Is This Love, Or Obsession?

Ash was incredibly proud that say that he had been able to defeat Pyramid King Brandon, taking on the strongest Battle Frontier Brain in a tough four-on-four battle. The battle however hadn't been easy. Charizard went down in the first round to Brandon's Dusclops. Squirtle had managed to defeat Brandon's Ninjask, but then Brandon's Solrock defeated Squirtle – the fact that Ash had to accept his water-type – who had previously been able to defeat both an electric-type and a powerful fire-type all in a row – lost to a rock-type was incredibly embarrassing. All the same, a win was a win.

In the wake of his of it all Ash had had to say goodbye to May and Max, and then left Brock to go home. Unfortunately Ash's time spent in Pallet Town was time he spent trying to avoid Tracey, something about that teen was rubbing him the wrong way and he felt a strange tingly, unnerving feeling when around Tracey. It didn't exactly help that Gary was around as well, and as his bad luck would have it, was talking to Tracey on the subject of girlfriends, and Ash had just been in time to hear Tracey talking about him and Misty. Ash never left a room so quick for reasons not relating to Pokémon or food. Pokémon and food – a funny thing that. Ash wondered if Misty deep down only ever saw him as obsessed with those things and those things alone.

It sickened Ash to his stomach having to listen to Tracey drone on about kissing Misty, and hugging her, and napping with her. And the only reason Tracey had been talking about those things was because of Gary! To escape, Ash immediately challenged Gary to a Pokémon battle, but because Ash's emotions were all over the place – and, admittedly, the difference in strength between the two Pokémon – he and Pikachu ended up losing to Gary and his Electivire.

Ash had two options, look like he was blindly chasing Gary's coattails and go to the Sinnoh region, or rest in Pallet after journeying for so long and listen to Tracey's gossip and his mother's questions…he decided to risk looking like he was crazed dead set on beating Gary and went to the Sinnoh region. He may have been tired, but Ash knew a rest wasn't worth the heavy burden his heart already had to endure, and seeing Tracey only deepened the wound.

OoOoO

Even when he was so far away she was still somehow Ash's mind. For a start Paul had a way of bringing her influence out of him, Misty had cared for Pokémon and how they were treated, and had made sure Ash back then understood that – and with having to see and hear the way Paul treated his own Pokémon Ash couldn't help but feel insulted on her behalf whenever he saw Paul judging and treating Pokémon like tools.

But even with all sorts of problems he had to face presently Ash still felt conflicted deep down, ever since Misty revealed her love for Tracey, and then her former affection for him, he began to feel like a terrible friend. Tracey had won her heart, he should've felt happy for them and conceded he lost, but Ash just couldn't accept what was happening and felt guilty for it. Ash felt he was betraying Misty, she was happy, yet there he was feeling jealous and sorry for himself. "Some friend I am," he would say to himself when no one was listening.

The trouble began however when a stranger told them about a strong Buizel in the nearby river. Upon hearing of the powerful water-type Ash instantly became excited and wanted to catch it, however he quickly began to regret that decision. First he ended up having to use her lure, the mini-Misty one. Ash tried at first to find another one in his bag, but hers was all he had. He bit down and hastily decided to use it, albeit he really wished he didn't have to.

As they fished, Ash sighed. He remembered that one time he did see this exact lure reel in a Gyarados, yet somehow her lure wasn't being of any help. "Man," he groaned, "I'm not getting any bites." So much for this catching anything…

"I've never seen a lure like that," Dawn said, noticing for the first time the strange lure Ash was using.

Ash looked at her and then back at the rod, Dawn did seem genuinely interested in it. "Yeah, pretty cool isn't it? It was a gift from an old friend from a while ago," he replied, a frustratingly familiar ache coming over his stomach.

"Yeah, an old friend of ours," Brock added, feeling confused over Ash's cryptic way of referring to Misty, but he decided to play along. "Nowadays she's the Cerulean Gym Leader."

Ash quietly nodded and turned back to face the river, secretly glad Brock didn't blow it. His thoughts drifted back to her, he stared at his reflection, and wondered what she was doing. He'd guess she was at her Gym or by the ocean, looking out onto the waves, probably dealing with her headache of a Psyduck…how he wished he could be there with her, but no doubt, Tracey would be the one she'd want to share that moment with. Ash's hands gripped his rod tight at the thought, the sketching punk! What did Tracey ever do to get such chances? It's not like he ever fished with her on multiple occasions like he did…

"Hey," Dawn suddenly called out to him, "how about giving me a chance with that lure?"

Ash whipped round and glared at Dawn who was smiling; give her a chance with his lure…? "No way Dawn!" he replied. He had let her out of his sights once – he wouldn't do that again.

Dawn frowned and tried to grab Ash's rod but the raven-haired trainer didn't let in and two bickered viciously until Dawn's coordinating rival Zoey showed up and stopped their quarrel.

OoOoO

Ash was sure he wouldn't have missed it as much as he should've, but it felt like a heavy burden was lifted off of his chest when he held her image in his hands again, a strange sense of happiness came over him as he saw it was still intact. Buizel had been sneaky, and after defeating Dawn's Piplup, Zoey's Glameow, and even Pikachu, the Buizel took their fishing gear and swam off. Having already given chase, the trainers were all relieved to find their rods and lures safe, among several others Buizel had claimed. But not one of them was quite as relieved as Ash was when he found the mini-Misty in one piece.

Dawn later was the one to catch Buizel, but their day wasn't quite over yet. After the exhausting battle with Buizel, Piplup had worn himself to the point of knock out and so a visit to the Pokémon Center was the order for the rest of the day. Whilst there they all decided to leave their Pokémon under Nurse Joy's care, but now they were left with nothing to do.

Dawn was growing restless – she had already flipped through every magazine in the lobby, or had simply already read them when they were at the last Pokémon Center. She was flipping unhappily through the channels on the television and was giving up.

Brock frowned as he watched her flip through page after page of channels when something grabbed his eyes. "Hey, give that back!" Dawn growled as Brock snatched the remote out of her hands.

"Sorry Dawn," Brock said absently, "but as I'm the oldest one I get to claim the remote." They both heard Ash verbally scoff at that. "Anyhow, you can't seem to find anything to watch so I'll watch what I want to watch instead."

