Ash Ketchum: Type Specialist One Shots

When Delia came home from the Diner one afternoon and saw her son sitting quietly in the living room, nose buried in a book, and brown eyes lit with glee she was only mildly surprised. Ash loved learning, and he tried very hard to get good marks, he was just something of a wild child. He learnt best through doing opposed to having something told to him, but from time to time he did like reading.

Quietly, she tilted her head to get a look at the title of said book, and was rather flabbergasted. How had her son gotten a law book, and what was so interesting to him that he could actually force himself to sit still? Okay, the first question was easy to answer, Professor Oak tended to dote on her son and let him borrow books all the time, but it was the fact that a Law Book interested Ash at all was what was interesting.

Delia cleared her throat, smiling softly when Ash's head snapped up to look at her. A blinding smile pulled on his lips, and after carefully setting the book down, he flung himself at her, gleefully hugging her legs as he greeted her.

"What are you reading?" Delia asked, running her hand through his unruly hair before kissing his forehead.

Though it seemed impossible, Ash seemed to brighten even more, and quickly rushed back to his book, picking it up, and presenting it to her. Careful not to lose his bookmark, Delia picked the book up and flipped through a few pages while Ash explained. "Professor Oak let me borrow it!" He explained. "It's a book on all the Pokemon laws, there was a new one passed last week so Professor Oak got a new book with the new law in it. He let me borrow it, it's really interesting!"

Bemused, Delia nodded. "Are you going to become a Lawyer then?" She teased.

Ash tilted his head, face scrunching in mild confusion. "What's a Lawyer?"

"Depending on what kind of Lawyer, a Lawyer is someone that prosecutes a law breaker, or defends someone accused of committing a crime, or someone representing other people who have legal issues." Ash nodded hesitantly, the way he did when he kinda understood but not completely before he shook his head.

"I'm going to be a Pokemon trainer, and I found a way that I can get my first Pokemon early." He said proudly, motioning to the book, which Delia returned to him. He flipped through the pages for a few seconds before finding the page he was looking for, marked with a green sticky note. "Right here! 'A Child under the age of ten may not carry Pokemon.*' This star means that there is more info," He pointed to the asterisk, and moved further down the page. "'*A child under the age of ten can carry Pokemon if: -The child in question is heir to an Recognised Gym, -Part of a profession or extracurricular activity that requires a Pokemon(Example: Martial Artist, Pokemon Nurse) -The Pokemon belongs a Parent or Guardian, -The Child needs a Pokemon Bodyguard, or -The child's Pokemon is no stronger than a Bug Type.' See?"

Delia was genuinely surprised there were so many loopholes around children's first Pokemon. She knew about the Gym Leader rule, after all they usually had to start training early to prepare for when they would eventually take over their family's gym, the extracurricular activities/ profession one also made some sort of sense, Pokemon Nurses did work best with Chansey in case of emergency and its best if Nurse and Pokemon bond as much as they can, and Delia does see children borrow Pokemon from their parents from time to time, she can also concede to the bodyguard rule if children are wealthy and need a bit more protection, but the last one seems a bit odd to her. She had seen children run around the forest with Caterpie or Weedle, maybe even a Beedrill from time to time, but she had always assumed they were borrowed from their parents. Bug Types weren't weak, sure they weren't Dragon or Fire Types, who were extremely touchy and required a particular hand when being raised, but Delia knew that with the right Trainer Bug Type Pokemon could be a real problem, even something as small and cute as a Caterpie. Seemed like a pretty close minded rule in her opinion.

"I see." Delia said mildly, sounding a tad uncertain.

Ash's face fell slightly. "I can't?"

Delia sighed. "How about you give me a week to think about it? This will still be a Pokemon so I want to be certain you can take care of them." She knew Ash in particular could handle taking care of a Bug Type, much like herself Ash saw the strength in every Pokemon, and she truthfully wasn't that scared for her son's safety, she has seen the boy run right up to a snarling Growlithe and turn the Pokemon into a wagging puddle of goop in a matter of seconds after all, but taking care of any Pokemon was a big responsibility. Ash tended to be a one track mind kind of person, and she would hate for him to exhaust himself out too soon because he was too preoccupied with his Pokemon to take care of himself. Luckily Ash nodded in understanding, if still a bit disheartened. "Can I borrow this book so I can look over it myself?"

"Okay." Ash nodded. "But I promised to return the book by Saturday because the Professor wants to read it too!"

"I promise to get it back to you sooner than Saturday. Now, how about I make us some dinner and you can tell me more about your day." Delia tucked the book under her arm and led them to the kitchen, happy to listen to her son babble as she went about cooking.

===One Week Later===

Delia followed closely behind her son as he ventured into the Viridian Forest. Despite her initial worries, Delia had decided to allow her son to get a single Bug Type Pokemon. Ash was too persuasive for his own good, while Delia had been joking about her son being a Lawyer she thinks he actually could accomplish such a profession due to how well he could argue and persuade someone if he had the patience. Professor Oak had helped her fill out the paperwork for Ash to legally become a Bug Catcher, and even offered to let Ash borrow one of the lab's Pidgey to catch his Pokemon, so here they were.

A small part of Delia was worried about what Pokemon she would be letting into her house, would Ash catch a sweet little Pokemon like Venonat or a particularly irate Pincer? Bug Types were a rather versatile type, and since trouble seemed to haunt her son like a Gastly, Delia could only imagine what her son would manage to find, especially because he didn't particularly have a preference.

"Aha!" Ash's joyful cry caused Delia to look up. Standing just before them was a familiar green caterpillar Pokemon with a large red Y shaped antenna. The Caterpie lifted its head at the sound, and stood stiffly as it stared Ash in the eye. Before Delia could advise her son to send out the borrowed Pidgey, the boy was already moving, reeling his hand back with the empty Pokeball and throwing it at the little caterpillar. Caterpie seemed to blink in confusion when the ball hit their head, and squeaked as it was absorbed by the device. Ash was tense as he watched the red and white ball wiggle on the ground, and his usually relaxed face was twisted in a serious grimace, if Delia wasn't holding her own breath she would have giggled at how serious her son was being.

tink

The ball stopped wiggling, and in that second her son's face brightened. He sprung forward and scooped the simple red and white Pokeball up, holding it up to where a small stream of sunlight struck the red shell so he could get a good look at it. "I did it! I caught Caterpie!" He started jumping around happily, eyes never leaving the ball before he pulled it to his chest in a hug. Delia smiled softly as she watched her son celebrate, secretly grateful that he caught a Caterpie opposed to something bigger, and sharper; like a Pinsir or Beedrill. He turned on his heel and happily ran up to her, basically vibrating where he stood as he held the Pokeball for her to see. "Can I let them out? Please please please?!" He begged.

"Go ahead." The woman bit her lip to fight back a laugh.

"Alright!" Ash cheered and threw the ball up. "Come out Caterpie!"

"Pree?" Caterpie's big yellow eyes blinked open as the red energy dissipated.

Much gentler than Delia had ever seen, Ash crouched down and held his hand out slowly, making sure not to touch Caterpie just yet. "Hi Caterpie! My name's Ash, and you're going to be my partner from now on! If you want to, I mean."

Caterpie seemed to think his words over before swiftly climbing up his arm, and onto his shoulder. "Pree Pree!" Caterpie crooned happily, and nuzzled against Ash's cheek.

"We're gonna be great friends!" Ash grinned at his new Pokemon before turning to his mother. "Isn't Caterpie cute Mom?"

"He is." Delia agreed easily, they were both absolutely adorable and Delia was going to boast to all her friends. She leaned down slightly to get a better look at the caterpillar Pokemon. "Hello Caterpie, welcome to the family."

Caterpie's eyes misted over before he chirped happily. "Pree!"

===The Next Day===

Delia hummed as she cleaned a table, waving goodbye to the customers on their way out. She took a moment to glance at the clock, realizing that Ash would be coming into the Diner at any moment. Staring at the clock intensely from his Pokemon bed near the window was Caterpie, no doubt waiting for his trainer to come pick him up. "Caterpie, Ash will be here soon." Delia assured.

Delia knew her son well, if she had allowed him to take Caterpie to school with him he would be distracted all day, so she set up a little area for Caterpie in the window so he could stay with her until Ash came to pick him up after school. Most of the Diner's patrons were older people, seasoned and desensitized to the little Pokemon, so there were no complaints so long as Caterpie was nowhere near the food. Caterpie was a very well behaved Pokemon, mostly looking out the window in search of spiky black hair, or at the clock. Honestly, Ash and Caterpie had only known each other for about 24 hours, if even, and already they were glued at the hip. It was cute, she loved her babies.

Just as Delia was preparing a snack for her son, the bell that signified someone entering dinged, followed by a delighted, warbled chirp. Ash had just arrived. "How was your day sweetie?" Delia asked, exiting the back room with a plate of apple and berry slices. Her delightful demeanor wavered when she saw her son. His lips were downturned, and his warm brown eyes were dark and slightly watery, his backpack sat limply on his shoulders and he was hugging a very worried Caterpie closely to his chest. Setting the plate down, Delia rushed to her son, and crouched down, taking his face in her hands. "Ash, sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Gary is a butt face." Ash growled, though the effect was lost by the obvious effort it was taking him not to cry.

"Why would you call Gary a butt face?" She asked worriedly, brushing her thumbs gently over the inherited lightning bolt marks on his cheeks.

