Foolish Hero

by Dannondorf

Oneshot. I wrote this about a year ago and completely forgot about it. I found it the other day and decided to post it. AAML.

Foolish Hero

By Dannondorf

"Blah" is talking. 'Blah' is thinking. The symbol 1111111111111111 means a transition in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Pokemon. This story is strictly for entertainment purposes and not for profit.

Mentions: All the people who have ever reviewed a story of mine get a mention. Achitka, Rexnos, Freedom's Falchion, electropro, Proponent of EVO, Kusabi Makabe, Silvanus I, Greki, Vaati the Wind Sorcerer, crystalheart81, Red Mage Moogle, Vladimir the Hamster, lordscarf, ootfan1234, renzokuken-sama, and DragonRaiderX9, you guys rock. But I'm sure you already knew that. ;p I really appreciate you telling me how you feel about my work.

Author's Notes: I was looking through some old notebooks the other day, and I found this story I wrote a long time ago and forgot about. I edited it a bit and decided to post it. It's over a year old, so feel free to flame. It won't bother me. Enjoy, and leave a review if it strikes your fancy.

Summary: I've always wished the game boy game and the TV show had more in common, particularly in the area of heroics. In Blue/Red/Yellow/Gold/Silver/Crystal, the main character takes on all of Team Rocket by himself over and over again, but we don't get that kind of action in the anime. This story was my attempt at trying to remedy this problem. I never watched the TV show after the Johto season, so please overlook any inaccuracies you see.

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A woman walked through the city, surveying the damage. The Rockets had definitely left their mark. She wondered what they had come for, just as she did a few days ago while she was hiding from them. Everywhere she looked, people were recovering from the events of their stay. Cleaning up broken glass, rebuilding walls and houses, searching for clues…everyone was doing something. The only reason she wasn't busy at the moment was because her family asked her to pick up a newspaper and find out what the police were doing about the situation.

At length she came to a news stand. It seemed even the man who normally stood behind it and took care of customers was busy, for there was no one to accept pay for the print. Not that she had a problem with that. She picked out an issue of the city's leading newspaper, the Saffron Informer, and began the walk home, reading as she went along. She read the largest article, the one on the front page titled "City Siege Stopped."

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"City Siege Stopped"

For citizens of Saffron, the past two days have been filled with pain, confusion, and fear. None knew what Team Rocket wanted, but all were forced to surrender their homes and possessions when thousands of the criminals suddenly stormed the town and took over on Tuesday. The city's police force was divided and easily conquered in the mayhem that struck without warning, and the pokemon thieves took control of the city, using the Silph Company office building as their stronghold.

It was only a matter of time until the neighboring cities of Kanto learned of our fair city's capture. Police forces from neighboring Cerulean, Lavender, Celadon, and Vermillion tried to break the siege, but scores of Rockets at Saffron's borders held them at bay. By Wednesday, the situation looked so hopeless that the Elite Four in Indigo Plateau were called down to help.

But it seems they were not needed. On Wednesday afternoon at the height of the struggle, before the Pokemon Masters arrived, the Rockets began fleeing the city. Once the Saffron police regrouped and restored order, Officer Jenny led an investigation to find the cause of the gang's sudden departure. Had they fled in fear of the Elite Four and the growing rebellion among Saffron's citizens? Had they left because they had accomplished their mission? The results of the investigation were surprising, to say the least.

On Wednesday morning, a young man who wasn't garbed in Rocket uniform was seen entering the Silph building alone. At the time, he was assumed to be another rocket, but the results of Officer Jenny's investigation indicate otherwise. After interviewing the Silph employees who were stuck in their workplace for those two horrible days, we now know that this young man is responsible for making the Rockets leave, as ridiculous as that sounds. In a bold and reckless move, he attacked the Silph Company, the very heart of the Rocket stronghold. In a turn of events which the kidnapped Silph employees described as "the most awe-inspiring display of courage" they had ever seen, the young man stormed each floor of the eleven-story building and, along with his pokemon, defeated every Rocket in the area. When he reached the top floor, the president's office, he came face-to-face with none other than the boss of Team Rocket himself.

