Chapter Text
“We were the ones who weren’t afraid
[...]
We can be who we are, now we are alive
We can fight, they cannot contain us
It’s who we are
We are undying ”
— RED: Who We Are
Two months after ‘Kalos Crisis’ | Forest somewhere between Lumiouse and Anistar City
Satoshi Ketchum was not someone to curse. (He’d long learned that cursing — especially on Legendaries — only got him into trouble.) But he couldn’t help the curse that slipped from his mouth, as another vine broke through the earth, grabbing his leg.
“Yveltal’s innards… If this doesn’t end soon, I’ll go find the idiot Team Flare in the afterlife and kill them again,” he hissed through gritted teeth, kicking at the vine with little success.
And…
“Hawlucha, Karate Chop!” he called frantically, as a vine snaked around Pikachu.
“Cha!” the Fighting Type agreed, leaping into the air, his arm glowing with the move’s energy, as he freed Pikachu.
Ash growled, as the pest of a vine, dragged him towards the fissure in the ground.
“Nin- ja!” Greninja called from somewhere behind him and Ash watched the massive Water Shuriken lodge into the root, creating an explosion as a part of it got torn down, freeing Ash. The Trainer tore the now-lifeless plant from his leg and scrambled to his feet.
“Pikachu, Iron Tail!” he commanded.
The Electric Type flipped in the air, his tail glowing white as he sliced through the vines.
As more broke through the earth, Ash danced back with curses, throwing another curse to the wind. “Gabite, use Metal Claw!” Switching between languages should have been more difficult. But it wasn’t. Commanding Gabite and Pikachu in Kantonian was as easy as barking instructions to his Kalos-native team in Kalosian. Understandably, Clemont had commented on his immense skill in languages. Ash waved him off, playing his skill down as much as humanly possible. (Luckily for him, the Gym Leader got the clue and dropped the topic.)
The moderate-sized Dragon Type roared, his arms’ wickedly curved claws glowing with a metallic sheen, as he danced around Ash, keeping the vines from reaching him.
Ash grit his teeth, feeling helpless, as his Pokémon struggled against the remnants of the chaos left behind by Lysandre and Team Flare. Seeing the absolute chaos, he was very pleased to have asked Professor Oak to transfer his only Dragon Type after Goodra had been released, so he would be able to protect his friends and home.
“Hello Professor!” Ash called into the videophone, as the aged man greeted back.
“Ash! I haven’t heard from you in a while. Congratulations on being the League Runner-Up! Next try and you’ll be the Champion!”
Ash hummed. He wasn’t… sure he wanted that. His world had… shifted on its axis after that absolute mess with the Jewel of Life… and he still wasn’t over that one. Sure, he still wanted to grow stronger… but… uh.. Suddenly all he knew… and all the priorities he ever had… seemed… irrelevant.
“Thank you. Can I ask a favour, please?”
“Of course, young man. What is it?”
“I’m short a Pokémon, as I’ve released Goodra,” he told the man calmly. ““Could you please send over Gibble?”
The man chuckled. “Of course. I’ll send over Gabite for you.”
Ash’s brown eyes went wide in surprise. He hadn’t expected to hear that. “Are… you saying he Evolved?”
Professor Oak nodded with a big smile. “He did. I was lucky enough to see it, too. He was training with Charizard of all, when it happened. He’s been even more excited to see you ever since. I just… didn’t have the chance to call and tell you.”
“When… did it happen?” the Trainer asked curiously. The tiny Dragon/Ground Type had been with him since Sinnoh, and he honestly hadn’t expected this.
“A month ago. But you were so caught up with the upcoming League and the… The Pokémon we now know was Zygarde, that I didn’t want to distract you. I know you run into many different situations… and I didn’t want you harmed by distracting you in any way.”
Ash rolled his eyes. “I’m not looking for trouble, y’know? Blame Arceus for all the shit. But, it’s okay. Can you send him, then?”
“It would be my pleasure. Just please wait a bit, my boy.”
Still…. This chaos…
He shuddered to think of what might have happened if he’d left Kalos, leaving only Greninja behind. That was the initial plan, after Zygarde had requested the Ninja Pokémon’s aid in restoring the order of Kalos.
