Alright, Tai here. Picking up where AF left off and uh… okay. Let's see… here we go.
Big thanks to Lord Ashwood the 42nd.
Once the sun was up, the Dodrio cawed to alert the residents that it was morning. But that's not woke up our hero. What was going to wake him, just ironically happened to be his new alarm clock.
He leaned over, slamming the nightstand several times while missing before finally reaching it. He hit it a few times trying to find the off switch. Eventually, out of annoyance, he swiped at it, knocking it off the stand and crashing on the floor. He sighed in annoyance before one of his girlfriends took his hand back down.
(They slept for another hour)
"I know I already said this, but you were amazing last night." Charlie says as her boyfriend is helping her attach the back of her bra.
"Yeah, you were good too." Ash says after helping her, before pulling up his pants and then looking at the mess on his bed. "This is gonna be a pain to explain to my mom."
"Don't worry. We'll help take care of it." Vaggie tells him with a pat on the shoulder before putting her skirt on.
Charlie finished buttoning her shirt before going to the window. "Wow." She says in awe.
Ash noticed her and put on his shirt before going over to her and watching the sunrise. "Mornings here are different from back home, huh?"
"Yeah, even this looks beautiful." She says as she starts to smile. "Vaggie, come on. You gotta see this."
"Just one second, Char-Woah!" Vaggie started to say before the blonde took her hand as she was picking up her shirt. "Charlie, I… oh." She says before becoming mesmerized by the sight.
"Heh, I know. For most people, they get annoyed whenever the sun hits their face. I'm like that sometimes, but seeing this every time is also nice." Ash tells them.
"Yeah, it's amazing. If only I could get the others to see this." Charlie says.
Vaggie looked at her before quickly looking away warily.
They spent a little bit there before the princess went back to get ready, the boy not moving and noticing how his other girlfriend reacted.
"What's wrong, Vaggie?" Ash asked.
"Nothing's wrong." She tells him before grabbing his arm and turning him away before whispering. "Look, as much as I want Charlie to succeed in doing this, I'm really worried about seeing Heaven. With these Exterminations, seeing how bloodthirsty and relentless they were to kill anything in sight, I just… worried about how they'd treat her."
Ash wanted to protest, but then he thought for a second. Thinking back to his first encounter with 'Heavenly' residents and all he's been hearing, he didn't blame her for having such thoughts. After everything, even he felt worried about what the 'winners' were going to be like if they ever went there, much less if they came across… the first man.
"Yeah, the ones I met weren't… the greatest. But I'm sure there are at least some good up there." He tells her. "I mean, there are some bad people in Hell who do… horrible things." He winced when thinking about one of the recent events. "But there are also nice people like you. It kinda gives me hope that there are others like that in Heaven."
She blushed a bit when hearing it before he pulled her into a one-sided hug and nuzzled his face against hers, causing her to chuckle before playfully pushing him away and start putting her shirt on. Charlie laughed at them as she had her pants on and picked up one of her hairbands before noticing something.
"Uh… A-Ash." She says before pointing. "T-the egg."
"What? What about…" Ash says while looking back, then trailing off to where she was pointing.
His eyes widened before he walked over to the nightstand. The incubator was not filled like it was before. It was open and where the egg used to be, was now a pile of its shell. He looked worried as he picked up the pieces.
"Oh, no." He says to himself before looking down, seeing more pieces of the shell at his feet before getting on the ground and looking under the bed. "Not good."
"Oh, shit." Vaggie says.
"It's fine! It's fine! We just…" Ash says, trailing again. "Be right back."
He grabbed his jacket and threw it on before rushing out of the room. He was worried about what Pokemon there were gonna be running around the house, causing trouble and possibly breaking something and it was one more thing to worry about his mother making fuss over.
"Good morning, Ash!" His mother called as he ran down the stairs.
"Morning, Mom!" He starts to say as he rounds the staircase. "Uh, no pressure, but did you happen to see an unknown Pokemon run arou-?" He started to say before he stopped as he stared at the dining room table.
"Oh, the Pokemon?" Delia says as the other two girls come down, stopping at what they saw. "Yeah, I know about it."
Ash was left dumbstruck at what he was seeing. Sitting on the dining room table, next to his Pikachu and Keekee was a small blue jackal-like Pokemon, sitting happily while chowing down on the bowl of Pokemon food in front of it.
He blinked a few times before rubbing his eyes, in disbelief at what he was seeing and counting again to see if his vision was still messed up. However, it wasn't. A Riolu was sitting on his kitchen table, happily eating away and oblivious to the looks it was getting.
"Is that… the…" Vaggie started to say while pointing as the blonde covered her mouth.
