The Very Best

by God of Sun

What if Ash never overslept? With his brand new Pokémon partner, Squirtle, he is going to go on a journey to become the next Champion of the Kanto Region! However, his journey is not going to be even remotely easy. Ash will have to deal with powerful enemies, new friendships, and to learn how to become someone that is worthy of being called a Pokémon Master!

8. Ash's 11th Birthday! Jigglypuff's Song!

Chapter 8 is finally here! This is the chapter where our boy will no longer be a ten-year-old and where a particular singing menace makes her appearance! I still have no idea why they kept him the same age in the anime, but I guess those guys needed to sell marketable plushies of this kid. This is the first filler episode of the story, where it's just a simple chapter where everyone is allowed to interact. I know people don't like this kind of stuff, but I'll try my best to make each of these episodes contribute to the greater story.

Along with that, I saw the review that you sent me, 'CaptainRecruit.' I'll try not to focus the whole story on those two, but there will be an Ash x Misty scene occasionally. Also, yes, the Jigglypuff in this chapter is the same one with the marker in the anime. Thanks for the support; as usual, I can't believe we're almost at the 30-review mark!

Now enjoy the birthday of Ash Ketchum!

Disclaimer: You know I don't Pokémon! Why would a minor own one of the biggest franchises in existence?!

The Very Best:

Chapter 8:

Ash's 11th Birthday! Jigglypuff's Song!

Opening (If you want to): Ready, Steady, Go! (From Fullmetal Alchemist, cover by AmaLee)

---

Ash Ketchum opened his eyes to see the bright, early sun shining through the walls of his green tent. A smile broke out across his face as he looked at his chest, Wartortle sleeping as he hid in his shell. He debated whether to let his partner wake up naturally or force him to get up so he could leave. Ash knew that waiting for the former would take literal hours. That would be no good, as today was not just an ordinary day.

It was Ash Ketchum's eleventh birthday!

He gently drummed his hand on Wartortle's thick shell. "Bud. Wake up." He said faintly but was met with no response. "Come on. Don't make me have to push you off again."

Wartortle woke up with a massive grumble as he frowned at waking up. He yawned loudly as he stood on Ash, unhappy that Ash ruined his hours of peace. "Wartort..."

"Didn't want to do it to you, but I must get up today. Do you know what today is?" Wartortle quickly shook himself awake as he realized it.

"War!" He said with good energy as he hugged Ash, the boy returning the favor to his partner. The two had grown to care about each other in these two months. It was almost crazy that they were just simple partners stuck together initially. Now, they couldn't imagine being split apart from each other.

Ash broke the hug as he stood up, wearing the same pajamas he had always worn, as he knew to get dressed. His eyebrow raised as he saw his bag was missing. "You know where my bag went?"

"War?" Wartortle was just as confused as his Trainer was.

Ash tried to think as he opened the tent flap, the early-morning sun coming into his eyes as he blinked them off. He put his tent near a tree as his foot bumped into something on the ground. He looked skeptical as he reached for his bag. "Why is it out here?"

Suddenly, Green and Pyra jumped out of the tree and landed a mere foot away from Ash. "AAAHHHHHH!" They put all their energy and excitement into that yell as they supported Ash's new age. Wartortle was pushed back in pure surprise, now stuck by standing on his shell again.

Ash didn't even react. "Good morning to you too." He happily told the pair. After years of being with the girl, this was a daily thing.

"Are you happy, Ash?" She asked expectingly. "I only take 'yes.'"

Ash chuckled as the two shared a friendly high-five. "Yes. I am very excited about the day!" He didn't even look down as he reached and helped up Wartortle with just one hand. "Need to get dressed first, though."

"Okay." Ash went back inside as Green waited patiently outside. Red walked over as he adjusted his cap. Pikachu was rather content with being his bag.

"He's finally awake?" Green and Pyra nodded as Red tried to shake off his black hair. "I was worried he would sleep through the day."

"It wouldn't be his first time." This made the two share a brief laugh as they remembered how Ash once woke up at three in the afternoon. "I think our gift is better than Misty's, even though I haven't seen hers yet."

"Pika!" Pikachu fully agreed with such a notion.

"Is the cake starting to bake, Brock?" Red called out to the oldest member, who made sure the batter wasn't too thick as he mixed it up. Brock was stained a bit as Geodude was next to him, actually working on the frosting.

"The batter is almost done. Just give me a minute." Ash stepped out of his tent, now fully dressed, as he and Wartortle went to check on Brock.

They smelled something great. "It smells good. And, if it's just like everything else you make, it will taste great too."

"A good birthday can never be complete without some dessert," Brock said as he added the last bit of crushed berries. He quickly stopped himself before nervously. "...Um. You like chocolate, right?"

Ash smiled at how the older boy wanted this cake to be perfect for this day. "The answer hasn't changed since these few days."

"Birthdays are just a big thing for my family if you couldn't guess." Brock tried to be sarcastic as he returned to focusing on the cake. "Each of my siblings has cake flavors that are not identical, and you can only imagine what happens when I accidentally get one wrong."

"I'm just glad you're actually making this. I haven't eaten any sweets on this journey, now that I think about it."

"Well, that's going to change," Brock promised, as he was king sure the fire was warm enough yet. "By the way, go talk to Misty while I'm doing this. She wants to see you."

Ash nodded as he went to Misty's nice orange tent and knocked lightly on the flap. No noise came out. "Hello?" He tried to knock again.

Suddenly, hands covered his eyes. Ash frowned slightly after seeing it. "You'd think that I would ever sleep in?" The person said to him with a smirk.

Ash removed the hands as he sent a small smile to Misty. "I'm just glad you took the time to wake me up today."

"Aww. I thought the little prince would want his beauty sleep." She joked back before smiling too. "Happy birthday, Ash."

"You too." Ash quickly shook his head. "I mean-uh... I. ignore what I just said, alright?" Misty just chuckled at her friend. "You know where Ryan is?"

"He left to go somewhere. Probably just trying to train."

Ash nodded as he looked at Misty. "So... about a gift you have for me?"

"Seriously? You're not even going to wait?" Misty shook her head, knowing how she had been teasing it these past few weeks. On purpose, of course.

"I just want to see my gift. Just trying to make sure it's a gift you would give someone." Ash tried to convince her, but Misty decided to a compromise.

"How about this? I'll let you see the gift I have for you early-"

"Thanks'!"

"If you call me 'Queen' for a whole week." Misty finished, making Ash and Wartortle gasp as the preposterous trade.

"What kind of request is that?" Misty crossed her arms, the two seeing that Misty was not going to change to conditions of this trade. He crossed his arms as well. "I'm not doing it."

Instead of complaining, Misty just smiled. "Looks like you passed my little test. I knew you wouldn't go through with something like that." She told him as she picked up her orange bag and began to walk off. "You should probably come, Wartortle. I think it's something you'll like..."

"War." The Water-type didn't need any extra convincing.

"Ow. Not so hard." Pikachu was on Red's shoulder as he steered the quiet boy to where Misty and Ash were by pulling his ear. Pikachu smiled as Red frowned at how red his ear was just because. "I think Pikachu wants to join you guys."

"Sorry, but this-"

"Is something you two can join in on." Ash decided as he didn't mind sharing a gift with a friend. Misty was not feeling the same as she slightly frowned at the extra company.

Red shrugged, meaning that Misty had to agree to this. "Okay. Follow us, then." She looked at everyone else. "We're just going to be out for a minute!"

"Don't go too far!" Brock said in a way a parent would.

Ash, Red, Misty, and the two Pokémon left the group as they tried to put a reasonable distance between them. Green waved goodbye as she decided to strike up a conversation. "What do you think they're going off to?"

Brock shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mi-" Near them, a bush began to rumble.

Everyone stopped as a cute Fairy-type Pokémon stepped into the scene. A pink Pokémon with a spherical body walked in as she looked around curiously. She had pointed ears with black insides and large, blue eyes. Her arms were small and very stubby as she used her tiny feet to cross the pleasant grass. On top of her head was a curled tuft of fur.

"Jiggly?" She questioned as she saw the people there.

"EEE!" Green picked up the pink Pokémon quickly and hugged her, jumping up and down as she did so. "You're so cute!"

"Be careful, Green," Brock warned as he stood up and raised his hand. "That Jigglypuff can be very... dangerous?"

To his surprise, Jigglypuff happily hugged the girl back as this Jigglypuff seemed very friendly. Green held the bouncy Pokémon as she placed her down, the Normal-type gently floating down. "Jigglypuff!" She said happily.

"Aww. You can't be dangerous." Green said as she petted the soft fur of Jigglypuff. "I heard that you guys can sing. Can you give us a song?"

At this request, Jigglypuff looked at the ground with embarrassment. She shuffled her feet around nervously after hearing Green's question. They looked at each other as they saw her act like this. "Is something wrong?"

"Jiggly." Jigglypuff slowly nodded. She inhaled as she tried to show her problem. "Jiiiiiiiigggly pufffffff. jiggg lllyy puff." The voice sounded extremely deep and ill, the singing making Brock visibly cringe.