"As long as it's entertaining…" Dawn grumbled. Brock paid no attention to her words and started looking around before finding what he wanted.

"Ah hah!" he cheered, as he quickly pressed on the 'select' button. Ash and Dawn who were on either side of the Breeder looked up to see what Brock had found. The screen flashed to some sort of water tank elevated in a huge stadium of sorts, the bottom of the tank was decorated in an assortment of rocks and underwater plants with water Pokémon swimming all about, Dawn perked up, fascinated by what was happening. Ash meanwhile felt a wash of some strange feeling as he watched what was happening, a sense of familiarity came to him but he wasn't sure. A sudden female voice then announced that what they were looking at was the recent mermaid play at the Cerulean Gym, Ash's stomach churned as his suspicions became true. But with Brock having seen him in the aftermath of what happened – both times in fact – and Dawn being as nosy as she was, Ash reluctantly stayed seated.

Ash managed to keep a poker face, but became increasingly uncomfortable as Misty came onto set. He inwardly gasped at how beautiful she had become as the cameras turned to focus on her figure on top of the diving board. The way she swam was so elegant to him, the footage shot was high quality and Ash felt disturbed at how many of her features he could make out, and it only fueled the ache he felt for her. She had grown so much, and was positively stunning to him as he noticed her slightly bigger chest area, wider hips, and her hair…oh how he was sure that was natural unlike the first time. All other sounds in the Center's lobby were soon tuned out to him, he could only focus on her, and whenever she wasn't in view he would wait patiently to see her again. He was so focused in fact that he never heard anything that Dawn was saying, or Brock's comments whenever he saw one of Misty's sisters on set, or the pinging from the Center's station indicating that their Pokémon had finished recovering.

Ash was so focused on how beautiful Misty had become, that he barely noticed when Pikachu went running into his lap. It was only when the play ended not long after when Ash realized his Mouse Pokémon was right beside him. Whilst Dawn talked eagerly about the costumes and the story and Brock about how well looked after the Pokémon were as well as the health of Misty, Ash's find was filled with thoughts of her.

It was then that her voice was suddenly heard. Ash whipped around to see a reporter with Misty, having pulled the girl aside for an interview, but when in the midst of it, Misty suddenly addressed and accredited something to her boyfriend Tracey, the moment Ash saw her take Tracey's hand to hold, his fists balled up and he quickly, and discreetly, made haste to pick up the rest of his Pokémon.

Ash didn't quite know where he was, all round him was a sort of mist. He looked at himself and found he was wearing his current travelling clothes. What is this place…? He thought. It took Ash a second to also realize he had no backpack or Pokémon with him. Feeling nervous in his new environment Ash cautiously walked around as the fog floated. "Pikachu? Dawn? Brock?" Ash called out. He heard nothing in response, only silence.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, no one was around, and the place was cold and lonely. He wandered the strange utopia for a bit longer, not even paying attention to his direction but soon he came to a spot where the fog was particularly thick, it was there where he saw it. Ash felt his heart skip a beat as he saw her, Misty. He could recognize those orange locks anywhere, even from the back. Ash also saw some things he blushed at, and quietly thanked whatever force was causing the fog to cover her. He couldn't help but notice her widened figure, especially her hips, wide but not too wide…she looked so womanly…puberty had been kind to her, he thought.

"Misty," Ash began, trying to walk up to her, but realized that every step he took, she seemed to keep the same distance between them, yet his footsteps were the only ones he could hear. "Mist…?"

Suddenly she turned around, or rather, her ghostly figure did. "Well, well, well," she said, eyes lowering into a frown as she looked at him. Ash felt instantly uneasy, his feet felt frozen to the ground from her icy tone. "Finally decided to come back into my life, Ash Ketchum," Misty went on. "Always on the move, never staying in one spot…you never really cared for me, did you?" he image went on. "Not one call…not an email, no nothing for me," she continued sadly, Ash felt guilty as a strange melancholy gripped his heart.

He tried to say something, but Misty's image beat him to it. "But you're nothing to me now. You never really cared; you think I'm some damsel in distress waiting for her man to come alone. You never truly appreciated me, did you?" she asked in a taunting manner, Ash opened his mouth respond but Misty went on. "Of course not, not when you almost seem to forget I exist… but, I've found someone better…"

And before Ash knew it, from behind Misty – or well, that is to say what looked like her – came Tracey, Ash felt anger seep into his veins as Tracey's shape wrapped his arms around Misty and rested where Ash presumed Misty's chest was. "Uh-uh," Misty taunted towards him, as her head leaned back and moaned towards Tracey, "you know you don't deserve me. You're pathetic, I'm with a real man…" Ash watched, horrified as Misty moved her head towards Tracey, suddenly their appearance became less cloud-like and more real, like they were actually in front of him. Their lips touched, and he cringed hearing her louder than normal, echoing moan, "Tracey sweetie…"

"NO…!" Ash yelled.

Suddenly he felt himself hit the floor. Ash opened his eyes and looked around frantically – he was covered in sweat, but was relieved to find that he was still in the room Brock had reserved for them at the Pokémon Center. Ash looked nervously around, Dawn who was on the bottom bunker next to him was still fast asleep, and Brock on the top bunker above her was also still out. Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "It was just a bloody dream…" he muttered. But to his own surprise, he felt tears coming out. In truth, he suspected what he dreamt wasn't far from the truth…he closed his eyes, and felt more coming out.

Near where he fell, a Pokémon stirred. "Twig…?" Turtwig stood up from where it was slumbering, and its movement woke up the others. They all wandered over to their trainer, concerned at seeing him looking so sad.

"H-hey," Ash muttered, as his Pokémon clambered all around him. Pikachu looked at Ash, raising an eyebrow.

"Pikapi…pik chupi achu Pikachu pika Pikachupi…?" Ash…are you still thinking about Misty…?

Aipom looked over, she had heard that name before, but Staravia and Turtwig just looked confused. Pikachu said he'd tell them all later. They watched as Ash finished crying his eyes out, and went back to bed.

As his Pokémon got settled again, Ash turned sadly over to face the wall. "Why do I feel this way for her…?" he muttered quietly.

Sleep didn't come after that, he was too scared of having that dream again. By the time it was six o'clock he was exhausted and foul tempered.

No one else in the room except him stirred, his thoughts still were on her. How he allowed her to invade his mind so much he'd never know.