But Ash wasn’t one to abandon his Pokémon — he rescued too many of them, to even think about leaving his own for any period of time. Charizard, only a Charmander at the time… Pignite… and even kind of Chimchar, though Shinji had released the Pokémon, rather than straight down abandoned him…
“Pikachu, Greninja, combine moves!” Ash called in annoyance. “Noivern, Boomburst !”
All three Pokémon cried out in understanding, attacking the rapidly creeping vines. Ash felt another flare of triumph as more were destroyed — although the full-force Boomburst would definitely leave a mark.
The Trainer distanced himself from his Pokémon once more, giving them more room to fight, keeping his senses trailed on the area, his attention everywhere at once, keeping track of his team. He counted on them to destroy these vines, just as they counted on him to be their extra pair of eyes, when they were engrossed in their fights or helping each other.
Another of Greninja’s Water Shuriken struck, but this time a vine caught his Kalosian starter and the weapon went off-course. Ash dodged too, while calling out to Hawlucha and Noivern to cover for each other.
And that momentary lapse in attention was enough for Satoshi to find himself in a pinch. The vines closed around him… and even his Pokémon…
… his eyes caught the massive Water Shuriken still struck in the thickest thing, that might as well have been a tree’s bark and not a random, newly emerged vine. ‘Could this…?’ he mused. His heart was in his throat, his fingers tingling with Aura.
The vines tightened and pain shot through his body. Pikachu zapping him… held… affection and annoyance, sometimes. Never the intent to harm. Charizard’s Flamethrower was also pure affection. These vines weren’t sentient. Whatever pinch of sentience these had, was focused on destruction.
He reached towards the Water Shuriken… his fingers slipped through the water projectile, the icy liquid just like water from a creek coming from the mountains.
The vines tightened. His team struggled, hurrying as much as they could, to save him. ‘Come on!’
As much as he loathed it, he focused on his Aura. And on the feeling that flooded his senses whenever the Bond Phenomenon kicked in. He pulled back and tried to grab the shuriken again. ‘Please.’
His fingers wrapped around the sharp water weapon. He pulled, and it got free.
His team froze at the sight.
Satoshi yanked at the weapon and as it finally slipped from the vine, he slammed it against the vine holding him, slicing through it. As surreal as it was, he was holding one of Greninja’s Water Shuriken, as if it was a normal, man-made weapon.
“Don’t stop!” he barked at his team, as he whacked at the parasitic plant with the Water Shuriken ‘borrowed’ from Greninja.
Were they not preoccupied with getting rid of these pests, he would have laughed at the utterly flabbergasted look on the Ninja Pokémon’s usually stoic visage. Sweet Ho-Oh… best sight ever!
Ash felt completely drained, as they looked around the… sizable patch of the forest their struggle ruined. But at least the vines were completely gone.
“Can you sense any other Greninja?” he asked wearily.
“Ninj,” the Water/Dark Type shook his head. “Gre, Greninja.”
Ash groaned, rubbing his face… “Goo—” he trailed off, glancing at his hands. His fingers were still a little damp from using the Water Shuriken, which had dissolved a bit after he freed himself.
“Pikapi?” Pikachu called, nudging him, now that he was sitting on his shoulder again.
“I… I’m fine, Pikachu,” he assured his friend and then looked at the one who… might have answers to the questions whirling in his head.
“Greninja… did… you notice?”
“Ninja?”
Ash frowned. “Your Water Shuriken. One didn’t explode upon contact. I used it. I could touch it. ”
The Kalosian starter nodded slowly. “Gre greninja ninj?
Ash huffed, rolling his eyes. “No, I’ve no clue how…” he frowned, trailing off again.
“Ja?” the Ninja Pokémon asked, putting a webbed foot on Ash’s shoulder.
The Trainer grimaced. “I… It might have been my Aura. Or… our Bond? Or both? I… honestly don’t know how or why…” he groaned in frustration, cutting off his rant.
“Vern, Noivern, vern,” Noivern called, walking closer, nudging Ash gently with his snout.
“Bite,” Gabite agreed readily, his eyes darting around the eerily quiet patch of forest.
“You’re right guys,” Ash hummed. “Let’s go. We need to find a safe place…” Ash held up the Pokéballs and recalled his team, leaving only Gabite and Noivern free. “Could you two scout the area for a safe place to spend the night, please? I’ll wait here till you return, but then we’ll have to move.”
Both gave growls of agreement and launched into the air.
