Chapter 13

“I’m not the Ash you knew anymore.”

“Ash wait!” Ash ignored his friend’s pleas and ran on. Ash didn’t stop and 
wasn’t aware of his surroundings until he tripped over a stone. Ash fell 
over onto the mossy ground and began to sob.

‘Why can’t I stop crying?’ Ash asked himself. Ash already knew the answer; 
it was because he was finally letting out all the frustrations and sadness 
he had built up for the last three months. ‘I’m acting like a selfish, 
spoiled brat…but I can’t stop.’

“Lar?” Ash was numbly aware of Digger’s presence. When Ash was done crying 
he fell fast asleep. Blue and Digger had seen Ash bolt by the house from 
under their hiding place under the porch. When they found Ash crying by 
himself like many times in the past, they felt anger boil out from the pits 
of their pokemon stomachs.

“Dratini….” Both pokemon comforted Ash as he had cried. Ash had reverted 
back into a childhood habit of sleeping right after a good cry so both 
pokemon stayed to keep him warm. Blue and Digger watched Ash with heavy 
hearts while he slept.

At that moment…

“This is all you fault!” Mrs. Ketchum yelled at Mark. Misty and Brock had 
come home without Ash and had told his parents what happened. Delilah was 
furious.

“Wait a minute! How is this my fault? I wasn’t even there! Be fair Delilah,” 
Mark protested in his defense. Delilah shook a finger at Mark.

“I don’t know what you did to him, but whatever it was, it was serious. You 
changed my sweet, outgoing boy into-into…”

“A man?” Mark cut in. “I gave him boundaries and rules to live by, nothing 
more.” This time it was Brock and Misty who scolded Mark.

“You also took the fun out of Ash’s life,” growled Brock. “Without Pikachu, 
Ash loses all happiness.”

“You separated Ash from what he loved most in this world; his pokemon and 
his friends,” Misty added in. “You say you gave him boundaries and rules but 
you really gave him a cell and shackles!” Mark was the one now furious.

“How dare you? I brought my son home to teach him responsibility! That’s why 
I told him to leave his pokemon with his mother!” Mark yelled at the three.

“Ash is the most responsible person I’ve ever met!” Misty yelled back. “You 
would know that if you would watch him with Pikachu.”

“Don’t you tell me I don’t know Ash! I raised the boy 7 months of the year. 
He’s forgotten more things then you can possibly hope to learn in an entire 
lifetime. And I taught it to him.”

“What’s his favorite colour?” Delilah asked calmly. “What’s his favorite 
food? Who’s his biggest rival? What pokemon does he have? What leagues did 
Ash attend?” With every question Delilah got more furious. Mark replied with 
a cold note in his voice.

“Blue, your pizza pot pie, Ceris, with him. Ash had Bayleef, Cyndaquil, 
Noctowl, Totodile, Bulbasaur, and Pikachu. Ash attended the Indigo league, 
came out in the top 16, the orange league, he beat the champion and the 
Johto league, and he took the winner’s title.” Mark answered. Misty and 
Brock were absolutely shocked.

“You’re wrong about one thing,” Delilah said. “Ash’s rival is Gary Oak. I’ve 
never heard of this Ceris.”

“Then maybe you don’t know as much about your son as you like to think. My 
turn. Why doesn’t Ash like perfume? What is the name of the girl that Ash is 
most afraid of? How many volumes of pokemon weekly does he have hidden under 
his bed?” To these questions Delilah only had one answer.

“He’s most afraid of Misty,” Delilah said simply. When Mark jumped up, 
Delilah knew she was in trouble.

“Wrong! Ash hates perfume because it reminds him of dead flowers. Ash is 
most afraid of a girl named Sasha. Ash has snuck 5 issues of pokemon weekly 
past me and he already had 12.” Mark crossed his arms. “So much for your I 
know him better then you get crap.” Delilah and Mark were really about to 
get into a really big fight when Misty interrupted them.

“It doesn’t matter who knows him better. What matters now is where he went! 
We’re gong to go find him with Pikachu and - where’s Pikachu?” The humans 
had been so wound up in their own selfish fight that they didn’t notice 
Pikachu sneaking off.

“Pikapi.” Pikachu sniffed the ground where he thought he found Ash’s scent 
before. It was strange, every time he found Ash’s scent, it would disappear. 
Finally frustrated, Pikachu decided to rely on his hearing instead of Ash’s 
scent. Pikachu climbed up onto a high branch of a tree and actually saw Ash.

