A/N: This story does not take place in any universe I have written for this pair before. This is an idea I had while writing Waterflower. I know I left a bit of a mystery on Ash, but I do promise we will find out eventually what happened. Right now I am just going to let this one take a life of its own. The core parts are mapped out, but not every little bit. There will be a decent amount of cameos from the films, and a core anime. Be patient this is not going to be as quickly posted because I want to make this as good as I can.
A young boy walked in with a group of competitors to the Indigo League. He had black hair and brown skin. He wore some of his father's old basketball sneakers, with black jogger pants, and a red shirt that had the 'fire blast' symbol on it. Finishing in the top 16 in his first Pokemon League competition had him absolutely pumped. Just as he began walking in step with the other competitors, into the Indigo stadium, he tripped over his own shoe bumping into the girl in front of him.
She responded with a biting retort, "Watch it."
"Sorry." He responded looking up at her. Upon looking up from her shoes to her face he blushed slightly. Noticing her for the first time she had red orange hair that framed her face with astonishing viridian eyes. She wore jeans with white sneakers, and a black camisole that had a yellow halter top over it.
"Hey genius, you should probably get up." She said looking rather annoyed as she turned back around. Getting up the boy got back into step with everyone else.
President Goodshow honored the champion, while also congratulating all the competitors who competed. As he dismissed them all to continue their journeys to become great Pokemon trainers, he said, "I look forward to seeing many of you later on your journeys."
Seeing the girl he bumped into about to leave he went up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey," He started as she turned around a little miffed on her face realizing who it was, "My name is Charlie Oris, since I bumped into you can I at least buy you an apologetic dinner?"
She looked at him suspiciously, she sighed and said, "Sure, I could eat. Lead the way Charlie."
Leading her to a taco truck that was just outside the stadium they placed their order and waited. "So am I going to at least know the name of the person I bumped into?" Charlie inquired.
Smirking, she said, "My name is Skye." She then met his eyes before extending her hand and shaking Charlie's hand.
"Nice to meet you Skye." Paying for the tacos, Charlie and Skye sat at a blue painted park bench. As Charlie was finishing his first of his three taco plate, Skye had finished all three of hers. "Wow…" Charlie said.
"What?" Skye responded with a slight edge in her voice.
"Just usually girls I meet are…well not as enthusiastic as you are about food." Charlie responded, hands raised, to let her know he meant no offense at all. "If anything… it's impressive, most impressive."
"Cut the sweet talk, my mother warned me about guys like you." Sky responded, her nose turned up slightly looking away from Charlie.
"Well maybe I wasn't trying to be sweet at all." Charlie came back a bit of an edge in his tone, realizing it was maybe a bit harsh he softened when her eyes met his. "Um…how did you finish this tournament?"
Looking down like she was a bit ashamed. Skye responded almost under her breath, "Top 16."
"That's pretty good, I did too." Charlie said as he finished his last taco.
"Yeah, well…let's just say I expected to win."
"SKYE!" A loud almost obnoxious voice broke through their rather ordinary dinner.
Skye put her hands in her face as a woman in her early thirties came closer. She had her own red orange hair down, framing her face similar to Skye. Charlie noticed she had a yellow tank top that looked like it had buttons on it. The top ran just down to her bellybutton, and her shorts were of a matching yellow color that covered her thighs. Charlie's jaw dropped as he realized who she was.
"Young lady, why didn't you come back to the cabin after the stadium procession?" The woman asked Skye as she came up to their bench, not even acknowledging Charlie.
Biting her tongue, Skye looked away from the woman, not wanting to meet her eye before saying, "Can I at least finish my dinner before coming back to the cabin?"
Surprised, the woman looked at Charlie realizing he had a similar plate to Skye's. Pointing her finger between the two of them she asked, "Are you two…on a date?"
Red flashed across Skye's face as she looked at the woman, and shouted, "No! MOM!"
At that Charlie's mouth dropped, then gesturing between Skye and her mom he said, "You're Misty Waterflower, member of the Elite Four of Kanto…and you're her daughter?"