After a good ten minutes of waiting — or maybe… fifteen? Ash was too drained to properly keep track of time, — both returned, Gabite happily reporting he found a safe place to camp out for the night. Ash recalled Noivern and rubbed the Dragon Type.
“Thanks, can you lead us there?”
“Gaa,” the blue creature agreed, launching into the air again, this time his Trainer right on his heels.
After a light ten minute jog, they made it and Ashsmiled as Gabite landed. “You outdid yourself, my friend. Nice and protected and… is that a pond over there?”
“Ga,” Gabite agreed with a nod, happily rubbing to his Trainer’s side.
Ash laughed, running his fingers across Gabite’s rough scales. Since he’d grown, the Dragon Type settled for rubbing himself all over Ash. It was a rough thing, because despite how streamlined Gabite and Garchomp were, their scales were rough and sharp, so the dark blue dragon usually left little scratches all over his uncovered skin. (But this was still an improvement from being bitten. Mostly because Gabite was much heavier than before Evolution.)
Ash looked at Pikachu, who jumped from his shoulder. The Trainer let the rest of his team out, looking at Hawlucha. “Could you two bring some firewood, please?”
“Lucha,” the Fighting Type agreed.
Ash quickly set up camp and then looked at Noivern and Gabite. “Please stay and watch the place, while I’ll go get us some food.”
“Ninja, Greninja,” Greninja volunteered, stepping next to Ash. The human nodded, appreciating the company and slipped off into the forest to gather berries and seasonings for dinner. He wasn’t as much of a good cook as Cilan or Clemont, but the first few years on the road, he’d picked up enough from Takeshi that he wouldn’t starve even if it was just him and his Pokémon. (He wasn’t a Pokémon breeder either, or one to cook five-star Poképuffs, like Serena. But he knew what his Pokémon liked to eat and what they needed to have a healthy and rounded diet. They’ll be just fine.)
His mother will never have to know he’d spent the last legs of his Kalos day alone, with only his team for company. She’d worry herself sick over nothing. He could take care of himself and his team, thank you. And while he liked having friends travel with him, he wouldn’t die out in the wild alone for a few weeks.
Once he deemed the berries and species enough, he was ready to turn back, until he heard rustling in the bushes. Trainer and Pokémon froze at once and Ash made a gesture towards the sound. Greninja nodded in understanding and disappeared soundlessly in a burst of speed, befitting of one who was called the Ninja Pokémon.
‘What’s it?’ Ash asked, closing his eyes in concentration to let the mental connection click into place. While he could use this any way he liked, he usually didn’t. He could understand his Pokémon just fine.
“It’s a Wigglytuff,” Greninja answered.
Ash hummed. ‘Can you get it?’
Greninja shifted in his spot, stealing a glance at him. Ash rolled his eyes, not moving, careful not to make a sound. ‘I like to eat meat. Noivern and Garchomp also occasionally prefer meat over Berries. It’s more substantial. Can you catch it or should I…’
“No… it’s alright. You just momentarily startled me,” the Water Type admitted. “Of course I can catch it.”
After Greninja’s successful hunt, his Pokémon was swift and precise. The blue amphibian returned bringing the fruit of his hunt.. Ash was sure the Wiglytuff barely felt the flick of Night Slash . He had Pikachu start a fire with a few sparks of electricity and dinner was soon cooking over the fire.
As they sat — or lay — curled around the fire, Ash couldn’t help but think about what had transpired hours earlier. He looked down at his hands, looking for signs of… anything out of the ordinary, but there was nothing. Right now, even his previously raging Aura was buried, slumbering deep inside him.
“Nin, Greninja?”
Ash’s eyes snapped up at the call and then he shook his head. (It was almost weird how silent the campsite was now. Usually someone was always around to chatter. But he was the only human tonight, and the day-long struggle against the remains of Zygarde’s parasitic vines had drained him as much as it had drained his team.) “No, nothing’s wrong,” he dismissed the other’s concern quickly.
Pikachu, however, noticed and gave him a sharp look, ears flattened against his small body. “Piiiiiika,” he drawled, entirely unimpressed.
Ash huffed in annoyance, gaining the others’ attention too. The Trainer rolled his eyes. “It’s… just weird I’ve managed to touch the Water Shuriken. That never happened before.”