Boss Rocket was holding Silph President Dan Mariko and his wife hostage. "On Tuesday my wife and I were filing reports when we heard a lot of commotion from the lower floors," says Mariko. "Suddenly a large man stepped out of the elevator and approached us. He asked if I was the Silph President. The moment I nodded, he backhanded me and managed to tie up Maria and me. I was happy to see he wouldn't harm her, but he struck me over and over, demanding I give him a top secret item I've been working on. A long time passed. He calmly told me he would wait as long as it took. I was at the breaking point when a young man who wasn't in a Team Rocket uniform stepped out of the elevator. Boss Rocket voiced his surprise in seeing someone make it to him. A few nasty comments were exchanged, and the two had a pokemon battle. The match was incredibly close, but when the newcomer won, Boss Rocket fled and used a two-way radio to order his subordinates to do the same. The young man untied us, made sure we were all right, and told us help would be on the way soon. After that, he left as well."

When asked for the identity of his savior, Mariko flatly refused to give details. "The boy made me promise not to reveal his name or appearance to anyone. After all, it wouldn't do to have Team Rocket find his name in the paper and hunt him down, now would it?"

Of course, others were willing to divulge details about their hero. The Silph employees who were in the building at the time describe him as five feet and ten inches tall and skinny, but well-toned. Very tan with black spiky hair and chocolate brown eyes that "sparkled with kindness and determination." He wore a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His Pokemon team consisted of a Muk, a Charizard, a Venusaur, an Espeon, a Blastoise, and a Pikachu.

It should be known that the stranger's pokemon were not the only ones who fought; he battled alongside them, punching out Rockets while his team dealt with the other pokemon.

Unfortunately, Mariko was not able to identify the apparent leader of Team Rocket. "I never did get a name from him. It's a shame the Rockets destroyed Silph's surveillance system when they took over; having some actual footage would have made it a lot easier to identify him." Instead, Kanto police have had to make to with Mariko's description. "He was very tall, about 6'3'', and very muscular. His red suit jacket hid his muscles, but it couldn't hide how wide his frame was. His voice was dark and deep. He had thinning black hair and black eyes and appeared to be somewhere in his forties. The scariest part about him was his facial expression; he was completely calm, confident, and malicious in his mannerisms. Of course, that was only until he was forced to retreat."

Officer Jenny says, "We WILL find those responsible for this mess and punish them. Kanto police have arrested several Rockets and Silph employees who assisted in the takeover, but the majority of them escaped in the pandemonium caused by the sudden order to flee from their boss. Those arrested are currently being questioned as to Boss Rocket's identity and whereabouts. We will keep you updated as new information is released."

Finding Boss Rocket is a major priority, but right now Saffron's citizens are focusing on undoing the damage that was done. Many homes were ruined, and many valuable items were stolen. Luckily, when the rockets left in a hurry, they left behind all the items that were too big to carry. Unfortunately, though, many people's wallets, jewelry, and poke balls with pokemon in them escaped. This has only made the people and the police more determined to track the criminals down.

The Elite Four were extremely surprised when they arrived only to find out the action was over. "I wish I had gotten the chance to meet Saffron's hero and thank him personally," said Elite Four Leader Lance, when he arrived at the scene half a day after the issue was resolved. "Who knows what could have happened had he not intervened. Of course, I also wouldn't have minded having a pokemon battle with him…"

Elite Four Bruno was equally impressed after hearing that the trainer had fought alongside his pokemon. "It is a great man who trains and disciplines not just his pokemon, but himself as well. I have incredible respect for people like that, and I'm sure his pokemon admire him for it."

Elite Four Agatha laughed when she heard that Team Rocket had been thwarted by just one person. "It's good to see there are young brave people willing to step up and deal justice when the time comes. We could all learn a lesson from him, and we should as well; if Team Rocket tries something like this again, they will have learned from this mistake, and it will take more than just one foolhardy top-notch trainer to ward them off."

Although Team Rocket has left for now, Agatha raises an excellent point: Team Rocket will likely strengthen themselves after this failure. Saffron's police are also working on becoming stronger. "We knew Team Rocket was dangerous, but we never imagined them capable of capturing an entire city, especially one the size of Saffron," Officer Jenny explains. "We'll all have to work harder to ensure the future safety of not only Saffron, but everyone in Kanto."

People all over Kanto are currently working around the clock to find Team Rocket's boss and base of operations. It is a battle that this city is determined to win.

Saffron City thanks the individual who single-handedly defeated Team Rocket. We will never forget what he did for us.

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The woman blinked. She didn't quite know what to think about that article. Was it supposed to be a joke? Was all of Team Rocket really thwarted by just one person?

