Special thanks to Dragoness, and the anime series Starblazers.
Pikachu is a boy. Read the manga.
"If you think we're going to roll over and play dead, then you've got another thing coming buster." -Ruby, Eternal Blue
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Misty felt she had profoundly changed in the last few hours. She had seen Ash almost beaten to death by Rocketeers. Now she saw the marks of a fan of hers that had tried to stab Kimi to death. She had naively thought only Rocketeers resorted to violence, now she knew better. Extremists were ugly creatures no matter where they raised their foul heads, weather their cause was just or mislead the end result was always the same, violence, destruction, and when they pressed the issue, death.
It was funny, Misty often criticized Ash for his lack of maturity, but she had been so wrapped up in her own anger that she hadn't even seen those who had beaten Ash as even human. The truth was it was hard to tell anyway.
She wondered if she had judges the rockets themselves wrong. She thought about it.
All anger, hate, and preconceptions aside: Jessie, James and Meowth were thieves, and there was no honor among thieves. The objective of a thief was to wrongfully take something that belonged to someone else, and for that, you had to forsake your honor. She would never understand those who admired people with no honor. But that never meant she wanted them to die!
"Misty?"
"Oh, sorry Kimi I was just thinking."
"About what? Ash?"
"Not exactly. Just how horrible things have gone recently. Rocket fans trying to kill Ash. A fan of mine trying to kill you."
"People need things to hate. Things to vent their frustration at life at. They don't care what the truth is."
"Isn't that being stereotypical?"
"Maybe . . . but it's hard not to be stereotypical when your nose keeps getting rubbed in the underbelly of the other guy's point of view . . . or when it's to someone's profit if the majority think that way."
"Like how in the real world when they had all union workers pegged for communists or how now they're trying to make all pro-life groups into bombers?"
"That about sums it up." The girl whose game name was Ruby replied.
"You know, there's a part of me that keeps wondering if those people are right, what if I do become remembered as just your replacement?"
"I wouldn't worry about it. Ever heard of Sonic the Hedgehog? When they previewed this new character named Rouge: a lot of people thought she was going to be a scheming, selfish . . . maybe that's not the best example."
"You don't have much experience with pep talks do you?"
"No I don't. Self-connivance was one thing Ash never lacked."
Kimi smiled. "Along with determination, faith in his pokemon, a strong sense of right and wrong, love for his friends and family, and the strength of will never to back down from a challenge."
Misty had her dragon lady look. "Hey! Don't tell me you're interested in him!"
Kimi wasn't phased. "Are you admitting that you are?"
Misty blushed. "You're almost as bad as Melody!"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Misty sighed. Looking back at the past day. She had to admit it: to others and herself, she was in denial. She did have interest in Ash. Time passed as time will, Misty and Kimi carried on the rest of the day with small talk and comparisons in training techniques. Ash by now was entering his own state of denial. After regaining consciousness, being stuffed with painkillers, and wrapped up like a mummy (at which point the doctors told the Blissy they had done a 'good job' and promptly removed the surplus bandages), he immediately said he was in perfect health and decided to leave the hospital room, he did not get far. After about five paces his legs decided they wanted to go back to sleep and Ash just had enough to time to put out his hands to keep his face from being smashed into the floor.
It was around now that of the Chancy took the protesting Ash and deposited him back into bed.
"Put me down!"
"Chancy!" Whatever you say! She dropped him right on top of the bed and pulled the covers on top of him. Ugh. Ash thought. He had asked for that one.
Misty thanked Celebi and Mew that no one tried anything on Ash's life while he was recovering. This might have something to do with the fact the local officer Jenny had managed to round up the group who had attacked Ash and were now facing charges of assault with intent to kill. They had tried to turn things around saying Ash and Misty had attacked them. Thankfully no one had believed them.
Though Ash claimed he had been ready to leave a long time ago, Misty was happy when Ash was declared fit to leave the hospital. Misty had also made up her mind. She was going to tell Ash how she felt. As soon they got back to Pallet. She wanted his mom there when she told him.
As the foursome left the hospital they pass a few teenagers hanging out in front of a comic shop. It was clear from how they were dressed that they were anime fans. By chance, Ash picked up wind of there conversation.
"And what's with Jessie and James? Can't they settle on a personalities for those guys?" Ash smirked as they continued to walk by. "And how can they keep on losing to a brat whose won all his matches ever on DUMB luck?!" Ash froze dead in his tracks. It took Misty and Kimi a minute to realize he had stopped. Ash slowly turned to face them. If they noticed him, they had chosen to ignore him. Made sense. They considered him less than nothing. He was just another THING to insult.
