A/N: Ooooh insight into the Ketchum's past. There'll be a few of these, and it's my version of how Gary and Ash became rivals in the first place:D Neat, huh?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except a few battered Pokemon cards from way back when they were cool xD


LEGENDS: Dark Angel

Boys & Girls

Flashback

A boy was crying under the blossom tree in the South of Pallet Town. He sniveled weakly, angry, confused tears dashing out of his eyes as he tried to make sense of the scene he had just witnessed. Why, why, why would his own dad hit his soft, brown haired mom? Boys didn't punch girls! Dads didn't hit Moms! Husband's didn't hurt their wives! It just wasn't right!

They had been yelling furiously, shouting horrible things he didn't need to hear. His Dad had said he was going to leave! And Mom said he should get a move on with it, he'd been... threat... threatening to do so for years! Dad had shouted FINE! right in Mom's face and she had been scared, he saw it in her brown eyes, saw the way she trembled in the pastel coloured clothes. Her voice shook as she shouted back, telling him he would never leave his own son and if he did-! Dad was like, Just watch me, he means nothing to me, just a mistake! The little boy was so confused, running his small hands over his dark spiky hair, still crying.

At the same time, a few streets away from the Ketchum residence, a removal van was pulling up outside a recently acquired house. A little girl with a tangle of soft brown hair quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and slipped away, unnoticed. She ran, even though she had no idea where she was, or where she was going. She rushed past a row of houses, and unknowingly, the famous Oak house and laboratory, and a slightly battered Vulpix plushie fell out of the loop on her jeans.

"Oh!" cried a man in a white coat, who was currently washing dishes and looking out the window. "You should go and give her back the toy," he suggested to the small boy who was currently tugging at his white lab coat to get his full attention. The spike haired kid had been blathering incessantly about starter Pokemon, and could he please, please, please get a real special one, maybe even an Eevee? However he dropped the one sided conversation and sped out of the kitchen, letting the front door shut with a tremendous bang! The Professor winced, the boy was such a handful already! He couldn't even fit a Pokeball in one hand yet and was already obsessed! He doted on the boy, clearly, and loved looking after him when his mother was too busy but there was only so much an old grandfather could take!

Being naturally athletic, the dark haired boy quickly scooped up the doll and caught up with the girl.

"Hey! Hey, miss! You dropped this!" She turned around, blue eyes wide with shock, mouth open as he handed her the Vulpix plushie rather roughly. She smiled her thanks and hugged the doll closely.

"Vulpix is a fire Pokemon," the boy said rather proudly.

"I know. They're really warm and cuddly in real life! I see lots of them, my mommy's a Pokemon nurse."

"Wow. I don't know what job my mom does," he shrugged casually.

"I don't know where I'm going," the girl admitted, turning to the boy with her deep blue eyes almost anxious, but still friendly.

"I do. I live here. Your eyes are really, really, really dark blue."
"So?" the girl scowled.

"I think I like them. They're nice."

"OK," the girl relaxed, then wrinkled her little nose. "Your hair's really messy. And spiky." She got him in a headlock and scrubbed the dark spikes roughly while he struggled. She let go and pranced away, before setting into a full blown run. She had caught sight of pretty pink blossom petals in the distance.

"Hey, I - Oh!" the girl was startled into silence by what she saw, and her new 'friend' stumbled by her side and started at the sight of his neighbour. The usually tough boy was sitting curled up under the tree, crying.

"Why are you crying like a girly girl?" he demanded at once, and received a push from the girl next to him.

"Why are you here?" snapped the boy at the tree.

"Do you not know you'll turn into a girl if you cry like one?"

"Do you not know you'll catch cooties standing next to one?"

The girl punched the boy standing in the face and kicked the boy sitting hard in the shin.

"OW!" they both roared, clutching at their new injuries.

"What did you do that for?" they shouted in unison.

"Well, do you expect me to just stand there and be insulted by you two boneheaded cooty jerks?" she pushed the boy standing onto the ground for good measure and continued kicking them both. "My big brother says fists, feet and effing violence solve everything! And I think he's right!"

"OK, OK, we're sorry!" they both wailed and she stopped kicking them at once and flopped down on the ground beside the two boys with absurdly messy, spiky dark hair. There was a difference- the raven coloured hair was short, and the auburn coloured was long.

"Hiya. I'm Jodine," she gave them both a beaming smile.

"I'm Ash."

"I'm Gary."

"Thanks for saving my Vulpix," she acknowledged the first boy. "Sorry for kicking you when you were already down," she apologised to the second.

"It's okay," Ash and Gary said together, and they both tentatively smiled at each other.

"Why were you crying, anyway?" Jodine's deep blue eyes looked at Gary's brown ones. He blushed and looked away.

"Doesn't matter. It's stupid. Wanna play tag? Loser's it, and that means you, Ashy!" Gary shouted out enthusiastically and the three youngsters immediately began chasing, Gary's crying, for the moment, forgotten. As Jodine started climbing up the tree and the two boys followed eagerly, they were shouting playfully as if they'd known her for years.

"You can do it, Jodi!"

"Yeah, go, Jodi! You'll need to stop for a rest, though, girls get tired pretty quick, right?"

"Come up here and say that right in my face, Gary-boy!"

"He could be right..."

"You wanna fist in your face too, Ashy-boy?"

And so began the start of a beautiful, if a little dysfunctional, friendship.