Espeon padded to the edge of the tree line, looking towards the city. Being around a large human settlement brought back memories. Memories of a darker time in her life, a time when she was dealing with a far worse trainer than the one she had now. Espeon would never admit it to another member of the team, but the last few months had been some of the happiest in her life. Her trainer was struggling but she had finally found a family to belong to. Sometimes she felt bad; Ash had rescued her from a man who didn't care for her. Her life would have been completely different, had she even survived escaping Eric. She should feel sadder given his personal struggles, but she was freer than she had ever been.

There was movement off to one side and Espeon immediately sent her mind out. It was an aspect of her Psychic abilities that she wanted to explore now she was evolved. She had gained in strength ever since she had joined Ash but she had spent a lot of the time since her evolution working on increasing the power in her Psychic attacks. The mental aspect, the focus needed to maintain her attacks, she was keen to train it. To become stronger. And having seen Ash train his Pokémon, the way he had come up with different strategies on pure instinct had honed her interest. She was eager to find out what he would be able to come up with. She suspected that her abilities would give her an edge over her opponents if she could just work out how to harness their full power. Espeon relaxed slightly as she felt Sceptile and Lairon approach.

"How much longer will he be?" Espeon asked as Sceptile drew closer.

"I have no way of knowing. He will not stay in the city for long though."

"I wish he hadn't gone in at all," Lairon said. "Why does he need to?"

Sceptile raised an eyebrow as he gazed down at the Iron Armor Pokémon.

"He needs human contact."

"Are we not enough?" Espeon asked. "He talks to us all the time."

"And he can't understand our responses," Sceptile said sagely. "I'm sure being able to talk to other humans and have a proper conversation will help him."

Espeon and Lairon shared an uncertain glance as Sceptile stood between them, eyeing the city.

"Maybe he'll get some new clothes as well," Sceptile said thoughtfully.

"Why?" Lairon asked.

Sceptile gave him a pitying look. "Because if we were to ever meet another human on our travels, I'm sure he would like to be clothed. And he is running through his clothes ever since somebody started to ride on his shoulder with sharp claws."

"It is a comfortable position!" Lairon protested. "And I don't still do it! I'm too big now."

"You were too big before," Sceptile said stiffly. "You may be a small Pokémon, but you were still too heavy for him."

"He never complained." Lairon protested. "Humans complain if we do something they don't like."

"He isn't like most humans," Sceptile answered. "Spend enough time with him and you'll realise that. Nothing is too much for him. Anything that we want, he will do if possible. Remember that and don't ask too much of him. He cannot deny us anything."

Lairon looked down slightly, clearly processing Sceptile's words.

"Why?" Espeon asked. "Why is he like that?"

Sceptile shrugged. "It is just what he is like. He puts us above his own health." Sceptile turned back to Lairon. "Take you riding on his shoulder. You are a huge weight for a human to carry, yet he did it without complaining. He could easily have injured himself doing so, but he did it anyway. That is what he is like, and that is what we have to remember."

Lairon nodded sheepishly. "I'll try."

There was a moment's silence between the group before Espeon glanced up at Sceptile. "Why do I get the impression that you chose to stay out here with us?"

Sceptile smirked down at Espeon. "Smart. And yes, I agreed with the others to explain this to you."

Espeon turned back to the city and sighed slightly. She hadn't expected it to be this hard to be near humanity again. Somehow Ash never seemed to count in her mind.

"Come. Let us return to the campsite." Sceptile said. Espeon looked around and saw the Forest Pokémon looking at her, concern on his face.

"I… Okay."Espeon conceded, turning and padding back into the woods once again, leaving Sceptile and Lairon to follow her. She knew that Sceptile was curious as to why she didn't enjoy being near the city, but he wouldn't ask. As a team, they each had secrets and they respected each other enough to keep them. She would wait for Ash to come back and lead them on. And then she would hopefully leave the city behind her and return to the wilderness that she infinitely preferred.

Ash stood in the middle of the pavement, looking around. It had been some time since he had seen another human. Months in fact. The only human contact he had had since he had left home had tried to kill him. Viridian City felt a lot bigger than he remembered, the buildings making him feel small. Compared to the hut he had lived in whilst they lived in Yanmega's… Well, Ash didn't know entirely what the situation was out where they had been. Yanmega was clearly a very powerful Pokémon, but there was something that Ash couldn't put his finger on. He still remembered the ferocity of the fight between Yanmega and Delibird, at a level above anything Ash had ever seen before. The attacks had been fired so fast and had such devastating power. It was a sobering thought as to how much further they had to go as a team.