Ash's anger reflected on Pikachu, who was building up an electric charge. "Hey! I just read the best fanfiction on the net yesterday!"
"What was it?"
"I can quote it all from memory. It goes. 'Ash dies!'" Each of them burst out laughing.
"It would serve him right." One guy snorted. "Him and his electric rat, all she does is zap Jessie and James." Now it was Pikachu's turn to be angry, he had just been called the wrong gender and species!
"Hey. Maybe we're being too hard on him." Injected one guy. "After all, having a retarded mother and a no-talent father can have a big effect on a kid!" Everyone laughed again.
No one called his mother a retard! "Why those rotten slimly-" Ash took a step toward the gang.
Misty took hold of him before he could take another step. "Ash stop!" Ash looked at her like she was crazy. "After all the garbage they've said!?"
Misty looked Ash right in the eyes. "Don't you see Ash!? There's nothing you can say or do that will change their minds! They've already made their decision. They just don't care what the truth is."
Good thing Ash was wearing his gloves, otherwise his nails would have drawn blood by now.
"But-!" He hissed.
"Ash, there's no point to this. The point is that YOU know the truth. They can't change that. You know they're wrong Ash. So don't let their venom get to you."
Ash took another look at the jerks as they kept trading insults about him back and forth. He saw one put on a league cap and make a Hill Billy expression, making sure Ash saw him. Making sure Ash saw him! That was when Ash realized something. They WANTED him to sic Pikachu on them. They WANTED him to get so angry he couldn't think straight. All the while thinking of how later they would throw it in his face using it as 'proof' about how low he was. They didn't care who or what they bashed, as long as they got a reaction out of it.
I'm not going to give them what they want!
Ash relented. "Come on. Let's go home." His three companions looked relieved as they all walked away, ignoring the chucks the other group was blowing, none of it mattered, because they were going home. Home. To those who knew him. To those who loved him.
-------------------------------------------------
Flames, comments, good or bad, corrections, suggestions, reactions, praise, rants, ideas on what should happen next (very welcome), and the occasional constructive criticism all-welcome.
Spelling corrections also welcome as long as you tell what you think of the story itself too.
Please, don't just write 'MORE!' those reviews kinda leave me empty.
Read ya!
Pikachu is a boy. Read the manga.
"If you think we're going to roll over and play dead, then you've got another thing coming buster." -Ruby, Eternal Blue
~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Misty felt she had profoundly changed in the last few hours. She had seen Ash almost beaten to death by Rocketeers. Now she saw the marks of a fan of hers that had tried to stab Kimi to death. She had naively thought only Rocketeers resorted to violence, now she knew better. Extremists were ugly creatures no matter where they raised their foul heads, weather their cause was just or mislead the end result was always the same, violence, destruction, and when they pressed the issue, death.
It was funny, Misty often criticized Ash for his lack of maturity, but she had been so wrapped up in her own anger that she hadn't even seen those who had beaten Ash as even human. The truth was it was hard to tell anyway.
She wondered if she had judges the rockets themselves wrong. She thought about it.
All anger, hate, and preconceptions aside: Jessie, James and Meowth were thieves, and there was no honor among thieves. The objective of a thief was to wrongfully take something that belonged to someone else, and for that, you had to forsake your honor. She would never understand those who admired people with no honor. But that never meant she wanted them to die!
"Misty?"
"Oh, sorry Kimi I was just thinking."
"About what? Ash?"
"Not exactly. Just how horrible things have gone recently. Rocket fans trying to kill Ash. A fan of mine trying to kill you."
"People need things to hate. Things to vent their frustration at life at. They don't care what the truth is."
"Isn't that being stereotypical?"
"Maybe . . . but it's hard not to be stereotypical when your nose keeps getting rubbed in the underbelly of the other guy's point of view . . . or when it's to someone's profit if the majority think that way."
"Like how in the real world when they had all union workers pegged for communists or how now they're trying to make all pro-life groups into bombers?"
"That about sums it up." The girl whose game name was Ruby replied.
"You know, there's a part of me that keeps wondering if those people are right, what if I do become remembered as just your replacement?"
"I wouldn't worry about it. Ever heard of Sonic the Hedgehog? When they previewed this new character named Rouge: a lot of people thought she was going to be a scheming, selfish . . . maybe that's not the best example."
"You don't have much experience with pep talks do you?"
"No I don't. Self-connivance was one thing Ash never lacked."
