Adventure's Past

Chapter 3 - Return

"Ash, you can't allow yourself to lose focus."

Ash brought himself off the ground and groaned. "I know..." he mumbled, rubbing his back. "If Pikachu is going to battle alongside you correctly, you need to make sure you put all of your focus into the battle," Samuel exclaimed confidently, slamming his stick into the ground.

Ash looked over at Pikachu, who was snickering at Ash. Samuel had knocked him over upon not being able to react fast enough to his swinging stick, which was another part of his daily exercises. They had been doing the same thing every day for around six years, which meant Ash had become so much more comfortable and formidable when it came to physical training and Pokemon battling.

"Why don't we take a break?" Samuel suggested, setting his cane stick down. Ash nodded and walked over to a nearby tree with Pikachu. Sitting down, he sighed and drank from his makeshift canteen filled with water, staring out at the ocean. He saw Samuel leave the area to go tend to the usual things at his lodge nearby.

"Pikachu, you ever just wonder about them?" He asked flatly. Pikachu's ears perked up and he turned to Ash, his head tilted in confusion. "Y'know, our friends. The ones that I left behind," he elaborated. Pikachu frowned and nodded, remembering how much he cared for all of Ash's friends. "I'm still not entirely sure why I decided to leave. I mean, I just had a gut feeling that if I stayed there, I would've made things worse for everyone," he explained.

"Pika!" Pikachu protested against Ash, jumping up onto his hind legs. "I know I'm making things up in my mind, but it would've gone like that. I mean, look at Lucario and Greninja. They were my Pokemon, and now..." his voice faltered as he spoke, unable to finish the statement. "Well, you know," he finished. Pikachu frowned and sadly said, "Pika..."

Ash took another deep breath and took another swig of his water, staring out at the vast ocean. He thought many times about getting Dragonite to fly them back to Kanto or Kalos, but as time went on, he slowly forgot which way home was, eventually reaching the point of acceptance that without external help, he was never going to return.

A few feet away, Samuel had returned from the break and had overheard Ash's conversation with Pikachu. Ash had told him so much about his time traveling and the people he met, so Samuel knew just how important they were to him. He especially knew of the one girl, Serena, who had such an impact on him.

Samuel also knew, of course, that his very name would remind Ash of his hometown Professor, Samuel Oak. Combining all of this would make anyone want to return home, which was something he was well aware of. When he caught Ash talking to Pikachu about home, he quickly understood just where to go with things regarding him.

Samuel reappeared on the beach and yelled, "Break time is over. Back to the training!" Ash and Pikachu both stood up and walked over, beginning to resume their training. In Ash's mind as he trained, he wondered, When will I get to see my friends again?

{—}

"Soon, Bonnie!" Clemont exclaimed, his little sister pushing him back and forth in his hotel bed. "We'll go soon!" Bonnie continued rocking him back and forth, trying to wake him up. "Wulfric said I could be there as early as I wanted to!" Bonnie shouted insistently. "If I don't go now, I won't be warmed up!"

Clemont groaned and said, "Fine..." He felt his blankets get thrown off of him and heard Bonnie running out of the room in fear of her brother's anger. Clemont just shuddered as he lay on the bed in his pajamas, freezing. Bonnie will never stop trying to act like Ash, will she? He thought as he grabbed his glasses from the bedside desk. I don't blame her, it's just... she can't fixate on Ash.

He quickly changed into his blue jumpsuit, grabbed his Aipom Arm backpack that he had made shortly after his first one broke, and exited the room, seeing Bonnie in the lobby. "What took you so long?!" Bonnie exclaimed angrily, already by the door and ready to leave. "Someone woke me up rudely," Clemont responded. "So I took my time."