Helpless

by Epoxy-Resin

The disabled population is the world's largest minority of which anyone can become a part of at any time. "Peekaboo," said misfortune and jumped the already weakened boy. Ash wouldn't be Ash if he didn't try to get up again, though he's going to have to face he won't be able to do it on his own.

45. Kryptonite

And we're off! Also, I don't know why this website told everyone there was an update, while it was a repeat message from chapter 44 but here we go, the real update, chapter number 45.

Enjoy!

---

Today is a bad day for him, he wakes up with aching joints and doesn't even manage to put his prosthesis on himself. No, he has Pikachu go and fetch his uncle, like the sucker he's feeling like right now, to help him put it on but it gives Lance ample opportunity to see that his energy level is below average today.

"Take it easy for today, I'm sad to say it but we've got places to be today so spare that little energy you've got."

"Ugh. Where are we going?"

"The hospital, you're limping."

"Ugh."

Yes, he's not very vocal and no, people looking at him all morning as he stumbles down the stairs and plops onto the couch as if he's sixty years older than he is right now, aren't helping him be happier about this.

"Man, if this is what it feels like to be old, it sucks," he huffs and Meep croons at him before choosing his neck as her lounging spot.

It's perfect, his neck is one of the only jointed spots that doesn't hurt today so she's welcome to lay there for as long as she likes. Steven, though, is empathic enough to know that this entire deal with his prosthesis is a hard nut to crack and sure, he's had bad days before but no one was there to witness them. This time, though, he's got an audience. Steven's hands are warm, he wants to melt into them and must have drifted to sleep again as his uncle is suddenly there again, with a sandwich.

"Here, you might not have the chance to eat anything later."

He takes it automatically but turns to the clock, frowning heavily to see that it's barely ten in the morning.

"Yes, the appointment is at eleven thirty, we're leaving in ten minutes."

Yeah well, then he's taking this sandwich with him. Ash really doesn't want to go outside, it's misty and cold out there and inside, it's warm and cosy. What a horrible day to go to the hospital, as if that place isn't dreary enough. But well, his uncle must be worried about his limp, Kozzy and Mewmew love to remind him he has a part that doesn't grow along with him so that's probably why he's limping but he didn't think he'd grow so much in one year to make such a difference. Also, if he's going to be feeling like this every time a prosthesis doesn't work out for him any more, he'll scream.

"Come on, buddy."

Ash straightens from the couch for his uncle's sake, though grits his teeth as his hips don't agree with his limp any longer.

"Okay, that hurts. Is this why we're going to the hospital?"

"Yes, it is."

"Am I going to need a new prosthesis? Oh, what if they need to make a whole new one, it took like months for it to arrive, what if it falls around the date you planned your surprise for me?"

"Then we make do. Don't worry about it, buddy, your health is more important than whatever surprise, even if you're looking forward to it. And if you're that concerned about it, if it needs to happen, I can postpone it, I'm not taking any risks when your well-being is at stake."

He nods, taking a shaky breath. It's not cool to feel as bad as that little card that deems him invalid shows, as if his uncle isn't worried enough about him. Hell, even walking doesn't work out, Leon must have been made aware of this because the only reason why Ash's tailbone isn't up his spine, is because the man caught him after the teen slipped from the very first step to the outside.

"Easy does it," Leon says as he helps him up. "You good?"

"… Not today, no. Could you help me to the car, please? I don't think I can do it on my own today."

"Ey, no problem, little lad. Up you go."

Arceus, he's glad dr. Knight taught him to ask for help but did Leon really need to carry him to the car, in full princess-style? Just lending him a steady hand or an arm would have worked too but no, this must be easier for him, apparently.

"Okay?" Lance asks after Ash's ordeal is over.

"No? I'll be fine, though, no worries."

"This is the first time I've seen you suffer like this. Try to tell me not to worry again, buddy, it's not going to work, not today."

He shrugs, helpless because yeah, he sees what his uncle is trying to say.

"It's happened before, in Kalos. Not this bad but it was warm in that pokémon centre room but my room last night was cold. But there was no one but my pokémon around me, I never felt it coming either."

"Maybe it's stress-related. You've had a good while of suffering behind you. I really hope you'll be more at ease without the limp and I pray nothing bad happens and that your dreams allow you to stay in your bed."

"I had a fun one last night, though. Do you want to hear it?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"So I was at the beautiful open plain, with like little puddles and funny looking Woopers but as I trailed along, I saw this huge tree with big red fruit sticking out of it so I went towards it and I saw Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno but they looked different. Like, really different. But they liked me, I rode on the Zapdos' back and the Moltres was trying to follow but the Articuno was playing tricks on it so it never managed to keep up. In fact, the Articuno really reminded me of Will, for some reason."

His uncle chuckles at that.

"Did you get a picture?"

"Oh yeah, they look super caught on it too, it's really funny but also super cool. I'll show you when we're at the hospital, we'll probably be sitting there for a good while anyway."

"Probably yeah. I wonder, have you ever encountered a person in those dreams?"

"… Once, I believe. Oh, man, what are the chances of me meeting that girl again? What if she's real? I bet we'll both be freaked out by each other."

"Oh, then you probably got a good look at her, huh? Did she see you too?"

"Yeah, we spoke to each other. I got her to touch a Tauros belly despite her really looking apprehensive to approach it."

"That sounds believable, I don't think anyone could stay afraid of a pokémon near you," Lance chuckles. "Either way, the chances of you meeting her again are pretty small, do you know where that dream happened?"

"I can't be sure, I mean, I've had dreams that took me to Unova, Galar and Alola. But I didn't see much except for a whole lot of grass and trees and shrubs, it did look well-maintained, like it was the garden of an office or like, the pokémon company. It was warm, though but other than that… the humidity did remind me of another dream I had and that was definitely in Alola, I looked it up, and I think I saw Wella Volcano Park in the distance. But if it was Alola… is there an office?"

"There is a school," Lance answers and he has a funny, cheeky smile on his face.

"Oh, that's cool. I wonder if they're trying to help her with the pokémon then, I don't think life on those islands must be nice for someone who isn't comfortable around pokémon. The whole place is teeming with them, even when you think you can't see any, there still are a couple who can definitely see you. The poor kid, she must be terrified."

"Are you scared?"

"No? I just think Alola is that sort of place where you can't even trust a doorknob to suddenly have an opinion on its own, like, laws of nature and all of that. That you'll be strung high and dry for 'disrespect' and that sort of thing."

"You're not wrong there, buddy," the man laughs. "But now I wonder what sort of dream you had about that place that ended with you having that sort of opinion."

"Nothing bad, it's just that I think you can't really… Yeah, the pokémon sort of force the respect. That they show they have the upper hand, not always in subtle ways."

Lance nods and well, that's the end of it, the traffic becomes heavy and while his uncle doesn't become as heated as professor Elm, Ash figures it's better if he leaves the man be. It's always so busy between the border of Johto and Kanto, that the boy wonders why so many cross it, it's two days before New Year's Day so why are they being so busy? And well, a lot of these cars have even more foreign plates, Ash sees one from Oblivia and now he wonders how the hell this car came all the way here.

But well, once they're across the border, the road becomes wider and considering they don't have to leave the highway, the road is also wide open. His uncle's experience makes them perfectly on time for the appointment but as per usual, they are shown to a waiting room until the doctor can see them.

"Do I have an appointment with dr. Martin, then?" Ash asks and Lance nods.

"Yes, he's the doctor in charge of your case, though I didn't get to speak to him directly when I made the appointment. Though the nurse claims that they organised a meeting between him and the one who was in charge of your prosthesis because I already knew what the issue was."

"Oh, so I could see Miss Eleanor again too?"

"Maybe so, I'm not sure. They're going to have to measure how much you've grown and see what else changed. Maybe even check the wear and tear on your prosthesis but well, I'm not a doctor or a specialist so who knows what they'll be doing."

"Well, I'm going to have to have a temporary one anyway. Think they'll have a case of spare limbs on wheels?"

"No clue, but I bet you'd like to see it."

Ash grins, of course, he would like to see someone rolling a case full of these different sorts of prosthetic limbs around. It's part of his life now so he might as well have a giggle about it while he can, right? Still, he gets bored very quickly as his uncle falls into a comfortable silence so he does get out his phone. He knows he's promised to show Lance the picture but it seems his uncle forgot all about it as he's typing away on his phone. So Ash figures he can keep himself entertained, though as he struggles to log into the hospital's internet network -the login password isn't only long but his phone doesn't let him see what he typed- it does seem that his phone is still sort of connected to someone's internet because he gets notifications of people's updates but he really can't be bothered to look at it right now.

