The Friday was spend by getting to know Rowlet a bit more. Delia was quite surprised he was given a shiny. She understood a bit when Ash told her what the professor told him about Professor Kukui. Rowlet was quite clingy to Ash, but she enjoyed the attention from Delia who just thought she was the cutest thing. Around lunch, Delia asked what he wants for lunch. To her surprise, Ash answered, "I actually want to cook myself, practicing for being on my own and all."

"Oh? Okay. Would you at least tell me what you want to cook?", she asked.

"Mm, Miso soup. A vegan variant. Albeit I want to ditch the tofu today.", Ash answered.

"So just broth with onions swimming in it? That's not sating enough.", Delia countered. "Maybe add something more substantial? Like rice? Glass noodles!"

"Mm, sure!"

Delia then relaxed on the couch, not having to cook. Rowlet relaxed with Delia. Rowlet may like her new trainer, but cooking is boring. An observation she made while living with Kukui and Burnett. Ash started by slicing three green onions. Then he boiled a bit over a liter of water to a boil. When that was reached, he lowered the heat to a gentle simmer and added four pieces of nori. When it was dissolved, he stained the broth and discarded the cooked Nori.

He then added the onions and simmered it until the onions were cooked through. He removed the pot from the heat and added a bit over four table spoons of red Miso paste. He would like to add more, but his mom doesn't like that. He would have used the yellow or white paste, both weaker than red miso paste, but the white one spoiled and the yellow was used up, so red it is and nothing more than the recipe says. While doing that, the rice cooker did its thing.

When the rice was done, he put rice into two bowls and put soup on it. Delia joined him on the dinner table and Rowlet fished some of the onions out of Ash's bowl. He then gave her a bowl of her own. "Looks like someone likes onions.", Delia commended.

After the light lunch, Ash was in their backyard and started to train with Ash. Delia watched for a bit while tending her flowers. Partly to make sure they don't step into the flower beds. She saw that Ash was checking what moves Rowlet has. Delia shook her head. She remembered when Farron, at the time just her best friend, got his Squirtle. Despite her not being a trainer, he talked up a storm about how to train a new Pokemon.

"Ash, you do it all wrong. You need to build your Pokemon's agility, stamina and accuracy before trying anything else.", she said, remembering what Farron told her, "And speed! Maybe let her fly a few rounds and see what her limit is?"
"Mm, that sounds right. Come, Rowlet!"

Rowlet flew into the air and flew over the garden. Rowlet dodged the trees surrounding the fence. By Sunday evening, she flew into the trees less, was faster and could last longer.

It was Monday. Early in the morning. Turns out, Rowlet is not an early bird, so she rested in Ash's backpack as Ash walked to the Lab. One overtired assistant – good old Tracey – guided him to the out door area. There was Professor Oak, equally tired. He was talking to three people. From tired to awake, there was a slick dark haired guy in a ranger uniform. Besides him was a blonde woman, her hair was voluminous and her piercing blue eyes spotted Ash. She wore outdoor clothes like a hiker, yet she was very feminine at the same time. Then there was the very buff and recognizable form of Lieutenant Surge in his military clothing. If he wasn't serving Kanto, he was the gym leader of Vermilion. If he wasn't doing that, he was apparently helping to train On-Field Trainers and Researchers.

The woman then walked to Ash, surprising the other three guys. They then also noted Ash.
"You could have told us that the kid is here!", a slick guy said.

"Whatever, Judas." She turned to Ash, "Bonjour, Ash. I am Aurore Laverne. Professor Sycamore asked me to help old Oak with your training.", she said, "Apparently kantonian OFTR's are too busy with the Mindless to handle newbies."

"Not really, Ms. Laverne. They are busy finding missing people before they turn into Mindless.", Lt. Surge corrected her. "The Mindless are handled by more qualified folks, like the military or the Champion's G-Men."

"If you say so, Mattis.", she replied, annoyed that he called her lesser qualified. "I will teach you skills that will come in handy as an OFTR."

