Five years. Five long, long, long, agonizing, tedious years. He was weary, the quintessence of exhaustion. Longing for home, the familiar faces, the love of his family, friends and Pokémon. Nothing could surpass the insurmountable love of the boy's hometown that he had not seen since age twelve. This young, handsome seventeen-year-old boy was Ash Ketchum, still chasing a dream that he was beginning to believe was unattainable. His faith in himself was shaking; he was losing touch with his conviction. Ash was walking down a very nostalgic route the crossed between Cerulean City and Pewter City the homes of his old, beloved friends of his juvenile traveling days. No one but his loyal partner, Pikachu stood beside him in the lonely evening trail.
"God…" Ash muttered to himself as he wiped the sweat from his forehead created by the overwhelming surroundings that were flooding him with reminisce of the past. He was wearing a faded navy sweat-jacket with an embedded Poke'ball emblem on the left side, rugged jeans with tears at the knees, worn down sneakers, missing the rubber tops near the toes and an old green backpack slung over one side of his shoulder. He had the same jet-black unkempt hair that flopped over lopsidedly to the left, the same warm, loving, chocolate-brown eyes, he still smiled brightly, and had the bolted birthmarks that detailed his cheeks. He was a muscular, full-grown boy now, practically a man, the only thing missing was his signature baseball caps he always wore religiously, he'd lost his latest one and somewhat outgrown the trend.
"Pikachu…" Pikachu murmured as it snapped Ash from his trance by lightly tugging at his old, blue, jeans. The sun was setting, it was chilly. The Autumn breeze was kicking in, it was early October and the leaves were just beginning to brown and feather to the floor. The crisp, brisk autumnal breeze whisked through Ash's hair leaving the saddened boy feeling slightly invigorated by the refreshing gust of wind. Ash walked over to a tall Oak tree and placed his hand on the sided, leaning on it, inhaling a deep breath, sighing, the tree of Oak reminded him of the Professor. He'd abandon them unintentionally. His knees were wobbly and his eyelids fluttered begging for rest but, with Pikachu's urge, Ash continued, forcing himself to get home. He trekked on a little while further until suddenly he came across a girl by the lake. It was a very familiar lake to Ash, he couldn't put his finger on it but this lake was giving all sorts of emotions, pleasant and unpleasant alike.
This girl was lovely, she had emerald green eyes that twinkled like a diamond in the rough, ruby lips on a smile sweet as a cherry, two dimples on her cheeks crafted perfectly to her heart-shaped face, and short orange locks of hair that dangled only down to her neck's length. She was wearing denim daisy dukes and a pink sweatshirt with a blue strip stitched across the center for style. The seventeen-year-old was crying by the lake as she clutched on to her fishing pole. The girl caught Ash's eye, a wave of sympathy swept over him for the young, tear-stung maiden by the bank of the stream. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder as she jolted up in shock, slapping his face impulsively.
"Hey, calm down, I won't hurt you!" Ash exclaimed in a soothing tone as the girl pushed her tears away with the sleeves of her hoodie.
"Who the hell are you!" The girl exclaimed, "Jesus, you could've given me a heart attack, who do you think you are sneaking up on me?"
"I'm sorry…I couldn't help but notice you seemed upset, I wanted to make sure you were okay, are you?" Ash inquired.
"You don't know me, you don't even care," she said, "you don't know me, you don't wear my chains."
"I do," Ash affirmed.
"You're just hitting on me, go away…" She stated, pushing back his shoulder, "I don't have time for that kind of crap, scum like you need to find a new place to skirt-chase," she stated as a tear rolled down her cheek and she sniffled.
"No, I wasn't really hitting on you (I'm not Brock)…" Ash stated, rolling his eyes at the girl's immature conduct.
"Oh, what's that supposed to mean, too good for ugly me?" She snarled, grimacing as she stuck her nose to him wryly.
"No, frankly, you're gorgeous, I'm just not that kinda guy," Ash assured as he sat down on a rock by the flowing water, "I'm stalling."
"Stalling what?" She said, blushing from the comment, though Ash couldn't see, the evening light wasn't bright enough; they could hardly discern one another's faces. "N-not that it's any of my business!"
Ash laughed at the girl, "It's fine, I'm stalling a lot of things, things that I can't wait to do, I don't understand myself."
"Well," she sighed, "I'm done."
"Done?"
"With life."
"What? You weren't going to…into that lake…" Ash began hesitantly.
"No! Not like that!" She fumbled, "I mean…I give up, my dreams are ruined,"
"Welcome to my world…" Ash grumbled beneath his breath.
"Pardon?" She said, unable to decipher Ash's muffled speech.
"I mean…." Ash sighed, "You can't give up on your dream, it's special, it makes you, you. Me, I want to be the world's greatest Pokémon master,"
"What did you just say?" She asked, a pang of nostalgia piercing her heart at those words, memories being reincarnated.
"I said I want to be the world's greatest Pokémon master…?" Ash restated.
"Sorry…it's just…when you said that…" She began, tears welling in her eyes, "You sound like a boy I once knew…I guess you could say loved…but, not anymore," She stated.
"Oh, why not?" Ash smiled, "You were out of his league?" Ash teased.
"No…he was a jerk, he came home one time…after we'd separated for a good while now, he'd lost the league, again, but nobody cared, we all loved him, he had good friends, a mother that loved him more than life itself, and the most loyal Pokémon on this planet. That didn't mean anything to him, he had to be the best like no one ever was…I don't know…over the years the visits to home were decreasing significantly…one time…he never came home at all. His poor mother waited and waited and waited but, no, not a phone call, nothing. Selfish as hell he was, I bet he's dead, God, forgive me," She explained, Ash stared at the ground pondering on the kid this girl knew, it reminded him of himself.