“Ja,” Greninja agreed with a small nod, his pink eyes trailed on his human partner. “Nin, greninja, ninja?”
Ash rolled his eyes. “You seriously have to ask that? Of course I’ve no clue how it happened!”
Greninja raised his arms placatingly. “Nin… ninja? Ninja, ja.”
Ash sighed heavily, rubbing his face. “It… yea. Might have been the Aura. I usually hate using it, so I suppress…” he groaned. “Can… we try tomorrow? I want to see if… it was just some fluke or if I can do it again…”
Greninja nodded in silent consent, and Ash smiled.
The next morning, after a healthy breakfast, Trainer and Pokémon stood next to each other.
“Ninj, Greneinja, ninja,” the Water/Dark Type explained patiently, offering two normal-sized Water Shuriken.
Ash eyed the weapons with a slight grimace. Up till now… he’d tried to ignore all that… ‘ You can’t run forever. Obviously… the universe had enough about you running,’ he thought.
Ash closed his eyes and focused on his Aura. The energy roared to life, like a river breaking through a dam, and Ash couldn’t help his breath shuddering. As he opened his eyes, he noticed the brief blue tint the world gained before it was gone. But still, he could tell his sight was sharper than before.
“ Good ,” Greninja called telepathically. That was another side-effect of the Bond… although that may just have been Aura. No matter how much he tried to suppress it, the ancient power always found ways to peek through the constraints, almost like it was taunting him. “It’s free now… Try?”
Ash reached out for the shuriken, but his hand slipped through. As he pulled back, a few droplets fell from his fingers. “What now?” he asked, annoyed. Just the idea of using Aura unnerved him… even though long before… at Snowbelle, he’d made a promise to Greninja of all.
“Calm down,” the Ninja Pokémon coaxed. “Don’t fight the power that’s in you. We know you can do it. Saw it yesterday.”
“But I…”
“It won’t ever work if you keep saying the opposite, Satoshi,” Greninja insisted, his pink eyes deadpan and unimpressed beneath the ever-present calmness.
Ash closed his eyes. His words at the Snowbelle forest ringing clearly in his mind.
“I’ve run from this ability… and what it means ever since… well, practically ever since I knew about it. But now I know it won’t solve anything. So… could we be a team again, please? Would you lend me your strength?”
The Water Type looked at him for a long moment and then nodded, offering a foreleg, curled like a fist. “Greninja.”
[...]
He opened his eyes again, and they glowed with the faint blue of his Aura. He could feel it syncing with his Pokémon again… just much more calm now. Calmer. Firmer. More… permanent.
“I won’t do it again. I won’t run from what — and who I am. You taught me not to run from my past.”
“Sorry,” Ash muttered. “Let’s try this again…”
Greninja nodded, waiting for his Trainer to gather himself. Ash coaxed his Aura up again and reached for the Water Shuriken. This time, the water-made weapon was solid under his touch. Cool and firm, one that he could take from the Pokémon.
“Good… Now comes the part where you learn to use it.”
Ash rolled his eyes. “Very funny. I don’t know… how to use these. Or even… you know, know fight hand-to-hand.” He grimaced at that. “Maybe I should learn with all the shit that’s been happening since I’d set off from Pallet at ten…”
“I’m here to help. And Hawlucha’s a part-Fighting Type. He can teach you some of the move sequences as well.”
Ash sighed and then nodded. “Yeah. Maybe… we really should do it. But first… I want to learn how to handle your weapons, if you don’t mind?”
Greninja nodded and threw the shuriken in his grip at the nearest tree. “Now, you try.”
Ash made a face and threw it… and it went horribly off-course.
“You’re too stiff. Loosen your wrist… and maybe try focusing on the Aura we share. Mirror my moves, like when we share the Bond.”
Ash nodded solemnly, as Greninja created another pair of Water Shuriken, offering one.
Ash closed his eyes, trying to grasp the Aura that’s slipped from his grip so far. The one… that he let slip, because he hadn’t even wanted to acknowledge its existence. (Did it do him any good? The shit in his life started with Shamouti and Lugia’s Prophecy. Ever since, it only kept piling up. Perhaps, the Aura had been some sort of warning not to ignore…? Yet, he still had. He ignored everything, pretending to be normal.)
Clearly… Greninja was another reminder, after many years of almost-suspicious silence.
