Deliveries and Farewell

The walk home was notably more silent and somber than when we had gone to the swimming hole, which was quite understandable considering what we had been discussing.

With the exception of me being reincarnated, I told the girls an abridged version of what was expected of me in the future, including the 'scraps of knowledge' I occasionally dreamed of. This 'knowledge' included images of Pokemon the likes of which the girls had never seen before, except for some photographs they had seen of murals and old paintings brought to the professors to study.

With each drawing depicting what we could only consider to be the powerful and God-like legendary Pokemon, and the knowledge that I would be getting into situations more dangerous than the Houndour from before, May and Dawn had to seriously consider if they would be traveling with me in the future.

While May and Dawn were silently contemplating everything I told them though, Daisy appeared concerned, but otherwise unchanged in her affections. The reason for this though was probably because she wasn't going to actually travel with us in the future.

While Daisy had already been talking with Dawn about becoming the official groomer and stylist for her and her Pokemon when she entered a contest in the future, her plan was to merely meet us at the city where the contest would be taking place via flight or teleportation. This would mean that she would more than likely not be caught up in any conflicts I would be involved in in the future, whereas Dawn and May would be if they followed me.

Riolu meanwhile was the only one not to be saddened or concerned when I told him what our future had in store for us a few nights ago, but rather he appeared excited as his aura had flared and his demeanor shifted to something along the lines 'finally, a worthy opponent'. It was rather comical considering I'd watched him get his ass kicked by professor Oak's few month old Machop earlier that day.

Unlike the girls though, I had given Riolu the full explanation of my past, as he was bound to find out eventually anyways as our bond grew stronger. Surprisingly, upon learning about my first life and the way I lived it, Riolu's aura was filled with pride that his partner was a champion fighter.

It was also his presence and confirmation that made the girls fully believe my story about Acreus appearing before me, despite none of them ever having heard about him before. This was because professor Rowen had been sharing everything he knew about the Riolu line in the last week with the rest of us, as well as the stories of famous warriors that did many great deeds with their partners throughout history.

So May and Dawn were silently contemplating their future as they tried to figure out if they wanted to join me in my dangerous destiny, or remain away and safe. Of course I told them not to answer right now, as we still have five years until beginning our journeys, five years for them to think on what I said.

And naturally I swore them all to secrecy, I just hoped they would honor it.

The silence continued all the way back to the house, where I sensed several strong and familiar auras as the Machamp team came into view.

"Champ!" Machamp cried out in greetings when he saw us approach, waving one of his arms as he did so despite the other three being full.

"Oh Ace! What wonderful timing." My mom said as she came out the back door, before saying to Machamp and the rest of the Machoke with him, "can you set them all down over there please?"

"""Maaaa!"""

The group of muscle-bound Pokemon replied as they did as she asked, while I hurried over the second I saw the logos on the side of the crates they were carrying.

"My packages!" I exclaimed excitedly, giddy that they had gotten here so soon. I rushed over and began tearing into the closest crate the second Machamp set it down, one with a Delibird logo on the side.

Inside I found numerous pieces of equipment used to train Pokemon in the different attributes they possessed, as well as two identical strips of yellow cloth with red eye-like triangles on them. Grabbing one, I went over to Riolu and said while wrapping it around his left bicep,

"Here. This will make your physical attacks stronger." Wrapping it a few times to keep the ends from dangling, I then tied it in a loose knot before stepping back to grab the second one.

Riolu's eyes were practically shining as I too wrapped the Muscle Band around my left arm, and tied it into a loose knot before holding it out for him to see.

"Now we match!"

"Ri!" Riolu declared as he too held out his arm, as we showed off our new accessories.

"Did you get something for me Aniki?" Ash asked with his own eyes shining expectantly. With his question reminding me, I held up a finger while going to open the second crate.

"Just a second.... Here!" I tossed what I found in the crate to Ash, who eagerly tried to catch it in his outstretched arms only to start falling over backwards.

"Eh?" Ash uttered before he hit the ground and had the wind knocked out of him.

"H-help....me..." Ash could barely breathe out under the weight of the vest, before one of the Machoke gave him a hand by lifting it off of him.

Sitting up the moment he was no longer being crushed, Ash looked to me as he exclaimed, "What was that Aniki?!"

I shot my little brother a deadpanned look as I said, "a weighted vest for training of course. Tomorrow morning you're going to be training with Riolu and I."

As I said that I tossed Ash the other items in the crate that I had bought him, weighted wristbands, boots, and even a sweatband. With each item Ash appeared increasingly crestfallen, but my mind was made up since I had confirmed that he too a possessed a large amount of aura, and I refused to let my brother's talent go to waste.

Of course, I didn't only get my brother weighted items, as I opened the next box and tossed him a couple sets of dark blue Gi's that I'd bought to train in. They matched the ones I'd bought for myself and Riolu, in forest green and black instead, which made mom croon over how 'cute' we'd all be.

Also within the box of clothing was a few smaller boxes, which I hurriedly covered with some of the other things inside to hide from view.

