Here's the next chapter!
I'm sorry that this took a little longer to publish. I really had trouble writing this chapter (Don't know why!), but here it is.
Thanks everyone for the reviews. We're now past the 100 mark in reviews!
Anyway, I'm sorry to say it, but this is a bit of filler. I think the next chapter will probably be mostly filler as well, seeing as I'm busy planning out the next arc of this story!
Lol, so you guys don't really know what's up with Ash returning to Pallet Town? Look, it's not something I created on my own. It can probably happen in the anime, but I highly doubt it. So, give it some thought and tell me what you guys think the reason is?
Anyway, I'm in search of a beta-reader. So, if you guys have any suggestions regarding one, please tell me their names so I can contact them. Because I noticed that I miss a few errors in the chapters, so a beta-reader would only improve this story.
We're also approaching the 100 000-word mark! Woohoo! That's awesome. It's a lot longer than I first expected this story to be. And it's not even finished yet! The best is still to come.
Anyway, here's Chapter 20.
Enjoy!
I do not own any characters or events related to Pokemon, this story is solely fan made.
Changing Ways: Chapter 20: The road often followed to the opposite side. The place of beginning:
The sun shone brightly in the sky the next morning. Ash, Misty and Pikachu had slept in because of all the traveling the past couple of days. So it was almost 10 o' clock in the morning by now. The Pidgey chirped as they soared through the sky and sat in the trees surrounding the gang. It was in this time that Misty started stirring in her sleeping bag…
"Hmm…" she mumbled out, her face buried in her bag so it sounded very muffled. "Uh…" she exclaimed as she looked up, only to be met by the unforgiving rays of the sun. She quickly buried her face in her bag again. "Stupid sun…" she mumbled before slowly lifted her head up again, but this time she made sure to avoid the sun's rays. She gave a huge yawn before her eyes finally focused. It was at this moment that she noticed something on her hand. "Hm?" she exclaimed as she looked down, to find a hand situated on top of hers. Following the hand up; she found the source… 'Ash!' she thought as her mouth hung open.
Ash was still fast asleep, with his hand still on Misty's hand. The red-head probably turned in her sleep through the night, so she probably let go of his hand, although he still kept it there, as he didn't really move much in his sleep.
Misty gaped at Ash for a moment, before she averted her gaze back to his hand on hers. Her cheeks started turning a bright red colour. 'Oh, wow. Who would have thought that Ash is capable of something like this on his own?' She thought as she felt a tingling pull in her stomach. This is exactly what she wanted: To try some romantic factors with Ash. She carefully turned her hand under his, until the inside of her hand met the inside of Ash's. She then slowly spread her fingers and entwined them with Ash's fingers, lacing their hands together. She then looked up from their hands to Ash's sleeping face before she softly giggled.
Misty's giggles went unheard by Ash, but not by a certain yellow mouse…
"Pi?" Pikachu groggily exclaimed as he lifted his head. He sat up and rubbed his paws over his eyes. He then heard that sift giggling noises again. He then curiously peaked over Ash's sleeping form next to him. He noticed his master's arm extending out in front of him. Following Ash's arm: the yellow mouse found two hands laced together. "Pika?" he questioned as he frowned at the two hands. He then looked a bit upper and looked straight into Misty's face. "Pika…" he exclaimed, finally understanding what was going on. He then jumped over to the other side of Ash, revealing himself to the red-head.
Misty stopped giggling almost immediately after she saw Pikachu now standing in front of her. Her mouth was tightly shut and her cheeks even redder than before. Busted…
"Pika Pika, Pikachupi." Pikachu whispered as he knowingly smirked at Misty. He then proceeded to make kissy faces along with hugging actions at the red-head before he started snickering at himself and Misty's awkward situation.
Misty just kept staring at Pikachu with her eyes big in surprise. It took a while, but after a few moments; Misty's surprised look turned into her glare and rage started oozing out of her as her teeth became sharp because of irritation. "Be quiet!" she hissed as she swung her free arm in the yellow mouse's direction.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as Misty's arm connected with his head, sending him flying through the air until he connected with a tree. He slid down and fell on the grass. "Pika Pika…" he mumbled as he lay on the ground, his eyes replaced with swirly spirals.
"Hmph." Misty huffed at Pikachu before she felt Ash's fingers move and his grip on her hand tighten slightly. She turned her attention towards Ash, who had started stirring in his sleeping bag. For some reason; the red-head didn't want to face Ash now, because it might cause him to let go of her hand. She figured that he took her hand while she was sleeping, so he might keep his hand there if he thought that she was still asleep. So, she calmed her breathing, closed her eyes and let her grip on Ash's hand slightly falter, creating the impression that she was still soundly asleep.
Ash slowly opened his eyes after hearing Pikachu's 'meeting' with the tree. "Huh…" he mumbled as he lifted his head off of his backpack. "What's with all the noise…" he mumbled as he looked around him. He then tried rubbing his eyes with his hand, but he found it difficult to get it to his eyes. "Huh?" he exclaimed before he saw his hand and its fingers entwined with another hand…Misty's hand! "Yikes!" Ash yelled, before he remembered that Misty was still asleep, and quickly covered his mouth with his free hand. He carefully looked over to Misty and sighed out of relief when he saw that the red-head was still asleep. He then got over his relief when he realised that he was HOLDING MISTY'S HAND! His cheeks started turning bright red as he stared at their linked hands. 'Why am I holding Misty's hand? Am I dreaming?' he thought before he remembered that he put his hand there the previous night. He stared at their hands for a little while longer, before he quickly pulled his hand away from the red-head's, scared of being caught.
Ash's sudden action caused Misty to open her left and peek at the pokemon Trainer, who now sat up in his sleeping bag, a giant blush evident on his face. The red-head softly sighed at herself. 'Great, that's probably the end of that…' she thought as she 'woke up' by slowly stretching and opening her eyes fully. She then proceeded to sit up in her sleeping bag and stretch her arms over her head, before turning her attention to Ash. "Good morning, Ash." She said before she gave the pokemon Trainer a sweet, loving smile, which, in all honesty; freaked Ash out even more…
"Uh…uh…g-good morning! Misty…" Ash stuttered out, the blush on his face only intensifying when he saw Misty giving him a cute, loving smile. He then proceeded to nervously laugh and scratch the back of his head, silently praying that the red-head didn't know about their all-night hand-holding.
Misty kept looking at Ash. This was the perfect opportunity to tease the pokemon Trainer...But Misty didn't feel like that. It felt…wrong? So she instead decided to spare him the awkwardness. "Are you hungry?" she politely asked, to which Ash responded by merely nodding while he looked down at his sleeping bag. "Okay, I'll make us some breakfast. Are sandwiches alright?" she politely suggested. She was enjoying this…
"Y-yeah, sandwiches are fine!" Ash said a bit too enthusiastically as he nervously scratched the back of his head sheepishly laughing at Misty.
"Okay, then you can start packing up our stuff?" Misty suggested as she got out of her sleeping bag and started putting her shoes on.
"Yeah sure…" Ash said as he also started putting his shoes on. "No prob." He added before he got up and started rolling his sleeping bag up.
Misty also got up onto her feet, took her bag and walked over to a nearby log. She happened to pass by Pikachu, to which she responded by pointing to her eyes with two of her fingers and then pointing those two fingers towards the yellow mouse, signalling that she's watching him. She then sat on her knees in front of the log and started unpacking the various ingredients she would need for their sandwiches. 'I could get used to this 'new' Ash…' she thought as she made their breakfast. 'He's very…obedient?' she mentally asked herself, looking for the right word to describe Ash's new attitude. 'I think I should show my affection a bit more often…' she suggested to herself as she stole a glance at the pokemon Trainer, who was currently busy rolling up the red-head's sleeping bag, a faint blush still evident on his cheeks. She sighed at Ash before standing up and rummaged through his backpack. She then took out a bowl and filled it up with some pokemon food for Pikachu. "Breakfast is ready, you guys!" she declared as she put the bowl of pokemon food next to the log in the ground.
It took a mere four seconds before Ash and Pikachu were at the log with an excited, impatient look in both their eyes.
"Oh boy," Ash exclaimed as he hovered over the pile of sandwiches packed on a napkin on the log. "I'm starving!" he announced before he grabbed four slices off of the pile.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed as he sat in front of his bowl of pokemon food, before he dug into it.
Ash also didn't waste time and was now approaching his third slice, shoving sandwich after sandwich into his mouth.
"Ash," Misty started as she frowned at Ash, to which he responded to by looking up at the red-head. "Did you finish packing our stuff up?" she asked as she lifted her brow at the pokemon Trainer.
