Welcome to my latest story! I got writer's block on my other story, and I had this idea stuck in my head, and this is what came out. Read and enjoy!
I can't believe it! I was so close! Ash fumed to himself. He had risen to the top four of the Sinnoh League, but his rival Paul had beaten him in that last round. Ash was furious. Even when Gary used to be a jerk, he at least was nice to his Poke'mon. Paul just goes through his Poke'mon like napkins! Brock and Dawn were walking ahead of Ash. It had been a week since the end of the Sinnoh League, but Ash continued to dwell on his defeat.
"Does Ash usually get down in the dumps like this?" Dawn asked the spiky-haired breeder next to her.
"No," answered Brock. "He usually has a day of soul-searching, and he congratulates whoever beat him. But after Paul's insults, and the fact that it was Paul who beat him, Ash won't be thanking anyone for that match."
The group as a whole had decided to take a break somewhere where Paul would not be able to cross their paths and gloat, and they figured out the perfect place: The Aoi family Solaceon Daycare Center. Paul never kept any Poke'mon that weren't powerful to begin with, so he would never have a reason to visit the Center. Angie and her parents were kind enough to invite the young trainers to stay at their house while Ash and his ego recovered.
Pikachu sat on Ash's shoulder. He tried to cheer up his companion, but Ash remained gloomy and depressed. At least he was, until Dawn called out, "There's Solaceon Town! We'll be at Angie's in no time!" Pikachu felt Ash jolt a bit when he heard the name of that short-haired trainer with the Shinx. Looking down, Pikachu saw his trainer's hand dart toward his left pocket and then drift away. Though no one could see it, Pikachu felt a spring in Ash's step. Pikachu's ears twitched at this new development.
Angie paced outside her house, a myriad of thoughts and emotions rushing through her head. He's coming over! Will my parents give me a hard time? Will they spill the fact that I-" Angie shook her head violently and continued pacing. I wonder how he's feeling. That jerk shouldn't have beaten him. The nerve of some people! Angie saw herself throttling Paul in her mind's eye, and she smiled at the thought. She wondered if she should tell him that, but she decided against it.
"Angie," a female voice called from the house. "Lunch-time!"
"I'll eat out here, mama," Angie shouted back.
"Angie," a stern voice called. "Staying outside will not make your boyfriend get here any sooner." Angie's face turned bright red.
"Papa! He's not my boyfriend, and don't say anything like that while he's over!"
"If you insist," was the response. Angie retrieved her lunch from her mother and ate it by the fence. She went back to thinking.
Well, Angie thought. That put my trust in my parents not blowing my cover down the drain! What if they say something like that while he's here? What will he think? What if he doesn't like me in that way? What if- Angie shook her head again. No more what-ifs. I have got to stop having conversations with myself. He probably won't be feeling well. Does that mean he won't want to talk to me? I'll be sure to be nice to him. Angie got a thoughtful look on her face. Now how can I be nicer to him? Not contradicting everything he says would be a start. How about making gagging noises whenever Paul's name is mentioned? Nah, that'll just make my parents mad. Oh, we could talk about the Summer Academy! That should get his mind off of the League! Angie reminisced about that week so long ago at Professor Rowan's Academy.
"Shinx!" A blue and black Pokemon scampered up to Angie. Angie picked up her Spark Pokemon. "Shinx shinx?"
"I was just thinking about the Summer Academy the last time we went there. Remember it, Shinx? Finding that Lumineon, that ghost-girl and the Dusknoir, and that Marathon. That was the closest race I've ever been in!" Angie reached down to her plate, lost in thought. She snapped back to reality when she noticed her plate was empty. "Hey, who ate my sandwich?!" Her eyes shot to her Shinx, who was licking crumbs off of her face. "Shinx, I was gonna eat that! Now what am I going to ea-" Angie broke off of her tirade as she saw three small figures coming down the path.
"Hey, over here!" A small figure was hopping up and down in the distance. Dawn shaded her eyes and looked down the path.
"I think that's Angie," Dawn said. Pikachu felt another jolt from Ash. Pikachu shook his head in confusion. Moments later, Angie was walking with the group, talking about what had happened since they'd last seen each other.
"By the way, thanks again for helping me with that Lickilicky. Especially you, Ash," Angie said. Ash's face began to turn red, and he pulled his hat over his eyes. "Papa was really upset with me, but he didn't get mad, thanks to you." Angie felt her face heat up, and she quickly changed the subject. "So have you guys had lunch yet?"
"No, but I'm sure I could cook something up," Brock responded. "Have you eaten anything?"
"I did get some lunch, but Shinx ate it before I could eat anything."
"Pip! Piplup pip! Pip, piplup, lup Piplup?" Dawn's Penguin Poke'mon chirped at Shinx.
