Chapter 30
As the people began to leave Ash walked down and greeted various people who had stayed to get a photo or get some pointers. He generally didn't enjoy doing this, but he'd given Blue his word that he would do his role and he would be damned if he gave his Uncle another opportunity to even try and pull something with his recovering Godfather. He smiled genially at the numerous reporters who wanted answers about his argument but didn't say anything about it, much to their frustration. He posed with Koga as the only two members of the Elite Four leadership team, although at this point it was more like a Champion and his deputy and talked with various other people who were 'important'. A few of them were full of their own self-importance Ash thought but as they were shareholders in the League and financially backed a lot of the event he had to play nice and take photos, shake hands and generally schmooze with them. He hated every minute of it.
It was at least two hours later when the last few stragglers departed, and he left the stadium and headed back to his office. Nodding at his receptionist he paused and backtracked.
"I'm sorry, I never asked your name," he said to her, making her gape like a fish.
"Oh, it's Anne," she said blushing.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Anne" he said taking her hand deepening her blush "If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask. My office is always open."
"Thank you, Mr Ketchum," she said, nodding.
"Ash," he said.
"Ash," she replied, watching him walk off down the corridor and enter his office before turning back to her screen.
"You charmer," Pikachu said as he walked away, causing Ash to chuckle. His smile disappeared though when he saw Giovanni waiting in his office sitting in his chair.
"I seem to have been taken off the list," he said, picking it up and dropping it on the desk "I assume that will be corrected."
"Yup" Ash arching an eyebrow at his Uncle who grudgingly got out of Ash's seat and sat down opposite him. Sitting in his seat and observing his uncle he placed the list back into his drawer and continued "as soon as your son is in a grave."
"That could be years!" he said angrily.
"Then you better get that mistress of yours to tell the authorities where your son is hiding!" Ash replied not caring "she's been with you for eighteen months now and has said nothing. My Godfather could have died in Mahogany Town when your son and his band of bellends should have been rotting either in jails or graves. So, when you pull your finger out, I will put you back on the access list."
"Why are you being like this Ash?" he asked, playing with the button on his suit jacket "when I woke up this morning I assumed we were still very cordial, then when I arrived here we had a full blown argument on national television for everyone to see and hear. What brought this on?"
"Your email to Blue" he said "It was incredibly uncalled for. The man shouldn't be walking but the terminology you used was a disgrace and it pulled him from his recovery chair. He could barely walk when he arrived here and then for you to blame him when he was attacked by a Gym Leader, one who nobody has checked on for years and we assumed was on our side and he was seconds away from death. He has served Kanto with distinction for nearly two decades and for you to try and pull rank on him like that was out of order.
It brought home to me at the Lake of Rage just how important it is to put a stop to Team Rocket as I never want an incident like that on my watch as Champion. You have had years to get information from Alexis and have chosen not to do so, so you are part of the problem to me. Ignoring the situation has caused nothing but havoc and he has not only destroyed people's lives but now an entire Lake of Magikarp, one that has been there for centuries and is a National Park has been destroyed but because it's in Johto you don't care enough. I think you need to give serious thought as to your suitability of being President if that's going to be your attitude."
"My attitude is not the topic at hand" Giovanni said looking angry "your attitude however is. You humiliated me on national TV, an event that was supposed to be my crowning glory, something I have soaked towards for decades and in one fell swoop you destroyed that. You're lucky I didn't sack you on the spot."
"Do it." Ash said shaking his head in disgust "But it won't detract from the fact that your feelings on today mean jack shit. This is not about you. This is about your son being a danger to everyone in Kanto and Johto and you not doing your job in finding him. You can change the subject as much as you want Uncle, you can be as hurt as you like but until Silver is in custody or a grave you will remain off my access list. I know you know where he is Uncle, I've known for months now and I've kept quiet but I won't anymore."
"I do not know where he is" Giovanni said glaring at Ash.
"Come off it" Ash said shaking his head in disbelief "You are the most informed man I've ever met with a network of 'friends' in Kanto and Johto that would make Lance look like a rookie cop. I've said all I needed to say Uncle and I don't intend to carry this conversation on any longer. Blue is off until his leg is fully healed, I will do a lot of his appearances for the next few weeks but after that I'm off to train for the Johto League."
"You cannot just go gallivanting off whenever you please" Giovanni said, "you have duties that you must attend to."
"No, I don't" Ash replied "I have a signed contract from Charles Goodshow stating I have until I'm 18 years old before I take permanent office here and other than a few appearances here and there I am free to travel anytime I like so that's what I'll be doing. I have three more leagues to win in the next four years so after I've done the Johto League and beat their Elite Four I'm heading to Hoenn and hopefully Sinnoh in a few years to gain my mastery. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
"No" Giovanni said, looking extremely angry at how the talk had gone. He was pretty sure the bollocking should have been the other way around given his job role. "I need you back in five weeks. We have the Gym Leaders assessment the day before the semi-finals that you are required for, so be there." standing up as calmly as he could he stalked off leaving the door wide open as he did. Ash chuckled at his pettiness but didn't try to close it. He could see down the corridor Anne was looking very nervous as Giovanni didn't say goodbye, instead he walked straight into the elevator and disappeared scowling all the while.
