Well another day, another update to "The Alphabet Game"! As usual, it took me FOREVER to get it up, and I apologize for that...as usual. I've been more than busy as of late, and it's distracted me quite a bit. Hopefully when school ends I'll be more free to work on updates and such. Before I begin here, I'd like to mention a little something one of my frequent readers, KrazyKat101, mentioned to me that she hoped the next chapter to this story would have been "Xylophone", and not "X-Ray"; and thought that a good idea for a story would have been Pikachu and Togepi playing on one. While I cannot change my story idea at this point, I did think it was a cute chapter. SOOOO, I think all of you should tell KrazyKat101 to write the story! She'll say she can't write, ignore that, she just doesn't want to do it. ;) Anywho, let's get into "X-Ray"!

-EVAN AAML

Brock swung himself over and slid across the floor in his wheeled chair, moving a couple of feet before reaching the control panel. He flipped a single switch and a machine turned on, buzzing quietly, despite its large size. He turned around, facing someone.

"Alright, it'll just take a few seconds, then we'll get an idea of how your leg looks like, alright Ash?", Brock explained. Ash, who sat on a cushioned table, his right leg revealed and sticking through a hole in the machine Brock turned on, nodded. The machine flashed lights around his leg, taking images of his leg bones.

"Thanks again for this Brock, I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice", Ash said. Brock smirked.

"Well, what are friends for? Not exactly E.R. material, but we're not that busy today. Now normally I wouldn't bill you for a visit, but unfortunately we have strict rules about payments for using the X-Ray", Brock explained, feeling guilty. He didn't like having to bill Ash, especially given their close friendship. Ash shook it off with a smile.

"Nah, it's fine. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble, and it's not like I can't afford it", Ash explained. Brock chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess participating in as many Pokémon battles as you doesn't need to worry about a single bill huh?", Brock said. The two shared a laugh. It had been years since the two began traveling together in Kanto. Despite having long stopped traveling, Brock kept in touch with Ash and their other friends they had traveled with, and to this day still hang out together frequently. Since then, Brock had gotten a job as a doctor at a hospital in Pewter City. While this was temporary for the moment, (it was hard for someone who wasn't a Nurse Joy to get a job as a Pokémon doctor, and it often took some time for applications to get through), he was happy and enjoyed his work.

Ash meanwhile had continued his Pokémon battling, having retired from traveling in general. Becoming a professional Pokémon trainer, he was allowed to enter league tournaments without having to collect badges. This allowed him to spend more time with his friends and family, which was something he wasn't going to argue with.

The lights inside the machine turned off, the machine made a few humming noises, and then shut down. Brock spun around in his chair and looked to a computer screen not far from the control panel. After a couple of seconds, the image of Ash's leg and bones showed on the screen. As Brock looked at the screen, Ash pulled his leg out of the machine, removing the heavy lead vest that covered his leg and protected it from the X-Rays of the machine. He left it to the side and swung over, being careful not to hurt his leg anymore.

"Yep, it's definitely broken. Luckily you got to me before it got worse. You'll be in a cast for some time, but you'll recover easy enough. What did you do again?", Brock asked, turning to Ash. Ash looked somewhat nervous, but quickly shook it off.

"I, uh...fell down some stairs", Ash said. Brock raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "What!? You know I'm a klutz! I was in a hurry and wasn't watching where I was going", Ash explained. Brock stared at Ash for a few moments, Ash feeling his nerves getting worse. Eventually however, Brock shrugged.

"Well, I would suggest keeping an eye where you step next time. Especially now while you're recovering. I would suggest avoiding stairs for as long as you can", Brock said. Ash sighed.

"Well guess I'll be sleeping on the couch for some time then huh?", Ash said. Brock snickered.

"Aren't you used to that anyway with Misty living with you?", Brock asked with a laugh.

"HEY!", Ash yelled. Brock burst into laughter at Ash's expense. Since Ash had retired from traveling, he and Misty got to spend a lot more time together. And, as expected, (and to no one's surprise), them being together a lot more often resulted in a resurgence of feelings. This soon led to them dating, which quickly led to them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Now, they had been dating for close to two years, and were living with each other in Veridian. This allowed them to be close to their families, while also being close to the Indigo Plateau for Ash's job. Despite their closer relationship, they still retained their unique personalities, which of course meant that they had their...moments. Namely fighting. Despite this though, they did love each other deeply.

"But being serious, you'll need to get that casted, I'll bring in someone to help you with that. We'll lend you some crutches to get around, and you'll need to avoid stairs and a lot of moving in general", Brock explained.

"Sounds simple enough. Luckily there aren't any tournaments coming up, so I can stay home for a bit and relax", Ash said. Brock nodded and stood up, taking his white doctor jacket off of the chair he was sitting on and putting it on.

"If you can just stay here for a moment, I'll go get the nurse to help with your cast. Meanwhile, I'll go tell Misty what's going on. Is she still in the waiting room?", Brock asked. Ash nodded.

"She should be...unless she decided to leave and not tell me", Ash said jokingly. Brock chuckled lightly.

"Right, right. Alright, I'll go get the nurse", Brock said. He opened the door and was about to walk out. But before he left, he turned and looked to Ash. "Oh, and Ash?". Ash looked up from the table curiously, wondering what it was Brock wanted. "...if you want to keep it a secret that Misty did this to you, that's fine. But you can be honest with me. Being your doctor alone gives you patient confidentiality. But I'm also your friend, and wouldn't tell anyone", Brock explained. Ash looked to Brock with a mixture of feelings, mostly shock and worry.

"Wha? But-how!?", Ash asked. Brock couldn't help but smile.

"Ash, I've known you and Misty for years now, I know how you two can get. This isn't the first time she's injured you from one of your fights. I know she doesn't do it purposely, but the injuries she does give you have a pattern", Brock explained. Ash looked to Brock in shock still, but also felt impressed at Brock's capabilities and deductive reasoning.

"...Alright. Sorry I lied to you...Misty felt terribly guilty, and I didn't want her to feel any worse than she already did", Ash explained. Brock nodded, understanding. Despite her temper, Misty was quick to feel guilty for her actions. It wouldn't surprise him if Misty immediately tried to pay for Ash's X-Ray. Ash of course was easy going. He knew she didn't mean to break his leg, and they shared a love that most people couldn't even fathom. It would take a lot more than this to break them apart.

"It's ok. I assumed as much. So what? Did she throw you down the stairs?", Brock asked in a joking manner. Ash chuckled, putting his hand behind the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeeaahh, well, we were arguing upstairs, and she pushed me. But I was the one that tried to catch himself on the railing by the stairs and slipped", Ash explained. Brock sighed heavily, he should have figured.

"Of course...well, I'll go tell Misty the news. You'll be out of here soon, just take it easy ok?", Brock asked. Ash laughed.

"I make no promises", Ash answered. Brock laughed out loud as he left the room.

He expected nothing less.

There we go! Short and sweet, such is a one-shot! It's not much, but this was meant for entertainment, not a riveting plot or story like longer stories. Not much else to say here, so allow me to pick out the next word for my second to last chapter for "Y"!..."Yuck". XD Oh goodness. Whelp, I'm thinking that the next chapter will be a comedy, and I'm also thinking it will involve cooking. Sounds good to me! Thank you all for waiting so patiently for updates! Please be sure to F.A.R., and to check out my Twitter account for updates and news. And be sure to send KrazyKat101 messages about writing that story! DON'T LET HER NOT DO IT! :P

sincerely,
evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML