No time to question my moves! I stick to the path that I choose!
….sorry, I've listened to that song for, like, three days STRAIGHT as I write these chapters. I'm totally pumped to write for Pokemon for some strange reason I can't explain. Oh well, that just means more awesomeness for you guys! (At least I hope you consider it awesome)
Without further ado, here is the next chapter of Pokemon: H&D! We're nearing the end of the first arc, and I have a question for you at the end of this chapter. Just keep reading, you'll find out at the end!
-Arc 1-
Chapter 5: Happy Birthday! [Part 2]
"So are you excited, Ash?" Delia asked as the mother and son walked down the long dirt road to the Professor's lab. The two walked past another house, and a woman watering her flowers outside waved at them. They waved back, and continued on. Ash decided to wear the new jacket he got from the store, as well as his Pokemon League hat. Pikachu was, of course, riding shotgun on Ash's shoulder.
"To be honest I'm a bit nervous." Ash admitted with a grin, rubbing his cleanly shaven face. There wasn't much there to begin with, but it did feel good to have a smooth face again. "I've been away for so long… are you sure everyone still remembers me?"
Delia wrapped an arm around her boy. "Of course everyone remembers you! Ash, you've made this town so proud!" She assured. "You want to know where everyone was when you competed in the Kanto League? The Orange League? Johto, and Hoen?" She asked. Ash simply looked at her with a confused expression. "They were all at the Professor's place, watching every one of your matches live! We've even had a few trainers over the years who've left to start their own journeys because they were inspired by you!"
"Wow… really?" Ash asked in disbelief.
"Mm-hm." Delia nodded. "You're father and I couldn't possibly be more proud!"
Ash looked skyward at a passing pidgey, wondering if that was actually true. Not the part about them being proud, but he was certain he could make them even more proud. "Mom." Ash started. "I think I know of a way to make you more proud." He said with a smile.
"Oh? How's that?" Delia asked, curious.
"I'm going to go on another journey with Brock and Misty… and this time I'm really going to win a Pokemon League! Mark my words!" He swore, burning with confidence. He looked to his yellow friend on his shoulder. "Isn't that right, buddy?!"
"Pika-pi-ka!" Pikachu agreed.
Delia smiled in delight at her son's new found energy. "I have no doubt you can accomplish anything you set your mind to dear, but for now let's just enjoy your party! Jay, Misty, and Brock should already be there, along with a few other people I invited as well."
Ash felt himself shiver with excitement. "Oh, I'm so pumped! Let's go, Mom!" Ash started sprinting full speed up the path towards Professor Oak's lab.
"Whoa, Ash! Slow down!" She laughed as she ran after him. They could already hear some music playing in the distance, and several balloons were floating up into the sky. The closer that Ash got to the lab, the more adrenaline he felt bursting through his veins. A gust of wind nearly blew off his hat as they ran, but Ash managed to fix it with his hand. The clouds were moving onwards, seemingly right along with Ash as he hurriedly made his way up the path. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and ran right beside him up the path, feeling just as excited as his friend.
No time to question my moves!
I stick to the path that I choose!
Me and my friends are gonna do it right!
You'll never see us run away from a fight!
To be a master is my dream…
All I got to do is believe!
(I believe!)
I've got a chance to win!
I'm on my way to victory!
(Pokémon!)
I can be a champion if I just believe…
I'm on a Master Quest!
(Master Quest!)
I want the whole world to see-
(I believe!)
I'm gonna be the very best!
'Cuz all I've got to do is believe in me!
Ash, Pikachu, and Delia had finally made it to the top of the path just when the initial song started going into instrumental, and Ash was amazed at what he saw in the Professor's yard. Several large tents were set up around the area to provide shade for those who wanted it, along with too many tables and chairs to count. A large food bar of sorts was set up under one of the tents, with one of the items being a very long, and very wide, white box of some sort. There were also some food stands around for ramen, fish cakes, rice balls, and many more on the edge of the party area. Flat up against the professor's lab was a large stage with dozens of speakers around the top and bottom, and a band that Ash had never seen before was playing music for the massive crowd of people that had gathered in Oak's yard. Finally, Ash noticed the massive banner across the top of Oak's house spelling out "Happy Birthday Ash!" that went across the top of the stage.
"Whoa…" Ash said in amazement.
"Pikaaaaaaaaa…" Pikachu agreed.
Delia finally caught up with Ash, and even she appeared to be shocked. "What… there wasn't anything in the plan about a band! And just where did these food stands come from?" She asked.
"Secret fun things!" Ash and Delia looked over to see Jay confidently approaching from the Professor's lab. "Told you I'd been busy."
"Mom, Dad… this is amazing!" Ash beamed. "There's so many people here! It looks like almost the entire town..."
"Well… you're not wrong." Jay laughed, wrapping his arm around Delia. "Go on Ash, it's your party and these people are your guests! Go mingle!" Jay noticed Ash scanning the crowd of people with a blank expression. "What? What is it?"
Ash glanced back at his father. "I don't see Misty… or Brock for that manner. Where are they?"
