Ash, Brock, and Silver were walking back from the cave into town. All three of them were covered in dust from their training. Ash and Brock were laughing, telling the same joke, while Silver tried to join in, but he wasn't very good at it. Still, he was trying.
"Yeah… and then the Poké Ball—uh—ricochets off a Geodude and hits… a tree? No, wait, your face," Silver said, pointing awkwardly, then immediately frowned. "No, that doesn't make sense, does it?"
Ash grinned and looked back over his shoulder. "Almost, man. You're getting there."
"Yeah," Brock added, smirking. "Comedy's just like training, takes practice. And a little humiliation."
"That's… what Big Sis said too…" Silver muttered, referring to all the time he spent with Green.
"Yeah, if it means anything, she was sad when you didn't go back to celebrate Christmas with her," Ash said.
"That's…" Silver looked away like it was something to be ashamed of. "I just… needed to be stronger, so I couldn't… even if part of me did want to."
"Hey dude, you don't have to be sad," Ash said, giving Silver a small punch on the shoulder. "I was with her, and she was sad, but she understood. But she did say she'll be expecting you to treat her to dinner as an apology."
Silver looked up and nodded like he'd just been given a serious mission. "Understood. Did she say where she would like to go? Should I make reservations now? Scratch that, perhaps I should rent out the entire restaurant," he said, seriously considering it.
"Hey, listen, Silver, love the enthusiasm, but maybe save that for when you get a girlfriend. I know you've got your eye on that Kris girl~" Ash teased.
Silver looked away, a small blush on his cheeks. "You're being ridiculous. Big Sis and my mother are the only women I wish to spend time with."
Brock snorted, pushed up imaginary glasses, and leaned close to Ash, whispering in his ear so Silver couldn't hear, "Take it from the guy who's been in love more times than days you've been born, he's in love."
Ash snorted at Brock's comment, trying not to laugh out loud as Silver walked a few steps ahead of them, still looking like he was silently running a full restaurant budget in his head.
"I heard that," Silver muttered without turning around.
"No you didn't," Brock replied smoothly. "You were too busy planning a five-course apology menu."
Ash grinned. "Don't forget the dessert buffet. Take it from me, I lived next to her. Green has a thing for sweets. Especially lava cake."
Silver paused mid-step, looked over his shoulder, and nodded. "Noted." Then he stopped. "So… do you know what her favorite food is?"
"Bro, sure, I'll get you a list. But before we talk about that, how about we get something to eat for us?"
Silver's stomach rumbled slightly. Then, from the back, Pikachu and Vee's stomachs rumbled even louder.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Let's go. I'll cover the bill since you guys helped me train."
"Well if you're offering, I won't say no," Ash said with a grin as they reached the edge of town, dust-covered but smiling.
"You always say that," Brock teased. "But then you're the first one to get full."
"Not my fault I don't have a fast metabolism. Some of us need to work out to stay in shape," Ash shot back.
Silver shook his head faintly, though the smallest ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. "If you two keep bickering, I'll just pay and leave you to starve."
Ash held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay! No arguing with the guy who's offering to pay."
Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, giving a tired but eager "Pikaaa!" while Vee trotted alongside Silver, tail swaying.
Silver looked down at Vee and nodded. "By the way, I didn't get to mention it, it looks like that Eevee warmed up to you."
"I could say the same thing about your Larvitar. But I guess it did imprint on you. Never took you as the fatherly type," Ash said.
"Fair. I'm just happy to see that those… experiments didn't affect it too much," Silver replied, completely forgetting Brock was still there. Thankfully, Brock already knew.
"Oh good, you know," Brock sighed in relief. "I was wondering if you did or didn't. I really didn't want to say anything."
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Ash said, tapping Silver on the shoulder. "This boy right here can keep a secret, mainly because most of the time he doesn't care. But sometimes he does. I mean, it's way better than how he used to be before Green worked her magic on him."
"I wasn't that bad," Silver said, trying to defend himself.
Ash gave him a blank look. "Bro, you were as bad as Paul."
Silver blinked. "…I used to do that?"
"Ohhh yeah. Before you started hanging out with us, you were really bad. I mean really bad. And Silver, I like you, man, but my lord, you were annoying before. Like, you were trying way too hard to be the edgy loner type,"
"Yikes… I'm sorry," Silver said, looking away. "I guess I was pretty bad back then, huh."
"Yeah, but don't worry about it," Ash waved a hand. "All that matters is you're getting better. And hey, between you and me, Green said she was proud of you."
Silver slightly stumbled. "She… said that?" he asked, not looking at either of them. His voice was quiet. Careful.
Ash smiled and gave a small shrug. "Yeah. When we were hanging out over in Pallet during New Year's, she said she wished you were there. But she was proud of you. In her words: 'My little brother is the best.'"
Silver nodded as a small smile formed. "Yeah… that does sound like her."
