"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"
Misty covered her ears from the extremely loud call of frustration of four young women. Women who had deep bonds with Ash and were now very vocal about their disappointment to not be able to see him.
Each in their own way.
Serena behaved the most subdued, more sad than angry to have missed him. She had grown her brown hair back had it an intricate braided dutt. For the occasion she wore an airy red summer dress with lots of ribbons and matching open-toed shoes.
May was rubbing her temples to stave off the impending headache. The woman from Hoenn wore an updated version of her old travel clothes, red and white jacket, black spats and matching bandana over her signature shoulder length hairstyle.
Dawn was pouting with crossed arms. Her appearance had changed the most, following the latest trend in Sinnoh with her hair styled into high twintails and keeping the white beanie at home. The chosen outfit was purposely more rebellious with a black leather jacket and holes in her jeans.
Iris was the most physical with her frustration, kicking the crap out of her dented suitcase. The wild girl from Unova had blossomed into a natural beauty, dressing the most casual in simple white shorts and a beige tank top showing midriff, her ankle-length violet hair subdued by several bands and ribbons.
Seeing them all at once made Misty abundantly clear that Ash had a habit of attracting beautiful women as his travel companions.
Time had been generous with all of them, turning even the tomboyish Iris into a knockout beauty. The thought brought its share of annoyance for Misty, analyzing each of them as possible obstacle in her future plans. Plans she couldn't put into words but recognized Serena as the biggest roadblock for them.
The feeling seemed mutual, Serena's usual sugary disposition turning a lot more sour. "What do you mean Ash isn't here?"
"Yeah, what she said!" Iris was much louder and obvious in her displeasure. "His mother said he was crashing at your home!"
Delia Ketchum had shown her hand as master meddler. On the first opportunity, she had sent four women of Ash's past to her home, despite encouraging Misty to think about pursuing a relationship with her son.
Maybe, she wasn't the only possible candidate for Mrs. Ketchum?
"Ash will come back later," Misty drove the nagging thought to the back of her mind. "He has some business with the police."
Serena sighed. "Don't tell me criminal teams are still bothering him?"
Leaf was getting really nervous behind Misty. Meeting new people and most of all in larger groups often overwhelmed the girl, coined by her experiences in the past with other strangers. All of her instincts screamed to stay hidden but she had to say something.
"No… uhm. He's gone because of me…"
The volume was so quiet that the four women looked around to find out where the little voice had come from. Misty had heard Leaf well enough and turned around to take the girl gently by the shoulders and allowing visual contact to her.
"That's nonsense, Leaf…"
Serena, May, Dawn and Iris watched how Misty tried to console a girl, who had managed to hide from them. The poor little thing looked almost like a doll, frail and delicate with a porcelain white face and spindly limbs.
"It isn't nonsense! The boss had to go with them because I couldn't take a hit without crying like a baby!"
"Boss?" Dawn asked.
Leaf tensed up in fear and closed her eyes, cursing herself for slipping up again. Ash had told her to be careful not to blab out important stuff about Team Rocket. He trusted her with his secrets and so far she had rewarded his trust with bringing him to jail and having a big stupid mouth!
"Ash took her as a student. Her name is Leaf." Misty introduced her, thinking the distraught girl wasn't in the right mental state to deal with all the attention.
Someone very big crouched down beside the shaking Leaf. The distance between them had masked it somewhat, but May had a good head in height over everyone else present. Her smile was bright and inviting, calming the girl until a single question brought back the anxiety with interest.
"That's a nice cap. Where did you get it?"
The shaking returned in force.
"Hey relax, I was just curious nothing more. No hard feelings right?" May put Leaf into a tight but comfortable hug, pressing the little girl into her large bosom. Besides height she had also some lead in the chest department, only really challenged by Serena and maybe Misty in the right outfit. Leaf relaxed as instructed, nodding against the soft mounds and May used the opportunity to whisper something into her ear
"I have a cap just like that…"
Leaf stared up at the smiling May in shock and the larger woman released the small child without another word from her soft prison as if nothing had happened. On a closer look, she even seemed to put in considerable effort to keep her expression neutral.
"I have no idea how long Ash will take. You can crash at my home, but I hope you don't mind sharing rooms?"
"Like me and Ash do?" Leaf asked with a sniffle and small hiccups, catching the attention of everyone. "Sleeping together with him is really awesome. He's so warm and cuddles me in his sleep."
Five pairs of eyes stared into the very soul of the child among them, burning with varying kinds of jealousy as they all entered.
Ash Ketchum took a seat in an uncomfy metal chair in the interrogation room. The former champion would have never imagined to be on the other side of a fake mirror window. The police department of Cerulean City was well equipped for a small town station, even owning its own state-of-the-art holding cells for pokemon.
They had Pikachu locked up in one, but Ash wasn't really worried about his companion. The two of them agreed to this out of courtesy, knowing full well that no man-made cage or chain would be able to hold his pokemon if they wanted to go somewhere.
Today, Ash had a rare taste of what problems a superpowered pokemon with mood swings could bring. As strong as his pokemon were, humans like him were fragile in comparison and that situation sometimes drove them to protect their trainer.
Especially Pikachu.
The click of the unlocking door put Ash out of his thoughts and towards the entering police officer, a middle-aged man with short brown hair, heavy stubbles on his face and a cup of coffee in his hand. Any further observation of the man stopped as soon as a second person entered after him.
A person Ash knew all too well.
"Everything has been cleared up, madam. Mr. Ketchum is free to go after your discussion."
Eliza Goodshow was a woman who commanded attention wherever she appeared. Under normal circumstances, Ash would have rather spent the night in prison than dealing with her paying for his damages. Now he had to at least talk to the witch or risk looking ungrateful in front of the police.
And she knew that. "Thank you officer. I appreciate your cooperation in this matter."
Ash and Mrs. Goodwill were alone with a click of the door. "You are a man that is very hard to find, Mr. Ketchum."
Ash had the urge to lash out, but realized how little pointless bickering would achieve. All he wanted was to get back home to Misty and Leaf as quickly as possible. "What do you want?"
The woman in expensive designer clothes stood up, walked to his side and kneeled down with her head pressed on the grimy floor. "As representative of the Pokemon League I, Eliza Goodshow, beg you to rethink your decision of quitting for the sake of our sport and national security."
He had been expecting blackmail or at least some form of bribery, not groveling and pleading from the proud businesswoman. During some quiet moments, Ash had fantasized about what he would say to the arrogant bitch, but seeing Mrs. Goodshow on her knees gave him no satisfaction.
Ash just felt dirty. "Get up and explain yourself. I'm listening…"
She did as told with hopeful eyes, making his insides squirm. Life had been so much easier with the notion that Eliza Goodshow was just a spoiled brat scoring this job through nepotism.
A mental image which began to crumble away with every word out of her mouth. "You and your pokemon provided us with a difficult situation, so we had to adapt our strategy into something that was in everyone's interest."
The snort came out of him on reflex and she didn't miss a beat to address his disbelief.
"Admittedly, we failed upholding your interests in the long run. The League gave up on giving you a challenge, because early data showed us that any amount of effort spent in resources really didn't make a difference. Nobody on this planet can beat you and the organisation rather used those resources elsewhere instead of thinning the competition."
A sobering thought and yet, Ash couldn't put blame on them for coming to this logical conclusion.
Ash had issues with their execution.
"For years, the numbers of trainers joining criminal teams have risen, but we have only two occurences where the numbers literally skyrocketed; the moment you became champion and the time you retired."
A cold shiver ran down Ash's spine. His existence alone had kept others from trying to fulfill their dreams, giving up against the insurmountable challenge of beating him? His rejection of the Pokemon League drove young people to follow a wrong path?
"Why did nobody ever think of telling me all this?"
"To be honest, the league didn't have a high opinion of you. We saw you as a glory hungry conqueror, cutting his way through our delicate system and toppling everything we strived to preserve."
That was certainly a new way of seeing things, provided that it was actually true and not some boldfaced lie to trick him.
Maybe they could agree on meeting halfway.
"Let's say I would entertain the idea to return, what would have me do from now on? I'm not going back to playing circus clown in the arena."
"Certainly, Mr. Ketchum," Mrs. Goodshow said with a smile that looked genuine for the first time since he knew her. ''The challengers will be picked more carefully in terms of qualification and the frequency of title defences ought to be lowered. Of course, the money will be a lot better too as compensation for your troubles."
"That's nice, but I'm not interested in money." Ash said quickly, thinking about the events of the last few days. "Although, there is something that I want."
Ash stared intently at Mrs. Goodshow, contemplating the right wording of his demand in a careful manner.
The blonde woman interpreted the stare differently, taking off her glasses and undoing her bun to let the long blond hair free with shaky hands. "Of course, I can also personally compensate you."
Ash blinked in confusion, until she opened the top button of her shirt. "For goodness sake lady, are you offering what I am thinking you're offering?"
