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Alola really had been the break Ash needed, after everything that happened in Kalos. He had been taking a break back home in Kanto, but he hadn’t really been resting. He tried to, he really did, but he just couldn’t. He had felt… weird.
He was wound up, energy constantly buzzing under his skin, like how he feels after Pikachu shocks him, but at the same time, he had felt numb. He had thought he would feel relief once he got home and saw his mom and Mr. Mime, had thought that he’d feel safe. But he didn’t feel anything.
His friends visited, which helped. To no surprise, Brock was the first one to show up. He already knew the older boy had been keeping tabs on him since they parted after Sinnoh, Brock had told him bluntly “I don’t trust you not to do anything stupid without me,” so it didn’t shock Ash that after he got home, Brock was there within a few days.
He had walked down to the kitchen the morning Brock showed up, not out of any desire to eat, but because he knew he was worrying his mom every time he refused a meal. When he saw the older boy sitting at the kitchen table across from his mom, hands wrapped around a steaming mug, it was like a switch had flipped inside of him.
Tears had sprung into his eyes, and he all but launched himself into Brock’s arms, burying his head in his friend’s chest. He’d had Brock’s shirt bunched up in a death grip, and Brock had wrapped his arms around him just as tight. Ash had shook with silent sobs as he clung to him, almost missing the fact that Brock had been trembling slightly as well.
And that’s how it went for the next couple of months. Every time his friends visited, he felt another tiny piece of himself knit itself back together. Misty, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, and Tracy. Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena called to check in on him, but they were at home trying to heal too. He began to leave his room more, spending most of his time at Professor Oak’s visiting his Pokémon.
He had really missed them. Bayleef and Infernape had tackled him in a hug as soon as they saw him, and he let out his first laugh since he came home.
This was his routine for those months. Brock came to visit on the weekends. Every couple of weeks Misty was able to haggle one of her sisters into taking over the gym so she could visit for the week. May and Iris had only been able to visit the first time, but called every other day. Cilan popped up every once in a while, and Dawn was able to take off enough time from her and Buneary’s modelling job to spend almost a whole month with him.
At the end of it, he wouldn’t say he was fixed, maybe he never would be, but he was okay. He still had nightmares, still held onto Pikachu a little too tightly when the sky took on a red hue at sunset, but he was okay. He was even beginning to feel that familiar cooped up feeling, of longing to be on the road, on another journey, even if he knew he wasn’t quite ready for it. That’s why when Mr. Mime won those tickets to Alola, he jumped at the opportunity.
It was a chance to get out of the house, out of Pallet Town, out of the rut he had found himself in. While at the same time there were no battles he had to fight, no legendaries popping up out of nowhere, no world-ending plot to foil. Just his mom, his best buddy, and the warm Alolan sun.
Except Tapu Koko. An Island Guardian. Ash supposed that it wasn’t technically a legendary, but did it matter? When they had told him that he had met one of the four Island Guardians, of course he had been excited. Who wouldn’t be? But there was a small part of him that couldn’t help thinking, again? Really?
Regardless, coming to Alola has been good. Ash felt a sense of peace and calm that he hadn’t in a long time. So when Kukui offered him not just a place in the Pokémon school but a home as well, it was an easy yes.
The two of them, along with Pikachu and the professor’s Rockruff, had found an easy rhythm early on. It was nice, Ash decided, to be out there learning about Pokémon and the world, while still having a home to come back to every night. He liked his friends at the Pokémon school. He liked living on the beach. He liked eating at Mallow’s restaurant, and helping Kiawe on his farm. He liked going out for pancakes with Kukui, and the way the man ruffled his hair. It felt like home.
The best part was by far the grand trials. Being able to show off his skills and his Pokémon, and battle against a Kahuna that was chosen by the Island Guardians themselves was incredible. Ash had already won his first challenge, and was eagerly awaiting the next one. So much so, that he was currently talking Kukui’s ear off about it as they walked to the Pokémon Centre together. The school day had just ended, and although Ash would normally be spending this time with his friends, Nurse Joy had asked Kukui to bring her a tool she needed to fix a broken incubator. Of course, Ash had volunteered to come along and help.
