HELLO EVERYBODY! SuperGenX here, with another chapter of Pokémon: Hopes & Dreams!
And yes, I changed the name a day after I submitted the first chapter. For those wondering what it was first, it was called Pokémon: Heart & Soul. But alas, the title was used way too often on the website so I had to change it to make it easier to find. I still think Hopes & Dreams is pretty cool though. =D
Anyway, this is the second chapter in the Birthday Arc, and I'm not going to lie… this arc is mainly going to be like a Slice of Life story. But- wait a second, sit down! I'm not done explaining! *Achem* thank you. Anyway, the later arcs will be more about the action and adventures that Ash and his friends go on leading all the way up to the Championship Arc.
So yes, this story is quite ambitious! But I'll be damned if I let my fans down, so I'll finish this story no matter how long it takes! (Hopefully!) Enjoy kiddies!
-Arc 1-
Chapter 2: The Mysterious Duo
"Hey Ash, how about this one?" Brock lifted up a black and purple jacket with the symbol of a master ball on the back and showed it to Ash. Ash scrunched his face.
"Um… I think that's for a girl Brock." Jay snickered as he pointed out the tag that clearly said "female size" next to the price.
"Jeez, even when we're shopping for Ash you still can't get women out of your head!" Misty barked, raising a fist to Brock. Brock smiled sheepishly and slowly put the jacket back on the rack. Ash smirked at Misty and Brock's antics as he looked through a coat rack.
Some things never change. Ash thought to himself as he looked at a bright red, long-sleeved, hooded cloak. Emblazoned in black on the back of the cloak was a Flamel and he could help but think that he'd seen it somewhere before.
"Ash, you're not actually thinking about getting THAT are you?" Misty asked as she examined the cloak.
Ash smirked at Misty and put the cloak back on the rack. "Well… it does kind of get my blood going, but I don't think it's my style." Misty smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, it looks like it would be a little short on you anyway." Misty joked, observing how the tail of the cloak only went down to his upper legs.
Speaking of which, Misty couldn't believe how tall Ash had gotten in the past four years. The last time she saw him, he was actually a little shorter than she was. Now he towered over her by about half a foot or more, and he certainly wasn't sitting around every day eating bonbons. While not ripped, Ash was defiantly in very good shape. He had grown into quite the man, and Misty couldn't help but observe how much Ash was starting to look like his father.
Unkempt hair, tall stature, brown eyes, and an amusing personality, Ash was turning into the spitting image of Jay. The only difference being that Jay was built like a Toros, and he looked GOOD. Misty figured that, if Ash kept growing like he was, he would be quite the catch. Actually… he's quite the catch now. She thought to herself. Misty's face flushed immediately as her mind filled with inappropriate thoughts and images of an older Ash.
While she looked away from Ash to hide her flushed face, Misty saw a nice white and blue jacket on the rack in front of her. Taking it off the rack to get a closer look at it, she observed that from the upper chest and up was blue, while the bottom half was white with blue lined pockets. Holding the jacket together at the front was a light yellow zipper that zipped from the bottom all the way to the neck.
"Watcha got there Misty?" Ash asked, causing Misty to jump a little in surprise.
"Oh, you like it?" She asked, holding it up to Ash. "I think it's really nice."
Ash took the jacket from Misty and inspected it closely. While it was made out of a silky material, something about the way it was woven together allowed it to breathe easily. The more Ash looked at it, the more he liked it.
"This is perfect." Ash eventually said, causing a smile to grow across Misty's face. "I love it!" Ash knelt down and showed the jacket to Pikachu. "What do you think Pikachu?"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed happily.
"You find something you like?" Delia walked up to Ash and Misty with Brock and Jay right behind her. Ash took off his dirty black jacket and put on the new one, causing everyone around him to smile as he looked at himself in a mirror on the wall.
"Oh wow, that's a nice jacket." Jay said.
"I know right?" Ash replied, looking to Misty. "Misty found it for me."
"Good job there Misty." Delia smiled approvingly at her. "I'm glad you found something fashionable for him."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow at Delia.