Ash blamed her lure, but only admitted that to himself. He tried to get rid of it to see if that would help. But try as he might, Ash couldn't bring himself to either chuck the lure or leave it behind. Instead he stuffed it into the bottom of his backpack, in hope that it would never surface again.

For the rest of the journey he tried to forget about her, but that was easier said than done. During the day Dawn just reminded him too much of her alongside her water starter. Sure, Dawn and Misty were at best opposites – but something about her just screamed Misty clone.

But it was at night where all of his suppressed feelings came out. The dreams became few and far between, but when they did come, they were total nightmares that kept him up till all hours. Only Pikachu and his other Pokémon knew of his terrors, Brock and Dawn were blissfully in the dark about it…Ash preferred it that way.

In a strange turn of events he also tended to keep his distance from Dawn, as Ash felt she would try to get too close if he allowed her near. But the blunette wouldn't stand for it.

Her idea to break Ash out his mysterious funk happened one day – it was completely casually what she came up with, a spur of the moment kind of idea that came to her. Ash had been passing by her one day after a training session, when Dawn had the bright idea to suddenly raise her hand in an attempt for a handshake.

Ash stared at her and raised his eyebrow questioningly and glanced from her hand to her face.

"What?" Dawn asked innocently. "Can't I high five a best friend?"

She had no idea how much weight her words had. Ash felt something shoot through him, and sent shivers through his spine. He felt like breaking down, for months he felt like anything but a best friend. But as he looked at Dawn's face, he saw an innocent child who just wanted to have friend, someone she could rely on for support. He had failed himself to be Misty's friend, and felt terrible for shutting the others out for his own insecurities. The least he could be is try to be a friend again.

"Yeah, we're friends and you should be able to do that," Ash quietly. Dawn just beamed, and raised her hand just a little bit higher and Ash high fived her back.

They remained good friends throughout the rest of the journey. But they never were close-close. Dawn kept her share of secrets, and Ash kept his. She felt like a little sister to him, and he soon began to feel glad for Dawn's and Brock's friendship. Brock was kind enough to let Ash deal with his demons, as was Dawn. It gave him a little boost of confidence, but it wasn't enough to forget about Misty.

OoOoO

Ash sighed as he climbed the hill towards Pallet Town. He had come into fourth place at the Sinnoh League having been beaten by the winner, Tobias in the final four. Like with Brandon before Ash felt a sense of pride as a trainer, he might not have won against Tobias, but even the league's runner-up hadn't been able to defeat Tobias' Darkrai like Ash had.

Ash looked up and saw he was at the top of the hill and looked down on his home town and cringed. He was both glad to be home, but also dreaded it, no doubt he'd run into Tracey and have to hear all about his and Misty's relationship – just thinking about Tracey talking about how he had such a beauty like Misty's as his made knots in Ash's stomach, he grimaced. He had been dreading that the whole journey back, and now it was about to become reality.

"Hey, Mom!" he called as he came through the front door.

"Oh! Welcome home, sweetie!" Delia called from the kitchen. As Ash took off his shoes and put his slippers, Delia came towards him still adorning her apron.

"Oh it's so good to see you," Delia exclaimed, just then Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and went to the floor. "Oh! And it's especially good to see, Pikachu."

"Mom…" Ash whined.

Delia giggled, and finished petting Pikachu's chin before standing up to address her son. "You're just in time for lunch, dear. I have curry on the stove if that's okay with you."

"Aww Mom, you know curry's just fine!"

Delia just laughed heartily at her son's enthusiasm and quickly went back to tend to her culinary.

The lunch was quiet and delicious affair. Ash rubbed his stomach, satisfied by his full belly. His mom's voice caught his attention.

"Ash dear," Delia began after she finished busing all of the dishes away, "your timing in coming back home is just so perfect, something big is happening and the next few days are going to be chaotic I reckon. Although I reckon you already knew that."

"Something big is happening?" Ash asked confused at what his mother was implying. His birthday wasn't for another few weeks, and he didn't know of any upcoming holidays. "Um…so what's happening?"

Delia blinked. "Dear it's almost Misty's birthday, you know, May 2nd?"

Ash gaped. "M-M-Misty's…birthday?"

"That's what I said."

Ash averted his stare to the table; his features made look like a Stantler caught in the headlights. Delia became concerned. "Dear, are you okay? You don't have to get her anything–"

"I can't go!" Ash suddenly exclaimed. Delia felt rather taken aback.

"But dear, it's her fifteenth birthday. Surely you'd want to celebrate best friend's birthday?"

"I can't, I won't," Ash said, his breathing became unsteady and all color was drained from his face.

"But honey, why…? Did something happen between you two to cause this?" Delia asked as she walked over and put a hand on her son's shoulder. She noticed that Pikachu seemed uncomfortable as well, and noticed the way the Mouse Pokémon was looking at her like she said the worse thing possible. "Tell me what happened," she said gently.

Ash closed his eyes, and told her everything. From the time he realized he liked Misty, learning that she was dating Tracey, having to find out she use to like him, to the nightmares that haunted him at night.

"…I just…I…I love her, Mom," Ash ended weakly as tears stained his face and his chest ached. "I can't go to her party, I know Tracey will be there, I just…it'll hurt too much just to be there…"

"Honey," Delia began gently, "I'm sorry to hear you've been dealing with that, but…" she trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Ash looked at her sadly before glancing away. "I'm probably being stupid, right?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm stressing over someone who's in a relationship! Why in hell can't I just forget about it and be happy for her?! Why me…?"

"You do love her for who she is, right?" Delia asked gently, Ash nodded. "Then…what you feel sweetie, is genuine, that's nothing to be ashamed about, we all have someone who we want to be with and that's just human nature. But not every love story ends well. We all fall in love, yes, but not every person we fall for will love us in the end. They have feelings for others too, and we have to respect what they want, we can't make people fall for us, or yield to our wants and needs. That's not how the world works, it's not ever just you – it's them."

Ash closed his eyes, in thought. "Is that why you let dad go?" he asked quietly. Delia gave a sad, distant smile.

"Yes honey, we all fall for someone. But if you truly love them, you have to allow them to do what they want to do, regardless about how you feel. Because you love them for who they are, not because they do what you want them to do. The ones we love the most, are the ones we often let go off if that's what they want." She left it at that, she could see that she had left her boy with a lot to think about, or perhaps just confirmed something to him.

