Chapter 2
A Rumor in Johto
"AJ, honey, could you get the door?"
"Got it, mom!"
AJ's mother sent her a frazzled smile through the milling throng of guests that currently invaded the living room portion of their seaside home in Cerulean Cape. The place was packed to the rafters with family and friends, regional gym leaders, league officials, estranged acquaintances, and people she'd never heard of before in her life. As it turned out, everyone wanted to be a part of the celebration for Kanto's newest Grand Champion; eating great food, mingling with celebrities and reporters, basking in the limelight if only for one night… This was the dream right here.
Well, for some peole. Truth be told, AJ hated it. All these strangers, pretending they were close, mooching off AJ's newly won celebrity status. It was obnoxious and headache-inducing, and while she knew that her mother was ten times more stressed out than she was at the moment, AJ couldn't help the small, mutinous part of her that was delighting in her mother's discomfort for forcing her to throw this little shindig in the first place.
Alright, so it wasn't exactly her mom's fault; a non-formal meet-and-greet was an excellent way for AJ to reintroduce herself to the nation's leading experts and professionals as Kanto's newest Champion, as well as to begin establishing positive relationships with the various Gym Leaders she would be working closely alongside for the foreseeable future.
She didn't need to bother chumming up to the Oaks, thankfully, like other Champions might have to. Notoriously quick to judge a person's character from the first meeting, Professor Samuel Oak was basically AJ's surrogate great-grandfather, thus saving her the need to butter him up. And Gary, the current leading Pokemon Expert for Kanto, had been a frequent visitor at the Waterflower household for most of AJ's childhood - for all that she and his son, Sammy, had hated each other as children - thanks to his friendship with her mother and the old genius recluse, Bill, who lived on the east side of the cape.
Still, even knowing that this party was essentially a necessary evil, she could have done without all of the undercover reporters, movie stars, athletes, and other 'celebrities' who had somehow managed to score invites. She blamed her aunts; they'd been in charge of the guest list, and heaven forbid Violet and Lily do anything without their entourage.
If there was any good to be found tonight, it was that most of the guests had no idea what she actually looked like. Her mother had forced her to dress up a little and wear her hair down, and Aunt Daisy had somehow managed to convince her to put on a little makeup. Or, more accurately, had locked her in a room, bound her to a chair, and painted it on herself. While everyone was looking for a scruffy girl in a red vest and a hat, the young woman in the knee-length, form-fitting black dress that shimmered as she walked was able to sweep past them without comment. Hurray for being a tomboy.
By the time she'd managed to duck and weave through the crowd of people milling about the living room and make her way into the entryway, the doorbell had rung an additional five times.
Grumbling to herself over where their doorman had gone off to - probably to sneak some food from the kitchen - and wondering what kind of psycho would just stand there and ring a doorbell over and over and over again, AJ threw on a plastic smile and opened the door, ready to pretend to be polite to whatever politician or contest star or other random nobody might be standing on the other side.
"Wow," the not-a-nobody commented idly as she took in her friend's appearance with an impressed sort of smirk. "You clean up nice."
"Jade!" AJ practically squealed, throwing away all pretense of decorum as she threw herself out the door to catch her best friend in a rib-cracking hug. "You're here! Save me!"
"That bad already?" came Brock's voice from the side, opening up his arms with a warm chuckle and catching AJ with a pained 'oof!' as she sprung out of Jade's arms and into his.
"It's pretty bad," she admitted, leaning back and smiling fondly up at her surrogate uncle, "but it's better now that you two are here!"
"Where's Pichu?" he asked, looking down at their feet as though expecting the excitable mouse to pop up and say hello like he usually did.
"In the backyard with the rest of my team," AJ replied with a shrug. "He's not a fan of crowds, plus people are taking pictures of them. They seem to enjoy it… mostly."
That, and Lily said that if she let Pichu crawl all over her like she usually did, his little claws would scratch up her dress and that was apparently a big no-no.
"But seriously though," Jade continued as she and her father followed AJ into the house, three-inch heels clicking loudly off the polished hardwood floor, raising her voice somewhat to be heard over the excited babble drifting out from the other rooms. "Who did this to you? I need to send them flowers."
"Me, of course."
AJ's aunt Daisy suddenly swooped in seemingly out of nowhere, catching Jade around the shoulders of her seafoam green gown and smirking down at her niece.
As always, AJ's aunt was a knock-out. Her long blonde hair undulated down her back in golden waves like a sunset in Alola, and the wine-red, low-cut dress she had on hugged her body in what AJ could only assume were all the right ways. She wasn't actually sure though. Despite a lifetime of trying, Daisy had never quite managed to get AJ to care all that much about fashion; it was hard to be too concerned about your appearance when you spent most of your days camping and wandering around the wilderness picking fights with wild pokemon.
"She's tried to fight it for years," Daisy continued in a teasing tone, reaching forward to tweak AJ's nose affectionately, "but I always knew we had a little mermaid princess in there somewhere."
Jade and Brock laughed as AJ let out a theatrical groan. Eighteen years and Daisy had still never tired of her dumb little joke. Still, she had to admit, she did think she looked good all done up in her dress and with her hair all sleek and shiny… but she also couldn't shake the feeling that she was suddenly thirteen again and feeling out-of-place in her own body.
"Daisy, I'm the Champion now - you're supposed to be nice to me," AJ said in a mock-stern tone.
"Oh, but I am, sweetie," she cooed, ignoring her niece's petulant scowl. "You'll thank me for it later. Now. Have you seen my husband? I've been looking for him everywhere."