"Okay, stop." Jigglypuff stopped her singing as tears started to well up, sad at how awful she indeed sounded. "Hey. It's going to be okay. You know, I have a little sister that also likes to sing."

"Jiggly?" She stopped her process of crying after hearing that.

"Yeah. If you want us to help you with this, we gladly will."

"We won't stop until you can play among the stars!" Green added, Pyra showing a Jigglypuff a gentle nod.

Jigglypuff wiped her tears as she landed in Brock's hands, giving a determined nod to him. "Puff!"

---

Ash, Misty, and Red made their way to a clearing as they were far from everyone. She looked at Ash. "Alright," Misty began. "This is what I've wanted to give you. I've been holding onto it since we left Cerulean."

Out of her backpack came out two TM's; one was a bright cyan, and the other was the same gray they saw back in Pewter. The cyan one read: 'TM 55: Ice Beam'. The other one is: 'TM 23: Iron Tail.'

The boy looked excitingly as he took the two TM's, holding them separately. "Ice Beam! Iron Tail?! You're giving me these strong moves?" Ash couldn't believe that Misty got something this good.

The girl shrugged. "I always try to make my gift something special, so it makes sense that it's always good."

"Try great," Ash responded as Wartortle looked excitingly at the strong moves, especially Ice Beam. "Thanks' so much."

Red observed as he recalled something. "It was strange when your Azumarill suddenly knew Iron Tail, even though it's not part of his usual move set." Pikachu was glad to have someone with a sharp eye for this.

Ash knelled down as he showed the two options to Wartortle. "Be honest; which one do you want to have?"

"War." Wartortle did not hesitate. He went with Ice Beam. Pikachu looked on as if he was happy for the Water-type, but he looked longingly at the Steel-type TM.

"Pika." The Electric-type said with a sigh, Red patting his partner to give him comfort. Wartortle saw how Pikachu wanted this as he snatched Iron Tail from Ash, presenting the TM to Red.

Red gently took the TM as he looked at the CD, Wartortle, and Ash. Ash merely shrugged. "It seems like Wartortle isn't interested in Iron Tail. If Pikachu wants it, he can use it."

"Pika!" Pikachu was excited at the idea of getting this move. He jumped off Red as his Trainer sent a smile to him; the Electric-type was one of the only people that made him smile.

"Alright. Why don't we get this over with?" Red said as he knelled down, sitting by Ash with their respective TMs. Misty only wanted Ash to have these but knew how he used this gift was up to him. "Get ready."

"Chu."

"War." The two nodded as the cyan disk was placed on Wartortle and the gray disk on Pikachu. The same light enveloped the two as it quickly disappeared, making the TMs drop onto the ground. Ash smiled as he collected the TM's. "Well, what are you standing around for? Use the moves you guys picked." He positively encouraged.

Wartortle knew precisely how to attack as he gathered blue, cold energy. He shaped them into a ball as he launched a beam of ice from his hands. The beam did knock him back, as it was much stronger than he thought, as he saw what he had made. He made several pieces of ice stick out of the ground from the grass he hit.

Pikachu used his new move as his long tail was coated in hard metal. Pikachu moved his tail around as he smirked, moving quickly across with his latest move. He used this new power to have his tail shatter the ice that Wartortle had just made. The two were by each other as their moves disappeared, smiling at one another.

"Looks like they got the hang of it well." Misty complimented as she watched how the two used their power. "I would hope these gifts would do well, but I can see for myself."

"Thanks' again, Mist," Ash said gratefully as the two shared a nice fist bump; neither believed how they first met with arguing.

Red watched as the two were having fun with their new moves but knew that it couldn't last forever. "I know you're happy with these new moves, but we have a group to return to." He told them in his level-headed way. "You can play with these later."

Wartortle and Pikachu childishly complained before sucking it up and preparing to leave. They were with their respective Trainer as they returned to the main group. Ash looked at the TMs between his fingers as he decided to ask Misty about it.

"Mist," This got her attention. "Which other Pokémon we have with us can learn Ice Beam."

Misty thought for a few seconds before answering. "I already taught Starmie the move, but Horsea didn't want it. Azumarill also didn't want to get it. Uh. Luna can learn the move, and I think Nidoran can learn it?" She was unsure about the last part. "Double-check with Dexter on that one."

"That's good to know. What about Iron Tail?"

"Eevee, Pyra, and Jangmo-o is for sure." She replied as she tried to think. "Onix can learn it. Maybe Luna can learn it. Check with the Pokédex for that one, and maybe Nidoran."

Ash nodded as he heard all this, glad to have someone this smart with him. "Thank you for giving me the rundown."

"Anything for your day, Ashie."

---

When the group returned, they weren't expecting to see Brock and Green fail to sing to an annoyed Jigglypuff. They kept trying to show off their volatile voice as Jigglypuff was beginning to think these people would be no help. "Did we miss something?"

"You're back!" Brock exclaimed as he walked up to them. He guided them to where they were trying to teach Jigglypuff. "Jigglypuff wants to sing, but something is stopping her. We just assumed that her singing needed work."

Misty sat on the ground and watched Jigglypuff, knowing a thing or two about singing from her life in the gym. "Show me."

Jigglypuff cleared her throat, extra hard this time. "Jigggggggg pufffffffff lyyyypppp puff-" A painful sounding cough stopped her singing from the poor Fairy-type. Misty cringed at what was stuck inside the cute Pokémon's throat.

"Well, there's the problem. It's her throat that can't let her sing." She deduced as Jigglypuff looked up at her, poking at her throat softly. "Does anyone have anything for this?"

"There's a fruit that could cure this sort of thing. Let me see if I can find it." It took a minute before Brock plucked a green fruit off the tree and presented it to Jigglypuff. "Here. This should fix it."

"Jig." Jigglypuff wasted no time in chowing down on the fruit, desperate for anything that could help her. As this was happening, Brock noticed how Ash was about to put something in his bag far away, something very disked-shaped.

"Did you already give him your gift?" Brock asked, somewhat annoyed. He wanted that to be later.

Misty gave a small sigh. "I did. Before you tell me off, he was okay with having the gift early. I just thought something like that would brighten his morning."

"Well, I guess we have to show our gift off early too." Brock walked away and got a green gift bag from his massive backpack. He walked up to Ash with a smile, making the boy turn around. "Ash. Happy birthday."

Ash looked down at the gift bag, Wartortle just as surprised. "You want to let me have it now?" Brock nodded as Ash wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you so much, Brock! You're the best!"

Ash sat on the ground as he was about to open the gift, but Brock decided to ask something. "Be honest; what do you think it is?"

Ash thought for a moment. "I know I need clothes, but I don't want them. I'm guessing it's not a Pokégear."

"Well, why don't you look in there to find out?" Ash opened the bag, and his face went neutral after seeing the contents.

Instead of a specific object or item, there was only money. About 100'000 Poke Dollars were sitting in that in five separate stacks. Ash took it out and examined it, seeing how crisp and clean the paper money was. He blinked a few times. "Huh?"

"Yeah. We could not figure out what to give you." Brock admitted as he saw how Ash was stunned. "In the end, we just decided to give you money. I think everyone likes the gift."

"Of course, I like it. It's free money." Ash replied as he organized the money in the bag. "I just wasn't expecting this much or any money at all. I am grateful." The two shared a friendly hug after this.

"Well, now you can choose what you want. You can buy clothes, games, posters, gamble." Brock realized what he had just said. "I mean, ignore that last part."

Ash decided to taunt him. "Alright, but no promises." Wartortle laughed at Ash's joke as the two returned to their backpack, safely keeping the money.

At that moment, Ryan finally came back to the group. Jangmo-o, Pinsir, and Butterfree were out of their Poke Balls as they returned from some good training. Ryan was trying to see if he was ready and good enough to go for the gym badges. Ever since getting the Cascade Badge, that idea was planted in his head, and Pinsir's convincing made him train early.

But now, they came back for something else. "Free. Free butter!" Butterfree happily called out as he greeted Ash, flying up to him with majestic wings. Ash smiled at seeing Buttefree, and it grew more when he saw his friend.

"Ryan!" The two came together and shared a high-five. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't return for us." He told as Jangmo-o jumped onto Ash's shoulder, giving a soft bite to say happy birthday.

"Yeah! The training took a lot longer than I expected." He reflected before shaking that away. "But that's okay. Happy birthday, man."

"Thank you. You missed a lot since I know what gift you pitched into." Ash told him as Ryan gasped slightly.

"It's true." Brock walked up to ruffle Ryan's hair at seeing him return. "Since Misty showed her gift early, I was forced to do the same."

"I wish we were there to see your reaction."

"Pins." Pinsir too wanted to see Ash happy.

"Don't worry. I can tell you that I was happy about it. I'm just glad I could actually get a gift." He brushed off as he placed Jangmo-o on the ground. He then saw how all of them were out and about, giving him a great idea. "Why don't we send everyone's Pokémon out? They should be part of this."

"That sounds like a good idea." Brock agreed.

