For the first time in almost a decade, Ash was constantly with other people.
The pokéraised child found it strange, almost stressful. Ash had to keep an eye on where the other two were at all times so that he didn't let the fact that he could understand his team slip. Ash had to remember what topics of conversation were appropriate for humans. Ash had to mask his occasional bouts of ignorance when Brock and Misty discussed seemingly mundane topics like car rides, or getting mail, or going to a friend's birthday party.
But, at the same time, Ash also found it strangely….. comfortable?
"Okay, Aaron," Brock said as the two them were crouched before a clear stream, holding their dirty clothes. "This is how you do laundry in the wild."
Cleaning old and dirty clothes was a lot easier than stealing new ones Ash found. Not that he needed to steal anymore. Before they had left Pewter City, Ash had stopped by a few stores to buy supplies for the journey, including laundry supplies. While he was there Misty helped get some things that his caretakers had missed.
"Alright, here's what you probably need," Misty said to Ash, handing him a list.. "Aaron, from what I've seen, you did a pretty good packing for your journey, but you forgot a few things, such as a gas stove to cook when it's raining, some swimming equipment-"
"Errr…." Ash began, rubbing the back of his head. "That's because I can't really swim….." None of his caretakers had been really able to swim either. They had made sure that Ash knew how to do the basic paddle (with Pocket Watch nearby to telekinetically fish him out of the water if things seemed to be going wrong), but nothing beyond that.
"That's okay, I'll teach you later," Misty assured the boy. "Now, for non-perishable ingredients…."
Ash's team missed having their trainer all to themselves, but they still got along with Brock and Misty. Brock in particular took to brushing Pikachu and grooming Pidgeotto, trying techniques from the various manuals on pokémon breeding he had purchased.
"It's not like Geodude or Onix have a coat to brush," Brock told Ash one day while going through Pidgeotto's feathers. "Though, there's also some polishing techniques I'll be giving a try."
Mhmmmm…. A little to the left, Pidgeotto moaned. They can wait their turn to be polished.
Misty found herself enjoying the occasional feeding session with Butterfree.
"I don't like bug-types," she confided in Ash as she tossed Butterfree a treat, "but butterfrees are the exception. They're just so pretty."
Thanks Misty! Butterfree trilled.
To his surprise, Ash was actually glad for the company.
Sunlight shone down on those gathered at the funeral, as Aoba, a man with blue grey hair and large glasses, sat and cried.
People spoke about the deceased, but Aoba couldn't hear them. He was gently drowning in his own memories of the man that they were burying.
His name had- had- had- been Ted. Aoba could remember the first time he met the other man, after he had left the project on Cinnabar Island. Or maybe it would be better to say after he fled the project on Cinnabar Island. A project that never should have been started, a project that he should have known better than to get involved with.
Aoba had been aimlessly wandering Kanto, looking for a place to rest. He had briefly considered applying for a position at Silph Co, for he had been an accomplished scientist and researcher. But after Cinnabar Island Aoba couldn't bring himself to continue in that line of work.
He had just recently left Cerulean City, savings running low, just walking the road, when he had come across this small village. Aoba had stopped by a small riverside café. There had been a man there with messy maple brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a brilliant smile bringing coffee out to patrons. That had been Ted.
After talking to the man Aoba found himself lingering in town. Each day he visited the café. His saving dwindled, but the former scientist couldn't bring himself to move on.
Aoba eventually got a job at the local general store and found a place in town. He continued visiting the café each day. Eventually he and Ted began to meet outside of the café. They walked through the woods and by the river, enjoying the fresh air and the sounds of pokémon playing in the water.
Even at Ted's funeral Aoba could still remember the taste of their first kiss. They were huddled under a tree, driven there by a sudden rainstorm. Raindrops had been drumming on the river while they held each other.
They had lived together for five years, Aoba quitting the general store to help run the café. Life had been quiet and happy. The smell of coffee and the sounds of happy customers had filled their mornings and afternoons. The evenings were spent in each other's arms, as they wandered the vibrant and beautiful forests around their village.