Delia took Ash's worn and torn black jacket from him. "I mean: I can't believe that you actually wore this travesty for a good few months!" Delia said, holding the jacket under her arm.
"Oh come on, that jacket was actually pretty cool!" Ash said, frowning at the black jacket. Sure, that jacket might not have been anything to look at, but it kept him warm and safe for the few months in the mountains.
"No Ash, that thing made you look like a hobo." Misty said sternly, crossing her arms.
Ash narrowed his eyes at Misty. "Well gee, thanks." He said sarcastically.
"Hey, at least now you've got a cool jacket!" Brock said fist bumping Ash's shoulder.
"Right, so how much is that jacket anyway?" Jay asked, grabbing the price tag on the jacket to get a look. "Oh wow, that's um…. That's a lot." Jay said, shuddering. "Maybe we should find another one?"
"Ah, don't worry about it Dad." Ash said confidently, starting for the cash register. "I've got this one."
"Hey whoa, buddy. Hold on." Jay followed Ash to the front counter with Misty, Brock, and Delia not too far behind. "That jacket is pretty expensive. Have you even looked at the price?"
"Of course I have." Ash replied, reaching the register. The girl standing behind the counter was looking at something on her phone before she realized that Ash was standing there.
"Oh, hello!" The girl smiled. "Did you find everything alright?"
"Yup, thank you." Ash replied happily. "I'm just getting this jacket here." Ash took the jacket off and set it down on the counter with the price tag facing the girl.
"Alright, will this be all?" She asked, scanning the price tag.
"Yeah, that's all." Ash reached into his back pocket, took out his wallet, and took a Competition Issued PokéCard. Misty, Brock, Delia, and Jay all looked at the card in surprise as the girl at the counter took it from Ash.
"Ash, when did you get that PokéCard?" Delia asked, still in awe.
"Oh this?" Ash said as the girl at the counter swiped the card. "I entered a bunch of these smaller competitions a few months back, and I won a couple so they issued me a card so that they could just transfer me the reward money."
"How many did you win?" Brock asked, curious. "You must have won quite a few for them to issue a card to you."
"Oh... I don't know." Ash said, putting the card back in his wallet. "Maybe… a little over twenty?"
There was a collective gasp from everyone around Ash, and that included the girl behind the counter. Ash looked around at the shocked group sheepishly, and Brock was the first to regain his composure. "Ash… that's… that's what you've been doing this whole time?!" Brock asked frantically.
"Well… no." Ash said nervously. "That was just… in the past few months."
"You've won that many small competitions in just the span of a few months?" Jay was amazed at this fact. How had he not heard anything about this until now?
"Yeah, but they were just small competitions, no big deal." Ash brushed it off, walking out of the store. The group followed him out as they started making their way to Professor Oak's lab. "I just needed some money and… you know… that was the best way I could think of."
Jay laughed and patted Ash on the back. "With a record like that, how come you haven't tried to enter another Pokémon League?" He asked, smiling.
"Well…" Ash said hesitantly. "That's a little harder to explain." Ash looked at the ground with a fallen face and kicked a pebble as he passed it.
"Is it because of the Hoenn League?" Delia asked, knowing how hard that loss had hit Ash.
"No…." Ash hesitated, thinking. "Well… maybe. I don't know, I guess that's part of it." Pikachu rubbed his face against his masters, which managed to conjure a smile from Ash as he pet him. "It's just… every single competition I've entered in I've lost. Kanto… Johto… Hoenn… I've lost every single one."
So that's what going on. Brock thought. Of course, it all made perfect sense why Ash hadn't entered into any Leagues recently. "So you're discouraged, is that it?" Brock asked.
Ash managed a small chuckle. "I guess so."
Pikachu's face fell as he let out a small "Pikaaa."
Ash smiled at Pikachu and pet him. "Aw, Pikachu. It's not your fault. You did everything I've asked of you, which means I'm to blame. Got it?" Pikachu purred softly as Ash scratched under his chin.
So this is Pallet Town, huh? He wondered as he reached the top of the hill and looked over the quaint little town. Pretty nice place. The gentle breeze from Pallet Town blew through his spikey silver hair, and he couldn't help but take in a deep breath of the crisp and clean air. That smells nice. He thought.
