Chapter Text
The fun started at the airport.
Brock, it turned out, was a few years older than Ash and even more girl-crazy than Kukui remembered himself being at that age. But only for older women, which was both a relief (since it meant his students were automatically not involved) and very strange to watch. Because the kid went all out, grabbing hands and professing love like a bad romance play.
Misty, on the other hand, was a fiery red-head with zero patience for such shenanigans and an amazing technique in snatching his ear one-handed and hauling him up and away. Kukui almost assumed that meant they were dating, in the weird, half-playful, built on jealousy and hormones way that some teenagers did, until Ash caught Misty’s attention and Brock became background noise to both of them.
Which was interesting.
Pikachu obviously adored Misty, and on the bus, Ash swung into the seat beside her, their elbows knocking together as she berated him for not visiting before he went to Alola and he complained that she hadn’t called him, either. Kukui’s eyebrow began rising toward his hairline, amusement warring with intrigue.
Brock smirked at his look. “They’re just friends,” he said dryly. “Just ask them.”
“I take it this has been going on for a while?” he asked quietly, and Brock snorted.
“As long as I’ve known them. Misty knows but denies it, Ash has no clue and denies it even louder,” he said, and then shifted to face him a little better. “So you’re Professor Kukui, huh? Sorry I kept missing your calls.”
“That’s alright. I’m sure your studies keep you busy,” he said. “How long have you been training now?”
“Longer than I’ve been doing it officially, but the League’s pretty strict about qualifications, so I’ve still got a few years left,” he said vaguely. Kukui’s eyebrow ticked, annoyingly reminded of Ash’s ability to say a lot without giving any actual details. Brock’s lips twitched in return, and for a moment, they just looked at each other, Kukui feeling vaguely like he was being sized up until Brock abruptly continued, “So, Ash has been staying with you, huh? Bet that’s an experience.”
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said honestly. “There are some ups and down – a few things I didn’t expect. But I’m really glad he came to Alola. You travelled together for a long time, didn’t you?”
“Longer than anyone,” he said. “How are you handling Team Rocket?”
His lips pressed together. With everything else that had happened lately, he’d almost forgotten them. “According to Ash, we don’t see them nearly as often as he expected. It’s still more than I’d like.”
“Not one for rhyming and alliteration?”
His frown deepened, and he lowered his voice so the class behind them wouldn’t hear. “I’m not one for people willing to steal pokemon, let alone people willing to kill kids for getting in their way.”
Brock pulled back a little, something in that impenetrable narrow gaze shifting ever so slightly. He glanced over at Ash, then back to Kukui. “Most people don’t notice that second point. He must be off his game.”
“It is not Ash’s fault,” he snapped, and Brock shifted again. Kukui looked sideways to make sure no one else had noticed, then took a breath to calm down a little. “I don’t think the rest of the class appreciate it. But they pushed him over a cliff and stranded all of us in the middle of the ocean. I noticed.”
“It’s weird how most people don’t,” he admitted, relaxing back into the seat. “They can build these huge, deadly machines, or wield grenade launchers and flamethrowers, and maybe it’s because we’re always fine afterward, but it’s easy to just not notice how dangerous things really are. Or maybe I just got used to it. Like scar tissue.”
It wasn’t funny, but Kukui still mustered a grimace that could pass for a smile. “You sound more familiar with them than I am. Why do they chase him around?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “If you ask them—or Ash—it’d be because of Pikachu. The first time they met, when Pikachu only knew Thundershock, it put out enough electricity to blow up a Pokemon Centre. Or so the story goes.”
Kukui glanced at him, and Brock shrugged again. “I believe it. Maybe not that it was a Thundershock, but otherwise it sounds about right. But even without that… has he told you much about…” It was hard to tell, but Kukui was pretty sure he was getting a sideways look. “…anything?”
“Not enough,” he said, and Brock’s eyebrow rose in yet another understated reaction.
He even paused a moment, obviously considering that for what it was worth, then nodded. “Well, if you were a pair of pokemon thieves, and you knew there was a kid that couldn’t go a week without stumbling across some new, rare pokemon, wouldn’t you follow him around?” he pointed out. “What always amazes me is that they don’t give up. Near as I can tell, they haven’t stolen anything since the day they all met. They get close sometimes, but that’s when Ash gets serious, and then they’ve got no chance.”
Kukui considered what he’d seen in Ash’s trial with Olivia, and wondered if that even came close to Ash getting ‘serious’. “May I ask you a personal question, Brock?”
“Sure. I can’t promise I’ll answer.”
“Why did you follow Ash around?”
Brock did a double-take, and then burst out in a startled laugh. “Are you kidding? I never got a real pokemon journey. My deadbeat parents skipped town when I was a kid and I needed to look after my siblings. And the gym, but that was more to keep the income coming whenever their bank account dried up. When Ash challenged my gym, he worked his magic and my dad showed up again, so I could skip town instead. That was my first taste of freedom since I’d been nine! Of course I followed him!”
Kukui gave him a sharp look. “Worked his magic?”
