Author's Note: Hope everybody is enjoying the holidays so far, here it is the latest installment of When One Ends. Read and enjoy
Summary: About 5 years have passed since the gang saw Ash, he reappears out of the blue in his hometown of Pallet much to the surprise of everyone. Ash decides it's time for him to settle down and open a gym in Pallet. What new trials and tribulations await our young hero? Rated M for adult situations that will occur later on in the story. AshxMisty,MayxDrew,BrockxSoldat. Takes place after the Sinnoh League
Disclaimer : Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and , I do however claim all OC's created by myself in this story
Please Read and Review, constructive criticism welcomed.
Chapter 4: Scratch My Back and I Scratch Yours
"I really don't remember the walk from Bill's house to Cerulean taking this long." said Ash out loud to himself. His long time travel companion had opted to shelter himself from the blazing noonday sun in his backpack and was more than likely snoozing away. Ash stopped for a second and decided to wipe the sweat off his face. "I wish I could fit in a bag and somebody carry me." He sighed once again and continued on his destination. As he made his way over along Route 24, he longingly glanced at the cool and refreshing looking waters of the lakes that were on either side of the road.
"No, I have to go to the gym and see Misty." he reminded himself. Even thought he was telling himself to focus on the task at hand it seemed as if the water was calling him. His feet started to move on their own and he was headed towards the lake in front of him. He then snapped out of his body's control of his brain and headed in the direction of Cerulean City. As Ash turned his head once more to look at the lake he could have sworn he saw a head peaking out from underneath and eyes staring at him. Ash decided that he must be hallucinating due to the sun's heat and trekked onwards.
After a few more minutes of walking he arrived back in civilization. His first goal was to secure food and recuperate from the suns beating. He began to remember this hidden restaurant Misty had taken him and Brock too when they visiting Cerulean for her birthday.
'This place surely has changed.' Ash looked too and fro trying to gain his bearings. He would have simply asked Dexter for directions but unfortunately he couldn't remember what the restaurant's name was. All he remembered was that it made a mean deli sub and that was definitely what he had a hankering for. It took a few more minutes and he finally decided to ask somebody and thankfully they were able to help him out.
"Past the pokeblock stand and take a left..." Ash smiled as he had made his way to the restaurant.
As he walked in. "Why if it isn't Mr. Ash Ketchum." Ash was taken back by someone calling his name. He turned to see that it was the owner of the deli working behind the counter.
"Yes it is. I can't believe you remember my name. It's been a good while since the last time I was in town."
"How can I forget a person that complimented me so much on my cooking. We even put up a picture next to your record." The owner motioned to a plaque with a photo of him eating what looked like to be his 15th plate of food. Ash scratched the back of his head as he became slightly embarrassed by the memory.
"I guess I was pretty hungry that day."
"Don't think so, if it wasn't for Misty you probably wouldn't have made it past your 3rd plate. But since she bet that you couldn't beat the house record which was eight at the time your ego kicked in."
Ash smiled as the whole event came racing back into his head. "I think she was doing that so she wouldn't have to pay for the meal."
The owner laughed out loud. "Thanks to your effort business is booming, everybody thinks they can do it but so many have failed. And thankfully they have to pay their bill." the owner gave Ash a toothy smile, Ash just sweat dropped and laughed lightly in response.
"So what can I do for you today Ash?"
"Fix me up with a deli-sandwich."
"Just one?"
"Yes, just one this time."
"Alright." The owner began preparing the sandwich for his favorite customer. By this time Pikachu had decided to wake up and emerged from Ash's bag to resume his normal position of being on his shoulder. As Ash felt the weight shift in his bag he reached out his hand to rub the head of his long time friend, which earned a groggy but delighted squeal.
"There you go!" The owner slid the plate along the table and due to the years of honing this skill the plate stopped on a dime in front of Ash. As Ash bit into the sandwich and began to make quick work of it. "So where is Misty? Long time I haven't seen you two around town.'
