The next day
Ash slowly opened his eyes to see Alexis laying on the floor right next to him in his bedroom.
He was silently freaking out as a result.
'This is so embarrassing.' He thought.
Alexis, on the other hand, was sleeping peacefully.
She whispered something that couldn't be made out before eventually waking up.
The smell of breakfast then wafted in the air.
"Seems my mom made breakfast."
They all went to the kitchen to get some food.
She set plates down on the table.
There were eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes neatly arranged on them.
As usual, everyone liked Mrs. Ketchum's food.
While eating Ash had something on his mind.
Would Prof. Oak know a way for us to return to Duel Academy.' He thought.
It would be a good idea to ask him that question after this.
When they were finished, the group headed over to Prof. Oak's lab. Once there, everyone was greeted by the rest of Ash's Pokemon.
Mindy fell in love with most of the Pokemon after noticing them.
Bulbasaur and Oshawott in particular were really cute.
She fought the urge to give them both a hug.
"Your Pokemon sure have a lot of energy don't they." Alexis noted how excited they seemed.
"You have no idea." Ash sweat dropped.
His Pokemon were constantly full of energy and were quite a handful to deal with.
Bayleef then popped out and tackled him to the ground. She then showed him a lot of affection.
"Good to see you Bayleef." Ash chuckled.
Alexis was confused with their interaction.
"Does it normally do that?" She asked. Though unwilling to admit it, Alexis was slightly jealous.
"Oh yeah." Misty confirmed it.
Bayleef liked showing affection to Ash even when it was a Chikorita.
Alexis then turned away to avoid lashing out at the grass type Pokemon.
Elsewhere
Prof. Oak was conversing with Tracey.
"Ash's Pokemon look as good as they normally do." Tracey noted.
"They certainly do." Prof. Oak agreed.
Back with the gang
Mindy was trying to hug Ash's Pokemon.
"Just don't hug them too hard." Ash told her.
He doubted his Pokemon would like that.
Charizard then stomped over to them to say hi.
"What is that?" The Duel Academy group asked.
"That's his Charizard." Misty responded.
"Just a heads up, he's fond of doing something to Ash every time they reunite." Brock warned the group from Duel Academy.
That something was about to be made apparent as Charizard burned Ash with Flamethrower.
"Are you alright?" The Duel Academy group asked, concerned.
Ash's response was surprising. He started to laugh.
"I'm used to it by now. At this point, it's just Charizard's way of showing affection." Ash chuckled.
He then wiped the ash off his body.
Charizard then stared intently at Alexis.
"Why's it staring at me?" She asked, blinking.
Charizard then burned her with Flamethrower as a sign of affection.
"Heh?" Ash chuckled awkwardly. "Charizard just told you he likes you."
"Really?" Alexis asked, coughing up smoke.
"Yeah." Ash nodded.
Then, to the bewilderment of the rest of the Duel Academy group, Alexis burst out laughing.
"Alexis?" Jasmine questioned.
"Are you alright?" A concerned Mindy asked.
Alexis eventually calmed down, wiping some of the smoke off her face.
Bayleef then glared at Alexis.
"What's your problem?" Alexis asked.
Bayleef lifted her up and threw her with it's vines.
It was jealous of the time she was spending with Ash.
She struck the ground somewhat hard.
"Ow!" Alexis cried out in pain.
"Are you kidding me!" She shouted.
Misty then helped her up.
"Bayleef gets rather jealous when it comes to Ash." Misty clarified.
"Still doesn't mean it can grab me and throw me to the ground." She grumbled.
"No it doesn't." Misty glared at Bayleef.
Bayleef pouted.
She felt bad after doing that to Alexis.
"Cheer up Bayleef." Ash tried to make her feel better.
She perked up a little, but still felt guilty.
Ash then wrapped his arms around Bayleef and gave her a hug.
"Bay." She cried out in response to the hug.
Alexis became slightly jealous over the display.
Bayleef had a smug smile on her face.
'That little.' Alexis angrily thought.
Bayleef needed to be taught a lesson for acting so smug.
Alexis got the bright idea to taunt Bayleef the next chance she got.
Some of Ash's Pokemon were in the background.
They were Donphan, Sceptile and Torterra. Pikachu was close by as well.
The four weren't fond of the look in Alexis's eye.
A few minutes later
Prof. Oak met them outside.
"What can I do for you Ash?" He asked.
"Would you know of a way for us to return to Duel Academy?" He questioned the professor.
"Way back, huh?" Prof. Oak pondered it. "I'll get back to you later."
Ash left him alone so he could think in peace.
Back with the others
They were chatting among themselves.
"So you two are gym leaders?" Jaden asked Misty and Brock.
"I am, but Brock isn't." Misty corrected him.
"I'm now a Pokemon doctor." Brock added.
The group from Duel Academy was impressed.
Prof. Oak made his way over to them.
He made a breakthrough in his attempts to resolve their dilemma.
"I think I discovered a way for you to return." He announced.
"Really?" Ash's eyes lit up.
Leave it to Prof. Oak to come up with a solution.
"And that is?" Alexis asked, somewhat curious.
The rest of the group from Duel Academy was equally curious with what he had in mind.