“Figuratively speaking,” he said, waving it off. “Probably a coincidence. They happen a lot around Ash. The point is, Ash was a lousy trainer who needed all the help he could get. It was the best opportunity I’d ever had to get away and I was gonna take it. Originally, I was only gonna stick around until he finished up the Indigo League, but then stuff happened and I wound up going through Johto with him. Then I was planning to start my own journey, but we ran into each other in Hoenn and stuck together. Same in Sinnoh. I probably would have kept going with him after that, but I figured out I wanted to be a Pokemon Doctor, and you can’t do that on the road.”
He watched him curiously for a few moments. “From what Ash said, I thought you travelled to those places together.”
Again, something like a smirk appeared. “I guess you haven’t spent enough time with Ash yet. You’ve gotta get specific if you really want him to tell you something.”
Maybe Kukui was just on edge—as much as Ash had gone back to normal after the incident at the lab, Kukui hadn’t really calmed down yet. Writing up incident reports and filing official warnings with too little time, trying to manage his own turbulent emotions and sort out what he was legally allowed to do, since firing everyone was technically even less of an option than throwing punches… he hadn’t really been able to process anything in the four days they’d had before flying out. So maybe he was just defensive and irritable, but there was something in Brock’s gaze and tone that felt like a challenge. Something that made him want to snap and accuse Brock of things he probably didn’t deserve.
And even if he did deserve them, Kukui knew he didn’t know enough about Ash, let alone Brock, to make that judgement.
So with great effort, he didn’t rise to the bait, and just smiled thinly. “I’m learning that.”
Brock’s smirk was visible this time, but he didn’t say anything, instead turning in his seat to join Ash and Misty’s conversation.
They’d barely passed the wooden sign welcoming them to Pallet Town when the driver pulled over and twisted in his seat.
“You stoppin’, Ash?”
“Yeah, thanks!” he said brightly, jumping to his feet. Misty and Brock barely waited for him to get into the aisle before following him up, while Kukui and the rest of the kids stared.
“Where are you going?” asked Mallow, and Ash grinned like it should be obvious.
“We’re gonna go say hi to my mom.”
“Ah, Mrs Ketchum!” Brock said rapturously, clasping his hands together. “How long it’s been since I last saw your shining face and felt the warmth of your divine –”
Misty reached over Ash’s shoulder to slap him upside the head. “Knock it off – they don’t have enough barf bags in here for everyone.”
Ash cringed, but was already bounding down the bus steps and out the door, where he spun on his heel to smile up at the windows. “We’ll meet you guys at the lab, okay?”
“Don’t go rilin’ up any of the young ’uns while you’re here, Ashy-boy!” the driver called as Brock and Misty followed him down. “My niece has still got three years before she’s on a journey, I don’t want you puttin’ her head in the clouds again!”
Ash just laughed and lifted his hand in acknowledgement before turning and running off down the side road, Brock and Misty a step behind. The other kids all stared, looking so betrayed and abandoned that Kukui could ignore his own surprise to smother a grin.
“I guess this is his hometown,” Sophocles said mulishly as the bus pulled back onto the road.
“I almost forgot that,” Lillie admitted, lifting her hands to her chest. “Isn’t that strange?”
“No, me too,” Kiawe agreed. “It feels like he’s been in Alola forever. Weird that it’s only been a few months.”
Kukui glanced back at them, then over at the two Oaks. Samson raised an eyebrow in return. “Two hours in the country, and you’ve already lost him. Excellent classroom management, Professor.”
Samuel sniggered as Kukui gave that the deadpan look it deserved.
Tracey had tried to warn him, but Kukui truly hadn’t… appreciated the sheer size and scope of Oak Lab until he was standing in the middle of it, staring up at three floors of files and a long hall of equipment.
“Trainer data over there, research over there, and League records here,” Oak said cheerfully, pointing at sections that Kukui couldn’t even hope to follow. “Have fun!”
He wondered if this was a gift or a punishment, and stumbled forward a few steps.
“Samson and I are going to catch up over some nice tea. Let me know if you need help finding anything!”
Kukui croaked vaguely. He could spend a year here and barely make a dent in it. What the hell had he been thinking?
The door clicked shut behind him, startling Kukui out of his blind panic. He wasn’t going to get anywhere without starting. So he turned and picked up the nearest League record file, determined to at least get an idea of what they required.
After an hour, he realised that most of it was actually pretty simple stuff. The file he’d picked up was a record of active trainers in Kanto, with notes about their career in the industry, whether they still had their starter, and if they were still interested in competing in official challenges. Most of the files were notes about ‘retired’ trainers – those who were no longer interested in challenging the League or pursuing a career in one of the League support teams, like pokemon science or health. They were pretty simple – records of when they’d left and what happened to the starter.
It was a little surprising just how many of the records were related to pokemon, and specifically the starters Oak apparently raised and gave out to each new trainer. It made Kukui cringe a little, because he’d never been much of a breeder. He’d had to gain the official qualification to become a Pokemon Professor, but it required skills and patience he just didn’t have. He’d barely excelled in raising his own pokemon, let alone bringing them up for others.
