Heyoooo! Long time no see! Gosh, I have been SOOO busy with life and everything, that I kind of fell off the face of the Earth! This story is set in the same (AU) universe as the "Homecoming" stories, but when Ash first joins the military. I should preface this by saying that I have NEVER been in the military, so if I REALLY messed things up, and you (reader) have been, feel free to correct me! Done rambling, enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon, or ANY of the registered trademarked characters! They belong to Nintendo! I also do not own the USMC, I just own the plot.
"Ash, I'm going to miss you" Misty held her husband close to her, not wanting to let go. "Come on Mist, please don't cry, you know I hate seeing you cry" Ash rubbed her back soothingly. Eighteen-year-old Ash Ketchum was going on a different adventure, he was joining the United States Marine Corps, and he was going to be gone for three long months, which Misty did not approve of, but, unfortunately, that didn't matter. Gary Oak and Clemont Lisco were also leaving with Ash, even though all three young men were against violence, they could join voluntarily, or be forced once the draft was enacted thanks to the new president. Leaf was a lot less emotional than Misty, but still didn't like that her fiancée was going, and Serena was an absolute mess of tears and sobs as Clemont hugged her, trying to soothe her.
Dawn Berlitz showed up a few moments later and waved her driver goodbye as he sped off. She walked over to the group trying to regain her composure. Delia strode over to the bluenette and hugged her. Dawn relinquished a small smile at the older woman and reciprocated the embrace
"Are you going to be alright Dawn?" Delia asked, "Yes Ma'am, Paul is just...not good with goodbyes or showing any kind of emotion around other people." Dawn's smile grew a little wider when she saw her friends and was about to say something, but the sound of a car screeching to a halt and a brunette girl slamming her door shut
"Calm down May! We made it on time!" Drew tried explaining to his girlfriend who was almost running to the bus. "Shut up grass-head! When I get back, I'm going to kick your ass!" May screamed at him. Drew flicked his hair back and scoffed. She gave him a dirty look and tried to calm herself down
"Remind me again why you're joining exactly?" Dawn asked, "she lost a bet!" Drew burst out laughing, he didn't even notice everyone else glaring at him. Once he stopped laughing, his face fell, and he walked up to his girlfriend and picked her chin up. "I-I'm sorry, May..." The green haired young man's throat felt tighter than Onix's bind, "I-I know we'll see each other again in a few months, I'll go, forget the stupid bet" A small tear slid down his face, which was a rare sight to say the least
May kissed her boyfriend's lips and smiled tenderly at him, "A bet's a bet Drew, I have an obligation to my country now, I'll be thinking about you the whole time I'm there, I love you" The two Hoenn natives embraced each other and stood in relative silence
"Ketchum, Oak, Lisco, Maple, Berlitz! Let's go!" the bus driver called out since the four of them were going to be the last one's on
"Bye Leaf, I'll be back soon, okay? I love you" Gary gently whipped a tear that had fallen from the usually tough girl's face and kissed her tenderly, "Bye Gary, be safe, I love you too." Leaf reciprocated his kiss and waved goodbye as he boarded the bus.
"I love you Ash" The young redhead still refused to let go, and it broke the young man's heart. "I love you too Misty, I'll see you in a couple of months" Ash kissed her one last time, "Pikachu, take care of her for me ok buddy?" the little electric mouse nodded it's head and gave it's trainer the best salute it could muster. Ash smiled and saluted his starter, and after hugging his mom, dad, and his wife one last time, he boarded the bus,
"Serena, I've got to go now, I love you and stay strong" Clemont rubbed his girlfriend's back as she started sobbing harder. Misty and Leaf put their hands on the honey blonde's shoulders, "He'll be back before you know it, Misty and I will help you get through this." Leaf reassured Serena as she managed to pull her off of Clemont, Serena hiccupped and yanked Clemont in for a big smooch, his cheeks turned red, but he kissed her back. "I love you too Clem, be safe" Serena finally smiled at him. Clemont grinned ear to ear, kissed her one last time, and waved as he boarded
"Bye guys" Dawn hugged everyone and boarded the bus. She was awfully nervous to say the least, but, she couldn't help but be pumped up for a new adventure
May and Drew finished saying their goodbyes, and May got onboard and took a seat next to Dawn, and the two girls started talking and giggling. The bus drove off moments later; none of the thirty passengers knew what they just signed up for.
The ride to the training barracks was a bit long. There was minimal chatter throughout the drive, and once they into the gate, "Heads down, everybody put your heads down" the bus driver announced, "May Mew have mercy" the he added. All the passengers did as requested, a few minutes later, the ride stopped and the doors opened up.
"PICK YOUR HEADS UP AND LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW! SCREAM "AYE SIR". A man in a Marine Corps Service B uniform stepped onto the bus and started yelling orders
"AYE SIR!" Everyone on the bus yelled, almost terrified and completely off guard
"NO, THAT'S NOT SCREAMING! SCREAM LOUDER" The man ordered again
"AYE SIR!"
