Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon

Chapter 1, Six Weeks Later (Ash's POV)

I think I still remember when I was six years old. Mom said I chased a Squirtle right over a waterfall. Brock said it was a good thing I was still alive, and Misty said it explained why my brain seemed so waterlogged. Personally I could have done without that comment. In fact, there was a lot of things she said that I could have done without hearing. I guess the play by play on her latest conversation with Rudy was one of them. Yeah it was actually topping the list…

Not that it mattered, right? I mean fellow water type pokemon gym leaders probably had a lot in common to talk about. Business stuff mostly. Professional stuff.

"Hold on little buddy...don't move…" I mumbled to myself as I slowly unclipped the empty pokeball from my belt. My eyes were locked on the wild Poliwag as it stared up at me with a confused look on it's face. It wasn't like a little Poliwag would be too hard to catch. Especially one that looked hurt, which was why I wanted to catch it in the first place. Rudy would have done the same I figured, but he wasn't the only gym leader around. Any decent trainer would try to help a hurt pokemon.

Flinging the ball I expected it to be an easy catch, but the Poliwag just deflected the ball with it's tail. Which wouldn't have been so bad I guess, I mean I could just try again, except the pokeball landed where my face was supposed to be...

"Hey ow!" I said grabbing at my pulsating nose as I felt my foot slip on the riverbed bottom. Now the ankle deep water was soaking my jeans, and well the rest of me too as I found myself laying on my back staring up at the trees overhead. Suddenly even the sun looked too bright for the way my head hurt. But shaking myself out of the daze I jumped back to my feet with a huff.

"Hey I was just trying to help you, ya know!?" But like most water types it didn't look all that impressed by me. It just ran off like I wasn't even talking to it! Well, I wasn't gonna let it get away! No way, I could be a master of water types too!

"I'm not attacking because I don't want to hurt you! Don't be so stubborn!" I shouted as I thrashed through the river after it. "But if you really won't stop then… Pikachu use thunder-" But looking over my shoulder I didn't see Pikachu anywhere. "Pikachu?" I said as I kept looking behind while my feet kept moving forward. Which thinking about it probably wasn't the best idea…

My wet soggy sneaker met air when I tried to take my next step. "Wha!? Ahhh!" Then my whole body met the bottom of a waterfall. Again. Well for the third time really… Clawing around I finally broke the surface and gulped down a few deep breaths. My eyes were so clouded with water I almost couldn't see, but rubbing at them I could make out enough to see that same Poliwag on the shore staring at me. If it were possible for Pokemon to laugh I figured it would have been, but it just darted into a bush instead. It was gone.

Dragging myself to shore I heaved the biggest sigh humanly possible. How could I manage to win the league and not be able to catch a little Poliwag? Dumping out the water from my shoes it kinda hit me though. It had to be something about water types. I mean Squirtle and me got along great, but most other water types seemed too hard to understand. It was like I wasn't their type and we both knew it…

I frowned as I scooped my bobbing hat out of the river. I didn't really see what the big deal was anyway. It's not like a Charizard or Venusaur couldn't out do most any water type anyway. Or an electric type like Pikachu of course. Then it hit me, where was Pikachu anyway?

"Pika pi?" I heard as he appeared from a group of bushes.

"Oh there you are buddy…" I sighed. "Not that it matters much now, the Poliwag got away…"

"Pika pi…" He said as his ears dropped like always when he was upset about something.

I reached to scratch the top of his head. "Sorry Pikachu I didn't mean it that way… It's just I'm a little sore…" I frowned again. "In more ways that one I guess huh…?

Leaning into my hand I picked up a rock and started to fiddle with it in my fingers. "What's so great about that Trovita island guy anyway…?"

"Pika?" Pikachu said as he looked up at me with a curious look on his face.

I just sighed again as I let my head drop. "He still calls Misty sometimes, and I...I guess it kinda gets to me."

"Pi pikachu." He said as he hopped onto my shoulder to sympathise with me. Or at least it seemed like he understood. In fact, I knew he was probably the only one that did.

"Thanks Pikachu, but it's still just our secret right buddy?"

"Pi pika pi!" He said with a nod.

"Well, that's good at least… Since you're the only one that won't laugh at me about it." I leaned back until I was laying on the grass staring up at clouds in the sky.

"You know…" I mumbled slowly. "Ten years doesn't really make much difference, I still don't understand anything like this…"

"Pi…" Pikachu whispered sadly as he curled up against me.

"In fact now I think it's worse… At least before I didn't realize why guys like that Rudy used to burn me up. But he had it all wrong back then if he thought I was the one who was lucky."

