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Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Ash Ketchum, pokémon trainer to be, woke up and cursed as she saw the time. In a blur, she ran out of her house and hurried to Professor Oak's, ready to begin her pokémon journey, threading a slender hand through her short, dark hair in agitation and panic.

She was sixteen after all. She'd been waiting forever to finally go out and go on a pokémon journey (especially after they changed the age for a license), hoping to catch as many pokémon as she could and become the best Pokémon Master in history. She would never give up until she realized her dream.

In the meantime, her mother blinked at her daughter's exit, wondering why she had gone out in her sleepwear. It was rather cold out to be wearing a tank top and pajama pants. Delia Ketchum just shook her head, red hair flying as she smiled wryly to herself.

With Ash, she had just burst through Professor Oak's lab, eager to get her starter pokémon and then get on her way onto her travels. The older man, who saw the girl as a niece, was thoroughly confused but smiled at her anyway.

"Sam! Do you have any pokémon left?" Ash asked, out of breath and hunching over as she tried to regain it, and again forgoing his title like always.

The problem came to hand. "Oh dear, the last one just went right out. I'm sorry, Ash. Unless…"

Ash's face had dropped until the professor thought of something, a small smirk briefly lighting onto his face.

"What is it, Sam?"

"Well, there's a Pikachu out back…but it won't let anyone near it. What do you say? Want to give it a try?"

Ash beamed, "You've got it!"

The girl followed behind the professor, grinning from ear to ear. She was going to have a Pikachu for a starter! She knew a Squirtle, Charmander, and a Bulbasaur were the actual choices given to those of the Kanto region, so this was a rare chance and opportunity for her.

"I must warn you, Ash. This one doesn't like company. The other trainers who tried to get the pokémon to accept them had very little success. Meaning they were fried," Oak whispered conspiratorially the last part to her, causing her to giggle. Her smile died off and she turned a little quiet, asking the next question with an almost unnoticeably subdued air.

"Did…did Gary leave already?"

"He left a couple hours ago…" Oak frowned.

"Oh."

She pushed down the negative feelings and focused on Gary's leave differently. Ash had also hoped to beat the professor's grandson out of Pallet Town and get a head start over the other. However, she just had to wake up late…

Pouting a little at not being able to show Gary that she was serious about being a trainer and that she wasn't some weak wannabe, Ash followed Oak with a little less enthusiasm. She brightened up once they were in the back, seeing all kinds of pokémon milling about.

There was the Pikachu, all alone. Whenever another pokémon tried to approach it, Pikachu sent an electric bolt at it. It helped keep them all away. It was solitary.

Ash blinked and momentarily felt uncomfortable, before shoving that feeling down and also her own sense of loneliness.

"Well, go ahead and try. Be careful," Professor Oak said, further breaking her out of her odd mood.

Ash nodded eagerly, already transfixed with the electrical mouse pokémon.

"Hey there. My name's Ash," she whispered, staring straight at it with a small smile.

The Pikachu sent a shock at her, but she dodged quickly and darted over to it, rubbing its head tenderly. A purr erupted from its mouth before Ash backed away. Pikachu followed after her, jumping happily into her arms and rubbing its head against her face. It felt safe…happy with her. There had been…an instant connection…

"Maa, I'll pet you, Pikachu. Don't worry," Ash giggled, scratching behind its ears.

"Well done, Ash. I had a feeling it might like you," Professor Oak happily stated. "Pikachu is now your starting pokémon. Farewell and say hello to your mother for me. Good luck on your journey, my dear!"

Ash waved goodbye and held Pikachu in her arms as she set off back to her house to share the good news with her mother. She lovingly nuzzled the top of Pikachu's head with her cheek.

"Ne, Pikachu…we'll be okay. I understand. Sometimes, it's just better to be lonely, right?"

"That's good news, Ash. I'm so proud of you. If only…" Delia sighed dramatically, peeking discreetly at her pretty but oblivious daughter.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Ash blinked at her.

"Oh dear, it's nothing. Only…you're sixteen and the world is filled with perverts. I can't imagine my little girl all alone in the world with all those hentai. Oh dear, such nightmares!" she continued to pile on the dramatics.

Ash blinked at her mother's dramatic announcement, before shrugging. She tried to think up a solution, wanting her mother happy and at the same time be able to start her journey.

"Um, I guess…I could dress up as a boy?" Ash was so uncertain, that it came out sounding like a question.

"My genius baby! Of course! I have some of your father's old clothing, dear. I'll just be right back!" Delia proclaimed, disappearing off to find the clothing articles.

Ash sighed, but stared blankly down at the floor as she remembered the mention of her father. Pikachu felt the shift in mood in his mistress and came over, nudging his nose against her in comfort.

"Here we are!" Delia sing-songed back into the room, holding a pair of baggy jeans and t-shirt. Ash plastered on a smile for her mother.

Quickly, Delia put bindings around her chest, put the shirt and jeans on, and whirled her to a mirror before she could even register her mother moving. Her mother, if nothing else, was at least very efficient.

"Ta da! Now instead of a pretty little princess, I have a handsome prince. Isn't that right, sweetie?" Delia cooed, admiring Ash's reflection in the mirror.

Ash blinked once in surprise before she looked at herself clearly. It wasn't too bad –the black jeans were a little loose and the navy shirt was large on her frame, but served its purpose well of making her look like a boy. And she really did look like a pretty boy. It was a good thing her hair had always been short.

Delia smiled sadly. "You might think this is strange and I'm being overdramatic and overprotective…but I just don't want you to get hurt. Or make the same mistakes I did, like getting pregnant young and not being able to fulfill the things I had wanted to do. Oh sweetie…I just want you to be careful and not go through what I did with your father, or worse."

Ash stood there awkwardly, but then leaned over and gave her mother a tight hug, trying to reassure her through it.

"You're ready to go now, Ash," Delia sighed, and finally let go of her after the embrace.

Grinning, Ash kissed her goodbye and took off with Pikachu.

On the road, Pikachu sat on top of her head, happily eating out of a bottle of ketchup. It seemed that ketchup was now his favorite food and Ash thought it was cute. Er…she wasn't sure it washealthy per se, but it didn't seem…harmful?

She sweatdropped and decided she should check with Professor Oak the next chance she got.

A Spearow landed in front of them, cocking its head to the side as it stared at them. Ash grinned, preparing to capture it.

"Come on, Pikachu! Let's get 'em!"

"Pika!"

Suddenly, the Spearow screeched and a mass of Spearows flew into view, all screeching. Ash froze and stared, gaping.

Ah damn. Why'd her luck have to be so bad most of the times?

"Pikachu! Run!" Ash screamed, terrified.

The two of them fled, with Ash having picked up Pikachu and now clutching the mouse pokémon to her chest. The Spearows were catching up, and she wasn't seeing anything resembling sanctuary or help anywhere. After having run for awhile, the sky started turning gray and rain fell. She clenched her jaw and made a decision, stopping suddenly.

Ash dropped Pikachu, addressing him seriously.

"Pikachu, go to the Pokémon Center and ask for help. I'll stay here and stall them," Ash said solemnly.

"Pika…" Pikachu's grim face showed how much the pokémon liked that idea, but she wasn't going to budge and she definitely wasn't going to let Pikachu get hurt.

Ignoring any pleas Pikachu might have made, Ash turned and faced the throng of Spearows flying straight for her.

"Go, Pikachu!" Ash yelled, not even looking back as she spread her arms and glared defiantly at the mass of avian pokémon coming their way.

"Come on, you chickens! I can take all of you!" Well...Ash never said she wasn't crazy.

Pikachu's face turned determined and he raced towards Ash, springing onto Ash's back and into the air.

"Pika!" he growled, letting loose a large thunder attack and frying all the Spearows. Ash watched it all in amazement. Pikachu turned back to his owner.

"I don't think I want to capture any Spearows now. Let's go, Pikachu," Ash said tiredly, but smiled proudly at her Pikachu.

She held out her arm and Pikachu leapt onto it, climbing up until he was perched, as usual, on her head.

They trekked the rest of the way in silence.

"Oh dear! Look at you, you poor thing! Come here! We'll get you dried up," Nurse Joy, the very pretty nurse working diligently in the Pokémon Center, shook her head, seeing the disheveled state of Ash.

Ash sneezed.

"Oh, what a cute sneeze. Now, young lady, we'll just sit you here and I'm going to towel you down," she said as she took the shocked Ash and began doing just what she said. Pikachu had leaped away from his owner and shook his fur, water droplets flying off of him.

"H-how did you know I was a girl?" Ash asked, embarrassed. Nurse Joy laughed lightly, eyes twinkling.

"I know looks can be deceiving, dear. I've known my fair share of tomboys and you certainly are a pretty thing. If you really were a boy, then I could've laughed it off and teased you to no end!"

Ash blushed, laughing as well. "Anou sa, my name's Ash Ketchum and this is my Pikachu."

"Nurse Joy," she returned, smiling, "Now let's get you into some fresh clothes as I dry these off. I'll get you some hot chocolate, okay?"

A few minutes later, Ash was in baggy gray sweats, a blanket over her shoulders, and a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. She blew on the hot chocolate before sipping cautiously, careful not to burn herself.

"Hey there! Mind if I sit right here?" Ash looked up to see a red-headed girl smiling at her.

"Oh, um, sure! My name's Ash," she rushed to answer and politely introduce herself.

"My name's Misty," the other girl returned.

"Anou…you're really pretty," Ash complimented sincerely, smiling shyly at the other.

Misty blushed, smiling. "Why, thank you. You're rather pretty yourself. I mean handsome."

"Um, Misty, can you keep a secret?" Ash asked timidly, thinking it would be alright and her mother wouldn't be upset about this since Misty was a girl.

"Hm? Sure! What is it?" the red head asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Well, I'm a girl. I'm, uh, just pretending to be a guy. It's for my mom," this time it was Ash who turned red.

It took a moment before Misty stopped staring. "Oh! I didn't know. I'm so sorry! And, well, it makes sense. I mean, you just seem like it."

Ash groaned, "That's not good. I was supposed to pretend to be a guy so I wouldn't attract attention."

Misty noticed the emphasis on attention. "You know, I could travel with you for awhile. I wouldn't mind helping you out and help you notice this attention." Something about this girl made her sisterly instincts (the positive ones –not the ones she had for her own sisters) rise up and feel protective over the other. And she also didn't like the idea of a pretty girl like Ash traveling all alone…

"Honto ni? That's great! I would never really notice if a guy's flirting or what. Mom's says I'm just naïve and oblivious. But you'd be a great help. And I can't always ask Nurse Joy to help me with my bindings either. Um, are you sure though?" Ash asked hesitantly, though she was extremely happy and grateful that Misty had offered in the first place. It put a weight off of her shoulders she hadn't known she'd had until Misty had offered to travel with her.

Misty grinned, "I'd always loved to have a little sister."

Ash returned the grin, as she absentmindedly let a happy Pikachu climb onto her lap and snuggle under the blanket with her, with a fresh bottle of ketchup in his paws.

She and Misty talked about everything as the night wore on, with Nurse Joy joining them once the topic turned to the latest gossip.

Ash dressed in regular clothing, though she was apprehensive in doing so and wondered if her mother would get upset with her. She just wanted to battle as herself though. And she had heard there was a gym around the block and she wanted to challenge the gym leader before heading out of Viridian.

But as Ash. Just Ash.

"Pikachu, let's do this!" Ash focused on the positive and pumped a fist into the air. The two of them began their trek out and tried to find their way to the gym, though they'd had to ask for directions twice. Ash admitted she wasn't the best with directions…

They finally made it to the gym, finding the inside very dark.

"Anou sa, is anyone here?" Ash called out tentatively, fidgeting and wondering where everyone was.

"Unless you have the other badges, there won't be a match. This is the final gym to beat, not the first," a bored voice called out from the dark.

"Oh…I'm sorry," Ash said embarrassed. She was gesturing for Pikachu to come with her when the voice spoke immediately again, sounding less bored but still rather neutral and unrevealing.

"You are Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town?"

"Hai…"

A man stepped out into the light, wearing a rather vivid orange suit and slicked back brown hair. His dark onyx eyes looked at her curiously from his perch on the balcony.

"I have heard many praises about you and his grandson from Professor Oak," he spoke out, examining her subtly.

"O-oh, really? Um, I'm sure he was just exaggerating," Ash turned red.

The man smirked. "Good. You aren't cocky like the professor's grandson." Ash didn't note the derision in his tone when he mentioned Gary.

"Um, thank you…I'm sorry to have wasted your time. I'll just be going now," she said hurriedly, and was just turning to leave when he spoke again.

"Hold on. I can see why Oak likes you so much. You are definitely much more polite than his grandson, that's for sure."

This time Ash caught the dislike in his voice. Though, she was still reeling from the compliments.

The man tapped his mouth thoughtfully. "What do you say we have a mock battle, huh Ash? To gauge your strength. By the way, my name's Giovanni."

"Really? I'd love that!" she quickly turned excited, eager to battle and show she could really do this.

"Alright, go Golem," he hadn't wasted any time, calling out his first pokémon quickly.

"Pikachu, let's do this!" Ash was energized.

"Pound," Giovanni directed, though he was rather disappointed at her choice of pokémon against his, considering the type advantage.

"Dodge it, Pikachu! Try a lightning bolt!" she decided to try out.

It didn't faze Golem one bit. Ash got to thinking though, and an idea flashed into her head. She grinned widely.

"Let's try this again! Pikachu, generate enough electricity to start a fire!"

Giovanni raised an eyebrow, but was startled when the sprinklers came on. Pikachu promptly shocked his wet Golem, understanding his trainer's intent from the beginning.

"You actually planned that?" Giovanni asked incredulously, impressed despite himself.

Ash gave him a thumb up and a cheeky grin. Chuckling, Giovanni shook his wet head, strands of hair flinging side to side.

Pikachu flopped to the ground tired.

"Next round?" Giovanni actually grinned.

"Anou, I don't have any other pokémon," Ash laughed, and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

The Viridian Gym Leader blinked in surprise, "Really? How come?" Though it made more sense why she went straight for her Pikachu to battle, despite electric types being weak against ground types. It also made her win even more impressive.

Ash pouted, sticking her tongue at him. "Hey, I just came from Pallet Town! That's like the town right over. And do you know how expensive pokéballs are? You're the first person I've fought."

"Huh. Well, you're pretty good for a beginner," he genuinely complimented her, becoming more impressed with her the more he talked with her.

"Ah, thank you. Oh great! I'm wet again! Nurse Joy is gonna kill me!" she groaned, remembering her current state.

"Why don't I come with you? I can explain to Nurse Joy," he offered, feeling amusement fill him.

"S'aank you!" Ash cheered. She sneezed straight afterwards and Giovanni looked on amused.

"You know, you have an adorable sneeze."

"Ugh! Why does everyone keep saying that?!"

The Pokémon Center seemed dark inside as they approached it, and Ash felt ominous about it. Narrowing their eyes at it, they continued on more warily.

"Pikachu, light up your cheeks so we can have some light," Ash murmured quietly to her Pikachu.

Giovanni shook his head in amusement. Ash had some weird but ingenious ideas.

As soon as they stepped inside, Pikachu's cheeks allowed them to walk a little bit closer before two voices cut in.

A spotlight shone on a female and a male wearing matching outfits, with a big red R in the middle of their tops.

They started spouting something about the world and trouble and whatever, while Ash snuck a glance at Giovanni in confusion about the whole thing. Oddly enough, he looked disbelieving and horrified.

She could understand the disbelief, but why horrified?

"You guys suck," she deadpanned. "Pikachu, come on!' Ash ran toward the counter, dragging Giovanni with her, before leaping over it. She caught sight of a bike and some medical equipment. She got yet another crazy idea.

"Come on out, twerp!" The trio mockingly looked around.

Giovanni watched Ash work, sweatdropping as he witnessed another of Ash's crazy genius ideas come to life.

Ash leapt to the side of the counter, planting a tireless bike down. She straddled it, grinning impishly. Team Rocket rolled their eyes, heading over in a light jog.

Pikachu appeared on the handlebars, cheeks sparking dangerously. On him, he had wires attached to the bike. Both spotting twin grins, Ash began peddling and Pikachu began sparking even more.

Eyes widening, Team Rocket's slow pace turned into an all-out run to reach them.

"Now, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

Pikachu let loose a powerful thunderbolt, hitting Team Rocket. They shot into the air, yelling.

"Team Rocket's blasting off!"

Giovanni stared. He definitely didn't want to end up on Ash's bad side.

"Ash! You're soaking wet again! Do you want to catch a cold?" Nurse Joy and Misty appeared from out back, Misty struggling not to laugh when Nurse Joy went into mother hen mode. Both were unheeding to the fact that they'd just been held captive by Team Rocket.

Ash had been hoping that little electric stunt had dried herself.

"It's alright, Nurse Joy. I can explain. You see, Ash and I were having a mock battle when the sprinklers in my gym went off," Giovanni cut in, explaining smoothly.

Nurse Joy scowled, but accepted the explanation. Giovanni neglected to mention Ash wanted the sprinklers to go off.

"Very well. You should have your sprinklers checked though. Honestly! It might happen again…

"Now, young man, let's get you dried up," Nurse Joy said, glancing at Giovanni hesitantly.

Giovanni looked confused.

Blushing, Ash clued in Nurse Joy, "Um, it's okay, Nurse Joy. I'm in regular clothing, see? When I battle gyms, I want to battle as myself. Besides, I'm kind of…soaked."

Still confused about what was going on, Giovanni accidently looked at Ash –really looked –and realized badly that Ash was soaked.

Coughing slightly to cover up his growing embarrassment, Giovanni turned away and looked at Misty, hoping he wasn't the only one feeling clueless.

Misty was glaring at him, having seen Giovanni accidently look.

"Your normal clothing is dry, Ash," Misty switched to Ash, switching her scowl for a smile for the young girl.

Apparently, he was the only person who wasn't understanding.

"Um, Giovanni, I dress up as a guy to avoid attracting unwanted attention. It's for my mom, you see. You understand now?" Ash noticed he was confused and explained quickly.

"Oh," now he understood. "Ah, I get it. Wait, where's your pokédex?"

Ash blinked at the sudden change of conversation, but mentally shrugged. She lifted her sleeve and showed her watch. Or at least it looked like a watch.

It was thin and wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet, all black except for the blue oriental dragon on the part that was supposed to be the time piece of a watch.

"That's different. I've never seen a pokédex like that," Misty studied it from her spot, wondering if she hadn't caught up to the latest advancements in pokétech.

"Oh! This is a prototype version of a new pokédex. Professor Oak gave it for me to try out and gather information on its worth. The professor said Gary didn't want to do it because he didn't have time to waste monitoring some gadget."

Giovanni snorted in disdain.

Ash looked like she was thinking something before she pointed the pokédex at Giovanni.

A hologram appeared above the dragon, before saying in a monotone voice, "Giovanni Rocketto, Viridian Gym Leader. 32 years old, specializes in ground-type pokémon, and gives out the eighth badge –the Earth badge."

"That's certainly impressive," Giovanni looked startled.

"It looks like a watch. Can it tell time?" Nurse Joy asked curiously, walking a little closer to look at it.

"8:30 am, Thursday, April 2."

Ash pouted, "I still haven't decided what to program its voice to. That monotone is boring."

Giovanni rolled his eyes, smirking, "You go do that. Just don't forget to train while you keep deciding."

Ash blew a raspberry at him, and he almost felt like reacting back. It was strange and unlike himself.

"Well, I've got to go. It's late and there are still things to do," Giovanni said, deciding to just excuse himself.

"Bye," Ash smiled brightly at him, happy to have made yet another friend.

"Oh, come by tomorrow before you leave. See you!" he said mysteriously, without waiting for a response.

Started 4/30/07 – Completed 5/5/07
Edited 3/18/14 – Completed 3/18/14

Chapter Text

Geodude was down, with Pikachu having knocked it out by making it dizzy using his speed. Onix was next.

Ash grinned, remembering the events in Viridian before she left.

"Hey, I'm going to go see Giovanni now! I'll see you in a bit!" Ash called out as she and Pikachu left the Center, dressed in her travel clothing.

She winced a little at the bindings. They were horrible, but she'd rather feel the pain than get used to them. And the clothing themselves…she felt out of her skin, which was odd because normally she would be okay in jeans and a shirt. Maybe because she wore them as a guy now…

She went inside the gym, surprised to see someone waiting for her this time. But it wasn't Giovanni. She inwardly pouted at that.

"Are you Ash Ketchum?" the assistant asked, wearing a polite smile.

"Yes, is Giovanni here?" She smiled brightly back.

"No, but he left something for you. Hold on one second. Here," and he handed her a non-descript package, that was thankfully medium-sized so she could carry it without problems.

Confused, but smiling nonetheless, Ash accepted it and left after saying thanks. A little sad that she didn't get to see Giovanni one last time before she left, she entered the Pokécenter with a glum face.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Misty said when she caught sight of the other girl, who actually looked down for once.

"Giovanni wasn't there…but he left me something," Ash brightened up when she remembered the gift.

"Oh, what is it? Open it!" Misty's curiosity flared up and she wondered what the older trainer could have gotten her friend. Especially given it was Giovanni, who was notorious for his strictness and sometimes even acidic personality. The man prided himself on being cool-tempered and logical, and generally put himself above others, though he could back up that arrogance quite easily. She also heard he was a bit of an authoritarian, bordering on dictator…

Ash opened it to see a pokéball sitting atop a nice cloth. Taking out the pokéball and handing it to a dumbstruck Misty, Ash took out the cloth to unfold into an attractive suit not unlike Giovanni's. Only the top and bottom piece were navy blue and the dress shirt was black.

"That's nice of him! It's really nice-looking too," Nurse Joy commented, admiring the outfit.

"It looks tailored for you," Misty added, appraising it with her eye.

"Go try it on!" Nurse Joy ordered excitedly.

While Ash went and did that, Misty began muttering to herself. "It really looks like it was tailored for her. It's like the exact measurements…wait a sec…when did he find time to get measurements?! That pervert!"

Apparently Mr. Harsh was also a closet pervert or something.

Ash came out just as Misty began to grow red in anger. "Are you okay, Misty?" she asked the other in concern.

Misty forcibly calmed herself down and forced out a smile. "Just peachy."

The water trainer's anger rose again when she saw the suit fit Ash  perfectly .

"You look so handsome!" Nurse Joy squealed, breaking the tension and making Misty focus back into the present and out of her rage-induced thoughts.

Misty looked and blinked. Ash really did look rather handsome, looking petite but professional in the outfit. Just another androgynous working male, or so…

"Mademoiselle Waterflower, how does your opinion go?" Ash smirked, bowing like a gentleman.

"Quite satisfied, Monsieur Ketchum. As my escort, I am pleased to see such a handsome male accompanying me," Misty returned, lifting her nose mock-haughtily.

All three of them laughed.

"Oh! The pokéball!" Ash remembered, even more excited about this.

She released it and an Espeon came out. "Wow, what's this?" Ash asked, not sure if she'd ever seen anything like it before. It sort of looked like an Eevee though…

Ash pointed her pokédex at it and a hologram appeared, the monotone voice answering her.

"Espeon, class psychic. Evolution of Eevee with Sun Shard, or high developed friendship in daytime/morning. Native to Johto, also located in Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova. Level 54." Here Ash choked on her breath, caught off guard by the high level of the pokémon.

"Ash, that Espeon is really powerful! Wow, you sure do make friends with the right people," Misty exclaimed, forgetting about her animosity for a second. Besides, if Giovanni was willing to do all this, she guessed he wasn't that bad. S'long as he doesn't try anything…

"Wow…I won't use Espeon until I'm worthy enough," Ash said determinedly.

"What? What are you talking about, Ash?" Nurse Joy wondered, also amazed at the grand gift.

"Espeon was given to me, I'm not going to abuse this privilege. And it's so powerful already, I feel like I don't deserve to have Espeon just yet. I didn't train it myself. And it would be unfair to the other trainers…"

The other two just shook their heads. Ash was Ash.

And now she was up against Brock.

Misty was not happy with that. The rumors about Brock were true, with the idiot immediately having hearts in his eyes when he saw Ash. He even had the gall to rush up to Ash and ask for her hand in marriage before Misty wacked him back towards his spot in the gym with her mallet.

Brock reluctantly kept his distance after that.

Ash was now opening an umbrella, garnering a confused look from Brock. Misty copied Ash, wondering why the other girl had asked her to bring it in the first place.

"Pikachu, same as last time!" she winked at her Pikachu.

The electric pokémon let out a huge thunder, activating the sprinklers and then promptly shocking Onix.

It fainted and Ash cheered, Pikachu doing the same. Brock sighed and called back Onix.

"Good job, Onix. Next time," Brock said sorrowfully.

He had wanted to win, just so he could impress Ash and keep her around for awhile longer. He hadn't even lasted that long against her…

"Yatta! Thanks for the great battle, Brock!" Ash yelled happily, running to him and giving him a hug.

Brock's sad look turned blissful, though Misty was watching in the background and glaring at him. He gulped and twitched nervously, but tried to savor Ash's hug for as long as he could.

"Hey, Brock! Give her her badge already," Misty yelled irritably.

Grumbling under his breath, Brock took out a badge and presented it to Ash, who took it with a squeal.

"Congratulations! You have the Boulder Badge," Brock put on a smile. "Anou, please do me the honor of staying a little while and letting me cook for you."

Misty was about to answer no when Ash said yes. The red head twitched. Ash was so oblivious. Didn't she see that Brock was infatuated with her? She really did think too much with her stomach too, sometimes.

"Excellent! You won't regret it!"

Misty readied her mallet just in case Brock tried something.

Brock cried a waterfall as he cooked, his mouth opened in a painful grin. His head supported a huge bump.

Misty smirked in triumph, glad that Brock had tried something. She readied her mallet again, just as Brock looked over.

The rock trainer shivered and hurriedly turned back to his cooking.

"Wow, your hair's so pretty, June!" Ash exclaimed as she braided the hair of one of Brock's siblings.

"Sugoi, you're so nice! Ash! Will you stay here forever?" June squealed, looking at the older girl with bright eyes.

"Nani?" Ash blushed. "Um, gomen, June. But I'm going to become a Pokémon Master and to do that I have to travel and collect the badges."

The little one pouted. "Okay, but promise we'll see you again!"

There was a chorus of yeahs from the others, with Brock glancing hopefully at her. Not that she noticed that.

"Of course! And when I'm a Pokémon Master, it'll be easier to see you all!"

There was a knock on the door and everyone stared at it curiously. They all turned to look at each other in confusion, but none of them had a clue who it could be.

"Ah, I'll get that," Ash said, mentally shrugging.

"No, no! It's okay. I'll do it," Brock tried to say, but Ash had already gotten up and gone to the door.

"Hello there, Miss! Is Brock here?" an elderly man stood joyfully at the door.

"Yes, come in," Ash hesitantly invited, thinking that maybe Brock would want to deal with this himself.

"Thank you. The name's Flint, Miss," he smiled gratefully at her.

"Oh, please. It's just Ash," she grinned back cheerfully.

"Dad?" Brock asked incredulously as he saw the man enter. A scowl crossed his face and he stalked forward to face his old man.

"Son," Flint replied back with sorrow in his tone, standing still and letting his son come closer.

"Where have you been? You've been gone for so long…I've raised the kids up until now, why are you back?" Brock was trying not to show how angry he was, considering Ash was still there and looking confused.

She was cute smiling but confused-looking.

"I know…but I want to make it up to you," a knowing look entered his eyes as he glanced between Brock and Ash. "Why don't you join this young lady? Help her out like the nice, young gentleman you are," Flint grinned deviously, hinting to his son, who was struggling between staying angry with his father and the opportunity of his lifetime.

Misty froze.

"Okay!" Obviously, the opportunity won out.

Dammit.

Misty started cursing up a storm in her head, glaring at the father and son duo.

Ash hadn't fallen asleep yet, even though everyone else had. Instead, she sat at the bed loaned to her until she sighed and couldn't sit still anymore. She quietly walked out of the home, and trekked along the stream outside. Taking a stop by the water, she smiled a little as she let Pikachu catch up, the electric mouse having followed after her. Taking Espeon's pokéball from her belt, she stared at it before plopping down onto the ground and taking out the letter that had been in the pocket of the suit pants Giovanni had given her.

Dear Ash,

Most probably, you are both happy and concerned about the Espeon I have given you. I understand, knowing you, that you dislike the idea of being hand-given things, especially matters concerning pokémon. Given its evolution and high level, it makes you doubly wary and upset at having Espeon and using it in battle. So here's a situation and challenge I pose to you –wouldn't it be as hard, if not harder, to bond and train with a pokémon that has already evolved and reached a high level without you, its new trainer? So now, instead of you training it from scratch, you are faced with the challenge of training and bonding with a pokémon that is more or less independent of you. Espeon was not yours from the beginning. You did not evolve it, or train it. You have a different problem to deal with then –taking the time to become compatible with it, learn with it, teach it and let it teach you. Bond with it and love it, so that it will in turn love and become loyal to you. Train it to know you, so in battle you two are in sync. This is the way I ask you to think of this, Ash. Please accept this gift and treasure Espeon, as I know it will come to treasure you.

Giovanni

Ash carefully refolded the letter and put it away, before turning back to look at Espeon's pokéball. She threw it gently and Espeon came out, and the two were face to face. Pikachu watched curiously, but stayed quiet for his trainer.

Dark eyes peered at Ash from a profound gaze. Ash smiled brightly and leaned closer to Espeon, gripping the female pokémon's head and closing her eyes, hiding sadness that had been there for a moment. She leaned her forehead against Espeon's.

Espeon wasted no time creating a mental connection and peering into Ash's mind and memories.

"Dad, Dad! Where are you going? Don't leave me! Please!"

Daddy, won't you look back? Don't go. Hold onto my hand a little longer…

"Daddy!"

Your warm hand…is slipping slowly from mine. Turn back and look at me, please?

Don't go.

Ash pulled away and continued to smile brightly at Espeon.

"Ne, Espeon, stay by my side, okay? I promise I won't ever leave you," she stroked her head tenderly.

Espeon tilted her head up and gently licked Ash's hand.

'You are a worthy trainer. I will not leave you either.'

And if Ash's smile was a little sad, she ignored it like she always did, as she reached down and grabbed Espeon, cuddling it close. Pikachu climbed onto his trainer and traveled up, until he settled onto her head like always.

"We'll be a close-nit team, I promise," Ash murmured to her pokémon.

Brock quietly trekked out of his house and found Ash outside, who had seemed to have fallen asleep outside. He took the blanket he'd brought with him and draped it onto her, covering her and her pokémon, both of whom were awake and watching him closely.

He gave them a small smile, before sitting down next to the younger female. It took awhile, but soon enough she'd awoken and was surprised to see him next to her.

"Eh, Brock?" she groggily sat up.

"Morning," he smiled gently at her. "It was cold last night, and I can't imagine the ground being comfortable."

She blushed at the silent question in his words, and gave him a sheepish smile. "Um, I couldn't sleep last night. So I came out here, and I was just bonding with Espeon and Pikachu."

He tossed her another gentle smile before going back to watching the stream.

"Anou…my father left me too," she murmured quietly, breaking the momentary silence. "I'm really glad your father came back. I hope my dad will come back one day too, just like yours," she gave him a wide grin, but he felt that somehow, even though she really was happy, that there was a little sadness there too.

He ruffled her hair.

"He'll have to be the one waiting this time, since you'll be on a long journey, ne?"

Brock felt satisfied at the beaming face he'd earned.

Started 5/12/07 – Completed 5/12/07
Revised 3/19/14 – Completed 3/19/14

Chapter Text

Delia sighed as she looked at her window, holding her cup of tea quietly. Professor Oak looked at her in commiseration.

"Do you really think it was okay for Ash to just go off on her own?" she asked uncertainly.

"I think this will be good for her," he murmured, though he admitted to missing her presence, especially as constant as it had been in his lab.

She sighed again. "I just worry. She's so young and she's wandering about by herself. Who knows what decisions she'll make, and what if she gets taken advantage of or…"

"Or she makes the same mistake you did, getting pregnant and settling down so early," Professor Oak voiced her biggest fear.

"I didn't want to get married," she mused solemnly. "Not just yet. And I was too young to have a baby. Maybe I wasn't cut out and didn't really want to be a pokémon trainer too much, but I'd always wanted to travel the world."

"But then you met Faron and then he eventually left," he concluded.

"I didn't really mind the whole settling down early, not in the end, and I gained a new dream about having Ash and being the best mother and wife ever," she confessed. "But what really haunts me is that Faron left me behind. He left me and Ash both. I don't want Ash to be left behind like I was. Like she had also been left behind by her father."

Professor Oak was quiet for a moment.

"Ash is Ash, Delia. And besides…she'll have to learn on her own and make her own mistakes, and she'll have to learn from those as well. She has to find her own footing in this world…"

Delia stared down at her tea.

"I just hope she can."

"Are you the gym leader of the Pewter Gym?" Two Indigo operatives knocked on Flint's door and asked immediately.

"Yes, how may I help you?" he smiled jovially at them, slightly confused at what the Indigo League would want.

"We apologize for the intrusion, but we need the gym tapes of the battles from the beginning of this month to the beginning of this week," the blond one said politely, explaining their presence at his door.

"What about the rest of this week? There have been plenty of promising trainers," Flint said curiously, wondering about the cutoff time.

"Sorry, but if they couldn't make it here earlier then they're not worth it," the red-haired one said stoically.

"Alright, just one sec," Flint said as he went to go retrieve the tapes.

The operatives took them and left without another word. Flint stared after them before shaking his head.

"Odd."

At the same time, Ash was listening to her music, with her mind occupied. Neither Brock nor Misty could get to her.

Yuukoku. Roy Mustang's theme from Full Metal Alchemist.

"Yes! I've found the voice my pokédex should talk in! Pokédex, search anime. Full Metal Alchemist. Seiyuu Roy Mustang. Program pokédex voice."

"Programmed, effective immediately," Mustang's deep voice sounded.

"Oh yeah!"

Brock and Misty stared at their companion from a little way's away, near their campfire. The two of them had been glowering at each other while Ash had been preoccupied, silently battling over the fire (they were supposed to be stoking it) and looking more like they were having a swordfight with their sticks.

"Hey, Ash. Are you okay?" Misty tentatively asked.

"Of course. I've finally activated the right voice for my pokédex. Right, Roy?" Ash chirped, very pleased with herself and at finally having found the answer to her long, drawn out problem. It was not a minor thing to want the perfect voice for her pokédex, no matter what anyone said.

"Yes, an excellent choice," Mustang answered smugly.

Ash squealed and Misty laughed. Brock pouted as he cooked, feeling jealous. And over a voice!

"Anou sa, I'm going to go catch some more pokémon. I can't use Espeon just yet, but I need pokémon that can go against water pokémon for the next gym. I can't let Pikachu do all the work after all," Ash nodded in certainty.

Misty paled, but nodded with Brock. She gave Ash a strained smile, trying not to show how nervous she was while hoping her face wasn't going pale at the mention of the next gym.

"Okay, see you!"

She left the two behind and began walking, with Pikachu hitching a ride on her and taking his usual seat. Ash hesitatingly brushed a hand against Espeon's pokéball, hoping the pokémon would feel her. The warmth she felt in her mind told her that Espeon had, and Ash continued on with a large smile on her face.

She looked around until she spotted a river. Taking out her portable fishing rod, that had been a gift from Professor Oak on her last birthday, she let it go and waited for a catch. Ten minutes later, she found nothing. She pouted and sighed, hoping her luck would be better.

"Oh man, Pikachu! This sucks…not a single pokémon!" Ash shifted a bit, having sat there for a long time and her limbs starting to feel stiff.

"Pika!" Pikachu grumbled with her.

The two of them sighed at their luck. Suddenly, there was a rustle behind them and they whirled around in surprise. Nothing. But after they had turned back, there was another rustle and Ash turned back around rather annoyed and ready to tell off whomever it was that was sneaking around. Her breath caught in her throat.

A Seviper was right in her face.

Ash screeched and took off, scrambling onto all fours as she hurried to get away from the snake-like pokémon and then shooting up onto her feet, with Pikachu hanging onto her for dear life. It chased them and nearly caught up to them several times, but they began to tire and slow down. And after awhile they stopped, thankfully seeing it gone and using that chance to catch their breath and rest up before it might appear again and they'd have to run away once more.

"That was close, Pikachu. What was that?" Ash grimaced.

"Seviper, class snake -ahem. Class poison, I mean. Native to Hoenn, Unova, and Kalos. Level 25," Mustang answered her immediately.

"Ah, thanks," Ash sweatdropped.

"You're welcome," it said simply before, "behind you, Ash," Mustang added confusingly.

"Huh?"

Ash turned around and let out another horrified screech when Seviper darted straight at her, its mouth opened wide with its fangs bared and ready to eat her and Pikachu alive.

She closed her eyes, waiting for it. But no pain came.

Opening her eyes, she saw Seviper floating in front of her. Espeon was sitting idly in between them, watching the floating snake.

"Thanks, Espeon!" Ash exclaimed in relief.

'You're welcome,' Espeon surprisingly replied in her mind, and Ash had to remember that she needed to get used to that.

Ash grinned and threw a pokéball at the frozen serpentine pokémon, crossing her fingers and hoping she had been able to catch it. After three seconds, she had caught Seviper and she jumped up and let out a loud whoop in celebration. Pikachu cheered along with her, while Espeon contentedly watched her trainer and fellow pokémon.

"Oh, this is bad," James said, smacking his forehead unhappily.

"Bad? This is horrible! The boss is going to kill us!" Meowth exclaimed, throwing up his paws into the air.

"Relax, we'll just steal that Pikachu and get Seviper back," Jessie tried, scowling at her companions and gaining a tick in her temple at their lack of hope.

"But the twerp captured it! It's in one of those pokéballs!" Meowth glared at her, slightly pouting at the situation.

"Who cares? Just steal all of them!" Jessie snapped at them, getting further annoyed.

"Hey, I think the boss is calling," James said, staring at the phone in terrified awe.

"Answer it, idiot!" Meowth snatched it from him and hurriedly answered the phone. He nervously greeted Team Rocket's boss. "Hello, boss! How're ya doin'?"

"Meowth? Put me on speaker. I want the other idiots to hear me."

The cat pokémon winced and forced on a smile that twitched more often than not.

"Yeah, boss?" Jessie faked being cheerful, though inwardly she was freaking out.

"What's going on? Why haven't I received my pokémon yet?" Giovanni's irritated voice came from the ear piece, and they all winced.

"Well, you see…we have a problem. This twerp captured your Seviper," James nervously said, oblivious to the shushing motions his partners were giving him.

They smacked their foreheads.

"What?" Giovanni's voice turned harsh, and all three of them gained shivers up their spine.

"Don't worry, boss! We'll get it back, and we'll get the twerp's Pikachu too! The mouse is really powerful!" Meowth promised, hoping it would pacify their boss and they wouldn't get into any trouble for this fumble.

There was a pause.

"A Pikachu? Let her have Seviper. Release Milotic in her path and let her capture it."

They were surprised but said nothing of it (they knew better than to question the boss), though they really, really wanted to ask and were wondering about the odd order given to them.

"Yes, sir!" all three chorused obediently.

They didn't notice that they never mentioned the twerp was a her.

"Yosh, I captured a Seviper!" Ash happily said when she came back to the campsite.

Misty furrowed her eyebrows, "But Ash, Sevipers aren't found in Kanto or even in Johto. Usually, they're found in the wild in Hoenn, Unova, or Kalos. And never mind how it got here, Sevipers aren't especially strong against water pokémon. The next gym contains water pokémon and you only have Pikachu, not including Espeon since you won't use it," she rolled her eyes fondly at that, though she was still rather confused at how a Seviper was found around these parts.

Ash's happy face turned dejected and she walked away again, feeling zombie-like as she left in depression. And she'd been so proud and happy a moment ago too! She still was, having caught a cool and tough pokémon, but she'd been hoping that Seviper would have been strong against water type.

And shoot! She should have known that too. Where'd all her studying gone?

"Ash, wait!" Misty sighed, unable to get Ash back. And she'd just wanted to help Ash out. Damn, she should have at least congratulated Ash first, and been happy for her catching a pokémon (her first one at that!).

Ash, however, was busy pouting and looking for more pokémon, determined to get one that would give her an advantage against the next gym's pokémon that she'd have to battle against. Quite unexpectedly, a Milotic crossed her path. It was rather random, and Ash really should have been a bit more suspicious and wonder more about the oddness of the encounter (and more so, gathering the strange type of pokémon that kept crossing her way…), but she was so excited at another pokémon and another chance to catch one, especially one that may be of help to her for her next gym battle.

She grinned widely, "Yes! Milotic's resistant against other water pokémon. Come on, Pikachu! Thunderbolt and then quick attack!"

Somehow, Milotic easily went down and Ash shrugged, though she was mildly confused. She wasn't going to question her good luck though. She threw a pokéball at it and captured it.

Cheering, she ran back to their camp eagerly, happy with her pokémon and her success at having caught yet another pokémon to add to her ever growing collection.

"Misty, Brock! I caught a Milotic!" Ash excitedly announced to them.

"That's great, Ash! Wow, that was quick! Four good pokémon already. I'll go ahead and cook my special pokéchow for them," Brock grinned back dopily, though he was also rather confused at the odd fortune. Still, he didn't want to dampened Ash's enthusiasm and good mood. And especially since Misty just had to do that earlier…

He briefly glowered at that irritating red head.

Misty blinked. What was up with all these Hoenn and other region pokémon appearing in Kanto? It just seemed so strange. She'll just mention it later though. Let Ash be happy for it for now, although there was her own problem she had to deal with at that moment…

"Oi, Ash. I have to leave. But I'll meet with you in Cerulean, okay?" Misty nervously and suddenly announced, upset about leaving Ash, but also upset at having to go back to that town and more so about that gym and reuniting with certain irritating sisters.

"Okay, Misty!" Ash said, still very much happy and not worrying too much, since Misty had said she'd meet back up with her in Cerulean.

Misty smiled, "Alright, see you."

She left, but not before glaring warningly at Brock. Misty was also upset at having to leave Ash with that guy…

After she left, Brock grinned goofily. What a great day for him…

No crazy red heads, no mallets in sight, and only him and Ash.

"Ash, I made my special no-chew lazy-girl stew just for you!" he almost sang. Oh, he was already picturing all the things he and Ash could do, spending time with each other and getting close together. They can get all lovey dovey, have picnics, hold hands…

"Sugoi! Thanks, Brock! You didn't have to!" Ash said, beginning to dig into the bowl Brock had set out for her. It was really good!

Brock just smiled blissfully.

"Pervert, class idiot. Native everywhere, but especially right here at two meters away. Level 0," Mustang's voice interrupted, sounding serious.

"Hm?" Ash said, slurping some soup and having missed what her pokédex had just said insultingly.

Brock glared at the device. Small snickering came from it.

Correction. There was only him, Ash, and Mustang…

Giovanni rubbed the bridge of his nose in agitation. Those three tended to give him the most stress. And yet, he was still oddly fond of the idiots…

However, they had been useful in some way this time.

He hadn't been expecting this at all. Somehow, those three had managed to get the good luck to run into Ash, especially when she needed help, and had managed to provide a window of opportunity for Giovanni to silently reach out and help his newest acquaintance out. He didn't mind that he wouldn't get the recognition for the deed, or be able to tell her what he'd had done for her sake, which was unusual for him. Although, thinking about it, several points about helping her like this would most likely end up upsetting her anyway.

And yet…why was he so insistent and continually drawn to her and helping her out in the first place?

It was very odd. In fact, it was rather out of place and out of character for him, but he felt like he couldn't help himself and he just wanted to do so. It's been a long time since he'd ever cared for someone other than himself (had he ever?), so this was all the more strange.

Ah, so he cared about Ash then…?

He shook his head at himself, and thought that maybe he should stop thinking about the issue altogether, before his thoughts went towards more dangerous waters. He was Giovanni after all. He didn't care for anyone.

His phone buzzed on his desk, and he curiously took a look at it. Not many people contacted him, and he couldn't think of a reason why anyone would at that moment. But then he saw the picture attached to the message, and he laughed aloud.

Ash's selfie with Pikachu crowding into the picture and scrunching up his cheek next to hers made for a very cute picture, and Ash was all the more adorable.

Well…a pretty smile from a pretty girl made for a pretty good ending to a rough day at work.

Started 5/19/07 – Completed 5/19/07
Revised 3/22/14 – Completed 3/22/14

Chapter Text

Ash hoped it was okay she'd sent a message to Giovanni. She'd been bored and had wanted to just do something, and ended up thinking about sending a quick message to him and asking how he was. She'd remembered the number on the back of the letter he'd left for her, and had kept it not only in her pokédex but had actually memorized it.

No one's ever given her their number before after all.

And in the spur of the moment, she decided to take a selfie, that Pikachu pushed himself into, and had sent it to him. She regretted the impulsive action almost immediately, until not too long after she'd been surprised with a response.

He'd actually sent back a funny picture of a Persian's, she assumed belonged to Giovanni, head lying happy and dazed on his lap while he scratched behind the leonine pokémon's ears.

Ash had saved it immediately, and she giggled every time she looked at it or even recalled it in her head. It was a funny picture, and that he had actually took the photo and also sent it to her was just as funny in itself.

She continued to hum as she finished up bathing Seviper, bonding with her pokémon like this. She'd also snapped a few pictures of her new pokémon and had proudly sent them off to Giovanni, wanting to show him how she was doing and progressing with her training and traveling. She really wanted him to know she was working hard, and that she wanted him to see her new achievements of getting new pokémon and how she was doing with them.

Brock had also taken to drilling her on water pokémon, their weaknesses, and how to defeat them and what to avoid. Since his own pokémon was rock type and couldn't help much in battle practice, he only battled with her at times to up the experience of her pokémon and to encourage her bonds with them and to know their strengths and weaknesses before having to use them in actual battle.

And even if Mustang was there, Brock was still in bliss. He had happily slept closer to Ash without any repercussions from a certain red head, showed Ash how caring and sweet he was, and was able to give Ash hugs. He'd also been able to showcase and show off his pokémon experience and knowledge like he hadn't been able to when they'd battled, while also impressing her and most importantly being able to help her out.

Man, was he happy Misty was gone.

Even as they walked into Cerulean City, Brock was quite content on keeping Ash to himself. His mind was fast filtering through all the things they could do in the city, and all the places they could go to together. He was hoping Misty stayed away as long as possible, maybe even forget to meet them. He'd be happy if they never even met up again, with Misty not being able to find them.

"Hey, Ash! If you want, I can take you out later to eat?" he asked hopefully, thinking of a nice dinner date, complete with candles and music and roses…

Ash smiled brightly, "That's nice. But I like your cooking better. Please?"

How could he say no? He smiled at her goofily and agreed. He'd cook for her anytime.

"Oh, look! The Cerulean Gym!" Ash said excitedly, having spotted it. "Let's go, Brock!"

She cheered, taking Brock's hand and running for the gym. Brock grinned stupidly from the gesture, tightening the hold slightly. They were holding hands now…

"There it is!" Ash exclaimed once they'd neared it.

They ran inside, surprised to find a sort of water stadium. Ash couldn't figure what on earth they'd need a stadium that large for, even for pokémon battling. She could at least get water –it was a water gym with water pokémon. A little girl walked towards them, cocking her head to the side curiously.

"Hey, are you here to watch the show?" she asked cutely at the duo.

"Huh? What show?" Ash smiled friendly to the little girl, though she wanted to know what she was talking about.

The girl giggled, "The Mermaid show of course! The pretty ladies are doing dancing in the water! Wanna come see?"

"Wow, really? Come on, Brock! Let's go watch before I go challenge the gym leader," Ash got all excited about it. She'd never been able to go to a show before, and she'd always been in Pallet Town her whole life, before she'd left on her journey. This was something new and exciting for her to try out and experience.

Brock grinned. Now they really were going on a date. How lucky was he?

"Okay, I'll show you where it's at. But I have to go to the bathroom first," the little girl giggled, and skipped away to the nearest bathroom, where they waited outside of it for her.

A while later, after the little girl was done and had met back up with them, the three had walked into the underwater show and separated as the little girl went to rejoin her family. Ash and Brock quietly looked around for empty seats to sit in, to watch the show. Although, Ash wondered if it was really alright they were in there, and if they had needed any tickets…

Beautiful ladies swam around in a ballet, dressed up as mermaids. Ash watched mesmerized at the beautiful acrobatics and swimming being performed in the water.

The red head looked a little familiar to them both though…

Brock tensed and cursed, having recognized her. It was his ultimate enemy and biggest block to Ash.

Misty Waterflower.

Misty glared at her fellow gym leader. She could smell that guilt. She just knew he'd been up to no good while she'd been gone. She knew she should have just said forget it and traveled with them anyway, damn all the consequences and truths.

Brock glared back. He'd been a perfect gentleman. How dare this little girl get all up in his face, without any reason to? Besides, he and Ash were perfect together.

"How was your travel here, Ash?" Misty turned to Ash with a forced cheer.

"It was great! Brock cooked for me and was real nice!" Ash said, oblivious to the tension between her traveling companions.

"Is that so? He was real nice, I bet," she hissed, eyes darting over to Brock dangerously.

"As gentlemanly as I could for milady," Brock scowled, tempted to sneer back.

"Oh, who's the gym leader?" Ash interrupted, back to thinking of pokémon and battling. She was eager to challenge the gym leader and hopefully earn her next badge.

"Ah, my sisters. So it's more like gym leaders," Misty changed her face to a smile for Ash, though she didn't want to talk about her stupid sisters.

"So you guys are gym leaders and show people?" Ash asked, cocking her head to the side cutely.

"Hai! Oh, you're so adorable! Misty, you could've told us your traveling friend was so kawaii!" Lily Waterflower gushed, bursting onto the scene and interrupting their talk. The other sisters followed after her and immediately zeroed in on Ash.

All of Misty's sisters were squealing and fawning over Ash, pinching her cheeks and just basically gushing over her. Misty blushed, embarrassed. Damn it, she didn't want her sisters embarrassing her in front of Ash. Her temple grew a tick and she was tempted to scream at her sisters to stop it, but didn't want to startle Ash and show that side of her.

"If all of you are the gym leaders then I challenge you!" Ash said earnestly, wanting to battle them all and eager that she could actually battle a lot of gym leaders this time.

"Oh dear, we're sorry," Daisy apologized sincerely. "But all of our pokémon are in the Center right now. How about we just give you a badge?"

Misty looked at Ash's face. The girl looked hesitant and disappointed. It wasn't in Ash's personality to just accept handouts, and she certainly wanted to work hard for her achievements. She never took the easy way out for anything, if she could. Ash wanted to be the best because she was the best.

"Hold it right there! I'm a gym leader, I can battle Ash! How's that? And just because we're friends, don't think I'll go easy on you!" the water trainer said suddenly, knowing full well Ash wanted to earn her badges and she was going to make sure and help Ash do so, no matter what.

Ash brightened up, and grinned challengingly back at her friend. "I wouldn't expect you to!"

"We'll have to change into bathing suits, though," Misty said cheerily, winking teasingly at the younger female. She couldn't wait to embarrass and tease her little sister-figure.

Ash sweatdropped and grew a pout.

Misty was a little worried. She hadn't wanted to put Ash in a bathing suit, but the rules were rules. And the arena was full of water, so it made sense to change out of regular clothes so as to not get them wet.

But there was Brock! And that was all the reason needed to bend the rules a little…

The water trainer sighed as she waited outside of the changing rooms for Ash to emerge. The worst part was that the only bathing suit Ash could borrow was Lily's bikini. Misty was all but ready to have a conniption and had heatedly argued with her three sisters for awhile, until she finally conceded that all options were exhausted. It wasn't like she could go out and buy a new swimsuit for her friend (she didn't even know her size), without it looking suspicious. She could just imagine the explanation to Ash about it. Misty would be face palming.

When Ash finally emerged, the bikini was actually a little tight on her. Misty sighed again. If Brock had learned his lesson at all, then he had better behave. Otherwise, she'd be getting some exercise out of her mallet that day.

Unfortunately, the first thing Brock did when he saw Ash was drool and have a nosebleed. Misty wished she had her mallet, but then again Brock straightened up and had composed himself rather quickly. Misty eyed the change warily.

"You look beautiful, Ash," Brock gave another goofy smile.

At least, Brock was less perverted-acting and more courteous about his interest. Still, Misty didn't know if she should knock Brock down for the compliment or let it go because it was a compliment. Besides, it wasn't like it wasn't true, and Brock hadn't been crude about it or said anything really bad.

"Come on, Ash. Let's get this over with," Misty said instead, just letting it go for her own sake as well Ash's, dragging Ash into the arena and away from Brock and her embarrassing sisters.

Misty and Ash stood on two separate platforms, both of them in the middle of the arena filled with water. One wrong step could lead to them falling into the water, and Misty wasn't sure if Ash could swim. Ah hell, she should have asked the younger girl that in the first place! Now she was going to worry about Ash falling off or something, and hoping Ash could swim.

Both platforms were only an inch above the pool of an arena.

"This is a one-on-one match up! Begin!" Violet announced.

Misty called out Starmie and Ash called out Pikachu. The girls smirked at each other.

"You may have the type advantage, but how can you use it to your advantage without getting your little mouse wet? Can it even swim? How can Pikachu even attack from that far away, when my Starmie has a superior speed?" Misty taunted.

Ash narrowed her eyes at her. "Pikachu, shock a portion of water into the air and keep slapping it towards Starmie! Use agility to double your speed!"

Shocked, Misty forgot to order her Starmie to dodge and it was surprised as well. She'd been caught off guard by the surprising attack, and hadn't been prepared for it at all. The pseudo-water attacks hit Starmie head on and it took four of them to knock it into the water.

"Now, Pikachu! Shock the water!"

The water in the arena was completely doused in electricity, shocking Starmie with it. Soon enough, the water pokémon floated to the surface unconscious.

"Yeah! Great job, Pikachu!" Ash yelled, jumping up in excitement.

Slipping on a puddle of water behind her that she hadn't noticed had been there, a surprised Ash fell into the water. The bad news…one, Ash couldn't swim and two, the water still had electricity running through it.

Misty couldn't call out any of her pokémon and Brock was in the same situation.

It made for a dire situation, and no clear solution in sight.

Without thinking, Brock ran and jumped into the water. He quickly swam to Ash, ignoring the bite of the electricity, and once he had her he swam even quicker up to her platform. Only somehow he had gotten to Misty's platform instead.

Brock fell over twitching from the electricity and the information that he had lost precious time on spending alone time with Ash –even though both would've been unconscious, he had still been hoping he could've kept Ash a little longer from Misty.

Misty glared at him before turning her attention back to Ash, dropping onto her knees so that she could cradle the girl to her. She could vaguely hear her sisters screaming out in the background and rushing over to them, but she hardly paid any attention.

"M-Misty?" Ash asked blearily, feeling dazed and in pain.

"You know, Brock and me are the weakest of the gym leaders. So you gotta keep training! And to do that, you have t-to keep awake. Okay, Ash?" Misty said tearily.

She was the water expert and trainer. Why had it happened like this?

"Okay. I'll keep awake…later though…"

"Ash!"

Started 6/1/07 – Completed 6/21/07
Revised 3/26/14 – Completed 3/26/14

Chapter Text

"You crazy girl," Misty reprimanded softly, staring at the unconscious pokémon trainer. The wires connecting Ash to the machines around her added to the chill creeping up Misty's back. The beeping of the machines crept into her mind and drowned out all other sounds.

"Don't be too worried," Brock's voice intruded into her thoughts. "Ash is fine. It looks bad, but they say she'll be out of here tomorrow morning."

Misty glared up at him, her feelings rising up from before. He saved Ash. He was the one who dove into the water to save her. Brock was the one who went into the water. Wasn't she the water trainer? Weren't the waters her territory?

So why was it that it was Brock who had dived in to save Ash, and not her?

"Don't…talk to me," Misty whispered, glaring up with tears at the corners of her eyes.

Brock nodded sharply and left the room. Misty went back to staring at Ash, folding her hands together and leaning her forehead on them, her elbows digging into the white sheets of the hospital bed.

"I'd always loved to have a little sister."

Who would let someone else save their sister?

Who would just stand there, thinking about what pokémon she could use?

Who swore to protect Ash?

'I'm so sorry, Ash. I won't fail you again.'

Misty silently sobbed at Ash's bedside, her entire body racked with shakes.

Brock made no mention of it to her, as Misty angrily pushed passed him when she left the room later. Instead, he quietly took his place by Ash's bedside, and leaned closer to the unconscious girl. His hand reached out and hesitated, before he grabbed her hand and held it firmly.

He'd long been healed and declared okay, so he'd been freed to walk around. He didn't know why it was taking Ash longer than he had, and he was all the more worried for it. He wished he'd been faster to react, to get to her. That he'd been faster in getting her to safety…

He felt her hand hold onto his harder in her unconscious state, and he felt his lips moving upwards. Things will be okay. Ash would be out and healthy and normal in no time.

Brock would get his genki girl back soon.

The next morning, Misty acted normal and greeted Ash enthusiastically. But as she looked over Ash's shoulder to Brock, she sent him an icy, angered look. A silent understanding passed between them as Brock nodded to her, showing no emotion himself.

Between the two of them, they'd probably never really get along.

Misty looked down and felt her mind jumble with noises, everything bleeding into each other until she couldn't distinguish a sound from another. She ignored Ash giving Brock a hug and thanking him profusely for saving her life, feeling her body go numb and her mind become static.

"Misty, are you okay?" Ash's bright smile faced her.

"Yeah…yeah…"

Ash's smile faltered for a second before she grabbed Misty's hand and squeezed it reassuringly, pulling Misty behind her as they headed out of the hospital.

Vermillion City. The gym there ruled with electric pokémon. And the gym leader…he was rumored to be tough, tougher than most of the gym leaders in Kanto.

At the city's entrance, they stared into the city with an unwavering gaze. Both older trainers supported Ash and gave her matching grins.

"Hey, are we just going to stand here all day or are we going to kick ass?" Brock said playfully, winking at Ash.

"Mmhm, let's do this, Ash," Misty smirked, putting her hand in support on Ash's shoulder.

Ash's own grin spread across her face. She was ready to do this. She was going to do this!

They started forward with a sure step, and Ash brimmed with excitement and anxiety. They strolled through the busy streets until they were right in front of the gym, larger than both the Pewter and Cerulean gyms combined. Without the show arena part of Misty's gym, Vermillion City's dwarfed it. It seemed it looked as monstrous as its leader was rumored to be. With one last look at each other, they entered through the doors so Ash could challenge the gym leader.

Finding out the gym leader's name was Lieutenant Surge from one of the assistants in the front, they were led in and entered into the gym's arena. There, Ash saw a tall, rather muscular man, with blond hair and pale blue eyes. He wore army fatigues and looked bored as he lounged around at his seat, with his cohorts surrounding him and gabbing to each other. The assistant who'd helped them reached the man's side, and whispered something into the man's ear. He perked up slightly, looking vaguely interested.

