Chapter 4: Everything Changes
Yes, it was Misty, Ash's childhood friend. "Whoa!" Misty finally recognized him.
Ash was in shock, "Wha..."
"How did you..."
"But how did you..."
Tracey is watching with Todd from hiding, "This is horrible Todd, awful I tell you!"
"You mean because they've been reunited after so long, two childhood friends?"
Confused, "What? No! She's going to ruin our motto, everything, out perfect dream!"
"Oh, then I guess we should do something."
"And I know just what it is Todd, we can't let them fall in love tonight!"
Ash and Misty were walking around the town, Ash was showing her around. Ash stopped for a moment and Misty was about to put her hand on the wall to stick her head around the corner and surprise Ash with a kiss on the cheek. But Tracey saw and shot a thorn through a dart to land on the wall and Misty stuck her hand on it.
"Ow!" She jerked it away and Ash turned, he pulled it out and threw it off, and it landed on Tracey.
"Ah!"
They continued to walk on but then Tracey got another idea, he told Todd to get a Pokemon to scar them. Todd returned with a boy Nidoran. They told him to go attack and scare them. He began to run towards them but stopped when he saw a girl Nidoran, and they fell in love. They cuddled as Ash pulled Misty close, their hips touched and Misty giggled.
Todd turned to Tracey, "Isn't that romantic? I should take a picture."
"Ugh!" Tracey just fumed.
Ash and Misty walked along and came to a hill where they stood to watch the sun set. Tracey had another idea though, he got a rope and held one end and hid while Todd did the same with the other. Ash and Misty took a step forward and tumbled down the hill, but this caused Todd and Tracey to fly off and fall too somewhere nearby. At the bottom of the hill on the soft grass by some green flowery bushes, Ash and Misty giggled as they landed in a cuddling position.
"Aw, I should take a picture." Todd cooed.
"Well that worked like a dream." Tracey sighed sarcastically.
"It did?"
"Sarcasm is a foreign language to you isn't it? Just look! She's making those eyes."
"He's smiling that smile."
"They're laughing, and hugging and..." Tracey sighed and sang, "And if he falls in love tonight, it an be assumed."
Todd follows his lead, "His carefree days with us are history."
They both sing as they watch Ash and Misty walk off into the garden, "In short our pal is doomed." Later that night after dusk has settled, Tracey and Todd are walking down the road to go back home and just go to bed.
"Well that's it pal, we gave it our best shot but he's a goner..."
Todd turns, hearing something, "Maybe not..."
"You don't give up, do you?"
"Look." Todd turns Tracey to where they see Ash and Misty talking and arguing until Ash finally walks off, leaving Misty pouting in anger.
Tracey's mood has shifted, "Todd, do you know what this means?"
"Uhm, he can't express his feelings and she has commitment issues?"
Tracey just laughs, "We won, we split them up!"
"And, uhm, that's a good thing?" Todd starts to walk in the direction Ash did, Tracey follows to see Ash wrestling with himself. "Ah, he seems to be taking it kinda hard."
"Yea I know, look, I... but it's the bets thing for us, I mean, for him." Tracey walks off as a bunch of clouds form in the background where Ash had run off to. "Oh let's go Todd, I think a storm's coming." They arrive back home and go inside. "Our motto is safe at last pal, cause nothing's gonna take our boy away now." But the next morning... "He's gone, what do you mean he's gone!"
Misty repeated herself, "It's just like that man told me, Ash has returned." But the duo still doesn't get it. "Oh, you want me to go over it again?"
Tracey snaps out of the daze, "Yes please, but be a dear and just skip to the part about Ash, not that your childhood wasn't fascinating, but..."
Misty ignores the sarcasm, "Ok look, Ash is the rightful Pokemon Master, and after he left after his dad's death, Giovanni was proclaimed the Pokemon Master and formed an alliance with the Rockets, and now that Ash is old enough..." Misty's words seem to mutter off as Tracey and Todd talk, not paying attention to her.
