Hello Nuggies! Here it is! The awaited sequel to 'A Different Start' is here! As usual with my fics this is a SLASH fic, and there will be more slash in this fic than its predecessor. I hope y'all are ready! This one is gonna be a long one! I hope y'all are as excited to be here as I am!

Main Pairing: AshxPaul (Comashipping)

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Pokémon Franchise. It belongs to its rightful owner(s) and I make no profit writing this. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter Warning(s): None

Enjoy!

Author's Note: (Please Read)

I am terribly sorry that it took so long in getting this chapter out and I feel as though y'all deserve an explanation. Since September of 2023 my oldest dog, Max, hadn't been in the best of health. He had been getting up there in age, having celebrated his 12th birthday in November 2023. We knew, because of his breed and his overall health with seizures and the like, that he wasn't going to live much longer, but as most humans do we hoped for the best. We thankfully got to spend Christmas with him before his health started to decline at a much faster rate than we anticipated. My family and I were surprised when Max was still here to bring in the new year, but that also started his rapid decline. Max had become very lethargic, he wouldn't eat, he kept losing his bowels and getting sick everywhere. He had a few really good days where he ate and seemed like his usual self, but he had many bad days too. And on the morning of January 18th 2024 around 5:30 in the morning, he passed away. I took the time since then to grieve for him and it wasn't until this last week that I had any urge to finish this chapter.

I thank everyone who have been waiting for the update and I hope it was worth the wait. I hope to see y'all in the next one!

Enjoy!

"Sit!"

Furry bottom met sandy ground as Rockruff obeyed his trainers orders. Fluffy wagging tail caused the sand to kick up a bit, but his patience and obedience was rewarded as he received a meaty treat. Ash smiled down at Rockruff, the once skinny and unruly pup, had come a long way since Ash had taken him in and was just about ready to start serious training. He had taken a look over the two forms Rockruff could evolve into and he could see both the pros and the cons to each form. Midday Form Lycanroc was calm, collected, and did its best not to fight, but once it had to it attacks swiftly and with purpose while Midnight Form Lycanroc was reckless when it came to fighting and headstrong against its trainer.

Ash was sure he could work with either temperament, but first thing first is to work with Rockruff before his evolution, gain his full trust, and help the pup become the best he can be.

As for other things, Ash had gotten a call from the facility Charizard was in with good news. Haoa had seen the two Charizard successfully breed once after their flight before they disappeared, presumably to a den. The caretaker told him that they would leave Charizard with his breeding mate before quarantining him for a week before putting him with his other breeding partner for the rest of the time he was there. While he had the man on the phone he inquired about the whereabouts Kingdra would appear in the waters and about the time after briefly explaining about his Kingdra. Haoa told him that they usually appeared in the waters near Melemele, which coincidentally was the island they were staying at.

Ever since Ash woke up from his coma he had been overly worried about his partners and had caught himself counting them to make sure they were all there, accessing their health over and over, and getting a few small anxiety attacks when none of them were in sight. It didn't help that Zoroark and Kingdra had to leave before he woke up, but Ash thought he was just fine, thank you. It helped that he got to see Zoroark before he left for the islands and he hoped that all the anxiety would disappear after seeing Kingdra once more.

Ash released Rockruff from his training and let out a huff in amusement when the pup turned tail and ran after a few Wingull and Pikipek, which Ash had learned was the Alolan early route bird pokémon like Pidgey was to Kanto, that had been sitting on the beach. Ash walked over to the umbrella he had taken out of storage and sat down in the beach seat underneath it. He examined his arms and legs, the only exposed skin besides his face and neck, for any redness before reaching over to get his bottle to sip on the cool water in it.

To the right of the umbrella was a large bump in the sand and if it weren't for it moving ever so slightly he would have assumed that it was a natural sand dune. Krookodile had been so excited when he had first released the croc outside and had instantly buried himself in the warm sand. Pikachu was right beside him taking a nap while Gardevoir and Ninetales kept Jangmo-o entertained with a game of tag. Thankfully Gardevoir was able to understand the little dragon with her telepathy and was able to get the hatchling to understand that he can't be so loud and when he wanted someone's attention that it is easier to walk up to them and nudge them.