Pressing the buzzer on his desk a confused Anne answered.
"Yes Mr Ketchum?"
"Ash, Anne" he said gently "it's Ash to you. I was ringing to say don't worry about him and that I'm sorry he was so rude to you. I'm afraid he didn't get what he came for, it's what happens to those who aren't used to hearing the word 'no' and I can only apologise for his behaviour."
"Oh, it's ok" she said, "I'm used to it."
"Well, you shouldn't be" he said "I want you to email me directly if anyone is ever rude to you or come straight to this office. My door, as you can see, will always be open. Hopefully soon you'll have more than just Koga and I to talk to. I've been told that one member of the Elite Four has been selected but I'm not sure how true that is or when she starts."
"Oh, she'll be at the Gym Leaders review" Anne said looking it up on her emails "I'll forward it on to you now. I'm not sure why you don't already know."
"Likely because Blue is still acting Champion until I take office" Ash said "I don't get full access to emails until Blue is ready to leave office fully, but it was Blue who informed me about her. Rebecca, isn't it?"
"Laura Whitehall" Anne said, correcting him "she's a steel type trainer, originally from Vermillion City but she's been on her own journey collecting Pokémon from quite a few regions. She's quite the battler."
"I'm actually looking forward to practising against her" Ash said "I'm quite excited to battle Koga again actually, I know he'll have a few surprises for me. Anyway, I just wanted to ring you to say sorry and that we'll be closing the office in half an hour."
"Oh ok" she said looking at the clock and seeing it was half five already. "Normally we work until 8pm when the tournament is on."
"Well today we won't" Ash said "and anytime I am in this office we will finish at 6 Monday to Thursday and 4:30 on a Friday. In fact, I can't be arsed being here anymore today. What's say we be naughty and clock off now. Before you go though, can you send an all-staff email about the new access list? I'd like to get that out of the way so there's no confusion."
"You're the boss" she said laughing as she hung up and began logging off the computer. Ten minutes later Ash saw her leave and waved goodbye. Remembering his chat with Koga he grabbed the Berry Juice bottles and walked into his office to stop at how nice it was. It was full of plush purples and reds with a very beautiful view from the window that overlooked the Plateau and mountain. Walking to his fridge he placed them inside leaving a note on his desk before leaving himself. Waving goodbye to the receptionist downstairs he released Salamence, much to the awe of the trainers who were walking by and soon they were winging their way home.
"Head to Pallet Town first please Queenie, I have a few errands there first before we head home."
It was nearing 8pm when he landed in Pallet Town and headed to a house he hadn't been to in years. Knocking on the door it was opened a few seconds later by his Aunt Laura.
"Ash" she said in surprise "what brings you here?"
"I'm actually here to speak to you and Blue if that's ok?" he said.
"Of course, come in." she replied letting him in and he followed her through the very beautiful open plan ground floor, and he saw Blue sitting in a chair, reading something with surprisingly Sam in a chair watching TV quietly. Looking up, Blue gaped in surprise before quickly schooling his expression.
"Quite a show you put on Ash" he said smirking as Sam looked over and saw Ash standing next to Laura.
"Hello Ash" he said, "I hope you don't mind if I don't get up but I'm rather comfortable here at the minute."
"Not at all" Ash said, "I can't stop long anyway as I'm sure I'm in for a bollocking from mum and I can't wait for that" which earned chuckles all around "I'm actually here to speak to you Blue."
Putting down the report and taking off his reading glasses he looked expectantly at Ash.
"First of all, I'll start off by saying I am sorry if I in any way disgraced the role of Champion today with my behaviour. I had no intention of having that argument in public, but I wasn't about to back down when he started on me. So, that's the first thing." Ash said.
"There is no need to apologise" Blue said looking at his dad in confusion "In fact I'd say you earned a lot of respect from the trainers that were in attendance when you declared yourself to be their Champion and not his. Anything that happened after that is likely going to be forgotten in time but that comment certainly won't."
"I agree" Sam said, "It wasn't how I'd have been, but we are all three of us very different Champions."
"Out of curiosity" Laura asked, "What made you snap?"
"The email he sent Blue" Ash said surprising them "I'm not going to pretend I've been a fantastic Godson Blue, because I wasn't. I have my reasons which all thankfully turned out to be wrong and for that I apologise, to all of you. But as I said to you the day after I beat you, I would not accept Silph taking the piss out of you the way they did so I'm damn sure not going to let Giovanni do the same thing. What he sent to you was an absolute disgrace Blue. You have served this region with nothing less than distinction for nearly 15 years, and for him to summon you like some mongrel, as if you're at his beck and call was humiliating for one and way out of line for another. I told him as much in the argument we had in our office a few hours later too. I have way too much respect for you to let that slide."
