Ash, an Inspiration Chapter 1
Samson Oak pinched his nose in frustration as he read the various reports for the Alolan Pokémon School for the day. For the most part, things were running fairly well at the school. Most of the students were meeting teacher expectations, working towards their grades and improving their relationships with their Pokémon.
However, the source of his frustration were the reports for one group of students, a group he held a particular interest but were continuously failing to meet his expectations.
They were clearly talented individuals, a quick glance at how they interact with Pokémon showing that they had the innate ability to be talented and skilled trainers. They also possessed intelligent minds, each being able to naturally pick up things that even veteran trainers still struggled with.
The only problem was that they all were struggling to advance their skills. They could interact with their Pokémon, and understand certain topics with ease, but beyond that, they were struggling. The things they were struggling with and for what reason was different for each of the students, but it gave Samson a headache just thinking about it.
First, there was Lillie. Daughter of The Lusamine, President of the Aether Foundation, and a brilliant young woman. She had inherited her mother's natural intelligence, absorbing information about everything Pokémon related with ease and compiling it for future use. And she was an incredibly kind-hearted girl, clearly caring about the wellbeing of Pokémon, focusing on learning things that'll help them from the preferred diets of different Pokémon types, to the different aversions that made certain Pokémon uncomfortable.
However, despite her brilliance, she had one major issue: she was terrified of Pokémon. She was so utterly afraid of them that she couldn't even bring herself to touch them. She didn't even have a Pokémon of her own, and subconsciously keeps her distance from the other trainer's Pokémon. And without being able to interact with her, a lot of the lessons she was involved in ended up being disasters and limiting what she took away from it.
Next was Kiawe, a young battler with a burning passion for Pokémon battles. Out of this group, he was the most talented at Pokémon battles, with his Turtonator being quite strong, despite Kiawe not competing in the Island Trials. He had the basics of battle under his belt and was well on his way to mastering the more complicated aspects of battling as well.
However, his mind was often not focusing on what he needed to get done at the school, which limited him from completing the various other studies that he needed to if he was to do well as a trainer. He often was torn between his responsibilities as a trainer and to his family, often unable to spend time outside of school practicing what he was learning, or even socialising. While he was doing well enough to get by, he could have been doing better, and the lack of socialisation was something that Samson worried might stunt his development.
There was also the only other boy in this group, and the youngest of the group, Sophocles. The cousin of Molayne, a brilliant astronomer from the Hokulani Observation. Like his cousin, Sophocles was practically a genius, often tinkering with varying gadgets and devices in his spare time. He had an innate desire to collect information and was often the one who put in the most effort of class field trips to observe Pokémon. Even if he didn't follow his cousin's footsteps, he had the clear makings of a Professor in him.
However, he was extremely doubtful of his own abilities, especially when it came to battling. His one Pokémon, an energetic Togedemaru, wasn't particularly strong or good when it came to battles. Now normally, within the school curriculum, this wouldn't be an issue. Not all students needed to be good battlers to succeed. But Sophocles tended to take each defeat to heart, which then affected the rest of his work. All it would take for what could be an excellent piece of research from the boy to become derivative nonsense was one inconsequential battle during the lunch break.
Lana, a young girl with a passion for fishing, had a similar problem, being that she was incredibly shy and passive. The girl was clearly a good trainer, and a caring one if the supposed story behind how she befriended her Popplio was to be believed, and she had the clear makings of a Water-type specialist if she put her heart to it. She could easily fish herself up a formidable team, and she and the patience and aptitude to train them up sufficiently as well.
But her shyness really held her back. She seemed reluctant to try and befriend new Pokémon, and she barely interacted with her other classmates, even though she always seemed to be with them as a group. Much like with Kiawe, the lack of socialisation would have an effect on her, not just as a trainer, but as an adult as well, something Samson didn't want to allow to happen.
The only one in the group that Lana seemed to interact with at all was the last member of this class, the enthusiastic aspiring Chef, Mallow. Mallow was, without a doubt, the only reason this class acted as a group at all, her upbeat nature making the other students in her class gravitate toward her, basking in her friendly energy. And when that didn't work, an individual tailored dish definitely won them over. She was exactly the kind of person that Samson thought would help the other students.
But Mallow had her own issues. One of which being that, when it came to learning about Pokémon, she was a bit ditzy. She wasn't a ditzy girl by any means, in fact, she often was able to keep up with the intellectual ramblings of her near genius level classmates and could weigh in without straining herself. Her comprehension of cooking also proved this, since she was practically on the way to becoming a gourmet chef. But she couldn't seem to focus herself on training Pokémon, even though she seemed to want to for the benefit of her partner Bounsweet. Which meant she often struggled in class.
