irasshaimase!!!!!!!! Welcome to my... WORLD!!!

Hey, guys! So sorry for the horrible formatting on this one... i was on vacation without a computer or internet access... so i had to resort to using my iphone during my writer's high... Anyways, prompt on this one is that its about 5 years after the start of Pokemon.. so probably between GSC and RSE as far as generations go... but it doesnt matter because actual pokemon really only have a small role in this world of mine..

No real "action" in this first chapter because im trying to make it as "realistic" as possible (so no swooning guys who say 'baby' and 'sweetheart' after every word even though their real characters would rather punch each other in the face), but dont skip it just for that fact, ill get to the good stuff later... and only if this one gets good reviews...
Dont be afraid to leave criticism, i'm all for a little help, just don't be an ass about it, okay? other than that i think we'll get along just fine.

So sit back, read, and enjoy!

I remember that day very clearly, the day my world started spinning
and stopped making sense. It was a cloudy day; the sun hadn't shown
itself to Pallet Town for at least a week at that point. It was mid-
April, and our small town definitely did the month justice. The roses
and lilies bloomed nicely, with patches of lavender here and there to
complement. And the acacia flower was most prominent outside our small
house, one of the reasons why it was my favorite. The way the bright
red and calm yellow blended always made me tingle a bit inside. In a
metaphoric sense, it almost reminded me of my relationship with
Gary... Anyways, it had been a little cloudy, so the normally vibrant
color of our little town was dimmed a bit, which, I suppose is
appropriate since the name Pallet is in honor of our purity. "Pure as
a pallet, ready to take on the colors of the world" or so some of the
older people said, not that it was our official motto or anything...
The clouds made it very cold, and when the weather gets cold, the
people often react by calling over their friends to share stories,
have a cup of tea, etcetera. The point is that it brings people
together, which it did, for me and someone very special.

-

Mom and I had been invited to go over to Professor Oak's lab that
day... and that was back when the relationship between Gary and me
was... less than smooth, we'll say.
My mom forced me to dress nicely for the occasion, so my trademark
shirt and black undershirt wasn't going to cut it that day. Instead, I
wore a white formal shirt with black buttons and black slacks, the
occasion also meant that I had to spare my favorite hat another use,
which was fine with me, since it had been beginning to fade at the
time. My mom combed my hair after a few of my own failed attempts and
then reminded me that a 16 year old shouldn't need his mom to do
something as simple as combing his own hair...

