The Gym Leader of Viridian City
Author: lucre_noin
Beta reader: LADYKNIGHTANKA
Rating: PG13
Genere: fluff, romantic, general
Pairings: Satoshi/Shigeru
Plot: Satoshi has to chose: continue traveling or living in Viridian City as a Gym leader?
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"The Gym Leader of Viridian City?"
"Ash, this is a great opportunity," said Professor Oak, nodding to the boy, now man, before him.
Ash Ketchum had never thought about becoming a Gym Leader. What he had always dreamed of since childhood was to become a Pokemon Master, the greatest pokemon trainer of all, the only one who caught all pokemon in existence. It was a childhood wish, something that he had clung to for years, and still wanted.
"Pika?"
"Ash, you beat the Kanto league and you are the champion. I'm not surprised that the Elite Four want you as the Gym Leader."
"But Viridian City already has a leader-"
"As you know, some trainers currently fight for the gyms, but they are not something definitive."
Pikachu jumped onto his trainer's shoulder and rubbed his red cheek against Ash's one.
"I need some time to think about it."
Professor Oak seemed to understand and simply nodded, before shaking Ash's hand and watching the trainer walk out of his lab.
***
Ash Ketchum just wanted to shut his eyes and stop thinking. He'd traveled all his life, for ten years, and he'd met some wonderful people, had experienced some wonderful adventures. And now this.
"Pi?"
"I'm not sad; I'm just surprised. I didn't expect such a proposal."
Ash knew that being a Gym Leader was a great opportunity. He had always felt enormous respect for the Gym Leaders he'd encountered during his journey, and the idea of being one of them filled him with excitement.
Ash Ketchum, the great Gym Leader of Viridian City. The one who must give the final medal before trainers could join the Kanto league.
"Pipikapi," insisted Pikachu, jumping to the ground and shaking his little arms.
"It's a big responsibility," Ash agreed, nodding.
It 's just that - it's stopping. It's hard to stop after traveling for a lifetime. Yet there was something reassuring, a warm heat that filled him, at the idea of having a place all his own. Something that belonged to him and only him.
And then there was Gary.
The famous researcher Gary Oak was currently researching prehistoric pokemon between Cinnabar Island and Pallet Town.
Gary had chosen his own path.
And fortunately, for once, he had chosen something stable. Cinnabar and Pallet were both places that Ash knew, places where he could always go to find Gary.
Gary even had an apartment in the new neighborhoods built in Pallet Town.
"I'm not the best boyfriend in the world," sighed Ash to Pikachu, letting the pokemon climb onto his shoulder. "And tomorrow is his birthday," he added, watching the sun set, "I'll tell him that I'll decide to stay as a birthday gift, no?
"Pika!" Pikachu scolded.
Pikachu would certainly have added something else (saying something like that to your boyfriend was tactless), but suddenly Ash's PokeGear began to ring and he was forced to respond.
"Hello, Gary!"
The other boy greeted him with a laugh. "I'm pleased that you are always so excited to hear from me."
"I was just thinking of you …"
A pause. "With one hand in your pants?" he replied jokingly.
Ash's face flushed a lovely and romantic red, like an apple.
"No, about something that Professor Oak said."
"He asked you to become the new Gym Leader of Viridian City."
"You know?" The irritation came easy. It was easy to blame someone for some little thing when emotions were too much to bear."Why did you know about this before me?"
"It's my grandfather, Ashy-boy."
"And you know what I decided?"
"What have you decided?"
"I don't know," Ash had to admit. He wanted to have a definite answer, an angry answer, but he needed Gary's advice. "Do you want me to accept it?"
"Ash, you must decide for yourself what you want. It's not about me. And, of course, being a Gym Leader is a wonderful position, and I'd also like you to accept it so I can have that egoistical feeling of having you near.”
"It could be my birthday present for you," Ash offered, smiling.
The silence lasted a few seconds too long, before Gary finally slammed the phone down.
"What did I say?" Ash asked, confused. Pikachu shook his head and brought his eyes to heaven, exasperated. "What have I done?" Ash asked Pikachu this time.
The yellow mouse crossed his arms in front of him.
"Maybe I should call Misty; she always knows what to do," Ash sighed, dropping into one of the benches in front of their home.
***
Pikachu was tired of the situation.
Of course, he liked to travel and meet new pokemon, and he knew that his Trainer, Ash, loved to travel the same way. But, he could see that Trainer-Ash's need to return to Pallet Town had recently increased, and he had seemed almost unsure of what to do to become the acclaimed pokemon master who he had always wanted to be.