He flipped through a few of the trainer records, unsurprised to find most trainers left the industry around the two-year mark, their starters traded away or returned after they found a partner they truly wanted to be with. It usually took less than a year for a trainer to realise they weren’t cut out for the League, but a little longer before they abandoned the industry altogether. Childhood dreams died hard, after all.
Inevitably, he found himself thinking of Ash, who was still chasing that same dream so many kids started with. Still using the same starter, ready and willing to learn from scratch if it helped him reach that nebulous goal he’d set in his mind. He wondered what Ash had been like in the beginning. His friends and family dropped so many hints about personality traits Kukui had never seen. Arrogance, entitlement, impatience… he supposed they were the kinds of things a Pokemon Journey either enhanced or smoothed out, but the Ash he knew only got like that when he was messing around. It seemed odd that people who had known him for so long could talk like they were legitimate personality flaws.
A far off explosion made him look up, and his eyes caught on the view out the window, of the cosy town nestled in the valley below.
People often joked that Melemele had been made for postcards, but Pallet Town really did look like a painting. Perfect fields, quiet streets, tidy houses with red roofs. He could bet that the people who lived here were quiet and hardworking. A stereotypical farming community, built up around a ranch dedicated to raising people and pokemon.
Without thinking, Kukui closed the file he’d been reading and set it aside, wandering closer to the window.
Picturesque. It was the only word for it. Sweet and calm. Nothing ever happened here, Kukui was sure of it. Kids grew up here, went away, came back with babies and settled down to raise more kids. Farmers worked their fields, neighbourhood stores opened and closed, the sun rose and set and maybe sometimes some pokemon at the old Oak Ranch got out of control but that good boy Tracey would set them straight soon enough, because nothing ever happened in Pallet.
The kind of town people came from, and the kind of place you went back to. A home so perfect and pristine that it hardly seemed real.
This was where Ash had come from.
Kukui frowned, unable to imagine it. He wanted to. It was so safe and secure; he wanted Ash to belong here. He wanted to imagine Ash sitting on a fence post, or happily whiling the days away in a field, watching the blue sky pass overhead. He was suddenly struck with the urge to abandon his work and go find the kid, just to see him interact with this odd, perfectly calm world.
He just couldn’t see it.
“Oh, Professor Kukui! Welcome to my cafe!” Delia greeted. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon! Tracey was joking that we’d have to drag you out of Professor Oak’s archives!”
He smiled as he let the door shut behind him. It hadn’t been hard to find the cafe – everyone in town apparently knew Delia, and had been more than happy to point the way, though they all gave his bare chest a disapproving look and idly told him Ash wasn’t in town right now like that was the only possible reason he'd be asking. Apparently people ‘like him’ didn’t talk to people like Delia. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
“I realised a lot of the work I was doing, I really could have done over the phone with Tracey. I thought I should come by and say hello,” he explained. “So, alola!”
She giggled. “Alola! My, it still has such a nice ring to it, even here without the white beaches. No wonder Ash enjoys saying it so much!”
He smiled tolerantly. Delia wasn’t nearly as patronising as some tourists; it was just that he was acutely aware this was Ash’s mother, and Ash hadn’t even sounded like a tourist when he was one. The comparison grated more on his already thin nerves than it should have, so Kukui glanced around the cafe to distract himself.
It was more of a restaurant deli than a cafe, and it suited Pallet perfectly. It looked like the sort of place that opened at four for farmers, stopped serving at six-thirty, and then re-opened at nine to serve young mothers and prepare for the lunch crowd. There had been a closed sign on the front door – apparently on weekends it was only open between nine and twelve. Delia was apparently taking advantage of the cafe’s cooking space to prepare dinner for everyone.
“So did you get much of a chance to speak to Misty and Brock?” Delia asked, drawing his attention back to her. “Brock was very interested in meeting you.”
“We talked a little on the bus,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “He’s an interesting young man.”
“Oh, dear!” she said with a laugh, obviously catching his tone. “I hope he didn’t try to intimidate you. He’s really very sweet – but you know how boys can be.”
There were a lot of things boys could be, but Kukui wasn’t quite sure what she was referring to and so just tilted his head with an awkward smile. Luckily, she caught the silent question too.
“I doubt he’ll ever admit it, but he’s actually very proud that Ash thinks of him as an older brother,” she explained. “He gets a little defensive when he thinks people can intrude on that.”
Oh. Kukui almost laughed as everything fit into place, and couldn’t help the amused sigh that escaped him, but he otherwise just shook his head as he walked a little further into the cafe. “We had a bit of a standoff, but nothing too serious. He seemed happy enough to think I don’t know as much about Ash as he does.”
“You should be safe as long as Ash doesn’t let slip how he thinks the world of you,” she said with a wink, only to laugh when she caught sight of Kukui’s blank stare. “Oh, don’t panic! At worst Brock will insult your cooking skills and start bragging about how much he knows about pokemon health. You’re perfectly safe.”