It seemed to work for now thankfully.

Ash, after setting down his bottle of water, picked up the KSL book his mother had given him. Between the book and watching a few videos on Pokétube Ash was quickly getting a handle on recognizing signs, but not so well with the actual signing. His hands just felt a bit awkward contorting them into the correct positions, but he supposed that it would get easier the more he practiced. Not that he was close to being fluent in any way, but he at least was getting the foundations. Ash made a mental note to take at least an hour every night to sign to Jangmo-o so the little dragon could understand what the signs were and to have Gardevoir there to help translate what each sign was.

Just as Ash opened the book to the page he had stopped at, with loose paper he had been taking notes on, bookmarking it, his phone chimed with a call.

Incoming Call: Samson Oak.

"Hello," Ash greeted the man once he had picked the phone up.

"Ash, hello!"

"What can I do for you Professor?" Ash asked, curiosity hitting him.

"Straight to the point! I suppose there isn't a need to beat around the bush, hmm? I had hoped you could do me a bit of a favor. You see, I have very important business on the far side of the Alolan Islands, but I just got a notice that the pokémon Egg I have been waiting for is ready to be picked up. Could you grab it for me and deliver it where it needs to go, please?"

"Sure, I have nothing else to do today and it'll give me an excuse to explore a bit. Can you text me the details?"

"Of course! Thank you, Ash. You will be compensated for it, just so you are aware and I won't hear a word against it. We can discuss the details of it later! For now, I must get going!"

"Bye Professor," Ash said as the phone let off a beep signaling that the call had ended. He took a deep breath and closed his book before getting up. He would leave the umbrella up in case Paul wanted to use it and for when he got back. His movement caused Pikachu to wake up and with a big stretch the mouse was awake and up on Ashs' shoulder. When he went over to see if Krookodile wanted to come with him, the large croc merely shook the sand off his head and opened his large mouth to release the heat building up in his body. Taking that as a no, Ash turned to the other three, but only Rockruff wanted to come with him. Ash let the other two inside to cool off and made sure the two had plenty of water, especially for Ninetales, before going up to change out of the swim trunks he had worn down to the beach. Pikachu and Rockruff had opted to stay downstairs to get water as he did so.

"Hey Paul," Ash greeted as he opened the bedroom door to see his boyfriend sitting in front of his laptop typing away.

"Hey baby," Paul greeted as he turned to Ash and took off his reading glasses. He had no clue Paul had needed them until a couple of months into their relationship, and he still gets a heated coil of arousal in his belly when he sees them perched on Pauls' nose. His boyfriend looked good in glasses.

"I have an errand to run in town," Ash said as he walked over to the dresser to get some shorts and underwear, "Do you want me to get anything while I'm there? I'll probably be in town for a few hours depending on where I need to go and who I need to talk to."

"I can't think of anything," he heard Paul say as he untied his swim trunks and let them fall down around his ankles. As he reached over to grab the underwear he felt a large warm hand cupping one of his ass cheeks. He let out a bit of a squeak and turned to head to see Paul smirking at him.

"Perhaps some lube," Paul said, smirk widening as the hand on his ass squeezed, "We're a bit low."

"Paul," Ash replied as the cheeks on his face reddened at the implications.

"Too bad we don't have time, with your errand and all," Paul said as he pulled his hand away a bit only to bring it back with a little force behind it causing a resounding smacking sound as hand met ass cheek, "I would have love to take the time to open you up. You moan so prettily when I play with that certain little spot inside you." Ash gasped as Paul slipped a finger between his cheeks and pressed against his hole.

"We'll get to that later," Paul said softly, "For now you need to get going, don't you?"

Ash bit his lip to prevent a whimper from leaving him as Paul took his hand off him and tried his best to not think about Paul watching him as he got dressed. His boyfriend was right, he did need to get going as Oak had already sent him the addresses. He managed to get the shorts he picked out to fasten over the half chub he had gotten when Paul touched him before giving Paul a kiss accompanied by a small pout.