"Now, from this point forward, every time I open my face, you will respond back! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"AYE SIR!"
"SCREAM AYE SIR!"
"AYE SIR!"
"Now, when I tell you to, you will get all of your crap, get up, and get off my bus, and get on my yellow footprints do you understand?"
"Aye, Sir!"
"THAT'S NOT SCREAMING!" The drill instructor was relentless "I SAID SCREAM AYE SIR!"
"AYE SIR!" all the trainees bellowed
"GET UP, GET OFF MY BUS AND ON TO MY YELLOW FOOTPRINTS RIGHT NOW!"
"AYE SIR!"
Everyone got up and clamored off the bus and stood at attention on the iconic USMC yellow footprints, every one of them wondering just what the hell did they get themselves into.
"From this day forward, you will live, eat, and sleep as a team! The word "I" is no longer part of your vocabulary! Do you understand?" the drill instructor bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Aye sir!" all the new recruits screamed back. Moments later, they were all herded towards a large set of metal doors with the eagle, globe, and anchor which was the Marine Corps symbol in the direct center of the door.
"Welcome, recruits, to MCRD, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, North Carolina! In front of you is the start of your training to becoming United States Marines!" Another drill instructor came around in front of the recruits, "You will pass through my doors ONE time and ONE time only! Do you understand?" he screamed, "Aye sir!" they all bellowed. "Form a single file line, and go through my doors right now!" he shouted, once they were all inside, all hell broke lose
"Find your name and sit your asses down on my chairs right now!" three DI's all rushed the recruits, "Aye sir!" Just saying those words was becoming natural to Ash; he quickly found his spot and sat down as he was instructed. "Put your names on my forms! First name, Middle Initial, and Last name! And sign wherever it tells you to sign, hold my pens up when you are done, do it right now!" one of the DI's from earlier shouted. Clemont tapped Gary on the shoulder but never got to ask his question because all four DI's began screaming at the poor guy
"What the hell do you think you're doing recruit? Did we give you permission to open your freaking mouth? Shut up! Answer me recruit!" the dude shook as he stood at attention "I-I" he stuttered
"EVERYONE! ON YOUR FEET AND GIVE ME FIFTY! Do it right now!" two DI's ordered simultaneously, "Aye Sir!" the recruits began their exercise, "What part of "the word 'I' is no longer a part of your flipping vocabulary did you not understand Recruit? Hey! I didn't say stop! Fifty more! Do it right fucking now!" After one hundred push-ups, everyone was a bit sore, but the worst was still to come.
They were then led to a room with ten phone's on their receivers, "Single file line and get on my phones, dial ONE person, be it your wife, husband, mom, dad, I don't care! Once they pick up, you will read them the message posted by each phone word for word! No, I love you's, or I miss you! Dial, read, hang up, do you understand?" the DI bellowed. "Aye Sir!" the recruits responded, and as soon as they were given the signal, picked up the phones.
Ash knew he had to call Misty, and he also knew she would be upset for ending the call so abruptly, but he wasn't in the mood for doing extra push ups or having the DI's in his face. After taking a deep breath, he dialed and waited.
"Hello?" her voice sounded smooth as silk, he wanted just to stay there forever, but he couldn't risk anything.
"Hello, I have gotten here safely, expect a letter from me in two weeks time, goodbye" he hung up. "Ash? Ash!" All Misty heard was the dial tone, she put the phone down, and Delia came to her aide and talked with her.
The next thing that the raven haired young man knew, two male and two female DI's were in his face, "Who did you speak to Recruit?" all four of them screamed, "This recruit talked to this recruit's wife, Sir, and Ma'am!" Ash responded, praying he had said the right thing; they moved on to the next person, Ash sweat dropped and waited at attention for further instructions.
Gary, fortunately, finished his call without having the DI's in his face; Clemont, on the other hand, wasn't having that such luck. One of the DI's heard him say a line that wasn't in the script and all Ash and Gary could do was stand at attention as their friend got screamed at by five Drill instructors while he was doing pushups. After they had deemed he had enough, he was ordered to call either the same or a different person, Clemont followed the prompt word for word this time and hung up.
May had similar luck with Drew, she followed the script word for word, quickly hung up, and joined her fellow recruits standing at attention. Dawn was freaking out because she could not get a hold of her mother, or Paul; she tried redialing two or three times, nothing. The poor girl was about ready to have a panic attack when a female DI marched over to her
"Why are you not at attention recruit? Have you not spoken to anyone yet?" Dawn cowered and began shaking, "I-No, This R-Recruit cannot contact anyone, no one is answering Ma'am!" the bluenette shook even harder. "You'd better find someone to call recruit! I don't have all night!" the female DI screamed right in Dawn's face. She picked up the phone, and two more DI's began screaming at her when she finally broke under the pressure, which caused them to scream louder. Ash finally had enough, he screamed out his parents phone number, and the DI's rushed him. "Did we give you permission to open your goddamn mouth recruit? you were told to stand at attention! Why can't you follow orders recruit?" he was then ordered to do one hundred pushups while they continued to scream in his face.