The boys had been friends since they were in diapers, they were thick as thieves. Gary was, admittedly, a bit stuck up due to his grandfather's importance and his own intelligence, and since Ash could care less about such things they had always gotten all well, Ash wasn't easy to impress and it kept Gary humbled for the most part, while Ash had someone who could match his enthusiasm. They had fought before, all children did, but Ash wasn't an easy crier, especially when it came to Gary's smart mouth.

Ash sucked in a labored breath. "I told him about Caterpie." He started to explain. "But he called me a liar, and said Caterpie was your Pokemon, and I couldn't have cat-caught him all by myself."

"Okay." Delia said patiently, obviously, that wasn't all as Ash easily brushed stuff like that off.

"I told-I told him I did, and that the Professor even helped and he got mad!" The boy desperately scrubbed his eyes with his free hand, frustrated. "He said Caterpie was stupid! Caterpie isn't stupid Mom! He's not!"

Delia frowned, carefully rubbing circles on Ash's back. "I know Ashy, Caterpie is a fantastic Pokemon." She soothed.

"He then sai-said that Bug Pokemon were weak, and that I wouldn't be a good Pokemon Trainer." Confusion lit her son's eyes, coupled with anger and frustration. "I like bug Pokemon, Caterpie is strong. I don't-i don't understand."

"Capree?" Caterpie chittered worriedly, bumping Ash's clenched fists with his nose(?), and nuzzled against his palm once his fist unclenched.

"I'll call Professor Oak and see if he can talk to Gary, okay?" Delia offered gently. "You know Bug Pokemon can be strong, and you will be a fantastic Pokemon Trainer. I think Gary was just a little jealous. Once he calms down I'm sure he'll apologize, okay?"

After a few calming breaths, Ash nodded. "Okay." He murmured, continuing to pet Caterpie.

"Come on, I made you a snack to eat before you head home." Delia directed him towards the table closest to Caterpie's window, picking the plate of fruit and berries back up and setting it down in front of him once he removed his backpack and sat down.

Once both her son and Caterpie started eating, still subdued though the tears were gone, Delia went back to work, thinking heavily about the call she would be making that night. She had no doubt that Professor Oak would have a talk with Gary, he loved Pokemon almost as much as Ash did and didn't tolerate such behavior. The real question was if Gary would listen to his grandfather at all, or even apologize. Ash was a very forgiving person, almost too forgiving, but only when someone apologized and meant it, Gary on the other hand hated admitting he was wrong. Delia could only hope their friendship wasn't ended because of the spat.

===Two Years Later===

Ash peeked around the corner of a tree, keeping his eyes peeled as the nine year old searched for Metapod. "Metapod!" the Pokemon chirped as he fell from the tree, landing right in Ash's outstretched hands.

"There you are buddy! You've gotten really good at Hide and Seek since you evolved!" Ash grinned, hugging the cocoon loosely. "Ready to head home? Mom said she had to talk to us, and I'm kinda hungry!" Although all Metapod only blinked, Ash knew he was happily agreeing, so he hauled Metapod onto his shoulder and headed toward their house.

It had taken Metapod a bit longer to evolve than what was usual for trainers, but that was mostly because his mother wasn't comfortable with the two standing around waiting for older trainers to pop up to battle. She did start allowing them to go so long as they didn't go too far into the forest since Ash had turned nine, and one of those battles was what triggered the cocoon Pokemon's metamorphosis. Metapod wasn't as fast now, but he had a super tough shell, which made up for the drop in speed. Professor Oak even said it was only a matter of time before he had a Butterfree on his hands, something Metapod seemed really excited about. Other than Metapod's evolution, and Ash's continued battle practice, nothing else really changed though. Ash and Gary's relationship had never mended, Gary was too stubborn to apologize, so the two never reconciled. For a while Ash's classmates had made snide remarks about Caterpie/Metapod, but Ash had never been close to any of them, so other than being increasingly annoyed, and frustrated, he let their taunts roll right off his back. His buddy was amazing and they were stupid. After a while of Ash not reacting, they got bored and stopped, even if they still thought Bug Type Pokemon were weak, and didn't see what Ash saw in them.

Ash rounded the corner of his road and slowly walked towards his home, smiling when he saw the bright yellow and black of his mother's newly caught Beedrill. Apprentently Beedrill were great at pollinating, and Beedrill also helped keep away the scavenger Pokemon who could steal the vegetables in the garden, and other Beedrill who posed a threat to the Ketchum family. His mother found her as a Kakuna, after a Fearow had dropped her near the Diner, and Delia helped treat her wounds and kept her safe until she could evolve. Beedrill didn't want to leave after that, and Ash and Metapod were happy for the extra company.

"Hi Beedrill!" Beedrill's antenna twitched, and she turned towards them, buzzing lowly in greeting. "Here you go!" Ash pulled out a wild berry from his pocket, presenting it to her. Beedrill buzzed more joyously, and happily took the offering. Ash and Metapod watched her nibble on the berry for a few moments before heading into the house.

Delia was in the living room, a pile of papers in front of her and a pinch in her brow. She looked up when she heard Ash enter, and smiled tensely at him. "Hey Ashy."

Ash plopped down in the seat across from her. "What did you want to talk about?" Ash asked, looking at the pile of papers scattered around his mother. She had been surrounded by paperwork a lot in the past few months, but he wasn't exactly sure why. As he looked around he noticed what looked like two plane tickets sitting on the top of the pile with his and his mom's passports. Ash's brows creased and he looked at his mother expectantly.

Delia sighed and sat up straight. "The diner is doing really well." She started to explain. "A few months ago some tourists from the Unova region popped into the Diner and loved the food. They apparently run a lot of restaurants in Unova and have been searching for authentic Kantonian food to add to their string of restaurants, and they offered me the position as head chef." Ash listened carefully, though his hand was twitching uncontrollably. "I talked it over with our accountant, and Professor Oak and they think its a good idea. We would still own the Diner here, but I would be leaving the management to someone else, and we would be moving to Unova."

"You want us to leave Pallet Town?" Ash's voice was horace at the thought. "Not just Pallet Town, but Kanto entirely?"

"I know its a lot to think about Ashy, but it will be good for us. You know Unovian almost as well as you know Kantonian, and think of all the new Pokemon, and friends you can meet over there! Unova is a pretty closed off Region, so there are Pokemon you've never even seen before, and we can still visit Kanto." Delia said with a light voice as she tried to assure him, but Ash didn't look at all reassured.

"Where would we live?" Ash asked.

"Well, the restaurant is in Opelucid City, so probably there." Ash's face paled at the word 'City', and Delia was quick to continue. "The city is surrounded by a nice thick forest, I'm sure it's teaming with Pokemon that you can play with."

"I don't want to move." Ash murmured, and pulled Metapod closer to him. Ash was surprisingly good at foreign languages, he just soaked communication up like a sponge, the language he had the hardest time learning was Kalosian, and even then he could still speak and understand it with little issue, so Ash knew there wouldn't be much of a language barrier, but he loved Pallet Town, and he loved the Kanto Region, he didn't want to move to a whole knew Region.

"I'm sorry Honey." Delia sighed, standing up so she could hug her son. Ash didn't return the gesture, but he didn't push her away either, he kinda just sat there in her arms.

"When are we moving?" He murmured after a few tense minutes.

"In a few months." She admitted, and Ash slowly pulled away from her hold.

"I'm gonna go to my room." Ash said, and slowly headed towards his room, Metapod sat dutifully on his shoulder.

===

It took a while for Ash to get his head around the idea of moving to a completely new Region. A small part of him hoped the deal would fall through and they could stay in Pallet Town, but in the end they ended up moving to Unova. Opelucid City was a lot to adjust to. On top of having to deal with jet lag, and learning to use Unovian as his default language, and culture shock, and the fact that they now lived in a very noisy city, Ash also had to deal with the cold. Kanto was a fairly warm region, in comparison Unova was down right frigid, and since Ash ran rather hot on the regular it was a huge adjustment.

Ash wasn't the only one that had a hard time adjusting though. Beedrill seemed to struggle a bit at first. Luckily, they no longer had an outside garden, but rather a greenhouse with regulated heating so Beedrill didn't get too cold while pollinating the produce. Metapod was rather lucky in that regard. Being in his cocooned form meant he couldn't get as cold, and bought Metapod enough time to adjust to the cooler climate so that by the time he evolved into Butterfree he was perfectly fine with the temp change.

Despite living in the city though, Ash's mother had managed to find them a house on the outskirts of the city close to the forest. Ash tended to get sick in large cities if he was in them too long, he was a wild spirit at heart, and while most people preferred being closer to the city for an easier commute to work or school, Delia didn't mind having to drive longer if it meant Ash was near a forest. They happened to move soon after school let out, allowing Ash to have time to adjust to the region without the added stress of having to deal with a whole new school system.

Since Ash played in the forest opposed to the local playground, he didn't make any immediate friends, which he was honestly fine with, he much rather run around the forest with Butterfree, practicing batting, and preparing for his journey than playing house with the other kids his age. It was in the forest where he met the single most annoying person in the entire world. Iris.

