Author's Notes (15)
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School's back, and I'm dying already.
This first part's a bit depressing for Ash. And it's kinda my fault since... I watched the first episode of Oshi no Ko.
Now granted, I've already read the manga, but the anime hits different, man. What's more, it served as a reminder for me of Fated!Ash's own trauma, which I'll talk more in the latter half of the notes.
Now, review questions:
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Lord Hayman:
Noice chapter and i really love red and yellow being the nicknames for our amour couple since I'm also a speical shipper. i wonder would Ash's later traveling companion like dawn and may would get there adventures manga names as their nicknames
like sapphire and platinum.
Well about serena's intimidate skill is awesome
I thought serena will also compete in M16 as kalos champion as kalos champion like in Pokemon masters ex but i realised diantha is already in the M16 as kalos champion, i really wanted to see how serena will intimidate ash in battle I'm expecting ash vs Serena in future friendly match (hope our couple don't stare at eachother for too long and the serena intimidating skill will turn into intimate with ash and ash will turn into lover instead of faker with serena) i was re-reading ash vs Lorierl match
I just realised that Axe-Sword is Berserker's main weapon isn't it and the mawarok nine strikes is same as Shirou as Nine Lives Blade Works, which has Shirou can swing the sword nine times faster than the speed of sound right?(i watched fate in lock down but i forgot all most everything and also saber x shirou fan here here i call it Avalon shipping since they had a happy ending in Avalon in play station 2 game remake of fate)
And i was also re-reading gary vs ash but i couldn't help but nostalgia hit me lol it really fells like kai vs Brooklyn in Beyblade g revelation but in Pokemon lol like ash get burried in rocks and just like kai
But seriously do you have any reason why you gave ash nickname being red and serena's Being yellow in the story any reason XD but i seriously own you a apology lol for spamming 11 messages in pm i was new to ffs i refresh and the message doubled I'm sorry about that anyways,looking forward for ash and serena's reunion this is my favourite story of all time.
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First off, thanks for the lengthy review, really enjoyed reading it.
Adventures nicknames: Yeah, the manga names will make their appearances. Wouldn't make sense for only the Kanto trio plus Serena to have them, right?
M16 matchups: Truthfully speaking, I'm still wondering if I should put Serena in. The list ain't finalized, but I'll finish it... eventually.
Nine Lives: Yes! Finally, someone said it. Berserker's axe-sword and Nine Lives is referenced. However, Nine Lives as a move doesn't really make sense so I've changed it to Nine 'Strikes' instead since it's more fitting and similar. Axe-sword though... might make an appearance.
Avalon happy ending: That's the main premise of Fated's story, Ash searching and Serena waiting, until they reunite.
- (Not in Avalon though, that'll mean they're dead monkaS)
Beyblade reference: Gotta be honest, I've never watched Beyblade, but if there's already a dude who gets buried in rocks during a tournament; then, man, my ideas may be more cliche than I thought. Gotta step up mah game.
Red and Yellow: They are just nicknames that parallel Special and Amour (seriously, the straw hat is the glue that connects them). However, it's also a indication that there are no parents for Ash like in many fics where his dad is Red and Delia is actually Yellow, or something along those lines. It's to show how alone Ash really is by extinguishing any theories about his father since he's not in the fic.
Thanks for the review, Hayman. I don't mind the PMs.
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Palletking2001:
Another brilliant chapter...
So, besides faker(which Shirou) is also called, is Ash's unique ability going to be fate? It's 4 letter word.
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Thanks for review, mate!
Fate: Forgive me, but HELL NO! Imagine Ash somehow being able to alter League battles in his favour. That's just bad writing on my part. Fated!Ash isn't getting an easy journey, after all. But really appreciate this review, man. Was a good guess, but its too overpowered.
- (Hint 2: It has something to do with the word 'trace' *wink, wink*)
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f46adpg:
You did set up big expectations after the last chapter. I do see that Serena is kinda hard to write. Even in the canon, we did adore her but she doesn't have many unique characteristics to herself. Like if we remove Ash out of the equation it would make her a little shallow as a character. Like, except her first performance she didn't have that many...uh... challenging rivals to her. Like may had drew and dawn had may and Kenny. But, seeing as she is written so many times with Ash as the protagonist. Comparing his rivals like Gary and Paul to Serena's is a little underwhelming I would say. And the thing you did there with the blacksmith and the princess thingy. Now way she is not Arturia Pendragon. A tragedy too. I mean her potentially gaining authority...urhhm... Excalibur, caliburn, Avalon. Blacksmith and throwing himself into danger with no self danger...urhhm...shirou with fakes. And using state thy name? Are you a fan of Parascious too?
And just a little suggestion for the last orange league gym. Can you introduce something like peripheral vision in the story? Like in a double battle some trainers are gifted in the sense that they can simultaneously observe the whole field not just their centre line of vision. Connecting something like this with Diantha's battling style in which she evolved this trait into something 'super'. Ash can't see the whole field of course so he will have many blind spots which could be exploited just by looking at his eyes and where is he seeing. And co ordinating his Pokemon is your choice of course. Like if you go by logic and say that facing team rocket he had to adapt to battling and co ordinating his Pokemon together then it makes sense. But if you want to explore the whole Ash's curiosity and him trying to learn this and staying at the island and maybe even considering losing in the battle to understand how big is the world then I don't think it will be that much of a problem for the readers to accept this new development.
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Holy moly, this is an amazing review! Thank you!
Serena writing: Yeah, I've noticed the same thing as well. Her anime counterpart of finding her own passion doesn't quite work in Fated's setting, so I'm trying to create an amalgamated character using EVERY Serena we have, plus Yellow from Adventures and Saber from FSN.
Rivals for our girl: Big yes. Her rivals were so disappointingly bad that I felt as if Performances were literally tailor-made for her to win. That's a readjustment job for me!
Serena as co-protagonist: Another great point, our girl is always paired with our boi that she gets overshadowed. So while our boi travels, she's gonna build herself up into her own person and not someone in Ash's shadow. Hopefully, I stick the landing on this since it's an important part of Serena.
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Princess & the Blacksmith (Lengthy):
Yes, I have read Parcasious's works and I know which fic you're referring to, but no. The short story plus the old-timey speech is actually based on my favourite FSN fic of all time:
Fateless by olcon! That's the greatest piece of fanfic I've ever had the pleasure of reading!
(Fun fact: Fated is inspired heavily by Fateless!)
The old-timey speech in that fic is amazing and hilarious, and the idea for the short story came from there, though I supposed Fate in Time by Parcasious had a similar setting.
While their works are enjoyable, their constant wank for Shirou really upsets me since the main point of Shirou is that he doesn't start out wanked like Parcasious' fics. He grows stronger reasonably so that it feels earned by the end.
It's just a rollercoaster ride but you feel empty towards Shirou's character at the end. (Though, first half's setting was amazingly done)
TLDR: I have read Parcasious fics, but the short story and Fated as a whole is inspired by Fateless by olcon (Please read it, it's an amazing read!)
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Last Gym: Well, you got your wish, buddy. This chapter was written with your review in mind. However, things went a bit differently from what you expect. But thank you for the suggestion! It was fun enough to incorporate it into this chapter!
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With that, enjoy!
Chapter 59: An Unstable Blade
A horrid sight devastated the battlefield as two Pokémon laid there, unmoving and defeated. The raven-haired boy stood still in disbelief, staring towards his opponent who had her Pokémon still raring to go.
"Pikachu and Charizard are unable to battle! Luana of Kumquat Gym wins!"
'Shit… I can't…'
Thud!
'Not… here...'
His body fell to the ground.
'I don't want to see it…'
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Kumquat Island, Orange Islands (Hours ago…)
Ash finally arrived at the location of his final Orange League Gym after some days of non-stop [Surfing] thanks to Lapras, only taking breaks to cook or using the toilet. His impatience reached critical levels as he was very close to the end of the Orange League.
'Okay… We're finally here,' Ash mused unenergetically.
"Pikapi…" Pikachu complained on his head whilst wearing the red cap.
"Hey, I didn't think the last Gym was all the way to the opposite of Trovita, partner."
Lapras was sleeping peacefully within her capsule, finally free from her ferry job and the raven-haired boy could not be any more grateful towards her.
After some routine stretches, they headed towards the Pokémon Centre. Ash's hastened steps were noticed by his Pokémon, both Pikachu and the ones in their capsules.
…
Ding, ding, ding-ding, ding!
"Your Pokémon are all healed up! We look forward to serving you again!" a tanned Nurse Joy bowed to the raven-haired boy.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash thanked before ambling towards the Gym with Pikachu in tow.
"Pikapi."
"…I'm not tired, partner."
"Pikachu!"
"…Whaaaat? No, I'm not lying…"
Ever since the day of the school attack, Ash had not even had a wink of sleep. His body, although strengthened by Caliburn's healing, was still reaching its limit, noticed even by his Pokémon who kept nagging him to sleep.
But every time, without fail, Ash would stubbornly refuse, not wanting to fall asleep. His reasons were unknown to his team, but knowing him, they knew it had something to do with Serena.
"Oh, would you look at that? We're here," Ash changed the subject as fast as possible.
Pikachu snapped.
"Pikachiiiiiii…!" the electric mouse had enough as he shocked his Trainer relentlessly.
Thud!
"Gah!" the raven-haired boy fell to the ground, coughing out a puff of smoke.
