Chapter 27/Final: Her Husband's Home
It had been weeks since Ash's and Sue's wedding and the return to his friends. Misty lost Ash in more ways than just the lightning strike that sent Ash and Pikachu to Brunhild. To make up for lost time, Ash had his Beasts meet her, Brock and Togepi. Storm morphed into his true self and gave Misty a ride. Brock had his night with Micah before Touya dropped him back with a pair of swirling eyes. It made the other ask what happened. Touya's girls visited and smothered Ash with kisses, none touching his lips. Sue happily adopted a brown fox cub with white fur around the collar. Ash resumed his travels with his wife and his friends throughout the Johto Region.
Ash, Sue and their Pokémon journeyed through a wooded plain down a road. "Eevee's been pretty happy for Pikachu's performance, even though you two finished runner-up," Sue realized.
"Yeah, but that's how stiff the competition is when we reach the Pokémon League," Ash assured. "The Silver Conference had some great trainers."
"I felt bad for Macy. She felt convinced that you'd be his girl before we showed our rings. How often do you get that kind of attraction?"
"Hardly any, and that's before I met you. Let's not forget how Larvitar opened up to us much faster than Misty or Brock."
"He probably saw me as his mom before we reunited with his real one." They soon saw a town coming out of the woods. "Hey, is this it?" Ash and Pikachu also saw the town which had windmills on hills.
"We're finally here, dear: Pallet Town." Pikachu cheered to their arrival.
"Pretty quaint!" That's when she pointed to the windmills. "Didn't you say the windmills mark Professor Oak's home?"
"I did."
"And that's where you and Pikachu met? That's incredible!"
"I wouldn't say it's that incredible," Elze spoke. Everyone turned to Elze and a purplish humanoid creature that had brown hips and feet that looked like shorts and shoes. It had yellow eyes around three blunt protrusions from the forehead.
"Elze!" awed Sue. Elze came to the group.
"How are you and Tyrogue doing?" asked Ash.
"I'm still learning more about Tyrogue's possibilities," Elze shrugged. "I could go offensive and get the kicking Hitmonlee, or I could stay defensive and get a Hitmonchan." Tyrogue nodded to the claim.
"I'm sure he can decide," Sue trusted. "Won't you?" Tyrogue smiled to the thought.
"By the way, your mothers are at your house," Elze informed. "They're seeing the new baby boy." Ash, Sue and the Pokémon blink before they decided to go.
"Let's go see him," Ash chose. Sue, Elze and the Pokémon agreed before they headed to a while house with a level porch. Ash opened the door before they saw Delia, Yuel, Ellen and Yumina at the couch and recliners. Delia and Ellen wore simple shirts and long skirts while Yuel wore a dress holding a baby blond boy. Pikachu leaped onto Delia's shoulder as a black fox-like creature with gold rings around the ears and tail with some on the legs and forehead between red eyes.
"Pikachu!" she cheered. Ellen saw Pikachu before turning to Ash, Sue and Elze.
"Mother!" cheered Sue. She hugged Sue over the couch's back.
"Sue, you made it!" greeted Ellen as Ash and Delia hugged.
"How's my #1 Trainer?" greeted Delia.
"I'm good!" laughed Ash. Pikachu saw Yuel and the baby in her arms before he and Eevee leap over to the two.
"My goodness," Yuel yelped in surprise. The Pokémon saw the baby boy as big as Eevee from body to tail.
("It's this small?") the Mouse Pokémon asked.
"Are you surprised to see a baby, Pikachu?" the queen wondered. The baby's blue eyes were slightly opened and saw Pikachu as he crawled down to Yuel's lap. Ash and Sue came over to Yuel and found the baby.
"Oh my goodness…" hushed Ash.
"This is your new son?" guessed Sue.
"He is," Yuel confirmed. Eevee jumped onto Sue's head to see the baby and awe.
"Hi, there," Ash whispered. The baby blinked to the new faces.
"You're so cute," Sue cooed.
"Isn't he?" agreed Yumina. Pikachu saw the tiny hand of the baby before he grabbed it softly. Reacting, the baby gripped Pikachu's finger.
("Strong grip,") he realized.
"Does he have a name?" asked Sue.
"He does," Yuel replied. "I had asked Touya to be my son's godfather. In exchange, he was given the permission to name my son… Yamato." The baby made a cute moan at hearing his name.