And then it all came crashing down one day. Ted had suffered a severe allergic reaction to something in Aoba's drink. He had died choking on nothing in front of Aoba.
The former scientist looked up as the current speaker at the funeral ended their speech. Next, they would lower the casket into the grave. And with that even Ted's remnants would be forever beyond Aoba.
It shouldn't have been Ted. Aoba had been the one who had participated in the shame at Cinnabar Island. One year after he had left, Aoba had heard that the mansion on Cinnabar Island, the one that had contained the lab he had worked on, had been destroyed in a great conflagration. The thing- the blasphemy- that they had been creating was undoubtedly responsible.
He had seen it in his dreams, nightmares of fire and destruction. Each time he had awoke to Ted's comforting embrace, but even that was never enough to banish his fear, to banish his shame. Aoba thought that his days were numbered. It should be him buried in the soft earth, not Ted.
Not Ted.
Mount Moon was lovely in the last days of summer as Ash and company made their way through the pass. Spearows and pidgeys chirped in the forest. Streams trickled and splashed and the leaves were a vibrant green, for a few more weeks before fall would come.
Ash decided to stop early that day, to have more time to train his pokémon and to enjoy the scenery.
Butterfree practiced using his nascent psychic abilities, levitating objects, and keeping a mental eye on the positions of everyone else. Ash hoped that soon he would be able to learn Psybeam, so that Butterfree would have a potent offensive ability to go with Sleep Powder and Stun Spore. Ash also had an idea for a basic counter against Supersonic, where a pokémon used psychic power to create a thin slice of vacuum between them and the attack, that he wanted to work on with Buttefree.
Ash had Pidgeotto working on learning to fight blind and on a Sand-Attack variant that would mimic Sandstorm, but would severely reduce visibility on the whole battlefield instead of damaging pokémon. Combined with Pidgeotto's developing ability to fight blind, it would be a nice way to delay attackers while the rest of the team escaped.
Ash and Pikachu meanwhile discussed what the electric type should be working on.
Honestly, I don't think Double Team is for me, Pikachu said. I can just use my speed to dodge already. What I'd really like is a way to hurt ground-types.
Still mad that you have no way to fight an onix? Ash asked.
No, idiot, Pikachu replied, only a fool wants to fight a giant snake made out of stone. I just want a backup attack for when I run into the rare thing that I can't zap into submission.
Hmm… Ash rubbed his chin, thinking. He had seen other humans doing it on occasion when they seemed like they were thinking and assumed that it helped somehow. I don't have the budget for another training manual until after my next advancement, but if Double Team's off the table, I guess I we can focus on improving your stamina and control so you can use Thunder more than once until then.
What move are you going to have me learn? Pikachu asked.
Let's see what you can learn, Ash said, flipping open his pokédex. And something that works against ground-types…. doesn't look like you can learn anything super-effective against ground-types themselves, but Iron Tail would be super-effective against rock-ground types.
I'll take it! Pikachu exclaimed, looking at his tail. It will give me an option besides Quick-Attack for close combat, so I can beat up jerks like that electabuzz even easier!
If you say so, Ash said with a small laugh.
Later that day, when he returned to the campsite, he found Brock busying himself with some pots and pans.
"Oh, hi Aaron," Brock said, briefly looking up. "Done training for the day?"
"Yeah," Ash answered. "What about you?"
"I'm done as well," Brock said. "Zubat made good progress today." Brock had recently caught a zubat that had bothered them when they had passed by one the caves around Mount Moon. He had been training it to be a scout.
"Cool. What are you cooking today?" Ash asked.
"A skillet," Brock answered. "There are tasty mushrooms that grow out here this time of year. I thought I'd try using them tonight."
"Can I help?" Ash asked. Poison Lance had taught him to identify the most common mushrooms that were safe for human consumption, but Ash was ready to try some new ones.