Dawn was able to contact Ash's mom and read the script exactly. She then joined the other recruits at attention and tried not to watch as Ash paid for her failure.
They all got their uniforms next, and more paperwork followed, and then, all the male recruits were led to a barbershop, one by one, everyone's hair disappeared. Ash found himself getting more and more nervous as he got closer. The whole haircut was supposed to take around twenty to forty seconds at the most, but Ash had a ton of hair, and the DI's were going to make him pay,
"Why do you have so much hair, Recruit Ketchum? Everyone's waiting on you!" the barbers trimmer got caught in Ash's thick hair and the DI's exploded. Six more instructors flooded in and screamed at Ash all at the same time, the young man had learned how to tune things out from his travels, he kept a stoic face and let the barber do his job. Once the cut was finally done, all ten instructors followed Ash to where the rest of the recruits were.
"This is where the men and the women will split up, you will NOT engage ANY conversations, or friendly how do you do's, and sexual activity between male and female recruits while you are here is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN! Do you understand?" the main DI from when they all first arrived screamed. "Aye Sir!" all the recruits responded
The time finally came for the DI's to formally introduce themselves before their recruits, "Sit down on the floor with your backs straight, legs crossed, and mouths shut! Do it right now!"
Six male instructors marched to the front of where the recruits were sitting, and stood at attention waiting for their turn to introduce themselves.
"My name is Staff Sergeant Lance Gun. When I open my face, you will respond with 'yes or no,' followed by 'Staff Sergeant' do you understand?"
"Yes, Staff Sergeant!" All the recruits responded
SSgt Gun took his place back in line, and the next guy took his place
"My name is Staff Sergeant Neal Kirt. When I open my face, you will respond with, 'yes or no,' followed by 'Staff Sergeant' do you understand?"
"Yes, Staff Sergeant!" Everybody affirmed
SSgt Kirt took his place back in line, on to the next one
"My name is Staff Sergeant David Holoms. When I open my face, you will respond with, 'yes or no' followed by 'Staff Sergeant' do you understand?"
"Yes, Staff Sergeant!"
"Man, I guess their all Staff Sergeants, wonder how long we'll have to keep saying the same damn thing over and over" Gary whispered to himself
"My name is Gunnery Sergeant Timothy Randell. When I open my face, you will respond with, 'yes or no,' followed by, 'Gunnery Sergeant' do you understand?"
"Yes, Gunnery Sergeant!"
"My name is Gunnery Sergeant Amos Stone. When I open my face, you will respond with, 'yes or no' followed by, 'Gunnery Sergeant.' Do you understand?"
"Yes, Gunnery Sergeant!" All of them were getting pretty restless, especially Ash. Misty had always teased him about his inability to keep still for five seconds, but with six Marine Corps DI's glaring at him, Ash found the willpower to stay put.
"And last, my name is First Sergeant Alan Waterflower. When I open my face, you will respond with, 'yes or no,' followed by, 'First Sergeant' do you understand? AT ATTENTION!"
"Yes, First Sergeant!" Everyone stood up, their legs shaking.
"Alright, recruits, it's time for bed, find your bunk, get inside of it, and go to sleep! Do you understand?" 1STSgt Waterflower instructed
"Yes, First Sergeant!" All the recruits clamored to their beds quickly
"Good night!" The DI's boomed as the lights turned off
Back in Pallet Town, Misty longed for Ash to be next to her. The couple hadn't even been married a whole year yet, and hadn't really been apart for long periods of time since Ash stopped traveling. The redhead moved towards her window, grabbed her favorite picture of Ash that was in a locket around her neck, opened it and kissed it as she felt a breeze rush through her red locks
"I love you Darling, I know I'll see you again, I love you" Misty kissed his picture again, and went back to bed.
Ash was tired, but he couldn't stop thinking about Misty. He thought back to when he heard her voice on the phone, he longed to see her beautiful face again, and that thought gave him a boost in determination.
He looked out the window and saw the stars in the night sky,
"We will be together again Misty, I swear" he whispered to himself as he drifted off to sleep.
A/N:
I'll be adding chapters sporadically for this story, they're more like "one-shots" than anything else, but kind of not…Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, I am writing chapter 11 for my main story, and will be posting very soon! Sorry it's taking soooo long! Bye Yall!
Until Next Time
Stay Pokeshipping Everyone!
Written and Edited by Cultofwinters