It's Ash's birthday! I've always loved knowing that Ash's birthday is May 22nd, because it's only two days after mine and he's one of my all time favorite characters!

I came up with this idea pretty quick, but I think it's a fun one. Hopefully you all do too!

Aiden and Michelle: 9 years old

Elizabeth: 3 and a half years old


The Gift of a Rocket

"Daddy, I got you a birthday present!"

"You did?"

Elizabeth beamed and nodded her head.

"I'm so excited!" Ash chuckled. "Can I have it now?"

"Uh huh!" Elizabeth chirped. She pulled her arms out from behind her back and presented her father with an aluminum can adorned by a colorful paper wrapper.

"Oh…it's soup?" Ash asked, trying not to sound too confused.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied quite seriously. "You like soup!"

"I do," Ash confirmed, his joyful smile twisting into a bemused smirk as he accepted the "gift" from his young daughter. "Thank you very much, Lizzie!"

"You're welcome!" Elizabeth squeaked before flitting into the next room.

Ash examined the can in his hands before chuckling once again.

"A little early for soup, isn't it?"

The man glanced up and, with the smirk still on his face, shook his head. "I didn't take this out. Lizzie did."

"Lizzie?" Misty repeated, tilting her head. She'd just come back from a run, based on her attire, and her slightly disheveled ponytail swung behind her as she moved. Pikachu and Vaporeon, who'd went along with her, eagerly skirted around her feet and headed for their nearby bowls of water.

"She told me this is my birthday gift from her," Ash explained, placing the can on the table in front of him. "It was probably the first thing she saw in the pantry."

"Right, because three year olds don't actually have any money to spend," Misty surmised, letting out a short giggle afterwards. "That's very cute!"

"It was sweet," Ash agreed, his more heartfelt smile returning. Pikachu, who had finished his drink, climbed up Ash's leg so he could hop onto the table and examine the can himself.

"Fortunately for you, 30 year olds do have money to spend," Misty continued, winking playfully at Ash. "I just need an idea of what you actually want."

"You don't have to get me anything," Ash refuted, waving his hands in front of him.

"Of course I do; birthday gifts are a necessity!" Misty stressed.

"Chu!" Pikachu chimed in.

"I guess, but you don't need to spend a lot of money on me," Ash replied.

"No one said anything about a lot of money," Misty teased, walking over to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of water. "It doesn't mean I won't, I just didn't say anything specific."

"You know, for a self-proclaimed tomboy, you're very good at shopping," Ash playfully sighed. "And I mean really good. Maybe a little too good."

"Alright, alright, I get it," Misty scoffed once she finished her long sip, although she was still smirking at him. "I'll just figure out your gift myself."

"I trust you," Ash called as Misty turned around and started to head out of the kitchen.

"Good to know," Misty jokingly replied, earning some vivacious laughter from her husband.

XXX

Jason scowled at the blue haired girl sitting next to him.

"Jewel, come on, you've been watching this dumb show for four hours now!" He whined. "Can I please change the channel?"

"No!" Jewel snapped.

Jason winced at the volume of her voice, pulling back. "You're already annoying, do you have to be loud on top of it?"

"I'll do whatever I want," Jewel muttered, her eyes not leaving the television screen for even a second. Her knees were pulled into her chest, her arms wrapped around them.

"Ugh, you're still watching this dreg?"

Jewel gasped as the channel suddenly changed. Whipping around, she narrowed her purple eyes and shrieked, "Mom!"

Jessie was unaffected by the girl's anguish and continued lazily flipping through the channels with the remote in her hand.

"Hey, where'd you find that?" Jason asked. "Jewel hid it as soon as she started watching TV and I've been looking everywhere for it!"

"This is the backup remote," Jessie plainly stated.

"Backup remote?" Jason repeated, sounding impressed.

"Dear, if you don't think I know how to get exactly what I want by now, then you don't know me at all," Jessie teased, winking at the boy.

"I guess a life of crime will help you with that," Jason mused.

"Just one of its many benefits," Jessie agreed.

Jewel huffed and indignantly turned her head away as she crossed her arms. "I can't believe I can't even watch TV in this stupid base…"

"You can watch TV, just not that junk," Jessie calmly argued. "At least not for that many episodes in a row, you can't."