"Sure," Brock replied. "Let me just make sure I have everything else we need." Brock dug around in his backpack for a little bit, muttering to himself, and then stood back up. "Let's go."
Ash followed Brock back into the forest, listening when the other boy began to describe how to find the mushroom. "They only grow on exposed oak roots, and only when those roots are on the north side of the tree," Brock told Ash. "And before you ask, I don't know why they do that."
They continued searching for a few minutes, not talking much.
"Have you had these mushrooms before?" Ash asked Brock finally.
"Once, long ago," Brock said. "I was out here camping with Da- Flint and Forrest, my oldest younger brother. It was years ago."
"Oh," Ash replied.
"It rained most of our trip," Brock went on. "I remember Forrest was so disappointed."
"What's he like," Ash, who was both an orphan and an only child asked.
Brock began to excitedly describe each of his siblings. Forrest, Salvadore, Yolanda, Tommy, Cindy, Suzie, Timmy, Billy, and Tilly. He happily described their behaviors, their personalities, and how they were doing in school. He animatedly discussed their interests, how some wanted to become pokémon trainers, while a few wanted to become doctors, or chefs. He talked about their favorite foods, their favorite movies, their favorite places in Pewter City.
It was the happiest Ash had ever seen Brock. It made Ash wonder what having siblings would have been like…
After they got back to the campsite Brock began to get out some other ingredients.
"Do you want to help me cook?" Brock asked.
"Sure!" Ash replied. Brock smiled and began to go over how to prepare the ingredients. How to safely chop the vegetables and how to prepare the dried meats. Ash was slow and careful in his work. Brock began setting up the fire and the cooking equipment. Once a small fire was ready, Brock then helped Ash finish preparing the ingredients.
"Okay, now a mistake a lot of people make when cooking a skillet is that they think the order of ingredients doesn't matter," Brock told Ash as he added some of the ingredients. "Some things take longer to cook than others, and certain juicy ingredients can alter the flavors from the other ingredients when cooking, so you want those to be cooked first."
It took them about an hour to prepare and cook the skillet. Misty came back to camp shortly before they were done. Brock served them up each a portion of the skillet and they began to dig in.
"This is pretty good," Misty commented between bites.
"Thank you, but I had help from Aaron this time," Brock replied.
"Well, good job then," Misty said to Ash.
Ash nodded and returned to his own meal. It was delicious.
Ever since the night his parents died, Ash rarely had eaten cooked meals. The meals provided by Poison Lance trended towards salads and arraignments of berries, while Pocket Watch stole pre-cooked meats. It was only on the rare occasions that Ash ate at one of his human friend's houses that he had a recently cooked, warm, meal.
And never before had Ash helped cook a meal. It was really enjoyable to eat know that his efforts had helped result in this taste.
It was nice to learn how to cook, Ash reflected that night, curled up in his sleeping bag, Pikachu on his chest. And hearing about Brock's family had been fun.
Traveling with people was nice, even if it did make Ash wonder about how his life might have been if his parents hadn't been killed, if he had grown up with people, instead of only being able to visit.
It was late at night while Aoba stared at the autopsy report. He didn't know why he was torturing himself like that. There was nothing he could have done to save Ted. And even if there had been a way to save him, it no longer mattered.
He was sitting in the apartment above the café, where he and Ted had lived. It belonged to him now, not that Aoba wanted it. The former scientist was planning on giving it to some of Ted's relatives and moving on. There was nothing left for him in the village, other than painful memories of a happier time.
Aoba continued to stare at the report. There was something he was missing. Something about the report was wrong. But what?
He'd been a biochemist once. He should be able to identify what was bothering him. What-
The histamine levels. An allergic reaction meant that they should be high, but not that high. A human shouldn't have been able to produce that much histamine, not that quickly. But if someone were to ingest a high dose of concentrated histamine…
Ted hadn't died due to an unknown allergy. He had been poisoned by someone who wanted to make his death look natural.
Aoba went cold at the realization, face turning pale.