"But…" he said in a voice just barely above a whisper, "…what about how I feel…?"

Delia bit her bottom lip and looked away uncomfortably. She knew what she was about to say was going to hurt, but Ash had to hear it. "When it comes to love, you can't always win. You can't make someone feel something for someone they've moved on from, and in some cases, those feelings might never return, and that's how it'll always be." Without another, Delia exited the room, she heard Ash give a stifled sob, but she didn't look back, she gave him the truth – and truth was hard.

Ash didn't say anything for the rest of the day. He was in a state for some time after the talk, he became sluggish and slow. Delia had hoped Ash that in time Ash would come to terms with the facts, after all there wouldn't be much he could do, Misty had spoken for herself, and from what she saw and heard, it seemed Misty was inseparable from Tracey. It wasn't to say she was disappointed Misty wasn't dating Ash, she had come to view Misty as the daughter she never had, and like any mother she was happy that Misty had found someone she liked so much, and one that Delia did like.

But somewhere in her Delia did feel a tinge of sadness for what could've been. Ash looked and sounded so miserable, but she knew he wasn't going to be like that forever. He should be able to move on, but Delia felt that the possibility wasn't there for Ash, something seemed off. She had the inkling that Ash's feelings were beyond what he thought.

Ash for the most part never seemed to want to go anywhere; all Ash done was drop off his newly caught Pokémon at Professor Oak's lab – although on a few occasions Delia would ask her son to go fetch his Torterra back, she like having the big Pokémon around to for shade whilst she tended to her garden – and was for the most part home, locked in his room like he wanted nothing to do with the outside world. Delia was worried, but wasn't sure what to do, Ash had never dealt love before, and she felt terrible that it was eating at him so badly.

The day of the birthday soon came and Delia had already shipped off the catering for the party the day before. As she prepared to go out and catch the bus at seven, she was surprised when she spotted her Ash was outside on the street.

"Ash dear?" she asked worriedly as she walked up to him. She noticed a box he had in his arms. "What are you doing – have you decided you want to come to Misty's birthday party?"

"No," was the simple reply. Delia nodded, she wasn't going to try and make him do something he didn't want to do. She turned to go back inside when Ash spoke again. "Mom, am I pathetic?"

Delia turned around stunned. "What makes you that, dear?"

Ash didn't move from where he was, he just stared at the dirt road before answering. "Am I pathetic in that I can't control how I feel? That I'm so hung up on it that I can't even show up to a birthday party? And it's all because I'm in stupid fear of what I might see and how I'll react if I even see her showing affection for someone else, and it's all because I'm just so…"

"Ash, you are far from pathetic," Delia said firmly. "You don't want to go, you don't want to go. Don't feel like you have to show up. There's nothing wrong with protecting your heart from feeling hurt."

Ash just nodded sadly as he gripped the box he had in his gloved hands. He looked at his mother out the corner of his left eye before looking down again as he raised his arm. "Here," he began, "I…could…you give this to her for me and wrap it?"

Delia stared at the strange object. "What did you get her?" she asked gently, taking the box from her son's hands.

"It's a new book about the potential of water-type Pokémon, written by Lorelei and Wallace – this one is signed by Wallace," Ash said quietly, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"But Ash," Delia began, shocked as she unwrapped the package to reveal he had been telling the truth, "how did you get this, these are expensive to and are in limited stock! How…?"

Ash smiled weakly. "It helps when you know the champion personally. They can always hook you up with a favor if you ask…"

Delia glanced down at the book and back to her son. "That's very sweet of you to do for her Ash…I'm sure she'll love it."

Ash's face fell a little bit, and he turned away from her so she wouldn't see the tears coming into his eyes. "No, not as much as she'll love whatever it is that Tracey gets her," he answered dejectedly. "The best gift she'll get today will be the one she gets from her boyfriend – not the one from some boy she travelled with years ago who says he's her best friend when he hasn't called even once at all…"

"Ash…I'm sure she doesn't think like that at all."

Ash looked at her with melancholic eyes and sighed in disagreement. Delia remained silent as she met his sad eyes. One look and she could tell Ash really had it bad for her, and it hurt her to see her son so torn up.

Ash looked away before slowly moving off. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Ash looked back over his shoulder and gave a small smile. "Brock contacted me yesterday and asked that I get him a few things from the shopping center for him," he answered truthfully. "I was going to take care of it for him today." He turned away before looking back once more. "Have fun, and if she asks about where I am, just tell her I wasn't feeling well," he murmured quietly, before walking away, his hands in his pockets and his head held low.

"Okay, take care dear," Delia said, as she watched him go. She sighed and looked at the book in thought, despite everything that he was going through with his feelings – and a lot of other things she no doubt knew he was experiencing internally that he didn't say anything about – her Ash had been brave by going out of his way to get Misty a gift, in spite of her unknowingly breaking his heart. Ash was experiencing so many conflicting emotions yet he held on all because he cared so much for her. "Oh Ash," Delia murmured as she held Misty's present, "you'll get your happy ending one day, I'm sure of it…" And with that, she turned and went to finalize her preparation to go.

When Delia got to Cerulean she was greeted to a large party hosted by the three Sensational Sisters who greeted her warmly. Delia had no doubt that if it weren't thanks to Misty's sisters, the number of people present at the party wouldn't have come.

When she got to the pool area where the main show was Delia looked around for Misty, it took her a while before she did. Delia found her walking around in a green sundress, looking around calmly. To Delia it seemed that the girl was looking for someone. Misty found her quarry soon enough, as Delia came within a few yards of her she watched as Misty wrapped her arms around a familiar figure, Tracey Sketchit.

"Misty, happy birthday dear," Delia said as she walked up to the happy couple.

"Oh, Mrs. Ketchum," Misty greeted ecstatically, "so good to see you, thanks for coming!"

"You're welcome dear," Delia greeted.

"Yeah, so glad you could make it, Delia," Tracey said.

Delia nodded. "Yes, it's good to see you too."

"So," Tracey went on, "how's Ash doing?" At this, Delia noticed a frown briefly coming over Misty's features.

"He's home right now," Delia began, carefully glancing over to view Misty's reactions, "but was unable to make it due to being sick." Upon saying that Delia saw that Misty had no reaction to the lie.

