One Love, One Heart

Chapter 14: I'd Come For You

"Professor, how come you didn't tell them about what we saw in the Viridian Forest?" Tracey asked the professor.

"I didn't want to pique their curiosity. Knowing Ash, he'd be reckless enough to go search for it and wind up hurt. You saw how powerful and hostile it was," Professor Oak said sternly.

"What were you two doing in the forest anyway, Professor?" Delia questioned; a tad worried about the events the pair described. Ash's mother finished cleaning the house, and with little to do, she went to visit the laboratory, where she learned Ash and the others already left.

"I was studying the Pokémon there for some research. While we were examining a colony of bug Pokémon, a Dragon Pulse launched out of nowhere," the elderly man recalled vividly.

"It was frighteningly aggressive, and it used a variety of dragon moves like Dragon Rush and Dragon Pulse," the boy with the headband got goosebumps remembering the moment.

Professor Oak agreed, "I can't help but put my finger on it, but I could've sworn I'd seen that creature before. To be fair though, I didn't quite get a good look. For all we know, it might've been a wild Salamence or Charizard."

"Maybe Professor, but Salamence and Charizard only have one head. I managed to get a good look at it. I even sketched what we saw as soon as Ash left." Tracey took out the picture from his sketchbook and showed it.

Oak and Delia took a look at the sketch. It was a hydra-like fiend with wings; its jaws were dangerously razor-sharp. Its eyes were filled with rage. Mrs. Ketchum got more alarmed by the discussion they were having, and Professor Oak took notice of this.

"Tracey, why don't we drop this for now? Let's enjoy the evening," Professor Oak advised Tracey. The young assistant wished to continue discussing it, but he knew they were better off talking about it when Delia was gone.

"Delia, how's everything at home?" Professor Oak asked her.

"Oh, you know. We have a full house with May, Misty, and Drew there, Professor. There is one thing we could talk about," the mother was about to begin the subject of the discussion.

"What would that be?" Tracey inquired her.

"It's Ash, doesn't he seem a bit different ever since he found out May was coming?" Delia hoped she wasn't the only one who noticed.

"I see, but Delia you know he has been training hard here at the lab," Tracey informed her.

Tracey and Oak looked at each other and agreed. "I know nothing can stop Ash from becoming a Pokémon Master, but it does appear the young man has a new type of challenge on his hands," Oak sipped his tea as he thought of Ash.

Tracey looked at the floor as he heard this comment. "He likes May, it's clear. We noticed the first time she ever visited Pallet Town. Remember when Ash invited May to journey with him through the Battle Frontier on the fly?" Ash's former traveling companion proved he wasn't as clueless about romance as Ash.

"I wonder if he's thought about traveling with her again since they both recently ended their respective journeys," Professor Oak rubbed his chin.

Delia thought about May and the influence she was having on her son. She knew May was a good friend of their family, but she worried. The mother only hoped her son wouldn't be heartbroken if it came down to it. "We can't intervene. They're on their way to becoming young adults. The only thing we can do is watch how things unfold," Oak noted. Tracey and Delia nodded in agreement.

To get her mind off her son, Delia changed the topic. "Speaking of growing children, how is Gary doing, Professor?" the mother asked.

"Gary is exploring the Seafoam Islands right now. He's making his own discoveries every day," Oak thought highly of his grandson.