Chapter 3
"Ketchup And Mayonnaise"
'Ashura…'
'Huh?'
'Ashura…'
'Who's there?'
'Where are you, Ashura?'
'Uh…Who are you?'
'Where are you?'
'…I asked first!'
'……You truly believe you are a human…?'
'I am.'
'…Poor Ashura……'
'What are you talking about!? Who are you, anyway!?'
'…Poor, poor Ashura……'
'Stop calling me that!'
'Dear Ashura…Do not yell……'
'I can yell if I want to!! Who are you!!?'
'…I will speak to you again…Goodbye, Ashura…'
'Wait a second! You didn't even tell me who you are!!'
… …
* * *
It took a while to recover enough to satisfy Mom. She wouldn't let me leave the bed until she was completely sure that I was okay. I guess that's what mothers are for, huh?
…I didn't tell anyone about that strange dream. I felt it was best if they didn't know.
I worked on Transforming into myself. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to challenge the Elite if they knew that I was Pokémon…I could never completely get rid of the pain, and it was very exhausting…but that was another thing I hid…I wanted them to keep their faith in me…They wouldn't trust me to battle the Elite Four if I could barely keep myself as me…
I trained my Pokémon too. I knew I would only be able to bring six with me, but I trained all of them…Even Charizard let me train it…
The others had told me what had happened to it in the explosion. The combination of the Acid on its face and the fire that it had created had burned away a lot of its skin. They said the same thing had happened to me, only I had been covered entirely in sludge, not just my face…I think we both looked a lot better after we had been given time to recover.
Because I didn't want too many people knowing about my true form, whenever I left the house, I made myself Transform. I did all of the training outside, so I could get more used to Transforming for a long time…As time passed, I began to pray that the battles against the Elite would last less than twenty minutes…
* * *
"Asha!!"
Asha…?
I only knew one person in the world who called me Asha…
I looked up. A young, brown-haired girl was leaning over the fence, grinning at me.
"Mayo!" I said in greeting.
"Pika?"
'Mayo?'
"Yeah."
Mayo laughed and climbed over.
"Well, Asha, it looks like you've got yourself a lotta Pokémon!" she said.
"That's for sure…"
She looked around at all of them.
"…And you became a Pokémon Master…"
"Uh-huh…"
"…So……did you have fun?"
"Sure did."
"………That's good…"
"…Something wrong, Mayo?"
"……Asha, do have any idea how boring it was without you and Gary around!?"
"Well, uh…"
"There wasn't anyone around to bother! And you weren't there to keep me company…!"
"Mayo…"
"And-"
"Mayo……"
"-when you did come back, you didn't even come over to say hi!! What kind of friend's that!?"
"Mayo, I-"
"Asha! Why didn't you tell me you were here!!? I had to find out from Grandpa, of all people!"
"Eh heh…"
"…Well…Anyway, I'm glad you're back."
"Yeah, me too."
That's when I started to worry about something completely different.
I'm gonna have to change back soon……What's Mayo gonna say when she finds out…?
…Does she have to find out…?
"Uh…Mayo…I'm kinda in the middle of something right now……Do you think maybe you could come by later…?"
"What!? You're too busy for me!?"
"Well, uh…Not…um……Well, I'm just about done training for the day, and after I'm done, I……usually like to take a rest before I do anything else."
There. That's not too far from the truth……
"…Oh……I see……I get it. You don't need to hide it from me, Asha. I understand…"
"Huh? Hide what?" I asked honestly.
There's no way she could know about……Right?
"Quit it, Asha. I know what's going on."
"…You do??"
"Oh yeah…You left Pallet, off to become a Pokémon Master……You left all by yourself…You come back after a year, and guess what? You are a Pokémon Master…A big shot…I'm just not worth your time anymore……I guess I'll go home now……"
She hung her head and started shuffling back to the fence.
"Wait a sec, Mayo!!" I cried.
She stopped and looked at me expectantly.
"Umm……You have got it all wrong…I………"
"Uh-huh…?"
"Ummmm………There's…uh………Ummmmmmm……"
"What is it, Asha?"
"Uhm…Do you think you could come back later…? I have to think about exactly how I want to tell you this……uh………I don't want to……shock you…"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Why don't you tell me now, so I don't have to try to figure it out in the meantime?"
…That's probably a good idea……
…Wait a second, I can't tell her…She……
……She's my friend. I can trust her……I know I can!
"Mayo…Come with me…" I said quietly.
She nodded and followed me into the house.
Before I let us in, I had to make sure that no one was around. I didn't want anyone else to know what I was about to do until they had to.
"Pikapi!?"
'What are you doing!?'
"Pikachu……Everyone…You stay here and keep on training, okay? I'll be right back."
"Pika…chu…"
'Okay…I guess…'
It might not have been a good idea to leave all of them out there by themselves, but Team Rocket had other troubles at the moment, and I was certain that my Pokémon could take care of themselves.
