"Alright Pikachu, are you ready to get home and see mom?" Ash asked as he stepped out of Pallet's tiny airport. Once he had heard his partner respond affirmatively, Ash checked his backpack to make sure he had everything, and promptly realized that the bag was already filled up. Somehow, in the short time that they had been getting off the plane and stretching from the long bout of travel, Rowlet had managed to find his way into Ash's backpack, and was promptly snoozing away. Ash let out a laugh upon seeing this, and shook his head. "Guess some things won't ever change, will they buddy," he said while Pikachu snickered, up on his shoulder. "Might as well let Lycanroc out too, since Incineroar is still adjusting to walking on two legs and Melmetal is too slow to keep up and too big to ride on my hat anymore.
With this, Ash reached down to his belt and grabbed Lycanroc's pokeball, before releasing the wolf pokemon. Lycanroc let out a howl, before looking around, and, upon seeing there was no one to fight, turned his attention toward Ash and approached him. Kneeling, Ash scratched his pokemon, careful to avoid the sharp, rock-like growths on his body. "Hey bud, we're back in Kanto, and this time to stay. I know you've only been here once, so I thought you might want to walk to my mom's house with me. Then tomorrow we can meet all of my other pokemon that I told you about!"
This seemed to get the pokemon excited, and he let out a loud woof before licking Ash on his check and nudging him, seemingly to get the boy moving. "Okay, okay, I'm going! And don't worry, we can't possibly get lost on such a short walk!" Hearing this, Pikachu and Lycanroc looked at each other with dread as Ash started off on what he thought was the road to his mom's house.
"Well," Ash laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head, "it could have been worse!"
Pikachu proceeded to give Ash a look than managed to convey just how displeased the electric-type was with Ash right then. For Arceus' sake, his trainer had somehow managed to turn a 10 minute stroll into over an hour's hike! Lycanroc didn't seem to be that upset however, and was happily trotting aside Ash as the teen approached his house.
Walking up to the house, Ash noticed the gate was being held open by Mimey, who, clad in his apron, waved at Ash. "Hi Mimey! How's everything going?"
"Pika pika!"
As per usual, the mime pokemon didn't say anything in response, just continued to smile at Ash and his pokemon as they greeted him. Used to this, Ash walked up to the door and knocked twice before opening it.
"Hey mom, I'm home!"
"Oh Ashy! I'm so glad to see you!" Delia cried out, wrapping Ash in a massive hug. "But didn't your plane get in an hour ago?"
"Well I may have gotten a bit lost on the way home," Ash replied as Pikachu seemed to shake his head at his directionless trainer.
"Oh honey! Well introduce me to your new pokemon! I haven't seen you or them in months, since all of you were in Kanto."
"Sure mom! Well this is Lycanroc." That was all he got out before his mom was immediately down on the ground petting the wolf pokemon, who, although usually standoffish with new people, had melted like putty under Delia's touch. "I forgot that you'd already met him," Ash laughed as he turned around. "Let's go out to the back garden for the rest of them, some of them are a little big." Ash strolled out the back door, Lycanroc quickly getting up and following behind.
Standing in the garden, Ash grabbed the two open pokeballs on his belt and opened them, before digging into his backpack for the sleeping Rowlet. Even through this new bit of excitement, the owl hadn't stirred, and so Ash resorted to poking him to try to wake him. Seeing that it only had limited success, he sighed before handing the grass-type off to Melmetal, who mostly just seemed to be trying to not break anything.
"Mom, these are my other three new pokemon: Rowlet, Melmetal, and Incineroar." While Rowlet continued to snooze in one of the massive arms of Melmetal, the steel-type turned to Delia and waved its free arm, accidentally managing to smash some of the back fence while doing so. The pokemon looked at the fence guiltily for a second before trying to shuffle in front of the broken section, although all it managed to do was break another few fence posts.
Choosing to ignore this, Delia turned towards Incineroar, who had picked Ash up and was rubbing his head against Ash's cheek, and squishing Pikachu in the process. The mouse didn't look too pleased at this, and with a short 'chuuuu,' let out a thunderbolt that scorched both Ash and Incineroar and sent them crashing to the ground.