"Oh" Blue said quietly wondering what he could say in response.
"You don't have to say anything" Ash said seeing he'd made him uncomfortable "I did all the talking for both of us today and the shareholders accepted my reasons for making you rest. I'm just here to explain my reasons why I reacted the way I did to you and apologise if you felt I'd disrespected the office. I would have told the same to Sam tomorrow but now I don't need to. I remembered as I held that trophy again today what you said about why you were the kind of Champion you were and why dad wasn't really suited for it, and I grew angry at the way you were treated."
"Well, if it means anything I accept your apology" Blue said nodding "it wasn't needed but I'm touched you did so."
"Thanks" Ash said "which leads me onto the next part of why I'm here. For the next six weeks you are on sick leave, you are not to move until you are fully recovered and can walk properly on that leg. As I said before if you are bored then answering emails is the most you are to do."
"Are you sure?" Blue asked "I mean what about the events I'm supposed to be at this week? Giovanni won't be happy with that."
"I'm covering them" Ash said "you need rest. You can't do that if you're at the League every day. You're off work Blue, enjoy it. And I'll deal with him if he tries to pull anything."
"Was there anything else?" Sam asked.
"Just one last thing." Ash said, "I've changed the access list to our office."
"Yes," Blue said nodding "I read the email from Anne. Can you tell me why?"
"I didn't want Giovanni having access" Ash said simply "and until he tells us where his son is he won't get access. Adding you and Sam were no brainers as I trust you both, mum and dad are on for obvious reasons too. I was unsure if I could add Aunt Laura and Gary as they're not league personnel or actual family, so I thought I'd speak to you first about it."
"I was kept off for a reason" Laura said "it's far too easy to use me to get to Blue. Keep me off please."
"Gary too" Blue said, "he's not league personnel yet, and until he decides what he's doing with his Elite Four Challenge he stays off."
"Ok," Ash said nodding "well that's all I came here for really. Is there anything you guys want to know?"
"Yeah actually" Blue said pointing to the document "you offered Dad a job. Tell me more about it."
"Oh sure," Ash said, sitting back and relaxing a bit. After a brief ten-minute talk, which was more like a presentation to the three Oaks Blue nodded. "I've actually got a breeder's programme coming checking on the Lapras next month if you're free Aunt Laura. They'll be nearly a year into their pregnancies which is a critical time for them so any help will be welcome."
"I've not actually been to your home before" she said, "It sounds like a haven."
"It is," Ash said, "and if Daisy and her fiancé are free, invite them. She lives in Viridian now, doesn't she?"
"She does," Laura said, smiling at the thought of her daughter "you'll get on with James, he's a lovely bloke, isn't he Blue."
Blue just looked mutinous before answering "He's not bad. I'll admit to being a little envious about the role you offered dad though." He said, "it sounds like a great opportunity for whoever takes it."
"I'm hoping so." Ash said "but as I told Sam don't feel pressured to say yes if you don't think it's for you. You'll still always be on my full access list at my home. Anyway, I need to go get shouted at and then prepare for tomorrow. I'm sinking a couple of boats in my lake, which should be fun. You're all welcome to come and watch that, I still have dad's wheelchair if you require one Blue. They should be arriving around 1pm, it's a pretty big event actually, we're having to remove the front gates and relocate the trees on the path to the lake, Venusaur is very unhappy as I promised him when we moved the caves for the Lapras pod to the lake that that would be the last time we move any trees."
"Why?" Laura asked, perplexed.
"Well, the real reason is they're the habitats we're creating for the Dreepy," Ash said "they live in shipwrecks as they're said to be the ghosts of Sharks and marine wildlife that were killed centuries ago. Unofficially though, Pikachu is hoping we can turn them into Ghost Ships."
Sam burst out laughing as he knew how much Pikachu loved trying to find pirate ships in the Orange Islands.
Saying goodbye to them Laura followed him to the door.
"Thank you" she said quietly to him giving him a hug "he won't say it but having his back on national television touched him deeply."
"He's my Godfather, my father's best friend and he's been a fantastic champion. He doesn't deserve to be treated like that" Ash said, shrugging "I have a lot of making up to do with the way I treated him over the years, blaming him as I did for dads' disappearance, and he has been nothing but welcoming over the last few months during our lessons. Don't get me wrong he played his part but knowing dad as I do now and seeing what Silver has done in person, I can't blame Blue for wanting to end the war on Team Rocket the first opportunity he did. We have a habit of being betrayed by League personnel it seems and that needs to be stopped. Anyway, I'll put you and Daisy on the full access list at home. Tell James it's nothing personal but he will be on the temporary list until I meet him and will only be allowed on site accompanied by a member of the Oak family or my mum and dad."
"Thank you" she said nodding "now go and speak to your mum and dad."