Everyone got the message, as they all sent out their own Pokémon. Nidoran and Pidgey were happy to be outside the whole day, meeting with Starmie and Geodude. Everyone came out as it showed all the Pokémon these six Trainers had. Red only had three on hand as he wanted to make himself just like his friends, even if he sadly sent off half his team to Oak for some time. The only one who wasn't out was Misty's Magikarp, which I hope is for an apparent reason.

Brock looked across all the friends they had gotten along the way as he picked up Red's Bulbasaur, the Grass-type, in a very calm mood. "I'm still surprised you managed to capture him. Starter Pokémon are rare to find in the wild."

Red shrugged as he petted the Grass-type, something he took with no issue. "I was just as surprised, but he didn't want to be part of his home anymore. I'm guessing he must not have had the best life in the wild. Luckily, I'll make sure that'll change."

"This was a good idea," Misty admitted to her friend as she saw Horsea trying to speak to the other Pokémon nervously.

Ash smiled as he saw all this. He suddenly felt something on his foot as he saw Nidoran trying to get his attention. He knelt for the Poison-type. "What's going on down here?"

"Nido. Ran Nidoran." He pointed his small horn at Azumarill, trying to say something as he pointed at the evolved Pokémon.

Ash just gave a blank face. "I... I don't know what you're trying to say."

Wartortle heard Nidoran again and made Ash look at him. "War! Tort!" The Water-type made a small shape with his hands, making some noise before making it grow bigger.

Ash was surprised as he realized what Nidoran wanted to do. "You want to evolve?" Nidoran confirmed this, and Misty was shaken as well.

They thought as they weren't expecting this—Misty bit her nail to help her think. "If Nidoran wants to, then it's his decision," Misty said after thinking it through.

Ash thought about it as he placed a hand on the Pokémon's hand. "Be honest; are you wanting to evolve for me because it's simply my birthday, or are you doing it because you want to?"

Nidoran looked down after hearing that. He wanted to evolve to surprise Ash with his cool new form, even if he had to say goodbye to his current one. He wasn't going to do this for himself. He realized what mistake he was on the verge of making by doing this, shaking his vigorously. "Nido. Nido."

Ash chuckled at Nidoran, correcting himself. "Remember, evolve whenever you're truly ready, okay?" Nidoran nodded as they stood up, Nidoran staying his usual self for the time being.

Misty saw all the Pokémon huddled around Green as the girl was surprisingly good at telling stories. Viney and Luna were in front as Pyra sat next to her Trainer. "What do you think she's talking about?"

Ash listened in as he groaned at what she was talking about. He groaned when he realized she spoke of moments when they were younger, mainly when they used to hang out at summer camp. "So, Goh decided the best way to tame Rapidash was to try and add the saddle when she wasn't looking. Let's say the Fire-type wasn't the only one burning that morning." She told them, getting big laughs from the audience of Pokémon.

"Azuma." Azumarill encouraged the girl to say more.

"There was another time when Ash and Serena were walking through the trees, and he didn't want to tell me what he did, but he accidentally made a Misdrevious upset. He was cursed with a loser symbol on his face for a week!" This only made the Pokémon laugh harder. This caused Ash to be very embarrassed as his friend was giving away these embarrassing memories like they were candy.

Misty just chuckled right next to him. "My. It sounds like you were busy when you were younger." She remarked, only fueling Ash's fire.

"There's a reason I don't like to talk about it." He said as all this talk of home made him realize something. "Hey, Mist. Can I borrow your Poké-"

"Gear." She finished for him as she began to fish around in her bag. "You only ask me to borrow this every day. You'll have to cut it short when Pikachu and Red leave us, as we cannot charge it then."

"I'm aware, but I also need the thing. You know how furious she would be if I didn't call her on this day specifically?"

"Ok." Misty handed the phone to Ash as the boy opened it up. He wanted to call right then and there, but the noise from the Pokémon was rather much. "You should probably go somewhere else."

"Agreed." Ash and Wartortle walked away as they left to talk to those still in Pallet Town. At that exact moment, Jigglypuff had regained her singing voice back after eating the fruit that Brock had given her. Misty heard how her voice was now in top-notch condition.

"It sounds amazing." Misty softly clapped as the Fairy-type gave a proper bow. "How about we show everyone how great that voice of yours is? A stage for you to perform on and everything."

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff was ecstatic at the idea. Misty and Jigglypuff did quick work on getting the stage ready.

Red was calmly sitting down as Pikachu was busy talking with everyone. Ryan walked over and sat down next to him. "Hey. Can I tell you something?"

"Well, since you decided to talk, and I have nothing else, we can." Red agreed in his calm manner.

Ryan smacked his lips as he thought out his sentences. "Be honest; how would you describe a gym battle? Is it fun?"

"That's an oddly specific question, so I'll give you an oddly specific answer." Red thought for a moment. "The lighting from above shows off the shadows and attacks that both sides throw at each other as the Trainer tries to dish out another attack. Sometimes the lack of crowd can harm those who crave eyes. When the-"

"Thank you, but that's not what I mean." Ryan cut in before whatever that was could keep going. Red watched as the boy sighed. "What I meant to say was, do... do you think that anyone could be part of it?"

"Ryan. Are you interested in collecting gym badges?"

Ryan couldn't contain it anymore. "Yes! I do." He took out the Cascade Badge he had kept a secret for this entire time. "I got this from one of the sisters, saying this could be the confidence boost I need."

Red placed a finger on his chin. "I can tell that you lack confidence, but why are you speaking to me? I'm sure the rest of your group could hear you out."

"I don't know. I guess you're just easy to talk to." Ryan admitted, sending a small smile to the quiet boy. "Am I just chasing after a shadow in the darkness? That my dream is worth it?"

"I think-"

"Everyone! Can I have your attention, please?" Misty spoke up as Jigglypuff stood near her. This caught everyone's attention. "Jigglypuff wishes to perform for everyone here. I would like it if you would come and listen!"

"We can talk about it after this," Red promised as Pikachu jumped back on his shoulder, Ryan nodding as he slowly stood up. Green walked over to Red and hugged the calm boy. "I know you want to say something."

"I just want to know if we'll leave together when we're done. I want to stick by the whole way!" Red slowly nodded as Green happily clapped, Pikachu mentally preparing himself for when that time came. "You're amazing, Red!"

"... Sure."

"Green," Brock got her attention. "Can you go tell Ash that we need wood and berries?"

"Sure." Green went to look for her friend, accidentally going in the wrong direction. Pyra dragged her by the skirt in the actual direction, Brock smiling at how close the two were with each other.

Everyone came together as Jigglypuff stood on her stage, which was a large stump that Misty decorated to make it look pretty. Jigglypuff saw the great crowd she reeled in as she looked at Misty, seeing the girl she had grown to like during all this. "You go, Jigglypuff." Brock cheered for the Fairy-type.

She nodded, getting her voice ready for this. "Puff."

Jigglypuff began to sing as everyone listened to this. The voice sounded so magical as everyone got sucked into the simple song that Jigglypuff was using. Suddenly, everyone felt exhausted as they kept hearing this song. Most of them yawned as keeping their eyes open seemed impossible.

Everyone began to go on the ground as Jigglypuff still kept going, her eyes closed as she had gone too far into the song. She was so focused on her voice as she didn't hear all the Trainers and Pokémon slowly fall asleep. Onix was the last one to fall into the warm hands of tiredness, hitting the ground with a massive thud. Luckily, nobody was hurt.

"Jig?" Jigglypuff stopped her singing as the people that wanted to hear her sing were all asleep on the ground. The only two that were still awake were Jangmo-o and Luna. The former had Soundproof as his ability, and the latter just lucked out. She began to inflate in anger as she saw all this.

Jigglypuff jumped off her stage as she decided to rummage around in everyone's bag, wanting to get sweet revenge after this. "Clefable fable." Luna tried to speak to Jigglypuff about this, but the singer wasn't interested. She looked in Ash's bag first and found a marker with a green tip. She took the thing and gained a devious smile.

"Puff!" She'll show these people that slept through her singing!

---

Delia was in her home as she finished pouring the tea for the two, always near her phone as the other person was watching. "You needn't hover around the phone all day. Just let the seconds pass and watch them become minutes."

Delia sighed as she finished everything, sitting down at the table. "I know. I'm just really hoping for the call, Riley." She told her older brother.

Riley was a calm man that donned a blue and black hat that covered his right eye. His outfit was not something you would expect from Kanto, as the necklace he had shined a golden color. He wore a jacket that had the same shade of blue as his hat with brown pants. Gray shoes finished as he sat crossed leg on the chair. His presence was very calm as he looked at his sister.

"If I know the son you had, then he will call eventually." He took a sip from Delia's tea, enjoying the simple taste of it. Delia decided to drink her tea, thinking that it would get her mind off it. The phone then began to ring.

Delia choked for a moment before swallowing it. "See? I told you he would call eventually." She pointed out as she got up.

"We have no confirmation that the person on the other side is the young lad."

"Watch." Delia challenged as she took the phone. "Hello." She greeted with extreme joy.

"Hey." The voice gave it away. "Mom, it's-"

"AAAASSSSSSHHHHHH!"

