Chapter 4: Stalker


Hit some serious writers block here. Ever have that moment when you know what you want to do, but don't know how to get to that point in the desired amount of words? I certainly do.

But then you hit a gold mine, and you literally figure the entire thing out in 10 seconds.

I don't own Pokémon.


*Ding dong*

The doorbell rang loudly through the house. Ash walked up to the front door and opened it up, finding the orange haired girl with a love for water type Pokémon standing before him.

"Oh hey, Misty," Ash said, "What brings you here?"

Misty looked at him oddly, "Um, your mom's wedding of course," she said.

Ash tilted his head. "But mom's wedding isn't for another three days," Ash said.

Misty smiled and nodded. "I know," she began, "but I figured I'd come early and hang out with you and May."

Ash's face brightened and he stepped out of her way, allowing Misty to step into the house. "Awesome," he said.

88888

May sat on her bed, tying her shoes, with a satisfied sigh; she stood up and walked to the door. She swung it open and jumped when she saw Isaac standing before her; he must have been hiding behind the door.

"Just checking," Isaac said sternly.

May scowled and looked in her room, "There's nobody in there!" she exclaimed.

Isaac pointed at on the top of the dresser, a cordless phone was charging on its dock. May growled and rolled her eyes; she stomped over to the phone and grabbed it, handing it to Isaac.

"There! Now can I have some privacy!" May asked angrily.

Isaac nodded. "Just remember," he began, "If you step out of line it's-" he motioned as if slitting his throat, "-for you and Ash."

Despite May's uneasiness, she was determined to look unaffected by the threat. With that, Isaac wordlessly turned around and walked away.

I'm going to kill you someday, May thought, nobody threatens me like that!

"Hey, May!" Ash called out, "Come down and look at who's here!"

Without any hesitation, May rushed to the stairs, only briefly checking herself in the mirror as she walked by it to confirm that she was presentable. She quickly bounded down the steps and found Ash and Pikachu along with Misty.

"Oh, hey Misty," May said, smiling at the gym leader, "How's life treating you?"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I'm surprised my sisters gave me enough time off to attend this wedding," she said, "They never give me breaks."

May laughed and put on a smile. She couldn't hide her uneasiness from Ash, but she didn't want Misty to begin to worry as well.

Mrs. Ketchum stepped into the room and smiled. "Oh, Misty, I see you made it," she said. Misty smiled and nodded.

"Hey, where is Misty going to sleep?" Ash asked, "Both the guest rooms are taken."

Mrs. Ketchum blushed slightly, "Oh, Isaac is going to move into my room," Delia said, "He was going to after our honeymoon anyways, so it's not that big of a deal."

Hearing Mrs. Ketchum say that almost made May gag. Every time she thought about someone as sweet as Mrs. Ketchum being with a bastard like Isaac, May got sick to her stomach. Hearing that was almost too much for her.

Ash seemed a little uneasy about the situation as well. "Oh..." was all he said.

"Isaac already moved his stuff out of the room," Mrs. Ketchum continued, "So you can show Misty to her room."

Ash nodded and began to climb up the stairs, Misty following behind.

"May? Are you okay?"

May snapped back to her senses, looking at Mrs. Ketchum. "You're a little pale, are you feeling alright?" the woman asked.

May put on a fake smile. "I'm fine," she said, her words sounded hollow. She turned her back to Mrs. Ketchum and went back up the stairs, finding Ash and Misty in Isaac's old room.

"It smells really nice in here," Misty said, sniffing the air. May could smell Isaac's deodorant still lingering in the room, a scent which she had recently grown to dislike, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Yeah, that's Isaac's deodorant," Ash said.

"It smells like power," Misty said, "It must be Old Spice."

For smelling like power, Isaac sure is a coward, stealing from women, May thought, he's not worthy of donning Old Spice.

"So I haven't yet to meet this Isaac fellow yet," Misty said, "Would you mind introducing him to me."

