Andy's birthday celebration took place at the Ketchum Mansion, and it was lively. Delia came to see her grandson's departure, and Caroline and Norman even flew from the Hoenn region with Max. Pikachu, Glaceon, and their Eevee's (Yes, Pikachu and Glaceon bred. Don't kill me please) were all groomed for the occasion.
"Would you look at that Norman, Andy has a girlfriend!" Caroline whispered to Norman, causing him to struggle not to laugh. He failed; monumentally. When he regained his dignity, he walked over to his grandson, who was being followed by his group.
"Andy, happy birthday my boy." Norman said calmly. When Andy didn't respond, he said, "What, it's only been two years!"
"Don't worry grandpa, I remember you." Andy said, right before taking a cheap shot. "What were you laughing about?"
Norman gave a few Um's and Err's and walked away slowly.
Andy had the Ralts on his shoulder, just sitting there and looking around. The two headed over to Ash and May were sitting.
"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my starter Pokémon, Ralts," Andy said, scratching Ralts beside the horn.
Ash gave a confused look and May had the very same expression.
"Andy, how did you get a Ralts?" May asked curiously. "And why is it a shiny?"
"May, I remind you that I started with a Pikachu." Ash said while examining the Ralts. "Anyways, you have a birthday to celebrate."
Andy walked back to his group of friends (That dwindled to Dan, Nick, and Samantha), where Dan greeted him with a fist bump.
"Bud, you wanna head out back?" Dan asked the giant of a boy. "It's gettin' borin' as heck in here," he added. Samantha and Nick nodded in agreement.
"Alright. I'm sure no one would mind if we stepped out." Andy said, forwarding the motion to go outside.
The Ketchum Mansion had a massive backyard that would easily fit six battle fields, as it occasionally did annually when Ash hosted a battle royal for people all over Kanto.
Andy remembered Nick's comment earlier that day. "When are you going to ask her out?" It was a valid question. Samantha moved to Pallet around two years ago without Misty, but with a father-figure named Joseph, for the education that Samuel Oak was offering. Samuel taught for a year before he passed, leaving Pallet in sadness, Ash the perfected Master Ball, and Gary with the lab and everything else. Gary taught the basics of Pokémon for another half-year, completing Samantha's (among others) education. And Andy was in love from the beginning.
"Samantha, I have to ask you something…" He managed to start. Despite almost every single (and a few non-single) girls asking him out and what-not, he could stand upright. But not around Samantha. His back and legs became jelly and brain to mush. 'Come on man, get it out!' he thought to himself.
"Wassup?" She asked casually, turning her head and making her long ginger hair flit about. She couldn't have been sexier with the plush grass bringing out her eyes and giving her fiery hair dominance.
"Do you want to…?" 'Voice cracking…. Throat drying….'
"Andy, spit it out," Samantha commanded. 'He's cute when he mumbles. He better say what I think he's going to say though.'
"Do you want to go on our adventures together?" He rapidly said, slurring his words together.
'Damn.' Both thought at the same time. Ralts gave a small laugh and slapped Andy's face.
"Okay, I guess it'll be safer that way." Samantha said in a disappointed tone. Ralts slapped Andy again.
'Dear Arceus, why won't he ask me out?'
'Mew, why can't I grow a freaking pair?'
The two both swore to the gods the gods they believed in. That was the only major tilting point between them; Andy believed in the Old God Mew while Samantha (And pretty much everyone else) prayed to Arceus the Creator. Even though everyone thought Andy to be a plain atheist, but that's due to the scarcity of Mew followers.
Andy was cursing to himself as he walked over to Nick who was laughing and rolling on the ground. He was a fool to actually think Andy was going to do it this time, but it made for great comedy.
"Bro, you should have seen yourself!" Nick exclaimed, just loud enough for Samantha to hear. She decided to eavesdrop and hear what was being said.
"I couldn't have fucked up that badly," Andy protested.
"You failed big time! I have to give you credit on actually giving it a go." Nick said, remembering what happened a few weeks prior at Samantha's own birthday. "I remember at Samantha's birthday when you tried asking her out…" Nick continued his reminiscing about Andy's fails at love while Samantha was huddled behind a hedge pretending to listen to music on her PokeGear.
'Oh my god!' she thought to herself. Andy actually liked her? 'This is insane! The most popular guy in Pallet likes me?' A very loud "YAY!" escaped her lips, causing Andy and Nick to whip their heads around.
Nick gave a knowing grin and nod to Andy and ran as fast as his stunted legs dare carry him.
'Shit is going down!' he thought in a mischievous tone.
Andy stalked over to where Samantha was sitting. Ralts was slapping his face repeatedly. Andy put the small Pokémon down and sat beside an embarrassed Samantha.
"So… This is awkward." Samantha said simply, and sagged her head.
"Well, one thing is for certain," Andy started, "I was worried for nothing."
When Samantha started crying, Andy placed his arm around her shoulder. "Sam, what's wrong-!" He was quickly interrupted when Samantha's plump lips came crashing down on his.