In a split second, he brought the phone away from his ear. Ash knew that excitement could only come from his mother, but Green would always edge her out. Wartortle also heard the shout, wanting to cover his ears after that one. The boy was allowed to respond when silence came after. "Hi, mom." Ash finally talked.

"Oh, how is my birthday boy?!" She talked to Ash as if he was a little kid again. "Hmm. I don't get why I can't connect you to the camera thingy to see you."

Ash smiled at hearing his mother again. Although not at the action she had been trying to do work these past few days. "I'm calling you through a Pokégear." He explained again as he leaned on a tree, trying to get comfortable. "It's been a while since we last talked."

"No kidding. Oak has already told me that you have already made it to Cerulean. I'm still upset that you didn't call when you were in the other towns."

Ash sighed, needing no reminder of the mistake. "I know I should've done that. I hope me calling you all these days would've made up for it."

"It's a start," Delia gave a maternal laugh as she heard how Ash groaned at that. "How're all your friends doing?"

"Everyone's good."

"Just good? Kind of good? So-so good? Or are they good that it's good?" Delia elaborated.

Ash smiled. "Option four." He shook his head at how Delia could sometimes be. "Brock, the oldest guy, is making a cake for me. You know which flavor that cake is."

"How could I forget your favorite cake flavor? I know you wouldn't let me try." Delia joked, making Ash a bit red from how annoying he used to be when he was younger. "Did any of you see anything interesting since we last talked?"

"Mountains, hills, rivers, some few houses here and there." Ash listed off. "Nothing you haven't heard already."

"I would still argue that they are worth the mention." An older voice spoke up on Delia's side. "A little detail never hurt a painting."

Ash softly gasped at hearing that voice. "Is Riley with you?" He asked excitingly, wanting to listen to his uncle.

Delia nodded as she handed the phone to Riley. "He's all yours."

Riley calmly smiled as he held the phone with only two fingers. "How are you on this fine day, eleven-year-old?"

Ash smiled at hearing that strange but very familiar way of speech. "A lot better since I'm talking to you. Glad you were able to come this year."

"Why would I never arrive here? It would be a choice conducted by a halfwit if I missed out on this."

"What about that time for Ash's second birthday?" Delia brought up.

"That isn't a viable point of contention." Riley quickly defended as he heard that argument. "If Ash couldn't remember that day, then he can make no argument incorporating that occasion."

Ash tried to think his hardest, wanting to prove Riley wrong. He sighed after failing to think of the memory. "Fine. You win this." As Riley does with any argument that dares crosses his simple path.

Riley warmly smiled. "How have things transpired over the twelve months since we last spoke? I heard how you began the journey you've wanted to partake in since you were little and that you are producing results far better than most."

"I got my two badges on my first try."

"So, I've heard, and you've stated. If I may, how many Pokémon have you gotten on hand?"

Ash went very quiet as he still hadn't captured any new Pokémon, and the Jigglypuff didn't seem interested in him. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." He drew it out, hoping Riley would forget about the question.

"A much merciful question is what I should've spoken." Riley realized before clearing his thin throat. "Have you gotten any Pokémon since Pewter, as my sister has already mentioned the Pidgey you possess?'

Ash was okay with answering this one. "I caught a male Nidoran on the way to Pewter. You should've seen how beaten up he was." He petted Wartortle, and the Water-type closed his eyes, getting the spot he always wanted on the shell. "Squirtle evolved a while ago, but you probably know that."

"Your assumption of my knowledge is in the realm of errorless. Though, I have one question that will vex me unless I speak it to you."

"Go ahead. I'll answer it." Riley was silent before a calm smile went across his face.

"Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

Ash merely groaned after hearing that same question. Riley always asked this on his birthday, and Ash would feel very embarrassed as Riley would taunt him when he said no. Delia merely laughed as she was glad Ash didn't have one yet. Making and maintaining a relationship was a big responsibility, and Ash isn't exactly the person you would call for that.

"No. I don't have one." Ash answered with an eye roll. "You know that I'm not interested in that."

"Pardon my untamed curiosity." Riley wasn't sincere as he said this. "I just ask if you have found someone willing to stay by your side, and you are just as willing to return the favor. Patience and kindness are the main ingredients in that."

Delia quickly took the phone, Riley giving a knowing, level-headed smile. "Although, we can wait a bit more," Delia suggested. "If you ever do have one, please talk to me."

"Why would I do anything else?"

"I'm just making sure," Delia answered. "That Seymour guy Professor Oak is working with seems like a good man, even if he can be as odd as the old man. I'm glad that you were able to bring him here."

"Well done. Seymour's poetry and various text are something I, and Lucario, are always prepared to look through." Riley added, finding him to be a nice chap.

"Yeah. I'm glad that he's doing well as the new assistant." Ash remarked as he decided to ask Riley something. "Is it cold up in Sinnoh?"

"The icy hands of frost seem to bear no interest in leaving that region. Despite the warmth when the sun is out, the cold quickly takes over as the star leaves us. But do visit; I'm always welcome for that."

"We'll visit, but let's wait for that," Ash suggested as he couldn't think of much else to say. "I think I'm done."

"Okay." Delia nodded, wishing this already ten minutes could've lasted longer. "Happy birthday, and I love you. Even if we can't see each other."

"I love you too." Ash's voice seemed weaker as he said this. "I'll call you whenever I can."

"I send my farewells and emotions to you, Ash," Riley told him over the phone, hearing how the boy seemed to lose some of his light when he spoke. "Don't forget; you'll always have a place with us."

Ash felt touched. "Thank you for everything. Especially for listening to me."

"BYE!" Delia said one last word before Ash ended the call. The boy sighed as he slid down the tree, his arms having no movement as they went to the sides. Wartortle saw this as Ash seemed to stare off at nothing. Unsure, he gently tapped Ash's jeans.

"Ortle?" The boy didn't answer right away.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Ash assured as he closed his eyes. "It's just... I miss her. I knew what I was leaving behind when I started this journey with you and that I wouldn't be able to meet her for a long time. Being like that is just how someone starts their journey, and everyone has to leave their parents eventually." He said nothing as Wartortle took this in. "Even though I've always wanted to do this, a tiny part of me wished I stayed. I know that's what she wanted."

Wartortle took this in as he heard what Ash thought. The Water-type didn't know what to do but knew he had to help his friend. Wartortle went up, climbed onto his lap, and hugged Ash. Wartortle closed his eyes as he held onto him tightly, wanting to show how much he did care about him.

Ash, with slow arms, returned it.

The two were like this for a minute as they hugged each other, not saying anything. This silence was pleasant as Ash felt much better as he broke away. He softly smiled at his best friend, the two sharing this nice moment as they stood up. After all, they did have somewhere.

"Thank you for that, bud," Ash told him with genuine happiness, Wartortle giving him a thumbs up. "Sorry that you-"

"Ash!"

Green and Pyra jumped out into the path, making Ash's heart stop for a second. The boy had to breathe as he was not mentally prepared for that, like Wartortle. "Green. You don't always have to meet us like that."

"It's no fun any other way." She childishly answered as Ash returned to himself, Green giving off her usual smile. "Anyway, Brock wanted us to find some sticks and berries to finish the cake."

"When did he tell you that?"

"Uh. Was it twelve minutes ago?" Green tried to remember.

Ash sighed. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Green looked at Ash as if he had grown a second head. "Well, you were talking on the phone. You don't disturb someone when that happens."

"Char." Pyra agreed. Green's logic was starting to make its mark on her.

"Alright. Let's go look for that stuff, then." Green happily smiled as she held Ash's hand, and the two left to fill out the older boy's request.

---

Ash and Green split up to get the most wood and fruit to decorate the cake. Wartortle was holding the many sticks they gathered as Ash was picking berries, the ones that Brock taught him were ripe, with one arm as the other had the ones they had collected so far. "War?"

"I think we should get a few more," Ash replied as he saw the berry was too soft. He looked around as this time alone made him see how nice the nature was around him. The pleasant trees, the nice stream passing through, the Starleys above singing a friendly tone. It was a beautiful day outside. "It feels nice out here. That might just be because we aren't traveling at all, though."

Wartortle looked around as he, too, enjoyed the nature here, even though the clouds were becoming quite gray as they entirely blocked out the sun now. The rain seemed inevitable now, not like he would mind. "War." He admitted.

"Char!"

"Hmm?" Ash and Wartortle heard a distressed Pokémon cry out in fear. At first, they thought it was a Charmander based on the voice, but what came to them looked nothing like one. A Fire-type went through the bushes as he was too focused on what was coming behind, accidentally falling into the stream.

He brought his head out as he was too weak to swim. "Chim! Imchar!"

"War!" Wartortle's protective instincts kicked in as he abandoned the wood, jumped into the water, and quickly retrieved the Pokémon. The Fire-type coughed water as Wartortle carried the small Pokémon onto land, Ash worryingly hovering over the Pokémon.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked worryingly as he hovered over the fire-type, not wanting to pick him in fear of being scared. The pair were now about to see the Pokémon, seeing how it was nothing from the Kanto Region.