Skye pushed her tongue against her cheek, then responded, "Mom, can I have 5 minutes?"
Misty kind of huffed, but sympathetically nodded at her daughter. Then shot a 'I got my eyes on you' look at Charlie, as she gave them some space. Skye sweatdropped before saying, "Well I guess I'll be seeing you around Charlie."
"Skye," Charlie started then quickly jotted down numbers onto a napkin then continued, "call or text me if you need a friend."
"I'll think about it." Skye said then walked over to Misty and they strode away together. Charlie threw his garbage and recycling away properly then made it back to his cabin. He was finishing packing it up when a call came saying, "Charlie can you meet me at Victory Road in an hour?"
"Sure Skye, may I ask why." Charlie inquired.
"I need a break from my mom, and her friends guarding me around Kanto." Skye said.
Both of them arrived at the entrance to Victory Road and began to walk together. Charlie was glad to see that Skye had camping gear with her in a red pull string knapsack. Charlie wasn't sure she would be ok going to Pallet Town, but Skye seemed a little enthused. Apparently Skye had an aunt who lived there. "Do you store your Pokemon with Professor Oak too?" Charlie asked Skye.
"No, I keep my Pokemon at the Gym my Aunt Daisy runs with her husband Tracey." Skye responded.
"Oh…" Charlie started realizing Daisy was Misty's sister. "If I remember from when I had to battle Daisy for the Cascade badge, Tracey said he used to be an assistant to Professor Oak."
"Yep, Uncle Tracey said he met my mom in the Orange Islands, she was traveling with Ash Ketchum." Skye said
"Wait?!" Charlie exclaimed as they were sitting around the campfire they set up. "The Ash Ketchum that was the monarch, the one who disappeared?"
"Yeah, but Tracey seemed almost hesitant to tell me about him." Skye said, thinking about the time the name came out of Tracey's mouth, and when she asked more about him. Tracey became very tight-lipped and didn't really elaborate, cept that he met them while they were helping a Lapras that was being abused on a beach. "I wanted to know more about who he was, how he was as a trainer."
Gobsmacked Charlie just looked at Skye like she told him about some legendary Pokemon like Ho-Oh for the first time. "My father just said he was a legend, a story parents told kids. His silly adventures with his Pikachu and his dream to become a Pokemon Master." Looking up at the stars Charlie then asked, "Did you try asking your mom about him?"
-Flashback Skye was 9-
"Mom, did you used to travel around with Ash Ketchum?" A side ponytailed Skye asked her mom.
At that Misty froze up, finishing up the dishes from their dinner. Not looking at her daughter, Misty tries to keep a level voice asking, "Where would you get an idea like that?"
"Uncle Tracey, he mentioned it while I was helping him take care of Gyarados." Skye replied like it wasn't a big deal.
Slowly turning towards her daughter Misty asked, "Did he say anything else?"
"No not really, just that he met you when you and Ash were helping a Lapras in the Orange Islands." Skye said, picking at her plate hoping there was more to eat. Taking a beat she asked, "What was he like?"
At that Misty turned back to the dishes, "Impatient, arrogant, cocky," She started, but then sighed before continuing, "he was a fun loving spirit who loved Pokemon…maybe even a bit more than people."
"Huh?" Skye said, rather confused.
"Doesn't matter…no one has seen him in 10 years, no trace of him or Pikachu." Misty said with a twinge of sadness.
"How long did you two travel together?" Skye asked, realizing they were close at one point.
Misty felt she had been waiting for this conversation and wondered if she should brush it off like she wanted to. Then she said, "I met him not long after I left home, to become a water Pokemon Master." She hesitated on continuing but said, "We traveled for about 2 years together, around that time your aunts, Daisy, Violet, and Lily asked me to come home to look after the gym."
"So did you ever see him again?" Skye asked.
"A couple of times, we always had fun together," Misty got a little dreamy eyed as she said, "When he was the new Monarch of the coronation series….I was so proud of how far he had come as a trainer."
Skye asked in a way only a child could ask, "Mom, don't take this the wrong way, but, did you and him date?"