Iris was a 5 year old girl that lived in the neighboring Village of Dragons. She was excitable, and wild, and obsessed with Dragon Type Pokemon, and Ash was pretty sure that every other word out her mouth was 'dragon'. If that were all, Ash wouldn't have cared much, after all he much the same, but she had a smart mouth for a five year old. She was always calling him a kid even though she was younger than him, and she insisted on following him around, clinging to his side and constantly trying to start start fights, not only with Ash but even with some of the city kids on the rare occasion Delia would force them to go to the actual playground, leading to Ash having to get involved so she wouldn't get hurt. Delia had taken a shine to Iris, all but officially adopting the girl. Iris was free to stay with them whenever she wanted, and Delia had a blast buying cute outfits and accessories for her. Iris was what most called a 'tom-boy' but Ash could tell she really liked the attention, if they way she smiled whenever, she thought Ash and Delia weren't looking was any indication.

Iris was annoying, but all things considered Ash didn't hate her. She could run around for almost as long as he could, she understood his attachment to the forest, and Pokemon, and she understood his love for Pokemon, even if her love was mostly reserved for Dragon's and his was with Bugs. While they argued, the two only ever had a single serious fight, one that resulted in Ash ignoring her for an entire two weeks. She had been jealous of Ash being busy with Butterfree, and had bad-mouthed the butterfly Pokemon, it was the first time she had ever seen him so angry, but she hadn't expected him to completely ignore her for two weeks. The fight ended with a lot of tears on Iris' end, as she clung to his leg and sobbed apologies until Ash and Butterfree forgave her. After the fight Iris seemed to have settled down, she was still a right pain in the butt that pushed Ash's button's every chance she got, but then, Ash supposed that was what it was like having a sibling.

For all that Iris was always welcome in the Ketchum home, Iris was still very much a child from the Village of Dragons. The Village Elder, though glad that Iris was able to find a place with the Ketchums, couldn't let Delia officially adopt her, or let Iris stay there full time. Yes Iris was an orphan technically, but the Village was something like a hive, every child born of the village was raised by the village. Iris also had no plans of leaving the Village unless she went to trainer school, or started her journey, even if she really really liked Ash and Delia. Delia perfectly understood, she adored Iris but the Village was important to the girl, and Ash didn't mind, Iris was his friend and really annoying sibling, her not living with them wouldn't change that. Even when the time came for Ash to set out of his journey wouldn't change that.

===Months Later===

Ash woke up with a grunt of pain as a very excited six year old girl slammed into his stomach. "You have to wake up Ash!" Iris insisted, shaking him roughly.

Ash bolted out of bed, clutching his stomach. "That hurt!"

"Sorry." Iris grinned, not looking one bit apologetic. "Now come on! We have to Eat so we can go to Professor Juniper's lab!" With that, she turned on her heels and ran giggling from the hotel room, most likely to meet up with his mother.

With the pain ebbed away, Iris' words sunk in, and Ash flung himself from his bed, a big grin stretching onto his face. Clumsily, he tugged on his clothes, nearly tripping over his backpack when he tried to put his socks on while standing. Fully dressed, Ash excitedly headed out of the hotel room, Butterfree's Pokeball carefully attached to his hip.

They left Opelucid City two days prior so they could get to Professor Juniper's Lab in Nuvema town on the right day, even by plane the City and Town were on opposite sides of the Region, and Ash didn't want to be late getting to the Professor's lab. Meeting with Professor Juniper was more of a formality than anything, as all she was doing was giving him his starting Pokeballs and the Unova Pokedex, but Ash was excited regardless. So was Iris, even though she was only allowed to come and watch Ash set off on his journey before she would inevitably be returning home to the Village of Dragons with Delia. She had begged to go with him, but that was obviously shut down by the Village Elder.

Ash arrived at the hotel breakfast lounge and looked around for his mother and Iris. When he caught sight of them, he grabbed himself some breakfast, pancakes and a small bowl of fruit, and made his way to their table. His mom was lightly scolding Iris while simultaneously using a napkin to wipe syrup from her chin when Ash sat down. Ash's legs bounced under the table as he ate his breakfast in large bites, it was only after he choked that he slowed down and refocused on his mother.

"Nervous?" Delia asked, smiling kindly at her son.

Ash shook his head. "Excited!" He exclaimed, reaching across the table and snatching the syrup bottle from Iris before she could pour the whole thing on her pancakes, she whined slightly but let him take it.

"I wish I could come with you." Iris pouted around a mouthful of syrup covered berries. "Even if its just to travel."

"Sorry, but you know your village's rules." Ash apologized sincerely. Iris wouldn't have any Pokemon of her own, but he wouldn't have minded her coming along to keep him company, but Village Rules and Village Rules.

"I know." She pouted before perking back up. "Promise to catch a really cool Pokemon for me to play with okay?"

"No problem." He promised, wondering what kind of Pokemon was considered 'cool' to a Dragon obsessed six year old that he could reasonably find for her. Either way, she seemed pacified for the time being.

After Breakfast, Ash ran back up to the room to grab his backpack, and then the trio was off to Professor Juniper's lab. The first thing Ash noticed in Professor Juniper's lab was that it was a lot tidier than Professor Oak's lab ever was. In the Oak laboratory there were papers and books spewn almost everywhere, with Pokemon coming in and out as they pleased. Juniper laboratory was better put together, papers stacked neatly and any lab Pokemon safely in their designated areas. It was a nice laboratory, but if Ash were to be honest, he liked Professor Oak's organized chaos a lot better. She was a little more proficient than the Kanto Professor however. Besides Ash, she had three more trainers on their way to her lab, so she couldn't stand and chat with them for long, and swiftly updated his Pokedex, and handed him his Pokeballs. Overall, he liked her. Iris wasn't so impressed though.

"That's it? I was hoping we could have seen some Pokemon!" She whined as they walked out of the lab.

"You heard her, Iris, she's busy. Besides, it's not safe to play around in a Professor's laboratory." Delia soothed, ignoring the look she got from Ash, since they both knew that Professor Oak had allowed all the children in town to rummage through his laboratory as much as they wanted. "How about me and you get some ice cream before we get on the plane?"

"Really?" Iris perked up immediately and grabbed Ash's arm. "Did you hear that Ash? Ice cream!"

Ash shifted awkwardly on his feet. "Um, I'm going to be on my way to Striaton City by the time you have ice cream." He reminded her gently, wincing when her face fell once again.

"Oh Yeah, well, more ice cream for me then!" Iris tried to cover her disappointment with a hasty smile, but she was six so it wasn't very convincing.

Ash racked his brain for something else to cheer her up, and looked at his mother. "What time is your flight?"

"12:30, why?" Delia stared at her son with mild suspicion, but Ash just grinned cheekily at her.

"Alright Iris, we have three hours to complete this mission." He told her.

"What mission?" Iris tilted her head in bewilderment.

"You're going to help me catch my first Pokemon as an official Unovian Pokemon Trainer!" Almost immediately Iris' face lit back up. "There's a forest along route one, we can search for a Pokemon there."

"Alright! Can we Delia?" Iris cheered and hugged Ash's arm tighter.

Delia smiled at her children. "Oh alright, but as soon as I say its time to go we have to leave."

"Deal!" With more strength than any six year old had the right to possess, Iris pulled Ash towards route one, eyes darting around as she searched for any Pokemon she could find.

It took the duo almost an hour to finally find a Bug Type Pokemon. Ash had never really thought about it, but having and defending Butterfree for so long had definitely given him a preference for Bug Types. He didn't mind it so much, having a single type preference meant he would almost always know what to expect, besides Bug Types were cute and strong, what else could anyone ever want? The Pokemon they ended up settling on was tiny, with fluffy yellow fur, a Joltik.

"Butterfree, I choose you!"

"Free Free!" Butterfree cried as the energy cast by the Pokeball dissipated.

Joltik started off with String Shot, but Butterfree easily dodged it, and used Whirlwind, causing Joltik to lose their footing. Butterfree then went in with a tackle, slamming into Joltik, and leaving the perfect opportunity for Ash to throw a Pokeball. The ball only shook once before falling still.

"Alright!" Ash cheered, running forward to scoop up his new Pokemon. The sensation brought back memories of when Ash caught and met Caterpie for the first time. Reaching up, Ash gently pet Butterfree on the side of his head. "You were great Butterfree."

"Free!" Butterfree crooned, leaning into the pets happily.

===Unova===

Soon after, Ash had to wave them off as they loaded onto the plane to head back home while he set off on his journey to compete in the Unova League.

Ash took to journeying alone rather well. Ash could cook basic meals for himself, his mother was a chef and she was determined he at least be able to cook for himself, and when he couldn't cook Ash had no problem searching out some berries to munch on. Ash also had no qualms about sleeping out in the open, or in a cave if he had to, he was a wild spirit at heart so what most people may find unpleasant he didn't really mind. Ash, while something of a people magnet, wasn't so much of an extrovert where he couldn't function without other people. For the longest time Butterfree, in his pre-evolution forms, was Ash's only friend, so while Ash missed his mother and Iris a great deal, he wasn't all that bothered about traveling alone, Besides, he had his Pokemon, Joltik in particular hated her Pokeball, and had taken up residency on Ash's shoulder or hidden in his hair more often than not.

Traveling alone also had some other advantages, like that Ash could keep up with his studies. It wasn't uncommon for Pokemon Trainers to leave house at ten and later decide that they wanted a career besides as a Pokemon Trainer, so there were plenty of programs, and options to help Pokemon Trainers with their academics. As well as having school work sent during travels and turning said homework in through Pokedex or online, there were other options, such as classes set up between leagues and contest circuits designed to catch trainers up, or even full on classes at different levels in cases where a trainer didn't study at all until they decided to retire as a trainer, and that's not even counting the numerous trainer schools available for essentially all ages. Since Ash was traveling alone, he was able to keep up with all his schoolwork while on the road.

