Chapter 1

Hey you all! First things first.

Some universe alterations:

I find the idea of ten year olds setting out on an adventure quite silly - but the fact that all that stuff happened in only a handful of years is even worse. So, all the different arcs took place over EIGHT years. And I'm not that familiar with the newest series of the anime, but whatever. Ash challenged the Elite Four and won. Ash has become one of the best trainers around, and that also plays a role. Anything else that doesn't appear canon, I'm sorry for. But I only watched the Kanto and Jhoto seasons. Never had the opportunity to watch the others, but the main stuff (like what pokemon Ash and Gary acquired) I look up on the internet.

Also, I know Gary later moved from Pallet to other towns and stuff after he decided to become a researcher but now he's back in Pallet, and has been back for quite a while.

I hope you enjoy the story. This will definitely be a multi-chapter fic, and I got some exciting things planned. Or at least, I think they are exciting. :P

Note: I can only dream about owning Pokemon. But I don't, so I dream up stories like this one. I'd anyway gay-ify the canon so much :D

People change. It is a simple fact of life. If everyone was still expecting the ten year old Ash Ketchum, they would be making a huge mistake. A lot has happened since I left Pallet Town eight years ago, and thinking back to all those times, it makes me nostalgic and almost sad. Countless battles were fought, even more friends were made, and even the rivalries along the way seemed nice. Life had been good.

And now I am standing here and looking over my home town. Quiet and peaceful, it was the same as ever. It's odd to see something so unchanging when you have seen the world and all of the different things it had to offer, but I had always known that this place was my anchor – my haven.

"Pika?" the yellow Pokémon on my shoulder queried.

I nodded firmly and set down the hill to re-enter my previous life. The one I had been leading for the past eight years had come to a close. It was bound to happen, and I silently dreaded this moment for God knows how long. And now that it was here – it didn't seem that bad. I set out to learn things, train Pokémon, and conquer them all. I hadn't achieved that wholly, but who cares? I came as damn close as anyone could.

The little path into Pallet Town was easy enough to remember, and before I knew it, I was in from of my old home. Well, it had always been my home, but it was strange to know there was a physical house that was mine after all of the tents and Pokémon centers I had slept in. But I was always alone - cold. Even with all my friends there, they never provided what I wanted.

Of course, ten year old me didn't even think about any of that, but as you get older, you change, your body change, and the natural want for somebody appears.

"Is that my boy I see out there?" I heard Mother calling from inside. There was a clang of plates and Mom was instantly in front of me, laughing and crying.

She flung her hands around me, and I brought my hands around her. Pikachu jumped onto Delia's shoulder and hugged her head – as awkward of an embrace as it was. When Mom pulled back, I couldn't help but notice the wet spots on my jacket, but they didn't matter – they were already tattered and wasted.

Oh well, time for new ones.

"I've missed you so much!" Mother cried out, smiling at me.

"Me too, mom," I said. "It's good to be home."

"Come inside," she started walking up the small path to the porch. "I'll make you some tea."

When we were inside, my mother took my backpack from me, and sat it down. She led me to the kitchen and started brewing a pot of tea. She reached into some cupboards and retrieved a plate and a box of cookies, serving me them. I smiled at her gesture – even though I was now an adult, she still saw me as her son. I guess that will never change, and it felt oddly comfortable knowing that.

"Thank you," I said when she handed me the tea.

I had arrived at around noon, and the afternoon was spent talking to my mom of everything that had happened since she last saw me. It had only been a few months, so it wasn't as if I had to relay my whole life to her, but knowing that I was back for good – well, it made me sad to realize that this was the last time I'd be telling her about my adventures for quite a while.

Not that I planned to stop living now that I had traveled the whole of the world, I just wanted, maybe needed, for live to go at a slightly slower pace for a while. It wasn't my only reason for returning, but I'll think about that later.

My alarm clock still had the exact same sound to it, and I was surprised it still worked after all the years of neglect after we fixed it. My bed was far too small for me, who had grown quite tall and if I might add, muscular. Mom had long since replaced the old bedding, and thank God she got something that resembled a young man's tastes.

