Ash Ketchum: Type Specialist One Shots

Delia's big brown eyes were lit with fire as she scowled as she stared down at her six year old son. Oh she wasn't scowling at Ash, no for all that Ash was a troublemaker, there was nothing short of him committing murder that would result in Deliah scowling at him with that such heat. No, what made anger bubble in her stomach like a Magmar's maga was the swollen red mark around her son's eye that was slowly turning purple. Looking down at his arms and legs there was a number of bruises in various stages of healing. Ash was a rambunctious kid, he loved running and climbing and, in Delia's opinion, honestly acted more Pokemon than human. Children were clumsy, and Ash especially got his fair share of bruises and scraped hands and knees from simply running around and being a kid. But the majority of bruises that littered her son's body were not from falling out of a tree, or skidding down a hill, or rolling down into a ditch, they were from kicks, and punches from other kids. Delia Ketchum was a sweet, kind, and bright young woman, she would give a struggling stranger the shirt off her own back, but she would not roll over and let someone, anyone, bring harm to her child, her world.

As Delia started formulating a plan, Ash ramboled on in front of her, trying to minimize the situation. "I'm fine mom! Gary and his friends were just being buttfaces!" He insisted, his hands gripping the trim of her blue pencil skirt. Delia frowned at him, and he babbled on. "Really! I even hit them back! So it's okay! I'm okay!"

Delia frowned deeper and crouched in front of her son, taking his face in her hands. She ran her thumb against the swollen mark around his eye, biting her lip when he flinched away from her finger. "It is never, never okay for anyone to hit you." She spoke calmly, rubbing small circles on the zigzag marks on his cheeks. She gave him a small, soft smile. "I will be calling the school, and Professor Oak. This is not okay, and it can't continue." Ash nodded, his head bowing in shame. "None of that, there is nothing to be ashamed of, everyone faces bullies at some point." Ash opened his mouth, likely to say they weren't bullies but Delia didn't let him interrupt her. "They are bullies Ashy, they hit you and called you names. Friends don't do that."

Ash sighed, and leaned into her hand. "Okay."

Delia gave her son a kiss on the forehead and stood back up. "Go get changed out of your school clothes and I'll get started on dinner. How does Hamburger Steak sound?"

Brown eyes lit with excitement and Ash perked up. "That sounds awesome! Thanks mom!" Cheerfully, the six year old bolted for his bedroom, undressing as he ran through the house despite Delia calling after him not to do that.

"That boy." Delia smiled after him, before her smile melted away to a look of determination.

"Mime?" Mimey tilted his head at her, and she smiled at her.

"Don't worry Mimey, we'll deal with this."

"Mime Mime!"

=======

Delia glared down at the phone, wishing she would punch the man on the other side. The teachers refused to anything, the boys' parents would do anything(if she heard the phrase 'Boys will be boys!' one more time she was going to riot.), and the one man she thought she could count on also refused to do anything.

"They're just fighting at the moment Delia, give it time and they'll be back to being best friends." Samuel Oak insisted. "Ash will get over it."

Delia shook her head. "Thats not going to happen." She said firmly. "I don't want Gary anywhere near Ash."

Shock covered the older man's face. "Surely you don't mean that Delia-"

"I do. I want my son to be kind, giving, and forgiving, but anyone who hurts him like this, who covers him in bruises with his gang, yes they are a gang Samuel, is not someone that deserves forgiveness. I had to listen to my son cry himself to sleep tonight! He's heartbroken, he doesn't know why Gary suddenly turned on him and now hes his biggest bully! I don't even know how long this has been going on!" Hot tears dripped down the woman's face. "Ash and Gary fell out months ago. I don't know if this has been happening since the fall out, or only this week! You have no clue what the feels like!" Taking a deep breath, Delia schooled her features. "Whatever, I'll figure this out on my own." Without giving him a moment to respond, Delia ended the call and sat back.

Wiping her tears away, Delia glanced at the mantle, where a picture of her, Ash, and Ash's father stood in the center. Gripping her hand's tightly, Delia started forming a plan. If those boys thought they could get away with hurting her boy and him not retaliating, they had another thing coming.

======

Delia chuckled as she watched Ash awe and marvel at Saffron City. Ash had spent his entire life in Pallet Town, having never seen the city, so she couldn't exactly blame him. "Come on Ash, we need to hurry so we don't miss our appointment."

"Okay mom!" Ash grinned brightly at her, the bruise on his eye now a solid purple with just a touch of yellow coming in as it healed. He ran toward her and grabbed onto her hand, bouncing on the heels of his sneakers excitedly. "Where are we going?" He asked.

Delia smiled at him. "We're going to the Saffron Dojo."

"Dojo?" Ash scrunched up his face. "Oh! Thats where Fighting Types are trained!"

Delia giggled, leave it to her son to only know about Pokemon. "People also learn how to fight and train. This Dojo specializes in fighting alongside Pokemon."

"Really? People can fight beside their Pokemon?!" Ash squealed, imagining him side by side a nameless fighting type throwing punches together.

"Yep! I thought you would like to sign up and join the Dojo."

Ash nodded excitedly before the look on his face melted away to sorrow. "But we live far away. I won't be able to come a lot. We're not moving, are we?"

Delia ran her hand through her son's spiky black hair. "No sweety, Pallet Town is our home." She assured me. "I've contacted an old friend, do you remember Mr. Hale?"

Ash's face scrunched up as he thought before lighting up as he remembered. "Um hes the hes the professor who is learning the alphabet! He gave me a book on anc-anceen- old Pokemon for my birthday!"

"Thats right! Well I let him borrow my Pidgeot for his work, and he's going to give her back to me. We can ride Pidgeot to get here whenever we need to come to the Dojo." As she expected, Ash's eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

The rest of the walk to the Dojo was relatively quiet, other than Ash's usual 200 questions about every Pokemon he saw. As they neared the Dojo, however, Ash fell quiet, and Delia stopped to look at her son. Ash was staring at a large building with wide, fear filled eyes.

"Ash? Whats wrong?" Delia glanced nervously at the building in front of them.

"There's something…bad in that building." Ash murmured, latching onto her leg.

While she didn't feel anything off about the building, Delia didn't doubt him for a second. While Ash was an ob;ivious child, he seemed to have a sixth sense for people, and things with bad energy. Delia had seen his 'feelings' be right enough times to never doubt him.

"Come on, the Dojo is this way, lets get away from here." Delia wasted no time in scooping her son up into her arms and quickly walking towards the Dojo, sighing in relief when Ash became less tense.

