Chapter 7

Forgotten Memories

(Flashback, 3rd-person)

Exactly twenty-three years ago on this very day, Delia Rose, future mother of Ash Ketchum, was enjoying herself on a peaceful sea-cruise together with her newly-wed husband, Chris Satoshi. Their lively hearts continued to beat as they looked with optimism towards the bright horizon, and the shores of a familiar destination in which they intended to spend the rest of their lives together: Pallet Town. The pair had been through a lot together ever since the fateful day when they met each other at a lake between Pallet Town and Viridian City: over a period of eight years, Chris had become the champion of the regions of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, a significant feat that few in history had ever achieved. And during every single battle or hardship, his beloved partner and current wife had supported him all the way, allowing him to achieve things he never thought possible.

But their journey had not always been one filled with joy: their former traveling companion, Giovanni, upon discovering his true heritage as the heir of Team Rocket, had abandoned them to take up the position of leader after the sudden disappearance of his mother, Madame Boss – an event which's circumstances none truly know, save for Giovanni himself. The once-loyal and caring friend they knew had been replaced by a tyrannical monster, whose sole intentions were bent upon acquiring the world's most powerful Pokémon for himself, and above all, tearing Chris and Delia apart, and taking Delia as his own partner: plans, which ultimately failed in the end. As a result, after being reunited with each other once again, the two lovers married in a secret ceremony in a local chapel at Oldale Town, so as to avoid unwanted attention from Team Rocket.

Both the water and the wind were calm, as the motor boat bounded at a leisurely pace towards the direction of the shoreline, which was now just two miles away. Smiling, Chris retreated from the bow of the boat to check on his wife, who was resting peacefully on a seat in the cabin stroking the top of her abdomen, which contained their future child. Delia was now three months pregnant, and looking forward to returning to Pallet Town to tell her sister, Mia, of the wonderful news at Pallet House, their residence and restaurant business inherited from their mother.

"How are you doing, honey?" Chris asked, crouching down to look at Delia's baby bump.

"Just fine, darling," Delia responded, "It's really peaceful out here on the ocean, isn't it?"

"It sure is," Chris smiled, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her lips, "Although personally, I prefer to be on land."

"Oh, don't be like that, Chris!" Delia grinned, "You wouldn't want our child to grow up to get seasick the moment he heads out to sea with his Pokémon, do you?"

"Hmm…point taken. I guess I'll have to get better-suited to the open sea from now on."

Delia's mind then wandered off, to numerous thoughts. The life she knew prior to meeting Chris, the adventures they shared together, and most of all, the friend they were likely to never see again.

"I miss him, Chris…" she sighed.

"Gio?" Chris asked, sitting beside her and taking her hand with his.

She nodded. "I wish he could still be with us…I wish he never discovered his true heredity as the heir of Team Rocket. He was such a good friend…"

"I know. Me too, Delia. But we can't determine what Gio does and doesn't do. It was his choice and his alone, and he was ultimately responsible for the path he took in life. We can't decide such things for him," Chris said. Delia's head sank into his shoulder, and he stroked her auburn hair to comfort her. Then, getting back up, he headed back towards the door of the cabin to go out and prepare to dock at Pallet Town. "We're almost at Pallet. I'll be on the deck if you need me."

"Okay. Take care, honey. I love you," Delia smiled.

"I love you too, darling," Chris turned and spoke back before leaving. After walking back to the bow of the ship, he leaned forward onto the railing of the boat, exhaling and inhaling deeply to indulge in the fresh air. He then decided to release his Salamence, Dragonite and Alakazam from their Pokéballs, along with his long-time companion and starter Pokémon, Venusaur. Venusaur let out a great yawn and stretched about next to Chris, while Salamence and Dragonite flexed their wings in the sky. Alakazam took the opportunity to relax his mind, sitting down on a nearby bench in a meditative position.

"Saur? Venu-saur?" the Pokémon asked.

"Hm? Oh, sorry about that," Chris chuckled, "Magmortar and Tyranitar can't come out – their weight would carry us underwater! And we don't want that while Delia's pregnant, do we?"