You’re not normal. It’s YOU , the universe at large seemed to scream.
Blue ripples in the pitch black water.. Blue hugging him, like a blanket during a snowy night. Greninja right next to him, a mix of blue and red…
Ash opened his eyes and threw the shuriken. This time, it stuck below Greninja’s previous one.
“Much better,” Greninja praised with a nod. “You’ll need lots of practice, so you won’t always have to reach for our Bond to get this result. If you practice… all you’ll need the Aura for is to grasp the weapon that I made and not to get it on mark.”
Ash looked at the tree and then heaved a sigh. “That’s… going to be a long stay in Kalos. I don’t want to go home a freak Mother out by practising hand-to-hand with you or Hawlucha.”
Greninja hummed in agreement. “Then we stay. Or go somewhere you deem the right place. I’m sure the others won’t mind.”
Ash smiled faintly. “Right. Now… let’s get moving. Look around if there are any more vines. If not, we can just camp out and train and enjoy the peace.”
Almost three weeks out in the wilderness of Mountain Kalos and two weeks into training in all sorts of things with his Pokémon and Ash could honestly say he was starting to get the hang of it. Hawlucha and Greninja both agreed that he was a quick study, startlingly so, for a human.
Pikachu had first freaked out at the idea of this more… physical sort of training, but he knew better than anyone the number of impossible and deadly times they’d been through. So, after a brief, initial freakout, he actually thanked the two for teaching their Trainer, but not before threatening to Thunderbolt them, if they went overboard.
So after three weeks it was… an almost content routine.
They’d eat breakfast, enjoy the peace, and explore the surroundings of their camp more thoroughly. Then lunch, training with Greninja and Hawlucha. Then sparring training for the others, so they’d stay in shape too. Dinner, maybe some stories shared from times past and then bed. A simple routine the group happily adapted to. As much fun as Gym Battles and tournaments were, it was nice to be away from civilization for a change.
And today was no different.
An hour after breakfast, Ash darted farther from his lazing Pokémon, to join Greninja on the other side of the clearing. The Ninja Pokémon created a blade of dark energy with Night Slash and offered it to his Trainer.
Ash took a moment to grasp his Aura and make sure it was under control, before he reached out. His fingers wrapped around the dark blade and he stepped back. Greninja created the exact same blade for himself and they both took a basic offensive stance, eyes trailed on each other.
Greninja didn’t give him a verbal warning, like he did during the first few days, after Ash had first asked the Pokémon to teach him. But the slight shift in Aura helped and Ash could react in time, shifting his feet on the grass and raising his blade to meet the Greninja’s. It hissed a little under the pressure and Ash took a breath, gathering some Aura around it for reinforcement. (Training like this helped him wind down, keep his instincts sharp and maintain a finer control of his Aura, which would have been hard otherwise. Greninja had some unusual ways of teaching, but Ash wasn’t going to complain. Obviously, it was effective.)
He pushed back with his full strength and Greninja was forced to release their locked weapons and he shifted his grip to jab him with the sharp end, but Ash dodged and instead went for the Pokémon’s side. Greninja caught the move and stopped him, shifting to face him fully again.
“Good. Use any openings you can find. Also, using Aura gives you the upper hand in strength and speed, even if the one you face is older or stronger than you. Or bigger.”
Ash hummed, whirling on his heels, his brown gaze focused. He kept losing the spars — not a surprise, — but… he wouldn’t give up. One of these days, he was going to surprise Greninja.
They kept trading blows rapidly, dancing around the clearing as from time to time, either one or the other, was forced to back away, to gain space and momentum again. Ash wasn’t sure how long they’d been at the fighting… but Greninja had considerable stamina, when he didn’t have to survive heavily damaging moves or extend his powers for defensive moves.
And, from all the running and travelling, Ash had some stamina, too. (Definitely more stamina than Clemont.)
[ Clemont sneezed, as he was cleaning up the battlefield after another Gym battle. His father and Bonnie looked at him inquiringly.
“Are you okay, Clemont?”
The inventor smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, Bonnie. I… just have a feeling someone’s talking… or thinking about me.” ]
He’d never be able to outdo a Pokémon on that, but that wasn’t the goal of these sessions.
Greninja stuck again and Ash’s Aura sense tingled as the blade neared him. He leaned back to avoid damage, while raising his left hand to try deflecting the other, helping to maintain his balance.