"I will help with hand-to-hand combat. A new addition to prepare for the case of walking into a certain type of Mindless.", Lt. Surge explained. "I will also teach you to battle with Pokemon."

"And I will tutor you, so that you can handle more mission-esque stuff. Like you heard, OFTR are often asked to find missing people.", the third said. "I am Judas Starman. Nice to meet you. Oak told us you have spooky powers?"

"Y-Yeah.", Ash answered. He made a few stones float.

"Oh! These will come in handy!", Judas said, eyeing Ash's showcase impressed.

Aurore told Ash, "Doesn't mean you can just rely on them, kid. Right, Mattis?"

"Right."

Lieutenant Mattis Surge instantly noticed that he already worked on Rowlet's base skills. But that doesn't mean he didn't go any soft on Ash over the week, especially at hand-to-hand combat. Judas was watching them and flinching every time Mattis slammed Ash on the ground. He somewhat had the duty from keeping Ash's Rowlet from attacking the lieutenant. From what Samuel told him about her treatment of the alolan professor, he could see her pecking out Surge's eyes.

Aurore the while was talking to Samuel.

"Thank you that you offered your services.", the professor said, thanking the kalosan beauty for her help.

"It is no problem. I am moving to Kanto anyway soon with my husband.", she told him, "He is from Kanto, you see."

"Oh, so you will join the kantonian OFTR?"

"Actually I plan to either join Champion Lance's group or the Rangers. Being an OFTR gets boring after so long.", Aurore admitted.

Aurore's tutoring was mainly surviving skills and what to do in situations. Ranging from helping doing research to handling irritated Pokemon. But also what to do if one finds a Mindless. Well, what to do depends from Mindless. Some are just lost and have a gap in their memories. Others act like zombies from the movies and attack on sight. It is a spectrum of broken minds, really.

She showed him foraging, including mushrooms and stuff to cook with them on the go. While they made mushroom curry, Tracey was close by. Aurore asked if he wanted some and he ate over half of it. Ash found this hilarious, Aurore not so much.

Judas tutored him how to multitask these skills and how to solve problems with Rowlet outside of battles. Judas wanted to help Ash to climb trees, but Ash was better than his teacher, so they skipped this part. What Ash had to practice, though, was jumping off and landing with a roll.

On Wednesday, while on Lunch break – Ash had to cook and Aurore taught him what to forage for – they talked about what waits for Ash after the exam. Lieutenant Mattis Surge had some advice to share, "In my time as a gym leader, I met so many trainers who accepted sponsorship's. Which – besides the image of being a paid show pony – isn't bad, but so many newbies accepted very predatory deals or were simply scammed. So if you get a deal, think about it and read the contract."

Ash answered, surprised by the topic, "Can I even accept sponsorship's as an OFTR?"

"Yes, but you have to inform Oak.", the lieutenant answered.

"Albeit many people don't like to see OFTR's accepting these.", Aurore chimed in, "At least that is the case in Kalos."

"A save bet are deals from league officials, otherwise don't accept anything in your first year.", Judas shared his two cents on the matter. Mattis agreed with a nod.

"Ms. Laverne, what exactly waits for me as an OFTR?", Ash asked the only woman in their group.

"There is a lot, actually. Remember how we said OFTR's are often tasked to find missing persons? When the phenomena of the Mindless first appeared, a friend of my husband was tasked to find a trainer in Kanto. They found the trainer, of course, but he was a Mindless. Albeit back then the term Mindless was meaningless, it was one of the first.", Aurore told him, "He found him wandering though Viridian forest, just muttering gibberish and, uh, urinating while walking very unrefined. My friend could just hold the trainer at an arm and call for support, he then guided him to the city. Poor soul, he is apparently still in a mental ward."

"Most Mindless are found in that forest. Or near Viridian City for that matter.", Surge commented.

"But don't forget, there are also some in Johto.", Judas added, "And it isn't unheard of that some appear in other regions. Or planes."