"Saur~" Venusaur smiled in acknowledgment.

"Ok, then. Enjoy the fresh air, buddy – we're gonna be landing in about a quarter of an hour or so, depending on the current," Chris said, patting Venusaur on the side of his head before heading up the stairs and towards the controls.

"Alakazam…" the psychic Pokémon's eyes suddenly jolted, as if he'd detected a severe, imminent threat. He scrambled towards Chris in a frantic manner, as if their lives depended on it.

"What is it, Al?" Chris spoke with a tone of concern. Immediately, Alakazam's eyes glowed a fiery blue as he relayed a telepathic message to him.

"There is danger. I sense something lurking in the depths of the water. We must go to Pallet Town with all haste."

"Huh? What danger? What are you talking about?"

"There is no time. We must ride with all due speed now, or we may not survive."

"Alright. Tell Delia and the others to brace themselves," Chris said, before moving his hand towards the throttle.

Alakazam then immediately focused his mind on warning all the others simultaneously; although most Kadabra and Alakazam could, at most, telepathically contact one being at a time, his powers were far beyond the majority of his kind, and among the most powerful of psychic Pokémon.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chris moved his hand and slammed on the throttle, as the motor boat jetted forward. But soon after, the calm, blue water around the boat turned to a murky black, with numerous large and scaly figures surrounding the boat and circling it like a pack of predators. A low, scratching sound could be heard as one of the monsters slid its carapace against the side hull of the boat, before…

*CRASH*

The boat flew into the air in spectacular fashion, twisting and spiraling around madly for at least five full revolutions, before to the fortune of all on board, landing back onto the water on the same face as before. The shadowy figures then revealed themselves to be blackened Gyarados, Tentacruel and surprisingly a few Sharpedo, who proceeded to savagely thrust their bodies out of the water and lurched forward, wailing in shrill cries at Chris and his Pokémon. A Hyper Beam attack from a Gyarados was barely deflected in time by Alakazam's psychic powers, before Venusaur promptly dealt with the monster with a massive SolarBeam attack. Salamence and Dragonite began to harass the Gyarados with a series of Flamethrower and Thunderbolt attacks, allowing Venusaur and Alakazam to focus their attacks upon the Tentacruel and Sharpedo which threatened to take the boat down under.

Without a second of waiting, Chris ran down to the cabin of the boat to check on Delia once more. After arriving, he found her whimpering and sobbing on a nearby chair, not knowing what to do and fearing for all of their lives.

"Delia! Are you alright?" he cried, holding the sides of her arms firmly.

"I…I think so, Chris. What on earth is going on?" she cried.

"I don't know, but we're being attacked by some Pokémon which I've never seen before! We've gotta get out of here somehow, before it's too late! Come on!" he panicked, taking her immediately by the hand and heading back out onto the deck. But just as they were about to come by the doorway, a great impact rocked the entire ship, knocking them both onto the ground, and causing Delia to roll her ankle in the process.

"Aaah! My ankle!" she cried, clutching the location of her injury.

"Come on, honey, I'll take you out of here," Chris said, picking her up and scrambling out the door. Delia clutched onto the back of his neck desperately with her right hand, shedding tears of fear as she held her head against his neck, breathing deeply and dripping tears onto his shirt. But as Chris looked madly about to and fro, he saw no hope of escape. The ship was completely surrounded by its assailants, as his Pokémon grew weary by the minute. Dragonite and Salamence were both wounded and exhausted, barely hanging on for hope that they would all pull through and make it out. As the defenders were about to lose all hope for survival, a shining ray of radiant gold approached from the southeast, stunning the black Pokémon and providing a brief respite in the battle.

As it approached, both Chris nor Delia, or any Pokémon present could not identify it due to its sheer light. But on closer inspection, the Pokémon was plumed in feathers of gold, red, green and white. It was one which neither Chris nor Delia had ever seen before in all their years.