"Hear that, ladies and gents? We got yet another challenger who wants to end up with their pokémon in the hospital," he said in casual amusement. He looked to the entrance where they hovered uncertainly. "So which one of you three is asking for a beating?"

Ash frowned and stepped forward immediately. She lifted up her chin defiantly.

"You're, uh, the challenger?" Lt. Surge stared at the petite girl, blinking in surprise and caught off guard by the small young thing in his presence.

He examined her curiously, noting immediately that she was rather cute. She was almost elfin-like in appearance, and her sort-of pixie-cut hair added to that. She wore casual jeans and a modest and plain, black top, and overall didn't seem too girly. Not that he didn't think she couldn't be, and he'd probably look forward to seeing her like so…

"Yeah, why?" Ash asked obliviously, lightening up and turning into her usual adorable and nice self, since it seemed he wasn't as bad as she thought he'd be.

Misty, on the other hand, was waving a mallet in the background menacingly at him, having seen his casual and curious examination of her friend. Smirking, the lieutenant accepted the challenge. That red-haired brat thought she could intimidate him, did she? How laughable.

If she wanted to play in the big leagues, all she had to do was ask –that poor ginger didn't know she'd just made it worse and provoked him into acting, and not withholding back any effort into pursuing the sweetheart delivered right on his front step.

Misty Waterflower, wasn't it? He knew the girl's sisters.

Lt. Surge didn't take too well to threats, and that little girl's amateurish attempt at one just put the stakes up higher and merely pushed him into going after Misty's friend. He had been interested in his slender challenger in the first place, but now he'd been challenged and practically provoked into this little game, with Misty unintentionally daring him into it.

Not that he hadn't been planning on doing so in the first place, but Misty served to just push the envelope.

"Well, let's make this interesting. You win, I'll give you a badge and a tour of the city. I win, you go out with me for the rest of the day," he wore a predatory grin as he put up the stakes, putting up a win-win situation for himself.

Misty screeched (oh, but it was so her fault) and Ash turned to her.

"Are you okay, Misty?!" she panicked, wondering what the heck was going on and what was up with her friend.

The water trainer's eyes were glaring holes at Lt. Surge, hyperventilating rapidly. The blond man smirked smugly, tilting his head slightly in arrogance. His eyes bore down on the water trainer haughtily and condescendingly.

Don't bare your teeth if you can't handle the opponent's bite.

"Just fine, Ash," she gritted out, but backed down because she wasn't so sure she could stand up to the likes of Lt. Surge, no matter how much she may want to.

"Okay…um, sure lieutenant sir. That would be, um, nice," Ash uncertainly turned back to him, answering his previous offered gamble.

"Brilliant," Lt. Surge lazily drawled.

Oh, he was definitely not going to lose this. This girl was really cute after all.

And he couldn't wait to rub it into that water trainer's face either. Still, the cute girl was his main priority –she was extremely attractive and he hadn't found a girl who'd caught his eye for a long time. It was intriguing that this one had.

The blond threw out his pokémon, sending a Raichu out, very serious about this battle from the get go and eager to win it. Ash felt the nervousness creep back into her until she jumped in shock at the sound of a semi-automatic machine gun blasting.

Everyone slowly turned to see Brock with a camouflage army hardhat on, cigar smoking in mouth, and the aforementioned machine gun held in one hand and pointed into the air. Misty was beside him, looking up aggravated at the rock trainer.

He was rather thankful that everyone had been so caught up in Ash challenging Lt. Surge, and that man and Misty having some kind of silent mental fist fight (that Misty obviously lost), that he'd been able to find the outfit's pieces around the stadium and scrounged it together so he could cheer on Ash and cheer her up. He could clearly see she kept wavering and feeling unconfident at times, and he didn't blame her. He knew Lt. Surge was a hardass, and was personally slightly intimidated by him as well. He, of all the Kanto gym leaders (aside from the fearsome, formidable, and frightening –the Three Terrible F's –Giovanni) had a reputation for being one of the hardest gym leaders to beat, and was ruthless and more intimidating than any of them. Aside from theGiovanni. Again.

"Ash, my love, look up and stay strong," Brock said solemnly, saluting and plopping onto the ground, stuffing the items he wore back into some duffle bag. He looked up and gave her a small smile, laughing in embarrassment but giving her a reassuring look.

Ash sweatdropped and looked up, seeing the words 'YOU CAN DO IT, BABY!' in the ceiling, made by…bullet holes. Still, she appreciated the sentiment and his attempt to lighten up her nerves.

She laughed weakly, scratching the back of her head in awkwardness. "Ah, Pikachu. G-go…" was all she could get out. Some of the junior trainers there were snickering behind their hands while Misty was berating a stoic Brock to the side, though he was inwardly relieved he seemed to have been able to help somewhat.

"You, uh, have some funny friends there," Lt. Surge's mouth twitched upwards, though he appreciated the show and loved the spontaneous entertainment.

Ash sighed, "Yep. Shall we start?"

"Yes, let's. Raichu, lightning bolt," he got right down to it.

Ash winced when the attack hit. Ordering Pikachu to keep dodging and look at his opponent carefully, Ash bit her lip in concentration and analyzed the gym leader and his pokémon. They were focused on power, trying to knock out Pikachu.

"Pikachu, absorb the hits!" she commanded, watching as Pikachu paused every once in a while to raise his tail and absorb the attacks. Lt. Surge narrowed his eyes at her, calculating. She frowned. This one, here, was smart and shrewd. He was paying attention to what she was doing and what she was up to.

Her two friends hadn't battled to their full potential. Brock had been distracted by something and Misty, she would think, had underestimated her.

But she had no ties to Lt. Surge and he wasn't the type to slack off or be distracted. And he was definitely not underestimating her.

Unknown to her, though, another factor against her was that Lt. Surge had an extra motivation to drive him. Sure it would be nice to take her around the city, but he'd much rather just take her out for the whole day and have a longer time with her.

"Raichu, do an extreme thundershock," he ordered calmly.

Ash felt the briefest of panics before she shook it off and told Pikachu to, "Absorb it if you can. Then store it."

There was a bright flash and then when the light faded away, Raichu stood panting while Pikachu had his tail up and had electricity running up and down his body. Pikachu winced every once and awhile from the amount of electricity he had built up inside of him.

"Pikachu, use the energy you've absorbed earlier and enhance your speed."

It was an amazing feat, Pikachu suddenly blurring and running around in circles around Raichu, and dust kicking up behind him and wind physically manifesting. Ash even had the urge to draw the scene, though she wasn't sure she could even replicate what she was seeing.

"Catch Raichu and hold tight. Use the stored energy to do a thundershock of your own, Pikachu. After the thundershock, leap back so you don't get hit as well."

It actually worked, and once Pikachu had leaped back, the force of the thundershock had thrown Raichu into the air and slammed it against the wind that Pikachu had created before.

Everyone was staring in shock at the aftermath of the battle and what had just occurred. Suddenly, the sound of slow clapping echoed in the gym and everyone turned to see Lt. Surge clapping with a cool smirk and a calm gaze.

"Congratulations, Ash. Why don't we go on that tour now?" It had still turned out to be a win for him after all.

"Uh, okay…thanks, Lt. Surge," Ash said embarrassed, but deciding that it would be great to get a tour of such a large city and see everything there was.

"Call me Lucien. We're going on a date after all," Lt. Surge's smirk widened slightly.

Misty had to be held back by Brock, who seethed quietly himself.

"Have you enjoyed the steak? Vermillion is known for their House Steak platter. I have it whenever I'm extremely hungry," Lt. Surge said enthused.

Ash laughed delightedly. "Don't I ever. I've always wanted to try this. And it's very good!" She'd even fed a few pieces to Pikachu, who liked it as well but preferred the bottle of ketchup he was enjoying. She still had to ask Professor Oak about that habit…

Lt. Surge grinned, "Great. Good thing I suggested lunch first before the tour, right?"

"You bet!"

Soon after she and the lieutenant began the tour. He showed her where all the shops were, where the entertainment was, the best places to eat, and then he showed her the beaches and the docks. At the docks, she stared in awe at the iron clad ships that went in and out of the harbor. The biggest one there was the St. Anne.

"That's the St. Anne. It's sailing out tomorrow afternoon," Lt. Surge told her, amused at her awed look as she watched it. She really was such a cute thing…

"Oh, it's beautiful," Ash said wistfully, daydreaming of one day being able to go on it. That would be so surreal.

"Hey, I have free tickets I wasn't going to bother to use. Do you want them?" he suddenly asked, figuring he'd been about to throw them away so it would probably be better to give the tickets to her, since she seemed like she wanted to go on that ship so much.

Ash's eyes widened, "A-are you sure? I mean, they must've been expensive."

"Nah. I didn't pay for them. They were given to me, but I don't really have the time to go. You can have them," he was even more certain now, especially since she looked really happy about the offer.

"Wow, thanks Lucien!" Ash exclaimed, hugging him tightly. He smirked to himself, quietly applauding himself.

"Is there anything I can do to pay you back?" she asked with a shy smile.

"No, I'm fine. I really don't need them and I don't mind giving them to you. Oh look, it's going to rain I think," he squinted his eyes up at the sky, using a hand to shield them.

"What? Oh no! I have to get back to the Pokémon Center. I hope the others are alright. I wonder if they're back as well?" she asked worriedly, fretting a bit.

Lt. Surge frowned, "I don't think we'll make it to the Pokécenter. It's too far away and it looks like heavy rain. My house isn't too far from where we are right now. We can stay there until it stops raining, if you're okay with that?"

Ash hesitated, worrying about the others, but he was right. Nodding, she let him lead the way, and she hurriedly grabbed his hand and held on tight, while Pikachu clambered onto her head. He squeezed her hand and looked behind him at her, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Thank you."

Lt. Surge laughed lightly and said to the girl next to him, "It's no problem. You're in need of a place to stay and the Pokécenter is too far. I offered in the first place, you know. I wonder where your funny little friends are."

"I don't know. I want to look for them, but I guess I can find them tomorrow," Ash said anxiously, hoping they wouldn't worry about her as well, like she was currently worrying about them.

The older man shook his head. "Of course you should do it tomorrow! It's starting to rain now, see? It'll become heavier if we don't hurry up, and that's definitely not any weather to be looking around for people. If they are at the Center, phone them at my house."

"Alright," Ash replied exasperated, but with a smile on her face.

"Now come on! I don't feel like getting soaked through, and it's starting to drizzle now," he urged her, holding onto her hand tighter and putting a rush to his speed.

They ran to the modest-looking house in the distance, probably a two-floor home that sat near a cliff overlooking the waters. At the house's entrance, Lt. Surge quickly shoved a hand into his pants' pocket and retrieved his house keys. Without further preamble, he shoved one of the keys into the lock and unlocked the door, ushering her in. The first thing he did was turn on the heater, and then he went to get some towels to dry themselves off with. Pikachu happily took his and found a cozy place where he wrapped himself in it, and quickly dozed off.

Inside the kitchen, Lt. Surge suggested some hot chocolate, though he had coffee instead. He shuffled around his kitchen and grabbed a packet of hot chocolate and two mugs, pouring the powder into one of them, along with some milk, and then heating it up in his microwave. While it heated up, he began making himself some brewed coffee, starting his coffee machine with a relaxed air. He left his coffee to brew and then went back to grab Ash's mug of hot chocolate, stirring a spoon in it before carefully handing it to Ash.

"Thank you again," Ash said sincerely once more.

He merely waved it off again. "It's okay. So, what do you want to do?"

"Let's watch a movie," she suggested eagerly. He raised an eyebrow and she blushed, "I saw my favorite movie on your Blu-ray rack."

He laughed good-naturedly, "Which one?"

"Casino Royale," she blushed, giving him an embarrassed, crooked grin.

He blinked in surprise. "James Bond?"

"What?" she pouted, still blushing as she looked away from him.

He laughed again and teased her, "Nothing. Didn't think little girls like you liked those kinds of movies."

She stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation and he shrugged her off playfully. Traveling over to his movie rack, he found the movie she wanted and turned on his Blu-ray player and TV, putting the disc in immediately. He put on the movie after the menu came on and they sat on the floor against the couch, huddled together for warmth. Coffee and hot chocolate in hand, they began to watch the movie.

Lt. Surge slipped his arm around her. When she still continued to watch the movie, he smirked and leaned closer.

Ah, smooth moves~

Near the end of the movie, he could feel her nodding off. Glancing down at her, he saw she'd finally closed her eyes and was sleeping peacefully against his shoulder. Carefully moving his arm, he moved it so that it further cushioned her neck, and used his other arm to slip underneath her knees. Picking her up steadily, he gently carried her up the stairs –hypersensitive to the way she snuggled closer to his chest and her breath continuously tickled his neck –and finally made it to his room, where he placed her on the bed and then covered her with the bed sheets and then the comforter. She burrowed further into the soft bed, sighing happily.

An unreadable look on his face, he watched her for a second with furrowed eyebrows and a frown. He hesitantly reached over and brushed her hair back from her face.

"Goodnight," he murmured softly.

Started 8/2/07 – Completed 10/7/07
Revised 3/26/14 – Completed 3/26/14

Chapter Text

Ash laid wide awake, feeling the sun shining on her. She took big, even breaths, not taking her gaze off of the ceiling.

Her mother would be furious and upset with her.

Even though it was entirely innocent and nothing had happened (plus she had a good reason for being there) Ash had practically unquestioningly and undeniably slept over a man's home. Alone. And was in his bed.

There was a strong knock on the door, and she glanced at it in panic.

"Y-yes?"

"Good morning," she heard Lt. Surge say from the other side, though he didn't open the door. "Breakfast's ready downstairs, if you want some."

"Thanks! I'll…be down. Just give me a sec!" Ash hurriedly got off of the bed and went to the attached bathroom, washing her face quickly and combing her hair. In no time, she rushed downstairs to see Lt. Surge laying down a plate of pancakes down for her, and then rubbing a happy Pikachu's head, handing the pokémon a ketchup bottle as he passed Pikachu and went to his fridge.

"Chu~"

Ash's lips twitched upwards, and she came closer.

"I was wondering if that was okay for Pikachu to eat. I keep thinking I should ask Professor Oak, but I forget all the time," she slid into her seat in front of her plate.

Lt. Surge laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Actually, I don't know either. I just know Raichu likes mustard," he admitted sheepishly. He then took the mustard bottle out at the same time as he tossed a pokéball to the floor, calling out Raichu, who he then threw the mustard bottle to.

Ash clapped her hands. "Oh, that's so cute! Pikachu and Raichu match!"

"They do, huh?" Lt. Surge chuckled, watching the electric mice pokémon sit together and enjoy the bottles. "Hey, my pokémon are in the next room over eating too, so if you want to feed your pokémon, go ahead and set them up there."

She blinked in surprise, before grinning at him. "Really? Thanks! I'll go and do that. I'll be back!"

And after breakfast, they headed for the Pokémon Center, with Pikachu and Raichu trailing behind them and talking in their own language to each other as Lt. Surge and her walked quietly.

"So…I know your red-headed friend's probably going to scream and attack me," Lt. Surge mentioned, confusing Ash. "Therefore, I should probably do this now."

He turned to her and surprised her by the gentle hug he gave her, and she could feel her face heat up and become bright red.

When Lt. Surge took a step back, he was grinning lazily at her. "And, I hope you don't mind, I programmed my number into your pokédex, which is really cool by the way. Call or text me anytime, alright?"

"Y-yeah," she said in a daze.

And when they finally entered the Pokécenter, meeting up with Misty and Brock, Lt. Surge just met Misty's suspicious and angry look with a smug smirk, and let his eyes trail indifferently over to Brock who was frowning at him.

"Ne, Ash. We match like Pikachu and Raichu do," he said casually, confusing and angering Misty and Brock.

Ash just blinked, but he was satisfied to note her cheeks were still blushing lightly.

"Thanks again, Lucien!" Ash yelled as she, Misty and Brock boarded the St. Anne. Lt. Surge waved after her until she couldn't see him any more as she went further into the ship.

At the entrance, she grinned and took a selfie, giggling as she sent it to Lt. Surge. She hesitated, before sending it to Giovanni too. With both messages, she sent the text: Determinedly gonna copy Leonardo DiCaprio.

She just had to find the ship's bow and her Kate Winslet.

Misty was excited, despite her annoyance that Ash had to spend the night at Lt. Surge's and the so-called "tour." The man wasn't joking about calling it a date, Misty knew. And who knows what had happened at his house! A whole night alone together! She wouldn't trust that muscle-brained idiot as far as she could throw him. Pushing those feelings down, the hot-headed trainer tried to keep her focus on the fun, lest she ended up running back to the Vermillion City Gym and attack the blond gym leader.

"The new Titanic, they call it! It really is unsinkable compared to Titanic's fate," an elderly man exclaimed to his companion.

Ash blinked, eavesdropping on the loud duo. She couldn't help it anyway. They were being so loud, that she could've heard them even if she hadn't wanted to.

"Is that so? Why, I don't know how there is any difference."

The conversation grew quieter as they continued walking away, heading to the first-class rooms reserved for them. They were ecstatic about them, and were more than satisfied when they actually arrived to their rooms. Ash really had to thank Lt. Surge for the tickets again, especially since he'd had such nice, extravagant rooms reserved. She couldn't even imagine the cost this would have taken normally, and doubtlessly would have been more than any of them could have afforded, even together.

"Okay, let's split up and explore the ship!" Ash said decidedly, full male outfit on, via Giovanni's high class gift to her. She was excited to finally use the expensive and high-quality formal suit, and with all these fancy people around, she could blend in with it too.

Misty nodded in satisfaction and Brock sniffled, seeing his Ash all dressed up as a guy and hiding her beauty. Such melodrama from a man…

"See you guys later then!" she waved goodbye, leaving them behind to explore the huge ship.

Ash walked aimlessly around, grinning at everything. She oohed at the food and then aahed at the people and things. She was happy to see smiling faces, and felt happy herself, especially with continually getting to experience new things. She kept walking, not paying attention to where she was going, and she ended up running into someone.

Looking up, she looked to see a familiar face, though she couldn't quite remember whom.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright?" Ash asked anxiously.

The man actually had blue hair, she noted. "I'm fine. You are too, right?"

"Yep. My name's Ash!"

He grinned, "Ja –Jameson."

Ash laughed brightly, "Let's go finish exploring together?"

"Okay then. Let's explore the buffet first," Jameson said just as his stomach began growling.

She giggled again and they walked off to the buffet. After chowing down and drawing the occasional wide-eyed stares at their shared appetites, the two went out and found the shopping center. They goofed around a little, looking at things being sold, just window-shopping. They spotted some cool Poké Gear, and new tech for pokémon like the new Premier Ball from Devon Corporation and human tech toys like the new Kindle or iPod. They browsed the bookstore a bit, finally skipping to the manga section and hovering over one of them as they read together, and then lastly they both bought matching charm bracelets for each other and chose a single charm for the other to have.

James of Team Rocket, in the meantime, had grown less nervous about seeing his team's newly-made nuisance, and had all but forgotten that she was the one who usually messed up his team's plans. In the beginning, she'd run into him suddenly and he'd been caught off guard, but thought that he had to do something to keep her off the track of Team Rocket's plans on the ship. Wanting to distract her, she'd provided the perfect excuse by asking him to explore with her.

But now he'd forgotten that he was supposed to be distracting her, and was just enjoying himself and having fun.

He felt a buzzing in his pocket and realized it was his phone, and that he was supposed to check in with Jessie five minutes ago. Wincing, he glanced worriedly at Ash.

"Ah, I'll be just right back! I, uh, have to go to the bathroom! Meet you right here in a sec," he gave her a nervous grin before he rapidly ran away, and then darted into an alcove he found close by.

Taking out his phone, he called Jessie and quickly gave a vague excuse as to why he wasn't with her and Meowth, as well as telling her he'd meet up with her later, when the signal to start the plans on aboard was given. Which, he'd been lucky so far that he'd managed to steer and keep Ash away from the pokémon convention currently being held on the ship.

He finished up quickly with Jessie, before hurrying back and finding Ash humming and leaning against the wall as she waited for him.

"Hey, I'm back! Sorry for making you wait," James grinned, but he felt guilty for continuing to lie to her.

She glomped his arm and grinned back widely. "It's okay! I found out something really awesome!"

"What's that?" he asked curiously.

"There's a pokémon convention being held around here!"

James twitched.

He was a nervous wreck the entire time they went through the convention.

While there, they ran across a man selling Magikarp. The man hailed them over and started talking about how they could make riches off of the Magikarp, by the thousands of eggs that would hatch into more Magikarp they could then sell. Ash was skeptical, but James had dollar signs in his eyes.

Ash pulled at his sleeve. "Ne, I don't think it's a good idea, Jameson."

He inwardly flinched at the use of his alias. He shook it off and focused on her.

"Why not? It would be awesome to get super rich!" James started laughing goofily, becoming stuck in a daydream.

Ash pinched his arm hard, bringing him harshly out of it.

"Ouch! Ash!" he pouted.

"Magikarp's no good at really anything, until it evolves into Gyarados. Even then, Gyarados can be pretty temperamental, and you don't even know when Magikarp will evolve into it," Ash whispered to him. "And it's really way too expensive. I think it's a scam."

James became dejected. Seeing that, Ash sighed and turned back to the merchant. She began to haggle aggressively with the man, until finally she got a reasonable price out of him. James was ecstatic at that, and for her help. Also, he wouldn't have to resort to using both his and Jessie's salaries, and end up facing his partner's wrath. He even got to keep some of his own salary!

He giggled and grabbed hold of his new Magikarp, hugging it tightly and rubbing his cheek against it happily.

Ash rolled her eyes and poked his shoulder. "Promise you'll work hard on evolving it…if it wants to evolve though."

"Promise, promise!" he giddily said.

He then grabbed her hand and ran off, getting her to start helping him begin to train and hopefully evolve Magikarp.

Later on in the dining room, Ash met back up with Misty and Brock, still hyped out about the pokémon convention and happy about making a friend. Misty didn't meet anyone interesting, though she did spend the day at the day spa. Brock pouted and said that he spent time lounging around the pool.

"I met this guy named Jameson and he was really nice," Ash smiled.

Misty went immediately on alert and Brock felt a cloud actually grow above his head. He thought he could hear thunder.

Unfortunately, the ship chose that time to shudder harshly. Almost overbalanced, the trio steadied themselves just as everyone did the same. There was a lot of muttering and speculating after, until the boat shuddered worse than before. Everyone fell down and some people actually screamed.

"People, evacuate!"

Just like that, the Captain ordered an evacuation without even explaining anything. No one said anything and then the next moment it was utter panic. People were rushing out of there, and there was a lot of screaming and crying, as people tried to escape.

"Ash, we have to get off!" Misty screamed, grabbing a hold of Ash's sleeve and then dragging her in the direction of a lifeboat. Unfortunately, there were too many people and everyone was pushing and shoving, desperate to get off the sinking St. Anne.

The two girls collided with someone and they met eyes with the culprits.

"Team Rocket," Misty growled, glaring at the three venomously.

"Who?" Ash blinked in confusion.

"You met them in Viridian when you came back with Giovanni. Everyone knows the organization is bad news and anyone part of it are just as bad," Misty locked her eyes on the red head.

"Oh, please. Don't give me some self-righteous rant," Jessie rolled her eyes, smirking haughtily at the other.

James and Ash stared at each other, with James having a sinking feeling in his stomach and Ash feeling cold.

"So you're not really Jameson?" Ash asked confused, ignoring the two other girls getting into a pokémon battle.

"No, just a Team Rocket guy whose name is James," James said apologetically, but feeling relieved that he was finally able to tell her the truth. "I made him up so we could nab pokémon. I'm sorry."

"I see…" Ash swallowed harshly.

"I won't hold back so I expect you to do the same," James smiled hesitantly.

Ash nodded seriously, not genki for once. "Hai."

The battle began.

"I think it's only fair, Jameson –I mean, James, to tell you that I'm a girl," Ash said while she directed a quick attack to Koffing's side.

"I know. I recognized your face from Viridian," James said, his eyes darting back and forth from each pokémon and trying to find a way out.

Ash froze, "Is my face that recognizable?"

"Sort of. But people can easily dismiss it so you don't have to worry about people finding out about your double identity. And I just took care to remember you," James explained sheepishly.

The ship shuddered again and Ash stomped her foot, "Dammit! What are we doing? Why are we still on a sinking ship?"

They all stopped and thought about that, before realizing the futility and stupidity they were going through of battling when they could be getting off of a doomed ship.

"She's right. Let's go," Jessie ordered, the first to dart out of there and head to the deck.

Unfortunately, by that time, the ship was deserted and no lifeboats or even any leftover people were left. Team Rocket managed to locate a raft and get on it.

"Where's Brock?" Misty screeched in frustration as she dragged Ash along, the girls having labored through the halls and stairs and been left behind. Both Team Rocket members had already made it to the top, which left Misty and Ash struggling to climb up with all the water crashing down on them.

'Water again. This is my territory,' Misty reassured herself, though she was feeling fear again.

The ship capsized and the two of them were surrounded by even more water. Misty shook her head violently and grabbed a hold of a panicking Ash, swimming them to the top, which was actually the bottom of the ship. They actually reached rooms where there was no water, but everything was upside down and they were standing on the ceiling.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Misty asked in concern, seeing her charge shivering and crying.

"I'm scared, Misty," Ash sniffled, her body shaking and feeling extremely cold, while being soaked to the bone.

"I know, Ash. Everything will be alright," Misty wrapped her arms around Ash, pulling her close and trying to comfort her.

Eventually, she rocked her to sleep, feeling hopeless herself.

"Didn't we ask not to have the entire month's recordings?" Bruno sighed, looking at all the tapes from the Pewter Gym.

"Well, since they're here, we might as well see them too," Lorelei sighed also.

The other two shook their heads and sat themselves on couches facing the TV, with Lorelei joining them as Bruno set it up. They went through tapes of crap before the last week began entertaining them. A bunch of the trainers acted cocky or stupid, and Brock put them in their place. That is until the last challenger on the tape.

Ash Ketchum was brilliant in her performance, using her environment to defeat Onix with her Pikachu.

"She's good. Would she have gone through any other gyms yet?" Agatha asked, curious about this girl.

"Let me see…um, here's two tapes from the Cerulean Gym," Bruno grabbed them and put the first one in. It didn't have her, though it had some good ones, and so Bruno put in the other tape.

"Oh, I hope she's alright!" Lorelei exclaimed, seeing Ash slip into the water and being dragged up by Brock.

"As much as I'm amused by the idiot's obvious infatuation with her, I'm glad it helped him to save her through those waters," Agatha added.

"We only have the Vermillion Gym left," Bruno said, taking the only tape out and playing it.

It went through various trainers getting thoroughly defeated by Lt. Surge, all ending in a brutal conclusion.

"You know, he sort of reminds me of Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach," Lorelei deadpanned, watching as Lt. Surge beat another opponent without any mercy. "Oh look, the last one's Ash!"

"That was excellent. She has a great mind," Bruno complimented the girl on stage.

"Very brilliant, though that Brock is rather weird. At least when it comes to her. And that Misty is really overprotective," Agatha smirked, becoming more and more entertained.

"I can't believe Lucien set up those terms. Is he allowed to do that?" Lorelei shook her head.

"She's the only one who beat him. How interesting," Lance studied the girl on the screen intently.

"Hey, I found one from the Viridian Gym," Bruno said in shock, holding it up.

"What? But his gym is last and he never accepts anyone without the other badges," Lance pointed out, confused with Giovanni.

"I know. But I think I remember the ones picking up the videos saying Giovanni insisted we take this one," Bruno told them, equally confused but also intrigued by this new twist.

"There's only enough time for two battles in here," Agatha commented, quietly musing on Giovanni's odd behavior.

Bruno shrugged and put it in. First, was Gary Oak in a mock battle, and who was promptly defeated. And then Ash came on.

"This must've been her first gym," Lance observed, examining the girl with even more interest, especially considering she must be the reason why Giovanni had out of characteristically insisted on giving them the tape to watch.

"Anou sa, is anyone here?" Ash called out.

"Unless you have the other badges, there won't be a match. This is the final gym to beat, not the first," a voice called out from the dark.

"Oh…I'm sorry," Ash said embarrassed. She was gesturing for Pikachu to come with her when the voice spoke immediately again.

"You are Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town?"

"Hai…"

A man stepped out into the light, wearing a rather vivid orange suit and slicked back brown hair. His also brown eyes looked at her curiously from his perch on the balcony.

"I have heard many praises about you and his grandson from Professor Oak."

"O-oh, really? Um, I'm sure he was just exaggerating," Ash turned red.

The man smirked, "Good. You aren't cocky like the professor's grandson." Ash didn't note the derision in his tone when he mentioned Gary.

"Um, thank you…I'm sorry to have wasted your time. I'll just be going now."

"Hold on. I can see why Oak likes you so much. You are definitely much more polite than his grandson, that's for sure."

This time Ash caught the dislike in his voice. Though she was still reeling from the compliments.

"What do you say we have a mock battle, huh Ash? To gauge your strength. By the way, my name's Giovanni."

Then Ash used that technique from her battle with Brock, soaking both of them.

"So that's where she came up with it. She did ask Misty to bring an umbrella so she had that pre-planned," Lance muttered to himself, the others thinking the same thing.

"She actually beat Giovanni," Agatha said in delight.

"Too bad she didn't have any other pokémon," Lorelei was disappointed at that, wondering how an entire match could have played out and if she could have won.

"Oi, get us any tapes that goes back to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town," Bruno told the guys waiting at the door, the same ones going around picking up the gym tapes.

"Um, do you still want us to pick up the tapes from the gyms?" the blond one asked, after glancing at his partner.

"Sure, just make sure Ash Ketchum's battles are in there," Bruno ordered them, waving them off.

The two scuttled away without another word.

Lorelei laughed eagerly, "I think Lance had her right. Ash is an interesting character. I can't wait to see more of her."

"Hai, she's rather pretty too," Bruno grinned, snickering to himself.

Agatha smacked his head with her cane. "She treats her pokémon and others well; that's all that matters."

"Is it me or does it seem like we've become stalkers from all these videos we've watched of her? And going to watch. Plus, we seem to only be focusing on her," Lance sweatdropped, furrowing his eyebrows and glancing at the others uneasily.

Agatha twitched, Lorelei coughed, and Bruno winced.

"What's this I hear about an Ash Ketchum? Are you guys interested in her?" their personal secretary paused near them as she was on her way to another part of the Pokémon League Headquarters.

"Yeah, why? You heard about her?" Bruno questioned her, raising an eyebrow.

She grimaced, "Channel Five."

They switched their TV back to normal and turned it to channel five, the news playing loudly. It started about something with Team Rocket's activities in Saffron before moving on to another Team Rocket involved plot aboard the St. Anne.

"Unfortunately, the ship sank, due to some unexplained explosion caused by Team Rocket," the news anchor reported solemnly. "We have incoming news that two people did not make it back off of the ship. We don't have their status, but they are presumed dead. Please bow our heads for Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum."

"Oh my God," Lorelei stood up and held her head in her hands, the earlier excitement about this new, young female trainer suddenly turning into sorrow. "This can't be happening."

They just found out about the girl, and they felt oddly attached and all excited about this young, new and upcoming talent. And though they hadn't met her, she seemed like a good and kind soul. And she was young, too young to have died an early death. Never mind the fact that they'd really, surprisingly enough, had been looking forward to meeting and battling her. And then there was Misty, whom they'd met many times with her sisters. A bit cocky and over the top at times, Misty had always been very respectful to them and very enthusiastic about her own training and her pokémon. It just didn't seem fair that the girls looked to have met an early end.

And while the Elite Four bowed their heads in respect, there were others who were even more worse off.

Giovanni was irritated with the way things had been going. Most of his aggravation had been centered on his plans in Saffron being delayed, and he really didn't want to slow down the concentration there. Frustrated, he grabbed the remote for his TV and began flipping through the channels in displeasure, stopping on a news channel. As he watched, his annoyance went to numbness.

He just sat at his desk, the remote hanging limp from his hands. His other hand supported his forehead as he closed his eyes and refused to think about it.

Ash was not dead. He wouldn't believe it.

That strange girl, with her strange ideas and her happy outlook on life couldn't possibly be dead. That girl who had made him, for once in his life, stop feeling stressed and aloof all the time and had actually reminded him how to be content, and even had him give a rare smile.

His organization did not cause her death. He couldn't believe it.

For the first time in a long time, Giovanni let a few tears slip out.

And though he hadn't known her long, he had felt like he'd known her all his life.

The same could be said for others, like the silly and yet well-meaning rock trainer who had grown very fond of the young trainer, who was not just his crush but also his best friend.

Brock waited patiently at the docks. Ash would come. Of course she would. She was Ash. She was crazy, stubborn, and invincible.

There was no way she would just leave him.

Not like him, who couldn't catch up to Misty's dragging Ash away. Who had been forced into a lifeboat. Who was a complete failure and didn't deserve to say he was in love with her.

She'll come. She had to be alive.

And the news just kept spreading and didn't seem to stop. It was like a virus infecting through the TV, and those who had met Ash Ketchum, even if briefly, were surprised to find themselves so affected.

Just like the lieutenant, who stared blankly at his TV before he'd shut it off and angrily tore through his kitchen, remembering how she had been there last time, laughing and smiling and alive. He made himself something to drink without thinking, vacantly realizing he was having what she'd had.

Lt. Surge knocked back another gulp of the drink. It was hot and burned his throat, but he was reminded that the last time she was there she had been drinking hot chocolate.

Only he added a bit of vodka to it to numb his senses.

Team Rocket was quiet. They all couldn't forget the girl who had made sure they stopped fighting long enough to realize they should be getting out first.

And James was haunted by their time together and the fact he knew just how Ash was now, and how he'd grown so close and come to like her so much.

"Hey, Jameson! Let's share this strawberry shortcake. It looks so good," Ash grinned, taking two slices and directing Jameson to a table, instead of pigging out at the line of food like they were doing.

"Dessert is supposed to be eaten slowly and savored," Ash informed him, taking her slice and biting into it.

"You eat with a fork then. You'll make less of a mess and get smaller portions to enjoy," James laughed.

"Whatever," Ash rolled her eyes.

There was a smudge of cake on the corner of her mouth and James leaned over to wipe it off, and then licked it off his thumb.

"Hey!" she pouted, blushing.

James smiled widely.

The rest of Team Rocket left James alone.

Started 10/15/07 – Completed 11/1/07
Revised (1) 5/9/10 – Completed 5/9/19
Revised (2) 3/27/14 – Completed 3/27/14

Chapter Text

Misty kept nodding off, Ash held loosely in her arms.

"We'll get through this, Ash. You'll see," she murmured.

Misty finally nodded off, the lack of oxygen getting to her. Time was running out.

One of the poké́balls on Ash's belt glowed and Espeon came out, having felt her mistress' distress and finally managing to escape the pokéball's mechanism. She glowed again, covering Ash and Misty as well. They disappeared from the ship, landing on shore just seconds later. It was there that a lucky tourist caught sight of them and found help, transporting them to the hospital.

This led to the huge media circus that was surrounding the two former missing pokémon trainers, reporters eager to get into the hospital and the room itself for a chance to talk to the two and get a comment or even possibly an interview with either one of them.

"An amazing event happened today, here in Aopulco! Missing passengers of the St. Anne, Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum, have been recovered today. And thank goodness, they seem to be in stable health."

When Ash awoke, Misty was still unconscious and that was the first thing she'd heard off of the radio that was on to her side of the hospital room. She slowly got off of the bed, legs wobbly, and then without warning she fell after a few steps away from the hospital bed.

That wasn't good.

"Oh dear! Miss Ketchum, your body is currently recuperating. It's been under a lot of stress and you need your rest," a nurse, not Nurse Joy, came in and helped her up and led her back to her bed.

"But I'd like to get out," Ash said quietly, not at all genki and happy like usual. "Please. Maybe just one phone call?"

The nurse hesitated, but the imploring look on Ash's face made her cave in easily. She agreed, but Ash could make the phone call in her room and just have a quick ride on a wheelchair through the part of that level of the hospital. Ash waited on the bed for the nurse to come back with the wheelchair, and was helped into it once it was near. Then Ash quickly made a round on that floor, before being brought back and shown how to use the phone there.

Misty was still asleep and Ash stared at the phone in her hand, wondering and at a lost at who she wanted to call. She didn't want to call her mom, because she'd just worry and fuss. And Professor Oak would be much the same, before bringing her mother into it and making double the fussing. She didn't have anyone else's number, except –

She dialed the numbers hesitantly and waited for the other to pick up.

"Hello?" Giovanni answered irritably, voice sounding really rough.

She blinked, surprised at that and how pissed off and upset he sounded.

"I-I'm sorry if this is a bad time –"

"Ash?!" Giovanni interrupted quickly. "Is that you? Are you okay? Where are you?"

She took a second to catch up to the rapid questions and the relieved and yet panicked tone of his voice.

"Yes, it's me," she started out slowly. "I'm fine. I'm…in Aopulco, according to the nurse. Um…sorry for being a little disoriented. I wish I could be a little clearer to you and be more informative, but I just woke up and still trying to get caught up."

"No! No, no, it's fine. Really. In fact, I'll probably be there in around an hour or two, so don't worry. Okay? I'll see you soon."

"Wait, what? Hold on!"

But Giovanni had already hung up and Ash was left staring at the phone.

In fact, he had arrived there in an hour, on the dot. In the meantime, Misty had awaken around the same time as Brock had burst into the room, bawling about how he was so happy she was safe and alive and asking for forgiveness for being shoved into a boat and having to leave her behind. Misty had glared halfheartedly the entire time as Ash comforted and reassured Brock it was fine, with her head killing her and wishing the idiot would leave her and Ash alone. And in silence.

Misty really wanted to just go back to sleep.

But presently, Giovanni had managed to get access into the room and had proceeded to ignore both Misty and Brock as he tended to her, reaching her bedside and smiling softly at her as he handed her a bouquet of fresh flowers.

"Oh! You didn't have to, Giovanni. These are just lovely," she accepted them from him.

He adjusted her pillows as he spoke. "No, I wanted to. I'm glad you liked them." Taking the other chair by her bedside, he ignored the tense and uncomfortable Brock by his side, who fidgeted and twitched being next to the 'legendarily strict and harsh authoritarian Giovanni.'

It was a very awkward afternoon.

"We have no money."

The declaration from Misty seemed to put them all into a funk. Giovanni stared in bemusement at them, before opening his mouth to volunteer his services. While he didn't care much for the other two, he was very fond of Ash and very happy that she was actually alive…and that his organization hadn't been the cause of her death.

"We could enter that Beauty Contest," Ash suggested brightly. "It'll be fun too!"

Misty brightened up. "Yeah, it'll be fun!"

Brock's head was filled with images of Ash in beauty costumes and bikinis and cosplay –he smiled goofily and agreed very loudly.

Giovanni frowned and was about to offer his services again, when he was surprised to see Ash glance at him and shake her head slightly. Keeping quiet, he backed down and said nothing, waiting for when Ash would explain herself.

"Giovanni, can you take me out?" Ash asked suddenly. "I'm getting restless in here! Brock, could you watch over Misty for me?" she continued, cutting off Brock's offer to take her instead.

Brock inwardly pouted.

Once outside of the room, Ash didn't dawdle and went straight into it.

"I appreciate you and your willingness to spend money for me and my friends, but I think I'd like to try earning some money on my own," she gave him a wry smile. "I'm pretty sure you're loaded, if that suit you gave me and the other stuff wasn't an indication…but I shouldn't be relying on rich friends to get by through my pokémon journey. I should at least try to travel like a normal trainer, and not slip on by so easily."

Giovanni kept looking at her closely for a few more seconds, before sighing. "Alright, Little Miss Independent," he ruffled her hair. "Have it your way."

And well, it wasn't really what he wanted, but it was what she'd wanted. That didn't mean he couldn't continue to slyly help her over the course of her journey…

It wasn't long until they were given a clean bill of health and released out of the hospital. And as they were in a beachside tourist town, they decided to quickly head over to the beach and enjoy themselves for once. They all got into swimsuits, though Ash was unfortunately not in a bikini as Brock had hoped. She had even managed to get Giovanni into one, though he steadfastly refused to go into the water, and instead watched her from the sand.

Suddenly, the next events were all a blur as Brock took over a boat that he'd thought Ash had borrowed, since Pikachu was on it, and had accidentally crashed into a…Gyarados submarine? Anyway, it had then crashed into the dock.

The owner, named Moe, came out, looking upset and despondent at seeing the state of his boat.

"I'm so sorry," Ash apologized yet again, bowing several more times. "We'll cover the cost by working for you! Please accept our offer and forgive us!"

"Well…alright then. Sounds good to me," Moe agreed.

Giovanni backtracked and stared. Had he…just been volunteered to work?

Minutes later, he couldn't believe he was in a restaurant, dressed up as a waiter, and actually doing labor. He didn't do things himself. There was a reason he had servants and minions around!

"Giovanni?" Ash asked, looking up at him questioningly as she smiled slightly.

He crumbled easily.

Minutes later, an older, short female walked into the restaurant, with three very familiar and unwanted people around. Giovanni twitched.

"Moe! Look at you and your empty restaurant!" the woman cackled. "My restaurant is doing much, much better than yours, it seems."

"Brutella," Moe growled, glaring at the woman.

Ash and for some reason his blue-haired subordinate stared at each other. While the two restaurateurs bickered, with the rest of Team Rocket and Ash's two friends adding their tidbits, Ash and James were quiet and looking at each other, and Giovanni paid more attention to them instead. It wasn't long until Brutella left with a huff, with most of Team Rocket following. James hesitated before striding forward and hugging Ash tightly.

"I'm really happy that you're alive," James said softly. "I'm sorry for before, and you have no idea how happy I was when I saw you were alive on the news. Bye for now, okay?"

Then he left to catch up to the others. Giovanni scowled, watching the other retreating.

"Why are you hiding behind that menu?" Misty asked, suddenly beside him and startling him.

"I'm not hiding behind the menu," he said quickly. "I'm…looking over it. We're working here; we should at least get complimentary food."

Misty hmmed. "Yeah, you're right. I'd like to try that…"

Whatever else she said trailed off through Giovanni's ears. Instead, he focused on Ash, who seemed to get a sort of determined aura.

"Alright! We need to work harder!" she then had her Pikachu, Espeon, and Milotic go around outside, handing out fliers.

Her Seviper began entertaining around the restaurant, doing snake-like dancing through the floor. At first the crowd had been wary, before easily becoming entertained and eager to keep watching.

"You know, it'll be even more better if you went around as a girl," Moe commented out of nowhere, and Ash, Misty, and Brock froze, while Giovanni glanced at him sharply. "Just sayin'. You'll attract more customers yourself."

Ash hesitated, before thinking about it. Generally, she was known as Ash Ketchum the Girl. She battled as herself, usually was herself. She only journeyed as a boy, walking around in boys clothing on the road and a little around towns, unless she wanted to be herself (though she was pretty sure her mother wouldn't approve). So she didn't really see what was the harm in it…

"Okay," though Ash didn't really understand, Brock and Misty (and Giovanni, but he was trying not to think like that, because he was pretty sure a man his age shouldn't be noticing something like that) understood that Ash was a really pretty and charming girl that could really get a crowd in.

Not that any of them wanted to notice or think that.

Ash went in the back, putting some more girlier clothes on, before happily trotting back out. And soon enough, she was flitting between the restaurant and outside, and then a larger crowd was coming in, filling up the restaurant until it was full.

Brutella came in again, much more aggravated-looking, with Team Rocket following her, and Giovanni immediately put up his menu cover.

"I see your restaurant is doing well," she spat out. "Since it's doing so well, you better get ready to pay me the money you owe me, Moe! Get it to me tomorrow, or else I'll take your boat as payment!"

She left just as abruptly, but the only one despondent was Moe.

"Why are you upset, Moe? You'll be fine!" Ash said encouragingly.

"I don't think I can get the money to her by then," he explained. "I'd always planned on taking a world cruise with my boat," he added wistfully.

"Don't give up! Hold on to your dream and don't let go of it! I believe you can do it, and fulfill your dream, Moe!" Ash urged him.

Moe brightened up a little. "You think so?"

"Yes! And to show you how much I believe in you, my pokémon and I will work doubly hard. Double time, guys!" she directed to the others, before moving off herself to work.

"Ah, if only she was two years older," Moe sighed happily, earning a glare from all three left.

Giovanni was almost tempted to have one of his other Rocket members come back here and destroy the restaurant…if it would not have rendered all of Ash's hard work useless and moot.

"You remind me of my granddaughter," Moe would be saying to Ash later, while thinking 'Oh, the fun I could have with you if you were 2 years older…'

The perverted grin on his face did nothing to hide his thoughts from Ash's three companions, who thought 'Liar!' in their heads when they heard what he said. Giovanni viciously bit off a piece of meat off of his stick, while Misty stabbed her shrimp with her chopsticks.

Brock was meditating and losing himself in his own head, trying to remember his teacher's calming techniques…else he tackle the man and scream "Unfair!"

That night, they went to sleep in the rooms prepared for them by Moe in his home attached to the restaurant. Ash, Misty, and Brock were quick to fall asleep, but Giovanni stayed up and went back in to the restaurant, seeing Moe humming quietly to himself as he drank a bit of saké and mournfully looked over the entirety of his restaurant.

"Up, eh?" he asked Giovanni, without looking over.

Giovanni let himself be known, no longer making an effort to be quiet as he walked over to the older man. He handed a check over to him, the man taking it in surprise and then his eyes widening at the amount.

"Take that to repair the dock and your boat, as well as pay off Brutella. It should be enough," Giovanni said with ease. "The money Ash will receive from the contest, that I have no doubt she'll win, she'll probably also give to you. In that case, take it as back up and put in either investments or your retirement fund. Anything leftover could be used for you on your travels. You shouldn't have problems financially from now on."

Moe gaped at him, glancing down at the check. "I…I see. It's really generous of you and she's also been very helpful…thank you, and to her as well…"

"Do not mention it," Giovanni waved it off. Then he grew a menacing look. "However, don't you ever dare think or talk about Ash like that again," he warned, narrowing his eyes at the other.

Moe nodded rapidly.

With that, the older man decided to hit the sack and Giovanni took a seat tiredly, morosely watching over the restaurant. A noise behind him, several minutes later, alerted him to the fact that someone else was awake. He turned and saw Ash tiredly walking towards him, a sleepy smile on her face. She gave him a small wave, and he smiled slightly at her adorableness and her cute Vulpix pajamas.

"You're still awake?" she asked him after a yawn.

"Just a little," he said fondly.

Ash yawned again, but took a seat next to him.

"Are you still going to enter tomorrow? Both the Beach Beauty and the Pokémon Costume Contest start then. You could probably even hand out fliers to the audience there. You could even hopefully win some prize money to help out Moe."

"Yeah, yeah I could," Ash grinned, waking up a little.

"In that case, since the prize money you originally wanted will go to him…would you accept money from me now?"

Okay, part of his offering money to Moe earlier had been because he realized that what Ash earned in one day and half of tomorrow wouldn't be enough to pay off Brutella, fix the dock, and fix the boat. It was unimaginably impossible, no matter how hard Ash worked at it. But having Moe also accept Ash's prize money (again, he was completely sure she was going to win) was partly to make Ash feel like she'd helped out and she'd managed to make sure Moe reached his dream and would be okay…but also partly so that he could get Ash to agree to taking his money and allowing him to pay and take care of her and her needs.

"Well…okay. I mean, we won't have any money after making sure to repay and help out Moe and all, and we can't stay in Aopulco forever, trying to find odd jobs for money," Ash mused aloud.

"Good," Giovanni hid his smugness. "I'll even take you to the Giant Pokémon theme park I own after all this."

"Yatta! That's awesome, Giovanni! Wait a sec…you own a Giant Pokémon theme park?!"

Giovanni mentally patted himself on the back and allowed himself a moment to feel a bout of self-satisfaction.

"You're not entering, Misty?" Ash asked, as Misty tilted her head back and began putting on lip gloss.

"Nope. But it's okay! I want to play Life-size Barbie."

"What?!"

But Misty distracted her when she moved Ash's head again and continued her ministrations.

"If it isn't the twerps," Jessie's voice sounded through the tent, and the two girls looked over to see the red head standing there, with James in a…bikini with inflatable breasts. They missed Meowth hiding with a camera.

"Like them?" James winked at Ash, cupping them and preening, causing Ash to start giggling and also blush a little. He smirked over at Misty. "When you're older, you'll have a chest like this."

Misty glowered at them, though they all pointedly ignored that Ash, a sixteen year old, had a chest as big as Jessie's, who was twenty one. Which put into perspective that Misty was nineteen, and had a smaller chest than Ash, making James' statement very…sardonic.

"Look forward to losing, losers~" Jessie taunted, turning and waving backwards, though Meowth was finishing up taking pictures of Ash.

James followed after a finger poke to Ash's forehead and sticking his tongue out at Misty.

"Ugh! Those two…" Misty twitched. "Anyway, you ready?"

"Mmhm," Ash gave her a thumbs up. "I just need to put on my swimsuit."

Of course, the swimsuit Misty had prepared for Ash, after the debacle that was the bikini in Cerulean Gym, had been a black t-shirt and boys swimming trunks. Black because it wouldn't be see-through, a t-shirt because it covered everything, and the trunks for the same reason. She really wanted to keep Ash in it…but she was also sure that Ash wouldn't win by wearing it.

She twitched again.

"'Lo, Ladies," Moe popped up suddenly, scaring the two. "What's the problem? Ash is about to go on."

Misty explained it reluctantly, and Ash understood while Moe looked thoughtful.

"Just go for it," Moe said bluntly. "I mean, you only live once, right? YOLO!" he cackled before clearing his throat and looking sheepish. He whipped out a bright red bikini and handed it to Ash. "Go change."

While Ash went, Moe looked to Misty.

"So…let me guess. You want to make sure she stays innocent and protect her from all sorts of creeps and pervs, right?" he asked Misty frankly.

Misty blushed, but nodded. "She asked me when we first met if I could help her out, looking out for those kinds of jerks because her mom was really worried about it and Ash admitted she's kind of oblivious about that kind of thing. I just didn't realize how oblivious. At first, I tried to tell her, but she would always be too nice and think I was over thinking it, because –you've seen her –she's just so sweet and trusting and she just believes the best of everyone. And she's so cute and charming, she can't help but draw in all sorts of people, especially those kinds of jerks."

Moe nodded in understanding before saying, "Let it go."

"What?!" Misty shrieked. "But you just –"

"You can't stop everyone," Moe shrugged. "She's just that charming and you can't keep everyone away. Just stop them, beat the shit out of them really, if they 'go too far.' Guys will be guys, and I know there are girls like that as well. And you'll smother her too. So just watch, and kick the asshole's ass if they do something too bad, and/or really upset Ash."

Misty nodded grudgingly at his explanation and suggestion, but realized that was what she had been doing and it wasn't really working.

"…Thanks…"

"No problem. Just don't tell Giovanni I gave her that bikini, eh?"

Misty stayed quiet for a second before slapping the back of his head.

"Perv."

And then Ash was walking out onto the stage, amongst whistling and cheers, with Brock the Emcee trying to stay unbiased but happily floating as he watched her. Giovanni blinked and then his brain shut down when he saw her, and he really knew that his thoughts should not be like they currently were like, in regards to Ash…and her bikini…and everything about her…

James just let out a wolf whistle and grinned roguishly at her when she turned to see who it was, blushing and giving a shy wave to him when she saw him.

Then Ash's Seviper was costumed as Seiryuu, the mythical Dragon of the East, with Espeon using its psychic powers to float it around the air, like it was flying.

Of course, Team Rocket's Gyarados sub burst out of the waters, causing panic amongst the crowd who thought it was a real Gyarados, and was actually pirated and piloted by Brutella, who then launched a missile at the stage…and which then hit the psychic barrier Espeon put up, redirecting it towards Brutella's restaurant and destroying it.

But that was just details.

At least, Ash and her pokémon won the contest. And Giovanni didn't even have to rig it…

Meanwhile…

"I'm so happy she made it out safely," Lorelei sighed happily.

"Me too!" Bruno pumped a fist into the air, scribbling doodles of Ash on his paperwork. "And she won that contest! Wasn't she pretty?"

Agatha smacked his arm with her cane. "Do your work! And did you really doubt her?" She huffed.

"Hey, let's start a fanclub about her," Lance said suddenly, the idea just popping into his head. It made sense anyway, with all the focus they were fixating on her.

"What, why?" Lorelei blinked.

"'Cause I'm bored. 'Cause we're all bored," Lance shrugged.

The rest of the group thought on it for a second, but nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, sounds fun," Bruno grinned.

And so, that is how Ash became the subject of a fanclub started by the Elite Four, because they were bored and focused their attentions on her…when they'd already been unfortunately focused and interested about her in the first place.

Started 3/24/13 – Completed 3/25/13
Revised (slightly in details and remembering Meowth) 3/28/14 – Completed 3/28/14

Chapter Text

Gary Oak, grandson of the famous Professor Samuel Oak and aspiring pokémon trainer. That was who he was. His goal to be the best was what he needed to be focusing on. He needed to only think about beating everyone and proving he was more than a famous progeny, only known and thought of because of the people he was related to.

But Ash Ketchum, his rival, had always messed him up and turned his head all around.

He idly glanced over to where his fanclub was giggling and whispering to each other, before sighing and staring back over the river. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Gary, are you really leaving already?" his grandfather frowned at him. "I thought you were going to travel with Ash?"

Gary glared off to the side. "No. I told her I didn't want to and that we were rivals."

Oak rubbed his neck slowly. "If you're determined. I just thought you'd promised her and that you were going to stay by her side. You know I wanted you to make sure she's alright and that she had someone to accompany her, so she wasn't all by herself and get into trouble. God knows the trouble that girl can get into…"

Gary guiltily shifted. "I know, okay Gramps? I promised her I wouldn't abandon her and all, like her dad and stuff, and I know she's got those kind of issues…and I promised to travel with her when we were going to go on our pokémon journey…but I just can't. I just…can't," he said again lamely.

The professor looked at him in scrutiny for a moment, before nodding reluctantly.

"This is your pokémon journey and it's your choices to make. At least keep up with her, alright? Call on her sometimes?"

"Yeah, sure, Gramps," Gary muttered, not admitting that he'd never given Ash his new number.

He said goodbye to his grandfather and left, but paused outside of Ash's home on his way out of Pallet Town. He stared morosely at it before hiding his face with one hand.

"Stupid Ash. Late as always. Wake up, you dumb girl," he said, though fondly.

His hand slipped down and he stared with a shaky smile at the house of the girl that was his best friend.

"See ya sometime, huh?"

He walked on and didn't look back.

And now there he was, with a gaggle of girls that got on his nerves and unable to move passed that moment. He was sorry he had to leave her behind, especially since she had problems about being left behind ever since her father left her…

But there was no way he had the stomach to travel with the girl he was in love with.

Maybe it was cowardly, but he knew how he felt and he was better off staying away from her.

God if he had to hear the words 'just friends' from her, he'd probably break into pieces. And traveling to all these places alone with her (so close and yet so far away at the same time), knowing how he felt about her and her being oblivious, Gary knew he'd be miserable and unable to do it.

It's why he left her behind in the first place.

It was going to take some time before Giovanni's helicopter would come to pick them up, so they waited around the docks. In the meantime, Ash had looked over the railings and spotted a pokémon.

"Misty! It's a water pokémon," Ash waved her over excitedly. "Don't you like water pokémon?"

Misty curiously walked over and grinned. "Oh, it's cute! What is it, Ash?"

"It's a Horsea," Ash remembered her lessons. She pointed her pokédex at it and it gave all the information known about the water pokémon to Misty.

"Thanks, Roy," Ash beamed at her pokédex.

"You're welcome, Ash. Beware of ephebophiliac, class chronophiliacs, one located a foot away at level 56," Mustang said succinctly.

Ash blinked, while everyone else turned to Giovanni (gathered he was the only actual 'adult' there), who twitched irritably.

"What's an ephebophiliac? Or a chronophiliac?" she asked Mustang confusedly.

"Ash! Why don't you go get the Horsea and bring it here? It looks hurt," Misty intervened, just as Brock moved to intercept and hold Giovanni back, who had started forward with murderous intent.

"No murdering pokédexes," Brock muttered to the older man. "We cannot murder that evil pokédex."

"It needs to be destroyed," Giovanni hissed, narrowing his eyes at it as Ash handed it over to Misty, who 'claimed' to need it to research Horsea, but really just wanted to keep it away from Ash and corrupting and influencing her.

"Yeah, well, it's insulted me too, but I've dealt with it…Only why the hell do you get a high level?!" Brock just remembered that Mustang had appraised Giovanni at level 56, while he'd been stuck at level 0.

"Giovanni Rocketto, class Mafioso, known to terrorize others with just one look. Level 68," Mustang spoke up again.

"WHAT? He got leveled up again? And even higher!" Brock growled agitatedly.

Giovanni gave that look Mustang had been talking about.

Both men began striding towards Misty, who held the pokédex away.

"Hey, hey! Come on, you two! It's Ash's pokédex! We can't destroy it!" Misty exclaimed, honestly worried for the pokédex's "life."

"Misty Waterflower, class drag queen…or boy-pretending-to-be-girl or girl-who-looks-like-a-boy. Known to be flat-chested and has a horrible temper. Level 22."

Misty stared blankly at it, before screeching and hauling her arm back to throw the damn thing into the ocean.

"Eh? Misty, what are you doing to my pokédex?" Ash was back, with the Horsea cuddling up to her.

Misty chuckled nervously, while Brock grumbled and Giovanni continued to glare daggers at the thing. Pikachu had been left behind by Ash, though he had wanted to be, and was currently giggling quietly at the situation. He was definitely sharing this with Ash's other pokémon. They would get a kick out of this…

"Just…letting it catch some sun?" the water trainer laughed halfheartedly.

Ash shrugged and came over, taking back her pokédex and Misty eagerly trading it for the Horsea.

"Ash Ketchum, class jailbait. Known to be too cute, pretty and charming for her own good. Level 151," Mustang gave one last jab to the others.

Ash giggled. "Aw, that's sweet, Roy." She tilted her head to the side curiously however. "What's a jailbait though?"

Everyone's eyes widened, and they all broke out into loud clamoring, trying to stop Mustang from answering and from letting Ash know what that word meant. Just then, they heard an explosion and they looked off to the waters, to see a large ship on fire.

"Oh no!" Ash's eyes widened and she quickly flung out two of her pokéballs, while Pikachu frowned at not being able to help out his mistress. "Milotic, go over and get some of the sailors out of the water! Espeon, teleport over and check on the boat, and make sure it isn't going to explode and cause more damage."