“Wh- no, not that,” he said. “Ash doesn’t…”
“Of course he does! Don’t be modest. You know he adores you,” she said, and then waved at one of the counter seats. “Sit down, Professor. Would you like anything to drink?”
“Uh… no, thank you,” he said, even as he dropped onto the stool. “I’m not sure I’d use such strong language. He doesn’t think of me any differently than his classmates, I’m sure. Beyond being his teacher, of course.”
Delia just smiled knowingly, and he found himself gripping his fingers, guilt rising. “Did Ash… mention anything about what happened earlier this week?” he asked. “Or what his plans were?”
“Is he planning something?” she asked. “He didn’t say anything specific. He was mostly upset that I hadn’t told him who our special guests were! And of course, he’s always excited to see his pokemon. Why?”
He faltered, then pushed through. It was as good a place to start the conversation as any. “I thought perhaps he might not plan on coming back. On Monday, there was an… incident at my lab. Some of my colleagues—” the word still tasted sick. “—took a theory too far, and they performed an experiment. On Ash. He was… hurt.”
Delia blinked, her hands stilling on the vegetables she’d been tossing. After a few moments, she went back to it, her voice only slightly strained as she said, “Oh, I doubt that would be enough to bring him back here for good. Is there some reason Ash should blame you? That doesn’t seem like him.”
“No, he…” He sighed, hunching a little over his hands. “I’m not sure he even blames them. But it was unacceptable. I should have never allowed it to progress that far. And to know that it even came close to whatever happened in Kalos, I –”
The clattering of the bowl made him look up, and it was to find Delia suddenly staring at him with wide eyes. He clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry, Delia. I tried to stop it, but I was too late.”
“He… told you…?” she asked. “He… what…?”
He swallowed, but didn’t even get started before she shook her head.
“No… no, I don’t want to know,” she said, and Kukui frowned, recognising the same tone Ash sometimes used to lecture himself about not letting things get to him. Delia braced her hands on the bowl, took a moment, and then smiled at him more warmly than he’d seen yet. “But really… I’m so glad. Thank you.”
“What?”
“I worry about him,” she said, her voice a mockery of cheerfulness. “It’s wonderful to know he told someone. That he has someone he can talk to. Thank you for that.”
“Someone…” He was gaping, and he knew that was rude, but… “Delia, he – he doesn’t tell me anything! He acted like what happened on Monday was nothing! He was hurt—he could have died—and he tried to justify what they did to him! And then he – he told me that things like that happen enough that he –!”
He choked on the memory, but Delia quietly lowered her head, hair falling forward to hide her eyes. It was yet another familiar gesture, and Kukui’s emotions spiked to the tipping point.
“The kahuna act like he’s some kind of chosen hero come to either destroy or save mankind and he didn’t even seem surprised,” he snapped. “He has powers. Actual superhero powers of aura and who knows what else. He treats a living god like a rival. He talks about real ghosts—human ghosts—like they’re real. He has no concept of – and he says you won’t talk to him about it!”
She didn’t immediately react, but Kukui couldn’t—wouldn’t—allow himself to continue until she’d responded to that one. To the accusation that she wouldn’t talk to her son about the danger he was in. The things that hurt him. The things that apparently made up so much of his life and how he saw the world. Surely Ash had misunderstood. Surely this wasn’t what she wanted. She was his mother, she had to –
“The last time we did, I called him selfish.”
Kukui stalled mid-thought. She didn’t look up.
“It was a long time ago. The last time I was there for one of his adventures. An entei threw him out a window, high above some crystal spikes. If his charizard hadn’t appeared out of nowhere, he would have died,” she said quietly. “And he didn’t even blink – he was barely surprised to see the pokemon he’d all but released months before. He just carried on until the day was saved. And then he was busy making sure the little girl who caused it all was safe and happy and that, I knew, was the right thing to do, so I was proud of him. I was so proud of him. But that didn’t change the fact that I could have lost him. My whole world could have collapsed, right then and there, gone in an instant. Because he wouldn’t wait to let someone else take care of it.”
“You were in danger,” he guessed, and she shook her head.
“I wasn’t. Kidnapped, yes, but safe. I wasn’t even scared until I saw him putting himself in danger to rescue me,” she said, and paused a moment before sighing softly. “You see, he really is my whole world, Professor Kukui. He means everything to me. But he doesn’t see it that way. He sees people and pokemon who need help. And he’ll give everything for them. Every time. It doesn’t matter what the problem is, he’ll always put the world before himself. He always chooses his world over mine. So I called him selfish.”
Kukui stared at her. Eventually, she looked up, her eyes closed in a helpless sort of smile.
“I suppose that makes me more selfish! Choosing my world over everyone else’s. But that’s what it is. I know he’s doing the right thing. I know he’s doing incredible, wonderful things and I would never stop him! But I don’t like it. I will never like it. Because one day, it will be the choice, and I know he won’t see it like that. He won’t even think it’s a choice, just something he needs to do,” she said, and Kukui found himself in awe of her dry eyes as she met his gaze head-on. “But until then, Professor Kukui, I don’t want to know about the choices he does make. I only want to know that he’s safe. I only want to know that he’s happy. I only want to know that he’s coming home to me. The rest is just details.”
