Down the hallway in another bedroom, six year-old Samantha Oak leapt out of bed excitedly and dashed to her closet where her light-blue flower girl's dress hung.

"Today's the big day, AJ!" Samantha said happily, taking her dress off of the hanger and holding it up to herself. "Ash and Misty are getting married!"

The half-asleep Pikachu lying at the foot of her bed raised its head and regarded its trainer curiously.

"And you're going to be in the wedding too, AJ!" Samantha grinned. "I even bought you a little bow tie to wear!" She reached inside her desk drawer, brought out a light blue bow tie that was the same color as her dress, and fastened it around her Pokémon's neck. "Come on, AJ. Let's go see if Ash is up!"

As the girl and her Pokémon dashed down the hallway to the guest bedroom, the mini stampede awoke the occupants of the bedroom next to the girl's.

"Sounds like Sami is up," Delia Oak groaned.

"And AJ too," replied her husband. Professor Oak yawned and glanced at the clock that was on the table next to their bed. "Six fifty-seven."

"It took me forever last night to get her to go to bed," Delia continued, snuggling in her husband's arms. "She was so excited about Ash and Misty's wedding that I couldn't get her to calm down. She's going to be absolutely exhausted later."

"Can't blame the girl for being excited," Professor Oak grinned, giving his wife a kiss on her forehead. "It's a big day today. Kind of reminds you of our wedding day, doesn't it?"

"I still can't believe my little boy is getting married today," Delia said sadly. "To me, he's still my baby."

"It's hard to believe that Ash is twenty-two and about to be married, isn't it?" Professor Oak said, giving his wife a comforting hug. "But Misty's a wonderful young lady, and she and Ash have known each other for years. They'll be fine." A mischievous gleam appeared in his eye. "Since we have a few minutes before I need to get up and start getting the Pokémon breakfast, why don't we take advantage of it?"

Delia giggled. "I thought older men weren't supposed to have much stamina."

"Only when they don't have pretty young wives like you," he replied, kissing her hungrily.

Delia smiled as her husband's hands made their way down her body.

---

Ash was stepping out of the bathroom when the bedroom door flew open and a brown-haired girl with a Pikachu at her heels burst into the room.

"Hey, kiddo," Ash grinned, picking up his half-sister and swinging her in a circle. "What are you and AJ doing up so early?"

"It's your wedding day!" Sami said happily, jumping atop the bed and startling the pair of satisfied-looking Pikachus that were dozing atop it. "Oops! Sorry, Pikachu. Sorry, Electra."

Electra woke up, hopped off of the bed, went over to the Pikachu that was sitting on the floor next to the bed, and began smoothing down his fur.

"Pikachu," ["Cut it out, Mom."] AJ complained as his mother straightened the bow tie around his neck.

"Looks like Electra likes fussing over Ash Junior as much as our mom does," Ash said with amusement. "Speaking of which, is Mom up yet?"

"Yeah," Sami replied. "I heard her and Daddy giggling in their room. Guess they're happy about you and Misty getting married too."

Or something else, Ash smiled to himself. Ever since his mother's marriage to Professor Oak nearly eight years ago, she had been happier than he could ever recall -- probably because she now had a husband and another child to fuss over. At first he had been shocked to learn of his mother's relationship with their next-door neighbor, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. His mom and Professor Oak had been friends for years, and it was natural that their friendship should blossom into love and eventually marriage.

Just like Misty and me, Ash thought with a smile.

"You'd better get dressed, Ash," Sami said, hopping off of the bed and reaching for her brother's tuxedo, which was draped over a nearby chair. "You don't want to be late for your wedding!"

"Sami, I'm not getting married until later this afternoon," Ash said, ruffling his sister's spiky brown hair, which, like his, always seemed to stick out in all directions. "I've got plenty of time to get dressed. Matter of fact, I was going to go down and see what was going on with the gym today."

"Well, you'd better hurry," the excited girl continued. "If you're going to go to the gym, you need to eat breakfast first. I'm gonna get dressed then go eat before I help Daddy feed all the Pokémon."

"I'll be there in a minute, Sami," Ash called down the hallway as his sister and her Pikachu galloped back toward their room. If it weren't for the light brown hair, he would swear that his little half-sister was a female reincarnation of him.

Wonder if this is how it'll be when Misty and I have kids of our own? Ash thought as his gaze fell on his tuxedo once more. And then his stomach churned uncomfortably once more.

"Damn you, Brock," Ash muttered as he headed back to the bathroom. "I'm gonna kick your butt for making me drink all that beer last night."

To be continued…