Misty nodded. "Right, I'll send out Staryu, Goldeen, and Starmie to help."

Giovanni subtly shifted awkwardly. He wasn't a helping kind of guy…Glancing at Ash, who looked worried, he sighed and grabbed two of his own pokéballs.

"Kingler, Cloyster, go follow their lead. Make sure none of the sailors drown," he ordered.

When Ash sent over a quick, shy smile at him, he felt less weird about doing a good thing. While that was all going on, they found a boat and navigated it towards the ship. They had the pokémon start putting the fire out, once all the sailors were safely away, and then they tried to talk to the sailors themselves. It wasn't too good, since they all seemed too shocked and actually literally paralyzed from something to communicate back to them. One of them was well enough to direct them to where their boss was waiting, and when they got there they were greeted by a rather familiar-looking person.

Giovanni sweatdropped. The woman in charge of the men with the boat, looked remarkably too alike to the owner of that restaurant that had been a rival of Moe's.

"I am Nastina," she announced loudly, and a horde of good-looking and half-naked men appeared around her, fanning her and holding trays of things (though the small group ignored, minus Ash who didn't notice at all, how the guys sent longing looks over to Ash as they slightly cringed away from Nastina). "I've been trying to construct an underwater hotel at the coral reef, but those nasty and ugly Tentacool keep ruining everything! If you can stop them, I will reward all of you handsomely."

A whole array of delicious-looking food appeared, causing Ash, Pikachu, and Brock to stare and drool, although Misty was frowning. Giovanni kept his face neutral and ignored the food, watching the woman closely. He had plenty of thoughts going through his own head, that being that Nastina actually had a good idea and this was a good business opportunity.

Not that he was going to share any of the credit with her.

He also understood what Nastina really wanted them to do by "stopping" the Tentacool, and that more than likely she wanted them gotten rid of permanently. It wasn't…completely out of line with Giovanni's usual methods, although he didn't like pokémon dead. He wanted them alive, of course, and he made it a point to make sure all his agents knew that. It had never been a problem until that Marowak…

He'd shown how severely displeased he was about that incident in Lavender Town, and there hadn't been a repeat of the Marowak incident since.

Therefore, on this point, he disagreed with Nastina.

"… –You can have free dinners for a year, a million dollars, and vouchers to stay at the hotel for free –" Ah, it seemed she had still been going on while he'd been thinking and scheming.

"I think that's enough," Giovanni interrupted, "The full scope of what you want is out of line." He glanced disinterestedly at the flabbergasted woman, before looking back at Ash with a small smile. "If you were hungry, you should have said something. There were plenty of restaurants far back, and you know I'd treat you anytime," he told her as he began leading her out of there, with the other two following.

"But-but –I need those disgusting, foul things exterminated!"

Misty turned on her heel sharply at that, eyes blazing as she ranted at Nastina at how disgusting she was and that Tentacool were cute and lovely pokémon. But Giovanni was more concerned about Ash beside him, who had stopped cold in her tracks and he could literally feel her stiffening up under his touch. He gently removed his arm around her shoulders as she slowly turned to face Nastina, a dark look (very unlike the Ash he knew) on the girl's face.

"Monster," Ash actually snarled, eyes glaring ice at the woman. "You disgust me. You are a pathetic being who'll probably rot alone in life until death. I hope you're utterly miserable for the entirety of it."

And then Ash began to run out of there with Pikachu loyally by her side, leaving everyone surprised and Nastina about to burst out in anger.

Giovanni inwardly cringed. So he and his organization weren't exactly the best at handling pokémon and weren't…gentle per se. Despite his strict orders on keeping the pokémon alive, he also knew he could be rather callous and uncaring of the treatment of pokémon, and he'd even ordered last resort death suggestions (even if he wasn't completely serious, and his subordinates knew that he wasn't happy if this was to happen).

Perhaps, in light of Ash's harsh view regarding the treatment of pokémon, he should reconsider how he allowed his Team Rocket agents' handling of the pokémon he wanted. He felt…oddly unhappy at the thought of her being upset with him.

The thought of her being upset at all made him upset.

Ash was poking at her food, looking dejected. With Misty having brought the Horsea to the Pokécenter to heal it, and Giovanni sending Brock out to get Ash some of her favorite chocolates to cheer her up, it was just the two of them in the restaurant at the moment, with Pikachu pouting about the lack of ketchup and also about Ash's current mood.

"Ash?"

"I was mean, wasn't I?" she stopped poking at her food and was looking up at him with wide eyes and a slight pout.

Mentally, Giovanni pinched the bridge of his nose. Ash was upset. She shouldn't look so cute when she was upset.

"I was mean," she shifted guiltily. "I don't like being mean. I don't like myself when I'm mean."

"I'm really the worse person to talk to about this stuff," he muttered under his breath to himself. He sighed. "Ash, Nastina is one of those people you shouldn't feel guilty being mean to about. You're a sweet girl. That she got you to be all riled up and be unlike yourself proves just how horrible a person she is and how much she deserved all of that. Don't waste any more thoughts on her –enjoy your food, sweetheart."

Ash looked at him speculatively for a second before nodding, and then turning to her food with renewed interest and beginning to eat with gusto.

"Mm! This is good~" she sighed appreciatively.

They heard a large blast and the doors to the restaurant burst open, with James rushing through them and towards her.

"Aaaaaasssh!" he wailed, throwing his arms around her and totally missing his boss. "You have to save us! We're all doomed! Saaaveee uuusss!"

Ash blinked, while Giovanni glowered at his subordinate. That buffoon…

"Er, what'd you do, James?" she asked bewildered.

Then he started explaining how Nastina broadcasted to the whole city that she'd pay anyone who exterminated the Tentacool a million dollars, so of course he, Jessie, and Meowth accepted and had gone out to get rid of the Tentacool with their special stun sauce thing. It backfired, and instead fell on the head of one Tentacool, that evolved into Tentacruel and grew to at least ten feet tall. It was now currently attacking the city and the people within it, and took Meowth hostage.

Ash frowned. "The coral reef must be the home of the Tentacool, and they're probably angry that their home has been getting destroyed while the hotel was being built."

That would have to be a detail Giovanni would need to address, if he was going to take over this hotel operation.

On the other hand…

"What did you say you did?" Giovanni growled dangerously, standing up slowly and finally bringing attention to himself.

James looked over to him, eyes widening in fright and starting to shake in his boots.

"B-b –" James started to squeak out, when Giovanni scowled frighteningly and shut him up with one look. Then Giovanni glanced over at a clueless Ash, and James understood he wasn't exactly supposed to go out and blab who the boss was to his frenemy.

Ash smoothly and nervously slid to go in front of Giovanni, laying calming hands on his chest, which stopped him in his tracks as he had started to loom threateningly and menacingly over his blue-haired subordinate, though Pikachu had been quietly cheering on the older man.

Giovanni wasn't exactly comfortable with her touching him like that. Or maybe he was a little too comfortable.

He clenched his jaw and made himself focus, looking down at the small girl, who was looking up at him harmlessly. He felt himself instinctively and immediately relax.

"Don't mind him," she scratched the back of her head in bemusement. "He's an idiot. Sweet, but an idiot. His whole team actually. Geez, I wonder why the boss of Team Rocket would ever hire them."

"I wonder too," Giovanni muttered darkly to himself, while Ash gave an amused and teasing look to James, who just gave her two thumbs up while sweating bucket-loads. "Ash, may I borrow Espeon right now?" he asked in a louder voice, though his request came to a surprise to Ash.

"Sure," Ash said as she handed over Espeon's pokéball, mentally relaying to the psychic pokémon what was going on and that she was lending her to a friend to help out for a moment.

"Go to Misty at the Pokécenter," he told her firmly. "Stay there, even if she ends up not being there. Don't go out to the streets and try to keep safe, okay?" He then turned to James, giving the other an icy look. "Go with her and stay with her. Look after her or else."

James nodded rapidly and grabbed hold of Ash's hand, hightailing it out of there before she could even reply back to Giovanni. Grimacing, he agitatedly took one more sip of his wine before standing up and straightening up his suit. Without further ado, he strode out of the restaurant purposefully.

He saw Brock not too far away, and caught up to the rock trainer.

"Brock," he hailed gruffly. "It would help if you could summon your Onix to help keep the debris from falling on people, particularly the falling structures from when the Tentacruel destroys the buildings. Your Geodude could help with moving the debris from the ground and keeping people safe from land position."

He felt himself twitch before his hand methodically moved and grasped a pokéball. He sent out several of his own pokémon and ordered them to help out with Brock's Geodude.

"Where's Ash?" Brock asked him before he could disappear from there.

"She should be firmly locked up in the Pokémon Center," Giovanni answered tersely.

"Is she…is she okay?" Brock asked anxiously, worried and wishing he could be by her side.

Giovanni refrained from giving a biting reply, since at least the other was genuinely worried about Ash, and his own anxiety about this whole situation and Ash's safety was what was mostly getting him riled up in the first place anyway. He had to calm down and use his logic like he usually did. Granted, he was still mostly cool and logical at the moment, but the rush of panic and the swell of emotions he was dealing with was not usual. He admitted that he largely attributed the unusual behavior to Ash, who seemed to make him do a number of things he wasn't used to.

"She's fine. Just…go hand her the chocolates you got her when you see her later, and you'll probably be granted with her beaming face," Giovanni uncharacteristically reassured the other.

Brock smiled in relief, and started to gain a goofy look –to which Giovanni just rolled his eyes at.

"I'm going to go now," he said, finally letting himself use a little scathing to his tone.

He left behind the floating-on-clouds trainer, while searching for an untouched and hopefully well isolated and out of danger area for him to be in. He found one that would serve his purpose and called out Espeon.

She tilted her head and watched him curiously.

'It has been a long time, hm?' she spoke in his head with a careful tone.

Giovanni frowned. "Yes, it has. I need your help on something. There is a Tentacruel I wish to communicate with, however I need your psychic abilities to reach out to it without getting in direct line of it and getting harmed, as it's going on a rampage through the city. As well as just being able to communicate and understand it in the first place…"

Her forked tail swished and flicked behind her, and she stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

'I have a new master now, you know…'

"I know," he murmured. "And I approve of your mistress and your loyalty to her. She did lend you to me, remember? This is important and your mistress' life is in danger as well."

Espeon nodded regally and then Giovanni felt her reestablish their old mental connection fully, before beginning to reach out to another, more foreign source.

'What is this? Who are you?' he heard an angrier voice in his head.

He took a deep breath and began ready to start negotiations, starting with the first business of saving the city before he'd have to lose money salvaging it.

"My name is Giovanni," he murmured aloud.

'Are you human?' it growled out.

"Yes, but that shouldn't be the focus. The coral reef was your and the other Tentacools' home, wasn't it?"

'Yes! And you disgusting humans were destroying it!'

"I understand that. And you are repaying that favor, aren't you? Let me ask, has any of the Tentacool been killed?"

'No, fortunately, but many have been injured. They are still recovering, even now!'

"I'm sorry to hear that," Giovanni said neutrally. Whether or not it was a lie wasn't a concern at the moment. Even he wasn't sure if it was. It slid off his tongue easily, and he felt no real emotion attached to the statement, except for maybe a slight ounce of sympathy (especially when he thought of Ash and her reaction to such news). Perhaps, a half truth then…

"Despite that, you should know that you are more than likely causing even more damage and likely death to the people here," Giovanni callously replied. "Are you satisfied? Does the destruction and fear of the people content you with what has been done to your home? If not, there are plenty more of the city to destroy and many more people left."

'…That is…this is not…'

"Stop then," Giovanni murmured quietly, Ash's image flashing through his head again. "If this is not what your end result is supposed to be, stop before it's too late."

'That girl…she's appeared twice in your mind. Is she your motivation, human?'

Giovanni twitched, having forgotten the mental connection broadcasted his thoughts, and that of course the other would see Ash.

'She's kind,' the Tentacruel hummed peacefully. 'Sweet. She cares…'

Flashes of images of Ash, not of his doing, went through the mental connection, and Giovanni realized it was of Espeon's doing. Especially since there were memories of Ash as a little girl, caring lovingly for pokémon in Oak Corral, Ash and Pikachu with the Spearows before she'd met him, Ash and Espeon first establishing their mental bond, and so on.

The Tentacruel gave a satisfied hum through the connection.

"She's not like most people," Giovanni commented idly. "Most trainers are like a step or two…actually more than that…down from her. But they aren't as bad as this woman," he brought up an image of Nastina in his head, agitating the water pokémon who recognized her. "Very few can reach the kind of person Ash is."

The Tentacruel was quiet for a second. 'It seems, that if at least even a few in this world are like this girl…perhaps not all humans are bad.'

Giovanni sighed in relief, and thought that perhaps this was finally settled.

'You wish to take over that woman's project, do you not?' the Tentacruel surprised him.

"It seems it is more trouble than it is worth," Giovanni answered guardedly, though he frowned at the thought that perhaps Espeon had leaked that part of his thoughts purposely to the other. "I don't think it'll be worth the investment, and it was a thought before it was found out that coral reef was your home. I don't think I'll be able to work around that problem."

'…Perhaps we can negotiate.'

He felt a smirk curl on his lips. Business, it seems, was business, no matter whom or what he was dealing with.

'There is another coral reef, farther away and more secret, than the one we've made our home on. It will be a longer trip, but you may be able to take advantage of it by offering what you humans call a scenery tour to and from the land to it.'

"I see," this could definitely work. "And what do you want in return?"

'Reparations. I want your help in rebuilding our home on our coral reef, as well those potions I know heal pokémon. The injured gathered will be healed and back to normal faster with this help. In return, I and others will personally protect whatever machine you choose to transport people to and from your…hotel and the land, as well as in the building process. We'll even agree to showing up and briefly entertaining the humans on your transport machine and at the hotel. You must also promise that your guests will refrain from trying to capture us there.'

"Of course. That would be bad business," Giovanni frowned. "That's losing money by losing the attractions…Very well, I agree to those terms."

'…I wish to also see the girl.'

At that, Giovanni stiffened up and didn't answer.

'She will not be harmed,' the Tentacruel promised.

"Fine," Giovanni finally agreed. "I'll see what I can do."

The connection to the Tentacruel was cut, and he was left with Espeon, who was back to watching him closely again.

"What is it?" Giovanni snapped at her.

'Your duplicity will cut her deeply. Be wary and wise in your future decisions, old master.'

She went back into the pokéball without another word, and left Giovanni with a foreboding feeling.

This was why he hated psychics.

He'd made it back to the main area of the city, and was heading towards the Pokémon Center when he caught sight of James running towards him, holding onto an irate Pikachu.

"What are you doing? I thought I told you to look after the girl," he specifically left out her name, not sure if he should show exactly how close he'd gotten to her.

James pulled at his hair, dropping Pikachu to the ground, and who scuttled over to Giovanni with a glower at the other.

"I know, I know! I'm so sorry, boss! But one minute she was there, and then she was gone! It's just like the twerp…Damn it, she saw the Tentacruel leaving after flinging Meowth somewhere near the Ferris Wheel, and she headed towards Meowth's direction, boss."

"Get Jessie and make sure that Nastina is out of there and not causing anymore problems," Giovanni scowled angrily at him. James nodded and turned to leave, when his collar was grabbed. "For yet another failure, I…" Giovanni trailed off. There were numerous things he could do, and were much harsher…but he thought of Ash and he inwardly grimaced. "I'm withholding your salary for the month. Now get out of here!"

James looked relieved and less fearful, and immediately followed his boss' orders, picking up Pikachu again (this further pissed off the pokémon, and Giovanni was rather hoping it would shock his subordinate a few times as punishment). Giovanni headed to where the Ferris Wheel was, and was confused to see Ash looking out of it in the water, holding tightly to the outer part of the Ferris Wheel with one arm and a semi-conscious Meowth in the other.

"Ash?" he called out, but she didn't respond.

He frowned. She couldn't…she couldn't be freaking out because of the water, could she? She seemed alright with it before, like at the beach. But he and the others were there last time, and who knows what triggers phobias.

Could she have developed a phobia for large bodies of water?

It wouldn't surprise him if she had, since he'd heard about the incident in Cerulean Gym with the electric water from Ash herself, and then with the whole sinking of the St. Anne. Remembering that, he flinched again, before pushing the guilt away.

It could be that she wasn't surprised and it wasn't unexpected that she'd gone into the water at the beach before. It was also not in the deep ocean and was in shallow waters, where she could safely reach land. He'd have to relay the new information to that Waterflower girl, who might be better suited to helping Ash with this…

"Ash!" he called out again, though this time she reacted a bit, looking towards him.

Her gaze cleared and he saw fear on her face.

"G-Giovanni?" she whimpered, hugging tightly to the cat pokémon and the outer part of the Ferris Wheel.

"You have to come here, Ash. Swim towards me. It's only a short distance," Giovanni said soothingly, but she shook her head and blinked rapidly, clutching harder to her anchors.

"I c-can't."

"You should've told me you were afraid of the waters," he scolded her lightly, taking tentative steps into the water and wetting his suit pants. Espeon could probably teleport her out of there, but she really needed to get over this.

"It w-wasn't so bad last time," Ash sniffled. "I-I thought I could handle it. I can't move right now."

He was waist-deep in the waters now. He was going to have to swim the rest of the way to her. Despite ruining his suit, he needed to get to Ash and she was more important than it anyway. Once by her side, he gently touched her hands.

"Come on, Ash. Just hold onto me and we'll go back to the land," he tried to unwind her arm off the railings and take her hand away from it as well.

"I'm sorry!" she burst out, sobbing. "I can't, I can't, I can't! I'm so scared. Giovanni, I'm so scared. Please, I don't know what to do."

"You have to let go of the railings," he continued to gently but hurriedly pry her hand away from the Ferris Wheel. "Ash, you need to let go. You're going to cut your hand on the metal!"

But she was shaking her head and holding onto it tighter, and he could see blood seeping from underneath her palm and a little on her arm near her elbow, where it was pressing harshly against the metal of the railings of the Ferris Wheel.

"Shit," he muttered, looking around frantically. "Ash, come on. I'm right here."

He looked over her and saw Meowth, who was watching with wide eyes. The wide-eyed thing was becoming common that day, probably no thanks to him…

"Meowth, talk to her. Do something," he gave the pokémon the order as he continued to search around for anything that might be able to help him.

"Come on, twerp," Meowth butted heads with the terrified girl. "I'm a cat, ain't I? We cats hate water. But I'm standing this, so you can too!"

Giovanni saw a tentacle in the corner of his eye, and didn't know whether to relax or not. Tentacruel rose up from the water, scaring Meowth and who cowered away from it in Ash's arms. Tentacruel reached forward and touched Ash's head, rubbing it soothingly. And then the water pokémon reached around her and rubbed her face before moving back.

Ash opened her eyes hesitatingly, seeing the tentacle hovering before her. She glanced at Giovanni, who nodded at her and reached out to grab one of her hands and lead it slowly to the tentacle. She held onto it and gently rubbed it for a bit, calming herself down as she focused on the pokémon and slowly relaxing little by little, before she sniffled again and finally moved away from the Ferris Wheel. She quickly moved to grasp Tentacruel's offered "arm" and held on tightly, as she looked at Giovanni with watery eyes.

"It's okay," he murmured, running a hand through her hair. "We're going now. You're fine."

And Tentacruel began to swim to the land, and Giovanni stayed close by to her.

On land, Giovanni allowed her to cry on him, her face hiding against his stomach as she hunched over Meowth, who let her hold onto him tightly while Tentacruel hovered in the background and gently rubbed her back.

Honestly, Giovanni should have fired the idiot who caused that explosion on the St. Anne.

"Everyone packed?" Bruno asked excitedly.

"Double-checked everything too," Lorelei giggled, rivaling Bruno's excitement.

"Blasted Giovanni. He owns Pokémon Land, and he can't even give discounts to his fellow colleagues," Lance grumbled, looking at the online receipts for the expensive tickets to the amusement park he'd had to pay for.

"Who cares?" Lorelei waved him off. "We get to see Ash in person!"

"Are we sure that's where they're heading?" Agatha made sure, not wanting to end up going somewhere that ended up being the wrong place.

"Yup," Bruno popped the 'p'. "Our video guys we have stalking her overheard them planning on flying over to there."

Lance scratched the back of his head. "They were supposed to be getting videos from the gyms, but instead we have them switching to stalking a teenager. That's kind of messed up, guys…"

"Oh boo hoo," Lorelei rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's all for the sake of the fanclub. After all, if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have gotten to get pictures and see Ash in that contest, or know she'd won. That whole thing is pretty low key after all."

"What are you guys up to?" their secretary popped her head in, and they quickly made sure their bags were hidden and out of sight.

They nervously looked at her, and Lance stepped forward.

"Nothing really. Just bored and discussing training tactics we should try out, for the next batch of challengers this year."

"Hm…alright. If you want me to get anything on that Ash Ketchum for you, just let me know and I'll see what I can do," she kindly offered them, before disappearing.

"Psh, we're good. We're doing fine on our own; we don't need your help," Bruno muttered discontentedly.

And they were so leaving there, at least for a little bit. It wasn't like they had anything to do, and was basically stuck in that place, usually training.

They were getting out, even if they had to sneak out of there.

Professor Oak nearly choked on his tofu.

Ash hadn't checked in for awhile, so he had gotten worried. Delia had been too, but Professor Oak admitted to lying to the other and reassuring her he'd been getting periodic updates from Ash, since Delia didn't have a phone for Ash to contact her. But since that wasn't the truth, Oak had gotten worried and resorted to an odd tactic.

He contacted Nurse Joy in Viridian City, and apparently he didn't have to go any further or contact any other Nurse Joy. It seemed that all the Nurse Joys were keeping contact with each other, and keeping an eye on Ash. He'd never known any Nurse Joy to keep tabs on anyone.

What was worse was that Ash had been in the news, and no one there had known. Having been sunk with an ill-fated ship that was involved with some Team Rocket plot, one would think that Pallet Town would know of one of their own being proclaimed dead, especially with one as popular as Ash.

But since she hadn't remained "dead" long before being found safe and alive in Aopulco, the focus switched from between her and the plot of Team Rocket's, to mainly focusing just on speculations about Team Rocket's involvement on the ship. And since Ash hadn't been available for comment or found anytime after, she'd been forgotten completely in the coverage, and it stayed focused on Team Rocket.

And then there was something about a Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest that she'd won, but that was a local event, that wasn't widespread or really paid much attention to. Anyone who'd care would probably be in Hoenn, considering the popularity of Pokémon Contests there, and especially with the rumor that the Beach Beauty/Pokémon Costume Contest tradition in Aopulco is what started the whole Pokémon Contests in Hoenn in the first place.

Hell, he should have given her his personal number or gotten hers, damn biases and accusations of favoritisms. The trouble this girl got into…

It was why he'd been really pressing for Gary to go with her. He wanted to make sure she was okay and safe.

He had to admit, despite trying hard to see Ash as family and only semi-succeeding enough to see her at least as a niece (sort of…barely?), that he treated her as and they acted more like friends. This he blamed himself on, since he was the one treating her as such first and she reciprocated, and it was just much more natural for them to do so.

He further laid more blame on Celebi, and more on his younger self.

What was it –forty years at least, since they became friends? On his side though. For her, it hadn't even really happened yet.

For a time, Oak had contemplated going into a scientific field that could explain more about time travel, and maybe even help him see his friend he'd made. But he quickly found out and realized, ironically through the memory of Ash herself, that his passion was for pokémon and what he should focus on. Still, he'd learned enough to know that because of the time traveling experience he'd gone through, that he'd caused a "grandfather paradox", in which there was probably an alternate timeline where he never made it back to his own time because there had been no certainty of him ever going back, and he'd ended up staying in Ash's present (or future right now). He wouldn't be who he was today there, but…

It does frequently make it into his thoughts of what it would have been like growing up with Ash, and having stayed with her.

He himself, though, had created a causal loop in how he paired Ash and Pikachu. It was standard how each trainer got a Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or a Charmander in Kanto. There were one too many trainers that year, and he'd remembered Ash had a Pikachu with her when they'd met. He'd intentionally set out to find a Pikachu, and hadn't actually showed any of the other trainers the Pikachu he had in his possession (like he had initially told Ash then). Not even his grandson had known he had. In truth, he'd made it so that those two would be together, like he'd known they would be as he'd met them as. Call it a predestined pairing if you will. He wouldn't have even conceived of the pairing, if he hadn't of met Ash and Pikachu when he was younger in the first place.

He chuckled to himself and held up a pokédex. Perhaps he should attribute this thing to her as well –since he would never have thought of it, if she hadn't of compared his sketches to her father's pokédex she kept around as a keepsake. Her own, the one he'd given her, was more advanced and he'd designed it with her in mind as well.

Ah well. That girl was a paradox of her own, while creating paradoxes.

"Sir, we need you to look at the experiment in the back. It looks…odd?" one of his assistants interrupted.

Oak scrunched up his eyebrows. "Odd how?"

"Dunno. It's not reacting the way it's supposed to. We're having a running bet on what the result of the creation will be," the other said cheekily. "Tori is hoping it'll get rid of wrinkles and make one look young again."

Oak snorted. "Don't we all want to be young again?"

Started 4/26/14 – Completed 4/28/14

Chapter Text

May wasn't usually too much into pokémon, despite her family's (especially her father's) interest in them. However, she admitted a certain like and pull towards Pokémon Contests, though she didn't broadcast that to everyone and she wasn't super fanatic about it. It wasn't a secret, of course –not among her family at least. She still wasn't all that wild about pokémon, so she wasn't crazy about those Contests either.

But due to even a small interest in Pokémon Contests, you'd have to pay attention to the annual and traditional Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest. It was a must.

And May was absolutely fascinated with the contestant named Ash Ketchum.

Ash was pretty. And she was creative too! She used a combination of her pokémon for the costume part, not just creating a costume and making her Seviper look the part, but act the part with her Espeon levitating it and making it look like it was flying, and her Pikachu hidden on Seviper's back and creating lightning effects. She used a theme to her cosplaying as well –and not just any theme, but a cool one that pulled from mythology.

And when it came to the talent portion of the Beach Beauty part, Ash's voice was sweet and clear as bells ringing. She chose to sing an unfamiliar song, but it was lovely to hear and made May want to hear her sing it to her all the time.

But what made her especially popular and stand out from the rest, was that there was a sweetness, sincerity, and simple genuineness that exuded from her, and made others want to watch her and drew attention to her.

"Are you watching that contest again?" her father entered the room, asking her in amusement. Norman hadn't personally seen the recorded broadcast of the talent show, but he knew that May had watched it a whole bunch of times already. Right now would actually be the first time he'd even really taken more than a glimpse at it, or paid any sort of attention to it.

May frowned and rewound the recorded program again. "Caroline! Dad's teasing me again," she yelled out, just as she pressed play. Ash's sweet voice played through the speakers again, as her pretty visage filled her TV screen. Seviper continued to float peacefully in the air, to the tune of the song.

"Hold on, hold on. You've got to hold on –"

"Take my hand, I'm standing right here," May murmured along, still watching the TV closely.

Norman took his eyes from the TV to his daughter, before looking back at the TV. Sighing, he ruffled her hair and walked passed her, letting her watch the recorded contest in peace.

"Are you bothering May again?" Caroline asked him in amusement. His wife shook her head and finished tying her shoes. "You need to find a new hobby, Norman. Your daughter will start to hate you. How about you start dating finally?"

Norman ignored her. "So you're going to go hiking with your boyfriend?"

"Yep. We'll be gone the weekend." Caroline hmmed as she examined herself one last time in her compact mirror. "But seriously, Norman. We've been separated for two years. Go find a girl to date."

Norman rolled his eyes, though he did glance back at the entranceway to the living room where May was still watching. Caroline noticed.

"What about that girl May keeps watching?" Caroline asked slyly. "She's pretty. I would like her."

He gave her a deadpan stare. "She's young. She's probably around May's age."

"Three years older actually," she chirped happily as she grabbed her bag. "And who cares? She's cute~" she winked at him teasingly. "I saw the way you were looking at her, Norman~ Go for it, Tiger!"

She was out the door as Norman glared at her, huffing. "Insane woman." Still, he turned to go to the living room, deciding to go watch with May.

He wondered if that was condemning him.

Ash took a deep breath and finally pulled away from Giovanni. She also let go of Meowth, who jumped away and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"D-don't get used to this, twerp! I, uh, hate water too! I was just clingin' back," Meowth sniffed. Then he glanced nervously back at the boss. He shakily pointed a finger at Giovanni. "That goes for you too, you-you nobody! Whoever you are! This never happened!" Then the cat pokémon turned and ran away.

On one hand, no one talked to him like that. On the other, at least Meowth was smart enough to not blurt out who he was and managed a quick cover up. He supposed he could praise him the next time…

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Tentacruel sinking back into the ocean, and he and it exchanged one last look before it disappeared down into the watery depths. Ash shifting had his attention brought back to her.

"I'm sorry, I got your suit all wet," Ash sniffled and reached out hesitantly, tugging at his wet clothes morosely.

He waved it off. "I can afford more. It's not even my favorite," he lightly joked to ease her worries.

Her lips twitched up. "No…that one bright orange suit is, isn't it?"

Giovanni actually blushed a little. "Er, it isn't that bright…But I do admit I have a soft spot for that suit…"

"Hey, hey –you guys okay?" they heard someone holler out to them. They looked over and saw a guy waving at them. "You guys look soaked! Need some clothes?"

Ash sneezed. Giovanni opened his mouth and she glared at him.

"D-don't even. I don't have a cute sneeze," the pout she wore ruined her angry countenance.

"Sure you don't," Giovanni said sarcastically, standing up and helping her up as well. They headed over to the guy, who led them into his store. Giovanni inwardly twitched, seeing the all casual selection, but he supposed he couldn't complain. It was better than being stuck in wet clothes, and he didn't want to "whine" in front of Ash anyway.

He selected some jeans and a plain black shirt, as Ash grabbed her own clothing. They were directed to the back and were practically shoved through a door, before realizing it was a bare empty room that only had two benches in the middle of the room and a large mirror that covered the entire back wall.

"Wait, we can't both change in here!" Giovanni whirled around and grasped at the doorknob, only to find it wouldn't open. He began to sweat nervously.

"I'm cold," Ash said obliviously, not really thinking about their situation.

Or maybe he was the one over thinking it.

He turned around to tell her, just in time to see her taking off her shirt, and he immediately whipped back around and tried to not bang his head against the door.

Could she not do this?! Or be so oblivious?!

As he continued to sweat against the door, waiting for her to finish up, he tried to console himself with the fact he was facing one way and couldn't see anything, and even if she was facing the mirror, he was completely clothed and fine.

"Done! Hey, why haven't you changed yet?" Ash asked him in confusion.

"I will," he mumbled, turning around to see her thankfully in board shorts that went passed her knees and a white t-shirt that was too big on her. Although, the way it kept slipping off her shoulder…

He marched over to her and dragged her over to the door, firmly making sure she was facing it before he decided to even begin to take off his clothes.

"Eh, what's wrong, Giovanni? Is something the matter?" she asked, even more confused as she started to turn around in worry.

"I'm fine!" he yelled out hurriedly, twitching as he fumbled with his belt. "Just stay looking at the door!"

"What? But why –"

"Just do it!" and if a tinge of desperation was in his voice, he was steadfastly ignoring it.

He finally yanked off his belt and rushed to get the rest of his clothes off and the new clothes on. He only felt relieved when he was done and could go over to Ash.

"Done," he mumbled, and reached out to grab the doorknob again. He stared in disbelief as it twisted easily. Damn it, did that bastard of a storeowner –

Unless in his panic about the situation, he had imagined the locked door and had been delusional enough that his freaking out had made him unable to discern the door actually being locked…

"Giovanni?"

He sighed and just opened the door, leading the way out.

"I don't even know anymore," he said in answer to Ash, but only just confused her more.

The storeowner sat by the counter, reading a magazine.

"Oh, you guys are done?"

Giovanni gave him a bland stare, before fishing out his wallet from his wet pants, glad at least that he hadn't been carrying cash in it. He grabbed his card and shoved it towards the storeowner, who rang up the purchases. Their wet clothes went into a plastic bag and they were getting ready to leave, when Ash had to go to the bathroom. While he waited for her, his eyes trailed over to the storeowner and he started to scowl.

The storeowner noticed and blinked. "Something the matter?"

"Did you have to shove us both into that so-called dressing room?" Giovanni growled out irritably.

"What's the matter? I thought she was your girlfriend?"

Giovanni stared at him blankly, practically frozen. Ash chose that time to come back and glanced between the two guys.

"What's up?"

The storeowner shrugged. "Eh, your man's a little slow on the uptake."

Before Ash could answer back, Giovanni grabbed her hand and started to storm out of there, stopping near a sunglasses rack and stealing one.

"I'm taking this for reparation!" he glared one last time at the storeowner, before practically stomping out of there while shoving the sunglasses onto his nose, and with Ash in hand.

"Giovanni," Ash tugged at his hand when they were some ways away.

He slowed down his pace and looked at her. "Yes?"

"You still have the tag on the sunglasses," Ash smiled in restrained amusement.

Giovanni stopped and grabbed the sunglasses, yanking the tag off before putting them back on.

"When I come back here, remind me to buy out that store," he grumbled.

She giggled at him.

Oddly enough, they ended back at the restaurant they started at. Ash's eyes lit up, especially seeing her food still there, and went back to eating as if she had never been interrupted. Brock and Misty had made it there as well, and also began to eat heartily.

Even more strange, and aggravating as well, was that Nastina's collection of men had made it to the restaurant and began to pamper an oblivious Ash the same way they had the short woman.

"At least she's being pampered," Giovanni mumbled as he watched the group of men with narrowed eyes.

Guns N' Roses "Don't Cry" blared through the restaurant and he stared up at the ceiling resentfully. He then looked at Ash before hanging his head.

He swore –if this song was prophetic, he was going to make Team Rocket self-destruct the entire world.

His phone rang and he answered it. Thankfully, the helicopter was there and he informed the others.

"Wait, don't leave us!" one of the guys said in a panic.

"Sorry, no room for all of you," he deadpanned and then went to Ash, pulling her away from the men and escorting her out of there.

Within no time, they had managed to get onto the helicopter without further interruptions, and were soon on their way to Giovanni's theme park. Soon enough, they were there and Ash squealed in excitement.

"I've always wanted to go here!" Ash nearly took off running, when Misty grabbed the back of her collar with a roll of her eyes.

"Not so fast, Ash," Misty smirked. "Aren't you forgetting the rest of us?"

She looked at them sheepishly and Pikachu mirrored her.

"Hey, are you going to catch Horsea?" Ash reminded Misty, who had been happy holding the cute pokémon.

Misty put Horsea on the ground and gently tossed a pokéball at it, easily capturing it. She then took Ash's pose, tossing a teasing wink at Ash.

"Hey! That's my Victory Pose," Ash pouted.

Giovanni ruffled her hair as he walked passed her. "Trademark it then. Until then, it's fair game," he gave her a smirk and walked on.

Ash pouted even harder, but raced to catch up to his long strides.

"Pikachu, they're all mean, aren't they?" Ash huffed.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded in agreement, crossing his arms indignantly as he sided with his owner.

"Ash, wait up!" Brock ran up to her side. He thrust a bag of chocolates at her. "Um, I got you some chocolates to cheer you up, from before."

Ash grinned widely and hugged him tightly. "You're really sweet! Thanks so much, Brock!"

Brock practically melted in her arms.

Misty ruined it by stalking over and grabbing his ear, dragging him behind her.

"Come on, lover boy."

Her two friends barreled off somewhere and Ash and Pikachu looked at each other.

"Pika…"

"What you said," Ash mumbled and they walked further into the theme park.

Giovanni was waiting for her by the entrance. He gave a small wave and she hurried to him.

"I've got to take care of some business," he said softly. "So you go on and explore the park." He took her wrist and put one of those plastic bracelets on it. "This'll let you onto all the rides for free, and eat at snack bars or get ice cream or whatever for free, alright?"

She nodded eagerly.

"I'll meet back up with you at this restaurant," he pointed at a place on a theme park map he took out and handed to her after. "I'll probably be done in an hour or two, maybe less. I'll call you."

She looked up at him happily and he squeezed her shoulder before he left. Then it was just Pikachu and her.

"Yeah, Pikachu! Let's go conquer this place!"

She dropped off most of her pokémon at the Pokécenter that was there, letting them relax and even enjoy the sort of day spa for pokémon that was there. Then she started to look around the place, with Pikachu tagging along with her and just as eager to enjoy the sights and rides with his mistress.

She saw a line for the Pokémon Tour and pointed it out to Pikachu. "Ooh, let's go on that!"

They got in line and Pikachu directed her head to the front, and she understood that he wanted to sit at the front of the ferry. After she sat down, a bulky kind of guy sat down next to her, huge sunglasses on his face.

"Uh, hello?" she smiled hesitantly.

"…Hi."

"I'm Ash!" she introduced herself a little more confidently, holding out her hand.

His huge hand grabbed hers. "I'm Br…ruce. Yes. That's right. I'm Bruce."

A little confused, Ash just shrugged it off. Just then the Gyarados ferry tour started moving and their tour guide started to talk.

"Ohhh, giant pokémon!" Bruce excitedly leaned over her and pointed out the ferry.

Ash turned just as excited. "Where? Where?"

Following where he was pointing, she 'oohed' and took out her phone, snapping lots of pictures. She and Pikachu then took a selfie, trying to get the giant pokémon as a backdrop behind them. They ended with more than a few silly ones because it was a difficult thing to do, but then Bruce stepped in and offered his help.

"Here, I'll take some pictures for you," he held out his hand, smiling widely.

She quickly handed her phone to him and posed with Pikachu, and then they were further into the tour and taking more pictures of everything, and then each other, and also pictures of them together. They were disappointed when the tour ended and they were parting ways.

"It was nice meeting you!" Ash said sincerely as she waved backwards at him, and then she was leaving.

Next she was heading towards a ride that had people strapped in, before speeding them to the top and then rushing down before abruptly stopping. Then the pattern continued and the speed upped a little bit each time. She quickly lined up.

"Pikachu, are you ready?"

"Pika, Pika!" Fires lit up in Pikachu's eyes and he pumped a paw into the air.

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Ash was shocked to find an elderly lady with a shawl around her head in front of her, and who turned to her with an indulgent smile.

"You and your Pikachu are eager for the ride?"

"Un! Definitely, miss," Ash smiled widely, and Pikachu threw the lady a v-sign.

"My, my –I'm glad to be sitting next to such a lively girl," the elderly lady gave her just as wide a smile. "Call me Agatha, dear."

"You're a really cool granny, Agatha!" Ash cheered. "I don't know any other grannies or grandpas that'd go on rides like this!"

Agatha cackled. "I'm a thrill seeker, young lady! Don't you worry about this little ol' lady!"

And when they got on the ride together, both females were howling in delight about it. Ash was thrilled to see the old lady practically chortling madly as they speedily went up and down the tower. When they parted ways after the ride, Agatha turned to her and gave a double v-sign pose with a large grin stretching her face. Then she walked away, laughing madly like a "lil' ol' lady."

Ash shook her head in amusement, before becoming startled as Pikachu leaped off of her head and ran towards a sign. He pointed at it and Ash completely agreed with his choice.

"Alright! Let's go to that water pokémon show!"

They had to race to the stadium, since the time for the show was nearing, and barely made it in time to get in. A really pretty lady with a large sunhat gave her a friendly wave and gestured to the seat next to her.

"Hi! Why don't you sit here?"

Grateful for the kind gesture, Ash quickly made her way over and sat down, before introducing herself.

The pretty lady laughed lightly. "I'm Prima. Pleased to meet you."

Ash grinned at her before facing forward to watch the show. "Ah, Misty would have loved this. I wonder where she and Brock went?"

Elsewhere…

Misty screamed in frustration, banging on the elevator doors. She rounded on Brock, who was crouching in a corner and had his forehead plastered against the metal wall as he cried a waterfall.

"This is all your fault!"

"Ash! I'm so sorry I'm not with you so we can have a wonderful amusement park date!"

Ash sneezed and wondered if that meant her two friends were thinking or talking about her.

"You have a cute sneeze," Prima hid her smile behind a hand.

Ash inwardly sighed.

Together the two enjoyed the water show, and Ash tried to discreetly record bits of it to show Misty later. When she and Prima left together, they decided to stop by a vendor and buy some drinks to cool down, and they chatted a bit about the show and of the water pokémon in it. After they finished their drinks, it was time to part ways.

"It was really nice meeting you, Prima! I hope we meet again!"

Prima just gave a smile and a wave before leaving, and then it was just Ash and Pikachu again.

"I really wonder what everyone's up to…" Ash directed to Pikachu, a little put off that everyone seemed to have disappeared.

It was nearing two hours too, and still no word from Giovanni either…

After he'd left Ash, Giovanni headed to his office there at the theme park, where he barked at the workers near (most of them Team Rocket members) to not bother him. He first changed out of the casual clothes he'd had to wear, and put on another suit. Then his first order of business was to check up on the progress in Saffron.

That gave him a rather nasty headache.

In fact, the whole ordeal lasted for nearly a whole hour before he could move on to his next task. He began the process of his takeover on Nastina's hotel project, first designing teams to do certain duties after he'd called the mayor of Aopulco to inform him of the deal with the Tentacruel. He'd have to call in to place an order for a large shipment of Super Potions, and hire a team of builders if he didn't deem anyone in his organization competent enough to manage or help build the hotel, or the Tentacool coral reef home.

When he was done with that, he finally looked at the time and grimaced. It was a little after two hours, and he hadn't even put a dent in his plans. Damn it, he forgot to call Ash too.

He hurriedly sent her an apologetic text, and a passing thought in his mind said that he was never apologetic and he was actually texting these days.

Nonetheless, it was a thought he didn't want to go further into and made him uneasy. Instead, he had Jessie, James, and Meowth come in, and he was at least glad the three was somewhat predictable in following after Ash's group, and ending up nearby. Still, they were looking at him nervously and as if he was going to eat them or something. They shouldn't be that terrified of him…

Then again, they were always getting into trouble and therefore always on the other end of his ire.

The three had shuffled into his office, bumbling as always and visibly shaking. He inwardly sighed, but refrained from showing any other emotion on his face. He first briefly praised Meowth, who preened in exaggerated bliss.

"I have an explicit order for you three," Giovanni then got right down to business, his eyes boring down on them even though he was the one sitting. "I will be…planning on accompanying that girl. You do not, under any circumstance, reveal your relation to me, that you know me, or acknowledge in any way my role in Team Rocket or that I have anything to do with the Team."

They snapped to attention and nodded their heads rapidly, all of them making promises and loud exclamations at once. He dismissed them in a hurry, feeling another incoming headache. However, James lingered after his team left, looking hesitant as he waited for his boss to acknowledge him.

"What is it, James?" Giovanni just barely stopped from snapping at the other. He was wasting time and getting even more late in meeting Ash.

James cleared his throat awkwardly before he took a deep breath.

"Sir, um, not to be a nuisance and I don't want to offend, so please don't be angry! It's just…when I was with her in the St. Anne, I lied and said I was Jameson and that really hurt her. Um…this isn't the exact same thing, but I think you'll hurt her this way too," James tried not to rush his words. "Er, not that it's any of my business!"

Giovanni frowned, but despite James' worries his boss didn't reprimand him. Instead, Giovanni waved him away and went back to his paperwork. But just as he was out the door, he heard Giovanni gruffly say, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

And Giovanni would. It was the second time someone had warned him about his interactions with Ash.

Ash stared in awe at the large rollercoaster. This was what she'd been waiting for. The big thrill ride.

"Pikachu, I think I'm in love."

"Pika~"

She and Pikachu were so alike. Ash cuddled Pikachu, who nuzzled her back happily.

The only bad part was that the ride operator was on break for half an hour, which left Ash to pout and wait nearby at some tables, which had other people waiting there as well. She also just received Giovanni's text that basically said he wasn't going to make it in time, and she felt further disappointed.

"It's alright, Pikachu. We'll wait, and thankfully there's actually no line," Ash rubbed Pikachu's head. "In the meantime, let's just wait here, okay?"

"Pika Pika!"

But inwardly Pikachu snapped his fingers while wearing a matching pout with his mistress.

"Hi, can I wait here with you?" she heard someone ask, and she looked up to see a red-haired man smile nervously at her.

"Sure," Ash gave him a reassuring smile.

He slid into a seat next to her. He glanced around a few times before turning to her, still rather nervous.

"Um, I'm…Lancelot," his smile twitched. Good thing she didn't notice though.

She, on the hand, wondered if his parents had been Arthurian fans or something.

"Nice to meet you, Lancelot! I'm Ash. Looking forward to riding the rollercoaster?" she asked him eagerly.

He gave her a fond smile. "Yeah, looks fun. Giovanni sure did a good job on this place. Expensive as hell though," he muttered under his breath the last part.

"Oh! Do you know Giovanni then?" Ash asked curiously.

Lance jolted slightly in realization. "Uh, yeah. I'm…a business associate of his," he covered up quickly.

On the other hand, he was a little surprised at how familiar it sounded like she seemed she was with Giovanni. Even with just calling him familiarly with his first name (which could be explained away with their first meeting/mock battle that had the Viridian Gym Leader interested in her), something told him that she was somehow rather close to the reticent man.

"Are you also a pokémon trainer? I know Giovanni is," she questioned him next, and he was once again struck by how familiar she was with Giovanni.

"Yes, I also train pokémon," he answered her instead of focusing on it. "I love dragon pokémon the most," he just had to add in, an eager smile spreading across his face.

Her face absolutely lit up. "Dragon pokémon! That's so cool! I've never seen a dragon pokémon before. Do you have any with you?"

Lance mentally berated himself, wishing he'd kept at least one. "I'm sorry, I don't. I left them behind in the theme park's Pokécenter. Which is rather clever of Giovanni to have added," he mused idly to himself, thinking about it.

Ash heard, nodding in agreement. "Yeah! He's really smart though, so I'm not surprised. Most of my pokémon are there too. Except Pikachu," she scratched her beloved starter under his chin.

Pikachu sounded his happiness, eyes closing contentedly. After, Pikachu tossed a relaxed grin at Lance. He laughed and reached over, patting Pikachu's head.

"He's a loyal sweetheart. Aren't you, Pikachu?"

"Pika Pi!"

Ash began shooting all sorts of questions about his pokémon and dragon pokémon in general at him, and he fervently answered and talked about them.

"You're really passionate about dragon pokémon, aren't you?" Ash asked him, sharing in his enthusiasm.

"Yes! I could even say I'm a…Dragon Master," he mentally pinched himself. No more clues, no more clues, no more clues –Damn it all, if he wasn't careful, he was going to end up blurting out who he was.

"Wow! You must be a really strong trainer," she said, impressed.

"Haha, I guess," he said sheepishly. His Pokégear buzzed and he inwardly cursed. Damn those guys –interrupting his time with Ash! He was having such a good time and talk with her. Discreetly checking it, he continued to grumble in his head as he saw the time, and realized he'd only had twenty minutes with her.

He looked up at her and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I think I'm needed elsewhere. Looks like I've got to go now. Enjoy the ride for me?"

"Sure thing, Lancelot!" he winced at his "name." "It was nice to meet you. Hopefully, since you know Giovanni, we'll get to meet again," she told him shyly.

He gave her a hopeful smile before he reluctantly got up and left her behind. And then Ash was by herself again. Well, she had Pikachu at least.

"Eh, we've got ten more minutes," Ash shrugged, addressing Pikachu. "How should we pass the time?"

"How about Electric Tag?"

Ash's head shot up so fast, she was surprised it didn't come right off her neck. But then what she saw confirmed her suspicions, and anything else went right out of the metaphorical window as she jumped up and squealed, running towards Lt. Surge with a burst of energy that rocketed her quickly his way. Pikachu raced after her, just as excited to see the electric trainer.

"Lucien!"

She jumped onto him and he caught her easily, and Pikachu scrambled up his leg, sniffing around his pokéballs and picking out a certain one. With a tap of his paw, Lt. Surge's Raichu came out of the pokéball and the two greeted each other just as loudly and enthusiastically as their humans.

"Well, those two are certainly happy to see each other again," Lt. Surge noted in amusement and Ash giggled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, going back to his presence being a surprise.

He smirked at her. "I dunno. Vacation?" he answered her smartly, and she rolled her eyes at his smart aleck response. "But seriously, I heard you were found after the St. Anne sunk, and that you were doing okay, but I wanted to see for myself. I found out where you were going to through luck actually –Vermillion City's Nurse Joy somehow knew you were coming here, so I settled up some things and headed over so I could see you. You should've called me, you know! I was actually worried."

Ash wondered how Vermillion Nurse Joy knew that.

She gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I forgot I had your number. After I woke up in the hospital, I was all out of it and then afterwards, there were just all sorts of things happening and distracting me. I'll tell you all about it, although maybe a little later. The ride operator's back!" she pointed over his shoulder, and he looked to where she was pointing. "That means the rollercoaster ride is back on! We got to hurry before the line gets huge and we have to wait in line for a long time!" Eheh, she ended up saying it like he was going to go on it for sure, with her. She should probably ask him first…

Lt. Surge gave her an answering shark-ish grin. "I got ya. I totally want to ride this monster. Giovanni sure knew what he was doing when he built this place."

He hiked her legs around his waist tighter and tightened his arms around her. "Alright, hold on tight! Let's beat the crowd."

She tightened her arms around his neck just in time for him to start running towards the ride's entrance, rushing passed the other people heading over. Luckily, Raichu and Pikachu had latched onto him beforehand.

But gosh, he was fast.

In fact, he'd managed to outrun everyone and had them first in line. Ash couldn't believe it, but then again, with how fast he had been running, she knew there was no way they were going to end up at the back of the line, or even in the middle.

"High five!" he held up his hand and she slapped it, both of them grinning in delight and eagerness. "See, no one understands adrenaline junkies like us."

Ash bobbed her head. "Uh huh. We're not crazy. Thrills are just fun!"

"Pika!"

"Raichu!"

They laughed at their pokémon, who had no problems voicing their loud agreements for everyone to hear.

After a few seconds of waiting, everything was in working order and the ride operator was beginning to let in people to find seats on the ride. She and Lt. Surge snagged seats in the very first row, sitting down right next to each other and had their respective electric mouse snugly fitted against their front, with the seat belts snapped on top and then the whole body rubber barrier was pulled down over them. It wasn't long until the ride was filled up and beginning to start. Her companion reached and grabbed her hand, and she only had time to blush and look over to see he was looking forward excitedly, before they were starting to go up and get ready for the first drop.

Her focus was on screaming then.

Throughout the entire rapid thrill ride, he never let go of her hand. Her blush never let up either.

It was also rather cute when she noted that both Pikachu and Raichu had been holding hands too, and she wished she'd been able to take a picture of those two.

Several times through the ride, she and Lt. Surge had looked at each other with large, silly grins on their faces, with both of them thoroughly enjoying the ride. And when it was over, they were both disappointed, with Lt. Surge a little more so since he'd had to stop holding her hand.

When they began walking out of the area of the ride, there was a set up where apparently they had taken photos of the riders while they were on the rollercoaster, and Ash eagerly searched out theirs. When she found it, her face quickly went back to being red. The photo was of one of the times they'd been looking at each other, though their faces had been leaning in rather close and her face was flushed. At least, she actually did get a photo of Raichu and Pikachu holding hands, all paws up in the air as the pokémon cheered on the ride.

"So, uh, you want to buy it?"

She blinked and looked up at him, and she was surprised to see him looking rather unlike his usual confident, practically cocky, self, with a light blush on his face and a hand rubbing the back of his head as he looked away from her.

"C-can we?" she asked shyly.

He cleared his throat, still not looking at her. "…Sure."

He ended up buying the whole package.

As they left there, Ash fiddled with her new keychain and kept tossing him glances. He was content to watch the floor. Their pokémon were busy playing around in front of them, racing forwards and continually tagging each other.

"You want a ride?"

She looked at him in surprise, and was even more so when he explained further what he meant. She didn't know what compelled her to accept, but suddenly she was having a fantastic view of the park around them as she rode atop his shoulders.

"You are tall," she told him in awe, as she swept her gaze all over the place.

"Hm, really? I didn't think 6'4" was all that tall."

Compared to her? Hell yeah that was.

Although, she was sure that Giovanni was 6'2"…

Why was she surrounded by giants?!

But then Ash's phone buzzed and she looked to see a message from Giovanni saying he was finally done and would head over to the restaurant so they could have dinner. A wide grin grew on her face and she directed her human ride over to the pre-planned destination, jokingly tugging at his hair to steer.

She was caught off guard when Lt. Surge stopped suddenly and looked up at her, and she bent slightly to look back at him in confusion.

"I…" he started off hesitantly. "I'm sorry."

Her confusion upped. "What for?"

He grimaced. "I should have never given you those tickets. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have ever gotten stuck in the St. Anne and in that whole mess. I'm so sorry, Ash. It's all my fault you had to be there."

Ash gave him a tender look, having not realized he'd blamed himself for all of that.

"Don't be silly," she tugged at his blond hair. "You didn't know any of that would happen and beforehand, I really enjoyed myself and had lots of fun. Don't feel guilty –I really, really wanted to go. And despite what happened in the end, I was really glad that I did get to go."

He still looked unsure, but she gave him a gentle smile and he gave in for now.

Still, he sighed to himself and wondered how Remy was doing. The truth was, he'd handed the gym over to one of his subordinates to take care of for now, while he decided he'd go on with Ash on her travels. That little scare on the St. Anne with her had been an eye-opener, and he wasn't eager to repeat the experience.

At least challengers would have an easier time winning badges off of the gym for the moment, while he was gone.

Giovanni rubbed his temples as he finally finished the last of his business plans, feeling thoroughly exhausted. Glancing at the time, he scowled terribly and tried to console himself with the hope that Ash enjoyed herself. Hopefully.

On the way to the restaurant, where he'd planned to meet Ash, he collected two wayward trainers who he had no idea had managed to get stuck on an elevator that was broken down –and even was warned to be broken down with a sign outside of it. He just gave a confused look to a disgruntled Misty and a depressed Brock, before brushing it off and going on his way, letting them silently tag along.

Now at the restaurant, a nice outdoor setting, he waited and wondered what was taking so long. But when he finally saw her, he was taken aback (and oddly a little unhappy) at seeing her riding atop some man's shoulders, though it was someone definitely familiar to him.

He and Lt. Surge traded confused and wary looks, as the blond gym leader helped Ash down from his shoulders.

"Giovanni! Look who I met at the rollercoaster ride! Lucien was there and we went on it together," Ash excitedly told him, walking quickly over to him as she grabbed Lt. Surge's hand and dragged him after her.

Lucien?

Lt. Surge was also a little shocked and unsure how to take how familiar and well acquainted Ash seemed with the most renowned and also well-noted as the most taciturn of all the gym leaders in Kanto (and as was agreed, probably in all the regions). Cold, reserved Giovanni had a soft spot for little girls, did he? He narrowed his eyes at the other, who was quick to note the action.

Giovanni merely gave a cool gaze back, as befitted the aloof gym leader.

Misty had the hugest urge to grab some popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show, darting her eyes back and forth between the two large males facing off. Brock inwardly huffed and wanted to get between the two and declare his own "claim" on Ash, when literal sparks began flying between the two men's cooled gazes, and he deflated and mentally backed down, acting like a puppy retreating with his tail between his legs. There was no way he was getting in between those two –those two were dangerous and scary.

Ash hadn't noticed their stare-off at all, too busy wondering about how Nastina's collection of male employees having found their way there and found them, and currently enjoying their continued pampered treatment.

Giovanni reluctantly broke his stare off first, if only because he wanted to check on Ash since he'd gone off and engaged in a mental war with this new opponent, only to lose control of his reaction (so unlike him) as he saw the group of men he quite clearly remembered leaving behind on Aopulco.

"What the –"

"Here you go, Miss Ash," one of them came forward, holding a tray with a pink drink that had a slice of lemon inserted onto the edge of the top of the glass and a small umbrella put in the drink. He gave a sparkling smile as he held out the tray and Ash curiously took it.

"That better not be alcoholic," Giovanni growled, forgetting about Lt. Surge and stomping over to there. Lt. Surge followed anyway, also frowning at these weirdoes and eying the drink warily.

"Mm, it's sweet! I really like it!" Ash exclaimed, pleased while being surprised.

Lt. Surge snatched the drink from her and took a small sip. "Keh, there's a tinge of alcohol in there, but not too much. It's not too bad."

They still glared at the guys, who all collectively smiled innocently back, sparkling background included behind them. Ash stole back her drink, savoring it as she awaited the waiter coming towards them cautiously, sensing a tense atmosphere and seeing the group he had to serve.

Orders were given and then they were seated completely at the table where Ash had been at, the air still stressed and thick with tension. Every once and awhile, when Giovanni and Lt. Surge weren't glaring at each other, they glanced suspiciously at the pink drink and watched Ash carefully. She seemed fine though…

They somehow missed the pokémon that were still there with the group having their own little food stand and congregating together.

"Rai Rai! Raichu!" Raichu was exclaiming loudly, holding up her drink and shaking it at Giovanni's Golem. Orange liquid splashed around violently, spilling slightly out of the glass.

"Pika…" Pikachu held up his paws and tried to calm Raichu down.

Sparks flew from Raichu's cheeks when Golem scoffed at it. "Golem!"

The humans as one leaned either backwards or craned around their table to see the pokémon, finally noticing the group.

"…Where did that food stand come from?!" Misty gaped.

"Never mind that! How's that Slowbro cooking?" Brock gawked at it.

Ash tilted her head. "Wonder what they're saying…Raichu and Golem look angry and about to fight."

Immediately, the pokémon straightened up and gave her smiles (that sometimes twitched) as they crowded together and gave half-hugs to each other and laughed nervously.

"I guess not," Ash said then, deciding not to focus on it.

The humans' focus not on them anymore, Golem and Raichu pushed away from each other from their fake half-hug, and went back to glaring. While the humans couldn't understand them, they could understand each other in their language perfectly.

"I tell you, Luc is so much better for Ash!" Raichu growled.

"Blind," Golem rolled his eyes. "It's obvious Master Giovanni is more suited to the girl. She's a delicate flower. Your owner is a brute."

Raichu almost tossed herself at the other pokémon, when Pikachu stepped in between them and was holding up his paws again to placate the other pokémon.

"Now, now –why don't we all get along and just eat?"

"Pikachu!" Raichu turned to him. "She's your mistress! Who do you think she should be with?"

Pikachu immediately turned to Slowbro, holding up a finger as he sweated a lot. "One more tonkatsu please!" he avoided the question.

"Psh, Giovanni is a cold and distant guy," Raichu started talking again. "He wouldn't know how to be affectionate with Ash."