The Dojo was nice sized, not over large but not small either. Like many buildings in Kanto, the building was traditional looking, with shoji doors and a delicately managed stone garden, and was no doubt covered in tatami mats inside. From outside they could hear the yelling of commands and swift movements.

Delia set Ash down and gently opened the door. "Welcome!" A deep, loud voice called out, startling Delia, though Ash was unbothered, simply looking around in awe, soaking in the older people and the Pokemon beside them. "You must be the Ketchums. Follow me into the back and we can sign him up. The rest of you, keep running your drills!"

"Hai!" The sparing people all called out at once.

Tentatively, Delia followed the man to the back of the Dojo, into a separate room, Carefully pulling Ash along. "Thank you for meeting with us today Mr. Koichi."

The man waved her off and took a seat on the floor. "I was looking forward to it. The younger generation isn't as interested in martial arts anymore." Delia followed suit, though far less graceful, while Ash copied the man perfectly. Koichi looked at the young boy, noticing the shiner to his right eye and the other healing bruises on him. "I'm guessing, however, that you're wanting him in my Dojo for self defense more than anything."

Delia blushed in embarrassment and nodded. "He's being picked on," Ash winced and looked away. "I was hoping if he knew some self defense they would leave him alone."

Koichi nodded, other parents had signed their kids up for the same thing so he was unbothered. "So what are you wanting him to learn? Aikido? Judo? I specialize in Karate, but other forms of martial arts aren't new to me."

Ash broke in, grinning brightly. "I want to learn how to fight alongside Pokemon!"

Koichi raised his eyebrow at Delia, who nodded her head in amusement. "I see." Koichi also sounded rather amused. "Stand up, lets see what you can do." Koichi pulled himself up and grabbed some hand pads, holding them up. Ash threw a punch into one of the pads, trying to remember what he had briefly seen in the other room, only to have Koichi sweep his legs. Ash landed with an 'oof'. "To fight alongside Pokemon, you must first learn how to fight by yourself, understand?" Ash pulled himself up and nodded, his brown eyes lit with enthusiasm, just what Koichi liked to see in his students. "Alright then," Koichi smiled and turned to Delia. "Lets get the paperwork out of the way."

Delia chuckled and nodded, smiling happily at her son.

===============

Ash, Koichi and Delia were quick to discover, determined, and quick to learn. Teaching him the required discipline was a bit hard, Ash was such an energetic and determined child it was hard for him to stay focused and still, but that determination and drive was ultimately what helped him in the long run. Ash soaked up Karate like a sponge, working himself harder than any of Koichi's students of similar age. When sparing with other children, Ash dominated, it was like he could tell what they were doing, and when a fist or kick was coming his way. It was fascinating, if a little frightening.

Koichi was actually rather amazed, most kid who were signed up by parents usually only did the bare minimum to keep their parents off their backs. Even kids that asked and wanted to join ultimately only did what was asked of them because they hadn't realized how hard Karate actually was. But Ash put his everything into learning, even practicing at home.

Delia was a bit saddened that instead of playing with friends Ash spent most of his time in the yard practicing, but that just showed where Ash stood with the kids that used to be his friends. Troublingly, despite being in classes and coming so far in such a short time, Ash was still getting beaten up by his bullies. Delia had asked a number of times why Ash didn't defend himself, and he said he didn't want to hurt them. It took Koichi teaching him a few Judo and Aikido moves, purely defensive and evasive, for Ash to finally respond to the physical bullying.

Delia had gotten a call from the school saying Ash had gotten into a fight, and Delia immediately asked if he had won. When the other parents tried to talk to her about the fight, Delia responded with a chipper; "Boys will be boys!". When Samule Oak tried to scold her about Ash's behavior, Delia told him that; "Gary will get over it.".

After that incident, Ash was more or less left alone. She suspected they still said rude things to him, but Ash refused to talk about it. A small part of Delia wanted to feel bad about the other kids getting so easily manhandled by her son, but she really didn't. Ash wasn't getting hurt, and she was happy that he could defend himself and found something he could be passionate about.

It wasn't until a few months later, during a routine spar, that Koichi and Delia finally got an understanding of Ash's instincts and reflexes. With that understanding, came a new addition to the Ketchum household.

===============

Koichi pulled his group of younger years into silence. "Ash, Zack, you two are first!" He ordered, pointing to the mat. Both white belts made their way to the mat Zack taking the red side of the mat, and Ash the white, they bowed to each other, and then Koichi before getting into position. "Red side attacking, Start."

"Kiai!" Both students yelled out.

Zack, a brunette haired 7 year old, wasted no time, a small spiteful smirk playing on his lips as he threw his first punch, but Ash threw up his arm, catching the hit, only to close his eyes as chalk powder was thrown at his face by Zack. Despite his closed eyes however, Ash threw a punch at Zack's side, stopping just before landing a hit. Zack backed off, his smirk replaced with a scowl as he watched Ash. The scowl soon gave way to shock as Ash threw his next punch, stopping just inches away from Zack's face, he knew for a fact his chalk powder had gotten into Ash's eyes, he could plainly see his eyes shut, it made no sense on how Ash could deliver the kyu uninterrupted. Frustrated, Zack aimed a kick up, only for Ash to easily catch it, and shift to the side to aim a fist at Zack's side, again stopping before it could hit. The brunette felt frustration build up as they reset, and brought his stance in a little tighter. This time when he threw his punch, he was aiming to hit, aiming right at Ash's chest. Just as he was about to make contact however, Ash defended, blocking the blow, wincing slightly at the heavy hit, and raising his leg to kick, stopping just before contact.

"Thats enough!" Koichi's stern face was twisted in outrage, black eyes glaring at Zack with disappointment. Ash relaxed his form and bowed to Zack, and Koichi before reaching up and trying to wipe the chalk from his eyes. Koichi, however, was focused on Zack. "What was that last punch?" He demanded. Zack turned his head away, refusing to meet the other man's eye. "You were aiming to make contact, neither you nor Ash are senior yellow belts! What were you thinking?"

"I was mad." Zack grumbled. "He had his eyes closed the whole time!"

"What?" Koichi narrowed his eyes at Zack before turning to Ash. Koichi could just make out the dusty, slightly sparkly, signs of chalk powder on the boy's face, standing out against the boy's tanned skin as Ash continued to wipe his eyes. Koichi looked down at Zack's hands and scowled deeper, his right hand was dusted with matching white powder. "You are in big trouble young man." Zack gulped.

