First of all, huge congrats on the good news! After seven long years, Dragon Ball Super finally returning from the Tournament of Power era is massive I'm right there with you on the hype for the Moro Arc. It's going to be wild seeing Goku and Vegeta face that energy-draining wizard again.
Now, back to the story.
While Ash and his family basked in their heartfelt reunion in the warm glow of their Pallet Town home, far across the world in a shadowed fortress carved into a remote mountain range an older man sat upon a throne of blackened steel.
Before him rose a grotesque mountain of unconscious bodies: hundreds of Rocket Grunts piled high, their iconic rainbow-colored "R" uniforms torn and stained. The air reeked of ozone and defeat.
Perched casually on the man's broad shoulder was a Pikachu, older and battle-scarred, contentedly munching on a plump Sitrus Berry. Beside the throne stood a majestic Charizard its orange scales darkened with age, flames on its tail burning with a steady, almost regal intensity.
One of the few conscious grunts, trembling and half-buried under his fallen comrades, lifted his head just enough to speak. His voice cracked with terror.
"W-why did you attack our base? Who… who are you?"
The mysterious trainer leaned forward slightly. His voice rolled out like distant thunder deep, commanding, and laced with an icy calm that made the room feel ten degrees colder.
"Once upon a time," he began, "there was a trainer who single-handedly dismantled an entire criminal organization down to its roots. He became Interpol's Chief Commander after stepping down from his Champion title only PWA chairman and some close people know about him. He even left behind his only son and wife so he could devote himself entirely to neutralizing threats not just in his own dimension, but in countless others where these organizations actually succeeded in their twisted ambitions."
With every word, the chill in his tone deepened, the air itself seeming to frost over.
The grunt swallowed hard, forcing bravado through his fear. "J-just because you destroyed this base doesn't mean you've won! There are a hundred more bases scattered across every region in your dimension!"
The older man let out a low, humorless chuckle that echoed off the stone walls.
"How funny," he replied. "Because this… is the hundredth base I've razed this month."
The grunt's eyes widened in horror. His breathing turned ragged; panic clawed at his throat. "Y-you're… you're a monster!"
"Monster?" The trainer tilted his head, red eyes glinting in the dim light. "No. No, no, no. Here's what's going to happen."
He rose slowly from the throne, his long red coat sweeping the floor. Pikachu hopped down to his shoulder, berry finished, cheeks sparking faintly. Charizard let out a low, rumbling growl, flames flaring brighter.
"I'm going to open a gateway straight to your home dimension," the trainer continued, voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "You're going to crawl back to your Supreme Leader Giovanni and deliver him a message."
He stepped forward, boots crunching over debris, until he loomed over the terrified grunt.
"Tell him his grand plan to conquer the multiverse ends here. Tell him that this time, 'Red Aston Ketchum' is coming for him personally."
A cruel, predatory smile curved the man's lips.
"And this time… I won't leave him breathing."
The grunt's face drained of all color. He scrambled backward, whimpering, as a dark rift began to tear open in the air behind him swirling with crimson and black energy.
The older man Red Aston Ketchum turned away, already dismissing the broken organization before him.
"Run along now," he said softly. "Tell your master the storm is coming."
As the gateway swallowed the surviving grunts, Red's gaze lifted toward the distant horizon, eyes burning with the same unyielding fire that had once carried a boy to become Champion… and later, the multiverse's most relentless hunter of evil.
Somewhere, in another world, Giovanni would soon learn that some legends never fade they simply grow sharper.
As Red sat motionless on the blackened throne the faint echo of footsteps broke the heavy silence of the fortress hall.
A casual, almost lazy voice cut through the air, dripping with familiar mockery.
"Well, well… looks like our big boy Red is out here farming aura again, huh?"
Red's sharp gaze flicked toward the entrance. There stood a man with tousled brown spiky hair, a long black cloak draped loosely over his shoulders like he couldn't be bothered to wear it properly. At his side trotted an Eevee, tail swishing with quiet amusement as it glanced between the two men.
Red exhaled through his nose, already recognizing the intruder.
"Don't talk nonsense, Blue," he replied flatly, though a faint edge of irritation crept into his usually stoic tone. "I'm just pissed off today. I got a message from Delia earlier. Apparently Ash knocked up the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia. Seriously… does the kid want to make me a grandpa this soon?"
The newcomer Blue Oak grinned wide, leaning against a cracked pillar with exaggerated nonchalance. Blue Oak: son of Professor Samuel Oak, father of Ash's longtime rival Gary Oak, former Kanto Champion, and Red's second-in-command at Pokémon Interpol. The man who had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Red as equals, now his right hand in the endless war against multiversal threats.
"Ohhh, well, well… congratulations, Grandpa Red!" Blue drawled, folding his arms and letting the title hang in the air like a taunt. "I bet within a few years your son's gonna have a whole litter of kids for you to spoil rotten. You'll be the scary old man with candy in one pocket and a Master Ball in the other."
Red's eyebrow twitched. A visible nerve pulsed at his temple.
"Keep running your mouth, Blue," he warned, voice low and dangerous. "See how long it takes me to remind you why I'm still the one sitting on this throne."
Blue laughed outright, unbothered. "Oh come on, don't be like that! You're finally getting grandkids live a little! Imagine tiny Ash-clones running around, breaking everything in sight. Delia's gonna have her hands full, and you'll just be the grumpy grandpa in the corner pretending you don't love it."
Red pinched the bridge of his nose. "I left home so I wouldn't have to deal with family drama. Now I've got you in my face and a message saying I'm about to be a grandfather. This is not the retirement I signed up for."
"Retirement?" Blue snorted. "You? You'll be hunting Giovanni across dimensions until the heat death of the universe. Face it, Red you're never escaping family. Not even in another timeline."
The two men glared at each other for a long moment Red's red eyes narrowed to slits, Blue's grin never faltering before they both spoke at once:
"You're insufferable."
"You're insufferable."
A beat of silence.
Then both cracked simultaneous smirks.
Pikachu on Red's shoulder let out a small, amused "Pika…" while Eevee at Blue's feet yipped happily, tail wagging like it was watching the best show in the multiverse.
Charizard, standing sentinel beside the throne, let out a low, rumbling huff that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. The two veteran Pokémon exchanged a knowing glance clearly used to this routine.
Blue pushed off the pillar and sauntered closer, hands in his pockets.
"Seriously though," he said, tone softening just a fraction. "You gonna go see the kid? Meet your future grandkid's mom? Or are you planning to brood on this throne until Giovanni crawls out of whatever hole he's hiding in?"
Red stared at the pile of unconscious grunts for a long moment, then sighed the sound heavy with years of battles and unspoken regrets.
"…I'll go. Eventually. But first…" He cracked his knuckles, red eyes glinting with renewed purpose. "We've still got a multiverse to clean up. One base at a time."
Blue smirked again, but this time there was real respect behind it.
"That's more like the Red I know."
Eevee hopped onto Blue's shoulder, mimicking Pikachu's pose perfectly. Both Pokémon shared a look of long-suffering fondness for their trainers.
The two legends former rivals, lifelong friends, now commanders of Interpol stood side by side once more, the weight of family, duty, and impending chaos hanging between them like an unspoken promise.
Somewhere, in another world, Ash was about to become a father.
And here, in this one, Red Aston Ketchum was about to become a grandfather… whether he was ready or not.