"Well we have stopped traveling together for a little while now and I was in a Sinnoh for a spell."
"I see. Hello and welcome!" the owner greeted another customer and went to taking their order. Ash decided it was time for him to get going; he polished off the rest of the sandwich and left payment and a tip on the plate.
"Later old man. Hopefully you will be seeing me more frequently." The owner nodded in acknowledgement and continued serving the new customer.
Ash made his way onto the surprisingly busy streets of Cerulean City. It was surprising how the places he visited when he was younger had changed. It was always a city but never this busy. There was definitely more vehicular traffic and now the sidewalks weren't as empty as they were the last time he visited. In a few minutes Ash was able to locate the Cerulean City Gym. Ash found himself waiting outside the gym's gates way longer than he expected. There was a sense of apprehension, deciding to get along with it he inhaled deeply and let out a loud sigh and opened the gates.
The gym had not changed at all. It looked the same way it did all those years ago, but when Ash went inside he saw a lot of changes. Most notable was the Gyrados staring directly at him in the gym's tank. As Ash moved so did the Gyrados, Ash moved up and it followed, to the left then to the right, then up and down rapidly and it still followed. Ash then bolted with the Gyrados swimming behind him. Ash turned left since it was obvious that the Gyrados on the right side of the tank couldn't follow him. He stopped to catch his breath, but he had the feeling something was behind him and as he turned to the source it was none other than the same Gyrados. Ash began to step back slowly and decided to bolt once again; as he shot down the corridor he passed a familiar face.
"Can we help you?"
Ash stepped a few paces back. "Hey there Daisy, Misty in?"
Daisy blinked a few times and then began to scream, from behind her a door flew open with Lily and Violet emerging.
"Daisy what's wrong?" enquired Lily.
"It's.... it's..." The two younger sisters along with Ash had puzzled looks on their faces. "It's Ash!!"
The two sisters began to look at Ash and then screamed causing Ash to jump back in surprise.
"What?? What did I do?"
"You surprised us that's all...you don't look." by this time the three sisters eyes were scanning Ash up and down. "Well...you know..."
""Dorky..." chipped in Lily and Violet.
"Umm thank you??" said Ash who had no clue as to what to say. "So like I asked before, is Misty in?"
"No she's out on a d...OW!" Violet began rubbing her side, the side that Lily just elbowed. Ash looked puzzled once again at what was going on.
"She's out on a daring adventure. She won't be back until evening." explained Daisy uneasily.
"Uh-huh..." said Ash who knew there was something going on but decided to get back to why he came here originally. "Is it okay if I stay until she returns?"
The sisters then looked at each other as if their eyes communicated with each other, then they simultaneously looked towards Ash and smiled. "Sure, it should be alright. Just don't go out too far, like you know restaurants..." said Daisy.
"Or the bowling alley...' added Lily.
"Or anywhere cool." continued Violet.
Ash was now looking at the trio skeptically, but then he remembered the promise to Melanie. "Umm, do any of you guys know where I can catch a Spheal around here? Preferably a baby one if possible."
The sisters blinked as if they were confused by the request. "Why would you want a Spheal?"
"Yea Ash, I thought you weren't much of a water type user."
"Yea that is true, but I made a promise to someone and I would really hate to disappoint them."
"Hmmm." Daisy put her hand on her hips as if she was going into deep thought. She then raised her head and had a not too comforting smile planted itself on her face. "We have a few Spheals in the gym, but the younger set well....' Daisy paused.
"The runt of the litter is mischievous." filled in Lily.
"So do I have to trade one of my pokemon or do you guys feel like being charitable?"
"Charitable no, generous maybe."
"Generous?"
"Well you see Ash, if you scratch our back we will scratch yours." said Daisy with a mischievous grin.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Well you see in the lake near the golden bridge a stray Vaporeon has been spotted. Whether it ran away from its previous owner or if it was abandoned, it is a problem. You see it has a habit of attacking female and young trainers. Being the helping people that we are. Lily, Violet and I went to the bridge to capture the Vaporeon and save travelers from its onslaught. However things did not go as planned, you see the creature was way stronger than we thought and defeated us all."
