Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. This is assumed for the entire story, in each and every chapter.
A/N: Hello, and welcome to my first fanfic. =] I can only hope it lives up to my expectations and that everyone enjoys it in one way or another! For those interested, I've included two shippings that will progress along the way. My personal favorite, Pokeshipping, will make its way into the story at an enjoyable pace (I hope). The other is an OCshipping of mine that I've deemed OneDayShipping, which pairs May with Mason, a boy Ash's age intent on living life to the fullest.
Summary: A year after his defeat in the Sinnoh league, Ash is home in Pallet Town where he has been taking a well-deserved rest. A very special day arrives, and he meets up with almost all of his best friends from the years past. Little do they know that as they celebrate, an evil plan is being hatched by forces more powerful than any they have ever faced. Join them as they work together as the best of friends to overcome the greatest evil the world has ever known.
Ages:
Ash: 15
Misty: 15 (slightly older than Ash)
Tracey: 16
Brock: 18
May: 14
Dawn: 14
Delia: 34
Prof. Oak: 50
Announcer: The world of pokemon. A fascinating world inhabited by humans and creatures, working together since the dawn of time. These creatures named pokemon aid us in our everyday lives, with everything from recreation and fun to battling and serious contests. In this world are many legends, and many mysteries waiting to be revealed. Great powers lie dormant in every corner of the world, silently keeping watch over the ecosystem and balance of the entire planet. There are some, however, who seek to use this power to accomplish their own means. Different people under different names, working to disrupt the natural balance and gain control over powers that mankind can never understand. In the past these organizations have battled each other for control over different regions of the world. However, a terrible plot is being hatched, one that can bring the entire planet to its knees.
A shadowy figure sits, slowly petting his persian. In front of him, a screen turns on. Archie, the leader of Team Aqua; Maxie, the leader of team Magma; and Cyrus, the leader of team Galactic can all be seen.
"It's nice to finally have a chance to talk to you all again," the shadowy figure says.
"What's this all about, Giovanni? And why is he here?" Archie speaks, gesturing to Maxie.
"I was just about to ask the same-"
"Enough of your petty squabbling," Maxie is interrupted by Giovanni before he can finish. "Let us put our differences aside for a moment and discuss the future, shall we? Although our past encounters haven't been so pretty, we all have one thing in common. Each of us sees pokemon for what they really are and what they are truly capable of. Now, I've just stumbled upon something very…interesting. Regrettably, my plan cannot be completed by Team Rocket alone. For the time being, working together may be the most mutually beneficial thing any of us have ever done. I promise you, gentlemen, that once this discovery is realized, the entire world will be sitting in the palms of our hands." Giovanni let out a deep chuckle.
"…What is it we need to do?" Cyrus was genuinely intrigued. To this question, Giovanni simply smiled, and then revealed his horrible scheme.
Announcer: Back in Pallet town, our hero Ash Ketchum is catching some well deserved rest. Just last year he finished his journeys through the Sinnoh region, after which his good friends Dawn and Brock said their goodbyes and went on to pursue their dreams. Since returning to Pallet, Ash has been taking a break from his quest to become a Pokemon Master in order to catch up with old friends and spend some time with his beloved pokemon at Professor Oak's. Little does he know, there's a surprise waiting for him that might also be the greatest thing ever to happen to the world.
In a small town, nestled quietly away from the noise and excitement of the city, an alarm goes off. Unfortunately for Ash Ketchum, it isn't quite enough to wake him from his slumber, and he's got somewhere to be this morning. Another half hour goes by before Pikachu finally decides to take matters into his own hands and gives his friend a thundershock.
"Blaaaghhh!-I'm up!" Ash sits up and looks around angrily for the culprit before noticing the clock. "Huh….Waaahhhh! I'm late! Mom's gonna kill me! Come on, Pikachu!" Ash quickly throws on his old Kanto outfit and rushes out the door with Pikachu tailing closely behind him.
On his way to Professor Oak's lab, he runs into none other than Professor Oak himself. "Ah! Ash! I was just looking for you! You've kept everyone waiting!" The professor then quickly covers his mouth, realizing he might have just given the surprise away.
"What do you mean everyone's waiting? I thought I was supposed to be helping my mom out cleaning the lab up today?" Ash asked, still running in place.
"Uh-eh-well you see I-Er your pokemon of course! They'll be helping you both out with the chores today!" Oak crosses his fingers behind his back, hoping the boy doesn't see past his lie.
"Oh, of course! I'll be there soon!" Ash starts to run off again, the professor and Pikachu tailing behind him now. It's a small town, but Professor Oak's lab is all the way on the outskirts with a lot of land surrounding it, plenty of room for all of Ash's pokemon to roam. Ash can only hope he doesn't get a pep talk from his mom about timeliness, that's the last thing he needs right now.
On the other side of town, a passing stranger is having a little bit of trouble with one of his pokemon.
"Come oonnnn Poof! Give 'em back!" A boy cries toward his haunter. He and his ninetails are chasing the haunter down, but as is usual for haunters, he's quite the escape artist, and also happens to have the boy's shoes, making it no easier to chase him. The boy pulls out a pokeball and attempts to recall the unruly haunter, but it simply vanishes and re-appears behind the boy, pulling on the boy's cheeks and causing him to make funny faces.
