Chapter Two: When Past Meets Present

"Isn't this exciting," Brock asked the others as they made their way into the Banquet Hall on the PokeTech Campus, "I wonder how many single girls are on the prowl tonight?"

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," said Ash, who wasn't really looking forward to the affair.

"Oh, come on, Ash. This'll be fun, I assure you." said Dawn, "Besides what if you meet some girl here who falls madly in love with you at first sight!"

"It's very unlikely, Dawn," Ash said as he accidently stumbled into another person, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"You, sorry? That's also something very unlikely," said the person, turning around.

"Paul," the group said at once.

Ash almost didn't reconigze him since he wasn't wearing his every day outfit, but of course they were in their every day clothes when everyone else was rather dressed up for the event. Nonetheless he felt disgusted by his presence.

"Surprised to see me," he asked Ash.

"More like repulsed," Ash muttered slowly.

"I guess that makes two of us," Paul replied and walked off from them.

"Ash, it's okay," Dawn assured after Paul left them.

"No, it's not Dawn," Ash replied, "He's just here to torture his Pokemon some more. Look, I need to clear my head. I'll see you two in a little while."

Dawn nodded and watched Ash disappear into the sea of people, as Brock set his lady-radar to full power.

Ash walked around in a daze. When the poster said everyone was welcome to sign up, they weren't kidding apparently. He never felt so completely disgusted before in his entire life. He hated this party, hated that Paul was there, and wondered just how much worse it would become for him. It was then that his ear caught sound of a familiar voice. One he had known since he became a Pokemon trainer and years before that. He glanced up really quickly, and standing only a few feet away from him , sure enough,was Professor Samuel Oak. He was wearing his lab coat over nice brown pants and a light green shirt. Ash, so delighted to see a friendly face ran over, not even caring for an instant that the Professor had been conversing with a middle-aged gentleman, in dress pants and shirt, and a girl about Ash's age, wearing a strapless party dress.

"Professor! Professor Oak," Ash exclaimed as he ran forward.

"Ash," Oak said, obviously surprised to see him, "Ash, my boy, how are you?"

"A little better now," he admitted, "Professor, what are you doing all the way out here? Shouldn't you be minding the lab, or on your radio show, or doing something?"

"Oh, I took a little break from that and Tracey is handling the lab just fine. This was a special event for me, so I just had to come. Plus, I was especially invited by my granddaughter here and I couldn't say no to her. I don't think you've ever met before," The Professor explained, "Ash Ketchum, this is my granddaughter Lucille and my son Robert."

Ash blinked in surprise. He wasn't aware that Oak had any other grandchildren other than Gary, or any other kids for that matter. Why hadn't they met sooner?

"Pleasure to meet you," Lucille said with a smile.

Ash glanced over at her and was stunned silent. From her long brown hair to her amazing green eyes, Lucille Oak was completely breath-taking. She was wearing a wine colored short gown for the occasion. It was just then that Ash wondered if this was how Brock felt everytime he met a woman.

"So this is Delia's boy," said Rob, brushing a hand through his light brown hair, "Well I'll be... Looks just like his old man. Got his mom's eyes, though."

"Wait, if they're your relatives, then how come I've never met them before?" Ash asked Professor Oak, "Your son obviously knows my mother."

Just before Oak was about to say something his son cut him off.

"I moved away from Pallet Town after your parents were married. I found myself a woman from Goldenrod and well we just never made it back there, we traveled a lot," Rob explained to Ash, "Lucille always came with us. Except in the summer."

"Yeah, until you sent me here," she spat under her breath.

Rob gave her a glance with his stern brown eyes, to which she rolled hers.

"Excuse me," she said walking away from her family.

"So, when's he getting in," Ash heard Rob ask Oak.

"He said tomorrow morning the last I talked to him," Oak replied.

"Wait, who?" Ash asked, "Who's coming?"

"Why Gary, of course," answered Oak.

