Hello, everyone! Welcome to part 22 of the greatest story marathon in terms of stories related to Ash and Misty's love! In the last section, Togepi (with the help of Pikachu and Professor Oak) set up an egg hunt for her mommy and daddy! Of course, it was all so that they would kiss one another. Anyways, this chapter was inspired by an Advanceshipping picture by someone named Arcy! (Not her real name, obviously, just using it for the sake of privacy.) Anyways, you might be asking yourself, "What is a person like you, Northstar POKESHIPPER, doing looking at Ash and MAY love?" Well, honestly, I don't really care for her Advance work. I only follow her for her Penguin and FourthWheel pics. But her most recent one gave me an idea. (Combined with a fanfiction called The Electric Trainer by Supernatural Enthusiast 2866) What is that idea? Well, I won't spoil it here. Just read the story to find out!
Nine-year-old Ash Ketchum was doing some research in the forest for Professor Oak one day. He was aspiring to be a Pokemon Master when he grew up, and a part of it was trying to soak up as much information on Pokemon as possible. He was taking some notes on the Rattata when all of a sudden, a pink blur blew by him. Ash got distracted for a moment.
"Is that a Pokemon I have never seen before?!" Ash asked himself as he decided to abandon his work and chase the Pokemon down. He went deeper and deeper into the forest. However, it proved to be a massive mistake as Ash quickly lost his way. He tried to make his way through the woods back to Pallet Town when he ran into a girl who couldn't be younger than fifteen years old. She was wearing a witch's outfit. "Uh? Hello?"
The teenager looked at Ash and smiled, "Hello there!" she said in a charming Glarian accent, "What's your name?"
"Ash," Ash said, "Yours?"
"My name is Riri." the girl said, "And I am a PokeWitch."
"A Pokewhat?!" Ash asked as he looked at her with a crazy look.
"A Pokewitch," Riri explained, "Basically, I brew potions that have something to do with Pokemon."
Ash looked at her with wide eyes, "Really?! Cool! Mind if I see some of the potions that you brewed?"
"Of course!" Riri said as she opened up the case where most of the vitals of potions were kept. Ash looked at them in amazement. Some potions could change the ability or type of the Pokemon. Others could help them learn moves that would otherwise be unlearnable. Ash picked up a bright yellow potion. The label read "T0F2P5."
"Oh, be careful with that one!" Riri said when she saw Ash pick it up.
"Why?" Ash asked with a concerned look on his face.
"I have yet to test that one," the Pokewitch explained. "But all I know is that the effects of that potion are permanent, meaning whoever it affects cannot have the effects reversed."
"Okay," Ash said as he went to put it back. However, before he could put it back where he found it, the pink blur from before raced in front of him. Ash suddenly lost his grip on the vital! Time seemed to go a lot slower as Ash and Riri screamed in horror. The glass vital hit the ground and broke into a million pieces. The liquid inside seeped towards Ash, and when it touched him, a cloud of yellow smoke formed.
"No!" Riri shouted, "Ash! Are you okay?!"
When the cloud of smoke cleared, the nine-year-old boy was no longer standing there. Instead, there was a Pikachu that was indistinguishable from any other Pikachu. Except for the fact he was wearing the hat the boy once wore. "Uh, Riri? How did you get so big?" Ash asked. However, Riri could only understand the former human's speech as "Pi, Pika? Pikachu Pichuchu?"
Riri started to panic. She inadvertently ruined a boy's life, and she could not say anything. Instead, she pulled out a mirror to show Ash what happened to him.
"What?!" Ash asked, "I'M A PIKACHU?!" Then, it hit him. The effects of the potion were PERMANENT. That meant that he was stuck as a Pikachu for the rest of his life!
Riri nods, "Sorry about that, Ash…"
"Sorry?!" Ash screamed, "You think 'SORRY' will turn me back into a human?!" He wanted to Thunderbolt Riri exceptionally severely. But he didn't know how to use any moves. So, instead, he ran away crying.
"Wait!" Riri said, "Come back!"
But Ashachu was long gone. When he was far enough away from the witch who took his life away from him, Ash looked at a tree and cried his little Pikachu heart out. He couldn't be a trainer now that he was stuck as a Pikachu forever. Delia, his mother, wouldn't recognize him. His friend Gary Oak would tease him. He would encourage his classmates to do the same. Professor Oak would want to do tests on him. His favorite activities would be much harder, if not impossible, now. Ash knew he would never be able to return to his home or loved ones ever again…
One week has passed since Ash became a Pikachu. He managed to learn a few moves and got used to walking around on all fours. But Ash still missed his humanity very much. He was walking through the forest, approaching the edge of it while singing a song his mom taught him when he was very young. However, while the song was fast and uplifting, the version Ashachu was singing was slow and somber.