"I think I saw Uncle Tracey in the backyard, doing some sketches."
Daisy blinked, then frowned.
"Of who? You're in here."
AJ shrugged.
"I don't know… Pokemon?"
With an exaggerated eye-roll, Daisy turned and stalked off, vanishing back into the crowd of strangers and muttering under her breath.
AJ turned back when she felt Brock's hand encase her shoulder.
"I'm gonna go on ahead and say hello to everyone," he said, casually dismissing himself. "But AJ, you really did great out there. I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks, Brock," she replied, feeling a warm glow radiating from somewhere in her navel. She'd been congratulated three-dozen times tonight, but it always sounded different when it came from someone she knew.
"So anyway…" Jade continued once her father's tuxedo-clad back had vanished into the crowd. "Why are you skulking over here alone? Girl, this whole party is for you! You should be living it up! This is your night!"
Her response was to make a kind of 'blargle' noise and let her tongue loll out of her mouth in the least classy way imaginable.
Jade, who was used to her best friend's behavior, merely sighed and shook her head with a look on her face that seemed to ask why she was even trying.
This was easy for her, though. Jade looked great, just like she always did. She was a natural at this sort of thing. Her hair was done up in a multitude of braids, tied back in an elegant tail with multiple blue and green gemstones threaded through it. Her dress was floor length and seafoam green and extended over one shoulder, showing off her dark, beautiful skin.
AJ had never been one for fashion, but Jade looked good without even trying - so when she did try, it was something else altogether. Her friend at least looked the part of the Champion. Wearing pretty dresses just made AJ feel like she was playing pretend.
At her behest, the two young women began slowly advancing through the house. Though Jade turned more than a few heads, most people didn't even seem to notice AJ, which was fine by her. Let Jade be her smokescreen if it meant she didn't have to deal with any more vapid conversations.
As they passed out of the foyer and into the living room proper, where it seemed like the majority of the guests were congregating if they weren't out on the back patio, they crossed in front of her mother's large television that had been turned to one of the various big-name news stations in Kanto. Not surprisingly, they were busy talking about AJ. Kanto having a new Champion for the first time in nearly twenty years was big news, after all. And it seemed like that was nearly all anyone could talk about these days.
AJ didn't mean to listen in. Honestly, she didn't. She wasn't exactly a theatrical person, not like her aunts, so being the center of attention - especially on a national level - was humiliating at best and anxiety-inducing at worst. But it was hard not to turn your head and perk your ears up when a stranger said your name, which is exactly what happened.
She didn't recognize the man on the TV. He had maybe a few years on AJ, with slicked-back dark hair that had been gelled to the point that it was basically armor, wearing a narrow-fitted dark suit that made his pale face seem even paler than it should have. The man looked like he hadn't spent much time outside recently, which made the title that showed up under his face - 'League Analyst' - a dubious claim at best. The man likely hadn't participated in a pokemon battle since he'd stopped traveling at the age of thirteen. If there was one thing in life she couldn't stand, it was these trumped-up armchair battling experts. The kind who'd sit there and scream at people on the internet about how one pokemon was better than another, or how one Champion would clearly win in a hypothetical battle against another. The people who knew nothing were usually the ones screaming the loudest that they knew everything.
"...and I have to be honest," he was saying to the host, "I'm not impressed. And I know I'm not the only one in Kanto right now who shares these doubts.
"I don't know," came the response from one of the hosts, a middle-aged woman with too-blonde hair and a tight blue dress, "I saw that match the other day against Misty - it was impressive! My daughter was beside herself when AJ won! It was a spectacle!"
There was a chorus of indistinct agreements from the other members of the panel, but the League Analyst was already shaking his head disdainfully.
"You mean the fight that she barely won? By accident? And against her own mother, no less - you can't tell me that no part of you thinks she went easy on her because they're related-"
"If that's going easy, I don't want to know what no mercy looks like," one of the older men joked, and the group paused for a round of artificial laughter.
"The point is," the analyst insisted, undeterred, "many in Kanto are questioning the wisdom of allowing a girl so young - a teenager, no less - to become our new Champion. And after watching her battles, seeing her attitude in interviews, many of us are not convinced that she has what it takes. If this is our new Champion - our replacement Ketchum - then it's hard not to look at her and find her wanting. She's barely even a ghost of her father-"
"So where's little Sammy?" Jade asked absently, seemingly not noticing the tv broadcast as her eyes scanning the small crowd of strangers and soaking it all in. She tugged lightly on AJ's arm as though towing her forward, dragging her away from the TV and the repeated accusations and doubts AJ had been receiving from the moment she officially announced she would be challenging the League. "I haven't seen his scrawny little butt in ages. He isn't going to miss this, is he? You can use your new Champion status to order him around, make him get us food."
AJ was grateful for the distraction. Though she'd been doing her best to ignore them, it was hard not to take the insensitive comments of strangers seriously. Especially when every single one of them felt the need to compare her to her father. But she wouldn't dwell on that tonight. Tonight was about celebrating her and her team, and the culmination of her dream, with her family and friends and everyone she loved... Them, and about ten times as many people she didn't know or care about.
There was a large table full of hors d'oeuvres set against the wall that AJ had tried to raid earlier only to be stopped by her mother lest she ruin her makeup. Her stomach rumbled pitifully at the sight, a reminder that she hadn't actually eaten since before lunch.
"I don't know," she replied to Jade's question, stepping up to the table and casting a wary eye about the room to make sure her mother wouldn't see her. A plate of bacon-wrapped water chestnuts caught her eye and her mouth immediately began to salivate. "He's so busy nowadays, he never answers my calls or returns my messages. I saw his parents here earlier, but I don't think he came with them."
