mouth, the piece of omelet floated right off of his fork.

"What the hell…?" He squinted at the piece of egg. He wasn't seeing things; it was just floating. Stubborn as ever, he jabbed for it with his fork. The floating food quickly veered away from the table. "Get back here!"

Someone had to be up to this. Perhaps Gengar or Mismagius, though he was sure he'd feel a chill if they were nearby, he thought, getting up from the table to pursue the mysterious egg.

It could be Keshet, but her pranks usually hit with a bang. You'd sooner catch her filling a tube of toothpaste with hot sauce than stealing anyone's breakfast.

The egg lured him out of the kitchen, and into the living room. He grabbed at it barehanded, long past the point of wanting to eat it. Now, he was just committed to solving this caper.

To Ash's dismay, it started to float higher. Out of his reach, even. "Oh, no you don't!" He held out an outstretched hand, and clutched the omelet in an Aura bubble. He was no seasoned esper, but he could damn well catch it. "Got you! That's the end of… eh?"

He felt the bubble tugging away from him. Gritting his teeth, Ash pulled back.

~It's kind of cute, y'know.~ A familiar voice echoed in his head. ~It's like we're holding hands.~

He knew that feminine echo anywhere. His eyes darted across the room, looking for any signs of scarlet, or snow white. But, she was nowhere. ~You're getting warmer…!~

Finally, Ash turned his gaze to the ceiling. A large ceiling fan rotated slowly over the living room coffee table. Perched atop one of its blades was none other than a very cheeky-looking Latias.

She smiled and waved.

"Alright, alright." Ash laughed and shook his head. He rested a hand on his hip. "You got me good. Now, give me my breakfast back, missy. The jig's up."

The piece of egg continued to orbit around with Kanon, as she leisurely orbited the fan. ~You know, you have the rest of your breakfast available. You could just go back to that.~

Kanon knew it was a matter of winning or losing. He knew she knew.

"Get your feathery ass down here," Ash snorted.

She giggled into the back of her hand. She'd gotten his goat. ~Your wish is my command!~ With that, she hovered off of the fan, slowly descending to hover before her long-time partner. The piece of omelet came down with her. ~You still want it?~

"I still want it."

~Say please.~

"I'm not begging for table scraps."

~You may as well be.~ The glint of humor in her golden eyes was impossible to stay mad at, even if Ash wanted to be. She slowly lifted the morsel up to eye level with her telekinesis. ~Alright. You can have it. Say aaah~.~

"Are you for real." Ash could see it in her face that she was, in fact, for real. He swallowed his pride, and opened his mouth. He was ready to get this over with.

Kanon silently snickered behind her claws, and then her entire form was embraced in light. In a matter of seconds, she was no longer a colorful jet plane dragon, but a human woman just eclipsing Ash's height, as she did ordinarily.

With a full figure reminiscent of a long, comfortable and content life, short autumn hair framing her face with the bangs imitating her head feathers, she was evidently no longer a Latias. Her still-gold, striking eyes glimmered with mischief, framed by just a few wrinkles to reflect her age.

With Ash's guard down, she attacked. Plump lips pressed to his, and her well-polished nails meshed into the voluminous mess of a mullet cascading over his shoulders, touched with streaks of paler teal and silver. She'd captured Ash in a loving embrace. Hook, line, and sinker.

He knew he'd been duped. But, feeling glossy, silky smooth lips on his, he couldn't be angry about it. He practically melted into the endgame of her little batch of tricks, letting all of his prior annoyances — everything at all about the world melt away into a moment of—

"Daaaaad!"

A screeching, scratchy voice interrupted their little bubble of intimacy. A scratchy voice belonging to a child, looking no older than seven years old. Said child ran into the room with her backpack haphazardly shrugged on her shoulders with the straps uneven, and her Jangmo-o trailing her path. Ash's choppy dark teal hair and olive skin showed one half of her parentage. Her striking blue eyes were owed to Dawn. "...Are you smooching Aunt Kan, again!?"

She owed her audacity to both.

The two adults pried apart at the speed of a fully-fledged Latias, themselves, reluctantly tearing their attention away from one another to focus on the youth. Furthermore, Kanon disguised herself with her camouflage, suddenly invisible to the naked human eye.