"Oh. Oh dear," Tracey replied, his reaction seemed genuine. "Hope he's doing well."

"Yes, he is for now," Delia responded. "He was upset about catching it though," she went on as she cautiously glanced at Misty, "he really wanted to come today when he found out it was your birthday, Misty."

Misty's expression was blank and lacked any emotion. "Well Mrs. Ketchum, tell him that if he couldn't come, he couldn't come and that's that," Misty said plainly, and before Delia could say anything, Misty suddenly walked off to mingle, Tracey blindly stumbled after her. Delia stood still where she was, stunned by how little Misty seemed to care as if the girl had never known or cared about Ash.

Delia pulled the zipper on her purse and stared at the gift Ash had gotten for the Cerulean Gym Leader, she picked it up, found the present table, and placed it under a large stack whilst she remained lost in thought at the idea of Misty feeling so disconnected from Ash. All of a sudden, Ash's various descriptions of how he managed to feel cold feet at the sight of the 'new Misty' were starting to make sense…

OoOoO

"Damnit," Ash hissed under his breath, as he kicked a rock. After he finished shopping for Brock and go the materials ready to be shipped to Pewter City, Ash had found he was left with nothing to do for the rest of the day, and so he, Pikachu, and the rest of his Sinnoh team had found themselves at the beach. Being there did bring Ash a smile, but as he gazed out onto the water, his thoughts had turned towards the being of his desires and all the fun she and her boyfriend were having.

He let out a frustrated sigh as he kicked another rock and sat down in a huff next to Pikachu. "Damnit, Pikachu," Ash grumbled, "why can't I just," he paused to collide his fist with the rock face they were sitting against, "not be bothered by it all?" he gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Damnit all…"

"Pikapi…"

"Aah!" Ash yelled in frustration, his sudden shout alarming nearby wild Pidgeys and Krabbys who all jumped in surprise. Ash failed to notice and seethed as he hung his head low.

Meanwhile just a few yards away was the Pallet Town Wharf. Whilst Ash was sulking and listening to the sounds of the ocean, dock workers and various ships were bustling about. At the pier closest to where Ash was a small freighter arrived and began unloading, one of the sailors got out as he helped to unload cargo, the sailor had set down his box when he turned to the ship and yelled something, prompting a grunt and soon footsteps bumping against the floor followed by a strange grunt unfamiliar to the Pallet workers…

Buizel sensed something and looked keenly over towards the dock. There, lumbering off of a ship was a mysterious Pokémon heaving a heavy pallet. The strange foreign Pokémon was bulky and blue, with red eyes and bumps all over its body to boot. Buizel became irritable at the sight of the intruder.

The Pokémon had placed down its burden when it sensed a presence. "Huh, what are ya doing?" its trainer asked. The Pokémon said nothing and glanced down the dock towards the beach where a Buizel stood with its arms folded, glaring at it. The Pokémon growled, and began to stalk towards the Sea Weasel Pokémon. Buizel too stalked towards it and both locked eyes.

Pikachu looked over from where he was resting under the shade of Torterra when he noticed Buizel having a confrontation. He ran over quickly to where Ash was sulking in a crisscrossed position and roused him up to.

"What's wrong buddy?" Ash grumbled when Pikachu started to bug him. Pikachu pointed toward where Buizel was standing off against the other Pokémon. "What is Buizel doing…hey, who's that other Pokémon?" Ash asked, he reached for his Pokedex and pointed it at the strange being but his Pokedex came up blank. "Oh wow, a new one."

Ash along with Pikachu ran over to the confrontation where the two were growling at each other, arms raised. "Woah, hey, Buizel, knock this off! Now's not the time to pick a fight!" Ash exclaimed.

Buizel turned, and begrudgingly did as told, though the other Pokémon was less impressed. "That Buizel yours kid?" the sailor asked.

"Um, yes," Ash replied with a nervous chuckle. "So sorry about this, Buizel likes to fight y'see."

"I could tell…" the sailor huffed.

"Uh, hey mister?" Ash ventured. The man turned around, slightly annoyed. "Who's this Pokémon of yours?"

"Humph, one of the best of the best I'll have you know. This is Seismitoad."

"A what?"

"Hmph, guess I oughtn't be surprised you don't know, folks back home know next to nothin' about Kanto Pokémon considering how few we have – or much of anything about any Pokémon from other regions except our own. Right, this is a Seismitoad, it's a water and ground type from the Unova region."

"Unova…where's that?"

"Far away kid, it's east of here and is miles away, took us by boat nearly a month just to get to here," the man answered gruffly, but his countenance turned less stern as he noticed how intrigued Ash was. "You might like it there, long travels, tough Gym leaders, quite the place."

Ash stared. "Wow, sounds like a great place to go to, doesn't it, Pikachu?" Ash said, glancing at his starter. Pikachu gave a cry of enthusiasm. "Thanks for telling me about the place."

"Bui bui!"

"Seis!" Both man and boy looked over, surprised by the sudden cry only to see their two water-types glaring at each other, looking ready to fight.

"Uh oh…" Ash said.

"Hang a moment kid," the sailor said.

"Huh?"

"That Buizel of yours, you said it likes to fight, right?"

"Um…yeah?"

The man smirked. "Then why don't we have a battle, looks like both of our Pokémon could do with burning off some steam. Plus," he added smugly, "my Seismitoad's been raring to go all out and beat something again."

"You're on! And we won't lose," Ash replied determinedly. He had lost to Pokémon he had never seen before in the past, he did not plan to lose again.

Ash's other Pokémon all gathered to the side, whilst Ash stood on the beach facing his opponent alongside his now known Seismitoad. "Oh, where's my manners?" the sailor suddenly said. "The name's Anthony."

"I'm Ash."

"Right then Ash, let's see what you got."

"You got it." Right, Anthony said Seismitoad's a water/ground type, Buizel ought to be able to handle this. "All right Buizel, use Water Gun!"

Buziel shot water from its mouth towards Seismitoad, the Vibration Pokémon stood where it was. "Use Hyrdo Pump," Anthony instructed. Seismitoad nodded and unleashed a huge gush of water. Pushing through the Water Gun and headed fast towards Buizel.