It was a Starter Pokémon that looked like a chimpanzee. His fur was primarily orange, although his face, outer ears, underbelly, hands, and feet were light yellow. His ears were big with red insides. He had red markings around the eyes, as well as two pointed teeth on the upper jaw. A swirl-like symbol on his chest, five fingers on the hands, and three-toed feet. He also had a swirly crest of hair on his head. His rear was producing orange flames.

He could breathe as he looked up at the two that saved him. "Chimchar..." Chimchar said weakly.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked again as Chimchar slowly sat back up. "It looked like that water hurt you."

"Chim." He replied as he didn't want to waste energy on words since that is what his Trainer always told him. Suddenly, Ash offered a Sitrus Berry for the weakened Fire-type, something Chimchar quickly snatched up. The Fire-type was so hungry as he wolfed the thing, sighing and sending a thankful look to the two.

"Wartortle? War?" The Water-type asked worryingly to the Sinnoh Pokémon, but Chimchar didn't answer what happened to him.

"Are you a wild Pokémon, or do you have a Trainer?"

"Chim." Chimchar picked the second option but seemed nervous when he did, almost like he was scared to pick that choice.

Wartortle and Ash looked at each other, unsure what to make of Chimchar. If he did have a Trainer, then whoever it was must be looking for him. "Well, if you do belong to someone, then let us help you find them," Ash suggested as he got up.

Chimchar looked scared momentarily as he quickly lashed onto Ash's leg. "Chim!" The Fire-type was determined not to let Ash go.

Ash looked down as he looked at the young Pokémon. "Don't worry. We're not here to hurt you at all. Come on. A walk with us could be fun." He smiled at the very timid Pokémon.

"War," Wartortle said as he gently picked up Chimchar and placed him on the ground. Chimchar didn't know what to say, so he decided to go along with it. Chimchar was surprised that Wartortle gently grabbed his hand, sending a goofy smile to him. "Wartortle!"

Chimchar just went along as he knew that he was too weak, something that he was reminded of every day. They started to stroll as Ash had the berries in his arm, which made the Fire-type's stomach growl angrily. Chimchar grabbed his stomach with one hand as he tried to calm his body down. If he could last without food for this long, this time should be no different.

Chimchar gasped as he saw Ash offer two ripe and tasty berries. "I hear that stomach growling," Ash told him as he sent a kind smile to Chimchar. "Don't act like you can think it away."

Chimchar looked at him, back at the food, at the encouraging Wartortle, and back to the temping berries. He couldn't resist as he gently took the two and began to bite down on them, the flavor filling up the void that his stomach suffered from. He ate slowly as he worried that this was all he was getting, not registering that Ash wasn't that kind of person. "Char." He thanked them as he gazed at nothing.

Chimchar didn't seem interested in conversation as they walked through the trees and nature present. Chimchar took the food and quickly ate them, stem and all. He was worried that him talking would cause problems, and the last thing he wanted to be was a liability to anyone. Sadly, that is how he, unfortunately, saw himself most of the time.

"War? Wartort le war?" Wartortle tried to get Chimchar to describe what his Trainer looked like.

"Chim," Chimchar replied with the same nothing answer as he still held onto Wartortle's hand. Ash looked down and saw how Chimchar was down, thinking about what to do.

"Alright, you two, pause." Wartortle and Chimchar stopped walking as Ash stood in front of them. "Why don't we do a little race? It could be fun."

"War!' Wartortle was on board as he knew what Ash was trying to do, Chimchar meekly nodding. Ash was glad to see that Chimchar was on board with this idea.

"The race starts... NOW!" Ash immediately bolted away.

Wartortle went quickly as well, causing Chimchar to panic as he went as soon as he could slightly. "Chim!" He used up his energy as he knew that anything other than victory would mean bad things for him. Chimchar was able to pass by Wartortle and even Ash, despite the boy's head start. Chimchar didn't even slow down with his first-place status.

"War." Chimchar turned his head, and his eyes widened. Wartortle was riding across on a little ice sled he made using Ice Beam. He pointed a finger gun and winked at Chimchar, going faster down. Chimchar pushed himself harder as he tried to regain the lead, only making him waste more energy as Ash slowly caught back up to him.

He saw how the Fire-type was trying to force oxygen into him. "If you need a break, just say it," Ash told him. Chimchar was surprised at the kind request that he gave, but he shook his head. Only the winners were allowed to get breaks.

They ran for more minutes as Wartortle skillfully made it to the end with his ice bowl, with a somewhat sweaty Ash in second. Chimchar sadly came in last as the Fire-type panted, knowing that this lacking performance would cost him. Ash walked over as Chimchar blocked his face, preparing himself for scolding or even worse.

Instead, Ash petted Chimchar. Chimchar opened his eyes at the gentle touch.

"It's okay if you didn't win this one," He assured him as he stood up. "There are always other chances."

Chimchar was left still at the positive interaction that happened to him. "War tort tort." Wartortle patted him on the back, telling him it was a good try. Chimchar wasn't sure what to say or do as he was left alone, looking at the pair that had treated him kindly. His previous distrust and fear of these two began to vanish as the Fire-type looked down at the ground.

The softest and tiniest of smiles came across his face.

"The mountains look great over there," Ash commented as Chimchar returned to reality, going next to them. They were at a short cliff, as they got a decent view of the general landscape. The mountains far away left a grand mark on nature. "It looks nice, wouldn't you agree?"

"War," Wartortle responded. Unfortunately, Chimchar didn't react as he was taught not to care about things like that—besides, his status as the shortest left him with a bad view. Wartortle and Ash saw this as they felt pity for the small Pokémon. An idea came to him.

Chmichar was suddenly picked up and placed on Ash's head.

Chimchar was stunned for a moment as he was grabbed, but he was left in shock as he opened up his eyes. Suddenly, he got the best view imaginable as he was allowed to see everything the cliff had to offer him. He was allowed to see every detail as everything seemed to slow down for him. The pleasant breeze just finished it off as he stood up, breathing calmly as if he was at the top of the world. He looked down at the boy that made this possible for him.

"Is the view good?" Ash asked as Chimchar stood up on his hair. "Sorry that I wasn't much taller for this."

"Char. Chim im Chimchar." Chimchar thanked them as he was much more kind than before, sending a smile down as the two smiled back. Wartortle threw up a berry that the Pokémon caught with both hands. He sat down and looked at the food. He slowly bit in as it tasted juicy, seeing no need to rush through this one.

"What are you doing?"

Chimchar was stunned as he dropped the berry and turned around, his fear being met with the correct answer. Ash and Wartortle turned around as they saw a boy walk up to them, but this was very familiar to Ash. He let out a small gasp as he remembered who it was.

"It's Paul." Ash thought as the cold-faced boy approached them, hands in his pockets.

Chimchar, once full of life and joy, came down from Ash's head and quickly straightened up. Chimchar kept his arms close to his chest as he looked down, too scared to look up at his own Trainer. "What have I told you about running off? I know there's a lot wrong with you, but I hoped lack of hearing was not one of them."

Chimchar shook his head. "Chi-" Paul merely raised his hand, causing Chimchar to get scared enough to block his face in fear. Paul did not comment as he saw how frightened the Fire-type was of him, scoffing at this display.

"Are you... showing fear?" Paul slowly asked in a way that he wanted to make that question burn into his Pokémon's mind. Chimchar couldn't find it in him to even speak back. "Fear controls the mind, mind controls the body, body controls your actions, and your actions lead to no victory."

Ash couldn't stand this anymore! "Leave him alone!"

Paul glared at the boy standing there, looking at the Chimchar that didn't deserve outside protection. "...Who are you?"

"I'm the guy that called you out for treating your Pokémon like that!" Ash replied, making Paul scoff.

"That list is quite big. But to be fair, I don't even think I could remember if you tried." Paul insulted as he saw how the boy was getting more agitated. "They always take the bait."

Ash wanted to fight this guy here and now. He wanted to show this guy for scaring poor Chimchar. He was already sick of Paul's attitude and wanted to see how wrong he was. He wanted to request a fight earnestly and get justice for Chimchar. Ash's breathing slowed as the thoughts weren't going away.

But he knew that today was not the right day. That he shouldn't let Paul ruin his day.

Still, he wanted to show this guy. "I'll show you who I am. Why don't we fight at... Vermillion City!"

Paul made no immediate reaction as he closed his eyes. "Fine." He said, opening to reveal his calm, dark eyes. "I probably would've defeated you if you tried now. I assume that Wartortle is the strongest Pokémon with you, correct?" Ash's silence confirmed his theory.

"War! War!' Wartortle told him off. The Water-type saw just how scared Chimchar was when he stood near Paul, looking longingly back at the two that showed him nothing but kindness.

Paul merely turned around and walked away, planning to leave this encounter as a forgetful memory or something to stick. "Chimchar, come with me." The Fire-type was to focus as he looked back at Ash. When Chimchar looked at Paul, cold eyes of authority shined down on him. Chimchar quickly followed after, not allowed to say goodbye or anything.

Wartortle and Ash glared as Paul left them. "Wartortle!" The Water-type told them as they walked off. He sighed as he looked up at Ash. "War?"