"Ho-oh!" it cried, holdings its wings up majestically and unleashing a blinding light which stopped the shadow Pokémon dead in their tracks. Taking the opportunity to allow his beloved wife to escape intact with their unborn child, Chris stumbled towards the great bird Pokémon, speaking hoarsely and desperately.

"Please…you have to help us…have to help Delia…she has been with child for the last three months…please take her away from here…please let her live…"

The winged figure looked sympathetically at the two humans who huddled before it, before turning around and offering its back to them. Delia, however, refused to leave her husband, clutching onto him more tightly than before.

"Chris, darling, you can't mean it to happen like this! I can't leave you, and I can't even begin to imagine living a life without you! I love you!" she sobbed.

"I understand, Delia," Chris spoke through gritted teeth, "But you have to leave now! If you don't, you'll most definitely die, and our baby will, as well! I promise I'll come back for you again, I swear. I swear to you that I won't die here. We'll be together again. Until then, I need you to raise our child. Will you promise?"

After a few seconds of emotional silence, Delia nodded tearfully. "I…I promise, Chris…"

"Ash…" Chris muttered following a moment of thought.

"What?" Delia asked.

"That child's name," Chris said, looking down at Delia's growing womb, "That's child's name is Ash."

"I…I understand," Delia responded, almost lost for words.

Then, realizing that this would possibly prove to be their final goodbye, Chris and Delia leaned towards each other, embracing one another in a passionate kiss and embrace. Their tears, upon falling, joined together before falling onto the floor of the ship which began to splinter from the violent impact it was experiencing.

"Now go!" Chris cried, picking Delia up and placing her on Ho-oh's back. The winged beast then soared into the air with a powerful thrust of its wings, stunning the numerous Gyarados and Tentacruel which preyed upon the young woman who was now holding onto its body tightly. One of the Gyarados, seeing the opportunity to attack Ho-oh after its blinding light had left the area, prepared to fire a black Hyper Beam at it, before being thwarted and hurled violently against the body of another Gyarados by Alakazam's psychic attack.

"…this is it," Chris sighed, before reaching towards his belt to call out his Tyranitar and Magmortar. The two gargantuan Pokémon let their presence be known to their aggressors with a savage roar, before mercilessly unleashing a Hyper Beam and Fire Blast against them, knocking back two Gyarados several yards away. Chris's Pokémon then renewed their attack, fighting a last, desperate struggle aboard the ship which was now ever so slowly sinking and on the verge of carrying all of its members down into a watery grave.

After a few more seconds of retaliation, the attacks of the shadow Pokémon halted altogether, as a new tremor rocked the boat from beneath the water. And this time, resistance would prove futile.

The water directly beneath the Gyarados, Tentacruel and Sharpedo started to bubble violently, before bursting up from under them, revealing new, and even more powerful Gyarados of a behemoth size, dwarfing the previous Gyarados and making them seem like more like a Rattata against a Gyarados or Steelix. The gigantic Gyarados, clearly frustrated by their underlings' incompetence, let out a savage roar before gripping them with merciless fangs and hurling them away, leaving them to sink down into the ocean floor. Chris, and all of his Pokémon fell silent, as they prepared for what would truly be their end. As their surroundings turned into a blinding white light from the charging of the Gyarados' final Hyper Beam, Chris closed his eyes, shedding a last tear, speaking in a hushed whisper.

Meanwhile, Delia was still coming to grips with the prospect of a life without Chris, the one she had loved ever since they first met, more than eight years ago. The thought of being a single mother seemed unbearable, and was made only worse by the fact that she would be forced to raise her child as a single mother at the age of just over nineteen, once her baby was born. Then, her heart sank as she looked back tearfully in disbelief, after hearing a loud explosion. The ship was now sinking into the bottom of the ocean, with neither Chris or his Pokémon in sight. Delia finally burst into tears, as Ho-oh, looked empathetically at her from the corner of its eye, before swooping down onto the shore of Pallet Town's beach and allowing her to make her way towards the nearest building: Professor Oak's Laboratory. And for a minute, Delia could have sworn she heard her departed husband's soothing words in the wind, as she looked back to see that both the ship and the smoke were now gone.