All of these students made up what could easily be described as the class with the most potential, which made it all the more frustrating that they were struggling to meet expectations. Samson knew it wasn't the fault of their teacher, Professor Kukui. Not only was he a brilliant Professor, but his battling skills made him one of the strongest trainers in Alola, which he capitalised on with his 'Masked Royal' persona. He was more than capable of teaching these gifted kids how to be the best trainers they could be, but for some reason, they couldn't even meet the basics standards.
Which led to the phone call Samson was having now.
"I don't get it Sammy," he said as he glossed over Kukui's reports of what activities had been done in class today, "these kids are so talented, they should be acing everything we throw at them. But yet, all I'm getting are bad grade sheets, bad reports, and lots of complaints. I don't know what to do."
His cousin, Samuel Oak, audibly hummed down the phone, and Samson could easily picture him scratching his chin. He hadn't wanted to call his cousin, but he had no other options. These kids were talented for him to sit idly by as their education, and chances in life, suffered.
"All of these kids have the potential to be Trial Captains, and I'd hate for them to squander their potential. So please tell me you have an idea of what to do. Because I'm clean out."
"This Professor," Oak said down the phone after a few moments, with a questioning tone, "how old is he exactly?"
Samson glared at his phone for a moment, muttering 'what?' silently before answering.
"Err, he's in his late twenties. Twenty-nine if I remember correctly. Why?"
Professor Oak hummed again, though it was a different kind of hum, the kind that Samson recognised meant he had an idea.
"And these students, what are their ages?"
"They range from thirteen to sixteen, with Sophocles being the youngest and Kiawe the oldest. Why does that matter?" Samson asked, though this time he was less incredulous about the question.
"Because I think the issue here is that they don't have a role model their own age." Oak supplied, sounding fairly confident in his answer. Though Samson wasn't as confident, but still willing to hear him out.
"Explain."
"I have no doubt that the Professor is a capable teacher, but he is still an adult to these teens. Which means that despite his best intentions, he can't help with every issue they have."
"Well, what do you suggest then? Because I can't just tell Kukui that he can't do anything, it'll break his heart."
"Of course not, I'm not suggesting that at all. Instead, they need someone their own age to inspire them, to push them to make the most of their potential. Most adolescents find support in their own age group to help with their mental development, though it sounds like your group of students is lacking a key component, a driving force. If you were to get someone who could push them and bring the best out of them, they'll reach their goals in no time."
Samson took a moment to think about this, as he thought about the group and his other students. While Kukui's class certainly had the potential to be the best students in the school, they were lacking exactly what Oak had described: someone who knew where they were going. If they had someone who knew what they wanted and worked towards it tirelessly, it might spark the others to do the same.
Samson wasn't sure if it would work or not, but it certainly had merit to it.
"Alright, that could work." Samson began, as he stood up and started to pace around his desk. "But where am I going to find this student? I can't just pull another student from a different class; they wouldn't get along. Kukui's class has enough issues with other students as is, and this would only make things worse."
A large crash sounded on the phone from Professor Oak's end, with lots of shouting and voices echoing out, some kind of commotion happening in Kanto.
Though whatever it was, it seemed to have sparked something in Professor Oak, because Samson could have sworn he heard the lightbulb in his cousin's head light up.
"Actually, I think I know just the trainer."
Ash sighed as he dusted himself, a sorry looking Gible sitting glumly on a desk with both Pikachu and Bulbasaur shaking their heads at the small dragon.
Though Ash just laughed it off.
"It's fine guys, Gible just got excited. And I'm glad to see that your Draco Meteor is as strong as ever. Almost knocked me clean off my feet." Ash said jovially, causing Gible to perk up, Bulbasaur to frown, and Pikachu to giggle to himself.
Tracey, sitting nearby, just laughed along as well.
"Only you can brush off being hit by the most powerful dragon type move so nonchalantly." He muttered to himself, causing Ash to just shrug in indifference as he took a seat.
Professor Oak then walked into the room, placing his phone into his lab coat pocket before addressing the two.
"Everything under control back here?" He asked, quickly glancing for damaged before Ash spoke.
"Yeah professor, we're fine. Gible just got a bit excited, that's all. Hit me kinda hard, but he didn't break anything, so that's good."
Oak just nodded at this, not fazed in the slightest, before he sat down across from Ash, a surprisingly serious look donning his face.
"Ash, I know you've just come back from Kalos a few days ago, and that you probably haven't given this much thought yet, but I was wondering if you had given your next destination any thought?"
Ash puffed his cheeks out as he looked to the ceiling, pondering the question before a moment before shaking his head.
"Not really professor, no. I was planning on staying in Pallet for another week or so, and then I'll probably decide. I've heard of this one region called Galar that might be worth travelling to though."
Oak nodded at this, before leaning forward.
"Well, if that's the case, would it be alright if I offered a proposition to you then my boy?" Oak asked, catching Ash by surprise, though he still nodded out of curiosity.
