Flashback:
Ash had just won the Alola League, defeated Professor Kukui, and established himself as the strongest trainer in the region. The next day, he had a conversation with Professor Kukui concerning his future.
"Hey Professor, what now?" Ash asked genuinely to Kukui. The Professor scratched his head. "Well, to be honest, Ash, that's for you to decide." Ash sighed. "But what would you do in my shoes!" Kukui sat in deep thought for a moment. "Well, to be honest, Ash, you're in uncharted territory as Alola's first-ever Champion. I think that's worth something."
Ash also thought back to a conversation with Olivia where she mentioned "Seeing the outside world" However, the catch was that Ash already had seen the outside world! He had been on many adventures, made great friends, and caught many Pokemon. What was the point of another journey? He had to grow up at some point and Alola provided that opportunity to grow as both a person and in the career sense.
Ash took a deep breath and made his decision. He would elect to stay in Alola and function as its champion. He only hoped he was making the right decision.
That had been almost a week ago and now Ash had to make a very difficult decision. Buying his first-ever house. Once he told Kukui he intended on staying in Alola permanently, he was "encouraged" to find a place of his own. Ash doubted his financial situation until Kukui showed him his own bank account. Ash wasn't stupid rich, but he was very well off. He could afford any house within reason on Melemele Island. Ash didn't want a huge house, but he wanted a place large enough for himself and plenty of friends. Maybe even a family of his own one day! Ash blushed ever so slightly thinking of that image, having some blonde kids and a wife, all with Pokemon of their own! Wait, why did he think of blonde? Ash slapped himself in front of the real estate agent he was w,ith. "Is something wrong sir?" asked a confused Real Estate agent. Ash looked at the ground "ummmmmm I think I left the stove on, that's all" the agent looked at him puzzled. "But sir, didn't you say that this would be the first house you've ever owned?" Ash slightly sweatdropped and waved his hand "Yeah.... Well anyways, I love this place but maybe something a bit bigger, you know? It's fine if it's further away from the city, as long as there's ample space for tons of people and Pokemon. The real estate agent smiled. "Well, I think I have a place you'd love! Alakazam, use teleport!" The agents' Alakazam grabbed Ash and Pikachu and whisked them to a new house.
From the moment Ash teleported in front of the house, he knew this would be the place. It was two stories tall, with four bedrooms and plenty of open space. A large kitchen and a view of the ocean nearby. But that wasn't even the best part. The defining feature of this house was the huge yard that surrounded the place. It was large enough to fit hundreds of Pokemon or hold many battles at once. The ocean was nearby for water types, open and sunny skies for flying types, and berry bushes around the complex. Ash was taken aback by how perfect it seemed. He walked around some, just taking it all in. Ash smiled, put his hands at his side, and walked towards the real estate agent. "I'll take it! This is the house I want." The real estate agent smiled and handed Ash the papers. "Well, here's the papers, send them to my office by tomorrow!" Ash scratched his head "Well, can I just get the keys now? I sorta have nowhere to stay for the night." The agent laughed and handed Ash the keys. "It's the least I can do for you, Champion." Ash felt his heart skip a beat upon being called that. He was still getting used to everything after the tournament. Ash grabbed the keys and smiled. "Thanks! You were a huge help!" the agent waved and teleported away with her Alakazam. Ash put his hands in his pockets and thought about what he should do next before an idea struck him. He needed to move his Pokemon from Oak's lab to his new place. All of them! He was a champion now and if he were to defend his title, he'd need some heavy hitters like Infernape or Greninja. "Oh....." Ash said to himself sadly. He had sort of forgotten about Greninja staying in Kalos. Maybe he'd go visit him and if he was done with all of that Zygarde business he'd bring him back. Ash sighed, his mood briefly brought down by the memories of Greninja. Either way, Ash was pretty sure that old Professor Oak could use some help relieving himself of some of Ash's Pokemon. Plus, Ash would be able to be closer to them and help train them for some champion-caliber battles he knew he'd have soon enough. Ash smiled and pulled out his Rotom Phone and dialed Professor Oak. The Professor picked up instantly. "Ash! So great to hear from you, what's going on my boy?" Ash smiled, "Well, Professor, I just bought my first house!" Oak smiled and laughed "That's awesome to hear! I'm sure your mother will be very proud of you!" Ash laughed at that. Delia would be very pleased with the place he had chosen. "Hey Professor, my new house has plenty of space for Pokemon! I was wondering if you'd send me all of my Pokemon to Alola?" Professor Oak fell over laughing "Yes! I'd be happy to send you all of the Pokemon at my ranch. They miss you, and I know they'll love the Alolan climate." Ash looked at the professor confused, "You won't miss any of them?" Oak shook his head. "Knowing you Ash, there aren't really any goodbyes, more just see you later." Ash went silent for a moment hearing this. "Yeah, yeah I guess so." Oak steered the topic back onto the transfer. "I'll send the Pokemon over to the nearest center. Just text me when you're ready." Ash smiled and rushed towards the local Pokemon center.