Well, the Saffron Informer was almost always accurate, so she decided to trust it, though she took it with a grain of salt. She flipped the page and examined the rest of the articles.

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"Calling All Pokemon Trainers!"

Frustrated with the "ineptitude" the police demonstrated during the siege on Saffron, citizens have started their own secondary police force made up of ordinary citizens, an organized group of minutemen who will remain vigilant and support the police in extreme situations. Influenced by the young man who rescued the city, the group is made almost entirely of pokemon trainers. They will meet once every week to train their pokemon and themselves and to stay updated on current happenings. The group is requesting that all pokemon trainers join their cause. They have also expressed their wish for Saffron's hero to reveal himself so they can make him leader of … (Continued on Page 4)

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"Citizens Blame Silph"

Protests outside the Silph Company building began shortly after Silph President Dan Mariko revealed that the Rockets apparently took over Saffron because they were after a secret project his company was working on. Outraged citizens have been shouting for Silph to quit all secret developments immediately so that this situation doesn't happen again. Mariko refused, sparking anger and unrest among the people who are now marching outside the Silph building, apparently creating what is the second "siege" the building has faced in the past week. Some people are even demanding that the company pay restitutions to the city and to the man who rescued it for all the trouble … (Continued on Page 5)

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The woman folded the paper over. That was enough reading for now. It was already more information than she knew how to handle. She was silent the rest of the walk home.

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The past few months were busy for Ash Ketchum. After doing well in (but not winning) the Hoenn Pokemon League, he and Brock parted ways with May and Max. They traveled back to Kanto so Ash could compete in its league again. After Ash beat Brock's father Flint in Pewter City for the Boulderbadge, Brock left Ash to spend some time with his family for a month. Thus Ash journeyed alone to Cerulean. He beat Misty for the Cascadebade and asked her to join him in his travels, but she sadly declined, explaining that she had to watch the gym until her sisters came back from their cruise in a month. Slightly disheartened, he went to Saffron and earned his Marshbadge. When the month was up, he happily walked back to Cerulean, where both Brock and Misty rejoined him, and now the group was headed to Celadon City.

Ash challenged everyone he met along the route to Celadon to a pokemon battle, and he actually won every match. He wasn't anywhere near the best yet, but he had reached the point where no novice could hope to beat him. Unfortunately, he had to stop battling eventually because his pokemon were tired. "Hey, Brock, is there a Pokemon Center near here?" He asked. "Pikachu and the others need to rest up so they can kick butt against Erika tomorrow!" Though tired, Pikachu managed an enthusiastic "Pika!"

"Well, there wasn't one around here last time we last traveled through Kanto together, but according to this map, one's been built since then."

Ash, in typical overeager fashion, shouted "Great! Let's go!"

"This way." Brock led them off of the main trail into the wilderness. Their path swerved around trees, ducked under low branches, and went through bushes and thorns. But despite all the trouble they went through, an hour later they still couldn't find the Pokemon Center. Brock admitted that he had probably done something wrong, so, rather than wandering around lost like they usually did, the trio backtracked until they reached the spot on the path where they had been two hours ago.

Misty rubbed a spot on her leg that was cut up from thorns. "We just wasted two hours," she moaned.

"Now how are we going to get to a pokemon center before it gets dark?" Ash complained.

"Heh heh…sorry, guys."

In mid-sulk, Misty saw a figure further up the path coming their way. Her mood brightened immediately. "Hey, there's someone! Let's ask for directions." The group walked up to the figure. "Excuse me, but my friends and I are lost. Could you tell us how to get to the closest pokemon center?"

The girl opened her mouth to reply to Misty, but when she laid eyes on Ash, she looked at him for a few seconds. Then her jaw dropped and she gasped. "Oh my gosh, it's you!" She smiled and her eyes started sparkling.

"Huh?" The three travelers stared at her, puzzled, (Misty was also annoyed at the way she was eyeing Ash) until something clicked in Ash's head, and he smiled broadly. "Hi, Stacy!"

Her eyes started sparkling even more. "I can't believe you remember me!"

Ash scratched the back of his head, still smiling, but becoming nervous from the way she was looking at him. "Well, not many people have had to be in the situation you were in. Plus, you were the only one there who was my age."

She nodded, and then to everyone's surprise, she started crying. Ash's smile faltered, and he approached her. "Stacy, what's wrong?"