*Translations on*

‘I can’t believe I missed him!’ Pikachu scampered down from the tree and 
made his way to Ash. ‘He was behind that log the whole time.’ Pikachu hopped 
up on the log and peered down at a slumbering Ash, Digger and Blue.

“Rise and shine, sunlight,” Pikachu said cheerily. Digger woke put o the 
unfamiliar voice of Pikachu.

“Wha-who?” Digger groggily sat up and saw Pikachu. Blue woke up at the sound 
of Digger’s growl. “What do you want?” Blue flinched; Digger was angry.

“I came to see what was wrong with Ash. He just ran off today. I’ve never 
seen him do something like this before.” Pikachu was about to join the two 
in keeping Ash warm when Digger jumped in his way.

“Who was it that called Ash a braggart?” Digger demanded coldly. Pikachu 
stared at the pokemon, wide eyed.

“Well, no one called him a braggart out right. Brock just said that he liked 
to show off his training skills,” Pikachu replied. Digger thought that this 
Brock was going to get a piece of his mind if he ever got the chance to tell 
this Brock person off.

“I never want to meet him then,” Digger growled. Pikachu was taken aback by 
the Larvitar’s statement.

“What? Why not? Brock’s a nice guy. A bit of a girl chaser but he’s still 
OK,” Pikachu said. Digger crossed his paws and growled again.

“Look at what he did to Ash! If Ash’s father were to ever hear one boast 
come from Ash’s mouth…” Larvitar let the implications of that statement hang 
heavy in the air. “Ash is so afraid of being proud of his accomplishments 
that everything he does only humbles him more.”

‘Is that why Ash is afraid of his father?’ Pikachu wondered. Digger sensed 
Pikachu’s puzzlement and continued.

“Ash doesn’t want to hurt Mark. Ash cares for him so much that Ash is afraid 
to do something that will shame his father. Ash is afraid of his father’s 
disappointment, not of his father.”

‘That’s it.’ Pikachu finally knew why Ash was acting strangely. Ash didn’t 
want to hut anyone he loved, so he obeyed without defiance. ‘Poor Ash.’

“Oh Ash,” Pikachu said softly. Pikachu leapt over Digger and landed on Ash 
when he heard something. “Someone’s coming.”

“Outta here.” Blue unwrapped its body from around Ash and hopped into some 
nearby bushes with Digger. Most of Ash’s warmth had left so he 
subconsciously reached for something warm. Digger growled as Ash suddenly 
snuggled Pikachu.

‘That should be me there,’ Digger thought jealously. Digger moved the bushes 
so he would be ale to see better. ‘I’m not letting you out of my sight 
again!’

*Translations off*

“Do you think it was something we did?” Misty asked Brock. “First it was 
Ash, now it’s Pikachu.” Brock stopped walking for a moment.

“I don’t think it was us, I think it’s his parents,” Brock said in 
revelation. Misty and Togepi stopped for a moment.

“I don’t get it. Why would Ash be acting strange because of his parents?” 
Misty asked, turning towards Brock.

“Think about it. If you saw two people you loved quarreling all the time, ho 
would that make you feel? Ash is a very sensitive person and he doesn’t like 
to see his mother angry. What we saw was probably pent up hostility towards 
his parents. Misty gawked at Brock’s sudden analysis of his friend.

“I think you’re right. Ash had been acting strangely towards his parents 
lately, but you’re wrong about on thing,” Misty said as she began to walk 
again. “I don’t think it’s just them. I think its Cherry Canyon as a whole.”

“Hey!” Brock ran to catch up to Misty. “What do you mean by that?” Brock 
asked.

“Remember when we saw Ash running from that girl Sasha? Have you ever seen 
Ash run that fast before?” Misty asked in a sour tone. Brock stopped and 
thought about it for a moment.

“No, I haven’t. But what does that prove?” Misty sidestepped a log and 
continued.

“It’s like he had a hidden fear of her. I think that we’re seeing a child 
version of Ash. I mean, wouldn’t you want to be a pokemon master if you were 
brought up in a town like this?”

“You’re right! With the canyon, there is little or no pokemon wildlife here. 
Knowing Ash spent his winters in Pallet, it would be like seeing a candy you 
want, but can’t have with Professor Oak!” Brock said excitedly.