Mrs. Goodshow walked up to him and sat between his spread legs . "Anything in my might to get our champion back..."
The young man shot up from his chair and pressed himself against the opposite wall. "I'm impressed, scared and a bit aroused from your enthusiasm, but that's one hundred percent not what I meant!"
Sitting down back with the blushing blonde at the same table was easily on the top ten list of the most embarrassing and awkward situations of his life.
"I will take on the occasional challenger after reviewing them. In the meantime, there is a project I want to get off the ground as soon as possible and it involves property in a certain town. A building you can provide me with because your organization owns it."
To her credit, Mrs. Goodshow looked like she wanted to end this conversation as soon as he did and signaled him to get to the point with a handwave.
So he did.
"I want ownership of the gym in Viridian City."
The day in Cerulean City neared its end with the last golden rays vanishing behind the close mountain range. Inside the Cerulean Gym, Misty prepared a few bowls of snacks and low-fat dip for their impromptu sleepover. Sleeping space was understandably sparse and they all figured to make the best out of it by catching up with a girl's night.
Heavy loaded with a tray she entered her room, the biggest in the house and thus the best choice, interrupting the last bits of preparation.
Every inch of the floor was littered with blankets and fluffy pillows and everyone wore the appropriate uniforms for the event with varying styles of sleepwear. Serena had her modest silk pyjamas in light pink while Iris had just put on green shorts and a yellow tank top. May sat on Misty's bed in her red night robe, corded up at the front with a black ribbon with Dawn lying to her feet in a black negligee and stockings, reading a fashion magazine.
Scanning the room, Misty once again felt a bit insecure wearing nothing but a black t-shirt and simple white panties.
She remembered quickly the reason for her choice of clothes when Dawn looked up. "That shirt looks really big on you. Where did you get that?"
Misty stood there silent with a beet red head and Dawn gasped in shock.
"Are you wearing his clothes?"
Misty nodded.
"I hope you washed it," Iris wrinkled her nose. "The guy has a tendency to get himself dirty."
Misty couldn't look them in the eyes. "I like how it smells ok? Don't judge me!"
May stood up and walked up to her, taking hold of the black fabric and getting a whiff. "Why would we? Nobody in this room can honestly say they didn't entertain the thought of hooking up with Ash at some point in their life."
May's boldness stunned the others, everyone taking stock of oneself to gauge the truthfulness of her claim. Four sets of blushing cheeks gave answer to that and drove Misty on edge again.
The mobile phone on her nightstand rang once to signal an incoming message and she quickly went for it before anyone else could reach. It didn't stop the rest to gather around her on the bed to get a glimpse.
"Ash's coming very late. He's writing something about having to sign a few documents."
Two arms flung around the huddled up group as May pulled them all into a lying position on the mattress. Her left arm shot forward to the phone in Misty's hand and with two taps activated photo mode.
"Say cheese!" She yelled and held it up, causing the rest to stare in confusion at the blinking light before saying the word on instinct. Quickly, May let her fingers glide over the touchscreen and hit send.
Misty recovered first, wrestling the phone back from May and swiping through the menus. "What did you do?"
"Sending the numbskull a little incentive to come here quicker."
A quick tap opened the picture folder and Misty stared at the photo in horror. Five scantily dressed girls lolled between silk sheets and stared at the camera with flushed cheeks. Another swipe to the messenger app revealed the included comment to the sent picture.
Sexy sleepover happening... Room for one more... We are waiting handsome ;p
"Are you crazy!?"
It wasn't Misty who had her hands around May's neck. Sweet and innocent Serena had both hands full with trying to strangle the life out the giggling woman in her chokehold. Face to face with each other, you really noticed the difference in physique between the two. Serena was still as dainty as in her youth while May was built like an amazon in comparison, negating Serena's efforts by simply tensing her neck.
Another ping rang through the room.
"He's… answering." May said boredly and Serena let go to dive for the phone, but Misty was quicker in opening the simlock and once again found herself surrounded by four bodies.
The answer was a random string of numbers and letters.
"I think he dropped the phone. We rattled him good girls," May leaned back into a pillow with her arms crossed behind her back. "You know, messing with him is kinda fun. Anything else embarrassing to confront him with when he's returning?"
Everyone looked at each other, unsure about whether they should take part. For several years, all they've seen of him was the indomitable and stoic champion on television. The prospect of seeing Ash flushed and vulnerable had an indescribable allure for them.
Let alone their natural curiosity about his life for the past ten years.
Misty finally caved.
"His mother sent some of Ash's stuff…"