Pikachu was not a stupid pokemon. He was well aware that Trainer-Ash was now one of the most famous trainers of Johto and Hoenn, and certainly the most famous of Kanto (odd girls often stopped to ask him for an autograph), but was also aware that one could not travel forever.
Everyone knew it. Traveling for too long hurts the soul, because you leave behind too many lives, too many friends. Pikachu had lost them. He had lost Butterfree, his first real friend. He had no news of either Squirtle or Bulbasaur, and he had seen Pidgeot only once. And he missed also human-May and Beauty-Dawn.
The little yellow mouse was firmly convinced that life in Pallet Town would be fun.
Misty-red-hair lived nearby and Pikachu was a bit in love with her. Brock-cooks-food also did, and that was absolutely essential in Pikachu's eyes. Not to mention Mother and Gary-mate-Oak.
Pikachu did not like Gary-mate-Oak much, but had to admit that Trainer-Ash was completely dependent on him. Ever since he'd met Pikachu, Trainer-Ash had always tried to reach Gary-mate-Oak, who was always a step ahead of him.
When Gary-the-real-loser (which was how Pikachu referred to him in those lovely times) evolved into Scientist-Gary, Pikachu had believed that he would disappear from Trainer-Ash's life.
But, despite the change in their field of interest, Trainer-Ash and Scientist-Gary had continued to see each other, often by chance, here and there, and then they'd continue to look for each other, until one day Pikachu realized that Scientist-Gary had suddenly become Gary-mate-Oak.
Obviously Trainer-Ash had never understood anything about these things, and it had been up to Misty-red hair to handle the difficult task of opening his eyes. (Misty-red-hair was probably the smartest woman in the world).
Trainer-Ash, slower than a Slowpoke, had finally realized what he really wanted from the scientist. And for some reason, Trainer-Ash began to smile at the insults of Gary-mate-Oak, and Pikachu had learned to accept him as a needed appendix to his trainer.
"Misty is not answering me," sighed Trainer-Ash, bringing his face up to face the sky. The sun had set and the stars twinkled faintly within the last remains of the day's redness.
You should stay here with Gary-mate-Oak, because it makes you happy. And I want to fight the pokemon that will arrive at the gym! But, you should also travel, because it makes you happy-
It was hard to be a human, Pikachu sighed, yawning. And Trainer-Ash made everything more difficult.
"I do not understand why he's angry ... or maybe the line just broke down."
"Pipika!" He does not want you to stay here because he tells you to. "Kaaa. Pika." You have to decide if you can make these sacrifices for yourself, for your happiness, and not because of a gift or a favor.
Trainer-Ash obviously failed to understand him and merely asked him if he was hungry.
"Pikachu, I've traveled for so long. And it's not true that a Gym Leader never travels, is it?"
"Pika?"
"A leader does it less, yes, so it would be a sacrifice. Something new."
Pikachu climbed on Trainer-Ash's shoulder, but his thoughts were interrupted by Mother. Oh, Pikachu loved Mother. She was the best of all the strange human ladies. She always pet him and passed him delicious bites when Trainer-Ash wasn't looking.
"Ash, dear, what did Professor Oak want?"
"He asked me to become the Gym Leader of Viridian City."
"Oh, darling, isn't that wonderful?! It would be a great honor, and you would live near me, and - it would be a great responsibility."
At the word, Trainer-Ash wrinkled his nose.
"I'm still thinking about it..."
"And you'd be close to Gary! In any case, you shouldn't leave at once," Mother continued, dragging Pikachu and Ash to the dinner table. "Eat something!"
"Pika!" said the pokemon, enthusiastic, and after a few seconds, Mother gave him a delicious dish of meatballs.
"I'm not very hungry ..." protested Trainer-Ash.
Mother began to talk about the importance of nutrition, but Pikachu was suddenly distracted by the sound the blaring television made.
"These pokemon are very shy, and that's because they are so rare to find in the wild," a male voice was saying. The magic screen was showing images of a calm and crystalline lake. On the surface of the water passed a Butterfree, and Pikachu leaned a paw against the cold surface of the screen. How strange, the Butterfree had seemed so close...
"The Piplup are wonderful swimmers, but on the mainland, they're much more uncertain with their footsteps."
A little Piplup came out of the water and Pikachu let out a cry of joy. It was like Dawn's Piplup! It was just like him!
"Pika! Pika! "
"What is it, Pikachu?"
"Pikaaa," continued the yellow pokemon, standing against the magic box to indicate the Piplup.
"Yes, it's a Piplup like Dawn's," confirmed Trainer-Ash, smiling.
