Adventure's Past

Chapter 11 - Espie

"Where's Frank?"

Ash sat down at a table while Amelia was grabbing a glass to fill up with Moomoo Milk. Ash had recalled Dragonite, leaving just him and Pikachu to stare at each other untrustworthily. He had asked about Frank's whereabouts, causing Amelia to sigh. "He's... gone," she responded emptily. "Gone? Where'd he go?" Ash asked cluelessly.

Amelia stayed silent, focusing on pouring the Moomoo Milk into the glass. Ash's eyes widened as he realized what she meant by that. "Oh... I'm sorry," he muttered as she set down the glass of Moomoo Milk in front of him. Amelia raised an eyebrow and stared at Ash, causing him to return a similar face.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked, feeling as though he said something wrong. "Nothing, you're just... different than when we last spoke," she said. Ash chuckled and drank a sip of the milk. "Yeah well, fighting for the fate of the world will do that to you," he replied sarcastically. Amelia opened her mouth and said, "Right. I forgot about that."

"Doesn't everyone know what I look like around here?" Ash asked curiously. "I mean, you even managed to know who I was out in the field even with this new look." He took another sip of the milk and realized that it hadn't changed its taste since he had last had it. Amelia snorted and remarked, "You call that a new look? I could tell exactly who you were from a mile away."

Ash grimaced out of embarrassment. "I thought it looked pretty convincing..." Amelia giggled and shook her head as she sat down at the wooden table across from Ash. "If you really want to convince people that you aren't who you really are, then you should use that black cloak of yours," Amelia suggested. Ash realized that the black cloak he had bought at the clothing shop was hanging out of his bag, so he pulled it out and stared at it.

"Wouldn't the cloak draw more attention than if I went around looking like a regular person?" Ash asked as he put the cloak on around his whole body. "Ash, I know you may not realize it, but they're teaching kids about you in Trainers' Schools," Amelia said, causing Ash to raise his eyebrows. I've had that much of an impact? He thought to himself, surprised.

"Okay, then this cloak is needed," Ash said, understanding how recognizable he was in the regions. "Now, let's talk about why you were trying to catch your own Pikachu," Amelia said in a disappointed tone. "It looked like he was running away, but I thought you guys were basically best friends," she said.

"We are, but Pikachu doesn't agree with me on something..." Ash muttered, peering over at Pikachu, who was sitting on a couch in the living room, away from the kitchen table. "I don't want to go back to my old life, but Pikachu does, so I don't know what to do," Ash explained to Amelia, who sighed.

"Does Pikachu want to see old friends?" Amelia asked. Ash nodded and crossed his arms. "I've told him that we can't. I mean, the whole reason that I even left was to avoid my old friends," Ash clarified. "And why did you leave your old friends?" Amelia asked in a curious tone. "If they were your friends, I'm sure that means you didn't want to leave them, right?"

Ash frowned and tilted his head while staring at Pikachu. "Sort of. I only did it to protect them because I still care about them, obviously," he answered. "I'm sure you know, but after the battle with Giovanni, I went into a coma for a few months, and in that time, I was able to think thanks to a legendary Pokemon that helped me stay alive."

"Were you going to die?" Amelia interrupted Ash, alarmed at the statement. "Well, my Lucario and Greninja went through the same experience I did, and they're not here right now, so..." Ash's silence answered for Amelia, who silently waited for Ash to continue. "But anyway, I woke up from the coma and had realized that wherever I went, destruction followed, so I decided to just leave everyone I cared about to avoid hurting them," Ash finished explaining.