"Hm?" Jay raised an eyebrow. "They should be here… I saw them a few minutes ago when I brought Togepi for Misty." Pikachu's ear twitched, and the tiny yellow mouse glanced over at Oak's lab.
"Pika?" He squeaked curiously.
ooooOOOoooo
"Brock… I don't think I can do this." Misty argued in uncertainty as she leaned past the corner of the Professor's lab, getting a quick look at Ash with his parents. Ash was looking around the vicinity, so she leaned back behind the wall to prevent being spotted. Brock crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Wow Misty, you've gotten a lot more timid over the years. What, have you finally dropped the whole tom-boy act?" Brock half-joked. In truth he was just trying to fire her up her confidence.
"Sh-shut up! This is serious!" Misty shot back.
"Prrrriiiii!" Togepi chirped as he was being held in Misty's arms.
Brock smiled. "Oh, wait, there she is. For a water Pokemon trainer, you can sure get fired up." Misty grumbled, glancing back around the corner. "What are you so afraid of? He doesn't know anything yet, so just go out there and act natural."
"I know he doesn't know anything, Brock!" Misty replied, getting aggravated. "But… I'm still nervous on how he'll react tonight. I swear, I'm having a damn panic attack about it."
"Than just don't think about it." Brock advised. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, so just focus on the party and have fun."
Misty hesitated, looking at Brock. "Well… when you put it like that-"
"Pikachu-Pi!" Without warning, a tiny electric mouse jumped on Misty's head and started to purr.
"Whoa! Pikachu?!" Misty said in surprise.
"Pikachu! Where'd you go, buddy?!" Misty and Brock heard Ash calling right before he turned the corner. "Oh, there you guys are!" Ash said with a smile. "What're you doin' over here?"
Misty spun around with Pikachu still on top of her head. "Uh, nothing! Just talking and waiting for you!" She said, only telling half the truth.
Ash hesitated for a moment, but appeared to just shrug it off. "Well, come on!" Ash got behind Misty and Brock, pushing the both of them out from behind the building. "I'm not facing this crowd alone! Let's go!"
"Alright, alright! We're coming!" Brock chuckled.
"Yeah! Chill out!" Misty agreed.
Putting the information they were withholding from Ash to the back of their minds for the time being, Brock and Misty joined him on his entrance to the party. Seeing Ash's ecstatic face as they approached the crowd filled them with a sensation neither had felt in a very long time, and they both realized that this was something he desperately needed. With the crowd cheering as they joined them and only a handful of clouds in the sky, Misty and Brock hoped this would be something that Ash would never forget.
oooOOOOooo
While Ash and the others started interacting with the party goers, another peculiar trio at a nearby food stand was cooking up anything but a delectable meal. The black-haired gentleman wearing a large pair of sunglasses and hawaiian-style shirt turned over some meatballs on a cooker one at a time, while the blonde of similar attire sauteed some onions and noodles. The woman giggled to herself. "This time I think we cooked up the perfect plan to capture that Pikachu, don't you?" She asked quietly.
The man hummed a vague toon as he nodded. "Yes… it's really a hot idea… though I am getting an odd sense of deja vu."
A tiny Meowth stood behind them, hidden from view as it seasoned the finished meatballs. "We've got the recipe for success-ipe!" He sang. "Let's see how these twerps like a taste of my special wasabi seasoning!"
The man turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Hold on Meowth… you didn't just put those on my meatballs, did you?" He asked.
The feline turned around to face him. "Huh? Of course I did, James. That's the plan."
"No! The wasabi doesn't go on the meatballs! The flavors just don't go together!" James argued. "I wiped up a special spicy mustard for those! The wasabi goes on the noodles!"
The blonde turned around. "Oh don't be a baby, it doesn't matter." She replied.
"That's where you're wrong, Jessie!" James started. "This may be part of our plan, but I take pride in the culinary arts! This dish is supposed to turn their mouths into a fiery pit, true, however that fiery pit is then supposed to turn into a marvelous and blissful aftertaste of-!"
"Okay, okay, we get it! Jessie interrupted with a grumble. "Let's just start over, if that'll make you shut up about it." Jessie vigorously scratched her head. "Ugh! This wig is too damn itchy!"
James scratched his head as well. "Well it was your idea to wear these fuzzy things!"
Meowth let out a disappointed sigh. "Sheesh… now we gotta waste more time making up all dis here food. Maybe we should just use plan B instead?"
Jessie and James stopped bickering to glance at Meowth. "Plan B?" They both asked.
ooooOOOoooo
A few minutes after arriving- "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASH!" -the crowd cheered as they rose their glasses in the air. Ash, Tracey, Delia, and Jay all stood atop the stage against the lab, looking around at everyone who had gathered. Ash bowed to the crowd in thanks, before Jay put a microphone up near his mouth.
"I would like to thank everyone for coming today!" Jay started. "Please, help yourselves to food and drinks! We'll be handing out cake very soon, and if you brought any gifts you can either hand them to Ash, myself-" he grabbed Delia and pulled her in close. "-or my lovely wife here! Enjoy, everybody!"
