Chapter 30: Festival Fame and Fading Days

The moment Ash stepped onto campus, he noticed something different. The school festival had come and gone. Over the weekend, the third-years had cleared away its remnants, booths, decorations, and stray bits of confetti. The grounds were clean again, the usual school routine resuming.

But despite everything looking the same, something felt… off.

Maybe it was the way some students glanced at him as he walked across the courtyard, whispering to each other with barely contained grins. Or the way small groups nudged each other when he passed, their hushed conversations stopping the moment he got too close.

At first, Ash didn't think much of it. Maybe his hair was a mess again. With a sigh, he rubbed at his eyes to check for any sleep crust.

Then, he stepped into his homeroom and understood what was going on.

A group of students huddled around a phone, their eyes glued to the screen. One of them noticed him, whispering excitedly, and soon the entire group turned toward him.

Morrison was the first to call out.

"Hey, Ash! That play last Friday... dude, that was insane!"

Before Ash could even process that, Ritchie chimed in, bouncing in his seat.

"That Aura Sphere thing? That was so cool! How did you guys even pull that off?"

Ash blinked. Oh. So that's what this was about.

"Uh… yeah, thanks!" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "A third-year named Conway did a lot of the work. His special effects were crazy, huh?"

If the attention wasn't enough of a clue, Gary sealed it when he held up his phone and hit play.

The video was from the climax of the play, Ash, in full Lucario costume, standing in front of the stage's cardboard tree. He thrust his hands forward, and from his palms, a faint bluish sphere of light shot forward. It wasn't large or overwhelming, but it looked impressive nonetheless.

Ash leaned in, staring at the screen. 'Whoa… did it really look that cool?' He remembered the motion they rehearsed, but he didn't recall seeing anything like that on stage.

Then the video automatically swiped to another clip. This one was from the very end of the curtain call, where Conway stood on stage, adjusting his device before launching slightly different energy spheres into the air.

The connection was obvious.

"No wonder it looked so real!" a student marveled.

"Man, Conway's effects were insane! He timed everything perfectly!"

Ash let out a chuckle, scratching his cheek. "Yeah… he really went all out."

He still didn't understand how the play's version looked so real, but if Conway had made the effect work at the curtain call too, then it had to be his doing, right?

Pushing past his classmates, Ash finally made it to his seat.

(๑• .̫ •ू๑)

The buzz about the play wasn't limited to Ash's class. Over in the third-year building, Conway was basking in his own share of attention.

As he strolled through the hallway, students called out to him, giving him nods of appreciation and admiration.

"Conway, man! That tech you made was incredible!"

"I still can't believe how real that Aura Sphere looked. You gotta teach me how to do that!"

Conway adjusted his glasses, allowing himself a satisfied smirk. Ah, yes. The fruits of his labor.

His device had worked flawlessly, and people were talking about it. That strange Aura Sphere during the play had initially puzzled him. But he had no time to dwell on anomalies... not when he was juggling graduation, student council duties, and his remaining responsibilities as the president of the Newspaper Club. "Weird as it was, I have way too much on my plate to chase after a mystery."

Besides, right now, he had something more important to do... soak in the glory.

Waving at a few more students, he entered his homeroom, only to be greeted by pure chaos.

The first thing Conway saw when he entered was Alain, surrounded by a small group of female classmates eagerly chatting with him.

On the other side of the room, Korrina was trying to tune out several boys excitedly praising her choreography and dialogues..

While she laughed along with them, something lingered in the back of her mind.

The conversations about the play only reminded her of Ash's movements. While they followed the choreography they had rehearsed, there were moments that felt too instinctive, too natural. The way he dodged the Steelix's unplanned fall… and that flicker of energy from his hands during that Aura Sphere scene…

She shook her head. 'Maybe I'm overthinking it.'

Before she could dwell on it further, the classroom door burst open, then immediately slammed shut.

A dramatic sigh filled the room.