Besides school work and training, Ash was also able to catch quite a few Pokemon. By the time he reached Striaton City he was up to three Pokemon, Butterfree, Joltik, and Sewaddle. Sewaddle reminded Ash a lot of Butterfree when he was still a Caterpie, and Butterfree was a bit doting on the Bug Type. In Straton, Ash was able to meet the three trainers who would be taking over the Gym when they were older, Chilli, Cress, and Cilan. They were two years older than him, and despite being triplets they were vastly different, but also pretty interesting. The Gym Leader of the Striaton Gym was actually the triplett's grandfather, and he used all three elemental monkey Pokemon, and allowed Ash to pick which one he wanted to battle. Because he was Ash, he wanted to battle all three. Butterfree was able to easily defeat Pansear, Joltik struggled a bit against Panpour before losing, and Sewaddle was barely able to defeat Pansage. Since they won two of three matches, Ash was able to get the Trio Badge, before continuing on his way to Nacrene City.

His journey from there on was pretty usual, Ash caught a Venipede and Sewaddle had managed to evolve into Swadloon. Meeting the Castelia City Gym Leader, Burgh, was probably one of the bigger highlights however. Burgh met Ash's enthusiasm about Bug Types, if not more so. He was very different than Ash, having a creative drive that Ash didn't really have outside of battle, but he was also really intelligent and obviously adored bug Pokemon. Ash had been a little embarrassed when he was praised for how well kept his Pokemon were. The Castelia Gym was like a forest of its own, with air as fresh as you could get in the city and Pokemon frollicking amongst the leaves. Their battle was intense, as neither trainer wanted to lose, in a way it was like an intense rivalry, they specialized in the same type and while respectful, they also wanted to prove they were better, but in the end Joltik was just a touch too slick and evasive for Burgh's Levanny, getting Ash the win.

Between gyms Ash would contact home. There were times when he forgot but he did try to keep a schedule for his mother's sake. They had only been living in Unova for less than a year, so she was a bit more on edge, so he called when he could, including when his Pokemon evolved, or when he caught new Pokemon such as Durant, and Scatterbug. Scatterbug were rare in Unova, but not unheard of, and Ash was admittedly curious on what wing pattern they would have when they evolved, his mother guessed the 'Elegant' pattern, while Iris hoped for the 'Monsoon' pattern since she thought they were the prettiest. Iris was usually with his mom when he called, impatiently waiting for her turn to babble his ear off for a few minutes. One thing she couldn't wait to tell him was about her befriending and battling with a Drilbur, and showing said Drilbur off to him, apparently his mother caught him for her because she was weak to the Lillipup eyes almost as much as he was. The only time Ash deliberately missed calling them was when he only needed one more badge, the one that resided in his 'homecity': The Legend Badge.

Ash was admittedly a bit nervous about said battle. Dragon Types were ridiculously strong, and difficult to raise and deal with. He poured every minute of free time into training his Pokemon, and even managed to evolve Whirleped into Scolipede, and Scatterbug into Pewpa, and later into Vivillon. His Vivillion had stunning blue wings with white scales that looked like a blizzarding polar night, Ash got the feeling that Butterfree was a tad bit jealous of Vivillon's wings. The only one of his Pokemon who had yet to evolve was Joltik, who seemed perfectly content staying the way she was, which was fine with Ash.

However nervous he was had nothing to do with why he hadn't told his mother he was headed to Opelucid City; however, the long and short of it was that he wanted to surprise them by showing up at the house. Would he be scolded because she couldn't prepare a meal for him ahead of time? Yes. Was it worth it? He thought so, especially when he could see first hand how his mother lit up upon seeing him, followed by sweeping him into her arms in a tight hug, soon followed by Iris coming around the corner, seeing him, and screaming before she barreled right into his legs. The following day, after a good meal, and a nice shower in his own bathroom, followed by a detailed retelling of his entire journey and a good night's sleep, Ash was on his way to the Opelucid Gym. Iris, ever his shadow, stuck close to him, having gotten permission to watch the match so long as she sat in the stands and stayed quiet. She was pretty sure he was going to lose, which; rude, but that just made Ash want to win even more.

Drayden, the Gym Leader, was a no nonsense type of guy. His words were blunt, and dry, and it was obvious that small talk wasn't his strong suit, but he was honest and didn't mince his words, in a way Ash admired that, especially since he also had the tendency to speak his mind, just less flatley. The battle was two on two, with Dreyden starting off with Haxorus, and Ash starting with Durant. Durant's thick, steel exoskeleton was the perfect defense against Haxorus' attacks, and Haxorus had few, if any, attacks that could deal massive damage, but Drayden and his Pokemon were strong. Despite not having any super effective moves, Haxorus was still able to deal some damage to Durant, enough to tire him out. In the end though, Durant was able to take down Haxorus. Druddigon, however, was another story. Durant was already tired, so it only took one Superpower to take Durant out. Thinking over his choices carefully, Ash sent out Vivillon. Druddigon could fly, despite the bulky figure insinuating otherwise, but Vivillon was faster, smaller, and more agile. Druddigon held nothing back, like their trainer all their moves were too the point, one after the other, even when they were airborne, but Ash nor Vivillon were goin down easy. Eventually, after flying above Druddigon, Vivillon was able to use Sleep Powder, causing Druddigon to fall from the air, and land on the field out cold, where Vivillon was then able to use Draining Kiss, sucking up Druddigon's energy and healing his own exhaustion, followed by Psybeam the moment Druddigon started to stand up. It was a tense silence for a few minutes before Druddigon fell again, this time knocked out, since Draining Kiss seemed to do more damage than Ash or Drayden had expected. With that, Ash got the Legend Badge, and his entry into the Unova League. And yes, Ash did rub the fact that he won in Iris' face for the entire week, yes she was pouting the whole week, no Ash doesn't regret it.

Following obtaining his final badge, Ash decided to stay home to train and prepare for the league. Most of the time he was in the forest near their house, training against Wild Pokemon as Iris and Drilbur watched from nearby, or trained themselves. Ash also set out to battle as many other trainers as he could, standing near routes and asking any trainers nearby if they wanted to battle, it was mutually beneficial, as usually those trainers were also preparing for the Unova League.

By the time trainers were supposed to gather at the League's Stadium Ash felt prepared, ready to battle his peers and prove how far he had come. He was just a bit put off by the number of people; traveling alone for nearly a year did have some drawbacks it seemed, as Ash found himself really uncomfortable in the middle of the large crowd of his peers. Other than mild social anxiety though, the League went off without a hitch, and though Ash didn't win, he did manage to be in the top 16, which was pretty remarkable given his young age.

Following the Unova League though was Ash's final exams. He had somehow managed to keep up with school work on his journey, but he did have to take exams to see where he would need to start his classes the following year. He didn't do too bad, about average, but Ash had pretty much expected as much, and was just grateful he hadn't failed.

===Kanto===

Ash knew what region he would be traveling to after Unova. The region he was born in, Kanto. He hadn't been back to Kanto in nearly two years, and Ash, and Butterfree, longed for their hometown, where there was hardly a city light to be seen and every star was visible in the night time, where the air was fresh and crisp. Delia had been a tad uncomfortable with the Idea of Ash being so far away, but she also knew keeping him away from traveling was virtually impossible. Delia and Iris saw Ash off at the airport, waving his plane goodbye and marking him promise to call them immediately, no matter the time difference.

Accompanying Ash to Kanto was his entire Unova team, minus Durant. Durant had taken a shine to his mother's greenhouse, and it was virtually impossible to get the steel ant out of it without using brute force, so Ash decided to leave him with her, besides Beedrill and Durant seemed to have become fast friends and Delia and Iris seemed more comfortable with Ash leaving knowing that one of his Pokemon was with them. Butterfree was obviously the most excited to be going to Kanto, but Leavanny and Vivillon seemed just as jazzed. Scolipede was rather aloof at the best of times, so he didn't seem to care much, and Joltik, while interested, also didn't seem to care as much, simply burrowing into Ash's jacket pocket for the entire plane ride.

Ash's first stop in his home region was Professor Oak's lab. He hadn't seen the old man in what seemed like forever, and he wanted to take a walk through town before he headed off to Pewter City. Butterfree had been let out of his Pokeball almost immediately once they were off the plane. Getting to the Professor's lab was a lot harder than Ash had expected, the people of Pallet Town had recognised Ash almost immediately and he had been stopped a number of times to update him on how he had been, and how his mother was, promising to tell her that the townspeople wanted her to visit soon. The town was just how they left it, warm, with rolling fields and this general sense of peace that made every tense muscle in Ash's body release. They even stopped by their childhood home, the house was still his mothers, but she had rented it out to a small starting off family before they moved, so he couldn't just walk in to check it out, but just seeing the building flooded his mind with memories.

Ash quietly walked up the steps to Professor Oak's lab, and just as he was about to knock on the door, the door opened on its own. Brown eyes met blue, and the person standing across from Ash seemed just as surprised. "Gary." Ash breathed tensely. The last time they had seen eachother was two years prior, and they hadn't exactly been on speaking terms.

Gary seemed to snap out of his surprise, and a lazy, almost begging smirk played at his lips. "How ya doing Ashy Boy?"

Ash snorted. "Still?"

"Always~" Gary smirked, shoulders falling with relief. "I saw your battle at the Unova League, not bad."

"Thanks, I saw your battles too, your Blastoise is looking really good." Ash grinned back cheekily.

