Adventure's Past

Chapter 40 - Flying

Brock finished packing up the tents as the other three gathered their belongings, preparing for the journey to Snowbelle City. "So, are you guys planning to take a plane there?" Brock asked as he walked over with a bag full of the tent supplies. "It's quite the flight, so making your way there by foot would take quite a while."

Ash chuckled and reached down at his belt, grabbing a Pokeball. He tossed it and released Dragonite, who instantly hugged Brock as he had done the night before as thanks for the food. "Oh, I see," Brock struggled to say as Dragonite squeezed him. "Dragonite will be able to take you."

"Yep," Ash said, laughing as he convinced Dragonite to release Brock; he did so with reluctance. "Dragonite's been able to take us to a bunch of different places. He even managed to get me to that deserted island." Brock gave him a slight nod and sighed as he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder.

"Well, it looks like this is goodbye for now," Brock said, politely extending his hand forward. Ash stared back at his brotherly figure; this was someone he had always relied on for support and advice, but now, he hoped he could take that attitude that Brock managed to carry so highly upon his shoulders and spread it to his current friends.

Ash thought back to the goodbye that they had just had with Chloe and Clemont; while it had been sad seeing his friends depart, the knowledge that they were moving on to better things that would further them to their goals made it so much easier. "I like to think it's not goodbye," Ash replied, clasping Brock's hand and squeezing it.

Brock nodded and knew what Ash was getting at. "It's more like a 'see you later', huh?" He said, earning a nod from Ash. "Right," he replied, pulling Brock into a hug and patting him on the back; the last time they had said goodbye like this was when they had just gotten back to Kanto from the Sinnoh region. Even their reunion while Ash was in the Alola region wasn't as sentimental, even though they enjoyed each other's company very much.

"Go out there and show those trainers who's the strongest," Brock said as they pulled away from the hug. "You can count on it," Ash replied, giving his oldest traveling companion a toothy grin. Turning away from Ash with a smile, he faced Bonnie and Serena. "Bonnie, good luck with your gym battle. I love to see new trainers working their hardest to be the strongest trainer. Maybe one day you'll even beat him." He nodded towards Ash as he said this with a challenging disposition.

"And Serena," he continued, turning towards the Kalos Queen. "I hope you get a challenger that will truly just blow you away. But don't lose that title, okay?" Serena nodded in return and gave him a confident look. "And also," he added, turning away from Ash. "Don't forget about what we talked about. Trust." He said this with a knowing expression, earning an equally understanding look from Serena.

"Trust?" Bonnie asked, tugging at Serena's dress. "What is he talking about?" Brock chuckled and turned away from them, facing his gym. "Just some life advice that everyone should hear," he answered, beginning to walk towards the building. "See you later!" He exclaimed, raising his hand as he faced away from them, disappearing through the front doors as the group waved emphatically to him.

Ignoring the odd exchange between Serena and Brock, Ash took a deep breath and grinned. "He hasn't changed much," he muttered to himself, feeling happy for Brock. "But, then again, I haven't either." Even though he told himself this, he knew that he had changed a little bit; his energetic nature had subdued quite a bit, but that didn't stop him from pushing forward to his next destination.

He walked over to Dragonite and hopped up onto his back, a place he had comfortably sat on for years. "You two coming?" He asked Serena and Bonnie, who both had been looking at the map for Snowbelle City to see what else they could do there. "If we don't leave now, it'll be pitch black by the time we get there."