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Ash is ten years old when he leaves Pallet Town. The world is wide in front of him, and he’s gonna be so cool, and his pikachu hates him. But that’s okay! They’ll be friends eventually, and then they’ll win the League and totally show Gary and he’ll be a pokemon master. He will!
Then he messes up catching a pidgey, which is totally embarrassing, but it’s fine, cause his pikachu who hates him is the only one watching and anyways he’ll catch one soon, and then he makes a spearow attack him, which is totally less fine, because being attacked is kind of a bad thing! And then it’s attacking his pikachu and not him, which is even worse, because it could at least figure out who threw a rock at it and not go after his friend who hates him.
And then they’re running, faster and more than he thinks he’s ever run before, and his pikachu is a warm heavy weight in his arms, and he’s squeezing it so tight it squirms to make sure they don’t get separated in the river, and there’s a girl and she’s kind of mean but it doesn’t matter cause she has a bike and she points him where to go to help his pikachu. But then it won’t go in its pokeball, and he’s trying to distract the spearow, and it’s not working, and he thinks most people don’t die on the first day of their pokemon journey but maybe the dumb ones do, and he wonders what his pokedex has to say about this, and wow there’s even more spearow than he thought, and —
His vision turns to light.
Next thing he can really tell, he’s lying face-first in the mud. He has a little bit of a headache, and there’s dirt in his mouth, and his whole body hurts.
“Uhgnuh,” he mumbles, and tries to spit the dirt out, which doesn’t really work because the storm hasn’t fully passed yet.
“Piiii-ka,” says Pikachu, which is totally not helpful.
“Meanie,” says Ash back, still trying to open his eyes properly, and then he processes the rest of what happened and shouts, “Pikachu!”
“Chu-pi?” asks Pikachu, sounding very unimpressed.
“You’re alright!” he shouts, and turns his head to look at it because the rest of his body still hurts lots. “I’m so glad…”
“Pikachu,” says Pikachu all deadpan, and then it adds after a moment, in a bit quieter voice, “Pikachu, pikapi.”
Ash smiles, although he’s not sure Pikachu is looking, and tries to remember what happened between the spearow flying at him and him ending up with dirt in his mouth. “You saved me, didn’t you?”
“Pikachu.”
“Thanks so much!” Ash looks at Pikachu properly, at the all of it, and realizes how tired it looks, and how flickery the electricity that makes its eyes go all cool and glowy is, and how many there are of the scratches on it that he hadn’t managed to protect it from. “You’re the best, you know?”
“Piiiika,” it says, like Ash had somehow forgot about the getting electrocuted all morning.
Ash had not forgot about the getting electrocuted all morning.
“Hey, it just proves you’re super cool and strong!”
“Pika pikachu.”
“That totally does not mean you can electrocute me whenever!”
“Pikachu…”
Ash puts his face back in the mud for the sake of it. Then he says, after taking his face back out of the mud and rubbing at it with his sleeve, “Well, we should probably get going. Which means getting up.”
Pikachu gives him a look like, why should I, and then notices one of the scratches on Ash's arm that hasn't stopped bleeding and softens its face. “Pikaaa…”
The clouds break, and Ash thinks about the flock of spearow, who probably ran away from his super super cool pikachu when they got zapped. He says that, and Pikachu laughs, and Ash is pretty sure his life is gonna be great.
Ash is ten years old when he sees Ho-Oh and feels his stomach flip at the beauty of the sight, feels Pikachu dig its claws into him as the world flips around them. Feels something drop like a rock to the core of him, and stay there, and suddenly everything around him is shining.
Ash is ten years old when Mount Coronet happens. Or maybe he isn’t, but between all the time travel and weird memories and possession and Legendary interference, his age has got all tangled up and knotted, and he looks ten, so he’s ten, because trying to get it actually right doesn’t make much sense at all.
But Ash having more important things to do like getting ready for the Sinnoh League and watching Dawn outdo herself with flashiness every night doesn’t stop Brock — once-fourteen definitely-almost-eighteen Brock — looking at him all weird when people ask Ash’s age and Ash says ten. It probably doesn’t help, either, that people pick up pretty fast on Brock mostly following Ash around instead of the other way ‘round. Ash doesn’t think it should matter — as a registered trainer, he’s a legal adult as much as Brock is, and the only reason Brock’s doing the following is Ash and Dawn are the ones with competitions to get to. But everyone else seems to be bothered.