To the older man’s credit, he seemed to be enjoying Ash’s babbling. He was patiently listening, answering his questions, and giving him encouragement. The professor was good like that. He always seemed to care about what his students were saying.
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Kukui was laughing at the boy’s antics as he held the door of the Pokémon Centre open for him. Ash was excitedly talking about how Kiawe had promised to train with him after school the next day, only to cut himself off mid-sentence as he walked through the door. Concerned at the way the boy had frozen in his tracks, Kukui followed his gaze to the front desk. Talking to Nurse Joy, or more accurately, fawning over Nurse Joy, was a young man with tan skin and spiky brown hair. He was about to ask Ash what was wrong when the shocked look on the younger boy’s face turned into excitement.
“Brock!” He yelled out, becoming a blur as he launched himself into the boy’s arms. The boy, Brock apparently, seemed to be shocked out of his love-struck stupor at the call of his name, and returned the hug with just as much excitement.
“Ash! I was hoping I’d run into you!” He pulled back from the hug a little so he could scratch Pikachu under the chin. The yellow mouse purred appreciatively, then hopped off Ash’s shoulder and onto Brock’s, nuzzling into the man’s cheek.
“What are you doing here?” Ash asked, releasing him.
“I work here!”
“What?”
“It’s a work-study job! It’s a part of my training to become a Pokémon doctor!” He reached up to pet Pikachu as he explained. “Dr. Akana is one of the best Pokémon surgeons in the world, and he chose me out of all the students to do my clinical with him!”
Kukui could tell Ash didn’t know what all of that meant, but he was excited for his friend anyways.
“That’s awesome!” He exclaimed. “Congratulations Brock!”
“Thanks Ash!”
“So where are you staying?”
Brock gestures towards the back. “Right here! The Pokémon Centre has a student dorm.”
“You’re gonna live at the Pokémon Centre? That’s so cool!”
It was then that Brock seemed to notice Kukui. “Hi there,” he said, holding out his hand. “You must be Professor Kukui! My name’s Brock. I’m Ash’s friend from Kanto.”
Kukui grabbed Brock’s hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you Brock.”
“I hope Ash hasn’t been too much trouble,” Brock chuckled.
“Hey!” Ash objected. Any further arguments from the younger boy were cut off by a sudden loud bang. “What was that?”
“I don’t know,” Kukui answered, already starting to head towards the back rooms, where the noise came from. “Stay here.” He knew Ash wouldn’t listen even as he said it, but he wasn’t expecting Brock to follow too.
They followed the noise to the kitchen, finding the room in complete chaos. Boxes of food were spilled everywhere, some merely tipped over while others were completely destroyed. There was a huge hole in the ceiling, smoke coming off of it. Dust and debris were covering every surface in the room. Standing in the middle of the room, their uniforms somehow still pristinely white, was none other than Team Rocket.
Kukui couldn’t help but roll his eyes. The three “criminals” had shown up right around the time Ash had, and had seemingly known the boy fairly well. He had gathered from Ash’s annoyance at their first appearance that they had a bit of a history.
It seems Brock had a history with them too, because all he said was, “You three? Seriously? You’re still chasing Ash and Pikachu around?” He didn’t sound surprised. He sounded irritated if anything, like it had been going on for a long time. Has Team Rocket really been bothering Ash since Kanto?
“It’s the big twerp!” James shrieked, pointing at Brock. “What are you doing here?”
Jesse, who seemed to take offense to Brock’s words, said “I’ll have you know that we didn’t follow this little brat here at all! We were sent here by the boss!”
“Yeah!” Meowth agreed. Kukui would never get used to seeing a talking Meowth. “If anything, the twerp followed us to Alola!”
“What are you doing in the Pokémon Centre?” Ash asked them, already in a fighting stance. “Are you here to steal Pokémon?”
“No! We’re here to steal food!” James moaned, putting on a show by grabbing at his stomach.
“All we’ve eaten since we came to Alola are those stupid berries!” Jesse shrieked. Kukui couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the dramatics of the trio.
“Well you can’t have this food!” Ash argued. “This food belongs to the Pokémon Centre!”
“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do to stop us?”