The crowd cheered once more, before going back to talking amongst themselves. The Ketchums and Tracey walked off of the stage, allowing the band to resume playing their music. "Pokemon!" The back-ups started. "Every trainer has a choice!" The lead singer sang. "To listen to that voice inside!"
"So what do you think of your party, Ash?" Delia asked.
"Are you kidding me?! It's amazing!" Ash said with a beaming smile.
Brock and Misty were waiting for the Ketchums at the bottom of the stage. "Pallet Town sure knows how to throw a party!" Brock said, taking a huge bite out of a chicken leg. Pikachu found himself chilling on Brock's shoulder while Ash was up on the stage.
"Yeah, there's so much stuff here!" Misty said as she looked around. Togepi chirped happily in her arms. "How many people here do you recognize, Ash?" She asked.
Ash crossed his arms. "Well I saw a few people here from Pallet… actually now that I think about it I haven't seen the Professor around." Ash noticed. "Hey Tracey, where is he?"
Tracey hesitated for a moment. "Oh… something very important came up and he couldn't make it."
Ash frowned slightly. "Hmm… it must be pretty important if he couldn't come… that sucks."
"But Ash-" Delia got her son's attention. "You haven't seen anyone you know at all? Not a single person?" She had a huge smile on her face, as if she was anticipating some kind of response that made her excited.
"Uh…. not really…. Why? Did you invite someone I know?" Ash asked. Without so much as a warning, Ash suddenly felt something heavy land on his head. "Whoa, what the?!" Whatever it was pushed his hat down over his eyes so he couldn't see.
"Beautiflyyyy, beautifly!" Ash heard the thing on his head sing.
"Oh, it's a beautifly!" Brock said in excitement. "I've never seen one in person before!"
"It's so pretty!" Misty said.
"I guess that means I'm just hard to find then." A voice joked from behind. Ash adjusted his hat and turned around to be met with the image of a girl with long light-brown hair, red bandana wrapped over her head, and mostly red attire. She waved at him. "Hey! Long time no see, Ash! Looks like beautifly still remembers you!"
Misty and Brock looked at the girl in curiosity, not knowing who she was. Ash, on the other hand, recognized her immediately. "Holy crap! I didn't expect to see you here! How are you?" Ash reached out his hand, and she took it as they shook.
"I'm doing great, actually! Happy Birthday, by the way." She replied.
"Heehee, thanks!" Ash looked up to see the face of beautifly looking down at him from his hat. "Nice to see you to, beautifly!"
"Fly~! Beautifly~!" The pokemon excitedly flapped it's wings.
oooOOOOooo
"So… who is this, Ash?" Misty asked, looking her over this new trainer. Ash, Misty, Brock, and this newcomer all sat down at a round table under a tent. She appeared to be a Pokemon Trainer, and she also seemed to know Ash.
"Oh right, sorry." Ash scratched the back of his head as beautifly hovered next to the other trainer. "This is May from Petalburg City. I traveled with her and her brother in the Hoenn region for a while."
"Yeah, I even cheered him on at the Hoenn League!" May smiled.
Misty narrowed her gaze. "Is that so?"
"Wait a second… I think I've heard of you." Brock pointed to her. "Are you the Pokemon Coordinator they call the Princess of Hoenn?"
"Yep, that's her!" Ash nodded.
"Pikachu!" The electric mouse agreed, now resting on Ash's shoulder.
May laughed. "Oh stop, you're making me blush! Please, just call me May, 'kay?"
"Well my name's Brock." Brock replied, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"Oh, so you're Brock! Ash told me about you! It's nice to finally see you!" May smiled, before looking over at Misty. "Hmm… Red hair…. Togepi…" Misty raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to be Misty, would you?"
Wrinkles of surprise appeared on Misty's forehead. "Y-yes! How'd you know?"
May took Misty's hand and shook it. "Oh, Ash has told me all about you when we traveled a few years ago! Seriously, he would not shut u-"
"Okay, alright! Yes, good! Fun times, right!? Hahahaha!" Ash waved his hands around in front of him like a wild man, determined to interrupt May. A lightbulb went off in Ash's head. "So how's Max been, huh?! What's he up to these days?!" He asked, diverting the conversation.
Brock raised an eyebrow. "Smooth transition, pal." He whispered. Ash glared at Brock with a look that said 'shut up!'
"Right! Max is doing great!" May replied.
Brock sweatdropped. Wait, that actually worked?!
May continued. "He's hard at work taking care of our Dad's pokemon, training to become a Pokemon Breeder."
"Oh, a Pokemon Breeder, huh?" Brock asked, intrigued.
"Yes! I heard from Ash that you're a breeder yourself? If you ever meet my brother, maybe you could give him some pointers?" May asked.
Brock nodded. "Sure! I'd love to! I could also gift you some books to take back that are great for beginners!"
"That would be awesome! Thank you!" May replied. "...and speaking of gifts-" She reached into her yellow fanny pack and pulled out a little white box and offered it to Ash. "-here! This is for you, Ash!"
