Gray feels a burst of energy surge through him as he lands back in Pallet Town. The journey had been quick and painless, Ash chattering away at everything and nothing.

  In the brief moment they spoke with Brock’s family, Ash had somehow formed a tentative bond with the gym leader’s younger siblings. Of course, it mostly involved arguments and adamance as to whose big brother/uncle was a better trainer, but they seemed to have enjoyed themselves regardless.

  Gray had to fight a blush from dusting his cheeks at the boy’s flattering comments, but since Brock was in the same boat he had felt fine.

  Perhaps the best thing to come out of the battle was the beginning buds of friendship he had established with the man. Brock had promised to keep in touch with Gray, and the fairy trainer had expressed his willingness to help the gym leader out in his attempts to perfect mega evolution.

  The gym leader had been stubborn in only addressing Gray, barely sparing his returned father any attention, insistent on pretending he wasn’t there.

  Gray had no qualms about how Brock chose to process his anger at a family member. Arceus knows he doesn’t fare better than the man.

  But now that he was back in his home turf, he could feel the lethargic wariness he had been carrying since the encounter with Zapdos slowly dissipating.

  He was back home, and Grandpa Sammy was here to welcome him.

  The old man hobbled unhurriedly towards them, Ash already dashing ahead to greet him.

  When Gray had approached the old man, finally his turn to speak to him after Ash's babbling, he was immediately engulfed in a warm hug.

  This easy affection from the man who had raised him brought a misty layer to his eyes.

  Back in Kalos, while he had felt joy whenever his pokemon greeted him upon returning home, it wasn’t like this. Maybe, while he loved his pokemon family dearly, there was a distinct difference between affection from the same species? Or perhaps it was simply the fact that this man played a profound part in raising Gray to be the man he was today.

  “Well done, Gray. We were very impressed with your match. You really have grown as a trainer, haven’t you, dear boy?”

  Gray fought to keep the emotions at bay. He had always been the type to feel his emotions deeply. He blamed his close bonds to fairy pokemon, a highly emotive type, for it. It was their fault that Gray was an almost cry baby with those close to his heart.

  Before Gray could even reply, he was reduced to pained tears when Grandpa Sammy ruthlessly pinched one ear tightly and twisted.

  “Ow! Old man, what gives?”

  Immediately taking a step back when he was released, Gray rubbed at his tortured ear furiously while glaring at Grandpa Sammy.

  “Blue told us that you held back! He told us it was obvious!”

  Gray’s eyes lasered to his older brother who was leisurely leaning against the lab doors, Professor Oak standing beside him and beaming with pride. Blue’s smirk had gotten impossibly wider when he watched Grandpa Sammy reach out to twist his brother’s ears. He waved a few fingers nonchalantly, completely at ease while observing one of his favorite sights — watching Gray suffer.

  Before Gray’s glare could become anymore hostile, he had to jump back as Grandpa Sammy reached in for another twist. He scrambled just out of arm’s reach from the old man, cupping both ears to protect them.

  “I had to! I couldn’t beat him up too much, his entire city was watching. It would look really bad for him!”

  Grandpa Sammy’s bushy white brows furrowed, unable to deny. Gray seized the moment to press his advantage, needing to do so to protect his ears.

  “Besides, why was he so weak, anyway? He’s not terrible, definitely enough to win a conference comfortably. But he should be better, he’s a gym leader!”

  Grandpa Sammy sighed before he began explaining slowly. He was choosing his words carefully, as if the topic was a potential landmine.

  “Flint left too quickly, Brock was still in the middle of his journey when he had to return home. He was a good trainer, very powerful, perhaps even prodigious. Not on the same level as Blue —” here he looked back at the Champion. The man in question, strangely enough, had lost his smile at the topic Grandpa Sammy was discussing. It was off-putting, as he expected his brother to preen at the praise.

  “— but strong enough on his own. He would have made a better gym leader given a few more years, but he was stifled.”