Until he heard that voice…
“Lycanroc! Use Stone Edge!” someone called. He… couldn’t place the language, but he still understood it.
There was the distinct sound of a Pokémon emerging from a Pokéball and then an almost blood-curdling howl.
Ash and Greninja rounded on the voice at once. It was a shaggy, red-furred Pokémon. Bi-pedal and distinctly wolf-like, with glowing crimson eyes. The Pokémon punched the ground and massive stone spikes that glowed blue appeared from the ground, heading right for Greninja.
One drop in the water.
“Let’s go… Greninja,” Ash called, his muscles already coiled for action.
Another drop and ripples. Greninja’s form changed that moment and like mirror images of one another, Trainer and Pokémon leapt to the side, their blades brandished at the approaching attack.
The double Night Slash cut right through the Stone Edge, surprising the opposing side. Ash and Greninja landed just out of reach of the red canine, both their blades still brandished for self-defence.
“What the FUCKING HELL IN THE DISTORTION WORLD?” Ash roared in Unovian, making a wild guess, eyes narrowing on the blond, standing behind the unknown Pokémon. If this was not a Kalos-native and sure as hell he wasn’t… then Unovian was his best bet. Everyone spoke that.
(Think… he heard the Pokémon being called Lycanroc.)
“Do you just go and attack strangers out of the blue, without warning or a proper battle challenge?! We were training!”
The blond male — and he had quite startling green eyes, Ash had to admit, — stared at him in speechless surprise as if he was the one who ordered that Stone Edge.
“Well?!” Ash asked, rather annoyed, as he flicked his hand, letting his Night Slash fade. (Greninja kept his active and eyed the duo suspiciously.)
The blond’s eyes bulged out before he huffed, taking a moment to visibly compose himself as he crossed his arms. Annoyance lined his features, but Ash could see the disbelief in his eyes.
“Well, excuse you,” the blond grouched in irritation, his Unovian smooth, but still somehow peppered with an accent Ash couldn’t place, “it very much looked like you were being attacked! I was trying to help!”
Ash glared. “We were training!”
“Who the hell trains with their Pokémon like that?!” the blond demanded, annoyed and disbelieving.
“I do,” Ash growled, crossing his arms as he glared at the stranger. The stranger glared back. Greninja and the other’s Pokémon kept sizing each other up, trying to decide the other’s ‘threat level’.
“You’re insane.”
Ash bristled. “Excuse me, blondie?!”
“I said, you’re i-n-s-a-n-e,” the other spelled out with a glare. “Normal people don’t train like that.”
Ash rolled his eyes. “Well, news for you. I’m not normal. Who in Oh-ho’s feathers are you, anyway? And what are you doing here?”
The blond gave him a contemplating side-eye. “Gladion Aether. You?”
Ash contemplated for a moment. “Satoshi Ketchum, but you can call me Ash.” A pause. “You’re not from Kalos.”
The blond shook his head. “I come from Melemele, Alola. This is my partner, Lycanroc.”
Ash nodded, gesturing at his own Pokémon. “Greninja.”
“Are you from somewhere around here?” the blond asked, eyeing him oddly.
He shook his head. “I come from Pallet Town, Kanto. What are you doing here, though? Sure… Alola isn’t far away, but still an ocean…”
Gladion huffed. “My mother and sister dragged me here. They wanted some bonding time after mother was done with her business, but…” he shivered, “I escaped.”
Ash snorted. “I can relate to that. I’d rather not think of some of my… fashion-focused friends when they’re on a shopping spree.”
Gladion hummed, glancing at Greninja.
“Take, you hadn’t seen one before,” Ash said.
The blond shook his head negatively. “No.”
Ash nodded in the direction of his camp. “Maybe we could sit down. Warning. You try something nasty and sooner than you can say ‘Arceus save me’, my Pikachu’s going to blast you to coastal Kalos. Got it?”
“Crystal clear,” Gladion agreed warily, keeping an eye on the Greninja from the corner of his eye. (Again, who trained like that with their Pokémon?! Was… the guy nuts?)
They reached the ‘main’ campsite only after only three minutes of walking and Gladion froze in the spot when he noticed the many Pokémon all turning to them. He noticed a small, yellow Pokémon — a Pikachu — take the lead, the other Pokémon soon following suit. Although… other than the Pikachu, the Noivern...and a Gabite, Gladion didn’t recognise the other two species.
