Ash walked along the familiar paths back to his hometown. The surroundings were filled with aim cent memories, namely of the native Pokémon to the Kanto region. Poliwag, Diglett, Spearow and Pidey's actively scattered the landscape. A river flowed to his left, and in it were common Kantoan water types, like Magikarp and Tentacool. In a tree, a Fearow cried out, and took flight. Walking down the road was like a nostalgia for Ash, as he remembered the him from long ago, starting out on his Pokémon journey, just about five years ago. Pikachu was sat upon Ash's shoulder squealing in delight at its surroundings, remembering the journeys it had been on with its trainer.
For his Kalosian friends, it was a whole new world for them to explore. Bonnie ran alongside the river, peering Into the river and watching the Pokémon there swim. Clemont had to keep a close eye on Bonnie, in case she fell into the river, despite his consistent warnings to not stand by the river. Exasperated, he just kept a close eye on her, ready to scoop her up from the river and scold her if she slipped.
When Serena learnt she would be going to Kanto, along with her mothers consent to go with her boyfriend, she had been absolutely ecstatic. She had laughed and smiled and hugged Ash continuously. It had been worth it, Grace had said, to see Serena this happy, and Ash couldn't agree more. He was so happy she was here in his native region with him. He wondered how much of the surroundings she remembered.
Glancing behind him, he saw Serena looking off to the left and right, alternatively switching her view from left to right, looking all around the land Ash called his home. She wondered if she could remember any of it. From when she was here last. So far, she remembered nothing, at least not about the environment they were in now.
"How much longer?" Bonnie asked from the riverbank. She was trying to keep her balance by having both her arms out reached to the side, like a tightrope artist.
Ash studied the surrounding areas. He recognized the landscape. Judging from the area... "Maybe 10 minutes. 15 at most." Ash replied. In the distance, he could see some grey clouds, caused by the smoke from house fires in Pallet town. Everyone was waiting for him back in Pallet. Soon, he'd be there.
Ash and Pikachu smiled at the sight of Pallet town. They had been on this very hill many times. It had the best view of the town as you walked in, overlooking the entire surrounding area. You could see everything from where you stood on the hill. A flock of Pidgey flew over the town as Ash looked over it. The place hadn't changed a bit. He could see the Professors Pokémon lab. That was where everybody was.
Ash turned to his friends, waving at them to come closer, to share this view with him. "Come on, you can see it from here!"
His group behind him speed up their pacing, to join Ash atop the hill, and experience the sights this town had to offer. The reactions were generally the same. Expressions of enjoyment and wonder, and engrossment of the sight of Pallet town. For the Kalosians, the town was a sight of the Kantoan's world. Serena had been here before, but scarcely remembered the entire town, and certainly not the view right now. That would be something she would definitely remember.
"Well guys, here we are. Pallet town." Ash said with a grin.
"So preeeeeety!" Bonnie squeaked.
Serena had to agree. It was a beautiful town. It wasn't large enough to look like human influence had ruined the area, and wasn't small enough to make it look remote. It looked like a peaceful town. A nice town. A great first impression of the Kanto region.
"Well, there it is," Ash said aloud. "Here's where I grew up."
Serena nodded. "And where I met you."
"How could I forget?" Ash smiled at Serena. This town would always have a special place in both their hearts for that very reason, regardless of all the other faults with it. This was where they met. Albeit a long time ago, this was where it all started.
They still had a while to go until they were actually in the town. Right now, they were still on route 1, but it was only a stones throw away, metaphorically speaking.
"We should get going." Clemont suggested. "We don't want to keep your friends and family waiting, do we Ash?"
Ash shook his head. "No way. They've been waiting here for a while. We better get there, quick."
"Where are we going?" Bonnie asked, looking for Ash's house, unaware of their actual destination.
"Professor Oaks place. I checked, and everyone's waiting there for us." Ash said. He knelt down by Bonnie, and pointed at the lab so she could see it. Bonnie's eyes sparkled once she saw it, thinking of all the Pokémon that must live there. "We should get moving." Ash said, standing up again, and carrying on the walk back to his home town.