"Poor Ash." Todd sighs. "They could write a story about his life, think of the movie deal. Or no, even a play!"
"Blah." Tracey smirks. "Why is she toying with us, I think this crazy kid is gonna attack us with her Pokemon again."
Misty concludes, "Ash has to go back home to challenge the gym leader to start his journey to become the true Pokemon Master." Misty stares at the two boys who stand there frozen in silence. Misty gets angry, "Oh, don't you get it? Ash needs us, now!" She runs off out the open door.
"He needs us?" Tracey spits. "Then he shouldn't have left us! If he wants to run off to be PokeMaster, well I say don't let the door hit you on the way out! Leave our motto to someone who appreciates it." He slams the door.
"But Tracey, it's not really a perfect dream without Ash."
"What's gotten into you now? Not our motto, that's crazy talk I tell ya. Nothing's changed here, we had our motto before Ash, and we've still got it now after."
"We gotta help our friend Tracey."
"You're just gonna walk away and give up on all this? What happened to friends stick together to the end, hu?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing." And with that, Todd went out the door and slammed it shut as he left.
"Hump, I got everything I want right here." He turns his back, Todd looks through the window and sees, sighs, and walks off. "Now this is more like it, I'm back home and I have elbow room!" He just sighs, "Oh boy..." He walks off around the house, looking around at all the things that brought back memories. "Our motto..." He starts to sing but just gives it up as he goes to lay down on the bed...
"Oh ho, haha!" A voice causes him to wake up and run into the main room.
"You!" He gasps when he sees Prof. Oak. "No, don't say a word, I know what you're gonna say." Imitating him. "Did you find your dream, your motto?" Talking normally. "Well yes I did think you very much, and I'm happy." Imitating him. "Happy is it, so if you're so happy then why do you look so miserable?" Talking normally. "Miserable you say, why should I be miserable? Oh I don't know, maybe because my two best friends in the whole world left me. Heh, they've headed off on some heroic mission, my friends... are gone. And my motto went with them!" Prof. Oak nods at Tracey's realization. "Thanks, I'm glad we had this talk." He runs out the door.
Prof. Oak smirks, "Well, my work here is done."
Meanwhile, Todd was following Misty back to Pallet where Ash should've arrived already, when just then Tracey literally runs into Todd. Misty stops running and turns around.
Todd smiles and helps Tracey up, "Come on buddy, we've got a fight to catch."
"Yea, let's go!" Tracey smiles and they run off together. "Who knows, this could be our big chance, our finest hour."
"You know what Tracey," Todd grinned. "I think you're right." But eventually...
Tracey and Todd were right in the middle of the Rockets, "Oh, all we are a pair of weakling rich trainers with valuable Pokemon." The Rockets began to gather around them.
"Run!" Todd screamed and they ran off into the house, Team Rocket followed.
"What the..." Jessy's voice was heard.
"Ah!" The trio ran out. "Get outa the way!" Tracey and Todd emerge from the house in triumph, Brock following them after being freed from his cage. But just then...
"Hey, move your but already hon." A muffled voice from behind caused the duo to jump as they turned to see Tracey's parents.
"Mom." His jaw dropped. "Dad?"
"Oh Tracey!" Unca hugs him.
"Tracey." Max is surprised.
"What are you doing here?" Tracey is confused.
"Looking for you." She hugs him tighter. "Aw it's ok, mommy's here now." Max sees the PokeBalls on Tracey's belt and pokes them, Tracey just smirks sheepishly.
"Uhm mom? Let me introduce you and dad to my best friend. Todd these are my parents, parents this is Todd."
But Todd just gasps, "Ah look, there's Ash! And that must be the gym leader Giovanni." They turn to see the two confronting each other by the far off corner of the hill, but Giovanni was backing Ash up.