"Oh, dar~lings!" Harley pressed himself against the door, looking as if he had barely survived some grand ordeal. "I have escaped the storm of my adoring fans!"

Laughter filled the classroom as Alain shook his head with a sigh. "It's too early for this."

Harley strutted to his seat, flipping his hair. "Please, I live for this attention." He sighed dramatically. "But alas, the burdens of stardom…"

Korrina snorted. "You were barely in the play."

Harley gasped, clutching his chest. "How dare you?"

Conway adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "Another normal day, I see."

(๑• .̫ •ू๑)

The classroom carried the usual midday atmosphere, soft conversation, the occasional laugh, and the faint clatter of lunch containers being packed away. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting warm patches of light across the desks.

At their usual spots, Ash, Chloe, and Serena sat on one side of their combined table, while Dawn, Goh, and Misty sat on the other. Their lunches had been finished, leaving a comfortable lull in the conversation, until Chloe decided to break it.

"So, Mr. Rising Star," she teased, resting her chin in her hand as she smirked at Ash, "how does it feel to have fans now?"

Ash groaned, already regretting showing up to class today. "It's not a big deal," he said, waving her off. "People move on fast."

Misty leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "Yeah, especially with everything getting busier. The school year's almost over, people have bigger things to focus on."

The reminder settled over them, the weight of it sinking in.

Serena absentmindedly toyed with the hem of her sleeve. The past few months had brought them all closer, closer than she ever expected. But now, as the school year neared its end, a quiet thought gnawed at her. Had she missed chances to be closer? Had she let important moments slip away without even realizing it?

Before the silence could stretch too long, Dawn spoke up, her voice casual but carrying meaning. "Actually, my mom's been talking about heading back to Sinnoh this summer." She glanced at the others. "What about you guys? Any plans?"

Goh shrugged. "I live in Vermilion, so not much changes for me."

"Same here," Chloe added, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Though my family's planning a vacation. No idea where yet."

Misty propped an elbow on her desk. "I'll be back in Cerulean, obviously." Then she turned to Serena. "By the way, I'm gonna keep paying rent for our apartment over the summer. No way I'm going through the nightmare of finding a new place next year."

Serena smiled, though there was a faint sadness in it. "I'll talk to my mom about my share," she said softly. "I'll be heading back to Kalos."

Her gaze drifted toward Ash. "What about you?"

Ash scratched the back of his head. "Mom sold our house in Pallet a while ago, so Vermilion's basically home now. We'll mostly be here, but she did mention visiting Dawn's hometown." He glanced at Dawn. "Our moms are close friends."

Dawn's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh yeah! My mom did mention that. So that means you'll be coming to Sinnoh, huh?"

Serena stiffened, fingers briefly tightening around her sleeve before she caught herself. The thought of Ash spending part of the summer with Dawn stirred something uneasy in her chest.

Misty, noticing Serena's flicker of discomfort, quickly jumped in. "Anyway, I hope we all end up in the same class again next year."

"That'd be great," Goh agreed, but he sighed. "It's gonna be tough, though. They sort classes by grades. If our scores are too different, we won't end up together."

Chloe adjusted her glasses, ever the pragmatic one. "Then our only choice is to study harder, do well in all the activities, and take every grading opportunity seriously."

Ash leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. "I mean, yeah, it'd be cool if we stayed in the same class, but even if we don't, we'll still be in the same school, same building. We'll see each other all the time."

The others exchanged glances before nodding, small smiles forming.

"True," Misty admitted.

"Yeah, but being classmates is still better," Goh muttered.

Misty promptly flicked his forehead, making him yelp. "Geez, quit being such a downer!"

Laughter rippled through the group, lightening the mood.

Serena exhaled slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"…I just hope Mom actually lets me come back."

Chloe, sitting beside her, heard her speak but didn't understand. "What did you say?"