When he's successfully logged in, the first notification he sees, is that Clemont posted a message with a picture of him and his 'boyfriend' so, of course, Ash clicks on it. He blinks when he spots the black-haired teenager who looks suspiciously a lot like professor Sycamore. And this Alain has a profile of his own and yep, there's a link to Augustine Sycamore on it but like hell will Ash click on it, he knows that the app allows people to see who visited their profile and professor Sycamore is tech savvy enough to figure that out and if it wasn't for his quick escape, it would have been highly likely that the professor wanted to have a chat with him, in fact, just thinking about it makes Ash happier that the tournament in Kalos never even happened. But he's not mad about Clemont having a boyfriend, he just puts in a dry 'congratulations' underneath the boy's original post and leaves it at that. Kalos is over and done for him.

"Ash Ketchum?"

The boy perks up and smiles, his uncle shoots up as well but Ash… he doesn't exactly manage. His hip doesn't want to cooperate, in fact, he's quicker back onto the chair than he stood up from it.

"O-oh… oh, this isn't good," he utters and looks straight into Lance's worried eyes.

"You'll be okay, buddy. Slow and steady now."

The entire act leaves him in pain and his limp is so noticeable that the nurse asks him if he needs a wheelchair. Ash declines, he might not be able to get out of it again like in the state he's currently in but damn, walking crooked has left him in shambles, which sucks badly. Mewmew tells him that he's grown five centimetres and a half so yes, he's definitely walking crooked. Dr. Martin is aware of his issues and has the softest chair ready for him to sit in and Miss Eleanor has his prosthesis off before he knows it.

"So, how are you feeling?" the doctor asks.

"I… I'm having a rough day today. I swear it usually isn't like this."

"I can tell, still, you seem to be holding up okay. Are you ready to be measured?"

"Sure. It's about five centimetres and a half, though," the boy answers, trying to be helpful but well, dr. Martin isn't ready to accept that.

The door opens and the physiotherapist Brandon slips in, all smiles until he sees the chair, his expression falls and now the boy wonders what the meaning of this piece of furniture is. Ash yelps as the back of the chair suddenly reclines and the doctor pops back in sight.

"Y-you could have warned me about that," he utters as the man slowly pushes him down until he's lying as flat as this chair's back currently is.

"I'm sorry, the system jammed. Lay still for me, okay?"

It's not like he can go anywhere from this position but well, turns out that all this had been unnecessary since he did indeed grow exactly five and a half centimetres. And while the doctor doesn't say anything to that, Miss Eleanor sort of smiles mysteriously when she hears it. Dr. Martin goes ahead with straightening the chair again and explaining what they're going to do but well, that prosthesis fitting is something he still remembers, it's special enough and it happened at a time when he had been so needy to experience something different than the usual hospital spiel but turns out, his leg is just too short, all the rest is still exactly the same.

"Well, your family has tall people so it should not come as a surprise," Miss Eleanor says. "But it does mean I need to make a new prosthesis. Do you have complaints about this one?"

"I've never worn another one, I wouldn't know the difference."

"Well, I have a few temporary ones," she answers and yes, there is a case with limbs.

It's funny, they're all jet black but different in shape and frankly, Ash doesn't have a clue what he's supposed to say or do. He does convey that his previous prosthesis was a little too heavy for him, especially in comparison to the ones which are on display. She does make notes of that, though so maybe that was a complaint? Either way, he's intrigued when Lance pipes up that he hasn't been overly active with his previous prosthesis, that it also seemed to slow him down and her response to that, is getting out a slim, sleek black curved prosthetic limb. With Brandon's help, he's quickly got another prosthesis on and standing on it but oof, it's different and they can tell from his face.

"Are you okay?" Brandon asks, face full of concern but Ash smiles at him.

"Yes, it's… it's so weird. How could this feel so different?"

Miss Eleanor tells him that there are different types of prostheses and that, when he's fully grown, he could own several, each for their own function if needed but yes, there are ones for running, stability, comfort and Ash? He's still baffled because his previous prosthesis felt like a dead weight, while this one feels lighter than his own leg. She confirms that this is a prosthesis commonly used for running and if it wasn't for all his other joints to still be upset at something, he would have attempted it but no, not today.

"I will remember to make your next one lighter, then," she says and nods at him with a kind expression on her face. "Though, as you can tell, this prosthesis doesn't require a shoe, instead, there is a rubber piece on the end to represent a sole of a shoe, for friction."

"Oh," he answers as he's still holding onto his left shoe, not really knowing what to do with it until Meep comes into his field of vision, her greedy little claws overly ready to keep his redundant left shoe safe.

And she holds it protectively, though Ash can't imagine anyone willing to take it from her.

"Please do be careful," Miss Eleanor says and he can tell she's noted his lack of activity, he remembers how badly he wanted out of the bed at the time she came for the first fitting of a prosthesis while now, Ash would to great lengths to be in a bed.

Preferable at home, though, where it's just Lance and the people he trusts can see him curled up with his pokémon. But it's bad weather outside, he turns to the window as it whistles when a bit of wind manages to breeze through, pulling a face at the high-pitched sound.

"Is there anything else you feel like I need to incorporate into the design? Next to it being lighter than the previous one?"

"… Is there an option for it to have a slight glow to it? Not for the aesthetics but I do use crutches when I go to the bathroom at night and I typically prop my prosthesis against my nightstand but whenever I accidentally knock into it with my crutches, it makes such a weird noise that it wakes all of my pokémon up. And that is a big problem when I need to visit the bathroom really urgently," he confesses.

"Oh, I need to think about that. I cannot risk putting electricity in it but I don't know if glow-in-the-dark material will end up glowing long enough. Hmm…"

"It doesn't have to be fully glowing, just so I can see where it is. But if it's not possible, I might as well put a nightlight somewhere so that it shines on it."

Even though that doesn't sound ideal, his pokémon will just pull it out of the socket if it bothers them, which it will because nightlights these days are just straight-up beams of light but he's not going to risk bothering Miss Eleanor with this if it really is impossible. Anyway, she just clarifies whether he's okay with something special, like his previous prosthesis and sure, Ash enjoys something artsy and as long as it's not too abstract, he's down with it. But yeah, this temporary one is going to take a while to get used to so for good measure, as his appointment ends -on a much more positive note than it started- the boy grabs his uncle's arm, just in case.

"Okay?" Lance asks again when they're back in the car and well, at this point, Ash just wants to go home.

"Mm."

"Hungry?"

"Nope. Just weary, I'm going to need a nap."

"That's okay, we'll be home quicker anyways, coming to Kanto always takes longer than going to Johto."

"Great."

However, as they cross the border, Lance's phone buzzes and the man automatically gives the device to Ash since he told everyone in advance not to call him unless it's an emergency and the boy fumbles to hold it. Today really isn't his day but he's confused to see a picture of a whole lot of pizzas.

"I think they went and got into food and something mentioned crafting," he says and his uncle chuckles.

"Really now?"

"Yeah, there's like… thirteen weird pizzas in this picture."

"… How sure are you that they didn't secretly order take-out?"

"Do you know a company that is legally allowed to use the design of a pokéball for a pizza?"

"Is that something they can consider copyright?" Lance frowns but Ash shrugs.

"I wish I could show you just how eerily similar it is, uncle. They went to town with that cheese, though, the whole house will be smelling like it."

"It's smelled worse before," the man grimaces. "I remember the transition of a gas stove to induction, Clair was going to make caramel. Turns out she didn't know how much quicker it would be, I had to throw the pot out because the sugar had just unified and become one with it. And the whole house smelled burnt for at least a week, it's nothing but a miracle she didn't set off the fire alarms. Also? Never give you pokémon bean paste."

"The only pokémon I have who likes bean paste is Pignite but he eats very little of it. Why, did one of your pokémon get into the pantry?"

"No, it was a prank. There's just no stopping a hungry dragon-type and Flygon is too used to getting treats and thankfully, Karen made it so that Flygon didn't eat the glass jar but well…"

"Would Flygon really have eaten the jar whole?"

"If there was a bit in it that he couldn't reach, absolutely."

"That would have killed Flygon, though, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, yes, it would. Needless to say, I'm famously known for having a prank allergy ever since."