"Tease," Ash said softly as he pulled away from the kiss that didn't help him with his problem at all.

"Don't worry, baby. There will be plenty of that later," Paul replied and Ash only let out a soft groan before pulling away from Paul.

"For that, I'm taking the car!" Ash said as he grabbed the keys that had been placed on the desk by the laptop. He was going to ask Gardevoir to teleport him, but now he wasn't. He ignored the laughter behind him as he left the room and grabbed his things, along with Pikachu and Rockruff, before leaving. As he got in the car, the two pokémon moving to sit in the passenger seat, Ash silently thanked his mother for making sure he knew how to drive and got his license as he turned the car on. There was a bit of a drive from the house to the town, but it went by quickly with the radio playing some very good tunes. He had rolled down the windows to enjoy the airflow and because Rockruff enjoyed the wind in his fur, while Pikachu could have cared less about it.

Ash slowed the car as he entered town limits and even pulled over to input the first address in his phones' GPS to find where it was. Apparently the place he was going was a sister building to the one Charizard was in where they took and incubated the eggs laid from the breeding pairs in the other building. He wondered if he should go in to see about any updates on Charizard, but figured it was best not to. Ash didn't want to mess up any chances Charizard had with his partner. As he started the journey to the facility he spotted an antique store he wanted to go in and made a note to come back through to go in. There were a few restaurants, one featuring something called malasadas and another that looked like it had familiar foods from his own Region in it. He passed shops catering to pokémon and others that looked to be more like tourist traps, but what Region didn't have those types of shops.

But soon enough Ash had made it to the facility. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder once he left the car, but Rockruff decided on staying in the car so Ash made sure to keep the windows rolled down. He would only be in the building for a few minutes anyway and it wasn't too warm out. Walking up to the door Ash let himself inside and let out a sigh at the cooler air.

"Good morning! Can I help you with anything?"

The feminine voice startled Ash, making the teen turn to face who spoke. Standing by one of the desks was a rather portly woman, but beautiful all the same with her kind brown eyes and auburn hair. She wore simple clothing that had a bit of dirt on them making it seem like she had just been chasing after some baby pokémon outside.

"I'm Ash, Professor Oak said he called the facility about me taking his Egg?" Ash questioned a bit and it was the truth, in the text Oak had sent the man did say that he called the facility.

"Oh! Yes," the woman said, visibly perking up from the slight caution he had first seen when he walked in, "He did call! May I see your ID?"

"Of course," Ash said as he grabbed his wallet where he kept his physical copy of his trainer card and handed it over. It was a basic piece of plastic that had the bare minimum of his information on it such as his home Region, what Professor he worked under, and such. His online profile was much more extensive. Ash thought it made sense seeing as he didn't want everything he had done written down on a piece of plastic that he kept in his wallet. As the woman got on the computer, that sat on the desk, to presumably log in the visit and make sure she grabbed the right egg Ash let his eyes wander.

The inside of the building was bright, colorful like a childs' daycare would be, and had various baby pokémon paw prints painted along the walls. There were a few pictures on the walls of different pokémon and a board that had pamphlets tacked onto it. Turning his gaze back to the woman for a moment, he saw her name tag, and took note of her name as the woman didn't introduce herself.

"Alright! Everything's in order, Mr. Ketchum," Cheryl, the worker, said breaking the silence, "You can follow me to the back to grab the Egg. There is a bit of paperwork for you to take as well. It's just a detailed guide of proper maintenance for the Egg and what to do after the baby has hatched."

"Thank you," Ash said as he walked around the desk to follow Cheryl through the door behind it. The door led to a wide open area that would normally be seen at an indoor play place. There was climbing equipment everywhere, stumps and tires strategically placed for those who liked to jump on them, a large man-made natural looking pond for water types, a warmer sunny area for grass and fire types and so much more. There were several workers running around and playing with pokémon and other pokémon, Ash assumed they were partners with the workers, keeping other babies entertained.

