Secrets of Galar (Ash x reader)

Chapter Fifteen: The Story of Y/N

There was blinding flash of light, and they were engulfed in darkness.

"Look. It's me!" said Y/N, utterly shocked.

She was right. An opaque version of herself stood beside her, only she was smaller. The face was still as serious and nonchalant as Y/N's was now, and the expression seemed hard.

The cave had transformed completely - its crystals had vanished; in its place a rack of test tubes filled with liquids of vivid colours. Several lab coats hung on pegs that had just appeared, and a woman whose only resemblance to Y/N was the H/C hair appeared. A man with eyes lighter than Y/N's stood beside her. 

"Nearly." hissed the woman. "President Rose shall pay us plenty for this invention! He had better, though. We do not 'work' for anyone,' we are of our own mind and spirit, and so, consequently, we lease our inventions; our scientific miracles; only to those who pay us well for our efforts."

"Quite." agreed the man. "You there - get me a flask."

Young Y/N glared at him, loathing in her eyes, and obeyed.

"I was adopted." said Y/N quietly. "I never will know who my real parents are. I don't think it matters, though. What's bygones is bygones."

Once Young Y/N had returned, he took the flask callously without a word of thanks.

"All we need to do to finish this concoction, and to seal our wealthy fate, is add this catalyst. This potion will remove the Pokemon's power, enabling it to be put to...better uses."

He smiled malevolently, and Young Y/N rolled her eyes. She silently walked out the door, and closed it. As if they could hear her anyway.

She walked out to the forest, and found the Scorbunny she had trained so well when they were the only ones in the forest.

"That was when I met Cinderace." said Y/N.

Cinderace nodded vigorously beside her.

An explosion sounded behind Young Y/N. She whipped her head around.

"Scorbunny, let's go see what happened." she said.

The Scorbunny ran with her, all the way to the laboratory where she had been before. Her adoptive parents lay still, motionless.

"They're dead." she breathed.

She smiled a little.

"Now, I can finally go on my path of success, the one I've always envisioned."

And with that, the scene faded, leaving only Y/N and her Pokemon in the dim glow of the crystals, which had sprouted again.

"It doesn't matter now, does it? I've found my path to success, just like I said I would. With you, Cinderace, and all my other Pokemon, it doesn't matter much. I know now, at least."

She walked out of the cave, and her phone spoke aloud.

"You have a message from Goh."

Goh: Y/N? Where are you? Ash has lost Zacian.

Ash: I didn't lose it, Goh! It's just somewhere. Either way, we need you, Y/N!

Y/N quickly typed a few words.

Y/N: I'm fine. Just meet me at where Zapdos will lead you to.

Hatterene promptly teleported to wherever Ash was. She scrolled down, and saw a message from Gladion.

Gladion: What were you doing in the middle of the night?

Y/N: Be careful. It's the Darkest Day. 

She chose not to reply to the question. It would be better if he didn't know. Seeing as it was Ash's Zacian, she supposed he had to know.

"Ash!" She could see him arriving by flight.

"Y/N!" he shouted. Zapdos plunged down to where she was.

"Listen, I've got no time to explain." she said breathlessly. "Take this Pokeball; it's your Zacian. Tell Goh to find The Legend of the Heroes in a library close to Professor Magnolia's lab. You'll come with me."

He looked surprised to realise that she had it, but took it without complaint.

"Y/N." He hesitated. "What's going on?"

"Get on Zapdos and I'll explain on the way. We're going to Rose Tower to see someone."

"Wait, you don't mean-"

"Yes, Chairman Rose. Why?" she asked.

"I just encountered him when I was flying with Leon. He made an offer to mentor me, but I declined. You see, I wanted to travel the world and grow strong with my Pokemon."

He had a dreamy, faraway look in his eyes.

"That's a noble reason." she smiled, and Ash turned slightly crimson.

"Thanks." he said sheepishly. "Oleana got really mad, though. Her hair went all over the place-"

"Like Medusa?"

"Who?"

"Never mind. How's Goh doing?"

"Good. He's helping Sonia with something about Gigantamax and Dynamax, I think?" said Ash.

"How very convenient."

"You said you'd tell me what you've been up to."

"Oh, yes. So, I also ran into Chairman Rose, probably before you. He supposed you could have persuaded me to give up my Pokemon." she said, eyebrows raised as she said it.

"I wouln't have, even if I had accepted his offer! I sure am glad I didn't say yes now!"

He laughed.

"Go on, Y/N."

"Of course, I said no, and he tried to battle me. I won. You know how good I am at battling.

He said I'd regret it, as he needed the energy of one of my Pokemon to create a more sustainable Galar."

"I know you want that too," said Ash quietly. "Not in this way, though."

"He was being very callous. I retorted about how immoral it was to sacrifice a Pokemon just so everyone else could benefit. Pokemon may not speak the language we do, but they act and think familiarly to us." she said.

"You're right. Y/N, you know so much about Pokemon. How come you aren't a Professor?"

She went silent.

"Someone offered me a degree. I didn't want it until Chairman Rose and the heads of other evil organisations weren't interested in my knowledge and skill, though."

"Shame." said Ash.

There was a silence between the two.

"Hey, Ash?" she asked tentatively. "We'll always be friends, right?"

No, thought Ash. Y/N, you're much more than a friend to me.

But to Y/N, he answered, "Yes. For now."

"What do you mean, 'for now'?" she asked, confused.

He opened his mouth to speak, but her phone went off with a message from Goh. His words faded in the midnight breeze.

"It's Goh! He's found the book!"