  Now, it was Gray’s turn to furrow his brows. He knew, vaguely from recollections of past life memories, that Brock had to carry a heavy burden when his parents left. While it was definitely a horrible thing to have happened, he wasn't aware that there seemed to be more to the story than meets the eye.

  And judging from the way Grandpa Sammy was relaying this information, there was definitely something deeper going on.

  “He did his best and seemed to have come out of it relatively unscathed. For all its usual intents and purposes, Brock is a good gym leader. It’s only when he’s fighting the highest calibre of trainers that his shortcomings are obvious.”

  He looks to Gray now, pride in his eyes despite the seriousness of the topic they were on. Despite the sombreness, Gray couldn’t help but puff up his chest a bit more.

  “Had Brock been given enough time to find himself, perhaps with a bit more guidance, you wouldn’t have managed to beat him so simply.”

  He pauses for a moment before seemingly deciding to forge ahead. “There have been talks that the situation was orchestrated. Especially when it came out that Lola had Johtonian blood, and not fully from the Sevii islands as she had previously claimed…”

  Gray expected Grandpa Sammy to elaborate on the story more, but he seemed to have said his peace, so Gray decided not to push it. He’d find out one way or another.

  “I think he’ll be alright. We’ve exchanged numbers, I’ll check in on him from time to time. Plus, Flint is back. Seemed like he’s determined to stay.”

  Blue interrupts the conversation then, unable to help himself. “Flint returned?”

  “Yeah. He was in the room when I was talking to Brock post-match and got given this.” Gray fishes out a hexagonal badge in faded silver. It was relatively simple in design, the only part noteworthy was the golden star on the top right. It was a Starred Pewter Badge, indicating that its owner managed to best a gym leader’s personal team.

  They were exclusive to major gyms, proving that the trainer was powerful enough to beat a gym leader in his or her best. They had no further implication and worked the exact same way as the usual badges.

  The starred status only served as bragging rights for the owner.

  Blue nods at the badge, the light in his eyes shining just a smidgen brighter. “It’s good that he’s back. We received word that he was in Pewter City, but was hesitant in returning to the gym properly.”

  “Er… I might have played a part in that too. I bought this off him, so he didn’t need to return to his family empty handed.”

  Gray proudly displays the megastone he had bought off of Flint when he first stepped foot into Pewter. All three adults pausee to start at it in wonder.

  Megastones, while rapidly gaining popularity in higher-tier battling, were still considered rare. And as a pokemon professor, Samuel Oak had grown familiar with the different types of stones available in this part of the world. Not being able to recognise the species this stone belonged to ignited his interest completely.

  He stepped closer to the stone, staring at it hungrily.

  “May I?” He whispered to Gray, attention completely captured by the megastone.

  Gray suppressed the irritation after his blood grandfather’s first words to him upon his return home were related to pokemon research. He sneers and responds with sarcasm thick in his voice.

  “Of course you can, Professor. I bought this with your money after all. Five million pokedollars, I trust you’ve seen the bill?”

  To his surprise, Samuel Oak beams at Gray instead of reacting to his tone. Immediately, Gray loses steam, feeling as if he had punched cotton.

  “Yes, I have. I had wondered what you bought to have spent so much. Sure enough, you spend money wisely. Well done, Gray! Both in your battle and your keen eye for undiscovered treasure!”

  Gray grumbles, passing the stone to Professor Oak who held it with so much reverence it was almost creepy.

  He decides not to argue father, lest he completely sour his return.

  Unfortunately, he let his guard down too quickly. Grandpa Sammy had taken advantage of him relaxing to twist his other ear, causing the grown man to yelp.

  “But still, Gray! While it was politically sound to let Brock off easy, as your grandfather, it’s unacceptable! You’ve essentially ruined the sanctity of battling —trainers giving it their all to overcome one another!”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Annoyed and rubbing his ears to alleviate the pain, Gray shot back.

  “So am I supposed to use Hyper Beams on fresh trainers too? After all, if I held back, I’d be ruining the sanctity of battling!”