Ash saw many pokémon he knew and more he didn't, but it wasn't the time to stop and ask questions as much as he wanted to. Cheryl had led him to the right side of the room where there was another door that led to another large room, but it was freezing. Cheryl handed him a jacket and Pikachu dove into the fluffy hood to keep warm. The woman explained to him that the Egg he was here to get was just behind the door and apologized for the lack of explanation on her part.

"We have many rooms branching off the main one we were just in," Cheryl said, "Each room is temperature controlled in accordance to what typing the pokémon in the Eggs are. This room is for Ice Type Eggs. The Fire Type room is the complete opposite of this one seeing as it needs to be kept warmer for the little ones in the Eggs. Grass Type has a normal tempered room, Dark Types have their dark room that's just slightly cooler than the Grass Type room. The Water room is humid, Rock and Ground are housed in the same dry rooms, and so on. We've discovered that we have a much higher hatch rate when the rooms are accommodated to each specific type."

"Will the Egg I'm taking be okay once it's removed from this room?" Ash asked as Cheryl opened the door releasing a very cold gust of wind from it. Ash watched as cold air steamed as it met the warmer air from the main room.

"Oh yes! We'll have it put in one of our incubators and turn on the setting that will keep it nice and cold until it hatches," Cheryl replied as she closed the doors behind them. The room was long, not much of a square room, but more rectangular. It had shelves enclosed in glass and on each shelf there were six Eggs placed carefully on indented pillows. In the center of the room was a lone island with storage underneath for what Ash could only assume held items for new hatchlings.

"Here we are! Wait just one moment for me to grab a few things as well as the Egg," Cheryl said before turning to grab a few things. Ash watched as she placed an empty bag on the table then went around the island opening drawers and pulling items out such as blankets, a couple of bottles, some formula formulated for ice types, and other items for a new baby pokémon. The items were then placed in the empty bag methodically before Cheryl moved to the other side of the island to dig around one of the drawers there. Ash saw her take out a packet of papers and put them in the outside pocket of the bag. Ash could hear Cheryl humming softly under her breath as she walked past him to one of the shelves, which he only noticed had incubators in it when he turned to watch her, and saw her grab one.

"Almost done!" Cheryl announced as she placed the incubator on the island and fiddled with the settings, "Do you have any questions about Egg care or anything?"

"No questions for me, miss," Ash replied with a slight shake of his head, "I've hatched Eggs before so I have a bit of experience, and I think this Egg is going to the Professor anyway."

"Right! I forgot that little bit of information," Cheryl said with a little chortle at her forgetfulness. She gave Ash a little nod before turning to go grab an Egg from the shelf. The Egg was pure white with swirls and splotches of light and dark blue. The colors didn't trigger anything in him about what kind of creature was in it, but did seem a bit familiar.

"Everything is ready for you to take!" Cheryl announced as she placed the Egg in the incubator and locked the device.

"Thank you," Ash said as he grabbed the bag and the Egg and followed her out of the room. He had to place them down to take off the jacket and give it back to Cheryl to hang back up, but soon enough Ash and Pikachu were back in the car with Rockruff. He placed the Egg in the passenger seat and buckled it in to keep it from being tossed around as he drove.

Ash pulled out his phone out once more to look at the text Oak had sent him to make sure he would go to the right place, only to find that he was going to the pokémon school. As he drove he wondered how different this school would be to the one he had attended and the one he had visited to help Surge out. Nevertheless the drive to the school didn't take long and soon enough he was parking his car and getting out with Pikachu and Rockruff joining him. Ash shouldered the bag and grabbed the incubator before locking the car up and turning to enter the school gates. There were a few students around the courtyard in front of the school and there were sounds of a pokémon battle not far from the entrance, but he assumed it was on the other side of the building since he didn't see any fighting.

Ash ignored the few stares he got as he walked up the few steps into the front doors of the school and looked around to find any indication for the office. He had no clue where the classroom he was supposed to find was and hoped that there was someone in the office that could help him. Thankfully the signs were in English, a language he had been taught by his Mother who was fluent in a few different languages, so it took no time for him to find the office.