Ash felt his eyes go wide.

"Gary," he managed to squeak out.

"Yeah, he thought it would be a good time to show off his new training techniques," added Rob.

"Would you excuse me," Ash said trying to hold back a shout.

He ran off from them and quickly scanned the crowds for angry women to find Brock. He desperately needed to share this information with someone who understood. He didn't manage to find Brock, but did however spot Dawn in the crowd.

"Where's Brock," Ash asked running up to her.

"Brock's..." she looked over her shoulder and back at Ash, " you know..."

"Just when I need to talk to him too," he replied.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Dawn asked, "You can talk to me, can't you?"

"It seems I have no other choice," he said with a nod and led her to two chairs against the wall. There he told her about Gary and how with him and Paul being there it was enough to make him insane.

"Ash, it'll be okay, trust me," Dawn tried to comfort.

"But what if I get paired up with one of them," he asked her.

"Oh Ash," she replied rising from her chair. "There's so many people here the chance of that happening would be slim to none. I'll see ya later."

She walked off leaving him and Pikachu to themselves.

"But what if they get paired together," Ash thought to himself.

About that time, Brock came stumbling up.

"Ash, oh man this is an amazing night," he said falling into the chair next to him.

"About the only good thing is Professor Oak is here," said Ash.

"Oak, really?" Brock perked up, "What's he doing here?"

"His granddaughter invited him, and apparently Gary's battling too," Ash explained.

"Wait, back up," said Brock, "Oak has a granddaughter?"

"Other than Gary's sister, yes," said Ash, "Her name's Lucille."

"Take me to her," Brock insisted.

"What?" said Ash, a little surprised though he shouldn't have been.

"I want to meet her, come on," he said dragging Ash out of his chair, "Lead on."

Ash wasn't too fond of introducing Brock to someone he barely knew himself, but he couldn't shake the feeling he had when he first laid eyes on her.

Meanwhile in the back of the room, Jessie and James were playing the role of wall flower. James was playing it much better than Jessie. Jessie had managed to dig out one of her old red and black embroidered cocktail dresses, and suprisingly James managed to find a nice dress shirt in their chest of disguises for the occasion. Jessie had to keep reminding herself that they were scouting Pokemon to steal and that the Boss wasn't interested in men. "Actually," Jessie thought to herself, "I'm not sure what the Boss is interested in."

"All these Pokemon are pathetic specimins," James whispered to Jessie.

"Hm," she replied, "Oh yes, yes they are. But there are some good catches out there."

"Where?" James asked her.

"Huh?" she asked, "Oh yes, you are so right, all pathetic. If we brought any of these in the Boss would fire us for sure, or worse, put us on Janitorial work."

James cringed.

"So, where do you see this good catch, Jess?"

Jessie looked around and her eyes caught with a young man in a blue blazer and khaki pants. His blond hair waved in the air conditioning filling the hall, and a smile crossed his lips as his blue eyes fell in line with hers.

"Mid-floor, blue blazer, blond hair," she said softly, "In fact I'll take care of it myself."

And she hurried off to meet the mysterious man giving her the eye. James sighed deeply and took a drink of the punch he had been holding on to. It was clear that the scouting mission was over.

Ash and Brock, in the meantime, were looking for Lucille. After walking through the entire hall, they found her outside on the veranda talking to a boy that seemed a little older than her, and taller as well. Ash pushed Brock out of the open door and followed him up to Lucille and her friend.

"Not much of a party person." he asked Lucille as they approached.

She turned at the sound of his voice and smiled.

"Are you kidding," she asked, "I'd rather be locked in a science lab than in there."

Just then, Lucille felt her hand being pulled and looked down to see Brock on his knees.

"Dear sweet angel," he said, "I've never seen beauty like yours before."

The boy Lucille had been talking to before suddenly set his gray eyes from casual to kill. His dirty blond hair rustled a little in the night breeze.

