do not own pokemon. I do own Daniel, Aaron, Marie, Andy, and Static. Even though I think Andy would like it better if Officer Jenny owned him.

(): Pokemon Translation
Ages:
Ash/Aaron: 13
Misty/Marie: 14
Brock/Andy: 17
Italics: Aaron's thoughts

Italics: Misty's thoughts

Chapter 9: To Tell or Not To Tell

Ash woke up to the sound of his father calling him down for breakfast.

"Coming!"

When he got down there, his dad was waiting for him.

"Hey Champ. Sleep well?"

"Yeah. What's the plan for today?"

"Well, I was thinking we could all go over to Professor Elm's lab and work with the Pokemon."

We? Maybe Dad stopped being such a workaholic. "Sounds like fun Dad."

Just then Marie came in dragging Andy by the ear.

"Officer Jenny"

"Oh shut up you idiot."

She acts like Misty. Agh. There I go thinking about her again.

0000

At Elm's lab, Ash decided to use this time to his advantage.

"Dad? What's Mom like?"

"What brought this on?"

"Nothing. Can you please tell me?"

"Well, your mom was sweet, kind, and loving. She really did love you."

"So why did she leave?"

"I was not paying attention to the family. It got her angry and I should have known better than to do that. She stormed out taking…"

He stopped. The conversation had captured the attention of everyone in the room. Andy and Marie were wondering what she took and Elm was wondering if Dan was going to tell Aaron about Ash. Ash knew what she took but wanted to hear it for his father.

Dan had to make a choice. He could either tell his son the truth about the twin, or cover it up.

"She took her stuff." Dan finished.

Elm and Ash facefaulted and Marie and Andy went back to playing with the Pokemon.

Why won't he tell me?

0000

Elm and Dan were having a private conversation while the kids were playing with the Pokemon.

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"I panicked"

"You can't hide this forever. One day they will face each other in a tournament and the whole thing will spill."

"I know. If I knew where Delia was, I could find out if Ash knows. I don't think it's fair if Aaron knows his brother while his brother doesn't know he even exists."

"What would you do if you knew Ash knew?"

"I'd tell Aaron upfront."

After a pause, Elm decided to tell his old friend something he knew since he sent Ash to go get the Larvitar egg.

"I know what town she's in."

"You do? How?"

"Are you more interested in how than where?"

"Answer where first then how."

"Pallet Town. She came over to New Bark with Professor Oak while you were in Indigo. We had decided to wait for Ash here who was bringing me a Pokemon egg. Then I got an e-mail from Nurse Joy saying that the egg hatched and the Larvitar was very ill. I guess I got so caught up, I forgot to mention to Delia that I knew you."

"You saw Ash and Delia? How are they? Are they alright?"

"Calm down. They're fine. How about instead of asking me, you go to Pallet and ask them yourself."

"Thanks Elm. I owe you one. Come on kids, lets go home and have some lunch."

What Elm did not tell Dan, was that he could have gotten her phone number just by calling Professor Oak.

"He needs to see her again." He said to himself.