"Really? That's awesome, thanks!" Ash accepted the gift and looked it over. The tiny white box was a little heavier than Ash expected, and the only feature it had on the outside was a small red ribbon tied around it. Ash untied the ribbon by pulling on it, and with nothing keeping the box closed, pulled the top half of the box off to reveal what was inside.
Sitting on top of some kind of silky fabric was a blue digital watch of some kind with an LED display in the center. "Oh wow, is this a Poketch?" Ash asked taking it out of the box to look it over.
"Yup! I picked that baby up on my way out of Johto!" May replied. "Do you like it?"
Ash put it around his wrist and secured it, pressing a button on the side that turned on the display. "This is so cool! I love it!" In all honestly, Ash had owned a Poketch before returning to Kanto. Unfortunately it was destroyed while he was alone in the mountains, and he just never bothered to replace it. He figured there was no need to mention that however, and kept it to himself.
"Awesome! I'm so glad!" May smiled. Misty glanced between Ash and May, feeling her chest ache ever so slightly. She had no idea why at the time mind you, but something about May's smile and her sweetness made Misty feel uneasy. She realized that it shouldn't; May seemed like one of the nicest and most innocent people she'd ever met, so why did she feel this way? It didn't make any sense to her.
Ash felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked over to see Jay standing over him. "Hey pal! Accepting gifts already?" He asked with a smile.
Ash cleared his throat. "Uh, well May just gave it to me so I thought… you know, I'd just-"
"It's fine, Ash. You're not doing anything wrong." Jay chuckled. "I was just wondering if you'd be interested in seeing what I got for you now, or if you'd rather wait."
Ash smiled. "Are you kidding? Of course I want to open it now, you know I'm not a patient man!" He joked.
"Well then, here you go pal." Jay took something tiny out of his pocket and placed it in Ash's hand. When Jay removed his hand, Ash found himself holding a small black ball with yellow accents on the top. It appeared to be a Pokeball of some kind..
"Oh, an Ultra Ball, huh?" Ash asked as he pressed the button, increasing the pokeball's size. "Nice! These are pretty expensive and hard to find! I can definitely use this to catch a powerful Pokemon!"
"Cool, that's one of the best Pokeballs you can possibly get!" Brock noted.
Jay scratched his chin. "Yeah, about that…"
"Huh? What?" Ash asked.
Jay smirked. "The real present is what's inside… and I needed an Ultra Ball just to get it."
Ash's eyes widened as he looked between the Ultra Ball and his father. "You got me a Pokemon!? Which one?" He asked.
"Aw, come on! Telling you is no fun!" Jay replied. "Why not call it out and find out?"
Ash grinned before jumping up from his seat. "Come on guys, let's check this out!" He said excitedly before walking out from under the tent. Misty, Brock, May, Pikachu, and Jay all followed him out towards an open field near the end of the party area. Beautifly hovered besides May, Pikachu climbed up on top of Ash's shoulder, and Misty was holding Togepi. Everyone watched as Ash gripped the Ultra Ball in one hand, preparing to throw it.
"Alright, let's see who we've got here!" Ash wound it up. "Pokemon! I choose you!" he shouted as he threw it up into the air. An explosion of white energy erupted from the pokeball, spiraling down all the way to the ground as it began to take the shape of a pokemon. Ash caught the Ultra Ball as it returned to him, and watched as his newest pokemon was revealed. It was a small, blue, canine-like Pokémon. It had black legs and torso, a blue tail, and a yellow collar. It had rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws, a black "mask" around it's red eyes, and it stood on its toes instead of its entire foot.
Pikachu looked on in awe. "Pikaaaaa!"
"What the... Is that a Riolu?!" Ash said, surprised.
"It's so cute!" May commented, getting down on her knees to get a closer look.
Misty nudged Ash. "Use your Pokedex on it." She instructed.
"Oh, right." Ash replied.
Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it at the Pokemon. The Pokedex pinged in response. "Riolu. The Emanation Pokemon. When sad or scared, Riolu's aura becomes stronger as a way of signaling its allies. Riolu has the power to see and understand emotions like happiness, sadness, and anger with aura waves."
"I haven't even been able to find one in the wild, how'd you find this little guy?" Ash asked.
"Heehee, I hatched him." Jay replied. "Little guy didn't like me too much at first, probably because it didn't respect me. So I battled and caught it fair and square, earning it's respect. He escaped from a normal pokeball two times, so I had to bring it up a notch with the Ultra Ball." Riolu looked around for a moment, sniffing the air as it did so. However, the second it spotted Jay it let out a happy bark and walked over to him. "Hey buddy! How are yah?" Jay asked, leaning down to pat Riolu's head. "So listen pal, you see this guy over there with the hat?" Jay spoke softly, pointing over to Ash. Riolu glanced over before looking back at Jay. "That's my son, and from now on he's going to be your partner, alright?" Riolu cocked his head as he stared over at Ash, who responded by waving at Riolu. "I want you to treat him like you treat me, alright?" Jay asked Riolu.