"Guh, Buziel dodge that!" Ash called. Buizel did so, jumping above the water as Ash and Pikachu had to move quickly out of the way. "Now use Sonic Boom!" Buizel gave a cry as it swung around with its tail glowing white to unleash the Sonic Boom. They all landed on Seismitoad.

"Use Hydro Pump." Seismitoad again unleashed the water, this time it hit Buizel, causing the Sea Weasel Pokémon to take damage and fall to the beach.

"Wow, that Seismitoad's something," Ash muttered. "All right, Buizel, Water Gun, again!" Buziel did so, again hitting the Vibrant Pokémon.

"Use Poison Jab Seismitoad!" Anthony's Pokémon gave a sharp cry and lumbered forward, its fist glowing purple.

"Counter with Ice Punch," Ash hollered. Both Pokémon ran and punched each other, but both refused to be pushed back.

"Hyper Voice!" Anthony yelled. Seismitoad opened its mouth and sent Buizel back.

But Ash wasn't done. "Fight back, use Water Gun." Buizel flipped over and unleashed the attack. Hitting Seismitoad fairly hard, Ash saw an opportunity. "Aqua Jet, now!" Buizel again complied, surrounded itself in water and charged at Seismitoad before bouncing back.

"Seismitoad," Anthony said, "let's end this. Use Hyper voice!" It obliged and fired, hitting Buizel, the opposing water-type got pushed back.

"Buizel, we won't lose, use Sonic Boom!" Through its mid-air fall Buizel managed to fire off two Sonic Boom's and hit Seismitoad.

"Seismitoad! Go and use Drain Punch!"

"Toad!" it yelled fiercely and went running, fist cocked.

"Buizel! Ice Punch, go!"

"Bui!"

Both water-types ran at each other and both got their hits off. They were both still standing up, battle scars all over them. Ash gritted his teeth as Buizel suddenly buckled. Seismitoad gave a smirk and it too buckled.

But right when Seismitoad seemed worn, it was Buizel who fell down defeated. "A good battle," Anthony declared.

"Thanks," Ash muttered in defeat as he recalled Buizel back into its pokeball.

"Y'know," Anthony went on as he fed Seismitoad an oran berry, "the Unova league meets in early spring next year. At the level you battle, you have what it takes to compete."

"Y-you really think so…?" Ash asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Anthony said. "Anyways, it was a great battle – but now I have to get back to work, you really know how to waste a guy's time. See ya round kid." With that Anthony and his Seismitoad left before Ash could say a word.

"Unova huh…?"

Ash went home immediately afterward, and spent the rest of the afternoon on the family's computer searching up the Unova region. "Fastest plane ticket, fastest plane ticket…huh, look at this Pikachu," Ash said after a few minutes of browsing. "There's a transport copter taking people to Unova at Vermillion City. Next flight leaves...tomorrow." Ash stared, it was a chance of a life time, a new place, new Pokémon who are native to their region alone…Pikachu, this place sounds like a blast," Ash said, a spark in his eyes. "I'll arrange for us to go right now!" And immediately he began filling out forms for their tickets…

OoOoO

"Mrs. Ketchum, are you sure you don't want to spend the night? It could be dangerous going out at this hour," Misty pleaded to her surrogate mother figure.

Delia gave a gentle smile. "I'd love to dear, but I have things to take care of back home that must be attended to. Besides you…" Delia was saying, but a slight crack came to her voice, luckily Misty failed to notice. "…Have your boyfriend spending the night with you, you won't need me to be around."

The party had been wonderful, but now it was nine at night and Delia had really needed to go home. But even so Misty had wanted Delia to spend the night at the gym once she had realized what time it was. But the older woman insisted she couldn't take advantage.

Delia gave Misty a pat on the forehead and told her she'd be in contact with the Gym leader once she got. I'm sure Ash would love to talk to you," Delia said.

"Looking forward to it," Misty said plainly.

"Bye dear, happy fifteenth birthday."

"Thank you! Bye Delia!"

"Yeah, and I hope Ash is okay!" Tracey called.

Delia was glad to be sitting alone in the bus. The whole ride back over towards Pallet Town she spent the time thinking over what she had seen at the party. Misty, her sweet surrogate daughter Misty seemed so happy, and had every right to be considering it was her birthday. But something had been amiss, she was happy, surrounded by family, but none of her friends were there to share in her joy. Brock couldn't have afforded to make it apparently, and all of Misty's other friends were too far away to come. It was plain to Delia why Misty didn't seem bothered though, she was too caught up in her boyfriend, so much so the orange-haired girl hadn't given much thought if any to her other friends.

Even her poor Ash, who she claimed was 'sick'. Delia knew he was sick, not in a literal sense, but in his heart, and it hurt her to know and witness that there was no reciprocation for him. Misty clearly did not care, she celebrated her birthday with reflection of her and Tracey, but not of anyone else. During the party Misty had given a few words to her friends, but referred to them ambiguously, simply saying they were former gym leaders, or travelling companions, some she gave some details to such as 'the sibling pair' when referring to May and Max – but Ash had received nothing, instead Misty said there was a third, and that was it. Delia felt her Ash had been completely snuffed.

Delia wanted to tell the Cerulean Gym leader off, but hadn't the heart too, she loved that girl too much – and it wasn't as if Misty was under any sort of obligation to her son, but it still felt wrong. Delia was glad when she could stop thinking about it all when she got off at the bus stop and began to walk home.

She was most happy to see Ash was up waiting for her. "Hey Mom!" Ash said as she walked in. He walked up to her, and opened him mouth to say something, but then curled into a frown before he looked away and asked, "So…how was the party?"

"It was good," she replied evenly, not wanting to give any hint of displeasure. "Everyone loved the food. Misty…" she noticed the way her son cringed upon hearing her name, "…had a wonderful cake. Here, I brought you a slice."

She reached into her bag and produced the paper plate with the cake in it. Ash drooled at the sight. "Aw thanks Mom," Ash said taking the plate and unwrapped it, he quickly fetched a fork and began to shovel it into his mouth. "So – how – was the party?"

"It was fine. Although it was quite the arrangement," Delia said, putting a hand to her cheek in worry. "No doubt it'll take them a while to clean up all tomorrow. But when they finish Tracey will be coming back here, Misty apparently as well."

"T-Tracey's c-coming b-back…w-w-with…her?" Ash stammered, choking on the cake. Just their names alone hurt him.

