Father Figure
"You must be joking me."
Ash looked up sheepishly at his wife. He had been training with Pikachu, but somehow, that session had turned into nothing more than playtime. Ash had wound up chasing Pikachu all around Pallet Town, and as a result, he was now covered in patches of dirt, his hair completely disheveled with his hat hanging halfway off of his head.
"Heh…hey, Mist…"
"Ash, you were supposed to be training," Misty stressed. "You know, for that big tournament you have coming up?"
"Yeah, I know," Ash murmured, sheepishly poking his fingers together. "But, you see, Pikachu tackled me, so I had to get back at him…"
"So you chased him all over town?" Misty sighed.
"Well…yeah…"
Misty groaned and threw her head back, earning a hearty but still caring chuckle from her husband.
"Come on, Mist," Ash teased. "There's nothing wrong with having a little fun!"
"Oh, Ash, it's not that I'm worried about," Misty grumbled. "It's just…you don't really take anything seriously, do you?"
Ash furrowed his brow at this. "Of course I do."
"Ash, you need to start acting like an adult," Misty breathed, causing his face to fall.
"I though you loved my innocence and youthful charm...," Ash murmured, sounding rather offended.
"I do, you know that I do. In fact, it's probably my favorite part of you," Misty comforted. "I'm not asking you to change who you are. But we're…going to be parents. I'm having a baby. And sometimes I question if you're ready for it."
Ash's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Of course I'm ready for it! I'm mature!"
"Ash, just the other day, you started laughing over how I got pregnant," Misty groaned. "You're almost 21 years old! You shouldn't be laughing over something as simple as sex!"
Ash started to laugh, but as soon as Misty shot him daggers, he covered his mouth with his hands and attempted to choke back the chuckle. Sighing, Misty hung her head and began to rub her temples. She felt a severe headache coming on, but she was afraid to take any form of medication now that she was pregnant.
"Ash, for my own good and the baby's own good, I need to walk away from you right now," Misty admitted, picking her head up and holding her hands in the air.
"Why?" Ash whined.
"Because you're causing me stress!" Misty snapped before taking in a deep breath and relaxing herself. No stress. Stress was bad. "Just…not right now. Not right now."
As Misty walked away from him, Ash watched after his wife's back as she walked away, his eyes eventually traveling down towards her very attractive-
"Pikapi!"
Ash glanced at the ground and found Pikachu glaring at him. This brought a deep blush to Ash's face, causing him to chuckle nervously and rub the back of his neck; a very old and undying habit.
"Heh…you saw that, didn't you, buddy?"
"Pi-ka."
Sighing, Ash allowed his shoulders to sag forward as he lowered his head. "Man, Misty is right. I guess I'm not very serious. Or mature."
"Pika-chu, pikapi," Pikachu comforted his trainer. "Pika pikachu pi-ka pikachupi pika-chu."
"But I have time to change," Ash murmured. "That's what you're saying, right, Pikachu?"
"Ka," Pikachu confirmed.
"Yeah, you're right," Ash breathed. "I can become more serious and mature! I can show Misty that I'm ready to be a dad!"
"Pika!" Pikachu trilled, nodding his head in agreement.
"That's a great idea, Pikachu!" Ash chuckled. "In fact, I'll begin today!So…I should probably start by taking a shower, huh?"
"Chu."
XXX
"Okay, class! This is Misty Ketchum, the Cerulean City gym leader!"
The little boys and girls standing before the young woman all oohed and aahed out of fascination. Misty giggled, finding the children's reactions to be completely adorable. She was used to having the local kindergarten class from the Pokémon Academy visit the gym as they did every year, but this time, it almost seemed to have a deeper meaning to her. She would look at each and every one of the small beings and couldn't help but to imagine them being her own. She wanted her baby now more than ever.
Even if Ash didn't seem to be as committed as her.
"Good morning, everyone!" Misty greeted cheerfully, giving the children a small wave.
"Good morning," the children echoed back, albeit more shyly than the gym leader.
"So, I know you all came here to learn about a gym and see how it works and what it's like to be a gym leader," Misty began, her sweet tone and warm smile making the young children more comfortable, "but how would you all like to see some Pokémon first?"
All of the children started to rapidly nod their heads, except for one small girl in the back who Misty couldn't really see. One of the children's hands, belonging to a young boy, shot up in the air, causing Misty to giggle softly.
"Yes?" Misty asked, nodding towards the boy.
"What kind of Pokémon do you have?" The boy questioned excitedly.
"Well, I'm sure you all know that every gym leader specializes in one specific type of Pokémon, right?" Misty enquired, once again causing all of the students to nod. "Can anyone guess what my type is?"
"Oh, oh, I know!" A little girl squealed, jumping up and down. "You have water type Pokémon! Right?"