Ash felt somebody brush against him and he instinctively turned. He scanned the street but the figure was gone, vanishing into the bustling crowd. Ash turned again and looked up at the building in front of him. He recognized it as a large, branded department store. 'Trainers Home'. The majority of their items were cheap but durable, making them popular among travelling trainers. Ash didn't have much money and he didn't know when he would next get a chance to come back into the city. Cheap and strong was perfect.

Ash moved forwards, his head down as he slipped through the door. As he looked up inside, it was rapidly apparent that he had managed to come in on a quiet day. The shop floor was almost deserted, just a few customers wandering around. He stood in the doorway and searched with his eyes, looking for the sections he wanted.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to the Trainers Home." Came a voice. Ash spun to see a teenager, not much older than himself approaching. He was wearing a shirt with the store logo splashed across the front and a name tag which proudly displayed the name Richard. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Ash said, looking at him. "I need some gear for a long trip."

"Well, you've come to the right... woah." Richard said, his enthusiastic voice breaking off as he looked at Ash's eyes. "What happened to your eyes?"

Ash looked at him, and the smile slid off the store attendants face. "I'm sorry," Richard said. "I shouldn't have asked that." He coughed slightly before turning to look into the store. "What are you looking for?"

"I need Pokéballs," Ash said. "I'm running low. Some medical supplies as well." Ash looked down at his clothes before a shadow flitted across his face. "I could use some clothes as well."

"Of course," Richard said, his enthusiastic personality reasserting itself over his face. "We'll start with the Pokéballs?"

Ash let himself be led into the store, following Richard as the older teenager chatted away.

"So here you are," Richard said, stopping in front of a wall of Pokéballs. "Are there any kind in particular?"

"Just normal Pokéballs will be fine," Ash said slightly tersely. "Just a few as well."

Richard grabbed a small box from underneath the display and opened it to show Ash. Six Pokéballs lay inside, the metal gleaming. Ash nodded, and turned, leaving Richard to carry the Pokéballs along with him as he led Ash towards a large section filled with potions and other medical supplies.

"We have a full selection of medical supplies." Richard started as they stood between two stands, one displaying bandages and the other antidotes. "What kind of supplies are you looking for?"

Ash turned slowly, looking around the section with a thoughtful expression. "Bandages definitely. I'll also take a couple of antidotes."

Richard blinked in surprise as Ash seemed to suddenly have gained new energy. He watched the trainer move through the displays, selecting items that he wanted and holding them in his arms. After a few minutes, Ash returned to Richard who plucked a basket from a pile and wordlessly held it out. Before Ash took it, a Pokémon appeared next to him, released from a Pokéball.

"Bayleef," Ash said with a smile. He placed all the items on the ground in front of the Pokémon before turning to Richard.

"I'll take the basket."

Richard handed it over as he tried to work out what was going on. In front of him, Bayleef used her vines to pick up each item individually. She considered each one in turn before either placing it in the basket or handing it back to Ash. As she reached the end of the pile she pawed at the ground slightly before looking up at Ash thoughtfully.

"I know, we didn't get anything for status effects other than poison," Ash said. "We shouldn't need them."

Bayleef looked at him with her head cocked to one side slightly. She spoke quietly, the tone making it clear what she thought of that. Ash chuckled, a low sound.

"We may find that we have these problems," Ash said, arguing with his Pokémon. "But we are going out to be self-sufficient. We'll use natural remedies if necessary and learn to dodge better."

Bayleef considered his words before nodding. Ash knelt next to her and stroked her flank with his spare hand, before reaching down to his belt and lifting her Pokéball. A moment later she vanished inside and Ash rose to his feet to turn back to a speechless Richard.

"What should I do with these?" Ash asked, gesturing to the supplies that Bayleef had rejected.

"I… I'll take them," Richard said. Ash handed them over and Richard grabbed another basket, putting the unwanted things inside and slipping away to pass the basket over to a colleague. When he returned a few moments later he found Ash waiting patiently.

"I'm sorry, I have to ask," Richard said as he picked up Ash's basket and put the Pokéballs on top of the pile inside. "You let your Pokémon choose what you need?"

