Ash

                                    

                                          
The Pikachu quickly caught up to her and jumped onto her back. “You must be Jen. Ash recognized you from the back of your head.”
         Jen flinched at the sound of her old friend’s name.
         “Jen, wait up!” The voice called again.
         “Ash?” Jen cried as she climbed off her bike to hug him. “It’s been so long.”
         Ash chuckled. He was starting to grow some facial hair and his voice was deeper compared to the last time she had heard him. “How long has it been now? Four, five years?”
         Jen shook her head and giggled. “More like nine to ten years. I was almost nine when you left Pallet Town.”
         “And you’re finally leaving?” Just about everyone from Pallet Town knew about Lucy’s promise to Jen.
         “That’s right.”
         “Well, here’s something from a master to a trainer.” He said handing her a bag filled with a couple of pokeballs, potions, berries, and a map.      “You’ll find a time for all of these items.”
         Jen stuffed Ash’s gifts into her messenger bag. “Thanks a ton, Ash.”
         “Hey, anything for family.” Ash’s dad and Jen’s dad were both rivals while growing up and cousins. “So are you heading to the next gym in Cerulean City?”
         Jen nodded as she climbed back onto her bike.
         “You in a hurry or something?”
         “Eh…yeeaahh.” She answered cautiously.
         Ash folded his arms across his chest and chuckled. “If your mom asks, shall I pretend that I never saw you?”
         Jen smirked. He knew her too well, regardless as to how long ago their last talk was. “That would be helpful.” She said as she began to ride away, but pulled on her brakes. “Do you mind saving the Professor Oak from my mom’s wrath when you get home? I’m afraid he may have gotten himself stuck in a situation in which he cannot get himself out of.”
         Ash laughed. “What? You don’t want me to come along with you? Brock and Misty traveled with me through Kanto.”
         “Along with Tracey. Then you traveled with May and Max in Hoenn, then Dawn in Sinnoh, and finally Iris and Cilan in Unova.” Jen said with a small smirk. “You’ve made a lot of friends during your travels.”
         “How did you find out about them?” Ash asked, a little shocked.
         “Your mom gives me your letters that you send to her after she’s read them. She also talks to me about many of your calls and adventures.”
         “Oh, what have you read or talked about?” He sounded a little nervous.
         “Nothing much. Mostly about your companions and how many gym leaders you had beaten.” Ash seemed to relax. “You still want to travel the world, don’t you?”
         Ash shrugged. “Eh…I would like to see Pallet Town again and visit my mom, but another adventure wouldn’t hurt. Plus, your mom scares me.”
         “I highly suggest avoiding her when you get home.”
         “Noted.” He glanced down at her Pokeballs and then back up at her. “Can I at least see your Pokemon before I go? Just in case I don’t make it out alive?”
         Jen folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “You can see them the next time we meet. Got it?”
         Ash grinned and gave her a thumbs up. “Sounds good to me. Good luck, Jen, and say hello to Misty for me.”
         “Bye, Jen!” Pikachu waved from Ash’s shoulder.
         Jen waved back and biked down the route.
  
                          

                          
 
        Following Ash
 
        Ash was grinning widely as Pallet Town came into view. It had felt like an eternity since the last time he had seen his home. He stopped and gazed happily at the little town, recalling the day when he first started his adventure. He was such an immature trainer back then (not that he was completely matured now), but now he was a well-reformed master.
        “Pika?” Pikachu asked, pulling Ash from his thoughts.
        “Sorry, Pikachu. You’re right. We should hurry. Both my mom and Jen are waiting for us.”
        He and Pikachu raced down the hill, almost tripping over his feet. They arrived at his door in a matter of seconds, and knocked quickly before entering.
        “Hi, mom! I’m home.” He called as Pikachu raced in under his feet.
        “Pika! Pika!”
        The house was silent.
        “Mom?” Ash called again. He walked into the living room and kitchen, but both were empty.
        Pikachu’s ears twitched and it sniffed the air. “Pika?”
        “Pikachu, what’s wrong?”
        Pikachu glanced up at Ash before sprinting up the stairs. Ash quickly followed his Pokemon upstairs and stopped. Pikachu was frozen in front of his bedroom door.
        “Pika pik.” Pikachu muttered quietly.
        Ash grabbed the doorknob, nodded at Pikachu, and threw the door open. What he saw next caused him to gasp.
        His mom was laying on his bed with Azelf hovering over her. The blue, fairy Pokemon slowly looked over at him with its wide eyes.
        “Azelf, what are you doing here? What the Hell did you do to my mom?” Ash growled through clenched teeth.
        Azelf drifted over to him. The closer the Pokemon got, the fuzzier Ash’s vision got.
        “Azelf…what…w-whatare…y-youdoing?” Ash mumbled as he fell to the ground.
        Pikachu tried to shock Azelf, but Azelf deflected the electricity and sent Pikachu into a deep sleep.
                          