On their way out of Sunyshore City towards the Grand Festival, Brock looks at him and sighs. “You can say you’re thirteen, you know,” he says, in a voice that he mostly uses when Ash doesn’t realize he’s being stupid about something.
Ash doesn’t really mean to ignore him, but… “Hey, Pikachu, what kinds of pokemon d’you think we’ll see at the Grand Festival?”
“Pika, pika pikachu,” says Pikachu, answering him. Then it gestures at Brock and adds, all disapproving, “Pika-chu.”
“But I’m ten,” Ash says in Brock’s direction, to satisfy Pikachu, and then gets back to the important discussion.
Or, tries. “Ash, you were ten three years ago,” says Brock.
“So?” says Ash. Brock should really get it. “Doesn’t make me not ten now.”
“That’s not how time works,” objects Brock, not getting it at all.
“We time travelled,” points out Ash, and Pikachu makes agreement-noises. “That’s not how time works either.”
Dawn looks up from conspiring with Piplup about ball capsules and seals. “He does have a point, Brock.”
“Thank you.”
“But Ash, you’re thirteen?” She gets a weird look on her face, like she’s trying to figure out a plan. “I totally thought you were younger, weird.”
“I’m ten,” said Ash. He waves his arms, and Pikachu shouts as it almost falls off his shoulder. “I mean — sorry buddy! — look at me! I’m totally ten, right?”
Dawn makes another face, and he's pretty sure he lost her. “I… guess?”
“Plenty of thirteen-year-olds look ten,” tries Brock. “That doesn't make them not thirteen.”
“So?” says Ash, because that also doesn't make him thirteen.
Brock makes an incoherent noise and puts his face in his hands. Then he says, “Whatever!”
“Does that mean you admit I'm ten?” says Ash.
Brock takes his face out of his hands. “I'm not answering that question.”
“I still don't see why it's an issue?” floats Dawn, and Ash feels a little bad for confusing her, but not much, cause it was Brock that started it and Pikachu that continued it.
“Pi-piplup,” echoes Piplup. Pikachu starts explaining to it, which means Ash is on his own for explaining to Dawn and Brock.
“See, Dawn,” he tries, “Brock thinks time works like everyone says it does. Which isn't right at all!” He gestures at himself. “Cause of, see, I'm ten.”
“That makes no sense,” deadpans Dawn. Which is probably true, but it also makes total sense.
“Okay, Ash, I have one question for you,” says Brock. “How old is Pikachu?”
“Huh,” says Ash. “Never asked. Hey, Pikachu, how old are you?”
Pikachu shrugs, zaps him lightly, and goes right back to explaining to Piplup.
“See?” says Ash.
Then a screaming drifloon falls out of the sky on Brock’s head and there’s more important things to deal with, like getting it off of Brock’s head and trying to hear each other through its screaming and figuring out that there’s a hole in the side and Brock sewing it back together, and so it’s not very surprising at all that after that everyone seems to forget the discussion.
Ash is ten years old when him and Sceptile and the rest beat a Darkrai together, and there's something weirdly numbing about it. And afterwards, he doesn't dream for weeks.
(Ash is ten years old when the Kalos Crisis happens. For once, he wishes he wasn't, because he's pretty sure it would all hurt less if he were older. And maybe, his pokemon would get hurt less too.)
Ash is ten years old when he decides to go to school. It’s been seven regions now, since he set out, and he’s found that regions are a much better way to mark time than years. Years are wavery and confusing, and Ash might have lots of battle experience now, but he hasn’t got any better at timekeeping. Plus, with all those Legendaries and even ordinary pokemon who can bend ages and seasons to their will, it’s not like he can count on spring following winter in the first place.
Anyways, Professor Kukui’s class is weird. Good-weird, mostly, and Ash has lots of experience by now at separating out good-weird from bad-weird, but it’s definitely still weird to sit in a class and learn all over again the things he knows from travelling, but in different words. And new things, too! Lots and lots of new things, like all about Z-Moves and Alolan variants and cool facts he’d never really thought about.
They're oohing and aahing over Legendaries one day — Professor Kukui doesn't call on him so much for this as he usually does when they're discussing other regions, but Ash isn't much bothered by it — when Kiawe says something smug about Groudon being a match for Kyogre despite the type advantage, which sets Lana arguing with him to defend the honor of water-types, or something, and suddenly Ash is very glad Misty hadn't gotten to come to Hoenn with him.