"Yamato…" repeated Sue as she turned to Yumina. "How does it feel to be a big sister?" Yumina giggled to the question.
"Surreal…" she replied. "Seeing Yamato and how cute he is, somehow… it makes me anxious to have Touya as my wife and have a baby of my own."
"I feel the same," Elze nodded. Sue turned to her mother with a rather noticeable baby bump.
"Did you see the doctor about my sibling that's still coming?" she asked.
"I did, and she said that I'm only a few months away from my new child coming to this world," Ellen announced. "It's the reason your father and I joined Tristwin, Yuel and Yamato to Pallet Town." Ash, Sue, Elze and the Pokémon seemed confused.
"What do you mean?" wondered Ash. Ellen turned to Delia as Pikachu came back to her.
"Like my sister-in-law, I came to Pallet Town to propose to your mother about being my new child's godmother," Ellen offered. "So if anything happens to me and Alfred, my new child can be sent here to be raised." The children and Pokémon awed the offer. He rubbed the new baby bump.
"It makes me even more excited to be an older sister!" awed Sue. Delia noticed that Misty and Brock were not around while Pikachu kissed the new bump, making Ellen squeal a little.
"Say, where's Misty and Brock?" she realized.
"They had gone back to their homes," Ash answered. "Nurse Joy managed to fix Misty's bike, so she and Togepi are heading back to Cerulean City. Brock is back in Pewter City with Micah to show her the siblings he took care of after Flint left them." Ellen and Yuel became disappointed that Misty headed to her home instead of joining Ash and Sue to see Togepi.
"It's such a shame that we didn't get a chance to see her baby Pokémon," Yuel mulled.
"And to think, that bike was the reason she had been with you in the first place," Yumina added. Ash nodded as Delia cleared her throat.
"Ash, I would wager that you want to take your wife out to Professor Oak's ranch to see the others," she suggested. Ash smiled, sensing Delia's thoughts.
"I do," he agreed as he turned to the black fox. "Do you want to come with, Umbreon?" The fox looked to Yumina who nodded. Happily, it barked back.
"Umbreon wants to come along," she confirmed. "Besides, Touya is there as well." She turned back to the mothers. "We'll be back." The mothers nodded as Ash, Sue, Yumina and the Pokémon left. A little while later, they arrived at a large house by the windmills on a hill. Inside, a lot of technology was present from the large computer to storage devices and other machines. There, Oak, Touya and a raven-haired young man watched over three creatures. The raven-haired wore a turquoise t-shirt, coral-colored headband and shorts. On a table was a tiny blue four-legged creature with a green plant bulb on its back, a blue turtle with a red shell and curled tail, and an orange bipedal lizard with a flame on the tail. Hearing the footsteps, the men turned to see Ash, the cousins and the Pokémon.
"Ash, you're finally home!" greeted Touya.
"I sure am," Ash giggled. "And I see you met Tracey."
"They're pretty quick to understand each other," Oak joked. The raven-haired came to Ash and the cousins.
"So, you're Sushie," he realized. "It's finally nice to meet you." He and Sue shook hands.
"As it is to you, Tracey," she welcomed. "Yumina told me that you're the professor's assistant and a sketch artist."
"Yep. It comes with the territory as a Pokémon Watcher."
"Can I see some of them?"
"Absolutely. I can gather some while you see Ash's other Pokémon in the ranch."
"Okay!" She turned to the three creatures walking to the edge of the table. "What kind of Pokémon are they?"
"They're the Starter Pokémon for new trainers," Oak mentioned. He palmed the turtle. "You have Squirtle here…" Then, the bulbed creature. "Here's Bulbasaur…" Finally, the lizard. "And this is Charmander."
"Hi, all of you!" welcomed Sue. The three Pokémon cheered their greeting.
"Definitely different from Professor Elm's three starters," Elze mentioned. After meeting the starters, Ash led the girls outside.
"MASTER!" his Beasts called out. Ash was bombarded by the greeting of his Beasts as they hit the dirt.
"Touya should've mentioned that he brought the Beasts over here as well," Yumina teased. Ash soon scooped himself from the ground and viewed his Beasts.
"How's everyone?" he laughed.
"GOOD!" they cheered. Alfred and Tristwin also came by.