"Yes, but the one Mindless found in Unova, on a plane at that, is nothing against the nearly hundred found in Viridian last year.", Aurore said. "It is clear they originate here in Kanto. The further away from this region, the less they appeared so far."

"Can we change the topic before I decide to demand that Gary returns?", Oak asked, "He won't be happy that I change my mind now, because of paranoia."

Soon it was Sunday, the day of Ash's exam to become an On-Field Trainer and Researcher. His mother is equally excited for this day. She made him an extra nutritious breakfast. She was also allowed to observe the exam. Not that there was much to observe for her.

Surge explained, "Your task is to use the skills we taught you to find Tracey, who is hiding in this small forest near Pallet Town. Unless you get really lucky, you should have to make lunch, which will demand your foraging skills. And of course, you may be attacked by wild Pokemon. You can catch them, but we all know there is a low chance you find a ghost type."

"The chance isn't zero, though.", Judas commented. "Good luck."

With that, Ash walked into the forest. Despite it being small, at least smaller than the Viridian forest, he decided to mark the trees he passed with chalk to find his way. Rowlet sat on his head and looked in any direction her trainer didn't see. While they were focusing on finding Tracey, they also kept their eyes open for anything to forage. After all, Surge aid they won't be done until after.

In the same vein, they did get attacked by a wild Pokemon, a Misdreavus.

"Who is bothering me?", the Misdreavus asked. Ash understood her perfectly clear.

"I am sorry, Misdreavus. I am looking for an acquaintance who is hiding somewhere here.", explained Ash. Despite knowing that her trainer can understand ghost types – only then, not her, which she isn't happy about – she is still surprised that he just understands this Pokemon. That could be jealousy speaking, though.

"Oh, may I help you, then?"

"Thanks, but no. You see, this is kinda an exam for me to track him down.", Ash said, "I am sure your help would be cheating."

"Mm, fine.", the Misdreavus answered before leaving. "Good luck."

Rowlet relaxed when the ghost left. Unbeknownst to Ash, Judas and Aurore were shadowing him.

"Did he just talk to that ghost type?", Judas whispered in disbelief.

Delia answered in his ear piece, "One of Ash's powers is that he can understand ghost types. Only ghost types. I assume he didn't use his powers much while you were training him?"

"To be fair, we told him not to rely on them over the week.", Surge chimed in, "So it simply wasn't a big topic."

By lunch, they still haven't found Tracey. Not that they expected to. Ash decided to cook, he made mushroom curry. Rowlet and him collected a good amount while walking though the forest, despite Ash rejecting any mushroom he was not fully sure was edible. Better save than sorry!

"Maybe Tracey gets attracted by the smell, it is his favorite after all.", Ash said to Rowlet. While the plan was to attract Tracey, Judas was the one who wanted the curry, but Aurore held him back.

Rowlet perked up when she heard something.

"Rowlet?"

"Ah!", they heard someone yell. Out of a bush came Tracey racing for his life. He was followed by a trainer. "Mindless! Help!"

"Follow the markings on the trees!", Ash yelled to Tracey. Ash then stood up and followed the Mindless, Rowlet followed suit. "Rowlet, take them down!" Rowlet flew high, before attacking from the air, tackling the Mindless to the ground. Ash activated his powers, purple aura around his hands. The same aura, like tentacles, reached for the Mindless. Even in Ash's ghostly grasp, the Mindless was still trashing around.

Then Aurore and Judas jumped out of the tree and helped Ash with the Mindless.

Tracey ran out of the forest, giving Samuel and Oak a scare. He collapsed and Delia helped him. Soon after, Ash, Aurore and Judas came out of the forest, thanks to Judas' psychic type who knew Teleportation. Lt. Surge called the authorities about the Mindless they found. He soon was picked up. After that, Lt. Surge said loudly, "I would consider that exam passed."
"Agreed.", Aurore said. Judas just gave a nod. "Professor Oak?"
"Mm, yes.", Samuel agreed.

Half an hour later, he gave Ash his OFTR license, then Ash and Delia returned home. On the way, Delia was silent. On one hand, she is worried that Ash runs into dangers like the Mindless, but she saw Ash can handle them. Now she is just worried he becomes a Mindless himself.

