Everyone had fallen asleep on the train ride to Pallet Town.
The sound of the train horn then roused Jasmine from her sleep.
She then stared at Teddiursa.
Jasmine proceeded to gently place Teddiursa on the ground.
She then glanced at the moon through the window and her expression changed.
Bastion was the next to wake up as he got to his feet.
He then glanced over at Mindy.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Bastion had no idea what the issue was.
"What's wrong?" Jasmine repeated. "How are you okay with all of this."
She was freaking out at this point.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Bastion raised a eyebrow.
"This is totally nuts!" She screamed.
"In the span of a single day I became a mother, we found ourselves in another world and had to deal with hunters."
"Not only that, but Mindy adopted a Bulbasaur and Ash wants to see his mom." She continued.
Bastion then put a hand on her shoulder.
"You have nothing to worry about." He reassured her.
There was no reason for her to make a scene.
"There's plenty to worry about." She shot back.
"I would like a portal to open for us to get back home." Jasmine whined.
"I can probably come up with a way for us to return to Duel Academy."
"You know that you can't."
"What makes you so sure?"
"This would require something besides science."
"Sorry." She apologized.
"I'm just really frustrated at the moment."
Bastion understood where she was coming from.
"We will return to Duel Academy. I believe we will."
"How do you know?" Jasmine asked him, having some doubts.
If anyone could come up with a solution to get them back home, it was Bastion.
"You just have to have hope."
The train horn blew which indicated they eventually stopped at their destination.
"Well, time to go." Ash told them.
They then stepped off the train. Pallet Town wasn't far away.
Dawn then used her Poketch to contact Brock in Pewter City.
"You're not going to believe who's with me." She told him. "You really need to see him for yourself."
As she said that, Ash was having a conversation with the others.
"We're getting closer to seeing Prof. Oak." Ash announced.
The others were eager to meet him since he was a famous individual.
"Follow me." The others walked behind him as they headed to Prof. Oak's house.
Before long, they were standing in front of the door.
Ash knocked on it.
A few seconds later...
Prof. Oak opened the door.
"Ash, I wasn't expecting you."
It was true. He had no idea Ash had even returned to Pallet Town.
"It's really complicated." Ash responded.
"Anyway, meet my friends Alexis, Bastion, Chumley, Jaden, Jasmine, Mindy and Syrus." Ash introduced the rest of the group to Prof. Oak.
"Nice to meet you." They waved.
"Well come on in." The professor motioned for them to head into his house.
"Welcome." Prof. Oak showed them around.
"Unbelievable." Bastion whispered.
He really liked it's layout.
"I'm glad you think so." Prof. Oak chuckled.
The teens wandered around the house, checking it out.
"What's your specialty?"
"It's Pokemon ecology." Prof. Oak was more than happy to share that information with Bastion.
"Teach me." Bastion begged to learn from him.
"It would be my pleasure." Prof. Oak agreed to take him on as a pupil.
Meanwhile
Alexis and Ash were exploring the second floor of the house.
"I have to say, Pallet Town is nice and quiet." Alexis admitted.
"It sure is." Ash agreed with her statement.
For as long as he lived in Pallet Town, it had been peaceful.
"Would you guys like to meet my mom?" Ash suddenly asked.
Alexis turned her head and looked at him.
"I would love to." Alexis was happy.
Ash and Alexis then went downstairs.
"Hey guys." He called out to the ones that were still on the first floor.
"Our next destination is my house." Ash announced.
The other five were confused.
"Ash came up with the idea for us to meet his mom." Alexis explained.
Jaden and the others were eager to meet his mother.
"See you later professor." Ash waved goodbye to him.
He and the others left his house and began making their way to the Ketchum residence.
It didn't take long for them to arrive.
As they stood outside, Ash was shaking nervously.
"What's wrong?" Alexis asked, concerned.
"She has no idea I came back." He responded. "I can only imagine what her reaction will be."
"Take it easy." Jaden suggested.
"Everything will be fine." Dawn said reassuringly.
Ash eventually worked up the courage to knock on the door.
"Here goes nothing." He knocked on the door.
The door opened and a woman stepped out to greet the person that knocked.
"It-It can't be." Her hands covered her mouth.
"Hi mom." Ash greeted her.
Delia wrapped her arms around her son in a bear hug. Tears were forming in her eyes.