Riolu took a moment to glance between Jay and Ash a few times before trotting over to the younger Ketchum. "Hey, Riolu. I'm Ash, it's nice to meet you." Ash smiled, crouching down and holding his open hand out. The blue Pokemon looked down at Ash's hand before looking back up into his eyes. Unbeknownst to Ash and the others, Riolu had already begun assessing the younger Ketchum by scanning his aura.
Riolu could see Ash giving off a cool blue aura that enveloped his entire body. He sensed a genuine kindness within the trainer, and so he proceeded to create an analysis of his character.
He is incredibly selfless. He will often go to extraordinary lengths to earn a Pokémon's trust and respect, and to better understand a Pokémon that he sees as troubled. He is also very fair-minded and trusting, a true testament to his good-nature. If a Pokémon or fellow human is in trouble, he will make every effort to help them, even if he has no prior connection to them. If they are the cause of trouble, he will stop them, and then try to understand and help them if need be.
Despite a past outlook of isolation and depression, he had somehow retained a remarkably optimistic and naive outlook, a trait his companions seem to share and… Riolu paused as he observed an anomaly. The redhead companion's aura appeared to be of a slightly darker hue than the rest, apparently conflicted with something within that caused an overlaying sense dread and sadness. She maintained a convincing joyful facade to cover for this, however Riolu wasn't fooled. He stared intensity at the redhead, trying to figure out her secret.
"Uhh… Why's he looking at me like that?" Misty asked, growing a little unnerved.
"Hey Riolu, you okay?" Ash asked, snapping the Pokemon out of its trance. The aura faded away, and Riolu looked back up at Ash who still had his hand out. After another moment, Riolu finally decided that Ash was a trustworthy trainer and set his paw into Ash's hand; Misty's odd aura becoming a distant memory. He didn't really feel a need to worry about her anyway; after all she wasn't the one who would be his new partner.
A massive smile a mile wide stretched its way onto Ash's face as he closed his hand around Riolu's paw and shook it. "Awesome! Welcome to the team, Riolu!"
"Pi-Pikachu!" The electric mouse cheered, happy to have another potential friend.
Ash looked back over to his father with an appreciative expression. "Thanks, Dad. I'll make sure to take great care of him!" He assured, earning a smile from Jay. He watched as Ash pet Riolu on the head, earning a smile from his newest Pokemon. Misty, Brock, and May were all smiling at the interaction as well, with Pikachu, Togepi, and Beautifly looking excited just from a new pokemon being around.
The sudden sound of screaming interrupted the moment however, as the entire group looked back to see a massive and thick orange cloud of fog enveloping the party area. Party goers nearest it tried running away, but the cloud was simply too fast. People were getting caught in the fog as it quickly spread around, and it was heading straight for our heroes.
"What the-?! What is that?!" Brock asked, shocked.
Ash jumped up. "May! Your Beautifly!" He ordered.
May looked back with a confused expression, but only for a moment. Her eyebrows raised when she realized what he meant. "R-right!" She looked at Beautifly as the cloud approached. "Beautifly! Blow that cloud away with Hurricane!" She commanded.
"Flyyyyy~!" Beautifly sang in response, beginning to pump it's wings.
This response, however, came too late. The orange cloud completely enveloped the group before Beautifly's attack could have any effect, knocking the group off their feet. Ash immediately felt his eyes begin to burn. "Damn it! What the-" Before he could finish he started coughing uncontrollably, feeling an intense burning sensation in his lungs. He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, but that hardly helped the situation at all. The smell of the cloud was horrid, being one of the worst sensations he had ever experienced. The exact smell of the cloud was a mystery to him, however it seemed to be a combination of burnt curry and melted tar. Ash was barely able to see through his watering scrunched eyes, but he could still hear perfectly. He could hear all of his friends coughing just like he was, and he assumed that Beautifly was being affected as well since the cloud wasn't dissipating at all. He also heard more people screaming in the distance, probably those who hadn't been captured in the fog yet or those who managed to get away in time.
It was then that Ash realized he could no longer feel Pikachu on his shoulder. "Ugh...pikachu?! Buddy?!" Ash yelled in a desperate attempt at locating his friend. Maybe Pikachu just fell off his shoulder? Looking around at the immediate area below him, Ash discovered that this wasn't the case. While he was searching for Pikachu, he also realized that Riolu was missing as well. "Riolu?! Damn it!" Ash coughed. He took a few steps before seeing a figure on their knees on the ground in front of him, apparently coughing and struggling to breath. "Misty! Mi-misty, are you okay?!" Ash dropped down next to her, wrapping his arm around her. She had her eyes squeezed shut, and was coughing violently.
Misty straightened up when she heard the familiar voice. "A...Ash?" She managed to choke out. "I can't…. See anything!" She had tears running down her face, being a direct result of the cloud around them. Ash pulled her closer towards him, leaning her head against his shoulder and pushing his other arm beneath her legs.
"B-Brock! Dad! May! Can you… hear me?!" Ash called out.
"We're here, Ash!" Brock called back. "Your Dad and I have May!"
"We need to... get out of this... cloud!" Ash was struggling to yell with the toxic air around him.
