The return to Kanto was in Ash's opinion pretty short distanced compared to leaving Kanto. He figured the saying was true, "The return journey is shorter." He smiled as he sat on his bed and placed his trophy and badges on the display table his mother had custom made for him.
Lucario, -We are here Meema.-
Ash, "You know you can come in anytime Lucario. No need for permission. This is your room too."
Lucario, -Mewtwo says it's proper. And we are both growing up.-
Ash, "Not that grown up."
Pikachu, "Pikapi!"
Ash smiled as Pikachu climbed his shoulder, "Hey bud, enjoying the party."
Pikachu nuzzled his neck, "Pika."
Ash smiled as he locked the door before being pulled away by his Pokemon outside to the Professor's place. Thank goodness it was just next door! In one of the fields was a feast spread out for everyone to enjoy. His friends, family and Pokemon were all around relaxing and having a good time.
Ash, "Enjoying yourselves!"
Misty, "There's the man of the hour."
Gou, "We definitely are, and where did you go?"
Chloe, "You should try out the barbeque."
Ash, "I was putting some things away and I definitely will."
Brock, "Ash you are here."
Gary, "Red was looking for you."
Ash, "I'll go meet him. Enjoy yourselves guys."
Ash went to the room Gary had indicated, "Red?"
Red, "Ash, I got your permit ready."
Ash looked at him curiously before his eyes widened, "This is for Alola. For two weeks?"
Red, "You mentioned, you wanted to go on a vacation there after the League and Festival. I may have pulled a few strings for you and your friends. After what happened with Team Rocket here and the Orange Archipelago. I say you all deserve a break."
Ash hugged Red, "Thank you."
Red hugged him back, "You're welcome and I'm sorry. You should not even be getting involved with Team Rocket in the first place."
Ash shook his head, "It's not your fault big brother. People are just stupid and cruel sometimes."
Red, "Mn, I suppose they are."
Ash pulled his hand, "Let's go join the others. I am pretty sure Blue should have returned by now."
Red, "Speak of the Darkrai and he shall appear."
Ash looked at where Red was looking and saw Blue with a woman with yellow hair and a man with dark hair. It struck Ash at that moment that his cousin and friends were all adults now and they looked good together.
Blue, "Ash, come here a sec kiddo."
Ash looked at them curiously, "Hello, welcome to the party."
Blue, "These are some of our oldest friends, Yellow and her cousin Riley. They are also capable of doing what you do, except Riley is a fighter while Yellow here is a healer."
Ash's eyes brightened, "Oh! Oooooh! Nice to meet you."
Yellow smiled just as bright, "It's nice to meet you too, Ash."
Riley nodded, "It's good to know my sister and I aren't the only ones."
Aah, "Um... Drake is one too?"
Yellow, "I never actually met him before so I can't say I know him."
Riley, "Four of us then. Better than nothing if you ask me."
Aah, "Let's leave the heavy talk for later. Come join us."
Yellow grinned going towards the festive grounds, "Definitely."
As Ash and his companions enjoyed the food and games, they were soon joined by the towns people. The party went on for hours till the sky turned a dim red almost dark. The town kids who had enjoyed playing with his Pokemon whined when their parents tried to take them home.
Ash gave a small laugh, "Tell you what kids, if you help Professor Oak here, in caring for the Pokemon. I'm sure you can spend more time with them."
The seven faces brightened before looking at the Professor who commented it would be a good learning experience for them. The parents sighed in relief when their kids went along with them without kicking up a fuss anymore.