Ash simply stared at Misty for a few moments. "Uh…fno? Eweviting if ftill fer." He exclaimed with his mouth stuffed full of food as he pointed to where their sleeping bags lay on the ground, rolled up but not yet packed in.
Misty gave Ash a slight glare. "Okay, first off; don't ever talk to me with your mouth full again! It's very rude!" she yelled at the pokemon Trainer. "And secondly…" she started again as she picked the napkin and the few sandwiches left off of the log and out of Ash's reach. "You're not getting any more sandwiches until you've finished packing away all of our stuff." She declared.
Ash opened his mouth to protest, but then remembered what Misty said, and he swallowed the sandwich that was in his mouth before he tried again. "But Misty!" he exclaimed.
"No buts, Ash." Misty calmly stated. "You can't just abandon your tasks when you spot some food." She informed Ash as she picked up a sandwich.
Ash sighed at Misty's words. "Fine…" he mumbled in defeat before he stood up and made his way over to the sleeping bags.
"Pika Pika, Pikapi." Pikachu lectured Ash as he took another pellet out of his bowl and started nibbling on it.
"Yeah, tell him, Pikachu." Misty giggled at Pikachu's wise words.
"Haha, very funny." Ash sarcastically mumbled as he rolled his eyes at Pikachu. He then started tugging Misty's sleeping bag into her bag, followed by his own sleeping bag which he tugged into his backpack. "There, happy?" he asked as he glared at Misty, who, along with Pikachu, had continued eating while they watched Ash doing his chore.
"Yep." Misty said as she nodded her head and put the pile of sandwiches back on the log for Ash to eat.
"Alright!" Ash cheered as he came running back towards the log. He didn't waste any time in digging into the remaining sandwiches.
Misty had her share of sandwiches and Pikachu had finished his bowl of pokemon food, so the rest was free for Ash to devour. Once the pokemon Trainer polished off the sandwiches; the gang took to the road once more, on their way to Pallet Town. Since they woke up pretty late in the day; they weren't even close to Pallet Town by 13:30 in the afternoon, so pretty soon…
"Misty, I'm getting hungry!" Ash moaned from next to Misty. "Can't we stop for lunch?" he hopefully suggested to the red-head.
"We had breakfast four hours ago!" Misty stated as she looked at Ash in disbelief. "How can you already be hungry?" she inquired.
"Because," Ash started. "We didn't have a big breakfast, and it's a long walk." He said. "So I need all the food I can get." He added as he rubbed over his stomach.
"Ugh…" Misty groaned as she shook her head in aggravation. "Fine, let's stop for lunch, then." She declared. "I'm getting kind of hungry too." She added.
"Alright!" Ash cheered with an excited fist-pump.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, mimicking Ash's actions by doing an excited paw-pump.
Misty merely sighed at Ash and Pikachu's poses as the gang continued forward. They walked a little bit farther down the road until they came across a small meadow, a perfect place to have lunch.
"Come out: Everyone!" Ash yelled as he threw three pokeballs into the air, which resulted in a bright light coming from the balls.
"Bay!" Bayleef exclaimed as she formed out of the light.
"Cookie Cookie!" Kingler exclaimed as it formed next to Bayleef out of the light.
"Toto- Dile!" Totodile exclaimed while dancing in the air as it formed on the other side of Bayleef out of the light.
"Corsola: Come on out!" Misty yelled as she threw her sole pokeball into the air.
"Corsola!" Corsola exclaimed as she formed next to Kingler out of the white light that protruded out of her pokeball.
"Lunch time, everyone!" Ash announced as he placed five bowls of pokemon food next to each other on the grass.
The five different pokemon all cheered their approval before they started eating their food. Ash and Misty sat close by and ate their lunch, which consisted out of sandwiches again. Misty wasn't a good cook, so they had to accept the fact that they ate would eat sandwiches on the road while they travelled.
"You know," Ash started as he picked up another sandwich. "It's actually a shame that we have to travel on a day like this." He remarked.
"Yeah," Misty agreed as she looked around her and Ash. "It really is a beautiful day today." She added.
"But we have to get to Pallet Town!" Ash declared with a determined fist-pump. "The letter sai-"
"Yes, Ash. I know what the letter said." Misty interrupted Ash, irritated that he kept on repeating that sentence, over and over again.