'Please don't be a liar. I love you too much.' Was all Samantha could think. Well, that and her raging emotions that rushed through her entire being when Andy kissed her back. Their minds were fixated on the battle between their tongues, and barely noticed the crowd of party goers until Andy's uncle Max made a 'comment'.
"I DON'T WANT TO BE A GREAT UNCLE YET!" Max bellowed, causing Andy and Samantha to come back to reality. The two bit their own tongues in surprise. They backed away from each other, but everyone saw it, and there was no hiding it.
"Did we just…" Andy tried to saw, but Ralts slapped him because he was acting like a dense idiot.
Samantha raised her hand to her mouth, her blue nails brushed softly against her red lips. Neither of them noticed Fred, Paul and Zoey's kid. Fred was, by all accounts, a pompous asshole. And he had a thing for Samantha.
Fred came to Kanto for the same reasons Samantha came to Pallet; education and a starter.
"The hell you think you doin' with my girl?" Fred asked, an obvious native Veilstone accent filled his voice. It was clear; he was pissed. No matter how many times he asked out Samantha, he was rejected, and he took this as a personal insult.
"Fred, I told you hundreds of times, 'Get lost!'" Samantha growled. "I'm with Andy."
Fred reached for his Pokeball and tossed it forward. "Squirtle, prep for battle." Fred commanded the temperamental Pokémon. "Is that so?" he asked tauntingly.
"Ralts, bring it." Andy said, and the small Pokémon climbed down from his shoulder. "It is." Andy replied. He saw his mom and dad looking on with concern and grabbed a Pokeball each.
"So this is where our rivalry begins," Fred commented. His eyes flared open and his purple hair ruffled. "Squirtle, water gun!"
"Ralts, light screen then psychic!" Ralts blocked the blunt of the attack with its light screen, and psychically sent her enemy into the ground.
"Squirtle, tackle now!" Fred ordered. The blue turtle Pokémon charged its opponent, and at the last second….
"Ralts, teleport!" Andy commanded. The small blue and white Pokémon disappeared then reappeared behind Squirtle. "Give it all, Ralts! Psychic!"
The Squirtle was lifted off the ground and, much similarly to Samantha's Charmander, was thrown against a tree and fainted.
"Squirtle, return." Fred said in disappointment. He took notice, though, that Ralts was stumbling for a few seconds then fell. It wasn't fainted, but exhausted.
Andy took the Ralts in his arms and returned her to the Premier Ball. Andy was about to place the ball in its respective place, but Ralts shot out, climbed to Andy's shoulder, and slapped him in the face.
"Freaking idiot. You can't even control your own Pokémon!" Fred called out. He sauntered off the Ketchum property and out of sight.
()
Andy and Samantha were cuddled in a leather armchair with Ralts sitting contently on the right armrest. All the other people at his birthday party were sitting comfortably, whether they are in couches or chairs. Dinner was finished some time ago, and everyone wanted to give Andy his gifts.
Ash and May were the first ones to give their gifts. Ash gave Andy the latest version of the PokeNav, and May gave him a bag with all the essentials for a journey, including a few of the more common unbreakable TM disks. Delia gave Andy a retro Pokémon League hat, the style that Ash used to wear. Caroline and Norman gave their grandson a heaping amount of money for the adventure, and they (easily) doubled it, seeing as how Samantha was coming along. Max, being a professional comedian, gave Andy what looked like a copy of his works, but inside was a rare unbreakable TM; Hyper Beam. Gifts continued to pile up until they were as high as Andy.
Everyone but Samantha had given their gifts, so naturally, it was Samantha's turn.
"Come on Sam, what ya get 'em?" Dan asked.
Samantha smiled and walked over to where she put her gift. She knew Andy had an interest in breeding Pokémon, and knew instantly what to get him. She handed Andy a small box which he tore into.
"I got you a compact egg incubator," Samantha said with a smile.
"Thanks Sam." Andy said in amazement. He stood up and lightly kissed her on the cheek. He didn't sit back down, however. Instead, he walked over to a window and gazed outside. What he saw made his mouth gape wider than a Magikarp's.
"Andy, what's wrong?" His mother asked.
Gary slowly stood up, realizing who he was seeing. "Andy," he said, "Andy, that's him. That's the man who dropped off Ralts."
The cloaked man stood at eight feet tall, with a shroud over his head. Once it was obvious he was seen in the moon light, he jumped into the sky and vanished. No one could make sense of what happened and eventually, fell asleep.
But not Andy. Or Samantha.
They knew what they saw was going to change their lives, yes.
But not how.
/AUTHORS NOTE/ Alright, I admit, that was a rushed fluffy scene of rushed fluff and a rushed scene of Rival introduction, but I'm pretty satisfied that I got two chapters done in two days.
Let's clarify a few things:
I hate Paul, so I made his kid the antagonistic rival.
Andy and Samantha DO HAVE THE SAME FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER! I'm not THAT MUCH of a douche. But I won't make their lives perfect.
Yes, there is religion in the Fan Fic. It will actually play a key role in the plot.
Exeunt