Never Stop Believing
By: TheFifthCharmedOne
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Summary: Ash has a conversation with his son about his first day as a Pokemon trainer. Future fic, pokeshipping.
Regular = Present
Bold Italic = Thoughts
-X-X-X-
The vibrant lights of the Viridian City Pokemon Center were as bright as ever, and served as a transition between the past and the present.
"It was a night just like tonight, in fact." Ash recalls, his head titled back as he pulled the events from his long term memory. He could remember every detail, as though it had happened yesterday. The rain had stung his clothes, the chill seeping into his bones. The feeling of fear, then bravery, then shock, all at once...
Just past the windows of the Center, lightning lit up the sky, thunder rampaging through the night. Pokemon scattered, searching for shelter. Mothers and fathers, both human and animal, protected their young from mother nature's wrath.
"What did you do, Dad?" a young boy, ten years old, looked at his father beseechingly. His clothes were dirty and torn, his wild black hair covered with dust. He wore wounds from his own first day of travel, and he looked so much like his father that Ash saw himself in those deep blue eyes. The eyes were the only thing he'd gotten from his mother.
Ash had grown significantly, because he was now thirty years old. His eyes were the same chocolate brown they'd always been, his skin slightly tanned because he was always outside training, and his body was that of an adult man, not a scrawny teenager. He had some stubble on his face as well.
"Well, I stole your mother's bike in an attempt to get ahead of the Spearows and Fearows. She never did let me live that down." He added the last part with a chuckle. "Of course, at the time, we hardly knew each other, or about the adventures that awaited us. All I knew was that I had to save Pikachu."
"So that's what mom means when she says you owe her a new bike."
Ash laughed.
"She's kidding, of course, but it's sort of like an inside joke for us." The thought of his wife brought a smile to the accomplished trainer's face.
"Dad?" Ash looked over at his son, who had tears in his eyes. "Is...is my Charmander going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine, son. Remember, Charmanders are strong and hard to keep down for very long."
"I know, but the flame on his tail was almost out..."
"Jake, listen." Ash got off his chair and kneeled before his son, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Charmander will be okay as long as you believe in him. Never stop believing in him, or in any of your Pokemon. That's the key."
"Is that the reason you became such a good trainer?" Jake asked his father, blue eyes round, all tears gone. Ash laughed.
"Well, I like to think there was some talent involved in there too." Jake smiled.
"Jake Ketchum?" Nurse Joy walked up, looking as young as ever. Ash never ceased to marvel at how every Pokemon center had a Nurse Joy and every city had an Officer Jenny. Both Ketchum boys stood. Jake looked up at his father, scared, but Ash gave him an encouraging smile.
"Yes?" Jake asked timidly. Nurse Joy smiled.
"Your Charmander will be just fine. He just needs to reheat and keep eating and drinking, but he's going to be a-okay." Nurse Joy winked.
The grin that split Jake's face was so huge that it almost looked painful. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Told you." Ash said to his son with a thumb's up. Jake jumped up for a high-five, and Ash returned it. They both laughed.
"Can I see him?" Jake looked at Nurse Joy.
"Of course you can. Follow Chansey to his room."
"Dad? Can you...stay out here while I see him?" Jake was worried his father would want to stay with him. Ash shook his head.
"I don't mind at all. Your mother should be here soon." Jake's eyes widened.
"You called Mom!" It wasn't a question, more of a panicked exclamation. He didn't want to worry her.
"Had too. She's on a business trip and she demanded that I call her if there were any problems. Any at all. So, at the risk of my own death, I called her. She's on her way here as we speak."
"You're pretty smart, Ketchum." A new voice said, and both Ash and Jake turned to see Misty Waterflower-Ketchum, sporting long orange hair and her beautiful blue green eyes. She wore gym shorts and a tank top, with sneakers and a blue jacket.
"I married you, I'd have to be." Ash grinned.
"Flattery gets you nowhere." Misty rolled her eyes. Ash walked over and kissed her. Despite being married to him for over ten years, the redhead still blushed.
"Ash!" Misty said, eyeing the public area and their son with apprehension.
"I had to prove you wrong." Ash said with a wink. He turned to Jake. "Go on, go see Charmander. Mom's not going anywhere."
"I can't even hug my son?" Misty asked, glaring at her husband. Ash backtracked, making excuses. Misty ignored him. Jake smiled and ran over to his mother, who held him close. "You're okay, right?" she asked him, her voice laced with worry. Ash then smiled at his family. Misty made a wonderful mother. He hoped that Jake wouldn't be their only child.
"I'm fine Mom. I'm going to go see Charmander now. Thanks for everything, Dad!" Jake followed Chansey behind closed doors and Ash looked over at Misty.
