Part 2...
Ash and Misty soon close in on his house and slow down when they reach the gate. Mimey is in the yard trimming some bushes with a sun hat on when their footsteps reach his ears. He turns around and greets them right away, getting the same in return. Then right away he goes back to his task, leaving the other two to go inside. No one is visible at first as they remove their shoes, but a familiar face soon emerges from the kitchen. His squinting eyes stare back, a smile on his face. Ash and Misty, though, are surprised.
"Brock, what are you doing here?" they both ask.
"Hi to you guys, too," he answers somewhat sarcastically.
"But we thought you were staying with Professor Ivy," Ash queries further. Apparently this was a bad move, though. Brock turns around, crouches down, and hugs his knees.
"Don't mention that name!" Ash and Misty look at each other with confused expressions. Pikachu looks at his master as well and the back at Brock. The air is suddenly kind of weird so Ash goes on.
"So where's my mom?" Brock is suddenly standing back up like normal, his dramatic moment over.
"She went to grab some things to make for dinner since this is your first day back after winning the Orange League. By the way, congratulations, Ash."
"Thanks, Brock," he says sincerely.
"I just wish I could have been there to see it. I heard it was a great battle, but I was busy with…well, you know."
"So what exactly happened between you and Professor I-"
"That name!" Ash and Misty sweatdrop when they see him on the floor again.
"So, Brock, have you been home to Pewter City yet?" Misty tries to tactfully change the subject. Luckily, he bites and stands back up.
"No, I decided to stop here first. Professor Oak told me you guys were on your way back so I decided to wait for you and Ash." They take this in, both glad for his decision. Tracey is a really nice guy, but the three of them are the original trio, the unstoppable ones. "What about you, Misty? Are you going back to Cerulean to visit your sisters?" Ash looks at her suddenly, wondering what her answer will be. She can't leave, he reasons. Just when they get Brock back, she can't decide to go home. He never imagined her leaving his side, especially after this last adventure. Though he wanted to fulfill his chosen one destiny alone (because it was something he needed to do), she was still by his side. She pulled him from the water like when they first met. She cheered him on, even against Rudy, who clearly wanted her to stay more than anything he had wanted in a while. Misty looks at Ash's expression before glancing down at the floor.
"I hadn't thought about it." Seeing the way both preteens reacted to his comment, Brock decides to steer away from that topic.
"What about you, Ash? Have you decided where you'll go next?" That perks him up again now that his mind is back on training and working towards his goal.
"No, I was hoping I could ask Professor Oak."
"That's a good idea. I bet he'll know the region you should head to next." The group gets quiet for a second, but the growling of Ash's stomach quickly remedies that. He laughs nervously.
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot how hungry I am." Brock smiles at his younger pal.
"I figured you would be since it's between lunch and dinner now so I whipped a little something up." Both perk up at that.
"Really?" they ask together.
"We may have been apart, but I still know you both better than anyone."
"That's great! Tracey was a good cook and all, but I really missed your food."-Ash. He looks at his Pokémon pal. "Come on, Pikachu!"
"Pika!" The two run off into the kitchen while Misty and Brock follow behind them, all glad to once again be together.
For the rest of the afternoon, the three friends spend time catching up and relaxing in the living room of the Ketchum house. Ash's mother Delia arrives home only half an hour after they have all devoured Brock's cooking. Once she gets her fill of suffocating Ash with hugs, she leaves them be to start on the large dinner that everyone is invited to, including the professor, his grandson, and his apparent new assistant. Mr. Mime, of course, lends a hand willingly.
Soon enough (and lucky for Ash's stomach which seems sometimes to be perpetually hungry), dinnertime finally arrives. Professor Oak, Gary, and Tracey arrive at the doorstep just before five-thirty. Tracey and Brock introduce themselves to each other and immediately become new friends. Mr. Mime then ushers everyone into the kitchen, where the sight of the food on the table makes everyone's mouth go wide, especially when the smell hits their noses. Following some commotion, the group of seven finds the most comfortable way to organize the seats. The digging in commences, and praise is heaped onto both Mr. Mime and Delia, causing both to be a little bit embarrassed. The meal goes as planned, and they all enjoy some after dinner conversation as Mr. Mime cleans the table.
Eventually six o'clock rolls around, and the professor and his new assistant decide to head back to the lab to continue studying the infamous ball. Delia decides to go along with Mr. Mime to bring some leftovers for the older man who is apparently incapable of cooking a good meal. Little does Ash know his mom has pretty much been the main source of quality food for the one who gave him his first Pokémon ever since the two departed on his quest through Kanto. Gary, surprising everyone but the breeder, asks Brock if can have some tips on his Pokémon. Those two head back to Gary's house, which is separate from the Oak laboratory. This leaves Ash and Misty both alone and kind of confused at how Brock and Gary are getting along so well.
