Ash Ketchum: Type Specialist One Shots

The day Ashura 'Ash' Avenir* was born, Olympia was full of emotion. Oh most mothers are; overcome with love for the child they brought into the world, and fear that somehow they would mess up and lead to the fall of their own child. It was an onslaught of emotion, until she finally got to hold him. He was so small, his skin a lovely olive color, and tiny wisps of hair as black as the void, blending right in with the galaxy patterned baby blanket he was wrapped in.

Gently, Olympia rubbed her thumb over her son's cheek, right over the lightning bolt pattern that he had inherited from his father. Before she could move her hand away, Olympia's body seized. Her mind was suddenly flooded by visions, of a child fighting alongside mew against an odd Pokemon, of the same child running across the ice while the Kanto Elemental Birds fought over head, of the same child running from an Entei, of the same child playing with a Celebi, and the visions continued, one after the other, of a child fighting a legendary Pokemon, or fighting alongside one. In the final vision, Kalos was alight with crisis, and the boy turned towards her, on his cheeks were very familiar lighting shaped marks.

The woman gasped as she came out of her visions, wide violet eyes turning to stare at her child. Fear coursed through her, and Olympia pulled the infant closer. The attendant that stood nearby watched her, her eyes clouded with worry, because she knew what Olympia having a vision looked like.

"Are you alright Ma'am?" She asked gently, eyeing the baby with newfound skepticism.

Olympia ran a hand over her face, and grabbed a glass of water that was offered to her. "Yes." She said before staring back down at her son. Her son was going to be something great, that wasn't something she ever doubted, but she hoped his life wouldn't be clouded with too much pain.

SixYears Later

Olympia watched her son as he played quietly outside the Anistar Gym, his Pichu sitting eloquently on his head while her Meowstic followed after him, along with a wild Fennekin that had one day just appeared. She frowned as she watched Fennekin trip and fall, but the frown melted away as Ash immediately ran to it, picking it up and checking it for injury. Her son was the kindest, brightest child she had ever met, it was a shame nobody else saw him like she did.

The assistant that had been with her the night of Ash's birth had spread that Olympia had an Omenic Vision as soon as she held her son. Olympia, obviously, immediately denied such a notion, and the assistant was promptly punished, but rumor had already begun to circulate. No matter how many times Olympia tried to deny that her son was an Omen, it didn't change the close minded opinions of the other people in the gym.

The gym trainers were not abusive, or rude to Ashura, Arceus knew Olympia would never allow such a thing, but they whispered behind his back, and shot looks at him. Even outside the Anistar Gym word had spread. Again, nobody hurt or belittled Ash, but that was more because they respected Olympia, they still whispered behind his back. And children noticed. If their parents didn't warn them against being Ash's friend, the kids more or less decided to keep their distance anyway due to how everyone else reacted.

It was heartbreaking, seeing her young son wilt when he couldn't make friends. And slowly, he even stopped talking. He talked to her, Valerie, Laverre City's Gym Leader, and Alain, Professor Sycamore's Assistant, if nobody else was around, and she knew he talked to the Pokemon, but whenever anyone else was around, he would fold in on himself and fall silent.

He knew KASL(Kalosian Sign Language), well, actually he knew almost every region's version of Sign Language. Despite only being six, he was oddly good at languages. He just absorbed language up like a sponge, be it the spoken, written, or signed word. Regardless, communication other than verbal wasn't a problem, but Olympia hated that her son didn't feel safe enough to talk around other people. As a mother, it was devastating, because she didn't know what to do.

She had tried to send him to Professor Oak's Camp in Kanto, but while he went without fight, Professor Oak told her that Ash hadn't made any friends, apparently his grandson, Gary, had tried for a while, but had gotten angry when Ash wouldn't respond, and there was one girl that he had helped back to camp after she fell, but it hadn't gone farther than that. He did befriend a wild Pichu that he had begged her to keep, but that was as far as it went.

Olympia rested her head against the window's glass, sighing at the cool feeling against her skin. She watched Ash direct Fennekin's Ember and Pichu's Thunder Shock, smiling slightly at the bright smile on his face. After Pichu used Thunder Shock without injuring himself, he jumped joyously into Ash's arms, who spun Pichu around with a bright giggle. His giggle gave way to a startled gasp as Pichu's body started to glow. Olympia stared in awe as Pichu evolved into Pikachu, her mind flooding with memories of her son's future, always with a Pikachu on his shoulder.

A sudden idea sprung into the woman's head. She couldn't change her son's future, but she could make sure that he was prepared for what was to come. To do that, he needed a team, and training. She would not let her son wander through his treacherous future without the support and strength he needed.

Turning on heel, Olympia headed down the stairs and outside. As soon as she stepped foot outside, her son's head flung up. He had a huge grin splintering across his face, with Pikachu hugged to his chest, and Fennekin clinging to his head. He ran up to her, and proudly presented Pikachu to her. "Look! Look! Pichu evolved into Pikachu!" He squeaked, his voice weak with disuse.

"I know, I was watching." She leaned down and picked Ash up, resting him on her hip. "Ashura," her son tilted his head, much like a Fennekin. "You want to be a Pokemon trainer, don't you?"

Ash nodded firmly. "Wanna be a Psychic master like mom." He admitted shyly, and Olympia rested her forehead against his.

"How about we get an early start then?" Ash's face twisted in confusion. "Should nothing else happen, I plan to pass the Anistar gym to you when you're older, therefore, you are allowed to become a Pokemon Trainer to prepare for it. You can't go on a journey until you're of age, but you can start building your team and do at home training." Immediately, Ash's face lit up. "You will have to go to school, you will have to be prepared for paperwork after all, but I do think getting a head start on your team will do you some good."

Ash bobbed his head up and down excitedly, opening his mouth to say something, until he glanced over her shoulder. His form went stiff, his face turned sorrowful, and his head bowed. Pikachu shifted in his arms, as if blocking Ash from something, and Fennekin growled lowly. Turning her head, Olympia glared at the two Gym Trainers that stood nearby, watching Ash with thinly veiled disgust. When they saw Olympia glaring at them, their faces colored red and they got back to work. Olympia rubbed circles onto Ash's back, and raised her cape to shield her son while heading back inside the gym.

"Sorry." He said in a heartbreaking whisper.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Olympia said firmly, kissing his forehead.

"Ma'am!" A voice yelled as they entered the gym, with one of the Gym trainers, Carrie, running up, completely ignoring Ash as she addressed her. "I was worried when I couldn't find you! You have a challenger."

Olympia nodded dismissively. "I want you to watch my match closely, okay?" Ash perked up and nodded.

"Uh but Ma'am-" Carrie started to protest, but Olympia's stern look caused her to fall silent.

======

Within the week, Olympia had the paperwork for Ash to carry Pokemon filled out. Pikachu was of course transferred over, and Fennekin was caught soon thereafter. For the most part, aside from his school classes, Ash mostly shadowed his mother, soaking up everything he could as he watched her diplomacy and elegance in everything she did.