"I wanted to be the very best,
like no one ever was,
To catch them would have been my test,
Training them would be the cause.
I could have traveled across the land,
And searched far and wide,
But then a witch took my life away,
I'm now a 'Chu on the outside…"
Ashachu eventually saw that he was out of the forest and near a stream. He saw an orange-haired girl sitting by the stream. By the looks of it, she was trying to fish up a Pokemon. Ashachu decided to go talk to her. He ran up to her and sat next to her. "Hello," he said, but it came out as: "Pika."
Misty took an eye off of her rod and saw Ashachu. She smiled, "Hello there, little cutie!"
Ashachu blushes. Maybe all of this attention from being a Pikachu was not so bad, after all.
"My name is Misty, by the way. What's yours?"
Ashachu knew that she could not understand what he said, so he decided to write it down with his tail. He used his tail to make a letter "A" in the dirt, then an "S," and finally, an "H." Misty was surprised.
"You actually have a name?!" she exclaimed, "And I thought most Pokemon go by their species name!" She wasn't shocked, though, just pleasantly surprised.
Ashachu smiled and said, "I do." However, to Misty, it came out as "Pichu."
Misty giggled, "Anyways, I have to get going to the Pokemon Center now. It was nice meeting you, Ash. Goodbye."
She then gathered up her supplies, got up, and left. However, Ashachu did not want to leave her. If he was stuck as a Pikachu forever, he might as well have a functional trainer who would take care of him. And from what he saw in Misty, she looked like an excellent candidate to be his trainer. So he ran after her. "Wait!" he said as loud as he could. And being so small, fifty centimeters tall with his signature hat, it was not that loud. But it was still loud enough to get Misty's attention.
She turned around and saw Ashachu. "Ash? What is it?"
Ashachu smiled and pointed his little Pikachu paws at himself, then at Misty, and then towards the city.
"You want to be my Pokemon?" she asked.
"Pi," Ash said with a nod.
Misty was silent, but nods, "Okay then." She then pulled out one of her spare Pokeballs and faced it at Ash, "You will have to be in there for a few seconds, but you can travel outside with me if you want to."
The former human nods. Ash touched the center of the Pokeball and got sucked in. Ten seconds later, the ball clicked, signaling that he was caught. He then popped out of his Pokeball and smiled at Misty.
"Alright, Ash! Let's go!" she said.
"Pika pi!" the Pikachu said as he got onto her shoulder. As they walked, Ashachu smiled. Riding on Misty's shoulder somehow felt natural to him. He smiled. Good times were ahead for the two of them.
Soon, the duo arrived in Viridian City. As they walked towards the Pokemon Center, Ash looked at a poster. On it was his face and the words "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?". It then gave out his information like appearance, height, weight, and what number to call in case he is found. Ashachu felt a tear roll down his eye. People could search for him for a hundred years, and they would still not find him. All because he was turned into a Pikachu and wiped of all human features.
Misty saw his emotion, "What's wrong, Ash?"
Ashachu pointed to the poster, and Misty saw the boy. She just nods, "Lost boy, huh?" She then saw the boy in the picture, and the Pikachu on her shoulder was wearing the exact same hat. She just shrugged it off as a coincidence and arrived at the center.
"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center. May I heal your Pokemon?" the Nurse Joy behind the counter asked Misty.
"Of course," Misty said as she handed her the Pokeballs and Ash before informing her he dislikes his ball.
"Okay then," Joy said, "This will take a little longer than usual, but they will still be healed soon."
Misty nods as Nurse Joy healed her Pokemon up and handed them back to Misty afterward. "There you go, your Pokemon are fighting fit. Hope to see you again!"
Misty smiled when she felt her tummy rumbled. She looked at the clock and saw it was just about dinner time. "Wanna go and grab something from the cafeteria, Ash?"
"Pika!" the human-turned-rodent said to the redhead.
Misty took that as a yes and smiled at her new partner's enthusiasm. They then headed to the Pokemon Center's cafeteria and got some food. Misty got herself a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. She also got Ash a bowl of Pokemon food. However, to Ash, the burger looked more tempting than the Pokefood. But not being a human anymore meant that he could no longer enjoy the same foods he used to. They sat at an open table with a higher chair for Ash. Misty placed his Pokechow in front of him and put her burger on the opposite side.