"Ash…" Misty continued to cough, gasping for air. Ash suddenly realized that Misty had been using both of her hands to cover Togepi's mouth with her sleeves. The tiny egg pokemon was obviously distressed, but it was clearly doing better than Misty at that moment.
"Hang on… I'm getting you out of here! Brock, Dad, this way!" Ash picked up Misty bridal-style and began sprinting at full speed through the orange cloud. With his own eyes watering like an uncorked bottle, Ash's field of view was heavily restricted. He was only running in the direction he assumed was clear of any obstacles before the cloud hit. Thankfully his instincts were right, and it wasn't too much longer before he and Misty were out of the orange veil. Ash gasped the second they emerged from the cloud, trying to take in as much fresh air as he could. He stopped running and fell to his knees, still clinging to Misty.
"Misty… you okay?" He asked, wiping his eyes.
The redhead coughed. "Yeah… I think so. What the hell happened?" She asked, just as Jay emerged from the cloud carrying May, and Brock holding Beautifly. Everyone was coughing due to the harmful effects of the gas, but they appeared to be unharmed.
Ash glanced over to the cloud, then back to Misty. "I bet I know exactly who did this… give me a second." Misty cocked her head as he set her down in the grass, then stood up to face the orange cloud. A huge explosion was suddenly set off in the center of the cloud, and a massive object suddenly started rising out of it.
"Oh come on, not this again!" Brock said as he realized what he was looking at.
A massive balloon in the shape of a Meowth head rose out of the clouds, bringing with it a huge basket housing a masked trio. A blonde woman, a black-haired man, and a Meowth were all wearing gas masks as the balloon floated upwards. Below the basket was a massive glass tube housing a captured Pikachu and Riolu. The two of them pounded on the glass, however it appeared to be heavily reinforced and wasn't showing any sign of damage. "Prepare for trouble, you can see that we're back!" The woman yelled.
"Make it double, it's a fanfiction attack!" The man jumped in.
Ash rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Every time with this… why do they have to-?"
"To protect the world from devastation!" The woman continued.
Misty got up next to Ash. "They're still reciting that crap?"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" The man posed.
Ash grumbled. "Unfortunately."
"To denounce the evils of-!"
"-of truth and love, yadayadayada, would ya shut up about that, already?!" Misty yelled up at them.
"Hey Team Rocket, how do you idiots keep getting the money for all of these freakin balloons?!" Ash jumped in. Team Rocket growled.
Jessie tried to continue. "To…. to denounce the evils of truth and-!"
"I mean, seriously!" Ash interrupted. "I highly doubt Giovanni is giving you guys funding at this point! What - do you have jobs as waiters on the side?!"
"Shut up, twerp!" Jessie finally pulled off her gas mask and wig, revealing her trademarked long magenta hair. "Where we get our balloons is none of your business!"
"Yeah!" James pulled off his gas mask and wig as well, revealing his neck length blue hair. "Just stop asking questions!"
Ash adjusted his hat. "Alright, fine! Then let me take action instead!" He grabbed a pokeball from his belt and pressed the button, enlarging it. "Pidgeot! I choose you!" He threw the pokeball into the air, summoning Pidgeot in an explosion of white light. The majestic bird pokemon hovered in the air above Ash, looking down at him as Ash caught the pokeball. He pointed to the orange cloud. "Pidgeot! Blow away this cloud with your gust attack!" He ordered.
Pidgeot squawked in response, and began flapping its large powerful wings towards the cloud. A massive gale began to blow, dissipating the toxic veil. In just mere seconds Pidgeot had totally blown away the cloud, leaving the air safe to breathe once again.
"Uh oh!" James twitched. "It's the twerp's Pidgeot!"
Brock took a Pokeball off of his belt and threw it into the air. "Crobat! I choose you!" The large purple bat Pokemon appeared in a flash of light, and flew up next to Pidgeot.
Misty followed. "Golduck! Let's go!" She threw a pokeball of her own into the air, and the blue water pokemon appeared on Pidgeot's back in a flash of light.
"Duuuuck~!" Golduck yelled as he grabbed onto Pidgeot to secure himself.
That must be Misty's Psyduck! Ash thought, before glancing between Misty and Brock. The three of them nodded at each other; a gesture of genuine understanding. They all looked back up into the sky.
"Crobat! Use Supersonic!" Brock ordered. Crobat flew on ahead of Pidgeot towards the balloon, and let out an ear-piercing screech. The sonic waves reverberated through the air towards Team Rocket.
"Ear plugs, now!" Meowth yelled. The trio each pulled out a pair of orange ear plugs and popped them into their ears. The Supersonic waves hit them, however they smiled as the attack had no effect whatsoever.
"What?!" Brock's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Excellent call on the earplugs, Meowth!" Jessie complimented.
Meowth looked over to her, confused. "What?"
Jessie looked back down to Meowth. "I said good idea on the ear plugs!" She shouted.
James looked between Jessie and Meowth, not hearing a single word. He held his hand up to his ear. "What?!" He asked.
Jessie glanced over to James. "What?!"
"Pidgeot! Use Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded, pointing to the balloon.
"What?!" The Team Rocket trio all said at once.