Kimi smiled. "Along with determination, faith in his pokemon, a strong sense of right and wrong, love for his friends and family, and the strength of will never to back down from a challenge."
Misty had her dragon lady look. "Hey! Don't tell me you're interested in him!"
Kimi wasn't phased. "Are you admitting that you are?"
Misty blushed. "You're almost as bad as Melody!"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Misty sighed. Looking back at the past day. She had to admit it: to others and herself, she was in denial. She did have interest in Ash. Time passed as time will, Misty and Kimi carried on the rest of the day with small talk and comparisons in training techniques. Ash by now was entering his own state of denial. After regaining consciousness, being stuffed with painkillers, and wrapped up like a mummy (at which point the doctors told the Blissy they had done a 'good job' and promptly removed the surplus bandages), he immediately said he was in perfect health and decided to leave the hospital room, he did not get far. After about five paces his legs decided they wanted to go back to sleep and Ash just had enough to time to put out his hands to keep his face from being smashed into the floor.
It was around now that of the Chancy took the protesting Ash and deposited him back into bed.
"Put me down!"
"Chancy!" Whatever you say! She dropped him right on top of the bed and pulled the covers on top of him. Ugh. Ash thought. He had asked for that one.
Misty thanked Celebi and Mew that no one tried anything on Ash's life while he was recovering. This might have something to do with the fact the local officer Jenny had managed to round up the group who had attacked Ash and were now facing charges of assault with intent to kill. They had tried to turn things around saying Ash and Misty had attacked them. Thankfully no one had believed them.
Though Ash claimed he had been ready to leave a long time ago, Misty was happy when Ash was declared fit to leave the hospital. Misty had also made up her mind. She was going to tell Ash how she felt. As soon they got back to Pallet. She wanted his mom there when she told him.
As the foursome left the hospital they pass a few teenagers hanging out in front of a comic shop. It was clear from how they were dressed that they were anime fans. By chance, Ash picked up wind of there conversation.
"And what's with Jessie and James? Can't they settle on a personalities for those guys?" Ash smirked as they continued to walk by. "And how can they keep on losing to a brat whose won all his matches ever on DUMB luck?!" Ash froze dead in his tracks. It took Misty and Kimi a minute to realize he had stopped. Ash slowly turned to face them. If they noticed him, they had chosen to ignore him. Made sense. They considered him less than nothing. He was just another THING to insult.
Ash's anger reflected on Pikachu, who was building up an electric charge. "Hey! I just read the best fanfiction on the net yesterday!"
"What was it?"
"I can quote it all from memory. It goes. 'Ash dies!'" Each of them burst out laughing.
"It would serve him right." One guy snorted. "Him and his electric rat, all she does is zap Jessie and James." Now it was Pikachu's turn to be angry, he had just been called the wrong gender and species!
"Hey. Maybe we're being too hard on him." Injected one guy. "After all, having a retarded mother and a no-talent father can have a big effect on a kid!" Everyone laughed again.
No one called his mother a retard! "Why those rotten slimly-" Ash took a step toward the gang.
Misty took hold of him before he could take another step. "Ash stop!" Ash looked at her like she was crazy. "After all the garbage they've said!?"
Misty looked Ash right in the eyes. "Don't you see Ash!? There's nothing you can say or do that will change their minds! They've already made their decision. They just don't care what the truth is."
Good thing Ash was wearing his gloves, otherwise his nails would have drawn blood by now.
"But-!" He hissed.
"Ash, there's no point to this. The point is that YOU know the truth. They can't change that. You know they're wrong Ash. So don't let their venom get to you."
Ash took another look at the jerks as they kept trading insults about him back and forth. He saw one put on a league cap and make a Hill Billy expression, making sure Ash saw him. Making sure Ash saw him! That was when Ash realized something. They WANTED him to sic Pikachu on them. They WANTED him to get so angry he couldn't think straight. All the while thinking of how later they would throw it in his face using it as 'proof' about how low he was. They didn't care who or what they bashed, as long as they got a reaction out of it.
I'm not going to give them what they want!
Ash relented. "Come on. Let's go home." His three companions looked relieved as they all walked away, ignoring the chucks the other group was blowing, none of it mattered, because they were going home. Home. To those who knew him. To those who loved him.
-------------------------------------------------
Flames, comments, good or bad, corrections, suggestions, reactions, praise, rants, ideas on what should happen next (very welcome), and the occasional constructive criticism all-welcome.
Spelling corrections also welcome as long as you tell what you think of the story itself too.
Please, don't just write 'MORE!' those reviews kinda leave me empty.
Read ya!