"Look here, buddy," he said as he pushed Lucille behind him, "you need to leave the lady alone."

"I'm sorry," Ash apologized for Brock, "He does this all the time. He didn't realize you had a boyfriend."

"Oh, I don't have a boyfriend," Lucille replied with a small smirk, "This is my best friend Rafe. He just gets a little protective sometimes."

Brock was about to make another pass at Lucille, when he suddenly toppled over. Apparently his Croagunk had thwarted his goal at a girlfriend yet again.

Ash shook his head and turned to Lucille.

"You wouldn't wanna take a walk, would you, Lucille?"

"Uh, well," she glanced at Rafe, who just smiled and nodded at her and then turned back to Ash, "Sure, but what about your friend there?"

"Brock's used to it by now," Ash replied, "Just leave him."

"I'll stay with him until he comes to," Rafe said as he plopped down on one of the patio chairs.

"Are you sure," Lucille asked him.

"Oh sure. Don't wanna go back in there anyway with all those horribly dressed people. No offense," Rafe said to Ash.

"None taken." Ash replied, just a little confused.

And with that, Ash and Lucille took a walk around the grounds of PokeTech. As always Pikachu was ever present on Ash's shoulder.

"So, Lucille, I'm curious," Ash said to her, "If Rafe is so protective of you, why are you not a couple?"

Lucille looked at her feet momentarily and then glance back up.

"You see, he um..." she hesitated for a moment, "Well he doesn't like women... I suppose you could say that he's like the sister I never had. I mean, I thought you would've figured that out by what he said before we left."

"Are you sure Brock's gonna be okay with Rafe?" he asked her quickly.

She laughed.

"Of course. Trust me on this, I don't think Brock is really Rafe's type anyway. So, anything else you feel the need to ask me?"

"Many things, though I don't think think we'll get to all of them tonight," he answered.

She blinked and then smiled at him.

"Just start with the biggest thing on your mind and we'll get to the other questions in all due time," she told him.

"What was it like growing up with a famous grandfather, and Gary for a cousin?"

"Good question," she commended him, "I used to visit quite often when I was a kid. Dad didn't mention it to you but he and your parents were really great friends. Gary and I, we have what you could call a love-hate relationship, meaning we love to hate each other. He used to pick on me a lot as a kid and then when he turned ten and went off on his journey he swore he'd show me a thing or two about Pokemon. I think he just said that to make his already abnormally large head grow just a teensy bit bigger. So when this contest was announced I contacted him and said "Okay, you swore you'd teach me a lesson, some come prove it to me."

"Sounds like he treated you about the same as he did me," Ash replied.

"That's because when we were younger, we used to be friends," she answered quietly.

"Pika," Pikachu spoke up in a shocked tone.

"But we just met tonight," Ash answered.

"Think back," Lucille told him, "Think back to when you and Gary were little. There was another in the group at times, wasn't there. Lucy, you called her."

Ash's memories flashed before his eyes. It was a simplier time back in Pallet Town in those days. He had a stable life with a loving mother and father, he had a great friend, and then two weeks every summer there was a visit from... Lucy.

His eyes shot back at Lucille and she laughed at him.

"So you do remember then," she asked.

"You... Lucy?"

She nodded.

"See, I told you that you knew me," she replied.

"But Oak, he said we hadn't met before..."

"Grandpa's getting old," Lucille reminded him, "And besides with all the things he's involved in right now, I'd forget some things too."

"Yesterday, I thought... But it couldn't have been. I thought it was a coincidence," he said quickly.

"I saw you too," she replied, "It didn't take much for me to remember you, Ash. I can understand why you'd forget me. It's been years afterall, and as Grandpa's told me you've become a great trainer."

"Well, you could say that, but... look at you," he said, still not wanting to believe the girl that managed to take his breath away was his childhood friend.

"I grew up," she said with a smile, "I remember when we used to go play in the green house and get all dirty and how we'd come back and your mom and mine would be so angry."