"Uh… I-I… think so. Mom?" The boy asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I caught it coming down the stairs earlier. They seemed curious when they saw me so I figured they must have been hungry." Delia says, referring to the new Pokemon on the table.
"Pikachu." Pikachu says while waving at him before he and Keekee go back to eating their food.
Hearing that, the boy sighed to himself. "Oh, thank Arceus."
"Oh, he is so cute. Hi, little guy." Charlie says as she walks up to Riolu.
As she reached out, the Riolu stopped eating and looked at her. It stared at her hand before sniffing it, making her stifle a small laugh. Then he suddenly grabbed her hand, causing her to squeak and pull back, the Pokemon still holding her wrist before it swung itself and clung to her arm with his legs.
"Oh." She says before the Pokemon spun around and started to climb up her arm. "Okay, okay." She says before getting into her arms. "Alright, alright-" She says, panicking as Vaggie got worried before hearing her laugh as the Pokemon started rubbing against her while its tail wagged.
"Aw, he like you already." Delia says happily.
"Heh, yeah. That's good." Ash says as he walks up to her. "Hi, Riolu. Nice to meet you." He says before the Pokemon looks at him, then smiles brightly before jumping off the blonde and onto him, causing him to stumble. "Woah, woah!" He says before he starts nuzzling against him, causing him to laugh next. "Okay, okay." He says as it climbs up and perches itself on his head.
"Aw, he's friggin so cute." Charlie gushed at seeing them.
"So, this is the Pokemon from the egg?" Vaggie says as she walks up to them.
"Yeah, crazy, huh?" Ash says as the Riolu rests its head on the boy's before he remembers something. "Oh shoot, you two didn't see the egg hatch. I'm sorry."
"It's fine, it's fine. It's not a big deal." Charlie says.
"I mean, he's here now. It's not so bad." Vaggie says before the Riolu leans over and starts sniffing at her next, making her a little anxious before it reaches out for her.
"Aw, he wants you to hold him." The blonde says cutely.
"Really? Um… okay." She says before the boy handed the Pokemon to her. "Hi." She says before it sniffed her face and started rubbing against her and she smiled. "Hehe, he's… really active and big for a newborn."
"Yeah, when Pokemon hatch, they're more or less able to fend for themselves in the wild most of the time. Though, didn't think Riolu would be this kind to people he doesn't know." He says before Riolu climbs onto the woman's shoulder and starts playing with her hair, its tail still wagging.
"Aw, he's like a wittle baby." Charlie cooes.
"Technically, he is. Where's my Pokedex?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu says while holding up the device.
"Right, thanks, Pikachu." He says while taking the device. "Let's see."
"Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon." It started saying. "Its body is lithe yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night."
"Wait, what?" Vaggie says in surprise while Riolu is still playing with her hair.
"The aura that emanates from its body intensifies to alert others if it is afraid or sad. It can also discern the physical and emotional states of people, Pokemon, and other natural things from the shape of their aura waves."
"They can do that this young?" Charlie says in awe.
"I wouldn't say 'this' but they are mostly known for their abilities with aura." Ash explains.
"That thing you were talking about training?" Vaggie asked.
"Yeah… oh, fudge cakes I completely forgot about that." He says before rubbing his face as Riolu hopped into the blonde's arms. "Lucario is gonna kill me."
"Forget about that now." Charlie says before holding the Pokemon up. "I just wanna focus on this little cutie." She then says before tickling his stomach as he laughs with glee.
Ash chuckled before the Pokemon hopped into his arms next. Then Riolu with his big and sparkly eyes looked into the boy's. Ash held him up as he looked at him with joy, his tail happily wagging back and forth. There was a glint of innocence in his eyes as he stared at his potentially new trainer.
Seeing his carefree and childlike act, the boy's smile only grew and all the remaining stress seemed to fade in that moment. Replacing it with the joy on his face.
"Yeah, you are adorable, aren't you buddy?" He says while bringing the Pokemon closer to his face.
"BAU!" Riolu barked as he latched onto his face with glee.
Ash laughed before Riolu crawled on top of his head again. Charlie and Vaggie smiled as the Pokemon treated the boy's body like a jungle gym, while Pikachu was finding some amusement in seeing so.
"Aw, it's just like you and Pikachu when you were little." Delia says as she watches. "I bet Professor Oak would love to see you two."
"Hehe, yeah. Maybe I should bring him in to make sure he's healthy." Ash says he extended his arm and Riolu hung off it.
"Ooh, then we can get ready for activit-Wait…" Charlie caught herself in her words. "Right, we're not at the hotel. I forgot."
"It's okay. I'm sure Ash has some ideas for some plans, right?" Vaggie asks.
"Well, I can figure something out." Ash says.