"Fine, let's go to the hotel…"
Kumquat Hotel, Kumquat Island
'I'm seriously peachy here, Pikachu,' he grumbled internally, not wanting to verbalize it for fear of another [Thunderbolt].
'The hotel's part of the Gym as well. Who would've thought?'
As the boy went through the automatic doors of the hotel, he was greeted with the sight of a middle-aged woman, who was staring at him with widened eyes.
'Hm? What's—?'
"Travis? Is that you?!" the woman exclaimed.
Ash's luck worked its magic once again.
'Hol' up. Travis who now?!' the raven-haired boy internally screamed in indignation towards his luck.
"My son!" she answered his internal question.
The middle-aged woman galloped towards the raven-haired boy with open arms, causing him to evade with every fibre of his body despite his exhaustion.
Being raised with Kanto's household customs, he knew hugs were off-limits unless it was from someone close to him. Currently, the only people who fit that category were Serena, Blue, Gary, Daisy, and Professor Oak.
'…Ivy-nee doesn't count,' Ash grimaced as he worked down the list.
"Hey, lady! Do I look like a Travis to you?" Ash growled irritably.
"Your cute girly voice is the same as ever!" the woman beamed.
"We talking bout' a son or a daughter here?!" he retorted back, rather offended to heard someone call his voice 'girly'.
He shuddered at the memory of Daisy dressing him up as a girl once, going by the name 'Rika' or 'Ashley' that sent shivers down his spine. Although the older Oak sibling gushed about his appearance, Ash vowed to never cross-dress ever again. But knowing his track record with bad luck, he was not looking forward to his future.
"Look closer please…" the raven-haired boy begged, already on the last legs of his energy.
The woman took a moment after calming down to get a better look of the boy's face, slowly taking in his features.
'Raven black hair with red eyes…' she observed before concluding.
"…You have terrible dark circles."
"Oi."
"I'm kidding. Looks like you're that Ash Ketchum my colleagues were talking about, huh?" the woman grinned.
'Colleagues?' the raven-haired boy's ears perked up.
"Wait, doesn't that mean…!"
"Yep, Luana of Kumquat Island as well as its Gym Leader!" she introduced.
Pikachu facepalmed as this was the situation he wanted to avoid.
Ash's grin worked its way to his face as he found the person he had been wanting to meet on the Island.
"I already know. Follow me," Luana beckoned as the two made their way to the Gym.
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"Damnit! [Thunderbolt]!" I called out to Pikachu.
As I issued my command, Charizard was damaged by Luana's Marowak.
"Agh, Charizard, [Flamethrower]!"
But it was no use. Within that timeframe, Pikachu's [Thunderbolt] was evaded thanks to Alakazam's [Teleport] and countered with [Hyper Beam].
"Pika!" my partner wailed in pain.
My eyes danced around the battlefield frantically, trying to grasp my current situation. But…
I still don't know what I'm supposed to find.
"Slow! Your commands are lagging! What's more, you're not using your eyes properly!" Luana chided disappointingly towards me.
It was a Double Battle, her Challenge that separated me from earning my ticket to the final Orange League competition. And yet, right now, it was an insurmountable wall that was adamant on getting in my way.
"Roooaaarrr!" Charizard spewed flames onto me in frustration.
It wasn't the serious ones, but it burned a little more than usual.
"What the hell, Chari—!"
"You took your eyes off the battle again!"
Before I knew it, her Marowak and Alakazam performed a joint attack of [Bonemerang] and [Psychic] onto Pikachu and Charizard respectively.
—Shit!
Boooom!
An obscuring cloud of smoke blocked my view. However, this time, I felt grateful for it as I was reaching my limit. All those nights of fatigue were catching up to me.
Although I knew going through so many days of sleepless nights were bad for my body, it wasn't as if I was stubborn. I went through even worse weeks, even some months, without sleep thanks to Rocket, but somehow…
This is my breaking point? It hasn't even been two weeks!
It didn't make sense. I knew I could go on even longer without sleep, hell, Pikachu also knew.
So then why was he urging me to sleep this time?
My thoughts were in disarray. Nothing was making sense anymore.
While my mind was cluttered, the smoke vanished to reveal my battered Pokémon. Bruised, but not defeated yet.
"Is this all you've got, Ash?" Luana asked aloud from the other side.
"I've heard of your ace sweeping Rudy's Pokémon. But as impressive as you are in Single Battles, you won't survive in Doubles, not to mention Unova's Triples."
Her voice was stern, yet I could feel something within them. Whatever it was, I don't know. It was foreign to me, after all.
I glared obstinately at the woman, not wanting to give up.
"I don't give up until it's over…" I furrowed my brows as another wave of exhaustion washed over me.
"Do you really believe that? If so, prove it."
This woman! She's getting a rise outta me!
"Charizard, Pikachu! Go for the… Huh?" my voice weakened at the baffling sight before me.
My Pokémon defiantly huffed away with a glare, seemingly having enough of me.
Not gonna lie, that hurt me deeply.
And with Luana's final combined attack, it was over.
"Pikachu and Charizard are unable to battle! Luana of Kumquat Gym wins!"
Shit… I can't…
Thud!
Not… here...
My body fell to the ground.
I don't want to see it…
"Pikachu…" the electric mouse nodded thankfully towards Luana.
"Seriously… you two really love him a lot, huh?" the woman walked towards Charizard and Pikachu, patting them before turning towards the fainted boy.
The two Pokémon were sick and tired of Ash pushing himself while worrying about Serena, something they caught on quickly. Charizard was angry with him for two reasons:
One was the aforementioned reason, while the second was his lack of action. Ever since the Orange League began, the raven-haired boy had been choosing Pikachu or Lapras often with Snorlax and Marowak getting some spotlight here and there. However, he himself was not getting that attention which irritated him a lot.
"Grr…" Charizard growled curiously at the Gym Leader.
The orange lizard wondered how the woman figured out both him and his best friend, Pikachu's, intentions to force their Trainer to lose.
"How did I know what you guys were planning? Well, when you get to my age, you read into a lot of stuff."
Luana then carried Ash, her next destination, her Hotel with Charizard and Pikachu in tow.
"For better or worse, he's still a child. An insanely stubborn one at that."
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Luana placed the sleeping raven-haired boy onto a bed while giving a room key to the electric mouse atop of Charizard's head. The older woman patted the two gently, much to their enjoyment.
"You guys have more than enough room to fit in this room, so be sure to relax too. Oh, and once your Trainer wakes up, make sure he gets something to eat in hotel's cafeteria."
With that, Luana gently closed the door on her way out.
The woman ambled her way to the dance studio where she spent most of her time with her employees greeting her.
"Miss Luana, you're already done with the Gym Battle?" one of them asked.
"Yeah. He's completely hopeless, I tell ya," the Gym Leader waved off before retreating to her thoughts.
'That's right. That boy may not be used to Double Battles, but he sure wasn't thinking straight. His field of vision was too narrow and ignored his Pokémon's condition and positioning. What's more, he didn't even use those famous Fakes he's known for.'
'And those tired eyes… Was he worried about something?' she guessed correctly without knowing.
The woman's intuition was frighteningly accurate.
Ash's room, Kumquat Hotel
Pikachu and Charizard summoned their friends from their capsule, including the biggest among them, Snorlax. Since the room was large enough to house all of them without feeling constrained, they felt it was alright.
However, their attention drifted towards the unsystematic rise and fall of Ash's chest. The Pokémon were worried about the raven-haired boy's state these past few days, catching onto the shift in demeanour around him. His original cheerful and optimistic nature was slowly being replaced with a sense of dread and pessimism, not to mention the periodical emptiness within his bloodred eyes sometimes.
Ash began to hyperventilated as they surmised he was having a nightmare.
Pikachu: Pikapii Pikachu! (Ashy's knocked out! He's finally asleep!)
Charizard: Grr, roar, grr! (He's been a real pain in the ass to deal with, that's for sure!)
Lapras: Kyuuu! Kyuu, kyuuu. (Ah, I hope he's alright. Ashy looks scary nowadays.)
Marowak: Ga-ra, ga-rara? (Is he gonna be okay? Is a day really enough for him?)
Snorlax: Kabi, kabi. (Seconded. Let him sleep for a whole week.)
That last comment by the rotund bear was met with deadpanned gazes from his friends, causing him to rub his head sheepishly.
Snorlax was a lazy Pokémon, but he was not dumb. He really liked Ash a whole lot, so it was quite frustrating for him to not be able to help his Trainer. And so, his proposition of sleeping the problems away was his go-to solution, something his species was known for doing.
Lapras: Kyuuuu… Kyuu, kyuu? (Snor-kun, Ashy's not a Snorlax, y'know?)
Snorlax: Kabi, kabi, kabi-gon. (Just a thought. Man, humans are complicated.)
Marowak: Ga-ra, gagara? (Leader, what do we do?)
The team turned to Pikachu, who was lost in thought.
…
They were stumped. They knew this could not continue yet powerless to change his mind.
Ash was about to crack under his burdens of anxiety and impatience. The worst part was, no one could convince him to stop and think. To relax or to take the time to think things through.
As it stood, the raven-haired boy would wake up and continue recklessly, without thinking about his mental wellbeing.
The electric mouse and orange dragon looked with saddened eyes towards their Trainer, their friend. They felt guilty for throwing the match against Luana, but decided it was for the best. It was not as if Ash could beat Luana, even at his current peak. Double Battles were a whole different beast.
"Pikapi…" Pikachu squeaked, placing his tiny paws on his partner's face.