She sniffed, slightly embarrassed from crying in front of others. "It's just…you saved me…you saved everyone, and I don't even know your name. Why did you leave? Why didn't you stay in Saffron?"

"Stacy…I'm sorry I upset you, but I didn't want to be identified. I didn't want to endanger my friends and family."

"I know, but…I still wish you had stuck around for a while. No one got the chance to thank you like you should be thanked."

"That's not true. Mister Mariko's thanks was more than enough."

"Could I at least get your name?"

"Sure. I'm Ash Ketchum, from the town of Pallet." He reached out to shake her hand, but instead she closed the distance between them, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him on the cheek. He turned a bright red.

"I will never, ever, forget you, Ash, and if you'll let me, I'd like to at least give you my thanks, since you won't let anyone else give you theirs." She closed her eyes and inched her face toward his. She had to stand on her tip-toes since he was a bit taller than she was. Just before their lips met, she parted hers slightly so that she could use them to ease his apart.

Misty and Brock both looked on wide-eyed. Then Misty scowled to herself and Brock hung his head in a depressed fashion at the realization that Ash had way better luck with women than he did. 'I mean, really, I've been trying to get a kiss for years, and I get nothing. He doesn't even try, and he gets one. It's not fair!'

Brock was ready to curl up in a ball and cry. Misty, on the other hand, was furious. Furious at Stacy for swooning over Ash and being so flirtatious, furious at Ash for not stopping it, and furious at not knowing what they were talking about. She watched as Stacy deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into him. Misty seemed ready to rip her head off until Stacy suddenly pulled away.

"W-w-what was that?" Ash stammered, trying and failing to hide his blush with his hat.

"A th-thank-you kiss," she returned. Her face was bright red, and she was looking pretty shy about what she had done. "I'm going back to Saffron now. Please come visit me some time. I live two houses down from the Silph building."

He managed to fight his discomfort and give her a small smile. "I will."

"Thank you," she whispered. Too embarrassed to stay any longer, she turned around and ran. He watched her go, and when she disappeared from view, he stared at the handkerchief in his hand, perplexed.

Finally, the silence was broken by Misty. She walked up to Ash and yelled in his face. "Ash Ketchum, what was that all about?! Who was that girl?!"

Brock stopped hanging his head and became irate as well. The phrase, 'It's not fair!' rang through his mind over and over. He stomped over to Ash. "Yeah! What were you two talking about?! How did you become so popular all of the sudden?!"

All three of them were red in the face: Brock and Misty from rage, and Ash from humiliation. He had never been so shocked and confused. First, a girl he had only seen once in his life had just kissed him and left. Next, Misty got mad at him for no reason, although that part was pretty normal to him. The weirdest part was that Brock had also blown up; Brock never acted like that. The closest he ever came was crossing his arms and giving people a disapproving glance. Seeing Brock's reaction confused him greatly. Confusion gave to fear, and he shrank away from his two yelling companions.

Normally by this point, Misty would have realized how ridiculous she sounded getting so worked up over something Ash probably didn't understand, but seeing Brock erupt alongside her convinced her she was in the right this time. "You owe us an explanation!" She cried. Ash didn't answer.

Brock tried to keep his fuming facial expression, but found he couldn't; anger just wasn't a part of him. He reverted back to being depressed. "How were you able to get a kiss from her?" he whimpered. "How come I try to woo women all the time and end up with nothing when you're getting attention from girls who don't even know you?"

Ash started to feel more relaxed after Brock sobered. "All right, guys, calm down. I'll tell you what happened." Misty crossed her arms and gave him a look that clearly said, 'Lie to me and I'll kill you.' Brock pulled a small notebook and pen from his pocket and eagerly waited for Ash's instructions on how to meet women. "You probably won't believe me, but…you remember that article in the Kanto newspapers about the guy who stormed the Silph building when Team Rocket took over Saffron?" He let the question hang. Misty's and Brock's eyes widened.

"You mean," Misty asked uncertainly, "that was you?" She was flabbergasted. She didn't know whether to praise him for his courage or yell at him for being stupid enough to try taking on Team Rocket by himself.

Ash gave her a lopsided grin. "Yep! Pikachu and the others were amazing! You should have seen them!" Pikachu stood atop Ash's head and flashed a peace sign, smiling proudly. Ash gave a cute grin, laughed, and hugged Pikachu, who lovingly returned the embrace. Misty momentarily forgot her anger and smiled warmly at the sight. That is, until Brock piped in.

