Ash sat in the Pokémon Center's quiet lobby, his fingers tapping lightly on the glass screen of the small terminal in front of him. The soft hum of the room was almost drowned out by the ringing in his ears.
He had contacted Giovanni pretending to be Yellow, and now there was zero doubt that Rocket and the Masked army would be going to war.
The screen flickered, and a secure connection formed. Ash knew that these types of calls weren't taken lightly. The Rubin-Menzi family was powerful, with their fingers in many international pies, from business and politics to the more… covert dealings that most people didn't know about. Then again the current couple in charge just wanted to dote on their daughter. Rumor had it they almost bought her a fully evolved Haxorus and not an Axew.
The terminal chimed again as Ash was about to close it, and to his surprise, the connection flickered back to life—this time, revealing a bright, sunlit room with a warm, tropical vibe. The heavy atmosphere from before all but evaporated as a young girl leaned into the frame, her olive skin glowing with energy and a wild ponytail bouncing with every movement.
"Hello? Hello—Mom, did you touch the secure line again?" the girl groaned. "You know that's not for food delivery!"
Then her eyes locked onto Ash, and she paused.
"…Who are you?"
Ash blinked, surprised. "Name's Ash. Ash Ketchum. I'm trying to reach the Rubin-Menzi family about something important. Really important."
She gave him a wary look, arms crossing as her tone shifted. "And what, exactly, does some random guy with messy hair and a Pikachu want with my family's top-tier encrypted channel?"
Ash blinked. "Uh. Hey. I wanted to buy a rotom from your family."
Nemona's eyes narrowed slightly, suspicion sharpening her expression like a sword just barely sheathed. "A Rotom?" she repeated slowly, like she wasn't buying it for a second. "You cracked a secure line—one that even the Kalos Parliament couldn't snoop through—just to ask about buying a Rotom?"
Ash scratched the back of his neck, glancing down at Pikachu, who tilted his head with an unconvincing, innocent "Pika?"
"Okay, yeah, that sounded dumber out loud," Ash admitted with a sigh. "But I swear I didn't hack anything. The line was shared with me. By someone who said you might be able to help."
Nemona leaned in, the natural cheer in her tone gone now. "Who told you to call us?"
"Yellow," Ash said simply. "She said you might have connections I need. And that your family wouldn't want what's coming to land on their doorstep unprepared."
That gave Nemona pause.
"…Yellow as in Team Instinct Yellow?" she asked, frowning. "The one who ran that insane operation during the Kalos Valor incident?"
Ash just nodded.
Nemona stepped back, rubbing her temples. "Oh for Arceus's sake. That girl shows up once every few years like a Legendary Event and drops chaos like Poképuffs."
"Why would yellow involve herself with you?" Nemona asks
"Because I am Red's son?" Ash states
Nemona froze mid-step like someone had just used Freeze-Dry on her train of thought.
"…Wait. Red's son?" she repeated, tone flat and slightly stunned.
Ash nodded, a little awkwardly. "Yeah. I mean, it's not public or anything—"
"Obviously it's not public!" Nemona half-shouted, hands thrown in the air. "If that got out, every major faction from Unova to Kalos would lose their minds! No wonder Yellow's helping you—you're Pokémon royalty!"
Ash blinked. "I… what?"
"You're the heir to the guy who climbed Mt. Silver barefoot, probably punched a Legendary, and vanished like a ghost after becoming the champion of Indigo Plateau!" Nemona said, pacing now.
"I mean I dont know how else to order a rotom."
Nemona stopped pacing and just stared at him.
"You drop that—Red's son, League-warping level secret—and then pivot to ordering a Rotom like you're buying berries at the market?!"
Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, yeah? Yellow said your family breeds rare variants. And I kinda… need one. For a thing. It's complicated."
Nemona squinted. "Everything about you is complicated, apparently."
Pikachu, still perched on Ash's shoulder, let out a smug little "Pika."
"Sweetheart, why are you yelling again? I could hear you from the garden—oh?" Her eyes landed on the terminal, and then on Ash.
Instant misunderstanding. "Honey if you wish to talk to your boyfriend, you cant use the secure line."
Nemona turned slowly toward her mother, eyes wide with horror. "Moooom!" she groaned, drawing the word out like she'd just been hit with a Hyper Beam to the pride.
Ash blinked. "Wait—what?"
Nemona's mom smiled pleasantly, clearly amused, though her eyes were already scanning the screen like a Luxray locking onto an intruder. "You know I don't mind if he's cute, mija, but the League really doesn't like when we use that line for personal calls. Especially not when his face is flagged on, oh? Sponsored by Oak?"
"Look, I just want to buy a Rotom from your family. And maybe trade some technical data," Ash said, keeping his tone level.
Nemona's mother arched a brow, the amusement still present in her expression—but now tempered with a distinct sharpness, like she'd gone from friendly Delphox to full-blown Garchomp in under a second.
"Technical data?" she repeated, stepping further into frame, her tone suddenly cool and very, very interested. "You're not just some lost tourist with a Pikachu and a weirdly casual attitude toward region-shattering secrets, are you?"
Ash leaned back, crossing his arms slightly. "I tend to hold my secrets close to my chest, but let's just say I come from a place with tech far beyond what even Silph or Aether Foundation can dream of."
That got her attention.
"Go on," she said, eyes narrowing.
Ash gestured subtly to the screen, I mean i could pull out a micro computer which could probably run circles around yours but it would be better shared in person.
Nemona's mom tilted her head. "Consider it done. Unova? Can you get there?"
"I'd have to skip the Orange Islands before taking on Johto, but sure," Ash replied without hesitation.
Nemona and her mother exchanged a look.
"We might have one," her mother said slowly. "But nothing's free."
Ash nodded. "Didn't expect it to be."
Pikachu sparked slightly on his shoulder, eyes narrowing with anticipation.
Ash grinned. "So... do we talk specs, or do we keep playing twenty questions?"