Because he was shadowing her, Ash was required to have 'official clothes', essentially just a nicer outfit used for appearances and Pokemon battles. His outfit was designed by Vallerie, who dressed Ashura in a black short suit with a white button up, and black leggings underneath, and black heel-less boots(a/n think Ceil Phantomhive). The outfit had a few silver accent ribbons, and a bowtie, with a silver capelet that fell over the shoulder, and galaxy pattern internal lining. Because it was Ash, Vallerie included a nice pair of fingerless gloves, ones that hugged Ash's hands with a pleasant weight that helped ebb away the boy's anxiety.

Along with just basic shadowing, Olympia made sure Ash knew all the ins and out of Psychic Pokemon. Preferred food, snacks, general health, what kind of mind puzzles and exercises they needed. As well as what every Psychic Move, and Ability was and what it did. They covered strengths, weaknesses, and neutrals, and even skimmed through the Pokedex so Ash could familiarize himself with every Psychic Type they knew about, inside, and outside Kalos.

One of the obvious worries about Ash being a Pokemon trainer in general was his inability to speak in unfamiliar situations, and around unfamiliar people. As a Gym Leader, or even on his Journey, he would come in contact with so many unfamiliar people and places, so how would he call out moves and strategy? Olympia was relieved that Ash wanted to work with Psychic Types. Truth be told, any trainer could communicate non verbally with any Pokemon, it just took work, patience, and an unshakable bond, but with Psychic Type Pokemon, it was slightly easier because of Telepathy.

When most people think of Telepathy, they think People and Pokemon could speak deliberately, and while that was possible depending on the Pokemon and their own ability, that wasn't always the case. A lot of the time Telepathy between Psychic Type and Trainer was sent in image, pushing Images back and forth between their minds, while the Trainer could give full commands, most Pokemon responded by sending a picture of their point of view.

Ash himself was already a special case. He was very intune with the natural world and Pokemon in particular. Pokemon in general were drawn to him, even wild Pokemon would come out of the woodwork to spend time with Ash. Ash specialized in connecting with the Pokemon around him, sometimes in dangerous and unconventional means.

Due to these factors, while not easy by any means, it was possible for Ash to direct his Pokemon without speaking a word to them. It was especially spectacular because Ash's Pokemon were not Psychic Types, at least not as they currently were. Pikachu was a pure Electric Type, and Fennekin was a pure Fire Type, yet Ashura could battle with them after only a few months of work.

Ash's first Psychic Type was Espurr, who he caught when he was seven. Fennekin had since evolved into Braixen, and Olyimpia had taken Ash with her in search of more Pokemon for his team. Espurr had been left behind in an old abandoned house after her clan of Meowstic and Espurr moved territory. Espurr has been left behind because she was a bit smaller than she should have been. Small as she was though, she was very powerful, and after a battle with Braxien, Espurr was added to Ash's roster.

Olympia didn't take Ash out Pokemon searching too often, she still wanted him to meet Pokemon on his journey after all, but sometimes things happened. Such as, the trip to Galar that Olympia had to go on, and thus she brought Ash along. She hadn't expected her son to just wander off in the Glimwood Tangle, and clairvoyant as she was, even she got turned around in the dark, bioluminescent forest. When she finally found Ash, he was riding on the back of a young Ponyta through the dark forest, joyously oblivious of the panic he put his mother through.

===

Ash looked around in awe as he ventured deeper into the Glimwood Tangle. He could hear the giggles of Impadimp in the foliage, and the faint rustling of leaves. Pikachu, who sat dutifully on his head, chirped in awe, black tipped ears twitching around.

A particularly loud rustle in the bushes broke Ash out of his trance, causing him to turn around, but his mother was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Ash should have been scared, being alone in an unfamiliar barely lit forest despite it being day, but some inkling in the back of his mind told him he was safe. So, Ash ventured forward, specifically towards the rustling foliage.

Ash he pushed away the grass, a long white face popped out from the grass. From the look in the Pokemon's violet eyes, they were just as surprised to see Ash as Ash was to see them. Ash blinked slowly at them, and the unfamiliar Pokemon tilted their head in return. For some reason, as the Pokemon's eyes met his, Ash felt like his soul was being peered into, like they could see every part of his being. It made Ash slightly uncomfortable, the word 'omen' bubbling in his head the longer he was scrutinized by the Pokemon. Finally, the Pokemon broke eye contact, seemingly satisfied with whatever they found out, and reached forward, touching Ash's nose with their own. A giggle built up in Ash's throat and he reached out, petting them gently on their jaw before stepping away.

With little trouble, the Pokemon exited the tall grass, and Ash was finally able to see them properly. They were a small horse Pokemon, with beautiful snow white fur and fluffy lavender and blue mane and tail. From their head sprouted a small purple horn, making Ash realize that they were a Ponyta.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu waved his paw at the new Pokemon excitedly, getting a joyous whinny in return.

"Nice to meet you Ponyta." Ash mumbled shyly, gulping down the knot that formed in his throat everytime he even thought of speaking.

"Neey!" Ponyta neighed enthusiastically, tail flicking high, and ears forward.

Pikachu let out a happy cry and jumped off Ash's head to run around with Ponyta. Ash watched them run around together for a few minutes until Pikachu ran up, patted his leg, and took off running, Ponyta trotting close behind. Spluttering slightly, Ash took off after them. "No fair! I didn't know we were playing tag!" He pouted.

Ash chased after the Pokemon, but just as he was about to catch Ponyta, he tripped on a long twisting branch, resulting in him falling face first into the ground. "Pika Pi?" Pikachu chirped worriedly, as Ponyta trotted forward.

Ash slowly pushed himself up, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm okay." He promised, but not a moment later a small stream of blood trickled from his nose.

Ponyta reached out, sniffing at Ash's injury before closing their eyes. Ash and Pikachu stared dumbfounded as the horn on Ponyta's head started to glow a soft yellow, and it's mane developed matching yellow stripes. Ponyta bowed their head, and touched the tip of its horn to Ash's nose. In seconds, the pain in his nose melted away, and the blood stopped flowing. Ponyta pulled away, and the yellow light faded.

"Wow…" Ash murmured in awe, wiping the bloody residue away. "You're amazing Ponyta!" Ash chirped, and flung his arms around Ponyta's neck in a hug.

"Nyta!" Ponyta stomped a hoof proudly, because yes, yes he is amazing! When Ash pulled away, Ponyta turned his side to Ash and Pikachu, jerking his head towards them.

Ash could only furrow his brows, but Pikachu leapt onto Ponyta's back with a cheerful tail wave. Before Ash could question what Ponyta wanted, a vision flashed in his head, of him riding on Ponyta's back through the Tangle. Ash shivered as the feeling went away, still not quite used to the feeling of getting images from his Pokemon, as Espurr was really the only one that could do so at the moment. Still, with excitement festering in his chest, Ash pulled himself up onto Ponyta's back, carefully grabbing onto their Mane while Pikachu lept up onto his shoulder, nuzzling their cheeks together. Ponyta glazed back at them before rearing up and taking off.

Ash's giggles and barks of laughter echoed through the Glimwood Tangle, accompanied by Pikachu's. Ponyta easily leapt over branches and streams, wildly galloping through the brush. Nearby Impidimp, and Morgrem watched and cackled as they rode by while Indeedee watched on with tilted heads.