While looking around the town, he glanced over and saw Professor Oak's lab sitting on top of its hill. The windmill spun around slowly and calmly, creating an almost soothing image when put together with the rest of the town.
There it is. He thought to himself. Professor Oak's lab. I can't believe we actually made it.
"Hey! Can you wait up?!" He turned around as a girl with long blue hair, white cap and shirt, and blue skirt made her way up the hill to reach him. "Jeez, you just left me in the dust back there!"
He chuckled as he waited for her at the top of the hill. "Sorry, I guess I got excited."
She huffed angrily as she reached the top of the hill and was about to slug him right before she saw the beautiful view of Pallet Town. "Oh wow! This is so pretty!"
"See?" He smiled. "What did I tell you? The pictures in the papers don't do this place justice, do they?"
"So we finally made it, huh?" She asked, taking in a deep breath. "That took… a lot longer than I thought."
"Oh don't worry, this will be well worth the journey here." He smiled, and pumped his fist in the air.
"So this Professor Oak guy… you really think he can help us?" She asked, hopeful.
"Professor Oak is the foremost expert on Pokémon everywhere." He started. "He's got to know something about it."
She let out a big sigh and sat down on the hill. "I hope so." She said. "Otherwise this trip will be pointless."
"Yeah, you're probably right about that." He laughed.
She glared up at him with a look that could melt steel. "Well for your sake Grey, I hope he can help."
Grey smirked and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Dawn, don't be so dramatic. Now let's go."
Dawn groaned as she laid down in the grass. "Oh come on! Can't we just rest for a bit?"
Grey shook his head. "We can rest once we get to the Professor's Lab." He held out his hand at Dawn. "Now come on, grab my hand."
Dawn huffed, but took Grey's hand regardless. In one motion, Grey pulled Dawn right up off the ground and back on her feet. Dawn couldn't help but laugh at Grey's enthusiasm, and the duo headed towards town.
Professor Oak was sitting at his desk, looking over some DNA from a Ditto through his microscope to see what makes them able to morph when Tracey walked in holding a box of supplies. "Hey Professor, where exactly did you want these?" He asked.
"Hm?" Oak looked up from the microscope. "Oh yes, you can just take those up to the Tech Lab." Tracey started for the stairs when the doorbell rang and echoed throughout the lab. Tracey halted and looked at the door, but Professor Oak stood up and headed for it first. "I'll get this one Tracey, you just get those supplies to the Tech Lab."
Oak opened the door and was immediately greeted by a grinning Ash and his posse. "Hey Professor! Did you miss me?"
"Ash!?" Oak asked before examining the rest of the group. "Misty, Brock, you're here too?"
"Hey, don't forget us!" Jay said as he leaned his head into the door. Delia waved from behind Ash and Misty with a small smile. "Long time no see old man! How's life?"
After the initial surprise, Professor Oak led everyone inside to the kitchen for some drinks. Tracey eventually came back and was thrilled to see the trio again. While he talked with Ash, Misty, and Brock, Oak decided to catch up with Delia and Jay.
After the group conversed, Ash explained to Oak how he wanted to show everyone the Pokémon he'd caught over the years. Oak had no objections, so the group gathered in the backlots of the lab next to a Pokébank machine. Ash spent a few minutes deciding which ones he wanted to show off first, and finally decided on the first six.
"Alright guys, do you remember Cyndaquil?" Ash asked Brock and Misty. The trio was standing out in the middle of the field along with Pikachu while Oak, Delia, and Jay sat down in some chairs, protected by the shade of a large tree.
"Aww, I remember! He was so cute!" Misty cooed.
"Well, he's kind of gone through a growth spurt since the last time you saw him." Ash smiled devilishly. Misty and Brock didn't like the look he was giving them.
"Um… what's that supposed to mean?" Brock said, nervous.