Thankfully there was someone in the office, who pointed him in the right direction, and just a moment later he was walking up the stairs to the classroom with Rockruff at his feet and Pikachu perched on his shoulder. The sounds of Rockruffs' nails on the floor reminded him that he needed to trim them a bit and so he made a mental note of it. Before he could spiral about other grooming things he needed to do Ash arrived at the classroom. He waited a moment to steel his nerves before calmly knocking on the door that sounded so loud in the quiet of the hallway.

Ash had a small warning of the door opening as he heard a footstep on the other side just before the door opened. He was a bit caught off guard seeing that the man in the front of him was shirtless, but at least he had a lab coat on. Even if it was strange for a grown man to be walking about a school without a shirt on.

"Morning, how can I help you?" the man asked with a slight tilt to his head.

"Professor Oak sent me to give this Egg to someone named Lillie?" Ash said, a questioning tone to his voice as he didn't know the person and wasn't sure he was in the right room.

"Yes! Samson did say he was sending someone!" the man replied, "Come in! Come in! I'm Professor Kukui by the way," Kukui said as he opened the door the rest of the way and ushered Ash inside. The classroom had many desks, but there were only a few occupied. Five sets of eyes turned to look at him causing Ash to almost falter as he stepped in, but Pikachu sent a small zap of electricity from his cheek pouch as if to knock him back to the ground. He turned to look at the students and noticed another male without a shirt and briefly wondered if the no shirt thing was a cultural thing. The only other male in the room was a short rotund boy with bright orange hair. The other three were all girls, a blonde, a girl with green hair, and the last with blue hair.

"I'm Ash, sir," Ash said to introduce himself after Kukui stepped inside and closed the door, "This is Pikachu and Rockruff."

"Alolan or Kantonian?" Kukui asked with an easy going smile on his face.

"Kantonian," Ash replied a bit curious now as he didn't know there was an Alolan variant of Pikachu and was sure he wasn't asking about Rockruff seeing as the pup originated here in Alola.

"Stupendous!" Kukui said, "Kids, this is Ash. He's running an errand for Principal Oak. Ash, these are Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, and Lillie."

Ash looked at each student as the man introduced each teen to him and wondered why the introductions, but as he may be here in Alola for a while he may run into these teens again. Ash looked over each teen as Kukui introduced them and saw just how nervous Lillie was. He saw the way the blonde-haired girl looked at Pikachu and Rockruff and wondered why she looked at them in such fear. He gestured for Lillie to walk up to the front of the room where the three of them could speak among themselves without the other four hearing them.

"Lillie here is the recipient of the errand you're here for, Ash," Kukui said startling the girl a bit, "Principal Oak had this Egg commissioned just for you, Lillie, to help you with your phobia. He hoped that caring for an Egg may help ease you into being able to touch another pokémon again seeing as, hopefully, you gain an attachment to the little one in the Egg. He had hoped that it would be ready for you before the school year even started, but there had been complications and the facility needed a little bit more time to get the Egg. Oak had Ash here get it for him as soon as the caretaker at the facility said it was ready. Will you take this Egg and care for it?"

Ash watched as Lillie sent a look at the Egg in his arms, it was still cold to the touch, but not unbearably so. The incubator really helped insulate the majority of the coldness. After a few moments of decision he saw her nod and slowly held out the Egg just in case she changed her mind. Trembling fingers took the Egg and while she held it firmly she didn't tuck it close to herself for a better hold like most others would.

"The facility gave me this to give to you," Ash said quietly as he took the bag off his shoulders, "It has some basic baby pokémon supplies and an informational packet about the baby inside the Egg."

"Th-Thank you," Lillie stuttered softly as she also took the bag out of his hands. Ash watched as she carefully walked back to her desk and placed the incubator on the furthest corner of the surface without it sitting precariously. After Kukui thanked him Ash left the classroom with Rockruff at his heels. He hoped that Lillie got the help the Egg is supposed to give.

"Well let's get some supplies then head back home, hmm," Ash said once the three were outside in the sunshine and on the way to the car. Ash debated for a moment on whether to walk or take the car because the shops were just down the road and in the end he decided on walking. He grabbed his own bag from the car just in case he bought a lot in the stores and he wanted his hands free.