For so long, Kukui had been half-planning this discussion. He’d had so many things he wanted to say to her. To accuse her of. To demand and argue and defend.
But now Delia was here in front of him, in her quaint little cafe, in her safe little Pallet Town, and Kukui found himself suddenly and painfully aware of the fact that she’d always been here.
She’d raised her little boy here. He’d grown up. And then he’d left her.
He’d come back. A little older. Probably very different. But he’d come back.
And then he’d gone away again.
Again, and again, and again.
He wondered what that was like, to see someone you’d cared about for so long leave, only to come back different than they’d left you. He swallowed, and tried not to imagine how he’d feel if Ash didn’t come back to Alola. It had only been a few months, and already... “He can’t keep doing it on his own, Delia. He’s strong, but he can’t keep it up forever.”
“No,” she agreed. “I thought… after the last time, I was really worried about him. I was scared for him. So it’s good to know he’s spoken to you, at least.”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” he said, his voice a little harsher than he’d intended. “Not really. Not the way I want him to.”
“But he told you something. You know and you…” she looked away for a moment, then smiled again, just as warm as before. “You can’t imagine how grateful I am to you, Professor.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I won’t be surprised if he stayed here. Not after what happened.”
“I would be,” she said, and he sighed, looking away, but she just made a vague noise and smiled weakly. “I’m not sure he knows it, but I think he has things to do there still. And even if he doesn’t, I think you’re underestimating yourself. Give yourself another chance, Professor. You’ll see what I mean.”
He folded his arms over the countertop, and left a lot of things unsaid. There wasn’t any point, really. Ash might have learned a lot of bad habit on the road, but Kukui was now vitally aware of where the inclination for them had come from.
Besides, they’d probably covered the worst of it already.
Kukui had spent altogether too much time reassuring Sophocles and Kiawe’s parents that nothing untoward could possibly happen with a group of teenagers sleeping in the same unsupervised space. He didn’t want to imagine what they’d say if they found out even the so-called responsible gym leader guardians left them alone too.
But that was exactly what happened. Ash, Misty, and Brock peeled off from the others after dinner, Ash taking Rotom on a quest to find as many of his pokemon as possible (“You’re my pokedex, right? So you gotta scan all my pokemon!”) and the other two apparently unable to do anything but follow him. They hadn’t come back by lights out, but Professor Oak just chuckled at his concern.
“I forget how you Alolans worry,” he said, handing over a coffee. “The three of them have been running around the world on their own for years. They can handle themselves for a night on my ranch.”
“I thought Alolans were known for being too laid back,” he said dryly, and Samson chuckled from where he was sitting at the table.
“Except when it comes to our children. Kids stay kids for too long with us.”
“I don’t know if that’s a bad thing,” Samuel argued. “Growing up too quickly can have some poor results. My grandson was a slow motion train wreck for years before he settled down.”
Samson grunted, amused and intrigued. “How is Gary doing these days? Still with that grumpy old man in Sinnoh?”
“Professor Rowan is a highly esteemed grump of an old man, thank you very much,” Samuel said with a smirk. “But he’s doing quite well. He’s been making incredible breakthroughs with inter-dimensional research lately.”
“Inter-dimensional research?” Kukui repeated. “Ash said he was interested in Fossils, and Rowan works on evolution. Why’s he studying wormholes?”
Samuel shrugged. “I believe it has something to do with what happened while Ash was in Sinnoh. That or that odd story Ash mentioned about time travel and an ancient turtle pokemon.”
“Oh, Samuel, you’re not filling your students’ heads with those old tales, are you?” Samson cried, and then rolled his eyes at Kukui. “This old coot has been telling crazy stories for forty years about how he went to the future once!”
A month or maybe even a week ago, Kukui would have laughed. As it was, he just looked at Oak, who smiled back at him, sharing secrets with his eyes. “It’s terrible, the things people don’t believe when you tell them.”
“Huh,” he said. “Where did you time travel to?”
“Oh, about forty years into the future. The equivalent of a few years ago, now. I met the most astounding trio, helped saved a legendary from a villain, and then quietly went back to my own time like nothing had happened,” he said mildly. “It was like a dream. But I never forgot the friends I made there, those two boys and girl.”
“It was a dream!” Samson insisted, but Kukui glanced back at the window, to the two boys and a girl that had wandered off into the darkness. He met Samuel’s gaze again, and they shared a nod of understanding, before Oak suddenly whirled away to join his cousin at the table.
“Well, dream or not,” he said loudly, “Ash is convinced and he told Gary, who thinks it will benefit his career to believe him. I’ve been thinking about asking the two of you if you have any contact with a Professor Burnet. I know she comes from Alola, and rumours say she’s been working with time-space rifts for years.”