"Ashura!" Ash looked up as he heard his name, gently patting Ponyta's neck for them to come to a stop. Looking around, Ash grinned as he saw his mother. Before he could say anything though, he was in his mother's arms as she hugged him and cupped his face. "You should not wander off like that." She said sternly, and Ash cringed.

"Sorry." He murmured softly. He really hadn't meant to worry her, he had just felt the need to venture further into the Tangle.

His mother sighed, and gave him a small smile. "Just be careful, I do not want to lose you." Ash nodded his head, anxiously looking behind her where their accompanying Gym Trainers stood. Charlene was the only one that looked just as worried as his mother.

Ash turned away, running his hands through Ponyta's thick cotton candy like mane. Ponyta looked at the Gym Trainers warily before turning their head away from them.

"We have to get to Ballonlea soon." Charelene said to Olympia, looking at her watch.

The older woman nodded. "Come on Ash, we have an appointment."

Ash wordlessly nodded his head. It felt like his throat was closed, like something was blocking his vocal cords so he couldn't speak. The eyes of the Gym Trainers felt heavy, like they were judging every part of him. The stares felt hot, and Ash couldn't help but wonder what they were saying about him. Ash's chest felt tight, his air limited, and he just wanted to hide behind his mother.

As Ash shakily dismounted Ponyta, he ran his hand down their side in a silent 'Goodbye'. Pikachu frowned, glaring vehemently at the trainers while jumping onto Ash's shoulder, applying a gentle pressure while also blocking them from seeing Ash's face. However, when Ashura turned to follow after his mother, he was held back. Ponyta bit onto Ash's capelet, stopping him from going forward. Ash glanced at them, confused as his mind was flooded with images of Ash on Ponyta's back again. Ash could only shake his head, squeezing his hands in a rhythmic way as he tried to explain that he couldn't play any more, but the words just wouldn't come out.

A gentle hand on Ash;s head broke him of his panic. Looking up, Ash saw his mother, who offered a small smile. "I think Ponyta wants to come with you," she then turned to Ponyta. "Isn't that right?"

"Nyta!" Ponyta neighed strongly, stamping their hooves as they finally let go of the capelet. As if to prove their point, Ponyta tossed their head, firing a Psybeam at the ground just in front of Ash before snorting.

Glancing warily at his mother, Ash stepped forward, and pulled out a Pokeball. Wordlessly, he tossed out Braxien. The bi-legged fire fox cried out, and pulled the stick from his tail, spinning it expertly. Braixen started off with a Fire Spin, with flames spinning and swirling like rosettes towards Ponyta, who swiftly dodged and used Fairy Wind. Braxien blocked Fairy Wind by spinning his stick around, and building up another Fire Spin. This Fire Spin hit, and while Ponyta was distracted, Braixen used Psybeam. Ponyta cried out, and in that moment, Ash threw an empty Pokeball.

one...

….two…..

…..three…

….clink.

Ash broke out into a smile and he darted out, scooping up Ponyta's ball with a grin. He pressed his forehead to the ball before showing Braxien and Pikachu, who were loudly cheering. Olympia watched her son with pride.

======

Ash's life wasn't all shadowing, training, and work though. He was a child and deserved a childhood, so Olympia made sure he had the free time to do things he enjoyed. It was actually during his down time that Ash discovered another passion of his.

Showcases.

He just thought they were interesting, especially with how close and bonded a trainer needed to be with their Pokemon to even do half the things that were required in performances. He loved watching the official Showcases on the television, but he also loved watching Pokevison videos. He was pretty bummed when he found out that boys couldn't participate in showcases, when he had asked why, his mother didn't seem like she really wanted to tell him, so Ash stopped asking.

At age 9, after watching a bunch of Pokevision videos about dancing and singing, and performing for years, and learning some basic editing, Ash made his own account. Admittedly, he hadn't been sure what to name his channel, and had gone with something pretty random; STAR✩DUST. Ash never showed his face on camera, he really didn't want anyone to know it was him, the idea of a bunch of people knowing him was terrifying. He dressed completely opposite to how he normally looked, with puffy white and red shorts, a flowy white tailcoat jacket with red underside, with an oversized red bow in the front, and red and white ankle boots and gloves(a/n: think Yumoto Hakone in hero form). To top it off, he wore a completely white mask that covered the upper part of his face completely, only showing his mouth. He didn't speak on camera, he wasn't ready for that even if it was just himself and his Pokemon, but he hoped Maybe he would be comfortable enough to do so.

Ash's first video was a simple introduction of STAR✩DUST, Espurr, and Braixen. Pikachu wasn't comfortable on camera, and Galarian Ponyta weren't exactly common in Kalos, the moment someone saw Ponyta they would be clued in on Ash. Ash had edited little stars to float around the edges of the video, with whatever he wanted to say being signed and then edited on little speech bubbles on top of his head.

At first, nobody really paid attention to his channel, after all there were others very similar to Ash's, and all he really did his first few videos was grooming routines for Braxien and Espurr, and DIY's for how Ash made Espurr's bows. Espurr really liked attention, so soon after catching her Ash started making bows to put behind her ears, they made her really happy and feel really pretty. Braixen, due to his typing and fur length, needed a special grooming routine, so Ash uploaded the entire process. He even made a Pokevison video about their food, and appropriate snacks. He got a few views, and Ash had been really happy about them, but after his first Performance video, his channel really blew up.

He had snuck out after dark and set up in the forest next to the park. Ponyta stood off to the side, using Heal Pulse to light up the area, while Pikachu hit the camera button. Espurr was on one side, STAR✩DUST was in the middle, and Braixen was on the other. The Music, Blue Bird by Ikimono Gakari, started and thus the routine did. The dance was pretty subdued and was mostly hand movements at first, but once they hit the chorus the dance picked up. Braixan flooded the area in brilliant red flames, and while Espurr took control of said flames, with Psychic. As Psychic and Fire merged, the flames turned blue, and Ponyta stopped using Heal Pulse, meaning the only light came from the flames, which lit the entire area blue. STAR✩DUST and his Pokemon danced in sync as the music went on, with Espurr using Psybeam, and Braixen using Ember. As the song came to an end, STAR✩DUST and his Pokemon moved back into formation, with blue flames licking around them beautifully, with Espurr making the flames dance up behind STAR✩DUST, making it look like he had blue wings made of flame while red embers and multi-colored sparkles showered them all beautifully. Pikachu then ended the video. After putting out the flames, and making sure none of the embers strayed, they returned home.

Ash was very tired the next day, but still edited the video and the audio together before posting it. He hadn't expected much to come from it. He was a nine year old boy, and he wasn't exactly confident of his own work. Sure, Blue Bird was a popular song, but only due to it being the opening of a show that a lot of people loved, so Ash expected his few followers to like and comment, maybe a few other people since it was a performance and those seemed to garner more attention, but in the end he didn't expect much. But oh how very wrong he was.

Within the day STAR✩DUST's video performance was shared, liked, and commented over a million times! Sure there were people who were rude, commenting very mean things, but Ash ignored those because there were a lot more nice things being said. It had garnered so much that a very popular Performance Analyst on Pokevision saw and reviewed it, getting it more attention. It even ended up on the news for some reason.