"Shinx shinx, Shinx shinx Shinx!" Piplup laughed so hard at this that she fell off Dawn's shoulders and had to be caught by her trainer before she hit the ground. Pikachu's mouth dropped open.
"Pika! Pika, Pika chu pi pika Chu pikachu?" Pikachu and Shinx started an animated conversation as the trainers looked on in confusion.
When the group arrived at the house, Angie's parents did not make any remarks that would embarrass her. Brock asked if he could make some lunch for everybody, and no one refused. Brock created one of his usual dishes, and everyone ate their fill. Well, almost everyone. Ash wasn't eating much, and he hadn't eaten much since his defeat at the Sinnoh League Tournament. He continually glanced over at Angie, and then at his plate, hoping no one would notice. Angie's parents exchanged knowing glances.
"So," Angie started speaking. "Anyone remember their favorite part about the Academy?"
"My favorite part was where we all befriended a different Pokemon in the beginning," Dawn answered. "My Grimer was so cute! And it could do every pose that I could do!" Everyone in the room sweat-dropped.
"Well," Brock cleared his throat, ending the awkward silence. "I enjoyed seeing all of the Ghost Poke'mon in the forest." Ash and Angie shuddered simultaneously.
"I personally didn't like that little misadventure," Ash stated flatly. "If I want to go to the Afterlife, I'll ask. I don't need some creepy little demon-girl to suck me in there."
Angie's father raised an eyebrow. "When did this happen? Angie, you never told us about anything like this happening. You said that your last trip was 'normal.'"
"Uh, well, um, you see," Angie started, her face turning red. "Me and, uh, Ash, we were, kinda, um, partners, for a kind of, um, treasure hunt." Angie's parents exchanged knowing glances. "P-professor Rowan had us try to, um, find these medallions, at the top of this mountain, and, um, well, we were supposed to be learning about Ghost Poke'mon, so, uh, he kinda had us, well, going at night…"
"So," Angie's father cut in, arms crossed. "In other words, you two were alone together, unsupervised, in the dark?" The faintest trace of a smile appeared on the face of Mr. Aoi, while Ash and Angie's faces turned bright red with embarrassment at the implications.
"PAPA! Please!"
"Okay, okay."
"Now, as I was saying," Angie continued. "Me and Ash got lost because Ash ran away from this Misdreavus-"
"Hey!"
"Okay, okay, I was kidding," Angie waved Ash down. "We ran away from a Misdreavus, and ended up getting lost. This little girl found us, and led us to the medals…" Angie's voice trailed off as she looked down at her plate. Ash continued the story.
"We picked up our medal, and the girl wanted us to keep following her, and we were going to follow her into this cave when a Dusknoir stopped us from going any further. Dusknoir used Psychic to pin us down while it confronted the girl. Shinx and Pikachu broke out of the Psychic attack, and we had them attack Dusknoir. When we knocked out Dusknoir, the girl opened up this portal to the Spirit World, which started sucking us into it. Angie, she almost got sucked in, and if it weren't for Dusknoir-"
"But, Ash," Dawn interrupted. "When we got to where you two were with Professor Rowan, Dusknoir wasn't even awake. You were holding onto Angie with Shinx and Pikachu anchoring you." Ash and Angie's mortified faces red-shifted as Dawn continued, much to the amusement of the two adults at the table. "Angie was fluttering around like a wind sock, and it was after Ash lost his grip on the ruins that Dusknoir woke up and saved you two."
"Well, Ash," Angie's father stated as he got up. "It looks like we owe you our thanks for saving our daughter."
"I-it's okay," Ash stammered.
"Now," Angie's mother said as she got up from her seat. "Why don't you all go outside and get some exercise with your Poke'mon? It's a wonderful day outside, and your Poke'mon have all finished eating." She pointed toward a dining room window, where about fifteen variously sized heads were peering into the cottage. Upon realizing that they had been noticed, all of the Poke'mon scattered.
"Well," Ash said as he left the table. "There's no time like the present, and we haven't trained for a week!" After the children left to play outside, Angie's parents talked amongst themselves as they cleared the table.
"Well, looks like we won't have to worry about any broken hearts this Valentine's Day," Angie's father commented. "That boy that Angie likes is obviously smitten with her. Only a matter of time now before they both find out."
"Do you think that either of them knows what day it is today?"
"I doubt it."
"Well, why don't we make a little party here to celebrate? Everyone can pitch in, and I'm sure the Poke'mon would enjoy helping with the decorating. Everyone can get dressed up, Dawn and Brock can decorate the outside of the house, we can do the interior decoration, and Ash and Angie can bake a cake and some cookies."
"Excellent idea, dear. Nothing says love quite like an exploding flour bag. Let's go tell everyone." The owners of the Solaceon Daycare Center walked together out of the peaceful cottage… and into a veritable war-zone.
This was going to be a one-shot but I'm expanding it. Please Review!