All of Giovanni's pokémon scrunched together and loomed threateningly over Raichu, who didn't look scared at all and bared her teeth daringly back. Pikachu started sweating even more, though he thought Raichu was rather brave for standing up to all of Giovanni's large and scary pokémon all at once. And cute –definitely cute.

Meanwhile, at a nearby table, Jessie and James were poking at Meowth and trying to get him to tell them what the pokémon were saying. Meowth was sweatdropping.

"Eh…they're arguing about who should be with the twerp," he muttered in disbelief.

They also looked to their boss, who was still facing off with Lt. Surge.

"Poor boss," Jessie sighed. "Competition just strolled into town."

James pouted. "Would it be okay if I get considered to be with Ash too? Hey, maybe I can send over Koffing and Magikarp to argue with the other pokémon on my behalf."

Jessie slammed her knuckles into his head, while Meowth scratched his face.

"Idiot! Don't cause more drama, especially for the boss!" Jessie's eye twitched.

"Yeah! Who do you think you are, trying to go up against the boss! Don't go trying to pick a fight with Giovanni!" Meowth said after her.

James cried and sniffled, continuing to pout.

"You guys are so mean!"

"May! I brought some food so we can eat dinner tonight, instead of me cooking," Norman called out as he entered his home.

Hearing no answer, he frowned and left the food containers on the kitchen table as he looked for his daughter. Seeing nothing on the ground floor, he went up and looked for her in her room, only to find it empty as well. Slightly uneasy now, he searched through the entire house and then started frantically trying to contact her on her PokéNav, with her ignoring him.

He cursed and began panicking about the situation, wondering where in the world his daughter had run off to. He looked around the living room, still continuing to try to contact her, when he caught sight of a small piece of paper on the coffee table. He stopped calling on his PokéNav and just held it, while he looked at the paper.

Norman grew a headache as he realized, from the sound of her short letter, that May had run off to go looking for that pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum. In full blown panic now, he grabbed a bunch of his clothes and tossed them into a bag, and left a brief note for Caroline to tell her where he and May had gone and what was going on.

Then he was rushing out the door, and ironically realized that somehow he was reluctantly going on yet another pokémon journey.

Started 5/6/14 – Completed 5/14/14

Chapter Text

Somehow or other, the dinner dissolved into a huge fight of epic proportions that Ash didn't understand at all. Or how it had gotten that way.

It started with the pokémon.

She wasn't sure when or how, but the pokémon started fighting out of nowhere. Raichu threw a glass of orange…juice? She wasn't sure what in the world the pokémon were drinking, but all she knew was that they acted like they were drunk.

And that Raichu threw the glass of orange liquid at Golem.

Golem retaliated by using Steamroller and nearly rolling over Raichu with its rolled up body. And then Giovanni's pokémon were ganging up and attacking Raichu, who was impressively evading the attacks while ineffectively trying to shock the others. Pikachu was steadfastly focusing on his food.

He'd also excused it all as the pokémon wanting to train a bit more, on their own, as he explained to her in charades later on.

Ash doubted Pikachu, but didn't further push it. Pikachu looked frazzled enough as he was.

She was also concerned on how Giovanni and Lt. Surge having not noticed the whole thing at all. Instead, they were still locked in some sort of staring contest for some reason. And then when the wine came, they poured their glasses and kept drinking, seemingly not noticing that they kept refilling their glasses and getting into some kind of drinking contest. And soon enough, though she wasn't quite sure since she didn't have much experience in this area, but she thought they'd gotten drunk and gone from a drinking contest to an arm wrestling match.

Ash couldn't know for sure, but she didn't think Giovanni was the type to arm wrestle.

Therefore, he must've been drunk?

Why did that end up coming out more like a question…

In any case, she didn't think Giovanni got into drinking contests either. She wondered what had gotten into him, and Lt. Surge while she thought about it. The two had been acting funny ever since she and Lt. Surge reached the restaurant and met up with all the others.

She found it all too strange and decided she'd rather just focus on her food. And after that, she decided she'd go to the room Giovanni had told her he'd gotten for her earlier, in that text he'd sent her about being late to meeting her. He had explained that it was going to end up late and not a good idea to travel out, so she might as well have a room to stay in for the night and she was glad for it now. She was exhausted after practically a whole day of exploring the park, and the whole thing with the Tentacool and Tentacruel beforehand…And this whole strangeness going on now…

Speaking of strangeness, she decided against questioning Misty on why she had popcorn and was watching everyone, and Brock seemingly gotten roped into recording it all with a camcorder she wasn't sure where it had come from.

"Ah, Miss Ash, is there anything you'd like for us to do?" One of Nastina's men brightly smiled at her.

She still wasn't used to the sparkles.

"Oh, um, no, I'm good," she smiled awkwardly at them. "I'm just going to go to bed now."

"Would you like us to give you a night massage, sparkling cider in bed, or play a soothing tune to you to sleep to?" they chorused together.

She blinked. "…Um, yeah. I'm good. Goodnight."

Ash hightailed it out of there.

When she woke up the next morning, she was energized and ready to go and continue her travels. Assuming everyone was still asleep, she took a shower, ate a quick breakfast, and decided on some last minute touring of the place before she had to leave there, while leaving Pikachu behind to continue sleeping (he was being so adorable in his sleep –there was no way she could wake him up). As she was looking around, she frowned as she saw a Devon Corp. demonstration. She reluctantly drew closer and eyed some of the things that were being advertised.

Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the PokéNav. She both at once hated and loved it.

The truth was that she was a loyal Silph Co. customer. Kanto pride and all too. The PokéNav, and Devon Corporation, was Hoenn born and based.

"So, you're looking at the PokéNav?"

She turned slightly to see a young man, probably in his early to mid-twenties, coming towards her. He had light steel blue hair and pale turquoise eyes, and seemed to tread with a very confident step. The business attire he wore, seemed outfitted for him perfectly and announced that he was most probably an important person and not just a Devon employee there looking professional.

"I prefer the Pokégear," she quickly said staunchly, without any hesitation.

His lips twitched up. "Do you then? Here," he grabbed one of the PokéNav on display and handed it to her. "Play around with it a bit. Maybe you'll change your mind if you try it out," he gave her a wink.

She huffed. "I doubt it. I'll stick to my Kanto pride and stick with Silph Company," but she took the PokéNav anyway and fiddled around with it.

A smirk started to curl on his lips, and he found that he was going to have a challenge on his hands. He liked challenges.

"But as you can see, it's quite useful. Its best component, in my opinion, is the way it monitors a pokémon's status," he pointed out. He even reached over and placed his hand over hers, quickly configuring the PokéNav to that application.

A light red tinge colored her cheeks, but she remained quiet and frowning. He briefly smirked again at her reaction, but it went away as he also saw that she was still not buying into the product.

"It's something the Pokégear from Silph doesn't have, and I think is a useful tool for all pokémon trainers."

Ash glanced at him, still frowning. "You're stubborn, aren't you?"

He chuckled wryly. "Sure am, but so are you. At least you're cute."

She stopped messing with the PokéNav immediately and stared at him, nearly gaping. Was he flirting with her? Or she was just over thinking it. Maybe it was just a compliment? Unless it was both.

Urgh! Where was Misty or Brock or any of the others so she could ask them?!

She cleared her throat and tried to look at him coolly, like she'd seen Giovanni do a number of times to others. She dropped the PokéNav back into the man's hands.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she said dryly and then began to walk off.

"I'll be sure to keep trying!" he called and she turned back to him slightly, seeing him grinning widely. "The name's Steven!"

She stuck out her tongue and gave her signature pose, v-sign held up confidently.

"I'm Ash Ketchum and I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokémon Master!"

Then she flitted off, humming to herself and deciding she felt like having ice-cream then.

Steven Stone, heir to Devon Corporation and Hoenn's Champion, smirked to himself and calculated new plans regarding this product tour.

He wasn't the type to give up.

May felt uncomfortable as she rode the train. She hadn't really thought this through. It was a little spur of the moment, and she'd really just rushed out of her home without any real thought put into this crazy plan of hers.

Besides! What was Ash Ketchum going to say when May found her? If May found her…

How was the other girl going to respond when she finds out that May traveled all the way from Hoenn to Kanto, just to find her –and for what? What was May doing? What was she thinking? How was she going to explain her presence to the other female, or her reasoning why she so rashly jumped onto a train to meet someone she only knew through a TV program?

The thing was she loved the soft look on Ash's face as she stared out the screen and to the audience watching her. She loved the kindness she exuded and the way she seemed so tender and motherly towards her pokémon.

Could she be motherly towards people too? Towards May?

The truth of her family was that Caroline and her father had been happy in their youth. They were happy and they were in love. And they got married.

And then Caroline grew dissatisfied with her life.

Only, she didn't show it and couldn't understand why. She'd pushed it off and ignored her feelings, and soon enough she was pregnant with May. May knew Caroline had thought with the pregnancy, she'd feel back to normal and everything would be okay, but it just got worse. And when May was born and as she grew up, she (despite how young she was) could see and feel Caroline struggling to connect and be happy in her life, and was trying to connect and be a mother to May. Except she couldn't and didn't want to.

It was a little late in realization, but Caroline married too early and wasn't ready to be a mother either.

By the time Caroline was pregnant with Max, the truth of the matter was known and things became strained and borderline hostile between her parents. After Max was born, they couldn't even stand each other. But after awhile, realizing they had kids and they were all too aware of how May and Max needed a stable home and parents, somehow or other Norman and Caroline worked through their issues. They weren't the same and weren't in love anymore, but they were able to slowly become friends again and love each other, at least platonically.

Caroline still wasn't ready to be a mother, which just led to her and May becoming more or less like sisters and Caroline acting like a fun aunt to Max.

It was a dysfunctional family, but at least now it was an affable dysfunctional family that got along together.

Still, there was a missing piece inside of May that craved being cared for, someone to mother and look after her. She knew Max felt that way too, and that the two of them often felt lonely and disconnected.

There was no possible way or any reason why Ash would fulfill this craving in May, but she couldn't help but desperately feel this way.

It was these depressing thoughts, especially of how she felt, that continuously plagued her on her train journey. But May comforted herself by listening to Ash's voice, playing an mp3 ripped from her performance on TV, or by playing a streaming video of Ash's performance.

Glad she was alone in her train compartment, she curled up on the bed and held back tears as she listened to the song she wished was directed towards her.

"You're got to hold on," May murmured.

"I'm still irritated with you guys," Lance glowered at the other three, who didn't look at him. "You guys cut my time off! I was still talking to her!"

"Hey, you got plenty of time with her," Bruno shrugged him off. He was delighted that he'd found Ash, and was the first among the others to do so as well. As far as he was concerned, yesterday was a good day and he had done well. "Agatha was the one who had the shortest time."

"But Agatha didn't get cut off! I was still spending time with her!"

"Quit ya whining!"

Lorelei shook her head, examining the photos their two video stalkers had taken for them.

"I wish I had copies of the photos I'd taken with her," Bruno said wistfully, changing the subject as he saw what Lorelei was doing.

"I wish I'd taken pictures with her," Lorelei replied enviously, glancing at him.

Lance awkwardly shifted, hiding his nervousness and moving his Pokégear behind his cup more. Truthfully, he'd taken a candid shot of Ash before he'd come to talk to her and he didn't want to tell the others, preferring to selfishly keep it to himself.

"You three and your names though," Agatha chortled mockingly. "What were you all thinking?"

Lance and the others turned a bright red as they glared at the ghost-type master.

"We're supposed to keep a low profile," Lance hissed at her. "How could you go and say your real name? You could've been outed!"

Agatha sniffed disdainfully. "Well, it's much better than Lancelot."

His face was burning as the others snickered at him.

"Prima is a common alias of mine," Lorelei continued, stopping her snickering at Lance to frown at Agatha. "Especially around the Orange Islands. I don't see what's wrong with it."

"I came up with Bruce on the spot," Bruno muttered. "It was close enough to Bruno and I almost said my name before I luckily switched it. There's nothing wrong with it –it was a good quick fix-it."

"Let's just finish packing," Lance cut in, sighing. "We've got to go before we're missed too much back at the Headquarters."

There was a bunch of mumbling, but they all agreed reluctantly.

Ash was a bit lost. Somehow she'd made it into the woods and wasn't sure where she was.

The one thing she did know was that she kept running into the mechanical pokémon, who looked a lot less cool up close. In fact, she kept running away screaming, as she kept being nearly trampled by them.

But they were gigantic. How could she not be scared of them? Especially since she kept getting nearly squashed by each one.

Ash focused back into her surroundings, and once again screamed as she ran away from the humongous Blastoise walking her way. Without noticing, she bumped into a blond-haired muscular man, who she almost mistook for Lt. Surge. Only this guy was shorter, had a head full of blond hair darker than Lt. Surge's (with a large tuff of it off to a side), and wore different clothes than her friend. But then she heard the roar of the Blastoise, and practically scrambled onto the stranger like a squirrel.

"Run, run! It's going to trample us!"

He blinked and looked at the girl clinging onto him.

"Who are you and why are you around this place? There's no trespassing," he said bluntly.

"My name's Ash," she kept tugging at him. "Go, go!"

He rolled his eyes but started to walk on, heading towards where he knew would lead out of the forest and into the main park.

"My name is Attila," he decided to tell her, though he was glad his Team Rocket vest was off and wouldn't out who he was to the girl. No need for her to know he was a Team Rocket agent.

His shaded eyes caught sight of the bracelet on her wrist and he inwardly tensed up. He may not be as smart as his partner Hun, but he wasn't dumb. He could catch on pretty quickly, and right now he could see that this girl must be someone special and important to have one of those.

Those bracelets basically gave a free ticket to everything in the park, courtesy of the boss' favor. Mostly Rocket agents nonchalantly took advantage of the free fun and break from work, like Domino who was addicted to the place. Since this girl, clearly not a Rocket agent, had one…must make her important and important to the boss. That and her having it must mean that the boss probably gave it to her personally too, as there was no way she (not a Rocket agent) could have gotten her hands on one, unless the boss specifically and personally gave it.

He'd have to tread carefully with her.

When Lt. Surge trekked into the foyer, he hadn't expected to see Giovanni already up and apparently reading the paper as he sipped on a mug of coffee. Lt. Surge grunted his way, figuring that he wouldn't be coherent until he got some coffee in him. He'd be fine after.

Seeing a sleeping Pikachu curled up on the man's lap, as well as a Persian he didn't remember seeing the night before sleepily curled up by Giovanni's feet, he fetched himself a mug waiting by the plugged in coffeemaker near them. He could bet Giovanni had both mug and coffeemaker set nearby, so the two of them could have a much levelheaded and better confrontation than the night before.

He looked around and frowned, seeing how isolated their section was, and how no one was around. He could bet that was another of Giovanni's doings too.

"I figure privacy was best," Giovanni said stiffly, and he looked over to the man to see he was still reading the paper. Or at least pretending.

"Yeah, sure," Lt. Surge grabbed his mug and strolled over to sit across from the other gym leader. "Let's set the record straight then."

"I met her in Viridian. We had a mock battle and she basically won. She intrigued me, so I decided to help her out on her journey by buying her a custom suit and giving her Espeon," Giovanni started off. "I left her my number for emergency. She tends to text me, so I've grown used to her. She called from the hospital the morning she recovered from being found on the beach of Aopulco and I came to her aid."

Lt. Surge tapped his fingers thoughtfully on his knee. While it was news to him that Ash had been in constant contact with Giovanni prior to meeting him, and had continued to be even now, Lt. Surge decided that he could focus on that tidbit later. He was still a little miffed that she contacted Giovanni in Aopulco, and that she had thought to contact him at all, especially as an emergency contact and someone she trusted to call and felt the need to call practically first thing after waking up from some horrible experience.

"What do you mean she basically won your mock battle?" he started out easy.

Giovanni closed his paper, folded it, and then set it aside. Focusing on Lt. Surge, Giovanni's neutral face revealed nothing.

"She won against my Golem with her Pikachu, but Pikachu was exhausted after and couldn't fight further, and since she had no other pokémon, we couldn't further our pokémon battle," Giovanni explained smoothly, and Lt. Surge nodded.

"We met when she came to challenge me for a badge. I set terms on what would happen if she won or lost, and we had a very heated and charged up battle that she won," Lt. Surge explained, though he gave a heavily edited version, given the fact that he did basically got Ash into a date through a pokémon battle, and the following events were somehow not so innocent despite nothing happening.

Giovanni frowned though, still having caught something off. "What terms are you talking about?"

Lt. Surge inwardly huffed. This guy, always sharp…Well, he might as well jump from the frying pan and go all in, and leave nothing out.

"I told her if I won, she'd go out with me for the rest of the day. She won, she'd get a badge and a tour of the city," Lt. Surge started, keeping his tone bored. "Since she won, I took her out around the city to show her the sights, after we had lunch together. It started to rain and we were too far away from the Pokécenter, so I led her to my house, which was close by. We dried up, watched a movie together, and when she fell asleep at the end, I let her sleep in my bed and she ended up staying overnight," he was pretty damn sure his eyes were glittering with an undertone of slightly malicious mischievousness, letting implications of things uncertainly settle in Giovanni's head, despite whatever thoughts the man was having probably not being true.

He also probably gave a little more detail than was needed, though he couldn't help it and just wanted to get under Giovanni's skin. Get the man to react and lose his cool for once…

It probably didn't help that he was still thinking about how Ash easily turned to and thought of Giovanni, back in Aopulco.

And damn it all, that just made him want to give even more details, to show off his own time with Ash against whatever pull Giovanni had with her.

Lt. Surge carefully eyed Giovanni's clenching fists, which had started the motion when Lt. Surge had finished with his reply. He'd tensed up and was ready to evade in case Giovanni decided to lash out at him, but the slightly older man seemed to have refrained from any such actions. Instead, Giovanni took a deep breath and stared blankly back at the other, and Lt. Surge had to mentally clap at the man's excellent poker face.

"Why are you here?" Giovanni asked, with just the bit of sharpness in his voice. "I don't suppose you showed up all of a sudden just to say hi to her."

Lt. Surge shrugged. "No, I hadn't. You are correct about that. Actually, I figure I could travel along with her. One of my gym trainers will take over in the meanwhile, and I had hoped I could have told Ash about it last night."

Giovanni's eyes flashed and for a moment Lt. Surge was reminded of moments in the war where he'd been just about close to being fatally attacked, and instinct had him bracing and ready to defend just like in the good ol' days. But Giovanni merely curled his lip slightly.

"Was that so? I don't suppose you could have a good reason for just…abandoning your gym just like that, do you?" the ground-type leader unmistakably held a quiet undertone of mocking, but Lt. Surge brushed it off easily.

In kind, the lieutenant answered with heartfelt honesty instead. "For all intents and purposes, Ash could have very well died on the St. Anne then. In the brief time that I came in contact with her and came to know her, I connected with her on such a surprising level. Her near miss scared the hell out of me," Lt. Surge said bluntly. "It was an eye-opening experience. I felt like I needed to come and…just spend time with her, watch over her or something…"

The blond was caught off guard by Giovanni's reaction to his reply, the older man visibly (but not too obvious) slumping a bit and looking off to the side with a discontented air.

"…That was a rather scary affair, wasn't it…Close…too close…" Giovanni murmured to himself, reminded of how upset he had been of that whole thing, and was still upset by.

Lt. Surge made a noise of agreement, though he knew that Giovanni had not intended to have him hear that, much less directed it to him.

"There's also that I blame myself for handing her the tickets in the first place," Lt. Surge winced. "If I hadn't handed those tickets to her…"

Giovanni surprisingly snorted, though it was still in derision. Even more surprising was that Lt. Surge couldn't tell if it was towards him or unexpectedly towards Giovanni himself, especially given that Giovanni was more likely to be directing his derision towards others.

"Don't be daft. If anyone was to be blamed…I would certainly have more blame and responsibility for it…" Giovanni muttered tiredly, suddenly looking drawn. Before Lt. Surge could open his mouth to ask just what Giovanni meant with that, Giovanni was continuing and directing his attention to something else. "I will also be accompanying Ash for near the same reasons. I've been working on getting my affairs settled since yesterday, in order for that to happen. I'd hoped to inform her of it last night as well…but I was just as preoccupied as you."

The two shared sheepish looks, though Giovanni would never admit to it.

"If anyone were to ask along the journey, what should we introduce ourselves as, in relation to her?" Giovanni asked him curiously, wondering what the other man would have to say to that.

Lt. Surge smirked. "Bodyguard. You?"

Giovanni thought on it and then answered nonchalantly, "Sugar Daddy."

That was the unfortunate moment Lt. Surge was taking a sip of his coffee. Somehow he avoided spitting the dark liquid out, but he choked on his coffee instead. After suffering a bout of harsh coughing, he refocused and stared incredulously at a blasé Giovanni, who was sipping at his own coffee calmly.

"How can you be so composed?! And…y-you're joking, right?"

Giovanni's eyebrows furrowed and he looked intently into his coffee mug. "Hm…no, actually. After contemplating it, I find it the best course of action to deter others away from her from the onset. Plus, I expect reactions to be quite similar to yours, and that such a title itself –never mind the words –would put people off, along with such connotations associated with the title and relationship included, although such a relationship doesn't quite exist," being that though they weren't like that, Giovanni admitted that he was eager to spend his money on her and allowing her to spend his money however way she wished. "However, the title sounds so demeaning," he added as an afterthought.

Lt. Surge twitched slightly.

This man was so unpredictable…

"I suppose that would make me the next line of defense," he said dryly. "And if the physical approach doesn't work out, I guess we just throw our hapless rock trainer at them then."

Giovanni rolled his eyes. "I suppose Brock's over the top-ness will need to keep the determined bunch away. Though on him…I'm quite surprised. I had heard he was an insatiable, hopeless flirt. To find him…not so flirty with every other girl is odd."

"Minus Ash," Lt. Surge scratched his head. "I suppose kid's in love for the first time or something," though the idea rubbed them the wrong way as soon as it was mentioned.

"I think it must be time to find Ash and get ready to head out," Giovanni stated, after glancing at his watch. "I think she'd appreciate getting back on track with her pokémon journey."

Just as he finished saying that, the entrance to the foyer opened and said girl came in…attached to a familiar blond subordinate that was supposed to be on duty in the woods.

Attila was not ashamed to admit to feeling fear as he entered into the foyer of the private hotel of the theme park and coming face to face with his boss, whose face briefly looked thunderous before being wiped blank of any emotion.

He was more than understanding of the fact he was not supposed to be there with the girl and especially be near her, much less touch her. With a single look from Giovanni, Attila just knew that he wasn't supposed to have ever come into contact with the girl.

He wanted to run away as fast and as far away from there as he could right then.

It wasn't helping that the girl was still latched onto him in her frazzled state. He gained the urge to hurriedly pry her off him and take large steps away from her, in order to heel to his self-preservation instincts. He reluctantly headed towards his boss with the girl in tow, and inwardly prayed that he wasn't going to be thrown to the gallows.

"Sir, I found this girl lost in the forest surrounding the park," was all he could sufficiently explain with.

To his surprise and disbelief, the girl named Ash slid off of him and latched onto the Team Rocket Boss, sniffling as she clutched onto Giovanni's sleeve, who amazingly didn't seem to mind.

"I got lost and then all the gigantic pokémon were chasing and trying to eat me," she mumbled. "It felt like I was surrounded by a whole bunch of Godzillas."

The blond situated nearby snickered and Ash tossed him a pouting scowl.

"It's not funny. I almost got eaten. Or at least trampled on."

Giovanni brushed her short raven hair back almost absentmindedly. "Don't be silly, Ash. They're mechanical. They don't eat at all, much less humans."

"Just wait until they mutate into biomechanical AIs," she muttered, and that drew chuckles directed at her from all three, even reluctantly from Attila (who still worried about his safety).

The unknown blond, who sort of looked familiar now that Attila thought about it, glanced at Giovanni and then at him with a moderately disinterested but knowing look, and Attila stiffened up as he noticed.

"We'll leave you to it then, Giovanni," the blond said casually. "Come on, Ash. Let's get all your stuff packed up and ready to go, alright? And hey! Guess what? I'm gonna travel with you for awhile."

"What? Really?! That's great!" and the two's voices slowly began to fade away the farther they left them behind, with the Pikachu that had been on Giovanni's lap having been scooped up into Ash's arms.

Attila's eyes moved from watching them walking away, to finally looking at his boss. He gulped at the steely glint in the man's eyes and began to fidget.

Inwardly, he cursed that unknown blond for leaving him alone with the Rocket Boss.

Giovanni admitted that the night before was a complete disaster, and he was ashamed and horrified to recall it, more so having experienced it at all. To have gotten so worked up that he'd all but declared war on Lt. Surge, as well as horrifically getting drunk like he had. And then he had nothing to say about how he'd arm wrestled his fellow gym leader, so completely unlike himself.

And Ash had seen all of that!

He didn't blame her for leaving like she had. If he had known things would end up like that, he would have left the gathering before it had even started.

He didn't know how or when, but somehow he'd made it to his private suite there. And when he'd woken up in the morning, he had a horrible headache and a fascinated horror at his recollection and of what he'd done the night before.

Before he could get started on setting things right, he decided he needed a nice long shower, which would probably wake him up further, refresh him, and hopefully get rid of the blasted headache he was suffering with.

Then he had contacted Ariana and Archer, his topmost serious and high-ranking officers, and had them send over Persian, who he had overlooking things in his absence while he'd gone off to see to Ash in Aopulco. He'd made sure to reaffirm their roles, along with Dr. Zager, while he was going to be away, making sure to firmly reiterate that Archer was in charge of the organization as a whole, while Ariana would be handling field operations and Dr. Zager the in-organization projects and the man's usual research and developmental schemes. Ariana and Dr. Zager would head their fields but report to Archer, who would only report to him if there were emergencies or unless Giovanni called in. Otherwise, Archer was semi-free to use his own judgment to make decisions.

It all made Giovanni a little uneasy to leave his organization in others' hands, but at least with Archer he'd known the other for a long time and if anyone could be considered his second in command and right-hand man, it would be him.

Still, power went to people's heads, and he could only hope that the three didn't start to fight over control of his organization. Despite handing over temporary control and venturing on Ash's pokémon journey with her, he would definitely have to check in often and keep as much of his presence in the neck of things, despite not being completely present to deal with it all. It also wouldn't do for them to not just fight amongst themselves, but get it into their heads to try to usurp him and take control of his empire.

He was still hoping that despite their built power structure that the three wouldn't end up like the first and second Triumvirates of history.

And he wasn't inclined to be Julius Caesar. Or Marc Antony for that matter…

Finishing off with them, he let out his Persian from his pokéball and allowed the feline to travel beside him as he headed out of his suite. He'd only just opened the door when he caught sight of a still practically asleep Pikachu, an arm up and a paw still moving as if in the motions of knocking…despite there not being a door to knock on anymore.

Giovanni sighed and picked up the electric pokémon, who snuggled into his arms.

"And this is probably why your mistress left you behind –so you could keep sleeping. You could have looked for her later, when you were more awake, you know."

But Pikachu was right back to sleep, ignoring him and slightly snoring.

His Persian purred and gave him an amused look, to which he gave him a dry one back. He shook his head to himself and continued on down.

Considering this was the private hotel that he more or less reserved for either his Rocket agents or for business associates, acquaintances or contacts that he was personally hosting, it was relatively easy to keep the foyer of the hotel empty and a space in the corner isolated. There were no other people rooming in the hotel, aside from Ash and her friends and a few Rocket agents straggling around or were out and about (and most should be working), so there weren't anyone that needed to be worried about walking about and interrupting the talk he was planning on having with his fellow gym leader.

He had a coffee machine set nearby, poured himself a mug, and maneuvered around to sit down and settled the sleeping Pikachu onto his lap, with Persian comfortably settling himself by his feet. Personally, he was hoping this would go over much better than last night had.

He hadn't needed to wait long until Lt. Surge made it down. He waited until said man had his own mug of coffee and had sat down from across Giovanni before he started. And then he'd told the other how he'd met Ash, only to hear Lt. Surge's version of events.

He'd caught something off when he'd mentioned something about terms, but when the blond had elaborated, Giovanni strangely felt a surge of hate and fury while his mind started conjuring images and speculations about what might have gone on while those two had toured Vermillion City, but most especially at night when Ash had been alone and had slept over the man's home.

His hackles had risen immediately and violently.

Giovanni had to do his utmost best to calm himself down, only to nearly lose it again when Lt. Surge revealed his plans to travel with Ash. However, it had helped when Lt. Surge brought up his reasons why, and Giovanni was once again attacked by unfamiliar (although starting to, at the rate he was going) stabs of guilt and remorse that he did his best to again not get too into.

He didn't like his emotions running amok like this, but Ash seemed to be unknowingly but easily playing puppeteer with him.

Revealing his similar plans to travel with Ash, he brought up introductions. It wasn't like the two of them could just outright say who they were, being that they as veteran and well-known gym leaders (with Misty actually being the equivalent in rank as being a junior trainer in a gym, and Brock only being slightly more capable and a little more known than Misty, having actually really outright run his own gym and for a few years). It would also be questionable as to why they, being who they were, would travel along with the group.

Especially with a teenage girl.

Giovanni wasn't naïve enough to not know how that would look to others, and how incredulous it would seem they would be traveling with her especially because of who they were. So a simple title to introduce themselves as, to avoid having to say their recognizable names, and also serving as a one-word explanation as to their roles relating to her…even as off-putting as they might be. Although, on the other hand…

He was, admittedly, looking forward to people's faces and reactions once Giovanni announced his chosen title, especially if they were anywhere near Lt. Surge's. He could admit to a twisted sense of humor.

He was also hoping that people (read: other guys) would back the hell off, once he and Lt. Surge announced who they were. Both he and Lt. Surge were physically imposing (and probably intimidating even without their physical bulk), so that would help –Lt. Surge as a bodyguard would then imply a physical capability that should further scare them off.

His title would imply Ash's unavailability and that she was off limits. N-not that she actually was! It was just better this way, to keep guys away and their attentions off of her. Just like she'd wanted and had been trying to do on her pokémon journey. Yes. Right. Exactly.

In any event, he hadn't expected for one of his subordinates to come waltzing through the front doors not too long after, and accompanied by Ash herself.

Giovanni did not want Ash coming into contact with any of his other subordinates. At all. James, Jessie, and Meowth were unavoidable, but at least they not only knew better than to connect him to Team Rocket, they had firsthand orders.

If Attila messed up Giovanni's anonymity in any way…

In fact, he didn't want anyone else from his organization coming into contact with Ash ever again. Not after the whole St. Anne fiasco. As far as he was concerned, he would keep Ash as far away from any Team Rocket dealings as he could; he was damned sure going to keep Ash and Team Rocket separate. And especially keep her from finding out who he was…

He also didn't like that Ash was clinging onto the other man.

He quickly dealt with Attila before dismissing him, rolling his eyes as the other scrambled out of his sight. Then he stood and went to search for Ash, Persian loyally following by his side. When he found her room, he could see Lt. Surge sitting cross-leggedly on the floor and Ash animatedly talking as she moved around excitedly around the room as she talked about the other accompanying her. The blond was the first to notice him and gave a nod, before standing up and bringing Ash's attention to the lieutenant's actions.

"I believe someone wants to talk to you," Lt. Surge said neutrally, giving a brief grin to her before ruffling her hair and then passing her to the door. He brushed passed Giovanni, exchanging a look with him.

"Truce?" he muttered.

"Truce," Giovanni muttered back.

And then Giovanni was left alone with Ash, who was looking puzzled at him, although she was smiling. His Persian purred delightedly and glanced between him and her, before giving him a smug look (he knew his Persian and damn well could translate every single look that feline threw at him, which more often than not was on the teasing side). He ignored his feline pokémon.

"So, all set?" he started, glancing about.

"Yup! Totally ready!" Ash exclaimed enthusiastically.

A brief fond smile crossed his lips.

"Yes, well, I just wanted to inform you, in light of being unable to last night, that I'd been making preparations since yesterday so that I could come along with you in your travels," he informed her nonchalantly, trying not to make a big deal out of it. "Of course, if you don't mind my company –"

He had no warning before her slim body crashed into his and she was hugging him tightly. His face felt hot, but he wasn't admitting to blushing. He wasn't. Not really. Maybe. A little.

Giovanni coughed and gently pried her off of him slightly, putting a little space between them.

"I guess that's an okay then."

"It's great! And instead of sending pictures to each other, we can take pictures together! And we can even do more mock battles and I can take a sneak peek at your pokémon and you can see me battling for real –"

His lips twitched in amusement and he reluctantly cut her off from her excited rant.

"Well, we'll certainly have a lot of time for all of that. But first we'll need to leave here and head out. We should probably go to the park's Pokécenter to retrieve your pokémon first."

"You're right! We should go now; I'm all done here," Ash picked up her bag, which Giovanni took from her and carried himself.

She blushed slightly, which Giovanni took note of pleasingly, though she didn't say anything, and Pikachu just happily found his perch on top of her head. It was his spot after all.

He kept the door opened for her and closed it after he went through after her, and Persian decidedly walked in between the two.

"Who's this lovely?" Ash's eyes lit up at seeing his Persian, eagerly reaching down and rubbing Persian's head. Persian was infinitely pleased and moved his head up, nudging her hand for more. Ash granted his request, and Giovanni had the thought that she was a little cat burglar, this girl. Excusing that pun, it was irony that he was the head of an organization that stole pokémon, and this girl was more than capable and close to stealing his pokémon.

"This is Persian. You could say he was my unofficial starter," Giovanni revealed fondly. "I rescued him when I was a child."

When he looked to see Ash, she was looking at him admirably. He felt his face heat up again.

"Anyway, shall we?" he held out his other arm, the one not occupied in holding her bag, and crooked it so that she could hook her arm around his. He started to lead the way to the foyer, to which he could see it was empty and assumed that Lt. Surge was most probably heading to the Pokémon Center as well.

"I'm not sure how to take this."

"Me either."

Lt. Surge and Misty shook their heads, while Brock scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. All three gym leaders (well, two and half), stared at the monstrosity of a bus in front of them. It was obviously owned by Nastina –or at least it had at one time, and was now permanently governed by "the Harem Club."

They needed a group name and that was what the three of them decided on.

Anyway, it had been owned by Nastina –if the huge, ugly picture of her on the side of the bus said anything about that. But the Harem Club were already well on their way from rapidly scraping and washing off her face from the bus, while another of the group was well on the way to replacing the former picture with…Ash's.

"I'm pretty sure Ash would be…weirded out by this," Misty cringed.

"I don't know. I'm getting vibes that this means…we get a party bus to travel in!" Brock started to grin. "That would be so awesome!"

Even if they had to travel with those weirdoes.

Lt. Surge tilted his head, looking at the huge bus in deep thought. "Well, we certainly won't be lacking any room for people or things."

"That's if we need so much room," Misty glared at him. "After all, it'll be just Ash and me."

"And me!" Brock interjected, and while Misty turned her glare on him, she didn't refute his claim.

"Sure, little girl. Whatever you say," he just grinned patronizingly at her. "I'm just here for Ash anyway, runt."

Misty bristled and was about to go on a rant, when she caught sight of Giovanni and Ash heading towards the Pokécenter. At the same time, Brock's Ash Radar went off and he found her at the same time as Lt. Surge followed Misty's line of sight and saw them too. He sighed as he saw them together, but brushed it off and resolutely headed towards them.

"Hey, wait for me!" Brock jogged to catch up to his long strides.

Misty growled and hurried to catch up to the imbeciles she was surrounded with.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Giovanni thanked the park's Nurse Joy politely.

Ash was too busy gaping at her, and staring with wide eyes.

"They're everywhere," he heard her mutter. "Are they all clones?"

He'd been about to correct her about the "They're everywhere" comment, considering they were only in Pokécenters, and he knew she wasn't being literal and his sarcasm would probably go over her head…but her comment on the Joys being all clones nearly made him actually burst out into laughter (which wasn't normal for him) and derailed his reply. It was a hilarious observation and he'd been caught off guard by the comment and what she'd said in the first place.

And honestly, when he was younger, he'd wondered the same thing…

"You're welcome, Mr. Rocketto," Nurse Joy smiled at him, handing him Ash's pokéballs, considering the girl was still weirded out.

Ash tugged at his sleeve. "Giovanni, why are they all the same?" she muttered.

Giovanni was spared from answering (he didn't have an answer either, despite the fact that he actually had a TR project set aside to investigate this phenomena), when Nurse Joy chuckled and patted Ash's hair fondly, causing Ash to turn red but happily let the nurse.

"Genetics are odd stuff, aren't they?" Nurse Joy shrugged, directing her smile full force at Ash. "I was asked to tell you the others you've encountered have said hello, while Viridian Joy wanted to make sure you weren't jumping into waters and catching colds."

Ash's face turned a darker shade of red, but Giovanni was blinking. They were…they were all contacting each other and talking about Ash? Because from the sound of this Nurse Joy, it seemed like they were keeping tabs on her…

"Oh! I almost forgot –Professor Oak called and sounded like he really needed to talk to you, Ash," Nurse Joy suddenly remembered.

Both Giovanni and Ash simultaneously looked at each other, and then looked at Nurse Joy.

"Professor Oak?"

Started 5/16/14 – Completed 6/7/14

Chapter Text

Norman sighed as he was jostled a little by the speed of the train he was on. In order to catch up to May, he'd taken the express train, which would at least let him set foot on Kanto soil a day or at least half a day behind May, who had taken the regular overnight train to get there (and which took a minimum of two and a half days to reach Kanto, while his train took one and a half to two days). Unfortunately, the express train, while it had individual compartments, didn't have beds and was even faster than the bullet train May was on.

Damn it, what was that girl thinking? What was the point of all this? He just couldn't see why May would do this, or even think of just running away for whatever strange reason that got into her head, which he was totally clueless about anyway.

May had never been one to be reckless. That made this whole thing absolutely absurd and uncharacteristic of his daughter, who had seemingly just got up and left.

Norman knew that their home life was unusual and truthfully kind of messed up for the past few years or so. He didn't know if that had any factor to May seemingly having snapped, but regardless, he knew he had to somehow make up for it and try even harder than before to be there for his kids, and do what he could to help them through this. It wasn't their fault Caroline and he had gotten like this, and they shouldn't have to suffer for it. It was unfair.

But it was also true that nothing could be done about it, and Caroline and he couldn't be salvaged anyway. Especially not now that she was happy with someone else; he couldn't keep clinging onto the past, to the 'what was', and more so when he didn't even feel the same way anymore. It wasn't fair to anyone, and he had to let go.

Maybe Caroline was right. He should try dating again…

But definitely not with Ash Ketchum. No way –absolutely not.

Not even with how cute she was.

Professor Oak scooped some noodles into his mouth as he narrowed his eyes at the experiment. True to what his assistants had been telling him, it was acting up. He had yet to figure out if it was a good thing or bad thing yet, so he was reserving judgment and keeping an eye on it.

Suddenly, the phone rang and he fumbled a bit, almost dropping his soup on himself as he was startled by the telephone ringing. He hurriedly put it down and rushed to pick up his phone, answering it quickly. Seeing the caller's predicament as well as hearing the poor man panicking, Oak reassured the other he'd get help immediately and have the other back to normal in no time. Ending that call, he contacted the Viridian Joy, assuming that she was the one in charge of the whole "Watchtower Ash" project (he wondered if the Joys were Justice League fans or something…) that she had told him about, regarding the whole keeping an eye on Ash thing going on with the nurses.

According to her, the Nurse Joy in the Pokémon Land's Pokécenter had relayed to her that Ash was currently staying there, though could be leaving any time that morning. Since she hadn't been in yet to pick up her pokémon, so while he hadn't been able to talk to her right then, Pokémon Land's Nurse Joy would tell Ash he needed to talk to her and have her patch through to him as soon as she got there. A little disappointed in missing out talking to his friend, as well as helping out his distressed caller of course, Professor Oak agreed to wait and hung up. He reluctantly went back to his much cooler noodle soup, forcing himself to finish it anyway.

It was, thankfully, not too long after that Ash contacted him and he could see her face filling up his screen. Only that he could see Giovanni Rocketto surprisingly next to her, and he had no idea how the two knew each other or when they'd come into contact. Plus, given Giovanni's usual disposition and arrogance, he was surprised the two got along at all, much less that the other man was taking the time to be near her. And by the proximity of the two and the way their bodies were situated together, it seemed that not only were they familiar with each other but friendly too.

Come to think of it, Pokémon Land was owned by Giovanni. He wondered if there was a connection with Ash currently staying there.

Oak decided he'd need to get a full report of Ash's journey, starting from the beginning, from Viridian Joy. He somehow didn't doubt that she'd know more than she should either, along with the other Joys.

The fact was that Giovanni wasn't the sort of man that dealt out kindness on a regular basis, or paid any attention to any others unless he had to or they somehow held his interest (which usually lasted very briefly anyway). He was, arguably, mainly polite (if abrupt), but also arrogant and could get rather nasty if one irritated him or more likely when one straight out angered him. He was mostly a very cold and distant person that dealt with others with an indifferent and/or haughty attitude that put off many a people from interacting with him willingly.

Which confused him on how and why Ash seemed to be happy and comfortable with him, and why Giovanni in return seemed to be patiently content by her side and looked rather relaxed and not as abrasive as he usually was –and dare Oak think it, Giovanni seemed even fond of Ash, from the way he could read the barely shown emotion on the man's face.

He felt rather uneasy about Giovanni's unusual interest and, he was guessing, closeness with Ash.

"Hi, Sam!" Ash greeted, forgetting to once again use his title.

He chuckled and gave a small wave, deciding to push his thoughts to the side for now. "Hello, Ash. I see your journey's going well?"

"It's great, Sam! I'm having a lot of fun and I've met a lot of people," Ash told him eagerly. "Like my friend here! This is Giovanni, Sam. Giovanni, meet the famous Professor Oak!" That definitely struck a chord with Oak, who got confirmation that the two knew each other and were close of all things. Odder that Ash could even call the other a friend, and that Giovanni didn't refute such a claim.

He saw Giovanni give him a short nod, and Oak returned the greeting with a nod back, mind whirling with thoughts again. No, no, no –he needed to focus.

"Anyway, this is unfortunately not a social call, Ash," he became serious. "A friend of ours, Bill, has somehow been trapped into a pokémon body. I wasn't clear on this since he was panicking. Anyway, I heard you had an Espeon with the ability to teleport and was hoping you'd go to help him out. You remember where he lives, right? Your Espeon will be able to know the place from you, and you could go there."

"Ah! Bill's in trouble like that? Of course I'll go help him!" Ash agreed in determination.

"Wait, we're teleporting?" Oak heard someone yell from behind the two in front of him. "Aw man. So we can't take the jumbobus?"

"Jumbobus?" Giovanni muttered in confusion and scrunched up his eyebrows, turning slightly to face the caller. "What jumbobus are you talking about?" he asked as he drifted away from Ash and irritably towards the trio some way behind them (and there was Giovanni's common irate attitude).

Oak stared as he saw the two gym leaders and one gym trainer, and wondered if Ash was collecting gym leaders as well as gym badges (Brock, Lt. Surge, and Giovanni being three, and Misty was a sort of).

"So where'd you get an Espeon?" Oak asked, changing gears to focus on Ash. It was awhile since he'd talked with and seen her, and he missed their talks. "It's amazing you have one, especially as they're not really common among these parts. Although, I wish I could have found out about that from you, instead of a Nurse Joy."

Ash beamed at him, wearing a happy smile. "Giovanni gave her to me! She's real sweet and protective. Sorry about not telling you, but I didn't think I could just call you just because."

"Forget about it," Oak said casually, waving a hand. He grinned. "Call whenever you want. In fact, I'll give you my cell number instead."

To hell with it. If he gets called out on favoritism, it shouldn't be surprising that it was Ash. It wasn't like it wasn't common knowledge (around Pallet at least) that the girl was a favorite of his. She was always around his lab, before she went on her journey, and it wasn't like he hadn't been seen around her all the time. His grandson was a known friend, a very close friend at that, and he'd known her mother for a long time, though he wasn't sure whether he'd gotten drawn to Delia because he'd met Ash when he was younger or not. It still made him confused and uneasy thinking about that, and again made him remember the time travel theories he'd tortured himself with back in his younger days.

They caught up a bit more, mostly with Ash asking about Oak and what he was up to, and he just resolved to find out what had happened with her with the Joys, and just allow Ash to take control of the conversation while he basked in her long-missed enthusiasm.

When their talk finally ended and he'd hung up, he found he was missing her already. He sighed.

The place just wasn't the same without Ash hanging around and keeping him company.

When Ash hung up with the professor, she frowned to herself and worried about her researcher friend. Well, make that friends. Professor Oak seemed unusually subdued, and she also wondered what sort of trouble did Bill get himself into.

Still frowning, she turned to her traveling group (she was still really giddy about both Lt. Surge and Giovanni joining her). Right at the moment, Brock was excitedly explaining something to Giovanni, who had his eyebrows scrunched together as he listened to the rock trainer and watched him with a confused and wary look. Lt. Surge was mildly listening near them, lightly smirking in amusement, while Misty was pinching the bridge of her nose and looking like she wanted to just jump off the nearest bridge.

"What's up?" she asked as she walked towards them.

Giovanni turned his attention to her, looking disgruntled and his lip curling.

"Brock was just telling me something about those empty-headed boys that Nastina used to own having maneuvered a large bus onto the island and into the theme park. I'm guessing it is their mode of transport."

Ash felt excited about it too, and wanted to see it for herself…but decided not to say or do anything about it, considering Giovanni's irritated composure and the fact he looked ready to go out himself and send the guys flying off of the island in a very violent way.

Ah! Poor Giovanni looked so irritated…Maybe a hug would help?

Ash hesitantly sidled up to him and hugged him around his middle, causing Brock to pout and Lt. Surge to straighten up a bit, frowning slightly, and Giovanni to snap into a ramrod state and look down at her with wide eyes. Misty watched, wavering between amusement and getting irritated herself. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to make a big deal out of everyone's stupid reactions, or to quietly continue laughing at the guys in her head and enjoy their misery. She was supposed to help Ash out with guys and stuff…but she suppose this group was alright…

"It's alright, Giovanni! We have more important stuff to worry about," Ash smiled up at him.

While Giovanni uncomfortably stood still in her arms and tried to not think about how cute she looked, especially smiling at him, the rest of the group noted what she said closely. Ash elaborated to them, and they all got ready and made sure they had everything, including their pokémon, with them. Ash called out her Espeon, who glanced knowingly in Giovanni's way, and without further ado they teleported straight out of there, never mind the group of guys determinedly waiting outside with their finished masterpiece.

The first view for the group was of a large lighthouse. It towered over them and their surroundings and took up the majority of the scenery. Since there was still a little bit of daylight left, the lighthouse's lamp wasn't lit up. Aside from that, there were only trees and the cliff the lighthouse overlooked, as well as the ocean waters beyond.

Ash pointed at the lighthouse. "That's where Bill lives."

"He's a really famous Pokémon Researcher, isn't he?" Misty asked.

Brock was a little curious, but he knew a little more of the man than Misty. Lt. Surge and Giovanni were definitely more familiar with the researcher, especially Giovanni who had read some of the man's books and research papers, but neither had met the man in person.

"Un! Bill's responsible for the creation of the Pokémon Transfer System, that Dr. Akihabara refined and made for universal use. He lives here, but I think he's got his Sea Cottage north of where you live, Misty," Ash noted, randomly remembering that.

The others rolled their eyes at that, but didn't bother to tease Ash for once.

"He's also widely regarded as an expert in many fields," Giovanni added. "He's done extensive research on a variety of things, hence how renowned he is and how many look up to and also seek his advice on many pokémon matters. I believe he is also known for his large collection of both common and rare pokémon."

"Wow, Giovanni. You know a lot about Bill! Are you a fan?" Ash asked, surprised how much her older friend knew of the researcher.

Giovanni shrugged, making the others (minus Ash) feel very odd at continuing to see a more "human" side to him.

"Not really, per se. I have many of his works, especially if it is in a field I am interested in, so I'm familiar with Bill Sonezaki," he explained patiently to her.

"Aa, I got ya…Oh, he's also lactose-intolerant," Ash once again randomly stated.

The others sweatdropped.

They started their trek up the slope to the lighthouse, when they were confronted by a small Krabby.

"It's kind of cute," Misty smiled at it.

Ash bobbed her head in agreement. "It is! It's so small." Though when she reached out to pet it, it snapped a claw at her and frothed challengingly at the mouth. Ash blinked.

"Are you…challenging me?" she asked it, ignoring the others who were trying to get her to get away from it.

"Not so cute after all," Misty muttered, eying the thing warily.

Krabby just frothed some more and snapped both claws Ash's way. Ash huffed and a fire lit up in her eyes.

"I accept your challenge, Krabby!" she declared as she snatched up a stick.

Lt. Surge held her back. "Er, aren't you going to use one of your pokémon?"

"Pika Pika Pi!" Pikachu added his two cents, tapping her head with his paws in reminder.

"No way! This is an honor duel! This Krabby challenged me personally!" Ash thrust out her stick towards the Krabby, who parried in a panic (that was way too close for its liking). "En garde!"

And so the duel began.

"I didn't know Ash knew fencing," Misty commented about Ash's use of that term.

"She looks like she's holding a katana than a foil," Lt. Surge replied wryly.

"Since it's a stick, I'd say a bokken," Giovanni rolled his eyes, watching the "duel" with a weirded out sort of fascination.

"Take that!" and Ash poked Krabby straight in between its eyes, causing it to fall over. She quickly got a pokéball and threw it, catching Krabby with no further fuss. She took Krabby's pokéball and rubbed her cheek against it.

"You fought honorably, Krabby. Well done," she cooed.

"Alright, alright," Misty snickered, walking over to her friend. "Let's go already!"

Ash pouted, but continued to lead the way to the lighthouse again. Once at the huge doors, she rang the doorbell and waited patiently, while the others freaked out by the answering eerie ringing.

"Who's there?" was asked by an invisible voice that further freaked out the others.

"It's Ash, Bill!" Ash chirped up happily, opposite of the others.

The doors immediately opened, and they were greeted by a human-sized Kabuto inside of the lighthouse.

"Eh, Bill, what happened?!" Ash rushed forward, ahead of the others as she panicked about her friend.

"Ah, an accident happened," Bill started, much more calmer than he had been on the phone with Professor Oak earlier. "I was experimenting on pokémon teleportation, and somehow I got combined with the body of a pokémon. If you could help me out with that machine there, I'll be back to normal in no time."

While the others stood back and watched, Ash stood at the computer and Bill got into one of the capsules that made up the machine. The whole process took fifteen minutes, and then they were all meeting the real Bill. He was an average-sized man, with brown hair and eyes, and wearing a pale blue button up with a slightly darker tie, and greenish pants.

Bill grinned warmly at Ash and opened up his arms wide, inviting her in for a hug. Ash grinned back widely and accepted the invitation, hugging Bill back.

"Ash! Good to see you! Mother's been wanting to see you too, so you should come with me to see her one of these days," Bill ruffled her hair.

"She's still in Goldenrod City, right? You promised you'd show me around your hometown, but you never did!" Ash said accusingly, her pout making its appearance again.

He chuckled. "Well, you've never been there or have come with me to go there before. So next time, on a visit to Mother, yes?"

"Oh, your hometown is in Johto! I'd always thought you were a Kanto native," Brock interjected, bringing Bill's attention to the group.

Immediately, Bill's gaze cooled and he gave them a frosty smile. Brock and Misty were taken aback, but Lt. Surge bristled and scowled while Giovanni echoed the cooled gaze.

"I almost forgot! Bill, this is Brock, Misty, Lucien, and Giovanni. Guys, this is Bill," Ash introduced them to each other, unmindful of the tense and almost hostile atmosphere.

"Pleasure to meet you all," Bill said insincerely, with a just as insincere smile.

"Greetings," Giovanni said dryly, and apparently spoke for the group as no one else spoke up after him.

"Have you all had breakfast? Lunch? Come in, we should eat. Ash, you must be hungry. I know your stomach, darling," he teased, causing her face to flush red as he put an arm around her and started to lead her to his kitchen, ignoring the others and letting them follow behind on their own.

In the kitchen, Ash volunteered to cook, surprising the others who had no idea she could. Brock was especially pleased and wanted to stay behind and help out and maybe learn from or teach her some things…if it weren't for the tight grip Misty and Lt. Surge had on him. While Bill led them to the small dining room they could eat at, Ash stayed behind to cook their mystery meal.

Giovanni rubbed Persian's pokéball discreetly, seeking comfort from it. He was on edge and his guard was completely up. He did not like this Bill.

He especially didn't like how close he seemed with Ash.

"So you guys are all traveling with her or something?" Bill asked, still falsely nice as he spoke with a deceivingly kind voice.

"Yeah," Misty said hesitantly. She was feeling very strange about the group, all of whom seemed to be tensed. It made her tense up as well. "I met her early on, on her journey, and I offered to travel with her."

"I joined her in Pewter, after she beat me in a gym battle," Brock decided to be straight up, not afraid of this guy.

Bill glanced over him and focused on the other two left instead. Brock frowned and got ready to speak up. Yes, he was just the slightest cowed by Lt. Surge and Giovanni –but they were scary as hell! But he was definitely not going to back down to this guy, who thought he wasn't worth any attention.

However, before he could, he saw Lt. Surge slightly shake his head and mouth 'Play nice.' Brock inwardly cringed. Bill was, unfortunately, still Ash's friend. They'd have to play by his rules, especially as they were in his home and he had known Ash far longer than any of them.

"Still, I didn't think she'd be traveling with a brute and a megalomaniac," Bill said nonchalantly, even if his words were anything but.

Lt. Surge's 'Play nice' method went out the window and his eyes flashed angrily as he stood up. Giovanni, however, calmly grabbed a hold of his elbow and pulled him back down onto his seat, taking a sip of tea. Giovanni merely brushed off the insults –they weren't worth it, and he was more curious on whether or not Bill had any clue into his real identity, if the other man could choose an insult like that towards Giovanni so easily.

"To be fair, he's actually not all that brutish," Giovanni drawled, surprisingly defending the blond. Although, the two of them supposed a truce was a truce. "As for myself, you sure do think sohighly of me, don't you," he continued sarcastically.

Giovanni set down his tea and finally looked at Bill. "Megalomania is a psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, omnipotence, and by inflated self-esteem...Hm, I wouldn't say I'm delusional of course. Or that my self-esteem is all that inflated," he ended mockingly.

"I wasn't asking for your opinion, half-breed," Bill sneered.

That made Giovanni snap. There were very few things that could really piss him off, and insulting and/or dissecting his blood status was one of them. He was quite aware of his mixed heritage, thank you very much. Being half Italian and half Kantoan was something he'd accepted long ago, despite choosing to mainly station himself in these regions (Kanto in particular). He wasn't ashamed of having an Italian mother and a Kantoan father.

And half-breed! Like he wasn't even human…

"I'd thank you to keep my blood out of this, bastard," Giovanni cursed him out acidly.

That caused Misty to actually gasp aloud, while Brock stared at him wide-eyed. Lt. Surge was taken aback and watched the other man warily. Still, to cause Giovanni to react and even burst out like that…blood must be a sore subject.

"Come on now. Let's keep blood out of this," Misty said weakly, trying to keep things calm.

Giovanni was still glaring daggers at the other, who looked too smug for any of them. The Rocket Boss was gripping tightly on the handle of the teacup, and the others were surprised it hadn't broken off yet, with the force of his grip.

"Why are you targeting us?" Lt. Surge quietly cut in, feeling much more calm and in control. And well, aside from shock at seeing the unflappable Giovanni lose control, he also figured that since Giovanni wasn't going to be the calmer, logical one (like usual), he'd have to take point.

Bill shrugged carelessly. "I don't approve of you. Especially when it concerns Ash, and you two being around her. Besides, why should I allow bad influences around her? Especially since I can clearly see the…attachments formed towards her, attachments that have no business being formed and are wasted efforts anyway."

"You know, I understand your protectiveness and that you care about her," Brock stated peacefully. "We all feel the same way. We'd rather her safe and protected, rather than just let anyone get near and hurt her. We have the same goal, so why don't we all get along and share that responsibility towards her?"

Bill's eyes flicked over to him before dismissively focusing on the two he'd zeroed in on from the beginning.

"I wasn't talking to you, you nobody. Stay out of this," Bill said simply, focused on (to him) the bigger threats. "She's way out of your league anyway."

Brock flinched, and the other three glared at Bill on Brock's behalf and in a united front. They were willing to put aside their differences against outsiders of their group, and Bill was definitely ahostile one. Even Misty, with her usual dislike against Brock, wouldn't stand for it. No one was allowed to hate on Brock but her, in her opinion, either way.

"Get the stick out of your ass, buster, because no one here is gonna take any more of your bull," Misty snapped at him, tired of trying to be nice and fed up with the man's attitude.

But instead of acting upset, as she'd thought he would be, Bill merely gave her a patronizing smile.

"How much do you know of Ash?" he surprisingly suddenly brought up.

And they immediately knew he meant something more personal about her, instead of things like her likes or something along that vein.

Still, Misty opened her mouth and fumbled for something. "Her mother is overprotective –"

"Yes, that's true," Bill acknowledged. "That's not nearly anything one can have trouble finding out –"

"Her father left her when she was younger," Brock said seriously, causing the others to look at him in surprise.

Misty was a bit jealous that Ash had confided such a thing with him, but at least for now it was something to argue against Bill's view of them. Lt. Surge shifted in his seat, frowning to himself about the new information and caught off guard that Brock knew that. Giovanni also was displeased with the new information and that he didn't know it (and that Brock did). It made him feel…oddly discontent that Ash had confided something very personal to someone else…and not to him.

Bill had a completely surprised look on his face at this turn of events.

"Oh? She told you that, did she? Well, yes. Ash's father did leave her and her mother when she was…six, I believe? Did she tell you anything else?" he was curious, and though his grin looked friendly, they had a feeling it was totally not.

"…No," Brock reluctantly admitted.

"Ah. So she didn't tell you she shut down, her mother became an alcoholic, and Ash learned to take care of herself and became a sort of recluse in that time?" Bill was back to being nonchalant, despite his words once again being opposite of tone.

The four of them stared at him.

"I see. She didn't then," Bill shook his head mockingly, though he became completely grim after. "I don't care what you think, say or feel. I don't care if you think you're so 'close' to her, when you're really not. I don't care if you think you really care for her…you really like her, because it's a ridiculous notion to think you stand any chance with her. And in any case, she's very…delicate in a way. She has her own little issues, and she doesn't need any more problems in forms of you all and especially with your troublesome feelings to trouble her with."

"You know what –that's for her to decide," Lt. Surge said firmly, not letting Bill's words get to him. Although, he did avoid the issue of feelings and what Bill was implying about his (and probably Giovanni's too –Brock was a no brainer). "The truth is, all of us honestly, and very sincerely care about Ash. Whether you like it or not, we'll be there for her. Even if she wants us to leave her alone, we'll be there for her. Because that's what her main problem is, isn't it? Being abandoned? Like with her father?" he surprised the other as he threw that out.

