(As the plane landed back in Kanto, Ash sighed in his seat looking out of the window.)
(The moment the wheels hit the tarmac, Pichu peeked out of his backpack, blinking sleepily before giving a soft.)
Pichu: "Pii?"
(Ash chuckled.)
Ash: "We're home, buddy."
(Climbing down the steps, Ash immediately spotted some familiar figures waiting at the gate, his mom, Professor Oak, and Daisy.)
(Gary stood next to them with his arms crossed and a scowl that didn't quite reach his eyes.)
(The first to notice Ash was Professor Oak, who waved eagerly.)
(Delia didn't wait, she ran straight up and scooped her son into a tight hug before he could even say a word.)
Delia: "Oh, Ashy, I missed you so much!"
(Delia squealed, nearly lifting him off the ground.)
(Pichu squirmed out of the bag and jumped onto her shoulder, chirping.)
Ash: "I missed you too, Mom."
(Ash grinned, muffled slightly by the hug.)
Ash: "When you said Alola was going to be like a vacation, you weren't kidding."
(He gave Oak a tired but amused look.)
Ash: "I'll tell you all about it in the car."
Gary: "You better."
(Gary said, walking over and crossing his arms, but not quite able to hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.)
Gary: "You would not believe how boring it got here. Everyone kept asking about you. And the guy who took your place? Lame. Didn't talk to anyone. Just kept mumbling about his Pokémon back in Alola."
Daisy: "Don't let Gar-bear fool you."
(Daisy added, giving Gary a teasing nudge.)
Daisy: "He missed you too. And Green—she would've come with us but her parents dragged her off to the Sevii Islands for a vacation."
Ash: "Huh. Lucky her. I'll talk to her when she gets back. Anyway, can we go? I wanna flop onto my bed and never move again."
(Ash said, stretching with an exaggerated groan.)
(Pichu mimicked him with a dramatic yawn and a little head flop onto Ash's shoulder.)
(The drive back to Pallet was filled with laughter as Ash shared his misadventures from Alola, like trying to surf on a Mantine and wiping out in front of the whole school, or the time Kiawe's Turtonator accidentally set the class flag on fire.)
(In return, Gary filled him in on what he'd missed.)
Gary: "Wally started training to be a Pokémon Trainer."
(Gary said, waving a hand like it was no big deal.)
(Ash blinked.)
Ash: "Wally? Seriously? Huh. Good for him. Man, makes me wish I was here to see it."
(As they pulled into Pallet Town and started walking toward the house, Ash noticed Gary had a smug little smirk tugging at his face.)
Ash: "What's with you?"
(Ash asked, side-eyeing him.)
Ash: "Did Professor Oak finally give up trying to make you be a professor?"
Gary: "I wish."
(Gary snorted.)
(Then he reached into his pocket and held up a PokéBall.)
Gary: "Nah, I got something better. Check this out!"
(He threw the ball, and a beam of light burst out, forming into a perky little Eevee with a puff of fluff and a tail flick.)
(Ash's eyes widened slightly, but Pichu puffed up instantly, arms crossed and cheeks sparking faintly.)
Gary: "This is Eevee."
(Gary said proudly.)
Gary: "And he's gonna be way stronger than your little rat."
Pichu: "Pichuuu."
(Pichu muttered darkly, glaring.)
(Ash just snorted and rubbed Pichu's head gently.)
Ash: "Sure, Gary. Keep telling yourself that. If you really want to test that, how about we battle at the end of the school year?"
Gary: "You're on!"
(Gary grinned.)
Gary: "And when I win, you'll see why I'm gonna be the better trainer!"
(Delia clapped her hands, smiling warmly.)
Delia: "Okay, okay, enough of that! I have a little surprise waiting at home. Happy birthday, sweetheart!"
Ash: "Wait what?"
(Ash blinked as they reached the front door.)
(Delia swung it open with a flourish.)
(Inside, on the table, sat a cake decorated with tiny frosting Poké Balls and sparkler candles.)
(A little Pikachu figurine made of sugar stood in the center.)
Delia: "Make a wish."
(she said.)
(Ash stepped forward slowly, eyes wide with surprise.)
Ash: "You really didn't have to..."
(Delia just smiled.)
Delia: "Of course I did."
(Gary elbowed his side.)
Gary: "Yeah, now come on, make a wish,"
(He looked down at Pichu, who blinked up at him with his big ears tilted.)
(Ash scooped him up and set him gently on the table beside the cake.)
Ash: "Alright, let's blow it out together, yeah?"
(he said.)
(Pichu looked away, arms crossed dramatically like he was above such childish things... but then he nodded.)
(Together, they took a deep breath then blew out the candle.)