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SCHWING!
As if to answer their prayers, Ash's Bag began to light up as the Sword materialized in front of them. Thrumming its introduction, another brighter light flashed, blinding them with its golden splendour.
"Pika?!" / "Grr?!" / "Kyuu?!" / "Kabi!" / "Ga-ra!"
A second later, the Sword's golden light dissipated, and the Pokémon found themselves at the mercy of an eerie sight:
Á̷͓͍̮̈̕͜ ̸̛̖͈͔͉̦͊̇͒͐͐͗͊̕s̸̢̡̲̟̳̟̰̥̄̍͐n̶̜̠͆͊͐̈́͆͐̚͠o̸̼͗̐̈͐͒ẅ̶̡̹̰̙́̓̌͊̍̋̑̿-̸͉̗̞̙̳̌̏̇̏̊͑̍͠h̸̝̠̞̓͗̅a̵͖͇̒̎͂́͑͛́ͅi̸̧̮̖̮̫͙͉͉̟̾͘r̸̻̥̮͍̯͗͋̅̔̾͛̕ͅe̶̤͊͂ḏ̴̯̳͕͕̪̖͛̄͂̊̕̚͠͠ ̵̡̬̻̳̩̙̳̬̈̾̾̿̈w̸̢̱̰͉̝̣̫̼̅̋͌̒̓̉̈́̚̚ǫ̷̦͖̺̖͎̹͚̭͑̚͘ḿ̸̨̳͙͍͑̕̕ͅȧ̴̘̻̜̺̖͇͙̲̳n̴̢̤̦͖͚̥̝̯̍̏̀̏ ̸̪̬̾̋͊̈́̄͠w̸̡̤͖͇̌̍͆͌̽͋͠ẻ̴̠̙̬̐̿a̶̢̨͍͍̪͗͑̏͐̉͜r̴̡̗̺͆̊̾̉͑̈́̊̕͠i̸̧̙̤̰̱͈͔̲̳̓̉̓̇n̷̛̠̖͚̟͎̑̇͐̍̐g̴̢͔̪͚͇͉̉̓͋̈́ ̴̧̗̀̊̂͂̄̎͠a̴̧̯͉͉̗͌̏͊̀͗͜ ̶̦̭̯̩̖͙̃̈̍͌̆̆̅͆͗b̴̗̥͉̮̄l̸̹̐̔͌̾ȧ̸̠̰͓̣͍̞̟̗͗̽͂͑c̶̩̘̼̙̒̋͐̀̋͌k̸̡̥̯̮̳͖̲͍̝̋͗̂̀̐ ̴̡̼̙̰͔̺̣̓̍̽̆̐̅̚͠ͅv̷̧̗̪̯̙̤̓̒͑̑́̔̄̕͠ë̷͈́̍̍̋́͜ḯ̸͎͇́͋̉̏͝l̵̡̛͈̥͖̪͓̹͖̽͌̈̽̋̊͘̚ ̷̨̘͓̱̳͠o̶̧̭̳͎͒̇̆͑v̶̺͈̣̜͇̝̋̌͗̎̏́̚e̶̪̐͌̃̚r̴̨̠̥̩̯̥̮̥̂̈́̔̈́͊͌͆͋ ̵̙̩̳͉̗̗̈̎̽̑̀̓̚͝h̴̜̪̞͖͓̱̹̉͊͊̕e̵̪͙̹̻͋̔̚r̴͖͚̬͖͎̪̥̍͌͗̇̽ ̶̠͎̝͍̘͕̾̏́̂̕f̸͇̕͝͝a̸̾͒͜c̵͙͓̠̱̓̒̿̚è̴͓̗͖ ̵̬̬̞̩͈̗͚̆̋̎̈̈́̚̕͜a̴̧̧̡͎̠̫̺̟̒̊́̉͜p̸̹̀̃́͑p̷̝̰̥̔̏̔̽̓͌̎͝ḝ̴̮̖̜̺́͝a̶̡̛̦̪̼̟͓̗͎͛̊̀̒̉̚r̷̺͈̣̜̀͗̂͛͂é̵̤͗͋̃͋̚ḍ̶̞̣̞̟̄,̶͎̋̐̑̀̔̿̊̚ ̴̲̉̕s̶͖̜̰̈́ͅͅḯ̷̘̮͉̼͈̇͋̉͘t̵̛͔̰̣̪́̽́͜t̶̛̺͚͎͓̙̃̀͑̃͑́͗͜i̶̭̎̒͊͘ṉ̴̀̐͂͆̏̚͝͝g̵͙̞͋̀͛͂̊͝ ̴͙͈͖̰͓̼̣̈́̇̆̌ń̵͙̙̰ȩ̶̦͕̳̟̘͇̱̠͂̿̈́̾̐x̴̧̨̝͈͓͇̱͖̀̅̃̈́͆̄t̷̮͖̞͚̞̠͇͎̾̀͗ ̴̨͖̘͔͖̠͚̱́̓̽͘t̴̡̨̺̠̫͈͗̿̈̀̅̎͠o̶̯̩̟͊̃͐̿́̑̂̓͝ ̷̨̥̳̾̓̾̔t̵̟͛͒̀̈́̈́̓́h̵̨̹͒̂̀̊͛̿̏́͘e̵͓̝̻̰̗͐̊͑̃̎i̵͖̒́̈́̃͋͐͑̀̚r̸̫̼̰͎̖̐́ ̷̰̜͕̙͑̉͌͐͋̽͑̆͝T̷̝̮̔̋͂́͂͐̒͂͠r̵̦̪̾̾̑̎͜a̴̛͖̣̦̔̀͒͗̌̓͘͝i̴̢̘͍̭̠̘̩̗̥͊̀ñ̵͇́͊̄̀͑͜ë̷̤̫̙͓̬́͊r̶̢̙̞̂̈́̒͆̚'̸̼̲͍̅̇̆͝s̵̨̭͂̔̕͝ ̸̛̹̾͆̀͆b̴̤̖̙̘̳͉̦̯̥̅̕ȩ̸̱̾̋͝ḍ̵̖̱̤̰͉͐̎̓̎̽͊͊́͝.̷̹̺̥̗͇̓̑̓̐͐͌͆͛̕
"Pikachu!" sparks of yellow buzzed from the electric mouse's red cheeks while his long-time friend and comrade, Charizard, stood beside him while baring his fangs.
However, their hostility was met with a slender hand signalling them to halt their animosity.
The veiled woman then placed that very hand atop of the raven-haired boy's forehead with a gentle swirl of midnight blue AURA breezing his body. Soon after, Ash's hyperventilation came to an end as he began to sleep properly.
T̶̻̺̒̾̀̂̅͊͠a̷̹̱͇̼͆͗̊͘k̵͚͆̈͜ȩ̸̣̗̄́̈́ ̶̨͇̗̑͛̈́͌͂͜͝c̵̞͕̀a̴̛͎͔̼͍̔́́r̷̰͐̾e̸̹̩͋̋̽͂̚ ̵̯̖͉͕̬̟͐̏̅̌̕ͅŏ̸̡̱̹̺̠͛̄̄͛̿f̸̨̅ ̴̢̫̲̟̟͕̏̓̂h̷̯̯̥̀̂́͊̓́̕i̸̧̬̫̟̯̟̓m̶̰̩̭̖̄̓́͜,̶̤͈̼̀ ̷̞̟̞̳̌̈́̽o̴̫̪̬̭̿̄̀̀ķ̶̫̟͈̻͕̟̉̐͘̕a̶̮̳͙͚̅̈̇̽̀͝y̸̛̺͉̽?̷̻̾̓̔́̕͠
The Pokémon caught a glimpse of her cyan blue eyes and her wearing a tender smile before vanishing within a blink, leaving behind the stone-clad Sword.
.
No one could prove it.
.
The sudden appearance of the snow-haired woman was but a few minutes…
.
However,…
.
They were more than enough for the powerful entities on the Planet to notice.
.
Shudder.
"Squishy? Puni-chan? What's wrong?" Serena asked after detecting a sense of panic on their expression, something she was getting better at noticing.
"N-nothing's the matter, Serena," Squishy assured, though the honey blonde was certainly still suspicious.
"It's nothing to warrant worry," Puni-chan chimed in.
"Hmm…" she squinted her eyes at them, to their discomfort.
'Other me…'
'Yes, there's no mistaking that monstrous AURA.'
'It was…'
' —██ ███.'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Finally, I'm at Kalos!" I shouted out to the world, barely containing my excitement.
'Finally… Finally! Wait for me, Yellow!' he beamed.
I instantly made my way towards Vaniville Town, the place inscribed within my silver locket. With every step I ran, I could hardly keep the grin on my face from falling.
Skidding to a stop at the entrance, I turned left and right to search for Yellow's house. And just my luck, I spotted Grace right outside, cleaning her Rhydon with a water hose.
"Grace!" I cried out happily.
One, two. My steps grew closer to Grace…
Three, four. They grew slower as her face started to contort.
Five—
"You did this! You didn't save her!" she screamed indignantly as she held my collar.
…Huh?
"She died because of you! Because you didn't come sooner!"
Her voice distorted into something demonic.
No... Don't show me this...
Vaniville Town was engulfed in shadows, Grace turned into a mass of ink.
I was left alone. Standing without reason, trying to find something within this world of black.
My results bore fruit, but it was a poisonous one that brought me to my knees in anguish.
I don't want to see this!