"Goodbye, Delia…I'll love you forever…"

(End Flashback)

(Ash's POV)

As I finished my story, Misty looked visibly stirred and shaken, holding and caressing my hand as if to comfort me. A teardrop fell from my eyelid and rolled down my face, before being wiped away by Misty's gentle hand.

"Honey…are you alright?" she said softly, holding my right cheek.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mist," I replied, "It's just that I never told anyone till now, and it feels a bit sad doing so."

"But what happened afterwards, Ash? If your dad's surname was Satoshi, and your mom's surname was Rose, then how did the two of you come to have the surname you have now?" she asked.

"Hmm…about that," I started again, "My mom told me that after she arrived back in Pallet Town, she was tended to by her sister and Professor Oak. She changed her name, in the hope that it would allow us to live free of Team Rocket's influence, and that they won't be able to find us again."

"I didn't know that your mom had a sister…whatever happened to her?"

I sunk my head, taking comfort by resting it against hers, before telling her what happened in the shortest and simplest way possible. "…car accident…"

Misty's eyes then welled up with tears, before she held my head gently with her hands and laid her cheek against mine. "I never imagined your family had gone through such terrible times…and to think that I was the unlucky one…"

"What happened with your parents, Misty?" I asked. "Or…do you wanna leave it until some other time, like you said before? I don't wanna put pressure on you or anything – it's completely up to you."

She gave a small smile, as if to lighten the mood of what was a sullen exchange of memories. "Nah. I'll talk about it now. It's only fair."

"Okay. Go on, then."

"My parents...the two of them met at Cerulean Cape," Mist replied, before breaking a small grin, "It's kind of funny, actually…they actually met, got engaged, and then finally got married there – it's one of the main reasons behind my dreams of meeting my one true love there, one day."

"Too bad you fished him out of a lake, one day," I chuckled, "How strong were you anyway, to pull out a guy your size out of the water?"

"Stronger than you back then, obviously, honey," she smiled, pulling my cheek softly. "But anyway, back to my parents…their names were Jason Waterflower and Belle Anderson. Dad was a member of an elite branch of police agents in the Kanto region, while my mom was the leader of the Cerulean Gym, passed down to her by our grandparents. By chance, they met in Cerulean Cape while dad was on a long-term service leave. After that day, my dad decided to transfer over to a branch in Cerulean. After a few years, they finally got married, and mom soon gave birth to Daisy, Violet, Lily, and finally, me. Dad was usually out until late at night with his work, because it was so important to him. He wasn't one of those workaholics who hardly came home, though – he loved us all dearly, but his job as a secret agent was a really demanding one. And when he was home, we would cherish every minute of it – especially me, because I was the one who was most dependent on our parents out of the four of us sisters."

Misty then stopped to give herself a brief pause, before continuing on.

"And one day when I was around five, barely an hour after getting home from work, he suddenly said that he had to go back, but he wouldn't say why. An hour after that, we had a visitor at our door: it was an Officer Jenny, but she held her hat glumly with both her hands, looking at us with sullen eyes as she spoke. The moment she said the words, 'I have terrible news', mom practically broke down in tears on the floor, and just wouldn't stop crying. The Officer Jenny knelt down and hugged her to comfort her, but nothing would simply do. So she came over to me and my sisters, handing Daisy a letter she held in her hand, before kneeling down and speaking to me. I can still remember exactly what she said…she said, 'your dad won't be coming back'. Although I was just five years old, I was smart enough to know exactly what she was going on about, and I started to cry as well. Our grandparents then came out of their bedroom, and upon seeing Jenny, they too started crying, realizing that dad was not returning. After Jenny left, we all read the letter she gave us. It said that dad died during a mission in which the secret agents had discovered a location in which Giovanni happened to be hiding at, and then tried to capture him by storming the hideout. After breaking through and finally coming across Giovanni, dad was killed by a bullet fired by a Rocket Grunt who was hiding in the shadows, out of sight in his black uniform. Dad was the first one to run into the room, and a couple of other agents followed behind him. But they were only able to see what happened to him from behind the glass door, as it was too late. The funeral and all was very difficult to bear, but…the worst was yet to come…"

As she finished speaking, I became afraid to ask more, but something within me made me do what I wished I had not.