Lunch went by pretty quickly and before they knew it; Ash and Misty had returned their pokemon (Save for Pikachu, of course), packed up their belongings and hit the road again, on their way towards Pallet Town once more. The rest of their trip went by without any real action, until a red-gloved mechanical hand came flying towards them from out of the bushes to their left!
"What the heck!" Ash cried out as the hand came flinging towards them.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as the hand took hold of him and plucked him off of Ash's shoulder, pulling him through the bushes.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out and immediately darted off after Pikachu into the bushes.
"Ash! Pikachu!" Misty yelled as she ran after Ash...
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as he was dragged through the bushes by the mechanical hand. Where it was taking him; he wasn't sure. But he had a good idea. He was pulled for a few moments more, before the yellow mouse connected with unforgiving steel, the steel railings of a cage, which locked him inside from all four sides.
"Hello, Pikachu." Pikachu heard a male voice say from behind him.
"Pikachu!" he heard a more familiar voice coming from the bushes in front of him. The voice of his master; Ash.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out at Ash.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he jumped through the bushes and landed in front of the cage Pikachu was trapped in. "What the…" he exclaimed when he noticed that the yellow mouse was trapped in a cage. "What's going on here!?" he demanded.
"Prepare for trouble, out here in the wood." A female voice stated from behind the cage.
"Make it double, like you know you should." A male voice said from next to the female.
"To protect the world from devastation." The female continued.
"To unite all peoples within our nation." The male added.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love." The female stated as she jumped to in front of the cage.
"To extend our reach to the stars above." The male added as he also jumped in front of the cage and landed next to the female.
"Jessie." Jessie stated.
"James." James added.
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie continued.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight fight fight!" James added.
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth exclaimed as he appeared between Jessie and James, holding Pikachu above his head in the cage.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet exclaimed as it appeared in front of Jessie, James and Meowth.
"Get back in your ball!" Jessie yelled as she pointed a pokeball to Wobbuffet, retracting it back into its pokeball.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out at Ash.
"Team Rocket!" Ash angrily exclaimed. "I should have known that the three of you were behind this!" he added as he clenched his fists in front of him in anger.
"You thought right, twerp." Jessie answered.
"It's always us!" James added.
"Yea, so get used to it!" Meowth added.
"Give me back Pikachu, now!" Ash ordered as he angrily glared at the three Rocket members.
"Twerp, why do we have to go through all of this each and every time?" Jessie sarcastically asked. "You know you're not getting your Pikachu back without having a battle for him!" she declared.
"And even after that; you will still not get your Pikachu back because we plan on winning!" James added as he took a pokeball off of his belt. "Weezing: I choose you!" he yelled before he threw the pokeball into the air.
"Arbok: Let's go!" Jessie yelled as she also threw a pokeball into the air.
"Weezing!" Weezing exclaimed as he appeared in front of James out of the pokeball.
"Char Bok!" Arbok exclaimed as it appeared in front of Jessie.
"If it's a battle you want; it's a battle you'll get!" Ash stated as he pulled a pokeball from his belt. "Bayleef: I choose you!" he yelled as he threw a pokeball into the air.
The pokeball opened and a white light protruded from it, out which Bayleef appeared.
"Bay!" Bayleef exclaimed as she stood in front of Ash, awaiting her orders.
"Bayleef: Hit 'em with a Razor Leaf!" Ash ordered as he pointed towards Weezing and Arbok.
"Bay Bay!" Bayleef exclaimed, acknowledging the order, as she swung her head and fired a stream of razor sharp leaves towards Arbok and Weezing.
Arbok was directly hit by the Razor Leaf attack, but Weezing simply hovered higher into the air, avoiding the attack completely.
"Nice work, Weezing!" James commented. "Now use Sludge!" he ordered.
"Weezing Wee!" Weezing exclaimed, acknowledging James's order, and fired a ball of poisonous sludge towards Bayleef.
"Oh no. Bayleef; watch out!" Ash hastily shouted at Bayleef.
"Bay?" Bayleef exclaimed as she turned and saw the oncoming attack, but it was too late. She wasn't going to get out of its way in time.
"No!" Ash shouted in despair.
"Corsola: Use Mirror Coat!" he heard a voice say from behind him.