"Here, I'll show you!" Ash took out a Pokéball and pressed the button in the middle to make it grow. "Typlosion, I choose you!" Ash threw the Pokéball into the air, summoning a blinding white light from the ball to shoot towards the ground. From the light emerged a massive Pokémon with a tan underbelly, and blue back that held several red dots in a pattern across it.
The Earth shook when Typlosion landed on the ground, surprising Brock and Misty. Typlosion let out a fearsome roar, and shot massive flames out of its back. Misty jumped behind Brock in fright as Jay jumped from his seat and cheered. "Whoa! Now THAT'S a Pokémon!"
"Cindaquil evolved into a Typlosion huh?" Brock asked excitedly. Misty, however, stayed right behind Brock. "That's so cool!"
"I liked him better as a Cyndaquil." Misty laughed nervously. "He was tiny and cute."
Ash walked up to Typlosion and pet him on the snout. The flames on Typlosion's back vanished as he barked in approval at the attention. "Hey Typlosion, you remember Brock and Misty?" Ash asked, pointing to his friends.
Typlosion looked at them with a cocked head, almost as if he was trying to remember. Suddenly, he barked happily and trotted over to Misty and Brock. "Hey, he remembers us!" Brock said happily. Typlosion nudged Brock with his head, and Brock happily pet him. "Aw, you're still a little guy on the inside, aren't you?" Brock cooed as he scratched behind Typlosion's tiny ear.
Misty couldn't help but smile as the large Pokémon became putty in Brock's hands, rolling over on the ground and letting him scratch his belly. Ash was really impressed at Brock's obvious improvement at Pokémon handling, and figured that he could very well be one of the world's best breeders.
As Delia, Jay, and Oak were watching this, Tracey came up to them and tapped Oak on the shoulder to get his attention. "Excuse me professor, you have visitors at the lab."
Oak looked over at Tracey and waved his hand around in a dismissive manner. "Tell them I'm busy and to come back tomorrow morning."
Tracey narrowed his eyes and put his hand on Oak's shoulder. "Professor, it's really important." He said quietly so that Jay and Delia didn't hear. Jay, however, had heard something and glanced over curiously. Tracey noticed this and cautiously whispered something into Oak's ear, which resulted in a grim look from Oak.
"Are you sure?" Oak asked seriously, and Tracey nodded. Oak looked towards the ground for a few seconds, pondering what he had just heard. Once he got all his pieces together, he stood up and looked at Tracey. "Very well, lead the way."
"Yo Professor, something wrong?" Jay asked, taking a sip of orange juice.
Oak summoned a smile to his face as he looked back at Jay. "No, everything's fine." He lied. "Just have to take care of some business." Tracey started out for the lab, and Oak followed him.
Jay narrowed his eyes curiously as they walked towards the building. I wonder what's got him so spooked. He thought. After about a minute, Jay put the thought to the back of his mind and watched his son interact with his friends.
Time flew by for the group and before they knew it the sun was starting to set in the distance. Nobody had seen the Professor for the rest of the day, and Tracey used the old "he's very busy" excuse to cover for his mentor. Ash didn't really seem to mind much, and after they said their goodbyes to Tracey they headed on home to the Ketchum house.
"So, what do you guys feel like for dinner?" Delia asked cheerfully.
"I could go for anything, really." Brock said as he removed his shoes to place at the door.
"I second that notion." Jay raised his hand. "I don't care what it is as long as it's food!"
Ash grinned devilishly at his father and laughed manically. "So then you could eat… fried Magikarp?"
Jay shuttered as he remembered his first experience trying to eat a magikarp years ago… not only was it hard as a rock, it was disgusting too. "Ash, you know as well as I do that magikarp is NOT a food." He laughed nervously.
"I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some soup." Misty said smiling. "It's been cold outside, so soup might hit the spot?"
"Sounds good to me!" Ash agreed, grinning.
"So how does beef stew sound?" Delia asked, preparing the pots in the kitchen. After a unanimous agreement, Brock got to work helping Delia cook while Jay, Ash, and Misty watched a documentary on water Pokémon. It amused Ash how Misty knew almost every single thing on the program, and would state information about the Pokémon before the show could.