Serena blinked, realizing she had spoken out loud. She quickly waved a hand, forcing a smile. "It's nothing."

As their conversation wrapped up, the girls excused themselves to head to the restroom, leaving Ash and Goh to handle the cleanup. The two worked in sync, pushing the tables back into place and spacing them out properly. It wasn't anything too difficult, it was just routine at this point.

As they finished up, the sound of footsteps approaced them.

"Yo, Ash!" Morrison greeted with his usual enthusiasm, hands on his hips. Beside him, Ritchie offered a friendly nod.

Ash blinked. "Hey, Morrison. Ritchie. What's up?"

Morrison crossed his arms, smirking. "Man, you've been spending a lot of time with those four."

Ash blinked. "Those four?"

Morrisson nodded, "Dawn, Serena, Chloe and Misty."

Ash shrugged, "Well, yeah. We're friends."

Morrison leaned in. "Right. But which one of them, Ash?"

Ash raised a brow. "Which one of them what?"

Morrison let out a knowing laugh. "You know what."

Ash only looked more confused. "I know what?"

Goh sighed, already seeing where this was going. "Morrison, you need to be more specific than that with him."

Ritchie chuckled. "Ash, come on. You're thirteen, just like us. Even younger kids know this kind of stuff."

Ash crossed his arms, feeling oddly insulted. "Well, I won't be thirteen until summer, actually. How about you talk to me again then?"

Morrison waved a hand dismissively. "Alright, alright. What I mean is, who among those four is your, you know… girlfriend?"

Ash relaxed a little, but he still gave them both a weird look. He tilted his head, considering the question. "Oh, that? All of them."

Goh immediately chuckled, knowing full well what had just happened. Meanwhile, Ritchie and Morrison stared at Ash like he had just said he was secretly the Champion of Kalos.

"Wait, what?" Morrison blurted.

Ritchie was the first to recover. "Ash, you're a good friend, but don't play dumb, okay? You know what we mean. We just wanna know which one not to ask out, man."

Morrison nodded eagerly. "Yeah! The school year's almost over, and we kinda wanna experience having a girlfriend before it ends."

Ash resisted the urge to sigh, pushing down his irritation at being accused of pretending to not understand. "Well, you guys can do whatever you want. I don't see the problem."

Ritchie hesitated, then slowly nodded. "If you say so…"

Morrison grinned and clapped Ash on the back. "Thanks, man!" With that, the two walked out of the room, discussing something in hushed voices.

Ash watched them go, still giving them a weird look. "I mean, how hard could it be to be friends with girls?"

Goh, who fully understood both what Ritchie and Morrison meant and how Ash had completely missed the point, just sweatdropped.

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "You don't seem to have any problems at all."

Ash leaned back, stretching. "Wanna go to the restroom?"

Goh sighed. "Sure, Ash."

(๑• .̫ •ू๑)

Ritchie and Morrison stood just outside the classroom, whispering to each other with quiet chuckles.

"But I think we should leave Serena out," Ritchie murmured, crossing his arms.

Morrison sighed. "…Yeah, it's kinda obvious, but we could still try."

Before they could discuss further, their attention snapped to the approaching figures of Dawn, Serena, Chloe, and Misty, who had just returned from the restroom. Ritchie nudged Morrison, who took a deep breath before stepping forward, planting himself in the girls' path.

There was a brief, awkward silence. Morrison hesitated, fidgeting slightly before focusing on Dawn.

"Uh, hey, Morrison, you need something?" Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow at his nervous chuckle.

Morrison quickly straightened up, tucking in his stomach and puffing out his chest in an attempt to appear taller and more confident. "Euh… I was wondering… wanna hang out this Saturday?"

Dawn blinked, then smiled awkwardly, immediately catching on to what he was getting at. "Sorry, I'm with Ash every Saturday… so no."

She intentionally left out the part about working at Delia's restaurant, watching in mild amusement as Morrison visibly deflated.