"Corsola!" A Corsola exclaimed as it jumped in front of Bayleef and then started glowing a yellow colour.
The Sludge attack connected head-on with the Corsola, but since Mirror Coat was active; it bounced straight off of the Corral pokemon's body and shot straight back towards Weezing.
"Weezing, watch out!" James squealed as he looked on.
"Weezing!" Weezing exclaimed as the Sludge attack connected with him. Since Mirror Coat was in effect; the attack inflicted twice as much damage to Weezing and sent him crashing down into the ground in front of James.
"Weezing!" James cried out as the dust settled to reveal Weezing laying in a crater in front of him. "Are you okay, Weezing? Speak to me!" he frantically exclaimed.
"Weezing Wee!" Weezing exclaimed as he got up and floated in the air once more.
"Hey Ash," Ash heard a voice coming from behind him. He turned around and spotted Misty running towards him.
"Misty!" he excitedly exclaimed as she stopped next to him. Boy; was he glad to see the red-head right now.
"Are you guys okay?" Misty asked as she looked at Ash in worry.
"Yeah, we're fine." Ash answered. "But what took you so long!?" he then asked as he angrily glared at Misty.
Misty's worried expression almost immediately turned into one of aggravation. "Well, sorry for not being able to climb through the bushes like an obsessed Mankey, like you!" she irritatedly yelled at Ash. "It took me almost forever to scamper through all those plants!" she added. "And then I actually got here just in time to save YOUR butt!" she yelled.
"Yeah yeah." Ash waved Misty off, knowing that she had a point. "Let's just take care of these three clowns." He said as he pointed towards Team Rocket.
"Clowns?" Jessie repeated. "I'll show you who the clowns are!" she angrily stated. "Arbok!" she yelled.
"Char!" Arbok exclaimed as it appeared in front of Jessie.
"You too, Weezing!" James added.
"Weezing!" Weezing exclaimed as he appeared in front of James.
"Bayleef!" Ash called out to Bayleef. "Are you alright?" he worriedly asked.
"Bay Bay!" Bayleef nodded in approval as she looked over her shoulder at Ash.
"Okay, then let's get Pikachu back!" Ash announced. "Use Razor Leaf again, Bayleef!" he ordered.
"Bay!" Bayleef exclaimed as she swung her head again and fired a stream of razor sharp leaves towards Arbok and Weezing.
"Arbok: Use Dig to evade that!" Jessie ordered.
"Dodge it, Weezing!" James ordered.
"Char!" Arbok exclaimed as it burrowed its way underground, head first.
"Wee!" Weezing exclaimed as he hovered higher into the air.
The Razor Leaf attack collided with nothing except the ground, resulting in a small explosion.
"Now, Corsola: Use Bubblebeam on that hole!" Misty ordered as she pointed to the hole that was now situated where Arbok was previously 'standing'.
"Corsola Corsola!" Corsola exclaimed before she unleashed a jet stream of powerful bubbles down into the hole.
There was a moment of silence, before a loud rumbling noise could be heard under the ground. The noise was then followed by a massive explosion and a huge gaping hole suddenly appeared as Arbok shot up through the ground high into the air.
"Arbok!" Jessie called out in worry.
"Great job, Corsola!" Misty praised Corsola. "Now, use Spike Cannon on Weezing!" she ordered as she pointed to Weezing that was floating in mid-air.
"Corsola Cors!" Corsola exclaimed as she started glowing white. She then fired a stream of white needles towards Weezing.
Meanwhile, Arbok was finally falling back down to earth again, something that Ash decided he would not go unnoticed…
"Bayleef: I want you to hit Arbok out of the air with your Vine Whip!" Ash ordered as he pointed towards the falling Arbok.
"Bay Bay!" Bayleef exclaimed as she shot two vines out of her neck towards Arbok.
The Vine Whip attack connected with Arbok just as it was about to hit the ground, and sent the Cobra pokemon flying through the air and it eventually crashed into Meowth, Jessie and James. Weezing was also taken out of the air by Corsola's Spike Cannon and he too crashed into his fellow Team Rocket members. The collision from Arbok caused Meowth to lose his grip on the cage in which Pikachu was being kept in and the cage landed in front of Ash's feet, the lock broken and the door open.
"Uh…" Jessie exclaimed as she back up onto her feet.
"My aching back…" James stated as he too got back up onto his feet.