The reason it got so much attention was mostly because STAR✩DUST was a boy. Due to Showcases, and there for Performances, being strictly feminine, male oriented people didn't often try to break the mold. Even though there were a fair bit of men and boys that wanted to perform, they didn't really do it because Showcases were Female Dominated, so most men and boys turned to Contests rather than try and fight the system. On some aspects, STAR✩DUST was commended for breaking the mold, from men, women, and in between alike, on other aspects people were angry, seeing it as a boy once again trying to take something empowering away from women. It opened a discussion on if Showcases should be more inclusive, or maybe making a separate division specifically for Male oriented individuals.

Under all the political stuff however, STAR✩DUST also got a lot of attention because of the mystery of him. Not only did he not talk, only signing and editing his words over head, but half his face was covered. It brought a lot of intrigue on why he was hiding, would he ever show his face, was he deaf? Mute? Simply unable to talk? There was a lot of mystery and that drew people in.

But while nobody else knew it was Ash behind the mask, Olympia did. She was his mother after all, she could recognize her son if he had worn a pink wing and spoke in a horribly done Galarian accent. She pulled him aside in private, and told him she knew. She didn't make him shut the channel down, if Pokevison was something he enjoyed doing, than by all means she was happy to let him do so, but it was the internet and she had some concerns. He was not to show his face or share any of his personal information online until he was 18, she wanted to go over any chat logs just to make sure he wasn't being preyed on by creeps, Pokevision came after his homework, and his Gym chores, and he was not to sneak out of the house again, no meeting with any other online creators unless she was there with him, if he wanted to film a video outside the house or Gym she would go with him and sit out of frame, and half of any money he made from Pokevison was put into his trust fund. Ashura readily agreed, and later that day sat down to make a response video, thanking the people that liked his video and answering a few non personal questions.

The year until his tenth birthday was mostly him tending to his duties and training, and making videos. Not every video was a performance, he still did Pokemon health videos, and DIY Pokemon clothing videos, as well as a few non-personal Q&A videos, but in the year he uploaded about five more Performance Style videos. He still got hate here and there, but as anxious as some of the things said to or about him made him feel, he couldn't help but feel a bit empowered about the good things said about the videos he made either. He made friends with other creators of similar age, and had a lot of fun making videos.

He decided to start his journey in Kanto. He wasn't sure why, but something in the back of his head told him he had to start there. To his surprise, His mother allowed him to go, and thus Ash started planning his final video, at least for a while.

A week prior the the final video, STAR✩DUST made a short video explaining that he was going to start his journey, and his uploads wouldn't be as often any more. He would still try to post when he could, but he wasn't really sure when he would be able to upload. STAR✩DUST's fans were sad, but most of them were understanding.

His final video, for a while at least, was another performance, this time to a song he 'wrote' himself. He didn't sing on camera, but rather recorded the song and edited it over his performance for more clarity. The song, The Light Known as You(from Magic Kyun Renaissance, Ichijouji's song)was sung in Kantonian, as a homage to his father, and also a fun little clue to where he was going, as the comment section was speculation on what region he would start out in. The song was about the loneliness and darkness Ash felt because he was seen as an omen, how alone he was besides his mother and the very few other people that didn't treat him badly, and how his had seen his journey as the only solution to his problems for a long time before he met his Pokemon and started training and Pokevison.

Unlike his other Performances, that had a lot of hyped up and enthusiastic dancing, this Performance was more downplayed. The steps were slow, telling the story STAR✩DUST wanted to convey. Likewise, the moves of his Pokemon were more slow, with Will-O-Whisp and Psybeam combining to make slow falling red, pink, and blue embers that cascaded around them.

While not the most glamorous, and extravagant performance, the song touched the hearts of a lot of people. Quite a few people had felt the same way or similar in a lot of ways, and they connected with the lyrics. Even the performance, while minimal, was considered art because it helped tell the story and was perfect for the song itself.

After the Video, and one more temporary goodbye video, the STAR✩DUST Pokevision quiet.

=

When Ash went to Kanto, he hadn't expected to make one friend, he hadn't expected other people would want to be friends with, and bond with him. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't speak to them, the anxiety of them coming to hate him, weighed heavily on his mind. But they didn't mind. Misty didn't know any sign language, but she had asked Brock to teach her, just so she could speak more easily with Ash, and Brock already know KSL(Kantonian Sign Language) because one of his brothers were deaf. Ash really liked Brock and Misty, while he and Misty had their issues, she never taunted him about his selective mutism, and was even comforting when he was too anxious. Brock was a big brother by design, and seemed to dote on not only Ash, but Misty as well. Traveling through Kanto felt more like a friend's vacation than a journey. By no means was it easy, honestly it was a bit of a trainwreck at times, what with Team Rocket causing a ruckus, and some fuzzy memories revolving around a place called new Island, but it wasn't a bad journey. There were parts than made him want to pull out his hair, like the Charmander Brock adopted, and Ashura admittedly had a few anxiety attacks. By the time they were moving onto Johto after the Orange Islands, Ash was able to actually speak with Misty and Brock comfortably. In Kanto he caught not only a Slowpoke, a very sleepy Slowpoke, but also a Starmie. Misty was a lot of help when it came to training them, as she specialized in Water Types. Along with the two additions, Braixen evolved into Delphox, and boy did he love his new power, being able to finally Telepathically link with Ash. They stuck together, with Misty and Brock even deciding to come with Ash home to Kalos for a short visit, up until Hoenn. Misty was needed at the Cerulean Gym, and Brock wanted to spend some time with his family, so the trio split up. It was by no means easy, Ash really loved them, seeing them as his siblings in a lot of ways. But he understood both the Duty to the Family, and the Duty to the Gym.

Once Slowpoke and Starmie saw the ocean that the Anistar Gym was situated by, forget it. They refused to leave. Ash was perfectly fine with the arrangement, Slowpoke didn't really like battling in the first place, and Starmie had spent their entire life at sea, and the travel was probably very stressful, so he left them there, promising to visit once he returned from Hoenn.