A hard blush of red erupted over Misty's face as she responded, "What? Um…what makes you ask that hun?"
"You got that dreamy look aunt Daisy gets when she talks about uncle Tracey." Skye responded like it was obvious.
-End Flashback-
Enthralled by her story, Charlie asked, "What did your mom say after that?"
"Oh…after that she pretty much shut down talking about it." Skye said looking deep into the fire not looking at Charlie, "But, either way let's get some sleep." With that Skye got into her sleeping bag, and went to sleep. Charlie did the same but his mind was racing.
Their journey back to Pallet town was fraught with very little fanfare, Charlie had pulled out his Larvitar which was his closest Pokemon. Skye wondered about how Charlie was able to catch one, he told her how he very early made his way to Mt. Silver, to try and find one after he got his badge from Harrison in Pewter City. As they drew closer Skye ran up ahead to the white painted house with its lovely garden. "Aunt Delia!" Skye exclaimed as she knocked on the door.
A Mr. Mime answered the door then saying enthusiastically, "Mime, mime, mime."
"It's great to see you too Mimey." Skye said, removing her shoes and slipping into slippers. Charlie awkwardly came inside removing his shoes. He noticed a woman wearing a wicker hat, in a pink sweater and blue skirt, come up to Skye hugging her. She removed her hat showing her dark hair having some highlights of gray.
"I am so proud of how you did at the Indigo League, Skye." Delia said, then she noticed Charlie, "Oh who is this? Your boyfriend?"
Red streaked across Skye's face as she quickly said, "No."
"No, I am Charlie, pleased to meet you." Charlie said, extending his hand to Delia who shook it.
"Well great to meet you Charlie, I am Delia." Delia said with a smile. Then she looked above his head, she then asked Skye, "Where's your mom?"
"Um…I came down on my own." Skye bashfully answered.
Delia seemed to analyze Skye's face then smiled saying, "Well I hope you are hungry." Delia then proceeded to put out a rather large breakfast. Just as Charlie was ready to say thanks, he noticed Skye digging in voraciously that he got a little big eyed. Delia just smiled and ate her plate, seeming to enjoy Skye's appetite. Charlie began to eat as well then asked, "So how long have you known Skye?"
"Oh, I was there when Skye was born, helping coach her mom through labor." Delia stated, "I hope the food is good."
"Delia, the food is terrific, has Skye always eaten like this?" Charlie inquired, Skye didn't miss a beat as she kept wolfing down her food.
"Ever since she started teething." Delia giggled. "Charlie, are you a Pokemon trainer too?"
"Yes, that is how we met, over at the Indigo league…" Charlie paused before continuing, "I accidentally bumped into her during the closing ceremonies."
"Yeah you were the clumsiest competitor there." Skye interjected.
"We both finished in the top 16 Skye." Charlie retorted.
"Don't remind me." Skye responded with a tone of annoyance.
Delia looked between the two remembering a similar couple she knew long ago. "Skye do you need to stay the night?" Delia asked.
"I don't know yet, maybe we were hoping to stop by Professor Oak's before figuring out where to head next to train." Skye responded looking like she was finally done eating her fill.
Charlie got up with the dishes and began to clean, until Mr. Mime got annoyed at him for doing his chores. "Sorry Charlie, Mimey really doesn't like competing for chores." Delia said.
"Is it ok Delia if I leave my heavy pack here while we head up to Oak's?" Charlie asked not wanting to presume.
"Of course Charlie, any friend of Skye's is more than welcome here." Delia said. With that Skye and Charlie set off for Professor Oak's lab, with its yellow windmill. As they approached the lab Skye curiously asked, "Did you get your first Pokemon from Professor Oak?"
"Yes, I got my Charmander from him when I started my journey." Charlie said with a smile.
"You mentioned your dad…was he also a Pokemon trainer?" Skye asked.
"Yes, but he now considers himself retired, helps people build homes." Charlie said with a smile, then continued, "He watched all of the tournament back home with mom, she is a teacher, she worries a lot."
"Did he offer any advice?" Skye then said, "Sorry I have been asking a ton of questions."