"Well that's good, they're talking things out. Which is how it should be. You know, I have a feeling everything's gonna be just fine." Tracey turns away as a thunderbolt hit the ground below them, setting the dry shrubbery on fire. "Oh... on the other hand."
"The Rockets are up there protecting Giovanni, what should we do?" Todd asked.
"Well, I have a plan..." Tracey speaks up.
"How can we help?" Unca steps forward.
"Mom, dad, you're going to build a trap. We're going to need, dare I say it, a wall, a big wall, with shanty work! And you Todd, you and me are gonna get those Rockets away from Ash."
"Oh, to lure them into the trap?"
"Nothing gets past you, come on pal, let's go!" They run off.
Unca watches them go, "You know, something's different about Tracey."
"You think? He's got PokeBalls, our son's a trainer!" Max yells. Unca just sighs.
Tracey and Todd ran off to where Team Rocket was, Tracey yelled, "Hey Todd, what do you call a Rocket with half a brain?"
They turned as Tracey spoke, "Uhm, beats me Tracey, what?"
"Gifted!" Tracey laughs. Meowth laughs too but Jessy hits him.
"They're talking about us." She growls and shoves past James. "For your last meal, you're gonna eat those words." She growls as James and Meowth appear behind her for backup.
"Ah!" They run off, leading Team Rocket towards the trap.
"Mom, I think we got their attention." Tracey called.
"Not yet, keep stalling." She yells back as she and Max continue to build the poor wall.
"Ok." Tracey begins to think. He begins to juggle, Todd follows his lead.
"You gotta be kidding me." James stops in his tracks.
Tracey finishes the act, "Now mom?"
"Need more time hon." She calls back.
"Uhm..." Tracey begins to do different dances and Todd follows his lead. The Rockets laugh and applaud, but by now dozens more have joined them to watch the spectacle, like hoped would be in the plan. "Is it ready yet mom?"
"Not yet." She yells again. "Keep stalling!"
Tracey gets one last idea, "Wait, hold on a second!" He puts his hands into the shape of a T like in a time out signal.
"Uhm, Tracey what are you doing?" Todd asks.
Tracey gets down on one knee, "Jessy Rocket, would you do me the honor of becoming my bride?" Everyone freezes in shock, Todd's jaw dropped.
Jessy paused before responding, "I don't think so."
"Miss Rocket please, I know what you're thinking, we're too different, it'll never work, think of the age difference."
Jessy growls, "Oh, are you calling me old!"
"Listen to me, I ask you, if not now, when, if not me, who? I'm lonely..."
Todd sniffs, "Can I be your best man?"
James interrupts, "I say we skip the wedding and go strait to the part where the jealous boyfriend beats up the groom."
"Oh, I like that part." Jessy smiles as James pounds a fist into his hand.
"Now?" Unca appears.
Tracey notices, "Sure, if you're ready."
"Oh." Unca sees the Rockets, "Now Max, now!"
"Rockets blast off!" Max cries.
"Hu?" The Rockets are confused. Max kicks the platform the Rockets are standing on and it begins to crumble all around them. "Ah!" They start to look around frantically but then the cracking stops, and they stop.
"I need help." Max whispers. "It didn't work, something's stuck."
"Hey, works for me." Meowth laughed as he backed Unca and Max up against the wall of the house.
"What are we gonna do?" Unca gulped.
Tracey is afraid but then he sees what happened, a rock blocked the final crumbling of the wall which was hanging over the ledge, so in reality, the Rockets weren't even standing on the ground, just over a poorly constructed wall hanging off a cliff. Tracey runs towards the Rockets.
"What?" Meowth turns around.
"Tracey no!" Unca cries as Tracey jumps into the ground under the wall, a few Rockets tried to get him but missed.
"Let's get him!" Meowth yelled
But Tracey made it to the rock and kicked it free, causing the wall to crumble again until finally it all broke apart. The Rockets screamed as they fell down the hill. Unca and Max ran over to the edge. Todd looked off to the other side of the house where he saw Ash standing on the roof and Giovanni fly off the edge and down the ledge of the hill where he rolled down into the pile of fallen Rockets.
