When Ash got to the cabin and sat down, Dawn and Verity quickly explained the situation. They also kind of apologized for leaving the spot he told them to stay in, since that kind of made it harder for Ash to find them, but Ash didn't care, so it was fine.
Anyway, now that he was here, he put Turtwig on his lap and faced Clara, while the little Turtwig looked up at her.
Clara gave a small smile and looked up at Ash, "Please take care of Turtwig for me, I've known him for a while now, and he's been helping around these parts for who knows how long," she said.
"Don't worry, I will," Ash said, scratching Turtwig's shell.
Turtwig looked up at Ash, then glanced over at Clara, seeming to understand that something important was happening. Clara smiled softly and reached over, gently rubbing the top of Turtwig's head, "You've done so much for me and all the Pokémon around here, little one. I think it's time you got to see the world."
Turtwig looked down for a moment, then back up at her and nodded, and that meant Turtwig was officially Ash's now.
—
Later in the day, after they left the cabin to stop troubling Clara, the group looked around again so that Dawn could get a Buneary, and they actually found one.
It was just chilling by a tree, and when Dawn saw it, she almost squealed, but Verity and Ash both covered her mouth, since the loud noise would scare it.
So she calmed herself down and pulled out an empty Poké Ball, "Okay, this is it, I'm gonna do it!" she pumped herself up, holding the shrunken ball.
"Maybe try growing it. You can't really use them when they are shrunken like that," Ash reminded her, making Dawn stop and realize, oh yeah, she was about to throw a shrunken ball.
She laughed sheepishly and grew it, then she took a breath and threw the ball. The ball went flying, but Dawn's aim was not that good. It hit the tree above Buneary, bouncing right back over to them. It was gonna hit Ash in the head, but he tilted his head slightly, going past him and hitting Verity on the head.
Verity fell to the ground, then she quickly got up, grabbed the ball, and yelled, "Hey, watch where you throw that thing!"
"It was an accident, and don't yell!" Dawn said defensively, "My hand slipped."
"You weren't even doing it right. You didn't even make the Poké Ball bigger!" Verity argued back.
"Don't you get nasty with me!" Dawn said back.
"Then how about you pay attention!"
Dawn crossed her arms, "Oh, like you were paying attention when you and I were fighting over Turtwig earlier?"
Verity's eye twitched, "Oh, don't bring that up!"
"You were the one who started arguing!"
"You started it!"
"I did not!"
"You absolutely did!"
Ash sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Here we go again…"
Neither of them heard him.
Dawn stepped closer to Verity, "You're always acting like you know everything!"
Verity stepped closer as well, "And you're always acting like you're better than everyone!"
"I am not!"
"You're acting like it right now!"
"I am not acting like anything!"
"You're yelling at me!"
"Because you're being annoying!"
"So are you!"
Meanwhile, Buneary slowly looked between the two girls, and it just turned and left, making Ash sigh as he looked at his two traveling companions. This was gonna be some work to get them to cooperate better.
Ash walked over and picked them both up by the backs of their shirts, pulling them apart, and he dragged them behind him. Buneary was gone, so there was no point sticking around here any longer.
Eventually, both of them calmed down and apologized. They may have kind of overreacted over an accident, and now that they realized what happened, Dawn looked dejected, and Verity was also dejected, because that meant tomorrow morning they would have to get up for more training instead of getting comfy back in that hotel.
But Ash paid them no mind and led them to the Pokémon Center between routes that is here for Trainers who are traveling the forest and can't make it to Jubilife City.
When they got to the center, they checked in with the Nurse Joy, handing her their Pokémon for a checkup, and got their rooms. But Ash had stuff he needed to do, so while Dawn and Verity were sitting in the lobby waiting for their Pokémon, Ash said he was off to take a walk.
And the fools let him go, so he walked out of the door back into the woods. When he was far enough away, the first order of business was throwing out Miraidon and Koraidon, and he started feeding them. And hey, they were looking healthy again. Not enough to battle, but Ash could start using them as bikes soon.
Anyway, as they ate, Ash pulled out his phone and texted Victoria about the situation with Team Meteor being here in Sinnoh, also the fact that Solaris was dead and someone much worse took over.