"And I hope you three have fun." Delia says before she finally notices something. "Wait, why…" She says before they look at her. "Why are you all such a mess?"
They looked confused at first before looking at each other, then eyes going wide. They hadn't finished getting ready. Ash's hat and gloves, Vaggie's bow and stockings, and Charlie's hairbands, bowtie, and suit jacket were missing. All their hairs were a mess, their clothes were wrinkled, Ash's jacket was open, and the girls' top buttons were left undone, showing cleavage.
"Uh…" Ash says before trying to think of an excuse. "Y… ya know how people tend to move around in their sleep and mess up their clothes right?"
"Uh, yeah, we were… just having a hard time sleeping." Charlie then backs him up.
"Okay, but why… did you sleep in your normal clothes and not your pajamas?" Delia asks.
"Um…" The boy started to say before his mother then noticed something.
She went up to Ash and moved his head to the side, seeing a faded black lipstick stain on his neck. Then she noticed something else and pulled his collar down, seeing the lovebite. Charlie looked away, wanting to explode, or disappear, or anything that would get her out of the room at that moment. Vaggie sighed while covering her face.
"Ash…" Delia starts to say as her son slowly looks up. "What were you three doing upstairs last night?"
Ash had a mortified look as he tried to think of an excuse. Sweating bullets, he looked to the girls for support who didn't know what to say, then Pikachu and Keekee who looked concerned for their trainer and owner, Mr. Mime held his hands up and walked backward out of view. Riolu rested on his shoulder, oblivious to what they were discussing.
(Meanwhile in Hell)
The streets of Pentagram City were buzzing as they usually do, with people either walking around, the few murders going on, doing the deed in public, all the usual things. Angel strutted down the sidewalk, in front of a vending machine while looking at his phone.
There was the occasional news that had nothing new, but then after scrolling, he found news still going around about them not knowing where Ash was. There was a crappy sketch of the boy in question posted up that got a lot wrong, such as having an exaggerated amount of blood and a wicked grin that looked nothing like the boy.
He only rolled his eyes before turning to the machine and putting money in it.
"Do you think that human is still here?" He heard before turning to a group of succubi. "It's like he disappeared out of the blue. He could be anywhere."
"Yeah, kinda scary, but also, kinda hot. Not gonna lie." Another of them says.
"I know. I wonder what he looks like under that shirt."
"I bet he's got a nice big rod in there."
The succubi giggled as they left. Angel just shrugged before selecting an option on the vending machine, reaching down and taking out a dime bag of white powder.
"I mean, I haven't seen a human in so long, but is that thing really a human?" The pornstar turned his attention to a group of sinners. "I don't remember them being that powerful."
"Of course, it's not a human. Did you see what shit he did to one of those Vees? It's probably a new Overlord or something."
"That doesn't make me feel better. If he is, what do you think he does to the souls he owns?"
"I don't fucking know, but if he's able to beat down Vox that fucking badly, then… I wouldn't mess with that shit."
Angel looked back at the bag in his hand before sighing and tossing it behind him as he walked away, groups of demons jumping at and fighting for it.
(Sometime later)
The pornstar was now on the roof of one of the buildings, looking over the edge as all his arms were crossed. Still nothing interesting to see on the street below. He took out his phone and checked it again, looking at text messages.
"Yo, what up, bitch!" He heard before smirking as he turned around.
"Hey, Cherri. Long time no see." He says while doing a handshake with the cyclops girl before she gives him a soda can.
"No fucking kidding. Haven't seen ya in a month. Still living at that shithole?"
"Ya, it's the only place that I can afford right now."
"Sucks." The cyclops says as she leans over the edge of the building and opens her can. "What about Val?"
"Eh, hasn't been talking to me for a while now. Usually, he's blowing up my phone with a bunch of shit, but shockingly he hasn't even bothered to text me. Not exactly liking where this is going."
"What do ya mean? You get a break from that fucker for once."
"Yeah, but I know he's probably gonna make me do something fucked up when he's done fixing the shit he got himself in."
"Maybe he's forgotten about you. Probably thinking more about that human guy that beat his boytoy's ass."
"Uh… yeah. Probably." Angel says before cringing at the thought of what his boss was thinking about his friend.
"Speaking of which, where is he anyway? Hanging at the hotel with all those other demons?" Cherri then asks as he perks up before looking at her.
"What?"
"Yeah, had a front-row seat to the massacre that day. Saw him kick ass and then walk off with that blonde girl."
"Oh, uh…" He thought for a second. "Ya know what, it wouldn't hurt. Yeah, he does sometimes stay at the hotel. He visits every once in a while."
"Oh, sweet. Is he as hot out of the clothes as he is in them?"
"Haha, I wish I knew." Angel chuckled.