"I'd say Giovanni is down and out." Todd smiled.
"We did it." Max cheers in triumph.
"Where's my baby, Tracey? He's hurt! Oh no. He's dead! Or worse! We gotta find him." She becomes an emotional wreck. "He jumped under the wall and it fell right on him, pulling him down below with all the Rockets. Oh I knew he was too young to go out on his own..."
"It's ok mom." Tracey pulls himself out of some of the rubble left over from the wall that stayed up on the hill with them.
"Oh please, it's not ok!" Unca grabs him and shake shim. "Don't tell me it's ok when Tracey's not..." She realizes it's him. "Honey!" She hugs him tightly. "My son, you're a hero!" She lets go and begins to brush his hair with her hand again like she did when he was younger, but she stops herself, realizing her little boy is growing up.
Tracey leans forward and smiles, "You missed a spot." Unca grins.
"That's so beautiful." Max sniffs as Todd takes a picture. "Wait till I tell the two back home about this."
Unca hugs Tracey again, "Mom, choking, not breathing..." She lets go and they smile.
The rain falls as the town gathers to witness the spectacle. Ash had banished Giovanni and the Rockets and overthrown their reign of terror over Kanto and his hometown. Ash is about to go up to Prof. Oak's house where he's about to receive his first Pokemon along with all the other trainers, but he stops when he sees Tracey and Todd.
They smile and bow, Ash smirks and goes over, hugging them, "I couldn't have done it without you guys." He goes up the stairs and gets the PokeBall, raising it over his head with the other trainers.
"That's our boy." Todd sniffs.
"Oh." Tracey rubs his eyes. "I promised myself I wasn't gonna cry..."
"You've really come a long way son." Unca approaches him. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I found a place that was beyond my wildest dreams. But, it still wasn't home, and I dunno if it still is, unless..." He holds his mom's hands, just like he did before he left to start his journey. "Let's go home, mom."
"Home?" She looks confused. "You mean back to..."
"No, no, no." Tracey stops her and smiles. "To our true home, a place where we can live by our motto in perfect happiness. What I'm talking about is, the Orange Islands."
Unca turned to him and smiled, "Oh Tracey." She hugged him. Tracey smiled over at Todd who nodded.
"So what about you?" He asked after his mom let him go.
"I think I'm going to set out on my own now, you know, see the world. I'm gonna become the worlds greatest Pokemon photographer."
"Well then." Tracey sighed. "I'll be sure to look for your name in the magazines."
Todd smirked, "Don't worry man, we may never see each other again, but we'll always be friends. We'll always have our motto." They both hugged.
"Our motto?" Unca was confused.
"Don't worry mom, you'll know sooner or later." Tracey replied. Soon they'd taken a plane to the Orange Islands where Tracey was welcomed home by his brother and sister. "This mom, this is our motto."
"Your motto." Max laughed. "Oh, I get it!"
Tracey laughed as he and his brother and sister played on the beach by the ocean water, he let his Marill and Venonat out to play and got his family acquainted to Pokemon, but this time in a good way, in a place where humans and Pokemon could live in peace and harmony together, in a place where they didn't have to build walls and hide in fear, a place that Tracey referred to better known as, a dream home, a dream life, 'our motto'.
THE END
Tracey, Todd and Ash did see each other again, each of their lives turned out for the better. Ash (Brock and Misty) ran into Todd later on and some time after that ran into Tracey, who joined Misty and himself around the Orange Islands. But Tracey left home again, this time to return to Kanto, return to Pallet to study under Prof. Oak, the wise man who had changed his life all those years back. (and how the tv show goes, etc.) Todd eventually returned to Pallet, too. Ash had become the Pokemon Master, he and Misty got together and got married and started a family, everyone lived together happily under 'our motto', and well, you know the rest from there...