Victoria just sent back a crying emoji and said she'll talk about it with Kiki and the others to see what they'll do, and for him to stay safe.
Once Ash did that, he sighed and got up, putting the two bike dragons back in their balls, and walked off to go to the Pokémon convenience store that was close to the Pokémon Center. Yes, they even had one out here in the forest. Now, who the heck comes this deep in the forest to come to work, beats me, but hey, they do it, I guess.
Anyway, Ash had to buy some stuff in the store, but after he paid and walked out, he saw there was a certain Pokémon just crouching by the door, not really looking at him or anything. He was just sitting there, a Croagunk.
Ash looked at it. It turned and looked at Ash for a second, said nothing, then went back to sitting how he was. Ash blinked, looked at it, then pulled out a ball and threw it at his head. It hit it, and Croagunk went in, and he didn't bother trying to get out. Croagunk was caught.
Now, you see, this Croagunk you see, it's not for him, you see. Ash has a much better plan on what to do with it, and just in time too, but he needed a computer to do it, so he started the walk back to the Pokémon Center.
—
In the Pokémon Center, after Ash left, Dawn decided to call her mom. When she got to the computer, it only took two rings before Johanna answered, smiling.
"Dawn, I'm happy to see you. How have you been?"
Dawn smiled brightly, "I'm doing great, Mom! Well...mostly."
Johanna raised an eyebrow, "Mostly?"
Dawn laughed nervously, "Well, we had a bit of a rough morning."
Johanna's expression immediately became concerned, "A rough morning? What happened?"
"Training," Dawn said simply.
Johanna blinked, "Training?"
Dawn nodded, "Ash has been making us train."
Johanna smiled slightly, "Ah, so you finally met this Ash you've been talking about."
Dawn's face immediately brightened, "Yeah! He's here now! He's been helping us out a lot."
Johanna chuckled, "You've mentioned him quite a few times. From what you've told me, he sounds like quite the interesting boy."
"He is!" Dawn said enthusiastically, "He's really strong too! Like, ridiculously strong. And he's been traveling all over the place, so he knows a lot about Pokémon."
From nearby, Verity suddenly leaned into the conversation, "He's also a complete training maniac."
Dawn immediately looked over, "Hey!"
Johanna laughed, "Oh? And who might that be?"
Verity sat down beside Dawn and waved at the screen, "Hi, Mrs. Berlitz."
Johanna's smile immediately became more familiar, "Verity! It's good to see you."
Verity smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, it's good to see you too."
"It's good to see you're also with Dawn. Thank you, and be sure to thank Ash for me. I know how much of a handful Dawn is."
"M-mom!" Dawn said exasperatedly.
"Don't worry, I will. I am always the more responsible one," Verity said, sticking her nose up, "And I never complain."
Dawn crossed her arms, "Well, then you should hear what she was doing this morning."
Verity's eyes widened, "Dawn, don't."
Johanna looked curious, "Oh? What happened?"
Dawn immediately grinned, "Well, this morning, after training, Verity was so tired she crawled and hugged Ash's legs, begging for mercy~"
Verity's face immediately turned red, "That was because I was exhausted!"
Johanna covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, "Oh my."
Dawn continued, "And then she tried to catch a Bidoof."
Verity groaned, "We are not talking about the Bidoof."
Johanna raised an eyebrow, "The Bidoof?"
Dawn was already laughing again, "Her Piplup ran straight into the dirt, then the Bidoof just walked away."
Johanna couldn't hold it anymore and laughed softly, "Oh, Verity..."
"Mrs. Berlitz, please."
Johanna smiled, "I'm sorry, but that does sound rather funny."
Verity slowly looked away, "I hate both of you."
Dawn laughed, "You don't mean that."
Verity muttered, "Maybe a little."
Johanna smiled at the two girls, clearly enjoying seeing them together, "Well, I'm glad you're both doing well. And Dawn, it sounds like Ash has been taking good care of you."
Dawn nodded, "He has. He's really responsible when it comes to this kind of stuff."
Verity immediately looked at Dawn with a smirk.
Dawn noticed and narrowed her eyes, "What?"
Verity grinned, "Nothing."
Dawn's eyes narrowed further, "You have that look."