"That's badass though. I thought that place was full of wimpy dipshits." Cherri laughed before pouring the rest of her soda into her mouth and then tossing the can into the street. "Where is he anyway?" She asked as a car ran over the can and swerved.
"Uh…" Angel says as the car then crashes and explodes. "I don't know. He went off with little Miss Princess just a day ago."
"Aw, what!? Are you fucking serious?" The cyclops whined.
"Yeah, they got a little thing going."
"They're fucking."
"Oh they are fucking, alright." Angel says before he begins downing his drink.
"Goddammit."
"Goddammit that he's not here, or that you can't fuck him."
"Both."
"Gotcha."
"Wait, ain't princess fucking that purple bitch with the eyepatch?"
"Yep!"
"So what? She's a cheating bitch?"
"Nah, they're all fucking each other."
"... what?"
"Yeah, some lovey-dovey bullshit or whatever. Now they're on their little vacation, so thankfully I don't have to deal with that shit."
"Oh…" Cherri sighs before looking out into the street.
"Ya know, I didn't think you'd wanna know so much about him." Angel tells her.
"Hey, anyone who wants to fuck over Val is cool in my book. I'd love to take him for a night out and get fucked up." She then says before the spider-demon snorts and laughs slightly. "What?"
"Good luck with that. He doesn't do drugs."
"Are you fucking shitting me!? He can beat the fuck out of Vox, but he's scared of a little bit of goddamn coke?"
"Trust me, when I say that I don't think he even knows what coke looks like."
"Damn…" Cherri says while looking away with annoyance. "Eh, I'd still hit."
"Yeah, me too."
"Anyway, wanna go fuck up some guys and blow shit up?"
"Ya know what, yeah. I'm fucking down."
With that Cherri took out some bombs and took off. Angel watched before chuckling and then looking up at the clock, seeing the time for the next Extermination Day. He sighed, somewhat hoping what the hotel was doing was gonna work.
(Pokemon World)
So at the back of Professor Oak's Lab, Gary was sitting with Pikachu and Keekee across from Ash, Charlie, and Vaggie. The aforementioned three were looking the most embarrassed they had ever been. The brunette across from them looked puzzled.
"What's up with you guys?" He asked, curious.
"... N-nothing, nothing. Everything is… everything is alright." His former rival tells him.
"Yeah, we just… wanna make sure Riolu is okay." Charlie says while nervously smiling.
That wasn't the real reason why they were like that. Before they arrived at the lab, they had to deal with explaining to the boy's mother that they had sex in his bed last night. Between her freaking out that they had done it in her house and her questioning if they used protection, having to explain that they couldn't have kids, and then her realizing she wasn't gonna be a grandma… yeah, fun times.
Of course, Ash was the most embarrassed out of the three because even after they got cleaned up and properly dressed, now his mother knew he had premarital sex and found out in the worst possible way. He was not about to tell anyone else about what happened that morning, and he was hoping his mother would have gotten over it by the time he got back. Otherwise, he'd be gone most of the day.
"Alright, we're finished in here." Professor Oak says after opening the door, making the boy sigh in relief. "Good news, Riolu is perfectly healthy."
"Thank goodness." Ash says as the aforementioned Pokemon runs up and jumps onto him. "Anything else we should know?"
"Nothing I haven't seen. Although, I do say, he is rather powerful. And you say he hatched this morning?"
"Uh, might've been some time around last night. We don't know because he hatched when we were… sleeping." Vaggie explained.
"Oh, I see. Well, it's pretty impressive how strong he is, especially from recently hatching." Oak says as Pikachu and Keekee call their new Pokemon friend who smiles and gets off his trainer before going to play with them.
"Heh, you wouldn't know that by looking at him." Ash says before he gets up.
"For his age, it is normal to be acting this way." Oak explains again as he watches Riolu get into an ambush stance before jumping at the other two, missing before running after them again. "Most Pokemon are like this when they hatch."
"Yeah, about him being powerful…" Vaggie says as she stands up. "He's like… gonna get stronger later, right?"
"With some training, likely so."
"I'm sure someone's excited to hear that." Gary says while smirking at the other boy. "Planning on taking him on your next journey?"
"Well, maybe when I'm ready for that, but-OOF!" Ash reeled back as he was suddenly hit with a foam ball.
"BAU!" Riolu barked as he grabbed his pants leg and pulled.
"Oh, you wanna play, huh? Alright." He says while picking up the ball.
Ash then leads the Pokemon and cyclops cat out in the field, throwing the ball for them to catch.
"Just a small question. Is aura part of the reason why Riolu is so attached to Ash?" Vaggie asks.
"That could be one of the reasons. However, when a trainer spends enough time with an egg, the Pokemon within will likely remember the voices it hears. When born it imprints themselves on anyone it recognizes." Oak explains.
