The New Kid: Year 1

Remember

A/N: Happy Amourshipping Day guys! Hope you guys are having a great day so far. Anyway, sorry for the delay but here's a special chapter I thought I'd release today, apologies if it seems rushed or anything. Also, any photos used in this chapter are not made by me, and credit should go to their creators (I have no idea who they are...)

Grace POV

"Grace." The woman in blue sat down across from me and pushed a file towards me.

"Nice to meet you again Jenny, and thanks for agreeing to this." I picked up the brown folder and flipped through it, the answers I've been searching for finally at my fingertips.

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(Back in the chapter "Dense")

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear. So Ash isn't your brother?" I put down the photograph of Paul's family of four and picked up the one beside it, one that displayed a raven-haired boy, who I assumed was Ash, and a woman with long chestnut hair, presumably Ash's mother. Bringing the picture closer, both looked so familiar. I could've sworn that I had seen them before, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

I spent the next 5 minutes of conversation half concerned with not only my daughter's, but also the two boys' safety, and half distracted by the pervading sense of familiarity, until the door to the house burst open.

"It's... not...a fair... race... if you use... quick... attack..." The familiar boy from the photograph fell to the ground from exhaustion as his Pikachu made a face at him. Seeing him in person made it all so clear, as if it was the key to the lock on my memories. He had the exact same eyes, smile and as far as I could tell, energy. A wave of joy, grief and curiosity washed over me, because as happy I was to see him, Delia was a friend of mine, one I had lost contact with, but nevertheless a friend. But I knew talking about it now wouldn't help, and I already agreed not to. A giggle from Serena sobered the boy up, and he quickly got to his feet. "Oh hey Serena, what're you doing here?"

Watching the two of them now, it was like almost nothing changed since ten years ago, and I almost let out a chuckle. Fate has a funny way of pulling people back together again.

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"Ash Ketchum." The officer said. "I went through his files, and he's clean if that's what you're worried about. Your daughter found a boyfriend?"

"Possibly." We both shared a smirk at the prospect. Officer Jenny and I went way back, and she's known Serena since we moved to Kalos a little under nine years ago. Though I was excited at the thought too, I quickly reminded myself of the matter at hand. "About his mother..."

"Delia Ketchum." Her tone became serious as she continued. "Deceased. Now, remember, I'm only sharing this stuff with you because you've known her, but no one else is to know, OK?"

"Ok."

The green haired lady fell silent for a while, her face morphing into a thoughtful expression as she probably contemplated if she would regret this decision, before sighing and falling back into her seat.

"She died at the hands of a group of criminals that went by Team Rocket, before they were forcibly disbanded by some vigilante figure, not too long ago, and as far as I can tell Ash has been living independently ever since, with the consent of his legal guardian, Professor Samuel Oak. Kid's got quite a history, not just this, but if you look at his achievements in—"

"Pokémon leagues and Gym battles? Yeah, I've seen them." I unconsciously cut her off, and we fell into a short silence.

"Grace? You OK? You seem a little... on edge." Looking up, I was met with a genuine look of concern.