You sound like Archie and Maxie, he thinks, giggling, and then realizes he said it aloud when Lillie leans over from her desk.
“Archie and Maxie?” she asks, which ends up getting Rotom and Mallow and Sophocles's attention too. “Who are they?”
“Some… uh, people I met in Hoenn?” he answers, his voice lilting up when he realizes they're not going to settle for that answer at all.
“You've never mentioned them before,” says Mallow.
“I didn't realize you'd been to Hoenn!” says Lillie.
“Groudon and Kyogre are Hoenn regional Legendaries!” informs Rotom, making circles around Ash's head like a vibrava seeking water. Ash is pretty sure everyone knows that, given the current lesson, but he doesn't tell Rotom. That would be mean.
“I've been to Hoenn, yeah!” He grins. “It's a pretty cool place! The gym leaders are super strong.”
“I thought you came here from Kanto, though?” asks Sophocles. “And you mentioned someone you knew from Kalos? That gym leader you travelled with you thought I should meet.”
“Yeah! Clemont! I bet you'd think his Luxray was super cool!”
“Whoa, he has a Luxray? I've never met a fully-evolved one, I'd love to collect data on it!”
“Well, he's a gym leader, ‘course he has cool pokemon like that,” says Ash, factually. “Gym leaders are awesome!”
Kiawe and Lana are still arguing, although it's been the fun kind of arguing all the way through so Professor Kukui keeps only mediating half-heartedly. Which Ash is pretty sure is the only reason they haven't noticed the conversation yet.
“What other regions have you been to, Ash?” asks Lillie. Is she taking notes? Ash is pretty sure she's discreetly taking notes. He decides he's not going to know how to feel about that anytime soon, and elects to ignore it instead of thinking more.
Instead, he counts off on his fingers. “Uh, yeah, a bunch! I'm from Kanto, 'course, so—”
Rotom buzzes. “The conversation has gone off-topic! We are supposed to be discussing regional Legendaries, not Ash's travels!” It moves back and forth agitatedly. “How could I, Rotomdex, have allowed this to happen! It is a disgrace to your positions as students of the Melemele Island Pokemon School!”
Mallow laughs really quietly under her breath, and then says, “Okay, Rotom, we'll talk about Legendaries.”
“I can work with that!” says Lillie. “Hey Ash, have you met any Legendaries?”
“Other than Tapu Koko, she means,” adds Sophocles.
Ash isn't really sure how to answer that. Sure, he's met Legendaries, but he's sort of gotten the impression most people don't? And not even Brock or Dawn during the thing with Mesprit and Uxie and Azelf had known what he meant, when he said how being near a Legendary feels tingly, sort of, like how using his Aura felt that one time but all upside-down.
Pikachu pokes him, and he remembers he's supposed to be talking. “Oh, I, uh—”
“Of course he has not met any Legendaries!” trills Rotom, sounding offended. “My data suggests that they only show themselves to the worthy! Ash is an mediocre trainer who needs me to remind him of the correct way to do 90% of what he attempts, including how to catch a pokemon!”
Well, that did it. Ash had got pretty good at keeping his temper down, but sometimes his mouth worked before his head, and they were talking about Legendaries already, so: “Oh yeah? Tell that to Lugia!”
“You've met Lugia?” says Lillie.
“Better not tell Lana, she'll be jealous forever,” says Mallow, practically.
“Better not tell me what?” shouts Lana from across the room.
Sophocles shouts back, “Ash met Lugia!”
“He what?”
Ash is ten years old when he encounters the Tapu and feels something warm from them, like recognition or like kinship.
Ash is ten years old when none of his friends are, anymore. He still keeps in contact with them, of course, even though it's a bit weird to see them as adults, and even though May and Dawn made Top Coordinator but he never quite made Champion, and even though it gets kind of annoying when people keep thinking he's a rookie with good connections. But they're his friends, so it doesn't really matter, just like not making Champion doesn't really matter when there's someone to help.
He has some sort of reputation, though, or at least apparently there are people thinking he's some kind of pokemon, which Tracey finds hilarious while telling him and Ash thinks is pretty funny too until Pikachu reminds him he can technically use Aura Sphere and if this is going to be their life, should probably make it more than a technicality.