Yes, it was Misty, Ash's childhood friend. "Whoa!" Misty finally recognized him.
Ash was in shock, "Wha..."
"How did you..."
"But how did you..."
Tracey is watching with Todd from hiding, "This is horrible Todd, awful I tell you!"
"You mean because they've been reunited after so long, two childhood friends?"
Confused, "What? No! She's going to ruin our motto, everything, out perfect dream!"
"Oh, then I guess we should do something."
"And I know just what it is Todd, we can't let them fall in love tonight!"
Ash and Misty were walking around the town, Ash was showing her around. Ash stopped for a moment and Misty was about to put her hand on the wall to stick her head around the corner and surprise Ash with a kiss on the cheek. But Tracey saw and shot a thorn through a dart to land on the wall and Misty stuck her hand on it.
"Ow!" She jerked it away and Ash turned, he pulled it out and threw it off, and it landed on Tracey.
"Ah!"
They continued to walk on but then Tracey got another idea, he told Todd to get a Pokemon to scar them. Todd returned with a boy Nidoran. They told him to go attack and scare them. He began to run towards them but stopped when he saw a girl Nidoran, and they fell in love. They cuddled as Ash pulled Misty close, their hips touched and Misty giggled.
Todd turned to Tracey, "Isn't that romantic? I should take a picture."
"Ugh!" Tracey just fumed.
Ash and Misty walked along and came to a hill where they stood to watch the sun set. Tracey had another idea though, he got a rope and held one end and hid while Todd did the same with the other. Ash and Misty took a step forward and tumbled down the hill, but this caused Todd and Tracey to fly off and fall too somewhere nearby. At the bottom of the hill on the soft grass by some green flowery bushes, Ash and Misty giggled as they landed in a cuddling position.
"Aw, I should take a picture." Todd cooed.
"Well that worked like a dream." Tracey sighed sarcastically.
"It did?"
"Sarcasm is a foreign language to you isn't it? Just look! She's making those eyes."
"He's smiling that smile."
"They're laughing, and hugging and..." Tracey sighed and sang, "And if he falls in love tonight, it an be assumed."
Todd follows his lead, "His carefree days with us are history."
They both sing as they watch Ash and Misty walk off into the garden, "In short our pal is doomed." Later that night after dusk has settled, Tracey and Todd are walking down the road to go back home and just go to bed.
"Well that's it pal, we gave it our best shot but he's a goner..."
Todd turns, hearing something, "Maybe not..."
"You don't give up, do you?"
"Look." Todd turns Tracey to where they see Ash and Misty talking and arguing until Ash finally walks off, leaving Misty pouting in anger.
Tracey's mood has shifted, "Todd, do you know what this means?"
"Uhm, he can't express his feelings and she has commitment issues?"
Tracey just laughs, "We won, we split them up!"
"And, uhm, that's a good thing?" Todd starts to walk in the direction Ash did, Tracey follows to see Ash wrestling with himself. "Ah, he seems to be taking it kinda hard."
"Yea I know, look, I... but it's the bets thing for us, I mean, for him." Tracey walks off as a bunch of clouds form in the background where Ash had run off to. "Oh let's go Todd, I think a storm's coming." They arrive back home and go inside. "Our motto is safe at last pal, cause nothing's gonna take our boy away now." But the next morning... "He's gone, what do you mean he's gone!"
Misty repeated herself, "It's just like that man told me, Ash has returned." But the duo still doesn't get it. "Oh, you want me to go over it again?"
Tracey snaps out of the daze, "Yes please, but be a dear and just skip to the part about Ash, not that your childhood wasn't fascinating, but..."
Misty ignores the sarcasm, "Ok look, Ash is the rightful Pokemon Master, and after he left after his dad's death, Giovanni was proclaimed the Pokemon Master and formed an alliance with the Rockets, and now that Ash is old enough..." Misty's words seem to mutter off as Tracey and Todd talk, not paying attention to her.
