Poke-genetics: unexpected meeting
«Guys, cheer up a little! He said he had to examine the notes, not that it was impossible. »
Pikachu was still trying to cheer them up. They had been like that for an hour now. Deciding it was more than enough whimpering, he yelled:
«CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! »
The lightning bolt hit them instantly.
«Seriously, enough is enough, guy! » Pikachu declared to his charred friends. «He didn't say it was possible or impossible. He said he needed time, so you're going to give him and you won't spend it mopping! Both of you should have gotten over it fifty minutes ago. »
They both looked at him with moderate feelings. Reluctantly, they chose to try to be at least a little less depressed, but it wasn't that easy. Still, after a few more encouraging talks from Pikachu, they looked at life a little bit more cheerfully.
«Alright guys, what do you want to do? » questioned Genno.
They didn't have the chance to answer. A feminine voice interrupted them.
«Ash! What are you doing here? »
Ash and Pikachu looked apprehendly at the girl that had just shouted at them: Misty. Genno was confused and didn't know what to say.
«Oh, huh… hi… I'm just hanging around with «Who is she?».»
Ash stared at his friend. What did he just say? Did he ask her who she was mid-sentence? She would totally kill him now or at least use her mallet with a lot of power.
«Oh, that's nice. Brock is also here with me. »
Genno kept glancing at Ash and Pikachu with a look that was saying «Hurry up!».
«Oh… cool. »
Pikachu suddenly understood.
«He spoke like a pikachu! We understood him, but Misty must have just heard Pikachu! »
«Hey, what is it, Pikachu? You look nervous. » pointed out the water pokemon specialist.
«Nope, not nervous at all.» he forced himself to say with a smile.
«Genno, she's Misty, a good friend and the leader of the Cerulean Gym. I traveled with her for a while. She uses water pokemon and be careful not to make her mad. Also, never ever mention her bike! »
Genno just couldn't stop himself in time.
«Bike? »
The hit was powerful enough to make him dizzy.
«You still didn't do anything about it, Ash Ketchum, so don't you dare mention my bike! »
«Told you. » sighted Ash.
It was then that she noticed Ash.
«Hey, since when do you have two pikachus? »
Still under the effect of the hit, he couldn't think clearly.
«… I caught him a month ago… he's Pikachu's oldest friend. »
That last part was absolutely true.
«Brock didn't tell me that. He should have. He was with you a month ago. »
Ash couldn't smack Genno's head, it would have given it away, but the temptation was great. Genno himself felt like smashing his head on a wall, but it would also confirm Misty's suspicion.
«Misty, wait for me! Geez, what has gotten into you? »
Brock finally caught up with her.
«Hi, Ash. How was your vacation in Pallet town? »
« It was nice. »
Ash didn't lose time.
«He's the leader of the Gym of Pewter city. He's the cook I mentioned the other day and he's in love with every young woman he meets. »
Both Brock and Misty looked at the talkative pikachu.
«Brock. » she said as she looked at him in the eyes. « Is it true that Ash caught that second pikachu a month ago? »
Just as Brock was about to answer, Genno silently moved his lips. «If you say «Yes», I'll give you this! ».
Ash was so going to kill him later for that, but he had no choice. Genno took out a picture of Ash in Nurse Joy's arm, looking in despair at a mass of baby pokemon.
Brock eyes became hearts as soon as he saw Nurse Joy and Ash's shooted lightning.
«OF COURSE! » he yelled. «I WAS WITH HIM WHEN IT HAPPENED! »
His loud voice startled Misty.
«Okay, no need to yell like that. I was just wondering. »
She looked down at the furious pikachu. Something was bugging her.
«He looks… just like you when you changed into a pikachu! »
Genno laughed in a very unconvincing manner.
«Haha… yeah, I thought it was funny so I bought him the same hat. »
«I swear, if you weren't in front of me right now, I'd take this Pikachu with me and I' be off to find Lily, the pokewitch. »
Ash, Pikachu and Genno exchanged a look that meant a lot. Not noticing the silent exchange, Misty took a look at the collar Ash was wearing.
«Ashchu… you named him after yourself? » she said incredulously.
«I combined my name and «pikachu» for it. I thought it was funny… and he liked it. » tried telling Genno as he scratched his head.
«Liar! » yelled Ash.