"Mom," Ash groaned while picking himself up. "This is Incineroar. He hasn't quite grasped that he's much bigger now. Neither has Melmetal for that matter. I think both of them are going to need a bit of work before they can battle properly again."
Delia laughed while waving to the sheepish looking cat. "You always do manage to get yourself some interesting pokemon, mister. Why don't I go grab your food and then we can eat out here so your pokemon can join us. Could you come grab the pokemon food though, since I don't know how much your new friends eat." Delia and Ash headed back in the house to grab the food, while Ash's pokemon sat down and started chatting about the journey, Melmetal shaking the ground as it slipped and fell.
Come morning, Ash and his pokemon were sprawled out in various states across his bedroom; bar Melmetal, who, upon realizing that it was too large to fit in the house, opted to stay in the yard with Rowlet.
Stretching, Ash carefully extracted himself from under Pikachu and Lycanroc, and carefully stepped over Incineroar, who had been sulking for ages the night before when he couldn't fit into Ash's bed anymore. Ash headed down the stairs, pouring himself some coffee and dumping what most would consider to be an obscene amount of sugar in it.
"G'mornin mom," he mumbled as he flopped down at the dining table.
"Hi sweetie," Delia responded, giving him a kiss on his head as she laid down a plate laden with pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of Ash. "I made your favorites this morning, since I didn't know how long you'd be staying this time."
Ash had immediately dug into the food, but forced the great amount of food in his mouth down before replying. "Actually mom, I think I might be sticking around for a little while this time. I want to see how my pokemon are all doing, and maybe try to track down some of my old friends."
Delia grinned upon hearing this, and wrapped Ash in a big hug before walking towards the door and grabbing her purse. "That's fabulous! I would love to have you here as long as you want. I do have to go to the restaurant soon though. I had my manager covering the early morning shift, but the rush is about to hit and there's no one else working today. I'll see you later honey," she said while heading down the road towards her restaurant.
Happy at how well that had gone, Ash finished eating before getting dressed (no matter how tempting it was to have a repeat of his first day as a trainer) and gathering his pokemon. All ready to go, Ash began the walk to Professor Oak's Laboratory as pikachu pointed out the correct road to keep him on track.
Ash walked into Oak's Lab and once again marveled at the fact that the professor didn't both locking the door. Or maybe it was just that he forgot, Ash chuckled, remembering how absent-minded the old professor could be.
"Professor Oak? Tracey? Anyone here?" Ash called as he went deeper into the lab, before starting as he saw his old friend bent over a screen.
"Ash!" Tracey cried out as he whipped around, "I didn't know you were coming back!"
"Well, I might have forgotten to tell anyone but my mom that I was coming back, and I only remembered to tell her because she got mad at me the last time that I didn't tell her."
"Oh Ash," Tracey laughed. "I assume you're here to see your pokemon then? They're all in the back as per usual. Bulbasaur should be around somewhere nearby though, since he was helping me feed everyone until just a few minutes ago. Professor Oak was off in Indigo for some meetings the last couple of days, although he should be back in a couple hours."
Just then, someone else discovered Ash's return, and announced their joy at this not just with words, but with actions. And smells.
"Mukkkkkk" Ash's smelliest pokemon cried as it tackled its trainer to the ground in a full-body hug, Pikachu leaping to Tracey at the last second.
"Hey Muk! It's good to see you too," Ash said, patting the pokemon on where he thought its head would be at the moment.
"Ash, have we told you how glad we are that your muk can at least lessen its smell? Because with how affectionate it is, I don't know if we would otherwise survive."
Ash grinned while trying to climb to his feet, Muk not very intent on this happening, but the nature of its body not doing much to help it resist. "I would love Muk whether it smelled all the time or not Tracey!" But then he took a step closer to the assistant and muttered, "but between you and me, I'm really glad too."
Stepping towards the Lab's back entrance, Ash turned towards Muk. "Hey bud, do you and Pikachu want to help me find Bulbasaur? He's usually pretty good at helping us find everyone."