Tiny as it was, it was still a bed. And it was my bed. I sat upright and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, yawning. I looked around a bit – apart from the new sheets, it looked exactly the same as always, and I felt a bit of embarrassment to see all my childishness still in it.

Ancient posters of Pokémon tournaments and competitions were still stuck to the wall, and I found myself smiling at the thought that I actually competed in and won some of them. I wondered briefly what I would have done if somebody told me back then that in eight years I would have achieved all my dreams? I certainly would have set out on my journey with even more motivation, if that would have been possible.

But it's funny. I don't feel like my dreams matter so much now. I've done what I set out to do. Now what?

The door opened slightly and my smiling mother peeked inside. "Breakfast is ready, dear."

"Thanks mom," I said and got out of bed.

Mom had gotten me some clothes, and I threw on a shirt to cover my bare upper body. Not that I was ashamed of it – hell no, training with Pokémon and travelling the world on foot did wonders for my body and I was very proud of how I developed. No, I merely put on my shirt out of decency.

As I sat down, Mr. Mime brought me and Mom's breakfast. The Pokémon then got him and Pikachu some food and we all sat at the table and started eating. Mom was reading some letter and I took the time to look at her. She was happy as ever, and it was hard to believe that she got any older. She looked exactly as she did when I left, and I guess it helped to make things normal again.

"So, what are you going to today?" she asked as she lay the letter down.

I answered her with some bacon still in my mouth. Some things still stay the same! "I was thinking of going to Professor Oak. We had talked on me helping him out with the Pokémon there."

"That's good. But aren't you going to take a little break?"

"No. I want to stay busy. Besides, this isn't a holiday," I said with a slight smile on my face. "It's strange to say this, but I actually need to start working or something."

"Oh, Ash. That must sound so boring to you," she commented.

"I guess, but I'm still going to be around Pokémon. That's my passion. And I told you, I want to take things easy for a while. You know, take a little break from all the commotion."

"So your trainer days aren't completely over?" she asked, with a little hope in her voice.

I chuckled, "Not at all. I'm staying in Pallet for a while, gonna take life easy and just train my Pokémon in the mean time."

"Maybe this will do you a lot of good. Bring you back to reality a bit. Living a dream life for too long can make you forget about other things. Other things that also matter."

"Are you talking about yourself?" I laughed.

Mom giggled and blushed, "Not necessarily! But you know what I mean. No matter how much you love it, life isn't just Pokémon training, and I'm glad you've realized it. I was afraid that when you reach this age you'd just delve deeper into your passion and disappear from our lives entirely."

Okay, Mom, you're getting a bit too sappy.

"This is just temporary," I reminded her. "Just a year or two."

Mom smiled at me weakly. I knew she wanted me to stay here forever, but I couldn't. Not with me wanting to still experience more. But trust me to take a break and still make some kind of adventure out of it – I was excited to work with Professor Oak, and it presented me with an opportunity to learn more about Pokémon. Naturally, the research crap would bore me, but he'd said I would be working with the Pokémon while he and Gary do the research stuff.

Ah, Gary. Former rival and researcher extraordinaire, he was Professor Oak's prodigy and own grandson. We've long abandoned our rivalry and settled for what I like to call a competitive friendship.

I hadn't seen him in quite a while, and it was odd to realize that I considered him when making my decision to come back to Pallet. I haven't told anyone that he had anything to do with it, but he always haunted my thoughts. No matter where I went, Gary was always at the back of my mind. Yes, how sad.

I had always thought it was just me being so obsessed with beating Gary, and I guessed it was just me measuring myself up to the guy. But those thoughts were wiped away when I had discovered things about myself and what I like in life.

Okay, so it's pretty stupid to come to Pallet Town and wanting to see Gary Oak. What would happen when I saw him? 'Oh, hi? How are you? Bye!' No, that wasn't what I had in mind, but then, I myself didn't know what I wanted to do about Gary when I got here.

Wait, I'm lying. I know exactly what I want.

"Ash? Is that you?" the voice of the old professor came from the behind the door.

"My God, how you've grown!" Professor Oak exclaimed as he opened the door to see me.

