*ahem* don't give me that look. The only thing I'm out to prove is the answer to the one question Dark Tyranitar can't answer: What Misty sees in Ash.

Ash stared at the note in his hand, and then back over at the phone in front of him. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe what had just happened… who forfeits when they are a semi-finalist? One of the top 4 in the league, possibly going to be the number one? Not many people, but evidently the person he had been scheduled to compete against had. By default, Ash had been proclaimed the victor and would be in the finals.

His opponent was being decided at that moment.

Vixie had asked them all to stay behind, and not to come to the match. She was currently against Richie for the semi-final battle… Ash would face one of them the next day at the final. It felt almost surreal… he was already at least second place, and tomorrow he could be first.

Earlier all he could think about was how strange it would be to face a pokémon in the final battle…Vixie would never have gotten so far had she not convinced such strong wild pokémon to join her team. But now…

He stared at his pokémon, one by one, with his head slumped over the back of the chair he was sitting backwards on. Only one… he could only use one of his pokémon. Normally, it would have been Pikachu… But Pikachu… Ash sighed as he recalled the last time he'd seen his friend, running alongside Gary's Umbreon through the streets. He had no idea why his pokémon had seemingly deserted him, only that Gary had apparently disappeared as well, so there were too powerful rouge pokémon on the loose in the village.

Human? If Only…

11-Why do I care?

Teenager Lyra

That's what was so surreal. He was going into the biggest match of his life with only one pokémon, and it wasn't going to be Pikachu. He didn't even have Pikachu.

Thus were the final pieces of the image… A young boy, with black hair and Tshirt, sitting backwards on his chair. His eyes covered by the brim of his hat, only the sparkle of the tears trailing down his cheeks discernable. Ash Ketchum, the boy who had once been so determined to be a Pokémon Master, would now just be happy to have his best friend back.

Misty wandered in and sat beside him, rubbing his back quietly and smiling weakly at him. He looked up at her slowly, his eyes still shadowed by his cap, and just shook his head.

"Why now, of all times…? Before... I thought he was coming back… but now I don't think he is…"

"Then I guess this isn't the best time to tell you… The egg is hatching."

"Oh that's ni- wait, it really is? As if things were horrid enough already."

"Ash! That's no way to act! I know you miss Pikachu, but we know he's somewhere inside the city, we even saw him just this morning!… And your other main pokémon is in the back yard with her boyfriend watching as their child is born, you could at least show a little thankfulness!" Ash groaned and stood up slowly, walking out of the room with his eyes still hidden by his cap.

"It's not the same… without Pikachu…" he whispered, gazing at the ceiling as hewalked outside. Little did he know that Pikachu was watching him, only about half a block away. Seeing his trainer walk outside, he perked up and started running in his direction… only to remember his current form. Instead he walked over and leaned on the wall, staring at the boy who was his best friend. Oddly enough, the form he was now in was that of his arch-rival… More ironic still, that this had been the body he'd been born into…

"Hey Ashy-boy," he mocked, trying his best to match the persona Ash would expect from Gary. "I heard about the match… You're going up against your next door neighbor probably… She's tough. Beat me, sure enough…" Ash glanced up and glared at him for a moment. That's what Gary'd say, right? Wants to know that the only one he lost to was the first place victor…

"What do you want, Oak? I see you finally turned up…"

"Hey, hey! Shady's missing, too. You're not the only one with a missing Pokémon, Ash…" his voice wavered as he finished the statement. Oh, he's not missing Ash! He's right here… and you can't know, not yet, you'd never believe it…

"Your Umbreon is with Pikachu… and he's not just a pokémon… he's my best friend, too…"

"There was once a time, Ash, when you and I were best friends… So many years ago… We let pokémon come between us…" he shook his head slowly. "*A* pokémon, more accuratly…" he whispered, thinking of the creature who's body he'd lived in for the past 10 years.

"If this is about that Pichu we found when we were 6… I'm still glad we let it go."

But we didn't, Ash… You did, but I caught it again, took it to Grandpa… I told him I wondered, what it'd be like to be a pokémon, or maybe even that Pichu… So he showed me, made me his experiment… "Ash… Grandpa found that same Pichu the next day and took it in… Who do you think was your partner for all these years?"

A look of shock, followed by a sneer arose on Ash's face. "IS my partner, Gary. HE STILL IS!!!" Ash yelled in response, turning and running back into the house, the only noise coming from the yard afterwards being a very confused 'chika?' from the mother to be. Misty peeked back around the corner and made a noise of disgust.

"How could he possibly… Ugh, what do I see in that senseless jerk! I know he cares for Pikachu… But Pikachu isn't the only thing that exists on this Earth! How about you, Gary, don't you agree?"

"I'm afraid I'm a little biased, Misty. I was very close to that Pikachu, too, and I also always have been to Ash. Closer, possibly, than you, but I don't think you should go into detail to prove me wrong. Just know that, from what I know of Ash, he'll be fine after the match…" He slowly walked away, leaving a slightly dumbfounded Misty to go back to the matter at hand.

That Pikachu tore us apart, Ash… really, I was still your best friend, that whole time… That Pichu got so full of himself when he became human that he thought nothing could stop him… I myself admit that I was somewhat of a jerk since I was so obsessed with my new powers… and I hadn't seen Ash for 4 years… but after I realized it was him, I was more than happy to become his best friend again… I know everything about you, Ash… Everything… And I am going to find that damned rodent, and bring him back here so that, regardless of me being the true him, you'll be happy again… He glanced up and shook his head as Ash wandered sulkingly back out of the condo and over to where cheers of joy were being shouted around the corner. That attitude isn't something even I'm used to… Misty has a point… When you're like this, why *do* we care?

Hey, Lee-chan! I'm working your prize into the story and am going to insert a side story of Gary, Ash, and Pikachu's reactions after I'm done with this series… sorry to keep you waiting… And I hope I'm on the right track. Review, please! Ja ne to heiwa, ai Teenager Lyra!