*blink, blink* My name has changed again… "The Edge" refers to Reality's Edge, and it's Lyra of The Edge fully. But anyway, Alex, you wanted to know what Vixie was wearing? E-mail me, CCRya@aol.com, I have pictures or else just a description I can send you, of both her and of Martha. See you people around!
"What are you laughing at this time, bandana-boy?" Brock grumbled, shoving another box into a bag he was carrying. He and Tracey were currently cleaning up the kitchen, and the mess therein that they had caused, as Vixie and Martha cooked dinner while they waited for their guests to arrive. Those guests, of course, being Ash, Misty, and any pokémon they felt like bringing.
"I'm sorry you look hilarious in that pink apron is all…" Tracey fell to the floor… giggling… leaving another splotch of green paint behind him.
"Ahh, man, I just cleaned that spot five minutes ago! Can't you wrap a plastic bag around that thing or something? And I like the apron… at least it's not covering a lobotomy scar like your bandana."
"Sorry… Hey!"
Human? If Only…
4-Big Trouble
Lyra of The Edge
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[Lyra: Starts giggling about the title…]
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"Hey, Ash, what's wrong?"
"Oh… hi mom… Nothing, I'm just waiting for Misty to get back from the mall. She went shopping without me… said she needed to get some things from stores I wouldn't be aloud into…"
"Oh, that's just something you'll have to get used to, I'm afraid. You two can't be together constantly, you know?"
"Yeah… but I've just started getting paranoid whenever she's out of my sight for even five minutes…" he coughed to clear his throat, then looked back at his mom with a near sneer on his face. "Ah, man, my voice is doing that again… when will it realize that it can't go back?" he joked. His mom looked at him for a moment, smiling and trying not to cry, she slowly walked away…
"I'll get something for you to have for lunch."
"Ok, thanks mom!"
Why did my little boy have to grow up so fast? I know most mothers must feel like this, but… One day he left with his Pikachu on a pokémon journey, and what seemed like barely any time later, he comes home, having saved the world a few times, haven fallen in love with his traveling companion of four years, and nearly the greatest trainer in the world… And everything else, too…The bravery and personality of an adult, he's grown up without me… she thought sadly, walking on into the kitchen. At least I know he's been well taken care of…
**********
Ash was going through nearly the same thought process in the next room, thinking how bad his mom must feel that she'd missed… nearly everything, in the last 4 years. But already his mind had shifted to other thoughts. Those girls next door, who had invited them over for dinner, they were so… familiar… Like he'd met them before… And he'd seen Vixie apparently talking to the two pokémon that were always running around over there, the strange Delibird and Smeargle… the Smeargle especially bugged him, because it was always wearing that strange bandana, and liked to hang around Chikorita a lot… It was so strange…
Why do I get the feeling… that I've met them before? I could swear I've talked to someone before, who had Vixie's exact voice, and the same personality… Yet I don't remember what she said…It's like, she wasn't human or something… he stared out the window and spotted Martha run past, blue buns in her hair bobbing like the tail of a Marril in water, with his own Totodile chasing behind her. The call he heard him yell was the same one he always had before, in his Brock-like moments. "Oh, fantastic, he thinks Martha's a girl water pokémon…" he stopped as he remembered the comparison he'd just made between her hair and a Marril's tail. And her voice sounded familiar, too…
"Could it be? Nah…" It's not like some random Marril would just wish herself human and claim randomly to be Tracey's cousin… and she's got all those pokémon too, including that semi-annoying Smeargle, with it's bandana… It looks like Tracey's bandana, I guess… Strange… but no way, not like this could all happen. It's either a coincidence or a freak of nature… he watched the two continue to play outside, and he remembered the days when his old friends were still around… they actually qualified as freaks of nature, but just the same… He'd have to run the idea past Misty before he jumped to any strange conclusions.
"Chikori? [Ash?]" speaking of Chikorita, she just happened to have walked in right then, and was looking up at Ash sadly.
"What's wrong, 'Rita?" he smiled. He had had a tendency to call her by that, ever since the whole turning into a human thing.
"Chiko…" she nuzzled his leg. He knew from the tone in her voice that she wasn't reverting back to her old self. She just thought Ash was sad, and was trying to cheer him up.
"Hey, I'm fine, see?" he smiled. She grinned enthusiastically and jumped up on his lap, curling up beside a sleeping Pikachu, and snuggling both him and Ash's arm. Then, with a rather large yawn accompanying it, she fell asleep. "Gee, I don't know how you two can both be tired…" he laughed. "It's only mid-afternoon, but I suppose that the spring sun just does it to you… That and my lap's probably the most sunlit spot in the house," he glanced out the window that he was sitting by, where the sun was flooding through and covering most of him, as well as the floor by his feet.
Both the pokémon looked so peaceful… As did Togetic, though he looked comical as well, as he slept floating in mid air above the sofa he'd been earlier curled up on. Maybe it was how warm and peaceful it all was, or maybe it was the song on the radio that resembled a Jigglypuff's song… but it all made Ash tired too. Leaving Ash and the three local pokémon asleep…
And the perfect opportunity for a Delibird with a partially green head to wander in, chuckling to himself, and place one of his nice little Present attacks right between Ash's feet.
"Oh, he's gonna have a lot of fun when he wakes up…" he grinned to the best of his beaked ability, and wandered back out of the house unnoticed by anyone but the now half-awake Togetic. And Togetic wasn't gonna tell anyone… he thought his old friend playing a trick on his 'daddy' would be funny.
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"Wa! How'd that get there?!" a charred Ash whined. Togetic had been right… it was rather amusing. It would have been even more so if it hadn't been his 'mommy' who'd set it off, as she'd attempted to wake her boyfriend up to remind them of their dinner date.