"Teoooooooo~!" Pidgeot squawked as it flapped its wings and careened like a bullet towards the Meowth balloon. Golduck managed to stay on the massive bird's back as it appeared to break the sound barrier, right before plunging straight through the balloon front and back. The balloon immediately started to deflate, descending at a rapid pace.
"Wow! Look at that!" Brock shouted, amazed.
"We're going down!" James yelled, holding onto the balloon for dear life.
Meowth pulled out his earplugs. "Don't worry, I got this!" Meowth pulled a tiny remote out and pushed a red button. The deflated balloon became detached from the basket, being immediately replaced with a second Meowth balloon. Meowth laughed as the balloon started floating again. "Alright twerps, git ready for round two!" Meowth pressed another button on the controller, causing a cannon of some kind to deploy from the side of the basket. A ton of orange gas began firing out of the device, threatening to cover the party area again.
"Pidgeot! Gust!" Ash ordered.
"Golduck, use Psybeam on that device!" Misty commanded.
Both of the Pokemon nodded; Pidgeot blew away the orange cloud with an impressive gale, and Golduck fired a rainbow beam of psychic energy from the gem on it's head. The cloud had vanished from Pidgeot's gust, and Golduck's psybeam was a direct hit on the cannon. The explosion severely damaged Team Rocket's basket, causing the side and entire bottom to fall apart. Team Rocket yelled as they held onto the edge of the balloon to prevent themselves from falling, and the glass capsule holding Pikachu and Riolu fell off from the explosion.
The capsule was plummeting towards the ground, causing Brock to take action. "Crobat! Catch that container!" He pointed, and Crobat complied without hesitation. It shot through the air like a cannonball, reaching the falling container in no time at all. It grabbed onto the top of it with it's feet, and used its four wings to keep itself, Pikachu, and Riolu aloft.
The heroic trio smiled. "Alright!" Ash cheered.
"Good job, Crobat!" Brock complimented. The huge bat brought the capsule down to earth gently before the trainers, and Ash smiled as he kneeled down next to it. After fumbling with the lock on the right side for a moment he managed to get the capsule open and free the two. Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms, who immediately beamed the moment he had his buddy back. Riolu stepped out of the capsule as well, earning a pat on the head from Ash.
Jessie looked down below, seeing Team Rocket's prize escaping. "No! Not again! Our pokemon are getting away!"
Ash glared up at the rocketeers. "Your Pokemon?! You know, of all the days to piss me off, you chose the absolute worst day!" Ash threw another Pokeball, and an explosion of white light revealed Typlosion. The powerful pokemon shook the ground as it landed, and created a massive flame on its back as it roared.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped down and stood next to Typlosion, electricity emanating from its cheeks. It clearly wanted some payback. "Pika-Pika! Pikachu!"
Meowth shivered. "What?! You need to watch your language, Pikachu! There are children here!"
"Let's show these party crashers why they should never mess with us!" Ash pointed up to the balloon. "Pikachu, use Thunder! Typlosion, use your Blast Burn!"
Misty stepped forward. "Golduck, use Hyper Beam!"
"You too, Crobat! Hyper Beam!" Brock ordered.
Jay gripped a pokeball on his belt, throwing it into the air. He decided that now was the perfect time to get involved. "It's a Hyper Beam party! Metagross, you know what to do!" The massive metal Pokemon emerged from its pokeball, landing onto the ground next to Typlosion and Pikachu.
"Me-Tah!" It roared.
"We can help too!" May stood up, throwing a pokeball. "Combusken! Use Flamethrower! Beautifly, you use Solar Beam!"
Combusken, a Pokemon that looked like a humanoid chicken, burst forth from its pokeball and landed next to the others. "Combusken!" It shouted. Beautifly flew up next to Combusken.
"Holy spit!" James shouted, looking down at the Pokemon below.
Our heroes Pokemon all attacked in perfect sync, sending a wall of death and destruction soaring straight for Team Rocket's balloon. "Pikaaa~chuuuuuu!" Pikachu sent a torrent of electricity downrange. Typlosion roared as opened its maw, generating a blast of white hot flames.
"Duuuuuuuuuck!" Golduck yelled as it threw its webbed hands forward, forming a ball of pure energy that fired an orange beam of destruction towards the balloon. Crobat answered in kind, launching a similar blast upwards with a loud screech. Metagross opened its large mouth, mimicking Golduck and Crobat.
"Keeeeeeeen!" Combusken unleashed a spear of red-hot flames from its beak, sending it upwards.
"Flyyyyyyy~!" Beautifly shouted, it's wings glowing brightly as it gathered energy from the sun. A beam of nuclear power erupted from its wings, joining the rest of the attacks in the sky as they converged on Team Rocket.
"We're doomed!" Meowth shouted as he flailed around.
"No, I've got this! I came prepared for just the occasion!" James grabbed a pokeball from his belt and threw it. "Weezing! Use protect!" He commanded. The filthy poison Pokemon appeared in front of the attacks, forming a huge green barrier in front of it. The attacks smashed right into the barrier… And kept right on going, shattering the barrier into thousands of pieces. Weezing was hit by the unified attacks first, being pushed back into the balloon before the attacks made contact.