Ash's face brightened. "Yeah! Follow me," He said, stepping out of the room. Misty once again followed him out, with a reluctant May trailing behind. She didn't even want to be near Isaac.

They all bounded down the stairs, Ash turned into the living room, finding Isaac sitting on the couch watching television. "Hey Isaac," Ash said, "I'd like you to meet Misty, an old friend of mine."

Isaac looked away from the television and smiled, extending his hand out to Misty for a handshake. "A friend of Ash's is a friend of mine," he said with a toothy grin.

Misty smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you," she said. May cringed as their skin touch, she want to shout and warn Misty to be careful. She bit her lower lip and held back though, refraining from doing anything stupid.

May laid a hand on Ash's back, getting his attention. "I'm going to go get some fresh air," May said, she pecked him on the lips and rushed out of the house.

Ash watched sadly as May left, letting out a long sigh. "What's wrong, Ash?" Misty asked.

Ash shrugged. "Something is bothering May," he said, "But she won't tell me what."

"I'm sure it's just a faze," Isaac said, waving it off, "Girls go through that sometimes."

"Maybe she's just not ready to tell you yet," Misty said, "Just give her some time, I'm sure everything will be fine."

Ash watched May walk down the road through the front window. "I hope so," he said.


May gazed at the ground as she walked down the road, deep in thought. Gosh darn it, everything is either about or reminds me of Isaac, May thought, kicking a pebble off the road, I have to get away, I have to get my mind off him.

She had no way of telling anyone about Isaac, even if she did and she was lucky enough to have him caught, his lackeys would come after her and Ash. If Ash got hurt because of her, she would never forgive herself, she couldn't risk it.

There has to be a way to stop Isaac and his friends, May thought, I can't just sit here and wait for him to run off with Mrs. Ketchum's fortune.

May pondered about what to do, she couldn't really develop any ideas that she would be sure would work. Her main problem was her lack of proof. What where the odds that Officer Jenny would believe a teenage girl who claimed a man was going to rob a woman of her money?

May eventually found herself in front of a bakery, she could smell freshly baked cookies wafting in the air. Maybe a cookie would help me feel better, she thought. She stepped over to the shop and gently pushed the door open, ringing the doorbell that hung over it. The bakery was warm and inviting, and smell of baked bread made May almost drool.

"... And all he left was a Gengar..."

May turned towards the voice and was surprised to see Palmer and Barry sitting at a table, bending over some sheets of paper.

"Hey you guys," May said, walking over to them with a smile on her face, "What are you doing here?"

Palmer and Barry looked up in surprise. "Oh, hello, May," Palmer said, "We're just doing some work. What brings you here?"

May shrugged. "I've been feeling a little down lately, I thought I would treat myself to a cookie," she answered.

Palmer sat back in his seat. "What are you feeling down about?" he asked.

May sighed and scratched her head, knowing she couldn't tell him. Knowing Isaac, she was probably being watched by one of his friends. "Oh, I just have a little problem," she answered.

Palmer frowned. "Well that's too bad," he said, "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm all ears," he said.

May smiled. "That's sweet of you," she said.

Palmer chuckled. "Well, it's part of my job, helping people that is," he said, "Oh, and I suggest getting the snicker-doodles, they're great."

"Or the peanut butter cookies," Barry added, "Those are awesome too!"

May thanked them and walked to the counter, asking for a few cookies. She paid the pastries and walked to the door. "See you guys tonight for dinner," May said.

Barry smiled, "Heck yeah, you will!" he exclaimed.

May stepped out of the bakery and began to walk down the road back to the Ketchum residence. She pulled a cookie put out the bag and took a bite, Palmer wasn't kidding when he said the snicker-doodles were good, she thought.

Aside from Ash, food was definitely the best way for May to get her mind off something bothering her. The snicker-doodle seemed to do the trick. Even after walking into the house and smelling Isaac's deodorant, May kept her mind off him and hurried up the stairs with her cookies. She stepped into Ash's room and found Misty and Ash sitting on the floor, talking about who knows what.