"Yes, I do!" Misty giggled. "Water types are my specialty. I think they're very powerful and wonderful. They're the perfect type to represent Cerulean City!"
"How many Pokémon do you have?" Another little boy questioned.
Misty smiled and winked playfully at the child. "I think it's a lot easier if I just show you!"
She walked over to the nearby metal rack, where she stored her battle partners when she wasn't working. Picking up the poke balls, she enlarged each and every one before tossing them all in the air, watching as each one burst open and released the Pokémon that was contained inside. Before long, she had her entire team standing in front of her: Azumarill, Vaporeon, Politoed, Corsola, Starmie, and Staryu. In the pool were Goldeen, Horsea, and Gyarados.
The children were in awe of all of the water types now standing in front of them; perhaps even more so than when they'd first seen Misty.
"Aren't they amazing?" Misty crowed. "I also have a Luvdisc, but I don't use him to battle. He lives outside in the aquarium! But I can take all of you to see him later."
"Which one is your strongest Pokémon?" The first boy who had raised his hand asked.
"Hmm, that's a very good question," Misty mused. "I would definitely have to say Gyarados. He's so powerful that I can only use him on the most experienced trainers! He knows all sorts of amazing attacks like hydro pump and hyper beam. He can even use flamethrower!"
"But I thought Gyarados was a water type," a third little boy squeaked.
"He is, but just because a Pokémon is a certain type doesn't mean it can learn attacks from other types!" Misty informed the boy. "For example, Vaporeon can use ice beam, which is an ice type attack, and Corsola can use shadow ball, which is a ghost type move!"
"Whoa," the little boy breathed, causing Misty to giggle again.
"Would you guys like to come see my Pokémon up close?" Misty asked.
"Yeah!" They all cheered, running straight towards Misty with shimmering eyes.
"Remember to be careful with the Pokémon!" The teacher warned. "Be nice to them!"
Misty smiled down at the students, who were obviously enthralled with the creatures. Many of the girls were cooing over how cute Vaporeon was, while the boys were all excited over how powerful Gyarados seemed. Some of the students were laughing and watching Politoed dance, while others admired the shining jewels that both Staryu and Starmie possessed.
While they were all busy playing with the Pokémon, a blue beam shot out from the metal rack standing behind Misty, disrupting a group of children before forming into the shape of Misty's dopey and undependable Psyduck.
"Psy-aye?" He quacked, causing the students to blink curiously.
"Psyduck, I told you not to do that!" Misty scolded. The duck tilted his head to the side, and the students finally giggled, crowding around the duck Pokémon and patting his head, much to the water type's delight.
Misty sighed and shook her head, although a smile had finally returned to her face. She couldn't exactly be mad at Psyduck when he was making the students so happy! When she looked back up to where the students had originally been standing, however, she realized that a little girl was still standing in the same spot, her arms drawn into her chest with her little fists pressed against the bottom of her chin. She was wearing an anxious look on her face, and didn't seem to be in any hurry to move.
Misty approached the teacher, who was standing nearby but paying attention to the children who were playing with the Pokémon.
"Excuse me, Miss Gabriella, but why does that little girl look so nervous?" Misty asked, nodding her head towards the lone student.
"Oh, that's Emma," Miss Gabriella sighed sadly. "She's a very sweet girl, but she's also very shy and fearful. She's afraid of Pokémon."
"But she goes to the Pokémon Academy," Misty murmured.
"Her parents sent her, but I don't think she really enjoys it," Miss Gabriella replied. "She doesn't mind learning about them, like the types and the characteristics. But every time we have a real life demonstration, like this one, she just wants nothing to do with it."
Misty frowned at the little girl. It was painfully obvious just how uncomfortable she was in the presence of so many Pokémon. Misty, who had loved the creatures all of her life, could never imagine actually being so afraid of them.
Except for bugs. She could understand that.
With the rest of the students preoccupied by Misty's Pokémon, and Misty busy staring at Emma and thinking of what to do, Ash waltzed right into the battle area, a big smile on his face. When he heard the squeaky, happy cries of the young students, he stopped in his tracks and looked over towards the group, his eyes widening. He had completely forgotten that the kindergarten class was coming to visit the gym that day! Misty certainly wouldn't be happy to see him disrupting her little lesson, and that wasn't going to help Ash prove his point to her that he could be more mature. Just as he was about to turn and leave, however, he realized that there was one little girl standing far away from the rest of her classmates and looking rather terrified.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu squeaked from Ash's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm not sure…" Ash murmured. He knew, or at least his brain was telling him, that he should not have been there. But seeing that little girl so afraid and all alone…his heart was telling him to do something.
"Yeah, I'm not sure…" Ash murmured. He knew, or at least his brain was telling him, that he should not have been there. But seeing that little girl so afraid and all alone…his heart was telling him to do something.
