“Grandpa!” Gray exclaimed before rushing towards the elderly man.

  “Look at you! Look at you! So tall and handsome!” Grandpa Sammy replied affectionately. Letting go of his cane, he stumbled forward, placing both hands on his pseudo grandson’s shoulders. Gray supported the weight unnervingly easily, noting the lighter weight.

  Gray took his time looking his fill. Grandpa Sammy had gotten thinner in age, his previously silver-grey hair now firmly situated into grey territory. His eyes remained bright, however, and were suspiciously wet. Gray idly wondered if their reunion would cause tears to fall, it would be the first he’d witnessed from the hard-willed veteran.

  “Of course, got it from you right?” Gray replied cheekily, only to yelp when Grandpa Sammy pinched him tightly in reply.

  “We’re the same height now,” Grandpa mused.

  Behind them, Ash and Gary exchanged shocked looks.

  “He’s related to you?”

  “Maybe? Never met him though,”

  Their whispered conversation was neither silent nor inconspicuous enough to escape notice of the adults around them. Gray chose to pay them little mind for now. He was here for Grandpa Sammy.

  “I went to the gym first, and it looked abandoned. Is there no one covering for you?”

  Grandpa Sammy frowned, his face darkening.

  “We’ve no one to take over at present. Besides, with the way things are going, perhaps a gym in Pallet Town isn’t the right move,” he muttered, as if this was a reality he had only begun to accept.

  Gray’s brows furrowed at that. The Pallet Town gym was a minor gym, but Grandpa Sammy had poured his time, money and energy into it post-war. It was difficult for Gray to accept that such a significant part of his childhood would be gone.

  Major and Minor gyms made for a more diverse way for trainers to earn qualifying badges for the Indigo League Conference. The eight major gyms had league backing and were rife with history extending beyond even the Kanto-Johto war. They had become a quintessential part of Indigo history and received support from regular citizens.

  Minor gyms, on the other hand, received less attention. Private citizens who received qualification from the League could set one up at their own expense. For a period of time, it had become a fashion for wealthy, semi-decent trainers to start one, the clout that came with the title of ‘Gym Leader’ proving too hard to resist.

  Unfortunately, it had become glaringly obvious that trainers who received qualifying badges mainly from minor gyms performed poorly in the annual Indigo League Conference. While you could still participate, it was now much more common for trainers to supplement their major badges with a few minor ones. The ridicule of qualifying for the league with mostly minor badges was not worth it.

  Grandpa Sammy, not paying heed to the stigma that came with minor gyms, ran the Pallet Town gym seriously. To his credit, being a war veteran gym leader and the brother of Professor Samuel Oak commanded him better respect than his peers., though it was nowhere near the respect given to major gym leaders. Nevermind that his team was more than capable of running circles around some major gym leaders.

  Gray used to feel indignant on his behalf. Why was Grandpa Sammy forced to be in the shadows of his more successful brother? It was not fair. Gray adamantly believed that he deserved the same amount of respect, minor gym be damned.

  Unfortunately, it mattered not. In Kanto, tradition reigned supreme and Kantonians took comfort in the status quo.

  Deciding to change the subject, Gray went on. “What’re you sick with? Won’t you get better soon enough to start running it again?”

  Grandpa smiled bitterly at that. His reply was slow and measured.

  “I’m getting too old to run it, son. These old bones creak and ache too much for high tier battling. And isn’t it time for me to retire?”

  “You? Old? I never even noticed!”

  Gray retorted quickly in faux confidence, earning himself another set of pinches from the old man.

  “You fell though? You sure it’s nothing serious?” Gray asked after a lull between his Grandpa’s assault.

  “Just old people things. No need to worry too much about it,” he dismissed his grandson’s worries quickly.

  “Someone said it wasn’t looking good,”

  The airy comment was accompanied with a flicker of his eyes towards his older brother. Before he could express his indignance at the mere shrug he got in reply, Grandpa Sammy added.

  “I asked for you back, Gray. It’s been too long. I want to spend some time with you while I still can,”

  “Of course, Grandpa. Anything for you. I’ve spent most of life being your glorified help, I won’t stop now!”

  Gray had to yowl again when Grandpa Sammy slapped his head. A considerable part of his childhood was spent assisting Grandpa Sammy around the gym. It made for an interesting way to pass time and Gray rarely minded.

  “Who are you?”

  “Yeah mister, who are you?”

  Gary and Ash piped out, having decided that they’ve been ignored long enough.

  “Huh? And who are you two?” Gray untangled himself from Grandpa Sammy. He deftly plucked the abandoned cane from the ground and handed it back to the old man, barely sparing a glance at the two children.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I’m Gary Oak, future Indigo Champion! This loser’s Ash Ketchum,”

  “Hey!” Ash hit him lightly in the shoulder. Gary glared back briefly before turning his attention back to the taller man.

  Gray frowned at the interaction before he dismissed it as childish banter.

  “Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum, huh? Your mom’s Delia?”

  Gray nodded at Ash, who brightened at the mention of his mother.

  Delia Ketchum, in Gray’s youth, was an older girl who had a thing for cooking growing up. She was a frequent playmate of Gray’s older siblings, so while he had interacted with her, they weren’t particularly close. He had mused if Delia would be Ash’s mother in future due to their shared last name. 9 years later, lo and behold.

  Not used to being ignored for his ‘dumber best friend’, Gray raised his voice.

  “I asked you a question, old man! Who are you and how do you know Grandpa Sammy!”

  Shifting his attention back to his nephew, he merely smiled calmly, letting the younger seethe in fury. His uncanny resemblance to Blue made his paternity obvious.

  Before Gary could explode further, Blue approached his son with a hand to his shoulder.

