A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… oh, wait a minute. That's not the story you came for, is it?
Anyway… it was an autumn evening in Crown City, Unova. The air was filled with the usual crispness associated with the season, and before long, the branches along the city's leafy avenues would be totally devoid of leaves. Despite this, the city would be anything but barren, with all manner of winter festivals to partake in.
Another thing that wouldn't be barren? The political landscape of the region, though most people in Unova remained blissfully unaware of this. However, this was about to change.
"I'll do the dishes, Ash," the young woman said, taking note of how her boyfriend had retired from the table in order to sit next to his pikachu. "It seems you're too preoccupied."
"Yeah, Pikachu!" her boyfriend exclaimed, holding a Poké Biscuit in the air for the Electric-type to leap after, only to pull it away like a certain girl with the football. Despite this, Pikachu never seemed to get the hint that the biscuit would evade him.
Serena snorted, rolling her eyes. "I'll take that as a yes. I'm going to do the dishes, just like I always do."
Ash looked away from Pikachu. "Sorry, Pikachu," he told his Pokémon partner. "I've got something to do right now."
Serena narrowed her eyes. "Oh. So now you want to help with the dishes? What changed, Ash?"
"Nothing," the black-haired man told his girlfriend. "I just decided that I wanted something else to do."
"So you decided to be helpful for a change? Well, I'm not exactly going to complain about that - but make sure you're not doing it for the prestige. Do it because you feel like doing it."
"I want to help you, Serena!" Ash exclaimed, trying not to lose his temper. "It's just that I don't know how to sometimes. All the speaking engagements have made it harder."
His girlfriend frowned. "That makes no sense. Why would speaking engagements make it harder for you to know how to help? If anything, it would be the opposite - you've been able to practice your social skills when talking to a crowd. Besides, there haven't been any such events for at least a year."
As Ash grabbed a nearby washcloth to wipe off the dishes, he reflected on how he'd gotten here. Not just here, in terms of this studio apartment in Unova, but also the reason he'd ended up settling down with Serena in this region, away from the prying eyes of the cameras… or rather, further away from them.
You see, when you were a public figure like Ash Ketchum, there was no such thing as privacy. It was as much a myth as the lost city on the ocean floor - no matter how much one wanted it to exist, it just didn't; more than that, it had never been real, even if one had fervently believed in it.
The TV was sparking and glowing just like it usually did, playing some cheesy game show that Ash knew better than to pay attention to. It seemed to involve Pokémon biting into household objects to see if they were made of cake, and when the unfortunate creature bit into an actual shoe, the Pokémon would back away from the object in minor pain and major embarrassment.
"That's just not right," Ash muttered as he put another dish in the dishwasher.
"What's not right?" his girlfriend replied.
Ash pointed at the TV. "They're exploiting all those Pokémon for our entertainment. At least, what they think is our entertainment - I don't find it funny at all."
"Then do something about it, Ash," Serena snapped. "Don't just stand there and watch it happen."
"But what am I supposed to do? Pray to Arceus that it stops? I don't know if you've noticed, Serena, but Arceus hasn't exactly been forthcoming lately!"
"Well, let's see… you literally saved the world when you were ten. Ever since then, you've gotten a lot of media attention. The point is, you have a platform, and what are you going to do with it?"
Ash looked blankly at his girlfriend. "I… I'm not doing anything with it right now."
"That is correct! Ash, be the change you want to see in the world! If nobody's going to help those poor creatures, take it upon yourself to do so!"
Before Ash could respond to Serena, the TV flickered. Seconds later, the multicolored bars that meant there was no signal appeared.
"Stupid thing," Ash muttered. "Why is everything we own worthless?"
Serena rolled her eyes again. Ash knew, of course, that he could easily afford a better TV set a hundred times over. He just didn't want to make any conspicuous purchases that might raise eyebrows.
They already know I'm loaded from all the talks I've given. Buying a more reliable TV wouldn't change that.
As it turned out, this event was not a technical problem. The TV wasn't broken; rather, it was working exactly as it was designed to. It was designed to pre-empt game shows, or any programming not seen as essential, with an official message from the government of Unova.
"We interrupt this broadcast to give you a message from Andreas Fiddlesticks, President of the Unova Region."