Bill frowned. He was ready to reply back, when Ash walked in happily, unmindful of the tenseness in the air. Misty inwardly sighed. That girl always did have trouble reading the atmosphere most of the time.

"Lunch is ready!"

Brock smiled smoothly, and acted as if nothing had happened in that room and as if they were all good friends with each other.

"That's great, Ash. What did you cook?" Brock continued on, determined not to let Ash know just how hostile it had been in that room just moments ago.

Ash blushed lightly, strangely looking to Giovanni from underneath her eyelashes.

"Um…I saw the ingredients in the cupboards and fridge…so I thought I'd make shrimp bucatini carbonara," she was just borderline mumbling, even if they could all hear her just fine.

Bill briefly scowled, before covering it up.

"Sarà delizioso," Giovanni smoothly chimed in, tossing her a charming smile.

Her face burned hot, even if she didn't understand what he'd said.

Lt. Surge rolled his eyes, mouthing "Hotshot Italian" at Giovanni, even as Bill glared at him. Giovanni smirked at them both. Brock was just thankful Ash was staying oblivious to the near-eruption of a miniature war.

Misty snickered under her breath, even as she spoke to Ash. "You need help bringing it in here?"

"I'll help you out. We can start to catch up in the meanwhile. It's been awhile since I've seen you after all," Bill interrupted, turning all his attention to Ash.

"Why don't we all go help Ash? I'm sure there are a lot of things needing to be transferred," Brock cut in, just to get in Bill's way, especially after all those repeated snubs towards Brock early on.

"Great idea, Brock," Lt. Surge seconded, throwing a smug grin at Bill.

Bill chose to ignore them all.

"I don't mind at all, mia dolcezza," Giovanni continued his onslaught, and was rewarded with an adorable squeak from Ash, who turned and hurriedly escaped back to the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah. Play up the Italian," Lt. Surge snorted, giving him an exasperated look.

Giovanni just tossed an arrogant look back, though he mostly seriously directed it towards a steaming Bill.

"At least someone here doesn't mind that I am," he threw a sneer Bill's way.

Bill pointedly looked away.

"Come on, you three," Misty started towards Ash's direction. "Leave it alone. Let's go help her out, so we can have a good lunch while we're at it."

It wasn't long until the silverware, plates, and the Italian pasta dish was set onto the table, and everyone was serving themselves a plate. Ash was, though she was doing a bad job hiding it, anxiously watching Giovanni and waiting for his reaction. He noted it and inwardly smiled. He just slightly took a little more time on serving himself and then taking a bite, just to savor her cute worrying. And that she was trying to cater to him and wanted his opinion made it even better. For that, he took even more time tasting the pasta, and waiting to say or reveal anything about how he liked it. He couldn't help it if he enjoyed her reactions and squirming so much.

"It is very delicious," he sincerely complimented her. "Brava, sweetheart."

Her face practically lit up at his approval, though she continued to blush with the compliment and the endearment included.

Despite his occasional use of the endearment, he definitely made sure to add it in (as well as a little more Italian), just for Bill's'enjoyment.' He was feeling very vindictive towards the man.

He saw Pikachu, from the electric mouse's perch on Ash's right (having his own seat at the table), look at him and shake his head. Giovanni twitched, more so when Pikachu laughed quietly into his paws and then wagged a finger at him. For some reason, Giovanni felt as if Pikachu knew far more of what was going on than he should have.

Damn, that Pikachu was shrewd and really smart. And oddly knew Giovanni almost as much as his own Persian did…

Bill almost rose to the bait, but controlled himself and focused on Ash. "So I hear you've got a prototype pokédex from Samuel?"

"I did," Ash turned to him. She held out her wrist, where the "pokédex from Hell" (as was dubbed by Misty, and the others agreeing readily) rested around it. "It's this. Roy, say hello to Bill!"

"Hello, Bill," Mustang greeted 'innocently.' "Ash, there's a Know-It-All, level 36. These species believe that they are completely omniscient and right all the time. Sub-species include Book Worms, Opinionators, and Haters. Know-It-Alls may include one or more characteristics of the sub-species."

Oh, Ash's group was definitely inwardly cackling. Finally, someone else to be attacked by that thing. And it was a very good insult towards Bill that Mustang made up.

"Interesting," Bill hmmed, looking at it curiously. He gently took Ash's wrist, causing the other males to straighten up and watch him closely. Taking the pokédex from her, his fingers moved around and a series of beeps happened.

"Bill?" Ash inquired in confusion.

"No worries, Ash. I merely muted 'Roy' for the time being," but Bill was looking down at the pokédex with a grin that had a vicious tinge to it.

The others weren't sure whether to side with Bill or Mustang. In the end, they went with the pokédex since it was part of their 'group' after all.

"I see your pokédex is programmed for all the regions, so you can recognize all the other pokémon from the others, without needing to switch out pokédexes," Bill noted, still examining it. "That's useful. You can go to any region and identify the pokémon native there, without needing that region's pokédex. You only have Kanto's region map, so I could reprogram it to include the other regions' maps as well, if you'd like."

"Really? That's great, Bill! Thanks so much!"

Bill smiled fondly at her, before turning his attention back to the prototype.

"Pokédexes usually connect to the Transfer System, so that when a trainer has a full party of six pokémon, the captured pokémon after are sent through the system and to the connected laboratory. There's also a button on regular pokédexes that allows the trainer to switch out pokémon between themselves and where the pokémon have been sent to, so a Pokémon Center and the machine there aren't needed. I have yet to see that feature on this, so I'm not sure if you could use your pokédex to exchange pokémon, but it does seem as if your pokédex is similar to the Unova region's in that captured pokémon after the full six party don't get connected to the system and sent out. Instead, I believe, like Unova's, your seventh pokémon's pokéball and after will merely shrink and lock up and stay with you, and you may have to contact the place where your pokémon are being sent to and manually send pokémon there, probably through a Center, especially if there is no feature on your pokédex allowing you to use it to transfer pokémon."

Ash stared at him with wide eyes, though the others were also giving him their undivided attention. Much as the others didn't want to admit it, he was a very smart and educated man.

"But this is all a guess," Bill shrugged, smiling as he handed Ash her pokédex back (and after reluctantly giving back Mustang's 'voice'). "I have no idea just what exactly Samuel had programmed for it. It would take me some time to delve into it and completely analyze it. Though, I can fix the maps up for you right now really quickly, since I'm sure you might be getting ready to leave after eating," he wasn't pleased with that, but he didn't show anything about it.

Ash agreed to that, so she handed her pokédex back over to him.

"You know, wine –red in particular –would really go great with this dish," Giovanni suddenly said, a challenging smirk curling up on his lips.

Bill gave him a fixed smile from his spot where he'd stopped on his way to the exit of the dining room. "There's a bottle in the kitchen. Help yourself."

When Bill left, Giovanni and Lt. Surge went ahead and grabbed a few glasses and actually found the bottle of red wine quickly, going back to the others and pouring the red wine lightly. Ash pouted though, when she saw the lack of a wine glass for her.

"Underage," they all deadpanned at her.

"But-but –Misty's got a glass!" Ash pouted even harder.

"Misty is nineteen and only a year away from legal drinking age," Misty laughed at her. "That's against your four years."

"You guys suck."

They laughed at her again, before Giovanni relented slightly, handing over his own glass to her.

"You can have a few sips," he mused idly. "But only a few. And only sips."

Ash delightedly accepted the glass from him, carefully taking sips from it.

"You spoil her," Misty lightheartedly accused him.

"Probably," Giovanni smirked at her.

"Che, he probably just wants to curry more favor with her," Lt. Surge snickered.

"She's drinking from the same glass," Brock muttered, twisting a napkin anxiously in his hands as he watched her drinking.

Misty blinked and watched Ash, before turning her attention on Giovanni…who was resting his cheek on a hand and watching Ash calmly. However, there was no mistaking the slight red tinge on his cheeks either.

Well…aside from always wanting to let Ash have her way, she supposed she shouldn't be so surprised that Giovanni wanted Ash to favor him and see this as an opportunity to score more points with her. Or that she really would be drinking from the same glass he'd just been drinking out of…Wasn't there something about indirect kisses on that sort of thing too? That all just cemented Misty's suspicions as fact anyway.

That Giovanni was a complete sucker for Ash.

The experiment that they'd been watching closely was starting to bubble violently. Professor Samuel Oak wasn't quite the genius, but he could definitely say that something was more than wrong with it. He was about to call out to one of his aides, when the whole thing exploded without further warning, drenching the professor with the unknown contents.

Oak was definitely not prepared, and hadn't expected that to happen. Nor getting caught in the blast either.

As it was, he could feel the liquid literally seeping into his skin and then he was starting to feel like he was burning and then icy cold at the same time. When his mind overloaded with the sensations and the new "information" being familiarized by his body, it literally shut down and he'd blacked out.

When he woke up, he was on a couch and his aides were surrounding him. Tori, his most notorious aide, sighed and glared at him, catching him by surprise.

"I wish I'd been the one caught up in that lab accident," her red lips pouted.

"What…what on earth are you talking about, Tori?" his voice seemed…off.

"Sir, take a look for yourself," Robert, the assistant who'd first brought his attention to the malfunctioning experiment, handed him a mirror.

Taking a look into it, Oak stared in disbelief. He couldn't believe the sight. He looked young again.

It was amazing! He had his brown hair back, a definite lack of wrinkles, and his body felt fresh and spry again. He felt like he could do a few flips and not even break a sweat.

"Oh, we did some testing on you while you were out –" Tori began, but Oak looked at them all aghast.

"You guys tested on me while I was unconscious?!"

"No worries! We were very thorough," Tori chirped up, causing Oak to be even more horrified at them. "Anyway, we managed to deduct that you not only look younger, but you are younger."

"Er, what do you mean?" Oak tried to get a grasp on the new situation he found himself in unbelievably.

Howard, another of his aides, stepped in. "That is, the tests have concluded that your body did not just produce fresher and newer cells, but that it regenerated and literally 'de-aged' you to a younger time. The end results of the testing have put you at the age twenty-eight."

Oak stared at them all before promptly passing out again.

When he again woke up, he wasn't quite sure what to do next. His changes were quite obvious and there would be too many questions from everyone about what had happened to him. And if people found out what had happened, had seen what had happened to him…he knew there would be too many that would want to recreate the accident for themselves. As he'd jokingly said before, "Don't we all want to be young again?"

He wished he'd kept his mouth shut and hadn't jinxed himself.

Reorganizing himself, Oak had the others swear to keep quiet and keep going on as if he was there but unable to be reached, if anyone inquired about him. He didn't want anyone to find out about what had happened, and he also didn't want people to look into him while he stayed hidden. He was hoping to keep this all quiet and eventually swept under the rug after he'd returned himself to normal.

So long as the others went on as usual, then work would continue to go on and others wouldn't get suspicious.

Instead, he focused on traveling to the Pokémon Seminar, where hopefully a friend and old colleague of his would be able to help him out of this situation. He'd packed up a bag, left instructions for the others (he stressed that they should focus on the work they had been working on like normal, as well their regular duties –it would really help to keep the work from piling up and keep people from noticing something was wrong), and again directed them to tell others he was busy and unable to be seen if anyone asked (aside from not wanting others to see his new appearance, he was probably either going to stay hidden or actually be literally absent from there). And again, them continuing to work and act normal would help with that as well.

He would keep stressing how much they should keep working, those lazy aides of his.

The only problem with all that (aside from his dread that those aides of his would skip work and either laze around or party) was the fact that his old colleague couldn't help either, as it turned out, once Oak had made his way over to there. They both ran every test they could think of, look through whatever research books they thought might help, and whatever else they tried and didn't work.

There was just no solution, no answer that Oak could see.

It was the next morning when Ash received the call from Professor Oak, having decided to stay over Bill's for the rest of the day and overnight (much to the others' displeasure, who all just wanted to get the hell out of there). Only he sounded a little different and he was panicking and he just absolutely refused to turn on the video screen so she could see him…

It was very strange.

All she could tell was that he was in trouble, needed her help and for her to teleport over to the Pokémon Seminar, and to meet him there. In fact, he was already there and just wanted her to come and help him out, or at least just join him.

She was more than a little worried about the other by the end of the call.

After it, she relayed the situation to the others, who also looked and felt as bemused as her. Bill looked worried as well, slowly handing over her pokédex, which he had been examining and working on all morning.

"I see. I guess you'll have to leave now then," Bill frowned.

Ash smiled at him apologetically. "Yeah, but I'm really happy I got to see you again. We'll definitely have to plan out a time where we can travel together and go visit your mom."

"Sounds good to me," Bill leaned over and hugged her tightly. He lingered a bit, causing the others to stare intensely at him. When he pulled back, he was smiling warmly at Ash. "Anyway, I added some features to your pokédex. I made it an optional feature for you to be able to connect to the Pokémon Transfer System, so you can turn that on and then be able to exchange or send your pokémon to Oak's lab –I assume that's where your pokémon will be sent anyway. It's still not automatic, so your pokéballs won't connect and go straight there without warning. There's also…a special 'adjustment' I made to that, just for you. You can figure it out when you catch more pokémon," he gave her a sly wink.

She giggled. He wasn't done yet though. "I'm pretty sure there's a whole bunch of other stuff I added, but there's one thing I know you might really like. I know how you prefer Silph Co. and Kanto-based things, but I'm sure you really like the Poké́mon Condition application the PokéNav has, right? I might have hacked in, programmed and enabled a patch on your pokédex that monitors those conditions, as well as actual statuses that will show your pokémon's health and mood."

They were all gaping at him. And well, despite how many of the others felt about the guy, they again couldn't deny how smart and now how very useful he was. It really did pay to have a guy like him on your side, especially if he can and would do all that for you…

"And you know about the Pokétch Company too? Well, Silph signed a contract with them, so that next year a patch will be installed into the new Pokégears that will enable a 'Pokétch app' on it, so the Pokégear can then have all the things included on a Pokétch. I was the one working on the patch, so I thought I would install it onto your pokédex. Your pokédex is already made like a watch. Having a Pokétch too would just be bulky and too unwieldy for your slim wrist, even if you were to put one on each of your wrists. It would look odd too. So your pokédex utilizing the patch just makes it more efficient and uncluttered for you."

Bill wished he could have messed with the AI that was at home in Ash's pokédex, but decidedly left Mustang well alone. And as he was only adding and installing useful and beneficial things, Mustang hadn't interfered and allowed Bill to tinker with the pokédex as he wanted.

"Ugh. Ash, you have got to let me mess with your pokédex now," Lt. Surge said enviously, eying the thing with slight awe, now that it had all these cool features.

On the other hand, Giovanni, Brock, and Misty were a little put off that Mustang still hadn't insulted the lieutenant yet.

"We should get going now," Ash mused, looking at the time on the clock on the wall behind them. "Sam's probably waiting for us."

That was another thing. They hadn't really noted it before, but…was Ash referring to Professor Oak by his first name? They hadn't realized those two were so close…

"Well then, farewell, Ash. Until we meet again," Bill took her hand and kissed the back of it.

The others tried not to bristle too much, but the guys did glare balefully at the researcher.

Once again, Espeon was called out. Though before they could get ready to teleport out, Bill's eyes lit up and he was practically cooing over Espeon, which wasn't surprising considering Eevee and its evolutions were his favorites. Ash giggled and the two were engaged in a discussion about Ash's Espeon, who was more or less preening under the double treatment of petting from the two, as well as Bill's enthusiastic attention.

Giovanni cleared his throat, but kept his face unrevealing. "We have to get going," he reminded Ash.

Bill grumbled a bit, but allowed Ash to go back to the others, reluctantly letting her and Espeon go. Ash and he waved goodbye to each other, while the others ignored him and he ignored them back.

And then they were teleporting off to the Pokémon Seminar, where Ash saw Oak first. Apparently, he'd been waiting for her at the entrance…but she was completely caught off guard with his new appearance.

"S-Sam?! Is that you?" her mind just blanked and she ran towards him, freaking out.

The others followed suit in not only following her, but also freaking out. It wasn't everyday you saw a much younger Professor Oak in the flesh.

"In here," Oak opened a door to the side and ushered them in, slipping and closing the door after. "I've been hiding in here, while waiting for you."

He blinked and stared at the rest. "I hadn't expected you to have others with you, Ash. Although, I should have guessed, considering I knew you were traveling with others. Giovanni, Lucien, good to see you two. Brock, Misty, good to finally meet you."

Brock and Misty gave both shy and awkward waves, while Giovanni and Lt. Surge gave him nods. Ash just hugged him tightly and he smiled as he hugged her back.

"Explain?" she asked him.

He reluctantly told her, and in extension to the whole group, and the whole thing practically stumped everyone. Giovanni and Lt. Surge were looking at him in hidden jealousy though –it would be the best thing ever to become younger, even if it was a few years younger for them to be at the same age Oak was now. Twenty-eight was still better than thirty-one and thirty-two…

"So what are you planning on doing now, Professor Oak?" Brock asked, since Oak had explained his predicament and how he couldn't let anyone see him like this.

Oak scrunched up his eyebrows and frowned, before looking at the group in thought. He rubbed the back of his head as he grinned sheepishly at Ash.

"Got room for one more?"

Misty twitched, muttering how "It was getting way too crowded around here…"

Oak needed to lie low, so it was probably best he join them and pretended to be someone else for a bit. Lord knows what people would do if they found out he'd managed to de-age himself, accident or no accident.

He could just imagine Team Rocket (or any of the other Teams) wanting to get their hands on the mishandled formula.

"Are you going to eat that, Sam?"

He focused back in the present, to see Ash eying his last piece of tonkatsu longingly. But she couldn't help it! She was really hungry and it tasted so good. She'd been craving it ever since Pikachu had it back at the theme park. He just chuckled and gazed at her fondly, pushing his bowl towards her.

There was suddenly a commotion to the side of the yard, where they'd lounged and had been eating, taking a break before they would be getting ready to set off and continue traveling. A group of boys were intensely grilling a younger student, and was borderline abusive in the way they were "tutoring" him.

Ash's eyes flashed and without warning, she'd thrown her chopsticks at a dangerous speed towards the boys' feet, the chopsticks embedding into the ground. While the boys jumped back in panic, her own group stared at her in amazement, wondering how in the hell did she manage to do that. The boys looked in their direction, and their leader stepped forward.

"What's your problem?" he sneered.

Ash scoffed, agitated as she stood up and strode over to the group. "What's your problem? I can't stand bullies! You think you're helping him, but all you're doing is limiting his ability to think clearly!"

"Why you –!"

A pretty girl came forward and stopped the boy from further talking.

"It's okay, Derek. Let me," the girl turned towards Ash, smiling somewhat conceitedly. "We here at the Pokémon Technical Institute have a duty to make sure all students are performing at their best. If they're having trouble, we have to do whatever can be done, must be done to help that student before it's too late for them. You don't want to be like him, do you Joe?" she directed towards the younger student, pointing at an older student nearby that had been reading and looked harassed and anxious.

However, at attention being drawn to him, the older student looked up and stared in their direction, glasses flashing. Ash shivered and watched him warily, even ignoring the girl, who continued to go on.

"Hey, are you listening?" the girl finally noticed her inattention, irritably yelling at her.

"Shut up, Giselle," the older boy said loudly, an angry look on his face as he stood up and slowly started coming over. He drew a gun from his book bag, causing everyone there to freeze and panic, some students even screaming and trying to run out of the yard.

With the gun pointed in Ash's general direction, she really hated that she'd frozen and was staring stupidly in fear at the gun. She could hear Giselle shrieking from beside her, but all she could see was the gun and the angry, sneering face of the older male student.

She could hear the loud bangs as he started firing.

Started 6/9/14 – Completed 6/16/14

Chapter Text

She felt a large hand push her head down, and then she was looking at the back of Giovanni as he pushed her behind him. Her eyes watched in slow motion as Lt. Surge, at the same time, rushed forward to close the distance between him and the student. She vaguely saw Giovanni pointing his own gun (where had that come from?) in the opposite direction towards the older boy, and expertly shoot the gun out of the boy's hands. Lt. Surge then tackled the male student, and before she could register anything else, she felt another pair of hands pull at her and she saw Professor Oak.

"S-Sam?" her voice sounded so dazed.

He pushed her under the table near them, but she turned her head and saw Lt. Surge still grappling with the wildly struggling shooter. Giovanni shot a quick look at her, before he was rushing forward as well to help her blond friend out. While Oak knelt in front of her, hiding her from view, she felt her other two friends sidle up to her sides and hide with her under the table.

"It'll be alright, Ash," Misty rubbed her shoulders gently, trying to calm Ash. "Giovanni and Lucien are taking care of this."

"Yeah," Brock tried to infuse cheer into his voice. "Didn't you see them? They moved really in time with each other. It was amazing how in sync they were, especially as I doubt they'd ever done so before or know each other well enough to coordinate so well."

"It's because they were protecting you," Misty added surely. "Because they care about you. We all do. So it's okay. We're here. Don't be scared anymore."

"Pika Pi…" Pikachu agreed with the others, snuggling up to her chest and settling himself into her arms, though he was shivering himself.

"It's alright now," Oak said suddenly. "Giovanni and Lucien subdued the boy completely and have him knocked out. I believe I see Officer Jenny and her fellow policemen coming."

Ash reached out and tugged at his sleeve. "You should go," she murmured. "You're not supposed to be seen, remember? Not until you've established an alibi and stuff."

Oak grimaced and looked down at her, feeling and looking torn. She gave a small smile and nodded her head, and he stood up and she could see his legs moving away. It didn't take long for another pair of legs to be seen in front of their hiding spot under the table, and then they were seeing Giovanni bent over and looking neutrally at them (though he spared a reassuring smile at Ash).

"It's fine to come out now," he said gruffly, though he held out a hand for Ash to take.

She had to crawl out a bit, though he led her out as he held onto her hand tightly. Once she was outside of the table, he helped her stand and then steadied her as she stood up on wobbly legs. She looked over at Lt. Surge, who sat on top of the unconscious boy and looked bored as he answered some questions for Officer Jenny, though he flashed a quick smile at Ash.

"Let's get you into a room," Giovanni murmured, while Misty and Brock were also getting out from under the table. "You can settle down in an empty room, though I'll have to give a statement to Officer Jenny before I can join you."

Ash nodded slowly, still feeling out of it.

Giovanni began to lead her to an empty room, planning on at least getting her there before coming back to have to answer insipid questions. He took off his jacket and put it around her and the arms she'd crossed across her chest moved slightly, and her tiny hands appeared and went to grip the labels of his double-breasted suit jacket that dwarfed her frame. She clutched it tighter around herself and continued to walk forward. Just as he began walking to take place by her side again, she lifted her head up from where her stare had been directed at the floor, and her eyes met Giselle's.

The brunette was sniffling and crowded by the bullying boys from before, the whole group now morose and still not over their fright. Little Joe seemed stuck in shock, his face set in a single wide-eyed, teary expression, and pulling his knees to his chest as he sat near the group, though not too close.

Ash pulled away from Giovanni and walked shakily over to them.

"Unkindness…just breeds more unkindness," Ash murmured softly. "In the end, we'll all just be unhappy. We'll never find the light at the end of the tunnel."

She gave a small, sad smile at the other.

"We'll be lost in the darkness forever."

Ash quietly turned away and headed back to Giovanni, who was inwardly frowning but said nothing, preferring to wrap an arm around her shoulders and lead her away. Ash and her group were silent until they reached the entrance to go into the Institute, where Giovanni then opened a door to the side. It was a small classroom setting and was empty.

"This should do for now," Giovanni spoke quietly. "I'll be back after I've finished with Officer Jenny, alright?"

She nodded and he left her with Misty and Brock.

"You okay?" Brock put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

Ash turned to him gratefully, nodding. "Yeah. I promise I am, guys. That was kind of scary and all…but I'm okay now. Sorry for scaring you all."

Misty sighed and shook her head. "It's not your fault, Ash. That was a scary situation. A lot of people would have been scared in your shoes."

"Next time I won't freeze up," Ash said determinedly. "I'll make sure I can be useful and be able to do something."

Misty wasn't sure she wanted Ash to become 'useful' in those situations. Useful meant her putting herself into bigger danger and staying put in situations where she could get hurt. Ash was proving to be rather reckless –and in an alternate world, a male Ash would be just as reckless –and attracted trouble and danger in spades.

"H-hello?"

They all jumped in surprise and looked around for the young voice they heard. They eventually found a young boy moving from under a desk next to an open window to the outside, the blinds almost closed but a sliver.

"Hello," Ash smiled gently at the other, coming forward slowly. She took a hand from where it had been still holding onto Giovanni's suit jacket, and waved slightly at the boy. "I'm Ash. What's your name, sweetie?"

The young boy adjusted the low collar of his school shirt slightly, blushing a bit. "I-I'm Max. It's nice to meet you, Ash."

Ash moved a little closer still, while her friends stayed quiet and became curious.

"What are you doing here, Max? Were you studying?" Ash sat on the desk, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

His glasses slipped down his nose a little. "I was going to head outside when I heard the fighting…so I ducked into this classroom. I tried to hide under a desk too, but these desks aren't all that good at hiding people."

Ash laughed lightly. "That they don't."

"But they sure do a good job fitting pipsqueaks under them," Misty smirked.

Max pouted. "Don't call me a shorty!"

"Drink some more milk then," Mustang interjected, and Max blinked, looking around in confusion.

Ash turned red in embarrassment and scratched the back of her head, while Misty and Brock shot evil glares at the pokédex.

"Her pokédex tends to do that," Misty growled sarcastically, still trying to will it dead with her eyes.

Max looked at Ash in wide-eyed fascination. "Really?"

"Hai! Roy, say hi to Max," Ash held out her wrist, showing off her pokédex.

"Hi, pipsqueak."

Max turned red and puffed up, rather adorably in Ash's opinion. She giggled, which deflated Max from starting an angry tirade, and began to tousle his hair again. He blushed again and nearly tilted up more to savor her touch.

It's been so long since he'd had someone mother him…

"Hn. All that fuss because I had a gun on me," they heard someone grumble as they looked to the door to see Giovanni slip through it. A hand stopped it from closing and Lt. Surge went through next. "I have a license to own and carry it around. That's nothing to say about that knife you had on you!"

"Psh…it wouldn't have come into the discussion if they hadn't patted me down. I don't even know why! I wasn't the attacker here –and there's nothing against owning and carrying around my SARK knife. Maybe if I had my bowie knife –"

"That's Giovanni of Viridian and Lt. Surge of Vermillion!" Max burst out in awe. "They're in my textbook!"

Both men turned to look at the kid, raising an eyebrow identically. They were also wondering who the hell he was.

"How'd you know about them?" Ash pouted. For all her studying about pokémon and the world she was going to enter into, before she'd gotten her license, she'd never heard of who were the gym leaders and what they looked like.

"Their names are usually spread out more, but they tend to try to keep some privacy, so their looks are somewhat withheld. Though it doesn't stop one from looking them up and seeing who they are," Max explained.

Ash continued pouting. Okay, so maybe her focus was more on the pokémon and training and anything outside of that hadn't really entered her field of interest…at first. Heck, she barely figured out there was something about gyms and badges before she started on her journey.

"Giovanni's a little more well known because he's a hugely successful business magnate, especially in the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn region," Brock continued. "All gym leaders, regional Elite Fours, and Champions, know about each other and are updated on who they are. However, the farther off, the less likely they are to know what each other looks like. And well…they don't always remember, especially if they tend to stay within their assigned town or in the case of the Elite Four and Champion, stay within their region. That means they'll even have trouble knowing what and who the other gym leaders are from their own region."

"Giovanni will be a little more recognizable because of his business dealings," Misty added. "But as he's still a private guy…" she chanced a look at him.

Looking and sounding bored, Giovanni spoke next. "I don't tend to allow pictures. I value my privacy. In any case…I am looking to expand into Sinnoh and maybe even beyond."

"Ohhh, are you thinking of overtaking Cyrus Industries?" Max asked starry-eyed at him.

Giovanni was a little taken aback at the eager reaction, but he didn't show it.

"In terms of expanding business and outdoing Cyrus Industries in economy in the Sinnoh region –they specialize in the construction industry, as well as dabble in education, mostly by building and in charge of the libraries in Sinnoh. A lot of the buildings in Sinnoh are also constructed by Cyrus Industries, hence their specialization in construction. I, however, do not deal in either industries too much, so while I want to surpass them in business, I have no desire to specifically become the best in those areas of marketing," Giovanni said disdainfully.

Ash blinked and looked at her older friend in awe, which made Giovanni slightly fidget. Not that anyone noticed. But still –she had no idea that he was so powerful in the world.

He reluctantly spared a thought for that twenty-seven year old upstart that owned Cyrus Industries. Cyrus Akagi may be doing well in Sinnoh, but Giovanni had plans to surpass the other in that region soon enough. Not just in business, but in other matters –as that book in Ash's bag had said, similarly: Rocket Today, Rocket Tomorrow, Rocket Forever.

To hell with Team Galactic.

"Are you brooding, Giovanni?" he heard Ash whisper to him, tugging at his sleeve. He looked over to her to see she was still snuggling into his jacket, causing an odd feeling in him, and that the kid was busy excitedly boasting about Giovanni's company and then reluctantly revealing his own Hoenn origins.

"No, I'm not," Giovanni told her, though he wondered if he had been. Still, the Rival Teams were getting a little too cocky. Especially those Team Aqua and Team Magma morons. "A little tired after the day's events though. We should get going soon, so we can get on with your journey."

Ash beamed at him and then trotted over to the others.

"... –And I got this Gio Corp. watch for my birthday last year!" Max exclaimed, showing off his watch. "It's got an inbuilt compass, and an emergency button that sends out a signal to the nearest police station."

"Uwah! Really? Sugoi! I want one too," Ash admired it. She found her bag and started searching through it. "Um…um…I do actually have something Gio Corp.!" she excitedly took out a…wallet. She hung her head after.

"Well…At least it's something…Yeah, Kanto-based companies!" Ash brightened up, pumping a hand into the air. "Kanto pride!"

Max was startled before grinning. "Y-yeah! Kanto pride!"

"Kid, didn't you say you were from Hoenn?" Lt. Surge gave him a strange look.

Max flushed red.

"Who cares?" Ash laughed, throwing an arm around Max's shoulders. "He's adopted into the region! Kanto pride!"

"Kanto pride!" Max cheered along with her.

"And you know, forget about owning any product from Gio Corp. You have the owner right there," Misty said blandly, pointing at Giovanni.

Ash glomped Giovanni's arm, and Max decided to copy her on his other side.

"Kanto pride!"

Giovanni sighed.

Max didn't want her to go. He liked her. She was kind to him, paid attention to him, and he really liked the way her hand would affectionately brush his hair back. Her smiles were so bright. And she was so smart and wise too –he heard what she said to Giselle earlier, through the open window he had been next to in the classroom.

He was having fun right now. He hadn't really been having fun there, even though he liked Kanto a lot. Since he was from Hoenn, not a lot of kids there were welcoming. He felt like an outsider and he didn't really have any friends. He missed his family back home and felt homesick a lot.

But now he just really wanted to stay with Ash.

She wasn't like Caroline or May, or any of the other ladies back in Petalburg. She didn't talk down to him, didn't brush him off, or think he was annoying. He could even bet that if she had been a boy, even though 'he' might have a little less patience with Max than this Ash did, 'he' would still care for and protect Max.

He didn't want to be left alone there, even if he had a scholarship and he was getting good grades and all his teachers liked him…

"What a gathering," he heard the door open again, and another man stepped in. He looked vaguely familiar too… "How's everyone doing?"

"Well enough," Giovanni answered neutrally, and Max was still in awe that a man like him was right in from him right now. "We're waiting for the green light so we can get out of here and continue on. We'll probably head to the place that we would have gone to, had we not teleported from Pokémon Land to Sonezaki's."

Max felt dread build up in his stomach, at the same time as he perked up a little about hearing about Poké́mon Land. He'd always wanted to go there.

"Maiden's Peak then?" the unknown man inquired.

"Yeah, looks like," Lt. Surge agreed. "Plus, they have a festival going on around now, don't they? Ash, you'd like to go, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah! Sounds fun!" Ash clapped her hands eagerly.

Max frowned in disappointment, upset that it seemed they (especially Ash) were all going already.

"Oh? Who's this?" the newcomer caught sight of him. "I'm Sam Oak…enshield. Oakenshield. Yes. Sam Oakenshield, nice to meet you."

Ash coughed and he looked to see her smiling behind her hand. "Oh yes, his full name is Samuel Thorin Oakenshield."

"Welcome to the Company, Max," Lt. Surge smirked at him.

The others started grinning as well (in Giovanni's case, a small brief uplift of his lips), and Max felt like he was hearing an inside joke. He wished he was in the 'inside' of the group…

"Before we go, I want to take a picture of Max," Ash said abruptly, and that made Max feel instantly happy.

"I wish I had a PokéNav already," Max said dejectedly. "Dad promised he'd get one for me for my graduation –but if I had one now, I could have used the camera app on it so I could take pictures too."

"Hm, I could sketch you a picture of the group," Sam said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "While Ash takes pictures of you with her phone, I'll work on it."

"And I'll sketch Pikachu for you!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

"So you've kept up with your sketching, have you?" Sam asked her.

"Un! Although, I'm much better drawing pokémon than people," Ash told him.

And though Max was sad they were leaving, he was ecstatic to be taking pictures and being remembered by Ash and the others, and receiving three sketches –one from Ash of her Pikachu, who had snuggled up to Max the entire time the mouse had been sketched, and two from Sam –a drawing of the whole group, and one of just Ash herself.

He was so happy with them, and getting Ash's number so he could call her with the dorm's public phone, that he wasn't as sad as he thought he'd be when they all teleported away with Ash's Espeon.

The group of men was rather depressed that Ash had teleported away with her group. They'd wanted to show off their refurbished double-decker luxury sleeper bus, and hope for her to travel in it with them. Only they'd been outsmarted and left behind once again!

But that's okay. They knew where the group would be going once they finished helping out with some kind of errand they'd had to go to.

"Um, what's this?" a pretty lady with glasses practically gawped at their bus, her hand loosening on her travel bag.

"This is the Ash Ketchum Travel Bus," one of them proclaimed proudly.

"It's huge," another man stood next to the glasses lady, and he was huge. "Lorelei, that's freakin' awesome. I wished I had something like that for my pokémon journey."

"What's this about Ash Ketchum?" an elderly lady came up from behind the duo.

And so, the Harem Club explained their existence and their present calling. Agatha, the old lady, chortled loudly. A glint appeared in her eyes.

"So you follow her around and want to cheer her on, eh? Why don't you also join her fanclub?"

The guys looked at each other before turning back to the now foursome (a red-haired man was standing beside the hulking dude, looking amused at the proceedings) with wide grins.

"We'll join Ash's fanclub!"

Espeon had teleported them back to Pokémon Land, near the private hotel, where Giovanni then had a helicopter fly them out to Maiden's Peak. There they saw all sorts of festivities going on, that got most of them all gung ho and eager to partake in the festival.

"Oh, I should dress up now," Ash sighed, remembering. She really hadn't thought about it before, since she'd mostly been detained with thoughts of other things, and she hadn't really been traveling. But still, she should dress up as a guy, especially with so much celebrations going on. And don't they say that festivals usually 'invite' heavy drinking? She didn't want to run into any drunk perverts.

"Yes, yes you should," Misty said firmly, ignoring how the others deflated.

Oak blinked. "What? What's going on?"

"Er…didn't Mom tell you what she'd wanted me to do on my journey?" Ash blushed.

"…"

"I have to dress like a guy," Ash mumbled. Not that she was doing a good job remembering. But she was surrounded by so many guys and people who knew anyway! It wasn't her fault if she forgot. Plus, she really hadn't needn't to, what with the events that had happened and prevented her from needing to disguise herself, especially on her travels.

"Let's get over here, Ash," Misty dragged her over to behind some trees, and the rest waited until they were done. When Ash came back out, she was in the dress suit Giovanni gave her, since her regular clothes were still dirty and she hadn't gotten a chance to get them cleaned.

"I don't approve," Oak deadpanned. "It's like seeing you being dressed up by my assistants again. Do you remember when they made you cosplay? I had to deal with your mother berating them and then me."

"Sam!" She didn't want to remember those embarrassing times.

"It was cute when they had you dressed up as a lab assistant though. I kept that around so you could wear it around the lab –it was like having a mini-assistant around!" Oak reminisced.

"Samuel Thorson Oak!"

"Thorson? Your middle name is Thorson?" Misty interrupted.

Oak looked at her warily. "Yes, it is. Why?"

"It really fits with Thorin! Hahaha!" She, Brock, Lt. Surge, and Ash burst out into laughter and Oak rolled his eyes.

"Or maybe I should say Thor?" Ash continued mischievously. "Where's your hammer?"

"Hush, you mischievous girl," Oak huffed. "Fits with your name, Asheila Lokison Ketchum. Lord knows why your mother named you after me, in a pair."

"Haha, we have Loki and Thor in our group," Misty kept laughing.

"Wait, your name is Asheila?" Lt. Surge turned to Ash. "I'd always thought 'Ash' stood for Ashley."

Ash pouted, but Oak snickered as he tugged at her hair. He felt odd acting young though…

"Ash doesn't like stating her full name," Oak explained. "She knows it's odd and people have the same reaction to her first name…and middle name, while we're at it. In any case, people always assume 'Ash' is for Ashley, so she lets them assume what they want. It's easier that way."

"Well, I think your name is pretty," Giovanni said sincerely, stealing the spotlight and causing Ash to turn red. "Let's head further in. We might miss out if we stay here any further."

Everyone agreed and they began to walk more into the festival.

Nearby, two pairs of eyes continued to watch them. Though they hadn't heard a thing, they'd watched them from the moment the boy in the dress suit had walked back to the group.

"It's him, Ghastly," the Maiden whispered. "It's Toushiro…"

Ghastly watched the fading backs of the group, particularly on the one that the Maiden was talking about. Every time the people of this town held this festival, he would choose a male to witness "The Ghost of Maiden Peak" to keep her story alive, and to hopefully actually find her one true love.

Maybe this time, it really was him…

"And so the Maiden waited and waited, refusing to give up hope that one day, her true love would come back to her…"

"What a sad story," Ash murmured.

"I know, right?" Misty sighed. "It's so romantic though."

"It's more of a tragedy," Oak frowned. "Who knows what happened to the soldier? Did he move on and forget about her? Did he die? And there's the Maiden, who waited for so long and ended up dying waiting for him. It's a sad ending all around."

"But I suppose all great, epic and maybe even true love stories are usually tragic," Brock added on, looking serious. Then he turned to Ash, wearing a goofy grin as he held her hands. "Not that our love will be tragic –!"

Misty twitched and grabbed his ear, pulling him away.

"You need to cool your heels, Romeo…"

Ash just stared more at the painting, feeling extremely sad. Suddenly, she thought she saw something at the side of her peripheral and saw a transparent woman gazing sadly at her, looking remarkably like the Maiden of the painting they'd been looking at, while a man had been presenting it. She swallowed harshly, staring wide-eyed at…the ghost?

"Ash, you okay?" Lt. Surge nudged her shoulder, and she saw that she was being stared at by the rest of the group.

"I just…thought I saw something," Ash frowned in confusion. "I could have sworn I saw the Maiden." But she looked again, the ghost was gone.

The guys all chuckled at her and she pouted at them. "I swear I did!"

"I think you just got a little too into the story," Giovanni said wryly. "Don't worry about it. It'll fade from your mind. For now, let's get some food."

Everyone decided that was a good idea, especially since they hadn't had anything to eat for awhile, and then went to go grab Misty and Brock and the food. All the while, they were being watched by the Maiden and Ghost.

"My love…come back to me…"

Ash shivered and looked around warily.

Ash yawned as she played dice with some people, feeling full after eating so much. She wanted to play all the games in the festival though, especially since she wanted to win all the prizes.

"Hey. Hey, you."

Scrunching up her eyebrows, she turned and saw an old lady beckoning her over. Ash blinked and pointed at herself. The old lady nodded and Ash curiously walked over, though she felt increasingly cold as she came closer.

"I've been waiting for you."

Ash looked behind the old lady, hearing the voice that said that, and saw the Maiden. Her shriek died in her throat as the old lady from before transformed and she saw a Ghastly. It performed Hypnosis and Ash crumbled to the floor.

"Toushiro...let's be together again. Forever," the Maiden whispered wispily, reaching out tenderly to brush back Ash's hair, though her hand passed through.

"Don't worry, Maiden," Ghastly reassured her. "I promise everything will be alright in the end."

He used Psychic to then levitate the Maiden's true love from that spot, and back to the Shrine of the Maiden. There was no evidence left behind, and they were neither seen nor heard.

Except for three trouble-making idiots, who were hugging each other in fright.

"Did you see that?"

"A ghost! And it kidnapped the twerp!"

"What do we do? What do we do?"

The Team Rocket Trio panicked and almost started to run around like headless chickens.

"Should we tell the boss?" James asked suddenly.

The others stared at him in horror.

"He'll kill us!"

"Yeah, the boss'll be furious that we didn't even do anything!"

"But he'll be even more mad if we don't say anything to him now," James shivered.

Jessie flipped her hair, straightening up. "Of course we tell the boss! What are you two? Scaredy cats?"

Meowth sniffed. "Speak for yourself. I am a cat."

That decided, the three of them went to go search for their boss, who coincidentally (or not) was looking for Ash with the others, after they noticed she'd gone missing from their group. In fact, he'd become so worried, that he uncharacteristically was going around flashing his phone at people, and showing others his picture of Ash –the first selfie she'd sent to him, with Pikachu squishing into the picture –while asking around if anyone had seen her.

But he was having no luck, and neither were the others.

"Psst!"

Giovanni blinked and then frowned, looking around.

"Pssst! Boss! Giovanni, sir!"

He inwardly sighed, wondering what those three idiots wanted now. Especially when he had much more important matters to deal with, like finding where Ash was and making sure she was okay.

Turning, he saw them hiding behind a stall and he reluctantly trekked over to them.

"What is it?" he asked irritably.

The three looked at each other and he was about to snap angrily at them, when Jessie and James pushed Meowth forward. And the cat pokémon blurted out what they saw and Giovanni hid his cringe. This didn't bode well.

Damn it, why can't the dead stay dead?

He distractedly praised them, making all three preen happily, and rushed from them to inform the others of what he'd learned, hiding exactly whom had told him.

Lt. Surge cursed under his breath. "You don't think she's in any real danger, right? It's just a fucking Ghastly…"

"And a ghost," Misty flinched.

"The ghost sounded benign," Oak tried to lend out some logic. "Just…missing her lover. Who she thinks is Ash. Who shouldn't have dressed up as a male," he looked darkly at them.

"It is the Ghastly we should be worried about," Giovanni frowned. "He's behind this kidnapping, maybe with indirect prompting from the ghost."

"I think we should go back and see that shrine from earlier," Brock suggested. "Maybe they took her there?"

"Good idea. If anything, anywhere important to the Maiden," Oak finally admitted for himself and the others that the legend and the ghost of the legend were true, "should be our best bets on where Ash could be."

"And we're all pretty sure of one spot, and haven't heard of any others," Lt. Surge muttered.

Giovanni looked out to the area where they knew the shrine was and felt himself tense up.

May was nervous. She'd just set foot in Kanto, in the town of Vermillion. She was in a new place and didn't know where she really was or where to go. Frankly, it was rather frightening to be traveling around by herself.

But if she could only just meet Ash Ketchum, then this would all be worth it.

And if she could only just somehow teach and help May connect and reach out to her father…

One of the things she'd really hoped for was Ash maybe teaching her to connect to and like pokémon, so that she could finally have something in common with her father and become closer to him than she currently was.

May was tired of being alone and feeling outside of her family, with having nothing in common with any of them. Maybe, just maybe, she could at least find someone to connect with in Ash, even if the other couldn't help her connect with her family, especially her father…

She wondered how Max was doing. Ever since he'd gotten that scholarship to attend the Pokémon Seminar here in Kanto, he hadn't really been contacting home as much. She wondered if he was happy, happier than he was in Hoenn. Had he made a lot of friends? What would he say about Ash?

Would he have the same thoughts as May?

Then again, maybe May was just crazy. Crazy, depressed, and alone.

She wished someone was with her right now.

It was cold, so very cold. It felt like she was submerged in ice. She could even see her breath in front of her, as she took deep breaths.

Her limbs felt numb and she couldn't seem to move them. The hardwood floor she lay on creaked every so often as the wind from outside picked up. The room she was in held very little light, and what little it had came from the natural light that crept in from the outside.

"Toushiro…"

Ash blinked lethargically. Where were the others? Were they okay? Did they notice she was gone? Were they panicking (she hoped not)? She wondered if the Maiden's ghost would let her go. Did she really think Ash was her lover from the story? After so many years, the Maiden's love had finally come back?

"… –shiro…"

Ash wanted to say she wasn't 'Toushiro.' She wanted to plead with the spirit to let her go, somehow convince the other that she was really Ash Ketchum, a female and just a regular pokémon trainer. But she had a feeling the Maiden, nor the Ghastly that prowled about watchfully, would listen and believe her.

"Toushiro, my love. Together again," the Maiden murmured, appearing and hovering above Ash, lying parallel in the air to Ash's body. Ghostly lips lingered above Ash's own, and she could feel herself share ghostly breaths. It chilled her already cold body.

She saw white wrappings appearing from thin air, coming towards her and gently wrapping around her limbs until they pulled her upright and had her hanging in midair. Her arms were spread out and the wrappings bound her legs together. One of the wrappings wrapped around her throat and pulled back, making her neck stiff and frozen in place. Part of it moved up and her chin lifted, which led to her staring straight into the apparition's ghostly visage.

"I'm...not…Toushiro," Ash muttered, looking sadly at the ghost.

'I'm not him. Please let me go.'

For a moment, the Maiden wavered. But then Ghastly appeared and floated beside the spirit.

"Hush now, Toushiro. Don't upset your love," it reprimanded her. It turned to the Maiden. "He is confused. It has been a long, long time, my lady. Don't fret, you two. At long last, the two of you have been reunited."

Ash blinked away tears. This was at once sad and yet also frightening. She'd always been afraid of spirits and the supernatural, but now she was really experiencing something like this…But she also felt sorrow and pity for the Maiden.

And really…What had happened to Toushiro?

"Soon…soon we'll be together forever."

Ash cried, not knowing if she was crying for the Maiden or herself.

The group finally made it to the shrine as the sun was setting. So far, they'd seen no sign of Ash and their worry was getting worse. Suddenly there was a crash and most of the group jumped in fright, while two specific individuals whipped around towards the source and got into ready attack stances, fingering their pokéballs. Weapons would probably do no good against spirits and ghost pokémon, though most of them lacked any pokémon that could go up against ghost-types anyway.

Giovanni's Persian was already out, lithe body tense and coiled, ready to pounce, feeling his master's agitation and having a vague sense of something wrong –especially with the girl his master was so fond of missing from the group. That made him just as unhappy as his owner.

Raichu was also out, cheeks sparking in equal agitation as her own master and also of that of Pikachu's, who she tried to keep calm. Nevertheless, Pikachu's beloved mistress was missing and nothing seemed to be able to calm Pikachu.

"It's cold," Misty muttered, rubbing her arms.

They could see their breaths in the air and the temperature seemed to be dropping even more. Then there was another crash and they all turned to the direction it sounded from, with Persian growling and leaping forth, gracefully rushing forward and into the trees. Within seconds, two familiar people were thrown out and Persian was striding back with a certain Meowth struggling from his jaws, cursing and whining. Still, Persian was much stronger than him; not that Meowth would ever admit to that.

"What are you two doing here?" Misty asked in exasperation.

"Who are they?" Oak whispered to the closest (Lt. Surge) to him.

Lt. Surge vaguely explained, not yet as familiar with them as the others. Brock chimed in and explained a little more, and the Rocket trio jumped up and huffed.

"We're here to help," James said haughtily, though an undertone of worry was easily heard.

"Yeah! No one's allowed to mess with the twerp except us," Jessie sniffed, whipping her long hair behind her as she put a hand on her hip.

"We already called dibs on the twerp!" Meowth added in, finally getting away from Persian, who actually just let him go while rolling his eyes.

"Whatever. Just don't get in our way," Giovanni said warningly, letting the double-meaning wash over the trio and also hinting retribution in his eyes if they messed up.

They hid their gulps.

Suddenly, they heard the door to the shrine slide open and they looked over to see Ash. But she didn't seem to notice them, as she walked out of the shrine and farther away from them…heading…heading towards the cliff!

"Ash! Ash, what are you doing?!" Oak yelled, and they all panicked and tried to run after her.

Ghastly appeared in front of them, blocking them from reaching her.

"I won't let you interfere!"

It raised a bunch of things, most rocks and branches, and began throwing them at them. They did their best to dodge them, but they could only watch as Ash got closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. They were running out of time.

"Giovanni!"

He turned his head and saw Lt. Surge give him a look. At the moment, he was probably the best to talk to Ash and break her out of whatever hypnosis she was under (plus he was the closest person in distance to her). But he had to go now.

He bolted for it and almost got a rock to the head for it, only for his loyal Persian to leap high and take the hit for him. He winced, but his Persian growled and shot him a look, still standing strong and ready to keep fighting Ghastly. He clenched his jaw and continued to rush towards the hypnotized girl.

"Ash! Stop! You have to stop!"

Surprisingly, she did. But right at the edge.

She turned halfway to him, her profile highlighted by the sunset behind her, the colors bathing her in a bloody light. Her dress suit and tie billowed in the wind and her eyes were dark and hazed over.

"Come back with me, Ash," his lungs were burning. He didn't remember the last time he'd run so desperately. "Come back to us. Come back to me."

She blinked and then her lips moved into a sad smile. Then they soundlessly formed words.

"I'm sorry."

She took a single step back and floated a moment in the air over the cliff, before she began to fall backwards. Giovanni didn't even think. He ran and leapt after her.

He couldn't explain what had happened next. All he knew was that he'd caught Ash and held her tightly as they continued to fall to the waters, with her still in his arms. And then there was a flash of gold and a warmth unlike any other entered him as he was caught by something and then flown back unto the cliffside. A screech, both terrifying and yet heartwarming, sounded through the air, and the Ghastly flittered about before disappearing.

And then the presence, whatever it was, was gone as well.

"Was that….Ho-Oh?" Oak muttered in shock.

Giovanni stared at him, still holding Ash as he sat sprawled on the ground.

Oak brushed back Ash's hair, whom had lain unconscious ever since the near death experience. The group, even the Rocket trio, silently gathered together in the shrine. Pikachu was worriedly snuggled into her arms, staring at her intently.

"I don't know what to even say about this whole thing," Misty rubbed her face. "Ash attracts so much trouble. I'm just glad she has so many people to help her out."

"She's always been a magnet for trouble," Oak confessed. "It's more or less why her mother and I were unsure of letting her go on this journey in the first place. I'd honestly really had wanted my grandson to travel with her, but he was adamant on traveling on his own all of a sudden. If I could guess, it's probably because he didn't want to travel with the girl he likes. He's not very subtle about it. Rather the opposite."

Giovanni and Lt. Surge inwardly scoffed, thinking the kid was a chicken. Brock was a little more sympathetic, but he also couldn't imagine not traveling and being by Ash's side, even if she didn't return his feelings.

Ash began to shift and focus moved back to her. When her eyes opened, they all looked expectantly at her.

"G-guys?" she blinked a few times. "What happened?" she moaned and pushed herself up, and Oak helped her.

When he told her what had happened, she winced and then her own memories began to come back. She told them what had happened after she'd got separated from them, and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Ah, geez. Now I'm going to be even more afraid of ghosts," she sighed. "But I can't believe Ho-Oh came to my rescue again."

"Again?" Giovanni raised an eyebrow, getting intrigued.

Ash grinned slightly, though it was a tinge sad. "When I was younger, I got lost in the woods near Pallet. Ho-Oh found me and kept me company, while I waited to be found. I think it also somehow led the people searching for me to where I was…"

Oak rubbed his chin. "Hm, I remember that. You were gone for hours and everyone was worried. When the group that found you talked about it, they mentioned hearing a soft trilling, like a song, leading them almost instinctively to where you were. They also felt inexplicably warm as they got nearer, not really in temperature but more feeling-wise."

"Yeah, I stayed in that clearing with Ho-Oh until they came. Ho-Oh left before they saw him," Ash finished off the story. "I'm also pretty sure I saw him flying towards a rainbow during the first day of my pokémon journey."

"Ho-Oh, huh? Wow, that's amazing," Brock commented in awe.

"It's a he?" Misty noticed Ash differentiating.

"Un! Ho-Oh is a male."

"Fascinating," Oak sighed wistfully. "I wish I could have met him."

They talked quietly for the rest of the night, trying to not bring up recent events and remind themselves how close to a bad ending they had been. Even Team Rocket's presence was let slide, and the trio just chowed down and enjoyed Brock's cooking.

It was a tiring night.

The next night was full of excitement and activities, being that it was the last night of the festival. Misty and Ash were dressed in colorful yukatas, and she ignored the voice in her head that was lecturing her about being in a female yukata when she should (as her mother would want) be dressing up in a male yukata.

Next time, Ash promised herself. Next time, she'd go as a male.

Brock, like usual, was acting silly but very sweet. He repeatedly complimented Ash, making her giggle and feel flattered at his kind words. Lt. Surge, who also repeatedly complimented her, was more boisterous and sometimes edgier with the admiration, easily making her blush again and again. Of course that was his goal, and Misty had no qualms chasing the unremorseful and laughing man around with her mallet.

It was Giovanni who was a little odd though.

As soon as he saw her, he'd blinked and then complimented her (even if it was a mutter). Then he'd walked off quickly and isolated himself. Occasionally, she'd catch a flash and look in that direction to see him holding up his phone, only for him to quickly turn away and continue keeping to himself. She wished she'd managed to get him into a yukata though, but he seemed adamant in staying in his suit…

Then it was time for the tourou nagashi, and Ash lit the candle in her paper lantern and gently set it down onto the water, so it could float down the river, with the wish it would help the Maiden's spirit be guided back to the "other world." The others, along with other people that had been in the festival, also did the same thing. She even saw Giovanni, though he looked extremely uncomfortable, perform the traditional ceremony.

Still, the ceremony made Ash remember the Maiden and she felt both sad and scared. She didn't want to remember what had happened, but she also felt an inexplicable sorrow for the Maiden and her plight. Her feelings and thoughts haunted her as much as the Maiden literally had earlier, and she privately wondered if that was just the Maiden still haunting her for real…

Ash couldn't help herself. She made her way back to the Maiden's shrine, and headed straight to the cliff.

The Maiden wasted no time reappearing, looking sadly at Ash.

"Toushiro, have you come back to me?" she asked Ash mournfully.

Ash smiled just as sadly. "I'm sorry, but I'm not Toushiro."

The Maiden stayed quiet, watching her forlornly.

Ash reached out and lightly touched her fingers against her ghostly cheek, feeling her fingers encased in ice.

"I'll visit you next year. I promise. I won't let you be lonely."

The Maiden smiled softly before she burst into tiny bits of bright light that hovered and surrounded Ash before disappearing. Ash blinked back tears and continued to watch the lights fade away one by one.

And if Ash could, she would do her best to find out what really happened to Toushiro.

Started 6/25/14 – Completed 7/13/14

Chapter Text

Giovanni flipped through the pictures on his phone, intently scrutinizing each one. He deleted the less than worthy ones, which weren't a lot, considering he was hesitant to delete even just a single picture from his phone. Maybe a few blurry ones, but only if they were really bad…

Honestly, he had no idea what had compelled him to take so many pictures of Ash last night. Worse was that he had done so discreetly, like some kind of…stalker or something. He cringed and buried that thought, as he was wont to do these days.

One particular picture of Ash, she was smiling and the lights of the lanterns around them lent a soft glow to her face. His lips twitched into a smile and before he could even think about it, he turned it into his wallpaper for his phone.

"Hey, send me some of those pics you took of her, alright?" Lt. Surge cut into his thoughts.

Immediately, Giovanni snapped his phone shut and his expression closed off. Lt. Surge rolled his eyes.

"So?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said stiffly.

The blond snorted. "You know, you weren't as subtle as you'd like to think you were last night. I'm pretty sure even Ash noticed you taking pictures."

Giovanni involuntarily flushed red, but his lips pressed into a thin line and he didn't admit to anything. However, after breakfast, Lt. Surge found a bundle of pictures sent to his phone, and he inwardly smirked to himself.

He also thought that man had the worst case of denial he'd ever seen. At least he was working towards admitting how he felt.

And then there were these guys…

Brock gaped. "Where did you guys come from? Didn't we leave you behind at Pokémon Land?"

The Harem Club smiled brightly. "Yes, but we quickly found out your next destination and went to travel here immediately. Would you like to travel in our travel bus to Saffron City, Miss Ash?"

Ash, looking at the gigantic bus, really wouldn't mind a ride in it. But Giovanni was scowling terribly at it and the guys, so she stayed quiet.

"We refurbished it just for you," the leader of the group smiled even more brightly.

Oh, for the love of – Giovanni's eye twitched. But then there was a tug on his sleeve and he could automatically guess who it was –only one person was brave enough and didn't see any problem with doing that. He looked down and sure enough Ash was looking shyly up at him.

"If we ride the jumbobus, we'll get to Saffron quicker. And…it really is really cool."

Then she gave him a small smile and Giovanni crumbled like a house of cards in a hurricane.

He sighed and smiled back. "I guess it's convenient, especially with a large group such as ours."

And, remembering how winded he was at just running towards Ash on the cliff, he thought it best to accept the ride, considering how unused he was to any sort of exercise and how he'd much preferred not revealing that, or end up looking disheveled and unrefined (especially in front of Ash). His image would definitely be ruined by then.

Though, if he could hear some of the others' thoughts, it probably already was.

After all, Misty was pretty sure the man was utterly helpless whenever Ash smiles at him.

When they boarded the "jumbobus," the first floor held a huge amount of seats, all comfortable-looking with comfy cushions. There were the usual luggage racks above the seats, vending machines in the back, restrooms, and a kitchen area for goodness' sakes. And that was just the first floor.

When the bus started rolling, Ash went up to the second part of the double-decker to see that it held a huge amount of bunkers for people to sleep in, and apparently a lounge area as well.

"Not just a double-decker, but a sleeper bus too," Giovanni commented, coming up from behind her.

Lt. Surge whistled. "Look at this. Pretty impressive. And according to what we saw outside, it's also an open top bus. Wanna ride on top with me, Ash?"

Giovanni scowled at the same time as Ash excitingly cheered. "Yeah, let's go!"

"Me too, me too!" Brock interjected, not wanting to be left out.

