Chapter 6: Royal Visit & Surveillance
The carriage came to Touya's mansion as everyone there heard the oncoming visitors. It wasn't long ago that Touya used Gate to send Yumina and Sue to see their parents, then the mansion learning that Ash had magic of all six attributes like Touya: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Light and Darkness. Sadly, Pikachu had no luck with any of the attributes. He did recognize the carriage coming. ("That's the same wagon!") he squeaked. Ash and Touya turned to the Mouse Pokémon.
"Did you say something Pikachu?" wondered Ash. The horses slowed down before the others from the household emerged.
"I think he's seen the carriage before," Touya believed. "It is from the Belfast Kingdom." The carriage stopped. Opening the door, Renne allowed those inside to disembark. Ellen, Alfred, Sue and Yumina came out. "The Ortlinde family with the Belfast family. I didn't expect you to return so soon."
"I know, but our mothers couldn't wait to see Ash and Pikachu," Yumina giggled. Suddenly, a grown gold-haired man with a full beard connected to his mustache emerged wearing a red cape over a black shirt and tan trousers. He turned back to inside.
"Will you be okay, dear?" he asked. Yuel soon stepped forward to have her hand held out while she stepped down from the carriage.
"Are they the royal family?" questioned Ash.
"Yep," Touya confirmed. "The two who are leaving the carriage are King Tristwin and his wife, Queen Yuel. They rule over the Kingdom of Belfast and are Yumina's parents." Ash and Pikachu gasped to the detail. After stepping off, Yuel gingerly walked to Ash, Touya and Pikachu.
"Master Touya, we heard such news about your newest additions to your mansion," Alfred voiced as he and Ellen were ahead of Tristwin and Yuel. "And one… my daughter has spoken highly about."
"So much so, you couldn't wait until we were ready, Duke?" teased Touya. Alfred scoffed with a smile before Ellen cooed and hugged Pikachu after plucking him from Ash's shoulder.
"Aren't you adorable!" she cheered. "Oh my goodness, how I wish I want one to snuggle with!" Pikachu cooed while being embraced. Tristwin and Yuel finally arrived to see the group.
"Aunt Ellen has already admired Pikachu," Yumina giggled. Yuel shared a small laugh while her hand laid just below her lips.
"Well, she has been more or less someone who couldn't hold herself to some cuteness," she mentioned. Ellen held Pikachu out to get a better look at him.
"Your name is Pikachu, huh?" she repeated. Pikachu confirmed with a couple of squeaks.
"Perhaps coming by was a good decision on my part as well," Tristwin chuckled.
"Oh, you wanted to stay at the castle, your majesty?" guessed Touya.
"I didn't think it was a big enough deal after my daughter and niece bragged about it so much," Alfred added. "Staying by my brother and playing Shogi was a thought."
"Right?" laughed Touya. Tristwin turned to Ash.
"So, is this your new addition?" he asked. "I mean, with all of the young women you've housed in your mansion, it seems peculiar that you'd have a young man join your brood."
"I wouldn't go there, your highness," Touya shyly denied. "This is Ash Ketchum. He and his Pokémon were misplaced after a freak accident." Ash knelt to address the king and duke.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesties," he said. Tristwin and Alfred giggled to Ash's gesture.
"Bowing down as a greeting to us is not necessary," Alfred dismissed. Ash blinked to the reply, yet he stood up.
"Sorry, it's the first time I've met royalty before my Pokémon and I got misplaced," he apologized. Tristwin laughed a little while he rested his hand on Ash's shoulder.
"An apology is also unnecessary," he excused. "Knowing that you're with Master Touya, I'm sure that you're in good hands." Ash nodded as Ellen saw Ash.
"You're Ash, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ash replied. Ellen quickly hugged him with a giggle.
"You're just as cute as Pikachu!" she cooed as Yuel came over with Pikachu in her arms. "And you're so handsome! It's no wonder my princess has fallen for you!" She slightly pushed apart. "I might be in the same boat, if only as a motherly figure." She gave Ash a kiss on the forehead. Ash's cheeks became red. The twins and Pikachu giggled to the sight.