Ash just tilted his head slightly. "They know what we need just as well as I do. And Bayleef knows what we can get naturally. We will only buy what we need, and if she approves it."

"Wow," Richard said, meaning it. "That is… impressive. Are you going on a long trip?"

A shadow flitted across Ash's face. "Probably."

"You don't know?" Richard asked as he started to lead Ash towards the clothing section of the store.

Ash shrugged noncommittally. "Not really. We're going a short distance after we leave Viridian but after that, I don't know. We might come back, we might travel further."

"Do you not have a family at home?" Richard asked and immediately regretted it. A dark look crossed Ash's face and he turned away as they arrived at the section of the store dedicated to trainers clothing. Ash ignored Richard as he tried to talk about the selection, moving away and making his selections as he slowly edged through the section.

He returned to Richard a few minutes later, his arms laden with clothes and wordlessly passed them to the store clerk.

"Is that everything?" Richard asked, trying to break the silence that had broken out between them.

Ash nodded, and strode away, heading for the store checkout, leaving Richard trailing after him.

A few minutes later, Richard tried to broker conversation once again as he scanned the items at the checkout for Ash.

"I'm sorry." Richard started. Ash looked up from where was watching his hand root around in his pocket to meet the older teenagers eye.

"Sorry?" Ash asked.

"Yes," Richard said. "I'm sorry that I asked about your family."

Ash met his eyes, the eagerness for stories in Richard's gaze matched by a darkness in Ash's.

"It's okay," Ash said eventually. "You weren't to know that you shouldn't ask."

"So where are you going?" Richard asked, now piling clothes into a bag for Ash to carry.

"Near Viridian Forest," Ash answered vaguely. Richard's face fell.

"Come on, you can't give me better than that?"

Ash smiled slightly, just the corners of his mouth turning up as he drew out a wallet from his pocket and pulled out most of the money inside.

"I'm looking for an old friend near there." He said. "He should still be nearby, but I don't know for certain."

Richard accepted the money, handing the bag over to Ash.

"Well, good luck. And if you ever come back, please come back here. I want to hear how it goes."

Ash inclined his head. "Thank you. And maybe I will do that one day."

Ash strode out of the store, only a tiny amount of guilt on his mind. He had no intention of coming back to share stories or anything else. But he had once told his friends similar to Richard, and it felt much easier to mislead somebody who he had only just met.

Ash strode back into the campsite, to be met by Espeon and Lairon waiting for him. Sceptile was stood to one side, a slight smirk on his face as the two Pokémon rubbed themselves against his legs in greeting.

Ash laughed, a much stronger and more vibrant sound than any he had let off whilst in the city.

"I was only gone for a couple of hours!" Ash protested as he petted the two Pokémon. "You can't have missed me that much!"

Espeon flicked her tail up, catching Ash in the face before looking at him challengingly. Ash laughed again and stood up, taking in the campsite. Around him, the Pokémon that had travelled into the city released themselves from their Pokéballs and stood watching their trainer.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ash asked. "Let's pack up and get moving. We need to find Pidgeot.

Ash hiked across the hills, stumbling over a couple of rocks that sat next to a waterfall. He looked down at it, trying to work out if it was the same waterfall that he had once leapt over trying to protect Pikachu, but eventually decided that it was not. That one had been closer to the route between Pallet Town and Viridian City, and Ash was nowhere near it now. He sat down at the top of it anyway, watching the spray fly into the air. Around him, his Pokémon tiredly took a well-needed rest.

"We'll camp here tonight," Ash announced, drawing relieved noises from his Pokémon. "We'll continue our search in the morning."

Charizard raised himself back to his feet as Ash started to push himself up to collect firewood for the evening. A quiet grunt from the Flame Pokémon was enough to keep him seated as Charizard moved to a tree and felled it with a single wing. He dragged it back towards Ash and placed it in front of Sceptile who's Leaf Blade was able to quickly cut it into small logs. As each log was cut away, it was caught by Espeon's Psychic which placed them into a pile ready for the fire. To complete the process, Charizard let out a small snort of flame, lighting Espeon's pile.

Ash watched with an amused expression on his face. "I guess you have that under control then."

Charizard looked back and smirked. Ash busied himself with producing dinner for the evening, but as he worked the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Despite looking around several times and finding nothing, Ash couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him. None of his Pokémon seemed to notice and when Ash laid down for the evening, the fire beginning to burn lower and the sound of the waterfall in the background, he tried to ignore what he might have heard.

