Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, I own nothing, not Pokemon, its characters, or any name-brand products. I do own Lily. She's the evil me! Okay, not evil, but…she does the bratty things I never would have done…
Okay! I was thrilled to get reviews from some new people, as well as some from what I like to think of as 'my regulars'. Everyone's been so nice! I just love it! Thanks to everyone!
snapdrag21: Thanks! That's so sweet! I'm glad you like it! Please continue to read and let me know what you think.
Rachel: Thanks for another great review! Yeah, I finally updated…three chapters in a row. But I couldn't post 10 and 11 for a while because Document Manager was down for repairs. But they're up now, finally! Um, I can be pretty slow mentally at times, so I don't always 'get' what is being said. That's what I get for doing this stuff all night, I suppose. So, were you saying it was bad that Delia slapped Misty? If so, I'm sorry. But I would like to see that on the show! Am I the only one? Anyway, thanks and please keep reading!
Tony Dark: Thank you! I'm glad to know people are reading this and liking it too! It makes toiling away on it less tedious.
pooman: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm so happy you liked it! I hope you'll continue to do so in the future.
Pikados: Thank you! You have done me a great honor by putting my story on your Favorite Stories list, and me on both your Favorite Authors list and Author Alert list! Wow! To your question, yes, sadly, Jessie and James failed to help Ash. Poor Ash! Also, I'm glad you liked the 'necessities' part. Lily is very fun to write! There's plenty more of her in this story, and she's also a horribly bratty kid, which makes for a lot of fun. You'll see…
Now, I just want to say a few things. I have become very depressed! I was looking at other Pokemon stories on this site, and it looks like quite a few people have written about Ash getting kidnapped by Giovanni, or about Giovanni being Ash's father. Why had I heard nothing of this phenomenon before?? Well, it doesn't matter. I know I didn't copy anybody, since I never even knew other people wrote stuff like this until now. But now my story's not original! Wahhh!
One more thing for now, while I'm on this whole Giovanni subject: I don't actually think Giovanni is Ash's father. I just liked it for plot purposes. I personally am convinced that Ash's father is Professor Oak. I believe this for a number of reasons, but I won't go into them now. I'll just say that the clues are there for people like me who had nothing better to do than speculate on Ash's parentage. I don't know why I felt the need to say all this stuff, but I am pretty tired… Okay, that's enough jabbering! Story time!
Chapter Two: Meeting Ash
"Samuel! Lily's gone!" Delia came rushing into the lab. "I went in her room to put away her clean clothes and she wasn't there!"
"Delia, calm down. She could be somewhere else in the house, or even visiting some of the Pokemon."
"No, she's not. I checked everywhere! And her new bike and Pokemon are gone, too!"
Professor Oak didn't seem too worried, though. "Maybe she went for a bike ride."
"This early in the morning?"
"Well, wherever she is, she probably has her Pokegear with her. We'll just call her."
Lily woke to the sound of her Pokegear ringing. She sat up in the grass and answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Where are you, young lady?"
"Mom!" Lily dropped the phone, then picked it up again. "Sorry, Mom, but I can't tell you."
Her mother was furious. "What do you mean, you can't tell me?"
"Just what I said. I can't tell you." Lily held the phone away from her, just in case her mom started yelling. But her mom had given the phone to her dad.
"Lily," he said sternly, "you'd better get back here right now!"
"No."
"What did you say?"
"Did I stutter? I'm not coming back. I've got something more important to do."
By now, Lily was thankful that she was some distance away from home, because her parents were angrier than she could ever remember. Well, almost.
"Lily Violet Oak," her father said, "if you don't come home right now, then we will come find you, and believe me, if that happens, you are going to be very sorry."
She knew he was serious, but she was not going to abandon her mission. She took a deep breath. "I'm not coming back," she said. "I've made up my mind." Lily hung up and sighed. Now I have to find Ash, she thought. Otherwise I'll never be able to go home.
Lily checked her Pokegear map, then got on her bike and headed for Viridian City. About halfway there she stopped and cursed. She'd never found out the name of Ash's father. How would she even know where to look?
After thinking for a few moments, Lily decided to keep going. She could ask people around the city. She did know that Ash's father had people who worked for him. So he was head of a company or something. It wouldn't be so hard to track down someone like that. Would it?
A little while later Lily was in Viridian City. She headed for the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy came to the counter. "May I help you?"
"Yes, actually," Lily said, trying to sound mature. "Are there any businesses in this town? I mean like big companies and stuff."
Joy frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean, but there's not a whole lot here. Maybe you want the Silph Company in Saffron City. That's a big company. You should check there. We do have a gym here, though, if you're interested."
Lily thanked her and left. So she'd have to go to Saffron City. But now that she was a Pokemon trainer, it wouldn't hurt to try for a badge. Even if she lost, it would be fun to battle. She walked her bike over to the big building that was Viridian Gym. The guards let her through when she told them she wanted to challenge the Gym Leader. Once inside, she looked around the huge, dimly lit room. The doors slammed shut behind her and she cried out in surprise. Then she heard a voice.