"All right, enough of the emotional moment before you guys make me cry," Brock said, wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye.
"Deal. Now come on, Silver, let me get you a list of all of Green's favorite foods," Ash said, putting an arm around Silver's shoulder as the group headed off to get lunch.
—
Meanwhile, in the Dragon's Den
Iris got caught. She did put up a good fight, but in the end, she only had one Pokémon, and this was before she had her Axew, too.
She sat there with her arms crossed, sulking as the elders took a moment to calm themselves. They were preparing to explain, yet again, why she shouldn't keep running off from her lessons.
"Iris," one elder said, rubbing his temple, "you can't keep running away from your lessons. You're not going to become a Dragon Master by climbing out windows!"
"So why should I stay locked up? I know everything already! Why can't I start training with real Pokémon?" Iris snapped, arms crossed defiantly.
"That is not the point," another elder said, his voice stern. "Becoming a Dragon Master is not about strength alone. It's about bond—"
"—And discipline, and patience, and trust," Iris interrupted, mocking. "Yeah, I've heard it a hundred times. Come on, you know I'm way better than everyone else!"
The thing was… Iris was kind of right. Her potential at the moment probably surpassed Lance's when he was her age. Unfortunately, she was also way more immature than he had been.
"It's also about traditions…" another elder started gently.
Just as Iris was about to snap back again, another voice cut through the room.
"Well, maybe we should try something different."
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice. Walking up the steps were the current Head Elder of the Dragon Clan, wearing his usual ridiculous hat with a miniature Rayquaza perched on it, and next to him, Clair.
"B-Big Sis Clair!" Iris immediately stood up, her eyes lighting up. "Hey, are you gonna show me how to battle with your Kingdra again?!"
Clair smiled and chuckled. "No, not this time. But we do have something to say, and it does involve you."
The Dragon Clan Elder nodded. "Yes. I believe Iris will never reach her full potential if she simply follows the same path we all did. After all, not everyone is like Lance."
Even though the elders all nodded sagely at that, both Clair and Iris twitched slightly at the now-inevitable Lance comparison, but said nothing.
Clair took a breath. "So, Iris… in order for you to fully develop your abilities, we've called in a tutor for you."
"What?! I don't need a tutor! I'm way stronger on my own!" Iris protested.
"Sorry, but he's already been called. He's on his way here. And whether you like it or not, he will train you," the Head Elder said firmly.
"No way! I won't accept this!" Iris shouted, running toward the water. She pulled out her one PokéBall and released her Lapras. Leaping onto its back, she pointed at the elders, "There's no way! I'll make you tell him to stay wherever he is!"
The Elder didn't even flinch. Clair sighed and stepped forward, casually grabbing a Poké Ball from her waist and holding it in her hand.
"I'll take care of this one, Elder," she said with a tired smile.
"Iris… you really wanna do this? Isn't the record a few hundred in my favor?"
"Come on, Big Sis! This time I'm definitely going to win!" Iris said confidently, crossing her arms. "And remember, I only need to beat you once!"
Clair smirked, "Well, if you really want to embarrass yourself in front of the entire council again, far be it from me to stop you."
"You just wait! Lapras and I have been training, tree training!" Iris said, pointing dramatically.
Clair arched an eyebrow. "I'm still not sure that's a real thing."
"Tree training is valid!" Iris shouted as she clutched Lapras's fin and backed into the shallow water with dramatic flair.
The elders sighed, exchanging weary glances. Clearly, this was not the first time this had happened.
"Well… perhaps a practical lesson is better than another argument today," one muttered.
"Agreed," Clair said, and finally tossed her Poké Ball with practiced grace. "Kingdra, let's make this quick."
While Kingdra was in the background absolutely wrecking Lapras (again), one of the other elders leaned toward the Head Elder.
"So… if you don't mind me asking, who is it you called for Iris's training? I assume it's not someone ordinary if you're entrusting her to them."
The Head Elder chuckled. "Oh, it's an acquaintance from Unova. His name is Drayden, mayor of Opelucid City and Gym Leader."
–
{Meanwhile}
After eating, Ash and Brock had said goodbye to Silver. He'd gone off to do his own thing, while the two of them figured they'd train more tomorrow. For now, though, they wanted to find the girls, and maybe look around a bit.
"So where do you think they are?" Brock asked, stretching his arms.
"You mean where did Misty drag Yellow?" Ash corrected.
"Good point," Brock said, stretching again until his back gave a satisfying pop. "Alright, so do we check the shops, the trees, or follow the scent of sarcasm and snacks?"
Ash rubbed his chin dramatically, stroking the beard he didn't have. "Well, I'd say snacks, but Misty's more grumpy when she's hungry. And Yellow's too nice to stop that."
Brock nodded. "Fair. But if Yellow's leading the way, we better start with wherever looks the most… harmless."