"There's a fine line between a prank and just being cruel for no reason," Ash says and he frowns, deactivating the phone since he won't answer the message in Lance's stead. "Just sitting around the corner to spook someone is innocent enough but chasing someone with a Bug-type when they're known for being phobic with is cruel."

"Sounds like you don't like pranks either, huh?"

"I don't."

Not without considering how he grew up around asshole number one and two, Gary and Green. And of course, his mother would dote on those two so much, even claiming how she would have wanted them as kids and not him, the victim of their assholery so suffice to say, Ash is deadly allergic to pranks. Lance doesn't ask for clarification, in the end, that should always be how it's supposed to go but also, his uncle is a good man. His mother is just not a good person and Gary and Green… well, they both have a mark on their criminal record, in Green's case multiple since she's got sticky fingers but Gary's fraud is a heavier hitting mark than her stealing stuff, especially since she doesn't care for the value of the things she steals. Then again, Green did flaunt her diagnosis as a kleptomaniac like a badge of honour, as if it was somehow an excuse for her behaviour and her parents enabled it, playing the pity card for their daughter's issues as if they couldn't have sought out for help for Green when it still mattered.

There's no helping Gary either, the idiot hasn't contacted him and instead resorted to throwing vague pity parties about 'how friends should always be there for each other' crap online. It made Ash want to scratch his eyes out, so he has just blindsided Gary's assholery as if it's really his part of apologising to someone who wanted him dead. And no, he doesn't want to hear the shit Zoë sent him either, that he shouldn't say that Gary did want him dead but that it was his 'grieving' process but she couldn't answer him when he told her that Gary did want to see him dead, that he didn't want to imagine him any worse or better off than the idiot he got to know him as and didn't want to imagine needing to help him, or god forbid, adapt to the situation at hand because Gary never cares when the situation isn't about Gary. At least Misty and Brock understood it for what it was, thank heavens for small mercies but also, he would have expected better from them. Sure, Gary lives across the street but they could have taken the bus to Pallet, it only takes twenty minutes top. Hell, Ash gave Misty a bike three years ago so unless she pawned it off to keep him on a leash and gaslight him into thinking he never did buy her one, she could have taken her bike, that would only have taken her around ten minutes to come to check up on him, but noy.

They could have come over at any minute, really, but they just went and donated for his funeral, as if that's something his mother would have let Gary do, in the first place. Ash is still curious to know how Gary managed to feed these kids that story but well… he won't be mad at them for having feelings. Disbelief probably paid a huge role in why they never came to verify, to check if he was indeed dead, even though that would mean speaking to his mother, who was already losing a couple of marbles and screws at the time. Especially since he's gone through all sorts of Tauroscrap and came out just fine, even now, he likes to think he's come out better than before. Sure, his health snags on some occasions but he has a family who cares for him now. They listen to him and only judge when he's out there with his mystical nonsense and he respects that but his mother would never have! And Lance, oh, he's so grateful for him, the man is the father figure he never had, with professor Oak being a 'Now I'm here and now I'm not' sort of person and he loves him so much for it. Ash doesn't like how he troubles him so often but he can't imagine being a little whiny about an ache around his mother, she would leave him hanging for a long time, while Lance is all over him at the slightest wince. This change couldn't have come at a better time but-

"There we go, let's see if the house indeed smells like cheese," Lance chuckles.

Are they home already?

"Are you okay, buddy?"

"Yeah, I was… thinking," he answers and hands him his phone back, he hadn't realised he was still holding onto it for all this time.

"All good still?"

"Yes, I… Have I ever said that I love you, uncle? Because I do."

"Where does that suddenly come from?" the man asks, looking a little startled all of a sudden.

"I just… realised something," Ash says and falters, not knowing what else to say but when he looks up, his uncle is no longer in his seat but the sound of the car door opening right next to him, lets him know that the man is still right there with him.

Lance reaches over to loosen his seatbelt and grabs him in such a close hug, actually carrying him so closely, oh, in the state and mindset he's in right now, he just melts into his arms.

"I love you too, kiddo," the man murmurs but the boy hears him just fine. "Let's get you inside, in the warmth."

He didn't need to carry him inside but Ash won't complain. Pikachu and Meep automatically follow, the little dragon still possessively holding onto his left shoe. He notices a distinct lack of cheese smell as soon as Lance closes the door behind them and Pikachu ruffles out his coat as if he had felt snow on top of him. But it looks cute and well, Ash doesn't want to let go of his uncle but there are nosy people in the house and the sound of the front door is loud enough, so they can't linger too long in the hallway without someone coming to check if they're okay.

"There you go," he says as he puts him on the ground again.

Ash somehow manages to lean against Meep to get off his other shoe and without realising it, leans with his full weight on his new prosthesis. He's confused about how he managed to forget he's got it on but well, it's sturdy enough to keep him upright so that's nice to know. It's more of an issue to get his left shoe back from Meep but in the end, all she wants to do is put the shoe next to his right one herself. So he lets her do that and follows his uncle into the living room but his uncle tells him that, if he wants, he can go and sleep, that he'll let him sleep if he wants to.

"Please, I don't want to be awake feeling like this."

"I'll come with you, I'll put on the heated blanket."

"Yes, please."

---

Ash yawns widely and stretches, Pikachu rolling into his arms perfectly, he doesn't need to open his eyes to catch his little buddy, he's already caught him and this heated blanket? Ten out of ten would recommend it, this is a game changer, Ash feels so much better but dear lord, he must have worried everyone so badly. And he's right, Lance comes into the room, it's barely six but his uncle is already up, which can only mean one thing. Issues.

"Hey, buddy," the man says, voice velvety and warm. "How are you feeling?"

"Nice, it's warm."

"Alright, at your own pace, okay?"

"Mm, just a little longer," Ash answers, not fully out of his snuggle phase just yet.

"No problem, take as long as you need, it's the day of New Year's Eve anyway."

Oh, that's right. Still, the thought of it isn't chasing him out of bed yet, his pokémon are also still quite nicely tucked in, not shifting and simply awake but relaxed. It's a nice feeling, just laying here, being content and his aches of yesterday are long forgotten because of this warmth. He's utterly unaware of Lance's worries now slowly easing into comfort, that he really did keep a couple of important people awake and worried but the man can trail downstairs to report the news. Unbeknownst to Ash, something else is happening, that's still worrying Lance a lot but a stranger is waiting for Ash to wake up.

It's… not good news and Lance can only hope it won't spoil the boy's mood but there is nothing he can do. It just seems like Kalos likes Ash as much as Ash likes Kalos and this will hurt him badly but it is lawful and that makes it ever so worse for his boy. Wallace can give this stranger the stink eye as much as he wants, but there's nothing he can do either, no one can so well… It's sort of lucky in a situation like this that Ash has others who look out for him.

"Bonbon? Do they want me to give him back? Why?"

"Laws in Kalos the girl who gave you the pokémon was unaware of their existence," Mewtwo answers. "You should say your goodbyes now, the person downstairs is not getting happier."

"You can't just teleport them away somewhere far away?" Ash asks and the pokémon's lips quirk in a lopsided smile.

"I could but another one would come back demanding the very same thing. Know that the pokémon will just free itself shortly after release of your power so in itself, it is not the end of the world, just a test of feelings."

It's not beyond him to release pokémon to ensure their well-being but just for the sake of rules? As sad as it is, Bonbon is a Psychic/Fairy-type and Fairy-types aren't beyond being vengeful either but powered with the feelings it has from being psychic, Ash wouldn't like being on the receiving end of the payback for the hurt that's been caused, never mind being the one the pokémon will be released in front of but well, he'll go downstairs in full faith that Bonbon will have a better life waiting for him.

"Finally, I was going to read you your rights but time is of the essence and I-"

"Should shut up," Ash intervenes. "My disability doesn't disappear upon surrendering the ride pokémon. There was ample time to notify me before today but it seems like your Champion was too busy trying to blow up her capital city to give anyone the signal to do so. As for my rights, I believe it truly is my right to give you back this pokéball and to then ask you to get the hell out of this room and out of my house."

"Oh, I will," the man says and takes the pokéball but as soon as he does so, is pushed back by a violent, invisible force.

"Do it quicker," the boy demands, incensed and upset.