The slimey pokemon didn't vocally respond, instead oozing towards the door and heading right, Ash ushering Pikachu after him before turning back towards Tracey for a moment. I'm planning on sticking around for a while Tracey, so expect to be seeing a lot more of me for a while." Flashing the other teen a thumbs-up, Ash followed his pokemon into the back of the lab, only just catching Tracey mutter 'oh Lugia, I hope he's joking. I don't know if I can take that level of stress.'
Walking outside, Ash was immediately greeted with a happy growl from Bulbasaur, who had already managed to find his way to his trainer. "Hey Bulbasaur, it's good to see you too. How's everyone doing at the lab?" Ash asked this while bending down to rub his first grass-type on the head, earning a contented growl and a sound of affirmation. "That's great! Well could you help me out and let everyone know that we're here?"
"Bulba-bulbasaur!" With this, Bulbasaur stepped a little away from Ash before charging up and releasing a brilliant white solarbeam straight into the sky. Almost immediately, Ash could hear movement from the surrounding area, although once he looked a bit closer, the sound may have just been his Tauros.
"Tauros! Hey! Calm down!" Ash yelled as the stampeding herd got closer and closer. Bulbasaur had already taken cover behind some nearby shrubs, since the bull pokemon showed no signs of stopping. With a sigh, Ash prepared himself, but as he was about to once again be trampled by his pokemon, he was lifted into the air, surrounded by blue light. Before he could figure out what was going on, he was unceremoniously dropped onto the back of the lead tauros, who mooed loudly upon learning he had his trainer.
"Tauros, could you get everyone to settle down a little?" Ash said to the leader while holding on to his mane. Luckily for Ash, Tauros seemed to take this to heart, and called something out to the herd before slowing down and moving back towards the lab. This slowed pace allowed for Noctowl to land on Ash's shoulder, and begin to affectionately preen his hair.
"Noctowl, did you lift me up?" Receiving a hoot in confirmation, Ash cheered. "That's awesome! I didn't know that you had gotten so strong with your psychic moves. It didn't even hurt me, so you must have some great control right now." This seemed to please the proud pokemon, who began to preen herself after giving Ash a light peck on the head.
Finally, the tauros made it back to the lab, prompting Ash to dismount from his ride and rub him behind the horns. "Thanks for getting everyone under control bud." In response, the pokemon mooed loudly and rammed his head into Ash's chest, causing the trainer to stumble back. "Good to see you too," Ash coughed, rubbing his chest. Looking up, he saw that during his short jaunt with his tauros, a lot more of his pokemon had gathered, and some of the slower 'mons were still coming.
Smiling, Ash held out his arms, and was dogpiled by pokemon before he could even blink. Laughing, he hugged all the pokemon within his reach and yelled out to the rest, "hey guys, I'm home! And this time I'm gonna be home for a long while."
After almost an hour, Ash finally managed to get his pokemon to calm down enough to where they all weren't trying to hold him down to prevent him from escaping. Seeing this, Ash breathed a sigh of relief and reached for his belt. "Everyone, I want you to meet our new friends from Alola!" With this, Ash grabbed his pokeballs in both hands, and flung them to the sky, releasing all of his new pokemon.
Upon materializing, Rowlet flew up to Melmetal's head and perched there, deciding that this was as good a place as any to watch the group. Melmetal stood there nervously, trying to keep Rowlet in place but not obviously a little unnerved by all the new pokemon. Lycanroc and Incineroar however, seemed right at home, with Incineroar immediately sizing up Infernape, and Lycanroc greeting everyone with a loud bark.
"Everyone, this is Rowlet, Lycanroc, Incineroar, and Melmetal!" Here Ash paused, but ultimately decided not to tell the group about the friends that they would never meet. Poipole. Nebby. He missed them.
Pikachu noticed this though, and quickly jumped on Ash's shoulder and gave him a small static shock. This seemed to snap Ash out of his thoughts, and he gave his partner a small smile, albeit one tinged with sadness. "Thanks buddy. I just miss them." To the group, Ash then said, "don't be shy, everyone start mingling! I have to go talk to Professor Oak, and with any luck I'll be bringing some old friends back soon!" Here Ash turned to head back towards the lab, but he did see Torterra slowly making his way towards Melmetal, which brought a full grin onto his face. If there was any pokemon that knew what Melmetal was going through, it would be Torterra, and he knew he could count on the land tortoise to help his newest pokemon out.
As Ash stepped into the lab, he suddenly felt an impact on his left calf, and looking down, he saw Scraggy rubbing his head after futilely trying to knock him down with a headbutt. Letting out a sigh tinged with fondness, Ash bent down and scooped up the pokemon before heading further into the lab. This seemed to please the pokemon, as he promptly curled up in Ash's arms as the trainer searched for Oak.
"Professor? Tracey said you would be getting back soon." This call was answered by the elderly professor, who, belying his age, came towards Ash at a quick pace.
"Ash, it's good to see you!" Oak said, stopping in front of the younger trainer. "I do wonder, how did you know I was already back?"
"Oh," Ash said, scratching his head, "I saw your dragonite fly in and assumed that you had just taken her there."
"I should have guessed you would put that together! Well let's go to my office to chat, since these old bones are tired after that flight." The professor proceeded to lead Ash through different parts of the lab, finally stopping after reaching his office. Sitting down with a groan, he continued his train of thought. "So Ash, Tracey tells me that you're planning on sticking around for a while. This is a little different for you, so why don't you tell me what you plan on doing?"
"After Alola, Professor, I think I want to spend a little more time training with my pokemon, and more importantly, I want to track down some of my old friends! I know that Wartortle had been feeling a little out of place with the Squirtle Squad, and Primeape was almost done with his training when I spoke to Anthony last, so I was thinking that maybe some of my old friends would want to come back too."
"Well that seems like a fantastic idea! Oh and congratulations on coming in second place in the league! Certainly nothing to scoff at."
"Professor, how did you know that I got second in the league?"
"Well Ash, did you really think the inaugural Alolan League wouldn't be broadcasted on television? I'm sure you didn't miss the cameras there…" Here he trailed off, noticing that the young trainer was looking quite sheepish, and seemed to be more interested in checking Scraggy's teeth and nails than he was in listening to the professor. Oak let out a massive belly-laugh. "You didn't notice the cameras! Oh Ash, you never fail to crack me up."
"I may have been a little more focused on the battles than who was watching…but thank you! I'm really proud of my team for all of the hard work they put in. But they're part of the reason I want to stay and train, since Incineroar and Melmetal both evolved during the league and haven't had much of a chance to adjust to their new forms. It also seemed like some of my other pokemon wanted to train a little bit harder too. I don't really know what we're gonna do after that, but we'll work it out when we get there!"
"Well that seems like an admirable plan Ash. Who are all of the pokemon that you plan on trying to find?"
"Well," Ash started, counting on his fingers. "I already said Wartortle and Primeape, but I want to check on Pidgeot, since she said that she might want to come back soon. That's assuming that she's even in the forest though. I also want to have Charizard come back, since I didn't see him this morning. I'm gonna call Keanan to have him check on Goodra and see if he would want to come back, and maybe I'll see if Greninja would want to come too, depending on how the region is doing. And Pikachu wants me to check on Haunter, Larvitar, and Lapras too, although I don't know how I would find Lapras, since he would be somewhere in the ocean. Professor, would you know what the migratory patterns of lapras are around Kanto?"
"Well that's quite a list! I don't know where Lapras would be, but I would suggest calling Professor Ivy, in the Orange Islands, to ask. She would likely have a much better idea of Lapras' migration than I would, since that's much closer to her field of study. It seems like you have everything else covered, although I would remind you that since most of those pokemon are still under your license, you would have to go retrieve them in person, since you have their pokeballs. And I suggest that you wait to call Professor Ivy and everyone else, since it's still a little early here, and you wouldn't be likely to catch a ranger unless you call later in the evening."
