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Back when Ash was little, his best friend was his mom.
They did everything together. Cook, eat, tend their garden and serve customers, while still occasionally sleeping together when they felt a bit lonely. He knew it was strange, having his mom as his best friend, but she was the most important person in his world.
Sure, he had Gary, his sort-of best friend who spat insults every chance he got—even as a child, but he was automatically disqualified from being a best friend.
He wouldn't trade his mom for the world.
But as he got older, and the more journeys he went on, they talked less and less. His mom started feeling more like a mother and less of a friend. Eventually, they only talked when he got home from his journeys, when he would ultimately leave the next day after figuring out the next league he wanted to throw his hat at next.
He didn’t intentionally stop calling his mother, it just slipped his mind more often as he got older and had fewer reasons to call. In fact, he had hardly ever thought of her, especially during Kalos when he was the oldest and most experienced out of the group and needed to take more responsibility.
When Kalos was over, he had called to let her know he would be coming home, and her response was a simple, “Okay honey, see you soon.” And that was it.
She hadn’t asked what happened during the crisis, what happened during the finals, or if he was even okay. He supposes that it was his fault for growing so distant from her and cutting their interactions down to a vague ‘hey-I-need-so-and-so-thanks-bye’.
When he did get home, most of their conversations were short and to the point, and the entire time he had thought she was mad at him for not calling enough over the years. When two days passed, she gave him looks that screamed, ‘When are you going to leave?’ And when two weeks passed, he wasn’t sure when or even if he was going to leave.
However, even Arceus must have felt bad for him when Mimey won the tickets to an all-inclusive vacation in Alola, because the seemingly endless awkward tension dropped and his mom seemed to open back up and act like none of their detached or fiddly conversations ever happened. He was silently eternally grateful for Mimey.
They had both acted like nothing happened when Ash was offered to learn at the Pokemon school and stay in Alola.
When he bid goodbye to his mother, his new temporary guardian stood like a heavy reminder behind him. With his, “Bye mom, I’ll miss you!” And her, “Bye sweetie, don’t get into any trouble,” she left without a single spoken word on how long he’d stay in Alola. The Professor didn’t comment on it, and he was glad.
For the open house, Delia had gone to Alola for a weekend to see what Ash was doing in school. She was interested because he had, after all, quit school the first chance he did after becoming a trainer. As a child, he never had any interest in education.
At the beginning of his speech, she was skeptical. He didn’t seem to have learnt anything, and after his scandal with a rotom was revealed, she wasn’t convinced the school was doing anything to further her son’s education.
However, after hearing his real speech, she felt confident that letting him stay in Alola was the right choice. Before, he could never be held in one place for long, having had the itch to see everything since he was a child. She knew he wouldn't've stayed at home for long, anyway.
However, she wondered how he managed to stay there for so long without any real traveling. She knew he loved sleeping under the stars, feeling free to go anywhere he wanted to get closer to his goal—his life aspiration—of becoming a “Pokémon Master”, whatever that meant to him. Though, maybe Kalos had changed something, and he wanted to stay close to the ground for a while. Or maybe he thought he could get closer here, on the island. She could never guess with her mystery of a son.
She was just glad he had found a place and people, even if it wasn’t with her and in their little home.
She talked with her son right before she left, standing on the porch of his teacher’s little shack of a house.
It was awkward, and frankly underwhelming, but so stressing and heart-pounding at the same time.
“So, how are you liking it here?” She made an awkward little gesture with her free hand, the other holding her carry-on. Her cheek twitched with nervousness and she wondered when it had become this difficult to talk to her own child.
“All the people here are amazing!” His smile was so wide she wondered how it fit his face. He continued, “all the food is delicious and there are so many things to do and people to battle! I can’t wait to see the other islands too!”
She let out a nervous chuckle at his lively antics, despite the sun having set long ago. “That's… that’s great honey.”
She avoided his eyes. She looked at the sandy and rusty walls of the home, and splintered wood that lined the porch and stairs like intricate cuts. She looked to the beach flooded with footprints and stories that made her feel conflicted. She, too, wanted to stay on that beach and sunbathe—only for a while.
But she can’t, she had a diner to run and a professor to scold for not sleeping waiting for her at home.
She just wishes a teenage boy with a big heart and a hard habit of sacrificing himself was one of those things waiting for her.
She wants him to come with her, but he can’t, not when he’s with all his friends and Pokémon. She couldn’t take that away from him, not when he’s really happy.
“Uh… Mom?”
She blinked, having lost herself in the soft, sandy wind blowing on her face. “Sorry, honey, just thinking.”
He stared at her.
“Are… are you sure you don’t want me coming back? I could always stay for a little while, especially if you need help-“
She cut him off, “Ash, honey, I’ll be fine.” She was not going to take him away from what he loved.
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
Another few seconds of awkward standing.
Then, Arceus bless his heart, the professor leaned out the doorway, interrupting their somehow silent and awkward conversation. “Hey,” he greeted, clearly not knowing if it was the right time, “it’s time for you to catch your flight, Ms. Ketchum. Would you like a ride to the airport?” He stepped out and onto the creaky porch, jabbing a thumb at the highlighter-red truck parked next to the shack.
She waved a hand, “Ah, thank you so much for the offer, Professor, but the weather and view is so nice it would be a crime to ride a car.” She gave a friendly smile, silently hoping all her previous awkwardness had disappeared. “I’ll walk. And again, professor, thank you so much for taking in Ash, I really appreciate it. I don’t know what I’d do without kind people like you in the world.”
He scratched the back of his head, his hat shifting with the movement. He smiled and also dropped any sign of discomfiture. “Ha, it’s really no problem, ma’am.”
She looked back at her baby, with misty eyes—it’s just the sand, she internally insists. “Bye, honey, I’ll miss you so much. And again, don’t get into any trouble—and while you’re at it, make sure you aren’t pulling any more cheating stunts like you did earlier, okay?”
They laughed, but they could all tell it was strained. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll miss you too.” He smiled, and, bless him, went in for a hug. She returned it happily, and started her solo journey to the airport. She had only just gotten used to the sand that had taken refuge in her shoes and in between her toes, but now she was leaving.
She felt confident that, to a small degree, her relationship with her son had improved, even if only by a bit.
She hoped she was right.