Nodding and walking away Ash wandered down the familiar path that was lit up with lights as the nights had started closing in and the place was very pretty. He often thought he was very lucky to live where he did, in such a beautiful place.
As the door closed Laura walked back inside to see her husband looking out of the window at Ash's retreating back.
"He's changed," Blue said as Laura sat on the arm of the chair and leaned into him. "I can't profess to know him like you do dad, but something was very different about him."
"I suspect the incident at the Lake changed him" Sam said, "his attitude before and after are poles apart and I think he realised how badly Silver needs to be apprehended."
"Seeing all those Pokémon die in front of him was bound to have an impact" Laura said "and we've all said for nearly two years now that Giovanni has been dragging his feet where Alexis is concerned. You can't tell me she is clueless as to where Silver is hiding, I refuse to believe that given she worked alongside him for so long."
"When we raided what we thought was the base a year ago it turned out to be a dummy one" Blue said "we know roughly where he is, but we don't have the authority to raid every building just hoping to get lucky. Silver is using that to his advantage. Did you notice that Ash never once said it was his office but ours? That was a pleasant surprise too."
"He told me at the door he feels like he owes you for all you've done for him since his dad returned and that he feels guilty for believing the worst of you" Laura said, "so it doesn't surprise me he considers the office both of yours."
"Tomorrow should be interesting" Sam said a few moments later "I've never seen a boat be deliberately sunk before."
"Yeah, it should be interesting" Blue said nodding before chuckling "so Pikachu is obsessed with Ghost Ships eh?"
"Yeah" Sam said "they've actually been on one according to Ash. I was sceptical myself until I saw a newspaper article about the ship disappearing from the harbour and then being seen a mile offshore the day afterwards coming out of nowhere and crashing into another boat before disappearing into the fog that sprang up from nowhere. And while I've heard farcical tales in my time, Ash has no reason to lie."
"Wow" Laura said impressed "a real-life Ghost Ship. You know, if anyone ever wrote Ash's life story he'd fill about three books already, and he's only been a trainer for three years."
"I've said this" Sam said laughing "it's a good job he keeps detailed journals because there'd be too much to forget."
Knocking on his parents' door he waited for the inevitable and sure enough his mum opened the door with an inscrutable face. Following her in, he walked in silence as she led him to the kitchen where his dad was sitting down with a smirk on his face.
"Sit," she said, pointing to the chair.
Sitting down he looked at his dad who looked away trying not to laugh. Trying not to smirk himself he looked at his mum who looked at the two of them with narrowed eyes.
"Red" she said warningly at his dad who couldn't take it any longer and burst out laughing before walking into the living room, bottle of beer in hand leaving the two of them alone. Watching his dad sit down on his chair still laughing Ash wondered what had gone on between them. "Now that your father has stopped braying like a Hyena, explain yourself."
"Your brother is a wanker" Ash said immediately, causing his father to burst out laughing again from the living room.
"Red!" she said outraged "it's not funny! Ash could be in serious trouble!"
"He's not wrong though Delia" came the reply before his mum turned her furious gaze to him.
Shaking his head Ash stood up and walked to the kitchen video phone where to the confusion of Delia he typed in his work email details and loaded up the email Giovanni sent to Blue who had forwarded it on at his request. "Read that" Ash said sitting back down as his dad wandered in and read it behind her. Ash heard his mum read it muttering the words and shaking her head as she got further in. His dad though had stopped laughing as he read the email too starting to look furious.
"An injury sustained through a non-work-related event is not the leagues problem?" he said out loud "Blue is a fucking G-Man! He was on a government sanctioned raid on a Team Rocket base and is above any League interference. "Any work from here-on out that does not pertain to league business could lead to the termination of your contract" Really? He really wrote this?" he asked turning to Ash who nodded and walked to the fridge to pour himself and his mum some Orange Juice. Putting the glass into her hand he sat back down and waited for her to look at him.
"Could the argument not have taken place indoors?" she asked worriedly shifting the glass around in her hands.
"I had every intention of doing so" Ash said "but Giovanni decided to be an arse and try and pull me up in front of not just Koga but the audience too. Well, I wasn't having that. Blue has led this league in dad's absence impeccably and doesn't deserve to be treated like some random person. You've not been privy to League emails dad in a while but trust me when I say this isn't the first time that he's wrote something like that. He's been subtle up to now, little snipes here and there, but taking over from Charles has given him a swollen head."
"I know," she said, "and I agree, but still..."
"The day dad awoke I told Blue something that I'll tell you now" Ash said "I didn't want to have to explain to dad when he woke up why Silph treated him so poorly before our match and I didn't speak up. Well, the same thing happened today. I wasn't going to let Giovanni get away with treating Blue like that when he nearly died a week ago and had surgery a few days ago and then have to come home to you both and try and justify why I kept quiet. He might be used to people not saying 'no' to him but that wasn't going to fly with me.