"Butterfree did really well too." Gary glanced at Ash's head, where Butterfree sat, pale wings fluttering slightly. FInally, he cleared his throat. "I'm headed to Johto to deliver something for gramps but it was nice seeing you, Ashy Boy."

Ash shoved Gary's shoulder with his own. "You too. I'll reach out before I leave Kanto, maybe we can talk."

"I'd like that." Gary grinned back, before heading out the door.

Ash watched him go, feeling lighter. It felt like a weight Ash hadn't known was there had vanished. Reaching up to pet Butterfree, Ash ducked into the lab.

Professor Oak had been overjoyed to see Ash, wasting no time in ushering the boy in and shoving piles of snacks into his hands. The two sat talking for longer than Ash had intended, and soon it was too late for him to set out, so Professor Oak offered him the spare bedroom for the night. The following morning, after breakfast, Ash set out, heading straight for Viridian Forest. Mindlessly. Ash and Butterfree wandered the trails, reminiscing about the days they had spent in the forest, pestering older trainers to battle them. Joltik quietly listened to them talk, moving from his pocket to his head to see what they were talking about. But eventually, Viridian Forest came to an end, opening up into Viridian City and Ash was on his way past it to Pewter City.

Meeting and talking to Brock was something else. The battle was pretty easy with Levanny and Scolipede, but it was the conversation with Brock afterwards that struck a chord with Ash. Ash was in no way in a similar situation as Brock was, but listening to Brock talk about his siblings made Ash think of Iris. He had long since realized that they were like adoptive siblings, but he had never given it much thought until he heard Brock talk about his siblings. Neither Ash nor Brock had expected his father to come back, apparently he had been hiding out near Pewter City for almost a year, but had been too much of a coward to reveal himself. With the man now back home, Brock finally had the chance to pursue his own interests, and though Ash had never traveled with anyone before, he had asked Brock to join him.

Adjusting to traveling with another person wasn't as hard as Ash had thought. It was likely because Brock had so many siblings, but they never tripped over each other like Ash had feared. They took turns cooking, even though Brock was much better than Ash was, and Ash learned how to make Pokemon Food. Ash had fun telling Brock everything there was to know about his Bug Pokemon, and when Ash struggled with his school work, Brock was happy to help. It didn't take long for them to get into a steady schedule.

The only upset to the schedule was when a loud mouthed redhead decided she was going to join them. It was partially Ash's fault, he was practicing with Joltik and her Discharge and accidentally hit her bike. She hadn't seemed that bad initially, until they stopped for lunch and she freaked out over Ash's team. Ash got a lot of practice reining in his temper due to dealing with Iris, so that was the only reason he resisted tearing her apart, but he refused to acknowledge her. He refused to acknowledge anyone who thought his Pokemon, his precious Bug Types, were worthless and disgusting. Brock had also seemed rather cross with her, though not on the personal level that Ash did, he tended to ignore her when it wasn't about something important. It wasn't just about her badmouthing Ash's Pokemon though, though that was a big part of it, Misty didn't join in on the cooking rotation other than setting the table, she didn't understand that Ash wanted nothing to do with her and continued to pester him, usually asking him to change his type preference, there was also a lot of little things that Ash would normally ignore, but since he was angry tended to stand out and annoy him a lot. The moment they reached the next Pokemon Center, Ash withdrew enough money from his account, made up of money from winning battles, his allowance, and the monthly stipend he got monthly from the inheritance left by his father, and gave her the money to pay off her bike so she would leave him alone. That seemed to finally make her realize that he was actually angry and not just being stubborn.

His journey forward wasn't so bad, Joltik wiped the floor in Cerulean City, and Levanny really showed her stuff against Lieutenant Surge. Things seemed perfect for a while, until they came across the Butterfree migration. Ash was happy that Butterfree fell in love, even though Ash didn't really get it, and he was so proud that he found someone that loved him, and was able to protect her, but Ash also had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that his first Pokemon, his best friend, had to leave.

Tears fell freely down Ash's face as he stared at Butterfree, the orange neckerchief still wrapped securely, but loosely around his neck. Fluttering just behind him was another Butterfree, her body was pink, and her white wings had a noticeable black splotch on them, a tell tale sign of her gender, she looked rather torn by the situation.

Ash's words had a warbled inflection as he tried to force himself to smile. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Free free." Butterfree nodded, trying hard not to let the tears in his eyes fall.

"You too, take care of him." The pink Butterfree nodded with resolve, and Ash smiled, though his lips trembled. Ash reached up and pressed his forehead against his Butterfree's. "I'll miss you. Thank you for being my best friend."

"Free!" Butterfree trilled, rushing into his arms for a final hug. Ash didn't want to let go, but he knew this was what Butterfree wanted, needed to do, and it was Ash's responsibility to encourage and support his Pokemon, even if he could no longer stand beside him. With great effort, and a shaky smile, Ash pulled away, and both Butterfree started flying, heading towards the rest of the flutter. Butterfree had to stop himself from turning back, but the cry of Joltik made him halt.

"Jol! Jol!" Joltik jumped off of Ash's shoulder, running to the edge of the cliff they were standing on. Tears pooled in the yellow Pokemon's eyes as she desperately waved goodbye. Suddenly, in the golden light of the setting sun, Joltik started to glow. Her body grew, accompanied with longer fangs, more legs, and a large build. "Vantula!" Where the tiny Jiltik once stood, now stood a Galvantula, who was waving goodbye with four legs instead of just one.

Butterfree felt pride in his friend as he flew backwards, watching her and Ash until long after he could no longer see them. This was a start of a new adventure for all of them, one they would not concur together, but Butterfree knew they would meet again, and that thought helped him move forward.

The following days were difficult on Ash to say the least. He was happy that Galvantual decided she wanted to evolve, even if that meant that now she couldn't ride on his shoulder or in his pocket, she still insisted on being out of her Pokeball, which at the very least kept strangers away from Ash while he was working through his emotions, but adjusting to Butterfree not being there was difficult. For a long time Butterfree had been Ash's only friend, he was simultaneously Ash's first Pokemon and the first Pokemon he caught, they had been together since Ash was seven years old. But everyone had to change and continue onwards, even if it hurt, even if they wished things could stay the same.

The first Gym Ash came across after Butterfree went on to start a family was Sabrina. Ash could feel Butterfree's absence, and it was a tad bit distracting. Vivillon really pulled through for Ash in his battle against Sabrina, his strength and Bug typing mixed with his speed in the air helped level the playing field against Sabrina's Psychic types. The gym after that wasn't much better. For one, Erika's Gym reeked of perfume, the smell so strong Galvanytula actually wanted to go into her Pokeball, for second, Erika's trainers just had to make a smart remark about Ash's Bug Type Pokemon, so by the time Ash broke, um found a way, into the Gym, he had a migraine, he was upset, and his was beyond irritated. Ash almost felt bad about the way Scolipede, Levanny, and Galvantula utterly humiliated Erika's team. Almost.

Luckily, those were the only big problems, and after a while Ash started to feel more like himself. He even managed to catch a Heracross while feeding his Pokemon some honey, and much later a Syther. Syther was something of a problem child, he didn't exactly like that Ash was able to catch him and for a while, fought Ash every step of the way.

Ash stayed with Brock to prepare for the Indigo League, training and preparing his Pokemon. Most of his Pokemon knew the drill already, as they had competed in the Unova League, but Heracross and Scyther were unfamiliar with the process. Like in Unova, Ash only ranked in the Top 16, however, that was mostly due to Scyther's attitude, as the Pokemon refused to battle, and instead had decided to take a nap on the field. Ash wasn't the only one upset by the ordeal, so was the rest of the team. They had worked so hard to prepare for the Pokemon League, and likely would have ranked much higher if not for Scyther's attitude. It was disheartening to Ash in particular, he didn't want to hold Scyther hostage if he really didn't want to be with Ash, but at the same time it felt like there was something wrong with the Pokemon, like he wanted to reach out and be accepted but just couldn't bring himself to reach out.

With the league out of the way, Ash headed back to Unova while Brock headed home to Pewter City, the two making plans to meet up once again in Hoenn, where Ash was planning on heading after his exams. Unlike the previous year, Ash wasn't excited to get his exam results back. His focus on his studies had wavered for a few weeks due to Butterfree leaving, and if it weren't for Brock's help Ash was pretty sure he would be very behind on all his school work, not to mention the issues with Scyther preventing him from studying as much as he would have liked. Surprisingly, Ash's scores were on par with his scores from the previous year, just slightly above average, and Ash couldn't be more relieved.

===Hoenn==

Hoenn was a tad bit different than his travel through Kanto for the sole reason that Brock wasn't his only companion. Joining Ash across the Hoenn region in addition to Brock was May, and Max Maple.

May was the same age as Ash, twelve years old give or take a few months, but she was only just starting her journey because she wasn't very fond of Pokemon, a sentiment Ash couldn't understand no matter how long he thought about it. Eventually she lost the fight due to her father's insistence and got her first Pokemon, though she was far more interested in traveling than battling. They had met because Galvantula's Electro Ball misfired and destroyed her bike, and Ash offered(read:was guilt tripped) into traveling with her back to Petalburg City. While she was obviously uncomfortable around Ash's Pokemon, she hadn't said anything rude about them, and it seemed like she was more uncomfortable around Pokemon in general, even her own Torchic, so she was alright in Ash's book, especially because she seemed to adjust to Pokemon rather quickly.