Serena, :I stan mama Ash.:
Lana, :+1:
Mallow, :He's good with kids.:
Lillie, :Thanks for sharing this cute scene.:
Melody, :The food looks good.:
Misty, :Welcome.:
Chloe, :Considering how he's always dealing with baby Pokemon. I'm not surprised.:
Kiawe, :True that.:
Sophocles, :All of a sudden I have a sudden fear of disappointing him when he's on mama mode.:
Gladion, :WTF?:
Gou, :Relax, Soph, Ash would not be disappointed. Instead he would fuss over you.:
Brock, :That's more like Ash.:
Serena, :Are those Yellow and Riley that we have been hearing about from Ash?:
Gary, :Yup, my bro's friends. I think they are actually here to check up on him.:
Drew, :Considering what happened I'm not surprised.:
Paul, :Team Rocket.:
Jessilina, :Yup.:
Jameson, :More trouble than worth.:
Ritchie, :This fondue is delicious.: *insert pic*
Melody, :..... I want some.:
Leaf, :Me too, but can't leave Jhoto currently.:
Green, :Yeah, Team Rocket almost caught Entei, we managed to stop them but it was a mess.:
Misty, :Are you okay?:
Chloe, :You are not hurt, are you?:
Leaf, :We are good.:
Green, :You should have seen the other guy.:
Jessilina, :Still be careful. Team Rocket is not happy with their failures in Kanto.:
Lillie, :I think, I just got another heart attack.:
Gladion, :Well she went into shock but she's good now. But once again WTF!:
Jessilina then called Gladion over to private chat and launched into a long explanation of what was going on in Kanto. To say Gladion was feeling unsettled was an understatement, human - Pokemon experimentation, poaching, hunting, etc. Gladion had half a mind to tell Lillie to not get involved with them but another half was worried sick. What is up with his new friends getting involved in this madness? He took a deep breath and looked over at his Pokemon who were sleeping around Lillie's Beedrill.
Gladion, 'Guess I can only prepare for the worst to come. Not like we can depend on mom especially with her obsession with those Ultra Beast.'
Lillie looked at her brother, "Something wrong Gladi?"
Gladion, "Nothing I'm going to train harder from tomorrow."
Lillie, "Ah! Are you worried about Team Rocket?"
Gladion, "Not just them, poachers and hunters as well."
Lillie nodded, "I'll train with Beedrill too."
Gladion, "Have you thought about having more Pokemon?"
Lillie nodded, "I have been talking with Misty and Chloe, they said they'll be giving me a poke egg when they come for the visit. So I'll have two Pokemon in total then, once I hatch them successfully."
Gladion blinked, "You are not scared of the Pokemon you hatch?"
Lillie nodded, "Yeah, I mean look at Beedrill and myself."
Gladion rummaged through his bag, "If that's the case then. Here!"
Lillie, "Ehhhh? Gladi that's a... You are giving them to me? Are you sure?"
Gladion nodded, "It means you will have another to protect you."
Lillie, "Thank you brother, I promise I'll take good care of them."
Gladion nodded, "I know you will and if Misty and Chloe are giving you another egg that would mean you have three Pokemon to watch your back."
Lillie turned to Beedrill smiling, "Look look Beedrill, you'll be a big brother."
Beedrill nodded, "Bzzzz."
On the other side Riley and Yellow had taken Ash aside and were sharing and comparing notes with him on aura. Professor Blaine had informed them of what Ash had observed a few months ago and they were very interested in what he and his friends were doing. They had even gotten Drake involved into their discussion half way through their talk after Ash decided to call him.
Drake, "I'm going to say, it depends on which Pokemon you bond with the most and your aura adjusts itself accordingly."
Riley, "Like yours became Draconic due to being with Dragonite, Yellow's one is healing due to spending a lot of time with her parents Chanseys and Ash and I are more inclined to fighting because of our bonds with our Lucarios."
Yellow, "That's a good theory."
Ash piped in, "It can be backed up by the fact, Misty has better control in water compared to others because she's bonded with her Starmie the most. The same with Jessilina having an immunity towards poison because of her bond with her Arbok. Jameson and Tomo have higher resistance against fire because they both bonded with Growlithe, Gou too thanks to Cinderace. Chloe, I'm pretty sure has higher resistance against electricity because of Yamper. Brock has a much more sturdy physic thanks to his bond with his rock type Pokemon."