"Yes honey," Delia began gently. "You don't want to see them, don't you?"

"Mom, I'm going to a new region I found!" Ash suddenly yelped. "I heard about it today and I've already booked a flight to it!"

Delia stared, shocked. "Oh my…that fast, fell, it does get you away from them. What's it called?"

Ash told her everything he had heard and learned about the Unova region. Given the circumstances, Delia understood the predicament.

She spent the night and early morning preparing his new clothes for him to travel in – and so by the time afternoon came when Ash had to leave she had already finished them. "Just tell me if you get any taller and need a new set shipped," Delia told him.

"Thanks Mom, you're the best," Ash said. He checked the time and panicked. "Bye!" he yelled and ran off towards the bus station to get to Vermillion. He was just in time, as the next bus that arrived came with Tracey aboard…

As he flew out, Ash looked towards the region below, his home, and sighed. He knew why he was so keen to leave his home, but as they went further and further away, Ash's heart began to ache. It ached, because of her…

OoOoO

That morning she opened her presents. But when she got to a particular one, the newly aged fifteen year old frowned upon seeing the name. "Hey, like, what's wrong Misty?" a high pitched voice said.

"Nothing," Misty called back. She turned back to the gift, she hadn't expected him to send something, she guessed he had his mom bring it over. She opened the wrapper up, and had to suppress a gasp at what it was. She had wanted one, but hadn't the money to afford it without it seeming like a waste – in addition, the book was signed by one of the authors. It filled her with a strange sense of happiness yet she also felt a cold overcoming her skin.

Misty gritted her teeth, it was stupid to think the way she did over a gift. She took the tag that said who it was from, and ripped it to shreds. She wasn't going to even think of his name…she was passed that. In her mind, his gift meant little to her compared to her boyfriend's gift for her. But something deep within her told her it was just as good, if not then just because the thought, better than her other gifts.

OoOoO

To sixteen year old Ash Ketchum, Unova was but a mere smudge to him. When he got to the region he met the Professor, a pleasant young woman who had been in the middle of handing out the regional starters to a new trainer, a kid named Trip. This Trip had taken a dislike to Ash and battled him immediately. Ash almost felt sorry for the kid, almost because Trip was incredibly condescending. The kid talked big about how Pokémon from the Kanto region caused a stir, and referred to the place as 'The boonies'. Ash felt more sorry for Trip's Pokémon than for the kid who's pride he easily wiped when Pikachu defeated the novice Snivy with one Iron Tail.

Afterwards, luck ran out. Ash met Iris, a girl who talked and acted just like Misty. She was different from Misty, but during his time Ash saw many similarities between the Unova native and his…interest. One time Ash even accidently referred to Iris as Misty, but quickly covered his tracks.

Unova to Ash was too easy, he easily defeated the Gym leaders, and Trip was nothing more than a spiteful Yanma on the wall. During his time Ash had found himself capturing and taking care of more Pokémon than he usually did, but what struck him the most was why he had felt the need to have two water-types, Oshawott, and a Palpitoad. He kept and trained both but felt confused, somehow, something in him made him feel that it was definitely her influence that made him catch the two, and it frustrated him

He was miles from her, yet even in a faraway land she was still haunting him. He hated it, and when he made the connection, once more, the nightmares returned.

He suppressed his feelings, and instead turned them around toward his training. It worked, and his efforts gave him the title of Unova league champion.

Ash sighed as he walked along the dirt path, being back in Kanto brought him little excitement when compared to his new friend Alexa – a journalist from the Kalos region – who was walking alongside him. Ash and Iris, along with their other traveling companion Cilan had met the journalist whilst cruising through the Decalore Islands. It turned out Alexa was also heading towards Kanto, with a heart set on interviewing Professor Oak. Cilan and Iris had left to do their own things, leaving Ash to head back to Pallet with Alexa.

Alexa chatted a great deal over her excitement to finally be in the region, but Ash was far from excited. When they got to Pallet Town, the first place Ash checked in was home. There he told his mom about his plan going forward before he left to go to Professor Oak's corral at her request to make sure Alexa and Professor were okay.

Ash sulked the whole way.

At the corral he found Alexa in the middle of talking to Professor Oak and was amused to see Bulbasaur with them. He greeted his two old friends and Bulbasaur jumped to run at him, Ash jumped the fence to meet him only to be mauled by his thirty Tauros, Ash was used to it and quickly recovered.

"You look awesome, Bulbasaur," Ash said as he petted the Seed Pokémon. "Hope I didn't interrupt anything."

Alexa smiled, "Not at all, Professor Oak was just introducing me to your Bulbasaur."

"Ah," Ash murmured, he looked around apprehensively. "So…Professor…where's Tracey?"

"As fate would have it, Misty invited him to the Cerulean Gym," Professor Oak replied cheerily, he was aware of their relationship but had no idea the effect his words had on Ash.

The raven-haired trainer's body locked up and his expression turned grim. Ash lowered his head till his hat casted a shadow across his eyes. "I see," he said simply. Alexa and Sammuel exchanged a look as Ash rose suddenly, Professor Oak blinked after getting a full view of what the teen looked like. "If you need me," Ash said plainly, "I'll be over the hill." And before either could get a word in, Ash walked off with Bulbasaur and Pikachu.

Alex and Professor Oak exchanged a look. "What was that about?" Alexa asked, stunned by Ash's sudden change of mood.

"Not sure," Professor Oak replied. He squinted to see Ash. "My, he's changed a lot."

"I've only recently met him," Alexa said. "Has he…always been like that?"

"The poor boy…" Samuel said ominously. They left it at that…

Ash and Alexa went back to his house after Alexa finished interviewing the Professor. "Mom, I'm back!" Ash called.

"Oh, hello dear," Delia greeted. "And you must be Alex, I heard quite a bit about you. I trust the interview with Samuel went well?"

Alexa smiled and began to tell Delia everything. "…I mean it's impressive that the whole thing is cared for by just two people. Professor Oak and Tracey are really something to be able to take ca–"

The sound of something colliding with a wooden table ranged out and both women jumped to see Ash frowning with a closed fist against a small table with a flower pot on it. Silence fell and Delia was about to open her mouth when…

"Ring ring ring! Phone call, phone call! Ring ring ring!" All three residents, including Pikachu and Mr. Mime all jumped.