Max was the complete opposite of his sister, and was a bit of a butthead, reminding Ash a lot of his own butthead of a sister back home. He was opinionated, and very knowledgeable about Pokemon, even if his first hand experience with the Pokemon themselves were rather limited, proven by how he had gotten shocked by Galvantula when he hugged her too suddenly. He wasn't a bad kid though, a bit of a know-it all that liked to push the buttons of the people around him, but he had a genuine love for Pokemon, and a thirst to know everything about them. He especially looked up to his father,and seemed to hand on the man's every word. Max was especially excited about being able to travel with them across Hoenn.

Something Ash wasn't expecting was how much May and Max tended to look to him for advice. May was a new trainer, and knew nothing about Pokemon when starting out, and even though she eventually decided on pursuing becoming a coordinator, with a Beautifly no lest(yes they geeked out over their respective butterfly Pokemon, and yes Beautifly and Vivillon were BFFs, don't judge them.), she still went to Ash for advice and help in battling and taking care of Beautifly. Max tried to help his sister at first, but being only eight years old, he often wasn't very clear with instructions, leading to miscommunication and mishaps that usually resulted in somebody getting unintentionally Embered. It was a bit odd being relied on so much, but it also felt good in a way. Ash was happy when May accomplished something after he gave her advice, it was weirdly fulfilling knowing that someone was able to learn something from him, that someone was one step closer to their goals because he had given them a stepping stone. When they succeeded, it felt like he succeeded too. It was the same feeling he got when he helped Iris study for her own exams, or when he told Brock a new bug fact he learned.

Those endeavors aside however, battling the Hoenn Gyms went relatively smoothly, battling against Flannery was a huge gamble, and Norman in particular was no pushover, Normal Types were nothing to sneeze at, but the biggest challenge was against Winona and her Flying Types. Galvantula was part Electric Type, yes, but that meant nothing if she couldn't land her hits. Winona's Pokemon were swift, and fierce, and they knew how to evade and deflect electric attacks with ease. It took Ash two times, but he eventually defeated her.

aside from Syther's issues. After an incident in which Max almost got hit by Wing Attack, Ash decided to send Scyther to Burgh, not forever, but Burgh had a knack for understanding Bug Types, if anyone could help him understand Scyther, it was him. He got a message the following day. Burgh couldn't understand Pokemon word for word, similar to Ash he simply paid attention to how the Pokemon behaved and what they did, but where Ash was limited to his own Pokemon, and only if his Pokemon were open with him, Burgh could seemingly read any Bug Type. Burgh could only really guess what was wrong with Scyther, and that was a mix of pent up energy turning into aggression, and a previous betrayal that was stopping him from properly bonding with Ash as Trainer and Pokemon.

It didn't take long for Ash to think up a plan on how to help him and Scyther bond, and thus requested his Pokemon back. He was a bit surprised that, when he released the Pokemon, instead of Scyther, he had a Scizor*. Apparently Burgh sent something along with Syther that would help him evolve later, but he hadn't expected for Syther to evolve during the transfer over. Ash only hoped that evolving would help with the excess energy problem, before he set his plan into motion.

While the group stayed in a town for a while, waiting for May's next contest, Ash set out with Scizor alone. Admittedly, his friends were a bit worried, he was leaving the rest of his Pokemon with them while he was gone so he could have one on one time with a particularly versatile Pokemon, if Scizor lashed out Ash wouldn't have his other Pokemon to defend himself. But that was part of the plan. Ash didn't know what, for sure, happened in Scizor's past that made him unable to trust another trainer, and he likely would never find out, but it was obvious Scizor had some major trust issues. For the following few days it would just be the two of them in the wild, Ash would have no real defense if Scizor lashed out, all Ash could do was trust his Pokemon not too. It was risky, reckless, and dangerous, but that was how Ash was.

The following days Ash and Scizor only had each other, they slept under the open sky, trained, found wild berries for food, and simply coexisted. Scizor was on edge most of the time, bewildered, and waiting for the other shoe to drop. At one point, he did lash out, using Metal Claw to destroy some of the surrounding trees, only to turn to Ash when Ash tried to get him to settle down. They had an intense stare down, but Ash didn't back down, not even when one of the Metal Claws were directed at him, not even when Scizor shot his claw out in his direction, just barely missing Ash's face but a mere few inches, because Ash knew. Scizor wasn't going to hurt him, in all his rampages Scizor had never intentionally tried to hurt someone, that proved that Scizor wasn't lashing out to hurt, he just didn't know how else to release his frustration.

When they returned to the rest of the group a few days later Scizor was different. He wasn't 'fixed', not all of his and Ash's issues were solved, but it was a start. They were starting to have an understanding of each other, and though it would likely take months or even years to get to the route of the actual issue, it was a start on the path to proper understanding and hopefully, healing.

The Hoenn League was something else. Hoenn had more outreach in terms of fans, so it was Ash's first exposure to his fans. He didn't have an overabundant amount of people routing for him, but there were a few people it was flattering, knowing people besides his family and friends were excited for his battles. All of Ash's Pokemon were raring to go, Scizor in particular was surprisingly focused, and though Scizor would glare at him if he were to say it out loud, Ash was pretty sure the extra effort was due to guild from the previous year. The effort definitely paid off, as they ranked in the Top Eight the entire Hoenn League, it might not sound like a lot to some people but even that little bit of growth meant a lot to Ash.

Following the Hoenn League, May made plans to travel to Kanto, while Max was going to go back to Petalburg with their parents so he could focus on preparing for his own journey the following year, and Brock would be going with back to Kanto so he could check in and visit his family before deciding what he did next. Saying goodbye for the time being was bittersweet, sealed with a promise to battle Max when they met again, since by then, Max would be on his own journey. After a tearful goodbye, they all went their separate ways.

Back in Unova, and riding the feeling of placing within the Top Eight, Ash prepared himself for his final exams. He doubted he could ever place in the top eight academically, but he was still determined to try his best. As he expected, Asxh wasn't even in the top 10 academically, but his scores were definitely better than the year prior, filling Ash with a sense of pride.

===Sinnoh===

Before Ash could head off to Sinnoh, he stayed in Unova for a few days longer to help Iris with her own schoolwork. While Ash was in Hoenn Iris tried her hand at going to a trainer school with Excadrill*, to prepare for her journey that would happen relatively soon but trouble started as Iris found it near impossible to focus while in the city, unable to relax in the stuffy uniform and polluted air. Being unable to relax, and being bullied by a couple of her classmates(Yes Ash almost went to start beef with a couple of nine year olds. No he is not sorry.) resulted in Iris getting behind on her work, so Ash stayed a bit longer to help her prepare for her own make-up exams. She was able to get passing marks on her make-up exams, though she had a lower grade than she hoped she'd get, especially after Ash postponed his own trip just to help her study. To help cheer her up, and encourage her for the coming year, Ash told her that if she got even better marks in the upcoming year he would take her with him to whatever region he was going to the following year, which definitely worked on getting her fired up.

Ash's Sinnoh journey was perfectly ordinary, including the fact that he and Galvantula zapped another trainer's bike, again, something that just solidified the curse joke that Brock thought of after they met May. Speaking of, Ash had been pleasantly surprised to see Brock in Sinnoh, happy to travel with his friend once again, and of course Dawn, the girl who had her bike zapped.

Dawn was a very green trainer, having just started her journey to be a coordinator. She was a bit air headed, but hard working, and driven with a sorta 'never give up attitude'. She wanted to be Top Coordinator like her mother before, and despite the fact that she actually knew very little about Pokemon, she was determined to accomplish her goals. She had a very optimistic outlook on life, and it was actually pretty inspiring, if tad a bit hopeful.

Dawn was also very interested in learning. She didn't want Ash or Brock to just tell her what to do so she could succeed right that second, she wanted them to explain and teach it to her, to give her a deeper understanding so that she knew what to do if they weren't there, not only about Pokemon, but cooking as well. Her mother had taught her how to make poffins, and she could make heat up means, but she couldn't actually cook things from scratch. Brock could make pretty much anything taste delicious, and while basic, Ash knew how to keep them fed and nourished. Dawn seemed to default to Ash as her teacher. Brock was a good teacher for most people, but a lot of what he said tended to go over Dawn's head, and his teaching style simply frustrated Dawn because he tended to skip over the basics, which she didn't know. Maybe it was because Ash had his own issues growing up, but Ash always made things clear and concise, he used simple worlds and simple explanations, and didn't care how often Dawn asked for him to explain it again. When there were things that Ash didn't know, he and Dawn would default to Brock. It was an admittedly odd system, but it worked well for the three of them.

Sinnoh was a relatively cold Region, even more so than Unova, something that didn't go over well with most of Ash's Pokemon. They adjusted in time, but it was also obvious they weren't really happy. Vivillon, and Galvantucla were probably the only ones that didn't seem bothered, Vivillon because his breed of Vivillon were made for cooler climates, and Galvantchula due to her thicker fur. Scoliopede hated it however, and if he wasn't battling or indoors he was in his Pokeball, at least until he was able to adjust to Sinnoh's temperatures. Luckily, most gyms, besides maybe Fire Type and Ice Type Gyms, heated and cooled appropriately, were heated to a neutral temperature to keep things fair to the challenger's Pokemon, so they were able to battle without issue.