Giovanni inwardly sighed, but he wasn't going to let Ash stay alone with those two. Misty decided he would be enough to monitor Brock and Lt. Surge, and that Oak would probably head up as well, after he finished questioning the Harem Club about the bus and the directions they were taking to Saffron. In the meantime, she was going to take advantage of the bunkers and take one for herself and take a long-wanted nap.

"This is awesome!" Ash exclaimed, as she let the wind blow her hair back as she sat on her knees on her seat.

"I'll say," Lt. Surge smirked as he leaned back and enjoyed the ride. He took out his shades and flipped out the sides, sliding them onto his face.

Giovanni reluctantly echoed him, using the shades he'd practically stolen from that store back on Aopulco. It was sunny out and they were in a prime spot to be shined on by the sun's rays.

Ash pouted. "Aw man! Now I want some sunglasses."

"I'll buy you a pair in Saffron," Giovanni offered. "In the meantime, sit down before your tiny self flies off the bus."

"I'm not tiny!" but Ash sat down in her seat between him and Lt. Surge, who put an arm around her shoulder.

Giovanni automatically reached out and grabbed Ash's hand on the other side, though he nearly retracted it when he realized what he did in reaction to Lt. Surge. And in reaction to those two, Brock just turned around in his seat, in the row in front of them, and began chatting with Ash and engaging her with any topic that came up in his head. As long as he had her attention, he was fine.

"Hey, Ash!" Oak's upper half of his body popped up through the entrance into the bus not too long after. "They're playing The Notebook on the video screen. I know it's your favorite movie!"

Ash jumped up from her seat and immediately headed over to Oak eagerly, leaving the others stunned. Brock was the first to get up and hurry after her, followed by the other two. By the time everyone was caught up, Ash was sitting next to Oak and using the personal television screen installed on the seat-back in front of her to watch the movie. Giovanni wasn't afraid to admit to playing dirty to get to the seat next to Ash, having roughly elbowed passed Lt. Surge and then practically running over Brock as he snatched the chair for himself.

All was fair in, uh…war. Truce or no truce.

Of course, he had to deal with a crying Ash later on, as the movie progressed, with her blubbering over the sad scenes and alternating between sobbing on Oak or on Giovanni's arm. Honestly, he hadn't been able to see any of the movie much, when he was too busy consoling Ash over it. Not that he would want to –it was definitely not his type of movie.

He ignored Lt. Surge snickering and Brock chuckling at his predicament.

She felt the presence as soon as it crossed into her territory. It was very powerful. But it was untapped and untrained –raw. The person didn't even know the power she held.

It had been a long time since Sabrina had met an Aura Guardian, even if whoever it was wasn't fully realized.

She could sense the Aura user traveling with a group, and she was rather surprised by who was with her. She recognized Giovanni, Lt. Surge, Brock, and even Misty a little. There was Professor Oak, as well, but he seemed extremely different. The others she had no clue, though it was a large group.

As soon as they reached the entrance to her city, she could tell something was amiss. A certain trio entered the picture and Sabrina tilted her head.

She was intrigued about this girl.

Therefore, as Ash entered the city of Saffron, there was a chill that entered through her that she wasn't sure what the cause was of. A foreboding, not dissimilar to the whole ghost situation back in Maiden's Peak, ran through her and she was certain something was off about the city.

'Come, little doll. I am waiting for you.'

Ash shot up in her seat and looked around in a panic, startling Oak awake while Giovanni continued to snooze and lean on her, unknowingly hugging onto her arm and using her as a pillow.

"What's wrong, Asheila?" Oak asked sleepily, using her full name. He rubbed his eyes and sat up more as he felt more awake, then tried to ignore the scene in front of his eyes with Giovanni strangely being a snuggler in his sleep and totally unlike himself –he'd probably deny it if anyone accused him of this happening, and if he knew Oak had seen him like this, he'd probably threaten to kill Oak or go on ahead and murder him and hide the body.

"I have a bad feeling," Ash murmured. "Just…something feels off, and I feel like something bad is going to happen."

Oak frowned. "Let's hope not. Although, with your luck, the chance of trouble coming our way is almost certain to happen. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, or jinx our future."

Ash tried to think that way, but she was certain trouble was already in their paths.

Passing the entrance to the city, they completely missed the Team Rocket trio that had, with the "help" of a certain psychic, gotten themselves entangled within their own trap they had set up to try to capture Pikachu and impress their boss face to face.

"So what's the gym leader like? What type of pokémon do they use?" Ash asked eagerly, practically bouncing on her bed.

They, courtesy of Giovanni, had gotten rooms at a hotel, instead of crowding and taking up space in the Pokémon Center. At the moment, they were all congregated in Ash's room, awaiting the room service that would bring around their dinner. While they waited, Ash wanted to prepare herself for her next gym battle, as much as possible.

The three actual gym leaders looked at each other, while Misty looked curiously at them. She knew the gym leader's name because of her sisters, but she didn't know much else. Oak, though he knew quite a bit about all the gym leaders, decided to let those three take the lead since they shared the occupation.

Lt. Surge cleared his throat. "Her name is Sabrina…she's pretty young for a gym leader, but not as young as Brock. Probably around Misty's sisters' ages."

"I'm pretty sure she's either twenty-two or twenty-three," Giovanni added blithely. "But I don't usually concern myself with the others."

Everyone but Ash rolled their eyes, either outright or discreetly. Still, being who he was, he did make sure to know everything he could about anything and anyone, just in case he needed information or an advantage. He just didn't need anyone knowing that…

"Twenty-two," Oak confirmed.

"She's also psychic," Brock blurted out.

Ash blinked. "Huh?"

"Sabrina has psychic abilities," Oak decided to take over. "She can read minds, move things with her mind, and many other things. She is the most well-known and most powerful psychic currently alive, aside from a man named Riley, who is a whole other category as an Aura Guardian."

Giovanni looked interested, while everyone else looked uncomfortable. Ash was just holding her head.

"Just give me a second," she muttered.

"What's wrong with you?" Misty asked amused.

"Too much information," she grumbled.

Oak chuckled. "Ash is…an odd type of genius. You can even call her a 'lazy genius' so to say; she has a genius-level intellect, but needs to be motivated or interested in the subject. Heck, she's even got perfect recall and yet still somehow manages to be forgetful."

Ash huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at him. "Sam, you're so mean. You're always teasing me."

"Because it's fun."

Ash threw a pillow at Oak's head, causing the professor to casually catch it.

"But back on track," he continued. "She, as a psychic, prefers and has a team of pokémon made up of psychic-types."

"She also pretty much sticks to herself and rarely comes out of her gym," Lt. Surge scratched the back of his head. "She rarely comes to the gym leader meetings, League meetings, etc. Only unless she's been forced to, which doesn't happen often, and even then she sometimes ignores the orders. She doesn't interact with others and is basically a recluse. Actually, I think there's a rumor that she might be forced from her position as gym leader…"

"It's just a rumor," Giovanni corrected. "As long as she accepts challengers and does her job, she's fine. Even if most of the would-be challengers would either chicken out before battle or decided not to go to her gym at all. There's at least twenty-seven gyms in the Kanto region, but eight main gyms of –in order of getting them correctly –first Pewter, Cerulean, Vermillion, either Saffron or Celadon first, then Fuchsia, Cinnabar, and then Viridian –my gym, which is located closest to where Indigo Plateau is located, and therefore last because I'm the strongest."

Lt. Surge rolled his eyes. "Your ego is amazing," though he inwardly admitted it might be true. Might be.

Giovanni ignored him and continued on. "And the other gyms serve as substitutes for the main gyms, so most people would probably skip Sabrina's gym and find another gym to sub. Most people would choose to do this for most of the main gyms, or if another gym is closer to them anyway."

Ash chuckled weakly. "I guess I should've paid more attention to the structures of the League…"

"You sound nervous, Ash," Misty noted in surprise.

Ash shifted slightly. "I'm not…prejudiced to say, against her being psychic…but after…"

Oak nodded, understanding. Ash was afraid of supernatural stuff in general, but the whole incident at Maiden's Peak pretty much set her on edge.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine," Brock smiled reassuringly at her.

Ash wasn't so sure about that.

The morning dawned bright and early for Ash, and she decided to take a walk outside to clear her head and steel her nerves. Pikachu casually lounged on her head, though he was still a bit sleepy. He let out a big yawn, but happily purred as Ash reached up and scratched his chin. Ash, however, was distracted.

The fact was she didn't currently have any pokémon that were strong against psychic-types or had enough experience and skill yet. She had Espeon, who was her strongest and was at least resistant to other psychics…but she didn't know how strong Sabrina's pokémon were. Minus the loss of type advantage, Sabrina's pokémon's levels could and was probably higher than Espeon's.

And she didn't really want to go up against a psychic…

Sighing to herself, she continued her morose morning walk, feeling how early it was with the lack of people out. There were people and cars starting to really come out now, as the sun continued to rise higher and it became later in the morning, but 5 o'clock was still pretty early. At least for Ash it was.

She suddenly saw a blond man, with an odd blue…hair strip? She guessed it was a hair strip. Anyway, it went around his head, defying gravity. He wore glasses and a long white coat that made him look like a scientist. Maybe he was? In any case, he was holding a whole bunch of papers and what looked like blueprints, and seemed to be rushing. He was about to cross the empty street, when some of the stuff he was holding dropped from his arms.

Eyes widening, Ash darted forward and helped the flustered man to pick up the blueprints and some of the papers that went flying from the light breeze of the morning. Pikachu leaped off her head to help as well, catching some of the papers with his mouth.

"Ah, thank you, Miss," he turned to her, smiling as he quickly calmed down from his flustered state. "I'm very grateful for your help. These were some important documents and I'm glad that I didn't lose any of them."

"No problem," she gave him a huge grin and started to push back her earlier thoughts, while allowing Pikachu to climb back on her. "Glad to be of help."

A honk alerted them to an incoming car and the man blinked. Ash, reacting quicker, continued to hold onto the papers and blueprints as she hurried to free her other arm and wrap it around his waist, rushing forward to the sidewalk.

"Phew! That was close," Ash muttered, eying the car that drove passed dangerously.

The blond stared down at her in surprise. "I must thank you again…That would have been a rather disastrous accident."

"Don't worry about it," she grinned at him again. "My name's Ash and I'm a pokémon trainer."

He smiled softly back at her. "I am Colress, a Pokémon Researcher."

Ah hah! She was right. He was some type of scientist.

"Um, here," she finally remembered she was still holding his stuff. She carefully transferred the papers and blueprints back over to him, and Pikachu did the same. He shuffled them a bit to get a better grip, before turning his attention back to her.

"I must say, I was most fortunate to have run into you and gotten your help. How about some coffee to repay you?"

Ash rubbed her head. "Well, I'm not really into coffee, so it's alright." Her stomach grumbled, and she turned red in embarrassment.

His soft smile widened a bit. "How about some breakfast then?"

How could she ever say no to free food?

In a small, nice gastropub nearby, Colress gentlemanly held out her chair and she awkwardly sat in it before he scooted it in. A waiter came and he ordered just coffee and a blueberry bagel, while she went ahead and ordered an egg benedict and a glass of orange juice. Pikachu made himself at home on her lap, snatching the ketchup bottle that was included on their table.

"I assume, since you're a pokémon trainer, that you'll be challenging the Saffron Gym?" he questioned curiously.

Ash winced. "Y-yeah…"

His eyebrows raised. "You don't sound too enthusiastic about it?"

Ash sighed. "I heard the gym leader was psychic. I'm…not too good with supernatural stuff." She even told him about what happened in Maiden's Peak, so bothered she was about this whole thing. Both she and Pikachu shivered at the same time.

"I see," he murmured. "That does pose a problem. And yet you refuse to head to another gym?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to give up. Giving up leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"I understand," he nodded. "To me, I also dislike the idea of giving up when I'm in the midst of an experiment. I'm driven by the end result, but I do admit obstacles can always be unfortunate hindrances."

Ash crinkled her nose, starting to think. "You know, Magneto from Marvel had a helmet that helped him against psychics. I wish I had one."

Colress hmmed in thought. "I believe the thesis is that he uses his powers to form the metal helmet and reshape the metal at a molecular level. That way it has anti-psionic properties that will keep his mind shielded from telepathic abilities. As his powers relate to magnetization, the metal has probably become highly magnetized, allowing it to form a strong magnetic field, which prevents or at least reduces a telepath's ability to read his mind. It resembles a Faraday Cage…Magneto could probably use his powers alone to mimic the effect, but the helmet probably is added insurance. It would also be more helpful in the long run against psychics by not using up any effort of his powers, while he could focus his powers on other things."

Ash's eyes lit up. "Woah…so can it actually be recreated? Where can I get me one of those?" she asked eagerly.

He looked at her considerately. "You know, I have a laboratory I am currently renting at the moment nearby. I was heading there earlier. If you'd like, I could try to recreate the process?"

Ash practically bowled him over as she rushed over, grabbing his hands eagerly.

"Please. I beg of you, oh smart one," she bowed several times.

He sweatdropped.

Lt. Surge yawned widely as he drank his coffee, alternately trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He was waiting with the others for Ash, as she apparently was doing last minute "training" for her match against Sabrina. She'd sent a text message to him, Oak, and Giovanni (as the only ones with cell phones) about it not too long ago…after they'd worried about her disappearing act for most of the morning.

Hell was that girl forgetful and one-tracked.

"I wonder what she's up to," Misty looked around idly, taking a bite out of her buttery croissant.

"I think we'll find out now," Brock said and they looked at him to see him gaping incredulously. They followed his line of sight and stared.

"What the fuck?" Lt. Surge muttered, sunglasses slipping off his face.

Ash was determinedly striding towards them, wearing a…metal helmet? A, uh, metal helmet was on her head, almost dwarfing it. All in all, she looked ridiculous. What was probably even more ridiculous was Pikachu having a matching metal helmet.

"What in the world, Ash?" Oak sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Who do you think you are –Magneto?" Lt. Surge snorted.

Ash tapped her helmet. "Exactly!" she exclaimed, catching them all off guard.

Lt. Surge stared. "I was…just joking."

"I met this really smart guy just now, who helped me create this helmet that's supposed to be like Magneto's," she explained. "I'm so prepared for my battle against Sabrina."

"If you say so," Oak purposely roughly patted her head, making her pout. "Let's head over to the gym then."

Ash's grin faltered, but then she made herself think positively. She can do this. She can.

She turned on her heel and started to march out, leading the bewildered group, which now included the Harem Club who were ready to cheer her on.

Except when she was practically seconds away from the entrance of the gym, her feet turned and she began walking away. Oak sighed and gestured to one of the others, and Lt. Surge moved into position. As soon as Ash began to walk in between them to pass, the two of them locked onto an arm each and began dragging her towards the gym.

"No! No! You can't do this! I refuse!" she flailed about in a panic.

"Ash…Sabrina's not going to do anything more than defeat you, worst-case scenario," Oak soothed.

Lt. Surge reached over and patted her helmeted head. "Yeah. It's not like she's going to read your thoughts or mind-control you. It's a gym battle."

Ash reluctantly settled down and they let go of her. They continued to walk into the gym, only to find it empty. They walked around, until they spotted a door. Ash looked in first and saw a bunch of people staring intently at spoons.

"What are they doing?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Trying to bend the spoons with their minds, I suppose," Misty looked skeptical. "This is a psychic gym, after all."

A man came up to them, demanding to know why they were there, and Ash looked at him weirdly.

"…What else? I want a gym battle against Sabrina, duh," he was strange. What else would Ash be there for?

When he started to rant about Sabrina's prowess as a psychic and everyone there training their psychic powers, Ash kind of just tuned him out. She felt guilty because it was rude, but she…was getting really bored and just wanted to face Sabrina already.

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Ash complained. In retaliation, Oak pulled her ear and gave her a look. "But I was getting bored. And I just want to challenge Sabrina."

"You know nothing! Power such as this is incomparable!" and he brought out a spoon and focused on it, his face turning a dangerous red. Ash thought he was close to passing out…

The spoon bent and Ash clapped.

"Cool party trick!" she complimented, making the man twitch. "But I can bend spoons too!"

She found one somehow and began bending it herself, sweating as she attempted to make it bend. Except she couldn't, of course. She ended up bending it only a little bit, before giving up and huffing at the exertion. She turned to Lt. Surge.

"Hey, could you bend this for me please?"

Lt. Surge raised an eyebrow at her, but took it from her and bent it far more easily and much more than she had. He handed it back to her.

Ash grinned proudly, as if she had done it. She held it up to the guy. "Hah! See? Who needs psychic powers when one has Lucien and his super strength!"

The guy opened his mouth, but Giovanni had had enough and stepped forward, staring at the guy with a dark glare.

"Why don't you just lead us to Sabrina?" he narrowed his eyes at the other.

The man gulped and nodded his head rapidly.

"Who needs my 'super strength' when we got Giovanni's dark aura and intimidation?" Lt. Surge smirked.

Giovanni just tossed him a disgruntled look, while gesturing for the man to hurry it up and lead the way. Soon enough, they were led to a temple-like room.

"So you've come finally," a little girl's voice echoed through the room, and they could see a little girl sitting behind a gate.

"Sabrina, this girl thinks she can challenge you to a match," the man said disdainfully as he knelt before the little girl.

"Quiet," a much different voice from the little girl's said harshly, and the little girl's eyes glowed red and the man flew back and landed near the doors. He ran out of there quickly.

Ash swallowed nervously before walking forth. "I challenge you to a match, Sabrina!"

"I accept," the little girl's voice was back again. "But if you lose, you have to play with me, okay?"

"Um…okay?" Ash felt more like she asked than agreed.

The others felt uneasy and gave each other looks.

Suddenly, the doors shut behind them and sealed them in. Then the gate opened and revealed the little girl was sitting on who Ash (and most of the others recognized) guessed was the real Sabrina. Sabrina and the little girl floated telekinetically, with the arena's lights turning on as she came closer.

"Let's begin," and the little girl in Sabrina's hands tossed a pokéball, letting out an Abra.

Ash looked at it before looking at Sabrina. Seviper was weak against psychic-types, and wasn't nearly leveled up enough to overcome type advantage. Unless she came up with a really awesome, cool plan that went up against all odds…but right now, she was coming up blank. Neither Milotic nor Pikachu were particularly strong against psychics, though Pikachu might be leveled up enough to fight back. And as much as she loved her little Krabby...she ain't seein' it happenin'.

Ah hell, why was she thinking about this? Sure, she's gotten better at strategizing through the years, but she did her best on the fly and when the odds were against her.

"Pikachu! Let's do this!"

"Pika!" Pikachu darted forward, and without warning Raichu got out of her pokéball and yelled out a cheer for them. "Rai Rai! Raichu!"

Pikachu waved back at her, while Ash winked, though she ignored the sudden pressure in her head and how she had a headache now. Lt. Surge sighed and picked up his Raichu, plopping her onto his shoulder.

"You cheer for them here, you lovesick girl."

"Rai…"

"Okay, Pikachu, Abra's asleep, so…t-tag it?" Ash hesitantly ordered.

Pikachu let out an acknowledging shout and hit the Abra with a small bolt of electricity, waking it at the same time and it teleporting away. Ash was just glad Pikachu managed to hit it before it did. That was a lucky shot, it was.

"Tag?" Oak asked as he scrunched up his eyebrows.

"I introduced her to something called Electric Tag. Basically, the electric pokémon, and sometimes the trainers, target each other with electric bolts to 'tag' each other. Ash added a little something to the game to help Pikachu bring out his Static Ability a little more, and it also ended up helping Raichu with her speed –being that since she was evolved straight away, her speed isn't as fast as Pikachu's. Basically, they 'tag' each other and then lock onto each other with a personal bit of electricity, while the regular game just had them trying to be quick and just tag each other with electricity. They can now keep up with where the other is by focusing and tracking that electric tag. It makes the game harder because they'll know where the other is, hence why Raichu's speed will increase as she tries to continually dodge and keep away from Pikachu, while Pikachu does his best to make contact and help bring out his Static more easily without relying on a physical attack from an opponent and through continuous practice."

"So she's been experimenting and trying to get Pikachu to be able to use Static on his own, without it activating by an opponent's physical attack making contact. And the more practice, the more Pikachu should get better at it and used to it…Interesting. How far along are they?" Oak's mind was whirling in thought and interest.

Lt. Surge shrugged, watching Pikachu chase after the Abra as it kept teleporting all around the arena. Due to Pikachu 'tagging' it, Pikachu was now able to keep its location in mind. However, Pikachu had yet to touch the Abra, and try his more active use of Static.

"Fair enough," the blond commented. "Pikachu can sometimes activate it on his own, but not all the time and not as strong or long-lasting as Static's original activation method."

Suddenly, Abra stopped and began glowing, soon after evolving into Kadabra. Hoping to use the lull after its evolution, Ash quickly gave an order to Pikachu.

"Quick Attack, Pikachu!"

Pikachu followed the order, only to miss as Kadabra teleported away. However, still having a lock on it because of the 'tracker', Pikachu knew just where Kadabra teleported to and was ready to twist out of the way. Only he was caught in midair, and both he and Ash realized that Kadabra had caught and frozen it with Psychic. Well, if he couldn't move physically…

"Use Thunder!"

Pikachu aimed it straight at Kadabra and was extremely smug when it hit the psychic pokémon, glad that Kadabra had been too preoccupied with using Psychic and keeping him still that it had allowed him to be able to hit the other with the electrical attack.

"Recover," Sabrina intoned.

And both Pikachu and Ash sighed and inwardly grumbled as Kadabra recovered from the damage it had been dealt.

"Now use Psybeam," Sabrina directed and Pikachu was dropped to the ground, the attack immediately being executed and heading towards Pikachu rapidly.

"Dodge it, Pikachu!" Ash yelled out, and Pikachu focused and moved, barely getting out of the way.

"Catch it with Psychic," Sabrina then ordered, and Pikachu was unable to move again. This time though, Kadabra began to throw him about and he was helpless against the attack.

"Pikachu!" Ash worried. "Stop! Stop! I forfeit!"

Sabrina had Kadabra stop, the match now over. "You have lost. Now it's time to play."

The large group glowed and then disappeared, appearing in the streets. It was unrecognizable, however, but at least they were surrounded by houses.

"We must be in a suburban area," Giovanni looked around. "We could be in an alternate place of residence for Sabrina? Some gym leaders don't live in their gyms."

Ash yanked off her helmet. "Why, Helmet, why? Why didn't you work?"

"It could be that Sabrina is much more powerful than this prototype helmet of yours," Oak tried to make an educated guess…assuming that the helmet worked in the first place.

Though, now that Ash thought about it, it felt like something was trying to probe into her mind earlier on. It was blocked though, so maybe Sabrina had been using her powers lightly. She could guess a more serious use of her powers would work through the helmet's defenses.

"Where are we though?" Brock turned in a circle, examining the area. "Seems deserted."

"Yes, it does seem unusual that no one and nothing is around, and it seems completely silent," Oak mused, observing the area as well.

"Perhaps we should go into one of the houses and see if anyone is there?" Giovanni suggested, and the group migrated to the closest house to them.

They were all bewildered when they realized the door was left unlock and no one answered when they called to anyone home. When they hesitantly entered, they noticed cake laid out on the dining table.

"I guess…Sabrina wants to eat before we play?" Brock asked hesitantly.

Lt. Surge narrowed his eyes and came over to it, grabbing a piece as Ash walked away and went to look into a room. He frowned as he felt the texture and opened his mouth to say something, when Brock yelped after actually trying the "cake."

"It's plastic!"

The blond held it up. "You could've known that just by touching it, you know."

Brock shrugged. "Hey, we're all a bit hungry, aren't we? It's around lunchtime."

Several stomachs answered him.

Just then, Ash screamed and they all trampled over to where she was, as she rushed out of what looked like a bathroom.

"Th-there's a dead person in there!" Ash told them in a panic.

While most of the others were freaked out, Giovanni and Oak thought something was off, and Lt. Surge got a sneaking suspicion. He moved forward and went into the bathroom, wincing as he realized the thing was naked, but not too bothered since he knew –for sure now –that it wasn't alive and that it was as fake as the cake out in the dining room.

"Don't worry about it, Ash. It's just a doll," he revealed, and the others scooted into the entrance of the bathroom.

He traded looks with Giovanni and Oak, both of whom were now getting the full picture and understanding Lt. Surge's guess of the situation.

"So we're in some sort of dollhouse, hence the lack of noise and people outside," Oak surmised.

"Minus the fake things we've seen so far," Brock caught on as well.

"You four," Lt. Surge directed towards the Harem Club. "Stay close to Ash."

"Right," all four guys saluted.

Ash opened her mouth to protest and say she can take care of herself, when Misty covered her mouth and gave her a 'deal with it' look.

"I wonder if it's a giant dollhouse we're stuck in," Misty mused.

"That or Sabrina used her telekinesis to shrink us down," Oak theorized.

They all thought about that and then shivered.

"Just a gym battle, they say. The worse-case scenario she'll just defeat you," Ash grumbled. "That's what they said…and now look at us."

"Let's sit down and try to think about what to do now," Oak took the lead, rolling his eyes at her. "We're going to have to brainstorm and try to find a way to deal with Sabrina, or somehow convince her to let us go."

For awhile, they'd been sitting in the living room of the house, trying to throw out ideas. It wasn't long until they all trailed into silence and began to brood separately. Ash became bored enough that she used the fake cakes and silverware on the table to pretend to have a tea party with Pikachu that Raichu willingly joined in quickly after it began. After awhile, Giovanni let out his Persian and began to pet him, using the pastime to calm himself down. Although, it wasn't long until Persian deserted him in favor of going over to the "tea party" and participating. He had a feeling it was less to do with joining in, and more to do with getting Ash to pet him.

He huffed inwardly. Ash was completely a cat burglar.

But then, out of nowhere, Ash glowed and disappeared. Pikachu yelped and began panicking, and while no one could understand a thing he was saying, everyone could get the gist (mostly because they guessed it was something close to what they were all thinking).

"Pika Pika Pikachu! Pi Pikapi!" Pikachu ran out of the house, and Raichu followed after him worriedly. Persian knew someone had to look after those two, so followed after them after looking at his owner, who gave an approving nod.

"We should follow too. We don't have any other lead to find Ash," Misty suggested.

They all collected themselves and forcibly calmed down, and went after the pokémon.

"W-where am I?" Ash landed on her bottom on a carpeted floor. She blinked and looked around, slowly getting up from the floor as she tried to regain her bearings. She was alone, and no one (not even her sweet Pikachu) was with her.

"What is with my luck?" she grumbled, trying to find an exit.

"It seems to be leaning on the unfortunate side."

She knew that voice! Ash turned to confront Sabrina, wanting to demand that she let her and the others go, but only caught a glimpse of Sabrina's emotionless face before she froze up. Damn it! She'd left her trusty helmet behind…

Sabrina tilted her head and examined Ash. "You are really like a doll…So small and pale…Come, Asheila. Let us play."

Ash felt her body move without her permission, and she found that she was following Sabrina and moving without thought. Sabrina removed what looked to be a fancy dress off of a bed and held it up to Ash.

"I bought this for you. Do you like it?" Sabrina's voice continued to be monotone, which contrasted oddly with her seemingly caring words.

Ash observed the dress, seeing that it was completely red. She wasn't really into fashion or knew anything about it, but she knew enough to recognize the style of the dress as a Classic Lolita. Aside from that, she could see it had long sleeves and the collar stood up, and there were plenty of ruffles down the front area of the chest and around the hem of the neck. There was a line of buttons from the top of the dress to the bottom, all along the front. Crisscrossing silk ties decorated the lower part of the arms, and there was a ribbon on each side at the beginning of the ties and then the ties went down to where the sleeves flared out.

Testing her movement, she found she was able to move her head a little and guessed that Sabrina was letting her answer herself, without using force. She nodded in agreement to the dress, and gave a small smile to the psychic. Sabrina's lips briefly lifted in a pleased manner, before quickly returning back to their neutral state. If Ash hadn't been paying attention, she might have missed it. In fact, she was still unsure, and was close to dismissing seeing such a thing.

Ash was made to change into the dress and then she was sat in front of the vanity, where Sabrina began to comb her hair.

"You have such nice hair. I wish it was longer," though even as Sabrina said that, Ash could see that the gym leader was using her psychic powers and that Ash's hair was growing longer with each brush of her locks.

Ash stared at Sabrina through the mirror.

The idea of becoming a human doll wasn't appealing at all.

Ash had fallen asleep while Sabrina had been brushing her hair, and was disconcerted to find the room empty again and that she was laying on the bed. She sat up and again began looking for an exit, finding a door at the corner of the room. She practically leapt out of the bed and rushed to it, only to find it locked.

"Damn!" she hit her palm against it hard and it stung, but she hardly cared about the pain at the moment.

"Excuse me."

She whirled around and saw a strange man with a tracksuit and beard, and Ash automatically brought up her hands in the defensive.

"Please, I'm here to help you. I would have gone to get your friends as well, but it is a large group and they are far from you. I don't have enough power to transport them as well as you, not with the distance and number. And definitely not at the same, especially when I must be quick."

"You can get me out of here?" Ash asked hesitantly.

The man nodded. "But we must leave now, before Sabrina notices I'm here. Come here, quickly."

Ash hesitated a second more, before making the decision and moving towards him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and then they were teleporting out of there. Then they were outside of the gym, and Ash was looking at the gym regretfully and then at her savior thankfully.

"Thanks a lot, Mister. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help," she told him sincerely.

"You are welcome, young lady. When I regain more effective use of my powers, I will try to get the others out as well," he promised. "It took me awhile to locate you, which drained much of my energy. You were not in the…usual place."

"Sabrina's dollhouse, you mean," Ash supplied tiredly. "Thank you for your help. I'll try to wait as patiently as I can for the others."

But she couldn't just sit idly by and wait for him! She had to do something. Maybe she could sneak into the gym like a ninja and travel in the shadows…She couldn't challenge Sabrina for a battle again, she just couldn't. But she wouldn't leave her friends behind!

She thanked the man again before she left him to go plan in her hotel room, looking and feeling depressed.

Steven had just finished doing a Devon Corp. demonstration, and was going to leave the after-selling to the employees, when he spotted a familiar figure in red. He smiled widely and was going to teasingly call her over, when he noticed the girl's rather depressed state. Hiding his frown, he let one of the others know he was going to be off and then headed over to her, still smiling a bit.

"If it isn't the Pokémon Master-to-be," Steven stepped right in front of her, causing her to halt and look up from the ground. He noted her eyes were teary, but he didn't bring attention to that fact.

"Y…you're Steven," Ash blinked a few times, trying to keep from crying. "I remember you…"

Steven breathed in deeply and gave her a wry grin, inwardly wondering about the dress and her longer hair. He reached up and tugged a piece of her hair.

"Hey, let's go get something hot to drink," he said softly. "You look like you need some comfort food and drink."

She opened her mouth and seemed about to refuse, before shrugging and sighing depressingly. He gently grabbed her hand and led the way.

"There's a lovely coffee shop that I think you'll love their hot chocolate for…"

It didn't take him long to reach the coffee shop and he brought her inside to sit in a corner table, hidden from view. He didn't want paparazzi bothering them, or taking annoying pictures. Or fans –as much as he didn't mind the fans, he didn't want them interrupting them. Especially since he wanted to just spend some time alone with her…

"So tell me what's wrong," Steven asked her kindly, after they gave their order. "And don't say nothing is, when that pretty face of yours says otherwise."

Ash's cheeks turned slightly pink and she was about to say something, when a voice interrupted them.

"Playboy, class womanizers, though this one may particularly even pose for Playgirl. Level 43."

Steven stared dumbly at her, while she blushed harder than before.

"Um…I think my pokédex tends to label the people around me, like they're pokémon. And judging by their reactions and the dirty looks they send it, I'm pretty sure the labels are usually insulting. Although, I don't always understand them," Ash uncomfortably revealed. "Well, it called me a 'jailbait' and no one knew what that meant. Do you –?"

"No," Steven said immediately. "I don't at all." Though, judging by that title, it meant he'd have to reevaluate her age, probably lower it a bit and estimate her around below 'legal' standards. Well, hands-off for a few years isn't too bad…

"Oh. Okay," Ash shrugged it off. "Um…anyway, this is what happened…" she told him about her epically failed battle against Sabrina, and how she was trying to think of how to rescue her friends.

Steven hummed in thought. "I think you should challenge her again. It's the best way to get your friends out of there, and Sabrina would have nothing to say if it was fair and square, yes? And I also think you shouldn't give up. You don't seem the type."

"But I can't beat her," she said miserably. "I'll lose again! And then she'll lock me up and make me her doll forever and ever and I won't even get to be with the others in the dollhouse and play with them and –"

"Woah, slow down. All you're doing right now is psyching yourself out and thinking about the bad things, love," he smiled sweetly at her, and Ash felt her heart skip for some reason. "Let's think on how you can go up against her."

Just then, Espeon popped out of her pokéball and sat in front of her mistress, eying Ash with an expectant look.

"Oh, you have an Espeon?" Steven asked in surprise. "Then that's perfect."

Ash blinked, tearing her uncertain gaze away from Espeon's to look at him. "What? Why?"

"Though Espeon is a psychic-type, it has the ability to learn Shadow Ball, which is a ghost-type move. And since psychic-types are weak against ghost-types…"

"Espeon and I can use Shadow Ball to fight and even win against Kadabra," Ash ended, biting her lip as she thought about it.

Even though they were being serious and he was trying to help her, Steven couldn't help but think she looked cute right then. And kissable. Especially kissable since the action brought attention to her lips…

"I have some time now, so why don't I help you and we try to teach Espeon Shadow Ball?"

Ash nervously looked to Espeon, who confidently stared back at her.

'Use me,' Espeon's voice echoed through her head. 'Let me help you, Ash.'

"Okay," Ash finally said in answer to both Steven and Espeon.

Three people's phones beeped at the same time, and Giovanni, Lt. Surge, and Oak grabbed their phones. Everyone else looked at them, as they tossed each other confused looks.

"Well, at least we know phones still work in here," Brock commented casually.

The three looked at their phones, all ending in a form of amusement. Oak outright burst into laughter, while Lt. Surge smirked and Giovanni's lips twitched.

"What is it?" Misty asked, curious now.

"Ash is training to 'rescue us,' apparently," Oak held up his phone. "According to her message and attached picture at least."

"What kind of training is she doing?" Misty stared. "She has twigs in her hair and covered in dirt, and so is Espeon."

"And why is she wearing that red dress? Or the fact that her hair is suddenly long? We haven't been in here that long, have we?" Lt. Surge noted the odd changes in the girl.

"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu shrugged. Even he knew his trainer could be odd.

"It's nighttime, according to that picture," Oak was able to deduce that much. "We'll just have to think up something to help from in here."

And then they were shrinking and made into literal dolls at that moment, falling on the ground on their backs and unable to move.

"Oh shit," Brock actually cursed.

"This is totally emasculating," Lt. Surge grumbled.

Giovanni privately agreed, but refused to say anything.

In bed that night, Milotic was comfortingly lying near her head and nuzzling her head, while Seviper curled up behind her back as she lay on her side. Krabby adorably chattered on the dresser next to the bed, speaking comforting things, even if she couldn't understand. She held Espeon tightly and tried not to cry as she missed Pikachu and the others.

"Is Pikachu alright, Espeon?" Ash blinked back tears.

Espeon leaned her head up and licked at her tears.

'I can try to contact him.'

"Could you really?" Ash murmured.

'Yes.'

And then Ash heard a bright voice in her head, eagerly asking for her.

'Ash! Ash! Is that you?'

So that was Pikachu's voice…Ash smiled and wanted to reach out to him.

'This is really cool! Even though you can understand me normally, even without all the words, I don't mind this either!'

'I don't either, Pikachu. I really miss you.'

'Me too, Ash. Me too.'

Ash couldn't fail tomorrow. She couldn't.

"I'm here to challenge the Saffron Gym Leader!" Ash yelled.

She was in the darkness and she was freaked out. She couldn't even find any of the others.

"Pikachu, light your cheeks," she whispered.

It was no good, only a small portion around her was lit up.

"Pikachu, I'm scared," Ash whimpered.

A little girl appeared right in front of her, inside the "spotlight." Ash opened her mouth in a scream, before turning tail and running away blindly.

"It's always the kids!"

Ash woke up abruptly, seeing the light streaming in from the windows. It was morning now, and according to the clock it was a bright and early morning. Her phone buzzed and she sleepily leaned over Espeon's stretched out figure to grab her phone on the nightstand. Seeing Colress' face next to hers on the screen, she picked it up and answered.

"'Lo," she let out a wide yawn.

"Good morning, Ash," Colress greeted her. "How was your battle yesterday? Did the helmet work?"

Ash groaned. "No. Not at all. And the battle was horrible."

"Hm. Is that so? What happened?"

Ash explained everything to him as she got up from the bed, careful not to wake up her pokémon, and then began to get ready to take a shower.

"How fascinating!" Colress commented about the events.

"Colress!" she rolled her eyes. "Don't think like a scientist right now, will you?"

"Ah, but dear, that is exactly how I should proceed. We have much more time now, and a better idea of what to do now that we know somewhat of what went wrong. I could probably create a better prototype than the first. But if only we had an actual psychic to test it against…"

Ash's mind flashbacked to that strange man that had rescued her.

"You know what, leave that to me, Colress."

"Really? Wonderful! Do you remember my lab? Head there when you have whoever it is. In the meantime, I will begin preparations to start."

Ash, for the first time since entering this city, was really starting to get excited and confident again.

"See you soon then, Colress."

"I look forward to it."

Ash hung up and grinned. It was a new day.

Ash found the man exactly where she thought he would be –right in front of the Saffron Gym, staring morosely at it.

"Do you know Sabrina somehow?" she took a guess.

He was startled and brought out of his reverie, looking at her in surprise.

"You're that girl…" he gave her a sad smile. "Sabrina is…my daughter."

Ash was surprised, but didn't think she should pry. It seemed personal and something that needed to be resolved between father and daughter.

She gave him a lopsided smile. "Yeah…I was actually looking for you."

He gave a small smile back. "Good. I was just going to attempt to get your friends out of there."

She hesitated. "Actually, I need your help on something."

He looked at her inquisitively, and she explained her predicament.

"I'm not sure how well it will work. And I'm also not nearly as powerful as Sabrina either," he looked unsure about her request.

"Please," she pleaded. "I've gotten Espeon to learn Shadow Ball, a ghost-type move. But I need to prepare myself against Sabrina, even if a little bit."

He frowned. "You'd have to resist something like this," he froze her body and pushed her back.

However, she pushed forward and looked determinedly at him. His frown deepened and he used his telekinesis to push her down. But she got back up, so he repeated the move. And yet, she kept getting up again and again, stubbornly, while he repeatedly forced her down. This time, he forcefully used his telekinesis to push her down and keep her down.

He was more than surprised when, even under the power of his telekinesis, she began to resist it and forcibly bring herself up to stand.

"I…won't…give up! Not anymore!" she completely broke free from his power and stood up defiantly.

He watched her steadily before giving her an acknowledging nod and smile.

"Very well. Let us head to this lab then."

Her footsteps echoed loudly through the hallways. There was even dimmer lighting than usual, and this time there was no one there stopping her. Following the same path as last time, Ash reached Sabrina's arena in no time. She adjusted her new helmet nervously, but braced herself.

From there, she stepped into it and tried to ignore the ominous loud thud of the doors behind her, as they shut close. Sabrina was waiting for her at the other end, and she could see a line of dolls behind the gym leader. She winced, recognizing the others.

"Sabrina, I've come to challenge you," Ash declared, taking a deep breath and firming her resolve.

"Very well. But this time, if you lose, you must stay here forever," Sabrina challenged her back.

Ash's hand twitched against the pokéball. "Fine, I accept that."

Sabrina sent out Kadabra and Ash took the pokéball from her belt, throwing it out and revealing Espeon.

"You are wearing the dress I got you," Sabrina murmured.

Ash gave her a half-grin. "You got it for me and it's nice. I thought you might like me to wear it."

Something flashed through Sabrina's eyes, but Ash couldn't identify it.

"Kadabra, Confusion," Sabrina was quick to order then.

"Espeon, dodge and use Sand Attack!" Ash shouted, and Espeon teleported behind Kadabra, guessing correctly it would turn around then, and executing the Sand Attack to blind Kadabra at that right moment.

Sabrina frowned. "Kadabra, use my eyesight to see. Do Confusion again."

"When Kadabra uses Confusion, teleport into the air above it and use Shadow Ball!" Ash wanted to be quick to counter.

Kadabra used Confusion and at the last minute, Espeon teleported and prepared herself for a Shadow Ball. It was a direct hit and severely weakened Kadabra.

"Before it can use Recover, another Shadow Ball, Espeon!"

This time, Kadabra actually fainted. Ash couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe she actually won.

"I…I won?" she asked in disbelief.

"I refuse," Sabrina muttered, before she shouted. "I refuse!"

For the first time since meeting her, Ash actually saw Sabrina express real emotion. Once again, Sabrina used her telekinesis to freeze Ash, although the new helmet did a bang up job repelling Sabrina's powers. When Sabrina realized that there was actually a form of resistance, she amplified the strength of her power and forcibly brought Ash to her knees. But Ash wasn't ready to give up and continued to resist.

Then she looked at Sabrina's face and saw the raw terror and then the loneliness in her dark eyes.

'You're just lonely, aren't you, Sabrina?'

Ash reached up and whipped off the helmet, and she felt the full force of Sabrina's power hit her. Ash gasped and swayed, falling to her hands. She crawled towards Sabrina, slowly moving up until she was on her feet again. Then she was making her way towards Sabrina, moving a foot at a time.

"N-no…No! Stay away!" Sabrina watched her come forwards with wide, terrified eyes. "How are you moving?!"

Ash smiled at her. "It's okay. Let's be friends, Sabrina."

Sabrina took a step back, but Ash pushed forward and made it to Sabrina, grabbing onto her head with both hands and then pressing her forehead against the other's. She felt something wet hit her face.

'Are those…Sabrina's tears?'

And then she was seeing flashes of Sabrina's life, similar to how she and Espeon had connected before, as she accidentally forged a mental connection. She saw Sabrina as a little girl, focusing too much on her powers. She saw everyone pulling away from Sabrina, and Sabrina willfully pushing others away. And she felt Sabrina's loneliness, her regret, saw what happened to her mother and her father trying to reach out…

"Sabrina, it's okay now. I promise. Just reach out again, because so many others want to reach out to you," Ash murmured softly.

Sabrina finally relented and Ash felt the pressure on her body and mind lift, while Sabrina practically collapsed and sobbed. Ash caught her and held her comfortingly.

Ash squeezed her.

"Sabrina, you have so many people who have been wanting to be your friend. Just take one step towards us."

Sabrina hugged her back tightly, hiding her face against her.

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

Started 7/14/14 – Completed 7/20/14

Chapter Text

Sabrina turned everyone, even her mother, back to normal. Ash was tackled by Misty and Brock, followed by Lt. Surge lifting her out of the two's arms and hugging her himself. When she finally set her feet down again, she was pulled into a gentler but just as firm hug by Oak. And then she peeked at Giovanni, who gave her a small smile and then, hesitantly, opened his arms. She threw herself into them and hugged him tight.

"Someone's having a happy reunion too," Brock noted, and Ash turned in Giovanni's arms to see Sabrina being happily embraced by her mother and father. She smiled slightly, glad that things turned out for the better.

Sabrina saw her looking over and broke off from her parents, smiling gratefully as she started to walk over. Ash did the same and they met in the middle.

"I can't thank you enough," Sabrina said honestly. "You…you helped me. A lot. From the moment you came to this city, I just had a feeling you'd be special."

Ash blushed brightly. "I'm not really…"

Sabrina's eyes twinkled. "Actually, you really, really are. Have you ever heard of something called Aura?"

Ash blinked, as did most of the others there. However, Giovanni, Oak, and Sabrina's parents knew what that was, and consequently turned to stare at Ash.

"No, I don't think so…"

Sabrina's lips upturned into a rare grin.

"I'll help you. Because you have a very rare gift, Asheila."

Ash could only wonder what she meant by that.

Norman checked his PokéNav again, still seeing no sign of May contacting him. He was near to Saffron City, and he had been hoping that his daughter would have contacted him by now. She was still stubbornly staying silent, refusing to say even a word of greeting.

He was wrecked with worry.

Deciding to find something to watch to pass time by, he filtered through the top videos being shared on the internet and stumbled across a separated segment of the Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest that May had continuously watched back at home. It featured who the person thought was the top three, and started from number three and counted down to the number one contestant. Norman had finally watched it, though he thought it was a little too much like the Pokémon Contests he had never really thought much of.

When he reached the number one contestant, Norman froze and quickly pressed pause before the video could continue. Of course. Ash Ketchum.

His first glimpse of her when he'd been teasing May had captured his attention. Her voice was pretty and she was pretty. In fact, she put on a wonderful performance along with her pokémon. But he'd been distracted and managed to tear his attention away, and focus on his distant daughter and then his meddling wife. When he'd returned back to May and decided he'd watch it with her, and try to spend time with his daughter and connect, he hadn't expected to fully get into the performance, especially with his dislike of Pokémon Contests.

But May kept playing just her performance and he kept getting more and more drawn into her performance with each replay. And then distracting and inappropriate thoughts began entering his head, and when he began entertaining the thought of taking her out to dinner, he drew the line and forcibly took himself away from the deep daydream her performance had put him in. By that point, May had played Ash's performance a total of twelve times while Norman had been with her. He'd then excused himself and practically ran from the room, hiding himself away until he finally went out to get food…by which time, May had disappeared.

He was hesitant to play her video again and get drawn in once more.

He hesitated a little more, before he made a quick decision and he pressed play. Then he was listening to Ash's voice and she was staring at him and smiling sweetly, and it was almost like she was singing to him and the performance had been for him. He wondered if May felt something like this, like all of that girl's focus had been on her, and maybe that's why she'd spontaneously decided to up and go travel to meet the pokémon trainer.

He still wasn't quite sure what May had been thinking or what had been going through her mind as she continuously watched Ash Ketchum, but he did know that he felt content to bask in her presence, even through a video. He liked her smile, the way her face lit up in genuine happiness, how kind she seemed to be (even through the screen), and especially how well she was in tune with her pokémon. Maybe she could even get May to like pokémon a little more.

Maybe then she could help Norman not feel as awkward with his own daughter.

"Home sweet home," Wallace, Contest Master and current Sootopolis Gym Leader, sighed happily as he entered his home.

He whipped off his cape and headed to his kitchen, quickly fixing himself a small meal to eat as he started to settle into his home and start to relax. He let out his Milotic, who happily cooed at him before filing into the living room and curling in his favorite spot near Wallace's armchair.

"Are you hungry, my love?" Wallace cooed right back. "I'll fix you something to eat as well then."

Once he'd settled into his seat and was comfortable, he turned on his television, hoping that his DVR managed to record the Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest. He'd been gone awhile, making special appearances at events and Contests, with some interviews, that he hadn't been able to catch the annual, traditional Kanto contest. Finally with some downtime, he was hoping to watch it now and see any interesting, unique, or even just entertaining performances that might have come up.

He watched all the way through, enjoying himself, and then had to make himself stop short as he watched the last performance. Now this was a beauty…

He liked her style. She had presence as well! And the story weaved into her performance and costume, along with that beautiful Seviper, who performed elegantly along with its mistress…

The Wallace Cup was coming up soon, and taking place in Kanto. If only he could find out where she was and convince her to take part of it…

He wondered how much more she could shine.

May had spent a few days looking around Vermillion City, caught between exploring the new and large place, and also asking around and trying to see if anyone had seen Ash around there. She was so far disappointed in her lack of luck, but she was enjoying herself and the sights. She'd even managed to try the city's famed House Steak platter.

Still, she wished she had some clue if Ash had passed through already, or had yet to come to Vermillion City. She didn't even want to venture out, considering her lack of pokémon to keep her safe while traveling. She really wished she wasn't feeling so helpless right then. At least she had the weather going for her. Since her arrival, the skies had been nice and clear, and sun wonderfully bright. It wasn't too hot, and there was a good breeze in the air.

May passed by the Vermillion Gym, where she paused and stared at it. Ash was a pokémon trainer. So maybe this place would know, might remember her –if she'd already been here. She awkwardly stood in front of the gym for a few seconds, before she decided it was worth a shot. She entered it and was surprised and disappointed to see it was empty. Maybe if she came back another time…

"Hey, can I help ya with somethin'?" a young man, maybe late twenties, came around the corner, wearing gray shorts and a t-shirt and had a towel around his neck. "Are ya here for a gym battle?"

May blushed in embarrassment. "N-no. I was hoping to ask someone here a question about a, uh, past challenger."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I guess I can help ya with that. Let's head on to the back, where the arena is. I just got back from a run and I'd like to get some water before talkin' with ya. Just to warn ya, a lotta people come through here and I don't really keep track of them. None of us really do actually," he scratched his head awkwardly.

When May nodded, he led the way and quickly found his water bottle, taking a few quick gulps before turning to May expectantly.

"Oh, um…I was wondering if you knew if a girl came in and challenged you. She's pretty small, dark hair and eyes…um…pretty face, has a Pikachu –"

He cut her off. "Ya wouldn't be talkin' about a Ash Ketchum, would ya?"

"You know her!" May beamed at him, inwardly relieved. "I didn't think you'd know her name, so I was just trying to describe her. Does that mean she's passed by here?"

"Sure did. Won a badge fair and square. Pretty impressive, that girl was. Why'd ya wanna know about her?" he asked her curiously, after remembering back to that exciting battle.

May's face flushed a deep red. "It's…complicated."

He sighed. "Hey, look. It's early and there's no battles scheduled for today. So unless some random challenger wants to come in and challenge the gym, I'm free and ya can take all my time. Why don't ya explain it all to me over food? How about over breakfast?"

"Er, okay," she mumbled, her stomach growling at her.

"Good! I'm starving!"

When he led her further back, there was a small living area, complete with couches and a TV, a kitchen sectioned off behind the entertainment area, and an entrance that led to a bathroom. It had plenty of space and seemed comfortable.

"Ya cool with bacon and eggs?" he asked her, while getting a pan out.

"S-sure," she agreed, feeling awkward in the situation she was in.

"So…ya wanna get started on explainin'?" he asked casually as he started to cook.

She wrinkled her nose, but sat down at the table and began talking. By the end of it, he whistled and shook his head.

"Ya got a…odd family," he said, trying to be…nice about it.

"Yeah, I know we're strange," May mumbled.

'Messed-up, dysfunctional, abnormal…' were all words he'd use instead. Oh, he could go on.

"Anyway, I got it. Ya wanna chase after her though, huh?"

May cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Yes. I just…I'm not a pokémon trainer, I don't have pokémon with me, and I don't know where to start."

"Uh…Well, first things, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Remy, substitute gym leader," Remy introduced himself, though he confused her by what he meant about substitute gym leader. "You're in luck. The actual gym leader of this gym is out traveling with her. He's got an antsy Jolteon around here that wants to make his own way over to him, so why don't you take him and use him for protection? Jolteon will agree to it, especially since you'd be making your way to where Luc is."

Her eyes widened. "R-really? Can I?"

"Sure," Remy shrugged. "Jolteon is about ready to just go off on his own. Might as well travel with you."

It was like May's luck was going strong. If only it would last long enough to get her to Ash soon.

Steven hummed, going through the papers. His workers looked at him strangely, but he didn't pay them any attention.

"Sir?" one of them decided to be brave enough to come towards him.

"Hm?" Steven distractedly answered.

"Shall we head to Lavender Town?"

Steven blinked and then looked at him in askance. "What? That's like going backwards."

His workers looked at each other in confusion.

"But…that was the itinerary," someone else spoke up hesitantly.

Steven hnned, grabbing a certain paper. "Ah, this." He then promptly began ripping it up cheerfully. "It is no longer relevant."

Everyone gaped at him.

However, as far as Steven was concerned, he was redesigning his travel plans to be in match to wherever Ash was heading. Admittedly, he had thought of something like this as part of the new changes to the product tour he'd been thinking of, back when he first met her. Only, he hadn't been able to find a way to keep in contact or find out where she was going to next.

But now Steven had her number, and it was off to Celadon City they go.

Ash scrunched up her nose. "Like this?"

She reached over and grabbed the canister of gel from the table and was about to dip her hand in to scoop up a glob of it, when Giovanni snatched it from her.

"No! You don't use that much. Your hair will end up shiny and greasy and/or hard as your metal helmet," Giovanni rolled his eyes.

"What's going on here?" Lt. Surge poked his blond head into the surprisingly spacious bathroom. There was a shower, toilet and sink, along with the small single bathroom outside of there.

"Giovanni is teaching me to slick my hair back," Ash grinned at him.

Lt. Surge blinked and looked at Giovanni.

"She's too recognizable as a guy, similar to when she's normal," Giovanni grumbled. "Some more differences to her male alias will help differentiate and look different from how she normally looks."

"…Alright," Lt. Surge mentally shrugged it off. Besides, if it was up to him, he wouldn't have Ash dress up at all. With him, Giovanni, and the others around, any so-called perverts Ash's mother was worried about would run far away. He pointedly ignored how he and the others would probably qualify as something for Ash's mother to worry about as well. "Anyway, when you're done, Sabrina said she'll come after and you two can practice a little more on your Aura usage, and then go out for last minute time together."

Ash nodded and went back to focus on Giovanni, as her blond friend left them alone.

Giovanni sighed and held up the canister. He showed her the appropriate amount of hair gel she was supposed to scoop onto her fingers, surprisingly very little, and then he was gently tilting her head up by placing the fingers of his other hand under her chin and lifting it up. His other hand softly threaded through her hair and she could see her hair moving back, and then he kept her head there for a minute before letting go. She moved her head back to a normal position, and saw that her hair had stayed slicked back.

"Normally, I just get a little on the fingers of both my hands and then run them through my hair back," Giovanni explained. "I like this brand because it normally doesn't make one's hair shiny or greasy looking, or feel hard."

Oh, Ash knew that already. She could silently admit that she'd wondered how Giovanni's hair was able to stay slicked back for so long and so well, and look as natural and feel as soft as it did. She could also admit to herself that she snuck a feel at his hair one time to find that out.

"It's magic gel," she muttered in awe, poking at her hair and giddily feeling how soft it still felt, and not at all greasy.

Giovanni rolled his eyes again. "Anyway, you should also come up with a sort of…persona for your male alter."

Ash looked at him curiously. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Well…why don't you create an entirely different separate identity and personality for your male disguise? Come up with a name, characteristics, etc." Still, he felt rather uncomfortable explaining this. He would prefer she wouldn't, but at the same time he really would feel much better if Ash did get used to and used her male persona when she wasn't with him –with all of them, he meant. He wasn't happy or comfortable with her going out on her own and getting all sorts of who knows who approaching her, like those Colress and Steven men she told him about.

Although, he actually recognized just which Colress she met, and had managed to pilfer the man's number from Ash and contact him. They were in the midst of negotiating "contracts and terms", despite no physical written words being involved, and now (even with Colress working alongside that infantile Team Plasma group) Giovanni had the man interested and on the verge of agreeing to work with him. It was great irony and a wonderful success for him that he managed to pinch an intelligent and sharp-minded individual from a rival group, in such a way that though Colress worked for Team Plasma, he was also now unknowingly working with Team Rocket.

He grinned smugly to himself, mentally patting his back for a very successful find. Ash raised an eyebrow and decided it was best not to ask.

She tugged at his sleeve and gestured at the mirror, and he began showing her all the little differences she could do to change her hairstyle.

A little after that, Ash dressed in her normal skirt and shirt and went to go find Sabrina with Pikachu, only to find the psychic patiently waiting for her outside of the jumbobus.

"I see you all are already settled into your bus to leave," Sabrina glanced at the bus.

Ash gave her a small smile. "Yeah, we'll leave later. But that's not important right now! What is is that I'm with you and we're spending time together! So let's go."

She weaved an arm around the psychic and Sabrina led her to a small clearing behind her gym. This was where Sabrina had been taking her for the past two weeks, training her in how to at least try accessing her telepathy and empathy part of her abilities. By then, Ash knew the routine and settled herself comfortably on the grass, while Pikachu leaped off her head and waited. Sabrina sat down in front of her, letting out Kadabra, and then Ash was attempting to meditate while Pikachu scowled and stared at Kadabra, refusing to blink or lose focus.

Honestly, Ash didn't know if Pikachu was attempting to focus his mind and exercise his mental abilities with her, or win a stare off against Kadabra and recoup some lost dignity and win something against it, to pay it back for Pikachu losing against it.

Ah! She was losing track again and her mind wandering…

For at least half an hour, Ash focused on meditation. Then Sabrina was working her mind hard for the rest of that hour and the half of the next. Afterwards, Ash finally managed to drag Sabrina around the city, whereas Sabrina clasped hard onto Ash's arm.

The older and taller female was uncomfortable, but also happy to be more out and about around Saffron, compared to before when she would stay secluded in her gym. She could see people glance over and recognize her, surprised to see the gym leader outside of her gym, but Sabrina was inwardly happy to note that they were all excited and some of them even waved at her. She gave small waves back, but it seemed even that was enough for them.

Her hand was squeezed and she looked to see Ash smiling up at her. Her cheeks colored a bit.

"You look happy."

"I am happy."

And that was the truth.

By the end of their time together, Sabrina was the happiest she'd ever been in a long time, and held a matching Pikachu plush to Ash holding Pikachu.

After dropping off Sabrina at the gym, with the gym leader happily clutching onto the Pikachu plush she'd bought for the older female, Ash had been about to head back to the jumbobus. However, something else caught her eye and caused her to stop in her tracks.

Ash frowned, seeing a dark-clothing covered man harassing a couple. A familiar red R was emblazoned across his chest, and she instantly knew that he belonged to the same organization that the Rocket Trio were a part of. She'd seen a few others dressed like him around the city, boldly walking around and similarly harassing others. When she'd asked Sabrina, the gym leader admitted she knew about their presence, but hadn't really done anything against them or about them, especially considering she used to be willingly sequestered in her gym and didn't care about anything outside of it. Or hadn't cared.

Deciding against confronting him directly, though she itched to just storm over and battle the guy into submission, Ash instead decided to sneak after the guy. After the guy had finished harassing the couple, he began to walk off and Ash trailed behind at a distance. She tried to keep a good distance away, as well as keep to walls and hiding behind things to keep from being seen and noticed. She managed to trail him all the way to the Silph Co. building, where she stared at in confusion.

There had to be a reason why so many Rocket people were just walking around (daringly at that), and something must be connected to the Silph Co. building. She saw a few more Rocket people enter the building, and knew for sure (even more than her gut feeling) that the Silph Co. building was in the middle of all of this. Reaching up, she rubbed Pikachu's side and he looked down at her from his perch on her head.

"Pika?"

"I'm thinking of doing a very, very stupid thing," she murmured to him.