Once in Hoenn, Ash met May, and Max. Neither sibling knew a thing about HSL(Hoennian Sign Language), but like Misty, they were determined to learn so they could understand Ash. Ash tried to inform them that he didn't mind writing on a tablet, but they wouldn't hear a thing of it. They even got to meet up with Brock, who had decided to go to Hoenn after spending some time with his family. With Brock around, it was easier to adjust to May and Max, and he was able to speak with them a little better. Along with heading towards the Hoenn League, Ash decided to participate in Hoenn Contests alongside May. It was fun to travel with a Rival, and it brought them closer together as friends. With Hoenn brought Medicham, well originally Ash had tried to catch him as a Meditite, but in the battle between Meditite and Espurr, both Pokemon evolved at the same time, meaning Ash got a Meowstic and a Medicham. After Meowstic's evolution, Ash decided to make another Pokevision video. While Brock, May, and Max slept he changed and quickly wandered off to a nearby river, and filmed a quick video, introducing the newly evolved Delphox, and Meowstic to the STAR✩DUST channel. The Comment section went crazy with his return, and STAR✩DUST promised to try and upload more. It was hard to edit the video at night, and Ash was super tired the next day, but it was worth it. Along with Medicham, Ash also obtained a Solrock and Lunatone, though they were admittedly more for his mother than himself. She always loved the galaxy, and had always wanted a Solrock and Lunatone, but she just had never come across one, so Ash surprised her with Solrock, and promised her Lunatone after the Hoenn Legue. In Hoenn also came the Evolution of Ponyta, who evolved in Ash's contest battle against Drew in the Grand Festival. Drew still won in the end, but Ash was happy regardless, he was even proud of his Top 4 placement in the Hoenn League. After Hoenn came the Battle Frontier, Ash had originally gone to Kanto to visit Misty with Brock when he had learned of the Battle Frontier. Other than an another amazing journey through Kanto, and meeting another Trainer who directed her Pokemon Telepathically, Ash also met his first Pokemon Egg, besides Misty's Togepi. After helping a Pokemon Egg Hatchery, the owners gifted both Ash and May twin Pokemon Eggs, both a pretty dusty brown with a cream band. Ash had sent Lunatone home before he started the Battle Fronteir because he really missed Solrock, and Solrock was also really missing Lunatone, so he could carry the egg not problem.With the Egg, Ash decided to make a Egg caring guide for his Pokevision account. He didn't use the real egg, because they were so delicate, but he bought a styrofoam egg for his demonstration on how to care and tend for eggs, it was actually a pretty big hit since not may people knew how to care for eggs properly and tended to have to lean on Nurse Joy when they get one. From those eggs hatched two little Eevee. May's Eevee was a bouncing brown and cream with a spiky tail tip pattern, while Ash's was a mellower brown and cream Eevee with a flower patterned tail tip. The entire team was fascinated by the little Eevee, since for a lot of Ash's team, they had never cared for a Pokemon Egg before. Meowstic was especially joyful, and tended to dote on Eevee as much as Ash did.

After Hoenn Ash stayed in Kalos for a little while, trading Lunatone and Solrock officially to his mother and releasing another performance video, with another song he wrote while traveling through Hoenn. The song would be sang in Hoennian, because that was where it was written. Titled Shiny Ray(a/n: again from Magic Kyun Renaissance), the song was about his friendships he made along his journey, how he hopes that friendship continues to prosper and live on. Opposed to his last performance, the dancing and visuals were bright and enthusiastic, with Magic Room, Mystical Fire, Psybeam, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, and Swift making a fabulous display of fluttering bright lights. It was filmed in his mother's Gym , and marked Eevee's, and Medicham's debut onto the from STAR✩DUST channel. This performance was also well received, with people sending it to their friends, and it once again ended up on the news, and opened the discussion back up on male focused performances. Unlike the last time however, there was less outcry, as more and more male identifying individuals started posting their own performance videos.

Ash had kind of cracked up when Misty sent the STAR✩DUST performance to their group chat, while telling them that she missed them and the song made her think of them all, though he for sure felt the same way.

After his stay in Kalos however, came Sinnoh. Dawn was like may but with 50% more energy. She was slower at learning SSL(Sinnohian Sign Language) and struggled quite a bit, but worked very hard to try and learn. Ash decided not to participate in the Sinnoh Contests. He managed the two fine in Hoenn, but contests didn't give him the same rush as Performance or Battling, even the flashier performances of Sinnoh, so he took a step back and just helped Dawn where he could. Besides, the more distance between Ash and STAR✩DUST, the better. He was hiding in plain sight, but he still rather nobody knew, and tried not to leave any clues where he could. Sinnoh wasn't all good though, for one Ash met someone he was sure he actually hated. Through all Ash went through as a kid, he had never hated anyone, not even the people who looked at him like he was scum, but Ash was certain he hated Paul. He treated his Pokemon and everyone around him horribly, why? Because his brother decided that being a trainer wasn't for him. It irked Ash to no end, he abused his Pokemon because he didn't want to, what, lose? Find a different calling? It was stupid, and for the first time in Ash's life, outside of actual danger, Ash yelled at him. Paul of course demanded a battle soon after, especially after Seeing Ash's team, and Ash, nor his Pokemon, held back. The only Pokemon Ash didn't use against Paul was Rapidash, and that was because Rapidash was so disturbed by the darkness in Paul's heart he refused to leave his Pokeball. Ash was silent the entire battle, his Pokemon conducting themselves perfectly as they battled Paul's team. When the battle ended, and the dust settled with 4-2 in Ash's favor. Despite his throat being raw from yelling, Ash stared Paul directly in the eye, and without mincing his words, told Paul that he would never beat Brandon with the attitude and belief system he had, and then walked away, feeling like he would puke if he stayed much longer. It took days for Ash to flush the negativity from his system. He still saw Paul periodically through his Sinnoh Journey, but Ash could never bring himself to look at him, much less talk to him. Even when they battled in the Sinnoh League, Ash's eyes were always on his Pokemon, never Paul. STAR✩DUST Posted quite a few smaller videos at the time, like more grooming videos because he needed something to distract himself. He shared that he was writing two other songs and making another routine for one of them, but wasn't sure when he would get to performing it.

From Sinnoh, Ash went straight to Unova. His mother was busy, and Ash needed some alone time. Brock had stayed in Sinnoh to become a Pokemon Doctor, while Dawn was trying her hand at becoming a Pokemon Stylist. Ash was happy for both of them, but he really wasn't sure how he felt about traveling alone, other than his Pokemon. At the beginning of his journey, Ash tried to travel with a rambunctious girl named Iris, who was trying to become a Dragon Master, and Cilan, a Gym Leader and Pokemon Connoisseur, but it didn't work out. Because Ash wasn't deaf, or had damaged vocal cords, Iris didn't think he needed to use sign language, and therefore wouldn't listen to Ash unless he spoke to her, which Ash couldn't bring himself to do. She purposefully poked and teased him to try and get him to talk, but it wasn't that easy, not for Ash. Her picking just made his anxiety worse, and he couldn't bring himself to talk to her. Cilan was the opposite, he tried to baby Ash, set up his tent, feed him, like Ash couldn't care for himself. It was frustrating, and when Ash tried to explain it to them, via writing on his tablet, they both got offended. Ash didn't want to put up with it. He had friends, friends who were good to him, learning sign language for him, and letting him get used to them. Those were the friends he wanted, and the friends he deserved. He deserved better. So, he cut his losses, packed his stuff from the camp area they were in, and rode off on Rapidash's back. Adjusting to traveling alone was hard, but also empowering. It proved to Ash that he could take care of himself, and if he ever needed to talk to someone he could message the friends that actually made an effort, such as Brock. Traveling alone also allowed him to film and make videos without sneaking around. One of the videos he uploaded in Unova was a song he had written after setting off on his own called Brave Song(a/n: Aoi Tada), which he sang in Unovian. It was more or less about the trifles of being alone but having to continue forward. There was no performance for this song, instead it showed STAR✩DUST sitting lazily against a tree, Eevee and Meowstic were sleeping in his lap, with Medicham leaning against the tree next to STAR✩DUST, and Delphox laying in the grass next to them as Rapidash used a soft Fairy Wind behind the camera to give the scene a slight sparkle. STAR✩DUST simply sat there, singing Brave Song while the camera rolled, no dancing or bizarre effects. At the end of the video STAR✩DUST included a message about doing thing for yourself and your own mental health. It was also pretty well received, a few fans were worried about him, but he assured them that he was fine. Besides making more videos, and traveling alone, Unova was pretty normal. And, since nobody else was around to distract him from training, or hold up the walking group, Ash was able to get to places quicker, and into the Top 4 at the Unova League*.

