"Nobody finds their soul mate when their ten years old . . . I mean, where's the fun in that right?" – Jake Perry Sweet Home Alabama

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon.

Valentines Verse: Lost Lyrics

Part II – The Things You Never Forget

Something moved out of the shadows to where Ash could see it.

It was a man, in old fashioned, priestly attire and an aged face.

"I am Saint Valentine," the old ghost told him.  "And I am here to warn you."

"About what?" Ash asked, now over the shock of the entire ordeal. 

"You are to the point where you have to make a decision that factors in the rest of your life, one that could change the entire future of man kind forever," Saint Valentine told him.

Ash sighed, knowing he had enough things to deal with in his life without worrying about his decisions in life affecting the entire future of the world, as we know it. 

'Being the chosen one sucks,' he thought to himself.

"Tonight you shall be visited by three presences," Saint Valentine continued, "each bestowing to you parts of your life that may help you to make this decision.  They are of the past, the present and the future.  Be warned Ashton, because fate is now in your hands."

With that he disappeared, rendering Ash in a state of shock.  Ash tried to shrug it off as a twisted dream and lay back in his bed, but as I said earlier, sleep did not come easy for Ash that night.

A loud chime awaked Ash just as he was drifting to sleep.

He sat up in his bed and looked around.  'Strange,' he thought to him self, 'I don't remember Misty having a grandfather clock.'

Again he tried to shrug it off and get back to sleep, but it was futile.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, he noticed a figure trying to blend with the shadows but doing a useless job.

It was a man with dark hair and lightly tanned skin much like his own and startling blue eyes the colour of ice.  He was wearing cargo shorts and a loose t-shirt as though he was setting out for a tramp or some kind of expedition.

"Dad?" Ash asked now struggling to hold back the tears that threatened to fall down his face.

Here was a man he hadn't seen since he was five years old, that he had lost at such a young age.  That he had never had a proper chance to know.

The man nodded, his face strong and kind.

Ash gulped back the lump in his throat and reminded himself to breathe.

Ash blinked disbelievingly.

'It can't be,' Ash thought to himself.  'He's dead, he's been dead almost twelve years, it just can't be.'

But it had to be true; he didn't think he could stand it otherwise.  There, so close he could almost reach out and touch him was his father Michael Satoshi Ketchum, as he had always remembered him, strong, kind, brave and always looking for adventure just like his son.

But it was the adventure that had killed him.

Michael was an archaeologist, specialising in Aztecs and other Native American tribes.  He had been inside one of the Aztec pyramids in Central America when it had collapsed on him and his Richuu.

He had thought he was over it, that he was over all the mourning and the crying and the sadness.  He thought he was up to the point where he thought of something from his childhood and instead of crying he could laugh and be happy.  He thought the mourning period was over, but seeing the ghost of his father just brought it all back, reminded him of what he had lost and what he had missed out on.

He was reminded of a movie Misty had forced him to watch with her. 

'There are no mourning periods,' he thought to himself.

"You've grown up since I last saw you," Michael offered placing his hand behind his head, as Ash often did when he was nervous or in an awkward situation. He was trying to fill in the awkward silence that had fallen so quickly between them.

But what do you expect.  A boy and his twelve year deceased father isn't really the best conversational situation.   I mean, what are you really supposed to say to that.

Ash couldn't even bring himself to look his father in the eye.  It just hurt too much to even attempt to look at him.

Ash's lip quivered slightly as he had to try harder than ever to stop the tears from falling.  He was finally seeing his father after all this time.  He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to him, at least not properly.  There were so many things he wanted to say, to ask but he just wasn't sure where to begin.

"For so long I just wished that I could see you one last time," Ash said quietly.  "To say goodbye and to ask if I had lived up to your expectations. To know that I hadn't failed you."

"I more proud of you than you could ever know," his father replied.  "My proudest moments were seeing your determination and the way that you never gave up no matter what.  You excelled my expectations Ash, and I'll always be proud of you."

Ash nodded to him self as a single tear fell down his face, its reasons unknown.

Michael smiled at his son.  "But that's not why I'm here," he continued.  "I'm here to show you your past and hope it will somehow help you make your decision.  Ash, do you know why you hate Valentines Day so much?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious," Ash replied.  "It was the day of your funeral."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you," Michael smiled cryptically.

In seconds he room faded away and they were no longer in Cerulean. 

They were in the past, and they were back in Pallet where Ash could see a six-year-old version of himself all alone on a bench eating his lunch.

Other children played happily around the immense playground, enjoying this break from school, but Ash sat alone looking at the pictures in a Pokemon breeding magazine his dad had always read to him before his death.

Present Ash looked at himself.

He didn't remember that day; in all honesty he remembered very little of his life before Misty came along but every second he spent with her was locked away in to his memory never to be let go.  He knew it was probably thanks to all those blows from her mallet, but he didn't mind.

A little girl with hair almost as red as Misty's came up to his past self and sat next to him on the bench smiling at him.

"Why are you so sad?" she asked cheerfully moving her face so she could look up into his.  "Come play with me.  Valentines is supposed to be a happy day." 