Her mom wasn't around. It was now or never.
Utilizing all of her advanced reflexes honed from years of intense pokemon training, AJ snatched up several of the chestnuts by the toothpicks they'd been skewered on and shoved them all into her mouth at once like an energetic Skwovet.
It wasn't real bacon, of course; though some parts of the world did still eat pokemon meat, most places had abandoned the practice altogether. What she was eating was synthetic; basically, meat-flavored tofu that both looked and tasted like actual meat. Or so she'd been told. She'd never actually had real meat before. The thought of killing a Spoink or Tepig for real bacon made her nauseous. Though, admittedly, she'd heard that it was delicious.
Jade, who had opened her mouth to respond, now stood gaping in horror at her friend as she struggled to chew her mouthful of food, occasionally wincing as she bit down on a toothpick.
"Um suhry," she tried to say, not seeing the way Jade winced and stepped back as flecks of food flew from her mouth. "Muhm wuhdn't leh me ead... after Daisy finished my makeup, so…"
"Seriously, how do you never change?"
"I'm just special I guess," AJ teased, snatching up another chestnut only to catch the way Jade's eyes glanced over to the side moments before she felt a hand touch down on her shoulder.
Fear of her mother catching her stuffing her face had her blood turning to ice in her veins, but when she turned around, already pulling a guilty smile and completely oblivious to the smudges of sauce on her face, she found not her mother but her grandmother, Delia, standing behind her.
Delia's tight-lipped smile was a mix of consternation and genuine amusement.
"Your mother sent me to find you," she said, pulling a wet wipe out of her handbag and gently cleaning her granddaughter's cheeks. "She wants us all to gather in the dining room so we can have a toast."
AJ had flushed to her ears in embarrassment over both being caught stuffing her face and having her grandmother clean her up like she was a child. On the one hand, she was annoyed because - hey, Pokemon Champion here! She was a grown woman now! Let her stuff her face and make a mess out of herself if she wants to! But on the other hand, she was immensely grateful that her grandmother had caught her before her mother did. Delia had never seriously gotten mad at AJ before. The sweet older woman simply didn't have it in her.
"Thanks, Grandma," AJ mumbled, half mortified, half trying not to laugh. "Um… would you mind-?"
"It'll be our little secret," she replied, taking the half-chewed toothpicks out of AJ's hand and wrapping them up in the wet wipe. "I'll dispose of the evidence. You two head along now. And Jade, darling, you look beautiful as always!"
"I love Grandma Delia," Jade announced as she took AJ by the arm and the two made their way into the dining room. "I need one of my own."
"Well, I'm not selling, but I suppose we can share."
Word must have gotten out about her mother's soon-to-be toast because the dining room was filling up fast. AJ and Jade parked themselves by the wall nearest the kitchen, and AJ did her best to enjoy her last few minutes of relative anonymity. Most of the strangers at the party hadn't recognized her because of how different she looked now that she was all dressed up, but once her mother gave her toast and showed her off, that would be over. At least she'd managed to sneak a few snacks in the meantime.
A woman passed by with a tray of champagne glasses, and AJ hurriedly snatched two of them up, passing one over to Jade. If necessary, she could hide behind it.
...Ok, no, she couldn't, but sometimes holding something in front of her face made her feel less self-conscious.
Most of the faces she saw filing in around her meant nothing to her, but there were a few familiar sights. Violet was nearby, chatting up a retired Lieutenant Surge. Lorelai, whose place AJ's mother had taken on the Elite Four and who now ran an aquatic wildlife reserve on the Orange Islands, was in a deep discussion with Erika, getting on in years but still the graceful gym leader of Celadon City.
Just across from her she recognized Professor Oak senior, who appeared to be asleep in a chair sitting against the opposite wall. Professor Gary Oak stood beside him, and when she caught his eye he sent her his friendliest smirk. His wife Leaf was at his side, and she shot a bright smile and a wink her way. Really, where was Sammy? What was so important that he couldn't make it tonight?
She was considering going over and asking when the crowd began to part near the edge of the room and her mother appeared, making her way hurriedly over to the center so everyone could see her.
With the ringing sound of a spoon tapping a champagne flute, all eyes in the room immediately turned to Misty.
"Thank you all for coming," she began once the dull roar of conversation had quietened to a soft murmur. AJ hid her smile behind her champagne glass; the warble in her mother's voice took away some of the strangeness of being at a black-tie party held especially for her. You'd think that being a gym leader and Elite Four member for years would have curbed her mother's stage fright, but there was just something about public speaking…
She could dress up like a mermaid and dance underwater for thousands of people without batting an eye, but ask her to give a speech, and all of a sudden, she was a tongue-tied ten-year-old.
Not that AJ was any different.
"Before we dig in, I would like to give a toast," her mom continued, letting her gaze slowly sweep the room, taking in everyone there, "to my beautiful daughter and Kanto's newest Champion, Ashlynn Ketchum!"
The room let out a raucous cheer and AJ felt her cheeks burn red. There she was, completely surrounded by her friends and family - and a whole bunch of strangers - celebrating the accomplishment of her life-long dream. This might just be the happiest moment of her life, and though she wasn't an overly sentimental person, she couldn't help but bask in the ever-expanding bubble of warmth and love that she felt for almost every person in the room. Well, the ones she knew at least.
Eight long years of dreaming and struggling and training and fighting… Eight years of putting it all on the line, and now finally, she was here. She had arrived. This was her moment.
