Hey hey everyone! I'm back with another PokeShipping story!
I've been tossing around a few ideas in my brain and came up with this. What if Ash never visited Shamouti during his adventures in the Orange Islands? What if those events didn't happen until the end of his Kalos adventure?
This will be a retelling of Pokemon 2000, with more current characters, and some old ones too! Above all else, this will be a PokeShipping story, but expect drama! Fluff! And a whatever else there is lol
Hope you enjoy the prologue!
A thunderous boom quaked the entire arena. Rattling the seats, but not the crowd. They erupted in a massive cheer as the explosion between fire and lightning detonated in a glorious blast. Dust billowed around the field, cloaking the small mouselike silhouette that darted from boulder to boulder.
"Alright, Pikachu! VoltTackle!"
The man's voice seemed to echo above the roaring of the crowd, reaching a pretty, blue eyed, honey blonde haired woman. Beside her sat a man with blue eyes also, but was sporting round glasses, and had lemon blonde hair. A much younger, petite girl sat on his right. The same lemon hair tied up in a side ponytail, and a small Dedenne in her lap.
"Go, Ash!" She squealed, jumping to her feet.
"Careful, Bonnie," the man beside her said. "Don't accidentally throw yourself over the seats."
"You worry to much, Clemont," the young girl, Bonnie, said back. "Everyone else is cheering, too! Right, Serena?"
The honey blonde faced them, "Right!" She turned back to the man down on the battlefield. "Ash can win this."
"He certainly has the advantage," Clemont adjusted his glasses as he looked down. "But Alain's Mega Charizard is strong. Ash is going to have to battle his hardest if he wants to win."
"He will," Serena confirmed, then stood up beside Bonnie, cupping her hands to her lips. "Go, Ash! Go! You can beat that Charizard!"
Down below, adjusting his hat, Ash Ketchum smirked to himself as Serena's voice somehow made it to his ears over the roaring crowd. Across the field, Alain raised his hand.
"Flamethrower!"
"Quick, Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge it!"
Charizard came swooping down, maw opening wide to unleash a torrent of fire. Pikachu dug his tiny paws into the dirt and rocketed forward. The flames singed the hairs on his back, but overall the attack missed.
"Use that boulder!" Ash shouted. "Jump up and grab onto Charizard."
Alain yelled for his Pokémon to swerve up, but Pikachu was too fast. The mouse seemed to ricochet off the rock like a bullet and clasped onto the fire type's foot.
"Thunderbolt!"
"CHUUUU!"
Charizard roared in agony, flashing bright in the burst of lightning that encircled the pair. They crashed to the ground, cratering the dirt around them. Dust blasted high, shielding the aftermath from everyone's view.
Silence hung heavy around the arena. Bated breaths waiting for the smoke to clear. Ash grit his teeth, taking one step forward as a silhouette began fading through the dust. Then…
"Charizard is unable to battle!" Came the announcers booming voice as Pikachu emerged from the dust cloud and Charizard lay still. "That means Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is the winnner! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our new Kalos League Champion!"
A roar unlike anything Ash had ever heard before erupted all around him. Pikachu darted across the field, calling out happily to his trainer as Ash raced forward and caught the little mouse in his arms.
"We did it!" He shouted.
"Pikachupi!"
"We finally did it buddy," Ash cheered once more. So full of excitement, he tossed his best friend into the air. Pikachu let out a delighted squeal as Ash caught him again and started doing a victory dance.
"Ash!"
He turned to see who called for him. It was Serena, jumping down from the stands and onto the field. Pikachu crawled up into Ash's shoulder as the man started waving.
"You did it!" She yelled as she ran towards him.
The Announcer was speaking and the crowd was roaring, but Ash couldn't hear them. It was as if a sharp buzzing blocked out all external noises the moment Serena's lips landed against his. Brown eyes widened in shock at the sudden sensation of her warm lips, and her palms gripped into his shoulders for support.
She pulled away, beaming wide with a bright red blush apparent on her cheeks. Her blue eyes sparkled in the afternoon sun as she gripped Ash's hand and raised it high, inciting another ferocious roar from the crowd. Somewhere among the crowd, from where Serena herself had sat, Bonnie's excited shrill of a scream could be heard.
Ash blinked a few times before the roaring crowd caused the numbness in his mind to fade, and he cracked a wide grin. He raised his other hand and waved up to the crowd before casting a glance back towards Alain. The Kalos runner up was crouched down beside his Charizard, patting him and congratulating his Pokemon on a job well done.
"Ash Ketchum," the strong female voice captured his attention, forcing him to turn away from Alain. Diantha stood before him and Serena, a large, golden PokeBall trophy in her arms. "It is an honor to reward you as the winner of the Kalos League."