"Piplup travel all their lives, looking for their ideal mate and companion, and together they travel to a place where they can adapt to their future life."
The image of a little Piplup, blue and furry, appeared in front of Pikachu. He gently pecked another Piplup, who responded with some delightful, sleepy, "Plup, pipi."
"If the Piplup couple is accidentally divided, the two small pokemon are willing to travel for miles in search of their other half."
"Oh, Piplup in love, they are so cute," Mother sighed, noting what had caught the attention of Pikachu and her son.
Within the cold glass, the images narrated the story of a Piplup so desperate to find his other half that he was willing to scramble through perilous mountain-ranges. Images followed of cruel trainers that caught Piplup without thinking about their mates, destroying pairings of pokemon that were destined to remain together all their life.
"Pika," Pikachu muttered sadly. He had been in love once, but had chosen Trainer-Ash because he loved him more than anything else.
Ash observed his little excited pokemon, who was watching the TV where a couple of Piplup meet for the first time after years of separation.
He ran a hand through his hair, and then under his chin, almost surprised to feel something rough, something that years ago he would never have expected. He had to shave.
It did not seem real.
"Mom, I have to ask you a huge favor."
"Tell me, dear."
"You have to help me make a cake."
"Ash, honey, I'd rather keep you away from my kitchen."
"It's important," Ash insisted, half smiling and half filled with terror over what awaited him in the kitchen. "It must be a lemon pie."
***
There were many things that people did not know about Gary, new star in the firmament of researchers and nephew of the incredibly famous Professor Oak.
One of these things was that he loved citrus fruits and lemon cakes. The other was that he loved Ash Ketchum.
And since Ash was one of the few people familiar with both of these little tidbits of information, Ash Ketchum was also the one who knew exactly what to do that night. A good half hour on his trusty Charizard, with his beloved Pikachu on one shoulder and a badly made cake in a bag.
It was twelve o'clock when he knocked on the window of the small hostel where Gary slept at Cinnabar Island.
"Ash."
Gary Oak did not appear upset or surprised. Just a bit tired and sleepy. He was wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt that Ash had seen sometimes, when they slept together. Umbreon sat next to his leg, particularly threatening.
"Happy birthday?" Ash smiled, letting Charizard return into his pokeball. It was strange (but wonderful) to have his dragon pokemon with him again.
"You could just have called me-"
"I had to bring you this," Ash interrupted him, passing him the cake.
"From your mother?" Gary smiled.
Another thing most people didn't know about Gary Oak was that, although he seemed like an irritable and irritating snob most of the time, he was humbler and definitely calmer when he was sleepy.
"I made it! She only helped me a little."
Gary looked at him suspiciously, lifting the plastic lid to peek the mysterious birthday cake.
"Congratulations, Gary. I hope I don't poison you with this cake, because then I'd really missed you. Love, Ash. PS: I know I'm not the brightest boyfriend ever, but I'm glad you have already forgiven me! - I forgave you?" Gary read from a note, before rolling his eyes.
"Yes. And that is a fair warning," Ash said, smiling sheepishly.
"Come in," Gary asked him, taking his hand and dragging him into the room.
***
Pikachu watched Trainer-Ash and Gary-mate-Oak together, acting exactly like the Piplup he had seen in the magic box. But, they were humans and did not have pecks, so Trainer-Ash was obliged to use his own mouth, gently touching Gary-mate-Oak's forehead, nose and chin.
Pikachu knew what they were doing, they had done it before, and knew that usually Trainer-Ash preferred him to leave them alone.
"We go out," whispered Pikachu to Gary-mate-Oak's Umbreon.
The Umbreon was just like her master, slightly haughty, slightly desperate.
"And leave Loser-Ash alone with Gary-Mine?" said Umbreon, pricking up her ears.
"It's also what Gary-mate-Oak wants."
One of the things about Umbreon that Pikachu had discovered was that she was very protective. Not only possessive, but literally overprotective.
One of the first times that Trainer-Ash and Gary-mate-Oak had been gently pecking each other like those Piplup, Umbreon had jumped on top of Trainer-Ash to bite him. (Although soon she had fallen under the withering anger of Pikachu).
"Trainer-Ash would never do harm to Gary-mate-Oak."
"Your Loser-Ash wants to leave Gary-Mine. I know it. He wants to travel like a responsibility-less child with all those girls, like he did with Water-Misty."
"He does not want to leave him!" Pikachu protested.
And, as if to confirm his passionate pikapika, Trainer-Ash chose that moment to whisper to Gary-mate-Oak: "I decided to become a Gym Leader. It's worth it and it's what I want."