"I was blessed to have a… unique viewpoint of AJ's journey," Misty continued once the cheers had died down a bit. "On the one hand, as her mother, it's been such an amazing experience, watching as my little girl has grown up to take the spot of the most powerful trainer in Kanto."
Here, there was another round of cheers, and Leaf Oak let out a loud 'whoop!' that left most of the room laughing.
"But I'm also a member of Kanto's Elite Four. Having the chance to face off against my daughter as she fought for her place, getting to witness directly the bond she shares with her pokemon and the results of all of her hard years of struggle and training… has been an experience that I will never forget.
"I am so, so proud of you, AJ…"
The applause continued, mixed with several awws, and in spite of herself, AJ could feel a few tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Jade already had them streaming down her cheeks, to say nothing of her mom, or her aunts, or Grandma Delia, or especially Brock, who was sobbing openly into his napkin.
And you know what? So what if she cried. So what if everyone saw her do it. This was the happiest she'd ever been and nothing could bring her down now.
"…and I know your father would have been so proud of you, too."
It was like she'd been punched in the gut by a Hitmonchan.
The smile on her face turned sickly and began to slowly slide off of her face.
Oh no. Oh, please no. Not this. Not again. Not now.
"I see so much of him in you," her mom continued, half-addressing AJ, half-addressing the crowd, and AJ turned away, feeling all of the joy and love that had been welling up inside of her leaking out like air from a balloon. "Watching you battle against Lance in the finals brought back so many memories…"
The crowd was nodding along, smiling wistfully, hanging on Misty's every word as she took them all back in time to memories of the man they used to know, the friend they had all shared.
The stranger AJ had never met.
Something black and angry was beginning to pool in the pit of AJ's stomach. Almost every face in the crowd was staring at her mother, but she could feel Jade's eyes on her, sense the pity in them even though she wasn't looking.
Why did this always happen? This was her night! Her victory! Her moment!
This had nothing to do with him!
Perhaps it was because she'd allowed herself to be lulled into a state of emotional vulnerability. Perhaps it was because this night was the culmination of years of hard work and it was being stolen from her by the man she hated most. Whatever it was, though she knew she shouldn't, she was suddenly gripped by an unbearable need to leave. To run. To escape and just be… somewhere else. Anywhere else. Anywhere where she wouldn't hear the sound of his name.
Setting her glass down on a nearby table, AJ turned and left the room. Jade made a quiet noise of surprise, but she ignored her. A few people shot her curious, concerned looks, but she paid them no mind. She needed to be out, now, before someone tried to stop her, before someone got her to open her mouth and she said… things she shouldn't say.
A face caught her eye just before she slipped out of the room. Her aunt Daisy. Her expression betrayed her concern, but she said nothing and AJ made no move to communicate with her. A moment later, she was out the door.
She didn't stop there. Legs moving faster with every step, she crossed the hall and entered the kitchen.
There was no one around. Everyone was in the dining room to hear her mother's speech. She could still hear the buzz of conversation in the other room, but it was mostly obscured by solid walls and the droning of their kitchen appliances.
Crossing the floor, AJ approached the kitchen sink and let her palms lay flat against the cold metal. Her heartbeat was erratic in her chest. She needed to calm down. She needed to… to relax. To just breathe.
She should have expected this. She should have seen this coming, should have prepared herself, steeled her heart against it. Of course they were going to make this about him. It was always about him. Why should she have expected any different? Had she honestly thought things were finally going to change? Was she really so naïve?
Too soon, the door was being pushed open behind her.
"AJ?" came her mother's voice, questioning, confused. "What are you doing, hiding in the kitchen?"
"Nothing," she said a little too quickly, keeping her eyes glued to her warped reflection in the sink, already regretting her tone but knowing it was too late to reign it in. "I'm fine, mom. Just go back to the party."
"Sweetie," her mother pressed, adopting that 'concerned mother' tone that for some reason only seemed to irritate her further. "What is it?
"I said it's nothing!" Her voice was louder now, though she hadn't meant it to be. Her control was rapidly slipping. "I just… I need a second to-"
"Ashlynn," her mother murmured, and here, something inside of her finally snapped, "you can talk to me-"
"Don't call me that!" AJ shouted, turning around and slashing her arm violently through the air like she was warding away a Beedrill.
Her mom took a step back, looking confused and alarmed.
"Don't call you what? Your name?"
"N-no, I… I just…!"
She was flagging. The anger and injustice were seething around inside of her, tangling and warping and confusing, and she couldn't get her tongue to obey for long enough to finally express to her mother exactly why she'd taken to being called AJ rather than Ashlynn so very long ago.
"AJ," her mom tried again, trying her best to sound patient, though there was a definite note of 'remember-we-have-guests-over'-flavored warning in her tone, "I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong."
AJ stood rooted to the spot, the skirts of her too-nice dress clenched in her fists in a futile attempt to stop her shaking. She shouldn't say it. She shouldn't. She'd been holding it back all this time, for so long, for so long… She can't let it out here, not now, not when so many people were here and her mother had worked so hard and they were supposed to be so happy…
"Why…?" she whispered, rasping, every cell in her brain pleading with her to stop. "Why, every time… No matter what I do… Why do you always have to make it about him?"
The moment she said the word, it was as if a lifetime of unvoiced thoughts and hidden pains swelled to life before her, expanding in density to fill the space between the kitchen appliances, her mother, and her. The fluorescent lights shimmering across the folds of her gown seemed garish and false.
