Author's Note: This is my first AAML fan fic, so I'm very excited. There are so many good ones out there, I'm not sure how mine will stack up… but I think I'm willing to give it a shot.
BUT REMEMBER – it's not just an AAMRN. I have a nice little plot line going in my head and I think it's gonna be good… we'll see. I think we'll be seeing a lot of Team Rocket as well.
Disclaimer: Despite my constant attempts to take control of the Pokémon Corporation, I have failed, and own neither the show or its characters. Furthermore, I do not own any of the other shows casually mentioned in my story. (Let's just say this disclaimer counts for the rest of the chapters because I hate writing them every time.)
Anyway, for the format of this story, I'm gonna try something new – which I either made up or inadvertently stole from someone. For the most part, it reads just like your average story, occasionally switching from the twerps to Team Rocket. But every once in a while, I'll focus on one character and give them a chance to ramble about what's going on. It'll be lots of fun.
Well, my turn for talking is over. So without further ado, I present my story.
Oh, by the way, this story takes place while Ash and Company (Minus Misty, who's in Cerulean) are traveling in Hoenn… probably after the Mirage Kingdom episodes, so Misty and May have met before.
Oh, and as for ages? I compiled all available data regarding ages, coupled with the 'one year per region' theory of aging, and decided that these were the most accurate estimates I could find: Max – 8; May – 10; Ash – 13; Misty – 15; Tracy – 18; Brock – 19; Jessie/James – 20;(Get it? Good. Moving on.)
Chapter 1: Denial
It was a beautiful day in the world of pokémon. The beedrills were buzzing, the swellows were singing, and our heroes were at the pokémon center, waiting ever so patiently for their pokémon to heal. (Except for Misty, who's in Cerulean. We still good? Good. Once again, moving on.)
"Where did Ash go?" May asked her brother.
"He's probably looking for food," replied Max, searching the room for a sign of Ash.
"I could use a hamburger myself," said Brock.
Max considered the statement. "Why do they call it a hamburger?" he asked, absentmindedly.
"What?" said Brock, bewildered.
"I mean," Max began, searching for words to help prove his point, "It's not made of ham…"
"Well," said Brock, "I guess…"
"Why don't they just call it a beef-burger?"
Brock thought about this for a moment. "No one would want to eat a beef-burger…"
"Ash would…" said May.
The two boys nodded in agreement.
"Good news everybody!" said Ash loudly, interrupting the pointless conversation that truly has nothing to do with our story. The others turned to see him hurrying towards them. "I just talked to Tracy. He's helping Misty at the gym. He said we could all go up and stay with them for a while."
"That's great!" exclaimed May. "Misty… She's that girl you used to travel with, right?"
Ash nodded.
"I can't wait to see her again," May replied.
"And Tracy?" said Max.
"I traveled with him around the Orange Islands," Ash explained.
"So," said Max, "What gym is this?"
"The Cerulean Gym," Ash told him, "Misty's the gym leader."
"Cerulean…" said Max, "That's a water gym, right?"
Ash nodded.
"That's awesome!" Max exclaimed, "I can't wait to see it."
"Great," said Ash, "We'll head up tomorrow."
--Misty--Misty paced back and forth, shaking her head.
"I don't get it…" she said, baffled, "I just don't get it."
She paused, picking up a book from her desk.
"You are not gonna believe the pile of crap I just read…" she sighed, "These pokeshippers really crack me up. They're completely delusional! Listen to this." She opened the book and read dramatically, "Misty gazed into Ash's eyes, admitting something she's been dying to say since the day she met him. 'I love you, Ash.' 'I love you, too,' he replied. They kissed, and lived happily ever after…" She snapped the book shut.
"Disgusting," said Misty, throwing the book aside, "Simply disgusting. Ash is my friend. How can people possibly think I like him that way? And there are more. Thousands more stories just like this one – about me and Ash! Can you believe it?" She shook her head in disbelief. "You know what I say to those people? They can take their stories and shove them up their---"
"Misty!" I said, interrupting her, "We'd like to keep this story rated 'Teen' if you don't mind."
She stared. "Who are you?"
"Never mind," I said, backing away.
"Anyway," said Misty, resuming her rant, "I don't like Ash. Just because he's a pokémon master, and he's nice, and cute, and any girl would be lucky to have him…" she trailed off, a dreamy look on her face.
"What was I saying?" said Misty, shaking her head, "Oh, right. He's still stupid, and arrogant, and I wouldn't go out with him if he was the last pokémon master on earth!"
"Hey Misty," said Tracey, entering her room, "Ash called. He and his friends are coming to stay for a few days. Great, huh?"
"Ash can rot in hell for all I care!" Misty shouted, "Cuz I don't like him, Tracy, I don't, so get off my case!"
Tracy stared at her. "I'll get a room ready for them."
"Fine!" yelled Misty, crossing her arms.
"Women…" he mumbled, turning and walking away.
"See?" said Misty. "You see? This is what I get every day. 'You like Ash. You should marry him. Why don't you get a cute little house in buffalo to raise black haired, blue eyed, pokémon-obsessed, children!'"
Misty took several calming breaths before continuing.
"Ash is my friend, that's all," said Misty, "So I want you, and all the other pokeshippers in the world to get off my case!"
"You've really lost it haven't you?" said Tracy, from behind her.
Misty jumped. "Don't sneak up on people like that!"
"Sorry," said Tracy, shrugging.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"Um… That I'm… sorry?"
"You think I like Ash, too, don't you?"
"Well…" he said, "I didn't say that."