But who would do such a thing? Ted had been born and raised in the village, only ranging as far as Cerulean City, and even that had been rare. He had no enemies or anything that someone should be willing to murder him over. He had been well loved by the community. If anything, Aoba should have…. been….
No one had wanted to murder Ted. Aoba knew that he had been the target.
His sins were coming home to roost.
Ash and company made it through the pass and were on the other side of Mount Moon as the seasons began to change, summer slowly transforming into fall. It was another gorgeous day of sunlight and clear skies, and this time Ash decided to stop by a lakeside to enjoy the scenery and train.
Before he could go off and train with his pokémon however, Misty grabbed his arm.
"I told you I'd teach you how to swim," she said to Ash, "and this looks like a great place to learn. Go change into your swimming trunks."
"Umm…" Ash looked out onto the water. The heat of summer had barely begun to wane, and the sparkling clear water did look cool and inviting. "Okay I guess."
He changed and came back. Misty had already waded into the lake and motioned for him to join her. Pikachu decided to take a nap on the beach.
"Do you know how to float?" She asked the boy.
"I know how to paddle," Ash answered. "That's it."
"Okay, so we'll start with the front float, it's a good foundation for some other skills," Misty said, wading over to him. "Now start leaning forward. Don't worry about falling or sinking, I'll hold onto until you're ready."
"Okay," Ash said as Misty began to help him position himself. For some reason Ash was acutely aware of her position next to him, her cold wet hands on his bare skin. It was strange, but not unpleasant.
"Lay forward, don't worry, I've got you," Misty instructed as Ash maneuvered himself into the water. He gasped as the cold water engulfed his forward half. "Now pick up your head using your neck only, try not to use your back or you'll sink."
Ash complied with her instructions.
"Now stick out your arms to the side, to help you keep your balance," Misty said, still gently holding onto him. After Ash did as she said, Misty spoke again. "Now I'm going to let you go. If something goes wrong it's shallow enough for you to stand here. Stay relaxed and I'm letting go now."
She did and Ash found himself floating. A very different experience from the paddles he had done early. He looked over at Misty.
"I think I've got the float," he told her.
"Okay, from here there are a couple of different strokes you can do," Misty went on. "We'll start with the front crawl…."
It took Ash about half an hour to really get the stroke down. But by the end of it he was able to swim laps in the shallow end of the lake.
"I think your pokémon might enjoy a swim too," Misty suggested. "I know mine will."
"They probably would," Ash agreed. The two humans waded back to shore and released their pokémon.
Mmmhm, Pidgeotto licked her beak. I'm going to go looking to see if this lake has any fish.
I guess I can try swimming, Butterfree said. Though I might just enjoy the sun instead.
"You know," Ash said, looking sideways the sleeping form of Pikachu. "Pikachu's all dry… maybe someone should take care of that…."
But if he wants to stay dry, there's nothing to take care of, Butterfree said, head tilted in confusion.
He's saying we should splash him! Like this! Pidgeotto flapped her wings, using wind to whip up a small wave of water. The wave crashed over Pikachu, leaving him soaking.
Of course, you know, this means war, the drenched electric type said before leaping into the lake.
"Ha!" Misty laughed, hands on her hips. "You call that a wave? Staryu, show these amateurs how it's done!"
A water-fight ensued, Ash and his team against Misty, with Ash being thoroughly trounced. Then Brock joined them in the water. He attempted to help Ash in the next water-fight, but they still ended up trounced.
All of them spent several more hours in the lake, swimming, laughing, and playing in the bright sunlight of the last days of summer.
Aoba finished packing what he would need. He left a note to express his farewells, and a notarized letter containing the deed for the café and instructions to give it to a relative of Ted's. He looked over the place that had been his home for the last five years and then turned off the light.
He left the café, the village, his love in the cold earth, and walked into the darkness.
AN: Short chapter so it gets an early release.
Will probably release another short chapter Thursday
Don't forget to review.