"Poor Ash." Todd sighs. "They could write a story about his life, think of the movie deal. Or no, even a play!"
"Blah." Tracey smirks. "Why is she toying with us, I think this crazy kid is gonna attack us with her Pokemon again."
Misty concludes, "Ash has to go back home to challenge the gym leader to start his journey to become the true Pokemon Master." Misty stares at the two boys who stand there frozen in silence. Misty gets angry, "Oh, don't you get it? Ash needs us, now!" She runs off out the open door.
"He needs us?" Tracey spits. "Then he shouldn't have left us! If he wants to run off to be PokeMaster, well I say don't let the door hit you on the way out! Leave our motto to someone who appreciates it." He slams the door.
"But Tracey, it's not really a perfect dream without Ash."
"What's gotten into you now? Not our motto, that's crazy talk I tell ya. Nothing's changed here, we had our motto before Ash, and we've still got it now after."
"We gotta help our friend Tracey."
"You're just gonna walk away and give up on all this? What happened to friends stick together to the end, hu?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing." And with that, Todd went out the door and slammed it shut as he left.
"Hump, I got everything I want right here." He turns his back, Todd looks through the window and sees, sighs, and walks off. "Now this is more like it, I'm back home and I have elbow room!" He just sighs, "Oh boy..." He walks off around the house, looking around at all the things that brought back memories. "Our motto..." He starts to sing but just gives it up as he goes to lay down on the bed...
"Oh ho, haha!" A voice causes him to wake up and run into the main room.
"You!" He gasps when he sees Prof. Oak. "No, don't say a word, I know what you're gonna say." Imitating him. "Did you find your dream, your motto?" Talking normally. "Well yes I did think you very much, and I'm happy." Imitating him. "Happy is it, so if you're so happy then why do you look so miserable?" Talking normally. "Miserable you say, why should I be miserable? Oh I don't know, maybe because my two best friends in the whole world left me. Heh, they've headed off on some heroic mission, my friends... are gone. And my motto went with them!" Prof. Oak nods at Tracey's realization. "Thanks, I'm glad we had this talk." He runs out the door.
Prof. Oak smirks, "Well, my work here is done."
Meanwhile, Todd was following Misty back to Pallet where Ash should've arrived already, when just then Tracey literally runs into Todd. Misty stops running and turns around.
Todd smiles and helps Tracey up, "Come on buddy, we've got a fight to catch."
"Yea, let's go!" Tracey smiles and they run off together. "Who knows, this could be our big chance, our finest hour."
"You know what Tracey," Todd grinned. "I think you're right." But eventually...
Tracey and Todd were right in the middle of the Rockets, "Oh, all we are a pair of weakling rich trainers with valuable Pokemon." The Rockets began to gather around them.
"Run!" Todd screamed and they ran off into the house, Team Rocket followed.
"What the..." Jessy's voice was heard.
"Ah!" The trio ran out. "Get outa the way!" Tracey and Todd emerge from the house in triumph, Brock following them after being freed from his cage. But just then...
"Hey, move your but already hon." A muffled voice from behind caused the duo to jump as they turned to see Tracey's parents.
"Mom." His jaw dropped. "Dad?"
"Oh Tracey!" Unca hugs him.
"Tracey." Max is surprised.
"What are you doing here?" Tracey is confused.
"Looking for you." She hugs him tighter. "Aw it's ok, mommy's here now." Max sees the PokeBalls on Tracey's belt and pokes them, Tracey just smirks sheepishly.
"Uhm mom? Let me introduce you and dad to my best friend. Todd these are my parents, parents this is Todd."
But Todd just gasps, "Ah look, there's Ash! And that must be the gym leader Giovanni." They turn to see the two confronting each other by the far off corner of the hill, but Giovanni was backing Ash up.