Poor communication from him kicked off the argument. He wanted me to be at the League building at 1, I got there at 12:45 but apparently, he meant his office not mine, so I didn't know what he wanted me there early for. He wanted me there for photos, something he also never told me about so the first time I saw him was when I sat next to him where he tried to pull rank on me. I'll quit as Champion before I bend over for that man. The argument carried on in my office after the League opened where he tried to pull rank again as I've crossed him off the full access list and put you two, Blue and Sam on."
"Why?" Delia asked.
"You're my parents" Ash said looking confused "and you both work at the Plateau so it would be nice to have dinner with you guys when we have the chance. As for Blue and Sam, well, Blue will have limited mobility for a long time and being able to Teleport directly into our office will help him and no one will ever be able to convince me Sam is a risk, so it was an easy decision. As for Giovanni being crossed off, until he and that missus of his hands over the location of his scumbag son he is a risk so off he went. He wasn't happy with that, but I'll not be swayed from it. After what I witnessed at the Lake of Rage, he no longer gets a pass from me."
"He's not wrong Delia" Red said clapping Ash on the shoulder "it's only because of you I haven't said anything more than what we have said to each other to anyone else, but he knows where Silver is, he's just too much of a coward to let anyone know."
"He has a lot to lose if he does" Delia said sighing "I'm not disagreeing with either of your points, he's lucky I forgave him in his part of what happened thirteen years ago but when Silver is found he loses a son and quite possibly Alexis too. I suspect he's putting off the inevitable."
"I said as much to him" Ash said nodding "he's content to keep his head firmly in the sand and hope the problem goes away but it won't and the sooner he comes to terms with that the better. Am I forgiven?"
"As soon as you've talked to Blue yes" Red said, "it wasn't just you that you represented out there today."
"I've already done so" Ash said "I apologised to him and Sam before I came here in case I offended them by doing what I did. When I explained my reasons, they seemed to accept them so I think we're good on that front. I'll deal with the fallout tomorrow with the media and just tell them it was a personal argument that unfortunately spilled out in front of an audience."
"It might take more than that" Delia said standing up from her chair with difficulty "have you eaten?"
"No, not yet" Ash said "but I need to get back home anyway. I have a few things to sort out for tomorrow."
"I mean you can do them here" Red said pointing to the phone and computer which was still loaded up "unless they're personal?"
"No not at all" Ash said "ok then, I'll stay for tea. I'm going to be busy for the next half an hour though."
"That's fine" Delia said getting some pans out of the drawers. "Ramen ok?"
"Perfect" he said as he sat down at the computer. As she was cooking she listened with a smile on her face at the interaction her son was having with the various people he had on the multiscreen. Apparently, something big was happening at his home tomorrow and despite wondering what she was content to listen. Red came wandering in and sat at the counter and listened in with interest too before helping his wife. He couldn't describe just how content he was feeling right now but he knew he should savour moments like these.
Forty minutes later Ash hung up and began sending out a raft of emails while the three talked about random things that had happened over the last few days. Delia had now been banned from the kitchens at work because it was too risky so she spent most of the time in the office doing admin work. Red had finished his workshops for the year as it was Tournament season.
"You've been looking at the trainers this year" Ash said turning his head round to his dad "is there anyone that you can see that stands out this year? I'm a little worried because I still have two Elite Four members to find and from what Koga has said the standard of trainers isn't fantastic this year, especially those not being trained at the gyms by apprentices."
"The apprentices aren't great either" Red said shaking his head as he shovelled Ramen into his mouth "this is lovely Delia. We struggled to get two from each gym this year. The only ones that didn't struggle were Janines, Surges and Richard's. Forrest who's taken over from Brock has only been a gym leader for about six months so he gets a pass, Erika managed to find two but it was a struggle, Cerulean was reinstated because Cinnabar is about to explode and no one's replaced Blaine yet but Misty was on a gap-year to find battle worthy Pokémon so her sisters were still filling in and they're not great at training. And finally, Katie, who replaced Giovanni has also only been the leader for six months. So, if it wasn't for the three gyms in Vermillion, Fuchsia and Saffron these years would be just travelling trainers. Not that that's a bad thing but given the scheme Charles put in place it's been a pretty poor showing."
"We always knew the transition years would be difficult" Ash said shaking his head "but hopefully by the time I take over we'll have had five years of progress. What it means though is that Johto will have had time to catch up to us. I suppose that can only be a good thing as better trainers mean better and more looked after Pokémon but it's still an issue."
"I never took you to be so patriotic," Delia remarked.
"Of course, I am" Ash said laughing "I think it's a requirement isn't it to hold the position of Kanto Champion? All the other regions are competition, and I won't have Kanto be a laughing stock. It was already bad enough that we had three of the four Elite Four be from Johto no matter how much I get on with them."
"It doesn't help that so few competent trainers actually compete at the league." Red said to his surprise "oh come on Ash, you only have to watch the tournament you were in to see that. There were people competing in the league that were repeat performers, and they still didn't get out of the preliminaries. I'd expect someone returning to be better than they previously were but evidently last year was the same too. If it wasn't for the apprentices, the standard would have been worse than Johto's and that's saying something."