So many emotions erupted inside of Ash. After so many long years, here he was, standing before a Region Champion as the first place victor in a League Challenge. His longtime best friend was squealing with delight on his shoulder, Serena was beaming beside him, and his lips were still tingling from where she kissed him.
Today was a magnificent day for Ash Ketchum!
Today was not a magnificent day. It turned out to be very far from one. Okay, in retrospect, today was still one of the best days of Ash's life, but it had taken a slight step back. Now that the euphoria had worn off, and he was sitting in his room at the Pokemon Center, thoughts were swirling around his brain. Too many thoughts for the Pokemon Trainer to handle.
He stared at the PokeBall Trophy sitting on the desk before him, but it was an empty stare. One lost in the far distance of his mind. His lips no longer tingled, but a residue seemed to remain that he was unfamiliar with. Not a physical presence, but an emotional one. One that kept scratching at the inside of his chest. One he could not for the life of him figure out. Was he sick? Or hungry?
He reached up and placed a single finger against his lower lip, recalling the warmth of Serena as she pressed herself against him. Something had happened to him during that moment, he was sure of it, after all he'd felt the snap in his brain. But what? And why?! Why now?! Of all the times for his mind to decide and throw strange thoughts his way, why today? Today was supposed to be about him! And celebrating his long deserved victory! He wasn't supposed to spend today locked in his room alone with his thoughts.
"Pikapi?"
And Pikachu…"Pikachu!" Ash suddenly exclaimed, spinning in his chair to see his Pokemon. The yellow mouse jumped back at the motion, and looked wary as to what Ash was about to say.
"Why did Serena kiss me?" Ash asked. "Was she just super excited?"
Pikachu face palmed. Sometimes Ash could be a genius. When it came to on the fly battle strategies, or helping someone in need he shone brilliantly. But when it came to women he was just as clueless as always. Before the faithful mouse could begin the charade of attempting to explain to his dense trainer WHY Serena had done what she did, there was a knock at the door.
"Ash?" it was Clemont. "You alright in there? You've been acting a little strange since we left the stadium."
"Yeah," Ash replied, getting up to open the door. He pulled it open to see his lemon haired friend standing in the hallway with a concerned look behind his glasses. "I'm fine. Just taking it all in."
"I can imagine," Clemont nodded once, adjusting his glasses. "That was quite a surprise, huh?"
"Nah, I had it in the bag," Ash stated proudly, and he didn't see Pikachu face palm again behind him. "Alain wasn't going to beat me this time."
Clemont blinked. "I meant about what Serena did."
"Oh," Ash deflated. "Yeah…"
"You shouldn't hide from her you know," Clemont said. "She's been worrying about you, and what happened."
"I'm not hiding from her," Ash defended himself. "I'm just…" What was he doing? "I'm…I was thinking about taking a nap, but I can't sleep."
Clemont obviously didn't buy the excuse, but he didn't press the matter either. "Well, I have dinner ready downstairs. A feast prepared for your victory today."
At the mention of food, Ash's eyes came alive. "A feast?"
"All your favorite dishes I've ever prepared," Clemont began to say, but Ash whooped with joy and rocketed from the room. Leaving Clemont and Pikachu behind as he vanished down the hall.
"Same old Ash," Clemont chuckled. "That's good to see." He then turned to Pikachu, "I bet you're hungry too?"
"Pika!" The mouse bounded off the bed and sprinted towards Clemont.
He bent down to let Pikachu run up his arm and perch on his shoulder. "Come on, let's catch up to Ash before he eats everything."
Dinner went off like it was a normal evening for the group. Despite Serena's initial blush that developed the moment Ash entered the Pokemon Center lobby, nothing was said on the matter of her act at the stadium. Although, it was clear Bonnie wanted to bring it up. A few quick glances from Serena kept the young girl from doing so.
It wasn't that she regretted what she'd done, but she also hadn't meant to do it right then, and so publicly! So much excitement and happiness filled her upon seeing Ash claim victory that she couldn't control herself. It was like she watched herself from afar as she jumped down from the stands and raced for him.
She chanced a glance to Ash himself, and he was smiling wide as he devoured bite after bite of Clemont's gumbo. Not a care in the world seemed to be on his face, and that made Serena's heart happy. Even though Ash had only acknowledged her presence with a smile upon entering the lobby, it was enough to know that no matter what, he wouldn't keep his distance forever. She'd just surprised him, that was all. A soft smile crept onto her face as she turned her attention back to her own food.
"I can't believe you won!" Bonnie finally burst, having been quiet since they sat down to eat. "It was amazing! You and Pikachu were awesome!"
Ash laughed. "Thanks, Bonnie. But I couldn't have done it without all of you guys there too."
At this, his eyes caught Serena's and he gave her another smile. Her heart fluttered at the sight.
"We'll always be there to cheer you on," she said.