  Unable to come up with something to say against that, Grandpa Sammy fumes and chases after the Gray, waving his cane in the air.

  Gray laughs and runs off, always making sure to keep a wide enough berth from his grandpa that he couldn’t reach him with his cane, but not far enough that he wouldn’t be able to catch the man should he fall from his hobbling.

  It was good to be home.

  After greeting Grandpa Sammy and the other adults, Ash had raced towards Gary, Rotom floating behind him.

  He had missed his best friend, and was eager to share with him all the cool stories from his journey. As a fellow pokemon fanatic, Gary was sure to be happy to hear them.

  “Gary! You’re here! I have so much to tell you!”

  Ash begins his tirade, not pausing to let Gary speak. He tells him of what Gray had taught him, of the expensive stone they both bought off a rude old man and about watching Brock beat fresh trainers on his first day.

  He recounts being caught by Gray and his inability to read properly, about how their uncle remained kind and didn’t make fun of him.

  Gary’s emotionless face softened at this, but he refused to give in completely, maintaining his stony expression.

  As Ash regales him further with stories, the darker Gary’s expression becomes. There is no more softening in the eyes, hinting at the hidden care he had for his best friend that always made Ash giddy.

  “... so the Gengar brought us to this room filled with soooo much junk. And that’s where we met Rotom!”

  “Bzzt. Hello!”

  “And Gray caught him for me! Now we’re friends and he’s been helping me to read and everything!”

  He elects not to inform his best friend that Gray had technically never given Rotom to him formally, that he was still Gray’s pokemon at the end of the day.

  Gary snarls at his best friend and spews out venom. “So you think you’re so much better than me now, huh? I’ll still be the better trainer and I’ll prove it to you! Even if you cheated and got a pokemon first!”

  The ginger-haired boy storms away, leaving Ash blinking. Even when his best friend could no longer be seen, Ash remained rooted in place. He pinches at his thighs to contain the dread he began to feel.

  He had expected his best friend to be happy and excited with the stories he had. Instead, he seemed to have angered Gary.

  Ash worried about how this could affect him, on whether Uncle Gray would still care about him in the future. He couldn’t lose his uncle now, especially when things were only beginning to look up.

  That night, Gray is enjoying his celebratory meal with his family; Ash, Gary and Grandpa Sammy around the table.

  Earlier, his pokemon had also been given treats prepared by his family. Before Gray had left them, Azumarill had been giving an impassioned speech as he slowly made way to the piles Carbink, Clefable and Mawile had been given for their contributions in the match.

  The water type had a pile of his own, but the greedy thing continued to eye his fellow teammates’.

  Gray decided to leave them to it.

  Feeling magnanimous, the fairy trainer said nothing about Blue and Professor Oak’s presence. They could join too, for they were technically family, unfortunately.

  It had been a nice and calming dinner, the perfect respite when coming home. Ash and Gary had barely said a word to one another, but Gray figured it was kids being kids. They must have had a playground fight, nothing a night of rest couldn’t solve.

  Unfortunately, Professor Oak was set on ruining Gray’s mood with his attempts to start a conversation around the dinner table.

  “Will you be free tomorrow to finally contribute your inputs on our fairy research so far, Gray? My team and I have come up with preliminary hypotheses based on our research so far, but I’m sure your expert opinions would stir us in the correct direction. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could disprove some of them with a glance!” said the old man, beaming with excitement at the idea.

  Now, Gray truly didn’t mind contributing. He knew that as the foremost expert on fairy types in the East, his current knowledge would be invaluable. Someone like him guiding research in the right direction would not just drastically reduce the time taken, but also increases the likelihood of discovering something genuinely new. Scientific research proving theories not even considered in the West was appealing, and it would mean that Gray had not regressed upon returning home.

  But the way his blood grandfather asked the question, as if it was already a given that Gray was going to help, threw him off. He would have appreciated it if the question was framed as an appeal for help, rather than a right he couldn’t say no to.