"Enough of that!" Brock yelled, frustrated. "Tell me how you won that young lady's affection! I must know!"

And just like that, her rage and jealousy returned.

Ash blinked. "You mean Stacy? Well, I didn't really do anything…I saw a pair of Rocket grunts kidnap her and take her into the Silph building, and I went after her."

Misty sent him a questioning look. "Is that the whole reason you went into the building?"

"Well, kind of. I had just gotten into the city when Team Rocket started taking over. I was trying to think of what I should do when I saw her get kidnapped. I decided I had to try to help her, and once I was inside I figured, 'hey, if I distract Team Rocket's main forces in the Silph building for a while, it may give Saffron's police enough time to regroup and get back control.'"

Misty threw her arms up in the air. "You're an idiot, Ash! Did you ever think about what would have happened had you been caught?"

Now Ash was mad as well, and the situation became a typical Ash and Misty argument. "Yes, I did! And I also thought about what would happen to Stacy if no one did anything to help her!"

"You could have just told the police or something!"

"Didn't you read the paper? The Rockets separated and captured them all! And even if they hadn't, the police would've had their hands full as it was!"

"Do you have any idea how your mom would feel you had been hurt or killed?! Do you have any idea how—" she had to stop herself from saying 'how I would feel,' "—how Brock and I and all your friends would feel?!"

"I can take care of myself!"

"Oh, I'm sure you can, Mr. Pokemon Master! With the way you rush into things and how dense you are, you would have killed yourself ten times over by now if it weren't for Brock and me!"

"I would not have! And besides, I have the best pokemon in the world at my side! If I were out on my own and couldn't take care of myself, they would help me out! Unlike some friends of mine who decide they just want to yell at me all the time!" Pikachu was with Ash on this one. She let out a fierce 'Pika!' and glared at Misty. She really liked Misty, but she also supported Ash's decision; she thought it was incredibly brave of him to do what he did in Saffron, and she didn't appreciate anyone badmouthing her 'Pikapi' for it.

"Well maybe if you weren't so stupid and listened to other people's advice every once in a while, I wouldn't have to yell at you so much!"

Brock had had just about enough. He was really hoping for some tips from Ash, but right when he thought he was going to get some good information, an argument had popped up. That irritated him to no end, for there was nothing worse to him than a tease. He stepped between the quarreling pair and reprimanded them. "Stop it, you two. Misty, Ash was just trying to help someone, and Ash, Misty is just mad because we care about you." Misty and Ash humphed and turned away from each other. 'Great,' Brock thought. 'Now on top of not getting any good information, I'm going to have to talk some sense into these two.'

Pikachu stood next to Ash with her back turned to Misty just like her trainer. She nuzzled his leg. He cheered up a bit and bent down to scratch her. "Thanks buddy," he said softly.

Brock knew they weren't about to apologize to each other any time soon, so he decided that they should just get to the pokemon center as soon as possible and go to sleep. Then he remembered to his horror that Stacy had never actually given them directions there. 'Peachy. Well I don't feel like stumbling around in the dark for the pokemon center while those two bite each other's heads off.' "All right guys," he announced, "since we never actually got directions, let's just camp out tonight. It's getting late."

Ash and Misty nodded, still refusing to look at each other. Brock shook his head dismally.

Soon their sleeping bags were out and they were ready to retire. Ash and Misty's sleeping bags were right next to each other, as always, but they still had their backs turned to each other.

Brock ignored them and lay in his own sleeping bag. Night fell on them, but as the hours went by, he couldn't get to sleep. He was too worked up over not getting any closer to understanding the female mind. 'It figures,' he thought bitterly. 'They're the ones fighting, and I'm the one losing sleep over it. I hate it when they do this. And since no one else is around, I'm the one who's going to have to stop them from killing each other.'

Just then he heard someone shifting in a sleeping bag. Brock froze and feigned sleep. Whoever it was untangled him-or-herself from the bag and stealthily crept away. 'Those footsteps are too light to be Ash's. It must be Misty.'

He waited until he figured she was far enough away to make it safe to look, and then he twisted in his bag quietly to survey the scene. Sure enough, Ash was asleep in his bag while Misty's was unoccupied, and Misty was walking away, already almost too far gone for Brock to see in the dim starlight. He hesitated, trying to reach a decision. 'Well, I'm going to have to talk to them individually sooner or later, so I might as well get her part out of the way while Ash is asleep.'