"What…" Her mother stopped to swallow before trying again, her voice once again shaking like she was giving another speech. "What are you saying?"
The vulnerability in her mother's tone should have been her final warning, her sign that she was pushing too far, that there are words that shouldn't be said. But she'd finally taken that leap and was even now tumbling down the metaphorical hillside, unable to stop her rapidly-growing momentum.
"You know what I mean," she scoffed, feeling her voice begin to tighten and her eyes begin to blaze. "Everything… Everything I do, everything I accomplish, no matter what it is, somebody, always, finds some way to compare it to- to Ash!"
"A-AJ," Misty tried to cut in, taking a half-step forward and raising her hand as though to reach out and touch her daughter, "that's not… we're not trying to… to belittle your accomplishments, we just see so much of your father in you-"
"He's not my father!" AJ exploded furiously, feeling a sick sort of vindication wash over her at having finally said it, ignoring the flash of hurt that flickered across her mother's face. "He's never been my father! Never, not once in my entire life! He was gone before I was ever born!"
"That's not fair," her mother said stiffly, her voice hollow and small. "You don't know… We don't know-"
"No, we don't!" AJ interrupted, her voice startlingly savage, "Because he was gone before anyone could ask! He ran before I ever had the chance! So stop trying so hard to make me into him!"
"No one is trying… AJ, no one ever-!"
There was a disturbance at the door, as though someone had tried to enter the kitchen only to be stopped by another person. Misty jumped as though only just now remembering that she was throwing a party in her house for a group of strangers who could all probably hear her daughter shouting, but AJ was too far gone now to care about her or her mother's reputation. The dam had finally burst and she was going to say what she'd been wanting to say for years.
"Oh, so you're saying that Professor Oak giving me a Pichu as my starter was just random happenstance?"
"AJ, please, he… He was just feeling sentimental-!"
"I challenged the League younger than he did! I won the title of Champion before he did! But no matter what I do, what contests I win, nobody seems to care! All they ever talk about is him! Why am I never good enough?!"
The tears in her mother's eyes probably should have elicited some sort of effect on her, but she was seeing red. All she could hear in her ears were the constant, repeated comments made by the guests at the party tonight, the news anchors and journalists over the past week, and anyone else who cared to talk about her recent victory – and how it compared to Ash Ketchum's nearly twenty years before.
"I hate him," she rasped, glaring daggers at her mother as if all of this was somehow her fault. "I hate everything about him. I hate living under his stupid shadow, and I hate how everyone feels the need to compare me to him. I am not Ash Ketchum! I'm not some selfish, deadbeat loser who abandoned his family to run off like a coward and die-!"
AJ's tirade came to a stop with a resounding slap as her mother struck her across the face.
A split-second later, the kitchen door opened and Aunt Daisy was there, sliding in between them, taking Misty by the arms and pulling her away.
"Stop it, both of you," she said, voice quiet yet firm. "This is not the time or the place."
AJ stood completely still, her face still turned away by the force of the slap. Her cheek stung and her eyes prickled with tears.
"I think you should take a walk, AJ," Daisy continued, dismissing her niece from the kitchen.
She didn't need to be told twice. Without a backward glance, she left her mother behind, heading towards the back entrance to the kitchen, away from the now-quiet party and towards the distant staircase that would lead up to the second story and her bedroom.
Outside the door, she came to an abrupt stop.
Delia Ketchum, her grandmother, was standing just outside the door. Her face was turned away, towards the wall. AJ's first thought was that she'd been eavesdropping, but knowing her grandma, she'd probably come there as soon as the fight had started to keep others away, to try and give them some privacy.
With a sickening sensation, she realized she must have heard every word she said.
AJ took a slow, shuddering breath, then ran, leaving her mother's quiet sobs and her grandmother's hurt behind her.
Within moments, she was up the stairs and back in her room. With a noise that could have been a grunt or a groan or a wail, she belly-flopped onto her mattress, feeling her hate and guilt coil up within her like an insidious Seviper.
Her mother had hit her. She had never…! But then, AJ had definitely gone too far… It had felt so good at the time to finally get it off her chest, but even though she absolutely loathed whenever people compared her to the man who had abandoned her, and even though she'd been yearning to finally confess all of that to her mother… The way she'd done it, the way she'd attacked her... it hadn't been right.
It wasn't her mom's fault that her father had abandoned her - had abandoned them. It wasn't her fault that he was famous and everyone everywhere knew his name. It wasn't her fault that she'd pursued the title of Champion largely to prove to herself that she was better than him and that people would obviously want to talk about their similarities once she'd finally done so.
She knew they never meant any harm whenever the comparisons came up. It was a completely normal thing to do, especially for their friends and family. But to AJ, there was no greater insult than to say she was anything like him.
Why would she ever want to be compared to the man who hadn't even wanted her?
There was a quiet knock at the door. For a horrifying moment, she thought that Daisy or Grandma Delia had come up to speak with her. Or worse, her mother. She couldn't face them right now. She couldn't face anyone.
Anyone other than the person who actually opened the door without waiting for a response.
Jade took one look at her best friend lying face-first on the bed and let out a quiet sigh.
"Girl, you really screwed up this time."
AJ moaned but didn't answer.
Closing the door with a soft thud, Jade made her way across the room and sat down beside her, reaching out and gently stroking her hair.
After a moment, she spoke.
"Do you feel better now that you told your mom how you really feel?"
AJ shook her head.
"Do I need to tell you that you definitely need to apologize to her and your grandma?"
AJ shook her head again.
"Good. Then I won't have to chew you out. But wow, talk about crashing your own party…"
In spite of the situation, AJ let out a hoarse chuckle.