"We sure will!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Right, Dedenne?"
"Nennene!" The little orange mouse popped up from behind a large bowl.
"Thanks guys," Ash replied.
A gentle moment of silence fell across them, but it didn't last long as Serena had just realized something.
"Oh, Ash!" She faced him. "You should probably call your Mother."
"Serena's right," Clemont added. "She's probably waiting to congratulate you."
Now why hadn't Ash thought of that yet? He jumped up, extending his arm down to Pikachu. "You guys are right! I almost forgot. Come on Pikachu, let's go tell Mom."
"PikaPikachu."
The rodent scampered up to his usual perch and Ash raced across the lobby. He tossed himself into one of the chairs by the videophones and woke up the monitor. A few button presses later, and the familiar ringing tone greeted his ears.
The call connected, and a middle aged brunette, with deep brown eyes and a kind smile appeared onscreen. Middle aged might describe the woman in years, but Delia Ketchum was as youthful looking and jubilant as ever.
"There's my Champion," Delia exclaimed with a bright smile. "I was starting to wonder when I'd get your call. Hello there Pikachu, you looked great on TV."
Pikachu blushed and cooed to himself, throwing out a hand as if to say, 'Awe shucks."
"Hi, Mom," Ash greeted her. "I take it you saw the match?"
"Professor Oak and I sit down to watch all of your matches, honey," she told him.
Hearing his Mom's voice always put a smile on Ash's face. It was like there was nothing in the world that could trouble the young man if she was around.
"You just missed Brock," she continued. "He waited for you to call as long as he could, but said he needed to get home to have time to pack."
Hearing Brock's name sparked an idea in Ash's mind. "Hey, Mom?" he started. "What if I came home this weekend and we threw a party to celebrate? We could invite everyone! I haven't seen May or Dawn in a while. Max either, now that I think about it-"
"Did you forget about Misty?" Delia interrupted him.
"Misty?" He questioned. "I could never forget Misty! Of course I'd invite her too-"
"Ash Ketchum," his Mother began in that warning tone he knew meant he'd done something wrong. "We are supposed to be in the Orange Islands on Thursday to be there for Misty and her big day on Saturday. Your party will just have to wait until next weekend. I'm sure we could throw it then."
He blinked a few times, then frowned. "Misty's big day?"
"That's right, and don't you be late young man. I expect to see you on Shamouti Island sometime on Thursday. Understood?"
Unsure of what his Mother was talking about, Ash decided to nod. There was knock on Delia's end, causing her to glance offscreen for a moment.
"If you've forgotten about the time too, check your email again. Misty said she sent one out to everyone," Delia added. "I've got to go, someone's at the door. I love you. Be sure you change your-"
"Gah! Loveyoutoogottagobye," Ash said in one breath and disconnected the call. He inhaled sharply and leaned back against his chair. "Any idea what she meant by Misty's big day?" He asked to Pikachu with a frown.
"Pikachu," the mouse shook his head.
"Well, Mom said there was an email, and it has been awhile, maybe I should check," Ash pondered out loud.
He leaned forward once more and brought up the email system. Logging in, he blanched when he saw he had 102 unread messages. It was no secret he rarely checked his email. He wasn't exactly fond of computers, though he recognized that since he traveled, an email was the best way stay in contact with his friends. Maybe he should put a little more effort into remembering to check his email at each Pokémon Center.
He quickly did a scroll through to see who had messaged him. Some were from the League, with event updates and information. Those hardly pertained to him since he was always on the move. A lot, and by a lot he meant A LOT, were from Dawn. A fair few were from Brock, and many from Cilan. Iris had only sent him one, to which he was thankful for. Like him, she didn't care much for computers.
Making a mental note to read through all of them, despite the daunting task that sounded like, he scrolled back and found the email his Mother had mentioned. It was addressed to Ash as a 'Formal Invitation.' What on Earth did that mean?
He clicked it open and started reading. The farther along he got, the more his eyes widened and mouth fell open. There was a picture at the bottom of the email, on that contained Misty, and the sight caused even Pikachu's jaw to fall open.
There it was again, that same numb buzzing from when Serena had kissed him. It was like his entire nervous system was shutting down, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. Maybe it had something to with Misty's arm being draped over the man in the picture with her.
Bonnie came bounding up at this point, wondering what had been taking Ash so long. She silently peered over his shoulder and saw the invitation. Her inner excitement practically exploded. "A wedding?! That's so exciting! Who's getting married?"
What?! A PokeShipping story, but Misty is getting married to someone else?! Well, like I said, there will be Drama! What fun is it if there isn't a struggle? Lol
Future updates are probably going to be slow, so be sure you subscribe so you can be alerted when new chapters arrive. Hope everyone enjoyed the prologue, and can't wait to really get this story underway.
As always, let me know what you think! Drop a review!