~...No.~ She fibbed, rather terribly.

"Gross." The youth stuck her tongue out, but as a hyperactive child tended to do, immediately moved on. "Anyway, Dad. I missed my bus to school! I'm stuck." She huffed, stomping her foot.

"Aw, Deej…" Ash pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's the second time this week."

This was Delia Jr, colloquially known as D.J., named after her paternal grandmother. "It's not my fault! Jangmo-o was picking a fight with a Pidgey. If I didn't wrestle him away, he woulda hurt them! I did the right thing." Evidently, it wasn't even worth noting that she could wrestle a growing Jangmo-o away from anything. She was a chip off the old block.

Kanon made herself visible again, wagging a finger at the dragon youth. ~Now, you know we've told you not to pick on weaker Pokémon. That's not how a proud dragon gets strong, is it…?~

The yellow-crested drake guiltily hung his head. "Jang-Jang…"

"Can I stay home?" D.J. pleaded.

"I'd love that kiddo, but if we do that often, your teacher's gonna be mad. And do you know what happens when people from your school get mad at you?"

"Mama scares them," she replied simply. Mama, in this case, referred to Dawn.

Ash hissed, unable to come up with a retort. "...Yeah. And, you don't want your teach' to have to deal with Mama, do you?"

D.J. shook her head.

Kanon, meanwhile, tutted. ~It can't be helped. I'll give you two a ride to school.~ With a twirl on the tip of her toe, she transformed back into her original state, and with a glimmer in her eyes, lifted both D.J. and her Jangmo-o onto her back.

"Aw, you really gotta go, huh…?" Ash pouted, leaning on the edge of the couch beside him.

~Not to worry! I'll be back before you know it. Or do you doubt my speed?~ Confidence glimmered in her eyes, and she leaned in, grazing his neck with her nose.

"You're being gross again!" D.J. complained.

"Jang! Jangmo."

"Well then, you better get to class so you don't have to see it. Have a good day, kiddo." Ash affectionately ruffled her hair, before watching Kanon hover towards the front door, open it, and soar off into the distance, all in the span of a few moments.

The door swung closed behind Kanon. Ash sighed, leaning against the arm of the couch.

It was only then that he saw two deep violet eyes staring dead at him.

Ash's Espeon, Keshet, was lounging on the couch, staring him down in that eerie way she did. A Nintendo Switch sat next to her, but she didn't seem to be paying any attention to it.

Ash lightly tapped the malformed gem on her forehead. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

~Nah. I'm good. I had my share of entertainment already,~ she quipped.

"Wait… you were watching me through all of that, weren't you."

~Correct.~

"And you just let me walk through all of that, huh?"

~Careful. It's learning.~ The most frustrating and weird thing about Keshet, perhaps, was that she didn't even smile when she took joy in his misadventures. She stared at him blankly. ~I needed something to break up the monotony of my third Victory Royale of the morning.~

Ash rolled his eyes, and reached to haul her up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

~Hey, pause. What are you doing.~

"If you're going to make an ass out of me, then you can at least help me do the dishes," he replied, walking back towards the kitchen.

~But, my—~

"Your Fork Knife or whatever can wait. Didn't you just say you were bored of winning?"

The feline slowly and tediously rolled her head, as fickle cats were known to do. She sighed a little mewl. ~...Yeah, alright. You're gonna need my help if you want to finish up in time to lock lips with her again, anyway.~

"I don't like that you were just watching us, by the by. It's creepy."

~Oh, I was tuning that part out, entirely.~ She hovered out of Ash's hold, and atop the counter. A brief glimmer of her gem outlined every single dish on the table in blue, and carried them towards the sink in neat, organized piles. ~You're welcome, by the way.~

"Yeah, yeah. Thank you, Keshet. I don't know what I'd do without you." Ash picked up the first dish, and began to scrub it down. He couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice, no matter how hard he tried to keep up the appearance of being irritated with her.

~Smartest thing you've said all morning.~

As was the same of any day in the Ketchumuriere household, there was never a dull moment. He had his family. His Pokémon. A few lovely, lovely ladies who made his life interesting, and his heart sing. Some stranger than others, depending on how you looked at them.

Life was good.