Jay wasn't paying as much attention to the show as he was Ash and Misty. They were seated on opposite ends of the same couch, with a single blanket covering their legs. Ash would ask questions about water Pokémon, and Misty's eyes would light up every time she astonished Ash with her answer. Jay smiled to himself, glad that Ash had found himself such good friends on his journey.
Jay remembered Delia talking to him over the phone those seven years ago when Ash first left for his Pokémon journey. She was balling her eyes out worried that her baby was all alone out there and that he would get lost in the woods. But lo-and-behold, the very next day Ash had arrived safe and sound at Viridian City, although he was a bit shaken. Jay couldn't even begin to express how proud he was of Ash and his quick journey to Viridian City, and that he'd made a traveling partner in record time.
Thinking back on it, Misty was Ash's first friend outside of Pallet Town. Watching them interact on that couch was very satisfying. They enjoyed each other's company just like how Jay and Delia did in their youth. The word "youth" made Jay snicker. They weren't really that old yet, so he guessed he didn't have the right to complain about such things.
Eventually, Delia and Brock announced that dinner was ready, and everyone sat at the dining room to chow down. Ash took every single bite as if it was the most delicious thing he'd eaten in his life. It wasn't surprising to anyone else since most of his diet the past few years consisted of ramin and water. However, he did get a rare opportunity to eat at decent restaurants every now and again, but nothing could even come close to what Brock and Delia could cook up.
After dinner, everyone helped take care of the mess and once that was done Delia started preparing Ash's room for him. In the time that Ash had been gone, Delia had kept his room ship shape while she waited for his inevitable return so it didn't take long to prepare.
Misty was set up in the guest bedroom across from Ash's room, and Brock had set up his own air mattress in Ash's room. Lucky for Ash, Delia had gone ahead and bought a bigger bed to replace his old bunk a few weeks ago.
Once Ash was set up for bed, everyone said their goodnights and went to sleep. All but Ash, that is. He laid there in his bed for what seemed like an eternity, only to glance over at the clock and find out that only two hours had past. "Damn it." He cursed to himself. He couldn't get to sleep since he was too used to staying up till very late, then getting up very early. His body was pretty much programed at that point, and he relished in how hard it was to fall asleep.
Eventually, after a few more minutes of tossing and turning, Ash gave up. He put on his jeans, his new jacket, and his hat to go on a walk. He silently slipped out of his bed so not to disturb Pikachu or Brock, exited the room, and was about to head down the hall when he heard the faint sound of somebody crying. Looking around, he found that the crying was coming from the guest bedroom, or Misty's room. Ash made his way over to the door and lightly knocked on the door. "Misty? Are you alright?" He whispered just loud enough so that Misty could hear.
Oh God… what am I going to do?! She thought to herself, cupping her face in her hands. Misty sat on her bed Indian style, with Togapi resting between her legs. Togapi could sense Misty's paranoia and tried his best to cuddle up with her.
But Misty couldn't calm down. She was panicking about what she was going to tell Ash and Brock after Ash's birthday. She couldn't just leave without saying goodbye, and she couldn't say screw the Gym and abandon her sisters! She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she was scared of what she would have to do.
Suddenly, she heard a faint knock on the door. Her head shot up with tears streaming down her face as she tried to quite herself down. "Misty? Are you alright?" She heard on the other side. It was Ash. Had he heard her crying?
Misty whipped as much wetness from her face as she could, set Togapi off to the side of the bed, and opened the door for Ash. Unfortunately for Misty, Ash could tell right away that something was wrong.
"What's the matter?" He asked, concerned. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah… I'm fine." She lied, whipping her eyes again with her pajama sleeve. "What do you want?"
"I heard you crying." Ash reached up and pushed a strand out of her face and behind her ear. "Seriously, what's bothering you?"
"Nothing." She said sternly, walking back into her room and sitting down on the bed. "I just… remembered a very sad story is all."
Ash had known Misty long enough to know when she was lying, but he decided not to pry anymore. Instead, he sat down on the bed next to her in silence. Eventually, Misty was able to realize that Ash was wearing his normal clothes instead of his pajamas. "Ash, why are you all dressed up?" She asked.