“She isn’t in Alola right now, but I’ll put out feelers to see if she’s interested in speaking with him,” Kukui said. It would be an excuse to track her down without sounding too soppy or bringing attention to how long it had been since they’d spoken. Besides, if Ash trusted Gary enough to tell him about one of his adventures, as Oak was implying… “I wasn’t aware Ash and Gary were so close. I’ve never seen them call.”
Samuel snorted. “Gary is better than he used to be, but he’s still too proud to call Ash for a chat. Besides, it’s hard to stay in contact with someone who’s always travelling, while Ash only ever thinks to call if he thinks someone needs to know something. Even I haven’t had a call since he’s been in Alola, since he’s not travelling around and checking in for safety reasons!”
Hope shuttered down again, and Kukui went back to the window. If Brock was such a big brother, maybe he was the answer. Or, since Ash and Misty were apparently such ‘good friends’…
But as far as Kukui knew, Ash hadn’t spoken to either of them since arriving in Alola. Delia was the only person Kukui had ever seen him call.
So he probably didn’t talk to them, either… He didn’t talk to anyone.
“Don’t worry about him,” Samson said. “He’s been worrying about that boy for a month now, and in denial about it for longer.”
“Hm?” Kukui looked around again, only to find the two Oaks watching him, Samson amused and Samuel with dawning understanding. He raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”
“Perfectly fine,” Samuel said, only to stand up and gesture with his coffee cup. “Come on, you didn’t take much time with my research today. Let me show you some of my more interesting work.”
With a quick glance at Samson, who shrugged vaguely, Kukui followed Samuel out of the kitchen and back into the lab space, up onto the second floor.
“I’ve known that boy since I was ten years old and lost in Johto,” Oak said quietly, though his attention was fixed on the files they were walking towards. “I watched him grow up, but I didn’t have a clue he was the boy I’d met until it was too late. He was just my grandson’s obnoxious brat of a best friend for years. Too loud, too rambunctious. He spent half his life in the wild, chasing down pokemon that wanted nothing to do with him, and the other half making a mess of any room he spent five minutes in. I’ve also watched him grow up out there, becoming the boy you know now.” He reached out and took out a file, which he flicked through to check the contents. “He’s easier to like now. Before, he was brash and arrogant – people expected him to be trouble, and so none of us were all that surprised that he could get himself out of it just as well. Nowadays it seems hard to imagine him picking a fight with anyone, let alone get into a fistfight with a pokemon.”
“He’s done that?” he asked, and Oak grinned.
“A few times. Brock always talks about a gang of breloom he had to drag Ash away from, but my favourite is the lucario. He successfully tackled a steel-type – that takes determination.” He held out the file for Kukui to take. It was about a bulbasaur that had developed multiple kinds of solar beams, each one designed to be recognisable by its team mates. Kukui quietly smiled, recognising Ash’s pokemon, and Oak nodded. “I know this is hard to believe, but he is alright. Whatever happened to make you worry, I assure you, he’s weathered worse. And he’s doing it for the right reasons. That helps him get through no matter how hard it seems.”
“I don’t doubt he’s strong enough,” he said. “Tapu Koko is the Alolan god of conflict, and it recognises him as a worthy opponent. What worries me is that he doesn’t seem to… acknowledge how bad it all is. Like he doesn’t have any right to even be stressed or upset about anything that happens. That’s not healthy.”
Oak shrugged, leaning back against the wall of files. “Ash is an interesting young man, Professor Kukui. He takes an awful lot of comfort from his friends, in ways you and I may not be able to understand. And those friends are not just humans. Pikachu is so much more than Ash’s starter, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
He sighed and closed the file, letting himself fall back against the wall beside Oak. “And I’ve only known him for a few months. He’s my student, my boarder. I don’t have the right to feel like this.”
“That’s a subjective opinion,” he said. “And I think you’re only fooling yourself.”
“It’s a pretty poor performance all told,” he admitted with a wry grin. “But recognising an emotion doesn’t mean I have the right to feel it.”
“Hmph. I never had any paternal feelings until I met my grandson,” Oak replied bluntly. “About twenty-five years too late, don’t you think? But there you have it, and ten years later I found I’d picked up another one without any blood relation.”
Kukui glanced at him, and Oak inclined his head.
“We don’t always pick our roles, Kukui, and sometimes we don’t deserve them. But we can learn how to play the role, and grow to be deserving,” he said. “That’s all the advice I have for you on that front, I’m afraid.”
He rolled his head to the side, letting the words turn over in his head. “It’s pretty good advice.”
“Well, I do have my moments.” he said, and then clapped him on the shoulder with a sympathetic grimace. “But for all my experience and knowledge, when it comes to watching Ash ride legendaries into battle against gods, I am afraid that’s something I still haven’t learned to cope with. If you figure it out, do let us know, won’t you?”
“I’m sorry,” Kukui said, blinking hard. “Ash doing what?”
“Oh, you haven’t gotten to that point yet? My apologies, that probably didn’t help your blood pressure. Luckily, you’re young enough to bounce back, so perhaps you can look forward to the spectacle at least. In the meantime,” he said cheerfully, swinging his arm out to the rest of the wall. “I find research into more ordinary pokemon to be a great distraction. I invite you to read as much as you’d like – he’ll be back before dawn and worrying won’t get you anywhere.”