The gravestone before me erected with hatred in its words. Mocking my childish ambitions and faulting me for its owner's death.
Serena Yvonne-Gabena
A daughter and a cherished friend.
Died because of you.
You.
You.
YOU.
YOU!
How dare you be happy!
How dare you move forward without a care in the world!
MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! M̶̺̣̭̤͍̳̖̫̓́͋́̈́̕Ủ̴̫̪͖͚̞͈̥̪̦͗̾̈́͑́̃͠R̴̼̤̠̣͓͎͊̓D̴̡̼̻̰̼͒̀͂́̔̕̚͘E̸͕͐̀͐̌̋̌͆̽Ř̴̲̬̭̫Ȩ̴̜̫̜͈̲̑R̶̠̩̝̈́̿̐͂̕!̷̖̰͉̥̠̞̰̪͌̀̆̏̓̀̋̐͘ͅ ̵͚͒̀M̸̲̺͈̏̅́̾̊͝U̸̡̺̱̱̓̊͂̈̉̑ͅR̸̢̻͔̥̓̌̑͋̂͠Ḑ̸̘͇̗͎̝̖̄̍̀̔̌̐̐͝E̷̢͕̻̾̎̀͂̈́̂̔̆͘R̶̘̩̱͇̙̼̜̪̔͋̾͛̐͛É̸̠̺̮̥͐R̴̜̓͑͂͜ͅ!̵̟̭̼̹̉̉̑̾̚̚͝ ̴̟̋̒M̴̛̹͔̬̘͜͝U̴̡̗͓̟̳̘͆́͆͆̀͜Ŗ̴̧̨̹͔̹̯̼͓̃D̴̼̏̒E̴̮̞͖̤̪̩͎͐̋͊R̸͙̦̦̤͘ͅE̴̬̪̓̿̃̊͌̓̚R̵̢̨̖͇̞͚̪̞̍́̂͘͝!̵̧̢̳̝̰͎̼̺͔͌̇̒̈́͌̚͠ ̵̧̢̗͈̥̦̘͇̅̐̏́̂͆͜͠Ṁ̴͎̭̙͓̫̟͐̅̌̆̊͜͝U̸̢̞͋̽̋͗̀̚R̵̗̎D̸̪̬̓͠Ȩ̷͋̇̋̌͝͝͠R̸̰̭̯̟͂̊̑͊͛̽̓E̵̛̱̝̫̳̩̘̫̲͆̐̃̀̽͝R̵̙̘͖̱̤̽͆̋!̵̼̟̱̠͚̺̫̈́͘̚͝͝ ̷̩͕͎̜̦́͘M̷̠̖͔͋̓͋̅͆̅͐̀͠Ȗ̵̢̧͖͎̤̯̼̀̋̊͜͜R̸̛̝̊̉̀D̴̨̲̱̹͌̈Ę̵͈̤̯̬͉͈̥͎̍͌͛R̸̠͚̜̎̂͆͂̍̊͝͝E̷̥̜̣̋̀̃́͑̚Ŗ̸̨͉̞̬͚͓͉̊̊ͅ!̴̣̽̋̃̆̀ ̸̼̙͍̤͇̋̔̃̽͠͠͝M̶͚͖̈̀̆́̔̂̓̈́Ů̴͕̜͘͘R̷̞̜̯̫̯̝͍̣̃̑̾̀̓̇͜D̷̡͈̬͚̦̓̑̈́̍̈́̀̃̀̏È̴̛̫̱̜̞̟̤̣͚͉̉̒͌͂R̴̬̮̒Ẻ̶̺̺̱͇͈͓̬̹̐̌̆̈́͆R̵̠̗̝̠̕ͅ!̵̧̟͈̹͔̺͖̮̠̔͌̔͋̔̏͠ ̶͚̈̿̾͘M̴͉̖͐̾U̵͙̤̦̖͚̫̻̍̽̓͆̿̀̂̕͝Ŗ̵͍͇̬͇̘̦̳̗̑̾̌̀͌D̸̰̠̖̟͇̋̄͂͠ͅͅE̷̛̛̦̮͔̜̎͐̃̈̇̀R̸̡̧̠̣̪̗͈̀͆̽E̴͖̖̠̠͛̅̇͠R̵̰̭̫̚!̷͇̱̙̗̥̭̑̌̀̚ ̴͎̠̦̺̲͙͈̆̉M̷̡̠͉̤͖͚̥̮͍̐̋̌̍U̸̢͙̰̺̯̠̥̲͊̉̊͒̽̾̕R̸̢̙̩̼̥̺̯̟͎͒̋̐͛̑͘̚Ḏ̴̹̇̚͜͜Ȩ̶̽́͑͝R̵̯̹͔͙̤̀̀͗ͅE̷͓͇̙͛͊̃̍̅̽̕̕R̷̺̱̠̯͙̆̓̀̅̊͝ͅ!̶̠̦̰̯̌̽̍͒̃̽̃̀͘ ̴̛̬̱̫̗̺̜̯̅̒̈́́̓̓̀Ṁ̶̢͈̗͖̠̯̮͖̂͂̒͊͜Û̶̹͔͂̈́̑R̶̛̳̟͉͆̍D̴̘̞̘̖̭͆̊́̂̑̏͆̚Ę̵̳̽̍͛̎̕͝R̶̩̆̃Ę̶͍͔̩͍̙̓̓̇̈́͠R̴͖͒!̵̳͈̅͑ ̷̨̛̦͔̲̪̱͉͐̿̈̔M̵̢̓̋Ư̸̧͉̫̞̙̠͋̈́̿̕͝͝R̷̨̛̫̝͖̥̪͉̯̅D̷̨͚̼͉̙͙̼̪̯̂̃͒͒̉̎̎̕Ę̶̘̍́̏̿̆̈̏̕Ȓ̸̫͉̥̍͐̅̊͛̎̂͜͝ͅE̷̛̗̻̓̏̕R̸̰̠͚̣͎͇͉̥̖̃!̸͉̯̞̍̾̍͝ ̵͇̠̘̬̘̝̥͍̇M̶̟̤͙̝̰͎̖͒̇̾̆Ǔ̴̧̧̗̝̳̖̬̝́̓̌͐̍R̶͙̲̳̝̮̲̉̌͗̚ͅD̶͍̥͈͕̫͍̣̜̘̾̇̄́͑̇E̴͈̘̞̝̲͖͙̰͛̽̿̚R̵̭̖͍̤̜̞̝͂́E̶̲̖̤͔͐̑̾̈́̈́̆͘͝R̴̥̝̯͔̠̘̋͐!̴̩̏̇̈́̊̿̇̃͘͝ ̶̬͉̦͖̻͕̘̮̇͝M̸̡͊̏̔́̒U̵̪̿̋R̷̛͕̯̉̎Ḑ̷̤̪̦͓͍͓͍̐̓̆͋̂̀̕͠E̴̝͕̹̮̮̋̈́̇̐̒̓̅̚͘R̶̨̺͎̣̬̦̻͒ͅẺ̵̛̥͚͋͜R̴̖̠̯̙̩̜̟̘͗̀!̴̧̙͍͚̯̦͙̙̒̔̈́̽͂̐̔ ̷̨͎̱͙̹͊̃̾͌͂̇̓͠ͅM̷̓̽̃ͅͅU̷͉̗͕͖͙̬̘̺̪͑̆͑͆̀̒́̓Ŕ̵͙̯̘̆̉D̵̫̯̜̘̻͍̉É̶̘̐̾̈Ȑ̸͇̒̎̃̂͂E̴̡̨̳͙͐̿̐Ř̵̲̣͉̼͎̻̞̋!̵̝͇̻͈͇̟̬̔̏͘ͅ ̶̠̫̹̬̝̍̈́͐͛M̷̫͎̬̥̯̘̙̦͝ͅU̷̢̝̫̹̣̰̪̍Ŗ̸̹̮̜̜̯͋̒̃̿́͐̚Ḓ̸͔̗̬̤̀̈E̷͉͒̓̋͘R̸͖̗͇͌͂̈́E̸̪̰̘̞̝͗̅̒̿̾̋̌̈́R̸̨̧͔̥͓̳͋̉͋͘͠͠͠!̵̧̡̻͖̙͖̙͎͆̔̓̚ ̸̲̻̦̰̪̓͆̐̈́̂̿̔͗͜͜M̸̢̼̰͑̆̆̃͌U̸̡̐́͗̽́̚͘R̵͙̱̓̎̈͋̾͑̀͂D̷͉̳̩̠̙͈̗̏͊̀E̸̙͉̱̮̙̻̊͗́̇̓̈͋͒̈Ŕ̵̢̧͚̖̠͕̈́̅̚͘E̸̢̬̘͈̲͊͛̏̅ͅŖ̷͇͕͈̔̉͛̒̎̽͌̚͝!̶͈̗̮̇̌́̌̒̚ ̵͖̱̀́̅͐M̸̹̫͉͖͒͑͌̾̄̍̄Ů̸͇̠̚R̴̬̒̐̆̽͝D̵̗̝̳͊̌̈̏E̵͓̓͒̋̒̉R̷͕̳̀Ë̵̹͉͉͎̪͈͖́͂Ȓ̵͍̋͠!̸̢̢̛̑̇̓̂͛͒͗͘ ̸̧̖͎̗̳͐M̴̧̡̬̰̹̰̞̲̄ͅU̴̝̯͗̉͂͜R̴͎̘͂̃́͘͠D̶̲̃̈́̏̔̓̈́E̶̩̘̓̇̇̚͘R̸͚̜͙̞͆E̴̢̨̻͓̠̺͖̙͂̔͑̉͛̊͠R̶̯̫̺̓̏͛̐̇̇̓͠!̷̱̟̣̻͆
—KINSLAYER!
