The raven hair trainer know by most, as Ash Ketchum, was sitting in his house thinking. His beloved Pokemon partner, pikachu, curled up next to him, napping. His mom was away on a trip and would be back later today, so he was home alone, aside from his Pokemon. He kept dwelling on his previous losses at the Pokémon leagues and needed to fine some motivation to continue on with his dream.
'Where did I get the motivation before?' Ash thought as he stared at the ceiling. 'What was it that gave me such inspiration?'
"Pika pik?" Pikachu asked, looking up to his trainer concerned, when he woke from his nap.
Ash had never been one to mop for very long, but it had been weeks now. It had been about six months since Ash returned from the Alola region. Sure, while on a school vacation his mind was far from the leagues, but since returning, it slowly crept into his mind. The thoughts getting stronger with each passing day.
"Yeah, I'm ok buddy." Ash replied somberly.
"Pikachu pika pik pika?" Pikachu said (I know that's not true, what's wrong?)
Ash gave a sigh and answered "I don't know. I just, I can't seem to find any... motivation. I don't know what happened."
The little mouse Pokémon put his hand to his chin in thought. "Pika pika pikachu pik?" Pikachu suggested (Maybe you should call your friends?)
"Maybe." Ash replied slowly. Although, the thought of seeing everyone again made him smile. "You're right." Ash stood up and went to go get the phone. But who to call and what would they do? Pikachu quickly jumped into Ash's shoulder, joining him at the phone. "Hmmm who should I call?" Ash asked his partner.
"Pika!" Pikachu remarked (Everyone!)
"Ok then." Ash said excited and called his friends.
So Ash called all of the traveling companions that he had traveled with over the years, inviting them to come over. They all agreed and a few asked if others could be included, which of course Ash agreed. Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Drew, Dawn, Barry, Zoey, Iris, Cilan, Bianca, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Lillie, Gladion, Kiawe, Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, and Gary all agreed to come visit.
The front door opened and Ash's mom, Delia, called into the house "Ash, come here a moment, I have a surprise for you."
"Coming mom." Ash responded as he walked to the front room where his mom was.
"Ash, I'd like to meet your cousin, Luna." Delia opened the door more fully, to reveal a girl.
She had black hair that curled in at the tips in the front, she wore a red benne with square Pokeball shape on it. She had on a light yellow flower printed shirt that looked to be a bit big for her and it was tied in the front. She had green shorts on and some black and red snickers. There was a red, yellow, and black shoulder bag over her shoulder. She had the same chocolate brown eyes that run in the Ketchum family.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Luna greeted with a smile.
"Hi I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu." Ash introduced himself, lifting his arm to better show off Pikachu.
"Pika-chu!" Pikachu squealed happily.
"Isn't it great to have another member of the family here?" Delia remarked happily. "She will be staying with us for a bit. So please, Ash, be good and show her around, ok?"
"Oh, um..." Ash began, "I kind of invited a bunch of friends over and was planning on going out somewhere with them."
Delia looked up and placed her finger to her chin in thought. Ash and Luna waited for her to say something, but Ash was a little impatient and worried.
"I've got it!" Delia exclaimed, happy with her idea. "I'll send the two of you and all your friends to the Pokémon convention."
"Woah, mom, you don't have to do that." Ash said, knowing that is was a pretty expensive event, especially with how many of his friends where coming. "There are 21 plus, me and Luna, so that makes 23 people."
"But, I want to do it and the one running the convention owns me a favor, so he would be happy to let you stay." Delia replied. "And besides, you will get to spend time with your cousin and introduce her to all your friends."
"Ok, but the convention doesn't start until the weekend and it's Tuesday." Ash stated, final giving in.
"Oh, don't worry about it dear, I'll phone everyone and tell them the good news." Delia said and strolled off to call back everyone and change the arrangements.
"So..." Luna began. "...your mom tells me that you are in a bit of a slump."
"Yeah." Ash answered. "That's kind of why I wanted to have everyone over. I always did pretty well when I had them with me."
"You have a lot of friends. Any favorites?" Luna asked, although her question had a deeper meaning, knowing that most of these friends were girls.
"Well, no. They are all really good friends and have helped me a lot, so I guess I couldn't pick a favorite." Ash answered honestly.
"Really?" Luna questioned with a touch of suspicion in her voice. "Well, do you think there is one in particular that you are looking to get help from?"
Ash thought about it for a moment, really thinking about it. Who could give him the best advice?
"I don't know. Brock, Cilan, and Clemont are gym leaders so they could give good advice. But Dawn and Iris have always been good battle partners when training." Ash replied after a moment of thought.
Luna smiled, confusing Ash. "So, do you want to battle?" Luna asked before Ash could say anything.
"Sure!" Ash answered enthusiastically. Even in a slump, he was always ready for a Pokémon battle.
They ran outside, and got into position. They called out their Pokémon, Ash using Pikachu and Luna called the Alolan Pokémon Sandshrew. They battled for a while, just for the fun of it. It felt like it had been a long time since he battled, but there was still something missing from this.
"How about we make this a real battle? A six on six?" Luna asked.
"Of course!" Ash yelled excited. "But, first, come with me. I have to run by Professor Oak's lab to grad some more Pokemon."
"Ok." Luna said and followed her cousin to the lab.
They went to the lab and Ash grabbed some of his Pokémon for the battle. Professor Oak was busy talking to a fellow professor over the phone, Tracey was out, probably at the Cerulean gym, and Gary was in another region, doing research. So he went to grab them, gave a quick goodbye to Oak and went back home.
The two continued to battle, until it was dark. They went back into the house and ate the buffet that Delia had prepared. Luna definitely had the Ketchum appetite. Once they finished eating, they talked and got to know each other. Ash felt better after that day, he'd admit it, but there was still something missing that he couldn't quite put his finger on. When all the food was gone the trio went to bed.
Over the next few days Ash seemed to improve his mood and was excited to see all his friends again. The days passed by slowly, and soon it was the day before the convention. The sun rose and Ash, Luna, and Delia were eating breakfast together.
YOU ARE READING
FINDING THE MOTIVATION AGAIN
Fanfiction(If you're not reading this on Wattpad, you're reading an illegal copyright version of it) Ash is having a tough time with finding motivation to continue his dream of becoming a Pokémon master. So he looks to his friends. Him and his friends end up...