"I brought cookies," May said.

The word "cookies" immediately got Ash's attention. "Sweet!" he said, jumping to his feet, "What kind?"

May peered into the bag, "Um, peanut butter and snicker-doodles," she said.

Ash face lit up, "Awesome! I love snicker-doodles!"

The three sat down on the floor, eating the cookies from the bag. May had to hand it to Barry; the peanut butter cookies were really good as well.

"I saw Palmer and Barry at the bakery I went to," May said.

Ash tilted his head. "Really?" he asked, "What were they doing there?"

May shrugged. "I honestly don't know, some sort of paper work or something," she said, "They mentioned a Gengar."

Ash scratched his chin. "Hm, weird," was all he said, he pulled another cookie from the bag, handing it to Pikachu.

The three sat on the floor for a while, talking about different things; May didn't think about Isaac much, except for a brief moment when she thought she smelt his deodorant as he walked past the door, possibly listening in on their conversation.

Gosh darn it, Isaac, May thought, leave me alone!


Another several hours went by; eventually the smell of dinner began to loom about the house. Mrs. Ketchum was clearly cooking up another meal.

The doorbell rang, followed by a quick knock. Ash, May, Misty, and Pikachu hurried downstairs to greet Palmer and Barry once again. Mrs. Ketchum smiled brightly when she saw that her two guests arrived. "It's always nice to have guests," she said.

Mrs. Ketchum and Palmer talked a lot at the dinner table, chatting about different things in Pallet Town and adventures Palmer had experienced.

"So you're a gym leader, right?" Barry asked, referring to Misty.

Misty nodded proudly. "Yep, the gym leader of the Cerulean Gym," she boasted.

Barry nodded. "Cool," he said, "what's it like being a gym leader?"

Misty proceeded to tell Barry about the responsibilities of a gym leader, and how she always had a long line of trainers to battle each day, the cleaning that had to be done, taking care of the Pokémon, and fitting enough time for training.

"So basically it's life consuming," Barry established.

Misty nodded, "Pretty much, I don't get much free time."

May nodded. "Yeah, my Dad is a gym leader, and he's always super busy."

Barry thought for a moment, sticking a huge spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth. "So what type to you specialize in?" he asked.

Misty smiled and beamed proudly. "Water type," she said, "That's my favorite."

Barry's face brightened. "Hey, I bet you would like my Empoleon," he said.

Misty tilted her head, "Empoleon?" she asked.

Barry nodded, "Yeah, a water type from the Sinnoh region!"

Misty's face lit up. "Oh, cool," she said, "I'd love to see it."

"Okay," Barry said, setting his silverware down, "Let's go!" he jumped to his feet and dashed outside. Ash, May, and Misty exchanged glances before shrugging and following him outside.

Mrs. Ketchum smiled as she watched the four head outside. "Oh, to be young again..." she murmured, picking up several dishes off the table.

Palmer smiled and wiped his face with a napkin. "Indeed, let me help you with those," he said, picking up a few plates as well.


"Alright, Empoleon, come out!" Barry shouted as he released his Pokémon, Misty watched with keen interest.

When the Water/Steel type came out, Misty's eyes grew wide and she squealed in delight. She approached Empoleon and began to inspect him from head to toe. "He's amazing," Misty sighed in astonishment. Empoleon seemed a bit embarrassed but enjoyed the attention.

"He's a really great battler too," Barry said, proudly folding his arms, "You should see him in action."

Barry showed off some of Empoleon's moves, Misty's eyes sparkling the entire time. Unfortunately, Palmer came out, telling Barry that it was time to go back to the hotel.

"Aw, you're leaving already?" Misty asked, stopping Barry from walking away.

"Yeah," Barry said, "We come, we eat, we leave."

"You should come hang out with us tomorrow," Misty suggested, a smile on her face. "I would love to see what else Empoleon can do."