Selfishly clinging for your insignificant life as you ripped apart your dying mother.
Unforgivable.
Unforgivable!
UNFORGIVABLE!
You who dared to force an innocent girl to love you.
And yet, you understand NOTHING of such thing.
YOU KNOW! YOU KNOW!
You should've never been born…
"Aah…! Aah…!"
A machine will never be allowed to become human.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
D██o█—
…
Á̶̡̤̭̦͕̝͙̓̊̓͆̽n̵̼̻̯̜̞͎͒̇͜d̷̡̦̠̳̫͈̕͜ ̸̯̦̥̓͆̈̀́ͅt̸̡̠̭͙͚̝̣̑̾͂͊̓͝h̸̡̠̯̰̟̭͖͛̿̔͌̈́̓̕à̴̢̹̦̦͉̎t̴̠̤̩̟͉͛̃̀̓̒͆'̵͔̖͓̄̓͑͝͠ŝ̶̡͔̬̳̥̯̳̐̒̉̽̈́̚ ̴̨̩́͆̏́a̵̛̲͙̿͋̍͝s̵̩͆͆͝͠͝͝ ̷̖̜̕͘f̴͕͈̜̥̥͑̓͊ą̶̣̠̇̉̔r̴̭͑̋͗̽̀͋̄ ̸̭̞̘͓̗̑͒̋͂͜͝á̴͉͒͑̉̏ŝ̵͈̎͛̐̾͝ ̵͉̲̥̐̐y̵̨̧͖̯͕̺̙̐̏ǫ̶̧̱̫̤͒̎͋̉́u̷̧̦̹͙͈͇͊͘ ̷̻͇̻̩̇͆͋͝g̵̲̬̩̉͒̋̋͌͑͜͝o̸̢̯̙͐͒͒̊́̊͜͝.̵͈͌͆̋̈̐͝
.
.
.
Crack!
Ash's surroundings returned to normal. The barren land of swords greeted his eyes as they comforted him from his hellish journey. The closest blade stabbed into the earth, the sword beside him, was Caliburn.
"Wha…" he could only mutter out dumbly.
Ì̸̺̀͑t̵͙̍̈́̎̓͛͠ ̸̣̩̦̠̺̺̎̌̊̓w̶̘̖̙̥̳͑̄͊͆̔͜͝a̶͈̯͐͂̑ͅś̶͔͇̩͋͐ ̶̧̛̫̅͊̐̄͒ĵ̸̱͎̥̻̑́͠ụ̸̮̤̳̉̃̀̀̈́͘ș̴̡̢͈́͒̈̍̚t̵͍̜͓͉͕̼͐ ̸̣͗̈́a̷̰̥̗̙̫̿̔ ̵̦͒̈́͒̈͝n̶̩̣̻̟̭͆́͌̕ͅi̷̹̾̋̃̋͝g̵͓͈̜̞̓̄̌͒͜͠h̶̡͇̯̙̺̐t̶̜̦͕͔͖̀̇ͅm̵͈̆̌͒a̶̰̱̍̽͛̈͐̕ͅr̷̞̤̬̾͘e̴̛̹̯̿̇͐.̵̱̞̜̱̋͜
The raven-haired boy turned towards the voice, finally meeting the last entity in his previous visions:
The wolf of beautiful cyan fur.
As he stood there, gazing with his wide bloodred eyes, the boy could only be mesmerized by the lupine's radiance. The darkness that was threatening to snatch him began to disappear.
"You're… the wolf," he swallowed.
The cyan wolf nodded, inching close before stopping in front of the boy, who relented to its tender rubbings against his face and neck.
"Haha, that tickles!" he laughed… genuinely.
Wanting some form of payback, he mischievously scratched and fluffed the wolf's cyan fur, hearing some amused howls in return while he beamed with a delighted grin at the softness of the cyan lupine's fur.
…
"Hey, what's your name?" Ash asked as he laid his head on the curled-up wolf's soft fur.
All he got was a soft growl and an affectionate peck of the snout on his lightning-marked cheek.
"Roooo."
"…Zacian? That's your name?" he repeated, somehow understanding the wolf's growls.
"…But I can tell its not. What's your real name, Zacian?" he beamed at the cyan lupine.
"Grr…"
"Your real name's hideous and ugly? Well, that's stupid," he argued.
"There's no such thing as an ugly name. Whoever said that must be a bigger idiot than I am!"
"Rooooo…"
"You don't mind cuz you're actually a cruel and evil person?" Ash asked incredulously.
"Okay, now you're just making stuff up…"
"Because those words belong to me."
The cyan wolf placed its paws around the raven-haired boy, howling soothingly.
"…Yellow almost died that day. And I wasn't there to save her," he frowned.
"It has just been bad luck after bad luck. The moment I agreed to that GS Ball crap, I find out where she is with no way outta that oath. And the moment I got happy from using AURA after so long, her school got attacked!" he vented.
"And I'm scared… If I slip up again…"
'If this heart of steel turns human…'
"Yellow'll…" he muffled his tears.
"Rooooooo."
"It is my fault. It's all my fault."
'Not after what I did to my mother.'
'Nimue was right. This life should have never exi—'
Hush now.
"Zacian?" he stopped his train of thoughts as the cyan wolf began placing him under its head, cooing him to rest.
"Rooooooo!"
The swords in his mental landscape vibrated from the powerful howl of Zacian, rendering Ash speechless at the wolf's words.
"...Yellow's safe?"
A nod.
"I don't… have to worry…?" his eyelids grew heavier.
The last thing he remembered as he fell into a well needed slumber was the touch of the wolf's cyan fur. Fluffy and soft.
'Huh… It's white as snow…'
Light snores churned from the boy as his head of raven was now placed snugly on not of a lupine's paws, but a woman's thighs.
T̵͙̝̼̝͍̑̊̕h̴̙̼̿͂e̷͙̕͜͜r̵̢̖̩̬̟͌͛̈e̵̺͔̥̟͖̩̓͠'̵̗͈͚͂̍͑š̶̥͗͛̈́̓ ̶̪͖̤̳̈́́̔̔́̕ṋ̶̮̾ǫ̵͆͘͝ ̷̩͓̹̥̇̉̃n̶͙̜̦̬͔̈́ẽ̵̖́̊̂̓̆͜ẹ̵̹̮̒̌d̶̮̈́̉ ̴͇̼̙̜̦̎͒̅̊͘ͅt̵͔͉͘ö̸̞̮̙͊͝ ̶̻̗̯̬̜̈́̊̈̂̆̏ẅ̵̨̺̝ơ̴̞͕͒̂͋͜ͅŕ̷̢͖̮̠̲̆̑͋̍̚r̷̢̡̩̓̾̓ỹ̶̰̳̥̕͠͝.̴̝̂̂̅͋͌͠
His hands still grasping, but not of the radiant cyan fur.
̵̑͆̋͒ͅỸ̵̛̘̤̣͇͇̆̿͝o̵̳̞͉̐̊͆͝ͅư̵̬̽̃́̒̄ ̶̳͚̈́̓͂w̸͓̝̩͈̆̿̎̄͂̏ì̶̛͖̞̪̊͊l̸̑̐̾͜l̷̪̋̊͛ ̶̢̢͚̻̳͎͗̔̓́̉s̷͍̬͖͋͒̉͠ͅü̶͍̟̪͎͆̀r̴͚̪͖͖̎̒͘p̷̝͉̈́͗̌̚͠a̵̝̬̞͋͗̎̄̾͘s̸̺̖̬̔͑s̶͉͙͕̗̜̈͗̓ ̵͎̭͔͖̩̐̆̈́̋́̕ÿ̵̰́͑̌̓̐o̵̢̬͕̩̻̽̒͐̓̍̍͜u̶͎̖͔͛ͅr̶̞̍̀͑̓s̴͇̱̳͔̤̗̄͗ê̷̖̦̩̍̂͠l̴̲̣͚͆͜f̴̛̙̔ ̷̼͍̝̺̀͝o̴͔̿̎͘n̴̦͐̈́̀͊̚ē̶̳͙͓̮̞̩̓̐̍̂ ̷̡̥̙̰̉ḋ̶͍͋́͜͠a̶̻͕̲̲͑ý̴̪͖̣̃̚̚.̵̨̱̠̺̘̊ͅ
Those hands were holding onto strands of snow-white hair.
Until that Fated d̶͍͓̊̐́̾̀͜a̷̧̓y̸̥̿̾…̵̥́̑́͛̆͝ ̸͚̄̅̚̚E̶͛̅͛̂̃͊͜ṽ̴̩̔́̒̄͋e̷̝̘̣͚̠̞͗̂̅͠ǹ̷̨̹̰̲̠̱̀̆ ̶͉̳͚̜͑͐a̴̰͉̭͖͙͂̌f̸͕̙͖͎̠̝̿̒̄̍͝t̶̺̹͓̘̾͛̃̄̒͜͠ê̷̙̺̥͔͔̙̓̊r̸̼̫͓͓͚̀ ̶̡̪̥̳̖̅͗̌̃̇t̷̨̫̯̞͙͑͋͝ͅh̷͍̳̿́̈̈́͂ạ̸̡͕̲̯͔̔̕t̴͚́̉̐̒̃ ̶͕̲͎̕d̷̜̄̔̀̓͐á̶̤̤̝̬̳͑̄̍y̵̢̦͖̽̇͛̃͌̽͜…̶̡̧̺̝̱͐̒̍́̈́͑
No longer paws, a pair of milky white hands stroked the boy's hair lovingly.