With Ash lamenting his future, and Riolu eagerly looking through the first crate, I finally turned my attention to the smallest of the four packages, with the Silph Co logo on the side. Opening it, I found a small case with five disk-like objects within it, along with a thick catalog.

I picked up the catalog and leafed through it briefly to make sure of what it was, and found a listing of nearly every single move Pokemon could learn within it. The disk-like objects in the case were called TM's, which could be used to instantly teach a Pokemon a certain move. And the idea behind the catalog was so that trainers could order more TM's from Silph Co, and make them more money.

Though I definitely planned to order more TM's as I needed in the future, with five more years until I began my journey, I planned to try and teach Riolu most of the different moves I thought he could learn in the catalog. But before that.

I put the catalog down and picked up the expensive looking case, opening it to reveal the disks as I picked on up with the label 'Thunder Punch'.

"Riolu, come here." My partner looked up from the first crate with his training equipment at my voice, and hurried over while looking at the disk I was holding curiously.

"Hold still." I told him while everyone around us watched curiously, and I placed the disk to Riolu's forehead.

The moment it made contact with my partner the disk began to glow, before dying down a second later as it transferred the information on it to him automatically. And while a usual TM would break after being used, I splurged a little on the five I bought for the reusable ones. After all, Giovanni was buying.

Once the move's information was transferred to Riolu I looked to one of the Machoke surrounding us, who understood my intentions as he readily knelt down and crossed his arms before him.

"Choke!" Machoke stated, telling Riolu to attack him with his new move.

"Ri!" Riolu declared with excitement as he took a stance, and focused for a moment before electricity began to crackle along his paw.

"Ri!" Riolu shouted as he delivered his attack onto Machoke, electricity arcing as it was inflicted upon the larger Pokemon. With Riolu having just learned the move though, it did minimal damage to the Machoke, who simply appeared proud of the younger Pokemon as he said some words of praise.

"Cho ma choke!"

"Ri!" Riolu said excitedly as he looked to me and the other five disks eagerly, though I shook my head as I returned the disk to its place, and closed the case.

"Focus on mastering Thunder Punch first, and then we'll move onto the next one." Though he was obviously disappointed that he wouldn't be learning all five of the moves today, I could see the excitement in Riolu's eyes as he then ran off into the woods to presumably do as I said.

Smiling wryly, I then returned the case to it box along with the catalog for the time being. The moves within it were ones that I thought would give Riolu plenty of versatility when it came to battling against the many types of Pokemon, especially against those he was weakest against.

Thunder Punch was a good counter for the flying type Pokemon that Riolu was weak to, while it would also give him an edge against water types as well. I had also gotten Ice Punch, which was strong against flying, grass, ground, and dragon types; Fire Punch, which was strong against grass, ice, bug, and steel types; Shadow Claw, a ghost type move that would give Riolu an edge against the ghost and psychic type Pokemon, the former of which was immune to fighting and normal type moves, and the latter of which was strong against fighting type Pokemon; and finally I had also gotten Zen Headbutt, a psychic type move that would give him an advantage over other fighting types, as well as poison type Pokemon.

While there were undoubtedly other moves I could have gotten, I figured these five were the best to give Riolu the most versatility needed to face any opponent to begin with, and they would be hardest for him to learn due to them being outside his typing. Thankfully, Pokemon weren't limited to learning only four moves like they were in the game, so this was just the start of the moves I would be teaching my partner.

With my mind full of thoughts about the future, I set to sorting through the crates and boxes as I made sure everything I ordered arrived, including the new apron and gardening tools I got for mom, which made her ecstatic when she saw them. I had also ordered myself a proper backpack that was made with the same spatial technology that was used for Pokeballs, while you only felt a fraction of the weight of the objects placed within.

With a few more items that I bought for myself, from more drawing utensils to tools and such that were of more practical use, mom eventually scolded me by asking what I expected for my birthday and Christmas if I just bought myself everything I wanted/needed.

It was only after a few hours of sorting and organizing that I got everything settled from my packages, the vast majority of which went to my room until we could work out proper storage for them. And by the time everything was sorted it was about time for my nightly bath, which Daisy and I had to drag Dawn and May into, as they were still indecisive about what I'd said earlier.

Daisy only realized her mistake in going along with me when it was too late, as, with this being their last night in Kanto, I decided to enact my revenge on the three girls for the way they had played with me for the last week.

Nearly an hour after we all entered the bath together, I alone exited looking and feeling refreshed as I left the aftermath to the mothers, who entered the bathroom after I exited it to find the three girls barely conscious. Apparently, despite how rusty I probably was, my tongue and finger skills were too much for the three girls.

Soon after the refreshing bath I went to bed, where I found Riolu waiting for me with excitement in his eyes. We then spent a bit of time trying on some of the items I got for him, before I pulled out three smaller boxes and gave him a 'mission' of sorts.

***

As morning arrived May and Dawn both felt a storm of emotions in their hearts as they got ready to depart. Not only would the man they had both fallen for, and already done so much with, be heading into what he described as essentially the most dangerous battlegrounds there'd ever be, but Ace's actions in the bath the night before also showed his point on them needing to share him even more in the future.