As the two stand and stare at anyone else but each other in the living room of his house, Pikachu suddenly starts tugging at his pant legs. His master then recalls the battle date he made with the girl they met earlier.
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I have a battle tonight."
"Some master you'll be if you can't even remember your own scheduled battles," Misty mutters.
"Give me a break, Misty. I'm just really glad to be home again."
"No, you're just really forgetful."
"You never let up…" She glares at him, but he continues. "Well, you're at least going to come and cheer me on, right?"
"I'd rather watch your Snorlax take a nap."
"Fine. I don't need you anyway. Let's go, Pikachu." Ash turns and heads to the door, where he only stops to put his shoes on. The mouse Pokémon looks worriedly back at Misty before following Ash. Togepi waves his arms and cries out, but Misty only turns away from the door and storms toward the couch where she plans on watching TV and forgetting about Ash.
Meanwhile, Ash walks along with Pikachu next to him, contemplating his best friend's weird actions from both this afternoon and just a moment ago. Little does he realize he acted much the same way when both Danny and Rudy were in the equation. With Danny it was like Ash didn't even exists anymore, which hurt his feelings. He only acknowledges the friendship side to this since she had always been cheering him on, even when Brock cheered for someone else during one of his Indigo League matches. Actually, Misty got pretty angry at Brock for that. When it came to Rudy, it took her some time to decide if she would root for Ash or him. In the end she chose Ash, of course. As Rudy said, Ash is a very lucky guy who will hopefully someday find out what he meant. For now, he is just a confused preteen boy obsessed with Pokémon battles, badges, and being the best. Misty may pretend she is more mature than him, but she is also a confused preteen, and they will both remain that way no matter who tries to push them together.
Soon enough he makes it to the town's only movie theater. Most people think that Pallet is a tiny place with fields and country bumpkins, but it has slowly been growing. This includes the movie theater he can now see ahead of him, which was built about four years ago. Before he gets to the entrance, he spies the one he was coming to meet. Her outfit from earlier is gone, and in its place in a light yellow dress that is knee length with slightly puffy sleeves and a white sash around the middle. Even the dense Ash thinks this is odd attire for battling, but he doesn't worry about it as he walks up and stops in front of her.
"Hey, Ash," she says brightly. "I'm glad you're here."
"So am I. I can't wait to battle you. Neither can Pikachu, right buddy?"
"Pi-pikachu!"
"Actually, Ash, my father was delayed in Viridian so I don't have my Pokémon."
"We can just go to Professor Oak's, and you can call your dad and have him send through the transfer system."
"No!" she protests. Pikachu would raise an eyebrow if he had one, and Ash looks confused as has been his perpetual state today. Liz quickly tries to recapture her composure. "I mean why don't you and I go see a movie instead?"
"Well, actually-"
"Or we could just get an ice cream at the shop next door. I hear they have the best in town." The thought of dessert perks him up.
"Sure, that sounds great. Maybe we can battle tomorrow after your dad gets home."
"Oh, thank you for understanding, Ash," she says as she grabs his arm. He looks and feels awkward as she drags him along while his right arm, the free one, flails a little. Pikachu cocks his head to the left before chasing after the pair.
Five minutes later the two sit across from each other at a table using two of the four chairs. The umbrella overheard blocks the view of the setting sun, but it seems nice enough to the two of them. She is enjoying a cup with one scoop of mint chip and a cherry while he devours his cone with three scoops. Pikachu is also enjoying a cone with two scoops (who knew they made ketchup flavored ice cream?). The electric mouse sits atop the table, and the air is fairly quiet.
"So Ash," she suddenly starts. He pays attention but keeps licking his cone. "I saw the news when I got home earlier. Did you really open the GS Ball?" He answers yeah with a mouth full of the treat. While Misty would yell at him for his bad manners, she only finds it kind of cute. "Wow, that's amazing. I bet Professor Oak is studying it right now, isn't he? I would sure love to see it. Do you think you could take me to his lab?"
"Sure. I want to see if they figured anything out, too." This time his answer is more polite, but what he agreed to is what makes her ecstatic.
"Really? Oh, thank you, Ash! Do you think he would mind if we went over in a little bit?"
"Can I at least finish my ice cream?" She giggles.
"Of course." She herself takes another big spoonful, and he and Pikachu continue to munch away on theirs.
Little does the unsuspecting trio know, a certain red haired best friend of his decided she did want to support him in his battle and watch him crush that puny girl who reminds her somewhat of her sisters. She grew tired rather quickly of watching TV, especially when she saw that broadcast of Ash's interview on every channel she flipped through. A few of them were local networks, and as Pallet is so small, when one of their own does something noteworthy, they all celebrate and trumpet it. The other channels are a little more far reaching like the one the Team Rocket leader saw the news on earlier. By this time tomorrow it will probably spread through Kanto and then reach the other regions. It would not be surprising if they hear from She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-Near-Brock by the morning.