"You look like someone who hasn't been blessed by royalty before," Elze teased. Ash shyly giggled. Linze came to Yuel, knowing of her pregnancy.
"Do you need help, your highness?" she asked.
"It is much appreciated," Yuel praised. Linze, Yae and Renne helped escort Yuel inside.
"Is that what someone looks like when they're expecting a baby?" wondered Ash.
"Pretty much," Elze shrugged. "Let's get them to see your Pokémon." Ash agreed before following everyone else who entered. However, they were viewed from afar.
"So, the twerp and Pikachu are inside that mansion?" awed Jessie. Team Rocket watched from a rooftop with a clear view of Touya's mansion using binoculars. Jessie growled to the sight of Ash and Pikachu. being inside the life of luxury. "Just our luck that he has a giant mansion to stay in while we happen to be slaving off on scraps!"
"Uh, Jessie?" voiced Meowth. "Dat means if we da live da high life, so do dey! Ya should watch whatcha say at times!" James found a problem with Meowth's statement.
"How can you watch your own Meowth when it's directly underneath your eyes?" he questioned. Meowth gawked to the reply as Linze and Renne stepped out to discuss something.
"What he means is that something I say can have a huge impact, mostly negative," Jessie clarified. "Still, it almost takes us back to before Togepi was born."
"Right, Jimmy Boy's own mansion," Meowth recalled. "And dat Jessie lookalike, Jessiebelle." James gawked and angrily stared at Meowth.
"I want that all erased from my past!" he stammered as they looked back to the mansion.
"Anyway, seeing who's there," Jessie studied. "The twerp's got some company of twerpettes. I've seen a good score of them, including the one with wings holding a plush Teddiursa."
"They're all so much younger than you and me, Jessie," James compared. Suddenly, they heard drops and blinked. They turned to Meowth who appeared to be drooling. "Meowth?" Suddenly…
"SHE'S PURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-fect!" he greatly shrilled. Jessie and James looked confused.
"Meowth, are you serious?" asked Jessie. Meowth didn't hear Jessie.
"I would ratha be her Meowth dan attack da otha twoipettes…" swooned Meowth. James hoisted Meowth and shook him.
"Meowth, get a hold of yourself!" he scorned. "This isn't like you!"
"We don't need a deserter!" added Jessie. "You're Team Rocket! We need toy to help out!" Meowth snapped awake.
"Ya're right!" he realized. "We need ta break in and get Pikachu to da boss!" However, he soon became swooned again. "But let Meowth stay by dat one white-haired Meowsie." Deadpan faces painted Jessie and James.
"This was the same reaction he had with that one Paras trainer," James judged.
"I nearly forgot about that medicine nurse," she remarked. James looked through the binoculars again to find Renne leaving Linze but Elze joining her sister.
"Um, which one?" he questioned. "I see two of them." Jessie and Meowth looked to James before looking back through their binoculars. Seeing the twins, Meowth gawked.
"Oh, I'm guessing she's a twin," he believed. "It's da shorter hair, wit dat tiara." Jessie and James spotted Linze and knew who Meowth had fallen for.
"Oh, I see," James figured. "That's who you got your heart on." Jessie scoffed to who Meowth wanted.
"Please…" she dismissed. "She's just a teeny-bopper."
"Like youse once was?" taunted Meowth.
"It takes a lot of work to get a body like this!" argued Jessie.
"It also takes a lot of work to build our contraptions, but I don't see you putting in half of it!" argued James.
"I put it work when I need to!" she snapped. "And on a sidenote, doesn't this remind you of your life before Team Rocket?" James realized a moment of his past when a girl who looked like Jessie emerged in his head, only her hair had curly pigtails, a dress and strappy red heels.
"Oh, James…" she flirted. James gawked before shaking his head.
"Don't remind me of Jessiebelle!" he yelled. Inside, Ash released his Pokémon. Adoring the size, Ellen hoisted Cyndaquil into her arms.
"You're just as adorable as Pikachu!" she cooed. Cyndaquil awed and smiled. Tristwin allowed Noctowl on his arm.
"Not often am I fortunate enough to have a bird perch on my arm," he remarked as Alfred petted Phanpy.