"Uh oh…" James said, right before their balloon exploded in spectacular fashion. The blast was so massive that it sent a shockwave out in every direction, shaking the very Earth with its force. Team Rocket was sent flying into the air towards the distance.
"I thought you said you had this!" Jessie yelled.
"Well… I thought I did…" He replied sadly.
"Well you know what dat means!" Meowth yelled.
"Yeah!" Jessie and James nodded.
"Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaaaaaiiiiiiin!" They all yelled as they soared into the clouds and out of sight. The last glimmer of them shimmered in the sky before they vanished.
Ash pumped his fist with a huge grin on his face. "See?! That's what I'm talking about!"
The rest of the party goers who had been watching the battle started coming back into the party area, looking around to make sure the coast was clear. "Hey, they did it!" One of the partiers smiled as he pointed to our heroes. Everyone started to cheer in celebration.
"Just like old times!" Brock looked over at Ash, giving him a high five.
"Yeah! That was awesome!" Ash turned around, giving May a high five as well. Pikachu jumped back into the young Ketchum's arms, and Ash danced around with the tiny electric mouse. His blood hadn't pumped that fast in years! It was exciting to fight by his friends side again, and he was starting to get carried away. Ash let Pikachu jump back down to the ground, and absentmindedly turned to Misty. He grabbed her by the waist, lifted her a few inches into the air, and swung her around.
"Whoa, Ash!" Misty shouted, totally taken off guard. "Stop! Put me down!"
"Aw come on!" Ash laughed, still spinning her around.
"You're going to make me sick!" Misty warned. She wasn't being spun around too quickly mind you; she just couldn't handle the embarrassment of being twirled like that.
Ash narrowed his gaze at her as they spun. "Fine, jeez! Gotta rain down on my- whoa!" Ash suddenly lost his footing, toppling the spinning tower. "Crap!" Ash instinctively yelled as they fell.
"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as he jumped out of the way. Misty let out a surprised yelp as she fell right along with Ash. Like a tree in the forest Ash hit the ground pretty hard on his back, however he had managed to keep Misty from suffering the same fate by adjusting himself mid-fall and having her land on top of him. Ash let out a pained groan, before chuckling to himself.
"Ash, Misty are you okay?!" Brock asked as rushed to their side.
"Oh yeah… fantastic." Ash groaned out.
"Damn it Ash, I told you to stop..." Misty said, still laying on top of him. Ash continued to chuckle, earning a raised eyebrow from Misty. "Wh-what's so funny?" She asked.
Ash looked up right into Misty's eyes. "That scream… you sounded so… girly! It was so out of character, I just didn't expect it!" He smiled, unable to stop chuckling.
Misty's face turned into an embarrassed reddish hue. "Wha…. shut up!" She fired back. "Stop laughing at me…" She felt incredibly embarrassed, especially with her laying on top of Ash the way she was in front of everyone. Ash kept chuckling to himself, until his eyes locked with hers. He slowly fell silent, and his face shifted into a meaningful expression. Misty took notice of this, and examined his face in vain for any clue as to what he was thinking. "Hm? Ash?"
Ash smiled as he closed his eyes, shifting his arms to hold Misty as she layed on top of him. One of his hands found it's way to just behind her head, triggering a tight but relaxed embrace. Misty was too shocked to say anything. Ash let out a sigh. "God... I really missed you." He proclaimed in a whisper so that only she could hear it. Misty felt herself shudder at this, and she unconsciously let out a slight gasp as her face exploded into a red hue. Her heart-rate may have possibly skipped a beat or two, and she found herself unable to form a coherent response. Eventually she chose to simply say nothing, and rest her head on Ash's chest. All she could think about was how glad she was that she made the decision to come back for his birthday. She knew they would pull apart soon, but for those few precious seconds she decided she would enjoy them as much as she could.
Her face fell into a worried expression as she contemplated just how she would tell Ash about her sisters... if she even could.
[Please leave a review, let me know what you think!]
And there you have it! The previous chapter, this chapter, and the next chapter were all supposed to be ONE chapter, however I started writing too much and didn't want the length to be insanely long. So far, as of this chapter, this is the single longest chapter I've written to date, though I know it probably won't stay that way.
Anyway, I do have a question… well… it's more of a request, for my readers out there. I really want to make this story into a comic/manga, however I SUCK at drawing and that would never happen if I worked by myself. If you or someone you know has some of those amazing drawing skillz, then I'm interested in working together to turn this into a drawn story. Please send me a PM through FanFiction if you or someone you know is willing to work with me on this endeavour. We can figure out the details together!
Ok, now that that's out of the way, I have a picture to show you guys to give you a better idea of what's happening in the story! This first picture is supposed to show what Misty's hair looks like as of this most recent chapter. Paste this code into DeviantArt's url to find the picture, since FanFiction hates using links. art/Finally-Human-Prize-for-DekaFoxMcCloude-315295018 The way Ash looks in this picture is also roughly what I envisioned for my story, since he really hasn't changed that much.