Ash and May exchanged glances. "Uh, yeah, Barry," Ash said, "You should come over tomorrow."

Barry shrugged, returning Empoleon. "I may have work tomorrow," he said, "We'll see." With that, he spun around and hurried after his father, who was already walking down the road.

They watched the two males disappear down the road. "They seem nice," Misty said.

Ash chuckled, "Just watch out for Barry's fines."


May and Misty were sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV. Pikachu was curled up in May's lap and Ash was taking a shower upstairs.

"Isaac, how could say such a thing?" May heard Mrs. Ketchum say in a hushed voice. May's head perked up and she slowly glanced behind her, seeing Isaac and Delia talking in the kitchen. She tapped Misty's arm and signaled for her to listen.

"All I'm saying is that I don't like this Palmer guy," Isaac said, "He's got weird vibes."

"That's no reason to dislike him," Mrs. Ketchum scolded, "He and Barry are both fine gentlemen. Did you not see Palmer help me with the dishes?"

"Yeah, but they're secretive," he said, "Palmer has some weird secret job he refuses to speak about."

May rolled her eye, look at who's talking, she thought.

"It's not like they're criminals or anything," Mrs. Ketchum protested.

"Still, they make me uncomfortable," Isaac said, "I'd like you to stop inviting them over."

"I can't do that," Delia insisted, "That would be rude."

...

...

...

The two remained silent, May and Misty exchanged glances, not daring to look at the two conversing adults.

"Look, if they are going to continue to come over, then I'm not going to be here when they do," Isaac said.

"Oh, Isaac, stop being ridiculous," Mrs. Ketchum said.

"I'm dead serious," Isaac said sternly.

"Where will you go?" Mrs. Ketchum asked.

May could hear Isaac take a deep breath. "I'll go hang out with my buddies until Palmer leaves," he said.

Mrs. Ketchum huffed. "I don't understand what the big deal is."

"He makes me uncomfortable," Isaac admitted, "I don't like being around him."

Or are you afraid of him? May thought, But why would Isaac be afraid of Palmer?

May heard Isaac's footsteps as the man stepped out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Mrs. Ketchum sighed sadly, and returned to washing dishes.

"What was that all about?" Misty whispered quietly.

May shrugged. "I don't know, I guess Isaac just doesn't like Palmer."

Misty scratched her chin. "Do you think Isaac sees Palmer as a threat?" she asked.

May blinked a few times, tilting her head. "A threat to what?" May asked quietly.

Misty motioned to Delia with her head. May thought for a minute before shaking her head. "No, they're already engaged," she said, "Besides, why would Isaac leave when Palmer's around if that were the case."

Misty thought for a minute. "I guess you're right," she whispered, "But it still doesn't make sense."

"Pika pika, Pikachu?" Pikachu asked. Neither May or Misty replied, unable to understand what he was saying.

May heard more footsteps, these were much more rapid. She craned her neck and looked behind her and saw Ash rushing down the stairs, his hair still wet from the shower. May smiled and patted the couch cushion next to her, where Ash flopped down on the couch.

"What's up?" He asked, Pikachu hopped off and May's lap and into his trainer's.

Misty leaned over as to talk quietly without Mrs. Ketchum hearing from the kitchen. "Does Isaac have anything against Palmer?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Ash tilted his head in confusion. "No," he said, "Why?"

"Isaac just asked your mom to stop inviting Palmer and Barry over for dinner," May answered.

Ash was baffled. "That doesn't make any sense," he said, "Why would he do that?"

"We don't know," Misty answered, "That's why we asked you."

"Pika pika," Pikachu added.

"What are you four talking about so secretively over here?" Mrs. Ketchum asked, walking over to the teens.

"Uh..." May tried to think of something to say.

"We're talking about how we think Pokémon eggs are made," Misty said.

Mrs. Ketchum scowled, "I think you are a little too young for that."

"Ash started it," Misty said with a smirk.