"I'm back." He told her.
The rest of the group just watched this without saying a thing.
'I wonder what my mom is feeling right now.' Jasmine thought.
Bastion comforted her without saying anything.
She hoped her mom was doing alright.
Delia eventually calmed down and realized Ash didn't come back alone.
"Who are they?" She asked.
"Mom, meet my friends Alexis, Bastion, Chumley, Jaden, Jasmine, Mindy and Syrus." Ash introduced them.
Delia was thrilled to meet them.
"It's been a long time, Mrs. Ketchum." Dawn greeted her.
Dawn hadn't seen her since she and Ash returned from the Sinnoh Region.
"Well, come on in." Delia invited them inside.
"Thanks mom, I was kinda hungry." Ash told her.
"Me too." Jaden added.
"Well in that case, I'll start making some food right now."
While she prepared their meal, Ash showed them around his house.
There were trophies of all his achievements throughout his journey.
"Wow, you won a lot of tournaments." Alexis spoke.
"I sure did." Ash nodded.
He was extremely proud of his accomplishments.
"Well of course after all Ash is the world monarch." Delia announced.
The others were surprised and confused.
"What is she talking about?" Jaden asked.
"Oh she's referring to the World Coronation Series. It's a competition to decide the world's strongest trainer. Ash managed to win the whole thing." Dawn recalled.
Ash became nervous after this revelation.
"What?!" Alexis exclaimed in shock.
Jaden and the others were shocked as well.
They had no idea he was the world's strongest trainer.
Everyone from Duel Academy then came out his house to talk.
"You're a world champion?" Alexis asked the question on their minds.
"More or less yeah." Ash confirmed it.
"Tell us more." Jaden insisted.
He wanted to know everything.
"Don't be so impatient." Bastion sighed.
"Why weren't we told?" Syrus asked.
"You tnever bothered to ask." He replied simply.
They look at him, unconvinced.
"What?" He blinked.
Ash had no idea why they were staring at him.
"Do you seriously think we'll believe that?" Bastion questioned.
"Why wouldn't you." Ash sighed in response.
It wasn't a completely outlandish story after all.
The group from Duel Academy was becoming annoyed.
"I just wanted a break from it." He told them.
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you have any idea how stressful being the world's strongest trainer is. People are constantly trying to battle me." He explained.
The group from Duel Academy thought about it and realized why he didn't tell them.
"That's pretty much why." He continued.
The group from Duel Academy seemed convinced with his story now.
"Food's ready!" Delia announced.
They went to the dining room to eat.
"Your food is always good mom." Ash smiled.
"Thanks Ash." She was happy to hear that.
Everyone else enjoyed the food as well.
When it came to food, Ash and Jaden were basically twins because they had the same eating habits.
"Typical." Dawn and Alexis sighed.
"I'd expect no less from my son." Delia chuckled.
"Jaden acts the same way." She added.
"Boys." Jasmine scoffed.
She didn't understand their behavior at all.
"Stop eating so fast." Bastion sweat dropped.
If they kept it up, they would choke.
The two patted their stomachs after finishing their food.
"Who wants dessert?" Delia asked.
The group groaned. They were way too full.
"We'd like some." Ash and Jaden told her at the same time.
'Unbelievable.' Bastion thought.
Syrus also thought they were being ridiculous right now.
Delia then heard the phone ringing.
"I'll get it." She walked into the kitchen.
Delia picked up the phone and spoke to the person on the other end.
"Yes I'll let him know you want him to head to the Pewter Gym." She stated.
She went back to where the group was.
Delia then gave the phone to her son.
"Brock wants to talk to you."
Ash placed the phone to his ear.
"Come over to Pewter City." He demanded. "Misty and I want to see you."
Brock then hung up.
"Looks like we're going to Pewter City." Ash announced.
The group from Duel Academy was eager to meet him.
It wasn't long before they got there.
Ash led them to the Pewter Gym.
Once inside Brock and Misty were seen standing in the back.
"There he is." Misty growled after noticing Ash.
She made her way over to them with a mallet in her hands.
"ASH KETCHUM!" She screamed when she was close enough.
"Oh no." Ash groaned out loud.
He was dreading what was about to happen next.
Misty chased him around the gym for a while trying to hit him with the mallet.
"What the?" Alexis sweat dropped.