  “Do you truly need me, Professor? You’ve never asked to involve us in the past, why start now? Surely the great pokemon professor has no time for us," he hummed in reply

  Gray chose to take a bite of his food to keep his mouth occupied again. He had aimed for nonchalance, but as soon as he finished his words, it was as if Sheer Cold was suddenly used on the table.

  Professor Oak’s burning excitement was quickly snuffed, and he had to fight to keep the grimace from appearing on his face. It was a failed endeavor, as the hurt and sadness flashed through his eyes. He kept his head down, focusing on his food.

  “No need to be so hostile, little brother. You know how much of a difference your inputs could make. Wouldn’t it be best for accurate information on Fairy types to be released to the public? It would change how Indigo and beyond thought about your type specialty.”

  Blue was right. It had only been one match, but the blatant disregard people here had to his chosen typing was exhausting. Too much reverence had been put on dragon types, especially with Lance and the Blackthorn clan on the helm, so their hostility towards a type super effective against theirs had somewhat trickled down to the public.

  It did not help that, at face value, Fairy pokemon were weaker. Gray noted to himself that in his next match, he’d have to showcase how cunningness and subtlety could overpower even the strongest of pokemon.

  Still, for Blue, the guy who disregarded Gray and had been the most vocal about him wasting his potential after his disastrous first conference, of all people to chastise Gray… It had the fairy trainer’s blood boiling. And like his type, he went for the jugular when threatened.

  “Oh, so you’re siding with grandfather now? Is it because he’s finally paying attention to you after his golden boy up and left?”

  Blue paused, and Gray had to swallow down the guilt he had felt after the flash of abject hurt in his older brother’s eyes. It was a cheap and low blow, bringing up past insecurities to the forefront like this.

  “Enough, Gray. Stop being petulant. You’re no longer a child, boy! You want to help, no need to deny it!” Grandpa Sammy scolded him.

  Not daring to talk back to his favorite family member, he simply stuck his tongue out playfully at the old man. If he wanted to call him ‘boy’, he’d act like one.

  The childishness of his actions defused the tension on the table. But just as they were continuing on with their meal, it was interrupted by Gary who had chosen this moment to break his silence.

  “Uncle Gray doesn’t like helping family. He doesn’t like us at all.” Gary announces with all the sureness of a child. “He only likes Grandpa Sammy. And Ash.” he spits out the last name with so much venom it might as well be Toxic.

  “Huh?”

  “You keep hurting my dad, cause you don’t love him. So you don’t love me too. But that’s fine, I don’t need you. I have my dad, and he’s the best. At least he’s around and doesn’t hurt me!” Gary discreetly glances at Ash, who had flinched at the implication.

  It was unfortunate that everyone’s eyes had been on him, so the exchange was caught by all the adults around the table.

  Gray blanches and immediately reconsiders. He had made it a point to include both boys in whatever he did around Pallet, bar him taking Ash out. It was also awfully convenient of his nephew to forget that it had been technically his father who initially refused to include him.

  Admittedly, he paid a bit more attention to Ash considering he was technically not blood related to the family, concluding that it would take a bit more effort to make the boy feel included.

  Inadvertently, he had isolated Gary in the process.

  “That’s not true. I love you just as much.”

  “Oh yeah? Then how come you caught Ash his first pokemon?”

  “Rotom isn’t Ash’s pokemon, he’s still mine. He’ll just be spending a lot of time with Ash to help him.”

  Gary looks to his best friend in accusation, only to find him smiling sheepishly while scratching his head. So he wasn’t ahead! They both don’t have their first pokemon yet!

  “So Ash has a companion pokemon?” said Gary, not wanting to let it go.

  Seeing what his nephew was fishing for, he informs him plainly. “You can have one too, if you wish. Do we have a spare pokedex lying around?”

  Gary’s head whips towards his father and grandfather. He’s ready to begin pleading when his dad sighs and nods towards the door.

  Before he could change his mind, Gary hopped out of his chair and dashed towards the lab. Not even a minute passing, he was back in the dining room, panting heavily but otherwise radiating feverish excitement.