"But you were thinking it, weren't you?" yelled Misty.
Tracy paused. "Yeah," he said, finally.
"I don't like Ash!" said Misty, hitting him on the head with a mallet.
"Get help…" he muttered, massaging his head.
So, as we see, everything is running smoothly in the saga of our protagonists. With the exception of one little laps of sanity from a certain redhead of the group, it's been good times. But perhaps it's time we turn our attention to a group that has not been as fortunate...
Somewhere in Some Forest Most Likely in Hoenn…The dark of night had fallen fast in the Hoenn region. But deep within the forest, three figures can be seen, illuminated by the glow of a warm fire. Any guesses to whom these figures may be? That's right! Team Rocket. Jessie, James, and Meowth appear, all seated close to the rising flames.
"We have a problem," said Jessie, gazing at the fire. She bowed her head solemnly.
"I know," said James, "Your hair's on fire."
"What?" shrieked Jessie, jumping to her feet, "Get it out, get it out, get it out!"
"Don't panic!" shouted Meowth, his Jersey accent prevalent as always, "Just Drop, Roll and Stop."
"What?" snapped Jessie again, smoke now rising from her slowly deteriorating hair.
"No," said James, "I think it's Roll, Stop, and Drop…"
"Well," said Meowth, "Maybe it's Stop, Roll, and Drop."
Jessie whimpered. "One of you figure it out fast!" she screamed.
"Hm…" said James, "I'll check." He walked over to their Meowth-shaped hot air balloon and rummaged through their things. "Here it is," he said, pulling a small book out of the mess. The words What to Do When You Catch Stuff On Fire were written across the front.
"Hey!" said Meowth, "That's a nice little book. When did we get that?"
"I'm sure it's a wonderful book!" Jessie yelled, "But one of you better get the fire off my head or I'll kill you both."
"Right," said James, opening the book and scanning the index. "Ants, apples, Arabian monkeys…"
"Can we hurry this up?" Jessie yelled.
"Right," said James, turning a few pages, "Long index… pants, parchment, peas… People! Got it! People! Page 62."
"Oh!" screamed Jessie, her voice soaked in sarcasm, "I'm so glad I know what page it's on!"
"You are so impatient…" said James, shaking his head.
"Gimme dat!" said Meowth, snatching the book and turning to the appropriate page.
"Stop!" Meowth yelled. Jessie froze.
"Drop!" Meowth shouted again. Jessie obliged.
"And… roll!" Meowth finished triumphantly.
"We were close…" said James, as the two watched Jessie roll around on the ground.
Finally Jessie stood up, most of her hair cindered away, presumably in the ashes around the ground. Her remaining hair was completely disheveled, and it looked as though there wasn't a prayer in the world that it would be back to its normal, shiny, inflexible self anytime soon.
"So," said Jessie, tears filling in her eyes, "How does it look?"
James and Meowth stared at her a few moments.
"Good," said James, offhandedly, "Real good."
"Yeah," said Meowth, "So… uh… what were you sayin' before?"
"Oh, right," said Jessie. She resumed her serious stance by the fire. "We have a problem."
"What's that?" asked James, as he and Meowth joined her.
Jessie shook her head. "We've been chasing the twerps for I don't even know how long, and we haven't even come close to giving Pikachu to the boss… if we keep going like this, we'll be fired."
"You're right," said Meowth, "We just can't get dat darn Pikachu."
"Let's review," said James, "Every episode… we plot, steal Pikachu, the twerps come and get him back, and we end up blasting off… again…"
"Oh, God," said Jessie, putting her face in her hands, "It's like a never ending Road Runner cartoon! Next thing you know, we'll be sending in for kegs of dynamite and invisible paint from the ACME company!"
James stared at her. "Jessie, what are you talking about?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" said Jessie, angrily.
"Dere's only one thing to do," said Meowth, "We have to quit followin' the twoips!"
Jessie and James stared at him, open-mouthed.
Jessie was the first to speak. "You don't mean---"
Meowth nodded.
"But the show!" said Jessie, "It'd go down the tube without us!"
"Who cares?" said Meowth, "We never…" his voice trailed off, and he stood and scanned the trees around him.
"What's the matter?" said James, quickly.
"I thought I heard somethin," said Meowth, still squinting at the surrounding trees.
A loud shuffling came from the shrubs behind them, and this time, Jessie and James heard it, too.
"Who's there?" said Jessie loudly.
There was no response.
James shrugged. "Probably just a pokémon… Let's get to sleep…"
The other two agreed. Gathering their sleeping bags, they all chose a spot around the fire and were asleep within minutes. Unbeknownst to them, there were two figures very close to them, indeed.
The newcomers waited until each of the members of Team Rocket were safely asleep before they emerged, dressed in black and whispering to each other.
"What if we wake them?" croaked the man, as both figures began to tie rope around their victims.
"We won't," said the other, this time, a woman's voice. "Idiots…" she muttered, "They heard us coming and they still didn't suspect a thing…"
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Okay, I know that not all that much happened in this chapter... But please don't let that turn you away. I intend to make the future chapters a little more active, and we will see our share of Ash and Misty. This is just kind of an introduction, to see if anyone is interested in the idea. It kind of captures the essence of the piece…
Now, please, please, please take the time to review. It's my first AAML, like I said, so I could use the feedback. Plus, I want to know if I should really continue it. So do me a favor – and write a review. It takes like, what, 10 seconds? I LOVE criticism, just keep it constructive. Oh, and honestly, the more reviews I get, the faster I update, so please, review!
Thanks for reading!