"So, like a duckling to a duck?" Charlie asked.
"That is a good example."
"Yeah, he must think one of you two is his mom." Gary then jokingly says, taking the girls aback. "Or both. I don't know."
"Wait, really?" Charlie asks.
"Something like that. Although, I think he's mostly attached to him though."
After saying that, the blonde looked over at her human lover. More Pokemon began to join in, a blue crocodile jumping onto his chest, Oshawott hopping on his back, then Bayleaf knocking him over onto his back. Just when he recovered from having the air knocked out of him, Riolu hopped onto his chest and then nuzzled against him, making him laugh.
Seeing them together was almost like a child who was happy just to be around his father. Her eyes started to sparkle as Vaggie rolled her one eye while smiling, knowing what she must be thinking right now.
"Aight, love to stay, but I got some work of my own to get done." Gary says as he starts to leave. "You guys have fun here."
Vaggie then jumped a bit before looking down and seeing the jackal Pokemon hugging her leg before looking up at her with gleaming eyes. "Hi, again, little guy." She says before he climbs up her. "Woah, woah!"
"He wants you to hold him." Charlie whispered to her.
"Right, right." Vaggie says before picking him off her and then holding him up he puts his paws on her shoulder then barks happily as she smiles.
"Oh, I can't take it, he's so fucking adorable." Charlie gushed before covering her mouth. "Sorry."
"It's fine. We don't have to worry about him getting badly influenced or anything." Ash says while walking over. "Sides' he doesn't seem to care." He says as the small jackal is playing with Vaggie's hair, rubbing his face in it.
The blonde couldn't take it and took out her phone taking a few pictures before looking at them. Then she was interrupted when she suddenly felt a heavy hand slap on her shoulder.
"Muuuuuk."
She looked at the slimy hand on her shoulder before turning around, then yelping before jumping forward as Vaggie stepped back. Standing before them was what looked like a big blob of purple sludge that had a large mouth.
"Muuuuuuk." It groaned.
"Uh, Ash?" Vaggie asks.
"Sorry, this is Muk. Don't worry. He's just saying hi." Ash explained.
"That thing is a Pokemon?"
"Yep." He says before patting the blob on the head. "And like the rest, he is nice and powerful."
"Right, uh…" Charlie says before checking to make sure none of the sludge of left on her.
Ash petted the blob as it cooed. "Go on, say hi."
The Pokemon then moved forward. "O-okay, uh…" She looked hesitant while looking back and forth before reaching a handout. "Hi, there."
"Muuuuuuk." The Pokemon says while moving forward and putting its head in her hand.
"Eh, he is slimy…" Charlie says while still petting before leaning down to do it with both hands. "Ya know, it's not so bad."
"Muuuuk!" The blob then suddenly rose.
"Woah, WOAH!" The blonde says as it pretty much jumped on top of her. "Okay, you are… heavy!" She says as she falls onto her butt.
"Muuuuuk." The blob then wrapped her in a hug before nuzzling against her.
"Okay, ugh…" She says before nervously laughing. "Thank you. You're… you're sweet."
"Okay, come on, buddy. Up." Ash says as he goes over to help out.
"What isn't a Pokemon here?" Vaggie says under her breath.
Riolu then froze for a second, then looked down while sniffing. He leaned down and started sniffing the one-eyed woman.
"Uh, something wrong, Riolu?" She asked before the jackal continued sniffing down to her belly… then he suddenly shoved his snout up her shirt. "Wha-Hey!" She says, holding back a laugh as his sniffing tickled her before she pushed him out. "Stop." She says before he does it again before she pushes him out and pulls down her shirt. "I don't have anything under my shirt."
He just pressed his snout against her belly, sniffing through the fabric. She jumped a bit before seeing that her lovers were just getting done dealing with the purple sludge before looking back at the jackal, wondering what was up with him.
"I told you, I don't have anything in my shirt." She tells it before he stops sniffing then places a paw on her stomach then lays his head against it, which she still doesn't understand. "Uh, alright." She says while patting his head.
(Sometime later)
"Aaaand…" Ash says as he created an Aura Sphere. "Like that."
Riolu watched in awe before plucking the orb out of his hand. He then tossed it up and hit it, making it bounce off his paws before it landed on Pikachu's tail. The electric mouse then tossed it over to Keekee where it landed between her ears. She looked annoyed at first before she suddenly closed her eye and started purring as she rolled over and started rubbing against the orb.
The jackal looked disappointed that his toy was taken from him. "It's okay, buddy." Ash says while kneeling and petting him. "How about you try making one yourself." He asks as the Pokemon tilts his head. "Yeah, just like this."