"And now for the latest in the world of professional battling! Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum will celebrate his 31st birthday tomorrow! No word yet on where he'll be celebrating or what kind of lavish gifts his wife might be gifting him, but I'm sure whatever it is will be impressive!"

"That twerp just gets worse with age," Jessie grumbled.

"31 sounds kind of old," Jason contemplated.

Smirking almost wickedly, Jewel eagerly replied, "that's nothing compared to Mom and Dad! They're basically ancient compared to him."

A vein popped out of Jessie's forehead as Jewel carried on about her age, willing herself to not have an outburst that was certainly not appropriate for an adult woman…regardless of her true age.

But then, an idea wormed its way into her head, and she managed to come down from her fury. Jason and Jewel seemed to realize this, and both of their expressions changed as they leaned in closer to her.

"Mom, you've got that look in your eye," Jason noted. "And not the really angry one you just had before. This is more like the one you get when you have an idea."

"More like a scheme," Jewel murmured.

"You two are so observant!" Jessie crowed. "As a matter of fact, I did just come up with the most brilliant idea!"

Jason and Jewel waited for Jessie to elaborate. When all she did was stand there with her chest puffed out and a smug look on her face, Jewel groaned and demanded, "Are you actually going to tell us what it is?"

"Of course!" Jessie yelped. "But first…go get your father and Meowth. They have to hear this too."

Jewel rolled her eyes but got to her feet and stomped off to find them. Jason, on the other hand, remained in place, and simply looked up at Jessie. "Does this have to do with the Pokémon Master's birthday?"

"You've got it," Jessie purred, leaning down to gently hold the boy's face in her hands. "And when we're through with it, that twerp's special day is going to be one big nightmare for him, and one huge celebration for us!"

XXX

"I call the first piece of cake!"

"Aiden! It's not your birthday!"

Ash chuckled at the exchange. "It's fine, Mist. I don't care if he gets the first piece."

Aiden's eyes lit up, but they quickly clouded over as soon as Misty replied, "well, I do. He knows the rules. Whoever's birthday it is gets the first piece of cake! You'll get the first piece on your birthday, Aiden."

"That barely counts because I have to share my birthday with Michelle," Aiden whined, pointing at his unsuspecting twin. "And our birthday is forever away! Why couldn't we be born sooner?"

"That's not exactly something that was in my control," Misty teased, smirking at her son.

"She definitely wishes it was," Ash muttered, earning a glare from his wife. "Don't give me that look! You would plan everything down to the minute if you could, and you know it!"

"There's nothing wrong with being punctual and organized," Delia recited, leaning in next to Ash to give him his slice of birthday cake. "Life would certainly be a lot easier that way!"

"Maybe, but then it wouldn't be as fun," Ash commented, shrugging his shoulders.

"Easy for you to say when you're not a pregnant woman," Misty scoffed. "Remind me, Delia; was Ash early or late?"

"Late," Delia replied easily. "Very late. Which, in hindsight, was just a preview of his personality."

Misty choked back a laugh, and this time it was Ash's turn to glare at her…and then his mother. "Mom!"

"I'm just being honest, dear!" Delia sighed, cutting off another piece of cake. "I don't think any of us need to be reminded of your first day as a trainer debacle. Or the day you battled for your title. Or the day of your wedding. Or-"

"Okay, I get it!" Ash cried. "Man, there should really be a rule against teasing someone on their birthday."

"That would never happen in our family," Michelle noted.

"Yoo hoo!"

Michelle blinked and looked over her shoulder. "Grammy, there's someone at the gate."

Delia made a noise of interest and looked in the same direction, Ash and Misty following suit. Just as Michelle had said, there was someone standing on the other side of the white picket fence. They were dressed in a dark blue delivery outfit, a hat covering their hair and large sunglasses obscuring their face.

"May I help you?" Delia asked, folding her hands in front of her.

"Yes, I have a special birthday delivery for the Pokémon Master!" The visitor announced, holding up an elegantly wrapped box as proof.

"Ooh, it's so pretty!" Elizabeth squealed, jumping up and down. She had been playing in the grass with Vaporeon, but got distracted by the box in the visitor's hands.

"Misty, did you arrange for my gift to come here?" Ash asked, partially grimacing.

"No," Misty replied quite seriously.

Ash raised an eyebrow and got up from his seat, Pikachu jumping from the table onto his shoulder. "That's weird. I wonder who it's from."