"This is the worst night of my life," AJ mumbled, mouth full of her comforter.
Jade snorted.
"I mean, it's pretty high up there… but I still think that time you challenged Sammy to one of those Contests back in Slateport was worse. Remember how you got food poisoning after taste-testing your own weird pokeblock creation but insisted on being in the Contest anyway? So you were up on stage, on live TV, trying to do that Alolan dance with Pichu, and you held up that hoop for him to jump through, and instead you projectile vomited through the-"
"Ok!" AJ cried, rolling onto her side so she could shove her hand over Jade's mouth and make her stop. "OK! I get it! I remember! There's no need to keep talking!"
They struggled for a moment on the bed, fake-wrestling as Jade tried to force AJ off of her until finally her friend seized her pillow and smacked her upside the head with it, leaving AJ down for the count.
"So?" Jade asked after a moment, panting slightly. "Feeling better?"
"No," AJ mumbled morosely from beneath her pillow. "I screwed things up big time."
"Yeah, but I mean, that's pretty normal for you."
Jade squawked as AJ's pillow struck her in the face.
Beneath the sound of Jade's furious indignation, a sharp crack split the air.
Both girls went still, looking around the room in confusion.
A moment later the crack came again, only this time, now that they were quiet, they could tell it was coming from the outer wall.
"What in the world…?" Jade began, only to cut off by a third crack.
Someone was throwing rocks at her window.
"Who is it?"
"How am I supposed to know?!"
"Go look!"
"Me?! It's your window, you go look!"
"Jaaade, pleeeease?"
Jade let out a groan and slowly pushed herself to her feet.
"I swear, if it's some kind of murderer or… or crazy reporter…"
She picked up AJ's desk lamp and held it up like a club. AJ had to bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing. They were on the second floor, what was she going to do with that lamp?
"I'm pretty sure security would have prevented any of those people from making it this close," she offered up wryly from her place of safety on the bed.
"Then who's outside throwing rocks at your window?"
Well, she had her there.
Mustering up her courage, Jade made it to the window and drew open the blinds in one quick, dramatic moment.
Nothing happened.
Hesitant, Jade leaned forward and pressed her face against the glass. Almost immediately, another rock hit the window and she leaped back with a horrified squeak.
"Oh, Arceus-!" her best friend cursed, flipping the window latch and throwing the glass partition open. "Sammy?! What is wrong with you?!"
"Sammy's here?" AJ asked, immediately perking up.
Jade didn't answer, instead leaning further out the window with her head tilted to the side as though struggling to hear.
"What? What?! No, you- Will you just shut up and get up here already? It's cold, and I don't want to fall out the-!"
In a flash of light, Sammy Oak and his Gallade materialized in the bedroom, causing Jade to jump in surprise and hit her head on the edge of the window.
"Sorry I'm late," Sammy offered with a crooked smile as he took in the two girls in one sweeping glance, "but I saw the lights on in your room and figured-"
AJ was already up and throwing her arms around him, and he returned her embrace with a one-armed hug of his own and a warm chuckle.
"Well hey now, somebody cleans up nice."
"Stealing my lines," Jade grumbled, rubbing her head as she shut the window and the blinds behind her. "Same old Sammy Oak. And did you have to do the whole cliché window-rock thing? Why didn't you just have Gallade teleport you up earlier?"
AJ stepped away and sat back down on the corner of her bed, allowing Jade a turn to hug their friend.
"Well, I would've," he replied, patting the taller girl lightly on the back, "but Gallade refused to let me teleport into a woman's room uninvited."
"At least one of you is a gentleman," Jade said, winking at Sammy's pokemon over his trainer's shoulder.
Gallade offered the two females a curt, formal bow before Sammy returned him to his ball.
Sammy looked good. He hadn't exactly dressed up for the party, but his casual slacks and button-up shirt and jacket - pretty normal attire for him, actually - still sort of fit in with the dress code for the evening. At least, it did more than AJ's regular clothes. His sandy brown hair was windswept and a little out of place, but his green eyes, freckled face, and crooked smile were the same as ever.
It had been a while since she'd seen him. He'd been caught up in some sort of inter-lab project between his father and Professor Elm in Johto, so he missed the tournament, and while he'd sent her messages to congratulate her, this was the first time she was seeing or hearing his voice in months.
It was weird to think that the three of them used to travel together on their journeys, spending every day together, but now rarely got to see each other because their personal lives kept getting in the way. Weird, and more than a little depressing.
"So what's up?" Sammy asked, leaning back against the desk. "Ditching your own party? I mean I can't say I'm surprised, but…"
His eyes locked on AJ's and suddenly narrowed.
"What's wrong? Why do you look… like this?"
He made a sweeping gesture with his hands that took in all of her, and Jade reached out and smacked him across the head.
"Hey! Tact! That is not how you talk to your best friends!"
"Yeah, yeah, sorry, whatever," he shot back, fending Jade off and stepping further away from her. "I just figured you'd look happier tonight, y'know, considering."
"I had a fight with my mom earlier," AJ replied, turning away so she could stare down at her carpet in shame.
"A loud fight," Jade offered. "A very loud, very public fight. About her dad."
Sammy let out a low whistle while AJ flopped pathetically back onto her bed.
"Wow, what spurred that on?"
"Her mom's victory speech turned into another 'how much we miss your dad' speech."
"Oof."
"Guys, can we, like… not talk about this? I feel bad enough as it is."
Jade shrugged as though to acquiesce, but Sammy fixed her with one of his quiet, calculating looks.