…We ended up in the "study", the least used room in the entire house…It was full of books…Most of them were about gardening and Pokémon. Dad had……
* * *
……Before he left…he had left a lot of Pokémon stuff here so that I would be well educated before I began Pokémon training……A lot of good that did me……
…No, the real reason it didn't do me any good was because I was too lazy to read through them all……
…There were a lot of potted plants in the study…Mom liked to keep the place "lively" by putting a lot of living things there……I never fully understood her logic, but then again, I never really needed too…
……Of course, I couldn't get away with living in that house without helping her take care of the plants……She said she'd always liked plants…the same way that I had always liked Pokémon…I guess we kind of rubbed off on each other, because now she has Mimey……and Bulbasaur's one of my strongest Pokémon…
……I had never imagined that I would actually become a Pokémon. Sure, I had wondered what it might be like, but I wanted to stay human so I could train them……Now, I couldn't help but wonder if my dream was over already…
* * *
"…Asha? You okay?"
"Uhh…Yeah…I'm okay……"
I tried to ignore the nostalgia in that room………Before I had actually met him……my dad had been my hero………
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I'm sure………" I took a deep breath, "……Okay……Um…Mayo? I have to tell…er……"
"Yeah, I know. That's what you said."
"No. I mean………I can't just tell you. I have to show you, otherwise, you won't believe me."
"Asha! Why wouldn't I believe you?" she asked indignantly.
"Quiet!" I hissed, "Now……uh…well……This is different……Okay……um…have you ever heard of a Mew?"
"A Mew?"
"Yeah. Well, have you?"
"Ummm……I……don't think so……………Wait! Yes I have! I read about it in one of Grandpa's books! It was…a fairy tale I think……um…Something like 'The Legend Of Mew', or something like that……It was an interesting story……Too bad it's not real."
The Legend Of Mew…?
(A/N: No, this is not an ad for "The Legend Of Mew". I am assuming that you have already read it, if you're reading this fic! *^_~*)
"What was it about?" I asked.
"Oh um……It said something about……uh…It's hard to remember. It's been a while, but……I think it said something about humans and Mews used to be the same, or something like that…? It was kinda weird…"
She continued on about some other Pokémon, but only one part stuck in my mind.
Humans and Mews……the same!!?
I realized that Mayo had unwittingly hit on something big…
"Mayo…" I said in a hushed tone, "that was no fairy tale……"
"Huh!?"
I'll prove it to you…
"What…!? Asha!!!?"
I transformed right in front of her. I couldn't put it off any longer, anyway…I would start to get dizzy……When I was done, I looked up to see her staring wide-eyed at me. She knelt down, keeping the same expression on her face.
"Asha…?" she asked in wonder, "Is that really you…?"
Yeah…This is me, Mayo…
"How…!?"
…It's a really long story……Maybe I'll tell it to you sometime……but right now, you have to promise not to tell anybody! Not your friends, not your family……No one. Got it?
"Sure, Asha……" She grinned, "They'd probably just think I'm crazy, anyway!"
I laughed. Probably…Who knows? Maybe we are crazy!
"Well, you may be, but until just a moment ago, I was perfectly sane!"
That's what you think!!
We both started laughing. After a whole year apart, we were still friends……That was a nice feeling…
* * *
Sooner or later, Mom came in the room to see what was making all that "weird noise". She sure was surprised to see us! I ended up having to tell Mayo who already knew about…my new shape.
"…Asha, you want to go over to Grandpa's lab tomorrow and see if I can find that book again?"
Sure. That'd be good.
"Okay……I guess I'll see you tomorrow…Bye Asha! Luv ya!"
I laughed nervously. You too…
I hope no one else heard that…
Mom smiled and left the room, leaving me alone…or so I thought…
"Ash!!?"
Too late.
I turned around slowly.
…Hi…Misty…
"Ash, who was that!!?"
Um…That was Mayo…I mean…uh……May…Oak…
"May…Oak!?" she asked incredulously.
Uh-huh… I nodded.
"…As in…related to Gary!?"
Uh-huh……
"……What was that last part about!?"
Um……the love part?
"Yeah! That!"
Ummmm………She's my friend, Misty……I've known her for a long time……"
"…How long?"
Uhhh…Since I was in kindergarten, I guess…
"……You know each other really well?"
Uh-huh…
"…………How well?"
…Why does she keep asking all these weird questions……?
……………………………um…
………Misty?
"What?"
…………She…………She was my only real friend before I met Pikachu………We're like brother and sister………
"Who's the brother and who's the sister?" Misty asked sarcastically.
I didn't worry about that comment. She wasn't in a good mood……and………I was afraid that I knew why…………
I have to go bring my Pokémon back inside…
"Yeah. You go do that."
Okay……
I hope she's not mad at me…
(A/N: Okay, I have no idea how old May is "supposed" to be, because she was never in the anime, and I've never looked at the comics, so don't get all upset if I'm wrong. The Asha/Mayo relationship will be explained more in the next chapter. Tat's all! *^_^*)