Sharing aside, both girls weren't sure about following Ace in the future after already being targeted by a criminal organization a little over a week ago. And if what he'd told them was true, then he'd basically be picking a fight with any group in the future that was stupid enough to provoke the Legendary Pokemon.

As much as they wanted to be able to travel with him and explore the world in the future, neither one was sure about going headfirst into such dangerous situations at the same time. There was a very big difference between batting other trainers, competing in the different regional leagues, or participating in contests, and literally going to war against beings that were considered, and were even worshipped, as gods.

And naturally they couldn't tell any of their parents or the professors about any of this, Ace made them swear to secrecy for the reason that it would just cause an unnecessary uproar, plus his mom would worry too much if she knew what was in store for him. He had explained how it was often that, when people knew of certain potential outcomes in the future, they would often ensure something happened by trying to prevent it.

If word of what Ace knew spread, then it could just make things more dangerous for not only him, but the people caught in any of the regions where the Legendary Pokemon resided as well.

Thankfully though, their parents just assumed that the girl's depressed mood was due to them saying goodbye to their boyfriend for the next five years, as the only reliable way for communicate between regions was through writing a letter. For some reason, whenever any of the different regions tried launching things they called satellites into orbit to launch global communications, they would be destroyed by something. So, there was currently a project to instead run a massive cable on the bottom of the ocean to the different regions to promote communications instead, but it would still take several years to complete.

When they finished packing, the groups from two different regions gathered as they made their way to the boat that would take them home, first to Hoenn, and then to Sinnoh.

There they found many of the residents of Pallet town waiting for them, several of which had going away gifts with them as they prepared to say farewell. The one that made their hearts lurch though, was of course Ace as he stood there next to Riolu, Ash, and their mother.

Delia approached them first as she wrapped both girls into a hug, and said tearfully,

"Please come back someday! No matter what happens in the future, the two of you are already like daughters to me!" As well as she meant them, Delia's words were like a knife to the two girl's hearts as she gave them one last squeeze.

Once Delia released them and stepped back, Ash this time stepped forward as he said to them,

"It was nice to meet you guys. I hope to see you again!"

"Y-yeah Ash..."

"We hope to see you too..."

They replied, one after the other. They had spent quite a bit of time with Ash in the last week, and saw him as a good friend. But next came the farewell they were dreading the most, as Ace himself stepped forward.

"I wish we could've done more while you guys were here, but hopefully we can make up for it next time?" Even as he said that though, Ace had a bit of sadness in his eyes.

It was only then that the two girls recalled him being able to read a person's aura, so he probably knew how they felt at the current moment, which only made them feel even worse. Surprisingly though, Ace suddenly stepped forward to wrap May in a hug, kissing her on the cheek as he did so, before he whispered into her ear,

"No matter what, I will always treasure the time we spent together May."

May shuddered in Ace's arms as he whispered that into her ears, before she responded by squeezing him as hard as she could as well. Even if she were only fooling around when she talked about dating Ace to begin with, right now she truly felt as if her heart was breaking at the thought of leaving, and potentially never seeing him again.

Eventually though she had to release him from her bear hug, and Ace gave her one last kiss before moving on to Dawn, where the same scene happened as he said his farewells to her too. Except, in her case Dawn nearly broke down crying as she said goodbye to Ace.

Everything after that was like a blur to the two girls as more people said goodbye to them, including professor Oak, Gary, and Daisy, who had a new shiny broach in her hair as she bid the two of hem farewell. Then they boarded the boat that would take them home, which was the same one they had arrived on to begin with.

It was only when they truly departed, and rounded the bend that obscured Pallet town from view, that they then went to their shared cabin below deck. And when they opened the door, May and Dawn were both surprised to see a small gift box sitting on their beds with a card.

Opening the cards, both girls released a shuddering breath when they realized they were from Ace.

'Dear Dawn(May),

I don't think I could tell you everything in person, so I had Riolu sneak these onboard last night.

So here it is, I love you.

It means a lot for me to be able to say that to someone, and maybe one day I'll explain exactly why that is. But that is also the reason that I told you the truth about my future yesterday.

I refuse to blindly walk someone I love into the path of danger that will be abundant in my journey, and wanted to give you the chance to make your own choice. Just know that, no matter what you choose, I will ALWAYS treasure our time together, and will never forget you.

Love, Ace Ketchum.'

Tears began to flow down both May and Dawn's cheeks as they read and reread Ace's letter, especially his confession. And it was only after reading it at least a dozen times, that they turned towards the little box that was siting on their beds.

Pulling on the ribbon binding them with shaking hands, the two girls slowly opened them to reveal silver chain bracelets that were almost identical. The two girls let out a gasp as they recognized the charm bracelets they had been eyeing in the catalogs in Ace's hospital room, with three charms already on them.

May's bracelet had three beautiful gemstones on it that she immediately recognized as a Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, while Dawn's had a Pearl, Diamond, and a small metal ribbon made of what she would later learn was Platinum.

Both girls immediately put the bracelets on, before turning towards the other to compare them. As they did so, Dawn said suddenly,

"May, I made my decision." May looked up at her friend, her eyes more firm and sure than they had been in the last day, and said,

"I did too Dawn."