Wakefulness returned to Ash in a rush, causing him to attempt to leap to his feet. The sleeping bag that he was wrapped in caught around his waist and Ash crashed to the ground with a yell of pain. Around him his Pokémon surged to their feet, racing to defend their trainer, who was fighting to free himself.

Once he had done so, Ash looked up to see a flock of Flying- Pokémon hovering in the air over his campsite, all looking at him intently.

"This is getting old," Ash said under his breath. "Why is it that these Pokémon always come after us?"

The answer came to Ash a moment later. Humans did not frequent this area. Pokémon considered it to be their territory and he was encroaching. As his Pokémon closed ranks around him, Ash's eyes darted around the flock, looking for a weakness.

A deafening squawk split the night air, echoing off the trees and mixing with the sound of the nearby water. Ash looked up to see a huge Pidgeot descending from the sky. The flock made way for their leader, and Ash took a step backwards in awe.

Pidgeot landed with barely a hint of noise, larger than Charizard as he towered over Ash, an expression of anger on his feathered face. Ash met the Pokémon's eyes, squashing his fear down. For a long moment, Ash thought Pidgeot was going to attack, but the face softened. Pidgeot stepped forwards, his wings extended as he peered more closely at Ash's face.

"Pidgeot?" Ash asked uncertainly. "Are you my Pidgeot?"

Pidgeot let out a squawk of disbelief and launched forwards, faster than any of Ash's Pokémon could react to. Wings closed around Ash, drawing him into the birds feathery embrace. Ash returned the hug gingerly, feeling his ribs creaking with unhappiness from the treatment they were getting from Pidgeot.

After several moments Ash found himself deposited on the ground, with a face beaming radiant happiness down at him as Pidgeot reared up and squawked loudly. Pokémon around them shot away, leaving Ash with only his Pokémon and one of his oldest friends for company.

Pidgeot came back down and looked down at Ash, his head tilted questioningly.

"You want to know why I'm here?" Ash asked. Pidgeot nodded. "I'm not here to capture you. You seem to have responsibilities here now."

Pidgeot puffed his chest out with pride at Ash's words. Ash smiled slightly, having left Pidgeot to be the Guardian of Viridian Forest, it appeared that his old friend had gone a bit further and gotten even stronger.

"You control this area," Ash said. It wasn't a question, but Pidgeot nodded anyway. "I had hoped you might."

Pidgeot looked back down at Ash, a confused look on his face. Ash looked up at him, the darkness in one of his eyes now completely obvious. The bird then gestured to the few Pokémon who still surrounded Ash, watching the exchange attentively.

"Yes," Ash said heavily. "My team is drastically reduced in size. They left me some time ago."

Pidgeot gestured to himself, but Ash shook his head.

"No Pidgeot, not like you did. They left me because we wanted to train to get stronger and the training was too intense."

Ash met his old Pokémon's eyes, with an intense gaze of his own. "But I haven't given up. I need somewhere to train, somewhere away from humans, and away from Pokémon who are fighting. May I use your territory?"

Pidgeot's face lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically. Ash smiled up at his former Pokémon. "Thank you Pidgeot." He said quietly. "We will make the most of this opportunity."

A/N

As one reviewer put it… "Pidgeot's coming back!" And back he is, at least for now. There will be some bigger time skips than I've had thus far as Ash training for months at a time isn't the most exciting thing to read about. They will also often reference things that have been mentioned or covered in the stories. For example, this chapter contains a lot of references to the first time that Ash met Eric, Espeon's former trainer. It is a story covered in 'The Lost Master', in chapter eleven. I'll usually just mark where I've taken it from in a note at the bottom so people can find it if they choose.

This is also the end of the initial arc of Missing Years, and it only took me fourteen months! Ash has left Pallet, been abandoned by his Pokémon, and started to lose the ability to relate to humans as he once did. Now he has settled with Pidgeot, he can continue to grow as a trainer, the transformation into Champion is underway. This is also a convenient time for me to turn my attention away from this, focusing more on Redemption. I'm unsure when the next chapter here will be as Redemption is my main focus for the foreseeable future, but there is more to come from this at some point in the future.

On that note, Redemption will be coming out on Friday. Hopefully the wait hasn't been too long for anybody!

Iama2p