As she walks down the small and quiet street with Togepi in her arms, she is expecting to come across them battling if she doesn't hear them before they are even in sight. What she is not prepared to see is the two of them eating dessert at a small ice cream shop. The jealousy she felt when Melody pecked him on the cheek was not as intense as the jealously that sweeps across her when she sees this. They look as if they are having a good time not battling. Misty can even hear her giggle all the way across the street, and she points at Ash's cheek. The trainer goes to wipe the ice cream off, but Liz beats him to it, leaving him to feel a little awkward once more, especially when she licks her finger. She giggles again at his expression and leans in to peck him on the cheek in the same spot she just wiped clean. Following a jaw drop, Misty's baby egg Pokémon falls to the ground as that surprises her more than seeing them on a quasi-date. Luckily Togepi curls up and rolls when he hits the sidewalk, escaping any serious injury. Though she realizes she has just dropped her precious baby egg, she hastily grabs Togepi and rushes across the street.
"What's going on here?" she demands from them angrily. The scene is reminiscent of one of the daytime drama shows Ash's mother secretly enjoys (when she isn't busy gardening, tending to her restaurant, or visiting Professor Oak). Ash and Liz look over along with Pikachu. "I thought you two were going to battle."
"My father has my Pokémon still, and he got stuck in Viridian City so I asked Ash if he wanted some ice cream. Calm down, Misty." Ash, who has seemingly gotten over his recent peck on the cheek, tries to smooth things over with Misty, especially since he has no idea he or she has done anything that should make her mad.
"Yeah, it's not a big deal, Misty. We're going to battle tomorrow instead."
"Figures. All you ever think about is Pokémon and food." He stands up, his right hand still clutching his treat.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"There's nothing wrong with focusing on Pokémon and food. Both happen to be very important," Liz interrupts. Misty now glares at her as well.
"Nobody asked you." Liz stands up, slamming her hands angrily on the table. Sparks fly between the girls' eyes, and Ash backs off a little bit.
"Pika!" The electric mouse jumps in between, and Togepi protests to the negative atmosphere along with him. The stand off remains for a grueling ten more seconds before the girls turn away from each other.
"Ash, can we go visit Professor Oak now?"
"Uh, sure, I guess." She then grabs his hand and her container to throw it away as they walk by the trash. He desperately tries to lick his some more, and Pikachu scampers after them. Misty stomps closely behind.
From across the street, a man normally clothed in orange watches the trio in curiosity. His Persian sits at his side, his keen eyes focused on what ever his master thinks is so interesting. The Rocket boss changed just before he left his gym into something less conspicuous: a black suit with a white long sleeved button shirt underneath. He has not worn that combo in a while, mostly opting to look as bright as possible in his usual orange, green, and yellow. That girl he knows the identity of. Her father was once a very trusted scientist on his mother's team until an incident forced him to quit. Then he lost his life. As for his daughter, the last Giovanni knew she had disappeared without a trace. There was no need to go after her as she was considered insignificant. The other girl, the loud orange haired one, he knows as the sister to the current Cerulean City gym leaders. Technically she is qualified to battle challengers and hand out badges, but she spends her time traveling with that trainer and his Pikachu. That boy, the one he saw on TV earlier, he knows as the one his most bumbling agents chase after. He lets them continue because they stay out of his hair for now as he focuses on other projects.
That child, however, reminds him of someone. He first thought that she may simply know of the boy since they came from the same town. Then when he heard the kid's last name, it removed all doubt that he is her son. Giovanni knew she settled back in Pallet, but he never knew why. He always told himself he didn't care about the reason or her. This place is so tiny he never understood how anyone could live here, let alone leave the luxury that he offered and move back. She offered no explanation for her sudden departure and never tried to contact him, and he never tried to find out. The thought makes him shudder, however. He finds it unsettling for some reason that she has made a quiet, modest life for her and her son.
The brash young woman he met was far from on her way to being a stay-at-home mother and wife. She was a researcher-in-training studying under the great Professor Oak along with a young man who would go on to become a great archaeologist. She disrupted his plans the way no one else had done before, climbing out of a pitfall that had been dug to catch various Pokémon in Viridian Forest. He was personally leading the team as his mother had not yet left him in control. It was always a battle with Madame Boss to show her he was competent and worthy of her love (though he never acknowledged openly to himself that that was what he was looking for). They had various traps set up, but the pitfalls were the most successful in this experiment of catching many all at once instead of trying to steal them.