"Alright, Ash! Let's dig in!" She then took the bottle of mustard and squirted it on her burger. Ash looked at the ketchup bottle next to it. It was branded as "Mama Dee's Family Style Ketchup." Mama Dee referred to Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. She ran the most popular restaurant in Pallet Town. It was famous for its complimentary sauces, and especially the ketchup. It was so popular, it was the only ketchup served at Pokemon Centers. Ash eyed the bottle and decided to use it to make his Pokechow taste better. So he walked onto the table and grabbed the bottle. Misty gasped as she watched Ashachu open the bottle up with his little Pikachu paws. Several more patrons stared at the strange Pikachu as well. Some of them pulled out their phones and taped his feat.
"Miss," one of the women said to Misty, "You own the smartest Pikachu in the world!" She then handed Misty a coin for 100 Former Japanese Empire Yen. Misty was in total silence as she looked at the coin. She thanked her and looked at Ash.
"Ash, if you can open a bottle and write with your tail, I wonder what else you can do…" Misty said with a smile.
"Trust me, I can do anything!" Ashachu said as he poured the ketchup over his food. Of course, Misty only understood him as saying several "Pi"s, "Ka"s, and "Chu"s.
Several months have passed, and since the incident at the Pokemon Center's cafeteria, Ash and Misty have become famous around the Kanto region! Ash retaught himself (or in Misty's eyes, taught himself) how to do a bunch of stuff that Pikachu normally cannot do. And it was because Ash was not a Pikachu, he was a human boy! He showed the Kanto region he could do simple math problems, organize all of the Pokemon in Pokedex order, operate machinery, and a whole lot more! But there was one thing Ash has been practicing by himself.
You see, the moment he became a Pikachu, he lost his ability to speak to humans. And ever since then, he has been teaching himself how to talk again. Misty did not know this, as Ash was waiting for the perfect time to show her he could speak as a human can. Until that moment, he was disguising his actual speech with sections of his species name. And what's worse? Ashachu was developing a crush on Misty, despite them being two completely different species on the outside.
Meanwhile, Misty was thinking more about her Pikachu partner. She thought back to the boy he pointed out to her on their first day as a duo. Was it a coincidence that they shared a hat and a name? She looked at the stary sky they were camping under for the night. Ashachu could see something wrong with his mistress. He knew he could no longer hide his secret from her.
"Mi…sty?" Ash said.
Misty looked around. She had no idea who said those words. "Who said that?!" She then saw Ashachu smiling a mischievous smile.
"I did," Ash said as he blushes.
"Y… You can speak?!" Misty said.
"I sure can," the Pikachu said with a nod. "I have been teaching myself to talk ever since I became a Pikachu."
"Really?!" Misty said, "As in you have been training to talk since you evolved?"
"I guess you can say that," Ash said, "And there is something I have wanted to tell you for a long time."
"What is it?" Misty asked her partner Pokemon.
"I used to be a human, like you…" Ash said with a sigh.
Misty was stunned in silence. The Pokemon she knew for several months now was not always a Pokemon! "R… Really?" she managed to get out fo her mouth.
Ashachu nods before he explained what went down on that fateful day. Misty listened on as Ash explained how he met Riri in the woods and how he dropped one of her potions. He talked about becoming a Pikachu and how angry he was at the Pokewitch. He then explained how sad he was to have his humanity stripped away from him.
"You do realize that it was not entirely her fault that you turned into a Pikachu, right?" Misty asked, "Some of it was your fault as you dropped the bottle despite her telling you to be careful with it."
Ashachu nods as he said that he was angry in the moment, and the reasonable part of his brain shut down. "I think it is a good idea that we try and find her so I can apologize to her."
"Yeah," Misty said.
"But there is one place I want to go to before we do that…" Ash said.
In a small house in Pallet Town, two females were having a light dinner together. The first was a woman who had fair skin and brown hair; She was Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother. The second was Riri, who has been staying with Mrs. Ketchum since the accident. Even though it was not entirely her fault, Riri decided it would be best to stay with Delia to comfort losing her son.
"You know you didn't have to do this, Riri," Delia said as she ate her soup.
"I know," Riri said, "But still, it must hurt for you to have your son taken away from you a week before he was due to begin his journey. And I chose to stay to try and fill the void."