And Ash always listened to his heart, not his brain.
So, putting on a sweet, caring smile, Ash walked over to the young girl and knelt down in front of her, causing her to glance up at him with her aqua eyes. As soon as she saw Pikachu, however, she let out a miserable little whine and looked back down.
"Hi there," Ash greeted softly. "What's your name?"
"Uh…Emma," the little girl murmured shyly.
"Emma?" Ash repeated. "That's a very pretty name. It's nice to meet you, Emma!"
The little girl nodded just once, but didn't bother to pick her eyes up again. She was staring at the floor, and nervously shifting from foot to foot.
"My name is Ash," the Pokémon Master continued, completely undeterred by the little girl's lack of interaction. "Do you know who I am?"
Still looking down, Emma shook her head.
"I'm the Pokémon Master," Ash whispered as though he wanted to keep it a secret between the two. One of Emma's eyebrows raised in intrigue, but she still didn't bother to look up. "But, more importantly than that, I'm married to that pretty lady right over there."
Emma finally lifted her head so she could look in the direction where Ash was pointing. She locked her eyes onto Misty, who by now had once again become distracted by the rest of the young students in the room.
"Miss Misty?" Emma murmured, glancing sideways at Ash.
"Yeah, but you can just call her Misty," Ash chuckled. "She and I both really love Pokémon! They're a very important part of our jobs. You like Pokémon, don't you, Emma?"
Emma once again looked down at the floor and shook her head, this time more vigorously. Ash frowned. A little girl afraid of Pokémon? That was the most heartbreaking thing he could have possibly imagined.
"How come you don't like 'em?" Ash asked curiously.
"They're scary…" Emma replied softly. "I'm scared of them."
"Oh, Pokémon aren't scary!" Ash assured the girl. "They're our friends!"
Emma whined and shook her head once again.
"How come you think they're scary?" Ash questioned.
Emma remained silent for a moment before answering, "They attack. They can hurt you. That's scary."
"A Pokémon won't ever hurt you on purpose," Ash promised the girl. "Those attacks are just for battling! Misty and I battle Pokémon all the time, but we've never used an attack on a person. We never would."
The young girl finally lowered her arms and instead chose to nervously rub her upper arm while still avoiding eye contact with Ash. Her straight, dark blonde hair began to fall over her face, as though curtaining her still present anxiety.
"Hey, I've got a great idea!" Ash crowed, lifting Pikachu off of his shoulder and instead holding the mouse in his arms. "Why don't you meet my best buddy, Pikachu? He's not scary at all!"
Emma looked up very slowly and stared at Pikachu. The electric type twitched his ears and beamed at the little girl, who still looked extremely hesitant.
"I've known Pikachu since I was just ten years old," Ash explained. "At first, he wouldn't listen to a single thing I said! He and I didn't get along at all. But after I saved him, he and I became the best of friends, and we've been that way ever since!"
The young girl blinked and continued to stare at Pikachu, who did not seem at all bothered by the child's obvious trepidation.
"Say hi, Pikachu!" Ash chuckled.
"Pika!" Pikachu greeted warmly.
"Emma, you should pet him," Ash softly suggested to the young girl. "Pikachu loves it!"
"Uh…" Emma squeaked, clutching her hands and glancing up nervously at Ash.
"Here, I'll show you!" Ash laughed. He put Pikachu down between them, causing Emma to gasp and take a small step backwards. Reaching down, Ash began to stroke the top of Pikachu's head, causing the electric type to mewl happily as his ears began to twitch more rapidly, his tail moving back and forth.
"Cha…" Pikachu sighed happily, his eyes closing in bliss.
"See?" Ash trilled. "Now you try!"
Emma gulped, but slowly reached her hand out, the sleeve of her red uniform blazer pulling back as her arm stretched. Finally, her fingers touched Pikachu's soft yellow fur, and as soon as they did, Emma's bright, aqua eyes widened out of surprise. Pikachu twitched his ears and smiled at the girl, who now seemed frozen in place.
"Isn't Pikachu so soft?" Ash asked. "Some people don't realize how soft his fur is! A lot of people expect it to be rough. But Pikachu is actually pretty fluffy!"
Emma blinked and began to slowly pet the electric type's head. Pikachu once again closed his eyes and began to swish his tail, murmuring happily as Emma patted him.
"There ya' go," Ash chuckled, watching as Emma pet his partner Pokémon. "See? Pikachu's not gonna' hurt you! He would never attack a person."
A smile finally appeared on Emma's face. She giggled and took her hand away from Pikachu's head, instead holding her arms at her sides and pulling at her red and gold plaid skirt as she continued to eye Pikachu.
"You're…nice," Emma informed Pikachu, who beamed in response.
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu chirped.
"I wouldn't lie to you!" Ash laughed. "Pikachu is a nice Pokémon. Most Pokémon are!"