This person runs from the house like a bat out of hell and the door slams shut but there is a deafening silence ruling the house now. However, Mewtwo told him well enough that all these people inside of the house hate what happened just as much as him so Ash knows better than to work out his anger on them and hold their helplessness on this matter against them.

"You know," he says, as he turns around with an even expression as if he wasn't ready to push that earlier guy through the front door. "-I've been reading a whole lot of comments online about one of you guys."

"Oh?" Lance asks, clearly still worried but also, really curious now.

"Yeah, they say one of you is possessed by an owl."

"Who?" Lucian asks and well, all Ash has to do is grin at him before Cynthia starts giggling.

"Help me with breakfast?" the boy asks his uncle, as Lucian face palms, only now understanding what he'd done just now, though doesn't seem bothered as Cynthia hasn't had too much reason to be giggling so carefree as of later.

"Oh, yes, sure."

He's not vengeful, to be exact but he still stabs his chocolaty sandwich with intent, hoping for all hopes that if anyone gets Bonbon in front of them, they're given hell. Playing with his emotions like that, on the day of New Year's Eve too. These suckers really went for it, as if ride pokémon don't bond with their trainers either, why, he almost wishes he could have cursed the pokéball, that whoever opens it with the intent of doing some sort of harm to Bonbon, they'd still get teleported to some sort of dry, lifeless desert, not a single living soul in sight for miles. Or water, there's plenty of it in the world, that deep, deep blue that's almost black and has a sort of pull downwards action going on, like a riptide… that sure would do.

'That could be arranged,' Mewtwo pipes up and Ash barely has his facial expressions under control as he wants to smirk evilly.

'You know what, go ahead. Let's give these people a lively welcome to this wonderfully, weird and cruel world.'

That evil laugh coming from the legendary being he's grown to consider one of his best friends, if not the best friend, that should have told him enough but maybe he's not as mature or innocent as people like to give him credit for. And he doesn't think there would be any consequences, for he hopes that there are still some people in Kalos that give a damn but if he's mistaken, why, this is all to ensure Bonbon's safety. See if they can even pin anything on him anyways, even if they have some sort of person who can check, besides a pokémon, who could prove that it was him who brought that curse to existence? He smiles into his sandwich, giving the cabinet in front of him a murder stare as he imagines Brandon from the Battle Frontier trying to figure it out with all his zodiac nonsense.

"You good there, buddy?"

"Sure," The boy answers quickly, a little too quickly apparently, as his uncle looks at him for a tad bit too long. "Are you?"

"Yes, euhm, this person had something else to deliver as well."

He stares accusatory at the small package. It's wrapped with see-through foil so he can tell that these are the last badges he needed to be able to compete in the Lumiose tournament that was cancelled.

"… Are you sure there aren't some hidden rules that will come bite me in the butt in the future for accepting this?"

"No, no, the Gym leaders surrendered these to the pokémon league, I assure you nothing can come from this, buddy."

"Great," Ash answers dryly, as he looks away from the package. "They better not invite me to compete in a future tournament based on the completion of this, or I'll destroy them."

Yes, Lance cringes a little and the boy doesn't make much of a show swiping these two badges from the table, basically flicking them into the case, not even bothering to pin them into the right spot and just flinging the case under his bed, to be forgotten. And that's how he spends the rest of his morning, moody and sitting on his bed, thinking of ideas on how he can bother the people of Kalos as much as he possibly can. He wishes this was all a dream, that Bonbon was still with him but no, this is all very real and he decides that he's going to keep his distance from Kalos from now on, even the 'friends' who can't be bothered to respond to his messages, he removes them from his friend list and specifically blocks this Alain, Augustine Sycamore and Diantha, in fact, he goes ahead and blocks most of the Kalos Gym leaders too, since he doesn't even want to be in contact with them. Whether this will work, since he's experienced that people can be oddly persistent to try and contact him, even though he blocked them but to hell with it, if this doesn't drive the message through, he'll block all of the other numbers who try to contact him anyway.

"Oh, DuckDuck," he sighs, holding his Porygon close and enjoying the feeling of it relaxing in his arms. "People can be so crazy sometimes."

'Sometimes?' Mewtwo pipes up and Ash chuckles.

"Well, alright, mostly, then. But still, what was the point of this? Do they really think they can give Bonbon another trainer to help out with? A Psychic/ Fairy-type who liked me well enough to keep following me regardless of what it was trained and taught?"

'Intent to hurt is a powerful emotion. Then again, the curse will take the edge of that soon enough, so refrain from worrying. I would suggest you enjoy yourself because well, actions have consequences but rest assured, they will not touch you, I swear, they will not.'

He trusts Mewtwo and also, if anyone's crying because of this, they should have known better.

'How about a nap? Perhaps you could ask the Zapdos from Galar to be your ride pokémon, it surely would do so.'

Wouldn't that be a right hoot if the pokémon would agree with such a thing? Ash isn't sure whether capturing it is a good option but no one ever said that ride pokémon need to be captured, just registered. The teen snuggles into his pillows, he hadn't even gotten the chance to make his bed but maybe that was alright since he's going to use it again anyway. And the heated blanket is also warm enough on top so he's fine, right there in his bed.

Now, everything is silent for a good few hours but Lance knows his boy better than this. There's no way he did something to either the pokémon or the pokéball and when he gets a call, an incensed one, about why people 'disappear' around the pokéball, Lance isn't having it. The feelings of this event will hit Ash one day, maybe not today but he'll experience the backlash of the brunt of them soon enough and the helpless child from yesterday is still in his mind so no, he will gaslight these people until they get tired of him.

"Do you even know a thing about him?"

"No but-"

"I'd stop assuming if I were you, putting a disabled child on the spot like that."

"People are disappearing, though!"

"There's a Psychic/ Fairy-type inside that pokéball and you automatically believe it's my boy's fault? You must be joking, I'm getting sick of this blatant discrimination, sir, lose my number or we'll meet each other in court."

And Leon may be eyeing him with this amused look and Cynthia might have a smile from ear to ear and Steven looking so proud but Lance won't ever allow anyone to get to Ash, not through him. The boy has suffered enough and the fact he's gone upstairs again makes the man irked because they had been doing so well as of late but there aren't any phone calls throughout the day so that's all good.

"Am I risking to get pushed through the door too if I go call 'im for lunch or am I good to go?" Leon asks and Lance stares at him.

"Don't be a sucker, he likes you or he wouldn't have asked you for help yesterday. I remember a time when he would have rather asked a pokémon for help than any other human being so trust me, you're more than good to go. Unless you keep spouting that sort of nonsense."

"Hey, hey, just asking."

"No, you're being stupid, thinking that asking him to go down for lunch equals someone asking him to give up one of the pokémon he likes," Lance huffs, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I was just asking, don't get mad at me."

"Then get going. Before I start to hope he'll push you through a door."

It's the pizzas, apparently, Leon likes it a lot and thus doesn't want to wait for anyone? Much to his grace, Ash does come back without making so much of a hassle but if Leon thinks he can baby the boy like he did yesterday, he's wrong. The kid is pretty independent whenever he doesn't have one of these bad days but Lance is also still deeply affected by yesterday and well, Ash or one of the boy's strong pokémon likely picked up on the fact that pretty much everyone is keeping a close eye on him but the boy isn't making much of a scene about it. Perhaps it's the pizzas, Lance did see him slip the pill he takes for the intolerance of milky products before eating so that checks out but they're pretty good so it's silent at the table, until, well, Leon needs to put his five cents in, he does like kids a lot and he's probably just wanting to help but Ash isn't just any ordinary kid so Lance prays his friend can stomach the weirdness he knows Ash also doesn't like but can't help being.

"Will you be okay without a ride pokémon, kid?" the man asks and Ash doesn't even look up.

"I'm okay."

"Yeah but…"

"Galar has cool legendary pokémon, actually," the boy says and this time, he does look up, looking straight into Leon's eyes. "Have you ever seen one?"

"… Can't say I have. There's legends and myths but things like that usually aren't real, that's why they call 'em legends and myths, innit?"

Ash's lips quirk a little at that and Lance is a little unsettled.

"You must not have been looking too closely then," the boy answers and well, Leon gets lost all the time so that's not something he enjoys hearing.

"Kiddo, unless you convinced one of those mystery pokémon I've never been able to see before to be your ride pokémon, I don't want to hear it."

"I did."

Lance has a great view of seeing Leon deflate.

"Alright, I'll bite. Tell me about the pokémon."

"How long has it been since you've met Peony, Leon?" Ash then asks and Leon, the poor man, looks horribly confused.

"Err… Why?"

"He didn't seem all there, to be honest. But maybe that sort of insanity and madness runs through the family."

"Is… is this about Rose?"

"I don't know, is it? You really shouldn't let Raihan live where he does if it is."

Poor Leon, he's so confused and holds out his hands in surrender.

"Hold on, please, how do you know Raihan?"

"The Smile app? He's pretty 'in your face' on there, can't miss him even if you try."

"Why do you think he's in danger?"

"Because he is? You do know that there is a law against using a pokémon in such a way that it can become hostile to its direct environment? You should ask professor Juniper about it, ask her about 'Ghetsis' and she'll tell you all about the law that's only recently been introduced in the set of really badly punishable acts," Ash says, not holding Leon's confusion over his head, it's always been about asking the right questions, not about the answers this boy gives.

"Is it?" Leon asks and turns to Lance, who smiles at him. "Do you know what law your kiddo is talking about?"

"I do. It's the highest punishable deed of unlawful behaviour regarding pokémon of a mythical or legendary status. But don't ask me who Gethsis is or why that law suddenly came into play."

Because well, he's not been an officer for a good few months now, he's not being told anything but Lance is curious and still subscribed to various news channels who tell him all about the newest rules, laws and restrictions.

"So what sort of unlawful behaviour is Rose doing?" Leon asks, now fully focussed on Ash again, who is still smiling.

"Nothing yet, he's taking your 'no' as a 'maybe' and until that isn't an option for him, he won't react. You just need to be ready for the time when he says 'fuck it, we ball' and blows up the present to ensure the future, for how backwards that may sound."

"Well, shit, that is what he keeps saying to me, that he'll find a way to change my mind," the man says and he sighs deeply. "What do I say to Raihan, though? I can tell him to move but I better have a damn good reason for it."

"Were you ever told where the Dynamax energy you use for your signature style battles comes from, Leon?" the boy asks.

"Professor Magnolia might have said something about it but I wasn't listening."

"Well, to keep a long story short, Rose is trying to rob a pokémon from the shadow it already has become for even more energy while you already have a part of that pokémon on your wrist."

Leon casts a disgusted look at the bracelet around his wrist.

"Oh, that's fine, though, finders keepers and all that," Ash says, smiling sunnily. "It's not like Eternatus is an angel but it doesn't deserve any more mistreatment either, just like Kyurem, really."

"I've never heard about Eternatus before, though," the man admits.

"Probably also not about Regidrago and Regieleki but you know what, at least those two don't live underneath Hammerlock Stadium."

"… That's foul. Aw, heck no, that's… I'm sorry, I really need to call Raihan now. And the professor, though I don't know if I can reach her, that bloody tornado did the most out there."

"Save yourself the trouble, she's staying with professor Elm for the time being. Considering that the tornado indeed did the most out there."

Leon shoves the rest of the slice of pizza in his mouth and stands up, probably due for a long talk on the phone, if Ash is right about all of this. Lance doesn't doubt it for a second but also, he's not going to lose his appetite over something that hasn't even happened yet and probably might never even happen because Leon is incredibly superstitious and will listen to Ash, especially if professor Juniper agrees with the boy. It's also why Lance sided with Sonia when she convinced Leon's mother to put parental control on all his devices because he falls for the stupidest and weirdest things but at the very least, this time, he agrees with Ash. It's better to avoid this situation before it plays out, Raihan is a social bug and it's highly likely going to crush a lot of people if something were to happen to him.

Lance just never expected to have professor Elm and professor Juniper over for their New Year's celebration, not that they never were welcome but professors are usually way too swamped with work or things he's not aware of but thanks to Ash, he has these influential and brilliant people in his house and frankly, he loves this situation as there is no way his boy will be creeping upstairs to go be lonely amongst pokémon.

"So you've met Kyurem, hm?" professor Juniper asks, putting herself right next to the boy, who is just happy she is there and frankly, she's looking much more like herself again.

"Yip. I was there when it ate Ghetsis."

She smiles and well, Lance decides not to intervene either, it's clear Ash isn't bothered talking about it so it's fine.

"Wait, it eats people?" Leon asks, still bewildered, especially since Raihan listened to his warning very quickly and is now staying with professor Magnolia who told both Raihan and Leon that Ash has more than just a good head on his shoulders.

"Well yeah, truths and ideals don't mean much to a pokémon with the munchies," the boy answers happily but then frowns. "Kyurem has forgotten a lot of things, though, it's funny, for all it's been severely damaged, it's not comparable to Eternatus. That pokémon is… skeletal, really but it remembers everything."

"Have you spoken to that pokémon, Ash?" the professor asks, voice even and she sounds kind but there's definitely worry there too.

"No, but I don't think anyone considers the possibility of pokémon being really good at gossiping and some of them have lived really long so as soon as there is a listening ear out, it's really interesting. Zacian has a good sense of humour too, Zamazenta not as much but it has a much better memory, Zacian just mostly remembers fights."

"Who are Zacian and Zamazenta?"

"Oh, they're just two, very good boys."

Lance tries not to chuckle, it has no use asking Ash who or what a pokémon is. The internet exists but his boy likes all of them pretty much so even if those two highly likely legendary pokémon will bite anyone else straight away, this extra-ordinary kiddo wouldn't even judge them too harshly for it either. But Leon is sufficiently spooked, he even dared to call Mr. Goodshow this late today but the president takes Ash very seriously too, especially after what happened with that tournament and that shadow Lugia, which ironically isn't the one his boy caught and still is a major threat to the world, flying around somewhere. So with the idea getting traction, Lance is comforted in believing everything will be okay, which is important to him because he's not letting anything up to chance.

Especially not when he was able to orchestrate everything to make sure his holiday could happen and with Ash not being wrong about his issues with his prosthesis getting in the way, it's not a punishment for Miss Eleanor to travel to Alola to come and deliver to the prosthetic limb. And Steven along with Wallace will live here in the house, to keep an eye on things and make sure everything is still in order until the time comes when they eventually come back too. Lance has also been able to organise that Ash will at least be able to visit the school along with the possibility of doing an entrance exam, just so that the kid won't be bored out of his mind. Sure, the principal is professor Oak's cousin but they're not close. Hell, professor Oak isn't even close with his own grandson, as disgusting as that is. But he won't voluntarily involve Ash with this, he went as far as to put the boy in under his second name and under his last name, so if he's enrolled, it'll be as Satoshi Tajiri and Lance hopes his boy won't mind but anything to keep him away from professor Oak and his snooty grandson who doesn't know what 'sorry' really means.

---

Ash sees his uncle sort of… clean? And pack? But Steven is making it very hard for him to concentrate, he's been introduced to this video game, it's racing but the boy finds himself getting creamed because he's not paying attention but also, it's just a game so he really doesn't mind if he keeps losing. When it's clear they 'finally' found something he isn't good at, Ash doesn't even care, it just proves that they don't know him very well since there are a lot of things that he's not good at. Like sitting still… and minding his own business. He gives Lance a good scare by appearing next to him as the man is carrying a large, black suitcase.

"Uncle, what's going on? Can I help?"

"No, buddy, this is the last thing I needed to get down. All I need you to do is check your backpack for me and then we'll have dinner."

"…My travel backpack?" he asks. "Why?"

"Because we're leaving after dinner."

"We are? Where too?"

"That's a surprise," Lance says, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh!" Ash answers, knowing fully well Mewmew could spoil this surprise in a matter of seconds but it's not so that's all fine and dandy. "Oh, my pokémon!"

"Yes, you better check that too."

He's up the stairs in minutes, professor Elm always answers the phone pretty quickly so if he wants to switch, he's going to have to decide on that now because he has an hour left until dinner. Ash decides to think about it as he checks his backpack over, checking if he's got everything there. He frowns when he hears how empty his box of pills has become, he's lost track of time as Leon is an excitable person and New Year's Day and the week after that ended up as a real celebration, Ash was never allowed to stay awake throughout the night but with two professors having fun and used to doing all-nighter's, he at least had good company as the fried food took quite a while to digest, after all. But he definitely needs to restock on his pills before he leaves anywhere, it's all fun and games with these surprises but he can't be sure if he can get his lactose intolerance medicine at this mystery place either.

With his backpack ready, Ash sits back against his bed and quickly decides that he's not going anywhere without Meep. And Pikachu is his Pokéhelp so he can travel along without counting as a battle pokémon, despite still being able to do so anyway. And both Mewmew and Smog have their pokéball with them and all the pokémon chilling in his Aura world will automatically travel along with him, including the ever so funny and bouncy Regieleki who just didn't want to leave him be and thus, followed swiftly and is now being the life of the party in his Aura world. Outside of those, he'll obviously take Cookie, she desperately wants to evolve and doesn't want to leave him alone either. He'll also take Frogadier because he's fully champion trained but with both Typhlosion and Samurott evolving the way they did, he halted Frogadier's training because of the worry he felt for the safety of the two pokémon who evolved so differently.

But his uncle likely won't be travelling to the past now, would he? So he's probably fine to keep on training and well, Fletchinder is an antsy pokémon as is and with Kalos having ended up the way it did, she too deserves another chance. Also, she's deeply bonded with Cookie and the little Noibat is happy with the attention so it would be cruel to separate them. So if he's counting correctly, that's four pokémon so he decides to take Gabite with him too. That's five in total, half of how many he can take with him so that'll just have to do, he's not sure if he's going to be able to battle there, training might also be hard as he imagines a holiday to need to be relaxing? He'd like to see it, his uncle is also someone who finds it hard to keep sitting.

He's never really gone on a holiday, the furthest he remembers having gone in his childhood before he turned ten, was Cinnabar Island and really, with his mother, the whole tedious planning wasn't worth it. The whole hour on the slowest waterbus isn't either but at least he's got memories of the place, including his mother being peeved because one of the natives of the island felt so bad for him, that this one stranger took him up the slope to the volcano and back again. All the rest of the plans his mother likely had, he doesn't remember any of it, just the silly things that left marks on him. That was also the first time she hit him in front of people too, by the way, and that one, elderly lady had gone off on her like an atomic bomb, which his mother fully blamed him for because 'he couldn't behave' and well, that other whole hour on the waterbus back to Pallet was so tense, that he never really considered going somewhere and calling it a holiday again. Except for now, it's probably somewhere far too, if they're going to leave here and travel by night. Or are they going to follow the sun? Highly unlikely, Ash remembers having travelled with the sun every time he returned from any other region so they're likely going to be travelling in the dark too. He probably won't sleep, oh, maybe he needs to take his special converging charger, he's got his phone now and it only ever came in handy in places that don't really have pokémon centres but he can't imagine his uncle being happy to sleep in a pokémon centre. Maybe in the past but it's more likely that they'll be staying at a hotel or something.

Still, he's all set so he goes back downstairs, not wanting to keep his uncle waiting and well, he's still got to call professor Elm to get his pokémon sorted out. By the time he's done that, the smell of cooking lingers in the air and something churns in his stomach, though it's not a bad feeling this time around. Maybe it's careful anticipation, though Ash really does love his uncle so the idea of spending some time with him sounds great, really. He blinks at the sheer amount of luggage, though but Cynthia is quick to tell him that everyone except for Steven and Wallace will be leaving today so that explains the many suitcases congregated in the living room. That they wait to all say goodbye at the same time, that's nice, actually. It's all very weird and different and frankly, Lance is in a pretty good mood too.

"I need some more meds, or at least, more of one kind," Ash says, as they're waiting for the taxi to take them to Celadon City.

"Oh?"

"I'm going to run out of luck one of these days and sort of get to know a kid whose family has some sort of dairy farm and I'm not risking it happening this time and not be prepared."

The man chuckles and doesn't make an issue out of it, the pharmacy in the airport is pretty cheap too and not knowing how long he'll be there or how milk, butter and cheese-mad the natives of the place they're going to be are, he's not taking the risk. Not to mention that stinking up the place isn't the only risk of his intolerance so better safe than sorry. Before he knows it, they're being checked in and he's got everyone's attention with Pikachu on his shoulder, with both him and his pokémon wearing the pokéhelp outfit and Meep giving everyone, even the tiniest little pokémon, the stink eye.

"Come on, Meep, look lively," he says but the pokémon isn't having it.

"Mbreep," she growls to the far too attentive and widely smiling flight attendant.

"Is it going to bite?"

"No, just complain and whine. But I mean, if you want her to be recalled, I can, I mean, unless she's on her best behaviour because she's not my pokéhelp," he answers, giving Meep some serious side-eye and the dragon surrenders, draping lifelessly over his other shoulder, causing the flight attendant to smile.

"O-oh, that's too cute."

Yeah, he's a bit of a sight to see, apparently and his uncle is still all smiles, miraculously enough. But they pass check-out and well, he's a great benefit for his uncle too. Ash doesn't have that much use of the legroom the 'invalid' seats bring along but Lance, on the other hand, has a blissful look on his face as he's able to stretch his legs pretty nicely. And well, his uncle stuck to having the window seat -probably to keep the destination a surprise- but Ash has a good look at the little boy on the other side, eyeing Pikachu. The mother seems oblivious to the kid's interest and well, they're still safely buckled in for take-off. There is also a steward who thinks he seems far too skinny, every time the man passes by, he gives him a crunchy, silvery package that always has a random cookie in it and the crunchy wrapping drives Meep crazy, for once, the ghostly dragon isn't aiming to nab what he's got in his hand but playing on the ground with the shiny wrapper.

When they make a landing, Lance says that this isn't their destination yet and it's sort of sad the cookie dispensing steward's shifts seem to have ended but the kid who had been ogling Pikachu to the point where it made his pokémon uncomfortable too, also seems to have stepped off the plane. Ash chuckles when Pikachu breathes a sigh of relief at seeing an elderly couple not interested in him sit where the mother and boy had been sitting and gently rubs circles on the pokémon's head to make sure he keeps being calm. He must have fallen asleep at some point too, another steward is looking really guilty as they'd accidentally driven their cart against his seat but Ash can't recall for the life of him if that was what had woken him up or not so it's fine, he gets a big cookie this time, a chocolaty one he knows he can't share with his pokémon but at the very least, they're still deeply asleep anyway and will keep that way unless he moves around a lot.

Ash barely believes his eyes when he checks his watch, that they've already been on this plane for three hours! It was five hours to Kalos, where the heck are they flying to? Did his uncle go and sit at the window because they'd be flying over Kalos or something? It's not like he hates the place, it's some of the people he can't stand but well, Viola and Alexa, they're fine, he remembers how queasy he was during the flight to that region too, and he's still grateful to Alexa, especially, even though she likely doesn't like him so much. He's not about to get out his phone and look her up, his device is on airplane mode and he's not risking getting chewed out for the interference with whatever the pilots are using, just to get confirmation that she doesn't like him as much as he does.

Trying to fall asleep is futile too so he watches the clouds pass in the window, his uncle has sagged deeply into his seat, peacefully asleep so Ash smiles. It's comfortable, Lance isn't an overly chatty person anyway and he can entertain himself with his own thoughts… or the pokémon all travelling along with him.

'Hey, wanna hear a riddle?' he asks and he's got Mewtwo's attention straight away.

'Yes, challenge me.'

"Yes."

'So, imagine, you're in a cave and you can't use any of your abilities, okay? And in front of you, is a box with one matchstick inside of it and a candle and a lantern. Which one are you going to light first?'

Hearing both pokémon groan is amazing, they're not good at imagining life without their abilities, never mind imagining what them being human would entail but it's not that deep. Ash is pretty sure Pikachu would know the answer to this riddle straight away.

'Is that so? Is it that simple?'

'Yeah, it is.'

'Hmm…'

It's entertaining, hearing these two arguing with each other, it takes a hot minute before they sort of agree to each take an option, so that at least one is right, which is a pretty democratic choice Ash hadn't expected but Mewtwo can tell they're not right, just because of his amusement.

'Then what is it?'

"Pikachu?" he asks softly, so that the pokémon rouses but well, Pikachu must have woken up earlier, this was too easy to wake him up anyway. "You're in a cave and you can't use Flash, okay? In front of you, there's a box with one matchstick inside of it and right next to it, are a candle and a lantern. Which one do you light first?"

The pokémon clearly moves like he lights the matchstick to the side of the box and Mewtwo is really confused now.

'Wait, what?'

'You know how you light a candle or a lantern, right?'

'Yes? With a match-… Wait. But that is not what you asked, is it?'

'I asked with one you would light first so the matchstick is correct.'

'Wait… So the candle and the lantern are not important, right?'

'No, they're not.'

Ash can't stop smiling at Mewtwo's confusion and Kozzy is amused too, despite it not getting the riddle either, of course not, lanterns or candles don't mean a thing to pokémon. But that doesn't mean Mewtwo isn't insanely curious why it isn't making sense to pokémon and especially why Pikachu got it. And with Pikachu being a little too proud that he was able to answer it as quickly as that, it peeves the legendary pokémon even more. When his uncle spots his amusement, Ash can't help but involve him too and repeats the riddle. He just hadn't expected to be able to wipe Lance's smile straight off his face with it, though.

"Wait, what?" he says, his confusion perfectly matching Mewmew's. "Oh, no, I'm bad at these sorts of riddles."

"It's really not that hard."

"No, Ash, buddy, it's like asking you to stop thinking, I always make it much more complicated," Lance says, straight up panicked. "Oh, hell… Err… so wait, there's a c- is it the matchstick?"

"Yeah."

The poor man deflates in relief but now Mewtwo's even more upset.

'No! Wait, I do not understand, if you need to use to matchstick, then it will just burn your fingers so you still need to light either the candle or the lantern or you will lose that single matchstick, no?'

'Yeah, but that wasn't what I asked.'

'Wait…'

Ash chuckles, the poor pokémon is horribly confused still and so is Kozzy but it's probably waiting for Mewtwo to figure it out. Which it unfortunately doesn't and now Smog is involved too, but that pokémon knows even less of human behaviour so it's not much help.

'I'll see if I can't find a matchstick, a candle and a lantern for you, okay, Mewmew? Then you'll be able to experience it and see the result with your own eyes.'

'Yes, I… thank you. That would be helpful.'

Lance is already glad he's not making a racket, there are other kids who can't amuse themselves so silently as he does on this plane and there is a man raising hell because a kid keeps kicking his seat and well, Ash only had to look down the pathway to see the little shit grinning at the ticked-off steward with her hands against her side, not an ounce of regret visible so yeah, fun. When his uncle suddenly urges him to get off the plane, at least he gets some assistance from another steward, helping him gently down the stairs. The smell of green and sea hits him straight in the face and his eyes widen in recognition, they're on the Orange Islands!

"Oh, it's been a hot minute since I've been here," he says and turns to his uncle with a big smile on his face. "Though I don't think they'd have anyone to fight me here either, this was my first ever championship I won."

"I don't think you'll have the time for it either. Let's go eat something first, though," Lance answers and guides him away from the tourist traps and into a not so completely, over-the-top fancy restaurant that smells amazing on the inside.

Ash is pleasantly surprised to see fried rice on the list so he absolutely ordered that and lets it all happen, not in a mood to be antsy. Though he smiles when he sees a whole group of natives enter the restaurant so his uncle must have really done his research… or has been here more often than him. Lance seems happy he noticed the detail and says he got help organising this because it's a pain in the ass to deal with all the different flights… especially since there's one vehicle per every three hours to their final destination. And considering that planes don't want to fly over Kanto, mostly thanks to the grizzly sight of the SS. Anne, Cinnabar Island's active volcano or Lavender Town, so they make a wide turn over Kanto, over the ocean and well, they only landed once and that's why it even took so long. He's not bothered, though wishes they could have some more time on the Orange Islands, it's a nice place to stay at too and well, it has really good memories for him.

"Maybe another time," his uncle says, smiling warmly. "I know you miss the beach but I promise you our destination will be worth our while."

"Can I… can I guess?" Ash asks hesitantly but with a smile on his face because well, he knows they're going South, where it's warm so it's not that wild of a guess. "It's Alola, isn't it?"

"It is," Lance answers, grinning. "Think you'll like it?"

"I don't know yet, it's going to be really warm over there, if it's like the dreams I've had that weren't like, actual dreams. But that's nothing I can get used to," the teen answers, licking his lips a little at the prospect of going somewhere that different. "But I'd like to experience it so yeah, ready when you are."

"Think you'll survive shorts?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, I will, it's the constant remarks I won't survive without blowing up a couple of times. But I'll be nice for your sake, uncle."

Lance chuckles once and that's it then. Ash is actually looking forward to it, though, he remembers the pictures he took there and well, it makes everything he told his uncle on the drive to the hospital a little more real all of a sudden. But at least it'll be a good way to see if his dreams actually have some merit in them, sure, the pokémon were real, he can't deny the Regieleki that's followed him into his Aura World, it's quite real but the girl… It'll be a right hoot if she's real, he'd really want to help her out if he's even allowed it or able to but the beach, oh, he absolutely can't wait to spend several mornings and evenings on the beach, it's always so magical and colourful. He'll be able to use Steven and Wallace's gift wonderfully that way. Yeah, this is going to be way cool!

---

Ash grins as he finds his footing on the short, wooden pier, looking straight at his uncle who is sweating but that has nothing to do with the climate here. Yet.

"We're going back by boat," the man says and the boy laughs.

That small vehicle landed so hard on the water, his poor uncle nearly hit his head on the ceiling of it, not to mention that the back of the plane was filled with pokémon. Rookidee, the pilot had supplied to him, saying he was getting them used to the feeling of flying long distances. Ash still thinks the small pokémon would be better off not being inside at all for it and just getting their own experience but it was amusing and the little pokémon hadn't been upset either so maybe they like flying so roughly.

"Yeah, okay but look, what a sight," Ash says and his uncle nudges him in his side.

"I've been here before, you haven't."

"Well, technically, I have. I have evidence of it too."

"Oh right, I forgot about that," he says and grins. "Think you'll see the girl again?"

"If she's wearing the same clothes, then yeah, I bet I'll recognise her. She had a lily-white dress on, with a light blue border on the bottom and her sleeves and this big hat, also the same white and a pokémon league duffel bag slung around her shoulders. She dropped the bag in favour of touching the Tauros belly, though."

"I'd do the same thing, actually," Lance chuckles. "Come on, let's go, we should be able to check into our hotel."

Ash gingerly follows but it's funny, he knows the way better than his uncle does because that 'secret path' led him straight in thistles and well…

"Yeah, you've obviously been here before. What the hell, though, how's that even possible?"

"I dunno," the boy shrugs. "I mean, you know I've travelled to the past but you tell me if I was wrong to save a couple of Aura users."

"… Wait… You… How far did you go?"

"Pretty far. There were forty of them, actually."

The look Lance gives him is priceless.

"You saved the Forty?" he asks, sounding shocked.

"Yeah."

"You… how did you even know?"

"I didn't. I'd like to think anyone else would have done the same thing but apparently, judging from how long these people had wandered around, it's more unlikely than I thought. Also, didn't Cynthia show or tell you about the drawing of the Spear Pillar?"

"Eventually, yeah. You went that far back in time?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't know?"

"No, I didn't. How would I know? I laid on my bed and went through it. Found Ingo there too, by the way."

"Oh but that makes sense then, you did drop off at Unova before you went back to Kalos. Hey now, buddy, you did a great thing there!" Lance says and pulls him in a sideways hug. "Do you know how many evil curses and spells this selfless act de-activated, oh but heck, that's why Red… Oh, I need to make a call."

"I mean, let's check in first? I don't want you to end up in thistles again."

His uncle laughs and he sounds very carefree all of a sudden. Checking into the hotel is a breeze as well and while his uncle goes to make his call, he tells Ash to 'go to the beach', and that he'll find him there when he's done. So, that's what Ash does, he decks himself out in a sleeveless, stripy white and yellow shirt and just to humour his uncle, he wears the light blue shorts, though he's pleasantly surprised to find that they're not shorts but longer, just below the part he doesn't like to have on show, where his left leg and where his prosthesis starts. And he's got pockets with metal buttons so that his pokémon can't open them without him noticing it. That's why he takes some treats with him, the pockets on his left side are at a much lower risk of getting crushed so that's where he'll store the treats and he'll take his phone with the small camera to put it in the other, buttoned pocket, on his right side. And he's ready, he waves to his uncle, signalling he's leaving and the man nods at him so he's good to go.

And go, he does, Ash passes an ice cream parlour he'll just have to keep in mind because he didn't think to take money with him but that mostly empty beach is calling his name so he settles onto the sand, his hands deeply into the warm, tactile material. A content smile creeps on his face, he thinks he really likes this place and Pikachu digs himself a little spot where he settles in and well, this is Meep's first encounter with a beach, really. The pokémon is confused but entertained yet, this warmth is making the ghostly dragon sleepy but the Ghost-type inside of it is too curious about the sand to rest just yet.