"You know, you make a really good mom." Ash said, taking his wife's hand.
"Shut up. If that's your way of trying to get another kid out of me..." she trailed off when Ash looked at her with his big brown eyes. She sighed. "Fine, but this time, your carry him or her for nine months."
Ash laughed, and Misty glared, struggling to keep the smile from her face.
"What's so funny?" she demanded. Ash stopped laughing and tucked a finger under her chin, pulling her lips to his.
"You." He said simply.
She glared at him, her blush making her even more gorgeous to Ash.
-X-X-X-
Jake hesitantly approached his Charmander. It was fast asleep, so Jake just sat down beside it. He put his hand over Charmander's paw. He was terrified that his new friend would hate him for what he'd done. He couldn't handle it if his first ever Pokemon hated him.
"Char?" Charmander asked sleepily. After blinking slowly, Charmander's vision came into focus. "Char!" The happy Pokemon threw himself into Jake's arms, nuzzling him.
"Aw, Charmander!" Jake laughed and hugged the Pokemon back. "I'm sorry."
"Char?" Charmander looked at his trainer with sadness in its eyes. Though their reunion had been joyful, Jake now felt so...bad for his Charmander. The poor thing could have died, and it was all his fault! He never should have gone out in the storm!
Tears crept into his eyes again, and he clenched his fists against his shorts.
"I'm so sorry Charmander!" he sobbed into Charmander's side, and the orange fire type tried to console his trainer.
Outside, Misty wanted nothing more than to go talk to her baby boy, but Ash held her back.
"He needs this." Was all the black-haired trainer said. As much as it pained him to hear his son in so much distress, he knew that it would help him in the end.
"Sorry," Jake laughed, embarrassed. He attempted to wipe his tears. Charmander shook its head.
"Char, Charmander, Char." Though Jake didn't entirely understand Poke-speech, he thought he understood what the Pokemon said.
"It is my fault, though!" Jake argued. "I shouldn't have gone out of the cave! I should have waited!"
"Char, Charmander!" Jake guessed the Pokemon was trying to tell him to stop blaming himself.
"I have to blame myself, it was my fault!" Jake began to sob openly now. "Do you hate me?" He held his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face.
"Char, Charmander, Charmander, Char."
Jake looked up, and saw that Charmander's tail flame had returned to normal, and the fire type was sporting a confident smile.
"You're right! This was just one mistake, right?"
"Char!" the Pokmeon agreed. Jake wiped his tears.
"We can do this, we're going to be an awesome team, like Dad and Pikachu!" The trainer and Pokemon high-fived.
Misty and Ash smiled at each other, clasping their hands together.
"He's going to be just fine." Ash assured his wife, who leaned on his shoulder.
"Mhm." she agreed with a serene smile. Ash smiled as well, and pulled her closer.
In the background, Nurse Joy did her job and glanced at the picture on her desk. It was all the Nurse Joys born in this generation, backed by the Joys of the previous generation.
She touched a picture of an older woman and smiled.
"You did well, Joy." she said softly, looking over at Ash. "I hope I did well, too." She looked at Jake and smiled. Chansey noticed nothing of the exchange, just went about her business.
-X-X-X-
"Bye Mom, bye Dad!" Jake waved to his parents the next morning. Charmander walked beside him, preferring not to be in a Pokeball. Pikachu sat on Ash's shoulder, obviously older and a bit more worn out than he used to be, but still able to battle and be a good friend to his trainer.
"Be careful, Jake!" Misty warned him, and Ash chuckled. The two parents waved until their son was out of sight.
"What are you laughing about?" Misty asked.
"You used to tell me to be careful all the time." he remembered those times fondly, especially when Misty would grab on to him...
"That was because you were stupid and reckless. I don't know how you lived without me for those years after I left to take care of the gym." She turned around, arms crossed over her chest, and started walking back toward their house.
"Oh come on, admit that you were worried about me." Ash grinned and ran a bit to catch up with her.
"Never!" she denied, then she turned her head and gave him a coy smile. "You'll have to catch me first." The red-haired beauty took off after that, and Ash chased her all the way home.
Jake and his Charmander continued on their journey, and Jake always remembered his father's words of wisdom.
Never stop believing.
-X-X-X-
A/N: Okay, so I had some serious trouble ending this, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Hope you guys like this one-shot. It felt like I hadn't written a one-shot in AGES. So a plot bunny came and wouldn't leave me be, thus, this story was born.
Anyway, please review. If any of you have read the In My Heart trilogy, then I just want to make it clear that the Jake in this story is NOT the Jake from that one. I just couldn't think of a better name for him. xD Sorry if there was any confusion. :3
Talk to you all next time!
-Charmy