"Of course, I wanted to fight right now," Ash answered as he picked up the berry that Chimchar was not allowed to finish eating. He looked at it solemnly before throwing it off the cliff, the fruit hitting the hard ground. "But you're the only Pokémon with me right now, and I can tell that guy was strong."

Wartortle and Ash were quiet as their anger about what happened didn't disappear. Wartortle got himself back together as he used Ice Beam to recreate his ride, the noise making Ash turn around. "War tort le le." The Water-type told his friend.

"You're right. The group is probably waiting for us." Ash cleared himself as the two shared a smile, having a relationship that Chimchar wished he had. The two ran back, making sure to re-grab the berries and sticks.

---

"There you are!" Green exclaimed as she happily ran to Ash. She carried the wood as Pyra held onto the berries. "We thought you'd teleported out of here. Well, at least I thought that."

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." Ash had recollected the berries as Wartortle came with a few sticks. "Is everyone still waiting for us?"

"I don't know. I was waiting for you to come back."

Ash shook his head, not wanting to discuss what he had to deal with. He would talk about it later. "You know, you don't always have to wait for me."

"Wartortle."

"Well, you're both my friends. If I left to do my own thing, that would take our time together."

Ash softly smiled as he heard his friend say that. "Thanks', Green."

Green made a questioning sound. "For what?"

"For calling me a friend. That's what I needed to hear right now." He admitted. Green just childishly smiled before bopping him on the nose.

"You can be so silly sometimes, you know?" She smiled as they made it back to the group. Instead of greetings, what they saw was something else. "Huh? Did everyone do nap time without us?!"

All the Trainers and Pokémon were all fast asleep on the ground. All of them were snoring, and the only exceptions were Jangmo-o and Luna. Both awake Pokémon were trying to wake everyone; the Dragón-type on ear-chomping duty as Clefable was becoming very nervous at her failed attempts. The one who caused this, Jigglypuff, was putting the final touches on Bulbasaur's face. She was about to go for Viney next.

Jigglypuff smiled to herself as she saw the massive eyebrows she drew on. "Jigglypuff," The Fairy-type was surprised when she heard Ash calling out to her. "What happened here? Why is everyone asleep?"

"Jiggly! Puff ggly igg puff jig." She explained as she was still upset at how everyone had slept through her fantastic song.

"Jang. Mo-o Jangmo-o." Jangmo-o told them as he ran up to them, glad to see more people who could help him wake everyone up. He took the marker with his teeth and showed it off to them.

"Isn't that your marker?" Green asked as Ash picked it up.

"It is." He answered as he saw how Jigglypuff wanted it back, indicating that she was singing into it. "It looks like our friend is using this as a microphone and a way to write on everyone's face."

"Fable," Luna confirmed as Jigglypuff got angry enough to use Pound on Ash. The boy grabbed his chest in pain as Jigglypuff reclaimed her 'microphone.'

"Well, we need to wake everyone up." Green was being her intelligent self, as common sense showed through. "Pyra, make sure Jigglypuff doesn't draw on anyone anymore."

Pyra nodded as she went to talk to Jigglypuff, girl to girl. They began to work on getting everyone awake as Jigglypuff's song took them out. It's as if they didn't sleep for days, as it took a lot of effort to make them stir. Everyone woke up with massive yawns as their visions were extremely blurry. Misty and Red had really bad stink eye as they woke up.

Ryan rubbed his eyes as Jangmo-o looked up at him, the boy looking down uninterestedly. "What time is it?" He looked around as his eyes widened. "Uh, Misty? There's something on the everywhere of your face."

Misty's face was covered in weird symbols as Starmie slowly stood up. "Have you seen yours? Looks like something an Octillery would make." She replied as Ryan had scribbly lines all over him.

"Ugh. What even happened?"

"That's what we want to know," Ash replied as Brock saw the boy and Green having the items that they requested.

"Ash?" He suddenly gasped as all the drowsiness went away. He didn't even see how his face was scribbled on before going to where the cake was. "Oh no! Please don't say the cake was ruined." he looked at the cake as everything was exactly where he had left it. Brock was on the path to being destroyed before he was allowed to calm down.

"You doing okay?" Ash asked Pikachu and Red as they woke up, Bulbasaur and Eevee walking up with squinted eyes. Red slowly nodded as Pikachu was too tired to respond. "Do you know what happened?"

Red tried to recall what they had last experienced. "Last thing I remember, we were listening to Jigglypuff's song. Me and my Pokémon suddenly grew so tired; it was a struggle to keep our eyes open."

Ash figured out what happened from that. "I get it." He pointed at Jigglypuff, who was surprised at the sudden attention. "You're singing accidentally put everyone to sleep. You must have thought that everyone just found your performance boring, and that's why you got upset."

Jigglypuff heard this before agreeing with the sensible idea. "Puff."

"So, she's the one who drew on our faces?" Ryan asked in surprise at the temper of Jigglypuff. Misty sighed as she saw herself in her mirror.

"Oh, beauty. What has Jigglypuff done to you?"

"I think they're cool," Green said as everyone looked at her oddly.

Brock was sure that was supposed to be a compliment. "Glad you think that, but we're not in the same boat!" He declared. "Help get this off us."

"Don't worry; this will be easy," Ash assured as he called Wartortle over, the Water-type coming to Red and his team. "Use Bubble Beam on them."

"No! Wait-" Red couldn't get his response as he was blasted with bubbles. This woke the two and took the marker off them, leaving Red's face and upper body dripping with water. Pikachu was breathing heavily after what he just went through. Red's face was still neutral as he spat water from his mouth. "Wouldn't using the wipes I have been better?"

Ash sweated dropped after hearing that much better idea. "Yeah. You're right."

"PIKA!" Pikachu seemed annoyed as he launched a small Electro Ball at the two. The two were shocked as Pikachu didn't want to kill Ash with the electricity, but just enough to show that they shouldn't mess with him like that. Ash puffed out smoke as Wartortle's ears were sticking straight up.

Everyone got themselves wiped off, as it took some time to get all the marker stuff off them. The Pokémon weren't exactly happy with what Jigglypuff did, but they couldn't bring themselves to dislike the kind Pokémon. Misty wiped the last bit off as she walked up to the singing Pokémon, who was sad at herself for this happening.

"I'm sorry this happened, Jigglypuff." Misty apologized to the Pokémon she had grown attached to quickly. "We would never consider your singing boring."

Jigglypuff thought for a second before she hugged the girl, Misty returning the hug. "Puff. Jiggly?"

"It seems like the voice caused us to sleep, not the song you sang," Brock told the Fairy-type as he finished wiping himself off too. "If we could find some way to listen to your voice without falling asleep, you could sing to your heart's content."

Jigglypuff looked down as Misty brainstormed. They needed to find something for Jigglypuff to sing through or into for this to work. It suddenly hit her. "Hey, Ash. Could you give me my Pokégear back? I need it for something."

Misty came back with the phone. Brock looked perplexed. "What is that going to solve?"

"We know that we can't listen to Jigglypuff normally. So I thought, what if she sang into my phone, and we listened to the recording?" Misty suggested as she opened the thing up. "I mean, it's not like we have other options."

"No. I think this might work." Brock approved as the two shared a good high-five. Jigglypuff tilted her head curiously as Misty handed the phone to her.

"Okay, Jigglypuff. You see this middle button?" The Pokémon nodded as she saw the thing. "I want you to go behind that tree and press that button. Sing for as long as you want after you click. Whenever you're done, click the same button and come back to us. Can you do that for me?"

"Puff." Jigglypuff took the Pokégear gently and floated off. Red came up after hearing that.

"You think this will work out?"

"It has to because I don't have anything else," Misty admitted. Luckily, her perfect plan will come through in the end. "Get everyone huddled together as we send the Pokémon away. We need someone to wake us up if this doesn't work out, which it absolutely shouldn't."

All the Trainers gathered together and sat on the grass. The only Pokémon that stuck with them were Pikachu, Wartortle, Pyra, and Jangmo-o, as they wanted to hear this. Ryan listened to the explanation that Red gave. "So, Jangmo-o's Soundproof ability is what let him stay awake?" He asked as said dragon was sitting next to him.

"Yes. He was immune from the singing, and I think Luna just got lucky with staying awake." Red proposed as Pikachu was trying to stay awake. He sent a mean look at Ash and Wartortle, still upset about what happened.

"No. I think Luna's love for us is what kept her safe." Green happily suggested something Pyra went along with.

"Charmeleon."

Red was silent as he suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Ryan. We never did finish that conversation."

Ryan gave a weird look before remembering what he was talking about. "That's right. We had to listen to Jigglypuff's performance before we could decide."

"Decide what?" Ash was utterly lost as to what this was about.

"That's right. You weren't here for that." Brock realized this before deciding to say it out loud. "Ryan has seen how everyone has been collecting the Gym Badges, and he wants to do it as well."

"Brock!" Ryan called out as he seemed nervous. "I wanted to tell them."