Walking through the streets, Ash was a bit surprised by how empty they were. Pallet town wasn't a very busy town, but there was usually at least a few people walking around. It made Pallet feel deserted.
"Okay, here we are." Ash said, standing at the gate to Professor Oaks lab. He smiled. This was where all his Pokémon lived, and where he first started his journey, where he received Pikachu, and where he came back to drop off his Pokémon. Every time he came here, it was like a nostalgia trip. It was like a welcome home party. It felt like a home away from home, with all his Pokémon waiting for him.
Ash lead the group up the steps to the lab, a grin on his face, anxious to see his friends and Pokémon once again. The group followed close behind him, keeping the pace. Once at the top of the stairs, he was able to see the fields where the Pokémon tended to spend their days. Although, no one was there. At all.
Ash's group followed behind him. "Uh... Where is everyone?" Serena asked, looking around, glancing from place to place.
Clemont glanced at Ash. "You're certain this is the right place?"
Ash nodded. "I've been here enough times to remember where it is." He replied with a hint of annoyance in the doubt of his memory.
At that moment, the ground began to shake. Vibrations bounced back and forth between the layers of the earth, causing the ground to shake. A dust cloud from behind a hill became visible. A stampede. Ash's face went pale, and his eyes widened. He knew exactly what was about to happen.
Before he could even react, the dust cloud had already made its way to him, and had trampled him into the ground. It was his Tauros herd, welcoming back their trainer, albeit a painful welcoming for Ash. "Ow..." Ash said as he picked himself up. He was used to this by now, but being trampled by 30 Tauros tended to hurt. "Hello... Tauros..." Ash said, fighting to not fall unconscious right there and then.
His group behind him sweat dropped. "Are you alright Ash?!" Serena knelt by him, helping him to his feet. She couldn't decide if she was terrified or bemused more. Ash's eyes had been replaced with swirls, and he couldn't look straight, nor answer questions coherently. He was incredibly dizzy.
"Which one of these belongs to you then?" Clemont asked, inspecting the herd. All of them were indistinguishable from the other.
Ash managed to get the words out to that question. "All of 'em... They're all mine..." He said, before nearly falling over again, caught by his girlfriend, whom had put his arm around her neck, keeping him standing. "They tend to welcome me home like this... Owwwww..."
"Ash?"
Hearing a familiar voice, Ash managed to snap out of his near unconscious state. He managed to avert his eyes from his Tarous herd, looking behind him, seeing the source of the speech.
"Oh... Hi Dawn... Little help?" He asked, sheepishly. Serena tried to help him up, though Ash was a bit too heavy, and Ash was too weakened at this current moment to stand up on his own.
"Good grief Ash, you've been here for about 30 seconds, and you're already in this state?" Dawn sighed, smiled, and knelt down by Ash, placing his other arm around her neck, and, with Serena, helped Ash onto his feet. "Here I thought you'd all grown up. You haven't changed a bit, have you?"
Ash chuckled. "Well, this was a bit out of my hands..." He then turned to Serena, who seemed to be curious about the girl who had just stumbled across them. "Ah, right, you two haven't officially met in person. Serena, this is Dawn, Dawn, this is my girlfriend Serena." Ash said, making introductions. It occurred to him he'd have to do this a few times today, "Dawn traveled with me throughout Sinnoh. The one who gave me the ideas about your showcases." Ash remembered how this whole escapade started with what he learnt from Dawn, which he had used to help Serena.
The two girls acquainted themselves with one another. They quickly found common ground, with their love of fashion and performance. Ash took the opportunity to scout out the area. There was absolutely no one else around at all. The Tarous were the only Pokémon around for the entire laboratory. "Dawn, what's going on? Where is everyone?"
Dawn seemed surprised, and the rapidly became embarrassed. It wasn't going to work now. He might as well know. There was no hiding it. "Oh... Uh, that..."
Ash had been half been spared the embarrassing congratulations party he had been thrown. He had still acted surprised, out of consideration for how long everyone must have spent on the preparations. (Trip and Paul had left Kalos specifically to help prepare.) He just didn't have the heart to tell everyone he knew he was about to be thrown a surprise congratulations party, so he just acted surprised.