"That bad, eh?" Ash asked, shaking his head "it's going to get to the point where travelling trainers will be replaced by the apprentices and I don't want that but if they deserve to be there then what counter argument can we offer? I'm glad they brought in the five-year rule because of Cynthia so at least we're guaranteed to lose those not good enough."
"It's a bit mercenary, isn't it?" Delia asked frowning "doesn't everyone deserve the right to compete."
"Yeah, they do" Ash said "but if you've not won it by your fifth try then you're never going to win it. For instance, when I competed there was a guy named Mandy, you might remember the abomination. Anyway, that was his third attempt, and he's never once made it out of the group stage. His spot could have gone to someone who deserved it who was probably minutes too late to get into the 64 spots available and could have been sensational. Now that's on the trainer to get there in time, it's why I arrived there with days to spare just in case but Mandy is just one of several trainers who are ok as journeymen, but you'd never really want to take lessons or advice off them."
"Ash, not everyone can be like you or your dad" Delia pointed out.
"Yes, they can" Red said before Ash did "I came from nothing, as did Ash. Don't forget we grew up in this town, miles from a big city with nothing but my own brain and my own thoughts to get me to the top. I dedicated myself to being the best there ever was. I didn't have someone like Sam to coach me like he did with Blue, he never gave me physical pointers, I learned everything I could from listening to stories and became the youngest Pokémon Master ever. Ash didn't have anyone either by all accounts, oh sure he had Sam to bounce ideas off, but it was Ash who took bits from people, mashed them up and made them his own. The point is it can be done if you're willing to listen, but more importantly learn from any mistakes you make. These trainers are either far too lazy or far too content to be nothing more than average when they could be great. It's one of the reasons I wanted to travel like I did, hoping to find someone else like me. Ironically enough the closest I came was with the very man I grew up with who pushed me every step of the way. He became Champion before me by a few days because we both took the challenge at the same time and played Rock, Paper, Scissors for who would go first and he won."
"How does that work?" Ash asked, confused "isn't it just the winner of the Tournament that gets to challenge them?"
"Usually yeah" Red said "but we both drew our finals match. As you've likely been told we didn't get anywhere really in our first go at the Indigo League as we both made it through the group stage but lost in the next round, On our second try though I reached the quarters and Blue reached the semi's. It was on our third try that we both reached the final where our starters both knocked each other out so they declared us both the winners. We knew we were evenly matched, as did Charles Goodshow so we were both declared eligible for the Elite Four Challenge which we both breezed through if I'm honest.
Blue nearly lost against Lance but managed to scrape through whereas I learned from Blue's mistakes and spotted weaknesses I could exploit. As you know when our rematch happened, I won because of a move I'd taught, at great length to Lapras who amazingly had it as her egg move. I'd never bothered to use Spikes in battle before because I never felt the need to set up something like that, but I knew I needed an edge against Blue and that was it. I was very lucky in that battle that his Golem and Pidgeot didn't get rid of them all because they both certainly had the capability of doing so and his Blastoise had the unfortunate problem with his foot. Charizard should have taken a point-blank Hydro Pump, but everything came together at the right time, in a match I should have lost through recklessness. I felt so guilty for weeks afterwards, I even offered Blue a rematch, but he declined. Having the title of Champion was enough for him, it wasn't enough for me, so I travelled to make sure everyone, myself included, knew we weren't a fluke. Which brings us back to the main point, dedication and a willingness to learn makes a great trainer."
"I've said this," Ash said, nodding after taking it all in "the Elite Four didn't get where they are by thinking 'that'll do' is acceptable but sadly very few trainers think that way. Oooh maybe that can be my motto, I mean I've said it enough for it to be one and I can't nick your one dad even though it's something I've always lived by."
"The Golden Rule" he said nodding approvingly "It should be in every trainer's lexicon."
"Yes, well" Delia said "enough talk of shop for one day. Can you tell us anything about the phone call you've just been on?"
"Oh yeah" Ash said nodding "I'm taking delivery of two wooden ships that I've had custom made. They're not huge by any means, probably only twenty feet in length but I'm planning on sinking them in two places on my lake. We're taking delivery of some very rare Pokémon in the next few weeks that require a special habitat created for them. They're called Dreepy. They're ghost/dragon type and no one knows how they're created so we're hoping that by studying them we can gain some insight into that process. After all, how the hell do you tell the gender of a ghost?"
"Something that has never been figured out" Delia said "when I was the admin for Sam there was a young professor in Sinnoh who wondered the same thing and asked for help with funding from the Kanto League because the Sinnoh Board had turned him down. Sam had to reject him too because he believed it to be fruitless and a waste of money to finance it but I believe he gained private funding from elsewhere and still didn't find out anything.
"I remember reading that, I think" Ash said laughing "If I remember correctly all he came up with was 'Ghosts are formed from Pokemon that are killed or died unnaturally", something which we all knew or believed anyway."
