Pokemon The Novel: Next Generation

Chapter 3: Seven Years Later

Seven long years have passed since everyone has seen Ash, and everyone believes Ash is alive and out there somewhere. May visits Misty to keep her company, and Misty does the same when she's not busy with Gym business. On May's new visit to Misty's gym, they catch up like always, and they get a surprise visit from a Charizard carrying two letters for them both. Still, they don't know what to think of this.

Before one of them asks about who owns the Charizard, it flies off to a different location, and then they snap out of their weird trance and open up the letters, still confused by the current events. "What do you think of this, Misty?." May asks what she thinks. "I honestly don't know, but let's read out letters first," she says to May, who nods in agreement as they look at their opened letters.

"Oh...we're invited to a tournament. Kinda odd that Charizard knows where I was going?." says a pounding May, then Misty speaks up. "Yeah, and now I think about it, it knows we both would be here?." Misty made a worried look on her face. Meanwhile, Charizard and Dragonite continued their journey, delivering letters to other trainers. Even the traitors got letters, but Charizard made sure it was Dragonite who gave them and not himself doing it.

Charizard went to Pallet Town as its last stop. Once Charizard arrived, he went straight to Professor Oak's lab and banged on the door, getting someone's attention. Gary answered the door and was shocked to see a Charizard, but he snapped out of his trance when the Charizard gave Gary his letter. Then it flew away to a different house, landing with a crashing boom, surprising Jaden, Flannery, and their Pokemon.

Charizard knocked on the door a few times with no answer, then it walked around the house, surprising everyone with its knowledge to knock on the door, then came round the back. "Well...That's something you don't see every day," says Jaden, trying to lighten the mood while chuckling. Flannery walks up to the Charizard, meeting it halfway. As it comes towards them, the Charizard gives its last letter to Flannery, which is for both of them. Flannery looks at it and then towards her husband. "Oh, Jaden, this letter is for both of us." He gets his attention and walks over.

Taken looks at the letter while Flannery is holding their son named Emerald. "We're invited to a tournament, which won't be happening for a month from now," he says, and then the couple looks up at the tall Charizard. "Would you like to rest here briefly, Charizard?''. Flannery says, offering the Charizard a place to rest, to which it nods. Then, it pulls a thank you card from its bag, finds a spot next to the backdoor, and takes a nap.

Having a dumbfounded face and then shaking it off, Jaden has another look at the letter and then turns to Flannery. "So...You up for another adventure," he says, smiling at his wife. Flannery smiles back and nods at him. "Of course, dear, give us something to do," she says, and then they both kiss each other on the lips. Meanwhile, in Celestic Town, a trainer riding on a different Charizard's back landed in the backyard of their home. Cynthia is startled by the sudden thud outside. She quickly checks, only to be surprised at her visitor, then smiles at him, welcoming him back home after being trained at Mt. Silver.

"Welcome home, son; how was training up in the mountains," she says, smiling, then letting in her adopted son. "It was great, mother. I'm just back to get ready for the tournament." he says, walking past his adoptive mother, "Now remember, Ash, you can go all out on the traitors. Just don't kill them." she says with a severe look on her face making Ash fling "Okay okay, but no promises if they try to kill us," he says as he goes up to his room to get a shower then dressed to spend time with his mother.

An hour later, Ash comes downstairs to relax, only for Cynthia to greet her son in the living room. "Just a reminder, Ash, go to the Pokemon Centre before five o'clock, okay," she says with a smile, and then Ash smiles back. "Sure thing, Mother," he says, reassuring her. Then Pikachu and Mew come downstairs after hearing Ash is back, and they both jump on him and nuzzle. "Great to see you guys again," he says, chuckling, then Ash checks the time. "Well, I know we should spend time together, but I might as well get to the Pokemon Centre," he says. Then Mew and Pikachu landed on his shoulders, waving his mother goodbye for now, and then they teleported.

Once they arrived at the Pokemon Centre, Ash visited Nurse Joy to register for the tournament. Still, the minute he got registered, he asked Nurse Joy to put him under "Red" until he said otherwise. Nurse Joy smiled and then nodded once she was done. Ash then turns around and sees the traitors at a table together, minus Trip, who joins the tournament alone, as he feels he's better than them all.

Ash went to Mt. Silver for another training session for the upcoming tournament. At the same time, Jaden and Flannery arrive at Cynthia's home, where they've become close friends but unaware of her adoptive son being his brother, Cynthia opens up her home for them than being in a hotel which Flannery is happy to take up her offer while Cynthia and Flannery catch up and playing with Emerald Jaden in the meantime takes his Pokemon and went to do a lot of training for the tournament but Jaden has been getting a feeling that he keeps feeling his brother's presence.

A month passed, and Jaden returned to the woods for more training. Just a day before the tournament, Cynthia noticed something off with Jaden and went to the woods. Jaden turned around after hearing some sticks breaking. "Easy, Jaden, it's only me," says Cynthia, smiling as she walks up to Jaden. "So, want to tell me what's on your mind?." she says, crossing her arms with an annoyed look.

"Well...I've been feeling this about my brother's presence here," he says sadly. "And I just missed him, Cynthia." After saying that, he sighs, but then he gets a slap to the back of his head. He looks up to Cynthia. "What was that for..." he asks while rubbing his head, "For the millionth time, you can call me mom, alright," she says, crossing her arms and annoyed at Jaden. "Alright, Alright...Not sure why, though," he says, confused at her words. "Well, if you're done training, let's get back home, and I'll show you why," she says while turning around and heading back home with Jaden.

Upon returning home, Cynthia and Jaden were about to walk into the house when they heard screaming from inside. The two rushed in, but to their surprise, Red had returned home and scared the daylights out of Flannery. "Sorry...Sorry...I didn't know someone would be here." he says, waving his hands; sweat drops as Flannery is ready to punch him; Cynthia and Jaden get in the way, calming Flannery down, and then they all turn to Red. "How did you get here?." Flannery asks him before she feels like punching his lights out. Just before Red can answer his Pokemon, Mewtwo appears behind him along with Mew and Pikachu, even with a brand new Pokemon that no one has seen.

Jaden is about to ask what that Pokemon is, but Red uses his aura to change his appearance back to his original self, surprising both Jaden and Flannery, while Cynthia is not surprised. "Why you..." Jaden bullet trains his brother, hugging him crazy. "Jaden...Choking...Need Air..." he begs his brother to let go. Jaden does this, and then he and Flannery cross their arms at him, "Alright, Ash, talk now." he is furious that his brother kept this secret from him. Then Ash explains how he was found to be with Cynthia for seven years, and then Jaden, hunched over sweat, quickly turns to face Cynthia. ''That's why you told me to call you Mother?." Cynthia had nothing to say but just smiled and nodded at Jaden.

After everyone caught up, Ash is happy to know that he's an uncle to Jaden and Flannery's child, while Jaden is happy that he and Ash have a more caring Mother. Ash has spent a good few hours getting to know his two-year-old nephew until Flannery took him away for bedtime as she was heading to next along with Cynthia, Ash, and Jaden to catch up then talk about that to do with the traitors if they start causing trouble on them meanwhile Ash tells his plans to Jaden that he's going to show is identity after the tournament's first round which Jaden will be happy to be by his brother's side once more.