=====

When Delia walked into the Dojo to pick up Ash she was surprised to see Koichi throwing punches and her son evading them. It was quite obvious Koichi wasn't putting his all into attacks, or even really trying to land a hit, and Delia picked up enough about the sport from her son to know that whatever they were doing was not an official spar, or really Karate at all. Most baffling, however, was the fact that Ash's eyes were fully closed. As Delia walked further into the Dojo, Ash turned his head towards her while easily ducking under Koichi's fist.

Koichi stood up normally, a thoughtful expression on his face. "That's enough." Koichi called, and Ash peeked his eyes open before running to give her a big hug. The older man turned to Delia, his expression easily read as him needing to talk to her. "Do you have a moment to talk?" He asked.

Worried, Delia nodded, mindlessly petting Ash's head. "Yes, tomorrow is Saturday so Ash doesn't have school, we can be a little later than normal." Delia and Ash followed Koichi into his office, taking a seat on the tatami mat floor and facing the Karate Sensei. "Is something wrong?"

Koichi shook his head. "Not necessarily. There was an incident earlier today, during a white belt sparring session Ash's opponent threw chalk powder in his eyes, the boy has already been dealt with," He assured when Delia opened her mouth to speak. "It was at the beginning of the match, and yet Ash ran through the entire spar without issue." At this, Koichi turned towards Ash, who was obviously tired but was trying to sit in a perfect seiza regardless. "When I was throwing punches at you, and your eyes were closed, could you see?"

Delia gave the man a baffled look. His eyes were closed, how was he supposed to see? To her shock however Ash hesitantly nodded before second guessing himself. "Well, not exactly. Not like how when my eyes were open, I can't see colors or spec-spici- uh"

"Spacific." Delia offered, and Ash nodded.

"Spa-cif-ic things." Ash explained carefully. "Everyone is covered in a fuzzy blue outline. Some people have darker blue than others, but everyone has pretty much the same amount of blue around them. Pokemon are a little different, their blue is brighter, and bigger."

"Ashy, how long have you been able to see this?" Delia asked, wondering if perhaps Ash had some kind of Synesthesia.

Ash gave her a funny look. "Always, I thought, I thought everyone could do it." He admitted.

"So I was right." Koichi finally spoke, his eyes bright with wonder.

"Right? About what?" The woman demanded, a bit on edge.

Koichi smiled slightly at her. "It's pretty much a dead ability for people, so I wasn't sure at first, but Ash, I believe, is one of the few people who can see Aura."

"Aura?" Delia murmured, looking at Ash when the boy perked up.

"Like Lucario!" He grinned and turned towards Delia. "We learned about Sir Arron and Lucario the other day! He was a knight that stopped a war from destroying the Kingdom of Rota! Are you saying that I'm like that?"

Koichi chuckled. "I am."

Delia relaxed and sighed in relief. "I'm not too surprised then." Ash and Koichi looked at her questioningly. "Your father was originally from Rota, since Rota is technically in the Kanto Region he came here to be a Pokemon Trainer." She explained. "What exactly is Aura?"

The older man hummed in thought. "I'm afraid I, myself, don't know much about it. Like I said, Aura in humans is extremely rare these days, but it does explain Ash's sixth sense, how he's able to tell when someone is coming or if someone or something is dangerous."

Thinking back, Delia could remember how often Ash, as an infant, would know someone was coming before even she did, be it person or Pokemon, how Ash would perk up minutes before someone would enter the room, and how Ash would immediately avoid certain people and places. She had always just chalked it up to Ash having a sixth sense, or a sense for danger given how rambunctious he was, but if he had an ancestral ability, that also explained some things. "So what do we do now?" She asked.

"Nothing really, except that Ash needs to work on training his Aura ability more. I've heard that, in people, their Aura Core isn't stable until they're adults, but because Ash is actively practicing martial arts, I think it would be better for him to have a general handle of his abilities sooner rather than later." Delia nodded in understanding, reaching over to ruffle Ash's hair affectionately. "One more thing," Delia turned back towards him. "I think it would be best if he has one of these with him." Koichi stood up and walked over to a closet, where he pulled out a distinct container that caused mother and son to gasp.

"Thats a Pokemon Egg!" Ash pointed out. Sitting in a pink incubator was a distinct blue egg with a black mask shape on the front and a black oval on each side.

"Right you are, a Riolu egg to be specific." Koichi sat down and pushed the egg towards Ash, who just barely restrained himself.

"We can't accept this!" Delia denied.

Koichi simply laughed. "This Riolu egg was laid in a clutch of three in Kalos, however both its clutchmates have long since hatched while this one hasn't so much as glowed. We, meaning different Dojo's and Fighting Type Specialists, have been passing it around in hopes of finding a way to hatch them, so far nothing has worked. This past month that Ash has been here, though, the egg has started glowing." The older man glazed down at the boy, who stared at the egg in awe still. "It might very well be a coincidence," he admitted. "But, I suspect that Ash's Aura may be encouraging the egg to hatch.

"Even so," Delia started. "We can't accept this, its too much-"

Ash, unable to resist, reached his hand out, pressing it to the glass of the incubator. The moment his hand touched the glass, the egg inside started to pulse, letting out bright white and blue light. The three people stared with various expressions, Ash was in awe, Delia was stumped, and Koichi was admittedly a little smug as he pulled the top of the incubator off. The light soon died away, leaving a short dog like Pokemon in the egg's place. It stood on two legs with short blue fur and big red eyes.

"Rio?" Riolu yipped, blinking its red eyes open blearily until it could clearly see the person in front of them, a young human boy with brown eyes, crazy black hair, and a bright blue, overflowing aura.

"It hatched!" Ash said in awe. "Its nice to meet you Riolu! I'm Ash!"

"Rio Lu!" Riolu barked back, puffing his chest out proudly.

"So cool!" The boy giggled, reaching his hand out and scratching RIolu behind the ear. RIolu's fluffy tail wagged behind him, and he leaned into the warm touch.

The tiny jackal Pokemon was a bit enamored with the human boy's aura, it was so warm and inviting, bleeding out of him like sunbeams. Closing his eyes, Riolu pushed out his own aura, the tufts on each side of his head straightening out. Ash watched Riolu with a quizzical look before copying him and closing his eyes. Riolu was bursting with Aura, the blue waves stretching and weaving towards Ash. Focusing as hard as he could, Ash pushed his own Aura forward. Both person and Pokemon gasped inward slightly as the two Aura signatures touched, mingling together before retreating back to themselves.

Ash slowly opened his eyes in time with Riolu, red peering into brown and vice versa. Riolu's muzzle turned up into a small smile, one Ash returned before both of them promptly passed out.