I laughed, "Good to see you too, Professor."

He regarded me for a second before he beckoned me inside, "Come in, come in. Mind the mess," he said as we climbed over some boxes that stood almost in the doorway, "Had a delivery earlier this morning, but we're so busy that we haven't had the time to put the things away."

"What's up?" I asked.

"We got in a group of ill Dratini, and we are trying our best to treat them. But they are being difficult. They seem very distraught," Professor Oak explained as he led me towards a room where some people where standing around a tank with what looked like some fifteen or so Dratini inside.

"Please hand me that syringe," Gary ordered an aide as he cared for a Dratini spread out on an operating table. The Pokémon look beat and tired, but still had an aggressive gleam in its eyes as it wearily stared at Gary as he brought the syringe closer to its body.

Just when Gary wanted to insert the needle, the Dratini snapped at his hand – drawing blood and causing Gary to drop the syringe. He cried out in pain, clutching his hand while he searched for a towel.

I looked at the Dratini and saw how afraid it looked. I moved closer to it, and when it saw me, its body tensed and it pulled its head back a bit. I inched closer to the dragon and extended my hand at it while looking it in the eye.

"Don't be afraid, we're not gonna hurt you, little fella," I said, and gave the Pokémon the most comforting look I could manage. It seemed to relax a little, but went rigid again as I let my hand drop to its body.

It made a little growl, but I eased it with my hand and kept telling it to be calm. Pikachu jumped onto the table and started talking to the Pokémon in their little language. The Dratini squawked back, and I could hear the weakness in its voice. Pikachu move closer to the Pokémon and comforted it. Together with Pikachu, I managed to fully relax the Dratini and it let me take it into my arms.

When I turned around, all of the people in the room were silent and looking at me in awe. Professor Oak smiled at me and Gary was just staring at me with those green eyes of his – his hand wrapped in a towel. He moved closer to me, with the syringe in his other hand. "Ash, we got to get this into it, its life depends on it."

I gave a nod and looked down at the Dratini, who was staring at me with wide eyes.

"We have to give you some medicine; do you think you can handle that?" I asked the poor creature.

It gave the syringe a last glance before it looked back at me and nodded slightly. I nodded at Gary and he approached us slowly. He carefully brought up the needle to the Dratini's body, and I made sure to hold him still.

I caught an amazing whiff from Gary's hair as he leaned in front of me as he injected the Dratini.

The Dratini winced a bit, but allowed Gary to finish. Gary stood up and put the syringe on the table beside us. He looked at the Dratini in my arms as he stood rubbing his bitten hand. The little dragon caught sight of it and extended his head to Gary's hand. He rubbed his head against it, the gesture treating as an apology.

"You're not here for five minutes and you already proved your superior Pokémon handling skills," Gary chuckled.

Ever since Jhoto, Gary had grown to be a real nice person, but hearing such an outright compliment was rare. Shit, Gary even just admitted that I am better than him.

"Thanks," I laughed coyly; I was never good at handling compliments. Especially not when Gary is looking at me like that with a smirk on his face. He looked as good as ever. It was odd to see him smaller than me – I had finally outgrown him. He was actually quite small anyway - a head shorter than me and a lean frame; it suited his researcher profession well.

"All the more reason why I want him to help us out," Professor Oak said as he gathered some papers on his desk.

"You never told me Ash would come work here," Gary said with surprise in his voice.

I didn't know if it was a good surprise or not, but Gary didn't look appalled or anything.

"I must have forgotten," the professor apologized with a laugh. "But you two are friends, right? So you'd work well together."

Gary and I shared a glance as we smirked at each other. We'd never admitted it openly, but we could make a mean team if we wanted to. Nothing like a bit of competition to push the other to perform better.

"Well, he'd better not think he's gonna steal the spot light. Calming down one Dratini is hardly a memorable feat," Gary mocked playfully.

"Says the one with the bitten hand," I pointed out and I think I caught Gary blush, but he looked away as he chuckled.

"Whatever," he mumbled a moment later.