The boy, however, is curious, as pink as Kalos was, it proved to be a problematic place so as his hands are deeply immersed in the sand, he closes his eyes and focuses on his Aura. It takes a while for him to focus, the sound of waves and the smell of the sea air gives him mixed feelings but he's got time to work out the cobwebs in his head and it's just because he accepts that he's still troubled, that his Aura opens the Sight for him to calm down fully. Oh, it's such a glorious display of colour, Alola is such a beautiful place, so colourful and free. There are pinks and reds, purples and blues and it swirls, it's all connected and the Wella Volcano park behind him gives up a deep burgundy hue, with a core of pure, vivid red, almost orange. That's raw power down there, of course, volcanos are closely connected to the core of the earth, and Ash knows better than to underestimate nature. But as he turns around, looking from one wonderful colour to another, there's a strange hue that's making him uneasy. First, he sees yellow and he likes yellow so he doesn't understand why he feels the way he does but the closer to the right he turns, the yellow fades into a deep, disgusting brownish green and it's pulsing.

With a gasp, he's pulled out of his Sight and it's like being ducked into cold water, there's a ringing in his ears and he still sees but has no visual, no connection to understanding what he's seeing or feeling. It's Pikachu who notices something wrong and just the touch of his wonderful fur brings Ash back down to earth but not forgetting what he saw. He won't let the colour determine his feelings towards the place but it feels… off. Even just looking at it makes him a little uncomfortable and he doesn't have too much visual on the modern-looking building that's right in the middle of the bay formed by the different islands that Alola consists of. But a feline pokémon approaching him makes him forget all about the building and the thick, juicy purr coming from it is exactly what he needs after such a scare.

The pokémon also gives zero fucks that he has a prosthesis, it's happy to bump its head against the metal limb, continuously purring as it circles him closely and bendy. It's black and red-furred, it's incredibly soft and warm and the pokémon seems to love his touch as much as he loves to touch it. Its little face is so cute too, oh, As thinks he might really fall in love with this place.

"Do you want a treat?" he asks and while the pokémon doesn't even pause its incessant purring, it accepts the treat happily and if possible, the purring gets a little louder.

There also seems to have been a pokémon that got washed up from the beach. The black and red-furred, feline pokémon doesn't follow him to the water's edge and probably tottered off to go and beg for food somewhere else but this black pokémon, that feels squishy but fits perfectly in his hand, is pretty mysterious.

"You gotta throw it in the water!" someone yells from behind him and he spins around, confused.

"For real?"

"Yeah! Just fling it right in!"

'Fling,' Ash thinks as he hesitates a little.

That sounds a little rough, to be honest, this pokémon doesn't seem to be built for that sort of thing but then again, he might be mistaken.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asks the strange pokémon and well, the sound it makes still sounds happy so maybe it'll be fine?

With as much gusto as he can offer, he throws the pokémon into the water and well, it lands hard but then it makes a victory pose with some sort of white stuff? Ash laughs, how wonderfully weird is this? Pokémon flinging, just when he thought he'd seen everything, there's a pokémon that loves to get thrown around. Well, there are probably weirder beings out there but this one sounds like fun, really. He goes back to sit where he came from, it's warm under the sun and while he doesn't burn easily, he won't be tempting fate by standing in this hot, midday sun.

The sound of scuttling makes him look sideways and there's light grey, greenish pokémon with purple… well, fringes right there, not too far away but also not too close. Oh, there are actually three of them and well, they're not exactly what Ash would call courageous, even one sneeze from Pikachu makes them jump and retreat a little. But maybe they're hungry? When he holds out a treat, they really do come and get it, it's probably because he offers it from his right hand, they probably wouldn't like his left one all too much. They're polite, though, even if there are only three, they come and get the treat in the same order every time. One even feels courageous enough to brush his hand, which is nice, it feels smooth and cold.

Ash couldn't have known that this pokémon isn't at all likely to approach anyone at all and the people who do see it happen, pause and stare. And that's exactly when Lance joins, the pokémon speed off but the man doesn't appear to have seen them, he's carrying two boxes that look suspiciously like pizza boxes, after all. Doesn't mean the bystanders forget what they saw, they sort of turn to each other as if to confirm what they had just witnessed and go about their day, a little bewildered but fine. And Ash gets introduced to one of the most popular foods here in Alola, the malasada.

"Here, I got you a spicy one," Lance says and Ash gratefully accepts the box.

"Oh, wow, that looks amazing."

"And they're safe for pokémon to eat as well, so feel free to share it with them."

"Alright, I love this place for being thoughtful about that," the boy chuckles and immediately pulls a piece off for Pikachu. "Here you go, buddy. You want one too, Meep? I know you don't like spicy all that much but maybe you can try?"

"She can try mine if she wants. I have a much milder one," Lance offers as he rips a piece off.

Meep won't take it from him, of course not but it also doesn't seem like she likes the mild malasada all that much. The pokémon goes to sit by the boy's foot, leering at the box on Lance's lap as if it attacked her on a personal lever or something but perks up when Ash reaches out a piece of his.

"Your taste might change the older you get, go ahead and try it, buddy."

And she takes it and instantly comes in for a snuggle afterwards.

"Oh, you liked it? That's great, Meep, I'm happy for you, it's not that spicy after all but I'm glad we can share now."

"Not that spicy, huh?" Lance chuckles. "They're going to love you for asking to make it spicier, you know?"

"They can do that? That's great, a lot of cooks gave me grief for asking them if they could do it. Are you sure they won't get mad for it?"

"Positive, their own food is actually much more spicier."

"Sounds great," Ash says and looks down, smiling at Pikachu. "At least we'll be able to eat good here, huh?"

"Chu!"

"Hasn't any of the pokémon come to say hello?"

"Oh, yeah, there was a cute one, it kept butting its head against my prosthesis. And then there's another black one, they told me to throw it into the water which I did and it seemed happy," the boy chuckles but then turns to what Lance thinks is a huge eyesore. "What's that place?"

"That's the Aether Foundation," the man sighs. "Their main goal is to cure hurt pokémon."

"… Really? Then why do I… feel so weird about it?"

"I suggest not bothering with it, they're clean about what they're doing, it's just… well, unless you're being shown the place, I wouldn't bother. In its essence, it's something I would imagine you would totally agree with, they're just being really weird about it."

"My Aura has never lied about it, it doesn't have a reason to so why would it make it so ominous to me? Everything here is so lively, free and happy and that thing over there is dull and lifeless," Ash bristles, suddenly getting upset. "I don't care for their spiel about their good intentions, something is going on there and I don't like it."

"Whoa, whoa, chill. Like I said, wait until you're shown the place, kiddo. You're not getting in uninvited anyways."

"Of course not, that wouldn't allow them to air their dirty laundry before 'allowing' visitors, would it?"

"Well, at least they can't surprise you," Lance sighs, knowing that there's something about the place that would obviously stand out like a sore thumb, especially to someone like Ash. "If it's any consolation, the leaders of these islands don't enjoy it being there either."

"Who allowed them to even be here, then?"

"Someone with money and connections. The usual business."

"How stupid."

"It usually is."

And that's the end of that, though Ash refuses to stay mad, this is a holiday after all and so far, the pokémon have been great and he can imagine he will be able to enjoy the food here very much. There's also a lot of nature but apparently, that requires haggling with these island leaders and Ash is feeling a bit of jet lag approaching. It's also getting hot so both he and his uncle go back to the hotel for a quick nap so that they can enjoy the rest of their evening. But as they're in bed, enjoying the effect of the air-conditioning, it seems Lance isn't as tired as Ash is.

"Hey, buddy?"

"Mm?" the boy hums sleepily.

"What do you think about school?"

"School? You mean, here?"

"Yes, here."

"You enrolled me?"

"Not exactly, you'd need to do an entrance exam and follow a pre-class of some sort. See how you score and where you'd fit."

"Oh. M'kay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, 's cool."

Lance chuckles, his boy sounds very much asleep and frankly, Ash is indeed sort of on his way to dreamland but it's okay. Even if he changes his mind later on, it'll still be fine, it can be considered a try-out too. It remains to be seen whether his kiddo won't be mad about the name he introduced himself in this school but that's a worry for later. For now, it's important that Ash is happy and that they both can rest a bit.

---

End of chapter forty-five