Adventure's Past

Chapter 41 - Recalling

Ash raised an eyebrow and took a step forward, prompting Meowth to step forward with his razor-sharp claws. "Look twerp, we aren't doin' anything to harm you guys, but we're pretty on edge here thanks to ya other twerp," he said boldly. Pikachu hopped down from Ash's shoulder and stood in front of the group, electrical sparks coming from his sacs.

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, trying to reason with Meowth, who stood unwavering. "Ya tellin' me that you don't want to hurt us?" Meowth repeated back, understanding Pikachu's attempts at reason. "Pi! Pika-chu! Pika!" Meowth relaxed a little upon hearing what Pikachu said and retracted his claws cautiously.

"Alright, I'll put 'em away so we can chat, but don't pull anything quick on us, okay pal?" Meowth threatened, earning a nod from Pikachu. "So, tell us what's goin' on so that we can maybe help ya out." Pikachu stood up onto his hind legs and turned to Ash, who nodded back at his partner.

He took a deep breath, trying his best not to completely lose his mind over the situation that was before him. Jessie and James became parents together? He thought to himself; he had always thought they acted like an old couple arguing, but to see it before him was simply surreal, even if it had been six years.

"Look, if you're telling me Goh was here, then that sounds about right," Ash began, gaining the attention of the former Team Rocket members. From behind him, Serena and Bonnie both stepped in, standing near Ash as he explained the story. "We were trying to find him after he ran away from us, and that-"

"Ran away from you?" James suddenly jumped in. "What would lead him to do that?" Unbeknownst to Ash, they had no idea of Ash's leaving for the deserted island or that Goh had been trying to find him. All they knew was that the deserted island was burnt down to get Mewtwo's attention, so they were drastically behind.

"He was looking for me," Ash answered, turning to the visibly older bottle cap collector, who wore a face of confusion. Jessie shared the same confusion, as she asked, "I thought you twerps were stuck together like glue?" Ash shook his head and waved his hand in the air. "It's not important. I was basically gone for about six years and he wanted to find a way to get me back, but by the time he was looking for me, I had already returned because of the fire."

"Okay, so da twerp's lookin' for ya," Meowth repeated back to Ash, who nodded. "He came here once asking about who coulda caused the fire, but den he came back a second time demandin' the same question." James stood up from the couch and nodded. "The first time, we told him a lie so he would get off our backs, but the second time he was much more aggressive."

"Which lead to that," Jessie added, pointing towards the broken door. Serena turned around and stared in shock. Goh caused that? She asked herself, taking a few steps toward it and staring at its size. It looks like he didn't hold back at all. He must've been super determined. Her eyes grew wide in a sort of realization; she whipped her head back around and looked at Ash.

"Ash, you said that you felt a horrible feeling when we first got here, right?" She asked, earning a nod from Ash. "That was around the time we eventually found Goh, so maybe that was you feeling his anger?" Ash rubbed his chin, contemplating what Serena was saying. "Maybe..." he muttered, feeling his head hurting.

"But that wouldn't make sense," he replied. "I should be able to only feel that kind of energy from people and Pokemon who can use and sense Aura, and I don't think Goh has that ability." Serena frowned and stared back at the door, sad that her assumption only led to more problems than solutions.

"Chloe did mention that Goh wasn't acting like himself," Bonnie commented. "Maybe it wasn't Goh. Maybe it was like some sort of clone, just like you and Serena's?" Serena raised an eyebrow and looked to Ash for some sort of confirmation. Sighing, Ash turned around and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think it's some crazy thing. I do just think Goh is having a hard time with everything going on and maybe he acted out on it."