Your dearest fairy godmother w̵͙̞̠̯̟͊̿̃͒į̷̠̭͑͑̈́̚l̵̹̋̿̿̾̔̚l̸͈̙͌̈̇̄̐̕ ̴̨͇̿͐̌ą̶̤̏̾̃̐͂l̷̩̩͒̆w̴͕͓̭͉̼̓̃ą̴̬͉̳̀̏͌̈́y̵̜͓͋̃̇͋͘̕s̸̥̩̭̲̞̲̔̆̊͂ ̴̲̠̔b̵͓͊̋̓̓͝e̵̖̳͚͍̗͊̏ ̸̭͍̗͍̇̕ͅw̷̙͆̆ḯ̵͈͉̻̭̼͜t̸͚͚͑̿̽ͅh̵̞͓̹̲̰͙̽̃̽ ̵̪̜̙͎͚͚̊̈́͠ÿ̵̲͉̞̺̳́͜o̸̧̫͈͖̓u̶̗͗.̸̙̿̀̅͜
And the raven-haired boy returned to reality.
̶̹̈̒̽̒̈́͝T̵̢̬̪̯̈́̑̋̐̐̕h̴̠̬͎̯̹̹́ą̶͚̻̼͒͝t̴͖̝̋̄̎̑͊ͅ'̷̝̈́͝͠s̷͇͍̦͑́ ̶͕͚͗͂̉͠w̸͉̳̞͓̳̾h̷̪̅̊̾͒ą̵̢̗̦͚̗̍͒̈̉ṫ̶͔̹́ ̸̻͇͈͖͎͆̃̌̋Ī̴͍̻̙͐̊͊̃ ̵̡͈̟́̇͂͗p̸̹̬̙̼̻͊r̷̛̭̭͇̞̭̍͠ǫ̶̟̿̈́̒̾͐m̵̢̧̥̝̰͛͑̐͒͆̕i̸͖̞͔͒́̈̉̓́ș̴̡̨̭͙͋̓e̵͍͆̌d̷̯̣̊͊̀̋̆̄ ̶͚͐̎̋ Delia.
Ah… How warm you are—
—Little Tonelico.
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"Hm?"
Ash rose from his bed, fully charged. A quick scan around his new surroundings and he found his Pokémon circled around his bed, still asleep as they waited for their Trainer to rise.
'Huh. I really made them worry…' he smiled sheepishly, seemingly learnt his lesson.
"I feel like…" he muttered to himself.
A brief illusion of feeling silky snow crossed his mind. A smile crept onto his face.
"I had a nice dream."
…
"I'm sorry, guys," the raven-haired boy prostrated with his head down, facing his Pokémon.
"Especially you, Charizard. I haven't been letting you battle since the Orange League started," he rubbed his head sheepishly in apology.
"Roar!" his Fire starter bellowed.
"Yeah! We'll get that last Badge together!"
"Pika pika!"
"Yep, with you too, partner. We're gonna beat Miss Luana!"
…
'Seriously, I've been asleep for three days?' he chomped on his food in the hotel's cafeteria with his team gobbling down their meal.
Apparently, Snorlax was reaching his limit in the room and was threatening to barge into the cafeteria for a feast.
'Thank goodness I woke up before he went on a food-related rampage.'
Because of his inactive body, Ash opted to eat the cafeteria food instead of cooking, inducing some disappointed wails from his Pokémon.
However, in exchange, his mind was refreshed, free from worry… For some reason.
'Weird… I feel relieved somehow…' he quirked a brow at his unusual state.
He had a feeling that Serena was safe and secure. Best part was, he did not have that sense of dread and the fear of 'tearing apart' anymore.
'What happened to me?'
He had an inkling the Sword had a hand, or a blade in its case, in his sudden 180 change. As he returned to his room and took out his Sword from digital space, his mouth reacted reflexively and instantly.
"Za… cian—"
"—Eh? Who's Zacian?"
The disconnect from those two bewildered him. That name was familiar, yet he had no memory of ever knowing such a unique name before.
'This is getting weirder…' he mused, staring at his weapon before keeping it back into digital space.
Ḭ̶͑͂'̷͉͚̟̱̣̀̒͋̌̀m̸̻̏͌̄̏̆ͅ ̴̙̰͉̮̍̎̽̌ŗ̷̢̤͎̜̺̇o̷͕̮̣̫̜̩̾̒ơ̷̠̘͖̝̬̎̆̋̚ṭ̶̝̫̽ǐ̶̖̺̅͒͂ͅn̶̲̖͇̓͊́̏͘g̶̨̺̯̔̈̾̆ ̷̨͉̭̗̺͒̔̽̽̾̕f̵̢̪̯̜͕̪̈́ò̶̢̱̯̪̋̄r̷͔̟̣̋͝ ̶̡͔̠͖̣͎̓̐̕ÿ̴̺̣̬̙̽ơ̵͎̘̖͗̐̆ū̵̢̙̩̱,̷̜͊̐ ̷̛̠̈́̆̓̿͝Ť̵͈͖̓͛͌ó̵̪͖n̶̥̼͎͔̞̍̑̾̕͠ȅ̴̥̲̱̃͒́͒l̸̨̛͈̥̰̇̍̈́̾i̶̲̘͈̳͈͛͗͐͘͜c̸̢̖͍̰̥̊͐͋̀̆ó̸̟̱̠̜̲̤.̵̧̗̘̘̦̏͐̀̔̔̐
"Pikapi?!" Pikachu squeaked from his shoulder, looking back.
Ash's instinct kicked in as he turned back quickly, but he was met with the room's wall. Frowning to himself, he wondered what Pikachu saw.
"Pika…pi," he squeaked.
"…A woman wearing a black veil?"
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"Too sloppy, again!" Luana yelled out as Ash furrowed his brows, but nodded, nonetheless.
After his small episode and profusely apologizing to Luana, Ash requested the Gym Leader to train him in the ways of Double Battles.
It had been a week since then. Progress was steady, but Ash had yet to truly grasp the 'field' as Luana put it.
"I told you, Ash. Visualize the field using your peripherals," the Gym Leader glared sternly.
"I still don't get it, Miss Luana," he said with Charizard and Pikachu deadpanning towards the raven-haired boy.
'It's a real big world out there... I've never thought Battling could be this deep,' he mused with excitement.
Ever since his training started, Ash was on a losing streak 5 to 0 against the woman in Double Battles. Although he was not even close to giving up, he was getting irritated that he was not getting her advice through no fault of her.
A Trainer's battle style was directly and intrinsically linked to their personalities and mindset. Since the raven-haired boy had a one-track mind, he only focused on one thing at a time while coming up with outlandish things on-the-fly.
Luana's style of battle that encompassed the entire battlefield required her to consciously micromanage her Pokémon, the terrain as well as the counterattacks and deflection. Something Ash would never be able to do. The woman's training was unsuited for him from the very beginning.
Despite that, Luana was glad that he was starting to put more focus in his parallel commanding, something essential for Double Battles at the very least. Because of this, the time lag in-between attacks had lessened greatly.
"Again, please!" he grinned with his Pokémon nodding.
…
Another 3 days passed and 5 losses later, Ash's final match began.
"[Bonemerang] and [Psychic]!"
'Hmm… Kid's still got a lot in the tank,' the Gym Leader mused as she watched the raven-haired boy go into action instantaneously.
Ash and Pikachu made eye contact, the latter nodding while the former commanded his orange lizard.
"Charizard, counter with [Flamethrower]!"
"Rooooarrr!"
Flames danced viciously with Psychic energy as a cloud of smoke bloomed from the confrontation. The [Flamethrower] from Charizard was redirected upwards due to the force of the clash.
Meanwhile, a twirling bone club on the other hand was met with an [Iron Tail] that parried it and smacked away from the electric mouse.
Pikachu and Charizard worked in tandem as they countered her Pokémon's attacks, moving swiftly and never staying in one place for longer than a second.
'I see, his vision is still narrow but it's a wise decision he made to never stop moving. If I were to compare it to something, it's like chess pieces constantly moving without waiting for turns.'
"But it's still no good! [Hyper Beam] on Pikachu!" Luana called out to her Alakazam.
Alakazam began charging an energy beam before bursting it towards the glass cannon of the two: Pikachu.
Since Pikachu was mid-movement, [Hyper Beam] was predetermined to hit the poor mouse. But facing the beam of light was not a panicked Pikachu, but a Pikachu wearing a snicker.
"Let's go, partner! [Volt Tackle]!"
"Pika!"
A bolt of yellow flashed before the Alakazam and its attack met nothing. Unbeknownst to the Psi Pokémon, heat began brewing unnaturally besides it. Luana widened her eyes as she was too late in noticing it.
'Charizard's [Flamethrower]!' she realized.
The attack was never cancelled and due to Luana's focus on Alakazam, the orange dragon was largely ignored, only to be returned to focus with blazing fire.
Boom!
The flames landed but the Psi Pokémon was still standing thanks to an emergency [Light Screen].
Bam!
"Marowak—"
The skull warrior took an [Iron Tail] to its helmet. Unfortunately, Luana already had countermeasures prepared.