Emma glanced up towards the pool, and pointed at the atrocious Pokémon swimming around. "Even that one?"
"Oh, Gyarados?" Ash chuckled. "Yeah, him too! Even though it doesn't look like it. Trust me, Misty would never have a bad Pokémon!"
The young girl hedged at this. "But he looks so scary…"
"Hey, I'll tell you a secret," Ash whispered, causing Emma to lean in closer to him. "When Misty was a little girl, she was afraid of Gyarados."
Emma's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah, she was really scared of him. But one day, she was in trouble, and Gyarados saved her! That's when Misty learned not to be afraid of him. Now, they battle together all the time!"
"Whoa," Emma breathed, still staring at Gyarados. Eventually, she turned her head back towards Ash and then glanced down at Pikachu, who squeaked happily and jumped into her arms. At first, the girl was startled, but once she settled down, she giggled and nuzzled the top of his head. "You really are cute, Pikachu!"
"Pi!"
Emma giggled and gave Pikachu a hug before looking up at Ash, who was smiling happily at her.
"Mr. Ash, can I ask you something?" Emma squeaked.
"You can just call me Ash," the raven haired man chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he blushed, "but sure!"
Watching for a short moment as Pikachu batted at the gold bow tied in front of her scarlet blazer, Emma giggled and then turned her attention back onto Ash. "You love Misty a lot, don't you?"
Ash drew in a breath and looked up at the gym leader, who was still busy observing the other students and idly talking to the teacher. She looked so pretty in her sleeveless black shirt dress…so grown up and mature. And there he was in a t-shirt and jeans, with his hat and his fingerless gloves.
No wonder Misty didn't take him seriously.
"More than anyone could ever know," Ash breathed.
"Huh?"
Ash blinked hard and glanced back down at Emma. She was still holding Pikachu, although she now looked a little confused. He had obviously been a bit too quiet with his last answer…maybe because he hadn't really meant to voice his thoughts.
"I do love her a lot," Ash answered warmly. "I think she's an amazing gym leader, but an even more amazing person. You could learn a lot from Misty. I know I have."
Emma smiled at this. She looked like a little doll, Ash thoughtfully noted. A very beautiful little girl who he had helped to overcome her fear. It was amazing, really.
"You're really nice, Ash!" Emma giggled.
"Oh…thanks!" Ash chuckled, finding himself blushing again.
"You're going to be a very good daddy one day," Emma commented, causing Ash's eyes to widen. Unaffected by his reaction, Emma allowed Pikachu to jump back onto Ash's shoulder before waving at the both of them and running to join her classmates. As soon as Emma joined in with the other children, Miss Gabriella and Misty took notice right away, and both gasped out of sheer surprise. Ash stood up and tried to sneak out of the room, but something, or rather someone, had grabbed him before he could make his escape. Nervously looking over his shoulder, Ash found himself staring at exactly who he'd been expecting.
"I'm sorry," Ash quietly apologized. "Really, Misty, I am. I'll just go-"
"You don't have to go anywhere," Misty giggled, spinning Ash around so he was fully facing her. "You helped Emma, didn't you?"
"Well…yeah…I guess I did," Ash murmured awkwardly.
"Honey, relax, I'm not going to get mad at you," Misty assured her husband. "That was incredibly sweet of you!"
"Thanks," Ash chuckled, smiling at his wife. "But it was nothing, really."
"It sure meant a lot to her. I can tell! Look at how much fun she's having now with her friends!"
Ash peered over Misty's shoulder and found that Emma was kneeling down beside Vaporeon, petting the water type's head just as she'd been doing with Pikachu before. Ash smiled at this, and then back at Misty, who was positively beaming.
"You know what she told me?" Ash asked whimsically, causing Misty to smirk and raise an eyebrow.
"I have no idea," she replied honestly. "What?"
Grinning, Ash looked down sheepishly at his sneakers before replying, "She told me I'd make an excellent dad someday."
"Someday, huh?" Misty questioned playfully.
"Well, technically she said 'one day,' but that's like the same thing, isn't it?" Ash asked in a completely serious manner.
"Yes, it is," Misty sighed laughingly. "So I guess no one can see my belly yet, huh?"
Ash smirked and rubbed his hand in a circle against Misty's midsection. "You don't have a belly!"
"Not now, but it's coming," Misty giggled, looking down at Ash's hand.
"And I can't wait until it does," Ash chuckled, kissing Misty atop her head. "It'll just make our baby all the more real."
Misty smiled and turned her eyes up towards Ash, gently pinching his cheek before striding back towards the students, commenting to her husband, "She's right, you know."
"Huh?" Ash muttered, causing Pikachu to sigh and shake his head.
Misty giggled and turned back around, giving Ash a very confident smile. "You're going to be great."