«Well, as long as he doesn't mind… I suppose it's alright. »
«What are you two doing here? »
«I wanted to do a little bit of shopping here and Brock wanted to pay a visit to this town's Nurse Joy. »
Somehow, they had no trouble believing that last part.
«Hey, that's not the only reason I came here. »
«Well, what is it? » she asked maliciously.
«I… also wanted to see the Officer Jenny. »
They sweat dropped in unison.
«Okay… » Genno said. «Should we hang out? »
«Ash, since when is there a need to ask? Of course! » Misty replied.
They spent the day shopping with Misty, who was mysteriously enthusiastic about shopping with a bunch of boys.
«I needed to go to this place. Come on, guys. » she said.
Genno looked at the name of the shop: Girls comfort.
«But… it's a store for women's clothing. »
«Oh, don't be such a kid, Ash. » she sighted as she grabbed his arm.
Pikachu and Ash laughed a lot when she forced Genno and Brock (she did not have to insist hard to convince him) to follow her inside the shop. Genno was blushing furiously while Brock had more of a lecherous look in his eyes. There were a lot of beautiful ladies in the shop.
While Brock was being rejected, Misty had chosen a set of clothes and tried it on.
The result was… sexy.
«Wow…» muttered Genno and Ash simultaneously.
Her clothes were making a full use of her… assets. Underlining her delicate and graceful figure, her new shorts and shirts were just the «right» size.
Looking at their astonished face, she chuckled lightly.
«I guess those are perfect for me then. »
Both trainer and pokemon nodded slowly.
«Okay, we've got a five minutes hole on our schedule, let's grab something to eat. » Misty declared.
«Only… five minutes? » asked Brock, panting.
«I still have a lot of places I want to visit. »
All the boys fell to the ground. Pikachu and Ash were the most tired and they shouted an indignant «PIKA!». They were literally running from one place to the other and they were a lot smaller than their human friends.
«We've been running non-stop since that clothe store, can't we take a longer break? » pleaded Genno.
«Seriously, you've got no stamina… but it's alright. We'll take a break. »
They sighted in relief. Brock even whispered a grateful «Thank Mew ».
They all sit to the nearest table on almost fell on their seats. They welcomed the relaxing feeling.
«So, Ash, how was the Sinnoh League? » Misty asked nicely.
«Oh, huh… let's just say that… I don't really want to talk about it. » Genno excused himself and looked to the ground.
«…okay, I was just making conversation. »
She felt a little sad inside knowing that Ash wasn't comfortable with speaking of his losses with her.
The last place they went was the arcade, at Ash's request. It had been a long time since he got to play some good games, so Genno made the request on his behalf.
As soon as they got in, Ash jumped on the fighting games. He had always been a good player at that. Pikachu followed him out of curiosity and Genno did the same because Ash was so enthusiastic that he forgot an important detail.
Ash was in front of the screen about to press the start button.
«Forgetting something? » his friend inquired.
He turned and saw Genno handing him a couple of coins. Ash hid his embarrassment behind a grateful smile. «Hey, Genno, wanna play with me? »
«I'm not good at fighting games. »
«I won't try my hardest. »
«Alright, but just a few games. »
The game began and to their mutual surprise, Genno was winning.
Ash swore as he realized his problem: his arms were too short to reach all the buttons.
«Unfair! » Ash said as his character bit the dust.
Ash felt like sulking, but he got an idea before that.
«Pikachu, press the buttons on the left as I command. »
«Okay. » Pikachu agreed.
It was much better, even if Pikachu was a klutz when it came to video games.
On their third game, both teams were evenly matched.
After an impressive combo pulled off by the pokemon team, Ash finally got his well-earned victory.
«Is fighting the only thing you're interested in, guys? » Misty asked from behind them.
«What do you have in mind? » Genno asked.
«This. » she said as she pointed the DDR games.
«I'm warning you all, I'm horrible at this game. »
«Yeah, yeah, everybody says that, Ash. » Brock responded.
Genno and Misty were the ones on the stage. The level was set on «normal», despite his protest, saying he was not even good enough for «easy».
Misty had an amused smile.
«Just follow my lead, okay? » she said gently.
«O…kay… » he answered, reluctantly.
Genno swallowed loudly. Why did he listen to Ash? Oh, that's right. Because he gave him the puppy eyes.
The game showed a countdown. Three… two… one… DANCE!
As it turned out, Genno was a horrible dancer, but he was decent when it came to imitating. As a matter of fact, in the space of thirty seconds, their movements were synchronized.