Pikachu reached down and patted her cheek comfortingly and she looked up to see him looking supportive.

"Let's do this?"

"Pika Pi!"

Well, Ash never denied she was crazy.

Going over to the entrance, she peeked in and saw that it was empty. Taking a deep breath, she went through the entrance and looked around in paranoia. She should probably call one of the others by now, but she didn't want them to get caught up in this. Plus, it was easier to sneak around in a small number. If worse came to worse, she had them on speed dial.

Finding the entrance to the stairway, Ash decided that was her best bet.

Proton was proud to say that despite everything and all the setbacks and obstacles, that the Team Rocket operation in Saffron was doing well. He had done well enough on his own, heading and maintaining the operation of taking over the Silph Co. building, and basically a takeover of the city. Rocket agents were freely walking the streets and now the Masterball was soon to be in their grasp, as well as the Silph Co. itself.

He was damn proud of the work he'd done in Saffron, even if it had taken awhile to get to this point. Hell, he was hoping this would be a chance for him to shine and outdo the likes of that stupid Archer. Maybe he'd get a promotion soon enough. He was high enough in the ranks, but he wanted to be the best in the organization. To do that, he'd have to topple the likes of Archer and Ariana.

In terms of ranking of the Executives, it was Petrel, him, Ariana, and then Archer. If he could get those two out of the way, he'd be number one in the organization, outside of the boss…

"Sir, sir!" he heard his walkie-talkie burst out into chatter and he scowled, snatching it from his belt.

"What?" he snapped into it.

"There's…there's this girl! She and her Pikachu are defeating everyone left and right! She's heading your way!"

Proton cursed. "Useless idiots!" he insulted his grunts angrily.

Damn it all, everything had been going so well. Now this newest snag, and it just had to happen when the boss had come to check up on things and personally wrap things up.

He whirled to face the stairwell, hand darting to a pokéball at his belt. He'd show this intruder. He wasn't going to let some stupid little girl come in and ruin things for him. Hearing the loud stomping coming up, he deduced she was close. He began to wear an excited grin. It had been awhile since he'd had a good battle. Hopefully, this dumb girl would be a challenge.

A small figure darted through the entranceway and skidded to a stop in front of him, and Proton finally got his first glimpse of this intruder. He nearly gaped, before inwardly berating himself and contorting his mouth into a sneer.

Fuck it, he was expecting some snot-nose little brat, not some cute teenager to come tromping through the building to face him.

He twitched and forcefully reminded himself that this was his operation and he wasn't going to let her ruin it for him, cute girl or not.

"Who the hell are you, brat?" he spat out, forcing more venom into his tone than he'd managed in the beginning.

She unexpectedly grinned, though it turned scarily shark-ish the next moment. Her Pikachu, just as scarily, copied her (which kind of made it even more scarier that it did so).

"The name is…Red! Remember it!"

The battle, as it turned out, was rather short. Honestly, he hadn't expected to be so badly beaten at the end of it. Yeah, he only had his Zubat and Koffing, but they'd served him well enough against others.

This girl demolished him.

A part of him now understood his subordinate's fear on the walkie-talkie. Another part of him relished this fight and wanted to come back stronger, challenge her again and try to win the next battle.

When she left him behind, ready to go up to the next and last floor and having taken the card key for the elevator that would lead her there, his hat shadowed his face as he stared in shock at the floor. He reached for his walkie-talkie and switched it to a private channel.

"Sir? We have a problem."

Giovanni smiled, pleased at his achievement. Team Rocket practically owned the city and in no small amount of time, he'd acquired many developmental plans from the company, as well as the fact he was about to own it and the plans and prototype for the Masterball.

All he had to do was finish up here, and he could meet back up with the others as if nothing had happened, like he'd promised Ash he'd come back after a few "errands." Once he'd cleaned up and finished his business, he could finally stop being agitated about his plans here in Saffron.

"Sign here," Giovanni practically purred, though his new voice decoder hid that.

He slid the contract over to the disgruntled president, the man glaring at him, though his vision was probably hazy due to the decoder's secondary feature of adding a psionic wave that distorted the affected's vision of the wearer. It was perfect for Giovanni in getting around.

He was suddenly interrupted with the crackle of his walkie-talkie, and he looked down at it irritably. Reluctantly retrieving it, he waited for Proton to respond and tell him whatever it was that had him in a snit this time.

"Sir? We have a problem."

And then he was close to having a heart attack when he was hearing about some girl –with a Pikachu –running about the Silph Co. Building and defeating his Rockets left and right, and having just defeated Proton and about to head to where Giovanni was.

He could not let her know who he was.

If he was honest with himself, he'd long ago resigned and decided he'd keep his true identity from Ash. Because he knew that was exactly who it was that was running amok and causing havoc amongst his Rockets.

And he swore he'd never let her see the dark side of him.

Not sure if Ash's new psychic-like abilities would allow her to see through his decoder's effect, he looked around the room rapidly, and saw the convenient set of leather gloves and a porcelain mask off to the side on a chair. He didn't care how or why they were there, he just grasped at them quickly and put them on in a hurry, feeling odd about the mask in particular. Good Lord, it felt like he was playing Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera.

That thought made him grimace from under the mask, considering that would mean that Ash was his Christine.

In any case, he could only bless whoever up there, that Ash was (unfortunately most times, fortunately for this time) a horribly oblivious girl and unobservant towards a lot of things, Giovanni waited for her there for their inevitable confrontation.

After all, he had nowhere else to go but to stay and face her.

Despite his wishes, it seemed that she was entangled in yet another of Team Rocket's plans. Perhaps…like the Phantom, he could use this as an opportunity to help nurture Ash and even test her.

Something of worth had to come out of this.

"So...where do you think Ash is?" Misty asked, shuffling her cards. "It's been awhile. Do you think she's still with Sabrina?"

Lt. Surge shrugged, growing bored with playing Poker. He'd been hoping Ash would be back by then and they could watch a movie together, just like that one night at his home.

"Giovanni's not done with his errands either," Oak noted.

Misty grew a mischievous smile. "Maybe those two are together right now."

Lt. Surge and Brock hung their heads in gloom, while Oak frowned and felt strangely unhappy about that.

"Suckers," Misty muttered under her breath, shuffling her cards again. Maybe she could use their newfound depression to win this round…

Meanwhile, a certain trio were outside of the window of the Silph President's office, wearing window cleaner outfits, and pretending to clean windows as they looked inside.

"I can't believe the twerp is doing something so reckless," Jessie muttered.

"Are you kidding? The twerp's middle name is reckless!" Meowth huffed.

James worriedly fretted, watching the boss tense up and tensing up himself. He had been repeatedly wiping the same spot on the window for the last few minutes.

"This is exactly what I was trying to warn the boss against," James moaned. "Ash is going to get all hurt about the boss and who he is, and then she's going to cry and be all sad and –"

Jessie looked at him sympathetically, before looking back into the office with a resigned air.

"I know, James. This really sucks. It's been a really lose-lose situation for the boss from the beginning anyway, though. It's not like he could tell her who he really is, especially from the beginning. She'd leave him and stay away. But he can't reveal it now either, 'cause she'll end up hurt and that'll still happen. He's just going to have to end up just keeping it secret from her, if he's going to stay a…a friend," because none of them were too sure of what their boss was to the girl, despite having a feeling that they daren't really voice aloud and knowing how he felt (even if he wasn't acknowledging it).

"Should we jump in?" Meowth asked, though they weren't sure whose side they'd join, despite that was their boss himself in there.

Jessie snorted. "Tch, no way in hell. That's an explosive situation just waiting to happen."

It was for the best really. They were going to stay as far away as they possibly could, while keeping an eye on what was happening.

Besides, this was between the boss and the twerp.

When Ash stepped out of the elevator and came face to face with who that Proton guy said would be the boss of Team Rocket, she didn't know what she was expecting. All in all, the guy in front of her almost seemed normal. He was tall and wore a crisp, tailored suit that was extremely darker than his brown hair, reflecting an inky black. He wore gloves that were dark as well. The only thing off about him was the porcelain ebony mask that covered the upper part of his face.

He stepped away from who she guessed was the president of Silph, moving around the desk and a little closer to her.

"So…you're the one causing all this trouble," he said, though his voice seemed odd. There was…an electronic tone to it? It made it hard to distinguish and recognize his voice, which was probably what he wanted.

"Who are you?" Ash narrowed her eyes at the man. Pikachu acted oddly, staring intensely at the Rocket Boss.

He tilted his head slightly. "Me? Why just call me…the Masked Man."

Ash hovered her hand over her pokéballs and watched him warily.

"And who are you?" she could just tell his tone was amused.

"I'm Red," she declared, recalling the name she picked out to hide her real name. Honestly, she admitted she had just picked it by staring at the dark red R of her first opponent, who had asked her who she was after she'd defeated him.

It wasn't original, but hey! Who was going to connect Red to Ash? It was a freakin' color!

For some reason, this seemed to further amuse the other.

"Very well, Red. Why don't we paint the world red together? Rocket red, that is," he asked, and she bristled. She felt uneasy though, when she felt while seeing Pikachu deflate unhappily for some reason.

"I'll never join you!"

"Never is such a strong word," he drawled, the electronic tone grating on her. "Fine. Then let's just paint the world red in another way. Rhydon! Go!"

He casually grabbed a pokéball from a pocket and tossed it in front of him in a relaxed manner. A huge Rhydon then came out, roaring and ready to face Ash. Ash hid her gulp, and rapidly swiped a pokéball from her belt.

"Milotic! Let's go! Water gun Rhydon immediately!" she ordered, and as soon as she came out of her pokéball, Milotic shot a blast of water at Rhydon.

"Rhydon, dodge it," the Masked Man indifferently ordered, and Ash couldn't believe the speed in which the Rhydon moved away, easily dodging the Water Gun without a care.

"Rapid spin around while using Water Gun again! Try for a large range so you can hit it," Ash quickly thought up.

"Keep dodging," the mysterious boss of Team Rocket calmly told his Rhydon, and it did as he was told rather easily.

"Don't give up, Milotic!" Ash said desperately. "Use Bubblebeam to cover the room. It can't escape that!"

Team Rocket's boss observed her curiously, and while Rhydon dodged as much as it could, eventually the whole room was covered with bubbles that ended up hitting and hurting Rhydon.

"Now Sonicboom to halt it further," Ash quickly ordered her Milotic, while the Masked Man just kept staring.

Though it hit Rhydon, who became confused and was angrily thrashing around, the Masked Man didn't seem worried.

Instead, he just told Rhydon one thing. "Takedown."

And even confused and thrashing about, Ash was amazed to see it calm enough to focus on her Milotic and head straight for her rapidly.

"Water gun!" Ash screamed out, hoping it would stop the pokémon in its tracks. And since it was heading in a direct line, it would be a surefire hit. And it did hit –only for Rhydon to plow through it and tackle Milotic brutally, causing her pokémon to crash against the wall behind her.

Ash winced and quickly recalled Milotic, whispering sorry and a good job to her.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" she said in quick succession, taking advantage of all the water that had coated Rhydon in the meanwhile.

However, to her admiration, Rhydon moved out of the way and Pikachu's electric attack hit the window behind them, shattering it. All of a sudden, there was a loud roar of a different kind, and a helicopter flew down and hovered next to where the window once was. The middle, which bore a big red R, slid apart and revealed the entrance to the inside of the helicopter.

The boss of Team Rocket calmly recalled his Rhydon and took a step towards the helicopter, before halfway turning back to her.

"Let's finish this some other time, shall we?"

He strode the rest of the way into the helicopter and stepped in, continuing to be calm and collected. The helicopter began to slowly drift away from the once-window.

The Masked Man added one last quip, smirking coolly at her. "Until next time…Red."

The helicopter flew off, with the airborne craft's door sliding close and hiding him from her view. Ash scowled and continued to glare out the open space.

"Thank you so much," the President of Silph brought attention back to himself. He stood away from the desk and walked over to her, smiling gratefully. He grasped her hand and shook it firmly. "If it wasn't for you, I would have lost my company and everything else Silph has worked so hard on these last few years. Please –is there anything, at all, that I can do to repay you?"

Ash, taken aback, nervously laughed. "No, no! It's alright. Besides, I'm a loyal Silph Co. customer! Kanto pride, right? Eheheh…."

Honestly, she wished he wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. She had only just wanted to help out…

"Even more! A loyal customer," the man grinned widely. "Please accept this. It's better kept safe with you, than for someone else, or even Team Rocket again, to come try to steal it once more."

He handed her what looked like a pokéball, only it was in black and dark purple, and there was an M elegantly embossed onto the top.

"This is what my company has been developing for the past two years. It's called the Masterball," the president told her gravely. "Team Rocket really wanted to get their hands on it. You see, the Masterball has a 100% catch rate. It will catch a pokémon every time, without fail. However, this is currently the only one in existence at the moment. Please, take it. And it would also be nice if you could tell us, once you use it, how well it does."

Ash accepted it in shock. She had half a mind to refuse it, but she didn't think he would accept her refusal.

"Furthermore, the least I can do is give you and your family lifetime discounts of Silph products," he continued on. "Your parents, are they home? As a minor, I understand I may have to tell them, but as they're included, they would come to know anyway."

"Er…my mom's probably home," Ash was close to mumbling. "I don't know where my dad is."

"Oh? Do you have his contact information?"

Ash inwardly winced. "Um, what I mean is that he left. A long time ago. I…haven't heard from him since."

The president looked aggrieved. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something so sensitive."

She shrugged, trying to be indifferent about it. "No, it's fine. It was a long time ago, like I said. I hardly remember him now."

Still, perhaps he could do something about this. To further repay her, maybe he could look into the whereabouts of this missing father of hers…

Outside of the would-be window, a few floors up, the Team Rocket trio grumbled and cursed the helicopter that had forced them to rapidly and inhumanly reel themselves higher, avoiding a collision with it and most of the blast of winds. And also avoid blowing their cover and revealing their presence there, especially to the boss (who they definitely didn't want to know that they'd been spying or had been there at all).

"Damn that green-haired bastard!" Jessie screamed at the skies. "I don't know who he is and I don't care that he's part of the Team! I'll get him back for this!"

They were, after all, about to fall off of the barely hanging on platform, with both ropes on one side having snapped and leaving them to hang precariously on the ropes of the other side.

James just whimpered. Where was Ash when you needed her?

As Giovanni stepped onto the helicopter, his smirk fell away and he felt exhausted. His shoulders drooped as he leaned against the helicopter's door, placing his forehead against his forearm.

Proton said nothing about his boss' state, or the odd accessories that Giovanni now wore. He quietly flew the helicopter and then headed to a nondescript spot nearby, so he could land and the boss could head back to wherever he'd planned to be.

"Sir?" he asked once they'd landed.

"Report back to base," Giovanni ordered harshly. "Archer will take care of the rest. I will be continuing my ongoing…business in the meantime."

Proton nodded obediently and was about to start the helicopter again, when his boss said something that made him pause and grin madly to himself.

"Good job on your work here, Proton. You did well, and the end of it wasn't your fault."

He left as a happy subordinate, while Giovanni morosely stared off into space. He shook his head and began his rather long trek back into Saffron City and to where their transportation lay in wait, waiting for him.

After getting to the city and hailing a cab, he got out of the vehicle closer to where the jumbobus was parked and decided to walk the rest of the way. Probably a five minute walk left to where it was, he was assaulted by a very unhappy Pikachu, who jumped onto his head and hung upside down to look into Giovanni's face.

"Pika! Pika Pika, Pikachu! Pika Pikapi!" he kept chattering unhappily at Giovanni, body sparking electricity.

Giovanni picked Pikachu off of his head and uprighted him, holding him and ignoring the slight pain of the electricity sparking against his hands.

He smiled solemnly. "So you recognized me, did you?"

"PIKA!"

Giovanni sighed and placed his forehead against Pikachu's, closing his eyes tiredly.

"Please don't tell her. Please don't," Giovanni murmured.

Pikachu quieted down, staring at him.

Giovanni hung his head, still holding Pikachu.

"I can't let her know who I am. Please, Pikachu. I can't lose her," he finally admitted his only real fear, something he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

For a moment, everything was still and silent. And then Giovanni felt a soft paw gently patting his head. He lifted his head and looked up to see Pikachu looking sadly at him.

Maybe the electric mouse didn't fully understand, but at least he understood how Giovanni really felt.

"Let's get back to the others, shall we?"

Giovanni shifted Pikachu into his arms, and held him more securely, and his Persian let himself out of his pokéball, choosing to walk beside his owner and comfortingly rub up against Giovanni's legs every once and awhile.

Ash wasn't sure what was wrong. As soon as Giovanni had come back, he greeted everyone normally (if stiffly) and then proceeded to isolate himself away from everyone, gazing out the window with an unfathomable look. Pikachu, who had mysteriously disappeared earlier and had come back in Giovanni's arms, was now cuddling up against her, while watching Giovanni. Giovanni's Persian was lying by his feet, rubbing his head against the man's legs when the feline felt like it.

"You look worried," Oak whispered, reaching out and brushing her hair behind her ear.

She looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Do I?"

Oak laughed quietly. "You do. Go over to him, if you're so worried, Ash. It'll bother you until you finally do something about it, so just do something about it now."

Ash's smile grew a bit and she nodded at him, before getting up and heading over to Giovanni, holding onto Pikachu as if it would give her confidence. When she got closer, his head turned and he was looking at her, still looking odd.

"Something wrong?"

Ash pursed her lips and shook her head. Instead, she silently but stubbornly plopped herself into the seat right next to him.

Whatever was his problem, he could deal with it while she was right there with him.

Giovanni had kept to himself, feeling very aggravated and tired about the whole thing. He wasn't used to dealing with this whole emotion stuff, and he was definitely uncomfortable with the truth everything led to. He didn't want to acknowledge that at all.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ash approaching him and he felt himself automatically tense up. When all she did was sit down, he still felt unnerved about her proximity. It didn't take long for her to nervously reach over and move the armrest between them up, and then she was shyly scooting closer and then leaning against him.

He swallowed.

His eyes darted up and he saw the others watching him. Misty gave him a 'Well?' look, but he looked away from her quickly, only to find himself looking at Lt. Surge. The blond frowned and then pale blue eyes dipped down to the direction of the girl next to Giovanni and then back up to stare meaningfully at the other.

Giovanni looked to watch Ash cautiously, finding she'd fallen asleep against him. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. When he opened them again, he carefully moved his arm and then moved it around Ash, holding her against him. And then he decided to take it a step further, using his other arm as he bent down and put it under Ash's legs, lifting her up as he adjusted himself on the row of connected chairs to practically have his lower half lying across them as his back leaned against the side of the bus and the window.

He put his arms around her and let her lie back against his chest, holding her close. He closed his eyes again and lowered his head, burying his face against the top of her head.

His usual greediness and selfishness was putting him at the mercy of this girl, at the same time as she changed bits and pieces of him, which included those same two traits…

He wondered if he was going to fall on his own sword or hers.

Started 7/20/14 – Completed 7/27/14

Chapter Text

Norman got off of the Saffron train station, wincing at how the timing was a bit off. Well, better late than never, and he was certainly around the estimated time behind May's train, though he took maybe a little longer than he thought he would as apparently his train ended up in Saffron, while hers had stopped at Vermillion.

His first thought, as he watched the video of Ash Ketchum one last time on the train, was that she was obviously a pokémon trainer. From the way she handled her pokémon, he just had that gut feeling. She wasn't a Coordinator, despite how well she did in that contest and how actual Coordinators seem to really like her. And she wasn't just someone who owned pokémon either.

And then he found an "uncut" version of the contest, where in fact some odd-looking, short woman had been in a Gyarados submarine and had attacked the contest, and Ash's Espeon had expertly dealt with the matter. That just confirmed to him that she was a trainer, and that she battled, her pokémon knew how to battle, and both had experience in it.

That meant, as a pokémon trainer, if she'd been in Saffron, then she would have definitely gone to the gym for a match to win a badge off of the gym leader there.

Wasting no time, as soon as he left the train station, he headed straight for where the gym would be. He got directions and initially set off on foot to there, until a cab came by and he'd hailed it. He rode the rest of the way, saving time, and was quickly in front of the Saffron Gym. He entered it and found the décor to be a little creepy, but brushed it off and continued on.

He ran into some guy, who demanded to know who he was and why he was there, and before Norman could answer, the man started to rant about psychics and psychic power.

Ah. So this was a psychic-type gym then.

He sweatdropped as he listened to the man, wanting to cut in and just ask his questions, but the guy kept on. Fortunately, someone else cut in for him.

"Artie, why don't you help some of the others on their training? I'll take over from here," another man, this time with dark hair and beard, came around the corner and came over to them, smiling exasperatedly.

"Yes, sir! Of course!" Artie bowed low and then excitedly ran off.

"Excuse him, please," the newcomer directed to Norman. "He's a little…eccentric. Anyway, how may I help you?"

Norman cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, is the gym leader here? I wanted to ask them something important."

The man smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir, but Sabrina's currently busy. She's in the middle of a match right now."

Norman was disappointed, but he decided to at least try asking this man as well, before giving up and waiting another time. "I was wondering if you knew a trainer named Ash Ketchum came by? She's got a Pi –"

"A Pikachu," the man finished. "No, I didn't read your mind. She did, actually, pass through here, and she's known quite well here by everyone, including myself and my daughter –the gym leader Sabrina. She just left Saffron an hour ago, however."

Norman sighed. Damn it all, he'd just missed her.

"There's a bus coming through here in half an hour, that's heading to Lavender Town, where she's heading. You can catch it if you stick around," the man offered. "I'm Robert by the way."

"Norman," he offered up his own name. "And thank you. I appreciate the offer."

"Come on back then. We can have some tea while we wait. You can tell me why you need to see her, and I can tell you about her time here and how she actually helped out my daughter and I."

"It's a bit embarrassing," Norman muttered as he followed behind him.

Ash wasn't sure how to react upon realizing the new position she woke up in. The fact that Giovanni's arms were tightly wrapped around her and that she was apparently lying back against him, or the fact that he was close enough to her that she could feel his breath against her ear every time he breathed. Heck, she could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back! That's how close they were!

Was it too much to say that she felt like hyperventilating?

"Pst, Ash!" she looked to see Misty, who was in a seat in the front of the middle section, turning in her seat to smirk at her. "Comfy?"

Ash swallowed nervously and stared at her with wide eyes. Pikachu, still on her lap, opened an eye and huffed at her, inwardly shaking his head at his owner.

Realizing that this floor was mostly empty, aside from Misty and the Harem Club, she realized the others must be on the other floors, most likely sleeping. Turning her head slightly, she looked to see that Giovanni was also fast asleep. By his grip, she doubted he was going to let go of her any time soon, sleeping or not sleeping.

So Ash mentally shrugged and went back to leaning comfortably against Giovanni (who was very comfortable indeed, though she wondered if he was comfortable). She didn't notice when she grabbed onto one of his hands that rested comfortably around her hip, and then after awhile her thumb began to idly move back and forth, caressing it.

Of course, her mind had been wandering and she was starting to count the many Pikachu jumping over a fence in her head, but regardless –what was happening outside her head was happening. And when Giovanni slowly began to wake up, he immediately noticed the action. He didn't move for fear she'd stop. For awhile, he stayed as he was, feeling her hand on his and letting her rest against him.

The moment ended when Oak trotted down the stairs and announced that they were very close to Lavender Town, to which they were going to make a stop and stay a bit and explore.

"How long exactly until we reach Lavender Town?" Giovanni spoke up, scaring the hell out of Ash, who twitched and refrained from jumping away from him.

"About an hour, I think," Oak estimated. He glanced at them, hiding his smirk. "Good sleep, you two?"

Giovanni glowered at the professor, while Ash's face turned a bright red. Pikachu was quick to snicker quietly, while Persian began waking up from his spot on the floor, yawning and peeking up at his master and the girl he was curled around.

Ash tried to, as smoothly and naturally as she could, move away from Giovanni, who masked his disappointment.

"Um, is there a lot of pokémon there?" she asked them.

Everyone glanced at each other uneasily, causing her to frown and become curious.

"Well…" Brock joined in on the conversation, stepping down from the stairs with Lt. Surge. "Lavender Town is known for having a lot of ghost-types."

Ash stared at him blankly, before laughing nervously. "It's just pokémon, ghost-types or not. Eheheh…"

Not that any of them bought that. They didn't blame her though –after Ghastly and the Maiden's ghost, and then with Sabrina sort of…Ash was having a run of really bad luck.

In the meantime, while they continued to travel, Ash thought she could busy herself with a movie. Except she chose to watch The Grudge and wouldn't stop cowering and hiding in the back of the bus, peeking every once in awhile. Pikachu was copying her, unable to watch the movie at all. Or unwilling to.

"Ash! Why would you choose a freakin' horror movie to watch, especially when you're going to act like this?" Misty face palmed.

"I thought I could prepare myself for when we get to Lavender Town!"

"Clearly it's not working!"

"I know! But I can't help myself! I can't look away or stop it myself!"

As one, the group sighed and moved in unison. Oak went to be beside Ash, covering her eyes with his hands, one of the Harem guys shut off the movie, and Lt. Surge flipped on the installed iHome machine, playing whatever was on last. Apparently, that was Boyz II Men's I'll Make Love to You. He shrugged and let it go, and went to go sit next to Ash.

Consequently, as soon as the chorus hit, he regretted it immediately.

"I'll make love to you,
Like you want me to –"

"Lucien, you idiot," Giovanni groaned and lightly smacked his forehead, holding it after.

Lt. Surge imagined himself jumping off a cliff.

It was worse when Ash started to sing along, and if they closed their eyes, they could imagine she was singing to them.

"Noooo!" Brock snapped and ran out of the first floor, hightailing it up the stairs.

Ash watched him go bewilderedly, before shrugging and going back to singing, this time joined by the Harem Club…who sang to her. Pikachu also joined in, even if no one could really understand his words. She giggled at their silliness, while Lt. Surge and Giovanni were steadfastly trying their best to sit there and endure. Oak simply shook his head at them all.

Misty? She was inwardly cackling in her head.

"And I'll hold you tight
Baby, all through the night!"

By the time they finally reached Lavender Town, the whole group was ready to rush out of the bus, stretch and get some fresh air. Giovanni more so, after receiving a call and getting the news about some idiot Rocket grunt having lost a Silph Co. device in Lavender Town, somewhere in the Pokémon Tower.

Idiots, the whole lot of them. Did Giovanni have to do everything himself?

"First things first, the Pokémon Center," Oak announced and everyone agreed.

They quickly traveled to there, leaving the Harem Club to watch over and stay with the bus. After all of their pokémon had been taken, they chose to wait around a bit, until they overheard two people talking about the ghosts in the town, and the increase in them.

"Excuse me, are you talking about the ghost pokémon?" Ash asked tentatively. Pikachu straightened up on top of her head, staring intensely at the two.

The man and woman talking looked over to her curiously.

"Well, there's been an increase in them too," the woman explained. "But we're talking about actual ghosts showing up. Spirits of both pokémon and humans have been haunting the town recently."

"Yeah. There's like an infestation of them around here now," the man added on.

"Oh, where did she go?" the woman then said, and Ash's group looked around and saw that Ash and Pikachu had actually somehow disappeared from within their midst.

"Looks like someone decided to play hide and seek," Oak deadpanned, as the duo moved away to collect their pokémon from Nurse Joy.

"I'll go drag her back," Giovanni sighed. "Besides, maybe I can convince her to come with me to the Pokémon Tower. I've got business there."

"Business in the Pokémon Tower?" Lt. Surge looked at him in confusion, considering the place was the resting ground for deceased pokémon.

Giovanni grimaced. "One of my employees dropped an important company device in the Tower, while on a visit. Since I'm here, I'm going to personally retrieve it."

Oak huffed. "I feel your pain about unreliable workers. Stupid, lazy aides of mine…" he muttered at the end. "Nevertheless, that's a good idea. Why don't we all take Ash out to some place around the town, to help her get rid of, or at least, temper, that ghost fear of hers? I can take her out to an old friend of mine, Mr. Fuji."

"I'll take her around town to tour around the place," Brock volunteered.

"And I'll come with you two," Misty said sweetly, giving Brock a dark look.

Brock pouted. Why did she always pick on only him?

"There's another haunted place around here that I can try to walk her through, a second Pokémon Tower where I heard a Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar hang around and bother the people who come into it," Lt. Surge added. "I think people around here call it the Poké Tower or Poké Haunt to differentiate from the Pokémon Tower."

"Good, that settles it," Oak said finally. "Giovanni, just bring her back here and once all our pokémon are all rested up, we'll bring her around town."

Giovanni nodded at him and then went straight to the bus, to which the Harem guys immediately pointed up the stairs. Without further ado, Giovanni strode up the stairs and paused at the top, not entering just yet. He took out Persian's pokéball and let the feline out. With a jerk of his head, he gestured into the second floor and Persian understood without any other direction.

He followed behind at a sedate pace, watching as Persian located the girl hiding in the last bunk in the back, holding her legs to her chest and with Pikachu lying curled on top of her head. Persian walked closer, and Ash was quick to see Persian, who then leapt up and nuzzled his head against her legs.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked him.

"Per Persian," Persian answered.

Persian continued to rub up against Ash, who reached out and rubbed his head contentedly.

"It is a rather comforting pastime, just sitting and petting Persian's head," Giovanni spoke up, and Ash looked up in surprise. "I'm surprised though. He's a little high-handed and usually doesn't play so well with others, or get along easily. He's also pretty much stuck up and think others below him…like me," he admitted, though Ash giggled at him. "He also doesn't let anyone other than me pet him. But he seems to really, really like you."

"Perrrsian," Persian agreed, purring a bit.

Ash smiled a little, happily petting Persian a little bit more. "Well, I really like Persian too."

Giovanni sat himself gently down next to her. "You know, there's a resting place here for pokémon. People come from all over to pay their respects. Wouldn't you want to? I know how pokémon are really important to you."

Ash shifted uncomfortably. "…Yeah."

"Why don't you come with me to there? I need to locate an important device an employee accidently dropped there. You can…you can even help me look for it," Giovanni tentatively decided to recruit her for the job. Besides, she was much more competent than many of his employees. "What do you say? You want to help me out?"

Ash became a little more confident. "Of course I'd help you, Giovanni! Besides, you're always helping me. I want to repay the favor."

"Good, good. I'll even pay you with a pokémon and I'll buy you a ton of pokéballs, because I remember you saying in our first meeting –'pokéballs are hella expensive!'"

She pouted at him. "I'll have you know that my exact words were 'And do you know how expensive pokéballs are?' I was much more polite!"

Giovanni rolled his eyes.

"Although…you don't have to pay me, you know. I'd help you out just because. Plus, you're a friend," she said shyly.

He couldn't help smiling gently at her. "I know you would. It's just like you. But just think of this as a job assignment. It's only right I'd pay you for your services, and since I know you don't like taking my money, I came up with an alternative."

"I don't even know if this way is worse though," she pouted even more.

"Deal with it," he said dryly.

"Pika!"

"Persian!"

Both pokémon echoed him. Ash huffed and continued pouting.

"You're all against me!"

At the moment, she'd just finished going around town with Brock and Misty, and she didn't feel as adverse to the town as she had before. It was kind of peaceful and quiet around there, if solemn. And so far, they hadn't run into any ghosts of any type, spirits of people and pokémon or even ghost-type pokémon.

"'Lo, Ash," Oak greeted her with a smile. "Ready to meet my friend?"

She smiled brightly back at him. "Sure am, Sam! Let's go."

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu echoed her.

Together, they went back out with Oak leading the way. They reached out and grabbed hands, swinging them slightly as they walked.

"So, tell me about your pokémon journey so far," Oak brought up, deciding that since he had time now with her, and he probably wouldn't be able to get a hold of and have time to ask Viridian Joy about it (like he'd initially planned). "And don't leave anything out! I promise I won't tell your mother," he added as incentive, poking her side. She squirmed away.

Though she scrunched up her nose, she began to tell him everything that had happened from the moment she left Pallet Town, to meeting back up with Oak at the Pokémon Technical Institute. Oak nodded along, smiling at her…but inwardly, he frowned at a bunch of spots. It was a good thing Delia wouldn't hear about this –she'd fret and demand Ash come back home immediately.

Sleeping over some man's house (someone she just met too), the debacle with the St. Anne, falling into an "electric pool of water", and then all the recent stuff that had happened while Oak had joined them…And he was still bothered by Giovanni's interest in her. It wasn't like him at all, and it was just too unusual and out of character of the man, hence everyone else's bewildered reaction to it and Giovanni. But then, considering the more Oak observed and the more obvious Giovanni became, he was getting a feeling of why Giovanni was acting so oddly…

He wasn't sure if he was happy or at ease with the revelation.

"Ah, here we are," Oak saw the modest, slightly large home. "His home also doubles as a place for abandoned pokémon, who are taken cared of by townspeople who volunteer to help out."

While Ash didn't like that people abandoned pokémon, she was happy that they had somewhere to go and that there were people who cared enough to care for them.

Inside of the house, they were met immediately by people. When Oak told them who he was (minus his actual name and saying he was just a friend) and that they were there to meet Mr. Fuji, one of the volunteers led them to a nice, old man that greeted them jovially. After awhile of chatting and Ash getting to know Oak's friend, Mr. Fuji suggested that she could go around and see all the different pokémon that were currently being cared for there.

She eagerly accepted and left the two to catch up, also glad that Mr. Fuji didn't make a big fuss over Oak's new looks and age, once the professor whispered to him what had happened. While she walked and even helped out the volunteers (Pikachu was making a lot of friends and being cooed over by a lot of people –she had to stifle her laugh as she saw him begin to play up the cuteness factor on purpose), she spotted a lone Cubone in the back.

"I see you found our little Cubone," Mr. Fuji said, coming up from behind her with Oak. "He's quite a bit of a loner, the poor thing. Aside from me, he tends to stay by himself and avoid the other volunteers and pokémon."

Ash frowned and watched the small pokémon stand by himself, reminding her a little of when she met Pikachu.

"Why is Cubone alone and doesn't want to be around others?" she asked, feeling bad for him and wanting to reach out.

Mr. Fuji smiled sadly at her. "It's a bit of a story…You see, about a year ago, Team Rocket came and took over the Pokémon Tower. Most of their business there was taking the skulls from the Cubone around the area, and then selling them. However, when they tried to come after this little one, his mother protected him. She died and left him an orphan, and he hasn't really allowed others to come close to him, physically or emotionally."

Ash watched the Cubone sadly. She then decided she'd go over and make friends with him, hoping she could help him not be so lonely. Walking over, she approached him, seeing him notice her and watch her coming warily. She smiled gently at it.

"Hi," she said softly. "My name's Ash. This is my partner Pikachu."

"Pika Pikachu! Pika!" Pikachu enthusiastically greeted the other, popping up over Ash's shoulder.

"Do you want to come play with us?" Ash asked him kindly.

Cubone, though, turned his back on them. Still, Ash wasn't discouraged.

"Okay then. We'll play here, and if you want to join in, you can join in at any time," Ash offered.

Cubone stayed with his back facing them, so she and Pikachu started to play a random game together. Eventually, as Cubone watched them and they had fun, he started to inch closer until he was right with them, and soon enough was playing along as well.

Ash smiled happily.

Giovanni could tell Ash was nervous, as was Pikachu, as the four of them entered the quiet and solemn Pokémon Tower. His Persian was out with them, allowing Pikachu to ride on top of him and cling to his fur.

Neither mistress nor mouse pokémon looked all that comfortable or happy to be there.

"I don't mean to be a coward or to whine, but…I'm really scared right now, Giovanni," she admitted quietly to him.

He took her hand and squeezed. "I know. We're going to be really quick. We'll find the device and get out as fast as possible. It'll be in and out."

She refused to let go of his hand, so he let her cling to him like Pikachu continued to cling to Persian.

"We're only on the first floor," Giovanni murmured to her, eying the lack of people around. It was cold too –too cold. "There are about seven floors, the last of which my employee told me he'd dropped the device at. We'll keep going until the last floor, that way we're not making unnecessary stops and can get out of here quickly."

Ash nodded anxiously, and Giovanni glanced at her before determinedly leading the way. The sooner this business was done, the sooner they could get out of there. He was having a bad feeling about this as well.

If the first floor was practically empty, the second floor was devoid of any life at all. It was eerily quiet and still, and the cold got worse. Ash shivered and Giovanni took off his jacket, placing it around her. She slipped her arms through the sleeves and smiled at him gratefully.

"Thanks, Giovanni. Is it normally this cold around here?" she frowned as she looked around dubiously.

"No, it isn't," Giovanni's eyes darted around warily.

She looked at him uneasily. "Is…is something wrong then?"

"I don't know," he told her quietly, still looking around. "Maybe. Stick close to me just in case."

She went even closer than before to him (he tried not to get all restless and bothered about that, considering the seriousness of the situation they were in), and Ash was trying her best not to fret so much or show him how much she was worrying. Not that it was working so much, but she was glad he didn't say anything about it, and he just didn't want to embarrass her or worse, alarm her even more than she was.

"Pika…" Pikachu was lying flat on top of Persian's back, practically plastering himself against the feline as he shivered from the cold. Though, despite his fear, he was ready to attack and defend his mistress no matter what.

Ash took a deep breath. "Alright. Time for the third floor."

They went up the stairway together, and cautiously went onto the third floor. At first, it was silent and seemed as empty as the first two floors. And then there was a loud screech, and from out of nowhere some lady in an off-white robe and rolled up eyes came running towards them.

"Beware! It's the end!"

Giovanni pushed Ash behind him as he got ready to intercept the woman, grabbing hold of the woman as soon as she was in front of him, and then bodily tossing her onto the ground. He grunted at the exertion, but straightened up and reached for a pokéball, only to be surprised to hear Ash.

"Eevee, Quick Attack! Make sure she's knocked out!"

A brown blur brushed passed him and took the lady down for sure. Giovanni then turned to Ash, seeing Persian protectively standing in front of her and Pikachu standing on top of the feline and sparking with electricity.

"I didn't know you had an Eevee," he said faintly, still trying to recover from whatever the hell had just happened.

She fidgeted. "Bill gave her to me the night before we left his lighthouse…I haven't had time to get her ready for battle or used to people, and I was saving her as a surprise…But then Eevee are immune to ghost-types, so I thought this would probably be a good experience for her."

"Well then, make sure to keep Eevee out, just in case this wasn't an isolated attack," Giovanni doubted it would be. "Although, perhaps I should have you get back…"

"No!" Ash shook her head vehemently. "I promised you I'd help you, and I never back away from my word. I swear I'll make sure you get that device back!"

"If you're certain," he wasn't so sure, but he appreciated her sticking by him and her word. "In any case, I believe she's supposed to be a Medium. Not that I believe any of that nonsense."

"Must I remind you of Maiden's Peak?" Ash grumbled, looking cautiously at the unconscious woman.

"This is completely different. An actual ghost was involved then. People like her are just hoaxes and con artists," he dismissed it.

Ash wasn't so certain, but Giovanni seemed the skeptical type. He'd have to see and experience before believing it, she bet.

"Next floor then," he muttered.

On the next floor, they were attacked by several more "possessed" Mediums, further frightening Ash and aggravating Giovanni. Some of them even had some presence of mind left to attack them in a pokémon battle that Eevee was quick to finish off.

"Hey, look! Someone actually left an Elixir, Awakening, and an HP Up on the ground here," Ash noted, breathing a bit more harshly.

"Keep it," Giovanni told her. "They obviously don't need it anymore. Finder's keeper's."

He had a feeling it either belonged to either people who had fled the haunted tower after a failed visit, and accidentally left those things behind, or they'd been dropped by some of his grunts when they'd taken over the tower before and had then left in a rush, consequently leaving things behind.

He looked to Ash and frowned, noticing her pale pallor and her clammy appearance. Touching his hand to her forehead revealed that she was just as clammy as she looked, and icy cold.

"This isn't good, Ash. You look sickly. Something in the tower is making you ill," he tensed up.

She frowned. "I…I don't," she took a deep breath to regain it, feeling herself having trouble breathing. "I don't want to stop now. We're…getting there. Right?"

They had about three more floors to go, but he wasn't sure she could make it. Hell, he didn't even know what was wrong with her.

"Recall Eevee. Pikachu, stay close to Persian. And as for you," he turned back to Ash after she'd replaced Eevee's pokéball. "I'll carry you the rest of the way. I'm worried about your health and what's ailing you. But if you're so stubborn to want to keep going on, then we'll just have to hurry this up so we can get you out of here and get looked at. Okay? That's the only way I'll allow you to keep going on with me."

Though she didn't want to be a burden and be carried, she reluctantly agreed. And then he was scooping her up into her arms, carrying her bridal style instead of piggyback like she'd expected.

However, as they got closer to the fifth floor, she started to shiver worse than before, and she quickly found herself huddling into Giovanni for warmth.

Her eyelids began to grow heavy and soon she couldn't help but close them.

Giovanni nearly panicked when he realized Ash had passed out in his arms. Upon closer look, her breathing was labored and her heartbeat too low, and she'd become like ice to the touch. When he stopped to shake her, trying to wake her up, nothing was working. She wouldn't wake for anything, not even when Pikachu tried a thundershock on her.

It was almost as if she was comatose…

He turned back and began to head back down, when at the bottom of the stairwell, something grabbed hold of Ash and refused to let her go passed the doorway. After several minutes of attempting to cross with Ash with no luck, Giovanni cursed and realized that he might have to keep going up with her.

Practically forced to, he made his way to the fifth level. He saw a few more Mediums around, but they were either sitting dazed on the floor or standing up, swaying and in a strange trance.

He ran further in and spotted an object on the floor, sighing in exasperation when he realized it was a fist-sized gold Nugget. Probably a leftover from the Team Rocket unit that had operated here a year ago. Well, he had no need of it and he didn't mind handing it over to her…

Pocketing it, he was about to keep going on, when someone interrupted him.

"Hello? Are you in need of help?"

He looked around and noticed a Medium, this one looking aware.

"You're not going to spout some apocalyptic nonsense, are you?" he asked her warily, heading over.

Her lips twitched up. "No. But that girl in your arms seems to need help. I see spiritual residue clinging to her. It seems as if the restless spirits in this tower are latching onto her and even seeking to leech her life force."

He sucked in a harsh breath, eyes focusing sharply at her.

"Do not mess with me. This better be serious or I swear I'll –"

"I am certain," she cut in. "It is dangerous for her to travel any further into this tower. Whatever forces that are lingering about, they wish to consume and keep her here. Perhaps even drain her life force to strengthen them as well. She must somehow be strong in the spiritual sense. Those that draw spirits in are usually strong psychics, Mediums, and the like. Hence, my brethren around being overpowered by their spiritual senses."

Giovanni wondered if that meant Ash's Aura abilities counted and were the cause of this.

"And of you –why are you still normal?" he eyed her suspiciously.

"I am within this area of sanctuary that I have created," she gestured to the floor beneath her, where he saw the square section of symbols that she stood on and which glowed faintly. "Bring her here. It will not cure her, but the purified space will keep her from being harmed further, and protect her from the spirits that wish to take her from this world."

Grimacing at her words and at the thought of having to leave her behind (and with some stranger), Giovanni reluctantly set her down on the ground.

"Pikachu, Persian, stay here with her and keep her safe. I'll go on. Maybe there's something I can do…"

The Silph Scope device he was after was said to be able to see ghosts, according to his agents that had been working on it. Maybe something about it could help him solve this problem and help Ash back to normal.

Quickly, by himself now, he passed the next floor and picked up two more items that he stored away for Ash. The next floor after was the last level, and he entered it cautiously, finding the narrow rectangular room dark and ominous.

A raspy growl echoed through the air, and he damned the poor lighting. He was, at least, able to spot the Silph Scope, and he darted over to it and picked it up. Another growl had him put it on, and he looked around the room, utilizing the inbuilt nightvision that allowed him to see better.

He was disturbed to see a blurry figure in the air, and after he adjusted the Silph Scope, the blurry figure became clearer and revealed itself to be a…a Marowak?

He inwardly cursed. If it was a ghost and a Marowak, chances were that it was the spirit of the Marowak mother his idiotic agents accidentally killed when they'd temporarily taken base here in the Pokémon Tower not too long ago.

"You may not know who I am, but I know who you are," Giovanni spoke clearly, trying to inch back towards the entranceway. "I am sorry. It wasn't supposed to be this way. You weren't supposed to die. But please, if you have anything to do with it, please leave the girl alone. She has done nothing wrong."

The ghostly Marowak let out a roar and a horde of vaguely shaped spirits appeared and converged on him. He ran the rest of the way to the door and took leaps down the stairs, to head to the fifth level, where Ash still was. He had to somehow get them the hell out of there, before they were overwhelmed by the spirits.

He managed to the fifth floor, surprised that they hadn't caught up to him, and ran the rest of the way to Ash and the Medium. However, he soon realized that the spirits had let him get away, so that he could bring them right to Ash, to which the Medium fearfully tried to strengthen the purified space they were now all in. But it was clear the spirits were and would soon overcome the barrier and converge on them all.

It was, in the nick of time, where a small figure darted in front of the spirits and yelled bravely at them.

"Cu Cubone! Cubone Cubone! Cu!"

The Marowak that had led the onslaught paused and stared at the small Cubone, and then the two were exchanging words. Giovanni quickly realized that the Cubone was probably the child of the Marowak; the very same one that the Marowak had tried to protect from his Rocket agents, and had ended up dying for it.

He took a deep breath and looked at the Marowak.

"I'm sorry," he said loudly, strangely very sincere. The words felt foreign to him and odd coming out of his mouth. But the girl in his arms made him not focus on that and instead focus on the fact that Ash was lying cold and still in his arms and he had to do something. "I'm sorry for what happened."

The Marowak stared straight at him, looking deep into his eyes. And suddenly, she seemed to understand everything. She gave him a final nod and turned to her child, and caressed his head. And then she faded away, and one by one so did the other spirits.

He gave a sigh of relief, more so when he felt Ash's breathing even out and her temperature go back to normal. Looking at her, she already seemed to look much better than before.

He felt a nudge at his elbow and saw the small Cubone there, looking up at him wide-eyed while calmly laying his chin on top of Ash's leg.

"I'm sorry to you too," he murmured, gently patting the Cubone's head. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Damn, this girl was softening him up.

When Ash woke up, she was filled in on what had happened (minus Giovanni's role and connection with Team Rocket).They both agreed that it was a good idea to just shut up about the whole ordeal, and not reveal anything about it to the others.

They can just imagine how that conversation would go.

Therefore, they kept very quiet about happenings that would do well to never be mentioned again. On the other hand, they still had to explain Cubone's sudden appearance with them, considering the fact that he refused to leave their side and refused to move from being carried in Ash's arms.

"Er, he just appeared," Ash said lamely to the others. "We were finishing up at the Pokémon Tower, when he appeared and didn't want to leave us."

"I believe he wants to stay with you," Mr. Fuji noted, smiling slightly, though he seemed a bit sad.

Ash shifted him in her arms. "Um, is that really alright?"

"It's up to Cubone, of course," Mr. Fuji declared. "But it seems more than obvious that he wishes to be by your side. I know you'll take good care of him for now on. As a thank you for helping Cubone out and taking him in, please accept this in my gratitude."

He handed her an oddly shaped flute. "It's a Pokéflute. Pokémon will calm down with it, but it can also wake any sleeping pokémon up."

Awkwardly accepting it with one hand, using the other arm to keep a hold of Cubone, she studied her new flute in amazement.

"I can really have this?" she asked unsurely. "I mean, I'd take Cubone in regardless."

Mr. Fuji smiled widely. "Of course. Use it well."

Afterwards, Mr. Fuji exchanged a heartfelt goodbye with Cubone, who went back to snuggling into Ash's arms after.

"There's one more 'Pokémon Tower' to check out, if you are up to it?" Lt. Surge brought up, looking expectantly at her. "Want to come with me?"

Ash hid her anxiety and gave him a weak smile. No need to alarm the others, or let them catch on to what had happen. This'll be good. It'll be fine. Right…

She and Giovanni exchanged looks as she left with the lieutenant.

They entered the creepy tower warily, with Ash more so.

"Okay, you know what? I'm just going to admit I'm a coward and latch onto you, and use you as a shield," Ash declared, going behind Lt. Surge's back and huddling behind him, clinging onto his arms. Pikachu likewise copied her actions, doing the same to Ash.

"…Well, at least you're honest," he said in amusement. "We won't take long. We'll just act like a bunch of dumb kids doing a dare about a supposedly haunted place, hanging around for a certain time and trying to see something 'ghostly.' Like those graveyard dares or something."

"Except I'll never step foot inside a cemetery at night," Ash muttered. Pikachu agreed. "Pika…"

He chuckled and walked on, moving slowly so she could continue to clutch onto him and not trip and he wouldn't stumble.

"I feel like Scooby and Shaggy," Ash mumbled.

"Want a Scooby Snack?" he asked dryly.

She pouted and lightly headbutted his back. "Not funny, Lucien. I –Hey, why is your belt unbuckling?"

He blinked. "What the…"

Suddenly, his belt rapidly unwound from his waist, and then they dodged it whipping at their heads.

"Aiiiiee! It's a ghost!" Ash screamed and began running away, with Pikachu clinging tightly to her. He ran after her, only to find that it seemed they were going around in circles.

"Why can't we get to the exit?" she hid behind Lt. Surge again.

"Something's preventing us," he muttered, looking around with a frown. "Probably same thing that stole my belt."

Without warning, something took Pikachu from Ash's back and made him float in the air, before beginning to make him dance.

"Eh?! Pikachu's dancing?" Ash gaped and she leaped up, trying to grab him.

And then Lt. Surge's belt returned, whipping at Ash's bottom, and something yanking down Lt. Surge's pants.

"Ahh! It's a pervert ghost!" she covered her eyes, while holding her stinging bottom.

He yanked his pants back up and he was whipping his head back and forth, looking around the room and trying to spot the culprit.

"Hey! This isn't funny!" he shouted angrily. And especially since whoever they were made him expose his boxers to Ash…

His eye twitched.

The two of them then followed after Pikachu, who was dancing away, and caught him when he suddenly stopped and then dropped from the air into Ash's arms.

"Pika Pika! Pika Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu rapidly chattered in anger, shaking a fist into the air.

They heard odd sounds then, and they looked around in confusion. When they finally looked up, it was too late as the chandelier above them fell and landed on them. When they woke up, they were having a literal out of body experience.

They immediately looked at the guilty parties, now revealed to be a Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar, who all waved cheerily at them (if sheepishly). Instead of panicking, Ash and Pikachu marched over to them (well, their 'astral bodies' did) and began lecturing all three ghost pokémon.

Lt. Surge was more appropriately freaking out about the fact they were all practically ghosts, and for all intents and purposes, more or less dead.

"Hey, hey, Lucien! They're going to take us flying!" Ash called out to him, apparently now all on amiable terms with the ghost pokémon.

"Ash, do you not see our bodies lying there?" he pointed sharply at where they were laying.

"It's okay! They said we can just slip back into our bodies afterwards," which apparently made it all okay.

He inwardly sighed. Well, since it seemed temporary…

Soon enough, they were flying through the air and traveling around Lavender Town. He admitted it was kind of nice and was fun.

"I kind of really miss my plane now," he told Ash, flying beside her.

"You have a plane?" she looked at him with wide, awed eyes.

"A two-seater back home," he wistfully recalled. "Never got to bring 'er over."

He then playfully dunked her head. "Race you back to the tower!"

"It's on!"

And when they neared the tower, the three ghost pokémon led them to their little play area, filled with toys and things for them to play with.

"Aw, you guys were just lonely and wanted someone to play with, right?" Ash grinned fondly, more so with the chorus of agreements coming happily from the pokémon.

So, for awhile, they played with them in their room, before declaring that they had to get back and the others were probably worried. And they certainly were, having found Ash, Lt. Surge, and Pikachu's bodies under the chandelier. After pulling them out, they were worried on what happened and why they weren't waking up.

The three semi-ghosts smoothly slid back into their bodies and began waking up.

Misty threw herself onto Ash, while Oak asked what had happened. Lt. Surge explained, with Ash interjecting (though he really wished she would have left the whole 'boxers' thing out –the others looked ready to murder him and dump his body into a ditch, despite that whole thing not being his fault).

"Ugh, can we please get out of this town already?" Brock was ready to pull out his hair.

Everyone tiredly agreed with him.

Sometime later, somewhere on the way back to their bus…

"Why the heck are they following us?" Misty jabbed a finger towards the three ghost pokémon that had showed up not too long ago.

"I think they want to come along," Oak said dryly, staring at the pokémon.

"Gengar!" "Haunter!" "Ghastly!"

Giovanni glared viciously at them. If it was up to him…especially as, if it weren't for those little cretins, Ash wouldn't have been subjected to Lt. Surge's underwear!

The three pokémon could feel his glare, and turned to face him. They shivered slightly.

That human must have the ability to use Leer or something.

Norman breathed a sigh of relief when he finally made it to Lavender Town. He could only hope she was still here, and hadn't moved on from the town already. Although, he wasn't sure what could make her stay for so long in this town, unless it was just for a pit stop.

He was actually kind of excited about this though. He remembered the way she was with her pokémon and wanted to battle her. And he just…he just wanted to meet her. He felt like he needed to.

And, well, he just really wanted to meet her. It wasn't something he could put into words or explain clearly. He didn't know how or why, or even when, but somehow or other, he came to really look forward to this meeting, for reasons outside of wanting to get his daughter back.

Checking his PokéNav and making sure he had a saved picture of Ash Ketchum that he'd gotten off of the web, he slowly began to go around and ask if anyone's seen her. It actually didn't take too long.

"Go to the side of the Pokécenter," one person gave him a bland look. "You can't miss it."

Miss it? Miss what?

A few minutes later found him staring at the huge bus with a dropped jaw, understanding what that person had meant about not missing 'it' –with 'it' being this monstrous bus, and Ash's face plastered on the side of it.

A group of young men were washing the bus, cheerily singing along to the song that was playing from inside the vehicle.

"Girl, you're my angel, you're my darling angel
Closer than my peeps, you are to me, baby~
Shorty, you're my angel, you're my darling angel
Girl, you're my friend when I'm in need, lady."

Started 8/1/14 – Completed 8/11/14

Chapter Text

Ash wasn't sure what was going on. She only knew that she and the others had come back to the jumbobus to find an extra edition. He was a handsome older man, who looked extremely nervous and out of place with the other guys on the bus. The Harem Club looked bemused, but since they'd allowed him to sit there and wait for her and the others, then that meant he had something he needed to say and that it was probably really important.

So she greeted him. "Hi, I'm Ash!"

He blinked at her before hesitantly smiling. "H-hello. Um...my name is Norman Maple. I'm, uh, a gym leader from Hoenn."

She smiled encouragingly, though she inwardly wondered why he would come all the way out here for.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "You see...my daughter May is a huge fan of yours. She saw a video of you online –"

"There's a video of Ash online?" Misty interrupted in alarm.

Norman looked surprised that they didn't know. He continued on more carefully, becoming more unsure of himself and his being there.

"Yes. Of the, uh, contest from Aopulco?" he ventured. They looked at him like he was crazy, but he elaborated anyway. "There are a ton of videos online about her. She's actually a huge favorite of people, especially Coordinators over at Hoenn. She's gained quite a following. I'm surprised that you all hadn't known about this..."

Ash looked stumped at this revelation. In the meantime, Misty started (slowly at first) to giggle, before full out laughing.

"It figures something like this would happen," Lt. Surge said sarcastically.

"Well, Ash's luck does tend to make the oddest things happen to her," Oak sighed. "This really shouldn't be a surprise."

Ash swatted at his head, but frowned in thought and refocused on Norman. "Okay, but what does this have to do with you and your daughter?"

He looked extremely embarrassed. "Um, yeah. Like I said, she's a huge fan of yours…so she decided to run away from home and head here to find you."

There was a blanket of silence before Misty burst out in laughter again, while Ash stared at him in shock. The poor man flushed red. Ash shook herself out of her stupor and glanced at her female friend in exasperation. Everyone else looked speechless or confused as hell. Inwardly huffing at them, Ash strode forward and grabbed Norman's hand, slipping past him and leading him to the second floor and led him passed the bunks and to the lounge area.

She smiled kindly at him after they sat down. "Okay, why don't you tell me what's going on?"

For Norman, this wasn't exactly how he pictured things to go. He wasn't quite sure what he'd expected but having faced an entire group of hers and being in this monstrous bus they apparently traveled in hadn't entered the equation in his head. And then having to actually say what was happening and then the realization, despite already knowing, that the whole story was absurd and both he and his daughter would look crazy…

He also hadn't expected Ash Ketchum to be so kind.

"I…," Norman sighed and wiped a hand down his face, though he looked to see a reassuring look on hers. "My daughter and I have a strained relationship. We don't…have anything in common. Ilove pokémon, but she has no interest in them. Sometimes she gets a little interested in the Pokémon Contests, but otherwise she really couldn't care less. Damn it, I don't even know why I started with this first…"

"Maybe because it's really important to you and you'd really like to be closer to your daughter?" she unexpected said wisely.

Norman glanced at her in surprise, before wincing. "I do. I really, really do. In some ways, I was glad she stumbled across you. What little interests she has in Pokémon Contests led her to watch your performance in Aopulco, led her to maybe being a little more interested in pokémon and maybe a chance for us to get closer. And…I don't know. I guess I was hoping stupidly that we could bond over you or something," the more he talked, the more he felt like an idiot.

But looking at her, she didn't look at him like he was crazy at all, or look at him in any way that seemed judging. Somehow her smile seemed a little sad for some reason…

"I think that's really sweet that you want to become closer to her…but maybe, while it's nice that maybe she might like pokémon a little more, you could try seeing things she likes and give them a try? I think she'd really appreciate it."

Norman blinked, but realized maybe he should have been doing that. And well, any time spent with May was better than anything, since they don't really bond at all. The fact was, before Max went off to his school here in Kanto, the two of them were a lot more closer since they had the same interests in pokémon and related stuff. Plus they were both guys…

"I don't get why she would run away from home, all the way in Hoenn, to meet me though," Ash said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "And it's not like I'm anything special or anything."

Norman sighed. "Well, we don't have exactly the best family life." Thinking about it, it was pretty strange. "My wife and I are separated, but we still live together. She's more of an aunt to the kids, especially since she's not motherly or feels comfortable being a mother to anyone. Neither May nor Max have really had a normal life because of this, or a real motherly presence. And I get busy with my gym leader position too, so that doesn't help. And with May and I never really having anything in common and it being so hard to connect with her, that makes things harder with her."

"I see," she looked despondent and it didn't look right. He wanted her to smile again, like she had before. But she suddenly looked curious. "Max?"

"Right! I have a son as well, named Max. He's currently attending a school here, in Kanto."

Ash's eyes lit up and Norman wondered what caused that reaction. She started to grab something in her pocket, which turned out to be her phone. After a few clicks, she eagerly showed him her screen.