"You want to go for the badges?" Green asked happily as she loved the idea. "Yay! We'll have another friend joining us during the Pokémon League!" She and Pyra cheered as Ryan seemed to grow red on the face.

"I think you should go for it." Ash encouraged his friend as he heard this, Ryan looking at him. "If you really want to make your Pokémon journey about that, then I won't stop you. You know that we would support you on that."

"War," Wartortle assured.

"I know you guys would support me. I just wanted to see if you would be okay with that." Ryan admitted. "I've kind of been holding onto a badge for a while. I didn't know when it was right to tell you."

"He was given the Cascade Badge from Daisy when we were at Cerulean City."

"Daisy gave away a badge?" Misty shook her head after hearing what Brock said. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Well, if you already have a badge, and you know this is what you want, then go for it." Ash placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't be afraid to try this out. I want to see how far you want to take this dream."

"Jang." Jangmo-o leaned on Ryan's stomach as the little dragon gave a determined look to his Trainer. Ryan looked at how his own Pokémon was showing support, how the people around him were sending little smiles, a thumbs up in Red's case. His insecurities were battling against the friendship that he had built up with these people.

He finally caved in. "Alright. I'll go for it."

This answer was met with small cheers as Green hugged him, Misty giving him a fist bump for him to make this choice. Jangmo-o happily jumped around as he saw how his partner was taking the first step at becoming more vigorous and hopefully braver. Ryan smiled as the convincing and commitment to his friends won out in the end.

"If you ever need to fight me for the Boulder Badge, just let me know," Brock said with a smile.

"Thank you for that. Although," Ryan nervously chuckled as he didn't want to say it. "I still don't feel confident about this choice."

Red then had a good idea. "How about we fight after this, just me and you?" He suggested to the kid. "It'll be a simple practice fight to see if you still want to. Besides, Pikachu could use some exercise."

"Pika!" Pikachu felt betrayed after hearing that, even though it was a harmless joke.

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. Assuming we don't fall asleep from Jigglypuff, of course." Red brought up as the Fairy-type had still not returned.

"Trust me. This will work out." Misty assured for the tenth time as she saw rustling from the bushes, everyone straightening themselves up. Jigglypuff walked up as she nervously approached them, worried that this would fail her. She went to Misty and presented the phone.

"Puff." Misty took the phone and saw the recording lasted for 6:54. She looked around her.

"Is everyone ready?" Everyone nodded as they knew what would happen if this turned out for the worst. Misty took a deep breath as her finger hovered over the play button. "Here we go." She clicked it.

Jigglypuff instantly closed her eyes and braced for everyone to fall asleep again. The video recorded Jigglypuff's voice as everyone listened in, hearing how beautiful it was. The Pokémon opened her eyes and was surprised to see everyone still awake and listening to the song with no issue. She smiled as Misty paused it after a minute, looking at her with a smile.

It did work!

"That was beautiful, Jigglypuff," Misty told the Fairy-type, tearing up at how everyone liked and or loved her song. "I knew that we could fix this."

"Puff." She threw herself at Misty as the tomboy was there to comfort her, her small tears escaping and leaking onto her shirt.

"That was good," Ash admitted after hearing that. He was not a music guy, but he knew this was very high-quality. "Look at how happy Misty made her."

Brock nodded as he turned around. "Alright, everyone. The coast is clear." All the Pokémon gathered as Brock played the rest of the song; the Pokémon were now allowed to listen to it properly. Bulbasaur and Geodude enjoyed it the most.

"I'm glad we could help you out," Misty said as she was about to let go, but Jigglypuff refused. She looked up at the girl. "What? You don't want to go?"

"Puff." She nodded. She saw the Poke Ball on Ash's belt showing through as she pointed at it. "Jigglypuff."

Misty realized what she meant. "Do you want me to capture you?" To her surprise, Jigglypuff agreed.

"Jigglypuff want to join you?" Ash asked excitingly about having a new friend join them; Wartortle was also excited.

"It seems like it. I guess we're the audience that she chooses to stick with." Misty remarked as she looked at Jigglypuff. "I can let you join my team, but let's wait. We have some stuff to do."

The female Pokémon didn't complain as she looked over at Ash. "Jiggly puff gglyp iggly?" She held her new microphone as she asked the eleven-year-old.

He smiled. "Of course, you can sing me happy birthday when it's time. We can make it a live solo act." Jigglypuff was bouncing at what Ash had just agreed to.

Ryan sighed as he heard this. "Got to get ready for more sleep, I guess." He saw Red walk away and signal for him to come along. "Where are you going?"

"I hope you didn't forget what we told each other."

Ryan mentally slapped himself after realizing what kind of stupid question that was. "Right. The battle."

Red walked away as he calmly looked back at Ryan. "Well, are we going to start it or just stare at each other? I'm rather okay with both." Ryan quickly nodded his head.

---

Red and Ryan prepared for battle as they used the vast field. All the Pokémon and people, minus Brock, who was adding the final touches to the cake, watched as the test battle was about to commence. "Remember, this is just a test. Let's try not to faint each other's Pokémon." Red told him, which is why Ryan's Jangmo-o was not the one that the shorter boy was sending out.

"One Pokémon on each side. Whoever gets overwhelmed first is going to be the one losing." Misty called out as she raised her hand, preparing to bring it down to start the match.

"Oh. Should I cheer on Red or Ryan?" Green asked Pyra as she found both of them, friends. Pyra was being more logical, pointing at Red for this one. "Go, Red!" Green cheered after figuring out her choice.

"Come on, Ryan. Show them how strong you've become!" Ash encouraged as his Pokémon backed him up. Butterfree and Jangmo-o cheered as well. Jigglypuff sat on Misty's lap as the girl brought her hand down.

"BEGIN!"

"Thunder Wave," Red instructed as he tried to get the early paralysis. Pikachu shot out weak jolts of electricity from his cheek's pouches at the Bug-type.

"Dodge!" Pinsir quickly got out of the way as he ran to his opponent, hearing the move from Ryan. "Use Storm Throw!" Pinsir went to reach his long arm for Pikachu's body or tail to land the attack that guaranteed the critical hit. Pikachu countered with a dodge, and the two quickly made a reasonable distance from each other.

Red tried to think as neither one landed a hit during that interaction. "Use Agility."

"Pika!" Pikachu began to move back and forth fast enough to leave after images. He relaxed his body to allow a significant increase in his speed. While this would be great in an actual match, this confused the spectators.

"That was an odd move to use. Pikachu was already much faster." Misty thought as she said nothing.

Ryan didn't catch onto Red's proper plan as he just saw it as a misused turn. "Use Bug bite."

"Pins!" Pinsir readied his mouth as he charged at the Electric-type. Pikachu predicted this as a ball of electricity gathered at the end of his tail. He jumped up and launched Electro-Ball, something Pinsir couldn't react to in time as it came swiftly. The ball did more damage than usual as everyone realized Pikachu using Agility earlier was a calculated decision.

"Red knows what he's doing." Brock couldn't help but think as he saw the smart move he had made. Jangmo-o watched as he saw the intelligent fighter, Nidoran, and Viney thinking the same.

Ryan took a look at the battle in front of him. "I'm not sure how many hits Pinsir can take. I'm calling that Pikachu will use Electro Ball, but he could easily have other moves that Pinsir wouldn't be able to dodge. What to do?" Brock's advice on battling came through as he suddenly got the right idea. "Pinsir, go for Seismic Toss."

Pinsir did as he heard as he readied his hand for a mighty throw. "Pika." Pikachu watched as another Electro Ball, just as Ryan predicted.

"Duck underneath." Pinsir used his moment to dodge under the ball and get close enough to Pikachu. Pikachu wasn't worried as he knew the move wouldn't hurt that much, certainly not enough to lose concentration. How wrong he was. "Take your power and turn it into Storm Throw!"

Pikachu's eyes widened, and everyone else was just as surprised. Pinsir, instead of merely picking him up, used his hand to launch a mighty blow at Pikachu. The move was able to cause wind as Pikachu was flung back. Pikachu got up as he was very wobblily. That one move took so much health from him that he knew a second one would be his downfall.

"Pretending you were going for a weaker move to drop Pikachu's guard. Looks like all our time together really paid off." Ash observed as he couldn't help but be happy for his friend.

"Jang!"

"Free." Ryan's Pokémon were excited after seeing what their Trainer managed to pull off.

"You did great!" Ryan told his Pinsir as the Bug-type crossed his arms. Suddenly, paralysis took over Pinsir as the Bug-type fell on one knee, his body freezing up occasionally. "Oh no. What's wrong?" Ryan worried.

Everyone was confused as they tried to figure that out, unsure how Pikachu could cause paralysis without a move. Brock concluded before Red was about to explain. "Pikachu's Static ability must've come through. Pinsir used a physical move on him."

"That's right," Red confirmed as Pikachu returned to his side again, seeing their weakened opponent. "Use Iron Tail, but don't faint him."

"Pika." Pikachu showed off his new move as he used his metallic tail to slash Pinsir across the face. The Bug-type was pushed back as he landed on his back from that attack. Pinsir slowly raised his head as he felt the little energy for fight left in him. Pikachu approached as he gazed at him. "Pika?"