After the mess that was Unova, Ash decided to stay in Kalos. With as much camera work, and mental health practices as he had gotten done in Unova, Ash felt more secure in himself. The idea of being around a lot of people still made his chest tighten and his skin crawl, but he was comfortable enough to stay in Kalos for the season. He doubted he would be able to make friends, since Ashura Avenir was well known for being the 'Omen of Anistar'.

What Ash didn't know was that Ash, as himself, was actually pretty popular. He had participated in a lot of leagues, and quite a few contests, and always placed pretty high, especially given his age. He was in the top 16 at age 10, that really wasn't an easy feat, and since he hailed from Kalos, the region got a fair few brownie points with the other regions, making tourist ventures go up, and more trainers visit Kalos over all. While there were a few people, mostly in Anistar City itself, that still thought of him as an Omen, more people were simply amazed by his feats of a trainer. The fact that rumors spread of his ventures to save a fair few cities around other regions didn't harm his reputation either. Ash, of course, didn't know any of this. He knew he was stared at a lot, but he was used to stares, so he ignored them. In his viewpoint, they stared at him in malice and hate. He was so used to expecting the worst of people when it came to himself, that he couldn't see that many people actually liked him.

Regardless of all that drama however, Olympia was thrilled with her son's decision. She was especially looking forward to when he would come to battle her, and promised not to go easy on him, and Ash of course agreed likewise. Before he set out though, Ash, or rather STAR✩DUST had something to do. As far as anyone knew STAR✩DUST only had Eevee, Meowstic, Delphox, and Medicham, that was well and good but Ash was also known to have said Pokemon, with only Rapidash and Pikachu being the outliers. While other regions may chalk it up to Ash simply looking up to a Kalos Idol, Kalos wouldn't do that. So, before Ash set off across Kalos he made a video showcasing STAR✩DUST's Croagunk(courtesy of Brock, because he was an angel and didn't ask questions), and Spritzee(courtesy of Valerie, who had known almost instantly after STAR✩DUST started his journey and called him to scold him for not letting her made his outfits). He explained in the video that they didn't really like being on camera, so they wouldn't be shown in any videos, but he wanted to show them, the viewers, his full team. Croagunk was weirdly popular with his fans, but for the most part they understood, and respected that STAR✩DUST was not forcing his Pokemon to be on camera.

With that video posted, Ash set off to conquer Kalos. He had never expected to make two new friends his first day in Lumiose City, but Bonnie and Clemont were little balls of sunshine, and they already knew KASL, due to their Grandmother having gone deaf in her old age, so communication was easier between them. Ash also hadn't expected to jump off a building his first day of his adventure, but he did so, getting a very heated call from his mother soon thereafter. Ash had complicated feelings about Serena, she seemed like a nice girl, and he could vaguely remember her, but at times it felt like she was holding herself back, and it just made Ash more anxious. Ash had been truly shocked when he found out that Kalos, after much debate, had decided to try opening a sibling Showcase Event for men and male presenting individuals. It was a trial period, and there were no promises that it would happen the next year, but there was a lot of hype around it, especially with famous Pokemon Top Coordinators Wallace and Fantasia endorsing it. Instead of being Princesses, there were Princes, and instead of Kalso Queen, there was Kalos King. They were pretty much the same thing just split up by gender, and already there were quite a few people signed up. Ash had been tempted to try, but just watching the expedition Showcase, and seeing how many people were there, it had immediately squashed the thought. He knew he wouldn't be able to perform in front of so many people. Besides, videos were different than a live performance, if Ash messed up on camera, which he hardly ever did, he could just re-shoot, but if he did so in person there was no redo. Still, Ash happily supported Serena's decision to become a Performer, and had a lot of fun watching her Showcases. Still, between Pokemon battles and being around Performance's near constantly, an itch to perform festered, and he started writing another song. The song was finally done by the time they reached Courmine City, and Ash couldn't think of a better place to film. After the Pledging Tree gift giving was over, but the tree was still lit and everyone was asleep, STAR✩DUST snuck out, and set up. He didn't set up under the tree, but the tree glistened in the background. The song, My World, Your World(a/n: Magic Kyun Renaissance, Aoi Suminomiya) was sung in Kalosian, it was a slightly softer song, and a song Ash wrote for his Pokemon, basically about how grateful he was towards them for all the joy he brought into his life. The dance was simple, but fast paced, with Eevee using swift and Meowstic using Psybeam to scatter the stars while turning them a pastel rainbow as they fell upon the dancing trainer and Pokemon. Delphox made a particularly large Shadow Ball, which Medicham used Thunder Punch to destroy, while this was used to make a beautiful violet and yellow spray, it was also a metaphor for the darkness Ash had been in before he met him Pokemon, with the Thunder Punch, bright and cracking with electricity destroyed said darkness, making something beautiful out of it. By the time the video ended, tears, ones made of joy, and a bit of bitterness dripped from Ash's face. Instead of the video cutting off after the dance, it continued for a few more seconds, showing teary-eyed Pokemon pouncing on their trainer lovingly. Ash didn't post the video the next morning like he usually did, but actually waited a week, just to throw some people off on where he was, since Coumarine City was pretty well recognizable compared to random spots in a forest. The video was very well received, and the comments were flooded with emotion and how the song meant a lot to them and their Pokemon, or family, bestfriends, lovers, ect. It was probably STAR✩DUST most popular song. With said popularity, however, came a tiny drawback. Since the Male Showcases were so new, there was no 'Kalos King', meaning they were holding elections on who was to hold the title of Kalos King until the Master Class , and because STAR✩DUST was so popular, and pretty much started the discussion about male Showcases, pretty much everyone voted for him to be Kalos King, at least until Master Class. His mother thought it was hilarious, Valerie immediately started working on his outfit for the Master Class, and Ash, p a n i c k e d. Even though he was a temporary holder, and thus didn't have to gain three keys, he still had to at least do one performance against the finalist. He didn't have to worry about singing, because most of the music is pre-recorded so the performers can call out moves to their Pokemon, but still, all those eyes on him.

===

Panic Attack: Start

Ash stared down at the email with wide, panicked eyes. He had run to the forest as soon as he saw the email, and found a secluded spot to read it, with only Pikachu and Eevee had followed after him. His breaths were coming out in short, fast gasps, no matter how much air he tried to suck in it just never felt like enough. Ash couldn't focus on his surroundings, maybe distantly he could hear Pikachu and Eevee cry out to him but he could seem to focus on them. His heart beat pounded loudly in his ears, and he could feel the heat of a thousand stares on his skin. His clothes felt too heavy, he was too hot, and moisture dripped down his cheeks. He wasn't safe. Wasn't safe wasn't safe wasn't safe wasn't-

Something soft pressed into Ash's hands. Ash flinched at first, until it nuzzled into his palms. Ash tried to gulp down air, focussing on the fuzzy thing in his hands. Slowly, his thumbs started rubbing circles into the soft thing, probably fur, and Ash desperately tried to focus on it. His breath was still quick, but he was slowly becoming more aware, he could now focus on the sound gently rustling leaves, taste the salt of his tears, smell the scent of home from Pikachu's fur, feel the softness of Eevee's fur, and his vision, despite the tears, could finally focus on the worried fuzzy face of Eevee and Pikachu.

"Pika Pika." Pikachu chirped calmly, patting his hand in a 4-7-8 rhythm. As Ash slowly came too, he started forcing his breathing to follow Pikachu's taps. At one point he started to spiral again, but Eevee quickly regained his attently, rubbing against his palms.

Ash sighed softly, and touched his forehead to Pikachu's. His whole body felt tired, his muscles seized. He couldn't even utter a thank you to his Pokemon as he glanced around warily. Pikachu used their tail to swat Ash's Pokedex away, and sat on the 16 year old's shoulder, pressing his weight down to keep his trainer grounded. Eevee, for her part, kept nuzzling into Ash's hands, nipping playfully at his fingers when he stopped petting her. At some point, Clemont came to check on Ash, as he had been gone for a while, but seeing the glazed look in his eyes, and the tear streaks down his face, left him be, only leaving behind his breakfast in case he was hungry.

Panic Attack: End

By the time noon came around, Ash was finally able to move. He was still on high alert, and likely wouldn't fully come back into himself for days to follow, but he wasn't in a daze any longer. After he stood, he picked Eevee up, and pressed his forehead to hers with a tiny smile. Eevee immediately lit up, and nuzzled into his cheek until suddenly, she started glowing. Right in Ash's arms, Eevee started to evolve. Thick dusty brown fur shortened and turned lavender, what was once a flower tipped fluffy tail, lengthened and split into two at the tip, while large pointed ears and thick cheek tufts sprouted from her head on face. Brown eyes turned violet, and neck fluff vanished while a single red gem appeared on her forehead.

"Espeon!" The newly evolved Espeon cooed, and Ash had had to readjust his hold to accommodate the large Pokemon.

Ash gasped softly as his mind was flooded of snapshots of Espeon's thoughts, mostly of Ash and Eevee together, either battling or performing, in all of them both Ash and Eevee had big grins. Ash felt tears spring in his eyes and smiled a bit brighter, carefully reaching up to scratch her ear.

"Pika Pi?" Pikachu questioned worriedly, and Ash reached up to scratch under his chin. "Cha~"

===

Once the after effects of the panic attack tapered off, Ash finally sat down to think about what he was going to do about being 'Kalos King'. Though it was a shallow title until a real king could be chosen, Ash felt bad if he ducked out. People voted for him for a reason and he didn't want to disappoint anyone, but what could he really do? Could he even duck out if he wanted too? The Email basically said; 'You're Kalos King now, be here on this date at this time.' He ended up calling his mother, maybe it seemed odd but he needed advice. Olympia was very understanding, and pointed out that he battled in front of people, but when Ash explained the difference between battling and performance in front of people, Olympia understood better. There was a lot of back and forth, of thinking of solutions and strategies. Looking further into it, Ash couldn't drop the title even if he wanted to, and Olympa had tried, but it was no use. It was decided that Ash would focus solely on his Pokemon the entire performance, imagining that it was just him, and his Pokemon on stage, and nobody else. This took a lot of practice, mostly because Ash tended to overthink. He had dabbled with the idea of telling Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena, but back tracked quickly. Serena, and Bonnie were huge fans of Aria and STAR✩DUST, and even 'shipped them', apparently they were called StarSongshipping and there was a huge fanbase evolving around them, even though they had never met and- fandom was weird, Ash tried not to think about it too hard, and he refused to know what a 'fanfiction' was. Instead of telling them the whole truth, he signed to them that he actually really liked singing and wanted to get over his stage fright. Hiding in plain sight was actually very easily, and since Ash didn't sing any STAR✩DUST songs, they never realized. Instead they happily acted as an audience while Ash practiced singing in front of them. It was not easy. They were friends, which made it a little easier, but their eyes watching him so expectantly made him run off their made shift stage more than once. It was a long struggle, one that only took a break when they were in public, or Ash had a gym battle. The battle between Ash and Olympia was brutal, Meowstic and Meowstic vs Pikachu and Rapidash. Both Mother and Son were dressed professionally, their faces hard with concentration. Serena was originally very confused, she had always known of Ash but she focused mainly on him and not his family, she was very surprised when Clemont told her Olympia was Ash's mother. Not a word was spoken from either trainer, showing their skill and precision in battle without a word spoken, nobody would ever be able to say Ash won because of Nepotism. When Ashura won the battle, his mother looked on proudly before presenting him with the Psychic Badge. Out of all the badges Ash gained from battling fellow Psychic Type Experts, the Psychic Badge ultimately meant the most to him. He still had years until his mother retired, but it made him feel more ready in his capabilities that he beat her fair and square. Once Ash could comfortably sing in front of Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie, they invited Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno. While only a few more eyes, Ash still fled a fair few times before he could even hum in front of them, but eventually he could sing. After the first time Ash could properly sing, Shana gave Ash a strange look, one that slowly melted into shock, before finally turning into understanding. She grinned slyly at him, but he must have had a frightened look on his face because the grin dropped and she had later apologized, promising not to share his secret with anyone. It felt nice to have someone outside his family know his secret, and with Shauna's encouragement, Ash eventually told Brock. Brock, while surprised, simply laughed it off, and even promised to watch his performance online, and while he wouldn't tell the others his secret, he said he'd tell them to watch too. Somehow, knowing his friends would be watching, made Ash feel a lot better, he wouldn't be performing in front of an audience, he would be performing in front of his friends. He was still apprehensive, but he had a little more courage. The problem with having a double life, was that Ash sometimes had to choose one life over the other when they intercepted, for example, Ash had to pretend he had gotten sick so 'Ash' didn't have to go to the Master Class Ball. The Ball would be bigger this year due to the two different Showcases, and the Ball was a way to get the two different Showcases to interact and become more acquainted. STAR✩DUST was required to go to the Ball, therefore Ash couldn't go. Ash hated lying to his friends, he really did, but he wasn't ready to tell them the truth. The Ball went off without a hitch, a lot of people wanted to talk to STAR✩DUST, so they didn't really interact with Serena or Clemont. He was especially jumpy that evening, but he was at least able to sign pretty easily to everyone he did meet. He even had a nice back and forth signing conversation with Aria, though he had a feeling she didn't like him very much*. Soon after was the actual Master Class. Unlike previous years, the first few rounds of the the Female Master Class would happen Day 1, the first few rounds of the Male Master Class would happen Day 2, and then the 3rd day would be both the Female and Male Semi Finals and Finals, so the First day, Ash could relax and watch Serena compete, but the second and third days he was 'sick', though he promised to watch her on the television. Surprisingly, the Master Class went off without a hit, and soon it was the third day. The day STAR✩DUST would perform live and in person. STAR✩DUST wouldn't be singing live, but he would be performing to his own song, a new one he started writing with his Pokemon after he realized there was no getting out of it. He called it Dear My Special(a/n: again from Magic Kyun Renaissance, leave me alone I really like the songs), and like My World, Your World, it was sung in Kalosian, and about his Pokemon, and the support and love he felt for them. His Pokemon actually helped a lot when writing it, sharing their own memories and feelings with him. When it was finally STAR✩DUST's turn, he took the stage, Espeon and Meowstic on one side, and Delpox and Medicham on the other, and his eyes focused solely on Pikachu, who sat on Clemont's lap. The music and dancing were upbeat and lively, evry move calculated, from Mystical Fire and Thunder/Fire Punch, to Morning Sun and Psybeam. The different colors melded together in a ray of light and finesse. The smile on STAR✩DUST's face, though nobody could see his eyes, was large and genuine, filling the audience with a feeling of acceptance and love. From Clemont's lap, Pikachu's eyes filled with emotion, he could feel every meaningful word of the song touch him, conveying the love and care felt for him, and it took all Pikachu's self control not to jump on stage and hug him. The performance ended with white shards of Lightscreen shimmering down on the stage and audience like flower petals before they burst into smaller sparkles and vanished. Immediately the audience was in a roar of cheers, startling STAR✩DUST so much he jumped, and would have fallen if not for Espeon using Psychic to keep him up right. When the votes were called, to the surprise of noone, Aria kept the title of Kalos Queen, and to the surprise of many, the title of Kalos King went to Marius, a trainer who performed alongside a Psyduck, and Rotom. What surprised Ash, was that Marius only one by three points, meaning he had been very close to winning. STAR✩DUST was glad he hadn't won though, he didn't think he could standing Performing as much as Aria did. Proudly, STAR✩DUST handed the crown over to Marius, who blushed upon STAR✩DUST praising him, through KASL of course. And though STAR✩DUST posted a video thanking everyone for voting, Ash was more than happy to put the Master Class behind him and focus on the Kalos League, especially because the Male Showcases were confirmed to happen the following year. Battling with Alain after so long of not meeting each other was a lot, Alain had changed a lot, but Ash was happy to battle now that they were both older, and Ash had no problem losing to Alain in the finals. He had been in the Top Four quite a few times, so it felt nice getting into the Top Two for once. The disaster following the Kalos league, however, Ash after forget. He was surprised, and grateful they prevailed in the end, but Ash and STAR✩DUST were both due for a vacation.