Not willing to give up, he turned to Misty, standing on his toes in a desperate attempt to match her height. "Mist... uh, I mean, Misty! You always seem to have time to scold Goh and Ash… Maybe you could scold me instead?" He let out a nervous laugh, hoping for any form of attention.

Misty instinctively took a step back, a mixture of confusion and mild discomfort on her face. "Keep your thoughts to yourself, Morrison."

Panicking, Morrison waved his hands. "No, no, it's not like tha..."

He didn't get to finish.

Ritchie sighed and stepped in, nudging Morrison aside slightly. "Sorry, he got carried away." Then, turning to Chloe, he attempted to regain some composure. "How about you, Chloe? You free after class?"

Chloe gave him a flat, unimpressed look. "I'll be with Ash after class. We're visiting the library and checking some flowers in my club." Her tone was cool and matter-of-fact, leaving no room for interpretation or negotiation.

Ritchie's smile twitched, but he didn't falter. After a moment, his eyes finally landed on Serena.

"Oh, Serena…"

"Nope," Serena cut in with a polite smile, shaking her head before he could even finish his sentence.

Ritchie opened his mouth, then slowly closed it. He sighed deeply. "…Thought so."

With nothing left to say, he clapped a hand on Morrison's shoulder and turned away, the two of them walking off like zombies, sulking over their failed attempts.

As they disappeared down the hall, the girls exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

"Well," Misty smirked, "that was something."

"It is kind of nice to be asked out," Dawn admitted, giggling, "but still… not interested."

"Not even a little," Chloe added with a slight smirk.

Serena just smiled, shaking her head as they continued back toward their classroom.

(๑• .̫ •ू๑)

Ash stood in the Breeder's Club, carefully measuring Pokémon food portions when Brock approached him with a grin.

"Hey, Ash, nice work on the play." Brock held up his phone, showing a video. "Someone uploaded this earlier, thought you'd want to see."

Ash peered at the screen, watching himself on stage. In the clip, the massive Steelix costume was toppling toward him, and just in time, he dodged, narrowly avoiding it before spinning around and striking it with his staff. The crowd's cheers were audible in the background.

For a split second, the memory resurfaced, the moment when his Aura Vision activated mid-performance, the entire stage lighting up in his mind like a glowing map.

Brock noticed him spaced out for a moment. "You okay? You looked like something clicked for a second."

Shaking off the thought, Ash grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, actually! I figured out how to use my Aura Vision at will."

Brock blinked, caught off guard. "Aura?" He lowered his phone.

"Yes, sir," Ash nodded.

Brock motioned for him to follow. "Let's talk somewhere more private."

The two moved to the back of the clubroom, away from other students. Brock crossed his arms. "So, Aura Vision, what exactly does it do? Does it enhance your sight?"

"Sort of." Ash's eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "It's like… a 360-degree view of everything around me, straight to my mind. But everything looks all bluish and kinda monotone."

"Monochrome," Brock corrected with a small smirk.

"Yeah! That's it!" Ash nodded eagerly. "I can see in every direction, but it's all a bluish monochrome. And right now, I can only see about five meters around me. I read in a book that the average range for trained Aura users is half a mile, so I need to practice to extend it."

Brock chuckled at Ash's excitement, but his expression quickly turned serious. "Who else knows about this?"

Ash blinked at the shift in tone. "Uh… no one yet. I've been so busy with school, homework, and chores that I kinda forgot about it."

Brock nodded. "That's probably for the best. You should keep the number of people who know about it limited."

Ash frowned slightly. "Can I ask why, sir?"

Brock exhaled. "Aura users, usually called Aura Guardians, are extremely rare. Not just because people with strong enough Aura are few, but because even fewer actually train and learn to use it. And because of that rarity, organizations, both government and private, will always have an interest in them. If the wrong people find out, you might lose the chance to live a normal life."