Professor Oak looked at the two of us and laughed. Like I said, competitive friends. The professor motioned for us to go, him following us closely, having found what he was looking for.

"Professor, I wanted to ask. Why weren't the Dratini taken to a Pokémon center?" I asked just as we entered the room with the tank.

"Well, the problem is, they've got some disease that we've never encountered before. All of them. We are currently trying to develop a vaccine for them," he explained.

"We've already lost two Dratini," Gary added.

We reached the edge of the tank, and the Dratini from earlier swam up to me. Honestly, it didn't look that sick, just rather tired. I extended my hand to it and rubbed against its face. It seemed that it managed to calm down all the Dratini, but perhaps that was Pikachu – he stayed behind while Professor Oak went to look for his papers.

"What kind of disease do they have?" I asked.

Gary looked at me, "It's some kind of virus. But it's strange: only the Dratini seem to catch it. And when they have it, they sporadically get better or worse from time to time. We can't predict how long they will last."

Wow. Not that I understand the complications of that, but it sounded serious and my heart bled for the batch of Pokémon.

It was evening and I was having dinner at Professor Oak's. My mom had also joined us, and we found ourselves deep in conversation and laughter. I can't say it felt like old times again, because honestly I can't remember if we ever spent times like this, even though Gary and I had been friends before our Pokémon days.

Professor Oak was telling my mom this joke that I didn't really get, but that's just me. Gary was sitting beside me and chuckled from time to time as his grandfather went on. I know it's criminal, but I couldn't stop myself from stealing glances at him.

He was also so close, I could practically feel the heat from his arm. I rather tried to concentrate on my food, and I didn't say much during the meal. I also tried to tune into the jokes, but they really aren't my thing.

"Why so silent, Ashy-boy?" Gary asked as we stood in the kitchen doing the dishes.

I found myself staring at the dish in my hand and realized I had concentrated so hard on NOT looking at Gary that I kind of zoned out a little.

"It's nothing, I'm just not used to being back yet," I said. Hopefully it sounded convincing. After all, it wasn't an outright lie.

"Okay."

We finished the dishes and headed to his room to chill a bit. Professor Oak was anyway absorbed by Mom's story about a friend of her's, a Jigglypuff and God knows what else.

It had been quite a while since I had been in Gary's room, and it looked completely different. Unlike mine, all the childhood elements were replaced by more mature things, but it still looked as pristine and organized as ever. I didn't really expect something else, but it was odd to be in there none the less.

I noticed something on the bookcase that stood against the wall near his computer. I went closer and took the broken half of a Pokéball into my hands. Gary came to my side and he laughed.

"We were such boys arguing over that ball," he said as he took it and looked at it.

I smiled at him, "I'm actually glad it broke. Now we each have a piece of that day."

He gave me fleeting glance before he put it back on the shelf. He slumped down onto his bed, and I looked around. The only chair available was the one at the computer, and it looked rather uncomfortable. So I lay down beside Gary, and luckily he didn't protest.

"I hope you get used to being back in Pallet," he said as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling. I tried to see if there might be a particular spot he might be looking at – but it was spotless.

"Yeah, me too. But things look exciting around here," I said and Gary laughed.

"Right. Sick Dratini that try to rip off your arm? I bet you'd love it," he said.

"Oh stop whining, Gary," I elbowed him and laughed, "It couldn't have been that bad."

He sat up, leaning on his elbow. He pulled out a mock face. "At least the great Ash Ketchum was there to save the day. What would we have done without you?"

A/N: Er, so hopey you likey? This is just the beginning, and I don't think anyone can really judge what will happen and stuff. This might just turn out to focus on the Ash/Gary relationship, with the sick Dratini as the side story. Besides, smut and lemon is anyway the BOMB! Like, bigger and badder than Hiroshima! But at least it makes people happy! :D

And while you wait for me to write the next chapter (yes, I'm writing it sequentially and will update as soon as I finish a chapter) you can click this beautiful review button just below. Isn't it awesome? It just drags you in, and when you click to review... Guess what happens? No matter what say, you make a writer (read: me) HAPPY!!! Except when you flame... Then me no happy. LOL. But tell me what you want :)