Delia gasped, pulling her son towards her. "Ash! Honey?" To her relief, the boy mumbled in his sleep and snuggled into her hand. She sighed in relief. "What happened?"

Koichi chuckled lowly. "I haven't a clue, but whatever they did sure zapped their energy." He reached over and picked up Riolu before moving him next to ash, where his paws immediately latched onto the boy's Gi. "Ash has been on his feet all day, and Riolu just hatched, they're just tired. Let Ash take a break from the Dojo this weekend, it'll give him time to bond with Riolu."

"About that, are you sure its okay that we just take him? What about the people that clutched him?" Delia carefully laid Ash on his back, smiling as he curled up closer to Riolu.

Koichi shook his head. "Gurkinn will just be relieved that he hatched at all, technically speaking, his family only needed one egg, for his granddaughter, he sent the second Riolu to one of Korrina's friends in Sinnoh I believe. With this one, he just wanted it to hatch and go to whoever could hatch it."

Delia rolled the thought around in her head. "Very well." She caved. "I don't think we could separate the two if we tried." She said softly, causing Koivchi to laugh.

"Let me get the paperwork." Koichi then stood and vanished behind a shoji door. When he came back he had a short stack of paperwork.

"What's this for?" She asked, accepting the paperwork regardless.

"While in Kanto kids are only allowed to be Pokemon trainers when they're ten, thats not necessarily the case. There are a few loopholes on how younger kids can become Pokemon trainers early, of course there are specific rules for those situations, such as the kids still needing to stay home and only being allowed one Pokemon. Different situations call for different rules." He explained. "In this case, Ash will be allowed one Pokemon, Riolu, as his Dojo partner. I was going to offer this opportunity to Ash when he was a yellow belt regardless, he's progressing well and I was going to talk to you about moving him to the Pokemon class, but given today's happeningings, its best we do it now. He won't be moved to the Pokemon class until he's a yellow belt, but that will be in just a few months, it gives him plenty of time to bond with and teach Riolu the basics."

Delia nodded along as she read the paper work, signing and marking only after she read everything, even the tiny print at the bottom of each paper. Finally she signed the bottom, and turned to Ash, who was still asleep. Gently, she shook his shoulder, whispering softly until his eyes peeked open and he yawned. "Ashy I need you to write your name on this line, can you do that?"

"Okay." Ash yawned, rubbing his eyes as he took the pen. "My long name or short name?" He asked, voice heavy with sleep.

"Long name sweety." Delia encouraged.

Nodding, Ash carefully scrawled 'Ashura Satoshi Ketchum'. Delia nodded proudly, taking the paperwork back so he could slump beside her. As she looked over the paperwork one more time she zeroed in on her son's name, only to snort. Her husband was a dork, she decided before quietly wondering if he had suspected their son would possess Aura. Ashura was a rather rare name, but Delia hadn't thought anything of it at the time, chalking it up as the man simply wanting their son to have a fire related name like he himself had, but given the man was from Rota, she now had her doubts.

"Here you go." She handed the paperwork back to Koichi who looked it over briefly before nodding and pulling out a shrunken Pokeball. "Ash, one more thing and then we can go home so you can sleep."

The six year old grunted and pushed himself back up. Ash rubbed his eyes, only fully waking up when Koichi offered him the Pokeball, now enlarged. "Really?!" He looked between the adults hopefully.

"Riolu is going to be your partner, it only makes sense that you be the one to catch him." Delia nodded.

"Awesome!" Ash cheered, waking Riolu up from his own slumber. Noticing the jackal sitting up, Ash smiled at him. "Riolu, do you want to come with me and be my partner?" Riolu perked up as Ash talked. "Lets get stronger together, what do you say?"

"Rio!" Riolu yipped pushing himself onto his paws.

Ash grinned. "Go Pokeball!" With precision, Ash launched the pokeball at Riolu, who jumped up and hit the button, vanishing in a flash of red light. Ash delicately caught the wiggling red and white ball, smiling when it stopped wiggling and blinked. "Alright! I just caught Riolu!" He cheered, grinning at his mother, who was clapping for him.

===============

Life with Riolu didn't change much, if anything Ash was jazzed to have a friend again. Riolu took well to Ash's training, and Ash improved even faster with Riolu by his side. The two were quite literally glued at the hip.

In Pallet Town, things got slightly worse on the Gary stormfront. While the other boys had learned their lesson, especially now that Ash had a Pokemon by his side, they assumed Riolu was a Pokemon his mother caught for him and hadn't a clue Ash had caught Riolu himself as that law was pretty well hidden, Gary seemed to get worse. He was jealous that Ash had a Pokemon, even if it was technically, to his knowledge, his mothers, even more so after he complained to his parents and grandfather and didn't get the same treatment. He would no longer physically attack Ash, his gang wouldn't gang up on Ash anymore and Gary was too afraid to attack alone, but verbally, he was harsher than ever. And as the years went on he just seemed to get angrier and angrier, especially when he stopped getting a rise out of Ash.

Karate had side effects to Ash's personality, he was still a wild and rambunctious boy no doubt, but Martial Arts, and his Aura abilities, demanded discipline and emotion control. It was important for Ash to keep his head cool in spars, and when practicing his Aura. If he got too angry, his aura would flare and become too much for him to handle, and it would be hard to properly think about his next move. Gary was actually a great help in that regard, nobody got Ash angrier than Gary, and while Ash wished the boy would just stop, he made a great practice dummy for keeping calm. Gary taunting him aside, Ash and Riolu also picked up Meditation, centering their energies and helping them improve in body, mind, and focus.

But as Ash grew older and the day of his tenth birthday got closer and closer, more and more kids in his class started talking about their Pokemon journeys. It made him stall, as he realized he hadn't really thought about a Pokemon journey in maybe three years, all his energy and focus having gone into the Dojo.

=====================

"Thats enough for today." Koichi called out, pulling practice to a halt. "Good work today, be careful on your way home."

"Good work Sensei!" The class responded in kind, their partner Pokemon crying out as well.

Ash sighed and wiped sweat from his face with his towel as he fished out his and Riolu's water bottles. Handing the water bottle to his partner, the 9, almost 10, year old allowed himself to rest against the shoji walls. Riolu gulped feverishly at the water bottle before handing it back to a chuckling Ash, who wiped the nozzle before gulping the liquid down. "Lets stop by Pokemart before we go home and get something with more electrolytes." While not often, Delia had started allowing Ash and Riolu to go to practice alone on the occasion that she needed or wanted to stay home.