Ash tensed at that, his mind flashing to the idea of being watched, studied, or controlled. But another question pressed at him, one that weighed on him for a while now.

"So… Aura Guardians are special, huh?" He hesitated before continuing, his voice carrying the faintest hint of something Brock almost didn't catch, disdain. "Are they… destined to be special?"

Brock's eyes narrowed slightly, realizing this wasn't just curiosity. there was something deeper in the way Ash asked. And when he thought about Ash's work ethic, his determination, and the way he always pushed forward through sheer effort, Brock knew how to respond.

"People are born with different levels of Aura, some too weak to use, some strong enough to be trained," Brock admitted. "But just having strong Aura doesn't make someone special. It doesn't automatically make them an Aura Guardian. You have to learn, train, and work hard at it. Some people with a ton of potential still fail. Being born with something doesn't decide who you are. You make your own decisions. You work hard, and that's what makes you great."

Ash stared at him for a moment before breaking into a grin. "Right!"

Brock, however, wasn't done. "By the looks of it, Aura Vision is something you can train without people noticing since it only involves your sight. So you should take advantage of that and practice whenever you can. But other techniques—like an Aura Sphere or Bone Rush, are a lot flashier. You need to be careful about when and where you practice them."

Ash nodded. "Yeah… that makes sense. Thanks for looking out for me, sir."

Brock chuckled. "Nah, I'm just repaying your hard work in the club. I hope you apply again next school year, no pressure, though."

Ash smiled. "Thanks again, sir."

With that, he headed back to his duties, joining May, who was feeding some of the Pokémon.

(๑• .̫ •ू๑)

Ash finished pouring a portion of Pokémon food into a bowl and set it down for a group of Pidgey. As he wiped his hands on a towel, May, who was feeding a Skitty nearby, glanced at him with mild curiosity.

"You look like you're thinking real hard about something," she noted, tilting her head.

Ash blinked, then chuckled. "Just Brock giving me some advice."

May nodded, setting her scoop down. "Well, speaking of advice, Harley didn't give you too much trouble during the play, did he?"

Ash let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Harley can be pushy, demanding, and over the top most of the time, but I survived a whole month with him. So yeah, I'm fine."

May exhaled dramatically. "You deserve an award for that."

Ash grinned. "Yeah? Maybe you can reward me with a lifetime supply of malasadas."

May rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming."

A playful energy settled between them as they returned to their tasks, the earlier weight of Brock's words lingering in the back of Ash's mind, but for now, he let himself enjoy the moment.

(๑• .̫ •ू๑)

A/N: Thanks for the new subs and comments!

@evil HERO Malicious Band: Yeah, time flies quickly. I actually have a calendar for the events in my story, so this has been planned since Chapter 1. Now I'll have to incorporate my prepared ideas for the next school year while trying not to make things too repetitive.

@Guest: Ash and his friends are just first-years, so they still have two more years. Alain, Korrina, and the rest are graduating, though.

@BNRBC: So far, I find Dawn the easiest to write. She has the least worries since Johanna and Delia are friends. I have plans for Serena and a subplot for her. Chloe is the weakest so far, but still relevant enough to justify keeping her involved.

@UltimateCCC: Like getting into more trouble? Lol.

@Everyone: How do you like my pacing when handling Aura? This has been hinted at way back in Chapter 10: Cloudless Night Sky... the night with Riolu when Jessie and James tried to steal the school Pokémon... but I only made it a subplot during the recently concluded School Festival Arc. Ash will have a more direct Aura arc in the future, but I'm not one to rush things. Let's just say we'll leave the overpowered Ash for when he graduates and actually earns it.

Oh, to the guest concerned about Charmander: Since the early planning stages of this story, even before I started posting, Ialready had plans for Damian. That's why I introduced him early in Chapter 12: Fiery Flower, along with Alain and the other third-years. But the main concern here is Charmander, right?

Only one way to find out.

Stay tuned!