Interlude II – Ash's story

As ash fell asleep in the armchair, his thoughts about the mouse turned to dreams and then into the wonderful memories of how they had come to be together.

From the day they had thought the spearow a strong bond of love and friendship had been built between the two of them. Since that day the two were inseparable. They ate together, slept together, shared the good time together and comforted each other in the bad time. Pikachu was getting stronger and they managed to win many battle together. They were the perfect team. Pikachu was his best friend.

But Ash's feelings were oh so much more that mere friendship. They went right to his core. He couldn't help but stare at Pikachu. He couldn't eat properly, Couldn't sleep properly. But it went beyond that Ash deeply cared for Pikachu. He wanted to be there for him. to protect him. to make him happy. He felt he could tell Pikachu anything and that everything would be okay as long as they were together.

More than that, Ash felt attracted to Pikachu. Sometimes when he battled, or when he touched him, he would feel his pants grow tight. He would always think of pikachu when he masturbated. He wanted to tell Pikachu how he felt but could not seem to find the courage, despite feeling he could tell him anything.

But there was doubt in Ash's mind.

'he's a pokemon' ash thought to himself. 'and he's male. Is it even okay for me to feel like this.'

His strong feelings for Pikachu confused him slightly.

'am I gay. Am I normal'

It was all painful and confusing for poor ash. He needed some help. Someone he could talk to.

Ash thought about it. Could he tell misty about it.

No

She was a friend but that was all. They were not close enough for him to be able to talk to her about it. Besides she could be unpredictable. Who knew how she would react.

But he could talk to Brock. Brock was like an older brother to him. He took care of him. Cooking, cleaning, making sure they had everything, helping with his training. He knew he could talk to the older boy about anthing. And he was a guy, so he would know more about boys issues than Misty.

A month after they had been attacked by the spearow they were camping in a forest near Mt. Moon. Ash and Brock had been sharing a tent. Misty had her own tent because she was a girl and it would be inapporiate for them to share together.

It was a warm summers night so they were both sleeping shirtless. Pikachu was deeply asleep. He had curled into a ball at the foot of Ash sleeping bag. But neither Ash or Brock could get to sleep. It was too hot. Ash decided this was a good time to talk.

"Hey brock," he whispered so not to disturb Pikachu.

"Yeah," the older boy replied.

"can I talk to you about something"

"sure Ash. Anything you want"

"can we go outside. I don't want Pikachu to hear."

They carefully crawled out of the tent to avoid waking the sleeping mouse. Once they were outside, they sat down around what had been the campfire before they had put it out.

"what did you want to talk about." Asked Brock.

"Umm..it's sort of personal" Ash Said.

Brock looked at him kindly.

"It's okay. You can trust me with anything. I'm here for your man."

"well" said ash. He was unsure where to start. He decided to start with what would be the least shocking information.

"Well.. I, I think I might be gay," he said not looking directly at brock. What Brock said next surprised him.

"is it Pikachu"

how did he know.

"Umm"

Brock put his hand on Ash's shoulder.

"It's okay. It's Pikachu isn't it. Your in love with Pikachu"

Ash had not expected this. He felt emotionally overwhelmed. A tear was building in the corner of his eye.

"yeah.. it. It is," he said fighting back the urge to cry. "I really like Pikachu. I love Pikachu. But I don't understand, i… how."

He couldn't complete the sentence

"it's okay Ash" said Brock. "I understand. I've seen you two together. You have the strongest bond of friendship I've ever seen between a trainer and pokemon, even in the space of a month. It's perfectly natural for you to feel that way. Have you told him yet"

"no" said Ash. "I want to but…"

Ash begun to tear up. Brock moved closer and put his arm around him comfortingly.

"your not sure how he'll react and you don't know if you could handle rejection"

it was like brock knew him better than he did himself. He said nothing.

"Ash listen to me" Brock said seriously. He moved his hand up to Ash's face to wipe away his tears. "Pikachu is in love with you too."

"how do you know"

"because I've seen the way he looks at you. They way you two are together. I've watched him stare and you when you sleep. I'm a breeder. This sort of thing comes naturally to me. Trust me you two will make a great couple."

Ash just stared at the ground.

"But he's a pokemon"

"so. That doesn't natter. most trainers fall in love with their starter pokemon or another member of their team. It's perfectly natural. In fact most of the strongest trainers are the ones who form relationships with their pokemon. It makes them stronger as people and pokemon and they work together more effectively."

Ash said nothing.

"you should tell him Ash. You two belong together. This is the start of a long and happy relationship for you both."

Ash said nothing. A relationship with Pikachu. Oh how he wanted that. It would mean the world to him. It would mean more than even his dream to become a pokemon master.

"Okay" he said finally. "I'll tell him."