"Rio!" Riolu agreed.

"Ash, Riolu, you two are hanging around today?" Koichi asked, making Ash realize that everyone else had already left.

"Sorry Sensei," Ash straightened his posture. "Just taking a break."

Koichi didn't say anything for a moment. "You've been distracted today, is everything okay?"

Ash smiled at the worry in the man's eyes. "I can't hide anything from you." He mused, scratching Riolu behind the ears. "I'll be turning 10 soon, meaning the League season will be starting soon, and with it, me and my classmates will be old enough to start our journeys."

"Aren't you excited?" Koichi questioned.

Ash hesitated. "I don't know," he admitted. "When I was younger I wanted nothing more than to be a Pokemon Master, but honestly I haven't thought about that for years."

The older man fell silent. "A Journey doesn't have to be about achieving some grand goal, look at the journey you took in this class, your simple goal was to fight alongside your Pokemon and get stronger together, you have done that. A Pokemon journey doesn't have to be about becoming number one in the Indigo League, it can be as simple as wanting to learn more about the world outside of your small town, or wanting to make more friends, meet and catch more Pokemon. Instead of setting some big goal for yourself, think about what you really want to do right now. You're only ten, you have the rest of your life to change your mind."

Ash stared down at Riolu with a thoughtful expression. "I understand, thank you Sensei."

Koichi nodded with a feral grin, and ruffled Ash's unruly black hair. "Of course! I'm your Sensei after all!"

=====

"What do we want to do right now?" Ash asked Riolu as they left Pokemart. Riolu tilted his head in question. "Our goal is to get stronger together. As it stands, we're the best in our class." While it sounded arrogant, it was simply true, Ash and Riolu were the top of their class at the Dojo. "But, what about other Dojos? And other Pokemon with different fighting styles?" Ash came to a sudden stop, Riolu stopping right before him. "Hey, Riolu, how would you like to visit the different facilities around the regions?"

"Lu?"

"Yeah, I bet the different Fighting Type gyms have loads to teach, not to mention all the Pokemon. So, how does that sound?"

"Rio!" Riolu grinned, red eyes sparking with enthusiasm as he leapt into Ash's arms.

Ash laughed heartily while hugging his partner to his chest. "Alright! Lets get home and tell mom!" Ash pulled out his mother's Pidgeot's Pokeball, throwing it into the air for the massive bird to pop out, and waited for him to land before he and Riolu climbed onto his back before they took off into the sky.

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On his tenth birthday, Ash set out on his journey. His last practice before his journey was a difficult one, the practice wasn't any harder than the others but emotionally, it was draining. Ash and Riolu were dedicated to the Dojo, they had made many friends and rivals and both were very fond of Koichi-Sensei. Leaving that night had been full of tearful goodbyes, even if everyone knew they would be coming back, possibly in a few months as they passed through Saffron on their journey, it was still hard knowing they wouldn't see eachother every week for months to years on end. But the Dojo sent them away with honor, and though both Ash and Riolu had tears in their eyes, they walked away promising to visit as soon as they could.

Receiving his Pokedex was a bit awkward. Delia had never forgiven Professor Oak for doing nothing, and while they were on neutral terms on the best of days, Ash had almost no relationship with the man, especially because Ash didn't need to get a starter Pokemon from him. Ash did run into Gary, but Ash had long since ignored the other boy, and simply walked into the lab. While awkward as all get out, Ash and Riolu walked out of the lab one Pokedex and five Pokeballs heavier.

Saying goodbye to his mother was heartfelt and odd. Delia was admittedly something of a Mama Ursaring, but she had always known Ash would set out on a journey eventually. So while she desperately wanted to hang onto him and never let him go, she simply sent him off with a smile, making him promise to call her at the earliest convenience.

Since Ash had no real interest in challenging any Gyms, Ash and Riolu were never in any rush. They camped out, and ran their drills daily before practicing and training Riolu's actual moves. It was while practicing Force Palm that Ash met Misty, a spit fire of a young woman, as Force Palm accidentally smashed Misty's bike. They didn't get on initially, Misty was rather loud and opinionated and Ash was disciplined and opinionated, leading to Misty usually losing her temper and losing the argument, which made her more upset, but after a heated Pokemon battle, they seemed to come to an understanding, and Misty decided to join them on their journey. Through one of Misty's fishing trips Ash battled a shy, but determined Poliwag that evolved mid-battle into Poliwhirl. The battle ended with Ash catching her, and Poliwhirl joining the small band of travelers. Pewter City was where Ash met Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader. They met during Ash's morning drills, when he was taking his gaggle of siblings to the park, the kids were mesmerized by what Ash and his Pokemon were doing, and were intrigued by Riolu, who they were unfamiliar with. Even Brock was rather intrigued by the jackal, and it was after Ash's drills, when he stopped to take a drink, that Brock asked if his siblings could play with his Pokemon. Since Poliwhirl and Riolu had no problem with it, Ash agreed and while the children played, Ash and Brock got to talking. It was during said talk that Ash learned about Brock's dreams, and while Ash couldn't do much for the older boy, he offered some advice his sensei had shared with him. Ash had walked away from the park with a new friend, one who would later join him once his deadbeat father realized he was doing nothing by hiding.

After that, traveling through Kanto was rather painless, if you didn't count the two teenagers and their talking cat that tried to take Riolu every other week, and after months of traveling, they soon wound up in Saffron city. Immediately, Ash and Riolu made their way to the Dojo, waiting for the class at the time, all 6 to 7 year olds, to finish before announcing themselves and walking in. Misty and Brock were in awe of the Dojo, and rather excited to meet Ash's Sensei, seeing as Ash spoke so highly of the man. Koichi greeted Ash with a contemplative look before challenging him, not to a Karate Spar, but to an actual Pokemon Battle, Hitmonchan vs Riolu. The battle was rough, Koichi used to be the Saffron City Gym Leader after all and his talents had not at all wavered in slightest, Koichi was relentless, but so was Ash, and he, nor Riolu were going to just roll over. This determination was what pushed Riolu, and in the second half or the battle caused him to evolve. Ash could feel the rush of Aura burst from the newly evolved Lucario, he was nearly blinded by the intensity of it. With Lucario's post evolution strength, they were finally able to push through, and in the end, though panting and worse for wear, they were victorious. Koichi didn't look at all disappointed at the lost, if anything he beamed with pride as he caught Ash and Lucario in an affectionate choke hold. When they had to leave to go to the next town, Koichi presented Ash with a present, he couldn't give Ash a Gym Badge, but he could gift his student something, and that something happened to be a young Tyrogue, bred from his own Ace Hitmonchan. Ash of course tried to deny the gift, but Koichi was a stubborn man, and in the end, Ash left with a new Pokemon to add onto his team.

Other than catching an energetic and rather playful Primeape soon after, life for the band of travelers went on as usual. Ash and his Pokemon trained daily, and they traveled, experiencing the world together as they strived to get stronger. Team Rocket was a nuisance, and there were a few run ins with Legendary Pokemon, and possibly almost dying, things that the entire group agreed not to tell their families about, but otherwise little happened. Tyrogue eventually evolved into Hitmonlee and for Ash's 11th birthday Misty gifted him a Water Stone for when and if Poliwhirl wanted to evolve. Ash even met Bruno, one of Kanto's Elite Four members and Fighting Type Specialist. Ash of course challenged the man to a battle, one he only agreed to due to Ash being a fellow martial artist, and one that Ash horribly lost, not that Ash was bothered much by the defeat.

Soon after they left Kanto and traveled to Johto, where Ash added Heracross onto his team, much to Misty's dismay, and eventually challenged Chuck, Cianwood City's Gym Leader and Fighting Type Specialist. Using Primeape against Primeape was something of a disaster, simply because neither Primeape wanted to throw in the towel, but overall Ash's Primeape came out on top before being taken out by Machoke. Machoke was then taken down by Ash's Heracross, earning them the Storm Badge. While Ash wasn't aiming for badges, he decided to accept the badge as proof of his win, and a reminder of how far he came. After traveling Jhoto, and again meeting Legendary Pokemon and nearly dying and not telling their families, the group of trainers had to split up. Misty would be taking over the Cerulean City Gym for her sisters, and Brock had some family stuff to work out, so for the first time in two years, Ash was alone on his journey back to Pallet and to Hoenn.

In Hoenn Ash didn't stay alone for long, meeting, and accidentally destroying her bike, May, who was just setting out to get her first Pokemon. Meeting Norman, May's father and Hoenn's Normal Type Gym Leader, Ash asked for a battle. He knew Normal Types were weak to fighting, but he wasn't dumb enough to think that alone would secure him a win, if anything it made Ash more wary of the man's Pokemon, because Type Specialists, such as Ash and Norman, had to make sure they had contingency plans for when they did battle Pokemon and Types that were effective against their own. Their battle was brutal, neither Ash nor Norman were giving in, and in the end the battle ended in a tie and Norman asking if Max and May could travel with him. Ash, happy to have people with him again, agreed and soon the trio were also joined by Brock. It took May and Max to adjust to Ash's schedule, and it took Max even longer to understand that Ash wasn't aiming for the Hoenn League. The only thing that made Hoenn any different to Kanto and Jhoto was that May eventually fell in love with contests, and thus Ash had to adjust to staying in towns and cities longer, not that he minded too much but it made him a bit anxious. Battling Brawly, Fighting Specialist and Dewford Town's Gym Leader, was admittedly easier than Ash imagined. Not that Brawly was a bad Gym leader, but his tricks in using the environment to his advantage meant little to Ash or his Pokemon due to Ash's Aura ability. While the rest of his Pokemon couldn't see or use Aura like Lucario or Ash, they had full trust in their tainer, so when Ash called out something that sounded crazy to anyone else, they listened without a shred of doubt, it was simply how deep their bond and trust went. The battle still had its ups and downs, such as Makuhita suddenly evolving into Hariyama during their battle, but Ash was undeterred and in the end Poliwhirl's speed won them the battle, and added the Knuckle Badge to their collection. After the battle, Poliwhirl finally decided she wanted to evolve, and thus Ash gave her the Water Stone, and happily greeted Poliwrath.

May's loss in the Hoenn Grand Festival meant the group scoping out new horizons, leading to Ash partaking in the Battle Frontier while May took on Kanto Contests. Admittedly, Ash only challenged the Battle Frontier to get to Greta, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Arena, but Ash stuck to the challenge, meeting each Battle Facility with matching Gusto. Early in their run of the Battle Frontier was when Brock, Max, and May learned of Ash's Aura abilities, when they traveled to Rota for a tournament and Ash freed another Lucario from a staff, leading to a heartbreaking experience that left Lucario and Ash glued to each others sides more than usual. Ash hadn't told them about his abilities for the simple reason of, he forgot, Aura was such a natural thing to him that it was hard for him to remember that most people didn't share his abilities. After learning about Aura, nothing else really changed, they were still Ash's friends and other than thinking it was cool, they didn't think anything different about their friend. Greta and Ash were actually very much alike, disciplined but determined and quick to think. Using his speedy attacks didn't work against her team, leading Ash to go for his heavy hitters, Primeape and Hitmonlee, to eventually win, adding the Guts Symbol his fighting Trophies. Before they said their goodbyes however, Ash and Greta agreed to an official Karate match. Max and May were amazed seeing their friend in action, they saw him practice daily but they didn't often meet people that were the same level as Ash, and had thus never seen him actually fight. Their match ended with a draw for the time being until they met again. Out of all the Frontier Brains, even Brandon, Annabel gave Ash the most trouble. She specialized in Psychic Type Pokemon and could understand and talk to them in her own way. Ash had been excited upon meeting her, thinking that, like him, she used Aura, but after checking, he saw that she had the same amount of Aura as most people, but her Aura was a brighter blue with a tad bit of white, something Ash noticed in people who were spiritually gifted, which explained her abilities. Ash's battle against Annabelle was fascinating, both trainers able to direct their Pokemon on levels that most people could only dream of, the bonds they shared with their Pokemon on full display as they battled, like a dance across the arena. In the end, Ash won, his ability to create combo moves trumping Annabelle's defense. Both trainers left the battle with a greater understanding of each other, their abilities, and their Pokemon, and with a very strong friendship, one built from having abilities others didn't have, even if they were different from each other. After winning the Battle Frontier and turning down the offer of becoming a Frontier Brain, Ash said goodbye to May and Max, Max was returning to Hoenn to train under his father before becoming a Pokemon Trainer in a few years and May was following Drew, Harley, and Solodad to Johto for the Johto Grand Festival. Brock would be visiting home and Ash made his way to Sinnoh after visiting his mother.

