Pokémon Legacy: Come Back to Me

Prologue

Author's Note: this prologue will take place right after Serena and Ash go their separate ways. It will take you on a journey through the next 6 years of his life, where he does anything and everything to avoid thinking about Serena. Be warned that this story contains some Pearlshipping at first, but it is strictly an Amourshipping fanfic.

This is looking like it's going to be a really long chapter, so just bear with me please.

Ages before the separation:
Ash, Serena, Gary, Clemont: 15
Dawn: 14
Bonnie: 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

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Three days later:

Ash entered his old house in Pallet Town, greeted by the smell of his mother's cookies. He allowed himself a small smile, the first time he had let himself in three days. Pikachu's tail twitched and he jumped from Ash's shoulder to his head, nose twitching. Ash dropped his bag on the little table, and followed his own nose to the kitchen. His mother was bent over a book, resting against the counter while her cookies baked.

"Mom, I'm home." Ash said. Delia looked up suddenly at the familiar sound. There was her boy, with his ever present partner Pikachu on his head. She blinked, as if she didn't believe her eyes. But when she opened them again, Ash and Pikachu were still standing in her kitchen, smiling at her. Delia dropped her book on the ground and rushed to her son, pulling him into a hug. Jolted by the sudden movement, Pikachu jumped off of Ash's head and landed on the counter. While Delia and Ash weren't looking, he stole a cookie and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Chaa" Pikachu moaned happily. Ash heard the noise, fine-tuned to his partner's every movements and laughed. The first laugh he laughed in three days.

"Mom, you better put those away before Pikachu eats all of them." Delia jumped away from her son and looked towards the furry yellow mouse.

"Pikachu, you know you're not supposed to have and desserts until after dinner." She scolded. Pikachu gave an ashamed sound, causing Delia to chuckle and scratch the Pokémon's head. "Which I haven't even started yet and it's almost 9." Delia sighed.

"Mom, we can just order some pizza and watch a movie, like old times." Delia smiled at her son.

"Yeah. Let's." She grabbed the phone and dialed the pizza place they had been ordering from since Ash was little. He smiled again, but it didn't reach his eyes. Pikachu sensed something was wrong, so he butted Ash's hand and squeaked. Ash smiled down at his best friend and scratched him.

"I'll be okay. Come on, let's get you some food." Pikachu scampered onto Ash's shoulder and he went and got the Pokémon food from his bag. He dumped it in a bowl and set it on the ground in the living room, then sank into the couch cushions. His mom came in a few moments later and they popped in their favorite movie.

~

Ash was laying in his bed that night, not sleeping. He was happy to be home, but something was missing. She was missing. Ash sighed and rolled over, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep.

~~~

1 Year Later

Ash opened his eyes to the early morning sun. He was restless, his energy started spiking again. Ash didn't remember the last time he felt so alive. The last year he had spent, kind of listlessly drifting around his house. His mom was worried about him, and he knew she didn't have any idea why the lively Ash she used to know came back from Kalos so listless. He hasn't told anyone about her. He's trying to forget her. Ash decided that he was tired of laying around all day doing nothing, he wanted to change that. He wanted to get moving.