"Is it me, or did that thing get louder?" Ash grumbled.

"Ash, honey, could you get that?" Delia asked.

"Uh, sure thing," Ash replied, and hurried off to take the call. "Ketchum's residence," Ash said into the phone.

"Like, hello, can I speak to an 'Ash Ketchum'?" asked a feminine voice. Ash froze, the voice sounded familiar and not in the good kind.

"Err – um – speaking."

"Oh, it's you! Wow, you're voice has – like – really deepened…"

"Yeah, we thought you – like – were someone else. Puberty was kind to you with a voice that deep!" a different female voice called, that one being higher-pitched. Ash became even more uncomfortable.

"I-I'm sorry, but…WHO ARE YOU?!" Ash yelped.

"Like," began the lower toned voice patiently, "just turn on your videophone's camera. It's not that hard to do."

Ash blushed with embarrassment and hastily turned on videophone. Coming into view were two figures he recognized – Violet and Lily Waterflower. He gaped.

"There, see? Much better if we can see each other."

Ash's heart rate went up, sisters, Misty's sisters, he felt uncomfortable. What if she wandered in, he didn't know how he would react if he so much as saw or heard her voice. The pain of being apart had already taken a massive toll on him as it was. "So…what do you two want?"

Violet and Lilly looked at each other – Ash noticed they seemed fidgety and nervous as if they were hiding something. "Do I tell him?"

"No you tell him! You're the one who like suggested it!" Ash gulped. What in hell is happening…?

The two sisters scratched their arms nervously before Violet spoke. "Ash, it's about Misty…" she paused apprehensively, "she needs your help."

Ash stared blankly. "You two are asking the wrong guy, Misty doesn't need me. She's already got her boyfriend over there to do that for her. Why ask me, I'm sure that Tracey–"

"They broke up!" Lilly cried out. "It was Tracey – he cheated on her!"

Ash's jaw dropped at Lilly's outburst. "WHAT?!" he yelled.

Alexa and Delia were in the middle of their talk when Ash's voice yelled out and ran over to see what the matter was.

They found him staring at the videophone, and Delia instantly recognized Violet and Lilly. "What's going on here?" Delia asked.

"It's um – err – a story…but, well, it's not quite cheating…" Violet began.

"What happened?" Ash demanded in a serious tone.

"Well…um, see…" Violet began uneasily."Not too long, about maybe six months ago somehow Tracey sort of…began to take notice of Daisy…and well…she did too, we really don't know what happened but they started, like, making out or something...I-I swear we – like – didn't know a thing really. Daisy never said anything or gave us reason to be suspicious but then yesterday it well…all came out. Tracey said something about it now working with Misty and now she's heartbroken.

"We didn't know who else to go to, obviously now Tracey's the problem. She won't talk to either of us. That Brock guy is in Johto at medical school – and none of her other friends are nearby or have a phone number to help her."

"We heard you would be returning home soon, so we figured you were the best shot," Lilly continued. "Misty needs someone, you're her best friend."

"Was," Ash hissed, resentment seeping out of his heart. "What makes you think I'm the one who can help her? We haven't talked in two years…"

"We know," Violet said distressed, her eyes were pleading. "We saw that you two haven't been in contact for a while, Misty's hardly said anything about you in the past few years. But we searched her contacts and you're the only one who can help her. Please Ash, come to Cerulean and keep her company? She needs you – you're the closest and the only one who can help her heart."

"I…I can't," Ash said despondently. "It's been too long…you're better off asking my mom…"

"Please…?" the two sisters begged. Ash bit his lip, when he suddenly felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

"Dear, please," his mother said "do it for her. They want you to help her."

"But Mom," Ash said with difficulty, his eyes were beginning to become red and tears welled up in them. "You've talked to her far more than I have, you should be the one…"

"Ashton," Delia said firmly. "You're the one they're asking for."

"But I…I…" Ash choked, he looked from his mom to Violet and Lilly. All were looking at him waiting. He looked round and noticed Alexa and Pikachu, who offered thumbs up in encouragement.

"I…I…" Ash began, "…I don't know what help I'll be, I don't know why you chose me…but okay. I'll help," he murmured.

"Thanks, Ash, we'll be waiting, please come as soon as you can. We'll talk sleeping arrangements when you get here," Violet said before ending the call. Ash's cheeks now had tear trails on them. He had no idea why he even agreed.

"It's the right thing to do," Delia said gently. Ash just bit his lip.

"It's too late to go now," he muttered, noticing the time. "I'll leave in the morning tomorrow. "

Delia nodded and went to go purchase his bus ticket. "Alexa," Ash said, standing up to meet the journalist. "So sorry I won't be able to see you to the airport–"

"Oh don't you worry about that," Alexa said with a smile. "I have to go back to Kalos regardless, besides I'll still meet you there when you touch down next month."

Ash let out a breath at hearing that. "Why couldn't there have just been an open seat now and I could go with you immediately to Kalos and not have to deal with this?" he lamented. "I could've said no…"

"Well, you know how airplanes are, always overbooked for months on end," Alexa interjected. "Besides, you should really take care of this problem first."

Ash nodded but said nothing as he hid behind the rim of his cap. He was far from looking forward to what he had gotten into.

The next day he collected his bag with new clothes, and pocketed the team he planned on bringing and collected his bus ticket. With Pikachu up top his shoulder Ash made his way to the bus stop.

He got on the one bound for Cerulean City and nervously got on a seat. Ash was nervous, his heart ached and he barely got much sleep beforehand. But most of all, he was scared of what he'd find upon getting to Cerulean…

End of Part One

Authors Note: Hey guys! Thanks for hanging in there, I know this part of the fic might've been a challenge, not surprised, with spacing between paragraphs of Time New Roman font at 11 this fic covered 19 pages and is 10,249 words long. I thank all of you for hanging in there with the palpable sadness that is this fic. Originally I intended to make the last chapter and this one a single chapter as it's currently titled but upon looking at the outline I thought it best to separate them, lucky you!

Surprised no one has taken to attempting the title naming challenge however, a bit disappointing that no one has tried to figure out who sung what. But I'll tell you guys the first two at least. I was the Last to Know is from the song of the same name by Three Days Grace. You Were so Happy…with Some Other Guy is from "Best Friend" by Jason Chen. Please guys, do some guessing!