Pikachu's right, like most of the time, and since they'd been near Kalos anyways they're heading to Korrina's gym to bother Lucario into helping him out when they hear someone crying from down the path. Ash doesn't think before he darts towards the noise — a habit he'll never break — and Pikachu isn’t much slower in digging claws into Ash’s shoulder to stay up.
It turns out to be a phantump.
It’s floating low, almost invisible against a tree trunk in the eternal gloom of deep forest, and Ash pulls himself to a stop just as abruptly as he’d started moving, in a way that would have sent Pikachu flying if it hadn’t been used to it.
“Hey,” he says, quietly.
The phantump chances a very quick glance his way, then immediately ducks its face back against the trunk of the tree and keeps sobbing.
Ash sits down, carefully as he can to make no sudden noises, and Pikachu jumps to his lap. He waits another moment, and then adds, “I’m not gonna hurt you.” The phantump keeps crying. “I promise.”
“Pika, pika pikachu,” adds Pikachu, in the voice it saves for just-hatched pokemon and for Ash when he’s sad.
Then, for awhile, there is only the soft whisper of wind on leaves, and the warm weight of Pikachu in his lap, and the phantump’s slowly-diminishing sobs. This is the sort of thing Ash learned patience for — there’s no point waiting for things, unless the thing you’re waiting for is a friend.
(He remembers Bulbasaur, and Charizard, and Infernape, and Pignite, and Goodra, and Torracat, and all the rest, and knows deep in him, where life meets love, that if you wait long enough anything can become a friend.)
Sunlight is fading out of the treetops and Ash is tapping his fingers against each other in a pattern he learned off James when the phantump's sobs fade to nothing. It rubs at its eyes with barely-there arms, and scrapes its face against the tree trunk when that doesn't help, and turns around and sees Ash and Pikachu and flinches back so fast its stump bangs on the trunk with a sound that makes Ash wince.
“Phan…” it says, in a barely-there voice.
“Hey,” says Ash again. “We're not here to hurt you.”
It sinks closer to the ground and covers its face with its arms. “Phan…”
Ash can barely make out its voice.
Pikachu starts up a soft, steady stream of reassurances as Ash digs in his backpack with slow, steady movements and emerges with the pokeblock case his friends had bothered him into getting when they heard he'd done a few contests for fun.
“Here,” he says, holding out his last cube of May's Blue Surprise, “my friend made this! Everyone says it's really good.”
“Pi-pika chu,” agrees Pikachu. Ash had been saving it for Pikachu, actually, but they both know this is a better cause.
“Phan,” says the phantump, peeking the tips of its eyes from its arms.
“I bet you're hungry, right?” The phantump nods, tremorously, but doesn't make any move to come take the pokeblock. “Its okay, you can eat it. I promise it's alright.”
“Pika pika!”
Slowly, as Ash tries to keep his outstretched arm from trembling, the phantump creeps closer and the sun goes down. At dusk, it snatches the pokeblock from his hand and retreats quick as an arrow back to its tree.
Ash smiles at Pikachu, puts down his backpack, and leans up against his own tree to sleep through the night. Pikachu clambers to a branch to keep watch.
At what he figures to be about midnight, Ash is woken up by Pikachu tugging at his hair and gesturing for him to keep quiet, and realizes a few seconds later the weight on his lap.
Phantump makes a soft little noise, and blinks its eyes open, and freezes like dead wood when it realizes Ash is looking down at it.
“Shhh,” says Ash, stopping his hands from moving at all. “Hey, it’s alright. You can stay here.”
Phantump untenses just a little, and blinks again, like it doesn’t get what Ash is saying at all.
“I dunno what happened to you, or what made you afraid,” continues Ash, “but you’re safe here, alright?”
“Piii-ka,” says Pikachu.
Phantump curls in on itself a little, and says, “Phan…”, and covers its eyes with its arm again.
Ash looks up for a long moment, thinks he can see a star through the canopy of branches.
“Hey, Phantump?”
“Tuuump?”
“How would you like to travel together for a bit?”
Phantump sinks deeper into his lap, and falls back asleep, and Ash decides to take that as a yes.
Ash is ten years old when the world almost ends, and ten years old when he stops it, and ten years old when it happens again, and then again. And he's happy, because Pikachu is the same, and the world is vast and beautiful, and they have all the time they could ever need to see the whole thing.
Static (Ability): Contact with the Pokémon may cause paralysis.
Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Pokemon: It possesses seven-colored wings. It is said that those who see Ho-Oh are promised an eternal happiness.