The music went on, the dancers looked at each other in the eyes, they were sharing this moment together.
Offstage, Ash felt a curious pain in his chest.
When the music was finished, Genno jumped in joy.
«I dit it! That's my best score ever! »
Misty hugged him in excitement.
«That's great. I knew you could do it, Ash. »
They laughed together. This was definitely a great evening…
…Until he saw Ash.
He felt a knife stab him in the guts. «What am I doing? » he thought.
«Ready for another game, dancing champ? »
«Huh… actually, dance with Brock… I need to… use the bathroom. »
Genno felt sick. Alone in the bathroom, he was splashing water on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror.
«What are you doing, huh Genno? Do you actually enjoy it, pretending to be someone else? Is it fun for you to steal someone's identity and use it in front of them? »
He remembered the smile on Misty's face.
«She was not looking at you! She was not even speaking to you! She thought you were Ash! She's not your friend, she's his! »
He was nauseous. This was so twisted. He was playing along, like it was the most natural thing in the world. This was not his body, not his friends, not his life. He was not Ash Ketchum, he was Genno Avery. What right did he have to take it away from his friend under his eyes?
He took his head between his hands and repeated:
«I was not stealing what's his, I was not stealing what's his, I was not stealing what's his… »
The hotel room was a bit small. There was barely enough place for them all, but it was still much more comfortable than the sleeping bags they had used during their first travel.
It was the middle of the night. Humans and pokemon alike were asleep, except for one. Misty was troubled. Today had been her nicest day in a long time. It was so nice to see Ash again.
As silently as possible, she got out of her bed and went on the balcony. The room was on the third floor. She let the light breeze of the night caress her skin. The lights of the city were a witness to her melancholy. She whispered to the quiet darkness.
«I'm so silly. One of the first things I did to Ash after months without seeing each other was to hit him for a stupid bike. I'm so stupid. »
That last part had been said louder than the rest and a certain someone woke up.
«Huh… the look on his face was so cute when I tried my new clothes. » she remembered smiling.
«Though I didn't think he'd have that big of an interest in genetics. »
Genno couldn't help himself when he saw a book about poke-genetics in the library. He had to be quickly smacked by Ash to realize that Brock and Misty were looking at him with puzzled looks.
The door of the balcony slid open.
«Misty? » inquired a sheepish voice.
«Oh, hi Ashchu. I guess I'm not the only one having trouble falling asleep. »
«Actually, I heard you talking… is everything okay? »
«Chhhh… don't speak so loudly, you might wake up the others. »
«You already did that to me. » he replied.
To make sure the pokemon wouldn't speak again, she bowed down and picked him up. Ash struggled to get free, but her grasp was firm enough. Feeling hot in the cold of the night, Ash was very uncomfortable. «I'm in her arm! She picked me in her arms… and she's keeping me tightly around her CHEST! » Ash's brain was on the verge of becoming an incoherent blump of flesh.
Oblivious to the pikachu's mental thoughts, Misty just continued her whispered confession.
«You have a great trainer, you know? I met him on his first day as a trainer and let me tell you, he was a lot dumber than today. »
«Thanks…»
«But don't let that fool you; he's the most loyal trainer and friend I've ever had. »
Ash became completely silent. He was touched. She paused for a moment, and then continued in a voice so full of sadness that Ash felt his heart tighten.
«We went through so much together, yet I didn't realize until he was away. I didn't realize until it became painful to be away from him. »
Ash saw that she was trying not to cry.
«Misty. I'm here. It's me. I'm Ash. » he begged her to understand.
«Ash… » she whispered, tears falling to the ground. «I'm sorry. I'm not even strong enough to tell you… that I… »
«Misty! I'm here! Please, realize it's me! »
«…that I love you. »
Ash felt his own tears fall to the ground. Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY?
Why did he have to be stuck in the body of a pokemon? Why was the girl he loved confessing to a pikachu while he had been next to her for so long ? Why did he have to be the pikachu she confided to? Why couldn't he console her? Why did this have to happen when he couldn't answer her? HE LOVED HER… and she didn't even know it was him.
Both lovers cried in each other's arms, crying for the same reason: being unable to confess their love to the one their heart had chosen.
Ash felt a new emotion rise inside of him. He was being overwhelmed by hatred. Whoever turned him into a pokemon would pay dearly. He promised.