"So basically you want me to catch the strong Vaporeon for you guys and in return I get a 'mischievous' runt?'
"Yup, so what do you say Ash?"
Ash crossed his arms and thought about the situation. More than likely the sisters just wanted the Vaporeon for themselves which means they should go and catch the pokemon if they want it so badly. But there is the promise he made to Melanie, and he knew himself that it would take a miracle to find a Spheal in Kanto. Letting out a sigh. "Fine." Ash turned around and headed to the entrance. "Give me about an hour and make sure you stick to our deal."
Ash made his way out of Cerulean City and managed to make his way to the bridge. Ash was waiting for more than an hour now and there was no sign of the stray Vaporeon. He was beginning to think the sisters sent him on a wild goose chase but he saw something moving on the surface of the water. He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him because he could have sworn he saw a finned crown sticking above the surface. That is when Ash remembered that Vaporeons had the ability to melt themselves into water when ready. Ash thought for a moment and then smiled as he thought of a way to get the Vaporeon to reveal itself.
"Pikachu Thunder" he told his long time battle companion. Pikachu happily complied; he ran towards the lake and gave the lake a shock treatment. That is when Ash saw a body emerge from the water.
"Pikachu dodge it!" ordered Ash as a water gun blast was heading in Pikachu's direction and thankfully it was done in time. As Pikachu returned to his side, the Vaporeon stood defiantly on top of the lake's surface. Ash now stepped towards it and he could see that the Vaporeon was stepping back as if intimidated by him.
"It's ok. I just want to move you to a different location. There will be people who will take care of you and you will have all the freedom you want." Ash at the same time was scanning the Vaporeon to see what condition it was in. Truth be told, it's body seemed rather frail and it looked exhausted.
'Battling is definitely not a good idea.' Ash reached inside his pocket and transferred one of his starting six pokemon. He then took out an empty pokeball and threw it. Vaporeon let out a weak growl and used its tail to knock the ball back to him.
"I don't want to hurt you Vaporeon I just want to help you." The Vaporeon still remained in its defensive stance. Ash sighed. 'Guess there is no other choice.' Ash put back the empty pokeball and took out one of his own. "Lapras! I choose you!"
As the burst of light died down in front of Ash stood his Lapras. Ash then took out his earplugs and placed them in his ears. "Lapras Sing!" On command the pokemon began to sing a soothing lullaby. Pikachu made his way onto Ash's shoulder and was curled up sleeping. In the surrounding area Kakunas and Metapods along with their evolutionary counterparts were dropping. Ash watched as his plan was starting to work. The Vaporeon was trying to put up a resistance but the sheer strength of Lapras' sing made it futile and in a few moments it slept on the surface of the water.
"Good job Lapras, return!" Ash kissed Lapras' ball before placing her back inside his jacket. "Pokeball go!" Ash was surprised that the pokeball was able to float on top of the water as Vaporeon was captured.
"Now to go and get that Spheal."
After retrieving the floating pokeball from the lake, Ash made his way back towards Cerulean City and the city's gym. After a few minutes of navigating the glass maze he was able to find the sisters who were practicing for the water ballet routine. Ash made his way to the top of the platform, the sisters unaware of his presence.
"I can't believe that you still put on these shows."
The trio and their pokemon were startled briefly but regained composure as they saw it was only Ash. "Yes we do, it has become an attraction for Cerulean City and another way of income for the gym. Thanks to these shows, our tanks and training areas were given a nice bit of remodeling."
"Hmm I see." Ash began to think.
"Were you able to capture it?" asked Lily.
Ash broke out of his train of thought. "Yes I was able to but I need you guys to promise me that you will take care of this pokemon. It seems to be malnourished as it's coat doesn't seem to have the shine that healthy Vaporeons normally have."