  “Gary, this is your uncle, Gray Oak. Be nice and say hi,”

  “You’re my cry baby uncle? But you’re so cool! You beat my dad!” he exclaimed in excitement, brown familiar eyes sparkling again.

  Musing that rudeness and mood swings were probably genetic traits too, Gray crouched down and decided to stop teasing the younger boys.

  “Yep that’s me, your cry baby uncle. Nice to meet you! Where my hug at?”

  The reference from his past life passed everyone’s head. Gary stood shocked as he gaped at his uncle crouching with arms wide open. He fidgeted in place, sneaking discreet glances at his father. Blue pushed him towards his younger brother, and after one more look at his dad, he dashed forward.

  Gray had to take a small foot backwards to steady himself and huffed a breath at his nephew’s tackling. He was surprised at the grumpy boy’s willingness to show affection to a near stranger. But the uncertain way he placed his hands around his uncle was telling of the attention starved boy.

  Slight movement caught Gray’s attention and he noticed the other boy uncomfortably shuffling his feet. He seemed to be taking discrete steps away from the group, though his jealous, black eyes remained firmly stuck on Gray and Gary.

  Deciding to follow his instincts, Gray rearranged Gary to one side, freeing up one arm in the process. He held it out and called out.

  “How about you? Come here! Looking at you, I’m pretty sure I know who your dad is, so I’m kinda your uncle too!”

  Intrigued, Ash took hesitant steps towards Gray.

  “You know my dad?” he whispered in shock.

  Gary dislodged himself enough to look at the interaction. He seemed similarly stunned, as if his uncle’s words held a great unsolved mystery.

  Confused, Gray turned his attention towards the other adults around them. Professor Oak and Grandpa Sammy had sheepish expressions, whilst Blue looked on with resolve. Noting that neither boy was looking at him, he met Gray’s eyes and nodded once.

  “Sure do!”

  “Can you tell me about him? What’s he like?”

  Gray swallowed his discomfort. “Later. He ain’t here now, but I am,”

  Gray waved his inviting arm, beckoning the black haired boy closer. Once he was within reach, Gray grabbed him close, stood up and spun around quickly. The boys let out squeals of indignance at the action. He made a few more quick turns for good measure.

  “Look at you guys. You’re both so big. Shame I didn’t get to meet my nephews earlier, but no matter,”

  Gray placed both boys down, and gave them equal hair ruffles. They scowled at that, but their futile attempt at hiding their pleased smiles spoke truth.

  “Man, I’m beat. I just flew in, you know. You guys wanna meet my pokemon? We could all settle in right about now,”

  At the mention of more pokemon, both boys’ scowls transformed into unasbashed excitement.

  “Sylveon!”

  Taking his trainer's words as cue, Sylveon called attention to himself. He first approached Grandpa Sammy who seemed ecstatic at the reunion.

  “This is your Eevee, right? His evolution looks amazing!”

  Grandpa Sammy’s shoulders relaxed when Sylveon wrapped his ribbons around the older man, an air of serenity seemingly infecting him. They exchanged a few words and quips, having their own semi-private reunion. As Gray’s starter, Sylveon had been familiar with the old man, so their relationship had been quite close.

  A few moments later, Sylveon walked towards the two young boys enamored with his presence. His ribbons danced in the air, grabbed both boys and brought them closer. He nudged their hands to begin petting him, letting out pleased noises to encourage them. Ash and Gary were completely won over, and they focused entirely on petting the unfamiliar eeveelution, previous conversation forgotten.

  Sylveon began leading them towards the direction of the laboratory’s ranch entrance, yips and ribbons expressing a zero tolerance for a break between pets.

  Once they were out of ear shot, Gray turned his attention back to the three adults. He looked them all in the eye and asked gravely.

  “Has Ash never met his father? Where the hell is Red?”

  Silence was his only reply, and Gray was beginning to feel even more annoyed.

  His previous interaction with his brother and biological grandfather were frustrating enough, and the rollercoaster of emotions after reuniting with Grandpa Sammy and meeting the boys were taxing. He desperately needed a break from the nonsense.

  “Whatever, if you guys aren’t gonna tell me, then don’t,”

  He sniffed at them before assisting Grandpa Sammy in making their way to the ranch. After a few moments of hesitation, Blue and Professor Oak shuffled to join them.

  “It’s not that we don’t wanna tell you, lil’ bro. But the situation’s just… complicated,”

  “Fine. I assume I don’t have the right to know? Got it,”

  “We’ll tell you, just not now. Go and settle in first, drama can wait,”

  Gray huffed at that, but didn’t push for more details. Blue, as frustrating as he usually was, had a point. The long journey from the Western regions to the East was exhausting, all he could worry about now was making sure he and his pokemon were settled in.

  “Okay, then no asking me questions about my pokemon too. I’ll let you know the most pressing things for now, the rest comes later,”

  Professor Oak made a small sound of protest at that, before he quieted down at Gray’s side-eye.

  Grandpa Sammy jostled Gray and chastised him mildly. “No need to be antagonistic, Gray. You know how my brother can get. You’re older now, I expect you to be wiser and more mature,”

  Smiling impudently in response, Gray turned his head around and stuck out a tongue at his older brother in a completely mature way, earning himself another smack from Grandpa Sammy and snickers from his brother and grandfather.

  They reached the ranch entrance amidst light laughter, and Gray idly noted that while he had misgivings with his family, perhaps it won’t be all bad. While time couldn’t heal all wounds, he found that the scars from the past were no longer tender.

  Steadying Grandpa Sammy, he approached Sylveon and the two giddy boys who were shaking in anticipation.

  Grinning at them wildly, Gray brought out a pokeball and enlarged it with a click.

  “You guys ready?”