"Prince!" the Duke greeted. Ash turned to the royal men.
"King Tristwin!" he greeted. "Duke Alfred!"
"Professor Oak advised us that not all of the Pokémon here are yours," Tristwin briefed. "Still, he did tell us about your Snorlax and how much of a comical relief he is." Ash laughed to the case.
"You wouldn't believe how much of a comic relief he is," he shrugged. "By the way, father… Did your wife choose to ask my mom about being the godmother?"
"Yes, and even I believed it was a wise gesture for the family," Alfred acknowledged. "Prince, would you accept our new child and be a big brother to our new bundle?"
"Come on, father," Ash teased. "Why would I refuse?" Alfred smiled to the gesture as the other girls found the rest. By Linze was a blue fox that had scales and a dolphin fin for a tail while the mane was an encircled fin with more fins for ears and a shark fin on the head. By Yae was a giant green mantis-like creature with hooked blades for arms. By Leen was a pink star-like creature with tiny wings on its back. By Hildegard was a small sparrow with brown feathers around the face and red wings. By Lucia was a green humanoid creature with flowers by each side of the head and a grass skirt.
"Ash!" shouted Linze. Seeing the other girls, Ash laughed to their arrival with Pokémon by them.
"Hey!" he waived over. Linze was the first to arrive before she reached Ash's face and kissed his cheek. Ash quickly blushed to the kiss. "Okay, what was that for?"
"Hey, we love you, too!" laughed Lucia. "Why not give you a little love?" She kissed Ash on the other cheek. The Pokémon laughed to the sight.
"Not to mention that our Pokémon have been friendly to those in the ranch," Yae pointed out.
"Besides, we're wondering how your relationship is going," Hildegard pondered.
"We're doing fine," Sue answered. "Sure, Misty and Brock left for their homes." The girls moaned, knowing Togepi headed back with Misty.
"By the way, your herd is coming," Tristwin noted. Ash gasped and turned, finding a herd of large brown bulls with darker brown manes stampeding at them.
"The Tauros!" he realized. Just as they got close, a flame struck the ground before the herd. They crashed with each other in rear-end collisions. The herd scattered before everyone looked up. It appeared to be a giant Charmander, but it had twin horns, a cream-colored abdomen and wings, appearing like a dragon. "Charizard!" Hearing the name, the winged creature spotted Ash and spat a flame on him.
"PRINCE!" gasped Tristwin and Alfred.
"It's okay," Linze assured. "He does that every time." The King and Duke weren't sure about Linze's information. Ash recovered and came to Charizard.
"Hey, I thought you'd gone back to the Charicific Valley," he remembered. Charizard turned to Sue and Eevee.
("Why Sue, big guy?") asked Pikachu. Charizard grumbled as he pointed to the two elderly men.
"Charizard, that's my father," Yumina clarified as she pointed to Tristwin.
"And that's my father," Sue added as she pointed to Alfred. Charizard growled to acknowledge as another Bulbasaur came by. "Hey, another Bulbasaur!" Pikachu met up with the new Bulbasaur. A small conversation took place.
"I could be wrong, but is that your Bulbasaur, Ash?" guessed Yae.
"It is," Ash confirmed. "I told you about the Mysterious Garden. This was the one who refused to evolve." The others awed the detail. A Tauros, steel studs on its forehead and three whip-like tails, came over and sniffed at Sue, startling her. Seeing what's going on, Ash had an idea. "Tauros, did you want to give Sue a ride through the ranch to see everything?" The Tauros mooed happily to the idea. "Okay!" The other Tauros mooed to join.
"Seems as though the Tauros want to give your wife and friends a ride as well," Oak studied as he stepped outside. Ash turned to Oak and giggled, thinking how fun it would be. The girls were a little skeptical about boarding a bull. Touya watched from the window while holding Charmander.
'At least these bulls won't whip their riders around like in rodeos and bull-riding circuits,' he thought. Linze and Elze rode on one Tauros, Ash and Sue rode on another and the other girls had their choice of the Pokémon. They got to see all sorts of Pokémon as Leen came to Ash and pointed.
"Is that a bear over there?" she asked. Looking, everyone saw a blue bear that had a giant cream-colored abdomen and face, and puffy feet.
"That's my Snorlax over there," Ash identified.
