Ash woke up late the next day. After he dressed, he found it hard to
concentrate
on anything besides the strange picture in his mother's room. After affirming that his
mother was downstairs and busy, he crept into the room and stole the picture from her
dresser.
Once he was back in his room, he sprawled onto his bed and stared at it.
"Pika-pi pi?" Asked his little electric friend, scurrying up to his side.
"It's a picture.of me. And someone else, who I think is related to me. But who is
he?"
Pikachu shrugged, a habit which he had picked up from his human friend.
As he lay there, his mind began to take on all sorts of strange fantasies. What if he
had a long lost twin brother? Or what if it was his grandfather, the sailor, who had passed
away in a shipwreck? Or what if it was.his father? A Mr. Ketchum, who had married a woman named Delia and disappeared into the world two years later.
"Ash? Are you in there?"
He quickly stuffed the picture underneath him, but not before Misty entered the
room.
She squinted at him. "What was that you were staring at before I came in, Ash?"
"Ha-ha, nothing at all, Misty. I was looking at the ceiling."
She didn't believe one word out of his little lying mouth. He had always been a
terrible liar. "Is it...a picture of me?" She teased, slinking over to the side of his bed.
"NO! It's not a picture of you!" He shrieked, though there was no denying the
blush that covered his face. "If I need to show you to convince you otherwise, look!"
He shoved the picture in her face and waited for a reaction.
"Wow, you're more conceited than I thought, staring at a picture of yourself."
"No, Misty. It's a picture of me and someone who looks a lot like me. And it bugs
me, I want to know who he is!" He slowly turned over the frame and let her look
at the inscription on the back.
Misty recognized the serious tone in his voice. "You think it's your father?" She
asked softly.
"I dunno," replied Ash. "It could be. But I know it's not me."
For a few moments there was silence in the small room as Misty considered this.
Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "I got it! We could look in your mom's old yearbooks
and search for a Samuel Ketchum! He's sure to be in there! I mean, your mom lived in
Pallet Town her whole life, right? And didn't she say that she married a man from here,
too?"
"Right.." he said, his mind journeying to the attic and uncovering the old
boxes with his mother's yearbooks. Ash suddenly got a burst of energy that he didn't
know he had. "C'mon, let's go upstairs! Let's go, Pikachu!"
The three of them scampered up to the attic and Ash slowly creaked open the
door. Dust wafted through the poorly lighted room.
"Ew," said Misty as she rubbed her nose. "We'd better be quick. I bet there are
lots of bugs in here."
Ash ignored her and strode over to the box with the yearbooks in it. "Misty." He
whispered, gesturing for her to join him. She crept over and they huddled over an old
yearbook.
Ash flipped the pages to the "k" section and they scanned the rows of smiling
students.
"Misty! Look! It's Professor Oak!"
They both stared at the picture of the young man in disbelief.
"That's not him," said Misty.
Ash pointed at the caption on the side while Misty giggled.
"Man, he was hot. If I'd been going to school with him as my teacher, I would
pay really good attention!" Ash just rolled his eyes. She obviously wasn't as serious
about this as he was.
"Look at this one," snickered Misty. "He looks like such a geek."
Ash glanced at the faded photograph without a smile, for he had just realized
something. "Misty."
"Yes?" she asked, still studying the book. "Hey, some of these guys are pretty
cute!"
"Misty, there is no Samuel Ketchum. Look, he would be right here."
He pointed at a picture of sweetly smiling girl. She had reddish-brown hair and
warm brown eyes. Something about this girl looked strangely familiar to Misty.
"Ash!" she exclaimed, her trembling finger moving over to the name on the side.
"Look. It says," she gulped, "It says, 'Delia Ketchum.'"
Delia Ketchum. Delia Ketchum.the two words echoed in Ash's mind again and
again. His blood ran cold. Samuel Ketchum didn't exist, then. His mom had lied about
marrying a man named Mr. Ketchum.
"She lied," murmured Ash. "Mom. You lied to me. Who is my father?"
Misty felt her heart twisting at seeing Ash in such emotional agony. "Ash- ," she
started to say, but suddenly they heard footsteps pounding up the attic stairs.
Their eyes met, both of them reflecting the same fear. Suddenly, the door burst
open and there stood an infuriated Mrs. Ketchum.
"ASH! What are you doing up here? I looked EVERYWHERE for you! Why in
the world are you here? And why is Misty here! What are you two doing?"
The two young teens remained silent.
"Well? I'm waiting for an explaination!" Ash gulped, than closed his eyes briefly.
