Stand by You Part 1 of 4

Chapter 11: Flipping Sides

"I can't believe I lost to a rookie gym leader!" Ash pouted.

"Piiiii", Pikachu lamented.

Ash and friends were walking back to the Pokémon Center in Pewter City. Everyone came out to see him battle Forrest. To their shock, Ash didn't do nearly as well as they expected.

"You should have planned a better strategy", said Iris. "When are you going to learn that just because you won the Orange League and a few other Pokémon competitions over the past few years doesn't mean you can automatically beat every gym leader. You need to have to have humility".

"Well now I feel plenty humiliated. Leave me alone, Iris", Ash said.

"She's right though", said Max.

Serena walked closer to Ash. "I think that you are distracted. Is everything alright?" she asked. "You should be so hard on yourself".

Misty saw Ash and Serena talking, and feeling jealous, decided to walk closer to them.

"I haven't been feeling very well lately", he told her.

"What's the matter, Ash? Do you want us to stop and get you some medicine?" asked Cilan.

"No, I'll be ok. I want to come back tomorrow though to battle Forrest again", Ash replied.

"Ok sure. The Marblewhite contest is not for another week anyway", said Serena.

"You should just go rest for a while," said Bonnie. "I always feel better after a good nap!"

The rest of the group tried to cheer Ash up. When they got to the Pokémon Center he decided to call his mother on one of their video-phones.

"Hello Ash. I didn't expect you to call me so soon. Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could come home and talk to you about you-know-who", he said.

"Ok Ash. Are you sure? You can ask me anything over the phone", Delia replied.

"I really need to talk to you in person. Just one day, then I'll come back to Pewter city in time for the contest. Can I come home on Friday? I would come earlier but I already made plans to do some things in the city with my friends" Ash asked.

"Of course. I can't wait to see you", she said. "Try to relax honey and get some sleep. You look and sound very tired".

"I know", said Ash. "See you Friday".

"Ok, bye Ash. I love you", Delia replied.

Ash hung up the phone. He knew that after talking with her he would feel much better.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jessie and James just happened to overhear Delia's conversation with her son. They walked into the room when she hung up the phone.

"If Ash is coming back here, we should probably get going as soon as possible" said Jessie.

"That won't be necessary", said Delia. "Ash is just coming home for a day and then continuing his journey with his friends. I think you three should stay longer. You have been a delight to have around the house".

The former Rockets had woke up extra early to help Delia with the chores. They cooked her breakfast, vacuumed and dusted the entire house, clean and organized her garage, watered her garden, and helped her cook lunch and dinner.

"We may have a bad record, but we always show gratitude towards people who feed us", said James.

"Where's Meowth?" asked Jessie. They looked around and called him, but he was nowhere to be found.