                          
 
        “Azelf! Azelf, what did you do to me? Where am I?” Ash screamed angrily.
        Azelf had taken him to a dream version of Kanto where he was in every city at once. It was late in the afternoon and people were still walking the streets.
        “What am I supposed to see?”
        Time seemed to slow down as all the lights began to flicker. Citizens slowed to a stop as many watched all the lights simultaneously went out.
        Ash flinched. “This was from last night, wasn’t it? Pikachu and I were in Pewter City when the blackout occurred. I never imagined that it happened all throughout Kanto.” Ash paused as he looked around for Azelf. “Do you know what caused this mega blackout? Was it because of a Pokemon?”
        Azelf appeared next to him. It was scanning the darkened region of Kanto for anything or anyone who could have played a part in the blackout.
        “You don’t even know do you?”
        Azelf glanced at him from the corner of its eye and grimaced.
        “Do you think it could have been Team Rocket, Team Galactic, or Team Plasma?”
        Azelf shook its head. The dream zoomed out, allowing Ash a bird’s eye view of all the known regions. Images of Legendries began to appear in their respected regions. One by one, each of the images began to dull and fade.
        “Are you counting down to possible Legendries who could have done this?”
        Azelf nodded in response.
        Ash glanced back at the remaining Legendries. “Do you, Uxie, and Mesprit have any ideas as to why this happened? Could it get worse?”
        The Pokemon shrugged and looked at Ash, seemingly begging, pleading, with him to help…to possibly save the world. It had been years since the last time he had to help any Legendary.
        Ash chuckled to himself softly. “I’ll help you out. Just let me say good-bye to my mom, and I’ll find whoever is responsible for this.”
        Azelf smiled joyfully before fading out of the dream. Once Azelf disappeared completely, Ash’s dream slowly began to fade to black.
        “Pika?”
        Ash’s eyes fluttered open. He was right were he was before Azelf pulled him into the dream world.
        “Pika!” Pikachu cried when it noticed Ash was waking up.
        “I’m alright, Pikachu. Azelf and I just had a little chat. How is mom?” He asked as he sat up.
        “I’m fine, dear.” Ash’s head swirled towards her bed where his mom now sat. “What happened? I came into your room to get it ready for you, and the next thing I know, I’m fast asleep.”
        “You don’t remember anything or seeing anything?” Ash asked as he walked over to him mom.
        She shook her head. He looked at her worriedly. “Ash, what’s wrong?”
        Ash’s lips formed a thin line as he explained his dream to his mom and Pikachu. Both listened to him intently.
        Mrs. Ketchum sighed in response once her son had finished explaining. “So…you won’t be spending the night like planned, huh?”
        Ash’s features softened as he hugged his mom. “Sorry, mom, but we’ll have to wait until the next time I come home.” He released her from the hug and walked to the door. “Jen also said that Oak might be in some trouble?”
        His mom frowned. “I don’t think he is in any trouble. Why would she think that?” She paused in thought. “When did you see her? I thought her mother said that she was grounded.”
        Ash smiled awkwardly at his mom. “Jen ran away to become a trainer. I saw her in one of the towns Pikachu and I were passing through.”
        His mom was silent and her face was blank.
        “Uh…mom? You’re not mad are you?”
        A small smile formed on his mom’s face. “I’m not mad. I am happy for her. Her mom didn’t want her to leave, but I’m glad she did. Oak could be facing her mother’s wrath simply because she has no one else to release her anger upon.” She looked out the window and sighed. “If she found out that you had seen Jen…”
        “I understand. Come on, Pikachu.”
        The little, electric Pokemon quickly followed him downstairs and out the door.
        “Good luck, and stay safe, Ash.” Mrs. Ketchum said softly as she watched her son sneak back into the forest.



A/N: I wasn't so sure about this chapter. Hope you all still liked it and thanks for favoriting and reading!