He showed him how he was able to do it, creating a smaller sphere before stopping. Riolu then looked at his paws and then proceeded to imitate his trainer. Just like that, he created a sphere just like his trainers and looked excited as he held it up.
"WOOH! Good job, Riolu!" Charlie cheered while clapping.
"Yeah, you're doing good." Vaggie says while clapping as well.
Riolu then held the ball out to his trainer. "Okay." Ash chuckles while taking the sphere and then Riolu gets on all fours while lifting his behind up. "Go long!" He then threw the aura sphere.
Riolu then ran after it as Pikachu ran after him. The princess laughed before the boy went and joined them on their picnic blanket.
"He's a quick learner." Vaggie says.
"It's natural for his species to learn aura quickly." Ash says while giving them sandwiches. "Nice spot for a picnic though."
"I just wanted to see the Pokemon some more. Especially since it's we're only gonna be here for so long." Charlie says as she scratches Tauros' chin before taking a bite of her sandwich. "MMM! You have got to teach me how to make food. This is so good."
"Yeah, I'll teach you at some point." Ash says before taking a bite of his own sandwich, then looking back and seeing his Pokemon playing with the aura sphere. "Ya know, this reminds me that I still have to get back to training my aura. Especially now that I'm back here. Maybe I can take Riolu to learn a thing or two."
"Take him where?" Vaggie asked.
"Right, uh… did I ever tell you about Lucario?"
"I think you have before."
"Well, he's the one teaching me how to use aura. It's uh, kind of hard to explain, but… he's kinda let me some tips on training with this like… holographic recording thing… I don't exactly know how to explain it."
"Yeah, that does sound kinda confusing."
"The point is, he's the reason I was able to control my aura thus far. I was gonna get into the advanced stuff before… the incident."
"Hey, we don't have to focus on that right now, okay?" Charlie says while putting a hand on his. "Let's focus on spending a good time here in your world. After that we can go back to focusing on the hotel, we can go back to focusing on your training, we can deal with anything else that's troubling when it happens, it's nothing to-"
"Babe, babe." Vaggie says before taking her other hand.
"... Sorry." Charlie says before brushing some hair back.
"It's okay." Ash chuckles. "I mean, you do make a point. We should just relax while we're here."
"Right, I don't mean to ruin the mood, but… once we are done for the week, I think we should talk about sorting priorities?" She asks, the two looking at her with puzzlement. "Ya know, like the hotel and all."
"*GASP!* Oh, that's right. We've been neglecting the hotel." Charlie says while slapping the side of her head. "God, we need to get back on track. We've got so much to catch up on. The Extermination is only five-No four months away-"
"Okay." Ash says interrupted her before holding her hand in both of his. "Don't worry. Like you said, we can focus on that when we go back to the hotel."
"Of course. Of course. It'll be fine… hopefully."
Ash chuckled before taking another bite of his sandwich, before Riolu jumped in, snatching the rest. The Pokemon then chowed down on its spoils.
"Hey." He says but the jackal was already done with the food. "Oh, never mind."
"Come on, you can't be mad at him over that." Charlie says before scratching the jackal under his chin as one of his legs kicks the air while leaning into her touch. "No, we can't. No, we can't." She says in a baby tone.
Ash smiled seeing it, then felt his partner Pokemon hop on his shoulder before giving him a look. "Oh come on. I'm not gonna replace you Pikachu." He says while scratching his chin. "Besides, we all deserve some time to relax after all that happened." He says before Riolu was back with Vaggie, climbing all over her and rubbing against her, especially with her hair. "He seems to really like Vaggie."
"It's so adorable." Charlie whispers to him with a wide smile before a thought comes to mind. "Ya know, after seeing how your mom reacted to us, sometimes I wonder how my mom would react to this… or even my dad for that matter."
"Oh yeah, uh, your dad's still around right?" The boy asks as his Pokemon plopped himself in Vaggie's lap.
"Yeah, but I hardly talk to him. Ever since mom left he hasn't exactly wanted to see me. Only just calling for favors and stuff." The blonde continued as Keekee got in her lap.
"Wow, uh, sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. Besides, I'm sure your dad is pretty amazing, right?"
"Yeah…" Ash says smiling at first, but after a second his smile slowly faded. "Y-yeah…"
Charlie, Vaggie, and the Pokemon noticed the shift in his tone and looked in his direction. Ash noticed before quickly shaking his head, then smiling again.
"S-sorry, uh… yeah, he's pretty cool."
He tried to brush it off, but they weren't convinced. Ash noticed and looked away while hiding his face. The girls looked concerned most of all while Riolu looked puzzled and Pikachu sighed, knowing what was coming.
"If it's not too much to ask, has your dad been around recently?" Vaggie asked him.