"Sinking the ships sounds fun though." Red said.
"It should be" Ash replied nodding "I think Pikachu is more excited than I am. He believes that if ghosts occupy the ships they'll eventually turn into Ghost Ships."
"That starter of yours," Delia said, shaking her head in amusement.
"Sam, Blue and Laura may turn up too so we may have a full house tomorrow." Ash said as he washed his bowl and looked at the clock. Setting it in the drying rack he sat back down and looked at the clock "I need to get going soon, it's been a long day and tomorrow is shaping up to be the same. So, am I forgiven?"
Looking at him shrewdly Delia eventually nodded "Just try to be more aware of your surroundings next time Ash. And try not to be as public, it doesn't create a great impression of you."
"Good," he said, standing up and kissing her on the cheek before hugging her. "The boats are due to arrive at 1pm tomorrow, if you can't make it then don't worry about it." Clapping his dad on the shoulder he got a brief one armed hug from him before he left, arriving at home about twenty minutes later and heading to bed.
The next day went off without a hitch. The boats turned up on flatbed lorries around midday and were backed down to the lake where the Lapras Pod, along with his Gyarados hauled them to the two separate spots he had chosen that were either side if the small island in the centre flanking it like they were about to fire at each other. It truly was a sight to behold to the researchers that had gathered too, to watch two shiny Gyarados streak across the lake pulling a boat. They had both been fitted with small explosives inside their hulls that were designed to go off at the same time to sink them which thankfully also went off without a hitch. Ash made sure to stay out of the way of Venusaur who did nothing but grumble the whole time about how Ash was ruining is garden with pointless exploits, Pikachu on the other hand had took up Ash's cause and had been arguing with Venusaur and Ivysaur to an extent about how important creating a Ghost Ship was. Ash just left them to it as he saw the boats sink into the abyss and nodded, satisfied that he had stated to create another habitat with such a simple action. It was a large party that followed Ash back into his kitchen where he had made pasta for them all. Ash looked around at the various conversations that were going on and smiled, very content with listening in. getting a nudge from his side he looked at Zoe questioningly.
"That seems like a very thoughtful face" she said quietly "what's going on in there?"
"If I said not a lot would you believe me?" he asked, gaining a laugh "I'm just feeling quite content with life at the minute. Look around you, I know you've only known mum for a few years but I never thought this would happen for her. Life was pretty shit for twelve years for her without dad. I never planned on moving out until I was sixteen because I didn't want to leave her alone, something she was more than happy to go along with but now look at her. I've never seen her so happy. I never imagined I'd have the relationship with Blue or Gary I have because of how much of an arse Gary was to me growing up and I kind of didn't interact with Aunt Laura by proxy. I only had Sam and mum, now I have all of you. It's not something I ever envisaged happening."
"Me neither" Zoe said nodding and agreeing "for four years I had no one but Ava and I fully expected that to be my life, for life. Now we all have a big family and are valued. It's been nice."
"How are you and Gary doing?" he asked "if it's too personal then just say so."
"It's not" she said smiling "I doubt Gary is the one for me. For one I'm far too old for him and while he's been the perfect gentleman and looked after Ava I just don't think we're meant to be. Hopefully we will stay friends as I really don't want to lose you all."
"You won't" Ash said "for one mums basically adopted you so you can't get rid of us that easily, You're basically family at this point Zoe. Secondly this job is yours for as long as you want it, you've been amazing at it, which I knew you would be so never fear on that front. Plus you're Nia's best friend, she'd kill me if we abandoned you. Face it, you're stuck with us now."
"How is Nia?" Zoe asked, "I haven't heard from her in a few weeks."
"I spoke to her while I was on my way back from Goldenrod to Saffron" he replied "she's doing ok. I'm meeting up with her at the League in a few weeks while I'm there. It's been very strange that we became a couple and then haven't seen each other since but hopefully the time away hasn't changed anything for her. I do miss her."
"She misses you too" Zoe said "the holiday we had together was a bit strange. She spent the first part barely talking about you unless you were mentioned. The latter half though she did nothing but rant about women needing to know their place after the talk with the Gym Leader in Olivine."
"Jasmine" Ash said nodding "yeah that was a strange one. I had several conversations over those few days, all of which confused me but she's talked to me a lot since so I hope we're ok. Women baffle me."
"As we should" Zoe said laughing "all you need to know is that she's fiercely protective of you and any woman that thinks they can try something will be lucky to still be able to walk afterwards."
"But why?" Ash asked "nothing is ever going to happen from my end. She knows this."
"Ash, you can't be this stupid where it concerns Nia" Zoe said in disbelief "It's nothing to do with you really. It's others thinking they're allowed to even try and make sure everyone knows it."
"But Jasmine didn't try anything," Ash said, "not once."
"An issue that was prevented because your aura could have hurt her" Zoe said "we both know that had that not been the case then she'd have tried something."