Then, slowly, shakily, he held up the double picture frame without saying a word. Here it
was. The moment of truth.
Delia's eyes widened in shock, then traveled to the stack of yearbooks behind
them. "But how..?"she whispered. Ash was stunned at her sudden pallor. He thought
she might faint, and he and Misty ran to her side.
"Mom?" He asked unsteadily, "what's wrong?"
Instead of answering, she stumbled out the door and muttered, "I need to call him."
Ash and Misty drifted downstairs to join Brock at the table. As they passed
Delia's room, they heard her speaking in hushed tones into the receiver.
"What's wrong?" Asked Brock of the two stone-faced Pokemon trainers. Quickly
Ash filled him in on the morning's events.
"I don't even know what we did wrong," he concluded. "But it's like she has
some deep dark secret or something."
In less than five minutes the doorbell rang and Ash ran to answer it. He was
surprised to see Professor Oak standing at the doorstep.
"Hello Professor," greeted Ash, showing this common visitor into the kitchen
where Misty and Brock were sitting silently.
Without a word, the professor took a seat at the table and the four of them waited
in silence. Soon Delia emerged and sat next to Professor Oak.
The unspoken question hung in the silence. It felt as thick as peanut butter on the
small room. "Ash," said Delia in a serious voice that Ash had never heard her using.
"You could let Misty and Brock stay, or they could go into another room for
awhile. What do you want?"
"I think," Ash said finally, "I want them to stay with me." He glanced up and saw
Misty smiling encouragingly.
The picture was propped in the middle of the table, and Ash glanced at it
pointedly.
Delia gulped. She'd pictured this scene a million times over in her head, but now
it was actually happening. She had to tell him now. "You found the pictures." she
started. "One of them is you. The other.the other is your father."
"But who is my father?" Ash burst out, "Where is Mr. Ketchum? We looked in
the yearbook, but we didn't find him, yet you told us you married some guy from Pallet
Town. He doesn't exist, does he? So who is he?"
Slowly, so excruciatingly slowly, Ash saw Professor Oak nod across the table at her.
"Ash.your father is Samuel Oak of Pallet Town. Your father is Professor Oak."
MWA-HA-HA-HA! I'm sooo evil ^_- Okay, so I lied. Delia doesn't start telling her story till the third chapter. But this time it's a promise! I'll have the third chapter to you guys asap! Please review this chapter!
on anything besides the strange picture in his mother's room. After affirming that his
mother was downstairs and busy, he crept into the room and stole the picture from her
dresser.
Once he was back in his room, he sprawled onto his bed and stared at it.
"Pika-pi pi?" Asked his little electric friend, scurrying up to his side.
"It's a picture.of me. And someone else, who I think is related to me. But who is
he?"
Pikachu shrugged, a habit which he had picked up from his human friend.
As he lay there, his mind began to take on all sorts of strange fantasies. What if he
had a long lost twin brother? Or what if it was his grandfather, the sailor, who had passed
away in a shipwreck? Or what if it was.his father? A Mr. Ketchum, who had married a woman named Delia and disappeared into the world two years later.
"Ash? Are you in there?"
He quickly stuffed the picture underneath him, but not before Misty entered the
room.
She squinted at him. "What was that you were staring at before I came in, Ash?"
"Ha-ha, nothing at all, Misty. I was looking at the ceiling."
She didn't believe one word out of his little lying mouth. He had always been a
terrible liar. "Is it...a picture of me?" She teased, slinking over to the side of his bed.
"NO! It's not a picture of you!" He shrieked, though there was no denying the
blush that covered his face. "If I need to show you to convince you otherwise, look!"
He shoved the picture in her face and waited for a reaction.
"Wow, you're more conceited than I thought, staring at a picture of yourself."
"No, Misty. It's a picture of me and someone who looks a lot like me. And it bugs
me, I want to know who he is!" He slowly turned over the frame and let her look
at the inscription on the back.
Misty recognized the serious tone in his voice. "You think it's your father?" She
asked softly.
"I dunno," replied Ash. "It could be. But I know it's not me."
For a few moments there was silence in the small room as Misty considered this.
Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "I got it! We could look in your mom's old yearbooks
and search for a Samuel Ketchum! He's sure to be in there! I mean, your mom lived in
Pallet Town her whole life, right? And didn't she say that she married a man from here,
too?"
"Right.." he said, his mind journeying to the attic and uncovering the old
boxes with his mother's yearbooks. Ash suddenly got a burst of energy that he didn't
know he had. "C'mon, let's go upstairs! Let's go, Pikachu!"