Delia just nodded. Just then, she heard a knock on the door. Delia excused Riri for a moment and went to open up the door for whoever was there. Through the peephole, she saw an orange-haired girl with a Pikachu in her arms. The strange thing with the Pikachu was that he was wearing the exact same hat that her son used to wear before he turned into a Pokemon. She gasped. Could the Pokemon in the girl's arms be her son?! She decided to let her inside. "Hello," Delia said, "What's your name?"
"Misty," Misty said, "Misty Waterflower. You must be Ash's mom, correct?"
Delia nods, "Yeah. I am. Come on in, Misty!" she said with a smile. Misty headed into the kitchen and sat between Delia and Riri. The moment Ashachu saw Riri, he glares at her.
"You…" he growled at her, "You inadvertently took my life away, you accidentally took my humanity away…"
Riri gulped and prepared for the worst to happen when Ashachu smiled and said in his normal voice, "And most importantly, you have played a role in helping me make my best friend!"
Riri gasped, confused, "Huh?" she asked.
"Excuse me, Pikachu," Delia said, surprised to hear a talking Pikachu with the voice of her son, "Why do you sound like Ash and have the same hat as Ash?"
"It is because I AM Ash," Ashachu said to his mother. There was a long silence, and eventually, Delia broke it.
"You mean…" Delia said to the Pikachu, "You are my son?!"
Ash nods. Delia started to smile as she ran up to the twenty-fifth Pokemon in the Pokedex and hugged him tightly, "Oh, Ashey, I thought I lost you forever!"
Ash just chuckled as Delia looked at Misty and thanked her for returning him to his home.
"No problem, Mrs. Ketchum," Misty said as she smiled.
Later, Ashachu, Misty, Delia, and Riri were sitting in the living room. Ash and Misty explained the adventures that they had. Delia and Riri listened on, interested.
"Anyways, Riri," Ash asked, "Do you, by any chance, have any more of that potion that turned me into a Pikachu?"
"Why do you ask?" the witch asked the Pikachu.
Ash's cheeks turned redder than they already were. He looked at Misty and said, "I want her to be one as well. Because I have had a crush on her that has developed as we traveled."
Misty gasped, "You mean it, Ash?!" she asked her partner Pokemon. Ashachu nodded. "Awesome!" Misty said, "Because I have been developing feelings for you as well!"
Ash smiled and hugged her, "Great to hear that!" He then frowned, however, as did Misty. They both knew very well that human-Pokemon relationships, while not wholly illegal, were heavily frowned upon. Ash then looked back at Riri, "That is why I asked you if you have the same potion that TFd me so that Misty and I can truly be together."
Riri smiled, "Well, you are in luck!" she said as she pulled out a bottle identical to the one that Ash dropped months ago. She then handed the bottle to Misty and asked if she had any loose ends to tie up before she drank it, as the potion's effects are permanent.
"Not really." Misty said, "My parents are dead, and my sisters would care less if I vanish from the face of the earth as they are too busy with other things. All that matters to me right now is being with Ash." She then took the cap of the vital and drank up what was inside of it. It tasted awful, but Misty knew it was all for the best. A yellow cloud of smoke soon formed around the girl from Cerulean City, and when it faded, she was nowhere to be seen. Ash, Delia, and Riri looked at the Pikachu that stood in her place. She appeared the exact same as Ash did, except she had her blue necklace around her neck instead of a hat on her head. She also had a heart indent in her tail to indicate she was a female.
"Oh, my," Ash said as he looks at the Pikachu that used to be his trainer. He ran up to her and hugs her, "You look even more beautiful as a Pikachu!"
Misty blushed at his compliment and returned his hug. Soon, the two Pikachus were kissing.
Delia chuckled as she snapped a picture of her son and his new mate.
And that just about does it for the twenty-second chapter of this series! I had a lot of fun writing this story, and the length certainly shows it! This is by far the longest of any one of the 151 Pokeshipping Stories so far. Anyways, today's question is which of my 151 Pokeshipping Stories would you most be interested in seeing become a full-blown, multi-chapter story? For me, it would be this one for the first place. Water Trainer Ash (2/151), Wild Boy of Kanto (4/151), and Letters to a Faraway Friend would not be far behind. Anyways, I will see you all next Saturday for another brand new story (as well as an announcement). And don't drop anything that you don't know how it will affect you, and dare to Pokeship as always!