"Thanks Professor! That all sounds like a good plan. Maybe I'll go out and see if Pidgeot is around then, since that would only be a bit of a walk."
"Good idea Ash. I'll be here if you want to come back and find me for Ivy's number. And you are welcome to use the phone in the lab, just ask Tracey where it is. I'll see you in a while, hopefully with Pidgeot back by your side." With this, the professor watched with a smile as Ash quickly stood up and sped from the room, likely to go find Pidgeot's old pokeball before tracking her down. It was good to see that the teen's enthusiasm was as contagious as ever.
As Ash walked through the outskirts of Pallet, to where he hoped Pidgeot would be, he idly chatted to the pokemon that had decided to come along. Since Scraggy seemed to be comfortable in his arms, even as he had not been a very cuddly pokemon before, Pikachu decided to stay back and chat with some of his old friends. Unfezant and Snivy had decided to come along though, and Snivy was currently riding atop Unfezant's back, leading to a very amusing image.
"Hey Unfezant, let me know if you see a pidgey or pidgeotto, they might be able to tell us if Pidgeot is around." Ash called, taking a break from telling stories about his first journey around Kanto with Pidgeot, Pikachu, and the others. Scraggy seemed to be particularly enthralled, staring up at Ash with rapt attention. Just as he had called out to Unfezant however, a large shape came crashing out of the trees at Ash. Before he could do much more than blink, he was slammed to the ground.
While his pokemon were quite alarmed by this, and moved to attack the interloper, Ash wasn't quite as concerned and laughed as he threw his arms around the neck of the pokemon.
"Pidgeot! It's so good to see you! I'm really glad that you were here this time, since you weren't around the last time I checked in. The bird squawked and rubbed her head against him, causing her magnificent crest to slap Scraggy in the face. The smaller pokemon didn't seem too pleased by this, and attempted voice his displeasure by trying to knock Pidgeot off Ash through a headbutt. Once again however, Scraggy had forgotten that he wasn't very strong and only managed to attract Pidgeot's attention.
"Geot?"
"Oh, just think of Scraggy like an overeager chick. He means well, but gets a little aggressive sometimes. He can fight well though! As can Unfezant and Snivy," here he pointed to his other pokemon, who had calmed down once it was clear that Ash knew this pokemon. "They're all from Unova, I think I might have told you about them before." Seeing Pidgeot bob her head, Ash smiled and climbed to his feet, putting Scraggy on Unfezant's back as he did so.
"So Pidgeot, how's the flock doing? You said that they were getting stronger last time we talked."
At this, Pidgeot nodded, and proceeded to point west with one wing as she pointed towards herself and then the ground with the other.
"Are you trying to say that you aren't with the flock anymore?" Once more, Pidgeot nodded, glad that the trainer had at least gotten somewhat smarter than when he was younger, as he never would have understood that then. "Well then, would you want to come with me again? I know it's been a long time, but I think it would be fun to be together again."
"Pidgeotttttt!" She screeched, taking off and flying in a circle around Ash before landing in front of him once more.
"I'll take that as a yes then! Well I kept your old pokeball, if you want to see if it still works?" Here he held up the ball, and Pidgeot pecked the center button, sucking her inside. Feeling a little deja vu, Ash held up the pokeball and yelled, "alright! I caught a Pidgeot!" This caused his Unova pokemon to simply stare at him, questioning whether or not their trainer was truly sane.
"Don't worry, that was something that I just used to do whenever I caught a pokemon. I think I've grown out of it, but it's kind of funny. Let's go back to Oak's now though; I have some calls I need to make!"
Ash began walking back to Pallet, cheerfully whistling as he tossed Pidgeot's pokeball out and she was released with a cry. He had been nervous, but felt much better about his decision to find his old friends since this had gone so well. Upon seeing Pidgeot swoop down to catch Snivy, who had reached upward with her vines, he grinned. There was nothing better than friends, old or new.
A/N: Here's the second chapter of this! Don't be expecting these to be coming every day, but I'm going to try to produce them with some amount of regularity. Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!