"Does this happen often?" She asked Dawn.
Before she was able to answer, Brock started flirting with Alexis.
"Do you want to go out with-" Brock was cut off.
"No thanks." Alexis politely turned him down.
Croagunk was unable to use Poison Jab because he had been rejected.
"Is he alright?" Jaden asked.
"Brock will get over this eventually." Ash assured him.
He couldn't count the number of times Brock had done this and been shot down.
Brock then caught sight of Mindy.
Like before he flirted with Mindy.
"Hey there, my sweet." Brock put on the charm.
"Ah!" He then yelled out in pain as Misty pulled his ear.
"You've done enough of that for one day." She then dragged him away.
Croagunk then used Poison Jab on him.
They all sweat dropped.
"He doesn't have luck with women." The Duel Academy students sighed.
"I feel sorry for him." Mindy stated. "He's really cute."
"What?" They looked at her in disbelief.
"There's another Brock." Misty complained.
"This time it's a girl." She continued complaining.
"I'd like you guys to meet my original travel partners Misty and Brock." Ash introduced them to the Duel Academy students.
"My name's Alexis and these are my friends Bastion, Chumley, Jaden and Syrus." Alexis introduced the Duel Academy students. "I'd also like to introduce you to my roommates Jasmine and Mindy."
Brock had hearts in his eyes after he saw Jasmine.
This time he flirted with Jasmine.
"While Misty deals with Brock, let's move on." Ash suggested.
"Let's keep this a secret for the time being." He insisted.
Misty overheard this and was mad that Ash was continuing to keep secrets from her and Brock.
Ash happened to notice she was still mad.
"I'll tell you more when we get back to my house."
Back at the Ketchum house
"And that's what happened."
Misty and Brock listened intently to what Ash was telling them. Delia and Prof. Oak listened as well.
"That sounds made up." Misty didn't quite believe his story.
"You were just introduced to my friends from Duel Academy. Isn't that enough proof I'm not making it up?" Ash asked.
"Not really." Misty replied deadpan.
He and Jaden then pulled out their decks.
Rainbow Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh's spirits then emerged.
"What the?" Brock blinked.
"So cute!" Delia squealed.
"I need to research them." Prof. Oak walked through the monsters and analyzed them. This piqued his scientific curiosity.
"After seeing something like that, we're convinced your story is true." Misty stated.
"Thanks Misty." Ash smiled.
The two spirits were annoyed with Prof. Oak.
He was struck by two lasers.
A few seconds later
"So those are Duel Monsters?" Misty questioned.
Winged Kuriboh and Rainbow Kuriboh were floating around Delia.
"You two sure are friendly." Delia chuckled.
The two spirits appreciated her comment.
"I'm guessing those are related to the game?" Misty guessed.
"Yeah." Ash nodded.
Even if they didn't know much, they were scratching the surface.
"Perhaps a duel would be a good demonstration." Bastion suggested.
"That's a good idea." Alexis liked the solution he came up with.
"I'm game." Jaden was eager to duel.
Delia, Prof. Oak, Misty and Brock watched from the side.
Jaden and Alexis then took their places apart from each other.
Misty was intrigued after the duel started.
She and Brock were open to find out more about the game.
"Could we enroll?" Misty asked.
The group from Duel Academy was caught off guard by her proposal.
Ash thought about it for a few minutes.
"In the mean time let's go sleep for the night." He suggested.
The rest of the group agreed with the suggestion.
Bastion was checking something on a computer. After finishing what he was doing, Bastion went to sleep.
Before falling asleep inside the Ketchum house, Alexis and Ash began a conversation.
"The sky's real pretty." Alexis said as she stared at it.
"I'm glad I'm not stuck here like you guys."
This caused Alexis to become upset.
"Sorry." He apologized for inadvertently making her sad.
"It's okay." Alexis accepted his apology.
"We'll get back, don't worry." He said reassuringly.
Alexis hoped that would be the case, but she had doubts.
"Would you be going with us?" She questioned.
"What do you mean?" Ash was confused.
"What if your mom doesn't want you to go?" She pointed out.
He pondered that possibility for a moment.
"She likely doesn't want you to go missing a second time."
Ash stood there quietly while she said this. Alexis had some valid points.
They then get into bed. Before falling asleep Ash was feeling uncertain.