"I… I haven't." He tells her.
"... How… long has it been since he's… been around lately?" Charlie asked as well.
Ash bit his lip, hesitating for a small moment. "Uh, about… seven… years… give or take." The girls looked shocked upon hearing it.
"D… did you say seven?" Charlie asked as he just nodded. "Wha… w-when did…?"
"A few months before I started my journey." He explains. "He was… gone… just like that."
The mood was dampened after that. Keekee's ears folded back as Charlie petted her head.
"I'm-I'm sorry, Ash. I didn't mean to… I-I'm sorry." Vaggie says while reaching for him.
"No it's fine, I… I don't really…" He paused for a moment. "He always told me to never give up, and my mom always spoke highly about him, even now. I'm sure he didn't leave for no reason." Ash then looked up at the sky. "At least not a bad one anyway. I still miss him, but I still hope he's doing alright."
"Well… if he's as good as you say if he knew what you were doing right now then…" Charlie paused for a moment to think before taking his hand. "I think he'd be proud of what you're doing. Especially if he knows that you're trying to help so many people."
"He does sound like a nice guy. I'm sure he's good too." Vaggie says before taking his other hand. "Charlie's right, he would be proud."
Ash smiled after that. "Thank you. I really don't deserve either of you."
The girls smiled at him and they began to enjoy the moment… before an explosion in the distance interrupted it, causing them to look back.
"What the hell was that?" Vaggie asks in shock.
"I don't know, but I don't like the sound of it." Ash says before he gets to his feet while putting on his hat.
(Meanwhile… a bit earlier)
While they were talking there was a certain trio watching from afar with binoculars.
"What is this?" Jessie mutters to herself before removing the binoculars. "The twerp and Pikachu are gone for next to near a week, we've been waiting so that Pikachu could come back, and then he comes back with these women and he's dating them? Both of them?"
"Hmm, it does seem odd. Those women seem a little old for him. Could've sworn he was dating the red twerpette." James says.
"It's not just that they're too old." Jessie says before looking through the binoculars again. "Look at that one. She chose to paint her skin a ridiculous color and look at that one's makeup. I'm in my beautiful prime, someone that any man should be lining up for the opportunity to date, and meanwhile, while I don't have love, that teen twerp is acting like a playboy with two adult women, one that looks like a clown and the other who looks like a dead person!" She says while snapping the binoculars.
"Okay, okay!" James says nearly panicking. "I know this is a bit of an annoyance, but now that Pikachu is here, we can finally put our plan to work. Right, Meowth." He says before looking at the cat who was holding up the device to listen in on what Ash and his girlfriends were saying and crying as he heard it. "Meowth?"
"It's… so… beautiful." The cat cries.
"Yes, yes, very beautiful. Drop the waterworks." Jessie tells him. "Operation: Capture Pikachu can finally begin underway and now we even have a little Riolu to bring to the boss as well… and a new little Pokemon to boot." She says while looking at Keekee then turned and looked towards the gathered-up Pokemon in the area. "Ready?"
"Sure as anything." James says before pulling out a device with a button. "Three… two…" He says while the three of them get ready. "ONE!" He then presses the button which sets off explosions. "GO! GO! GET TO THE BALLOON!" He yells before they rush into the forest.
(Back with the main crew)
After running a good distance, the group stopped at the scene that beholds them. Around the area were small craters where the explosions had gone off, and in the middle of them all was almost every Pokemon Ash had rounded up and crowded against each other in some sort of energy field cage that they were all trying to break free from.
"What the fuck is going on!?" Vaggie yelled.
"I don't know-" Ash started to say before Pikachu, Riolu, and Keekee were suddenly grabbed by mechanical hands and taken away. "PIKACHU!"
"KEEKEE!" Charlie yelled while reaching out.
Then they all heard a laughter that the boy recognized. "Prepare for trouble! The day has come for Team Rocket to play." A female voice says.
"Make it double! And now that we have Pikachu, we can be on our way." A male voice says.
"Oh… NOOOOOOOOO! Come on!" Ash yelled in anger.
"What?" Vaggie asked before a giant hot air balloon appeared, then a man and woman appeared from the carrier.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James."
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"WOOOOOOBUFFET!"
Riolu looked puzzled, Keekee was freaked out, but more so confused, Pikachu just looked unamused, and the majority of Ash's Pokemon weren't even scared anymore, just annoyed. The girls looked dumbfounded by what they saw while the boy just had his hands covering his face.
"W… what the heck was that?" Charlie asks.
"I had to listen to that same crap for years now." Ash tells them.
"HEY! OUR MOTTO ISN'T CRAP!" Jessie yelled in anger.
"Yeah, you don't understand true art, twerp!" James yelled.