Traveling through Sinnoh was relatively normal, ignoring that Ash finally had something of a rival. Paul was rude, and knew exactly what to say to trigger Ash's fight response. On top of Paul thinking most Pokemon were weak, he especially thought Ash was weak because he surrounded himself with Bug Types. Even after Ash defeated him in battle, even after knowing Ash's Pokemon were well seasoned, Paul didn't change his mind. He was a stubborn, heartless fool, and that didn't change until the actual Sinnoh League.

Dawn's mother was kind enough to offer Ash and Brock their house to stay while Ash prepared for the Sinnoh League. The Sinnoh Grand Festival had already happened, and Dawn had been wrapped up in deciding her next step while Ash and his Pokemon trained. The Sinnoh League in of itself was a rollercoaster, one trainer, Tobias, was sweeping the field with his Darkrai, and causing quite a stir from the crowd. Ash was a bit nervous, but was ready with a contingency plan. Heracross was a Bug and Fighting Type, both pretty effective against Dark types, and Ash's Heracross was able to use Sleep Talk, the perfect counter for Darkrai's Dark Voice, a move Ash noticed the man leaned heavily on. Ash's first battle with the trainer went just as Ash suspected, and Heracross was able to get the upper hand, but it was Tobias' second Pokemon that threw him for a loop. Latios. Tobias had a freaking Latios. Latios was able to take out both Heracross, and Leavanny, but using Vivillon's Safeguard, coupled with a Quiver Dance boosted Hurricane, Ash was able to stall Latios for a little bit before taking them out with another Quiver Dance boosted Bug Buzz. After Latios however, Tobia's Pokemon were perfectly normal Dark Types, they were well trained and power houses in their own right, and Ash knew better than to rely on his type advantage, but in the end Ash won his match against Tobias, and by the time the final match wrapped up, Ash was standing as the lone victor of the Sinnoh League*.

Ash's conquering of the Sinnoh League meant he had to stay in Sinnoh a bit longer. Every winner of any League got the exclusive chance to challenge the Elite Four, and if they defeated the Elite Four, they could challenge the Region's Champion, if they beat the Champion, well they became the next Champion. Ash was excited for the challenge, especially against the first Elite Four Member, Aaron. Aaron, like Ash, specialized in Bug Types, and both trainers were positively jazzed to battle against another bug enthusiast, Bug Type trainers, aside from Bug Catchers, were few and far between and battling against a Type Specialist of your matching type was always a treat. Aaron was no pushover, and for the most part, they were evenly matched, but Ash's team simply had more type coverage, and a bit more drive. Battling Bertha was a challenge, he had coverage for almost all of his Pokemon, with Vivillon and Scizor being the reason they were able to win by the skin of their teeth. The same couldn't be said about their battle against Flint, and thus the end of the Elite Four Challenge. Heracross, Scoliopede, and Galvantula performed the best against Flint's Fire Types, and they were even able to take out his Ninetales, Houndoom, and Rapidash, but the man's Infernape and Magmorter were something else entirely, and they just weren't strong enough, yet.

Following the challenge, it was time for Ash to return to Unova. Dawn had decided to pursue being a PokeStylist, while she was still going to pursue the life of a Coordinator, she was also interested in the industry, and how she could improve it, and use what she learned to her advantage. Similarly, Brock decided to stay in Sinnoh and attend school to become a Pokemon Doctor, traveling with Ash, he had been able to experience more than he ever thought he would be able to before, and as he was 18, he decided he wanted to do more. Ash was supportive, and was certain they'd be the best in both their professions. Saying goodbye, at least for the time being, was difficult. They had grown and relied so much on each other the past year, but they all had different paths to follow.

But, with Dawn and Brock pursuing something new, it made Ash wonder what his own long term goals were. He wanted to be a Pokemon Master when he was younger, and that had slowly morphed into wanting to become a Bug Type Master, but what else? What did being either of those mean to him? Especially now, when he had a League Title under his belt, what was he going to do going forward?

Once Ash was back in Unova, Ash had to take his exams. Iris had already taken hers, but had refused to tell him what she got until his own were taken, as he had to crack down and study. He had stayed in Sinnoh longer than intended, and while he did study while on the plane, he still didn't have as much time as he would have liked to prepare. Regardless, he scored around the same as he did the year prior, maybe a single spot down. In comparison, Iris really cracked down on her studies while he was gone, scoring above average in almost every subject so that she could go with Ash on his next journey. The fact that Ash was going to let her come with him even if she bombed all her tests was left unsaid.

===Kalos===

Iris' ceremony, where she turned ten and received Axew, went off without a hitch. Axew was very much newly hatched, and was ripe for rearing. It took all of Iris's energy not to shake with glee upon meeting Axew. Following her ceremony, the ten year old girl joined her brother in all but blood on the plane to the far away region of Kalos. Seeing Iris' enthusiasm about the experience was encouraging to Ash who, while brimming with excitement himself, had been rather quiet since his return home from Sinnoh, seemingly lost in thought.

For the first time since his own first journey, Ash was the oldest and most experienced among his group of traveling companions. Upon stepping off the plane in Kalos, it didn't take long for Iris and Ash to get into trouble, leading to them being shot out of Lumiose's Electric Type Gym. The endeavor led to them making two new friends, so it wasn't all bad but it was certainly surprising. Like Ash, Clemont was 14, unlike Ash he was remarkably awkward, and slightly withdrawn, but he was really smart, and a fantastic inventor. It was obvious he didn't spend much time, if any, with people his own age, as he seemingly didn't know how to talk to Ash or Iris at first. His younger sister, Bonnie, was only eight years old and very different from her brother; she was outgoing and a pocket of sunshine that loved taking care of Pokemon, she was also a little gremlin. She and Iris only knew each other for .0 seconds before they were planning something. Was Ash expecting that something to be Bonnie asking him to marry her brother? No, no he was not. Was he equal parts amused and confused? Yes, yes he was. Especially when Iris turned around and asked Clemont the same thing. Evil gremlins, the both of them.

Proposals and the denial of said proposals aside, they were a fun pair of siblings, and since they had no real plans for themselves, Ash and Iris happily invited them to join them around Kalos. Before long it felt more like they were on a family vacation opposed to being on a journey.

While Iris' end goal was to be a Dragon Master, she decided to try out battling Gyms beside Ash, to build up confidence in battle and properly prepare Axew. Axew was a baby Dragon, so he couldn't do much, but she still trained him every chance she could , and Ash was happy to help her when he didn't have his own training to do.

Bonnie was more or less just trying to learn as much as she could to prepare for her own journey in a few years, but Clemont was working on equal parts building confidence in himself, and trying to be a better trainer for his Gym.

Ash, for his part, seemed more focused on his studies than ever. Iris had never been on a journey with him, so she didn't know what his study habits were before, but it she knew it was more than he did at home, and some of the material didn't even look like it was for his school work. She didn't want to pry too much, Ash spent a lot of time training, and helping the rest of the group with their own work/training on top of helping Clemont cook already, and she while being a pain in her brother's butt was one of her favorite things to do, she didn't want to distract him from whatever was so important to him.

Throughout the journey Iris was able to add more Pokemon to her arsonal, such as a Goomy she raised into a Sliggoo, and even a little Noibat, with Axew and Excadrill, they were a good start to her Dragon Master dreams. Clemont was slowly becoming more sure of himself,being able to stand up for himself and do more of the things he was afraid of before as his inventions blew up less and less. Bonnie matured slowly, she was still a child after all, but while the gremlin energy never dissipated, she was more sure of what she was doing while caring for Pokemon.

Watching his friends grow filled Ash with the same sense of accomplishment he got from May, Max, and Dawn. It was a warm feeling, seeing them take on the world and succeed. Maybe it was stupid, but helping them prosper just filled him with a sense of 'right'. The same kind of 'right' he felt whenever he and his Pokemon accomplished something. It was awe-inspiring, and helped solidify the thoughts that had plagued his mind since he returned from Sinnoh.

The Kalos League was a little different then the leagues Ash participated in prior. For one, his mom was able to come watch him and Iris compete, for two the other participants were seemingly wary of him. He couldn't necessarily blame them, he already had one League victory under his belt, which alerted the other trainer's battling him that he was a real threat, but it also filled his fellow competitors with drive, because if they defeated him it meant they defeated a League Victor. Iris didn't last long in the League, but Ash had never seen her happier, though that was less about the loss and more about the fact that Axew evolved into Fraxure during their last battle, he didn't stay up much longer after evolving, but the fact that Axew evolved into Fraxure was proof of her growth as a Dragon Master. Ash managed to make it all the way into the finals, much to the surprise of noone, but he was the runner up, the Victory of the Kalos League going to his opponent: Diantha, a popular movie star who, after her Elite Four challenge, became the Champion of Kalos.

Ash might not have won the Kalos League, but he returned to Unova with his head high, and a new resolve fluttering in his chest.

===

Ketchum Residence, Opelucid City, Unova

Iris peeked over the fence wall and into the Ketchum yard. Nestled up next to Galvantula was Ash, the 15 year old boy nose deep in yet another book. His back was pressed against Glavantula's large, long furred legs, while the rest of his Pokemon were scattered around the yard, some in the greenhouse, but others simply laying in the grass. With ease, the eleven year old girl hoisted herself up and over the fence wall, landing in the grass without so much as a breath. She made herself walk loud enough that she wouldn't startle Ash, nor his Pokemon, and plopped her down in front of him. After Ash, presumably, finished the line he was reading, he raised his head to look at her, blinking rapidly as he slowly came out of his reading induced haze.

"What's up?" Placing his bookmark, Ash placed his book aside to give her his full attention.

