.:Dream:.
They were in the kitchen, arguing once again.
"Gio, I'm sorry!"
"Sorry doesn't fix this! Sorry doesn't cut it!"
The man swung his fist at his wife, but was stopped suddenly by a young boy grabbing his arm. He was about 10 years old.
"Leave her alone!" the boy yelled.
"Ungrateful brat. This is not your concern!" the man shouted, and grabbed the kid's arm tightly. The boy tried to tug his arm out of his dad's grip, but failed.
"Gio, stop! You're hurting him!" the woman cried out, but immediately quieted as the man sent her a glare.
"You're not in charge of me, so back off if you know what's good for you." he said coldly, and the woman backed away.
"Just leave my mom alone!" the boy yelled at the man.
Angered, the man threw the kid at the stove. The boy hit his head, and a cracking noise was heard.
"Ash!"
"Ash!"
"ASH!"
Ash Ketchum awoke with a start, knocking Pikachu off of him.
"Pikapi!" the mouse exclaimed angrily. Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Pikachu." he said sheepishly.
"Pika Pikachu Pi." the mouse smiled.
"Ash, why wouldn't you wake up? You sleep like a Snorlax, eat like a Snorlax, the only thing you can't do is battle!" Misty exclaimed.
"Sorry Mist." Ash said. Brock wandered over.
"Misty, you shouldn't wake him if he's sleeping. If he needs to sleep, let him sleep." Brock scolded. Misty sighed. "Guess you're right. Sorry Ash."
"It's okay Misty. We should start walking soon if we want to get to the next Gym."
"Ash is right. We should go soon after breakfast." Brock agreed.
"Alright! Breakfast!" Ash cheered. Misty rolled her eyes. "Sounds like a Snorlax to me..." she muttered under her breath.
"How is he doing doctor?" the woman asked worriedly.
"He's still stable, Mrs. Ketchum." the man replied. Mrs. Ketchum sighed in relief.
"Good. I'm going to go check on him." she said, and walked through the hospital.
It had been four years since he was admitted to the Viridian City Hospital. Delia came as often as she could to visit her only son. He was all she had left, and she promised to never give up on him. So at least once a week, she'd visit and tell him about what was going on.
"Hello Ash. I hope you're doing alright." Delia said, sitting in a chair beside him.
Ash's eyes were closed, and he looked like he could have been sleeping. The doctors had said that he was in a coma, and it was unlikely that he'd ever wake up. Delia wouldn't give up on him. She knew he'd get up one day, and they'd be a family again.
"Today is your birthday. I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up! You're fourteen now and once you're up, I'm sure the ladies will be noticing you, that's for sure." she said, and a small giggle escaped her.
"I'm so proud of you. I want you to know that when you do wake up, I'll be there for you. I promise."
Ash sat at the table, enjoying the food Brock had cooked perfectly as always. Pikachu was happily sucking on a bottle of ketchup.
"Brock, this is great!" he told the chef, who chuckled.
"It wasn't too hard to make, I could probably teach you if you'd like!" he replied, and Misty laughed.
"Yeah, you could probably do it if you could focus on something other than your next Gym Badge." she said, and Ash rolled his eyes.
"I could do it if I wanted to! Just watch me!" he told her. She nodded.
"Try not to burn everything!" she said, ad he would have replied, but his head began to pound. Groaning, he stood up quickly.
"Guys, I got this sudden headache. I'm gonna lie down, okay?" he asked.
They were surprised, but let him be excused as he went back to his tent. Closing his eyes, he rested on his unrolled sleeping bag.
A tug in his mind seemed to bring him into a light. It was hard to see things, but he blinked and saw something strange.
His mom was looking at him in shock.
Delia had been there for a while, and was going to leave in a few minutes. She kissed Ash's forehead and tucked his blanket in a little bit.
"I've got to go now Ash. I'll try to be here again on Tuesday if my boss doesn't give me another shift." Delia said, and looked at her son.
Grabbing her coat, she glanced back at him as she was about to go. Doing a double take, she found herself looking into his chocolate brown eyes as they stared at her with a confused look.
"Mom?" he tried to say, but found that he could only mouth the words because he hadn't spoken in a long time.
"A-Ash?" she whispered. He looked at her questioningly.
She bolted to him, hugging him tightly.
"Ash! Oh my baby!" she cried. A nurse walked in and noticed that her patient was awake and rushed off to get a doctor.
The pencil was hard to hold in his fingers, but he managed to write his question on a piece of paper that Dr. Joy had handed to him.
The pink haired woman took his paper and read it, the writing sloppy and difficult to make out.
Where is Pikachu?
"Pikachu?" she asked him and Ash nodded.
"Pikachu is a Pokèmon. They're fictional characters." Dr. Joy said, and utter bewilderment showed on his face.
Ash shook his head. Joy handed the paper back to him and he started to write again.
Where is Misty and Brock?
Dr. Joy took his paper back again and read it over.
"Who are Misty and Brock?" she asked him, and he started to write again.
My friends. I was camping with them on my way to the next Gym.
"Gym?" Joy said, then turned to Delia.
"I have a theory, but let's discuss it in my office." she said, and Mrs. Ketchum nodded, her heart racing in pure happiness.
"So Ash has been living in the Pokèmon world?"
That's right." Dr. Joy said. "I have a daughter who plays the video games. Your son is, in his mind, a trainer. He catches Pokèmon and trains them to battle at places called Pokèmon Gyms where he earn Badges if he can defeat the Gym Leader. He created a safe place to stay while he was in a coma."
Delia was shocked. Ash had always loved playing with his GameBoy, but she didn't realize how much he loved it.
"So he thinks he's travelling with a Brock and Misty?" Delia asked.
"Yes, they are his guides. He needs help and support as he travels, so his mind created two close friends to join him on his journey." Joy replied.
"How do I tell him that they're not real?"
Ash felt himself slowly sink back into his pillow. He missed his friends, and he needed to get his last Gym Badge.
Closing his eyes, he thought about how happy his mom looked. She was in tears.
"Pikachu?"
"Ash?"
"Ash?"
He opened his eyes to see Misty staring at him again.
"Stop sleeping! You need to train for the Gym in Viridian!" she yelled, and he laughed.
"Alright Mist, I'll get up."
His headache was gone for now.
Yes, I was bored again.
If people like it, I'll continue. If not, it makes an interesting one-shot.
Bye for now,
Ty8