With his OFTR license hanging on his lanyard, and the digital copy on his dex, Ash finally left Pallet Town and made his way to Viridian City on his bicycle. He may not plan to challenge the gym there – not that he could, the gym leader only accepts challengers with eight badges – but Viridian is a good spot to get supplies and to train at the Pokemon center. Despite being so close, Delia demanded he'll call her as soon as he arrives. Not like much happens in that short walk. How wrong he was.

He passed a river, where he found a girl with a broken bicycle. Well, she had a flat. He got off his bicycle and approached her and asked, "Hey, do you need help? I could patch your tube."

"Uh, sure. If you can.", she replied. She then saw his white hair. "What's up with the white?"

"Long story short, weird accident and a near death experience.", Ash answered, "But hey, now I am easy to spot. Which, considering that I'm an On-Field Trainer and Researcher for Professor Oak, so I guess this is good?"

"That's pretty cool. Now, what's your name Mr. OFTR?"

"Ash Ketchum, you?"

"Misty Waterflower.", she replied. "I fish a bit while you patch the tube, okay?"
"Sure.", Ash said, "Are-Are you related to the Waterflower sisters from Cerulean?"

"Mm, yes..." Misty answered. "But I am not like them!"
"So, you're not a water specialist?"

"Oh, no, I mean yes. I specialize in water types.", she said while fishing. "What about you?"
"I try to specialize in Ghost types."

"Ghost types?", she asked surprised. He could sense the feeling of weirdness coming from her.

"I know Kanto has only one native species. But that is part of the challenge.", Ash answered, "I mean, I would need to try to get foreign Pokemon, but as an OFTR, I already got my starter covered. An alolan grass and ghost type. Well, she still has to evolve into a grass type."

"Sounds like you're prepared to face my sisters.", Misty said. "Can I see your starter?"
"She is in my bag pack, she likes to nest in there.", Ash explained, gesturing to his bag. Rowlet was in there, her face peaking out. He was done with the patching and the bicycle was complete again.

"She is cute-Ah!" Despite the river being small, Misty managed to fish up a Gyarados, a notorious water type. Her fear was stronger than anyone's who faces a Gyarados. A phobia, Ash is sure.

Rowlet instantly attacked the Gyarados and Ash activated his powers. He made nearby boulders and rocks float and smacked them into the Gyarados face until it decided to vanish. Misty was shocked to see his display of his powers.

"What... was that?" He could sense a different type of fear, one he knows from some of his neighbors and people of Pallet.

"Like I said, freak accident and a near death experience.", Ash said, "Your bicycle is done."

"Uh, thanks.", said she. She then drove off.

Ash sighed. Sometimes he hated his ghostly powers and white hair. He is too weird for too many people to handle.

AN: Ey! The recipe from Red Roses, Black Roses makes a reappearance!

Recipe for Miso soup, a Japanese umami flavored soup, vegan, for four people:

Required time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients (will be metric, convert it yourself, Amis):

1,2 liters water

1 sheet Nori (dried seaweed)

half a block of extra firm tofu (drained well and cubed)

3 green onions, thinly sliced

70g Miso paste, add more after tasting, any variety (red Miso is the strongest, use carefully or use yellow or white Miso)

Instructions:

1.) In a large pot, bring water to a boil over high heat. Now reduce to maintain a gentle simmer. Break up nori into 3 to 4 pieces and add to water. Simmer for 1-2 Minutes until it breaks down.

2.) Remove from heat and pour broth through a mesh strainer into another pot. Return strained broth into the first pot and return to the stove top over medium heat. Discard nori.

3.) Add tofu and green onions. Bring to a gentle simmer for 1-2 minutes to warm tofu throughout.

4.) Remove from heat. Add miso paste. Dissolve using a spoon or spatula.

Started: 12th September 2023

Edited: 29th July

Finished: 12th September 2023

Uploaded: 9th October 2024