"…what came next, Mist?" I asked against my own will.

"They…attacked the gym, the night after the funeral was held. Team Rocket secret agents stormed the gym. I still remember everything…it all happened so fast…my mom and I were up the instant we heard a loud banging on the door. Daisy, Violet and Lily then came running to our room, panicking. My mom then rushed downstairs with all of us, and got us to hide in the underground basement. We then realized that our grandparents were still in their room, so mom hugged us all tightly before rushing back up. Right then, we all knew that she would not be coming back. Shortly afterwards, we heard loud yells of anger and the cries of mom and our grandparents from upstairs. We could hear them being dragged down the stairs and thrown directly on top of the floor which we were huddling under. Although we couldn't see anything that was going on, we could hear that mom was struggling against many Rocket grunts and agents. Then, everything went silent after a long, silver blade pierced through the floor, stopping only mere inches away from my face. But the crimson liquid which dripped from it and onto my cheeks only confirmed that my darkest nightmare had come true: we were now completely alone. After mom and our grandparents' funeral, Daisy, Violet and Lily all got part-time jobs in order to make ends meet and pay bills. I remember I used to cry myself to sleep every night, and my nightmares of both my parents' and grandparents' death would continue for a year. Life was all so excruciatingly difficult until…I met you."

I was now lost for words. I could do nothing but hold Misty in a warm embrace, as she started to cry again.

"Come on, Mist. We should stop talking about these things now. Let's go to bed," I said, fondling her hair and looking into her deep cerulean eyes.

"Okay, Ash. That sounds like a good idea," she replied, getting off of me and walking towards the fence of the veranda as I walked over to Brock to wake him.

"Hey Brock, we're going to bed now. You coming?" I said softly, shaking him gently from his sleep.

"Hm? Oh! Yeah…I'll be right in, in a sec," he answered, stretching his arms and yawning as Croagunk did the same.

"The full moon…the ocean…so beautiful…" Misty whispered.

"You okay, Mist?" I asked, walking over to her slowly. She turned slightly and gave a weak smile, which scared me a little due to the lack of energy she seemed to have.

"I'm fine, Ash…I'll be with you…right…now…" she said, walking over to me very slowly. But then, she suddenly collapsed, her hands dropping in front of her and onto the floor as she fell.

"Mist! Misty!" I yelled, running towards her and taking her in my arms. "What's going on?"

Misty suddenly seemed to be very short of breath, as her head lay unconscious on my knee. "Brock, get the phone, quick! We gotta call a hospital!"

As Brock rushed into the house to get the cordless phone, I shook Misty again and again, performing CPR as best as I could. Then, to my relief, she opened her eyes again weakly, looking at me with a frail stare.

"Ash…I…feel so weak…" she sighed.

"Just stay with me, Mist. It's gonna be all right," I tried to reassure her, as Brock came running with the phone, with the Seafoam Islands Emergency Services on the line.

(Hours later)

Brock and I sat on a bench outside the emergency room, fretting and shaking nervously as we awaited any news of Misty's condition. The clock in the corridor ticked incessantly, making me all the more stressed. I recalled the last time I was waiting outside in the ward hallways of a hospital – it was right after my battle with Lance, when Pikachu was gravely injured against his Dragonite, but managed to pull through by the next day. But the fact that it was Misty – the love of my life since my childhood – who was in the emergency room made me all the more saddened and tormented.

"Don't fret too much, Ash! I'm sure she'll turn out just fine!" Brock tried to calm me, but to no avail. I didn't speak. I didn't move. I didn't do as much as move a muscle, until I finally heard the doors swing open and a doctor walk out of the emergency room.

Immediately, I rushed over to him, grabbing him by his arms and wailing for sheer life. "IS she alright, doctor? What happened? Is she going to be fine?"