"My poor achin' Meowth!" Meowth added as he held onto his mouth.
"Meowth; where's Pikachu?" Jessie asked as she frowned at Meowth. "Weren't you holding his cage?" she added.
"What're ya tawking 'bout!?" Meowth angrily exclaimed. "Pikachu's cage is rite he-"he stopped mid-sentence after he turned and pointed to where he thought the cage stood.
"Well?" Jessie impatiently asked as she looked at Meowth with her arms crossed in annoyance.
"Where is Pikachu?" James angrily asked as he glared at Meowth.
"AHEM." The Team Rocket trio heard someone clearing their throat.
"Huh?" the three of them simultaneously exclaimed as they turned their attention towards the source of the throat-clearing: Ash.
"He's right here." Ash stated as the three Rocket members looked at him. He then pointed down in front of him.
Team Rocket looked to where Ash was pointing and looked straight at…Pikachu!
"Pika Pika…" Pikachu exclaimed with a knowing smirk as sparks started emitting from his cheeks.
"Uh – Oh…" Jessie exclaimed as she visibly gulped.
"This cannot end well…" James added.
"I tink ya've hit da hammer rite on da nail there, Jimbo." Meowth also added.
"Wobbuffet." Wobbuffet exclaimed after it popped out of its pokeball on its own.
"Pikachu: Hit 'em with a Thunderbolt, full power!" Ash ordered as he pointed towards Team Rocket and their pokemon.
"Pi – Ka…" Pikachu started as the sparks emitting from his cheeks grew in intensity. "CHUUUU!" he finished as he unleashed an unforgiving and powerful Thunderbolt attack on Team Rocket.
The Thunderbolt collided with Team Rocket and they were all sizzled before a huge explosion occurred and sent them flying through the air.
"Oh great," Jessie stated as Team Rocket flew through the air. "Another Rocket round up." She declared.
"More like a Rocket bust up!" Meowth added.
"Either way:" James started.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Jessie, James and Meowth simultaneously exclaimed.
"Wobbu Wobbu!" Wobbuffet added as Team Rocket disappeared into the stratosphere accompanied by a 'PING'.
"Ash, Misty and their pokemon watched on as Team Rocket disappeared.
"Well," Ash started. "That takes care of that." He stated as he dusted his hands off against each other.
"Yep…" Misty casually agreed as she turned to face Ash.
"All in a day's work for a future Pokemon Master." Ash smugly added as he held his head high in the air to emphasize his superiority.
"Oh please, Ash." Misty deflated Ash's ego. "Face it: If it wasn't for me; you would have been long gone." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Is not!" Ash started his argument as he glared at Misty.
"Is too!" Misty retorted and, before an argument could ensue; turned away from Ash. "Now come on;" she started again as she recalled Corsola back into her pokeball and thanking the Corral pokemon for her help. "We've gotta get back on the road if we want to reach Pallet Town before nightfall." She announced.
"Yeah, you're right." Ash sighed in agreement. "Thanks for your help too, Bayleef. Return." He said as he pointed a pokeball to Bayleef and retracted her back into it before he clipped the pokeball back onto his belt. "Come on, Pikachu; let's go." He said as he looked down at Pikachu.
"Pika Pika." Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder and the two of them walked after Misty.
The three of them found the dirt road pretty quickly and were once again on their way back to Pallet Town after that. The battle with Team Rocket had taken a lot of energy out of them, so the rest of the trip was fairly quiet, with the sun now starting to set over the mountains in the distance. They eventually got at the top of a hill, a hill which looked over Pallet Town.
"We're here!" Ash proclaimed as he looked over his hometown of Pallet with great excitement and happiness. He was finally home again.
"It's been a while since we've been here, eh, Ash?" Misty stated as she smiled at the view in front of them.
"It sure has." Ash answered. "Come on;" he said as he started walking down the hill. "Let's go home!" he declared, after which Misty walked after him and caught up.
They entered Pallet Town from the side opposite of where Ash's house was situated, so they walked through almost the entire town.
"Wow," Ash stated as he looked around him. "This place hasn't changed one bit." He remarked as they walked through the empty-ish streets.
Ash, Misty and Pikachu walked the rest of the way through Pallet Town in relative silence. They were pretty worn out after a long day's traveling and battling. So all three of them were looking forward to a nice, peaceful evening at the Ketchum residence, in front of which they were standing now.