Instead of planning his next adventure, Ash decided to take a vacation to Alola. Olympia quickly agreed, knowing her son needed a break after the year he had just had. STAR✩DUST, on his end, posted a video about taking another break. After the masterclass and traveling for seven odd years, he needed a vacation and wouldn't be uploading any videos in a while. And with that mess out of the way, Ash and his Pokemon boarded the plane to Alola.

===

Ash stretched as he exited the Airport, basking in the warm tropical sun and air. "Snice, right Pikachu?" Ash whispered to his yellow partner, who nodded with a coo.

"Kachu!" Pikachachu agreed, climbing onto Ash's head to get closer to the sun.

Chuckling silently, Ash pulled out a piece of paper that had an address scribbled on it. It was the address to the Avenir Beach House, apparently Ashura's great grandmother was Alolan and they still owned a bit of property. Looking around desperately, Ash ventured further into the island and towards what looked like a shopping district, trying to get his barings about the area as he searched for what street he needed. Ash scrunched his eyebrows, looking at the paper and not watching where he was going until a smaller body plowed right into him. Looking down, Ash saw that a boy, no older than 14, had run right into, a dark brown Raichu floating on its tail beside him. Startled, Ash bent down to help the boy up.

Pikachu stared hard at the Raichu before him. Pikachu had never thought much about evolving, he knew Ash always carried around a Thunder Stone in case he ever wanted to, but that was the long and short of it. There had been a few times Pikachu had considered it, and Ash had offered it, but Pikachu never took the offer. He had beaten Raichu as a Pikachu a pawful of times, heck, he had beaten far stronger Pokemon a pawful of times. Truth was, when Pikachu looked at Raichu, it just gave him a feeling of 'not right'. Not that he really had anything against Raichu in general, just the jerks of the species, its just when Pikachu thought about becoming one, it made him feel not right. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but him becoming Raichu just wasn't what he wanted.

He knew Ash could care less about him evolving. Pikachu and Ash had a tough, unbreakable bond. Pikachu knew he was special to Ash, Pikachu was his first Pokemon, and the first Pokemon he ever helped evolve. Pikachu couldn't read Ash's mind like the others, but that never really bothered Pikachu, because they could battle together regardless.

But, looking at the Raichu before him, Pikachu had a sense of 'right'. The Raichu was different from most other Raichu, like how Rapidash was different from the fire horses of Kanto. Instead of orange fur with brown ears and sharp points, the Raichu before him was round, with a pale brown pelt and yellow, round ears, and they floated on their tail. Pikachu could feel the Psychic energy radiating off them, you don't live around multiple Psychic Types without learning how to pick up on their energy. And the harder Pikachu stared, the more it felt right.

Pikachu was broken from their staring by Ash reaching up and scratching under his chin, just where he liked it. "Cha~" He purred, and Ash started walking, following Raichu's trainer.

===

Ash glanced at Pikachu worriedly. Since they arrived in Alola Pikachu had seemed distracted. Even when they were surfing, or relaxing in the sand, or battling leisurely, or when he was eating his beloved ketchup. Pikachu would sometimes fall into silent thought. Ash tried taking him to Nurse Joy, he she assured him that Pikachu was fine. The rest of the team also seemed worried about Pikachu, but they couldn't think of anything either. Ash was content to let Pikachu come to him when he was ready, but he couldn't help worrying and overthinking on what could be wrong.

It wasn't until a few days later that Ash got an answer to his question. They were in the Beach House preparing stuff to go swimming when Pikachu suddenly wandered over to Ash's travel backpack,which he took everywhere and used to carry his important things. Ash watched silently as Pikachu opened the bag and pulled out a tightly sealed black box, the one that Ash always carried the Thunder Stone in.

Pikachu looked at Ash silently, and Ash took a seat on the bed. "Is this what has been on your mind all week?" He asked, cupping Pikachu's cheeks in his hands and rubbing circles into the electric pouches.

"Ka Chu." Pikachu nodded seriously, twitching his tail in thought.

Ash smiled slightly. "It's your choice, I've always promised you that." Ash picked up the black box and opened it, revealing the green stone that looked as if electricity were stored inside it, and presenting it to his yellow buddy.

Pikachu's brown eyes softened, and with a determined look, and a firm hand reached out, pressing his little yellow paw onto the stone. Pikachu glowed, his ears growing bigger, and rounding out, while his yellow fur darkened and belly fur lightened to a bright white. His tail lengthened at the base, while the once spiky tail bubbled out and flattened, and brown eyes changed into a brilliant sky blue. The bright light of evolution faded, and now standing where Pikachu once stood was Raichu.

"Raichu Rai!" Raichu crooned joyously, and Ash's mind was surged with flashes of Pikachu's memories.

Ash held out his hand to his buddy. "Welcome to the team Raichu!" He grinned, only to immediately get an arm full of Electric Mouse. Ash grunted, Raichu was a lot bigger and heavier than Pikachu, but regardless he pulled Raichu up into his arms, and scratched under his chin, right where Raichu liked it.