Taking one last moment to relish the comfort of his sleeping bag, he took a deep breath before rising and following her, being extra quiet to prevent waking Ash and alerting Misty to his presence. He immediately regretted getting up, for standing only made him more aware of how tired he was. Luckily, his target didn't venture far before she stopped and sat down on a log. 'I guess she wanted to think somewhere without me or Ash around. She's going to hate me for interrupting, but I have to talk to her.' "Misty?"

"Brock?" She spun around, obviously not having expected anyone. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you."

"Please go. I just want to sit here and think for a while."

"Sorry, but we have to talk." She glared at him, but he didn't flinch. "It's important."

Her expression softened and she sighed. "All right…have a seat." She patted the spot next to her on the log.

"Thanks." He plopped down beside her and felt the fatigue leave his legs.

"So…I assume this is about the fight today?"

"Yep. I don't know what to do with you two. Even after all this time traveling together, you still can't go without arguing for more than a day. It's really getting annoying. I think you should talk with him tomorrow and try to sort this out."

"I know, and I'm sorry you have to put up with it all the time. Sometimes he just makes me so mad."

"Why did you get mad during today's argument?"

"Well weren't you mad too? It's not just me, is it? I know it's Ash we're talking about, but I still can't believe he was reckless enough to rush into a Team Rocket stronghold by himself."

Brock agreed, but that wasn't what he was getting at. "Let me ask you something. Don't get angry. Did that girl have anything to do with your anger?"

She was silent for a minute, and Brock knew he had hit the nail on the head. Then, very softly, "Brock, please don't laugh, but…what does Ash think of me? Did he ever talk about me…while you guys were in Hoenn?"

He knew she couldn't see his face in the dark, so he allowed himself to smile a bit. 'Good. Now we're getting to the real problem at hand.' "Why do you ask?" he said, even though he knew perfectly well.

"Because…" he could tell she was really embarrassed, "I-I like him." She was blushing and had turned her head away from him.

Brock's smile turned into a frown. He hadn't meant to make her feel bad. "Misty, you don't need to turn away like that. I already knew you liked him. I'm not going to rub it in your face. In fact, I'm really happy for you; you're both wonderful people, and I'd love to see you get together."

She relaxed slightly once she took this information in. "Thank you, but I think he hates me."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, we fight so much, and I think all my yelling drives him away from me. I know I get on his nerves a lot, but I can't help it. I guess I just want him to notice me. I want him to see how much I care about him."

"He knows you care about him Misty. He just gets mad because—and this is partly my fault too—sometimes, even though we've been traveling with him all these years, we still treat him like we did at the start of his journey out of habit. I think he just wants us to acknowledge that he's grown up since then. If we did that, I'm sure he'd be much easier to get along with."

"You're right. He has changed a lot, hasn't he? He doesn't need us to correct every single thing he does like he did when he was a novice, but I still try to for some reason. I guess I want him to need me around."

"There's nothing wrong with that. And he's not the only one who's grown up: we've all changed."

"Really? How?"

"Did you notice that earlier today when we got lost, we didn't get into a big fight over it? And did you notice that we didn't wander around in circles either? We backtracked until we got back on the main path. A few years ago, we would have been at each other's throats and wasted the rest of the day fighting. Oh, and don't think that Ash hates you. It's impossible. If you had seen him in Hoenn, you'd know that."

Even in the dark, he could see her face light up with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"He couldn't stop talking about you. Did you know that right before his sixth gym battle there he went into a huge depression because he missed you so much?"

Misty was taken aback. "R-really?"

"Yeah! You're his best friend…whether you guys act like it or not. I don't know exactly what he thinks about you, but don't think he hates you. There's no way."

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Back at camp, Ash was awake. He had woken from the sound of someone leaving their sleeping bag and found that both Misty and Brock were missing. He wasn't worried, though. They were probably just having a late night talk like they had done before.

Oh well. They weren't there with him at the moment, so he had some time to think by himself. Not that he didn't normally do much thinking, but he had a private matter to sort out. Memories of his adventure in Saffron came flooding back to him…

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"WHAT?! I lost?!" The mysterious Boss Rocket whom Ash never learned the name of quivered in anger and slight fear as he realized he no longer had any protection against Ash's pokemon. "I will step aside this time."

"You'll do more than that. You'll go to jail." Ash's pokemon voiced their agreement.