Pinsir didn't immediately answer as he tried to hold on, but it was too much for him. He laid back down and gave a massive sigh. "Pinsir." He answered.

"Pinsir doesn't wish to fight anymore!" Misty declared as she saw how the match went. "The winner of this is Red and his Pikachu!"

Everyone gave some simple claps at the practice as Pikachu still ate up the praise. Ryan helped up Pinsir as the Bug-type could stand because of the boy. "You did great, alright?"

"Pinsir." They saw Jangmo-o and Butterfree come to them Butterfree still congratulated them, but Jangmo-o told them off for not fighting until their bones cracked.

"You gave it your all," Red told them as Pikachu rested on his shoulder. "I could tell that if you landed a second hit, Pikachu would've fainted. Don't let this loss ruin your dreams of collecting the badges."

"Yo-You think I could go for it."

Red calmly smiled. "You certainly have the skill for it." He encouraged Pikachu showing his support for this. "Luck is always a variable in any battle. Sometimes you can dodge an attack, or the poison you landed couldn't make them faint. For a winner to exist and stand, there sadly must be a loser to complete that set."

Ryan took this in as he approached Red, the two sharing a fist bump. "I think I get it. Thanks for this."

"The honor is mine." Red bowed slightly as he looked at the still-paralyzed Pinsir. "I'll heal him up for you."

"That would be great."

"Is the cake finally ready yet?" Ash asked as all the other Pokémon gathered around Brock to see what he ultimately made. Brock smiled as he showed off the plate.

"TA-DA!"

No one could believe how good this cake looked, especially since this was made in the middle of a forest. The white, fluffy icing looked delicious enough as sweet chocolate was hiding underneath. Berries of various colors and sizes made a scattered circle around the top and a professional ring at the bottom, with no cracks. Eleven yellow candles were between the berries. The best part rested in the center. In cursive, with blue frosting, Brock had written down: "Congrats on these 11 years, Ash."

Ash's excitement stopped him from expressing actual words. "Brock... it's perfect. All of it!"

"The chef serves us gold again." Misty complimented as she saw the cake, Jigglypuff in her arms.

The boy sat down as the cake was presented, Brock calling out to everyone. "Everyone, come here! It's time to sing!"

"Jiggly?"

Misty petted Jigglypuff, her own Pokémon. "I promise you'll be able to do your solo when we finish ours." The Fairy-type nodded.

"Aww. I wish I could get the first piece from this cake." Green pouted as she saw how delicious it was. Ryan whistled as he saw the finished product.

"No wonder this thing took over two hours to make." The Trainers and Pokémon gathered around Ash as he was the center of attention. The boy looked around him at all his friends, smiling as Wartortle placed a soft hand on his back. Brock raised three fingers, then two, then one.

Over a dozen voices sang happy birthday to Ash as there was joy in their voices. He saw how everyone cared for him as the song went on. They were there for him and tried to make this a day that he would like. One of the best smiles he had ever given in his relatively short life as the song reached its conclusion. It ended with a final cheer as Wartortle and Green launched at him, shaking him from their excitement.

"Quick! Blow out the candles!" He heard Misty tell him as he looked down at it. One would do this not only to make the cake edible but also to make a wish that they wanted to come true happen. A wish that most have been seeking for many years. However, as Ash thought and saw everyone, he had no wish to give this cake.

What more could he ask for?

Still, he exhaled to blow the flames in one swift move. The cheering picked back up as it didn't stop for many minutes. All the Pokémon showed up to thank him and smile; his friends did the same as Red gave a back pat, with Misty some ruffled hair. It would take a while for everyone to calm down, but it eventually happened. Jigglypuff saw this as she stood on the stump.

"Jiggly!" She yelled to get their attention. Everyone was watching her now after some moments. "Puff?" She asked Misty, who sighed.

"We did promise her." Misty brought up as everyone knew what was going to happen. Everyone nodded, knowing that this would come eventually. "Try not to draw on us this time, okay?" The cute Pokémon nodded.

"Try to keep the cake safe. Make sure she doesn't dig into it." Brock instructed to Jangmo-o and Luna, the two nodding at this.

"Put all your passion into this one." Ash smiled at Jigglypuff, Wartortle making himself comfortable next to him.

"Jiggly." Jigglypuff was grateful for this, getting her microphone ready for her solo. A solo so great that she would knock out the very audience!

---

It was an excellent day for Ash.

All of the people and Pokémon did make this special for Ash. He enjoyed himself as there was, mostly, nothing wrong that happened this day. Just a simple time when they were finally allowed to relax. Unfortunately, it had to end as the night was fast approaching. Red and Green said their goodbyes as their plans to travel together for a while happened. All of them promise that they'll see each other again.

Everyone was in their tents as heavy rain fell, the storm that Brock predicted coming true. Ash was comfortably in his sleeping bag as Wartortle was curled right next to his trainer, not resting on his chest this time. Ash was extremely happy as he didn't dream about anything, mostly seeing black.

Suddenly, Ash heard a loud screech come from the outside.

The eleven-year-old opened his eyes and sat up quickly, looking around him. He saw lightning flash outside as he sat up. He tried to think as he was now awake, wondering what that noise was. He knew it was probably just some wild Pokémon outside during this rain. The boy tried to think as he looked at his sleeping partner, then back at the flap to his tent.

Ash, after thinking about it, quietly got up from his sleeping bag, making sure not to disturb the Water-type. He slowly and methodically opened the flap. Ash opened the entrance slightly to peek outside. All he saw was just heavy rain outside as massive mud pools were starting to form. He looked further and saw that no one else was awake. He pondered if he should try to wake up Ryan on this, though he felt that doing that action wouldn't help matters.

"Was I just imagining it?" He silently thought as his arms rested on his sides. He knew that even if that noise were real, it would just be a Pokémon that would be more trouble to go out in this weather to look for. This noise felt familiar, though. Ash was trying to recall if he had heard this before.

A sudden tug on his pajama shorts snapped him out of his thoughts. Wartortle had woken up as he was struggling to open up his eyes. "War?" Ash sent a smile to his partner as he gently picked him up.

"Sorry, bud." He apologized in a soft voice. "I... I just thought I heard something."

Wartortle made a tired noise as Ash chuckled at how lazy his partner could be. He closed the flap and gently placed Wartortle back down next to him, going to his designated sleeping spot. Wartortle fell back asleep instantly.

Ash stared at the roof of the tent as he said nothing. His mind was more clouded than the sky above them. His mind tried to think about why this screech happened as his memories weren't helping out with that, not remembering anything that sounded like this. He couldn't remember what happened after he let Misty take his Pokémon and before he reached Viridian. His best efforts or remembering were cut off by an overwhelming urge for his mind to rest.

"I'll probably just forget about this in the morning." Was the last thought as he felt his body become calm.

Outside, a powerful creature was resting in the darkened clouds. A Pokémon came out and looked at the storm that it personally created. They saw the lightning that their wings conjured as the forest experienced the rain that came with it. Its eyes scanned as the wings had lightning following it, the Pokémon stopping as they saw the tent that the group hid in. It felt a strange presence that felt very familiar, something clicking in their memories.

The boy that they saved months ago...

It looked curiously at the tent as the wing kept producing electricity, spreading through the clouds that painted the skies pitch-dark. "Hmm..."

The Pokémon didn't stay for much longer as it flew off. It kept this information as it returned to the clouds from once it came, blending into them like camouflage. The creature gave off a mighty screech before disappearing into the darkness. The screech was heard by every Pokémon, knowing that what was there was far above anything in that forest.

The only noise left was the rain and thunder.

END OF CHAPTER 8

---

I hope you guys enjoy Ash's birthday! I know that minimal story actually happened, but I think that a filer episode from time to time isn't necessarily a bad thing. We also see Paul and meeting Chimcar, and the latter's fate will come in the next few episodes. There is also that last scene... meh, probably some major foreshadowing or something. Anyway, I'll reveal everyone's birthdays to avoid confusion later.

Ash's Birthday: May 22nd

Misty's Birthday: March 9th

Ryan's Birthday: August 17th

Brock's Birthday: November 5th

I will see you guys next time!

Edit 03/10/23: Wow. An easy chapter to correct?! It must be some wild dream. No matter. I was trying to think about who could get Jigglypuff for this. I didn't want to give it to the other two Trainers, mainly because Green already has a strong Fairy-type, and I felt Ryan wouldn't be the best fit for that. After debating between the three, I ended up going with Misty. Brock probably would've been a better choice, but I feel confident with this decision. Maybe Misty needs a little something to bring out the best in her. Getting Riley in there also made me think this Chapter was worth it.

THANKS FOR READING!

Ash's Team: Wartortle (M), Pidgey (F), Nidoran (M)

Misty's Team: Starmie (N/G), Azumarill (M), Horsea (F), Magikarp (M), Jigglypuff (F)

Misty's Other Members: Seaking (F)

Ryan's Team: Pinsir (M), Butterfree (M), Jangmo-o (M)

Brock's Team: Geodude (M), Onix (M), Zubat (M)