Six-year-old Ash looked away from her burying his head further into his magazine.  In her efforts to comfort him, she had only made him sadder by reminding him that it was Valentines, the day he had dreaded for as long as he could remember.  He didn't want to cry in front of a perfect stranger.

He wasn't going to cry no matter what.  He'd promised his mom that he'd be strong, for her and for his dad.  He'd promised himself that he wasn't going to cry anymore, that all his tears were gone but the truth was they had only just begun.

"I'm a good listener," she said quietly hoping she could make him feel better.  "Tell me what's wrong."

"My dad died," he told her.  "They put him into the ground this day last year."

The young girl put her hand on top of his in order to show she understood.  She remembered the sort of things she had seen her sisters do when they were trying to comfort someone.

"My mom died when I was really little," she told him, "so I know how you feel.  I'm staying here with my Aunt Sofia while my dad is back home teaching my sisters to be good gym leaders," she said proudly.

"Your dads a Pokemon gym leader?" Ash asked almost excitedly.

The little girl nodded proudly.  "He's the best there is," she bragged.  "And one day I might even get to take his place.  I'm going to be the best Water Pokemon Trainer ever, you know."

"Cool!" Ash exclaimed, her excitement and kindness contagious.  She seemed to have unconsciously wiped away all his tears with her words.  "When I grow up," he told her, "I'm going to be the World's Greatest Pokemon Mater ever."

The two children continued to talk excitedly as if they had known each other all their lives.  It was almost as if Ash's tears had never been there.

"She seems so familiar," present Ash sighed to no one in particular.

"Of course," Michael said leaving it at that.

The scene began to dissolve and was replaced by a similar one.  Everything he could see was a year older than it had been before, the playground, the seats, and the kids.  It was all so different yet exactly the same.

Ash looked through a window where he could see a seven-year-old version of himself and one of the little girl from before.  They were smiling happily at each other and glad just to be in each other's presence.

It was Valentines Day again, that was easy to see.  The room was decorated with little hearts everywhere and the children were making and swapping little cards.

He and the girl sat together, slightly away from the rest of the class.

He gave her a teddy bear with her name on it, but present day Ash was too far away to see what it said on it.  The little girl hugged it to her chest lovingly then hugged Ash and kissed him on the cheek.  Past Ash blushed bright red while present Ash chuckled at the scene.

Ash just couldn't get over how familiar she looked though he couldn't quite match her to the person.  Her name seemed to be right on the tip of his tongue, yet out of reach all the same.

"This was the last Valentines Day you ever enjoyed," Michael sighed as he moved to the window beside Ash.

"Why?  What happened?" Ash asked turning to his father.

"The next year, she suddenly had to go back home when her father fell ill," Michael explained.  "She left on Valentines Day without a word.  You didn't even get to say goodbye and you've hated it ever since.

"Until Misty came along," Michael continued.  Ash blushed at her name as he often did.  "You had lost all trust in people and all faith in things like love.  If it weren't for her you wouldn't be the person you are today."

Ash nodded, but then he always knew the impact Misty had made on his life.  He often wondered about how different it would have been without Misty, but he didn't really want to find out.

"I have one last thing to show you," Michael said as the scene began to fade as it had so many times before.

As it all came back into focus, Ash recognised it immediately.  It was something he wouldn't be able to forget even if he tried.

"Why are we on Arshia Island?" Ash asked.

"Because this is something that you need to see," Michael said.

Ash could see Melody and Misty standing atop the temple.

Misty looked out towards the sea where he could also see himself riding Lugia to where they waited for him to bring the last treasure.

Ash cringed; he already knew what was going to happen next.  The weird collector was going to try and capture Lugia and they were both going to go down, almost drowning.

"Ash," Misty cried out quietly as she ran forward to get a better look as it unfolded just as it had four years ago.

"I'll go save him," Melody said handing Misty her musical instrument.

"No," Misty said handing it back, "you have a role to play, you have the ocarina.  I'll go save Ash."

Melody nodded knowing Misty was right.  "Be careful," she said.  "He can't do this alone."

Misty smiled.  "Ash is never alone, because he has me," she told Melody softly and seriously before reverting to a more joking tone.  "I may not be his girlfriend, but he's an important part of my life and I couldn't imagine it without him."

With that Misty ran down to shore where she went to save Ash.

"Wait," present Ash said.  "I always thought that Tracey saved me."

"Guess you thought wrong," Michael replied.

Ash watched as Misty tried to pump air back into his lungs.

"Please be ok Ash," she pleaded as she did so.

"That's all I can contribute," Michael said as the past Ash began trekking up the steps, Misty doing everything she could to make sure he was ok without letting him know.

He had never really noticed it before, Misty was always at his side never letting him fall and helping him back up when he did.  Misty had always been there for him, she never left him from the day they met no matter what he did to try and push her away in the beginning.

With that it all disappeared including Michael and Ash found himself alone in the Waterflower guestroom with nothing but the sound of a ticking clock to keep him company.

~ to be continued ~

As you can see there are only a few changes so far, the next few will probably be the ones with the biggest changes in them. 

So please tell me what you think of it and anything you might want to see from the other two ghosts, maybe even people you'd like to be the ghosts.  All will be considered as I'm trying to make as many changes as possible so it won't be nearly as crappy.