Iris smiled a bit, as much as she loved annoying her brother, and as much as he loved annoying her, she liked that he gave her his full attention when she talked or wanted something. That was something she never once thought she would be able to experience from anyone other than the Village Elder when she was young. The people in the village were great, but Iris was the only orphan, and the village people had their own kids to tend to, so they couldn't often give Iris their undivided attention, but with the Ketchums, it was immediate. Delia had Ash, but she still had the time to dote on Iris if she needed something. Ash didn't have the same immediate reaction, but he still paid attention to her, and played with her even when she was being purposefully annoying. They meant a lot to her, and she was so grateful for all the things they did for her over the years. She was a scrappy, rude childed that popped up one day, and they welcomed her with open arms.

"You've been reading forever!" Iris exaggerated with a whine, getting a fond eye roll from the other boy. "I thought you'd be all the way in another region by now!"

"Well what about you, Dragon Master? Didn't you say you planned on going to Kanto on your own?" He huffed at her, reaching up to ruffle her head, turning the long black strands into a slightly messy nest.

Iris didn't miss the way he ignored her prodding, but decided to ignore it. She smacked his hand away and tried to fix her hair for a few seconds before giving up. "Well yeah, but I'm waiting for mom, she's taking some time off so she can take a vacation in Kanto and check on the diner, I'm going with her since I've never been on a plane alone before. We told you this last night!"

"Oh," Ash blinked as if just remembering the conversation from the night prior. "Right."

Pouting, Iris threw herself across his legs like she did when they were smaller and Ash was trying to escape. "You've been distracted lately. Well, actually for a while now, since Sinnoh. Did something happen?"

"Not really, I've just been," he tilted his head in thought, "thinking, I guess."

"Don't hurt yourself." She snorted, only to grunt when he flicked her forehead. "What about?"

Ash was silent for a number of minutes, his face carefully blank in a way that Iris had never seen. Her brother was usually so expressive, he had a horrible Poker Face despite being able to act really well, and it was usually so easy to tell how he felt just by looking at him, but in that moment, Iris couldn't tell at all. Finally, after the silence stretched for minutes on end, Ash spoke up. "The future, what I'm going to do going forward?"

"What do you mean? You're going to be a Bug Master!" Iris tightened her grip on his arm, like she was afraid he would vanish if she didn't.

Ash reached up to pet her head, stroking her hair like she was a Purrloin while offering a small smile. "Of course I will be." He said with conviction. "But I," he hesitated, "being a Bug Master isn't the only thing I want to do."

Scrunching her face, Iris pushed herself back and turned so she was facing her brother. "Explain."

"Okay, Burgh, he's a Bug Expert right?" Iris nodded. "But he's also an artist. Viola, on top of being a Gym Leader, is a photographer. Vallerie is a fashion designer, even Drayden is an instructor, Diantha is an Actress. I just, I guess I just have a dream alongside wanting to be a Bug Master."

Iris hesitated. She was eleven, and sure Ash wasn't that much older than she was, but she didn't really understand what her meant, and whatever it was seemed really important to him. "I don't think I understand." She admitted sheepishly, relaxing when Ash didn't seem at all upset.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not explaining it right." Ash sighed, removing his cap to run his hand through his hair before speaking again. "I want to be a Bug Master," Iris nodded. "But I also, I think I also want to be a teacher."

That wasn't what Iris had expected. She blinked rapidly as she digested the new information. Thinking back, she thought it fit her brother pretty well. He had a simple way of explaining things, and people, kids especially, seemed drawn to him, it was why she approached him in the first place when they were kids, he just radiates a feeling of warmth, understanding, and acceptance. Reshiram only knows how often Ash helped her with her school work, how much he taught, not only her, about Pokemon and care over the years. It was a good fit, she could admit to herself.

"So, you're still going to be a trainer, but you also want to be a teacher?" She asked slowly.

"Yes."

"Okay." Iris nodded.

"'Okay?' That's it? You're not disappointed or mad?" Ash narrowed his eyes at her, not glaring but scrutinizing, like he was waiting for her to retaliate.

Iris shook her head. "No, its what you want to do, and you seem really excited. Just promise I can still challenge you whenever I want, even when you're a fancy professor that works in a big, fancy school or something, got it?"

A wide, somewhat cheeky, grin spread on Ash's face, and he nodded. "You got it, but that means you better try even harder on your studies from now on, or I won't battle you at all."

Iris squawked, her cheeks heating with humiliation. Despite Ash's help, and nagging her their entire journey through Kalos, Iris hadn't scored very well on her yearly exams, and had to retake three separate tests after they returned to Unova.. She had been too excited on the journey to care much about her studies, and even though Ash had made them all sit down and do their homework together, she hadn't tried very hard, or even paid attention resulting in aforementioned bad grades. Ash didn't make fun of her for her bad grades, he was too empathetic, and understanding to do that, but he did lord 'I told you so's' over her head every chance he got, something he only got away with because he helped her study for the retakes.

"You're stupid!" She yelled, and jumped to her feet with a somewhat feral grin. "Just you wait, while you become a Teacher I'm going to become a Dragon Master, so you better watch out!"

Ash pulled himself to his feet, and stared down at her with a similar feral grin. "Well I'm going to become a Bug Master first, so it's you who should watch out!"

Ash was on the shorter side, while Iris was on the taller side for their age ranges, so while Iris would probably one day surpass him in height, for the time being Ash was a few inches taller than her, something he intended to milk for as long as he possibly could. they held fierce eye contact for a number of seconds before giggles slowly bubbled in their throats and they burst out laughing. After calming down, Ash ruffled her hair again and nudged her towards the house.

"So what are you going to do while becoming a teacher? Don't you have to stay in one place to go to school to become a teacher?" Iris asked lightly as she followed him inside the house, their mom still at work preparing the rest of the staff for her leave.

"Yeah. I have to finish my normal courses first, and then go to a specialized school to get a teaching degree, and teaching license." Ash nodded, and grabbed two bags of snacks from the top shelf, throwing one to Iris before washing his hands. "I reached out to Burgh, I asked if he needed any Gym Trainers. I intend to still train my Pokemon while also going to school, and I figured being a Gym Trainer would be a good way to accomplish that, not to mention it would give me a paycheck to help pay for school."

Iris jumped onto the counter to sit, her bag of snacks open and partially eaten. "That's cool though, working at a Gym."

"Yeah, but it's not set in stone yet, I'm waiting for him to get back at me, and then I have to actually apply and get accepted for the job. If I can't then I'm going to reach out to Viola, maybe crash with Clemont and Bonnie while I wait for confirmation."

"Still cool. What if you can't work with Viola either?" She asked.

Ash looked her dead in the eye. "Rely on nepotism and beg mom for a job at the restaurant."

Iris giggled. "You know, The Village Elder might hire you as a language tutor. Its hard getting specialized teachers like that to go to the village since its so out of the way, and everyone knows you already."

Ash thought about it before nodding. "That could be fun, I do know a lot of languages. I plan on sitting down with mom and discussing my options with her before you guys go to Kanto, hopefully I hear back from Burgh by then."

Iris smiled and kicked her legs joyfully. Her world was changing, Iris realized. She was about to set off on a journey all on her own, and her brother was about to embark on a different kind of journey of his own. It was different, and new, but not bad.

===4 Years later===

Pokemon School; Melemele Island, Alola

A smiling green haired girl no older than 15 stood beside two girls of similar age, one with a short blue bob cut, and the other a long haired blonde girl that sat slightly hunched over her desk despite smiling and talking quietly with the other two girls. Just to the left of them, hunched over some kind of blue print was a short, plump boy of similar age; his brows were scrunched, and eyes lit with glee as he read over whatever was set out in front of him. In the far left, in one of the front desks was a boy who was either slightly older or the same age as the rest of the class, he was definitely taller than the rest of the class with spiky black and red hair and a grimace on his face, his arms were crossed and coal black eyes cast to look out the window. All chatter came to a halt as the door opened with a 'swish', and in walked their teacher, a towering man with tanned skin highlighted by his stark white lab coat, but strangely no shirt. Just a step behind him stood another teen, he was on the shorter side with spiky black hair and a sun kissed complexion, but while he looked youthful, it was also obvious that he was older than the class, most interesting was that he had a large Galvantula skittering behind him.

With the teacher now in the classroom, the two girls who had been standing scrambled to their seats, noticeably glancing at the unfamiliar face that stood beside their teacher. Their teacher, known as Professor Kukui, cleared his throat, nabbing the attention of the two boys, and dragging their attention to him. "Alola everyone." Professor Kukui waited for the class to greet him back before continuing. He motioned to the young man beside him. "This is Ash Ketchum, starting today he is going to be my TA while he works on getting his Teaching License. Please treat him with the same respect you show your other teachers." With a nod of his head, he motioned for Ash to step forward.

The young man, no older than 18 stood before the class of students. He had an energetic, yet kind smile on his face, showing off a pair of peculiar thunderbolt shaped marks that resided on his cheeks. "Alola everyone!" He greeted them, his voice commanding attention though he didn't so much as raise his voice at them. His words were clear, with not a single stutter or mispronounced word, but there was a slight accent to his voice, an odd mix of Kantonian, and Unovian that the class of Alolan students had never heard before. "I hope we get along well while I'm helping Professor Kukui, if you need anything from me, feel free to ask!"

Though the class didn't know the older teen before them, an odd feeling of comraderance struck them. This next year was going to be interesting.