"Well that's good, they're talking things out. Which is how it should be. You know, I have a feeling everything's gonna be just fine." Tracey turns away as a thunderbolt hit the ground below them, setting the dry shrubbery on fire. "Oh... on the other hand."
"The Rockets are up there protecting Giovanni, what should we do?" Todd asked.
"Well, I have a plan..." Tracey speaks up.
"How can we help?" Unca steps forward.
"Mom, dad, you're going to build a trap. We're going to need, dare I say it, a wall, a big wall, with shanty work! And you Todd, you and me are gonna get those Rockets away from Ash."
"Oh, to lure them into the trap?"
"Nothing gets past you, come on pal, let's go!" They run off.
Unca watches them go, "You know, something's different about Tracey."
"You think? He's got PokeBalls, our son's a trainer!" Max yells. Unca just sighs.
Tracey and Todd ran off to where Team Rocket was, Tracey yelled, "Hey Todd, what do you call a Rocket with half a brain?"
They turned as Tracey spoke, "Uhm, beats me Tracey, what?"
"Gifted!" Tracey laughs. Meowth laughs too but Jessy hits him.
"They're talking about us." She growls and shoves past James. "For your last meal, you're gonna eat those words." She growls as James and Meowth appear behind her for backup.
"Ah!" They run off, leading Team Rocket towards the trap.
"Mom, I think we got their attention." Tracey called.
"Not yet, keep stalling." She yells back as she and Max continue to build the poor wall.
"Ok." Tracey begins to think. He begins to juggle, Todd follows his lead.
"You gotta be kidding me." James stops in his tracks.
Tracey finishes the act, "Now mom?"
"Need more time hon." She calls back.
"Uhm..." Tracey begins to do different dances and Todd follows his lead. The Rockets laugh and applaud, but by now dozens more have joined them to watch the spectacle, like hoped would be in the plan. "Is it ready yet mom?"
"Not yet." She yells again. "Keep stalling!"
Tracey gets one last idea, "Wait, hold on a second!" He puts his hands into the shape of a T like in a time out signal.
"Uhm, Tracey what are you doing?" Todd asks.
Tracey gets down on one knee, "Jessy Rocket, would you do me the honor of becoming my bride?" Everyone freezes in shock, Todd's jaw dropped.
Jessy paused before responding, "I don't think so."
"Miss Rocket please, I know what you're thinking, we're too different, it'll never work, think of the age difference."
Jessy growls, "Oh, are you calling me old!"
"Listen to me, I ask you, if not now, when, if not me, who? I'm lonely..."
Todd sniffs, "Can I be your best man?"
James interrupts, "I say we skip the wedding and go strait to the part where the jealous boyfriend beats up the groom."
"Oh, I like that part." Jessy smiles as James pounds a fist into his hand.
"Now?" Unca appears.
Tracey notices, "Sure, if you're ready."
"Oh." Unca sees the Rockets, "Now Max, now!"
"Rockets blast off!" Max cries.
"Hu?" The Rockets are confused. Max kicks the platform the Rockets are standing on and it begins to crumble all around them. "Ah!" They start to look around frantically but then the cracking stops, and they stop.
"I need help." Max whispers. "It didn't work, something's stuck."
"Hey, works for me." Meowth laughed as he backed Unca and Max up against the wall of the house.
"What are we gonna do?" Unca gulped.
Tracey is afraid but then he sees what happened, a rock blocked the final crumbling of the wall which was hanging over the ledge, so in reality, the Rockets weren't even standing on the ground, just over a poorly constructed wall hanging off a cliff. Tracey runs towards the Rockets.
"What?" Meowth turns around.
"Tracey no!" Unca cries as Tracey jumps into the ground under the wall, a few Rockets tried to get him but missed.
"Let's get him!" Meowth yelled
But Tracey made it to the rock and kicked it free, causing the wall to crumble again until finally it all broke apart. The Rockets screamed as they fell down the hill. Unca and Max ran over to the edge. Todd looked off to the other side of the house where he saw Ash standing on the roof and Giovanni fly off the edge and down the ledge of the hill where he rolled down into the pile of fallen Rockets.