(Next Day...)
(It was the first day of the new school year, the final one for most of the Kanto kids.)
(Ash walked through the school.)
(As soon as he stepped inside, a wave of familiar voices greeted him.)
Green: "Ash! You're back!"
(Green said immediately jumping on his back and hugging him like a koala.)
(Ash sighed and tried getting her off.)
Ash: "Hey Green, missed you too."
(but she didn't let go.)
Hilda: "Hey, what was Alola like?"
(Hilda said leaning over her desk.)
(Rosa cut in bouncing on her chair.)
Rosa: "Did you get to battle Pokémon there?!"
(Even Paul and Silver looked happier to see him, well Silver was dragged by Green and, Paul just sort of looked at him longer than usual, which totally counted.)
(Ash grinned.)
Ash: "Miss me or something?"
(He got a few eye rolls and some laughs, but that was fine.)
(He'd missed this.)
(One of the cooler moments came when Wally shyly approached him near the lockers.)
Wally: "Um... hey, Ash."
(Wally mumbled, clutching his bag.)
Wally: "I just wanted to say... thanks. I-i mean... about you telling me to be brave, so I'm going to be a trainer, just like you."
(Ash smirked and patted his shoulder.)
Ash: "That's awesome, Wally. You're gonna crush it."
(Wally beamed, and hurried off over to his seat.)
(Meanwhile, Pichu had been perched on Ash's shoulder, tail flicking slightly.)
(Ever since Gary said his Eevee was better, something in Pichu had shifted.)
(Normally lazy and content with snacks, and naps in the sun, Pichu now wanted to train.)
(Like, actually train.)
(Ash remembered how serious Pichu had looked when he told him.)
Pichu: "Pi! Pichu!"
(Ash smirked.)
Ash: "Now you're talking, i'll make you the strongest in the world if you let me"
(Thanks to all the strange knowledge he got from his 'cheats', Ash knew exactly how to train Pichu, and along with stretch and speed training, he wanted to teach him one more move.)
(He tied little rocks to Pichu's tail and had him practice movements doing everything with the extra weight.)
Ash: "Okay, one more set!"
(Ash called as Pichu grunted, doing tail raises with pebbles dangling behind him, and Ash to motivate him was doing pushups next to him.)
(Gary walked by one day and scoffed.)
Gary: "Trying to make him fly with his tail or something?"
(Ash just smirked.)
Ash: "We'll see who's flying when Pichu beats the brocks off of Eevee."
(Gary gave a mock salute and walked off, probably to train Eevee harder, too.)
(Most of their classmates didn't have Pokémon yet, so they just watched the training during recess like it was a TV show.)
(Some cheered. Some laughed. But Ash didn't stop.)
(Then one morning, Professor Oak gathered everyone in the main hall.)
(He stepped up to the stage with his usual warm smile.)
Oak: "Hello everyone, and welcome back to school! For many of you, this will be your final year here at Pallet Academy."
(Oak said.)
Oak: "Those of you from Kanto will soon have a big choice ahead, whether to continue your studies here, or to graduate and follow your dreams, whatever they may be."
(He gestured to the stage.)
Oak: "So, in the spirit of looking ahead, why don't those of you with something to share come up and tell us what you plan to do after graduation?"
(Ash was first on the list, he hopped up first and grabbed the mic with a grin.)
Ash: "I'm going to challenge the Pokémon League."
(he declared.)
(The room buzzed with cheers and whispers.)
(Gary was next, striding up and taking the mic from Ash.)
Gary: "I'm going to become a Pokémon Master."
(he said coolly, pointing to his chest confidently.)
(Green followed, smiling like she already had one foot on her journey.)
Green: "I'm going on my adventure."
(she said simply, but she had an evil smirk on her face as she did.)
(Yellow stepped up after her, hands clasped behind her back, she nervously spoke into the mic.)
Yellow: "I'm going back to Viridian City."
(she said with a soft smile.)
Yellow: "To help Pokémon there."
(And lastly, Chloe walked up.)
Chloe: "I'll be returning to Vermilion City to continue my studies, some things changed, i... don't really know what I'm going to do anymore."
(Her saying she was going to be a Professor was just a child wanting to be like her parent, now that she was older she knew she didn't want to be a professor but she didn't exactly know what that was going to be.)
(Ash looked around at all of them, feeling the energy in the room change.)
(This was it. Their last year. After this, the real adventures would begin.)
(He looked down at Pichu, who was resting on his foot with a determined little smirk.)
Ash: "Get ready."
(Ash whispered.)
Ash: "We've got a lot to do."
(Pichu nodded, and patted his chest.)
[To Be Continued...]