'Tch, [Iron Head],' Ash recognized from his spars.
"[Giga Impact] on Pikachu!"
'Pikachu can't move in mid-air and too close to Marowak. If that's the case…!'
"Charizard! Handle it!" Ash called out.
Before [Giga Impact] could release, Marowak's shoulders were grabbed by a swooping Charizard carried by the kinetic force of his wings. With a spin, the Flame Pokémon rotated the skull warrior's trajectory towards the ground before throwing it towards Alakazam.
"[Seismic Toss]!"
"[Psychic]!" Luana cried out quickly.
The lilac energy covered the rapid [Giga Impact] infused Marowak and landed it onto the ground beside it with minimal damage.
'They got me. I wasn't expecting him to suddenly turn the tables!' Luana furrowed her brows.
Her thoughts stopped as crackling lightning sparked from the two Pokémon. Thunderous bolts manifested onto Charizard's fist as he prepared [Thunder Punch] with Pikachu using [Thunderbolt] to strengthen it.
"Pikachu's supplying the electricity!" the woman was baffled at the sight of lightning being siphoned into Charizard's charging attack.
Luana's Marowak retrieved its bone club as it stood in front of Alakazam who was acting as its supporter.
'It's like an RPG formation,' Ash thought as he turned to Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" he nodded as he climbed on Charizard's back.
'What is he thinking?' Luana wondered.
In the end, Ash could not visualize the 'field' like how the Gym Leader taught him since it was too difficult for him. Knowing this, he tried a different approach:
Instead of covering every single weakness, he decided to reinforce all of his strengths.
"As expected, this is way better!" Ash grinned his battle face.
"It's now 1v2! [Flame Burst]!"
"ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"
The orange dragon roared pridefully as he used his previous method in the Grand League to propel himself forward using small bursts of flames in his wings like a turbo engine.
Whoooosssshhhh!
[Flame Burst] popped rhythmically at high speeds with Pikachu clinging onto his friend's back. [Reflects] were put in front of Marowak as its shields while the latter got into a stance as it prepared to counter.
"[Brutal Swing]!" Luana cried out as a fist of lightning approached rapidly.
Charizard could not help but grin as he felt the adrenaline rushing in his veins. The memories of him destroying the ice shields of Lorelei came full force as he compared his current situation.
Crack!
But for Charizard… Lorelei was definitely more of a challenge than this.
Crack! Crack!
The [Reflects] were torn asunder as [Thunder Punch] clashed with [Brutal Swing], a precaution Luana took as she felt the shields were not enough.
BOOOOM!
Although equally matched, the Type effectiveness was in Marowak's favour as its bone club was feeling only the damage from the force but not the Electric since it was immune.
But before Charizard was slammed by the bone club, a yellow blur hopped from behind and descended upon Marowak.
'Pikachu?! But [Iron Head] has been activated, so it can't deal damage with [Iron Tail],' Luana widened her eyes.
Piakchu was indeed using [Iron Tail] as Luana predicted, but what shocked her was that instead of a tail of metallic sheen…
It was a tail of heat-treated red.
Sizzle...
"This is…!" she realized too late.
'The [Flame Bursts] weren't just for the speed boost…!' Ash narrowed his gaze.
'It's to bypass your [Iron Head]!'
"[Swords Dance (Fake)]!"
'Affix: Fire!'
A smouldering heated tail was brought down, pummelling Marowak to the ground. But it was not over as the electric mouse spun opposingly and slashed the skull warrior towards Alakazam.
The two Pokémon crashed together, leaving themselves vulnerable to Luana's horror.
"You guys—"
"Not yet!" Ash yelled out.
With another spin, Pikachu equipped himself onto Charizard's arm with the latter's other hand beginning to sharpen his claws.
'There's no way…!' the Gym Leader panicked for the first time.
"Go, Charizard!"
The orange dragon flew towards the two Pokémon and crossing his arms with his [Slash] on one arm and Pikachu's burning tail on another, acting as an arm blade. With that, Ash created the newest addition to his arsenal of Fakes.
"X-SCISSOR (FAKE)!"
Schwing! Schwing!
Twin slashes cut down the two Pokémon and it was all over.
Thud! Thud!
"Marowak and Alakazam are unable to battle! The winner is Ash of Pallet Town!" the referee, Luana's assistant named Sheldon, cheered.
The man had been watching the raven-haired boy's training with his boss and could not be happier to see him succeed.
"…Well done, Ash," Luana congratulated, accepting her loss.
"You finally beat me. But I'm having mixed feelings since you didn't use most of what I've been teaching you to do!"
"Ahaha… Sorry about that," he chuckled sheepishly as he scratched his head.
"But I guess that suited you best," she added with a smile.
Ash nodded enthusiastically.
"You remind me of a Coordinator in your last Fake move. It was visually appealing at that," she praised.
With that, the raven-haired boy was gifted with his last Badge required to enter the final Challenge of the Orange League: The Jade Star Badge.
"Alright! Now, we can finally battle in the Orange League!" he cheered with Charizard spewing flames of excitement and Pikachu hooraying on his head.
"Even if you hit a stump against me, you're still the fastest Challenger to complete all 4 Challenges, Ash. I'll be cheering you on in the Full Battle," Luana smiled.
"Yeah! Thanks for everything, Miss Luana!" he bowed gratefully to the Gym Leader.
…
"…Wait," his neck creaked back towards a confused Luana.
"Full Battle…?"
"Full Battle," she nodded.
"As in, a 6v6?"
"Yeah. Why are you so… Oh."
"…"
"…"
"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I ONLY HAVE 5 POKÉMON!" he shouted in realization.
Everyone in the Gym facepalmed.
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Pokemon Centre, Kumquat Island
"…Don't," he pleaded the honey blonde, who was holding in her laughter.
"Pft. I can't… help it…"
Ash had not called Serena for over a week because of his training as well as his initial aversion due to his building anxiety attack. Now calmed and less dreary, he plucked up the courage to call her…
Only to be met with her failing to contain her laughter.
'I was an idiot for being worried…' he pouted.
"You're really silly, Red," she wiped away her tears.
Hearing his childhood name got him thinking back to his youth. At first, it was just a name to help the alienated Blue to fit in and allow her to not stand out. Then, its meaning shifted to something he granted only to his closest friends. It became Serena's endearment towards him, something that made him happy.
However, nowadays, he began pondering about his real name. The raven-haired boy and his closest friends knew 'Red', but not as well as 'Ash'. It was the last thing he received from Delia, a thought he had not mused on for quite some time; and yet, somehow, his mind could not stop thinking about it.
'Huh… It's white as snow…'
"…"
"Hey, Yellow?" Ash suddenly asked.
"Yeah?"
"…Can you call me by my name?"
The honey blonde paused for a moment before her ears blushed rapidly.
"Eh… Eh?! Why so suddenly?!"
"I dunno. Just wanna hear you say it."
"Um… Well, okay…"
Bloodred eyes shimmered as they took in the sight of the charming honey blonde on the other side saying the boy's name with a bashful expression.
"Ash."
Now, it was Ash's turn to freeze.
"…One more time."
"No. It's your turn now," she refused as she wanted some tit for tat.
"Serena."
The immediate reply got her flustered even more. The two watched each other as they felt the heat slowly creeping up to their faces before turning away at the same time.
'EH?! What's going on all of a sudden?! Why's Red suddenly all dere-dere?!' she squealed delightfully after seeing his blush.
'Damnit, that was a bad idea! Now she's probably thinking I'm a creep!' he chided himself for being selfish.
Once again, the boy was an idiot.
"Ahem… Ash?" she grinned widely, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"…Yes?"
"Yes who?"
"…Yes Serena?"
"Good boy."
Ash had the sneaking suspicion that he was getting messed around with.
"What is it?" the raven-haired boy asked the satisfied girl.
"Nothing, I just wanna hear you say my name. Oh, but what made you so… dere-dere suddenly? You don't normally ask stuff like this," she said.
'Not that I mind. I wuv this even more!' she messed up her thoughts excitedly.
"Ah… It's just…" he scratched his nose, oblivious to the honey blonde who was internally on cloud nine.
Ḭ̶͑͂'̷͉͚̟̱̣̀̒͋̌̀m̸̻̏͌̄̏̆ͅ ̴̙̰͉̮̍̎̽̌ŗ̷̢̤͎̜̺̇o̷͕̮̣̫̜̩̾̒ơ̷̠̘͖̝̬̎̆̋̚ṭ̶̝̫̽ǐ̶̖̺̅͒͂ͅn̶̲̖͇̓͊́̏͘g̶̨̺̯̔̈̾̆ ̷̨͉̭̗̺͒̔̽̽̾̕f̵̢̪̯̜͕̪̈́ò̶̢̱̯̪̋̄r̷͔̟̣̋͝ ̶̡͔̠͖̣͎̓̐̕ÿ̴̺̣̬̙̽ơ̵͎̘̖͗̐̆ū̵̢̙̩̱,̷̜͊̐ ̷̛̠̈́̆̓̿͝Ť̵͈͖̓͛͌ó̵̪͖n̶̥̼͎͔̞̍̑̾̕͠ȅ̴̥̲̱̃͒́͒l̸̨̛͈̥̰̇̍̈́̾i̶̲̘͈̳͈͛͗͐͘͜c̸̢̖͍̰̥̊͐͋̀̆ó̸̟̱̠̜̲̤.̵̧̗̘̘̦̏͐̀̔̔̐
"I'm just wondering about a family—"
Crash!