"Actually…" he said softly, "this might be the best time to talk about this."
She shot him a cold look as though daring him to press the issue, and he smirked, delighted as always to rise to the challenge.
"I've spent the past few weeks in Johto, doing a joint-study with Elm's lab," Sammy began, casually dropping down into AJ's computer chair and kicking his feet up on her bed, letting his dirty shoes rest on her bedspread. AJ promptly shoved them off with a disgusted look. "And while I was there, I became decently well acquainted with Johto's new Champion."
'New' was a bit of an exaggeration. Ethan, first-ever Champion of the newly splintered Johto League, had defeated Lance and claimed his title three years ago, after which it was decided that the Indigo League would be finally split in two, with a proper Champion presiding over each country. The Indigo League continued as one singular entity, to promote unity and preserve history, but it now had two separate branches; Kanto and Johto.
She'd met Ethan briefly following her victory over Lance, as Johto's Champion obviously had front-row seats to the match. He was just a few years older than her, with bright golden eyes and a winning smile, but in the whirlwind following her win, they barely had time to do more than shake each other's hands and pose for some photos before she was whisked away for more interviews. He'd been invited to the party but hadn't RSVP'd, according to her aunts.
"And you're telling us this… because?"
"Well, while we were talking one day about the migratory patterns of indigenous birds in some of the lesser-trafficked parts of the country," Jade let out a dull groan which he affected not to notice, "he happened to share with me a very interesting story about an unusual encounter he had up in the mountains shortly after winning his title."
There was a drawn-out pause as Sammy leaned back in the chair, gently swiveling back-and-forth with his knees so he could see his two friends, both girls waiting in silence for him to get to the point.
"…And?" AJ finally prompted, knowing this would go on forever if they allowed it, and Sammy flashed her another cheeky grin. Both girls rolled their eyes. He could be so annoying sometimes.
"According to Ethan, he'd been bumming around the area of Mt. Silver – you know, the mountain range League Officials have restricted access to-"
"Yeah, because the whole area is prone to avalanches and is an endangered pokemon habitat," Jade cut in from her seat on the floor. "It's one of the last places in the world where Tyranitar can be found in the wild. Dad donates to the Wildlife Preservation Fund for Rock-and-Ground-types. What on earth was Ethan doing out there?"
"Apparently, Champions are exempt to the restriction," Sammy explained hastily, clearly not enjoying how Jade had derailed his story. "He said he was looking for a break before his League duties started, and where better than an uninhabited mountain range where nobody could bother him?"
Actually, that sounded pretty good to AJ. An escape from the press, from the pictures and interviews and spotlights. Just a place to be alone in the wild again like when she was just a regular trainer… The buzz from the party downstairs reached out to her again and she shuddered. She could feel whatever need had pulled Ethan there tugging at her right now.
"Anyway, that's not important. What matters is what Ethan says he saw."
AJ felt her curiosity pique, and even Jade sat up a little straighter. For Sammy to be this intent on telling the story, it had to be something good. And considering Sammy, she doubted it would be anything less than a legendary pokemon sighting.
Realizing he had both girls' undivided attention, Sammy straightened up in his seat.
"He says he got turned around in the caves for a bit and couldn't remember where he came from. He eventually managed to make it back out, only to come face to face with a man."
AJ blinked. A man? Not a legendary pokemon? But then… what? Who else would be there in the middle of nowhere? Poachers?
"He was in his late thirties to mid-forties, and according to Ethan, he never said a word. Just pulled a pokeball from his belt and challenged him to a battle. And Ethan lost."
Jade let out a hollow whistle. Or tried to; it sounded more like she was trying to blow out a candle. She couldn't whistle to save her life.
"He lost?" AJ repeated incredulously. Sure, Ethan was one of the newer Champions, but he was still a Champion. He'd nearly managed to beat Cynthia at last year's charity inter-league tournament. For him to have lost, and to some random old man in the mountains…
All at once, AJ felt her blood begin to rush in her veins. She could admit that part of her mood stemmed from a generalized despondency that had begun to manifest over the last few days. It had come on rather suddenly after she'd realized she'd finally made it to the top. And now that she had… where was there to go? Outside of charity matches with other Champions and the odd challenger who made it past the Elite 4, what else was there for her to try her strength against?
But if some random old hiker could take down Ethan, then… maybe there was more out there. Maybe there were still more challenges to find, more peaks to climb…
"But that isn't even the most interesting part," Sammy continued, bringing AJ back to earth. His eyes were locked on hers, glittering in that way they did whenever he knew something she didn't. She didn't have to press him, however; this was clearly something he was eager to share.
"Ethan never found out who the man was; he was forced to retreat back down the mountain to get his party checked out, and the one time he went back, he was never able to find him again. However, he said the trainer was insanely strong, and that he wore a blue and white hat… and he carried a Pikachu on his shoulder."
There was a pause as the full impact of Sammy's words reverberated around the room. Unbidden, AJ's eyes drifted over towards the picture of her and her grandmother Delia hanging on the wall over Pichu's tiny bed.
Slowly, she let herself flop backward on her bedspread again, staring at the ceiling. All at once, the flash of excitement that had been sparked by Sammy's story had been sucked away into the black hole that seemed to pop up whenever her father was mentioned. Was there really nothing she could do to get away from him?
Jade broke the silence with a sharp scoff.
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're buying this."
The chair creaked as Sammy shrugged, but AJ didn't respond. The ceiling fan over her bed was spinning in lethargic circles.