He had been reunited with his old friends. He had received many hugs from his female companions, and mostly handshakes and pats on the back from his male friends and rivals, along with multiple congratulations from everyone. He had been reunited with his Pokémon also, many of which showed their affection towards their trainer, which often resulted in him being left with more and more cuts and bruises, but he kept a smiling face on all the while.
"I knew you'd get there eventually, Ash." Brock had said to him, smiling me patting him on the back a bit harder than Ash would have liked. Brock hadn't been the only one. Misty, May, Iris, Cilan and everyone else had been and congratulated him. Delia, Ash's mother, had waited patiently before she spoke to her son. Ash had shown her the trophy he had won from the Kalos league, and she had gone into a small speech about how proud she was of him.
Eventually, the time came for his mother to meet his girlfriend face to face. Serena hadn't said or done much during the party. She had socialized, spoken to people when they approached her, but for the most part, stayed close to her Kalosian friends. However, when Delia had requested to see her, Ash had reluctantly called her over. Ash had been dreading this moment for a while now. If they didn't get on, that would be a problem regarding how they saw each other. If they did get on, Ash just knew his mother would embarrass him at every given opportunity. Either way, it wasn't Ash's ideal situation. Obviously, He preferred the latter, but wasn't a big a fan of that outcome either.
Thankfully for Ash, the two seemed to get on fine. Of course, it took the two of them mere seconds to start trading stories, specifically about Ash. Quite frankly, some of them were to embarrassing for Ash to so much as stand by and listen to them, so he left them to it, and took a step outside. The air was cool and refreshing, as opposed to the now warm and stuffy air inside the lab. Ash leaned against a wall, and took a deep breath of that cool air. He then let it out with a heavy sigh.
"Ah, Ash, there you are."
Ash tilted his head to see who had said his name. "Ah, hey, Cilan"
Cilan seemed much more laid back and relaxed then Ash remembered. To start, his clothing, his suit, which he usually kept spotless, was now undone and messy, in contrast to his near OCD levels of perfection. His eyes were half open, and his posture, which Ash could scarcely believe he was noting, was biased to one side, favoring his left leg. He leaned against the wall next to Ash, holding an energy drink in one hand. "Congratulations again. I saw the whole thing on TV. You did it in true Ash-Fashion" he spoke shakily.
"Thanks." Ash said, raising an eyebrow. "Uh, you okay? You seemed more energetic over the phone."
"That was a while ago, Ash." Cilan reminded him, then took a drink from his can. "My uh... Less than usual state is likely my lack of sleep. I've be awake for... Nearly 48 hours now."
"Oh. Doing what?"
"Helping set this up for you, of course. Everyone has. At best, some of us got off with 20 hours straight."
Ash gulped. He thanked God, Arceus, and many other deities that he hadn't revealed the surprise had been spoilt.
"Well... I could have gotten more sleep, but I wanted to do a couple of things..." Cilan carried on.
"Oh?"
"That's right. I've been looking up the Hoenn region."
Ash smiled. He remembered the Hoenn region. "You talked to May?"
Cilan nodded. "Yes I have. She was telling me all about the Hoenn region. Iris and I are thinking of going there together."
"With Iris, huh?"
Cilan sighed. "Yeah. Though she wants me to help her with her dragon training. Not that I mind, but I have to focus on my own work. Like you. I've had to do a bit of paper work and things like that for my gym back home. You had to focus so hard on your goal, didn't you? I mean, you got lucky with your goal being close to Iris's, so you could train together, but mine and her goals are completely different. I... Just don't have the time to. What about you? Did you have time to take days off?"
Ash smiled to himself. "I did actually. Just one though. Just one day off. And I'll tell you something. That has to be one of the best days of my life." Ash remembered that day he did nothing. The day he decided to relax. The day that everything started.
He looked into the sky and smiled. He remembered that day well.
Thinking about it, Cilan and Iris were headed off to new adventures. There still had to be more of this world to explore. Ash grinned. He wasn't done yet. He still had more to explore.