“Pi- Pika…” the Pikachu growled, cheek pouches sparkling as the Gabite darted closer too, growling.
Gladion faltered as Lycanroc growled too, though he held up a hand to his partner. He did a quick count — six, with the Greninja. So a whole team.
Clearly, the Pokémon were trying to protect their Trainer from a stranger.
“Pikachu, be nice,” Ash scolded, in what Gladion recognised as Kalosian, although he couldn’t clearly understand. “He’s staying for a bit,” he told his other Pokémon. “No need to be hostile. And Pikachu, could you start a fire?”
“Pika,” the mouse nodded.
“Do… you always talk to your Pokémon in different languages?”
Ash shrugged, switching back to Unovian. “I mostly use the language of the Region they’re from. Sinnoh, Kanto and Johto have the same with some variation, anyway. It’s only Alolan and Galarian I’ve little clue about. Never been there before.”
“I see,” Gladion nodded.
“You’d like to stay ‘till the food gets ready?” Ash offered. “Doesn’t take too long… and we… could have a battle, maybe? A proper one this time?”
Gladion had the decency to blush and look away. “I… I’m sorry? I shouldn’t have… assumed things.”
Ash rolled his eyes with an easy grin. “Sometimes assumptions are all we have. No harm done. Besides, I know, I have some unusual habits. Trust me, my friends keep nagging me about those.”
Gladion hummed as Ash nodded to his Pokémon. “You can let yours out, if you like. There’s enough food for them too. And now that they know you’re friendly, no one will attack.”
“Alright,” he said, though his eyes trailed on the Noivern. “You’ve a fine Noivern.”
“Thanks. He’s been with me since he was an Egg, so I raised him.”
“Slightly smaller than the Ride Noivern I have at home, but still well-within the species parameters, I’d say.”
Ash peeled up at the words, as he grabbed the pot he’d use. “What… do you mean ‘ride’ Noivern?”
Gladion hummed as he walked closer to the fire. “Alola has a tradition of Ride Pokémon. We live in harmony with them, so much we use them for transport. Some are taught to handle special Ride gear for safe transport. Noivern… Charizard or…” he looked at Gabite with interest, “Garchomp are one of the few Pokémon that, if trained, could be considered for Air Ride Pokémon.”
Ash listened to him, head tilted to the side in interest. “Oh, wow. You learn something new every day. Are there others too?”
Gladion nodded as his Umbreon settled next to him. “Tauros or Stoutland are the most common Land Ride Pokémon, while we use Lapras or Wailmer as Water Ride Pokémon.”
“Hm, neat .”
“Why… are you here? You said you ditched your mother and sister to avoid the shopping spree so…?”
Gladion frowned. “I had an argument with my mother and…” he frowned.
Ash watched the other’s face. “May… I ask what about? I find mothers can be overbearing sometimes,” he said, recalling how his own mother acted sometimes.
Gladion scoffed. “Mine’s just… childish and unreasonable. A… colleague of hers was mistreating a Pokémon. I took said Pokémon and he accused me. Of course, I denied having taken the Pokémon and… there you have the argument.”
Ash listened, his frown deepening more and more, as he heard a Pokémon being mistreated. “Why didn’t you tell her the truth?”
Gladion scoffed with an eye roll. “Faba’s got a silver tongue and… Tapus know why, she trusts him. I tried telling her once or twice, but she wouldn’t listen. So I took Rockruff.”
“Rockruff?” Ash asked in confusion.
Gladion nodded and took out a Pokéball. Out came a small, brown puppy-like Pokémon with startlingly blue eyes. “Rockruff, a Rock Type native to Alola. It evolves either into Midnight Form Lycanroc,” he nodded towards his own partner, “which is a Rock/Dark Type or into a Midday Form Lycanroc, which is Rock/Normal.”
“Wow. Branched evolution’s always cool,” Ash said with a light grin as he crouched down to look at the pup, slowly reaching out.
“Careful. They bite… and this one even more. Probably because it was wild and Faba had not been kind to it.”
Ash hummed, crouching before the puppy, slowly extending a hand. The pup flashed his small claws and Ash heard the soft warning growl. “Hey, we’re not going to hurt you… Gladion just wanted to help,” he said soothingly, grimacing when he realised he was still talking in Kalosian. But it wasn’t like he knew Alolan. “We’re friends,” he murmured, sending tiny waves of Aura towards the small Pokémon.