Ash snorted. "So nowhere Misty's mood could explode like a Golem in a washing machine?"
"Exactly."
They passed a few small stands selling PokéDolls and roasted Magikarp skewers, waving politely to the vendors. Pikachu perched happily on Ash's shoulder, eyes scanning, ears twitching.
"I don't see them…" Ash muttered, just as Vee popped out of his bag with a yawn, then immediately perked up and sniffed the air.
"You picking up something, buddy?" Ash asked.
Vee let out a chirpy "Vee!" and darted down the path to the left.
"Welp," Brock said. "Lead the way, my four-legged nose compass."
They rounded a corner, and finally spotted them.
Yellow and Misty were sitting outside a small teahouse café, a little tray of half-eaten mochi between them. Chuchu was curled up on Yellow's lap, happily nibbling on a piece of dango. Misty had her elbow on the table, sipping from a glass of chilled tea, and casually tossing a tiny ball of mochi into the air, then catching it in her mouth without blinking.
"I told you she'd sniff out snacks," Ash said.
"I owe you five Pokédollars," Brock sighed.
As they approached, Yellow waved with a bright smile. "Hey! We saved you some!"
"Really?" Ash perked up and plopped into the seat next to her. "You're the best."
"I tried to save two whole skewers," Yellow said proudly, "but Misty got bored and started throwing them like darts."
Misty glanced over her shoulder. "In my defense, I hit the board every time."
"She did," Yellow confirmed. "But then she tried to convince the old guy inside to give her a free meal because she 'won.'"
"I did win," Misty grumbled, crossing her arms. "He gave me another skewer."
"Because you hit his door," Yellow giggled.
Brock sat across from them and grabbed a piece of mochi. "I see you've all been behaving completely normally."
Ash chewed thoughtfully. "So, what have you two been up to while we were punching rocks and getting emotionally vulnerable?"
Yellow shrugged. "I mean, we saw kind of a weird girl. She was running away from, like, her teachers I think."
"Huh. Ain't that interesting," Ash rubbed his chin before shrugging. "Meh, sounds like a kid," he said, completely unaware of the irony in his words.
Misty chuckled, sitting up straighter. "I know, right? We found her sleeping in a tree like she was some wild Pokémon. The only thing missing was for her to be in rags and barefoot, then we could've called her Tarzan's little sister."
Ash leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs like the certified menace he was. "Sleeping in a tree, huh? Sounds like someone I used to know…"
Misty gave him a dry look. "If you say me, I swear—"
Ash pointed at Yellow. "I was gonna say Yellow, actually."
"Hey, I refuse to believe my nap spots were bad spots," Yellow said, crossing her arms.
"Yellow, you're lucky Pokémon like you, otherwise you'd have fallen out of more trees than L's I've handed to Gary. And need I remind you, I am the sole reason the Picnic Incident exists."
Yellow pouted, still crossing her arms as Chuchu tried to smooth her hair like a worried mom. "It's not my fault nature provides comfy trees."
Ash grinned. "Comfy until you get a Beedrill nest to the face."
"Hey, that never happened to me."
"You're right, it happened to Pink when she went with you that one time," Ash said flatly. "I mean seriously, they ignored you and went straight for Pink. Me and Gary had to frickin' save her from getting stabbed."
"Oh… I didn't know that part…" Yellow blinked, guilt creeping in.
"Wait, is that why there's so much drama with Pink? You know, with her liking you and all?" Misty asked, curious.
"You know what? Maybe. I never thought about it, but considering we were like six when it happened… yeah, now that I say it out loud, it's kinda obvious where her obsession came from."
"…Sometimes I wish I could have your life…" Brock mumbled, looking away suddenly, no longer interested in his dango. Pikachu and Vee took this as their cue to snatch it.
"Well, how about we find a hotel and then look around some more? I mean, I'm in no rush," Ash said casually.
Brock and Misty tensed ever so slightly, not enough for Yellow to notice, but Ash did. Still, he didn't push.
"Yeah, sounds good to me," Misty said quickly.
"Yeah! Hanging out some more sounds great. You know, I think there's a hot spring in town. You wanna go today?" Brock asked.
Ash blinked. "Uh… can we do it like… one of the days not a lot of people are there?" He tapped his chest.
"O-oh, right. I forgot. Yeah, of course. Besides, first let's get somewhere to stay," Brock nodded.
"Yeah, and don't worry, Ash and Yellow, you guys just stay here and keep being you. Let us do the rest, alright?" Misty added as she started backing away.
At this point, Yellow finally started noticing something was off. "Eh?"
"Leave it to us!" Misty and Brock said in sync before dashing off down the street.
"…That was weird," Yellow mumbled, before realizing she was now alone with Ash. She immediately looked away.
"Yeah… weird," Ash echoed slowly, watching their two friends disappear around the corner.
What were they hiding?