Alola to a New Journey!

Island Boy

"I... wh-you... I..." Ash sputtered out, before taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "You're my uncle!?"

"Heh... yeah, that's me... Uncle Kukui..." Kukui rubbed the back of his head. "I know it's probably a little awkward for you, hopefully as much as it is for me..."

"I... don't remember ever seeing you before, though. If you were my uncle, why didn't Mom ever talk about you?"

"Well, the last time I saw you, before you came to Alola, you were just a little tyke. Not even two years old, I'm pretty sure. I got accepted as the Regional Professor of Alola, and was at Delia's and your house to give her a goodbye before I got on the flight to Alola. My sister was... a lot more nervous about it then I was." Kukui said. "And we just... kind of lost touch as the years went on... I got caught up in my new job and my studies... and Delia was dealing with raising a kid by herself because your da-." Kukui stopped, realizing he said too much, and cursed himself out in his head when he saw Ash's eye's widen.

"My dad!? You knew him!? What happened to him!?" Ash asked, his eyes hopefully as Kukui, holding back a groan, hesitated.

"Umm... well. I don't know what he's doing or done, but he... you don't want to be associated with him, Ash." Kukui muttered, clenching his fists at the thought of Fergus.

Oblivious to Kukui's silent ire, Ash paused, looking at him curiously. "I... W... W-Why not? He didn't do something bad or anything, did he?"

Kukui sighed at the worried look Ash gave him. Despite the boys quick thinking, fierce independence and surprising responsibility, Kukui knew he was still a kid. Would he be ready to hear that? "Umm... well, uh... your dad, Fergus... he... y-you know what? This is something your mother should tell you, not me."

"Okay... so let's go talk to her. Pokémon Center isn't too far from here." Ash said. "Besides, I fell like Ma should probably be part of this conversation, too."

"That's... a good point. We'll take a walk." Kukui said, as he left the house, followed by Ash, and the two of them trekked to the Pokémon Center. Kukui scratched the back of his neck as he and Ash walked in silence. "So, I should probably explain why I never told you this for the whole time you were here, huh?" He asked, to which Ash nodded.

"It'd be nice to hear. I thought that Mom was all I had for family for, well, forever." Ash replied, Pikachu lightly tapped Ash with his tail, and Ash chuckled. "Yeah, you and all my other Pokémon as well, buddy." Ash said, scratching Pikachu's ears.

Kukui sighed. "It's no excuse, but... I was a little nervous about it. Delia and I have been out of touch for... years, and I hadn't seen you in years either. I knew you'd have forgotten me, and I can't drop that on you just, out of the blue like that. So I... kind of pushed it to the side. Sorry, Ash. Should've just ripped that bandage off earlier."

Ash nodded. "It's fine. Really, I get it. Nerves do that to people. I'm not mad at you or anything, y'know? There's just no point getting heated over it. It's definitely nice to know that I've got some other family out there aside from just my Mom, though."

"Yeah, well I guess you've got Burnet too, then."

"Ohh yeah... she'd be my aunt, huh?"

"Yep. So you... just never forget that no matter what, you've got a home here in Alola, alright? I never got to be there for you and my sister back then, but I'm fixing that today."

"Kukui..." Ash said. "There's nothing for ya to 'fix', y'know that? I'm sure my mom will be happy to hear from you again. You better remember to come visit Pallet Town sometime, too."

"Yeah... I think I will." Kukui said, as the two walked into the Pokémon Center. They gave Nurse Joy a wave as they walked over to the video caller, where Ash put his mother's number in. Delia answered after a couple rings, smiling at Ash's excited face.