“Exactly! Now that Ash has his pokemon back, his two worlds are colliding 
and he doesn’t know what to do,” Misty said with finality. The pair walked 
on in silence for a while.

“So what should we do?” Brock asked out of the blue. “I can’t think of one 
thing we can do to help Ash.”

“We be there for him.” Misty tripped on a rock and stumbled over a sleeping 
Ash. The Larvitar had to bite his lips not to squeal out in pain. “Speak of 
the devil,” Misty whispered.

“Toge prrii!” Brock looked over Misty to see a sleeping Ash and Pikachu.

“Guess we don’t have to look for Pikachu now either,” Brock whispered. Misty 
got up from the mossy ground and let out a small squeak.

“Brock! Look at where we are!” Brock scanned the tree line to see a sudden 
drop where a cliff face could be seen. Brock let out a small gasp.

“We’re on the other side of the canyon, close to the Forbidden Grove!” Brock 
looked around for anything that would indicate that they were actually in 
the Forbidden Grove.

“Why would Ash come here?” Misty wondered aloud. Then there was a crash in 
the bushes.

“Watch were you’re going, clutz,” growled Delilah. Mark muttered a curse 
under his breath and led the way around the bush where he fell in.

“How was I supposed to see that hole? It was directly beneath that bush!” 
Mark snapped back.

“Pipe down. I see the kids.” Delilah hiked her skirt up and walked over to 
them. “Have you found-.”

“Shhhh!” Misty and Brock hissed at the same time. Curious, Delilah peered 
over the log to see her son sleeping on the mossy carpet of the forest 
floor. Mark walked up beside her and groaned.

“Now he’ll be up all night,” Mark said in a hoarse whisper. Mark slowly 
moved to Ash’s side and picked him up.

“Pika?” Pikachu, who had been pretending to sleep, jumped off of Ash, onto 
the ground and stretched. Mark ignored the pokemon and proceeded to carry 
Ash home. Delilah opened the door to Ash’s bedroom and let Mark through. 
After Ash was secure in his bed, Mark crept out as silently as possible.

“Is he sleeping?” Delilah asked as Mark entered his den. Mark was startled 
by the intruding voice. This was Mark’s den, his sanctuary. Delilah had 
invaded. The good mood he was working up dissipated.

“What are you doing in here?” Mark bit out. “I thought I told you to stay 
out of my den.” Delilah got up from the couch and moved towards the mantle.

“We need to talk about our son.” The mere mention of Ash calmed Mark 
somewhat. Mark sat in his favorite chair and reached for his book. Delilah 
held the book down so Mark couldn’t pick it up. “I meant now!”

‘What?’ Ash woke up to the sound of people arguing. Loudly. Ash listened to 
the voices for about three seconds before he realized it was his parents. 
Ash looked at the clock and it read…2:00AM! Ash didn’t have time to wonder 
how he got home. He just whipped off his covers and quietly made his way to 
his father’s den.

“Absolutely not! I’m not allowing Ash to go back to pokemon training. No!” 
Mark literally howled at Delilah. Ash peered into the crack of the door. 
Delilah was in Mark’s personal space, shouting just as loud as Mark.

“Be reasonable! Ash has spent the last few years on the road, to tie him 
down in one place like this is cruel!”

“It was cruel for you to let him go in the first place. Ash is too young to 
have the world on his shoulders yet. The came thing that happened too me 
might happen to him!” Mark’s voice almost broke at the end of the sentence.

“Why you! Foolish man! Ash has already handled Team Rocket!” Mark was 
dumbstruck.

“WHAT? When? Who? Where?” Mark demanded. Delilah jumped back at Mark’s 
sudden urgency. Delilah stopped yelling for a moment.

“Jessie, James and a talking Meowth are a constant pest to him. I do believe 
they’ve tangled with a pair called Cassidy and Butch before as well. Mark 
let out a sigh of relief.

“That still doesn’t mean he’s ready for the world yet,” Mark said. “There 
are real rocket members for Ash to look out for. If Ash hadn’t lost his 
memory, I would consider it.” Delilah got angry.

“Are you insinuating that I am to blame for this?” Delilah yelled at Mark, 
back in his personal space.

“It wasn’t my idea to help his amnesia!” Mark yelled back.