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Back at the Pokemon Center, Ash was sitting next to the transfer machine, waiting for all of his Pokemon to arrive. Professor Oak was slowly sending them over, one by one, and Ash couldn't wait any longer. Eventually, his first Poke Ball arrived! His ever-loyal Bulbasaur, and then his Corphish, and then his Staraptor. Professor Oak was certainly going out of order. After almost an hour's worth of transfers, Ash had a backpack full of Poke Balls and he was ready to introduce them to their new home. Ash called out Noivern "Noivern, welcome to Alola! Mind flying me to your new home?" Noivern chirped happily, and Ash and Pikachu jumped on his back and flew back to Ash's home.
As Ash landed at the ranch, his backpack full of Poke Balls started to shake, and his first Pokemon emerged. Oshawott emerged and gave a happy cry. "Oshawott wott!!" Oshawott chirped happily and ran towards Pikachu. Pikachu hugged Oshawott. "Pika!" Oshawott hugged Pikachu back. "Osha!!" Ash smiled at the two of his Pokemon. Ash knelt down on Oshawott's level "Hey buddy, some things are changing around here! I won a league! And, I'm now a champion. Which means I gotta train like crazy, and you and the rest of my Pokemon are going to all grow super strong together!" Oshawott chirped happily. "Pika Pi Pi Pika," Pikachu said in a rude tone. Ash smirked at this. "Yeah, Unova wasn't a proud moment for any of us, to be fair." Ash smiled at Pikachu. "But that changes NOW! Alright, everyone, come on out!"
Ash reached into his backpack and threw all of the Poke Balls as fast as he could, and all of his Pokemon emerged. Ash laughed. "Alright, guys! Welcome to my new home. I can't wait to spend more time with you guys! But, we also need to train hard to succeed as a Champion. That's right, everyone. I won a Pokemon League!" Ash's Pokemon went ballistic, cheering and jumping for joy. Ash smiled and reached for his belt. "Alright, guys, I'd like you to meet my Alola team!" Ash threw Poke Balls containing his Alolan team. Ash smiled and put his hands up "Before you guys start to socialize, I'd like to say that ever since Naganadel, who was one of my teammates, left us it leaves an open spot. So, we're gonna have tryouts for the last spot." Ash's Pokemon started to cheer, they loved a good battle.
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The tryouts were a loosely organized tournament, Staraptor beat Talonflame, but lost to Snorlax. Snorlax lost to Sceptile who lost to Infernape who lost to Charizard. The final was set up. Ash's Gible who pulled a staggering upset against Ash's Noivern. Ash set up the battlefield, drawing a circle Poke Ball shape arena in the sand. Ash pointed his Pokemon on opposing ends of the battlefield and spoke happily. "Alright you guys, good luck! Battle begin!" Ash dropped his hands and observed the battle.