"What?" Ash exclaimed, "No I didn't! We weren't even talking about breeding-" Ash slapped his hand over his mouth.

Mrs. Ketchum sighed and shook her head. "The games over," she said, "You heard our little conversation in the kitchen, didn't you?"

Misty and May lowered their heads, nodding shamefully. "I don't understand it myself," Mrs. Ketchum admitted, "I've never seen Palmer do anything wrong to Isaac. He's really a very nice man."

"Maybe Isaac is just paranoid about something," May suggested.

Mrs. Ketchum shrugged, "Maybe," she admitted, "I just don't get it."


*Wobb Wobb Wobbuffet!*

May groaned, blindly reaching over the side of the bed to the night stand that sat next to her bed. Clumsily, she felt around the table, accidentally knocking off a comb. He found the Wobbuffet alarm clock and impatiently slammed down on the snooze button.

She covered her head with her pillow, letting out another groan. She didn't want to get up, she knew she should, but she didn't. She had been having nightmares about Isaac doing horrible things to her and Ash, some seemed way too specific to dream up.

Figuring it would do her no good to lazily lay in bed, May kicked off her covers and let out a yawn, sitting up in her bed and swinging her feet off the side. She stretched her arms and legs before getting up. She groggily stumbled out of her room and downstairs, finding Ash sitting on the couch watching television while Misty sat on the floor, both still in their pajamas.

"Look at who finally woke up," Ash said, "Did you sleep well, May?"

The tired brunette shook her head, sitting down on the couch and curling up against Ash, closing her eyes. Ash smiled and hugged her, pulling her closer, causing May to let out a quiet groan.

"I still can't believe you two are together," Misty said from the floor, "I thought you would stay immature forever."

Ash scowled at Misty. "I wasn't immature, just… romantically ignorant," he tried to defend himself.

Misty laughed. "'Romantically ignorant'?" she asked, "Aka: dense."

"I wasn't dense!" Ash loudly protested.

"Shh, I'm sleeping," May said. Misty stifled a laugh.

"Oh, sorry," Ash said apologetically.

*Ding* *Dong*

Ash craned his neck to glance at the door. "Someone's here, I wonder if it's Barry," He said.

Mrs. Ketchum stepped over to the door and opened it up. "Oh, hello, Barry," Mrs. Ketchum said, "Come in."

Misty's eyes went wide. "Gah! I can't be seen like this!" she said, she jumped up to her feet and bolted up the stairs.

...

"Isn't Misty more Tom-boyish?" May asked, not even bothering to open her eyes.

Ash scratched his head with his free hand. "Yeah, she's not one to be too worried about appearance," he said.

"It wasn't like she freaked out when you or I saw her," May said, still trying to rest.

"Oh, there you guys are," Barry said, stepping into the room, "Guess what?"

"You don't have work today?" Ash guessed.

Barry pouted and crossed his arms. "Hey! I wanted to say that! I should f-" he cut himself short.

Ash smirked. "You're really doing a good job refraining from your fine thing," he said.

"Oh, whatever," Barry said, rolling his eyes. He sat down on the couch on the opposite side. "Hello, May," he said.

"Hello, Barry," May replied, still not opening her eyes.

Barry looked twisted around and looked about. "Say, were is Mest... Er.. Most..."

"Misty?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, Misty," Barry replied, scratching his head.

Ash gestured to the stairs. "She's getting dressed or something," he said.

"Hmph, never seen her move so fast," May grumbled, but low enough for only Ash to hear.


"We could train."

"We could race."

"We could go fishing."

"We could snack."

"Pikachu pi pika."

Four trainers and a Pikachu sat outside in the front yard of the Ketchum residence. They were currently bored, and were debating what it was they should do.

"Why would we fish?" Barry asked, "That's boring."

"Because, you get to see all sorts of water Pokémon," Misty explained, but Barry was unconvinced.

"But I like to move!" he said, "Fishing is too slow."

"Well, you have to get used to it," Misty explained, "It can be really relaxing."

