Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon; Any OC's I create in this story are mine, however.

It had been a few days since Amari's run-in with his old bullies.

He sat on the couch, simply writing on his notebook to pass the time, his Eevee sleeping softly next to him.

7/24/20XX

Dear Diary:

It's me again, Amari.

I'm currently back at my new home, and I've taken a few days to relax here, try to sort my thoughts.

It's been a few days since I recovered from that fight a few days ago...

I've mostly recovered, though I feel a few aches every now and then. (Probably from Jessica's Raichu...)

After I got home later that day, I had an argument with the twins, which quickly turned into a hot mess.

Almost even admitted to Ash that I was the child of a god...at least, that's what I'm forcing myself to believe.

Speaking of that, I haven't had any more dreams or visions of that 'Arceus' guy...

I wonder if he actually got something mixed up, maybe?

I'm mostly trying to force myself to think that, but...I don't think that's probable either.

I'm mostly just at a loss for thoughts; too much has happened within these last few days, and it keeps getting crazier each new day...

Hell, I'm too scared to even go outside—who knows what's looking for me out there anymore...

First my father, then my old classmates...someone else might show up and try beating me to a pulp...or abusing me...it's just too much.

And then there's those Team Rocket members that tried to kidnap me...

...Why me?

Did I have something they wanted besides my Eevee?

They wouldn't just take me for no reason; I was already damn near crippled when they walked in there, they could've just taken Tera and left without any problems.

Do...do they know aboutmy relationship with him?

...

Amari froze as he finished writing that sentence.

He trembled as he let it ponder.

Was there a chance that Team Rocket, or even other criminal organizations know about Amari's potential secret?

The thought made him sick to his stomach, something Tera picked up quickly on.

"Eevee?" The small Pokémon asked, looking at her owner worriedly.

Amari snapped out of his thoughts, sighing deeply as he pet Tera, the Eevee purring in delight.

"I...it's nothing, Tera...thank you, girl..." He said, smiling as sincere as he could, though it was hard to keep it on.

"Eevee!" Tera chirped, nuzzling her owner's hand.

"Amari, are you in here?" A male voice asked, getting the boy's attention.

Turning to where the voice came from, his eyes landed on Ash, his Pikachu sitting in his shoulder.

"Morning!" Ash said, his smile gleaming brightly.

"Good Morning, Ash..." Amari responded.

"Writing in your diary again?" Ash asked.

Amari froze, as he closed his journal.

"I guess you can call it that...but, yeah." Amari said, frowning softly.

"...Is it personal?" Ash asked, a worried look on his face.

"A...A little bit, yeah." Amari said, avoiding Ash's gaze. "I just...needed some time to myself after the events from a few days ago..." He explained.

"Yeah, I can understand that...you aren't...too scarred from that incident, are ya?" Ash asked.

"Just a little." Amari murmured.

In truth, it was pretty scary; he was basically being kidnapped by one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations ever.

The thought of what would happen if they had succeeded in their plan...

Amari shivered a little.

"You okay?" Ash asked.

"Y-Yeah, fine." Amari said, hiding his emotions with a fake smile.

"If you say so..." Ash said. "Anyways, I was thinking...do you wanna spend a day together?" He asked. "Y'know, just me and you, and our partner Pokémon, of course." He explained.

Amari froze.

"W-Well, I don't know..." He said.

"C'mon! Nothing's bad gonna happen...hopefully." Ash responded.

"Thanks for making my worries worse..." Amari said, narrowing his eyes.

Ash shook his hands in surrender.

"W-Wait, I didn't mean it like that!" He said.

Amari raised an eyebrow, making Ash sigh in response.

"Look, I know the past few times you've went outside the house have been...awful, but it'll be fine, I promise!" He said. "I already told Mewtwo and the others that I'll keep an eye on you and protect you if need be." He explained.

Amari frowned, still looking unsure, before feeling something rub his leg.

He looked down to see Ash's Pikachu rubbing and poking his leg, almost as if it was...begging.

"Pika..." It said, its pleading voice confirming his suspicions.

His Eevee soon joined in on the poking and prodding, only difference was in his face and neck.

"Eevee..." It said.

"You too?!" He exclaimed, as he sighed a few seconds later.

"Fine...if they trust you then I guess it would only be fair to accept your request." He said.