Charizard rushed at Gible who dug under the ground. Ash took a seat and watched eagerly, Pikachu on his shoulder. Gible hid under the ground as Charizard burned the surface and stomped on the ground, roaring for his opponent to face him with courage. Gible emerged out of the ground and jumped behind Charizard who was off guard. Gible let out a cry "Gib! Gible!" Gible unleashed a dragon pulse point-blank on Charizard which sent Charizard into the wall. Gible readied another Dragon Pulse, which Charizard flew into. Charizard cried out in pain and flew into the air, away from the attacks. Ash smirked "Wow, Gible has gotten stronger!" Pikachu chirped in agreement. Charizard roared and flew towards Gible and rolled out of the way to dodge an incoming Dragon Pulse. Charizard picked up Gible and slashed the Dragon-Type who let out a cry of pain. Charizard threw Gible on the ground and swung his tail, striking Gible with a super-effective Dragon Tail. Charizard unleashed a blast of flames in the air and roared, rushing towards Gible again. Gible stood his ground and smacked Charizard with a rock smash attack, which slowed Charizard down, forcing him to push against Gible. Gible let out a growl and charged up his signature attack, a Draco Meteor. Gible charged up and released his Draco Meteor and a glowing orange rock flew into the sky before bursting apart into many shards and falling towards earth. Charizard flew away, trying to dodge the rocks, but he wasn't nearly fast enough. Charizard was struck with a direct hit from two rocks, one on each wing. Charizard yelped in pain and fell towards the ground. Gible jumped in the air and released a Dragon Pulse. Charizard was sent across the beach, and Ash's eyes widened. Was he really seeing this? Charizard slowly stood up, only to notice that Gible wasn't even there. His eyes darted around the beach, looking for his tiny foe. Suddenly, Gible emerged from under the ground and chomped down on Charizard's tail. Charizard roared in misery and fell from the pain. Gible stood on top of Charizard and readied a point-blank Draco Meteor. Charizard's eyes widened in fear as Gible released his final attack. The rock exploded and sent both Pokemon flying back. Charizard stood up, looking worse for wear. The two Pokemon made intense eye contact for a moment, then as quickly as he stood, Charizard collapsed. Gible had defeated Charizard. The small Dragon-type jumped in happiness before he started to glow. His form grew, he was evolving. After a brief moment, a new Gabite let out a cry of happiness before rushing towards Ash and chomping down on his head. Ash cried out in pain, "Gibl- I mean Gabite! No! Your jaws hurt too much now!" Ash hugged Gabite and stood back. "Owch. Maybe not that one either. Your skin is super rough. How about a fist bump?" Gabite just bit down on Ash a little more gently, and Pikachu laughed. Eventually, Ash was able to push off Gabite and walked towards Charizard and the rest of his Pokemon. "I want to say something to all of you guys. Today, you saw that evolution doesn't necessarily mean strength. And I can say, that is true, to an extent. I've realized that no champions use non evolved Pokemon, and I really want to match that level now. So I'm requesting all of you guys. If you feel comfortable with it, please train with me and evolve. We can achieve even higher strength ceilings. Instead of celebrating taking down a final evolution Pokemon, we can celebrate taking down legendaries. And if you choose not to, that's ok! I am putting no pressure on you guys!"
Pikachu looked at Ash sadly. "Pika Pi...." Ash shook his head. "You're an exception, Pikachu. And I think you know that. Pokemon like Oshawott are stronger evolved. Whereas you're stronger as a Pikachu." Pikachu smiled. "Pika!" he jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran towards the other Pokemon. Ash smiled and looked at all of his Pokemon. They almost all seemed to be energized from his speech, even Charizard, who just lost!
Ash yelled out to no one in particular, "We're gonna be the best champion team in the world!" his Pokemon let out a unified cry at his declaration.
He was finally home.
Authors Note:
Apologies in advance to Amourshippers.
Thanks for the support on Usurper, means a lot