"No, not too many." Charlie said, opening the gate as they headed up the steps, "Yes he only said to trust my instincts but to not be afraid to fail."
"He sounds like a good father." A voice interrupted the pair in their thoughts. An older man in his lab coat and khaki pants smiled then said, "Good to hear that your father has been very supportive, Charlie."
"Thanks Professor Oak. This is –" Charlie started.
"Skye! It's great to see you again." Professor Oak interrupted. Charlie blinked looking between the two of them. Noticing his confusion Oak said, "I have known her mother for a long time, she has brought Skye around since she was a little baby."
At that Skye blushed slightly but said, "Is your grandson Gary around?"
"Hahaha, no Skye, he lately has been investigating the remains of the Zygarde vines in Kalos." Oak responded. With that Oak showed both of them around his lab. Even a new set of starter Pokemon, a bold Charmander, a naive Bulbasaur, and a feisty Squirtle. As they kept touring around the lab there was a herd of Tauros that were running around.
"Wow." Charlie exclaimed, "Who caught all those Tauros?"
"They were caught by a trainer that disappeared, I haven't heard from him in a very long time." Oak stated, then looked to the ground and wiped a tear from his eye when he looked at Skye.
"You really are one of the best like Uncle Tracey says," Skye stated, "Would you mind seeing my Milotic?"
"Oh, your little Feebas finally became Milotic?" Oak exclaimed, as he saw Milotic emerge from Skye's PokeBall, Oak had stars in his eyes. It was a shiny Milotic with its golden tail, with black accents, pale blue ears. Its beauty caused even Charlie to look at it funny.
"It seems to radiate in the sunlight." Charlie stated like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Well now I understand why Misty never sent a picture of it as a Feebas." Oak said.
"What do you mean?" Skye asked.
"Feebas are incredibly rare to find in Hoen. The fact that you had a shiny one could have made Feebas an incredibly high risk Pokemon to have around, especially with the Team Rockets of the world." Oak said quite somberly, "Your mother, Skye, had plenty of run-ins with them in her day, and likely didn't want you or Feebas to become a target for them."
Understanding her mom a bit better, Skye's look softened. "Why couldn't she have told me this?"
"I do not know, Skye." Oak said.
Deciding to pique um Charlie asked, "Team Rocket?"
"A set of goons who steal rare Pokemon from trainers, though lately they seem set on legendary Pokemon according to their most recent reports." Oak said. They continued touring the lab with Charlie switching out a few of his own Pokemon. Oak finally noted the time to them and they decided to head back to Delia's. As Charlie and Skye left Oak's lab to head back to Delia's. Skye seemed in a much better mood, Charlie meanwhile couldn't stop wondering what other Pokemon Skye had. Her Milotic had floored him. Coming inside Delia's house, there at the table was Delia, with Misty sippin on some lemonade.
"Mom?!" Skye exclaimed.
Standing Misty said, "Young lady, though I am happy to see you surviving on your own…you cannot just go traveling the world with some guy."
"Why not mom? You did." Skye retorted back quite stubbornly.
"That's beside the point." Misy fumed.
With that Charlie met eyes with Delia, and they both slowly exited out the door with neither Skye or Misty noticing.
"No it's not, mom." Skye said, "It's been about a week and it's been some of the most fun I have had in a long time."
Misty's face changed from angry to inquisitive. Raising an eyebrow at her daughter, Skye responded, "Not in that way…jeez mom."
At that Misty softened and said calmly, "Skye, you've told me how a lot of guys have hit on you during your –"
"Mom, he has been the one of the only guys to not hit on me." Skye said. "Besides, how did you know I was here?"
"Delia called me." Misty said, "Even though she said she didn't feel you needed help, I wanted to check on you."
Huffing slightly, Skye looked around for Delia then said, "Where did Aunt Delia and Charlie go?"
Misty now noticing shrugged, sighing Skye asked, "Mom after Indigo where did you go to train?"
"Oh…I went with Ash and Uncle Brock to Valencia Island, in the Orange Islands." Misty started, "Why?"