"AJ, come on – people claim to see your dad all the time. He's basically a legendary pokemon himself. They're just dumb stories someone made up, don't let it get to you. And you!"
Here, she turned her attention to Sammy, and her tone went from consoling to hostile like the crack of a whip.
"You should know better than to come here and mention stuff like that! Especially now of all times!"
"No, I think now is the perfect time to bring this up," Sammy interjected, and AJ tilted her head so she could see him better.
He was sitting forward in his seat now, gaze fixated firmly upon her, but the usual cocky gleam in his eyes was gone, replaced with something earnest and… desperate.
"AJ… How much longer do you have before Lance officially steps down and you take over? A couple weeks? A month?"
She shrugged noncommittally, and he nodded.
"Exactly. In the blink of an eye, your life as you know it will be over. You finally made it, and that's awesome, but… it occurred to me that our adventures together are… Well, they're over now."
There was a heavy pause, and AJ felt her fingers tangle up in the bedspread below her.
"Sam," Jade cut in gently, "why are you bringing this up now? Our adventures have been over for a long time. I've been back at dad's gym, you've been learning the ropes from Professor Oak. Only AJ has kept on, and she's finally made it to the top. Why are you making this into something sad?"
"Because it is, in a way," he said, briefly turning to look at Jade before returning his gaze to meet AJ's. "I know our little team split up years ago, but once AJ takes over, we won't ever be able to head out together again. We won't just be trainers. We'll be AJ the Champion of Kanto and her friends, the next Professor Oak and the future Gym Leader of Pewter City –"
"More like future Elite Four member once I knock Bruno's sweatpants off-"
"-and I just… I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
His admission was so out of character, so unlike Sammy Oak to ever say, even to his best friends, and yet… she felt the truth of it echo inside of her.
All she had ever wanted was to be the Champion, but now that she was there, she wasn't ready for the journey to be over. They had grown up, all of them, but now that their dreams were finally being achieved, she found that all she wanted was to go back in time and be young, wide-eyed kids again. To travel the road with her best friends at her side and the promise of boundless adventure on the horizon.
When Jade made no move to interrupt again, Sammy scooted his chair closer to the bed and reached out to touch AJ's leg.
"Look… I'm sorry I mentioned your dad, but honestly, who cares about that. I didn't come here to tell you about some hobo in the mountains, I came here because Ethan's story reminded me that we still have time. We still have a chance. Now, before Lance officially steps down. I don't actually think we'll find your dad. Honestly, I think the man's been dead for twenty years, but who cares? What better excuse are we going to find? Let's go. You, me, and Jade. One last adventure."
Something inside of her was growing. Something small and warm and bright.
Adventure. Her friends. One last journey, before the pressures and responsibilities of being Kanto's Champion took over her life.
It sounded too good to be true. It sounded impossible.
But then, since when had the impossible ever been enough to stop her?
"Yeah…" she whispered softly, and Sammy's eyes seemed to light up with her growing smile. "Yeah! Let's go! I'm Champion now – I'm sure Ethan can convince the Johto League to grant us access!"
"Wait, what? Seriously?" Jade asked, flabbergasted, as AJ suddenly righted herself and hopped off her bed. "We're just gonna run off to Johto on a whim?"
"Why not?" she laughed, snatching her bag from her desk and her hat from her dresser. "It's not like we have anything better to do."
"Oh sure, none of us have lives or responsibilities or-! Wait, what are you doing?"
AJ paused in the act of opening her bedroom window and turned to shoot her friends a quizzical look.
"What does it look like? I'm leaving."
"Now?!" Jade blanched, and even Sammy looked taken aback.
To be fair, she was almost certainly rushing things, but the buzz from the party below could still be heard, and the thought of going back downstairs to face her mother again made her insides feel like they were full of cement. People were certainly talking about her and how unprofessional and immature she'd seemed; how ill-fit she was to be the Champion. She didn't want to face them now. She wanted to run away and just be a trainer again.
AJ met her two friends' stunned faces with a shrug.
"You losers coming or not?"
Sammy was the first to break, letting out a short bark of laughter before turning to Jade with a defeated sigh.
"I guess I have only myself to blame for this, but… Well, it's nice to know some things never change. You coming, Harrison? Or does AJ have to drag you along like she did all those years ago?"
"Watch it, Oak," Jade snarled, pointing one manicured finger dangerously close to his face. "Of course I'm coming. But nobody's going anywhere until AJ gets changed. She can't go stomping around the mountains wearing that."
AJ looked down at her dress and grimaced. Oh, that's right… She'd forgotten she was wearing it.
"We'll take the front door," Jade said, snatching Sammy's arm and dragging him across the room. "We'll meet you outside when you're ready."
"Al- ow! Alright! Jade, chill! Let go of my arm!"
"You and I need to have a very serious talk," she heard Jade snarl before her door closed behind her two best friends.
Maybe this was crazy. Maybe spur-of-the-moment decisions made while you're emotional and scared aren't the wisest, especially when they involve sneaking out and fleeing to another country without telling your mother. But the promise of traipsing around the wilderness with her two best friends again before life caught up to her was too sweet to ignore, so she shoved her doubts and misgivings away, buried beneath her excitement and sudden influx of energy.
She left her mom a note before slipping out the window and into the night. She may still be mad at her, but she didn't want her to think she was kidnapped. She promised to be back in a month, and while she was sure that conversation was not going to go well, hopefully some time spent with her friends would be enough to cool her off.
And hey. If the rumors were somehow magically true and she did run into her father… Well, beating his pasty face into the dirt would go a long way towards making her feel better.