I laid over on my side as I looked at Pikachu face to face. I didn't like feeling like a loser but I couldn't stop the self pity right then. "No matter how many leagues I win I'm still just some guy that let a poliwag get away…"

"Pikachu!" He said as his cheeks started flaring with electricity. I sat up and put my arms defensively in front of me. "Sorry Pikachu, I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but it's just how I feel sometimes, ya know?"

"Pi…" Pikachu answered as he relaxed a little.

I leaned back again as I rested my arms behind my head. "Sometimes I think she still looks at me like some goofy little kid… But ya know I'm not anymore, right Pikachu?"

"Pika pi." He said with what I thought almost looked like a smirk, but it probably wasn't. I mean Pikachu had to be on my side even if no one else was. "Pi pika." He went on as he nudged against my pocket. "What is it boy?" I asked as reached in it to take out my pokegear.

"Pi pika pi!" He said excitedly as he watched me holding it.

"What, you think I should just tell her?" I asked as I pointed toward the device.

"Pi!" Pikachu confirmed with a nod.

"As in right now?

"Pi pikachu!"

"B-But what if she laughs at me, or worse never wants to speak to me again?"

"Pi pika pi!" He kept insisting.

I sighed again as I stared down at the pokegear in my hand. Just thinking about going through with it made my face feel hot and my stomach fill with Butterfrees. "But what would I say Pikachu…? She's not into guys like me, right? She's said so plenty of times before."

"Pi!" Pikachu said seeming a little short tempered with my stalling. But I knew that was nothing compared to how Misty would blow up if I just called out of the blue and said I cared about her as more than a friend. I bet Rudy had already told her that anyway, so why bother? He'd probably said a bunch of stuff about what a great water pokemon trainer he was, and how they were a perfect match or something.

I felt the pokegear tighten in my hand as the heat on my face changed to something besides just embarrassment.

I bet he's already asked her out on a date or worse yet, confessed with poetry or something. Misty was probably a sucker for all that sappy stuff and fell for him like a Magikarp in an ultra ball...

"Well fine, if she really wants to be stuck with a guy like that then why should I care!"

"Pi pika pi…" Pikachu said shaking his head before he reached out to touch my wet shirt and gave me a little zap.

"Ow, hey what was that for Pikachu!?"

"Pi…" He just said as he stared at the pokegear I was still holding.

"So...you really think I should just call her…?"

"Pika pi." He said as he smiled up at me with the same look he always gave me before we won a match.

"You must really believe in me Pikachu… And if you think I can do it then…" I wasn't sure where it was coming from, but suddenly I felt brave enough to actually do it. "Then maybe I can. Maybe that Rudy isn't as perfect as he thinks he is. Maybe Misty and me are actually a better match anyway. I mean we've been friends before she even met that guy! Yeah, that's it Pikachu I'm really gonna do it now! And while I'm so worked up about it it'll be a lot easier!"

"Pi pikachu!"

"Right buddy, here goes!" I said with a smile as I flipped open the pokegear and started to scan through my contacts until I found Misty's name. Slamming my finger down on the call button I waited until she picked up.

"Cerulean city gym, Misty speak- Oh Ash, what's up?"

I felt myself swallow hard, but it didn't matter, this was it. Nothing was going to stop me this time. So opening my mouth I was just going to spill it all at once, but she spoke next.

"Are you...soaking wet?"

I glanced down at my dripping shirt before I self consciously pushed my wet bangs out of my eyes. "Well, uh yeah, I was um...catching a pokemon."

She grinned a little as her eyebrows went up. "Oh really? I take it was a water type, right? Which one was it? I could take a look at it for you."

"Uh no that's um…" I frowned realizing I didn't want to talk about a failed attempt at catching a lousy Poliwag right before I said all this important stuff. It would have been like writing loser across my forehead. Besides we were getting too off track, and I could feel the nerves creeping back in. I knew I had to just act fast and get this over with. "Misty I need to-"

"What was that?' She said cutting me off. "I didn't really catch it, and you're starting to look a little fuzzy. Did you get your pokegear wet along with the rest of you?"

"Huh, well I can still see you just fine." I mumbled out just before the image turned into a misty blur of well...Misty. The next thing to happen was the fizzing sound and the sparks that flew from the back of the pokegear. "Hey wait, I need to tell you something important!" I shouted into the flickering screen.

"Sorry...can't…" Was the last I heard before the screen went totally black and I guessed my new prototype video pokegear was good as dead. And apparently Professor Oak had never thought of making it waterproof...

Waterproof…

I guess I thought that was a little ironic…