-

I walked into the lab behind my mom. My mom was greeted by neighbors
and friends, while I managed to slip away to the ranch portion of the
lab where the Pokémon were held. I went to the electric Pokémon area
first, I had dropped Pikachu off a couple of weeks ago to teach a
littler of Pichu how to, you know, not hurt themselves...as much. My
old friend was napping in one of the flower beds near the entrance.
"Psst, Pikachu. How've you been, buddy?" He opened his eyes and shook
off his sleep, then jumped into my arms. "Hey buddy, how've you been?"
"Pikaa!" he said, rubbing his cheeks into my chest.
The lights turned on behind Ash. "I thought I smelled something in
here. If it isn't Ashy-boy!"
I squinted in the bright lights, "What do you want, Gary? I'm just
visiting Pikachu, or is that not okay with you?"
"What? Can't the little runt survive on his own, or does he need you
constantly by his side to hold his hand?" Gary said coolly. "Are all of
your Pokémon this weak?"
"Pika!!" Pikachu leapt from my arms and started discharging electricity
from his pouches.
"Hey! Don't talk about Pikachu like that!" I yelled. My hands were
squeezed tightly into fists.
"Why not? It's not like the squeaky thing can survive without you
beside It." he said, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"I told you not to talk about Pikachu like that! Pikachu, Thundershock
him! ...Pikachu?"
Pikachu was shaking; he turned around, showing his ready black eyes.
"Ch-Chuu~ Pa-Pika chuu~" he whined, and then for some reason, he ran
off.
"Pikachu!! Come back, Pikachu!!" I took a step forward, but he was
already out of sight. I already knew that I wouldn't find him in the
lab, Professor Oak had made a special door just for Pikachu so he
could come and go as he pleased.
"Man," Gary started, completely nonchalant, "He's got some problems.
It didn't help that you abandoned him out here."
"A-abandoned him?" and then I realized something, "Did you say
something to Pikachu?"
"Nothing he didn't already know," he smirked.
I felt so angry at Gary then, just the thought that he did so much
damage to my relationship with Pikachu in such a short amount of
time...I couldn't control myself. I threw a punch at his face, but he
dodged it lazily. I followed by throwing my whole body at him.
Tackling him worked, I got him on the floor and then pinned him
between my legs. I clawed my fingers into his shoulders while
straddling his lower abdomen; I shook him up and down violently. "What
the he'll did you do? You bastard!"
For the first time since I had known him, Gary actually looked scared.
Looking back, I think it might have had something to do with the fact
that that had been the first time I had ever come out on top, pun
intended. But, honestly, I had never beat Gary at anything before
that, I'm sure he was nervous. "What did you say?"
"I-I..." he stammered.
I looked into his eyes and saw that genuine fear, which helped me come
to, I took a deep breath and released my grip on his shoulders,
resting them on his chest instead. "Never mind," I said, and then I stood
up and walked out of the back door of the laboratory. I could still
feel his fear-filled eyes on my back even before I was well near the
door.
I started toward Viridian forest; I knew that was the only place that
Pikachu knew in the area. It had started raining since my mom and I
had arrived. I only got about half a mile up the road before I felt a
hand on my shoulder. I turned around; it was Gary. I opened my mouth
to tell him off, but he simply lifted up a small, black umbrella with
a face that sort of suggested a peace offering.
"Thought you might need this," he said simply, he seemed to have
brushed off our previous engagement pretty easily. I sighed and
thanked him with a half nod.
He opened the umbrella and handed it to me. "Don't think this gets you
off the hook," I told him, "I'm still pissed at you."
"Is that what you call that pathetic little temper tantrum?" I stopped
and opened my mouth again, this time to yell at him, but he cut me
off, "It's okay though, I came to make up for it, I'm gonna help you
find your little mouse. No one knows these forests better than me."
Even after all of that, he was still on such a high horse, it almost
made me sick.
"I didn't ask for your help, Gary! And I don't need it either, so if
you're just going to be a pain in the ass, you can just take the
umbrella back and I'll go alone."
"Nope, not an option. I said I was goin to help you, and no matter how
much you hate that...or me, I keep to my word. So let's go." He
grabbed the umbrella out of my hand and continued down the path I had
been walking before. I scoffed and followed behind him in the rain.
After only a few more feet, he stopped to wait for me. When I caught
up, he gave a small smile and shared the umbrella with me. As we
walked after that, he did his best to keep the dryness even between
us. A few times, I noticed that I would get a bit more shade than he,
but it didn't seem to bother him, and it wasn't like I wanted to be in
the rain, so I didn't bring it up. We passed right through Viridian
city and arrived at the mouth of the forest after about 20 minutes. I
was a bit relieved when the canopy of trees made the umbrella
obsolete: less awkward closeness.
"You sure your toy came through here?"
"Shut up, Gary! And where do you get off making fun of Pikachu so much
anyways! What did it ever do to you?" I was pretty fed up with the
constant put downs, especially since they were about my best friend,
and had been continuous since we were ten.
"Nothing, really," he muttered, and then started into to woods, "maybe
I'm just a little..." and then what sounded like "jealous," but I
couldn't be sure, his words were muffled by the forest.
Inside the Viridian was good because it meant we wouldn't need the
umbrella, but it also meant that the moonlight that had been
illuminating our path before was then nowhere to be found, and the
darkness was pretty absolute where we were - about halfway into the
forest.
"You wouldn't have happened to have brought a flashlight, would you?"
"Nope, sorry," he shrugged, "it didn't even occur to me at the time."
"Great, so now we're out here with no light and no clue where to go."
"Like I said, sorry Ashy-boy, I didn't think that far ahead, I just
knew you were going to need help and that it was raining." He then
started rummaging around for some reason.
"Yeah, well..." I felt something on my hand; it took me a second to
realize that it was Gary's hand due to the merciless darkness. "What
are you...?"
"Here," he said simply, and then I felt something other than his hand
pull tight around mine, "hold on to that, okay, I got the other end.
Just in case, okay? Can't have you wandering off all over the forest,
right? This is just so we don't get separated." For a few seconds
neither of us said anything, but I guess he was waiting for a response
because he asked, "That okay with you?"
"No, I mean, yeah, it's fine. It's just...what am I holding onto
exactly?"
"My belt." he said in a tone that almost -ALMOST- sounded cute, like
it was such an obvious solution in this type of situation. I rolled my
eyes, mostly to myself due to the obvious lack of light for Gary to be
able to see me...
We spent a good hour lookin for and calling to Pikachu before it
seemed hopeless - at least until daylight.
"Look, Ash, I know you don't want to give up, but for now at least, I
think we should set up some kind of camp for the night...or find
somewhere, actually, unless you brought camping stuff?" rhetorical
question.
"I know, I was thinking the same thing... Pikachu can take care of
himself, I'm sure of that much."
"Great!" he said, and even in the dark I could see his smirk, I'd
known him that long. "Well, I think our best option is to just find a
small area between two trees or something, something flat, obviously."
"Tch, obviously..." I grumbled.
"Just feel around until you find somewhere like that." I didn't
normally take Gary's orders, but it was late, and I was beat. I didn't
have enough energy to argue, so I started waving my free hand around
mindlessly, making sure to hold on to Gary's belt. My hand bumped
something, so I held on to it. I tried to feel it to get some sort of
idea as to what I was touching.
"Err, Ashy-boy, you mind not pushing my pants down further than they
already are?"
"Ahh, what the hell, Gary!" I stepped back out of surprise.
"Hey, you're the one feelin' me up!"
"I THOUGHT you were in front of me, you should've told me you let go of
the belt!"
"Well I'm sorry if I dint send out a memo every time I lift a finger!"
"Ughh, just shut up, Gary."
"Whatever," he replied, and then I heard a soft thud from the floor,
"this'll be good enough," he said referring to the place they were
supposed to sleep that night. "Try not to feel me up while you're
lying down, 'ey Ashy-boy?"
"Shuddup." I mumbled, stomping with my foot before lying down - I
wanted to make sure Gary wasn't there, but at the same time wouldn't
have minded stepping on him once. I closed my eyes after getting
comfortable enough on a tuft of grass. I was about to fall asleep when
I felt something - Gary's hand - tap me on my chest. He seemed to be
looking for something, and tapping my chest gave him an idea as to
where it was. His Han jumped from my chest to the top of my head where
he messed up my mother's masterpiece hairstyle.
He petted me pretty gently before whispering, "Don't worry Ash, we'll
find Pikachu... Goodnight, buddy."
I pretended to be asleep and not hear him, I was tired after all.
Though I can't blame my actions entirely on my drowsiness, I felt
pretty awkward too. After Gary retracted his hand, I closed my eyes
again and drifted off.

Hope you enjoyed visiting my world, leave me a message and come back to visit soon!