"One of your adoring fans sent it just for your big day!" The delivery person crowed.

"Wow, that sure was nice of them!" Ash chuckled, taking the gift from the delivery person. "Do I have to sign for this or anything?"

"Not necessary," the delivery person assured, a smirk overtaking their face. "That Pikachu will do just fine."

Ash was confused by that response, until a metal arm burst out of the top of the box and grabbed onto Pikachu, yanking the alarmed yellow mouse off of his shoulder.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped, the rest of the family following suit.

Out of the hole that had been made by the metal arm, Meowth's head popped up, a devious grin on his face. "Poifect! Just like you said, Jess!"

"Meowth?!" Ash yelped. "But that means-"

The delivery person laughed manically, throwing off their disguise to reveal their true identity: Jessie.

"This was too easy!" Jessie boasted, throwing her magenta hair over her shoulder.

James, Jason, Jewel, and Wobbuffet jumped out of a nearby bush, cheering for their success.

Ash tried to tighten his grip on the box, but Meowth hopped right out, the control panel of the contraption clutched in his paws.

"Pikachu, quick, use thunderbolt!" Ash cried.

The little electric type charged up and fired off his attack, but it did nothing. Meowth started to laugh, informing the stunned Pokémon Master, "dis thing soaks up electricity like a sponge!"

"Vaporeon, hydro pump!"

A sudden burst of water knocked Meowth to the ground, short circuiting the metal arm in the process. Its grip loosened and Pikachu managed to wriggle out, running straight back to Ash and into the man's arms.

"Pikachu!" Ash laughed, giving the mouse a hug. He looked over his shoulder and beamed at his wife, who had a pleased smile on her face. "Thanks, Mist!"

"Of course," Misty giggled. "I'm not about to let these creeps ruin your birthday!"

Jessie, on the other hand, was fuming, and taking it out on Meowth.

"How could you not make that thing water proof too?!" Jessie demanded, screaming over the fence. "You really didn't expect the twerpette to have a water type at the ready?!"

"In all fairness, you only stressed it being electric proof," James timidly piped up.

"I DON'T CARE!" Jessie screamed, causing James to wince.

"I think it's about time we kicked them out of the party," Ash teased, winking at Pikachu. "What do you say, buddy?"

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu agreed.

"You're not about to do all of the heavy lifting yourself!" Misty called, skirting up next to Ash. "Consider this part of your birthday present."

Ash grinned cheekily, earning a smirk from Misty. "Hey, I like the sound of that!"

Team Rocket was so busy arguing with one another to realize that Ash and Misty were co-conspiring with one another, and the pair planned on using that fully to their advantage.

Gracefully throwing her hand out, Misty ordered, "Vaporeon, ice beam! Let's go!"

The water type opened her mouth and unleashed a white beam of energy, first freezing Meowth on the ground and then heading towards Team Rocket on the other side of the fence. Jessie and James managed to push Jason and Jewel away before getting hit by the ice beam, leaving them encased in ice which glittered under the setting sun.

"Uh oh…"Jewel murmured, her eyes shifting towards the angry couple.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pi…ka…CHU!"

The powerful electric attack managed to strike every member of Team Rocket at once, again sans Jason and Jewel, who'd managed to jump out of the way. The ice around them burst into pieces and sent them all flying, with Jason and Jewel chasing after them on foot.

"Mom! Dad! Meowth! Wobbuffet!"

"We're blasting off again!"

"Wobbaaaa!"

Misty sighed and rubbed the side of her head. "They'll never quit."

"Nah, but their schemes have gotten worse with age," Ash added. "Even I would know to make some water proof if you and your Pokémon were gonna be around."

"That waf AWEFOME!"

Furrowing her brow, Misty turned around and found Aiden with his eyes shimmering, and his mouth full of cake.

"Aiden!" Misty groaned. "You couldn't wait for all of us to be at the table?"

"No," Aiden murmured once he swallowed the mouthful. "When I'm watching a battle that good, I've got to have something to eat!"

"That was hardly a battle, champ," Ash snickered. "It was totally one sided!"

"Yeah, but it was still good," Aiden reasoned with him.

"I think we'd better go sit down before our son eats everyone else's piece too," Misty sighed.

Laughing, Ash replied, "I don't know what's worse: Team Rocket crashing my birthday party, or Aiden eating my entire birthday cake."