"What look?"
"That look where you're about to say something annoying."
Verity leaned closer to the screen, "I was just thinking that Dawn talks about Ash a lot."
Dawn's face immediately turned red, "VERITY!"
Johanna's smile remained completely calm as she looked between them, "Oh?"
Dawn waved her hands frantically, "It's not like that!"
Verity started laughing, "I didn't even say anything!"
"You were going to!"
Johanna chuckled, "Dawn, you don't have to explain yourself."
"Mom!"
Verity was practically doubled over laughing now, "Your face is so red!"
Dawn covered her cheeks, "Stop!"
Johanna smiled knowingly, "Well, I'm glad you two are having fun."
Dawn groaned, "Mom, you're supposed to defend me!"
"I am defending you."
"You're smiling!"
Johanna laughed, "I can't help it."
Verity finally calmed down, wiping a tear from her eye, "Sorry, Dawn."
Dawn crossed her arms, "You're not sorry." She pushed her hand down her face, then she looked at Verity, "You're so lucky you're not calling your mom right now."
Johanna shook her head with a smile before looking toward Verity, "Speaking of which, Verity, you should probably call your mother as well."
Verity immediately froze.
Dawn slowly turned toward her, and she got a big smirk on her face, "Oh really~"
Johanna continued, "She's been asking about you. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you."
Verity's smile became extremely awkward, "Ah...yeah...about that..."
"Come on, Verity~" Dawn said, pushing Verity to sit in front of one of the computers, "I'm sure your mom would love to hear from you," she said, already planning on how to pay Verity back for teasing her.
Verity stared at the computer screen like it had just become the most terrifying object in the entire Pokémon Center.
"Dawn..."
Dawn smiled innocently as she pushed Verity's chair closer to the computer, "Yes?"
"Please don't do this."
"Do what?"
"You know exactly what you're doing."
Johanna chuckled from the other side of the screen, "I'm beginning to think Verity doesn't want to call her mother."
Verity slowly turned toward the screen, "It's not that I don't want to talk to her..."
Dawn leaned against the desk, "Then what's the problem?"
Verity's eye twitched, "You know what the problem is."
Dawn's grin widened, "Nope."
Verity sighed and rubbed her face, "My mom is going to ask what I've been doing."
"Then tell her."
"And then she's going to ask if I've been training."
"Have you?"
Verity went silent.
Dawn immediately started laughing, "Oh my gosh."
"Don't laugh!"
Johanna smiled, "Verity, if you haven't been training, I'm sure your mother will understand."
Verity slowly looked at Johanna through the screen, "That's the thing..."
Dawn leaned closer, clearly enjoying herself, "She hasn't."
"Dawn!"
"She admitted it this morning!"
Johanna raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
Verity sighed, "I was training...just not as much as I should have."
Dawn crossed her arms, "She was basically waiting for Ash to get here."
"Yeah, and if my mom realizes that I haven't been training, she might be disappointed," Verity muttered.
As Verity laughed helplessly, Ash finally walked back into the Pokémon Center, stretching his arms. He was on his way to the computer, and that's when Dawn and Verity noticed him. Dawn smirked, quickly grabbing Ash's arm and pulling him over into the screen.
Ash blinked in surprise, "Uh...what are you doing?"
Dawn smiled innocently, "Mom wanted to see you."
Ash looked toward the screen and saw Johanna smiling at him. He sighed inside and put on his charming smile as he gave a polite bow, "Hello, Mrs. Berlitz. It's nice to meet you. I'm Ash."
Johanna smiled warmly at him, "It's nice to finally meet you, Ash. I've heard quite a bit about you from Dawn."
Ash's smile remained perfectly polite, "Hopefully only good things."
Dawn immediately looked away, trying not to laugh.
Johanna chuckled, "Mostly good things. Dawn has told me quite a lot about your travels and how you've been helping her."
Ash nodded, "She's been doing really well. She's a talented Trainer, and Piplup has been making good progress too."
Dawn blinked, clearly surprised by how quickly Ash had gone from his usual teasing self to sounding like the most well-mannered young man imaginable.
Verity noticed it too.
She slowly leaned toward Dawn and whispered, "What happened to him?"