Sinnoh was initially much the same as Hoenn, with the addition of Dawn, a coordinator extraordinaire that they met after Ash and Lucario, once again, destroyed her property, at this point it just seemed like a curse. Dawn was excitable, and determined, she loved all things Contest and her optimism was refreshing, Ash couldn't help but baby her a little bit, seeing her as a little sister. The biggest change in Sinnoh, besides getting semi adopted by Pokemon Satan, was that Ash got a rival, if you could even call it that, of his own. Paul was everything Ash disliked in a person, he was arrogant, rude, and power hungry. He didn't respect his Pokemon and his Aura, while not the darkest he'd ever seen, was pretty dark on the scale. Paul was probably the first person Ash could say he actually hated, not counting the multiple adults that tried to take over the world every other month. Ash didn't partake in the Sinnoh Gym Challenge, the only reason Paul paid any attention at all to Ash was because he and Lucario were obviously strong, and he found out Ash conquered the Battle Frontier and had defeated Brandon. Ash, begrudgingly, would admit that Paul was strong, but he still didn't agree with his training style, he had almost no relationship with his Pokemon besides 'Owner' and 'Tool' and it made Ash seethe with anger for the first time in years. Everything came to a head when the arrogant boy released his Chimchar for being 'too weak'. Ash's Aura bled off him so harshly that Lucario had to turn his head and even Brock and Dawn could see it despite not having an opulence of Aura ability. Eyes that were normally a warm brown glowed with cold blue as he glared at Paul before approaching Chimchar, and asking the poor Pokemon to join his team. Even if Chimchar wouldn't eventually evolve into a duel Fighting Type, Ash would have offered Chimchar a place on his team. Raising Chimchar was difficult, not because he was unruly or refused to listen, but because he was so timid and traumatized, it took months of friendship and therapy for Ash to get Chimchar to understand that he wouldn't be punished. Some nights, after returning Chimchar to his Pokeball to sleep Ash and Lucario would vanish into the nearby forest and Brock and Dawn would see bright blue light peeking through the trees, only for Ash to come back with red eyes, as if he had been crying for hours. Eventually though, with love, care, and hardwork, Chimchar adjusted to Ash's team and mannerisms, and he blossomed into an energetic and kind Pokemon, there were still bad days, but they tackled them together, and eventually Chimchar evolved into Monferno, embracing his new Fighting Typing with determination, before even later evolving into Infernape. Of course, Ash didn't forget his original goal, and did schedule a battle with Maylene, the Veilstone City Gym Leader and the trainer of one of Lucario's clutchmates. The battle was intense, Maylene was skilled and determined, she kept a clear head and knew just what to do and when, she had a strong bond with her Pokemon, and though Ash won at the end, adding the Cobble Badge to his collection, he knew the battle had been a close one, Ash's Hitmonlee being able to stay standing a meer 30 seconds longer than Maylene's Lucario, getting him the victory. While his battle was Ash's goal, he couldn't deny that his final Battle against Paul before Ash headed home was his favorite battle, as Infernape thrashed Paul's team like they were a handful of cocky White Belts challenging a Black Belt even though it was their first class. It was satisfying in a way, especially when Infernape simply turned back to Ash with a big grin, completely ignoring his former trainer. Soon after that battle though, Ash returned to Kanto, having to say goodbye to Dawn and Brock as they stayed in Sinnoh. It was a sad goodbye, Dawn and Piplup had cried and even refused to let go of his jacket for a while, and Brock wasn't much better, blubbering and crying as he reminded Ash to take care of stuff, because he would be staying to go to Medical School and be away from Ash for the first time in nearly four years. By no means was it easy for Ash either, if it hadn't been for his meditation and practice in emotion control, he would have cried just as hard as he was wrapped up in their arms.

Kalos was the biggest change. Ash no longer had Brock by his side and admittedly, it was a bit hard to adjust, even after Bonnie and Clemont asked to join him. Ash felt more like their big brother, like he did with Dawn, and while they by no means replaced her, as if his little sister could be replaced, they brought a feeling of comfort. One new thing that caught Ash's attention in Kalos was Mega Evolution. Having seen a Mega Blaziken on his first night in Kalos, Ash could firmly say, he was amazed. Mega Pokemon, at least judging by the Blaziken, did not just have their own aura, but it seemed as if they had their Trainer's Aura as well, the two Auras blending perfectly, lending Pokemon their trainer's strength and life force so they were stronger, even if it was just for a moment. Ash was even more intrigued when he found out that family that ran the Shalour City Gym specialized in Mega Evolution, with the former Gym Leader, Gurkinn, being known as the Mega Evolution Guru. With that knowledge, Ash upped his, and his team's training, and started studying Mega Evolution whenever they took a break. Bonnie found Ash's Karate rather cool, and would often join him for his morning workouts, even if she was still wobbly and new, she was hard working and Ash couldn't stop himself from actually teaching her, even if he had no confidence in his teaching abilities, he could Train Pokemon but Training People was an entirely different thing. The only wrench in Ash's plans at all was a girl named Serena that Ash vaguely remembered from when he was a kid and still allowed at Professor Oak's Lab, but honestly memories from back then were hazy at best. It made him feel a bit bad, since she remembered him so vividly and had 'fallen in love' with him because of it. Ash wasn't so dense as to not realize her feelings, they were pretty obvious and he didn't even need to look at her Aura to know, but he didn't feel the same way. He could admit that she was conventionally attractive, but romantic interest eluded him, and he wasn't fond of how she acted around him, trying to seem perfect and unbothered while internally freaking out about it, he'd prefer she acted like herself instead of trying to seem like the perfect girl, especially because he knew he'd never return her feelings. And because Ash didn't want to hurt her feelings, he did what he did when Misty and May had crushes on him, he pretended he didn't notice. Misty and May had eventually caught on and moved on, Ash just hoped that Serena would do the same, that she would realize her own dream and grow as the journey progressed. He was glad that she eventually fell into Showcases, he actually sighed in relief, as her attention was slit to focus on her performances. When Ash finally met Korrina he was taken aback and mildly amazed. She was upbeat and energetic and didn't seem to have much self discipline, with was a major shock considering nearly every other Fighting Type Specialist Ash had come across, even Brawly, had the build in discipline that was needed for martial arts. It was interesting to see how different their Lucario were as well, considering they were also clutchmates. Korrina's Lucario was mellow but also attentive and tactile, meanwhile Maylene's was reserved, and stoic, watchful of her surroundings and very protective, Ash's Lucario was more brash, and determined, watchful but also a tad bit prideful and extremely protective over Ash. It was fascinating how different the three Pokemon were despite being siblings, even if they grew up and trained in completely different matters. Learning about her quest to find Lucarionite, Ash and Lucario jumped at the chance. Ash was interested in Mega Evolution, regardless if he and Lucario would ever achieve it, they wanted to help as much as they could, even if helping was simply offering support. Once they had the Lucarionite, Ash and Lucario happily offered to help them try it out. Admittedly, the battle didn't go as planned. Mega Lucario was too overwhelmed by Aura, he wasn't able to process so much of it at once, it was painful and it was scary. It was all Ash and Lucario could do to try and ignore the overwhelming Aura and try to calm Lucario down, because Korrina was too overwhelmed with the fact that he wouldn't listen to her. Once Mega Lucario was taken out, with the help of Gurkinn, Ash and Lucario passed out as well, exhausted from the battle against Mega Lucario, and also overwhelmed by the thick Aura that had buzzed in the air. Despite the setback, Ash and Co joined Korrina as she set out to find Gurkinn's friend, learning themselves along the way, no one was happier for Korrina and Lucario than Ash and Lucario when they got Mega Evolution down, and with a promise to battle soon in the future. Little did Ash know that encounter fuelled something greater between him and his own partner. And he wouldn't find out until a few weeks later.