Rockruff sniffed at his hand tentatively, slowly relaxing as the Aura was doing its work. The pup rubbed his nose against Ash’s hand, but before the Trainer could even think of returning the tentative, friendly gesture, the small Rock Type turned around and hurried to stay by Gladion’s Lycanroc.
Gladion stared.
And stared.
“What in the name of Tapu Fini’s fins? ” the blond croaked out in disbelief. “That’s a wild Rockruff and their Bite can easily break a bone.”
Ash chuckled with a shrug. “Pokémon just like me. Food’s ready, you want some?”
Gladion sniffed the air. “Hm, doesn’t smell too bad.”
Ash dug out two plates from his supplies and dished out the stew, offering one to Gladion. The blonde took it with a nod. Ash placed his own down and turned to his Pokémon, taking out their dishes to give them food.
He poured extra, keeping in mind that Umbreon, Lycanroc and Rockruff were also around. “Do you guys mind sharing with our guests?”
His Pokémon growled and took a step back, invitingly looking at the Alolan Trainer’s partners. Lycanroc and Umbreon approached carefully, but Ash noticed that Rockruff had stayed away from everyone.
He looked at Pikachu. “You mind sharing a bowl with the others? Rockruff doesn’t seem to want company.”
“Chu,” the Electric Type said. Ash smiled, rubbing his partner’s ears and then letting Pikachu join the others. He took the small bowl, poured some food and pushed it towards Rockruff.
“Ruff, ruff!” the Pokémon barked, growling.
Ash rolled his eyes, letting another tiny wave of Aura seep out. “I don’t want to hurt you. Told you already. Please eat.” He pushed the bowl closer. When the small wolf sniffed at the food, Ash’s lips curled up in triumph. Not wanting to ruin the moment, he backed away and then picked up his food, joining Gladion.
“You’re… good with Pokémon,” the blond observed.
“I have several at home, whom I’ve taken in after abusive Trainers threw them out or just abandoned them,” he shrugged. “All different species… but they’re fundamentally the same. Distrustful, with possibly low self-esteem or bad habits. All stemming from the way they’ve been treated. That Rockruff… is just confused. Distrustful and wary of what might come.”
He sat opposite Gladion. As they took their first bites of the food, Ash stole glances at his guest, curious what he’d think.
Gladion took a tentative bite of the food. It wasn’t the kind of picture perfect look the dishes looked that made it to the Aether family’s dinner table. But the smell was tantalising anyway.
And then he took a bite, and his eyes widened.
Succulent, slightly spicy and a sea of flavours he had never tasted before. Alola’s cuisine was mostly sweet or salty. Tauros meat and seafood and…
“Sweet Tapu Lele! I’ve never tasted anything this good! Where did you learn to cook like this?” he asked.
Ash stared at him with scrunched eyebrows, confusion glimmering in his deep brown eyes and Gladion went red in the face when he realised he’d spoken Alolan. Ash didn’t speak his mother tongue.
He cleared his throat and made sure to switch back into Unovian, so the Kanto native would understand him. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to…”
Ash waved him off. “No big deal. I sometimes switch too, which is funny, because neither my Unovian, nor my Hoenese nor the Kalosian friends I made during my travels speak any Kantonian. So… how do you like it?”
Gladion was sure his eyes were glimmering like a fangirl drooling over a Champion, but he didn’t care. “This is heavenly . Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“Several of my friends are excellent cooks. I’m nowhere near as good as them, but I like to think I’ve picked up some tricks and recipes over my years on the road. This one’s a traditional Kantonese dish. It’s my favourite, so whenever I come across ingredients for it, I make it. Though it’s nowhere near as good as Takeshi’s… or my mother’s,” he muttered, so quiet by the time he reached the name that Gladion barely caught it.
“Well, I’d like to disagree. This is delicious,” he said and just to emphasise his words, he took another bite of the stew.
The Kantonian hummed. “I’m glad you think so. But say… are you still up for a fight after dinner?”
Gladion’s eyes glimmered with steel. “If I can repay the fine food with a battle… then yes.”
Ash grinned. “It’s settled then.”
They were looking forward to an action packed afternoon…