Then a girl got stuck trying to help a Caterpie. Many females and even males avoided the place because it could be dark and scary, not to mention lots of people have an irrational fear of bug-types. But there she was, not even twenty and studying the interactions between bug and bird-type Pokémon alone in Viridian Forest with no one to call for back up or help. He, being older than her by a few years and having been forced to grow up on his own, thought she was hilariously stupid for confronting them. That day they came away from the forest with lots of Pokémon and a very stubborn, very naïve girl. It was the start of a time in his life he would never forget, no matter how hard he tried. His mother was not pleased he had picked up company in the form of a stupid girl, but she was too busy to care too much. It was nearing the time of her planned retirement, so she was trying to go out with a bang before leaving the organization to her son (though she often let him know she was building it up as much as possible to buffer any screw-ups he made).
He shakes this train of thought away. He did think he may want to pay her a visit since he was here, but now he feels it would be pointless. Instead, he needs to focus on what he did come here for- the GS Ball. His mother's missing prized possession is now so close, but the question of how to obtain it he has yet to answer for himself. He could do his own dirty work and sneak into the lab later that night. After all, he is the leader of the greatest crime syndicate in Kanto and Johto (and soon even Hoenn). Besides, when he was a field agent under his mother's command, he was one of the best, even if his mother never acknowledged it. He is the one who has expanded their grasp into two other regions and soon a third. After that, he is going to look to the islands south of here, the Sevii group and then the Orange Archipelago. Surely he can retrieve the ball with little incidence.
In the mean time, he decides to listen to his growling stomach and go get something to eat. One thing this small place is known for is the restaurant that is renowned for its quality.
Meanwhile, the other three walk along the path towards the Oak laboratory. The sun has almost completely set, and as this town lacks an adequate supply of street lights, it is getting dark quickly. Ash is now being dragged by his arm rather than hand (Liz felt it would anger Misty more if they linked arms, which worked as expected). The boy tried at first to wriggle out of her grasp, but it was fruitless so he stopped trying and is now just left feeling awkward. Pikachu trails behind with Misty, who is keeping her eyes glued to the pair. Togepi just goes along for the ride like normal.
"Why are you following us?" Liz finally asks.
"I'm not. I'm going to see Tracey and Professor Oak."
"Really? Are you sure you're not just jealous?"
"Who'd be jealous over Ash?" Liz stops abruptly, and Ash has no choice but to follow since they are attached. The water trainer is also forced to stop.
"If Ash annoys you so much, why don't you just go away instead of following us and yelling all of the time? I feel sorry for Ash having to listen to you all day."
"I'm only following Ash because he owes me a bike. As soon as he pays me back, he won't have to listen to me all day. Then I can finally work on becoming the best water Pokémon master."
"You, a Pokémon master? Don't make me laugh." By now, Ash has been able to get free. He takes a few steps in between them and tries to make space.
"Come on, guys. Why can't we all be friends?" Pikachu jumps on Ash's shoulder for support. He doesn't like it when Ash and Misty argue, and he doesn't know if he likes this new girl yet or not. Pokémon are more in tune with people's emotions than other people are. Something just seems to be a little off to him, but at the same time, he has to trust his master's instincts until he can tell for sure.
Suddenly an explosion off in the distance rocks the entire town. Ash, Misty, and Liz look in that direction along with two Pokémon.
"What was that?" Liz asks.
"I think that was near Professor Oak's lab!" Ash exclaims as he realizes this. Then he remembers all of his friends were going over. "My mom and the others are there!" He takes off with Pikachu, and the two girls follow closely.
Giovanni stops on his walk and looks in that same direction. Normally this would not concern him, but he has a feeling that blast is near Professor Oak's lab. He also knows that his two most fumbling agents are likely here since they are following the boy with the Pikachu (revealed as Ash to him earlier on that broadcast). For some reason he feels they are involved. He looks down at his Persian, who stares into his master's face. The unsaid command passes to the cat Pokémon, and the two take off the same as Ash's group. If those two idiots have somehow caused this and interfered in any way with him retrieving the GS Ball, then the least of their troubles will be getting fired.
End of part 2.
Alright, so in here I dropped an important plot point: Giovanni and Delia knew each other when they were younger. This was always planned, but the backstory of how it happened was not included in the original. I always had a sense of what happened, but I hammered out the details sitting in biology class last October. It may resemble another work on this site that I have been reading. I do admit that reading that fic gave me inspiration to put down what happened, but it was never my intent to copy anyone else's ideas. If it doesn't come across that way, then I'm just begin paranoid. There's just nothing worse than someone taking your ideas and using them as their own so obviously.
Some things mentioned here come from novelizations by Takeshi Shudo (Delia having a restaurant) and radio drama CDs (origins of Team Rocket, Mew, Madame Boss, Miyamoto, etc.)
Thanks for reading.