The doctor, initially shocked and stunned by my actions, soon found the composure to reply. "Relax, Mr. Ketchum. Your wife is in good condition. We're conducting standard health checks on her right now, as we speak. She'll be fine."

I let out a sigh of relief, before releasing my grip on him. "…thank you, doctor…"

"But," he started again, causing fear to grip my heart the moment he spoke the word, before he continued. "I must say…congratulations!"

"Huh?" I said, my eyes widening and my pupils dilating from the shock. "I don't understand..."

"...she is pregnant."

(3rd-person POV)

(Julius' Chambers)

A tattered, bloodied man was brought to his knees by Julius' servants before their master, who looked with gleeful eyes at the pile of rags which lay in front of him. The man's hair was scrawled and messy, his skin punctured and cut in various places all over his body, and his very being looked as if it were about to collapse with sheer fatigue and exhaustion. But yet, there remained a light in his eyes that could not be conquered by any darkness or corrupt power, as he looked at his captor and oppressor with a strength which remained ever since the day of his capture.

"You look tired, my friend. Exhausted. Surely, you must be sick of all this…torture…the pain…how long has it been? Twenty years? More than that, I'll wager. Everything can be ended, if you would only say one, simple line…will you yield and swear to serve me?" Julius said.

The man gave no answer, instead spitting on the ground in front of him. Sighing, Julius unleashed another surge of dark energy from his fingertips, causing an implosion within the man's body, and another rush of blood to exit his body through the cuts on his chest and arms.

"I will…never…serve…you…" he coughed in defiance.

"See here," Julius spoke again, holding out a crystal sphere from under his cloak. Within it was a vision of Ash, who currently had an expression of shock on his face, a short while after being told of Misty's pregnancy. "Here is the Chosen One. Do you see and recognize him?" The man still gave no reply, so Julius telepathically forced his head to perform two nods, causing the man grievous pain in the process. "Yes, you see, indeed…you must also be aware that he, and he only, holds the key to your salvation. But then again, it is inevitable that he will soon fail, for his powers of Aura are no match when pitted against the power of my master. Despite his status as Arceus' 'Chosen One' of prophecy, even he will never be able to find you, let alone save you. You will never see the light of day again…or the ones you love…you must realize this by now, don't you? The world as you know it shall be undone, and replaced by a new era of darkness that my master will soon unleash upon it. And then, all that 'hope' you have been falsely blabbering on about for these last few years will be utterly made bare against the blackening sun, revealing it to be nothing more than a faded dream. That, my friend…will be your destiny and end."

The man then raised his head to face Julius with a new-found confidence and faith. His eyes were filled with not fear, but courage and belief, as he spoke bravely to the one who held the power over both his life and death.

"I don't 'think' he will find me someday…I know he will…and when that day comes, you, and all the evil and suffering that you and your master have wrought upon the world will be undone. This, I know to be certain."

"Amusing…" Julius scoffed, crossing his arms, "And what makes you so certain of that?"

"Because…he is my son…"

(End of chapter 7)

A/N: That's Chapter 7 done. I've basically written it all in one day, after spending a week not being able to touch it due to various reasons. Chapter 8 will most likely be up by next week. I've decided to pack in all of the sections which were originally gonna be kept separately as chapters 7-9, but decided to put them all into this one chapter, as they would've been too short individually.

I ended up adding quite a lot of detail about Chris, Delia and Giovanni's relationship, so hopefully that won't cause a great deal of spoilers for my eventual story based on those three. But I also think that in a way, it makes it more interesting, because it allows me to concentrate more on adding numerous twists to the plotline of that story, and on character development.

I'll probably be able to upload one, maybe two chapters per week if I put my back into it from now on. But since I've got to basically attend rehearsals for this final Speech Night music concert held on November 29, on every weekday leading up to that event, and I also got a PS3 with FIFA and Call of Duty: Black Ops the other day, chances are that I'll be able to upload just one chapter per week for now.

Again please leave your reviews! :)