"Blaagghalagg" The boy knocks the haunter's hands away, "Knock it off! Get back here!" The boy cries out as the haunter floats away laughing. The boy and his ninetails continue to give chase throughout the town, running in and out of shops, apologizing as they go. Eventually they're led right off of a dock into a pond. The ninetails stayed at the end of the dock, a smug look on its face. The boy surfaced and looked around, noticing his ninetails. "Oh shush. It's cool and refreshing anyway!" He splashes a little water towards the dock that the ninetails dodges easily.
The boy swims back to the dock and climbs out of the water, shaking his hair as dry as he can. The haunter appears again, crying tears of laughter. "Oh haha, very funny." The haunter simply smiles and vanishes, appearing again in front of the boy with his shoes. "Thank you!" The boy takes his shoes and plops them on his feet, which were still wet. Unfortunately, while he is knelt down tying his shoes the haunter seizes the opportunity to take the boys pack and run off again.
"Noone…did he just…" The boy asked, not bothering to look up or stop tying his shoes. The ninetails simply let out a sigh and looked down. "Well…no use in sitting around. Come on. We'll take it easy this time, promise." The boy stood up and spread his arms out, and the ninetails promptly let out an ember attack. Although it was quite hot, it quickly dried the boy off. They then set off, walking back into town after the boy's pack.
Back at Professor Oak's lab, Ash, Pikachu, and the Professor himself were just arriving. They paused at the door to catch their breath, and then went in. The room was dark, with all of the windows covered and the lights out. "Huh…" Ash fumbled for a second, then found the switch and flipped it.
"Surprise!" Ash jumped back, shocked at what he saw. There in the lab were Misty, May, Dawn, Tracey and Brock, almost all of his closest friends. "Happy Birthday Ash!"
"Wuuuhhh…Oh! It's my birthday today!" Everybody groaned, but then let out a chuckle. "Wow! Thanks guys! How'd you all know?" Ash stood in the doorway, astonished at seeing everyone right there in front of him.
"Your mom called us, and even arranged the ferry schedules for us to come over!" May said, smiling at Delia. "And of course I'd never miss something like this! Not in a million years!"
"Of course not! Besides, I always wanted to see what Kanto was like anyway!" Dawn exclaimed. "You live in such a beautiful town! And your mom's such a nice woman!"
"Oh Ash, it's just like you to forget something like this," Delia said, "always thinking about your pokemon and your journeys." She came forward and gave her son a hug. "I hope you like your present!"
"Eh-Of course, mom, but you don't have to choke me-" Ash weezed as his mom's grip tightened. Everyone shared a laugh. Delia eased up and tipped Ash's hat.
"No matter how old you get, you'll still always be my little pokemon master."
"Thanks, mom. And thanks everyone for being here! It's awesome to see everyone again, it's been too long! Let's eat some cake and-Hey, where's Max?"
"Oh he's still back at the gym," May said, "He really wanted to come, but he's taking his responsibilities there pretty seriously and couldn't afford to take any time off. He said he'd call you later when he got the chance."
"Aw, that's too bad. But it'll still be great to hear from him. Alright everyone, let's have a party!" Everybody ran outside to where the cake was and began slicing it up, chatting amongst themselves.
"Hey guys, why keep all the fun to ourselves? Why not let our pokemon in on the action?" Brock suggested, holding up a pokeball.
"Great idea!" Dawn said, reaching for her pokeballs. "Come on out, everyone! Let's have some fun!" Everybody threw their pokeballs into the air and suddenly they were surrounded by pokemon. Brock served up some of his famous pokemon food while everyone else cut into the huge cake. Of course Buneary was all too excited to see Pikachu and wasn't afraid to show it, grabbing him by the hands and twirling him around.
"So Ash, how's it feel to be 15?" Misty asked, leaning on the table next to him. "You're not that little kid I fished out of the river all those years ago, you're almost all grown up!" She gave him a smile.
"It honestly doesn't feel too different," Ash said, looking up at the clouds while he ate, "And I'm not the only one who's growing up, you're just as old as I am you know, and you're not so little anymore either."
As most girls do, Misty took this to mean something much worse than what it actually was, and retaliated in her normal way. "I am not fat, Ash Ketchum!" She yelled, getting in his face, "You take that back!"
Everyone turned to see Misty holding Ash in the normal headlock, her fist dug into his head. "Those two are already back to their old antics," Brock said and chuckled, "Some things just never change, do they?" He turned to Tracey and they laughed while May and Dawn looked on in confusion.
"Is it always like that between them?" May asked, still watching as Ash tried to explain to Misty what he meant while she held him by the collar. "I thought they got along well…"
"Of course they do," Tracey answered, "This is just like any normal day for those two. It might not look like it, but they're really great friends." As if to prove Tracey right, Misty let go of Ash's collar and they began laughing.
All throughout the party, people and pokemon alike were laughing and enjoying seeing each other again. Even with all of her unwanted affection towards him, Pikachu was more than happy to see Buneary again after such a long time. Misty and Tracey got to meet Dawn for the first time and Ash got to feel a sense of adventure again, being this close to all of his friends after such a long time.
A/N: Didn't really want to cut you off here, but I was afraid it might get a little too long for a first chapter if I don't. I know it might seem like things are moving a little fast right now, but it'll all make sense as I add additional chapters. =] Hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear what you have to say, so any reviews would be lovely to see!