Dawn whispered back, "I don't know."
Ash continued speaking to Johanna, completely ignoring them, "I've been helping them with their training while we're traveling through Sinnoh. It's better to be safe than sorry from my experiences."
Johanna nodded approvingly, "That sounds very responsible of you."
Ash smiled modestly, "I'm just trying to make sure they're safe. That's all. I don't want anything to happen to them."
Both Dawn and Verity stared at him, and both girls had the exact same thought, 'Liar.'
This was the same Ash who had dragged Verity out of bed, made both girls run for two hours, grabbed them by the backs of their shirts when they started fighting, and then deliberately ran off with a Turtwig just to teach them a lesson.
And now he was sitting there looking like someone's perfect son.
Johanna smiled, "Dawn told me that you even made sure they had somewhere to stay tonight."
Ash nodded, "I figured while they are getting used to traveling, we should work up to sleeping in tents, so I brought them to the Pokémon Center on the route."
Johanna's expression softened, "You're taking very good care of them."
Ash gave a small, almost embarrassed smile, "Well, someone has to."
Johanna glanced toward the two girls, "And I suppose Dawn hasn't caused you too much trouble?"
"Not at all," Ash said, keeping his perfectly composed smile, "And tomorrow we should get back to town so that Dawn can get ready for her Contest."
"Ah, you're even helping her with that. You are really kind." Johanna seemed satisfied, "Then I'll let you all get some rest. Dawn, call me again tomorrow when you have a chance."
Dawn nodded, "Okay, Mom!"
Johanna smiled, "And Ash?"
Ash straightened slightly, "Yes, ma'am?"
"Please take care of my daughter."
Ash smiled warmly, "I will."
Johanna nodded, then looked over at Verity and gave her a playful smile, "Oh, and Verity, call your mother soon. I won't say anything yet, but if you take too long, I might just have to tell her that you are avoiding her," she chuckled, making Verity look away embarrassed before she finally hung up.
Once the call ended, Ash turned toward Dawn and Verity, and they were staring at him.
Ash raised an eyebrow, "What?"
Dawn pointed at him accusingly, "What the heck was that?!"
Ash blinked innocently, "What was what?"
"You were acting like a completely different person!"
Verity nodded rapidly, "You were like some kind of perfect golden child!"
Ash shrugged, "What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what we're talking about!" Dawn exclaimed, "You were so polite!"
Ash smiled, "I'm always polite."
Dawn and Verity stared at him, "No, you're not," they said in unison.
Ash put a hand over his chest, looking genuinely offended, "I can't believe you'd say that about me."
Verity narrowed her eyes, "You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"That thing where you pretend to be innocent."
Ash's smile widened, "I'm offended."
"Dawn, and here I thought you knew me. I'm offended. Don't you remember my number one rule?" Ash said with a huff, "The more I like you, the more I bully you."
"Ugh, I can't handle this. I'll call my mom when we get back to town. I need to think about how to explain things to her so she doesn't yell at me."
"If you want, I could bail you out like I did last time~" Ash suggested.
"No, no, don't you dare. My mom kept asking about you thanks to what you pulled. I do not want to go through that again," Verity explained.
"What did he do?" Dawn asked.
"He pulled the 'I didn't know Verity had a sister' move," Verity said.
Dawn sucked in a breath and slowly looked at Ash, "Ash, I like you, you know this, right? But if you did that to me, I would actually have to murder you. I'm sorry."
Ash placed a hand over his chest, looking deeply offended, "Wow. And here I thought we were friends."
"We are," Dawn said immediately, "but there are limits."
Verity nodded solemnly, "There are definitely limits."
Ash sighed dramatically, "Fine, fine. I'll leave your family alone."
Verity narrowed her eyes, "You better."
Ash grinned, "For now."
"ASH!"
Ash laughed and held up his hands, "I'm kidding!"
"I can't do this tonight. I'm going to sleep," Verity said, turning and going to the rooms.
"Same here, good night, Ash," Dawn said, marching off to hers.
"Wake up at 6 AM sharp," Ash reminded them playfully, making them both groan. Ash kept his smile as he went to the computer and prepared a transfer, and hey, while he's here, might as well call his mom and Molly.