"Home…" Ash silently stated as he opened the small white fence-gate before stepping into his front yard, with Misty silently following him up to the front door. He then slowly opened the front door and stepped inside, at which point Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and landed on the soft carpet that decorated the entire floor.
"Pika." Pikachu exclaimed as he stretched out his travel-worn limbs.
Ash stepped a bit more into the house and right before he walked onto the carpet; he remembered a lesson his mother taught since he was little: He removed his shoes and placed them neatly next to the front door.
Misty took note of Ash's actions and, figuring that this was a house rule, obediently followed his lead and placed her shoes next to his.
"Mom!" Ash yelled as his voice echoed through the house. "Mom, I'm home!" he repeated.
There was a slight ruffling noise and moments later Ash and Misty heard a door open and close abruptly.
"Ash, is that you?" they heard a voice call out from the kitchen.
A Mr. Mime appeared out of the doorway from the kitchen, wearing a dark green coloured apron. "Mime?" it exclaimed as it looked at Ash, Misty and Pikachu.
"Hey there, Mimey!" Ash greeted Mimey, his mother's Mr. Mime, with a friendly wave of his hand.
"Mime, Mr. Mime!" Mimey exclaimed as it happily waved at the three of them.
"Who are you talking to, Mimey?" Delia asked as she appeared in the doorway. She then looked up and noticed Ash, Misty and Pikachu standing in her front door.
"Hi, Mom!" Ash greeted his mother with a wave of his hand and a grin on his face.
Delia merely looked at the children in front of her for a few moments, before…
"Oh Ash! My baby!" she exploded as she ran straight towards Ash. She then threw her arms out at him and engulfed the poor pokemon Trainer in a spine-crushing hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much!" she proclaimed as her grip around Ash only tightened.
"M-Mom…c-cant…b-breathe…" Ash struggled to exclaim under his mother's superhuman grip, starting to turn blue in the face from the lack of sufficient oxygen.
"Oh, I'm sorry, hunny." Delia apologized as she released Ash from her death-grip. "I'm just so happy to see you!" she added.
"It's…fine…Mom…" Ash assured her in between his huge gasps of air.
"Hi, Mrs. Ketchum!" Misty interrupted as she stepped forward.
"Oh, hello, Misty!" Delia said as she turned to Misty. "It's good to see you again, dear." She added as she folded her arms around the red-head, giving her a hug.
Misty looked over Delia's shoulder at Ash, who was now snickering at the red-head's situation. She glared at the pokemon Trainer before she awkwardly wrapped her arms around Delia. "It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Ketchum…" she said before pulling away from the older female.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed form the ground as he waved up at Delia.
"Pikachu!" Delia squealed as she picked the yellow mouse off of the ground and enveloped him in a tight hug, similar to Ash's predicament.
"Pi…ka…" Pikachu uncomfortably exclaimed as he tried to break Delia's grip, but to no avail.
"The three of you must be starving!" Delia said after she put Pikachu back down on the ground.
"Yeah!" Ash and Misty simultaneously exclaimed.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
"I'll get started on dinner, 'kay?" Delia declared. "The three of you can start setting the table while Mimey helps me in the kitchen." She ordered.
"But Mom!" Ash started. "I've only been home for five minutes and you're already ordering me around? Why can't Misty do it while I take a break?" he complained.
"Now Ash." Delia started. "Misty is our guest. She doesn't HAVE to help you if she doesn't want to." She said as she gave Ash a slight glare.
"No no, of course I'll help, Mrs. Ketchum!" Misty interrupted. "Come on, Ash." She said as she took his hand and started dragging him towards a cupboard in the kitchen, remembering from her last visit that the plates and cutleries were located in there. "Let's start setting the table." She added.
The rest of the evening went by pretty quickly after that. Delia made a huge feast for dinner, which included all of Ash's favourites. All the food disappeared pretty quickly though, as Ash devoured plate after plate. Misty helped Delia with the dishes and the three humans sat in the living room after that, with Ash and Misty retelling the adventures they had in their latest journey through the Johto region. It was around this time that everyone was starting to tire out.
"Well, I'm heading off to bed, you two." Delia announced as she got up from the sofa she was sitting in. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she suddenly exclaimed.
"Yeah? What is it, Mom?" Ash asked as he stared at his mother.