The three of them scampered up to the attic and Ash slowly creaked open the
door. Dust wafted through the poorly lighted room.
"Ew," said Misty as she rubbed her nose. "We'd better be quick. I bet there are
lots of bugs in here."
Ash ignored her and strode over to the box with the yearbooks in it. "Misty." He
whispered, gesturing for her to join him. She crept over and they huddled over an old
yearbook.
Ash flipped the pages to the "k" section and they scanned the rows of smiling
students.
"Misty! Look! It's Professor Oak!"
They both stared at the picture of the young man in disbelief.
"That's not him," said Misty.
Ash pointed at the caption on the side while Misty giggled.
"Man, he was hot. If I'd been going to school with him as my teacher, I would
pay really good attention!" Ash just rolled his eyes. She obviously wasn't as serious
about this as he was.
"Look at this one," snickered Misty. "He looks like such a geek."
Ash glanced at the faded photograph without a smile, for he had just realized
something. "Misty."
"Yes?" she asked, still studying the book. "Hey, some of these guys are pretty
cute!"
"Misty, there is no Samuel Ketchum. Look, he would be right here."
He pointed at a picture of sweetly smiling girl. She had reddish-brown hair and
warm brown eyes. Something about this girl looked strangely familiar to Misty.
"Ash!" she exclaimed, her trembling finger moving over to the name on the side.
"Look. It says," she gulped, "It says, 'Delia Ketchum.'"
Delia Ketchum. Delia Ketchum.the two words echoed in Ash's mind again and
again. His blood ran cold. Samuel Ketchum didn't exist, then. His mom had lied about
marrying a man named Mr. Ketchum.
"She lied," murmured Ash. "Mom. You lied to me. Who is my father?"
Misty felt her heart twisting at seeing Ash in such emotional agony. "Ash- ," she
started to say, but suddenly they heard footsteps pounding up the attic stairs.
Their eyes met, both of them reflecting the same fear. Suddenly, the door burst
open and there stood an infuriated Mrs. Ketchum.
"ASH! What are you doing up here? I looked EVERYWHERE for you! Why in
the world are you here? And why is Misty here! What are you two doing?"
The two young teens remained silent.
"Well? I'm waiting for an explaination!" Ash gulped, than closed his eyes briefly.
Then, slowly, shakily, he held up the double picture frame without saying a word. Here it
was. The moment of truth.
Delia's eyes widened in shock, then traveled to the stack of yearbooks behind
them. "But how..?"she whispered. Ash was stunned at her sudden pallor. He thought
she might faint, and he and Misty ran to her side.
"Mom?" He asked unsteadily, "what's wrong?"
Instead of answering, she stumbled out the door and muttered, "I need to call him."
Ash and Misty drifted downstairs to join Brock at the table. As they passed
Delia's room, they heard her speaking in hushed tones into the receiver.
"What's wrong?" Asked Brock of the two stone-faced Pokemon trainers. Quickly
Ash filled him in on the morning's events.
"I don't even know what we did wrong," he concluded. "But it's like she has
some deep dark secret or something."
In less than five minutes the doorbell rang and Ash ran to answer it. He was
surprised to see Professor Oak standing at the doorstep.
"Hello Professor," greeted Ash, showing this common visitor into the kitchen
where Misty and Brock were sitting silently.
Without a word, the professor took a seat at the table and the four of them waited
in silence. Soon Delia emerged and sat next to Professor Oak.
The unspoken question hung in the silence. It felt as thick as peanut butter on the
small room. "Ash," said Delia in a serious voice that Ash had never heard her using.
"You could let Misty and Brock stay, or they could go into another room for
awhile. What do you want?"
"I think," Ash said finally, "I want them to stay with me." He glanced up and saw
Misty smiling encouragingly.
The picture was propped in the middle of the table, and Ash glanced at it
pointedly.
Delia gulped. She'd pictured this scene a million times over in her head, but now
it was actually happening. She had to tell him now. "You found the pictures." she
started. "One of them is you. The other.the other is your father."
"But who is my father?" Ash burst out, "Where is Mr. Ketchum? We looked in
the yearbook, but we didn't find him, yet you told us you married some guy from Pallet
Town. He doesn't exist, does he? So who is he?"
Slowly, so excruciatingly slowly, Ash saw Professor Oak nod across the table at her.
"Ash.your father is Samuel Oak of Pallet Town. Your father is Professor Oak."
MWA-HA-HA-HA! I'm sooo evil ^_- Okay, so I lied. Delia doesn't start telling her story till the third chapter. But this time it's a promise! I'll have the third chapter to you guys asap! Please review this chapter!