—
{In Pewter City}
Brock wrapped up things in the Gym today, then he finished the work that he needed to study. By the time he was done, it was already almost midnight.
He stretched, thinking if Lucy was awake right now and if he could talk to her. Then, as he walked past his phone that he had on his desk, he got a message from his calendar app as the clock hit 12. He checked it and realized, oh hey, it was his birthday today. That meant he was 18 now.
He let out a single breath. He'd have to see if he should celebrate with his siblings and parents later, but for now, he wanted to get to bed. But as he started closing the computer, he got one more notification. A teleport was coming in. On his desk, a Poké Ball materialized next to his computer with a note from Ash, and it said:
"Hey Broko, happy birthday from your favorite Trainer. I figured you'd need this now that you're an adult. Stay safe, my boy. PS: If you ever need help, you have my number. Also, stock up on Pecha Berries."
Brock blinked, looking confused, but he looked at the ball and opened it anyway, and out of it came Croagunk, who crouched down on the ground, still croaking. He looked up at Brock, gave him a single nod, then went back to what he was doing.
Brock blinked, a Croagunk, huh? He crouched over him, looking him over. He seemed really healthy, so it's probably not for treatment. I guess Ash just wanted to get him a Sinnoh Pokémon. Hey, he isn't one to complain.
But when he was going to show Croagunk where he could sleep, a message appeared on his computer. This time, it was from Lucy, and it said:
'Happy birthday, Brock. Would you like to come by tomorrow so we can celebrate together?'
Brock immediately got heart eyes and nearly flew back up to message Lucy back, but Croagunk looked up, then his middle finger started glowing purple, and with one jab, he stabbed Brock in the stomach, making him fall over.
"Gah...my kidneys..." Brock muttered as Croagunk croaked. He jumped up, closed the computer, then grabbed Brock by the foot and dragged him to his bed, throwing him onto it.
And now Brock was kind of understanding why Ash got him Croagunk. Even when he's not with them, he's not safe. Misty would be proud.
—
The next morning came, and after the morning workout and breakfast, they took off to get Dawn her Buneary. And since they had time, since Ash was giving them a rest from the high-intensity workout stuff, Dawn took the opportunity to practice with Piplup.
"Alright, Piplup, let's do this. Jump up and use [Bubble Beam] everywhere!" Dawn said excitedly, spinning.
But Piplup was kind of unmotivated. He would prefer to sit around and try to impress Ash's Piplup. If she was out, he'd try to show off, but she was in her ball taking a nap.
So he stared at Dawn for a moment before looking away, clearly more interested in doing absolutely anything else. If Ash's Piplup was out, he would usually try to show off for her, but she was currently resting inside her Poké Ball.
"Come on, Piplup," Dawn encouraged, "You need to practice!"
Piplup sighed, "Pip..."
Dawn put her hands on her hips, "You can't just sit around all day! We're going to be entering Contests, remember?"
Piplup glanced toward Ash, who was sitting nearby with Pikachu and Vee, then back at Dawn.
"Piplup..."
Dawn followed his gaze and immediately understood what he was thinking, "Oh, come on! Ash isn't even doing anything right now!"
Piplup looked away stubbornly.
Dawn sighed, "Fine. If you do this right, maybe I'll let you show off to Ash's Piplup later."
Piplup's eyes immediately lit up, "Piplup!"
Dawn smiled, "That's what I thought. Now, jump up and use [Bubble Beam]!"
Piplup finally nodded and crouched down before jumping into the air. He spun around and opened his beak, firing a stream of bubbles into the air.
At first, everything looked perfect. The bubbles floated all around them, sparkling in the sunlight as Dawn spun happily beneath them.
"That's it! Great job, Piplup!" Dawn cheered.
Piplup grinned proudly as he continued firing.
Dawn spun around again, laughing, "Look at all those bubbles!"
Unfortunately, she wasn't paying attention to where she was stepping. Her foot caught on a small root sticking out of the ground.
"Whoa!" Dawn's arms flailed as she lost her balance.
"Dawn!" Verity shouted.
Dawn fell backward and landed on the grass with a thud, "Ow!"
At almost the exact same moment, Piplup lost control of his Bubble Beam, and instead of stopping, the bubbles began shooting in every direction.