“It was to protect him!” Delilah shouted.

“It was to make it easier on you!” was Mark’s retort. Suddenly the door 
squeaked open from the other side of the room. Misty and Brock barged in.

“Quiet down! The way you two are arguing, you will wake Ash up,” Brock said 
quietly.

“What’s this all about anyway? You two are fighting like a Meowth and a 
Growlithe!” Misty growled, borderline irate that her sleep was interrupted.

“You can hear as well as I can, Misty,” Brock said before Delilah could 
answer. “They’re fighting about Ash’s future.” Misty just snorted at the 
comment.

“We all know he’s stubborn! Ash will do whatever he wants and he wants to be 
a on a pokemon journey,” Misty stated.

“With you I’ll bet,” Mark snorted. Now it was Misty’s turn to get angry.

‘What’s that supposed to mean!?!” That‘s when the all out name-calling, 
finger-shaking contest broke out. Ash took all of thirty seconds before he 
got angry.

“ENOUGH!” Everyone in the room jumped when the hallway swung open to reveal 
a very angry Ash. Ash’s demeanor made everyone become pale. Ash’s hands were 
crushed into fists, his face was beet red and his normally gentle eyes were 
filled with fire. “I’ve had enough of this!” Ash barked.

“Ash, honey…” Ash shot out a glare that silenced everyone in the room. Ash 
was about to say something else when a small voice came from the stairs.

“Pikapi?” Ash froze. He slowly turned around to see Pikachu on the stairs. 
Pikachu was rubbing one eye with his right paw and hanging onto a post for 
balance. “Pika-chu pi?” Ash’s anger was temporarily forgotten as he held out 
his arm for Pikachu.

“Something the matter buddy?” Ash asked. Pikachu climbed onto Ash’s shoulder 
and nuzzled Ash’s cheek.

“Pika-chu pika.” Ash glanced back at the stunned people and remembered what 
was going on.

“Why can’t you let me decide?” Ash snapped. Before anyone had any time to 
react, Ash had grabbed his pack and was out the door. There was a slam that 
shook the entire house and released the people from their spellbound state. 
Everyone looked at Mark.

“Don’t look at me! This is new to me too!”

Ash began to run from his house as soon as he was out of sight. Ash was 
breaking on the inside and he did what he did as a child. Ash ran the whole 
way to the tree house. Ash crept in silently.

“Huh?” Digger woke up to the sound of someone sneaking into the tree house. 
He and Blue had returned to the tree house earlier that evening. The 
Larvitar looked up to see a silhouette of Ash in the doorway. Digger nudged 
Blue. The Dratini woke up to see Ash walking quietly towards them. Ash 
crawled into the hammock as Pikachu popped out of his bag.

“Pika?” Ash picked up Pikachu and set him on his chest. Ash closed his eyes 
and prayed he would spend the rest of the night in peace.

In another time zone…

Giovonni was not impressed. Butch and Cassidy had been imprisoned during a 
routine caper in Aqua City. When they described the sudden sneak attack, it 
reminded of Mark Neo and Mark was not a pleasant memory for the Rocket 
Leader.

“So, you’re saying you turned around and saw a huge flamethrower attack and 
that’s all you remember?” Giovonni growled.

“Yes sir!” Cassidy said quietly. Giovonni put a tired hand to his head.

“I see. Do you know who it was?” Giovonni noticed that both agents flinched 
before they spoke the name.

“It was Ash Ketchum, sir,” they said in unison. Giovonni frowned. Ash 
Ketchum was the name that he had heard many times before this. Jessie, James 
and Meowth were assigned to capture his Pikachu and he had incarcerated the 
pair before him twice. Giovonni turned around in his chair and booted up his 
computer.

“You will be given new assignments. Dismissed!” Giovonni didn’t pay any 
attention as his black rockets left the room. The computer screen flashed 
and changed images many times. Then, a small panel with a bar slowly 
crossing the screen with the word ‘downloading’ appeared.

‘Let’s just see who this Ketchum kid really is,’ Giovonni clicked on the 
file and began to read. An hour later, after reading into Ash’s career as a 
pokemon trainer with great detail, an extremely old photograph of Ash and 
his father popped up. Giovonni’s eyes went wide. Giovonni whirled around in 
his chair.

“Get me the retrievers, NOW!” Giovonni barked to his secretary.