"I couldn't sleep." He laughed softly. "I was about to go for a quick walk around the town." He looked to her and gave her a playful nudge with his shoulder. "You wanna join me?"
After a few seconds of thought, Misty nodded in agreement. She didn't know what she'd do a few days from then, but she knew one thing. She wanted to spend as much time with Ash as possible. "Just give me a second to get dressed." Ash nodded and made his way out of the room.
It only took about two minutes for Misty to exit her room. She had braided her hair into a long ponytail and put on jeans and a light blue sweater over her pajama shirt. "Alright, I'm ready."
"Cool, let's go." Ash led the way down the hallway, past his parent's bedroom, and down the staircase. He and Misty were busy putting their shoes on when they heard something at the top of the steps.
"Pika…pi?" Yawned a sleepy Pikachu, rubbing his eyes. He looked down the steps at the two trainers, wondering what they were doing.
"Hey buddy, we're going for a walk." Ash whispered. "You want to come?"
"Pika." Pikachu whispered in agreement. He silently made his way down the steps and jumped onto Ash's shoulder. Misty giggled silently at the tiny electric mouse, and the trio made their way out of the house.
For a while Ash and Misty just walked side-by-side in silence, neither really knowing what to say. Misty was still a little jumpy from her panic attack just minutes before, and the cold air outside didn't really help. Ash glanced over and noticed Misty shivering in her thin sweater. "Hey, are you cold?" He asked, getting a step closer.
"No…. I-I'm fine." Misty shivered some more. Ash smiled and shook his head before taking off his jacket and putting it around Misty. "Ash? What are you…?"
"This kind of cold doesn't really bother me anymore." Ash grinned. "Go ahead, I don't need it."
Misty felt herself blush, and eventually bundled herself with Ash's jacket. The jacket itself was bigger than Misty expected, and provided just enough warmth to keep her from shivering. "Thanks Ash." She said, grateful.
"Pika!" Ash looked on the ground and saw a frowning Pikachu looking up at him. "Pika-Pikachu!"
"Oops! Sorry buddy!" Ash laughed, he forgot that Pikachu was lying down on his shoulder, and figured that the yellow mouse had to jump when Ash took off his jacket. "Come on, get up here." Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms and he kept him close to his chest.
Ash and Misty eventually walked past an old abandoned house that was overgrown with vines, weeds, brush, and leaves. Some windows were broken in, and pieces of the outside wall were falling apart. The sight made Misty a little nervous until Ash put an arm around her and pulled her in close. This surprised Misty, and she looked up at Ash to see his face. "Don't worry about that old thing." He said, looking at the house. "I used to go in there all the time when I was little, so I know for a fact there's nothing in there."
"Well… I still find it a little sad." She said, looking to the ground.
Ash looked at her with a confused expression. "Hm? What are you talking about?" He asked, curious.
"People used to live in that house." Misty started. "It was somebodies home, and now it's nothing but a husk." She looked up at Ash. "Have you ever imagined that happening to your house years from now?" She asked.
Ash had to ponder the question for a little bit. He never thought about it like that before, but now that he did he could see how his house could fall into that kind of state. "Wow… I never thought of that before."
"Well… I don't know." Misty shifted a little, still a little nervous about Ash's arm around her. "I guess… I'm just weird."
"You're not weird." Ash snickered. "You're one of the nicest, smartest, beautiful people I know."
"Beautiful?" Misty repeated. She looked up at Ash who realized he'd had a slip of the tongue. He looked away and coughed nervously.
"So um... where should we go first on our journey?" He asked, trying to change the subject. Misty just looked down on the ground, remembering the lie she'd told to Ash and Brock.
"I… I don't know." She said, keeping her eyes trained on the ground. Ash just figured that Misty was starting to get tired, so they remained silent the rest of the way back to the house.
WOW! That was my longest chapter out of any story yet!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next! Like I said, this Arc will be mainly like a slice of life until the last few chapters, then we can start getting into the action packed arcs!
SEE YAH!
[Edit - 8/25/2016]
I just went around the chapter changing around some inconsistencies, and not much else.