"My cousin, Samson Oak, runs a school in Alola, and he's got some students that are struggling. They're very talented kids, but they need someone to help them out, and I think I know just the person."
"Gary." Ash supplied suddenly, catching Oak off guard.
"No."
"Brock?"
"No."
"… Clemont?"
"No!" Oak paused to throw his head in his hands, before he pointed at Ash. "I was talking about you!"
Ash and Tracey sat there quietly for a moment, before they both broke out into a hysterical laugh, with even Ash's present Pokémon joining in. Tracey almost laughed so hard that he fell out of his chair.
Clearing his eyes of some joyful tears, Ash began replying.
"Sorry Professor, but are you asking me to go and teach? I ain't exactly the smartest person out there, Gary will back me up with that." Ash said, composing himself as he spoke. But Oak just smiled at him kindly.
"You're too harsh on yourself Ash. You may not be the smartest when it comes to traditional academics, but you're hardly stupid. Your expertise with Pokémon rivals' mine, as I've never seen a trainer raise Pokémon quite as effectively as you. Take Gible here," Oak said while gesturing to the Land Shark, "with your training, he's managed to learn Draco Meteor. That's a move that even his fully evolved form would struggle to learn, and yet he's not only learnt it, but managed to create a battle style around it. That is not something just any trainer can do."
Tracey at this point had stopped laughing, and was now listening intently, immensely intrigued by what Oak was saying. Though Ash seemed reluctant.
"I'm not sure Professor. I might be a good trainer, but I don't know if I can really help others. I'm happy to try, but it may be a waste of time."
"Now hold on Ash," Tracey interjected, waving a hand objectively, "I think I agree with the Professor. You may not be what I consider a teacher, but you are definitely a good influence on other trainers. You've travelled, what, six regions? And in every region, you've managed to meet people who didn't seem that special and pushed them into becoming better. From the conversations I've had with them when they pop round for visits, I can say that May, Dawn, Serena, Clemont, Cilan, Max, and Bonnie would outright credit you with them doing better. And although the others might not admit it as readily, I'm sure Misty, Brock, Iris, and Gary would say the same. And that's just your close friends, the amount of people you've helped do better just goes on and on. Arceus, you even managed to get me this job. The Professor might be onto something."
Ash sat there in shocked silence, while Oak just smiled warmly, before carrying on.
"Ash, you are an exception trainer. Your league record is impressive for your age, and your Pokémon are a true reflection of your skills. And you seem to bring out the best in people. If you go and help this class, even for a short period, I'm sure you can push them to do better."
Ash didn't respond at first, sitting in silence as he thought it through. While he was thinking, Pikachu bounded from the table to Ash's shoulder, shaking him briefly before giving him a thumbs up.
With determination in his eyes, Ash nodded at Pikachu, before turning toward Professor Oak.
"Ok, I'm in."
A week later, after spending some more time with his mum and his Pokémon, Ash found himself travelling to the far-flung region of Alola. After an ungodly long flight, he stepped off the plane and began stretching out, with Pikachu doing the same.
He was in a new outfit, with long shorts that went just past his knees, held up with a belt that had enough slots for a full team of six. Four of the slots were filled, one being the rarely used ball of Pikachu. And for a shirt, he was wearing a blue and white striped t-shirt, with his bag slung over his back.
Basking in the sun for a moment, something Pikachu was relishing in, Ash opened his eyes, and nodded to himself.
"Well Pikachu, we're here." He started, as Pikachu began clenching his paw seriously, ready for the task that lay before them.
"Let's go be a good inspiration."
Hey everyone, TWoS here, and with a new story.
This is an idea I've been toying with for a while; a more lowkey, character driven story. I really like the Alola characters (which might be obvious from the fact I've now written two stories which focus on them), but I feel like I've kinda neglected them in Ash's Just Reward, so I wanted to do a story which was more focused.
That's not to say other characters and elements from Pokémon won't appear, but it won't be a complete all-star cast for the story. It'll primarily focus on Ash, his Pokémon, and the Alola cast. I feel like they were kinda neglected in favour of Ash and the comedy in the Sun and Moon series (which is saying a lot, because they're some of the most developed side characters in my opinion), and they definitely didn't get to show much development as trainers. So, in this story, I plan on changing that.
This won't be a beat for beat rewrite of the series, not at all. I plan on writing a very different series. Some elements from the anime I'll try and incorporate, if they're worth including, but otherwise I'll be starting from scratch. That includes new arcs, new Pokémon catches, and a few new characters as well.
This story is going to be very interesting to do, and I'm curious to hear what you all think about it. If you could leave a review with thoughts or ideas, I'll be eager to hear what you think. Other than that, thank you for giving this story a read.
Much love, TWoS.