"Welcome to the Viridian Gym, little girl. You wish to battle for an Earth Badge, I presume."
Lily nodded, but she couldn't see anybody at first. Then a man stepped out of the shadows. He had dark, slicked-back hair and was wearing an orange suit. Something about him gave Lily the creeps. She stepped back a little.
The man seemed amused by her nervousness. "Well, if you're ready, let's begin. Would a three-on-three battle be acceptable to you?"
Lily blushed. "Actually, I only have one Pokemon. I just became a trainer yesterday. In fact, this will be my first battle."
His eyebrows went up. "I'm flattered that you chose me for your first match, but I warn you, it was a foolish decision.
"Very well, then," he continued. "We shall have a sudden death match."
Lily pulled out her new pokeball. She tossed it.
"Celebi!" A pretty green fairy Pokemon hovered in front of her. Lily's mouth dropped open. She'd seen this Pokemon in a book once. It was supposedly legendary, but somehow her parents had gotten it for her. She was thrilled.
Standing across from her, the gym leader also seemed stunned. "A Celebi?? How did you manage to get a Celebi? They are extremely rare."
Lily grinned. "My mom and dad gave it to me. I don't know where they got it."
"Well you are a very lucky little girl. But back to the match." He pulled out a pokeball of his own. "Oh, by the way, my name is Giovanni."
"Mine's Lily."
"You have a very nice name, Lily."
"Thank you," she said, pleased by the compliment. This guy didn't seem so bad after all.
Giovanni threw his pokeball. "Go, Nidoking!"
The huge purple Pokemon roared as it came out of its ball. Lily's Celebi took one look and flew behind Lily's back. It stayed there, trembling.
Lily laughed nervously. "I guess my Pokemon's not quite ready to battle," she said. "Come on, Celebi, don't you want to win?"
The Pokemon wouldn't move. Giovanni returned Nidoking to its pokeball.
Lily was ashamed. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "Celebi, return!"
"That's quite all right," said Giovanni. "Perhaps when you and your Celebi have more experience, you will return and battle me as a powerful trainer."
Lily smiled. "I'd like that. Oh! I just remembered something. May I ask you a question?"
"Certainly."
"I'm looking for someone. I don't know his name, but he's the head of a company. That's about all I know, except that this guy is evil."
"Evil?"
"Yeah. I don't really feel like explaining the details, but I need to find him. Today, if possible."
Giovanni looked thoughtful. "I don't know. A lot of people can be thought of as evil by others." He laughed. "Why, some people think I'm evil!"
"You?" Lily asked. "Why do they think that?"
Just then her phone rang. She ignored it. She didn't feel like being yelled at again. She noticed that Giovanni was looking at her curiously.
"Isn't that your phone?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "It's just my parents. They're mad at me for going off on my own, so I don't want to talk to them right now. They can just wait."
"Aren't you afraid you'll be in more trouble when you go home?"
Lily shrugged. She was trying not to think about it.
Giovanni nodded approvingly. "You have spirit, Lily. I admire that."
"Well, I try," she replied.
"My organization could use more people like you, people with spirit."
"What does your organization do?"
"Team Rocket trains Pokemon to be very powerful in battles, among other things."
Lily laughed. "Can girls join? I think I'd like to be able to make Celebi strong."
"You're a little bit young for Team Rocket," Giovanni said, "although one of my best junior executives came to me at about your age. Of course, he's also my son."
Lily froze. "How old is he now?" she asked, trying to sound as if she were simply curious.
"He's twenty. Why?"
Lily shrugged. "Just curious. That's young to have an important job like that. He must be very smart." Her heart pounded. Think! She yelled at her brain. Then it hit her. "Could I join Team Rocket? I'm asking for real this time. I really want to, and I'll work hard at it." If Giovanni was Ash's father, this would be the way to get to Ash.
"I don't think your parents would be too happy."
Lily shrugged again. "Who cares about them, anyway? I don't care what they think," she lied.
"Sorry, but no. You're just too young," said Giovanni. Just then, a young man dressed in black raced up to them. He spoke to Giovanni.
"Sir, we're having some problems with the new recruits."
"Fine. I'll handle it." Giovanni sighed. "Lily, I'm sorry, but duty calls. Come back for a battle when you're experienced." He turned to the young man. "Show our guest out." With that, he was gone.
The young man gestured to Lily. She started to follow him to the door, but something stopped her. She looked closely at his face. Her eyes widened. "Wait!"
He halted and stared at her. "What is it?"
Lily pulled the photo of Ash out of her pocket. "It is you! Ash!"
He started. "How do you know my name?"
"I'm your sister Lily!" She ran to hug him, but he moved quickly out of the way.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Ash, don't you remember me? What about Mom? What about Pikachu?"
"I don't have a sister or a Pikachu! And I don't have a mother, either! Not anymore. You must have mistaken me for someone else. Now it's time for you to go." He reached for Lily's arm. She jerked away.