"Team Rocket will sing it for the world to hear!" Meowth shouted as well.
"Is that cat talking?" Vaggie asks.
"Yes, yes he is." Ash sighs before groaning. "This is Team Rocket. They've been chasing me for the past seven years trying to steal my Pokemon, mainly Pikachu."
"... What?"
"Exactly what I started thinking as I got older."
"Yes, but now that you finally return with Pikachu, we can now-" Jessie started to say.
"Wait, wait, hold on, seven fucking years you guys have been doing this? Over a single Pokemon?" Vaggie asks.
"Yes, we have, now as I was-"
"You guys are this obsessed over a single Pokemon?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's not like there's any other Pikachu they could get!" Ash says, purposely loud enough so they could hear him.
"This Pikachu is simply rare! There is no other like it!" James tells him.
"... W-wait, what about the talking cat?" Charlie asks.
"The name is Meowth! Remember that!" The cat yelled at her.
"Right, but wouldn't one that can talk more rare?"
The trio then gasped. "How dare you!" Jessie yells.
"Meowth is our dear friend!" James yells while picking the cat up and hugging him. "We would never do something so horrendous to him!"
"Yet, they're perfectly fine with taking away my friend. You're a joke at this point!" Ash yelled at them.
"Pfft, a joke us? Not at all." Jessie tells them.
"And with this large stack of Pokemon, our boss is sure to be impressed." Meowth says.
"You guys aren't even a threat anymore! You never get away with these schemes! Go home! Retire or something! I don't care! Just stop bothering me and my Pokemon!" Ash yelled back.
"Oh the twerp has a mouth on him, I see." Jessie says.
While the back and forth is going on, Riolu wrenches open the mechanical hand, catching Pikachu's attention. As the jackal got down on the edge of the carrier, the mouse put a finger to his mouth and then gestured for him to do it with him, which he did. The jackal then did the same for Keekee, catching her in his arms and holding her as she was still shaking.
"You're ridiculous!" Ash yells.
"Oh, whatever! I'm not the one dating a clown and a corpse!" Jessie yelled at him.
"Perra egoísta." Vaggie muttered before pulling out her spear. "That's it!"
"NO!" Ash and Charlie yelled.
"We talked about this. No weapons out here!" Ash tells her.
"I wasn't just gonna leave this unattended at the hotel."
The back and forth continued as Pikachu and Riolu climbed down the basket, finding a blue box at the top of the energy field prison. The mouse nodded at his jack friend and climbed towards it.
"That skank just threatened me!" Jessie yelled, hitting a nerve.
"She is not a skank!" Ash yelled back at her.
"Whatever, we've got Pikachu and the Pokemon. Let's just go." Jessie says.
"Wobbu." The blue Pokemon says.
"Not now."
"Wobbu! Wobbufet!"
"What, what is…" Jessie started to scold her Pokemon before looking back. "Where are Pikachu, Riolu, and the new Pokemon?" She says as the boys just noticed.
Next thing they knew, the energy field was suddenly dispersed and all the Pokemon fell out. The number of them almost reached the trio on the ground.
"WHA!? What happened?" James yelled in shock.
Then Pikachu and Riolu popped their heads out from below, then pulled down their eyelids while blowing a raspberry. "You little-!" Jessie yelled as she tried to reach and grab for them, only for them to jump.
"Pika… CHUUUUUUUU!"
Without warning, Pikachu fired a thunderbolt at the balloon. Everyone onboard got electrocuted before the balloon exploded and they went flying.
"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" They all yelled before disappearing in a twinkle.
"Pikachu! Riolu!" Ash yelled ran over and caught them. "You okay?"
Pikachu just shrugged, barely affected while Riolu just smiled.
"Good…" Charlie started to say before seeing the shaking cat. "Keekee!" She took the cat and hugged her gently. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, my baby! I'm sorry!" She hugged her up to her face.
"I'm sorry too. They… honestly completely slipped my mind. I did not think they'd show up." Ash tells them.
"Okay, but… those guys aren't gonna be back, right?" Vaggie asked him.
"Hopefully not. I've been lucky not to encounter them for the past month. At this point though, we're pretty much over their antics."
The Pokemon all recovered quickly, again, barely affected by the encounter and treating it like a normal Tuesday. Keekee was still shaken up as Charlie kept comforting her while Riolu hardly looked phased and was looking on with an innocent smile. Ash just sighed, not knowing what to say at that moment.
To be continued…
Okay, I did not know how to end this chapter, so hopefully you enjoyed… that little skit at the end.
But yeah, anyway, AshFan will be back with me next chapter, hopefully. And if you're enjoying the series or if there's something we can improve on, let us know.
… Stay tuned folks.