"What could that guy possibly have to say?" Ash wondered aloud. "Is there a regional emergency he needs to address?"
Serena put her index finger in front of her closed mouth, the universal gesture for Be quiet. She then used her other index finger to point at the TV.
The President, a tall white-haired man with rather orange skin, was shown walking up to the podium. The podium contained the seal of Unova, but the flags all around Fiddlesticks were flown at half staff.
Ash gulped. If the flags were flown at half staff, that could only mean one thing: A tragedy had occurred, and the flags were being flown this way to honor the victims of said tragedy. That was the only explanation, wasn't it?
"Good evening, Unova," the President said softly. "I don't want to keep everyone up too late - any suggestions that I want kids to be sleep-deprived are total malarkey."
Never change, Mr. President. Never change.
"Now," President Fiddlesticks continued, "I understand that many in my party want me to run again. For that matter, many people in Unova want me to seek a second term in the 2024 elections.
"Quite frankly, I don't blame them. We accomplished a lot this term, from ending the civil war in Hoenn to passing an infrastructure bill. But some things are more important than re-election, such as my mental health. After waiting until three in the morning for 'massive dumps' out of Crown City…".
Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the President's choice of words, which elicited a dirty look from Serena. However, Ash's attention was squarely focused on the TV screen, where President Fiddlesticks was about to drop a bombshell.
"Thanks to these factors, as well as many others, I have made the decision that I will not seek re-election in 2024. I intend to make the most of the rest of my term, and accomplish as much as I can during this time, but this job is just too demanding. I mean, look how much older I am now!"
Ash didn't laugh at this. It was an open secret that the presidency aged all who were lucky enough to hold the office. It was a demanding job, governing the entire population of Unova and representing the region abroad.
The President continued with his speech. Ash couldn't be bothered to follow along; there was so much political mumbo jumbo involved that he didn't even know what it all meant. But then…
"You should run, Ash."
The first time these words were spoken, the black-haired man didn't think he'd heard correctly. There was no way, no way in hell, that Serena had just suggested something so unthinkable.
"I should… what?"
"I said," the woman continued, "that you should run for President, Ash Ketchum. You'd be the front-runner by far."
Ash ran a hand through his dark hair. Even at twenty-five, there were many days when he forgot to comb it, and he had neglected to do so today as well.
"You're crazy, Serena," the young man responded. "I think you're genuinely insane. Why would anyone vote for me?"
"Because you saved the world," Serena replied, sounding completely sincere. "People trust you with their problems - after all, you solved a pretty big one when you were just a kid. Why wouldn't they vote for you now?"
Pikachu, who had slunk off to the beanbag chair next to the TV, suddenly returned to where the couple were standing. He opened his eyes until they practically bulged out of their sockets.
"Pika! Pika! (You're going to run for President?)"
"What's he saying?" Serena enquired, a smile forming on her face.
Ash also smiled, but his smile was more awkward than happy. He didn't really know how to respond.
"He's expressing disbelief that I would do such a thing," Ash told his girlfriend. "I mean, think about it, Serena. President Ash Ketchum. If people are sick of celebrity candidates, why would they vote for me?"
"Just because you're a celebrity doesn't mean you wouldn't be good at the job. Besides, you could really make a difference!"
For a moment, Ash didn't know what his girlfriend had meant. But pretty soon, it made sense.
If I'm President of Unova, if I even put my name into consideration for that position, that'll give me a decent platform. And I'll use it to advocate for Pokémon. Maybe Serena isn't so crazy after all.
Of course, it was entirely possible that Ash was the crazy one. It may have been Serena's idea, but the would-be candidate still had veto power. Nobody could make him file for the office - he had to do that on his own.
What should I do…?
Thank you all for reading the first chapter of All The President's 'Mon! This is a political drama I had the idea for yesterday. Updates will be rather inconsistent thanks to college, but I'll continue this when I can.
On a more serious note, this story is dedicated to my grandfather, who passed away not long ago. I love you, G-Pa. If you're still out there somewhere, I want to make you proud with this story. "Give a damn", just like you always said.
Anyway, please tell me what you think. And if you want to talk to me, find me in FriTik's Discord server, or just at SnowLabrador#7822 on the same platform. See you all next time.