Yellow nodded, "Definitely a common trait we can add to the guide book we are making for future aura users."
Ash, "Add to that, Elite Agatha has the same ability as her Ghost Pokemon and Gym Leader Sabrina too. How it develops definitely depends on which Pokemon you bond with the most."
Riley, "Hmm, you have made a lot of observation on this subject, haven't you?"
Ash nodded, "I had to, it's something that affects me a lot after all. And in return affects my family and friends. I have also taken to training with Lucario and Primeape for self defense and I'm sure I can use vacuum wave soon. I just need to increase my stamina and strength more."
Drake, "Please don't push yourself too hard. I know it can be very exciting but remember we are humans not Pokemon. Our bodies are not exactly used to using such powers."
Yellow, "Is it more difficult than healing?"
Drake, "Perhaps I can't be certain."
Riley, "You tried it before."
Drake nodded, "And ended up knocked out for a week only to wake up to Lorelei scolding me. Dragonite refused to let me out of sight, even while sleeping."
Ash winced, "I'm not forcing myself promise, in fact I'm mostly focusing on bonding and boosting whatever abilities my Pokemon already have."
Riley, "Like what you did in the battle, interesting indeed."
Yellow, "I don't think I can do that so easily as you did."
Drake, "Dragonite refuses to let me do it."
Riley, "I tried it once with my Lucario and was knocked out for the whole day. Lucario has not allowed me to do it."
Ash, "First time I tried I was knocked out of it too for almost two days, the second time was the whole day and the third I was too exhausted to even move. Now I think I'm getting the hang of regulating it."
Yellow, "Interesting, I'll have to try it myself to be sure but don't try to bond with more than two. I saw how pale and exhausted you looked."
Ash, "I know, my Pokemon have refused to train with me for a while for that reason. I am still feeling the drain even now. Lucario has decided not to train my aura till the League and Festival are over at least."
Red walked in, "Drain? Ash?"
Ash eeped, "Nothing serious, I promise."
Blue gave him a stern look, "Brat! Do not even try to hide it. We'll ask Lucario and we both know he'll tell us everything if it concerns your health."
Ash blushed at being reprimanded and nodded, "It's just exhaustion from using aura bond twice. I promise, nothing more."
Riley took his hand and felt for his pulse, "I see you are not lying about it. But do be careful and avoid using that for a month."
Yellow, "I can watch over him during the League."
Red, "Well you do have a medical certificate for both human and Pokemon. I think I can appoint you as his main Doctor."
Blue hummed, "Only for the League and let's put it in privacy. I don't want any unwanted attention around you two."
Ash, "That's fine.... Anyways the League is starting in a week right. The others and I were thinking about heading there in two days or so."
Red, "Mn that's fine. It's not so far from Vermilion city, the Indigo Plateau and flying usually takes one day."
Ash, "Usually, but Gou wants to do a pit stop at Vermillion to give Professor Sakuragi his other reports on the classified subjects. I already gave mine to Professor Oak."
Blue scowled, "You shouldn't even have been involved in it."
Ash, "Calm down, it worked out right?"
Red, "Doesn't mean, it was right."
Yellow distracted the two of them from their dark thoughts by showing them the guide book for aura users. Riley explained the basics of it and Ash listened quietly as the chatter washed over him lulling him to sleep against his two older brothers. He grumbled in his mind about how irritating exhaustion could be and made a personal note to find a way to make his awareness better. Both Blue and Red rubbed his shoulder and back in comfort lulling him to sleep after hearing his grumbles. Two days after the celebration the group headed off towards the Plateau where they would meet the others.
[A. N.: Internet connection went down again. Luckily it was fixed today.
See you all next week.
I'm still working on the battle scenes. It'll be a bit different as there are more characters then the anime. :)
Hopefully it'll turn out okay.]