"Piplup, stop!" Dawn shouted.
Piplup frantically tried to regain control, but that only made things worse. Bubbles flew everywhere, bouncing off trees, the ground, and even each other.
Verity immediately ducked behind a tree, "What is happening?!"
"I don't know!" Dawn shouted as she crawled behind a nearby rock.
Ash simply watched the chaos with a tired expression, "...This is why you practice before trying to be flashy," he said, sipping his coffee.
One particularly large bubble flew through the forest and struck something hidden in the trees. Then, when the bubble hit the thing, the bushes began shaking violently, and a massive Ursaring suddenly burst out of the forest, roaring angrily.
"URSAAAAARING!"
The Ursaring looked furious, and its fur was covered in dirt and scratches. There were several burn marks on its body from electricity, and now it was rushing toward them, looking annoyed.
Dawn and Verity froze.
"...Oh no," Dawn whispered.
Both girls screamed, "AAAAAH!" They immediately ran behind Ash.
Ash sighed, "Guys, calm down."
"CALM DOWN?!" Verity shouted, "THAT'S AN URSARING!"
Ash didn't even move. He simply snapped his fingers. Pikachu and Vee were on a rock. They had a quick argument to see who had to deal with this one, and Pikachu lost, so he lazily jumped off the nearby rock.
Pikachu's tail suddenly began glowing with a metallic sheen. Then, as Ursaring reached them, Pikachu jumped and slammed [Iron Tail] directly into Ursaring's face.
The Ursaring was launched backward, tumbling through the grass before coming to a complete stop.
Pikachu landed neatly on the ground and casually brushed his paws together, "Pika."
Dawn slowly peeked out from behind Ash, "...Is it okay?"
Ash walked over to the unconscious Ursaring and looked it over, "Yeah. It's fine. Just knocked out."
Verity slowly stepped out from behind him, staring at Pikachu, "Did Pikachu just one-shot an Ursaring?"
Ash shrugged, "Apparently."
Pikachu gave a smug little smile, and Ash rewarded him by tossing over a bottle of ketchup to him.
As Dawn and Verity were taking a moment to process what just happened, a familiar figure stepped out from between the trees. It was Paul.
Paul stopped when he saw Ash, Dawn, Verity, and the unconscious Ursaring lying in the grass.
His eyes narrowed, "...Ash."
Ash raised an eyebrow, "That's my name."
Paul looked toward the Ursaring, then he looked back at Ash, "You caught it?"
Ash blinked, "What?"
Paul's expression remained stern, "I was tracking that Ursaring."
Ash looked down at the Ursaring, then back at Paul, "Oh."
Paul crossed his arms, "I had been chasing it for some time. I assume you were planning on catching it after knocking it out."
Ash waved his hand dismissively, "Go ahead and take it."
Paul blinked, "You're just giving it to me?"
"Yeah. It attacked us, so Pikachu knocked it out in self-defense. I don't want it."
Paul looked at Ash for a moment, almost as if he expected some kind of trick, "You don't want it?"
"Nope."
Ash pointed toward the Ursaring, "You said you were already tracking it, right? So it's yours. Go ahead."
Paul opened his mouth, looked at Ursaring, and walked over, with his Elekid behind him. That was probably what did the burn marks on Ursaring. Then he threw the Poké Ball and caught the bear.
He checked it with his Pokédex, and he looked satisfied. He looked at Ash, and he thought about challenging him here, but no, he still wasn't ready. It wasn't enough. He turned, "I'll be moving on, but next time we will have a real battle."
"Aight," Ash said casually, "By the way, out of curiosity, you checked that Ursaring's stats, right? What do you do if you don't like it?" Ash said, just to make sure.
Paul stopped, "Well, I used to release them if they didn't have good moves," but he looked like he had bad memories, "But some stuff happened, and I don't do it, so I just send them to Reggie."
"Huh, that's interesting. Alright, just curious," Ash said, waving his hand.
Paul raised an eyebrow and nodded before walking off to look for more Pokémon.
Ash nodded, looked at his back, and wondered, what happened to Paul? Something happened that made him seem to chill out. Meh, not his problem. At least he's more chill now. He can't complain.