"That's right," he exclaimed, "Your mom used to bring you down to see your Grandpa and cousins because your das was always working, so I never got to meet him. Come to think of it I can't remember your mother's name."

"Victoria," Lucille reminded him.

"Right, Vikki," he answered, letting it all come back to him now, "What happened to her and your dad?"

"Well, do you remember the last summer we spent together. You know when we were seven and you sold me my first kiss," she asked him.

"Oh yeah, because Gary put us up to it," he nodded, "And then you promised next summer we'd get Gary back for doing that, but the next summer came and you didn't come."

"That's because my parents got divorced," she replied.

"Lucille, I'm so sorry," he said.

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged, "It's history. By the way, you have like the cutest Pikachu ever."

"Oh thanks. Pikachu likes the attention, don't you?" he asked his Pokemon counterpart.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"What about your Pokemon," Ash asked her.

"My first one was an Eevee," she answered, "We've been great friends ever since. Eevee's in my room at the moment. I didn't want to take the chance at her being stolen or anything before the contest tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he replied, "Why are they holding this in the summer, anyhow? Don't you guys have a summer break?"

"Technically this is," said Lucille, "Not all of us go home. In fact most of us, including the staff stay here on campus."

"Oh okay. I see how it goes," he nodded.

"Well, it was nice reconnecting with you, Ash," said Lucille, "But I have to be getting back to the Hall. My dad's probably looking for me as is Grandpa."

"Okay, no problem," he replied, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yup," she agreed, "Partner drawing is tomorrow morning and round one is right afterwards in the stadium."

"Good night, Lucille. And if I don't see you tomorrow, good luck," he told her.

"Same to you, Ash."

She left him with a smile and walked back to the Banquet Hall.

As Ash watched her walk off he slipped into a complete daze again. He was just so surprised that little Lucy, the girl who used to follow him and Gary around, then becoming the one person Ash wanted to be with the most in the summertime had grown into such a beautiful and smart young woman. He would've stayed like the for the rest of the night if it hadn't been for Pikachu giving him a slap across the face.

"Pi Pika Pikachu," Pikachu shouted at him.

"Oh right, Brock," Ash remembered and ran back to the veranda.

There he found Brock propped up in one of the deck chairs, with Rafe sitting across from him.

"Your friend's still out cold," Rafe said as Ash approached, "Must've taken one hell of a jab there."

"Are you battling in the contest tomorrow, Rafe," Ash asked changing the subject on him.

"It's not really my thing," Rafe replied, "I want to be a fashion designer. Ya know, make all sorts of Pokemon themed clothes for trainers, but to answer your question, yes I am. Lucy talked me into it and I can't say no to her. She's like a sister to me."

"And be assured she feels the same about you," Ash said.

"She does?" Rafe asked eyes wide, "Oh how sweet of her to say that!"

Just before Ash could reply to Rafe, a horrible squealing noise came over the school's PA system, making Brock finally come to.

"Attention all non-student trainers," the voice said, "Please report to the Enrollment Center in thirty minutes for room assignment. Thank you and we wish everyone good luck in tomorrow's contest."

"What was that about?" Brock asked in a low voice.

"Room assignment, remember," said Ash, "The invitation said to bring all of our personal belongings tonight, that during the contest we'd be housed here?"

"Oh right." said Brock rising to his feet, "By the way what happened?"

"Took one hell of a punch," said Rafe, rising to his feet as well.

"Rafe, thanks for staying with Brock," said Ash, "And good luck tomorrow."

"Don't mention it, and same to you, mate," Rafe said with a nod, and then headed off to his dormitory.

"Come on, Brock," Ash said.

They went inside to track down Dawn and then find out where they'd be sleeping for the next week. During the whole process, Ash's mind still drifted off to the things that Lucille had told him on their walk. What a great night it had turned out to be after all.