The large man before them regained a bit of his confidence. "A child like you could never understand what I hope to achieve." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a panel with a button on it. Before Ash could stop him, he pressed it and the lights went out. When they flickered back on, Boss Rocket was nowhere to be seen.

Ash approached the couple tied up in the corner and ordered his Venusaur to cut their binds with Razor Leaf. The man and woman were pale like they had been fearing for their lives the past two days, but they were now visibly relieved. The man introduced himself as Dan Mariko, president of the Silph Company.

After a short conversation concerning anonymity, Dan eased Ash's worries. "I won't tell anyone who you are if you don't want me to. But there must be something I can give you as thanks…oh, I know! Take this. This is what Team Rocket was after. You're strong enough to protect it from them. I call it the…"

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…the Master Ball. A special type of pokeball that would supposedly capture any pokemon without fail. A top secret invention that only the ones who developed it knew about. It was the only one of its kind, and Mr. Mariko had given it to Ash. Ash had kept it a secret since then, not even telling Misty and Brock about it.

He looked to make sure they still weren't around, and then he grabbed his backpack resting next to the sleeping bag and quietly unzipped it. The Master Ball greeted him as he peered inside. It looked exactly like a pokeball, except it was purple where it should have been red, and a large capital "M" was engraved into it. He cautiously, reverently even, took it in his hand and out of the backpack, held it up to his face, and examined it in the dim starlight.

A pokeball that could capture any pokemon. What would he do with it? This was the first time he ever thought about it. At the time he received it, he was too tired from fighting to care, and he was too happy to think about it when the time came to go back to Cerulean and pick up Misty and Brock. But now he had no distractions, no excuses, and the subject demanded his attention. The little ball in his hand presented infinite possibilities, and it was his job to pick the correct one. The ball could only be used once. He had to make it count.

Maybe he should try to capture a legendary? Very few existed, and having one would give him the power he needed to win the pokemon league. But no; it was the legendary pokemon's job to watch over the world. Ash felt he had no right as a human to capture something protecting the human race. Besides, catching a legendary just to become pokemon master was kind of cheating; it would give him an unfair advantage, and Ash wasn't the type to resort to unfair tactics.

But what else could he use the Master Ball for? He sat and thought about it for ten more minutes before frustration overwhelmed him and he put the ball back into his backpack. He resolved to quit thinking about it for now and go to sleep, but before he slipped away into the world of dreams, he heard someone approaching Misty's sleeping bag.

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Misty yawned. "Well, I'm going back to bed. You coming?"

"Nah," Brock said. "I can't sleep. I think I'll just look at the stars for a while."

"All right. I'll see you in the morning." She left him and the log and ventured back to camp.

Ash was lying down and looked to be asleep, so she silently tiptoed to her sleeping bag next to his. She turned her back to him and was preparing to crawl into her sleeping back when a pair of arms slipped around her stomach from behind and a head rested on her shoulder. She gasped, but relaxed into the embrace as she recognized Ash's arms around, his scent, and his hair tickling her neck. "I'm sorry," she said.

Ash sighed and hugged her more tightly. "I'm sorry, too."

"I guess I don't like being left out of your adventures."

"I guess I don't like being yelled at."

Through their hug, they somehow felt how much the other cared about them. She felt foolish for thinking he didn't like her, and he felt foolish for not letting her know he liked her sooner.

Ash finally decided what he was going to do with the Master Ball. He was going to catch the rarest water pokemon he could find and give it to Misty.

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Brock spied on them from afar. When he saw them hug, he smiled to himself. Now that those two had finally resolved their differences, he could at last stop wasting his mental energies on their pointless fights and start focusing on what was really important: meeting women.

He had learned a few things from Ash about how to pick up chicks, or so he thought he had. After a great deal of thinking, Brock had reasoned that Ash's heroism was the reason girls fell for him. 'Everyone loves a hero; heroes create drama, and chicks love drama! I will become a hero and help beautiful women everywhere! Ha! This plan will work for sure!' Satisfied with his idea, he proceeded to work out the details. How would he find lovely ladies who needed rescuing? How would he rescue them, and what would he do after he rescued them? Should he have a hero costume? Concealing his identity would add a certain mystery to his character, and so far as he knew, chicks loved mystery.

This was going to take a lot of planning...

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The End

Dannondorf: So what did you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? I have mixed feelings about it. Let me know you opinion by reviewing!