"The same one that was causing problems in the Orange Islands?" guessed Linze. "But it looks so big… and docile."
"Considering that it eats as much as it weighs, you can understand how the problems arise," Ash briefed. "And it eats about half a ton of food in one setting. It scarfed the Pokémon Food after being crowned champion of the Pokémon Sumo competition."
"I'm afraid to ask where he stores all of that food," Hildegard gulped.
"And you're supposedly a knight," Lucia remarked.
"Different topic, Lu!" snapped Hildegard.
"Oh, I didn't see Touya's Pokémon yet!" realized Ash. Suddenly, footsteps and panting. Everyone turned to see Touya on a giant dog that had orange and black stripes like a tiger.
"There you are!" he shouted. Seeing the massive dog with a furry mane, Ash laughed.
"Arcanine, nice!" he called out.
"Yeah, I also have an Ekans, Sandslash and Dragonite!" called back Touya. "You should see them!" Everyone had a great ride as Ash embraced his wife in front. They believe the marriage would last forever.
(A month later)
Ash, Sue, Renne, Pikachu and a large lilac cat-like creature arrived at a new city. The creature had large ears and whiskers while a gem was embedded in the forehead. There was also a two-pronged tail. Ash wore a new cap and a blue hoodie while wearing the tunic. "We're here in Petalburg City!" voiced Sue. "This is May's home, right?"
"Yeah, though she didn't seem all that interested in returning," Ash realized. "I wonder why."
"She wasn't upset that she found out you two were married," Renne pondered. "In fact, she was actually happy about it." They journeyed through the city before they found a Japanese-style building with Pokéball symbols on the front. The cat-like creature mewed.
"Espeon?" asked Sue. Everyone looked to the place.
"That's right!" realized Ash. "Professor Birch said that Pokémon Gyms have markings to indicate where the gym is." They all entered before they came to a large room. The middle had a large circle with a line through the center. There were boxes that were outside of the field itself.
"Is this what a Pokémon battlefield looks like?" asked Renne.
"Yeah, you should've seen it when Ash competed," Sue recalled. Out of nowhere…
"What's with all of the racket?" a boy voiced. All turned as a raven-haired boy wearing glasses appeared. He wore a green t-shirt and shorts while carrying books. "I was trying to understand how Pokémon Types can work against trainers." When he looked, he saw Ash and gasped. "No way! It's you!" He dashed over and dropped the books on the floor. "It can't be real! You're a trainer who battled in the Silver Conference!" Ash nodded to the claim. "You finished runner-up." Ash slightly dipped his head while nervously laughing.
"Hey, still my best finish to date," he claimed.
"Oh, I bet!" the boy gleefully cheered. "Your name- Don't tell me… It's Alf!" Ash and Sue crashed onto the ground comically.
"It's Ash…" he corrected.
"But that Final was epic!" the boy continued. "I swore that your Charizard could last, but it was still awesome!"
"Well, he isn't my husband if he wasn't," Sue claimed. The boy gawked before turning to the two.
"Wait, you're married!?" he realized as Ash and Sue showed the boy the wedding rings. "Whoa, aren't you two rather young to be married?"
"I'm actually from another plain where laws are a tad different," Sue briefed.
"Really?" the boy irked. "Though, I can't argue. The two of you look adorable together, especially Pikachu and Espeon." The Pokémon hummed to the compliment before seeing Renne step to the boy. He stopped when he saw Renne close. "Oh, um… Is there… something you need?" Acting like Brock, Renne clasped the boy's hands.
"It might be you I need!" she cheered. Ash, Sue and the Pokémon watched, frozen and fixated to the maid and the boy. "I'm Renne." The boy blinked to the name.
"Renne, huh? I'm Max…" Renne dropped to a knee while her eyes were replaced by hearts.
"Max… I feel that this is a blessing for the two of us to meet." The others couldn't believe their ears.
"This feels like DeJa'Vu…" muttered Sue.
"And that's a problem?" asked Ash.
"Let's start small, Max…" pledged Renne. "I want to know if you're the one I want." She kissed Max on the lips, shocking the boy. Ash, Sue and the Pokémon stifled their laughs. Ash Ketchum had quite the adventure: he met the love of his life, saved her, married her and now travels with her. In many years, the Kingdom of Ketchum will rise, but right now, he and Sue are showing their love dialed in.
THE END