"Feel like I need a place to adventure, to train up a bit, after how hard Indigo was." Skye said now calmly feeling like her mother was listening to her.
"Ok, why don't we check outside for Charlie and Delia" Musty suggested.
Outside they found both, just helping Mimey garden. "I am sorry Delia it's your house, I –" Misty started before Delia raised her hand smiling saying, "You needed a moment with your child Misty. There is no need to apologize." Delia suggested all stay the night and get their heads straight before deciding on anything. After dinner though Charlie wanted to help with dishes, Delia insisted on Misty helping her. Although Skye insisted on Charlie coming up to the room she stayed in. Charlie very stubbornly or his survival instinct said to stay on the couch. Delia merely smirked at their exchange while she and Misty did the dishes.
"Sounds like a similar conversation I heard some years ago…" Delia said.
Misty blushed before saying, "Maybe."
"Charlie seems nice, and he clearly respects you. " Delia stated. "I do give you credit, you didn't intervene during their discussion."
"Well, consider that a, I didn't want to lie to her moment." Misty said, as she looked longingly out the window.
Noticing tears forming in her eyes. Delia rubbed Misty's back as she scrubbed the pan. "Misty, it's not your fault. Whatever happened to –"
"Please…" Misty started, turning and hugging Delia, "I waited for years, hoping he would turn up, or at least his body…" At that Misty sobbed but was trying to keep it down in case either Skye or Charlie heard.
"I know…I know" Delia said comfortingly.
"At night sometimes I heard screams that sounded like he was in pain." Misty said.
Sitting Misty down at the table, Delia wiped the tears from her own eyes and said, "Misty I know raising Skye wasn't always easy, but you have raised a strong confident daughter, she smells out when people aren't real with her." Delia then wiped Misty's tears, "I couldn't have asked for a better mother to my grandchild." The rest of the night was uneventful. When Skye saw Charlie she giggled to herself before waking him up with a pressing of his Pokemon league hat down on his face.
"What the heck? Skye." Charlie sputtered, meeting her eyes, "When will you stop waking me up this way?"
"Maybe when you don't sleep in." Skye giggled then walked into the kitchen finding Misty and Delia with their coffee.
"Skye, I would really appreciate it if you sat down and listened to your mother." Delia stated gesturing towards a chair. Charlie walked in shirtless forgetting he wasn't home before blushing and running back to the couch. Both Misty and Delia raised their eyebrows at Skye before Misty asked, "Does he sleep shirtless every night?"
"No." Skye said taking a seat, "Its too cold to sleep like that outside."
Shaking her head Misty said, "Anyways, we packed you both some food and a ticket to head to the Orange Islands."
"Huh?" Charlie said upon entering the room now back in his usual shirt. "Thanks you two, but I don't think I can afford—"
At that Misty put her hand up and smiled for the first time at Charlie saying, "Don't worry about that, you both are good trainers and need a break, and a good place to train."
Skye raised her eyebrow and asked, "What's the catch?"
"No catch, just promise me you will both keep each other safe, ask for help when needed, and…" Skye braced for it, "Just call me when you check in to a Pokemon center."
"Ok, just us?" Skye confirmed, gesturing between her and Charlie.
"Yes, now let's have breakfast before you miss your flight to the Islands." Misty said. After they finished and Charlie did the dishes both Delia and Misty pulled Skye aside. Telling her Charlie seems like a good guy, but that if she needed help either of them would come and get her.
"Your mom adventured in the Orange Islands right?" Charlie asked as they were flying in a plane.
"Yeah she gave me a list of some cool places she went." Skye said.
"Any idea where to start?" Charlie asked.
"Not at this moment, but I am just glad I get to be on my own with a friend." Skye said. Charlie smiled but his mind was already wondering, was Skye's father Ash? He heard a bit of the conversation Misty and Delia had the night before. Though his name never came up, he was pretty sure Delia was Ash's mom. He wouldn't be able to know for sure without confronting either Delia or Misty. Even if Misty and Ash grew apart they were incredibly close for 2 years, something didn't add up.