"You look down on us Ash, we may not be the best battlers out there but we do know how to take care of our pokemon."
"I knew that from long time, I just wanted to hear you say it." Lily then swam over to him to collect the pokeball. "Hold on there a minute, if I remember correctly our deal was that if I bring you the Vaporeon I get me a Spheal."
"We remember Ash, we weren't going to double cross you or anything." Ash raised an eyebrow. "Fine then follow me." Daisy emerged from the water, which caused Ash to blush slightly as he realized he was staring at her figure more than necessary. "You would think that you would forgive us for the pranks we pulled on you five years ago." she mumbled as she made her way to the daycare tank of the gym. She then pointed at a Spheal that was playing on top of the 'iceberg' in the tank.
"You guys really go all out, having an ice pokemon habitat."
"We didn't do that. He did..."
Ash looked at the size of the block the pokemon had made. "Are you serious?"
"Yep and every time we get Gyrados to melt it away with dragon fire he goes right back and does it again. The little bastard just seems to enjoy floating on it."
"So how do I get him out of there?"
"Come with me." Daisy led Ash to the top of the tank and onto the walkway and then she suddenly dropped her towel. In seconds the ice barge was floating towards them and the Spheal began bouncing excitingly. "This Spheal has a thing for pretty ladies." Daisy reached out her hands and picked up the baby Spheal much to its delight. Daisy then handed the pokemon over to Ash. "Here you go, but I must warn you..."
The spheal had a frown on its face and flew a cool breath on Ash's face causing icicles to form on his nose. "He doesn't really like guys."
Ash shook his face to get some feeling back into it and remove the icicles from his face. "You should have told me this earlier."
"Sorry, slipped my mind." said Daisy with a sweet smile. Ash then placed the Spheal inside a pokeball and made his way back to the gym's rehearsal area.
A few more hours passed and Ash was beginning to be bored not to mention it was getting late in the day and he told his mother he would be coming home for dinner. He had really wanted to see Misty again but it seems it wasn't meant to be. He felt a little bit saddened but cheered himself up by remembering that he accomplished two of the three goals he made for the day. The other one could be fulfilled at a later date. Ash got up and brushed himself off.
"Sorry guys but I have to go. Will you tell Misty that I came to see her and will return either tomorrow or on the weekend for me?"
"She should be coming back shortly you know Ash." stated Violet.
"Yea that's what you said two hours ago. I have to get home, don't want my mother thinking I ran off again."
"Alright then Ash we will. Thanks again for the Vaporeon" said Lily. Ash waved goodbye and made his way to the exit. This trip was a quick one as he found himself running from the stalking Gyrados. As he shot through the exit he bent over, with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. That's when he heard the sounds of a car pulling up; he lifted his head to see a baby blue sports car pull up in the parking lot. Out of the driver's seat emerged a blonde haired gentleman; he looked like the complete opposite of Ash. Suave, smooth and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The pretty boy made his way to the passenger's side and opened the door. In front of Ash's eyes emerged a head of flowing orange hair the he knew all too well. The female was curved in all the right places, her form fitting dress just seemed to enhance them and stopped short enough to reveal her scintillating and toned legs.
Ash opened his mouth to call her name but the words never formed as he saw what unfolded in front of him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and his around her waist and their lips were merging into one. As Ash stared it seemed as if an eternity had passed before the two parted once again. The young gentleman made his final goodbyes and stepped into his car pulling off. The familiar orange hair beauty turned and watched the car disappear oblivious to the observer. She turned and headed towards the gym's entrance her head down as she fumbled to look for her keys. She finally managed to find them but clumsily dropped them. As she reached to pick them up someone had managed to reach them before her.
"Thank...you...." As she got a look on the stranger's face she stood there stunned. Unable to move or talk, she simply stared but after a few minutes she was able to mention one word. "Ash...."
Author's Note: Please don't kill me =P. Read and review and as always constructive criticism duly welcomed.