"No! I'm not going anywhere until you listen to me!" Lily said stubbornly. She sat down on the floor and unwrapped a packet of Pop-Tarts. She bit into one and held the other out to Ash. "Want one?"
He slapped it out of her hand, sending it flying. She stared, shocked.
"That was a S'mores one! Just for that, I'm not going to give you any Oreos," she yelled, then changed her mind. "No, that would be mean. You can have one Oreo, okay?" She held out the package. Something seemed to spark in Ash's eyes for just an instant, but then he shook his head as if to get rid of an unwanted thought.
"You have to go, now! My boss will be back soon, and you have to be gone by then!"
"Well, I'm not going anywhere, so I guess you're out of luck." Lily opened a can of soda and sipped calmly. "I'm not leaving unless you come with me."
He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet easily. He was surprisingly strong. She struggled in his grasp.
"What's going on here?"
Both Lily and Ash turned to see Giovanni standing behind them. Ash released Lily and stepped away from her.
"Forgive me, Father. I was trying to get this girl to leave, like you asked, but she is being difficult."
Now that Lily knew the truth, she was enraged. She flew at Giovanni, but he saw her attack coming and held up one hand. Lily crashed into it and fell to the floor.
"Why is this child suddenly attacking me?" Giovanni demanded, looking down at Lily. "Ash? Explain! What is going on?"
Before Ash could say a word, Lily was up again. She was about to attack Giovanni again, but Ash caught her by the back of her shirt and held her back. Desperate to get away, Lily stomped down on her brother's foot. He let go abruptly, which made her fall on her face. She looked up at Ash. There was a strange expression on his face, as if he was remembering something.
"Lily…you're right. You are my baby sister. How could I…forget? You were a baby when I was taken. Yes, I was kidnapped. I remember… I tried to escape, many times, but…I couldn't."
She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Yes, Ash! That's it! You do remember!" Lily jumped up and hugged her brother. This time he let her.
Giovanni had been watching the exchange without saying anything, but he was not pleased.
"Ash! Get away from that girl!" he ordered. "She's lying to you! She's not your sister!"
Lily spun around. "You're the one who's lying! You are evil! You stole Ash away from his family!"
"I am his family!" Giovanni backhanded Lily, and she fell again. When she got up, she felt her cheek. She pulled her hand away quickly and looked at it. There was blood on it. Lily's eyes narrowed. Now she was really mad.
"I don't care what you do to me. I'm leaving anyway, and Ash is coming with me. Right, Ash?"
Her brother looked sad. "I…can't. Your home is not my home anymore, and besides, I can't just leave Team Rocket."
Giovanni nodded. "Smart boy. Now get this little brat out of my gym."
"I am not a brat!" Lily shouted. "Ash, if you won't do it for me, do it for Mom. And Pikachu!"
"Don't do this to me, Lily," her brother pleaded. "Please, just go. I don't want to hurt you. Don't you understand? I am not the Ash everyone remembers anymore. I'll never be him again."
"But you are him. You always were," Lily cried. "I wanted more than anything to find you, and now that I have, you won't come with me. I thought my brother wasn't a coward, but I guess I was mistaken." She turned her back on him.
"I am not a coward! You don't even have any idea what I've been through!"
"How am I supposed to? All I know is you have a chance to come back now, and you won't take it. Maybe you were right. You're not the Ash you were."
"That's right, I'm not. So just go and don't come back!"
Lily gave up. Slowly she gathered up her things. When she got to the double doors, she looked back at her brother with tears in her eyes. "I'll miss you, Ash. I hope you change your mind and come home soon."
She opened the doors and stepped outside, letting the doors close behind her. Then she sank onto the ground and sobbed. She was a failure. Now it didn't matter that she knew where her brother was. He wouldn't come home anyway. She would have been better off if she hadn't found him at all.
After a few minutes she got up and dusted herself off. She walked over to her bike and got on it. Sadly she rode toward home, without looking back.
So, there's another chapter finished. How do you all like it? Be sure to let me know! And I realize this chapter has a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense. Even typing it now, I find myself wondering why Giovanni ever let Lily go once she knew so much. I guess the reason is: it's necessary to the plot. Besides, it's almost like this thing wrote itself. I just happened to be chosen as the outlet for it. Really, it just came out of me like I couldn't control it. Any other authors who have had this happen? I'm sure a lot of you have. So, please don't flame me for the plot oversights in this chapter. I already know about them, but I'd have to change the whole story to fix them all, and then it would never be finished!
Well, that said, please continue to review, everybody! I just can't get enough of those great reviews! Oh, and I have a request for anyone who's interested. I don't know if Giovanni has a last name (I mean, one that was ever revealed). I need a last name for him for later in the story. I kind of skipped over it in the original draft, but it's actually necessary now. If anyone has a good idea for a name, please let me know. If I choose your idea, and have your permission to use it, I will be sure to credit you for it. I'm sorry to ask this, but I'm drawing blanks here! Thanks again to everybody!