"I'm sorry to hear that, he sounds like a real jackass," Ash stated in monotone.
"Not always, he use to have a huge heart…why am I telling you, you probably have somewhere to be, you don't care," She said as she sat down facing her back towards Ash's.
"No, no, it's fine, go on…I like talking to you…" Ash smiled, "…What're you doing out here anyway?"
"My selfish sisters shut down my gym because it isn't making any money because I suck as a gym leader, they're selling it to go be in movies…they're gorgeous….I'm…the runt…." She mumbled, setting off a trigger in Ash's head.
"The runt? My best friend use to call herself that…she was nearly as pretty as you, wouldn't admit it at the time…" Ash smirked.
"Did she? What a coincidence," She sighed, not caring at all about the stranger's friends of his adolescence.
"She had a gym and sisters too…" Ash contemplated.
"Really?" She asked.
"I miss that girl…I liked her, like I had a huge, secret crush on her, she hated me though," Ash laughed as he fell on to his back with his hands rested behind his head.
"Small world," the girl smiled, "The boy that I knew, I was dead awful mean to but, on the inside, I had the biggest crush on him…he's the one….who's probably dead now…" She began as tears dappled off her cheeks once more. "If I hadn't left him that day because my sisters told me to…I-I might be with him now…"
"The girl I knew…looks so much like you…I'm sorry, but, that may be why I was so attracted to you…I'm sorry, I didn't even realize it," Ash admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"It's really weird you'd say that because the boy I'm describing looks nearly identical to you…the world's funny…" She stated, "Tell me more…about…this girl?"
"Gladly, she hated me, I don't know if she ever completely liked me but, I considered her my best friend, her and this other guy we traveled with. She loved to slap me around, call me names, belittle me, and whatnot…she had the temper of a gyrados…but, she could be sweet too, we had our moments…God, I miss her," Ash laughed.
"…Wow, sounds like me!" The girl said as she went on laughing.
"What about your boy?" Ash asked, smirking.
"Oh, him, yeah, I teased him constantly, because I always had a huge crush on him, that's how kids get their crush's attention so, naturally that's what I did…but, then as time went on my feelings only deepened…even when we parted I fell harder and harder but, I doubt he even thought twice that I even existed off on his new journeys…I even turned down numerous dates for years waiting for him to come until finally I gave up. Unlike his mother I gave up, accepted the fact that he was probably dead somewhere," She finished explaining.
"…Life's weird, isn't it, Mis-…sorry, for a second I thought…you were her…" Ash laughed.
"It's fine…I guess you better get going….you look like you've gotta be somewhere soon," She hinted.
"…What will you do now?" Ash asked, sitting up.
She said, "I think I'll go to Snowpoint, I think I'll start a new life, I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name. I'll get out of Kanto, I'm tired of the weather. I think I'll get a lover, I'll fly him out to Unova. I think that I'm just tired, I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind. I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset, I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice. Snowpoint, where no one knows my name…no one knows my face."
"…that bad?" Ash asked as he lifted his backpack.
"Yeah," she nodded, "….I met the boy here…that's why I love this spot, it's my lucky fishing hole…" she smiled warmly and Ash's eyes widened, then he shook his head back to reality.
"This looks like where I met the girl…I broke her bike…that's why she followed me…" Ash giggled to himself, "Alright, I guess I better get going, Pallet is a while from here, my mom probably thinks I'm dead and I want to surprise her…come on Pikachu!" Ash called as he began turning away with a wave. The girl was standing there in shock. She couldn't believe it, it was him. The puzzle was put together now, that's why each-other's descriptions fit so well. He wasn't dead, he didn't forget her, his heart ached and longed for her. As she stood there absorbing all the startling facts he was already nearly out of view, she had to catch him, she had to.
"Ash, Ash, wait!" She screamed, sprinting after him, faster than ever in her life. He stopped, dead in his tracks and turned around to face her. As Ash waited for her to catch up it dawned him, he never introduced himself, how does she know his name…?
"What is it?" Ash said as the girl finally caught up catching her breath. She didn't reply she just stared into those familiar brown eyes and pulled him into a passionate kiss. The girl's sudden movement surprised Ash, but he fell deeply into the trance of the kiss, wrapping his fingers through her hair as she caressed his cheeks in the palms of her hands.
"Don't…go…again…" She panted, still getting a puzzled look, "You better figure out how to repay me for that broken bike, Ash Ketchum! I don't care what Team Rocket had to do with it!" She said, quoting herself from seven years ago. Ash gave a teary stare to the girl and she nodded affirmatively as Ash pulled her back into a kiss, sweeping off her feet into an emotional embrace.
"Misty…" Ash muttered as he finally ended their kiss full of bliss, "How did I not recognize you? And those stories…your sisters…the runt…that spot…"
"I didn't pick up on it either, Ash," Misty cried, tears coming off her face.
"I'm not dead at least," Ash teased tearfully.
"I never hated you, Ash Ketchum," Misty said, biting her lip to fight back tears.
"I know that now, after what I just heard you say, I love you, Misty, I do. Not a day passed when I didn't think about you, I never thought about May, Dawn, or Iris, only you…and my mother," Ash said.
"I love you, Ash, I'm sorry," Misty said, embracing him once more, "Why did you go so long?" Misty wailed.
"I-I felt like a failure, I'm sorry," Ash cried, "I couldn't come home again…my father…I…no, it's my fault, I'm sorry," Ash cried.
"It's alright, Ash, welcome home,"