"Alright!" Ash beamed, his smile coming back on his face. "I'll let you get dressed, then we can head out!" He said, before quickly walking outside the house.

Amari sighed once more, looking back at his journal.

"To whatever god is out there..."

...

"...Please let me be safe."

Outside of the house...

Amari walked outside as he took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air outside.

"Finally ready?" Ash asked.

"I had to grab a few things, but yeah..." Amari said.

In truth, the other psychics pulled him in for a short lecture, what to do and not to do.

He didn't need to really tell Ash that, though.

"So...where are we headed, exactly?" Amari asked, changing the topic.

"Well...I was thinking we could go to the PokéMart? Ash asked. "It just got built a few days ago, so I've kinda been dying to go there." He said.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt...always wanted to know what they looked like inside, anyways..." Amari said.

"The PokéMart it is then!" Ash gleamed, as he took Amari's hand and walked them both through the forest and towards the mall.

Amari quickly regained his lost balance, keeping his pace with the younger boy.

"S-Slow down!" Amari said.

Ash chuckled stopping at the entrance of the mall.

"Here it is!" He exclaimed. "You ready to go in?"

"Not really anything else we can do." Amari said.

With a nod, the two entered the PokéMart.

To say the inside view of the mall was intimidating to Amari was an understatement.

First, people; Lots of them, probably hundreds.

Second, there was a vendor or a restaurant everywhere he looked.

And finally, you had your clothing shops; pretty much any type of clothing and accessories you could think of.

"So, whaddya' think?" Ash asked.

"It's, uh...pretty impressive, to say the least." Amari said, still trying to process everything he was seeing.

It was his first time in a mall, after all.

"Anywhere you want to go first?" Ash asked. "I've got a good amount of cash on me." He said.

"Maybe a clothing shop?" Amari answered. "I don't really have many clothes that can actually fit me because of...well, y'know..." He said.

Ash nodded.

He had forgotten that Amari was still new to the family.

Moreover, he also didn't realize that he was wearing the same ragged hoodie for at least two weeks now.

"Yeah, we should get you some new clothes...c'mon." He said, grabbing Amari's hand as the two walked into a clothing shop.

The two spent at least two hours looking at clothing, mainly to see what Amari liked and disliked wearing.

Hoodies, shirts, pants, shoes...basically everything a boy would wear.

"So, you enjoying yourself?" Ash asked, getting Amari's attention.

"Y-Yeah..." He said. "As overwhelming as it is, I'm...enjoying myself." He admitted, a small smile on his face.

"That's good to hear!" Ash beamed, his smile almost gleaming.

"Pika!" His Pikachu added, a happy look on its face.

Just then, a loud rumble interrupted the moment, the sound coming from Amari's stomach.

"Well, looks like all that shopping made you hungry, huh?" Ash asked, chuckling.

Amari blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah..." He replied.

"Let's go ahead and head over to the food hall." Ash said, as the two walked to the available restaurants, their Pokémon trailing closely behind.

At the Food Hall...

The two boys and their Pokémon had finished eating their meals, and were relaxing at their table, conversing about various topics to pass the time.

"So Mewtwo has a sensitive stomach when it comes to sweets?" Amari asked, a surprised look on his face.

"Pika!" Ash's Pikachu said, nodding its head.

"Yeah, a 'tender tummy', as Newtwo calls it." Ash answered. "I swear, give the guy a piece of candy and he'll probably cradle his stomach like a baby." He said, chuckling.

Amari snickered in response.

"I haven't seen such a thing, but it wouldn't be hard to imagine..." He said.

"Trust me, it isn't." Ash said, smirking.

The two seemed to be enjoying themselves, as the day had so far been stress free; Nobody or anything had tried to bother Amari, and he seemed to be getting accustomed to the mall pretty well.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end...

"Amari...?" A familiar female voice asked, getting the two boy's attention.

Amari turned his head, before he froze, his heart dropping to his stomach.

"M-Mom...?"

Amari and Ash spend some bonding time...and then they bump into his old mother.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Got another one done after a few months.

Sorry for the delays once again, personal life has become more and more important than writing.

Chapter 11 will release very, VERY soon; I cannot stress enough how much soon it will be.

Thanks for the support as always!