“Battle against gods?” he repeated weakly. “As in… other than the Tapu?”
“Arceus at one point, if Brock is to be believed,” Oak said lightly, already walking away. “And he usually is.”
“Ar- As in –”
“Apparently they’re quite well acquainted now. Let me know if you need more coffee!” he said, and trotted down the stairs and away.
Kukui croaked, hoping this was some kind of hazing but terrifyingly sure it wasn’t.
Even with everything that had happened, Kukui would be lying if he said he wasn’t still looking forward to the gym. But even he hadn’t expected it to go as well as it had.
They got the necessary lesson out of the way, with the non-battlers quickly learning that theory and numbers meant nothing in the all-out speed of a gym battle. Then they stepped it up a notch, with Brock handily reminding Kiawe that sheer power and basic strategy wasn’t always enough. Kukui noticed Brock’s repeated use of Counter-Shield, proving its effectiveness, and gave Ash a sideways look, suddenly aware that he’d never seen Ash himself use it. He made a mental note to follow that up at some point.
But then Ash stepped up to challenge Misty, and everything changed.
For the first time, Kukui realised exactly what Ash had meant when he said the Trials were different to a gym battle. While he and Misty were still play-fighting every step of the way, everything else about Ash switched somehow. He worked with Pikachu in a completely different way, not even bothering with half of the instructions he might have normally given out, and barrelling through every obstacle with a rough kind of determination, thinking and responding and watching every inch of the battlefield for shifts. Even his voice was different. It was harder, firmer, almost impatient, like he was expecting more from every second.
This, Kukui realised, was really where Ash had come from.
The gyms were his training grounds. Where he’d learned and honed his craft.
This was the person Ash had thought he was training himself to be.
And oh, hell, did it show.
Kukui did manage to keep his dignity. But it was a hard thing, as tiny little Pikachu held its own against a gyarados. And then Misty unveiled her mega-stone, and her unbeatable strategy, and Kukui strained in his seat, unable to see any way out of it.
He was so glad mega-evolution hadn’t been a thing in his day. He never would have made it past the first gym.
But Ash just grinned, and proceeded to beat down physics, logic, and everything else to come out on top.
Yes, he used a Z-move, but it was still a pikachu against a mega-evolved gyarados. And Kukui couldn’t help thinking the Z-move had mostly just been Ash showing off for his Kantonese friends.
It took everything Kukui had not to suggest another round to prove it. Or maybe a full battle. Six on six. They could run to the Pokemon Centre to switch out Ash’s pokemon. It wouldn’t take long. And think of what it could teach the other kids. Gym battles were nothing like you saw in Alola. You know what else they didn’t often see in Alola? Triple battles. Litten, Rowlet, and Lycanroc, against three of Brock’s pokemon maybe. To show how different types faired against rock-type pokemon. Oh, and that bulbasaur that was practically Ash’s mascot back at the ranch. With the solar beam. That would be good. They should –
He ground down the urge and stomped on it a few times to keep his fanboy in check.
They did not have time.
But he’d never been more determined to build up his Alolan Pokemon League.
The flight back was quieter than the flight there. All the kids were exhausted from the whirlwind trip, and it seemed the late afternoon flight had been booked out with people in desperate need of Alola’s sandy beaches. Even the cabin crew seemed exhausted, wearily marching up and down the aisles to check on their sleeping passengers.
Kukui looked sideways at Ash, who was the only one of the class still awake, even Pikachu dead to the world. It was somehow slumped on its hind legs, pressed full-body against Ash’s torso, Ash’s hand curled over its back to keep it upright. All the energy seemed to have drained out of Ash once he said goodbye to his friends at the gate, and now he was staring out at the multi-coloured sky in silence. They were going to be fleeing the sunset for a while.
Kukui was reluctant to intrude on his thoughts, but in the end he couldn’t help himself. He had too many questions.
“So,” he began quietly, playfully. “Does Misty know about that girl in Kalos?”
Ash blinked, brow furrowing, and he slowly turned his head to blink at him. “Why would Misty know about anyone from Kalos?”
Obliviousness, thy name is Ketchum. “That girl you told me about? The one who kissed you?”
He blinked again, then suddenly flushed bright red, his eyes going wide. “It – that – she – Misty is not my girlfriend!”
It sounded so well practised that Kukui had to tamp down on his grin. “I’m sure your friend in Kalos would be very glad to know that.”
“She… that… Professor!”
He almost squeaked. Squeaked! Kukui cleared his throat and looked away, because that was the only way he wasn’t going to burst out laughing.
When he had himself back under control and Ash had regained something resembling composure, Kukui turned back to him with a softer smile. “But you enjoyed seeing them again?”
“Yeah, of course,” he said, relaxing back again. “I really miss them both. It was amazing seein’ ’em again. Thanks for getting it together.”