Barry grumbled something unheard; it appeared he was mocking Misty.

"What did you say?" Misty asked loudly.

"Oh, nothing," Barry replied coolly, but Misty was already standing up.

"Tell me what you said!" She shouted, grabbing Barry shirt and pulling him up to his feet.

"N-nothing!" Barry stammered.

"Nothing... My elbow!" Misty shouted, shaking Barry, "Now what did you say!"

...

"You spit in my face..." Barry said quietly, his anger beginning to rise. "Nobody spits in my face!"

He swung his arms and freed himself from Misty's grip. "Nobody does that to me!" he exclaimed, "Why... I should... I should..." Barry glanced at Ash, who was frantically shaking his head and motioning for Barry to stop.

"You should what?" Misty asked sternly.

Barry inhaled deeply and stood up straighter.

"I... Should... FINE YOU!"

YOU!

You.

you

...

...

...

"Fine me?" Misty asked, her face now completely red. "You fine me? How dareyou!"

"Uh, Barry, I think you should run," Ash said, "She has a-"

Misty pulled out her large mallet. "- hammer..." he finished.

"Eep," Barry said, sweat-dropping as he gazed at the hammer. "Oh, hey is that a Piplup?" he asked, pointing behind Misty.

"What? A Piplup?" Misty questioned, looking behind her to see nothing was that, she looked back at Barry and found that he was already running down the road.

"BARRY GET BACK HERE SO THAT I KILL YOU!" Misty exclaimed.

"Oh yeah," Ash said sarcastically, "That'll get him to come back."

Misty growled and ran down the road after Barry, hammer gleaming in the sun.

...

"Should we follow them?" May asked.

Ash gulped and shook his head. "Nah, Misty is out for blood, I'd rather stay out of this," he said.

May sighed and rolled her eyes. "You can stay here," May said, standing up. "I'm going to try to save Barry."


Barry glanced over his shoulder and saw that Misty was beginning to gain on his. "What? Nobody runs faster than me!" he huffed.

He took a sharp ninety degree turn and dashed into the forest, hoping he would lose Misty in there. He charged through bushes and past trees, pushing aside branches and twigs. His breaths grew heavier and raspier, he was beginning to get tired.

He quickly scanned his surroundings and spotted a large bush; he ran towards it and quickly hid inside. Through the branches, he saw Misty running; she slowed down and came to a halt. She bent over and attempted to catch her breath.

"He... Sure can... Run..." She panted, placing the hammer on the ground.

*Snap!*

Barry silently cursed, as a stick he had been standing on gave in and broke. Misty whirled around and looking in his direction, fire reigniting in her eyes. "There you are!" she exclaimed, she ran at the bush and lunged into it, shoving Barry out the other side. Barry grunted and landed heavily on the ground, Misty pinned him down and growled angrily.

"Now..." she said threateningly, "You're going to apologize, or I'm going to knock your face off with my hammer."

Barry shoved her away and scrambled to his feet. "Get away from me!" he exclaimed, backing up.

Misty cracker her knuckles. "Not today," she slowly approached him.

"I-if you hurt me..." Barry stammered, "My Dad will get you!"

Misty laughed. "Right, he would be thrown in jail for abusing a 'helpless girl'," she said.

It was Barry's turn to laugh. "That's where you're wrong," he said, "My dad can do whatever he wants, he's an undercover cop!"

Barry slapped his hand over his mouth after saying that. Misty's eyes began to glow with curiosity. "You're dad is a what?"


*Insert troll face* U mad?

All will be revealed in the final chapter, so wait patiently. I hope that you'll be looking forward to it.

And yes, I did mention Old Spice. That "Smell is Power" ad with Bounce is literally the funniest thing I've ever seen :D

Once again, add me to your author's alerts so that you know when I post something new tomorrow... And the day after that... And the day after that... And the-

Anyways, don't forget to review! What do you think will happen next?

The Shiny Gengar