"The lack of trust concerning me is appalling" Ash said darkly putting his drink down and glaring at Zoe "I'm not sure I'm happy with that. Am I destined to constantly be having arguments with her every time I talk to a woman she thinks is pretty and has a thing for me? I can't control what other people do Zoe, Nia should know this and I think it's pretty unfair that I'm expected to have to put up with that." standing up Ash left and walked out of the room and into his gym where Machamp was training. Without speaking Ash walked to the weight bench, lay down on it and began to lift.
Delia saw Ash walk off after seemingly having an argument with Ash and wondered what happened. Looking at Zoe she just received a shake in the head as response as Zoe picked up the tongs and placed more food onto her plate. Red, sitting at Ash's other side witnessed it too but said nothing as he had heard every word but decided to leave his son to do what he needed to do to blow off steam. He could sense Ash entering his gym so he wasn't worried about it, but it was likely a conversation he'd need to have with Ash, he thought his chat in Olivine would be enough, evidently not.
An hour and half later a freshly showered Ash walked back into the kitchen and saw his dad washing the dishes.
"Good workout?" Red asked not looking around.
"Yeah" he said "has everyone left?"
"No, they've moved to the gazebo to watch the sunset" Red said "it's looking to be a wonderful evening."
"Oh right, ok" Ash said "should I start up the Barbecue do you think?"
"That's an idea," Red said. "Wait there a minute." confused Ash watched as his dad wandered outside, dishcloth in hand. He returned a minute later nodding "everyone is up for it. Your mum is coming in with Laura to start on the salads but before she does is everything ok?"
As Ash moved to the freezer and brought out several packs of meats to defrost them he pondered on what to say. "No" he eventually said "I'm just irritated that I'm being called out for what other people might do or feel about me despite everyone knowing the biggest downside of being an aura user. What am I supposed to do, never talk to another female again?"
"Ah, memories," Red said, chuckling as he gazed seemingly into space. "I had this exact same argument with your mother when we got together. Ash, I'm just going to tell you one thing and I hope it sticks with you. You will never win that debate. Never. For the simple reason that we're wired differently. For us it's an easy conversation to have and an extremely simple mindset. We have one person who is ours for life and that's it. So while it doesn't exactly shout 'choice' it still promotes exclusivity. Now your partner on the other hand does not and cannot think like that. It's not their fault, just like it's not your fault either but being able to have multiple partners or the choice in having anyone you want creates a mindset that they just cannot fathom."
"I just hate that I'm not trusted enough" Ash said "If Nia is having conversations about wondering which girl is going to be hanging off me next then what does that say about me?"
"Ash, no one cares" Red said bluntly "they don't. You cannot stop people from thinking what they want to think and trust me it's worse when you have a partner, spouse etc. It's fear Ash, fear that they're going to be taken away from you, will leave you, will find someone they see as a better match. The only way to slow that is to have conversations and put their mind at ease and yes, constantly. Come to terms with it Ash, when you find someone who loves you, with all their heart don't let them go and don't be stupid enough to not have that conversation with them. You know your mum still has those thoughts? We've been together over thirty years now and she still thinks there's someone else out there who will be better for me but there has never been anyone I even remotely considered, even before I knew about aura. I saw her and that was it for me, I would have been devastated had my aura not chose her and I likely would have refused to acknowledge my actual destined mate had I then found them. Obviously there's now way of proving that theory but it's what I believe. As I said to you in Olivine, you need to decide whether or not Nia is the one that you want to have these arguments with because Ash, she's the only one you will ever be able to have them with."
Taking some of the packs of meat Red nudged him with his shoulder before leaving the kitchen leaving Ash on his own. A few minutes later his mum and Laura came bustling into the kitchen happily chatting, bringing Ash out of his reverie and he helped them find bowls before walking outside with the rest of the meat. The evening turned out to be a lot nicer for Ash that it shaped up to be.
The day afterwards Ash woke early, went through his usual morning routine and answered emails that he ignored yesterday. He sighed when he read he had a few meetings that morning and contemplated something he hadn't thought of since he was eleven.
"I need to learn to drive Pi" he said "I can't keep relying on Salamence to take me to places."
"You don't have the time right now do you?" Pikachu asked.
"Sadly no" Ash replied "but I think it's what I'll do when the Johto League is over. Anyway we need to be at the League by ten, there's some kind of sponsorship event Blue was meant to open."
The next ten days flew by for Ash in a myriad of meetings, TV events and general duties that his office had to undertake. He had seen Giovanni a few times and thankfully they kept it civil in front of other people but there was still an undercurrent of an issue between them both which Ash ignored. He had given Giovanni the ultimatum, it was down to him now to sort it out but Ash knew it was very unlikely Alexis or Giovanni would give up Silver. But as the league group stages were in full swing Ash was finally, finally making his way to Vermillion City to catch the SS Boat to Olivine City. He had another meeting to have, this one more important to Ash.