“It was all thanks to your mother and Professor Oak,” he admitted, then tilted his head. “How did it feel, coming home like this?”
Ash blinked again, then shrugged and let his eyes drift back to the window. “Kinda weird. It was great to see everyone again, but I wish we’d had more time. I didn’t get to see even half of my pokemon. And I wish I could’a shown everyone around some more.”
“I wish we’d had more time, too,” Kukui admitted. Though he did feel like he’d seen everything—and probably had the conversations—that he’d needed to. There was only one left. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure you’d be coming back.”
“Huh?”
“To Alola,” he clarified, glancing at him. “After what happened on Monday, I thought you might prefer to stay.”
“On Monday? You mean at the lab?” he asked. “That really wasn’t that big a deal, Professor.”
“It really was, Ash,” he said, but didn’t push it. He hadn’t made any headway on the topic all week, and he wasn’t in the mood to argue right now. “But even if it hadn’t been… I wasn’t sure how you’d feel after what we talked about. I know you don’t like talking about your past. Or, at least, that part of it.”
He was quiet for a few moments, going back to the window again. His fingers curled and uncurled against Pikachu’s back, earning a pleased mumble, but it looked more unconscious than intentional.
“It wasn’t so bad,” he said eventually. “I feel bad for puttin’ all that on you, but… it was kinda good. It felt…”
He trailed off, but Kukui just smiled and nodded his understanding. He’d hoped so. “I’d like to hear more, if you wanted to tell me.”
Ash hesitated, then peeked at him sideways before offering up a small smile and going back to the window. “Yeah, maybe…”
They fell silent again, Ash’s fingers moving a little more consciously over Pikachu’s fur for a few minutes until he spoke again. “Can I tell you something weird?”
“Any time.”
“I really like stayin’ with you,” he said. “I like bein’ in Alola. Goin’ to school, training with Kiawe, hanging out with Sophocles and the girls. It’s been a lot of fun, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so… Pallet Town will always be home, but Melemele…” He trailed off again, like he couldn’t quite bring himself to finish the sentence. But Kukui wasn’t quite sure he could have handled it if he did, so he just met Ash’s gaze in the reflection of the window, silently prompting. Ash dropped his eyes away. “But even if I didn’t, the truth is, I kinda feel like… there’s something coming. Something I need to…”
Kukui felt his spine straighten, and Ash’s brow furrowed before he suddenly straightened up, turning toward him just as firm and determined as ever.
“That’s not the weirdest thing, though. Between you and me, that’s not actually as weird as I would normally make it out to be. The weird thing is that I’m kinda not worried about it,” he said, and some of his certainty flickered into self-consciousness. “I’m kinda… I dunno. I just… I’m gonna do what I need to do, and then I’ll… I’ll come home. Maybe I’ll talk to you about it or something, and… I dunno, that’s just… that makes it seem less scary, you know?” He shrugged, then grinned shamefully, lifting his free hand to rub the back of his neck. “Sorry, that sounds stupid now I say it out loud.”
Kukui shook his head. It didn’t entirely make sense, but he kind of got it all the same. And he could feel that same old familiar warmth bubbling up in his chest, swelling and threatening to burst. “I’m… I’m glad. I hope I can be there when… whatever it is happens, but if all I can do is listen, then I’ll listen,” he said. “About whatever you need.”
The look Ash gave him was almost heartbreaking, but he quickly covered it up with a cheeky grin. “Even if it’s about onion ninjas?”
Kukui snorted despite himself. “Well, let’s not go – of course about the onion ninjas!” he said, and Ash laughed, pulling Pikachu a little higher on his chest. Kukui grinned back, awkwardly reaching up in the narrow space between their seats to knock Ash’s hat off and ruffle his hair. “I want to hear about onion ninjas and strange theories and legendary pokemon and wimpod stealing your malasadas and everything. We’ve gotta have some topic for dinner conversation and my life’s pretty boring without your stories.”
Ash gave a token resistance to the hair ruffling, ducking as best he could without disturbing Pikachu, but he was still laughing, and let Kukui pull him into his shoulder, even actively leaning into him for a moment before pulling back with a smile.
“Thanks, Professor.”
But then his attention was diverted by Pikachu grumbling, disturbed from its sleep by their half-hearted roughhousing. Ash pulled it higher up his chest again and whispered into its ears, quietly soothing it back to sleep.
Kukui smiled back, feeling warm and proud for no particular reason. He found himself thinking of how things had been only a few months ago, when he’d first seen Ash in his classroom, staring out over the campus and falling in love with the Alolan air. If someone had told him that one day, only a few short months later, he would be feeling so stupidly fond of ‘his’ kid, he would have laughed in their face.
But as Oak said, sometimes you didn’t pick your role. You learned and grew into it.
“Thank you, Ash,” he said softly, and Ash looked up at him again, then smiled and angled himself a little closer, his shoulder just lightly touching Kukui’s arm as he went back to Pikachu. Kukui’s smile broadened, and he raised his eyes to the blank screen of the seat in front.
He couldn’t wait to learn more.