"I'd say Giovanni is down and out." Todd smiled.
"We did it." Max cheers in triumph.
"Where's my baby, Tracey? He's hurt! Oh no. He's dead! Or worse! We gotta find him." She becomes an emotional wreck. "He jumped under the wall and it fell right on him, pulling him down below with all the Rockets. Oh I knew he was too young to go out on his own..."
"It's ok mom." Tracey pulls himself out of some of the rubble left over from the wall that stayed up on the hill with them.
"Oh please, it's not ok!" Unca grabs him and shake shim. "Don't tell me it's ok when Tracey's not..." She realizes it's him. "Honey!" She hugs him tightly. "My son, you're a hero!" She lets go and begins to brush his hair with her hand again like she did when he was younger, but she stops herself, realizing her little boy is growing up.
Tracey leans forward and smiles, "You missed a spot." Unca grins.
"That's so beautiful." Max sniffs as Todd takes a picture. "Wait till I tell the two back home about this."
Unca hugs Tracey again, "Mom, choking, not breathing..." She lets go and they smile.
The rain falls as the town gathers to witness the spectacle. Ash had banished Giovanni and the Rockets and overthrown their reign of terror over Kanto and his hometown. Ash is about to go up to Prof. Oak's house where he's about to receive his first Pokemon along with all the other trainers, but he stops when he sees Tracey and Todd.
They smile and bow, Ash smirks and goes over, hugging them, "I couldn't have done it without you guys." He goes up the stairs and gets the PokeBall, raising it over his head with the other trainers.
"That's our boy." Todd sniffs.
"Oh." Tracey rubs his eyes. "I promised myself I wasn't gonna cry..."
"You've really come a long way son." Unca approaches him. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I found a place that was beyond my wildest dreams. But, it still wasn't home, and I dunno if it still is, unless..." He holds his mom's hands, just like he did before he left to start his journey. "Let's go home, mom."
"Home?" She looks confused. "You mean back to..."
"No, no, no." Tracey stops her and smiles. "To our true home, a place where we can live by our motto in perfect happiness. What I'm talking about is, the Orange Islands."
Unca turned to him and smiled, "Oh Tracey." She hugged him. Tracey smiled over at Todd who nodded.
"So what about you?" He asked after his mom let him go.
"I think I'm going to set out on my own now, you know, see the world. I'm gonna become the worlds greatest Pokemon photographer."
"Well then." Tracey sighed. "I'll be sure to look for your name in the magazines."
Todd smirked, "Don't worry man, we may never see each other again, but we'll always be friends. We'll always have our motto." They both hugged.
"Our motto?" Unca was confused.
"Don't worry mom, you'll know sooner or later." Tracey replied. Soon they'd taken a plane to the Orange Islands where Tracey was welcomed home by his brother and sister. "This mom, this is our motto."
"Your motto." Max laughed. "Oh, I get it!"
Tracey laughed as he and his brother and sister played on the beach by the ocean water, he let his Marill and Venonat out to play and got his family acquainted to Pokemon, but this time in a good way, in a place where humans and Pokemon could live in peace and harmony together, in a place where they didn't have to build walls and hide in fear, a place that Tracey referred to better known as, a dream home, a dream life, 'our motto'.
THE END
Tracey, Todd and Ash did see each other again, each of their lives turned out for the better. Ash (Brock and Misty) ran into Todd later on and some time after that ran into Tracey, who joined Misty and himself around the Orange Islands. But Tracey left home again, this time to return to Kanto, return to Pallet to study under Prof. Oak, the wise man who had changed his life all those years back. (and how the tv show goes, etc.) Todd eventually returned to Pallet, too. Ash had become the Pokemon Master, he and Misty got together and got married and started a family, everyone lived together happily under 'our motto', and well, you know the rest from there...