“This! Pikachu, use Thunder B-“ the fifteen year old was cut off by another loud bang, similar to the one they had heard before. It came from somewhere down the hall, and was followed by smaller thuds that seemed to be getting closer.
Looking back at Team Rocket, Kukui could see their faces had turned pale. Even Meowth’s fur seemed a shade or two lighter. “No!” Jesse yelled, obviously knowing what the noise was and distressed about it. “Not now!”
That was all they had time to say before Bewear broke through the door behind Kukui, Ash, and Brock. The three boys turned around, startled, and didn’t have time to say anything before Bewear was jumping over them, scooping up Team Rocket, and blasting back out, leaving another hole in the ceiling.
“I see they haven’t changed a bit,” Brock commented.
Ash snorted. “Nope.”
Nurse Joy rushed in at that moment. “Is everyone alright?” She asked, brushing the dust off her skirt.
“We’re fine,” Kukui responded. “How about you?”
Nurse Joy let out a sigh of relief. “Good. Everyone’s okay.” Her face dropped a little bit. “I wish I could say the same for the Pokémon Centre.”
“What do you mean?”
“When that Bewear came through, it destroyed half of our rooms and all of the dormitories! At least all the Pokémon are safe.” Her face fell as she looked at Brock. “Oh Brock, I’m so sorry, but the dormitory isn’t safe to live in anymore! I’m afraid without a place to stay-“
“I can’t do my clinicals with Dr. Akana,” Brock finished for her, visibly deflating.
Ash’s face fell the same way Brock’s did. “What? That’s not fair!”
Nurse Joy was sympathetic. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. It will take months to get the dorms safe enough to stay in.”
Maybe it was because Kukui felt bad for the prospective Pokémon doctor. Maybe it was the disappointed look on Ash’s face, the one that made his heart clench (he was never very good with disappointing kids). Maybe Kukui was just going crazy. But the next thing that came out of his mouth was “you can stay with me!”
Not unexpectedly, Ash answered before Brock could. “That would be so cool!” he yelled, jumping up and down in excitement.
The older boy looked a bit more hesitant. “I can’t let you do that,” he said, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks. “I don’t want to put you out.”
“You wouldn’t be!” Kukui insisted, now a little more sure of himself. “We’ve got tons of room! Right Ash?”
“Yeah! My room is huge, you can stay with me!”
Kukui watched Brock’s face soften as he looked at Ash. It seemed that much like himself, Brock had a soft spot for the younger boy. “Okay,” he said, a small smile on his lips, “if you insist. I would really appreciate that.”
“Of course. It’s no problem at all,” Kukui assured him. “If anything, I could use your help keeping Ash out of trouble. He has a knack for finding it.”
Ash objected, “hey!” but Brock ignored him, bursting out into laughter instead.
“Don’t I know it!” he exclaimed between giggles.
“This is great news!” Nurse Joy said, a big smile on her face. “I’m so happy you’re staying!”
It was like a switch had flipped on Brock’s brain. Kukui didn’t know how else to describe it. What had before seemed like a mature, young adult, ready and eager to learn about medicine, now stood, or knelt, a desperate boy fawning over a pretty girl.
Brock was down on one knee, Nurse Joy’s hand in his, and was professing his undying love to her. Kukui swears his eyes turned into little hearts.
Nurse Joy giggled nervously, seemingly a little uncomfortable. Kukui was about to step in before the young man inevitably got his heart broken, when suddenly Brock’s passionate speech was cut off with a pained yelp.
“Croagunk! Ash cried happily, rushing over to hug the blue frog as Brock crashed to the ground, the poison taking effect. Ash hadn’t reacted to the Pokémon attacking its trainor, other than an awkward laugh, making Kukui assume this was a common behaviour.
“Pika!” Pikachu nuzzled up to Croagunk, chirping happily. The poison Pokémon closed its eyes in what Kukui assumed was contentment.
The professor took in the scene in front of him, Ash and Pikachu greeting their old friend, Brock splayed out on the floor groaning in pain, and the Croagunk sitting on the floor looking incredibly pleased with itself, and let out a sigh. What had he just gotten himself into?