"Same could be said about this baby elephant," he returned. Bayleef and Totodile were by Yuel and Pikachu. Yuel sat on a chair as Pikachu palmed her stomach, the baby bump shown.
"It seems all of you are interested in the new baby that I'll deliver soon," she believed. Ash came by with Yumina.
"Forgive me, Queen Yuel," Ash apologized. "It's the first time I've seen someone pregnant." The Pokémon seemed a little puzzled to the story.
("Pregnant and a baby?") repeated Bayleef.
"My mother and father decided that I can have a baby sibling," Yumina briefed.
("That's new for us,") Totodile awed. Pikachu placed an ear on the bump, feeling for any sign of life within. Yuel had a slight giggle to the sight.
("I can hear a heartbeat inside,") he studied. Intrigued, Bayleef extended a vine onto the bump. Suddenly, the vine and Pikachu's ear were slightly jarred, surprising the two.
("What the!") gawked Bayleef. Yuel had a slight giggle.
"It happens around this time of a human's pregnancy," she briefed. "My baby will kick. It's a sign that it's healthy and about ready to arrive." The explanation made the Pokémon awe with smiles. Bayleef rubbed the bump gently with her vine as did Pikachu with a palm on a different spot as Ellen and Sue watched. Pikachu kissed the bump which made the mothers and daughters awe.
"Pikachu, wow!" gasped Sue. Ellen looked like she was about to cry.
"Pikachu, that was beautiful," she wept as Yuel picked Pikachu up. "I wish I could have you for the rest of my life!" She gave Pikachu a kiss of her own, causing him to squeal in delight.
"The more you dote him, the less he'll want to stay with Ash," Yuel kindly warned. Ellen, Totodile and Cyndaquil giggled to the thought. "Although, I wouldn't want anything other than to have my new child be friendly with these…" The Pokémon smiled, wishing for the same.
"It's like when a Phanpy was born," Ash smiled with his arms crossed. "It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, as long as it's healthy…" Sue giggled to his belief.
"Agreed," she replied. A little while later, Touya discussed with Tristwin and Alfred about his findings.
"So, you're not the only one with this special trait," Tristwin acknowledged. "All six attributes at once…"
"Yeah, imagine our surprises when we watched," Touya shrugged.
"Now, let's not start thinking that Ash is the next Touya, brother," Alfred halted. "Learning that he has all six attributes is one thing. The other thing is that we don't know is his extent." Tristwin nodded to the added thought.
"Not to mention that he hasn't learned any of the Null Magic that Touya has established," he added.
"Yes, though I don't want to teach him Gate just yet," Touya warned. "I know what the magic does, and after learning about what happened before he came… Let's just say that it would be easier to teach him some of the smaller spells first."
"And especially the news of my daughter's love to him," Alfred pointed out. "Although, I've heard rumors that at a faraway country are more Divine Beasts." Touya blinked to the news.
"Wait, I thought I got all of the Divine Beasts," he retorted.
"Like I said, they're rumors," Alfred repeated. "It may be false information. However, I feel like you could take Ash out to see this and determine for yourself about it. After all, your group is up to the task about these adventures." Touya seemed interested to the news.
"I mean, we can go and investigate it for ourselves," he offered. "Besides, we could need an adventure at some point."
"Then, we should hear good news from this," Tristwin accepted. The sun was about to set for the day. The twins helped Yuel into the carriage.
"Now, you take it easy, okay?" warned Linze.
"I will," Yuel promised as Ash and Pikachu came forward. "Ash, if you want to come over to the Kingdom of Belfast, do not hesitate and stop by." Ash and Pikachu. nodded to the offer.
"Sounds good," Ash accepted. Yuel hugged Ash and Pikachu before giving them kisses to the cheeks. Ellen also reached Ash and Pikachu.
"We can add our kingdom as well," she offered. Pikachu squeaked to the offer. Ellen hugged both Ash and Pikachu. "I do wish we can be part of each other's families." Ash and Pikachu. accepted the hug before Tristwin and Alfred joined. Yumina and Sue chose to stay at the mansion. They left and everyone waived. Now, a new mission seemed to be on the horizon… and new danger.
TO BE CONTINUED...