"Well, you see; I received a lot of stock for the Pallet House earlier today." Delia informed Ash and Misty. "And all of it is in the guest bedroom, which is completely packed full." She added. "So…since Mimey is sleeping on the couch tonight; Misty gets your bed, Ash." She declared as she looked at her son.
"Hey Wait," Ash started. "Where am I supposed to sleep then?" he asked as he glared at his mother.
"Why, you sleep on the floor in your room, silly." Delia casually informed Ash.
"WHAT?" Ash exclaimed as he stared at his mother in disbelief.
"Oh come on, hunny." Delia said. "You've slept outside in forests, so what's wrong with a couple of nights' sleep on the floor in your room?" she inquired. "It's just until the stock is transported to the restaurant, hunny." She added.
"But Mom!" Ash started whining.
"No buts, Ash." Delia interrupted Ash. "Misty's our guest, so she gets your bed." She declared.
"But why can't I get the couch, then?" Ash hopefully asked.
"Mime!" Mimey angrily exclaimed as it glared at Ash.
"Because Mimey is sleeping on the couch for the time being." Delia informed Ash.
"But why does he get it and me, your own son!" Ash said as he stood up from the couch.
"Because Mimey called dibs on the couch." Delia said as she shrugged her shoulders, seeing that as an appropriate reason.
"But Mom!" Ash started whining again.
"No buts, Ash." Delia calmly stated. "Now, good night everyone. Sleep tight!" she said as she disappeared up the stairs.
Ash and Misty looked at the stairs for quite some time, before Mimey shooed Misty off of the couch, wanting to get some sleep. The two of them, along with Pikachu, then retired to Ash's room upstairs, where the pokemon Trainer proceeded to grumpily set his sleeping bag up for the night. Soon, all the lights in the house were turned off and everything was quiet, or so was thought…
Ash grumbled as he turned onto his back. Pikachu had gotten himself a pillow to sleep on, so the pokemon Trainer was alone in his sleeping bag.
"Hey Ash…" he heard someone whisper from his left.
"Yeah, Misty?" he softly asked, knowing it could only be Misty and that he knew her voice. He looked up to his left to find Misty leaning over the side of the bed and looking down at him.
"You know," Misty softly whispered as she looked down at Ash. "If you really want to sleep in your bed, we can switch…" she softly informed Ash.
Ash stared at her for a moment, although they couldn't see each other since it was pitch black dark. He then vigilantly shook his head. "No Misty!" he whispered. "I don't mind." He added. "I would never let you sleep on the floor while I slept in a bed." He casually informed her, as if it wasn't a big deal whatsoever.
Misty, on the other hand, was staring at Ash with her mouth hanging wide open. Did Ash just offer his bed up…for her? She blinked a few times and then a huge smile started forming on her lips. "Do you mean that?" she softly asked.
"Of course I do." Ash whispered back as he frowned up at Misty's silhouette. 'Why would she ask something like that?' he asked himself mentally.
Misty smiled down at Ash. She then bit her bottom lip. "Hey Ash," she softly whispered. "Can you do something for me?" she whispered.
"Sure." Ash whispered as he kept frowning at Misty. "What is it?" he softly inquired.
Misty bit down on her bottom lip again. "Can you…lift your arm up to me?" she softly asked as her cheeks started turning pink. Boy; was she glad that it was dark right now.
Ash looked up at Misty with a genuinely confused look in his eyes. But, curious as ever; he slowly stuck his arm up towards the red-head.
Misty saw Ash's arm approaching her. She took a deep breath and slowly grabbed hold of his hand. She could feel Ash stiffen at that moment and it caused her to blush even more. She then brought his hand closer to her and softly rubbed her cheek against the top of his hand and turned her head, which caused her lips to softly rub along his fingers. "Thank you, Ash." She softly whispered before letting go of his hand. "Goodnight." She whispered before she turned to her side on the bed and closed her eyes as an invigorating scent started filling her lungs. It smelled so familiar. 'Ash…' she thought as she slowly started drifting off to sleep, unconsciously snuggling deeper into the pillow.
Ash had slowly let his arm drop back down to his side. He continued to stare up at where he could see Misty's silhouette a few moments ago, a huge smile on his face. "Goodnight, Misty." He softly said, barely audible, before he too drifted off to sleep…
Like I said; not really much happening in this chapter.
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Until next chapter.
Cheers