The first store he went to was the malasada shop. Ash didn't know what it was but he was hungry and wanted to try it. He made sure to look for any signage about if pokémon were prohibited from going in before stepping foot in the store. He made sure to keep Rockruff by his side as he looked at the menu and decided to grab a sweet malasada to eat and grabbed one for Paul as well. He made sure to get one for Pikachu and Rockruff as well as some more water for them. After eating his sweet and leaving the shop Ash ventured into a clothing shop and found a few articles of clothing he liked.

The shop he saw that catered to pokémon had quite a few items he wanted that he hadn't seen in other stores so he made sure to grab them. Ash also couldn't say no to Rockruffs' puppy eyes when the pup brought him a Stantler antler and so he bought it. He couldn't help the snort he let out after Rockruff grabbed the antler and proudly walked around with it in his mouth. The next shop was the antique store, and filled to the brim like a hoarder's wet dream.

He had wanted to see if he couldn't find anything for his mother. He knew she really liked antique items, but she was also a little picky when buying them for herself. His mother was actually looking for a really old Delcatty statue her own mother, his grandmother, had when she was young. The statue unfortunately shattered during an earthquake and his mother had been looking for another ever since. The collectors online were selling them for an exorbitant fee and they didn't have that kind of money even if they were well off.

As he looked around the store, what he didn't expect to find was a really dusty, just about crumbling, book about Aura tied with twine to a smaller book that gave no indication to what it really was. Ash carefully turned page after page trying to figure out what kind of book it was, but the writing was so faded. He was able to tell that it was hand written and on one of the pages, before closing it to move on, he could make out the letters LCK written on the bottom. He didn't know why he did, but he looked around for a moment before tucking the book inside the waistband of his shorts. He made sure it wouldn't be seen with his shirt before going on his way. He didn't know if the owner even knew she had a book about it and didn't want the chance that she could tell someone that he purchased it. For all he knew buying it could be a trap for one of the Corrupted.

He didn't condone stealing, but he didn't want to chance one of the Corrupted finding the book. He may not be a fully trained Aura Guardian yet, but he did still have the innate duty to keep it from the Corrupted. After having left the shop without anyone seeing him, Ash walked a few stores down and ducked into the space between two buildings to take the books out of his waistband and placed them in his bag. Ash took a couple of deep breaths and gave Pikachu a scratch behind his ear before walking out of the space to continue on what he was doing.

The last shop he was going to wasn't much further and in no time he was inside grabbing a basket to put his items in. He leisurely grabbed a few snacks that caught his eye as well as a few drinks to try before making his way to the hygiene section of the store. He always thought it weird that someone could get lube in that section, but he did guess that lube can be used for more than just adult activities. After grabbing a couple of bottles, a bit of a blush on his face as an older woman gave him a look, he turned around to keep looking for things. Ash was heading down the pasta aisle when 'he' appeared.

Ash stopped dead in his tracks causing Rockruff to stumble into his legs as Giovanni rounded the corner and stepped into the aisle he was in. The man was tall and broad with dark hair tousled on his head. He wore a simple tee shirt and khaki pants with sandals on his feet. Following the man was a large Persian, who let out a deep grumble as the beast met Ashs' gaze. The beast took a step towards Ash and he could see the black nose wiggle as it took in Ashs' scent and opened its' mouth revealing sharp fangs like he had seen his own Persian do multiple times to scent something better, a Flehman Response he believed it was called. Ashs' breath hitched and it felt like his heart skipped a beat as his body moved seemingly on its own. Ash turned around, ignoring everyone as he went to the counter to pay, and quickly dashed down the street. He would have left his things, but it didn't seem like Giovanni had seen Ash, only Persian.

Ash quickly turned the car on once he had made it back to the vehicle and reversed it out of its spot. He could feel his hands trembling as he clutched the steering wheel and it wasn't until he had sufficient distance between himself and the crime lord that his mind came out of adrenaline mode. Should he call Lance? Should he wait to see what the man does? What if Ash runs into him again? Why was he here in Alola?

The most pressing question was why didn't the Persian alert Giovanni that he was there?