Okay, so I know it's late and no longer the 22nd May, but this story is in tribute to Ash's birthday, so enjoy and review

It seemed like any other day, the Flying type Pokémon were chirping happily and the Grass types were tending to their gardens, but for a certain young trainer from Pallet Town, it was one of the best days of his life, for today was his elventh birthday! The sunshine began to creep through his curtains and Ash Ketchum wasted no time in throwing the covers off and jumping out of bed, "It's finally here!" he said, opening his bedroom windows and allowing his room to be filled with fresh air, "Hey Pikachu," but his best friend wasn't there, "Pikachu?" he ran down the stairs and found a note taped to the fridge door,

Hi honey,

Pikachu and I have gone out for groceries and won't be home until tonight, why don't you go up and see Professor Oak?

Love Mom

Xxx

Ash could feel his cheeks flushing like a Tamato berry, but his spirits dropped to the colour of an Oran berry, he shrugged with a hint of sadness, but he shook it off and went back upstairs to get dressed. As he left his house, he couldn't help but feel a niggling sensation at the back of his head, he thumped his chest and thought about the presents that Professor Oak was probably holding up at the lab. That thought made him break into a sprint.

"Good morning Professor," Ash said, walking into the lab, a little too happy, he was expecting the sitting room to be stacked full of presents or even more, a cake, but there was nothing.

Then Samuel walked in and spotted Ash, with a glum expression glued on his face, "Why, hello Ash my boy, why the sad face?" he asked, concentrating on the papers he held,

Ash sighed with disappointment, it was supposed to be a special day and it seemed as though everyone had forgotten it was his birthday, "No reason Professor… Where's Tracey?" he questioned, wanting to change the subject, the Professor simply pointed outside, not even bothering to turn round, "Thanks," and he slunk off outside.

When he heard the door close, Oak turned and watched him, 'If only you knew,' he smiled and turned back to his paperwork.

Ash walked outside and immediately spotted Tracey, 'Still the same old Tracey,' Ash thought with a small smile, Tracey still wore an orange sweatband around his head and the green T-shirt was his signature top, "Hey Tracey, what are you doing?" Ash asked, approaching his old traveling companion, he didn't seem to have heard him so Ash tried a second time, "Tracey!"

"Wah!" Tracey screeched, dropping his pencil, "Oh no!" he had obviously been sketching as Ash saw a Pokémon dart off over the field, "I was sketching," he grumbled, standing and wandering off over the field. Once he was out of eyesight, he sighed. He didn't want to be mean to Ash, but he couldn't let his friend suspect that he or anyone else knew about his birthday. He walked back over to Ash and apologised, "I'm sorry Ash, it's just, there is nothing to do unless Professor Oak has anything he needs doing, come on,"

Ash declined Tracey's offer and slumped to the soft green grass, lying back and looking up at the clouds, "Maybe, today wasn't all I imagined it to be," Ash said to himself. Then he had a brainwave, "I've got it! I'll talk to Brock and Misty, they know it's my birthday today," he sprung to his feet and ran back inside the laboratory, "Hey Professor Oak, can I use your phone?" the Professor nodded and walked into a second room, followed promptly by Tracey. "Come on Misty, pick up," Ash muttered under his breath, finally a face appeared but it wasn't the fiery redhead, instead, he was faced with one of her sisters, the blonde one to be more precise, "Oh hi, Daisy, is Misty there?" the girl shook her head and said how she had gone out for the day with a blonde haired boy, then began blabbering about how her and her sisters were putting on another water show, "Sounds interesting, see you later," Ash mumbled, cutting the call off. 'So far no one has even realised it's my birthday,' he thought sadly. He picked the phone up a second time and dialled Brock's number, 'Brock will remember,' Ash thought, rubbing his head sheepishly. But again, it wasn't Brock who answered, Forrest was on the line instead,

"Hi, Ash right?" Forrest had met Ash before and knew he was a really important person to Brock, they were like brothers, Brock had always been there to steer Ash out of trouble, Forrest listened to what he had to say, "I'm sorry Ash, but Brock is actually in Vermilion City, working, do you want me to leave him a message?" Ash shook his head sadly.

Ash finished the call and rested his head on the table, his eyes beginning to slowly glaze over. He sniffed and left the lab without saying goodbye to Tracey and the Professor, 'What about Gary?' he suddenly thought to himself, "He's around for a few days," the black spiky haired boy said to no one in particular, but then he thought 'No,' to that idea as Gary didn't tend to spend much time at home, he shrugged and decided to head into town instead. He went into a few shops but saw nothing. Ash began to think about his many other friends, but none of them knew that his birthday was today, as he hadn't told them. He didn't realise he was being spied on by two young children. As he began to traipse over to the food court, he spotted Team Rocket, no disguise, no nothing. "Team Rocket! What are you doing here?" he shouted, approaching them,

"Can't you keep it down? Some of us are trying to eat here," the female said, ignoring Ash,

"Yeah, we aren't doing anything wrong," the blue haired man inputted, stuffing his face full of food,

"Unless it's now a crime to eat!" Meowth said, slurping loudly on a glass that held water, "Now go away, we couldn't care less about catching Pikachu today so think yourself lucky," and the three crooks turned back to eating their food, leaving Ash speechless.

He stood there for a few moments, lost for words, "Looks like you're a little dumbstruck, Ashy boy," a taunting voice commented, clapping a hand on his old rivals shoulder, "Long time no see, I haven't seen you since that whole incident with Lulu," he said, getting close to his face, making Ash back away in embarrassment. He remembered that week like it was yesterday, "So what brings you into town Ashy?" Gary asked, walking down the sidewalk, he didn't wait for Ash to reply as suddenly, his holocaust began to vibrate in his pocket, "Gary here," Ash popped his head round Gary's shoulder to try and see who he was talking to, "Understood, I'll be there as soon as I can," he closed his gadget down and placed it back in his pocket, "Sorry Ashy, duty calls, maybe I'll see you later," he said, sprinting down the sidewalk.