Ash looked back to the screen to find Serena's face tomato red as her mug broke into a million pieces onto the floor.
"W-w-what are you suddenly…?!"
"Huh? Why'd you—"
Tick, tock… Tick, tock… Ding!
"Ahhhh! No, no! I don't mean it like that!" he panicked.
Bam!
"Serena, I heard a loud—!" Grace barged in.
"Gyaaahhhhh!" the honey blonde got startled.
The chaos in the girl's household got wilder.
…
"That was a nightmare to deal with," Ash sighed after ending the call, escaping the mad Grace's scolding.
The last thing the boy heard was Serena wailing 'Traitor' towards him with a miffed glare.
He would rather handle Mewtwo a thousand times over as opposed to a mother's wrath. Then, the raven-haired boy got caught thinking about it again.
'A mother huh…' he mused, tasting the alien word that he never knew.
The strange yet familiar touch of snow white as well as the corrupted voice glitching in his head. It was for a lack of better word, familial.
Staring at the ceiling as he laid on his hotel bed, he gave up trying to make sense of it, using the good old Snorlax method: sleeping away your problems.
'Zacian… Sounds made-up. Wonder why I imagined such an obviously fake name,' he closed his eyes with Pikachu's body covering his face.
Snore…
Vaniville Town, Kalos Region.
"Mou! Mom, you came in at the worst time," Serena pouted as she swept the broken pieces of the mug into the dustpan.
"Well, don't break the mug next time and you got yourself a deal," her mother sassed back as she sat on the bed.
Serena sat next to her while placing herself onto her mother's lap after cleaning up her mess.
"Can you blame me? Re— Ash…" her ears blushed again.
"He blurted out something about family…"
Her muffled words surprised Grace, who was practically grinning mischievously. The mother hummed away, telling her to 'go for broke' and things like 'marri—'
"Mom!" she shrieked in her embarrassment.
"It's happening~ Ohohoho!"
The woman's teasing voice echoed downstairs, leaving behind a red-faced mess.
"Urgh…" she groaned as the two Cores materialized back from invisibility.
"So that was him?" Squishy wobbled beside her.
"…Mhm," Serena nodded whilst planting her face into her pillow.
"We must say, he's quite average-looking for a human. But those red eyes were just as you described," Puni-chan concurred with Serena's description of the boy.
A very enthusiastic Serena nodded vigorously within her pillow.
"Family…" she mumbled with excitement.
Knowing Ash, the honey blonde was aware that he was talking purely family and not whatever delusions she was cooking. But even so, her mind went wild after imagining their hypothetic future and its many outcomes.
Then, she snapped from those fantasies as she remembered her sweetheart was missing one Pokémon.
"Hm… Oh!"
Kumquat Island, Orange Islands
After checking out from the hotel, Ash prepared to leave, going back to Valencia Island after receiving a notification from Ivy to pick up something. He noticed that she was beaming brightly after congratulating him for earning all 4 Badges.
'Wonder what it is…' he thought as he watched Luana approach him before he set off.
"You heading to Valencia?" she asked.
"Yeah, Ivy-nee… I mean, Professor Ivy's got something for me to receive so I gotta make a long detour back."
'Plus, I gotta hurry and catch my sixth asap!' Ash groaned as he was still mad at himself for forgetting such an important detail.
Unexpectedly, Luana patted Ash's raven black hair gently with his capped Pikachu cooing when she tickled the mouse with her other hand.
"Have a safe journey, okay?" she wished him farewell.
"The weather's terrible these days for some reason."
"And if it rains too heavily, make sure landing on an Island is your first priority," she said sternly.
"I promise," he nodded, already used to her overprotectiveness.
With a final wave of goodbye, Lapras surfed for Valencia Island with Ash and Pikachu looking forward into the rising Sun.
…
"He's gone," Luana said to herself.
Ash's departure reminded her of her own son, Travis, and his Pikachu's similar farewell except they were on a ship instead.
"Really… He's way more of a handful than Travis," she scoffed.
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Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region
"Wait, that idiot really forgot to catch a sixth?!" Gary massaged his temples at the forgetful airhead that was his rival.
"Woah… That Ash conquered the Orange Island Gyms with only 5 Pokémon?! That's awesome!" Calem chimed in with excited eyes.
"Well, there goes my advice for keeping reserves," the orange-haired boy grumbled as Ash was a bad influence on Calem, despite not even being here in person.
"Calem, Calem, my boy. That blockhead's no good, y'know?" Blue told it to him straight with a thousand yard stare.
"You guys really enjoy trashtalking about him, huh…" the black-haired boy sweatdroppped.
"You have no idea. That guy's been a pain in the ass to deal with since we were young…"
Serena could only shrug at the Kanto kids' antics before glancing outside the window. Suddenly, her royal blue eyes flew wide open as she noticed something unusual.
"Eh? It's…"
'Snowing?'
Just as she thought of that, the weather turned into a heavy downpour, shocking everyone in the class including the stoic Alain.
"What's going on?" Kimia looked out the window.
And just as quickly, the rain turned into a sunny day, bright and cloudy. It freaked everyone out. Especially Serena, who was accompanied by her two Cores today due to their request for observing a classroom.
'Squishy, Puni-chan. What's going on?' she relayed through their telepathic link.
'We have an inkling, but it should not be possible…' Squishy gulped.
'A disruption in the weather…' Puni-chan glared at the sky.
'Curses! Of all the times, it just had to be when the Weather Gods are inactive currently!'
'Weather... Do you mean the Hoenn Gods?!' Serena turned wide-eyed at her shoulder.
'Yes. In ancient times, they would counteract the unstable weathers using their Abilities and Authorities. In the present times, no such chaotic weather has appeared since their dormant states. And now, this?'
'…Well, what do we do?'
██████ ██ ███!
'Serena…'
The Beast of the Sea disturbed.
'As much as it's ironic for us to say this, but…'
Chapter 59: An Unstable Blade
'—We pray.'
Author's Notes (15)
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WOOOOOOOOOOOO, G̶U̶N̶T̶A̶N̶K̶! IT'S M02 TIME, IKZZZZZZ!
Next chapter, we Shamouti baby! Now, onto some explanations.
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Now, Ash isn't gonna be some savant who picks things up when learning. And its still early in the story for him to suddenly get omega strong. However, this might come back for him to learn as his challenges get tougher. Fated!Ash is gonna be winning most of the time, but when he loses, it's gonna be so devastating but he'll improve even more.
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Ash's breakdown
Yeah, this dude is not mentally okay if you couldn't tell. From my writing, you could probably tell there's something... off about Fated!Ash, and that's intentional.
All you have to remember is this: Ash does not lie.
So it makes it more impactful when he says or doesn't say something. His words carry more weight to them.
So... when or if he DOES lie successfully, it's gonna be the hypest/sad moment.
This whole chapter is inspired by Oshi no Ko, something I've read in the past and watched recently. Ash's whole 'unable to lie' is similar to Ai's 'lie is love' with some differences. Ai couldn't tell her kids those three magic words and Ash... (Have you noticed?). I'll end it right there since it's spoiler territory.
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His PTSD from Delia's death during childbirth is the main crux of Fated!Ash and the parallel between him and Shirou.
Delia isn't present in the story nor is she or any deadbeat dad making any appearance in Fated. That's cuz Fated is a what-if scenario of an Ash who started out as an orphan, without any blood relatives. Because of this, I can input a theme into Ash's character, another core of his wants and desires other than Serena:
A family.
His feeling of him being undeserving of something like a family because of Delia's passing is just prime angst material as well as an important factor of the story that I wanna show to the readers:
Fated!Ash cannot be alone. He needs people around him unlike the OP Ash Ketchums who go solo in other fics.
In my fic, he's more prone to break down or have an anxiety attack when he's alone in his journey. The reason why the problem was avoided in Kanto was because he periodically meets up with Gary and Blue, plus Team Rocket searching for him. In a way, Team Rocket prevented his breakdown.
Orange Islands, no one's with him. Just him and his Pokemon, who can't help him with his internal problems. Pokemon have empathy, but in the end, only humans understand humans.
There's a lot more I wanna say about Fated!Ash's character, but for now, we'll leave it at that.
He's a damn onion.
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Now, the biggest question mark for most people now...
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=TONELICO=
...Who?
Readers who are familiar with Fate are probably familiar with this word. It's the biggest and most obvious spoiler for who Zacian is. However, if you're still in the dark and patient enough for the official reveal, I suggest you hold off on doing research and enjoy the ride.
'Red' will be graduating from childhood name status to Fated!Ash's main combat-oriented aspect of himself, if that makes sense. This is an Ash story, not Red after all.
As for what Tonelico means, it's actually a Japanese/Kantonian word so technically it should be トネリコ or Toneriko.
Why did I replace Red with Tonelico as the childhood name now?
Simple. Cuz Zacian has shown up. It's the best clue for Zacian's true identity for Fate fans, but obscure and vague enough for Pokemon fans.
As for what it means...
...Translate it.
It was at that moment while doing my research in the Nasuverse and Pokemon when everything clicked: "Holy shit, I've never been so glad and happy that anime Zacian chose Ash!"
The trivia on Ash's name, Zacian's own trivia of its concept. And The Tree of Beginnings is just icing on the cake.
This rabbit hole goes even deeper, people. This is just the start.
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With that, see ya guys next time on M02... After I bust my ass with the new school term...