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Ash's eyes slowly opened as his night time meditation came to an end. He could faintly hear the soft breaths of Bonnie, and Serena in once tent, and Clemont's in another, coupled with the soft rustling of leaves from the night air. Beside him, Lucario's eyes blinked open, glowing a low red in the dark. "How about we go on a quick walk before turning in for the night?"

"Car." Lucario nodded, pushing himself up to stand while Ash did the same.

They walked towards a babbling stream that was nearby, following it into the forest. They walked in comfortable silence, not needing to say a word to each other as they ventured further into the forest. Ash's head eventually craned upwards as he stared into the beautiful night sky. "Tis pretty." He murmured, smiling softly when Lucario looked up with him, nodding in silent agreement.

Ash closed his eyes, breathing softly as he took in the surrounding world. He felt Lucario's Aura reach out to him, brushing against his own until Ash opened his eyes and glanced at his partner in question. Lucario blinked at him, something smug in his gaze before he was enveloped in Aura, vanishing behind the glow. When the glow subsided, Ash gasped. Mega Lucario, or at least what looked like Mega Lucario stood in place. The only difference between the Lucario before him and Korrina's Mega Lucario was the Aura sensing tufts beside his head, instead of sleek black and red fur, Lucario's was spiked and wild, like Ash's own hair.

"You…you Mega Evolved but…but we don't have any stones!" Ash murmured in awe.

"Luc!" Lucario barked smugly, before glowing again, and returning to normal. All smugness melted away however when Lucario doubled over, exhausted.

"Take it easy!" Ash scolded lightly, leaning over to help steady Lucario, and holding him up carefully. "You're amazing Lucario, but next time let me help you instead of just surprising me."

"Rio." Lucario agreed, a bit sulky, before licking Ash's cheek, pulling a laugh from his trainer.

"Come on, lets get you to bed. Tomorrow we're in for some serious training!" Red eyes met brown with unwavering determination, followed by an agreeing bark.

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After that discovery Ash and his Pokemon worked even harder, with Ash and Lucario putting in extra effort to get their evolution under control. There were times when Ash put too much Aura in, and Lucario was overwhelmed and vise versa, but they never gave up, even going to Professor Sycamore for help. The professor was amazed by such a thing being possible, and dubbed the ability 'Bond Evolution' opposed to 'Mega Evolution', but promised to keep the ability a secret from anyone not in his own very small scientific community, the last thing Ash needed was more world ending adventures, and scientists coming after him and Lucario. The Professor even had a special fake Key Stone and Mega Stone crafted so nobody would question Lucario 'Mega Evolving', Mega Lucario and AshLucario looked pretty similar after all, with the differences being miniscule, so hopefully nobody looked too closely. Battling against Korrina was something else. Because they were both stubborn and excited they had a full six on six battle, and it was brutal. Neither side wanted to give up, and the battle between Mega Lucario and AshLucario was the closest thing to war anyone had seen in a long time. The battle left not only the Lucario exhausted, but Ash and Korrina as well. It was a true miracle that Ash and Lucario won and it didn't end up in a draw. The next day, since post battle Ash and Korrina were pretty much dead on their feet, Korrina presented Ash with the Rumble Badge, adding to his collection of FIghting Type Victories.

I wish everything went on normal, but then the Kalos Incident occurred. Destruction and Chaos reigned, and Ash was, of course, in the middle of it all. By some miracle, he made it out alive, as did all his friends and partners, but not without some scars, and a lot of thinking to do.

Clemont decided to take up his position of the Lumiose City Gym Leader again, with Bonnie going along to prepare for her own Journey in the coming years, while Serena was hopping on a plane to go to Hoenn, and Ash was returning home. He desperately wanted to see his mother, and possibly take a year long vacation. While Ash wished they all left on good terms, it was a bit more awkward than he would have liked.

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Ash moved the moment he saw Serena lean in, stepping back and dodging her kiss with wide eyes. Blue eyes filled with hurt, and resigned understanding. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "I thought maybe, after all this time traveling, you would finally like me but I guess not."

Ash clenched his fists. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "I've known for a while now; how you felt about me, but I don't feel the same way."

Serena's face pinched with grief before she nodded. "I understand. I hope we can still be friends though." She offered a timid smile, one Ash returned.

"We'll always be friends, Serena." He promised, waving goodbye as she stepped onto the escalator, waving back at him before vanishing into the crowd. Sighing, Ash ran a hand down his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. Lucario barked softly, resting his paw(hand?) on Ash's shoulder, offering understanding. "Thanks Lucario." Ash leaned into the touch just slightly before his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Without looking at the caller, Ash answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Ash, what are you doing right now?"

"Koichi-Sensei? I'm getting ready to go to the gate to board the plane back to Kanto. Why?" Ash's brows furrowed in confusion.

"The Pokemon League relieved Sabrina from her position as Saffron City's Gym Leader. Guess who they asked to take over?

"Thats awesome sensei! You have your Gym back!"

Koichi laughed heartily on the other side of the phone. "The problem is, I'm too old now to run this gym on my own. I was wondering if you would be interested in being one of my Gym Trainers. I know its a lot to ask, you're 15 and probably already planning your next adventure-"

Ash cut him off. "No, actually I was thinking about stay at home for a while." He swallowed thickly. "I'd love to work in your gym with you Sensei! I think it's just what we need right now. Right Lucario?"

"Cario!" Lucario barked in agreement.

"Besides, some of the best journeys happen at home right?"