Ash waved him goodbye and began to walk home, it was beginning to get dusky and the wind was beginning to come in, causing Ash to cling to his body for warmth, 'This has been the worst birthday ever,' he thought. No one wished him a birthday wish, he didn't even receive a birthday present from his mother and that made him really sad, he sighed in depression, as he passed his neighbour's house, "I think I'm just going to go straight to bed when I get in," he said, rubbing his eyes free from tears. He unlocked his front door and was engulfed in darkness, "Hello?"

"Surprise! Happy birthday Ash!" an enormous round of shouts applauded, taking Ash totally by surprise, the first faces his eyes fell upon were his mom's and Gary's,

"Pikachu, pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed happily, springing into his trainer's arms,

"Pikachu? Gary? Mom? But, but I thought…" he said, shuffling his feet uncomfortably,

Gary chuckled and touched Ash's shoulder, gaining his attention, "You thought we had forgotten, didn't you?" Ash nodded and rubbed his eyes,

"We had to make you think that so we could surprise you," an elderly voice said, Ash knew that that was Professor Oak's voice and he was just about to turn, when suddenly, someone jumped onto Ash's back,

"It's great to see you again," Ash smiled and pulled the character round so he could see who it was,

"Bonnie?" he then turned round fully and he gasped, "Everyone's here!" it was true. All of his previous travelling pals were present, including Team Rocket, who Ash was a bit dubious of, "What are you three doing here?"

James nudged Jessie and pushed her forward, "Look twerp, we normally don't see eye to eye, but the tall twerp and James have a truce and let's face it, you've saved our lives and we've saved yours, so what do you say? Let's celebrate your special day together," she said, extending her hand followed by James and Meowth.

Ash cast an uncertain look in his best friends direction who smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll take your word for it," he shook their hands and they dug into the party food, "Man, those guys need to learn a thing or two about table manners," Ash joked awkwardly,

"You're right, those three are such kids," Iris said, joining her friends side, causing them both to laugh, "Here Ash, this is for you," she handed him a box, wrapped in Dragon type paper, he smiled warmly and thanked her, placing it to one side, "Aren't you going to open it?"

"You know something Iris, I've learnt something valuable today," Iris looked at him, her eyes glowing, "Never take things for granted… Now, let's party!" Iris's sweat dropped and she smacked her head, but she giggled and joined Misty and Dawn on the dancefloor.

It got to about 10:30 and Ash and his friends were still dancing, May and Clemont were dancing together, courtesy of their younger siblings, as for Max and Bonnie, they were both crashed out on Ash's sofa, it amazed Gary how they were both sleeping so soundly and it was so loud. He was sitting on the stairs, rubbing his head, he had been working all day as had Brock, but the night was beginning to take its toll on the Professor's grandson, Dawn spotted him and pulled him to the dancefloor, aka Ash's living room. Tracey and Misty were having a Pokémon dance off and Cilan and Brock were sitting outside when the birthday boy hobbled outside.

Brock and Cilan were both five years older than Ash and watched him with curious eyes, "Please tell me this is a front Ash," Brock said, smirking and exchanging a wink with Cilan, there was no alcohol being served as most of them were only ten or eleven. Ash nodded and sat down, staring up at the sky, "We'll leave you alone for a few moments," Brock stood and took his soda inside, followed by Cilan.

Ash glanced up at the sky and allowed his mind to drift, he had thought that today was going to be the worst day of his life, but in fact, it had turned out to be one of the best days, "See your enjoying yourself, dear," a voice said, tearing Ash from his thoughts, he turned around to see his mom, holding a piece of cake in her left hand and a present in her right hand, "Here honey, happy birthday," she said, handing her son his gift with a beaming smile, he returned the smile and placed his present on the table, arising to his feet and jumping over the garden fence, "Sweetheart, where are you going at this time of night?"

"To invite another friend," Ash shouted, walking over the pathway and knocking on his neighbour's door,

"Oh hi, Ash, what can I do for you at 10:45 at night?" the character was known as Lulu, compliments of Gary, Lu, Brock's nickname for her and Luna, what everyone else called her and her proper name. Suddenly, Pikachu came running over to the two humans and spoke happily, but tiredly, "Hi there, Pikachu," she swooned, scratching his head affectionately, making him smile. "Do you guys want to come in?" Ash shook his head and offered her his hand,

"No, I want you to come to my party," that statement shocked Luna, she had heard from Brock that Ash was the densest guy he had ever met, but Luna knew she was reading these signs wrong, he was simply asking her to come to his party and she accepted his offer. She locked her house up and walked over to his place and started to have fun. Ash went back outside and with Pikachu perched on his left shoulder, he smiled and gazed up at the shining sky, "Wow, I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world, I have the bestest of friends and a wonderful mom who loves me, what more could I ask for?" as if on cue, a shadowy figure appeared in front of him, "Hey, whose there?" he questioned, the figure said nothing and disappeared from Ash's view. 'I wonder who that was,' Ash thought. Pikachu shrugged and ran back inside where the party was still going on, Ash joined him, taking his present with him.

The figure watched the lad smile and laugh and smiled himself, then took off on his Noivern, once he was airborne, he glanced back, for a final look and finally, flew away.

Meanwhile, Ash was trying to work out who that person was, if only he knew that he and the guy were closer than he thought. But he didn't let that spoil his night and as if Serena red his mind, she dragged him to his feet and began dancing with him, he smiled but all he could think about was that stranger.

It's not great but it was fun :)