  Gray addresses his shadow before a Rotom popped out. He had just begun to inform it of the situation, in the midst of asking for an opinion, before it zipped towards Gary and into the pokedex in his hand.

  The device blinked for a bit before it suspended itself in the air. The eyes of a Rotom appeared on top of it before it greets the room.

  Gary immediately introduces himself, expressing his excitement. They talk for a bit, the boy feeling magnanimous enough to let Ash speak to his companion after a while. Ash’s Rotom joins in the chatter, and suddenly they’re off.

  Their excited babbling causes the dining table to liven up, and Gray contented himself with the scene.

  Whilst he felt that he had managed to field against his nephew's accusations for now, he knew in his heart that this likely wasn't the last he'd hear of this. This delicate balancing act between both boys was an Explosion waiting to happen, especially when both boys were likely to remain rivals for the foreseeable future.

  Sure enough, like a Sharpedo smelling blood, Gary expresses his discontent when he addresses his uncle again.

  “I want to follow you too. Ash is learning about typings and pokemon, so I want to learn too. Even if I already know it, it’d be good to revise!”

  Truthfully, Gray had no qualms about this. He turns to his older brother, head tilted.

  Blue, facing the combined attention of both his son and brother, sweats. He had a troubled look in his voice, as if there was more to this than his son trekking around Kanto with his uncle and best friend.

  The Champion is forced to seriously consider the request.

  As much as possible, he didn’t want to deny his son, especially with how he had been quick to defend Blue just now. His son held him in high esteem, and he didn’t want his standing to drop by saying no.

  But he had other things to consider. He had made a promise to raise his son well, a condition he intended to fulfil in order to repair his broken family. Leaf had used his inability to be a father against him, so he had done everything in his power to prove her wrong.

  He was torn on how to handle this.

  Sensing that his dad was about to say no, Gary begins visibly deflating.

  Panicking, Blue folds and blurts out. “Fine, you can go. But stay close to your uncle and do NOT cause trouble. I know you and Ash like to mess around, but when you’re traveling with Gray you’re both to be on your best behaviour!”

  Ash and Gary both cheer, beginning to discuss the future with their new companions, as if their fight from before never happened.

  Gray nods to his older brother, silently promising him that he would keep his son safe.

  Grandpa Sammy shifts the conversation around, asking Gray about Rotom and their possession of a pokedex.

  Taking the chance to repair the atmosphere, Gray regales the table with stories from his journeys in the west, about how there weren’t just Rotom-dexes overseas, but also Rotom-phones, Rotom-bikes and even Rotom-drones.

  The table listens intently to his stories, asking questions that Gray was more than happy to answer.

  Just like that, the family tentatively converses around the dinner table, speaking and occasionally laughing well into the night.

  Before the night could end, Grandpa Sammy brings up something that had been bugging him ever since his conversation with Gray the night before.

  “Gray, what happened to the Zapdos? Is it with you?”

  Gray groans before telling the story. When he gets to the part where Ash had made the capture, all the adults turn to Gray in horror. Gray had previously alluded that it was due to Ash’s troublemaking, but to find out that it had been a child who had done the capture was a horrifying thought.

  Oblivious to their reaction to the news, Ash cheered “That’s right. I caught Zapdos! And he’s a legendary!”

  “That’s not fair! Uncle Gray, I want to catch a legendary too — I want Moltres!”

  “Absolutely not. You will never be registering Zapdos to you, Ash, I forbid it. We’ve discussed this before, remember?”

  As Ash continues to grumble, Gray turns to his other nephew.

  “You won’t be anywhere near a Moltres to catch one, Gary. That’s too dangerous.”

  In the midst of the boy's protests, Ash poses a question to everyone.

  “What’s a Moltres?”

  Indignant, Gary explains to his best friend with the help of both Rotoms.

  Unbeknownst to them, Gray Oak was already panicking inside. Surely having these two kids around wouldn’t cause him that much trouble, right?