Chapter Text
Dishes rattled and a running faucet’s hiss filled the silence of a quiet, unremarkable evening in the back of the Pallet House Inn — The pride and heart of Pallet Town, where salarymen and women would come to have a bite to eat after a long day’s work. No one really tended to use the room and board service, but Delia kept steady business with her acclaimed home cooking.
Of course, after dinner hours, traffic tended to die out in this humble little town. So, the early evening gave Delia a bit of solitude to clean and prepare for the next day. She hummed quietly to herself while scrubbing dishes clean, recounting an old melody her mother had taught her.
She’d stopped a couple times, though — she was certain she’d heard an echo. A lovely voice matching her every note. But, whenever she stopped and put down her gloves, so did the voice.
It was a pattern that repeated a couple of times, but Delia just assumed that a long day had gotten to her, and continued scrubbing dishes and utensils clean. This continued until…
“Miss Ketchum!”
“Ah!” She startled, dropping a dish into the sink. It clattered with several others, nearly scaring Delia out of her skin. On a reflex, she picked up a large kitchen knife, pointing it at the source.
The culprit was a short, floating woman of a bit over three feet tall. Pale white skin contrasted with her dark knee-length dress, and pale blue eyes complemented with long green hair that resembled musical bars and notes. Her large, round head stood out from her small frame and slender limbs. She held up her note-shaped hands, attempting to deescalate.
“Please. Let’s not resort to violence.” A feminine, posh voice implored. Though, it was less a suggestion and more a command, as she lowered her hand, gently removing the knife from Delia’s with telekinesis, and put it back in its block. “I doubt you’d want to fight a Pokémon.”
The mythical Pokémon, Meloetta, smiled playfully. On one of Ash’s many chaotic adventures, he’d somehow brought home a remarkably rare one from Unova; something that Samuel had marveled over for weeks, eager to take the opportunity to study such an anomaly.
She’d been rather shy about it, to say the least.
“Ah… I’m sorry, dear! You startled me. And no, from what Ash has told me, I don’t think I’d be a match.” Delia giggled, then blinked. “...Pardon. Did you just speak?” A beat. “You can do that?”
“I’ve always been able to,” Meloetta admitted, bashfully rubbing her arm. “I’ve just been shy.”
Delia smiled warmly. Meloetta had spent the bulk of her time free at the Pallet House, while Ash had been away in Kalos. In recent months, she’d even started singing to customers, now that she’d grown accustomed to Pallet Town’s unchanging populace. Initially, she’d made herself invisible on most days, but she’d taken to showing herself. It made Delia’s heart warm to know that Ash’s Pokémon was acclimating past her fears. “Well, you had all of us fooled! Don’t ever feel like you have to hide from me, though, alright?”
“You’ve given me reason to feel as much! …Pardoning the knife,” Meloetta joked.
“It won’t happen again.”
The muse giggled. “Do you have a minute, actually? I have a question about Ash.”
Delia put her current work aside, and folded her hands in front of her lap. “I always have time when it comes to my boy! What is it you want to know, Mel-y?”
Meloetta blushed at the embarrassing nickname, but had routinely heard around these parts that if you were one of Ash’s Pokémon, you were better off just getting used to that. She shook off the thought. “Ahem.” Meloetta cleared her throat, floating down to stand upright, with her hands folded in front of her. Her baby blue gaze was focused and forthright, projecting more seriousness than she tended to.
“I’d like to ask you permission to court your son,” she explained. “I’d given up on the idea, after meeting Dawn. But after what’s transpired with that Serena from Kalos, as well as the ice being broken on Pokémon, with her Braixen and the fabled Greninja… I see an opportunity for myself.”
Meloetta didn’t know much about the two, beyond the little she’d seen on television, when the Performer and her team participated in the Master Class, and Greninja’s performance at the Kalos League, and the Eve of the Red Sky, as it’d come to be known. They were both evidently talented, and Ash spoke with a bit of painful longing in his voice when discussing the latter.
She understood it. She didn’t want to leave him aching, moreover.
Delia cupped a hand over her mouth. She grinned, unable to veil her excitement, or her amusement. “Well, what do you know… It’s funny! I always expected Ash to bring home a Pokémon first, frankly! Dawn actually surprised me!” She giggled. “And there were those two Performer idols that Ash and Serena know…” She hummed, before realizing that her thoughts were drifting. Meloetta looked conflicted. “Oh! I hope I’m not making you jealous, Mel-y.”
“Oh, no!” Meloetta shook her head. “Jealousy isn’t quite it. I was actually hoping that I wouldn’t burden him; stretching him too thin between relationships. The number seems to be climbing…”
“I think that Ash is on his way to living Brock’s dream before he fulfills his own,” Delia chuckled, unable to completely disagree with her point. “But that’s not how Ash sees people, dear. Even platonically, Ash has room for all the love in the world in his heart.”
The brunette ran a hand through her hair, looking off to nowhere in particular. “His friends may come and go, but they’re always with him, no matter where they may be. I can’t see why that’d be any different, when it comes to romance! Besides,” she winked. “You have the advantage of being his Pokémon!”
Meloetta gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “Does this mean…?”
“Oh, Ash told me stories of your meeting,” Delia cooed, twirling on her feet. “Your connections to ancient ruins, and being rescued from your prison by Ash and Peeks… Oh, it’s like something right out of a storybook!” She clasped her hands together. “Of course you have my blessing.”
The muse’s eyes began to glimmer with honor and awe. Her heart started to flutter. She floated up and opened her arms for a hug, but true to her timid nature, she hesitated.
Delia didn’t. She pulled Meloetta into a loving embrace. “Oh, I can’t wait to call you a daughter-in-law…!”
Meloetta’s pale skin flushed at the implication. “Yes. Well… before we get to that point, I also wanted to ask you how I should go about making my move.” After the hug, she pulled back.
“Well, you could just ask him,” Delia suggested. “You know Ash. He’s very straightforward!”
“He is, and I’m sure that could work,” Meloetta agreed. “But, I want it to be memorable. Something romantic enough to celebrate the bond we’ve built together; something he’ll hold close to his heart forever.”
“Oh, you’re reminding me an awful lot of Dawn,” Delia reminisced, smiling to herself. “I think my Ash has a type… And if that’s the case, I think you should tailor it specifically to you two. I’d gladly whip you up a candlelit dinner, but I don’t imagine Ash being comfortable in that spot.”
“No, no I don’t imagine either.” Meloetta shook her head. “It needs to be more suited to us.”
“I wonder… Oh!” Delia gasped. “Meloetta, dear, follow me.” She instructed, hurrying out of the kitchen and up to the counter. She found a half-read newspaper, and started flipping through it. “I remember seeing something this morning…” She gestured Meloetta over with a wave of her hand, and found the page. She pointed at one particular ad. “This might be the key!”
Meloetta gasped. “What’re the chances…!?”
“Mel-y,” Delia cooed excitedly, “I have the perfect plan for you.”