"I think item of business one tonight will be asking about that Delibird…" Misty sighed, wiping soot off her face and heading upstairs for a shower. "There's gotta be some type of leash law on them around here…"
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"Aren't you two done cleaning yet?! They'll be here in just a couple of minutes!" Martha sighed, watching Brock and Tracey do the last of the cleaning.
"Hey, the only paint left is on the back of his head," Tracey explained. "I'm helping him clean up the messes he caused now. This soot is just not wanting to come off the counter now. And we would have it done by now, except he ran off to do something in the middle of the day…"
"Might that explain the explosion followed by Ash screaming earlier?" Martha complained. Brock attempted to whistle innocently.
Meanwhile, Celebi was sitting on the counter talking with Vixie as she got the chicken out of the oven. "Hey, you guys want any help?" it asked Brock and Tracey. "Allow me to demonstrate," it smiled and held up it's hand. A few sparks came out of the end and the whole kitchen was elfulged in a white light. Once the room was back to normal, it was truly… back to normal. Completely spotless.
"Thanks, Celebi, I owe you one!" Brock said enthusiastically, and started to take off his apron. "Ah, dang short arms, I can't reach…"
Tracey started laughing at him again as he watched Vixie set the dish of chicken on the table. "Hey, that a relative of yours, Brock?"
"Very funny now would someone like to help me here? Hello?" much to his dismay, the doorbell rang at exactly that moment.
"It'll have to wait until after dinner, unless Tracey wants to help. You two try to act normal, alright?" Vixie nearly snarled at them to emphasize her point.
"Bai-bai," Celebi added and teleported out of the room.
"Chika!!!" Chikorita ran through the door as Martha opened it, and her trainer and the others followed. She then halted, and looked around, sniffing the air, before running off up the stairs where Brock and Tracey had gone.
"Guess she didn't want to say hi…" Ash laughed. "So, how are all of you?"
"Good. I'm glad you could make it… I invited you over because one, we're neighbors temporarily obviously, and we'll be competing in the league, and also because it turned out Martha knew you both. Somehow I think I do too…"
"Well, our pokémon are obviously friends with yours," Misty pointed out as Pikachu and Togetic headed off in then same direction as Chikorita had.
"Well, should we eat?" Martha smiled and led them back to the kitchen. What do those two think they're doing? If they're too buddy-buddy with Ash's pokémon, then he and Misty might get suspicious…
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"What's up with the Delibird wearing the apron?" Ash mumbled, seeing the small bird and it's pink apparel peeking out from behind the counter.
"what?" Vixie looked around, from where she was washing the dishes. If only Celebi had something it could do for dirty dishes like it did the room… she rolled her eyes. The quiet unrhythmical patter of the Delibird's waddling to her side alerted her, but not as much as the package that he was holding and the evil grin on his face did. "Put it away Brock!" she yelled without thinking.
"What was that? I'm sorry, I just thought you'd said a name that sounded familiar to me," Misty commented.
"Oh, I said 'put away that rock'. My Delibird likes being evil to people… I understand he might have pulled a few stunts on you," she glared at Brock and he simply gave her a snide look and waddled off, apron and all.
"That might be an understatement, but that's perfectly alright," Ash smiled.
"And I'm also sorry if my Smeargle has caused any problems," Martha chimed in.
"Oh, no, really, they haven't been any more of a bother than your cousin or our friend Brock used to be. The kind of things that annoy you but you get used to quickly, so the person or pokémon just sorta grows on you," Misty explained.
"Nope, no trouble at all," Ash added again.
"My cous…? Oh, you mean Tracey!" Martha laughed. "Yeah, he is like that. I'm sorry, I've just got so many cousins that I was a bit concerned for a moment that you might mean Marina or Duplica." Thank goodness Tracey filled me in on his family members… she sighed.
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"Well, I guess we have to go now…" Chikorita said sadly. "But there's still one more day until the competition, so I can see you again tomorrow, ok Tracey?" she smiled and skipped down the steps.
Brock waddled up behind Tracey. "And what might that have been about?"
"Oh… um, hi, Brock. What? It's not what you think, really!"
**********
"You sure you're ready?"
"Of course. I've been waiting my whole life for this, Misty… And I know I'm ready for it."
"Alright, Ash, I just don't wanna see you get hurt…" she looked up and smiled. "Not like you would. Go out there and get 'em! You too, Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
"Yeah!" Ash grinned and kissed Misty deeply before running out through the gates.
"C'mon, Togetic. Let's go root daddy on…"
"Toge?"
"Yes, we could sit by him and coach him, but he wants to face the first battle alone. He said 'it'll feel more formal if I do it this way, even though I know that I find anything easier with you around.' It's so sweet…" she stared dreamily off at the ceiling.
"To totic?"
"Hmm? Sorry! I sorta spaced out. Let's go wait in the stands."
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*meanwhile, on the grass field*
"And the first match in this field today is between newcomer Martha Urima of the Orange Archipelago's Valencia Island and Gary Oak of Kanto's Pallet Town, who was in the top 30 two years ago! Let the battle commence!"
I realize that many of you may not have figured it out before now, but if that didn't give it away you must be *really* dense. No offense. Most my best friends are dense, save Emi-chan. But Review please! Ja ne to heiwa!! Ai Lyra-chan!
Oh, and P.S.: this is a link to Eeveeluver's site (www.angelfire.com/de2/digimongurls), where I got the human-Chikorita-hitting-on-Ash picture that started it all. It's Oekaki 72 under the "My oekaki" fanart section. But just check her site anyway it's cute!