"Is this him?"

And Norman was caught off guard to see his son happily next to Ash in the picture, eyes bright and blushing slightly as Ash hugged the small boy to her and gave a peace sign.

"You met him?" he asked. He hadn't expected this turn of events.

"Yeah," Ash nodded happily. "It wasn't really too long ago either. We all made a stop at the Institute and met Max there. Sweet kid. A bit lonely though…"

He was ecstatic that she'd gotten to meet Max, and who apparently became good friends with her. And looking at the picture, he was glad it seemed Max looked happy in there and that he seemed to like Ash. He only wished, if Ash was right, that Max wasn't so lonely…

"I should probably call him and check in with him," Norman muttered.

"That's great! He probably really misses you. Hey, we'll probably go out to eat dinner before we set off. Do you want to join us to eat?" Ash asked thoughtfully.

"I don't know," Norman was pretty sure the others with her were pretty wary about his presence. "I don't want to intrude."

"You won't," she was sure.

"Maybe next time," he agreed. "I only really wanted to ask if it was alright if I stick around you guys awhile, and wait for May to catch up and I can catch her, and hopefully take her home."

"Of course! I would love to meet your daughter, and I definitely want to help you out," Ash looked at him rather imploringly, and he couldn't help but feel touched by her sincerity.

When she left, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of him and he could breathe easier.

They had been heading towards a nearby restaurant when Ash remembered she'd forgotten her jacket and it was getting cold.

"I can get it for you," Brock volunteered, but Ash shook her head.

"It's okay! I was the one who forgot, so I should get it. But thanks, Brock!"

They reluctantly let her go and Ash ran back to the jumbobus, where she immediately found her jacket on the first floor and had just been putting it on, where she heard something.

"N-Norman? Are you there?" she asked hesitantly.

When there was no answer, she turned to leave. However, she shrieked upon coming face to face with a transparent man.

"Wait, wait! Don't panic, please!" the transparent man decked in blue rushed to say, but Ash was already running up the stairs.

"Noooormaaaan! There's a ghooooost!" she screeched, and as soon as she reached the second floor, she ran into Norman.

He was startled to see her and to hear her screaming. "Are you alright? What's going on?"

She practically jumped onto him, blubbering something about…a ghost?

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

"There's a ghost out there! It was going to get me!" Ash pulled back and had wide eyes as she pointed back out the entrance.

"Ghost?" Norman tried not to sound so skeptical.

"Yes, there was a –"

"Please don't be alarmed," the transparent man was there.

Both of them took one look at the man, before screaming and taking off.

Sir Aaron sweatdropped and wished he'd been able to have a chance to explain. Perhaps he should have accounted for the fact the young lady seemed horribly afraid of ghost-like beings…

So while he'd been left behind, Norman was rushing in the direction of the restaurant, holding on tight to Ash and not letting go. He didn't want to drop her after all. He slowed down once he was closer to the diner the rest said they were going to be in, and walked in and located them immediately. As he walked closer though, he began to realize that he'd made a grave mistake.

By the glares and especially the darkening eyes of Giovanni Rocketto (wasn't he surprised the hugely renowned businessman had been there with the group, when Norman first saw everyone), Norman realized he'd carried Ash in and was still holding her tightly. Coughing awkwardly, he gently set her down, but she grabbed his hand and led him to the table.

Ash stared at everyone wide-eyed. "Guys, even our bus is haunted!"

"What?" Giovanni looked at her in confusion.

"There was a ghost! In the bus! But Norman saved me and brought me here," she nodded surely, and though it put him in a good light, for some reason he thought it'd just made things worse for him.

"I'm glad he did," the tall blond practically deadpanned.

"We haven't introduced ourselves, have we?" the red head and only other female in the group mused aloud. "Ash did and so did Norman. Well hello, Norman. I'm Misty of the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City, also a gym leader trainee under my sisters."

Unknown to the others, Giovanni and Lt. Surge had helped Misty understand her current position in the gym, so she wouldn't end up fumbling about it when someone asked and end up embarrassing herself. She was rather grateful about it…

"I'm Brock!" the youngest male there greeted him. "I was the gym leader of the Pewter City Gym before I left and let my father take over my duties."

"I'm Samuel Oakenshield," a man who looked extremely familiar, said simply and with no other introduction.

"I'm Lucien," the blond said next. "Gym leader of the Vermillion Gym. Current occupation: bodyguard," he said meaningfully, glaring at Norman over the top of his sunglasses.

Norman shifted uncomfortably. Oh he got the other's meaning alright…

Giovanni cleared his throat then, directing attention to himself. "I am Giovanni Rocketto, gym leader of the Viridian Gym, CEO and founder of Gio Corp., and Ash's sugar daddy." There was a decidedly very Sharpedo-like grin on his face.

His declaration caused a chain of reactions that resulted explosively. Misty spit out her club soda she'd just taken a sip of, Lt. Surge face palmed, Brock froze up and was almost ironically stone-like, and the Harem guys just stared in shock at the businessman. As Norman gaped idiotically at the businessman, Ash blinked and looked at Giovanni curiously.

"What's a sugar daddy?" she asked, making everyone look at her in alarm.

However, Giovanni grinned more widely. "It's a slang term for a man who supports a younger companion financially and materially, usually getting favors in return. You know, like that time in Lavender Town or in Aopulco…"

Ash nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. Well, I guess that does make you my sugar daddy."

Norman glanced at her and Giovanni with eyes wide, back to being unsure as to what he'd stumbled onto.

"In any case, I'm going to go up to the front and order, so I don't have to wait. Norman, you want to come with me?" Ash asked, just as her stomach started growling loudly, causing her to laugh sheepishly.

"Sure," Norman said before he could stop himself. He felt the glares at his back, but when he looked there was a normal, smiling group (although Giovanni's smile looked extremely threateningly for some reason, and Lt. Surge's looked feral).

He nervously headed away with Ash, leaving the group.

"You're horrible," Misty said at once, when the two others had left. She gave Giovanni the stink eye. "I can't believe you did that. Ugh, really? 'Sugar daddy?'"

"Never mind just that," Oak pinched the bridge of his nose. "Labeling yourself that on your own, fine. I deducted your motive quickly. But involving Ash? You know how she is. She's really going to think you're her sugar daddy."

Giovanni raised an eyebrow. "Better corroboration."

"Despite the fact she didn't know and still doesn't really know what a sugar daddy really is?" Oak rolled his eyes sarcastically. "You know she's going to be spouting that out to everyone, when they ask about you?"

Giovanni waved him off. "Makes it an easier sell. And I wasn't exactly lying –I do support her financially and materially, and there were clear examples of that in Lavender Town and in Aopulco."

Lt. Surge snickered. "Yeah, just manipulate the explanation to exclude the exact connotations of a sugar daddy and what type of favors are usually implied. That was well done manipulation –misconstrue things so that Ash will agree with you because it sounded true enough."

"Why did you introduce yourself completely? I thought we were going with the semi-anonymous route," Giovanni directed towards Lt. Surge, causing the others to wonder what they were talking.

"Looks like he's sticking around awhile, so it'll probably get out on who I am anyway," Lt. Surge shrugged. "Might as well get it out now and introduce myself like the others. What's with yourlong title?"

"Intimidation factor."

They all sighed in exasperation at him, when they heard hurried footsteps and saw Ash coming towards them, with Norman in tow.

"Guys, guys, they have blueberry pie!" Ash said excitedly. "I wonder if Colress would have liked some."

"Who is this Colress she keeps mentioning?" Misty muttered, while Giovanni's lips twitched into a frown briefly.

"I'm sure he would," Giovanni said neutrally, while patting the seat next to him. "Come along, Ash. Why don't you sit here?"

She did sit next to him, but Norman unfortunately sat next to her. He was going to ignore that, when her stupid pokédex started to talk.

"Giovanni Rocketto, class Sugar Daddy, equipped with a silver tongue, loads of cash, and expensive taste. Tends to stalk after little girls named Ash. Level 65," Mustang said snarkily.

Giovanni was ready to steal that thing and toss it into the ocean, hopefully never to be seen again. Meanwhile, Brock yanked at his short hair in annoyance.

"Really? Giovanni, that thing's classified you at least three times and you always get a high level too! You're either a level 56 ephebophiliac, a level 68 Mafioso, and now a level 65 Sugar Daddy!"

That just caused their newest member to look at Giovanni even more strangely.

"That's not nice, Roy," Ash looked at her pokédex with a frown. "Just because Giovanni's half-Italian, doesn't mean you can stereotype him as a Mafioso."

The group sweatdropped, though they were glad she didn't ask what an ephebophiliac meant again, except they certainly were exasperated at her accepting the whole 'sugar daddy' thing.

"How come Mustang hasn't insulted Norman yet, or Lucien even?" Oak asked with a frown.

"Or for that matter, you," Misty pointed, glaring at him as she remembered her own 'classification.'

"Samuel 'Oakenshield', class Dwarf. Suffers from a certain type of gold sickness revolving around a certain girl. Level 51," Mustang said succinctly, causing the others to glance at Oak and wonder about implications, while Oak scowled outright and regretted programming the damn thing to be equipped with a sort of AI function. "Norman Maple, class Normal," that made everyone glare at him, because he got something so 'normal' and okay. But then Mustang continued. "Known to be usually boring and awkward, borderline pathetically so. Extreme normalness may hide extreme freaky fetishes however. Level 43."

At everyone's suspicious glares and straight after the pokédex's insulting categorizing, Norman's jaw dropped and he looked nervously at the others, holding up his hands.

"N-no! Definitely not true at all!" What kind of pokédex was that thing?

"You're still missing," Misty accused Lt. Surge, who smirked slightly.

"The night Ash slept over my house, I found her pokédex and programmed my number. Let's just say it attempted to insult me then," Lt. Surge was definitely smirking then.

"What did it say?" Brock was curious now, seeing as everyone else had been insulted and were known what Mustang had to say about them.

"I stopped it from saying anything," Lt. Surge said smugly.

"How'd you do that?" Misty inwardly seethed.

"I threatened to spill my water all over it," the blond was ready to lord it over the others.

"It's waterproofed," Oak deadpanned, informing them all.

…

"Lieutenant Lucien Surge, class Rambo Wannabe. Well-versed in the art of Meathead no Jutsu. Level 57."

"Son of a –!" Lt. Surge twitched and reached over to grab the pokédex from Ash, but she moved her wrist away quickly.

"Haha, come on, guys! I'm sure Roy's…just teasing," Ash said weakly, though she wasn't so sure her pokédex was. "Er, Roy, are you insulting me when you call me a 'jailbait?'" she couldn't help asking.

The group broke out into a clamor, however Giovanni merely reached out and grabbed her wrist gently, easily removing the pokédex and then pressing a few buttons. Everyone blinked at him.

"I, painstakingly I might add, asked that friend of yours –Bill –how to mute this thing. It's fine, Ash, don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy the dinner that's about to be served," he said smoothly and everyone gave a sigh of relief.

"Smooth operator, this guy," Misty muttered under her breath, though she acknowledged how useful that was.

"I still don't get why no one will tell me what a jailbait is," Ash was being stubborn.

Giovanni quickly cut in before everyone could start to panic again. "It means you're the type of person anyone would be willing to go to jail for."

Oh yeah, this guy was real smooth…

They headed back to their jumbobus, in which Ash refused to go in until they'd checked it was safe and ghost-free. When they gave the okay, Ash reluctantly came in and they started their ride and started to drive off.

"Looks like we ditched those three ghost pokémon too," Misty noted, looking around and seeing no sign of the Gengar, Haunter, or Ghastly trio that had been following them for a bit.

Lt. Surge, Giovanni, and Oak held up their pants, just as three invisible beings attempted to pull their pants down. They had annoyed looks on their faces that said it all.

"Nope," Misty took it back, realizing she'd spoken too early. "Looks like they're still here. Will they quit that?"

"I don't think so," Brock said. "I think it's their favorite prank."

Ash, having covered her eyes, peeked through her fingers. "Is it safe?"

"We're still decent," Lt. Surge grumbled, and she let her hands fall from her eyes, while Ghastly, Gengar, and Haunter laughed it up and floated upwards, going through the ceiling and probably gone to hang around the top deck.

"I'd like to interject," the 'ghost' from before appeared amongst the group. "But please don't panic!" he hurried to say as he saw everyone start to freak out, especially Ash.

"What is with this place?" Brock didn't get all the supernatural stuff or why they were stuck with facing it all. Their luck must be screwed up or something.

"We're getting out of here! Don't worry! We'll speed up!" the Harem driver yelled from the front.

The transparent man cleared his throat. "Hello, I am Sir Aaron," he introduced himself. "I don't know how I'm here or why, but I do know that –due to her," he pointed to Ash, "I was drawn from my resting place in Lavender Town, where I had been for a while because of the rise of spiritual energy in the area, and then drawn to her. Most probably because of the Aura I can feel from her, which is not only very strong, but also like my own."

And just like that, forgetting he was 'ghost-like', Ash became curious. "Oh, you have Aura too?"

She then drew him into a discussion about it, making the others become exasperated at her one-tracked and very easily distracted mind. Then again, Aura wasn't a usual thing, so to have someone not only knowledgeable about it but also capable of using it, they could see how that made one preoccupied.

"So where are we heading?" Norman asked them, starting to get a little used to what was apparently a common thing in this group, attracting all sorts of strangeness.

"Celadon City," Giovanni answered him. "Ash would probably want to try for her next badge."

"You know, it's been awhile since Ash has really caught any pokémon," Oak mused, thinking about Ash's journey now. "A lot of things have been getting in the way, and I'm sure traveling like this doesn't help."

All of a sudden, the atmosphere of the place seemed to become heavy and oppressive and they looked at Ash, who was in a corner with her head hanging and her hunched over herself, dismally tracing shapes on the floor. Poor Sir Aaron looked worried and befuddled, hanging around the suddenly miserable girl.

"It's a fact, Ash," Oak said with amusement. "No need to get depressed."

"I love this bus, but I hate this bus," Ash said in a miserable tone. "It's great travel. But I can't catch pokémon all the time!"

"We'll stop off somewhere and camp for the day and night, and let you go crazy, alright?" the professor laughed at her. "You're as dramatic as ever. You'll be dramatic even when you're 80 years old, I bet."

She gave him a sheepish grin. "Probably?"

"In any case, we can have a picnic then," Brock suggested. "I'll get things ready!"

He began to order around the rest of the Harem guys and then headed for the kitchenette.

"Well, we know who's the matriarch of this dysfunctional family," Lt. Surge smirked.

"Who's the patriarch then?" Norman couldn't help sarcastically tacking on.

The blond made an obvious glance at Giovanni, who noticed and gave a terrifying glare.

Honestly, Norman had to reiterate (in his head, of course –he'd like to live a little longer) that he really had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.

"What in the world is she doing?"

Oak glanced over to where Giovanni was looking in dumbfounded incredulity. Ash, holding a basket filled with onigiri she helped make, was carefully placing it around the clearing she was in. It instantly clicked to what she was doing, since she'd done a similar thing when she was younger…in his lab.

"Ash, you have pokémon now," Oak withheld in a sigh. "You don't need to bribe pokémon to come to you."

On second thought…

"It's helpful, I suppose. Having bait," Oak thought about it. "But where's your pokémon so you can battle the ones you want to catch?"

Ash, from all the way from where she was at, pointed to where Oak was, and he looked around. Pikachu was lounging lazily by the sun in a cozy chair that seemed made for him, Espeon was taking a "cat" nap next to him with Cubone curiously poking at her, and Milotic and Seviper were both conversing with the excitable Eevee and Krabby about something.

"It's okay," Ash reassured him with a cheesy grin and thumbs up. "They're resting! I got this handled."

"What do you mean handled?!" Giovanni stepped in. "You have to have pokémon to fight off the wild ones and catch them!"

Ash just hummed happily and sat down, seeming to look like she was now going to wait for the bait to work. Skeptical, Giovanni was going to go over and make sure she was alright, or at least bully her pokémon into helping her and not currently be on a vacation, when pokémon did indeed start coming and had gone on to nibble happily on the onigiri that were laid out. And Ash, without battling and using reflexes that still amazed him (really, that chopstick thing from before at the school still brought him off-kilter), began rapidly throwing out pokéballs at an amazing speed.

"If you want more food, stay in your pokéballs~" she sing-songed, though he could swear there was a hint of derangeness.

It might be just his imagination, but as much as Giovanni was fond of Ash…he had to admit she was a rather strange girl.

"Are you pouting, Giovanni?" Lt. Surge asked, and he looked to see everyone around staring at him.

He glowered at them, though he hadn't realized he had been pouting in the first place. He gave them one last glare before he started to inwardly pout instead, sulking about it all. If only Ash was a Team Rocket agent…Watching her catch the pokémon the way she was doing so, he would have a higher success rate. Not that Team Rocket was doing badly, despite some individuals' incompetence.

He had a good business going on already, even with certain failures costing him, but if Ash joined him…

"This isn't fair," he muttered, watching what (or rather who) could be a gateway for his team's absolute success in the world. And she was just within reach of his fingertips.

"Ash, take a break and come eat," Brock called out, wearing a satisfied look after all his hard work.

"Okay!"

But just as she sat with the others, a Mankey came up to her and sniffed at the onigiri she held and was about to eat. Ash blinked and then held it out, and the Mankey grabbed it from her.

"You can have some more if you stay with me," she held out another onigiri, smiling slyly.

The Mankey tilted its head and then finished off what was left of the one it had, before holding its hands out for the second one. Ash tossed it at the Mankey and then tapped its head gently with a pokéball after it had caught the snack.

"This is not fair!"

And for a moment, Giovanni thought he had actually blurted that out. But then he looked over and saw Oak face palming, and was relieved that he hadn't acted out.

But it truly wasn't fair and he was debating on creating a side-project that explored the crazy mess that was Ash Ketchum.

Started 12/8/14 – Completed 3/20/15

Chapter Text

It was unholy and unfair, but they put it behind them as they focused on food. Ash released her newly caught pokémon and set up their food, with the help of the Harem guys.

And then everyone realized that all of her pokémon were out and were released from their pokéballs.

"Impossible," Oak gaped. "Since her pokédex wouldn't transfer her pokémon to the lab unless she went to a Pokécenter, or as Bill added that extra transfer feature on it, all of those pokémon should have stayed in their pokéballs as those end up locked."

Ash looked up musingly, petting the Weedle by her feet as she kneeled by it.

"Must be that extra, special feature Bill mentioned he added and that I would find out about after I caught some more pokémon," she grinned as she remembered.

"Oh, that guy is useful," Brock bemoaned, even as he resented the remembrance of Bill.

"Is this legal?" Lt. Surge whispered to Oak as Ash and the Harem guys continued to feed the multitude of pokémon she just caught. "I mean…I don't think you're allowed to have more than 6 in your party, right?"

Giovanni wanted to know this too. He especially wanted to know this.

After all, if he had to, he needed to get ready to quickly set up Ash's legal defense and be able to pin all the blame on Bill. He also wouldn't mind finding out if he could use this to his own benefit…

"Well, technically, I don't think so," though Oak sounded dubious. "The technology's never been done and Ash does have 6 pokémon in her party…She just has a whole bunch of other pokémon traveling with her. As long as she has a set pokémon party and doesn't extend her party to include more, unless she trades one for the other –"

"Which was made so much more easier now that she has them practically within arm's reach," Giovanni watched the spectacle with amazement.

"I say we have a do-over with Bill and make nice," Misty declared.

"Eat your food!" Brock glowered at them. "We have to hurry to Celadon City." If he was annoyed, it was because Bill had smugly inserted himself into the atmosphere, creating trouble even when he wasn't even there.

He couldn't stand that man.

After a little while, they rested before they were to set off. Ash returned all but her normal party and the Mankey into their pokéballs. Currently, she was playing tag with it, trying to catch it and get her hat back, while Mankey enjoyed running away and wearing the cap. And then Team Rocket got involved.

Giovanni was quick to stay at the portable table, engaging a newspaper and hiding behind it. There was no way he wanted any part of this or acknowledge those three, who he could see firsthand were simply idiots. Loyal idiots, he knew, but still idiots.

After all, they're the ones who had the gall to piss off the Mankey, who chased them all around before he finally evolved and then made them 'blast off again.'

"Good boy," Ash giggled and patted new Primeape's head. "That'll keep those silly trio away awhile. Hopefully."

Everyone there doubted that.

Steven wanted to face palm at himself. As it turned out, Ash had ended up going to Lavender Town and he'd missed her. Thankfully, she was now heading to Celadon City and would be arriving soon. He'd already been in the city for like two days, and had finished up his press conference, his sales bid, and was now free to do whatever he wanted. Which, he hoped, included free time with Ash.

"Sir, the reservation at the restaurant has been made. Is there anything else you'd like for us to do?" one of his employees asked him.

"No, thank you," Steven said cheerily. "You're free to do as you will until it's time to leave Celadon. Whenever that will be."

The man nodded and left. By now, he and the others had caught on to the fact that their employer was determinedly pursuing a girl…romantically and physically. So, to city to city they were probably going to go, following after this girl as their boss attempted to woo her over.

It was probably going to be a very long Devon Corp. product tour.

Similarly, another person was having horrible luck. As Steven missed Ash in Lavender Town, May was lost and wasn't sure where to go. The Jolteon by her side had kept her safe and protected, viciously keeping wild pokémon away, and making her wonder about his pokémon trainer. The gym leader must be scary…

She made it from Vermillion to Lavender Town, and had taken up temporary residence with a man named Mr. Fuji, who had been kind enough to allow her to stay with him and the abandoned pokémon under his care.

And then she was hearing how there had been a crazy bus in town not too long ago, as gossiped by the volunteers, and that a girl named Ash had been responsible for it. Hearing that, May groaned and traded looks with Jolteon.

She had a feeling that had been the Ash she was crazily chasing, and it sucked she'd just missed her.

It was beginning to get dark by the time they reached Celadon City, but they made it and Giovanni once again paid for their rooms. They were a large group anyway, and would take up all the space in the Pokémon Center. They might as well stay at an actual hotel

After settling in, those with pokémon headed to the Pokémon Center, though Ash's 'haul' had to be distributed amongst them, since there were so many. Once inside the Pokémon Center though, Nurse Joy looked rather overwhelmed.

"Sorry, sorry!" Ash bowed several times, feeling bad about giving more work to the Celadon Nurse Joy.

"It's alright," the nurse smiled and held up her hands in a placating manner. "It's my job after all."

Still, Ash felt bad about having Celadon Joy do so much.

"Ash, don't worry about it," Lt. Surge grinned reassuringly. "Nurse Joy loves taking care of pokémon. She told you, after all, that –" the blond man was caught off guard as suddenly he was doused with water, and the Haunter haunting them appeared above his head, cackling loudly.

Lt. Surge twitched.

However, Ash started to giggle, even as she tried her best to keep it all in. But then Haunter floated over to her and started making strange faces. Ghastly and Gengar appeared next, and Gengar was bouncing Ghastly off of Haunter's head. That was the last straw and Ash burst into laughter.

"See? Even those three clowns think you should lighten up," Oak gave her a tongue-in-cheek look.

Norman smiled at her kindly, starting to feel like he was settling into the group a bit. "You should listen to everyone. Don't worry too much."

Feeling sheepish, Ash gave everyone an apologetic look as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Let's go back to the hotel," Misty suggested. "Ash, you should get ready for your next gym battle. I think the gym leader's name is Erika?"

"Correct," Oak affirmed. "She's a grass-type trainer, so Ash, you'll need to think which pokémon of yours can do battle against hers, or at least have a strategy prepared."

Ash nodded determinedly, when Celadon Joy came back with her main party pokémon, though she looked extremely worried.

"Here you go, Ash!" Joy handed over the pokémon to her, while Pikachu happily climbed onto the trainer. Similar things happened for the others as they got their pokémon back, but Celadon Joy still looked worried and Ash couldn't help but feel anxious as well.

"Is something wrong, Nurse Joy?" she blurted out, causing the others to notice as well.

Taken aback that Ash had noticed her state, Celadon Joy gave a small smile to the girl.

"We recently received a Charmander here, from one of the Pokémon Centers on the outskirt routes," she started out. "He needed to be transferred to somewhere with more staff and better equipment to suit his needs, but he's extremely weak and sick. Part of it is that he doesn't want to get better and has no will or motivation, starting from how this all began –when his trainer abandoned him and left him on a rock, where he'd refused to leave and had waited for a long time for his trainer to come back. Eventually he got ill, and made worse when he got rained on. The poor Charmander's been sick since."

Abandoned. The word echoed in Ash's head and she felt herself dip into a huge low of emotions. She barely said thanks and give a small smile back to the nurse, before she was being ushered out of the Pokécenter and heading back to the hotel. Her good cheer had disappeared already, and she began to feel listless. Though she hid it well (one of the subjects she was usually able to hide how she felt about), Oak had known her for a long time and could see that she wasn't actually okay.

But Ash had already separated from them, claiming being tired, and escaped to her room once they'd gotten into the hotel.

Laying unhappily on her bed, her pokémon had gathered around her. Krabby, like was usual with the water pokémon, was gurgling and clamping onto her hair, excitedly just handling it with his claws. Pikachu had snuggled up to her chest, letting her hold him while she messed around with her phone. The others milled about in the room, exploring, and Ash tried not to let her thoughts wander as well.

She sent a text to Colress, inquiring about him and his latest project, before debating about texting Steven as well. He had asked her, while she'd been on the road, how long until she made it to Celadon City, and she had told him she wouldn't be long. Maybe she should text him that she was there already? She decided that it would be okay, and sent a quick text. She was surprised by his fast response, as it was only a few moments later that he sent back a reply.

Great! Where are you staying at?

Furrowing her eyebrows, she text him the hotel only to stare blankly at his next reply.

Be by soon then~ Wear a dress!

She stared at it some more before she jumped off the bed and screeched, rushing to her backpack. She didn't have a dress! Except for the fancy one Sabrina had got for her. And what did he mean 'be by soon'? Well, of course she knew he meant he was coming over, but why! What for?

And why a dress?!

In a panic, she rushed to get ready, taking a rapid shower and then tossing on the red dress from Sabrina. Even though she'd already worn it before (and in front of Steven at that), she didn't really have anything else.

Wait, what was she getting ready for? Why was she getting ready?

She kind of just panicked and started getting ready, once she'd processed his text. But she didn't really have to, right? She didn't have to go anywhere or do anything if she didn't want to. Then again…Steven had gone to all this trouble, and she kind of wanted to go out and do something to forget the mood she was in.

Sighing to herself, she started to hurriedly brush her hair, before there was knocking on her door. Panicking at the thought that Steven had already reached her, she ran to the door and threw it open. She was relieved to see it was only Oak.

"Sam! Is there something wrong?" she asked, opening the door wider. She finished with her hair and tossed her brush to the side, not even paying attention to where it landed.

He gave her a grim smile. "I noticed you weren't feeling too happy earlier, and wanted to make sure you were okay."

She gave him a soft smile and stepped forward, hugging him tightly. He'd always been considerate of her, and it had always made her feel warm and happy.

"I'm okay," she mumbled against him, though she wasn't sure if that was all true. "At least I think so. For now."

Oak wrapped his own arms around her and squeezed gently. "You know you're always welcome to come to me and talk about it, alright? Now enough seriousness! Why on earth are you all dressed up?"

She took a step back and blushed, chuckling lightly. "Ah, well, apparently I have a dinner date," she explained, not meaning to imply it was an actual date. She wasn't even thinking of it like that. It was a simple dinner date.

Even if Steven had meant for it to be as a 'date' (not that she knew or understood his meaning).

Oak made an odd face for a second, before smiling at her. It was a little off, but she didn't question it.

"Steven?"

"You know, the Steven I told you about," Ash shrugged. "The one from Saffron, and who I met back at Giovanni's theme park."

Oak knew who she was talking about, but it was starting to get too coincidental that he was showing up everywhere she was going to. And the fact he kept looking for and finding Ash, and was now currently taking her out to dinner…

"Oh, I think I should leave now and wait for him downstairs," Ash said anxiously, catching sight of the time.

"I'll escort you down," Oak said, pushing aside his misgivings and agitation.

Ash gave a little cheer and grabbed onto Oak's hand, pulling him behind her as she led the way to the lobby. On the way there, Ash received a text from Steven saying he was there and she started to move along a little faster. Oak frowned, but said nothing about it.

They were quick to find the young man she was meeting, but Oak hadn't known or thought that it would be Steven Stone, of all people, that she had meant as the Steven she'd been talking to all this time.

"Ash, over here!" he called out, and Ash was dragging him over to the other.

Steven's grin faltered at his appearance, but came back in full force.

"Hey! It's great to see you again, Ash," though he glanced at Oak questioningly.

"Sam Oakenshield," Oak held out his hand, smiling politely. "I'm Ash's friend. You're Steven Stone, right?"

"Correct!" Steven answered, taking Oak's hand and shaking it. "I'm currently heading a product tour around Kanto, so I'm traveling city to city, town to town. I met Ash at a demo."

Ash tilted her head to the side, looking clueless. Oak inwardly sighed.

"Ash, sweetie, this is Steven Stone –Hoenn Champion and heir to Devon Corporation," he explained patiently, and Ash looked at him while her mouth slowly formed an 'o.'

She grimaced and looked at Steven apologetically. "Geez, I'm sorry. I really had no idea who you were."

Steven shook his head, lightly smiling. "No, it's quite alright. I hadn't minded and actually enjoyed that you hadn't recognized me. But I suppose it's better you find out now rather than later. Anonymity is quite rare for me though, so I should actually thank you for not recognizing me."

Ash laughed lightly, while Oak scrutinized the other. Even with the reveal of just who this Steven was, it still hadn't deterred his agitated feelings. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what to make or do with the upset feelings he was having, in regards to Ash going out with someone. Especially a male someone…

"We should get going," Steven said suddenly, directing towards Ash.

"Oh, yeah, okay!" Ash nodded enthusiastically. She turned to Oak. "I'll be gone for a bit! Tell the others for me please! I don't want them to get upset and think I went missing. Bye, Sam!"

Oak mustered up a small smile for her benefit, dropping it when the two was out of sight.

Ash glanced at Steven as they were seated at a table in the nice restaurant he'd brought her to. She felt bad for not recognizing him, but at least it had made him glad for some reason.

"Char! Char Charmander," she heard, and she looked to the side and saw a trainer with auburn hair talking to a waitress before leaving.

"Come on, Zippo!" she heard him say.

Her heart ached as she remembered the Charmander stuck in the Pokémon Center, and her morose mood from earlier came back. Steven was quick to notice and reached out across the table to hold her hand.

"Is something the matter?" he asked softly.

She gave him a quivering smile, because she couldn't help but feel like she wanted to cry.

"Ash?" he looked concerned.

"Daddy, please take me with you!"

One after the other, tears leaked down her face and Ash started crying. She buried her hands in her face and felt embarrassed and ashamed, and couldn't believe she just erupted into tears out of nowhere, in front of Steven like this.

But she felt lean arms come around her, and in front of everyone in that restaurant, Ash cried her heart out and Steven comforted her.

Steven had taken her out of the restaurant and they were now walking in the cold streets. She shivered, but she hadn't remembered to bring a jacket as she rushed out of her hotel room.

"You're cold," Steven noted. "I should have noticed. I apologize," he said as he took off his own jacket and placed it around her.

She blushed. "No, it's alright. Thanks for the jacket though."

He nodded before glancing at her hesitantly. "If you don't mind me asking…is there something bothering you? I hope I didn't do anything to upset you."

Ash shook her head, and started to remember the past again, before forcibly thinking about Steven and what was going on now.

"I was just thinking of sad things," she said honestly, if completely vague.

He smiled understandingly at her and didn't push. Instead, he grabbed her hand and ran down the sidewalk.

"Come on! We still have to eat!"

And he managed to drag her all the way down the street to a hotdog stand, where he bought two of them before he was dragging her away again. This time, they ended up at the park and sat on the bench.

Well…they were sitting at the top of the bench rather than the seats. Still, she was amazed at how Steven managed to sit there comfortably, especially in a cross-legged position.

"You know…the stars are shining tonight," he said suddenly and she focused in on him, taking a huge bite out of her hotdog. He turned to face her, giving her a wide grin. "I think they're trying to tell you something."

"What's that?" she asked curiously, polishing off her hotdog. Geez, she hadn't realized how hungry she'd been.

Steven laughed a bit, his eyes twinkling. "That you should smile. You're not shining as much as them, like you usually do. So get that twinkle back, Pokémon Master-to-be! We've got some shopping to do!"

"S-shopping?" Ash gaped unashamedly at him, confused where that had come from.

"You're wearing the same dress the last time I met you, so I'm just guessing, but you don't have any other dresses, right? Let's go!" his own hotdog was finished off, and then he had her in hand again.

Ash didn't protest, and for at least then, the memories of the past seemed far away.

She entered her room, feeling much better than she had earlier. Only, as soon as she stepped through, she was tripped and then she felt a cold slithering body wrap around her, the door shutting ominously behind her. She saw her pokémon gathered around, glaring at her.

"Pika! Pika Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu stomped up to her and bopped her head, giving her an irritated look.

Quickly getting it, Ash gave them all a nervous laugh.

"Ah, come on, guys. I'm sorry?"

Apparently they were all agitated that she'd left suddenly and for so long.

"You're right, I'm horrible," she pouted. "But I was distracted. And I'm spacey when I get distracted by something." That really did happen way too much for her liking. She'd have to find some way to get over that.

"Pika Pi," Pikachu wagged a finger at her, giving her one last glare, before signaling for Seviper to let her up.

Ash smiled and shook her head, sitting up and opening her arms wide in invitation. Her pokémon practically jumped onto her, nearly causing her to fall back. She managed to steady herself at last minute, hugging them all.

"I really am sorry, guys," she murmured. "But you guys are the best."

She wished she could care for that poor Charmander, like she cared for her pokémon and they cared for her. She understood abandonment.

Ash never wanted anyone to feel like that.

"So, has anyone seen Ash? I haven't seen her since yester –Woah! You guys look horrible," Misty stared at the group of men that were sitting and trying to have breakfast in the hotel's banquet hall.

Lt. Surge glared at her. "No, we haven't seen her since yesterday either. Since she left to have dinner with that Steven Stone." The blond then briefly glowered at Oak, before viciously stabbing a sausage with his fork and tearing a bite out of it.

Oak, himself, looked irritable, shoveling cereal into his mouth. She also managed to catch Giovanni's mutter of "I can't believe it's been that Steven all this time…"

"Wait, what's this about Steven Stone?" Misty asked, though hesitantly (not wanting to set them off), feeling lost.

Brock was the one who volunteered the information, though he too seemed agitated. Misty was caught up with the situation, and felt a headache coming on. If she had known, she would have forcibly tagged along with those two…

"Why's everyone looking upset?" Norman's voice cut in, and the group turned to face him, seeing him just approach them and looking like he'd just come from the hotel's gym, a towel hanging around his neck.

"Ash went on a dinner date last night, so they're being idiots," Misty told him dryly, earning more glares from the others. "And apparently she's not been seen this morning."

"It wasn't a date," Oak said sharply. "Even if she called it that…" he muttered.

Ignoring the whole date part, even if it made him uneasy as well, Norman spoke up about the latter part.

"Actually, I saw Ash this morning before I went to the gym. She said she was going to go to the Pokémon Center and probably stick around. She's probably still there now."

That made everyone hurry to finish their foods, before they got to go back to their rooms and hurry to get ready. Once they'd all left, Misty sighed and sat down with her plate of pancakes, joined by a bemused Norman who got himself some waffles.

"I swear, the whole lot of you are like a pack of animals," Misty griped.

Norman gave her a confused glance, pouring syrup onto his waffles. The group continued to be as strange as when he first met them.

Giovanni led the group over to the Pokémon Center, hoping to get there quickly and that Ash was still there in the first place. When they entered the Pokémon Center, Celadon Joy was quick to catch sight of them, which wasn't too hard given their large group. She raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Is Ash here?" Giovanni smiled smoothly, striding forward. In truth though, he was feeling impatient and wanted to just demand answers.

"She's in the back," Celadon Joy informed them. "She's been helping out, though she's been mostly tending to that injured Charmander, which is helping me to focus on the other pokémon here and coming in."

At that right moment, Ash happily walked into the Center's main lobby, grinning in good cheer.

"Celly! I managed to get Charmander to willingly eat something! Should I get his medicine ready now?"

The men in the group gaped at her, while Misty snickered and sneakily took out her new camera, wanting to take a picture of Ash for remembrance, as well as one of the guys for blackmail for their stupid faces.

Giovanni couldn't help it if his mind shut down at the sight of Ash, similarly to the time at Aopulco. She was wearing a Nurse Joy outfit, the uniform reaching a little above mid-thigh and showing a lot of her legs. And complete with a nurse's hat, she looked completely adorable.

The other men were having similar thoughts, and all of them just looked plain silly standing there and staring.

"Oh! Hey, guys!" Ash finally noticed them. "What are you guys doing here?"

Giovanni gave her a strained smile, finally managing to gain back some control of the situation.

"We were looking for you. We hadn't seen you since last night, so we wanted to make sure you weren't in trouble."

Ash shook her head. "I'm okay. I just wanted to help Nurse Joy a bit, especially with Charmander. I was thinking that I could put off focusing on the badge for a bit…I just really want Charmander to get better."

He gave her a fond smile and nodded. They could all find things to busy themselves with in the city. He could probably drop by and see how the Game Corner business was doing as well…

"Whatever you want, dolcezza," he reassured her.

She gave him a bright smile, and he certainly felt much better than he had when he'd found out about last night.

Soon enough, they let Ash be and she returned back to Charmander's side. The fire-type gave her a disinterested glance, but she could tell he was warming up to her. She tenderly pet his head, and Pikachu climbed onto her, so he could talk to (well, more like 'at') Charmander about whatever it was he was saying.

"It's time for your medicine, Charmander," Ash murmured.

Though Charmander tensed, he didn't run away and stared her down. She approached him and gently tilted his head up by placing her fingers under his chin.

"You're a brave pokémon, you know that? Your owner should have cherished and loved you properly."

Ash blinked back tears as she quickly gave Charmander his medicine, and he quietly scooted closer to her on his bed and nudged his head against her stomach. She slowly took him into her arms and buried her face against him, crying.

Turn back and look at me,  please .

"Don't go," she said brokenly.

Why did he just go and leave her? Why did her father leave and not even turn back and look at her?

Why wasn't he –

Her thoughts cut off as she felt a hand settle heavily onto her head. She sniffled and turned her head to face the person, looking up to see Norman smiling sadly at her.

For him, he hadn't expected to see her looking so sad and crying in the back when he'd gone there to check on her, despite feeling something inside that said that she wasn't feeling as cheery as she'd looked out there.

But he really hadn't expected this.

"I wish someone would come fix me, so that whatever it was that was broken and made him leave would be fine and he'd come back," she said miserably, looking up at him with teary eyes.

He shook his head slightly, smiling a little more as he pulled her into a hug.

"You don't need any fixing, Ash Ketchum. You're fine just the way you are."

They stayed that way for a while, with Charmander silently in between them, Pikachu clutching onto his mistress' head, and Ash breaking out into quiet sobs into his chest.

Started 4/22/15 – Completed 4/24/15

Chapter Text

There was something that clenched inside of her when she stood in front of the store.

The store attached to the Celadon Gym.

The perfume store attached to the Celadon Gym.

She hugged the Charmander to her chest and turned on her heel, walking away from it. There was no way she would enter that store.

Moments later, she was morosely and broodingly sitting in the Pokémon Center, pushing a packet of salt back and forth on the table with the tip of her finger.

"Hey, I thought you were going to go challenge the gym secretly," Norman approached her, feeling definitely more at ease and comfortable around her than the others, especially after she'd been so vulnerable around him.

"I was hoping to do it and win, and then come back and show off a badge to everyone, but…" Ash didn't want to say she left because she didn't want to be near the gym and its store. "I got lost," she lied.

Norman looked taken aback. "Well, I don't live in this region and not really familiar with it either…but I can go with you and help you figure out where the gym is?"

Ash felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, knowing that she couldn't just say no to his kind offer now. She gave him a feeble smile and came with him, leaving the Pokécenter and heading back towards the gym. But as she stood in front of the gym again, her legs stopped and Norman (who'd been so kind to have come with her, asked for directions, and 'helped' bring her there) stopped as well and looked at her.

"Ash, is something wrong?" he looked at her in concern.

"I…I…" Ash shook her head and turned and ran away in a panic, her legs pumping as she ran from there.

In fact, she was so fast that she was like a blur to Norman's eyes. It was almost comical in a superhuman fashion. Or a cartoonish/anime-ish fashion. Whatever one chooses.

So Norman traveled back to the Pokémon Center and found that everyone had gathered there, expecting Ash to be there as she had been for the past week. When they saw him, they gave him quick questioning glances, but otherwise went back to their respective activities and talks. Being that he had something to say, he cleared his throat and regained everyone's attention.

"Um, I was with Ash," he ignored the glares he received. "She told me before that she wanted to challenge the Celadon Gym and surprise everyone with a badge, but I found her again and she'd said she'd gotten lost and had come back here. I went back out with her and helped her find the gym, only that she kind of…ran away?"

Everyone gained confused looks on their person, but Oak groaned and shook his head.

"Erika owns a perfume store in the front of her gym," Oak explained, but that just further confused everyone.

"What does that have anything to do with this?" Giovanni asked, barely not scowling.

"Ash is allergic to perfumes," the professor confessed. "She's rather terrified and despises them. I should have remembered Erika's perfume store and Ash's allergies…"

Brock winced. "It's like a huge deathtrap, huh?"

"Basically, it sounds like," Lt. Surge grumbled. "She'd have to find a way to challenge Erika outside of the gym then."

"I think she's a bit disheartened and upset," Norman told them. "She quite frankly didn't want to go near the gym and seemed to be quite strung out about the whole affair."

"Coupled with her running away in a panic, she's going to be a livewire of emotion right now," Oak looked thoughtful. "I'll go look for her and try to help think of something."

"I'll go with you," Giovanni immediately volunteered.

"Me too," Lt. Surge agreed.

Norman also volunteered to go with them, and at least they didn't shrug him off.

"I'll go to Erika's and see if she can do something about this," Brock suggested, wanting to actively find a solution for her. "Hopefully, I can find out something I can do or something to help Ash out."

"I'll go with him as a backup and make sure things try to work out," Misty brought up.

They split ways, hoping the situation wasn't hopeless and could be solved easily and quickly.

Ash unhappily walked around the city for a bit, but didn't stray too far so she didn't get lost. However, somehow she ended right back in front of the gym, where she glared at the storefront irritably. But she did bite her lip before hesitantly walking closer. Just as she neared the front of the gym, she noticed a few ladies angrily talking down to a boy, who sounded like he was putting down their perfume and was now being refused entry to challenge the gym leader.

That…made her rather angry.

Stomping up to them but quite entering, Ash yelled at them through the glass doors.

"Hey! Quit picking on that kid!"

The women looked at her disapprovingly. "He insulted our perfume. He shouldn't be allowed to challenge Erika."

Ash gritted her teeth. "Really? That's the worse logic I've heard. He has the right to his opinion! And if he doesn't like perfumes, then he doesn't like perfumes. You and this gym shouldn't force your opinion and likes onto people. Maybe he'd been rude, but that doesn't give you the right to be so discriminate."

Frustrated with all of it, Ash declared, "I wouldn't challenge this gym for anything! Not with the attitude that runs it."

She turned on her heel sharply and started to stomp away, feeling herself completely angry with everything. First, poor Charmander and then her stupid memories cropping up to haunt her. And now this! Why was her luck so sucky lately?

Ash managed to locate a diner (Sort of? It was kind of small and dingy though.), where she went to find an empty seat to be alone. Finding a really isolated one in the back, she headed towards it, only to find it was occupied by someone. She almost turned to leave, when the man noticed she was there.

"You want this chair?" he sniffled.

Nodding hesitantly, Ash was startled when the man stood up abruptly.

"You can have it," the man said morosely. "In fact, I'm done with this place. Ugh, I lost so much at the Game Corner. Here, you can have this too."

He handed over a nice coin case before leaving her, and Ash examined it curiously. There was a few coins left, but she could see the majority of it had been spent. Probably at the Game Corner, like he'd said, and obviously lost. Sitting where he'd previously sat, Ash noticed he'd left a half-full bottle. She was kind of thirsty, but she was broke…

Well, she'd always thought it was bad to waste things.

Taking a sip of it, she scrunched up her nose. It tasted kind of funny. Shrugging to herself, she kept sipping at it until she started to feel a little weird and slightly dazed and fuzzy. Feeling her depression become more pronounced, her hand knocked against the new coin case she'd gained. Maybe if she'd play some games, she'd cheer up. Deciding on it, Ash got up and went out of the diner, to go find the Game Corner.

It didn't take her long and she entered it, swaying slightly. She looked down and saw some coins. Grinning goofily, she picked them up and added them to her coin case. Wondering if she could find some more coins, she got on her hands and knees and started to crawl through the aisles to find coins and ignoring the stares and looks she got from the other patrons. Giggling to herself as she did so, she then was pleased at her success. Afterwards, she plopped herself in front of a machine and inserted a coin, starting to play.

It was sometime later that that was when she'd been found by Giovanni, Oak, Lt. Surge, and Norman.

"Ash, what are you doing here?" Oak asked in shock and anxiety.

Ash, concentrated on the game, stared solely at the machine while she answered and slurring her reply.

"S'playing, Sam."

"Why are you slurring?" Lt. Surge asked in confusion, only to come closer and sniff her. "You smell like saké," he noted incredulously.

"S'thirsty. Guy left drink on table and I drank it," Ash continued blankly, stuck on the game.

Concerned, Norman grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. "Ash? I think you need to leave and get away from the machine now."

And all the while, Giovanni had a stony look on his face, hands clenching. This was his establishment after all, and he hadn't wanted Ash to become like this or get so stuck on the gambling games in here. Seeing as she was right now made a pit of guilt fill his stomach.

Ash reluctantly stood up and walked away from the game. But she didn't head to the exit, instead heading towards the front.

"Ash, where are you going?" Oak tried to make a grab at her.

"I want a refund," Ash fumed irritably, her head still fuzzy.

"This is a gambling corner, Ash," Lt. Surge said wryly. "You don't get refunds if you lose. Hell, I don't think you get refunds for regular games!"

But Ash merely marched up to the front counter and slammed her hands on it, gaining the only worker there's attention.

"Can I help you?" the person asked in boredom.

"I want a refund," Ash said blandly.

She was stared at, and the others could admit that this was slightly a situation to face palm at.

"No refunds," the worker said slowly, a little confused. But then Ash was about to shout, when she noticed a suspicious person hovering near a poster to the side.

"You! Why're you suspicious?" Ash asked accusingly, thrusting out a finger to point at them.

Giovanni started getting alarmed since that was one of his agents, and why was he wearing his Rocket uniform in plain sight out here and just hovering there, especially given that was where the entrance to the Rocket base here in Celadon was? And to his horror, he saw Ash moving towards the guy purposely. Worried Ash would find out about things there and that idiot might let something slip, he started to stride after her as well, only to be in shock with the others as instead of further questioning the guy, or at least challenging the man into a pokémon battle (something he'd expected more along the line of her invasion of his business in Saffron), Ash instead sucker punched the Rocket agent in the face.

Somehow that led to the accidental discovery of the entrance, and Ash got off of the knocked out Rocket agent and started in on the entrance. The guys rushed after Ash then, only to find a load of Rocket agents coming towards Ash, pokéballs out and ready to be thrown. Only, instead of pokémon battling, Ash rushed forward and began to systemically kick everyone's ass. It was both amazing and shocking, and they really hadn't thought her capable of it, or at least thought she'd care to go through with things this way.

Giovanni wasn't sure what to make of it at all. Once again, Ash was fighting off his Rockets. But this time she was drunk and not battling with pokémon, and apparently decided to kick everyone's ass the regular way.

"Is she okay?" Norman asked them in alarm, watching the usually sweet and kind girl beat the hell out of grown men double her size.

"I'm…not sure," Oak answered hesitantly. "She's having a bad day for sure though."

"I say we just stay here and let her go through the base, get it out of her system and clear out the place of these guys," Lt. Surge suggested. "Let her let out steam and hopefully the alcohol will lose its effect on her by then."

Giovanni agreed with the others, but inwardly there was an uneasy feeling that took hold of him.

Oak held back her hair as she leaned over the toilet and threw up. She moaned and laid her forehead against the blessedly cold porcelain, while Sir Aaron tried to fan her with his ghostly hand. It wasn't working, but it was the thought that counted…right?

"It hurts," she muttered.

"Man, what a way to have one's first hangover," Lt. Surge shook his head as he peered into the bathroom.

"What are good hangover cures?" Oak asked aloud, though he tried to be quiet for Ash's sake. Sir Aaron shrugged, but the others still weren't used to having a 'ghost' around, so he was mostly ignored.

"I just got water and aspirin here," Norman chipped in, holding the glass of water and the two aspirin tablets.

"Eggs," Lt. Surge interjected. "Greasy stuff."

"I'll get started on cooking something," Giovanni glanced at Ash with an unreadable face.

But Ash was miserable and sick, so she didn't really hear or pay attention to the others. She had no idea what was wrong with her, and why she had gotten like this.

What's a hangover anyway?

Groaning again, she closed her eyes and tried to not feel so sick.

Erika would like to think she was a good gym leader. She fought well and made sure her gym wasn't seen as weak, and further made sure she was a kind and respectable person. She prided herself on her elegance, and was a person who didn't allow rudeness.

So when a boy came and insulted her perfume rudely, she allowed her workers to refuse entry to him and refuse his challenge to her, feeling insulted herself.

But then a young girl came in and defended the boy, accusing her gym as being discriminatory and forcing their opinion on everyone. That made Erika force herself to calm down and really look and scrutinize her actions and the outlook of her gym, and realize that it hadn't been right of her (especially as a gym leader) to have denied the boy entry to her gym because of his opinion.

After the girl had left, the boy had also looked somewhat sheepish, even if still surly. He apologized for being rude, but said he still hated perfumes. However, Erika had stopped him from leaving and allowed him to battle her.

But now the girl was gone and she had no idea where she was.

Erika wanted to find her and apologize, feeling as if the other girl had been right to correct Erika, even if she hadn't said those things to her personally.

She knew she was a trainer, so she thought to go to the Pokémon Center, but didn't see her around. She searched for Nurse Joy, and found her in the back and tending to a much healthier Charmander than the one she remembered hearing first being brought in some time ago and had briefly seen.

"He looks much healthier than before," Erika noted, startling Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy smiled brightly at her. "He is! And a young girl named Ash Ketchum was mostly the one who was the cause, having delayed challenging the gym to take care of this one."

Erika was intrigued. "That's nice of her. Where is she now?"

"Oh! I think I heard her say she was going to challenge the gym leader today! But then again, she came back this morning to drop off Charmander, so I don't know if she lost or something…"

Erika had a sinking feeling it was that same girl.

"What does she look like?" she asked softly.

At Nurse Joy's description of the girl, she winced and sighed inwardly.

"If you see her, please tell her to go to the gym. I would like to say something to her," Erika told the curious nurse.

She started to leave then, only to catch sight of the two newcomers to her pokémon group –Misty and Brock, who she knew were gym leader trainee and gym leader respectively. She'd been surprised to see them in her gym, and Brock especially had been acting strange and not hitting on any of the females in her gym, but after her session she hadn't been able to talk to them before she had gone out to deal with the boy.

"Misty, Brock, I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk to you two earlier," Erika approached them, smiling kindly.

They sat up in their seats and looked to her, giving small smiles back.

"Hey, Erika," Brock greeted her for the both of them. "We wanted to talk to you about something actually."

"Oh? What is it?"

Misty spoke up then. "We're traveling with a girl named Ash," which made Erika's smile falter, "she'd really been looking forward to challenging your gym. The problem is she's allergic to perfumes and when she found out your gym had a perfume store in the front, she pretty much freaked out and ran away. Is there any way you could battle her somewhere or something?"

"We have to go looking for her too," Brock chuckled. "She pretty much is sulking around the city after she found that out, and stubbornly wouldn't tell the rest of us what the problem is. We had to figure it out because I'm pretty sure she's embarrassed about the fact."

Erika was inwardly rather horrified. This Ash had a perfectly good reason to dislike perfume, aside from just having an opinion about it, and she wondered if her gym would have refused entry to her just because she refused to like perfumes and probably wouldn't be open to saying why? It made her realize that she really did need to change the outlook of her gym and her workers, and even do something about having her perfume store being set in front of her gym. Ash was not the only one who could have an allergy to perfumes, and it was admittedly careless of her to have had her store there.

"Yes, that's fine with me. In fact, I will be airing out my gym to try to help, and maybe battle her in the back, where the air should be clean," Erika informed them, hoping that she could make sure her gym wasn't as hazardous as it unknowingly was.

Misty and Brock informed her they would, and she hurried back to her gym, hoping to right things.

Feeling infinitely better, Ash quietly played with Persian, Cubone, Pikachu, and Charmander in a game of "Simon Says." Of course, when it was the pokémon's turn to say something, they were rather adept at doing charades or drawing something to make their point…

"Want more water?" Norman asked her kindly and she gave a small grin to him.

"Please?"

She drank a lot of it when he gave her the glass, and she was already feeling hydrated and had less of a headache. At least she wasn't too nauseous anymore.

"That really sucks," she sighed. "I don't like it. How can you guys stand getting drunk and then getting those dumb hangovers?" she asked everyone with a weird look on her face.

Lt. Surge shrugged. "Well, it feels nice when you actually get a buzz going and you loosen up…but yeah. The afterwards is not pretty."

"Especially if you drink too much," Norman winced himself.

"Or if you're a lightweight," Oak teased her and she pouted.

"Hey! I'm not a lightweight!" she protested.

"It was either a really strong bottle of saké…or you're a lightweight," Giovanni continued the teasing.

She huffed as everyone laughed at her, though the pokémon at least were sympathetically patting her shoulders.

"In any case, that's the last time I'm getting drunk," Ash declared.

Oak snorted. "Says you. You declare so many things like that, and it never fails to amuse me how many times you have to backtrack on your declarations. 'I'll never eat spicy food again!' or 'I'll never do a marathon of The Walking Dead!' Then you eat spicy food the next week or marathon that show again when a new season is about to start."

Ash looked sheepishly at everyone. "Well…huh. How about that, eh?"

Just then, Brock and Misty burst into the hotel room and looked frazzled.

"What's wrong, you two?" Lt. Surge asked in alarm at their state.

"The Celadon Gym was set on fire!" Misty exclaimed. "I think those Rocket idiots tried to steal the secret formula to the signature perfume, and instead accidentally set fire to the place."

At that though, without hearing anything and not wanting to waste time, Ash darted from her spot and ran out the door, deciding to head straight to the gym and hearing her name being called behind her.

She wasn't going to let anyone get hurt, no matter how she felt towards the gym.

Without thinking, seeing the gym on fire, Ash ran passed the worried people gathered outside and others trying to help stop the fire, and ran straight into it. A part of her felt (and maybe this was her Aura powers at work) that there was still someone inside. She was so focused she didn't notice the heat that was scorching in the gym, nor that she unconsciously batted aside a burning piece of the wall blocking her way.

And then she saw Erika hunched over a Gloom.

When and where the fire had started, Erika didn't know. She only knew that she had to get everyone out, and she had managed to until she realized her precious Gloom wasn't there. She'd gone back into her gym to look for her, but she had trouble finding Gloom until she ran to the grassy arena and found Gloom huddled into a corner and scared.

"I'm here," Erika cried out and ran towards Gloom, bringing her into her arms just as she tripped and sprained her ankle.

But then there was fire all around them and nowhere to go, so she and Gloom huddled together in fear and cried together.

This time, unlike last time where Gloom saved Erika, there wasn't someone going to save them.

She didn't know how long they were there or how much time had passed, but she just knew that she and Gloom was trapped. And then, when it seemed like hope was lost on them, she heard a crash and looked up from the ground.

That girl from earlier, who she knew was Ash, was there suddenly. One of her arms was over her head, trying to keep it clear from the fire, but her face was smudged with soot and dirt, and so was the rest of her. But she gave a soft smile as she saw Erika, and Erika stared at her in awe and felt her breath hitched.

Striding over to the gym leader, Erika watched as gentle eyes smiled just as lovely as her lips, and Ash leaned down slightly and held out a hand. Looking up at her, Erika wanted to cry in relief and happiness, and took the hand held out to her.

Everything felt dazed and like a dream. And she was pulled up and Ash, small as she was, took her easily and carried her into her arms like a bride, and then she was rushing out of there.

"You could have left us there," because Erika knew how upset the girl was with her and the gym.

"Don't be silly," she scoffed, but still smiled down at her. "I would never just leave you here, for any reason."

And Erika wanted to cry again, because she remembered feeling lost and abandoned a long time ago, and had Gloom to come to her aid then. She didn't think it would happen again this time, but she had Ash Ketchum coming for her and suddenly she remembered the resolve she made then come back again.

A wall on fire started to fall again, and somehow Ash used an arm and shoulder to shove it away. Without any waste of time, Ash ran out of the gym.

Erika buried her face against Ash's shoulder and held onto Gloom.

Started 11/5/15 – Completed 11/30/15

Chapter Text

If Giovanni almost had a heart attack, it was warranted. First, he saw Ash run into the burning building like a lunatic, and then –like some movie heroine –she emerged some time later out of the burning wreckage with Erika in her arms and a determined, serious look on her face.

He could almost admire the image of her and the burning backdrop, if he wasn't so worried about her.

He and the others ran towards her, and Lt. Surge helped take Erika from Ash's arms and put her down on the ground on her feet, steadying her.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked Erika, though that was what he wanted to ask her. She did run into a burning building after all.

"I-I'm fine," Erika coughed slightly, staring at Ash with an odd look in her eyes that made Giovanni frown.

"Ah, good," Ash smiled tiredly. Then she collapsed.

More than one person, Giovanni included, leaped to catch her and they all nearly crashed into each other, stopping only just and all of them managing to somehow grab a hold of her and keep her up.

"Alright, hospital! Everyone –now," Nurse Joy happened on the scene, two ambulances with her. "Pokémon are heading to the Pokémon Center. Anyone else will go straight to the Celadon Hospital for at least a checkup. Ash especially needs to go, so get her onto a stretcher and into an ambulance."

Ash's friends reluctantly relinquished her to the EMTs that came over with a stretcher. Then the group looked at each other.

"So who's going to go with her into the ambulance?" Misty was the one to ask it aloud.

"Normally, I would say Professor Oak should –ah, Sam," Brock said, though he corrected himself on Oak's name at the looks of everyone. "But since he's supposed to be low key, Giovanni should probably go. He's used to this paperwork stuff and getting everything organized and taken cared of, so as much as I want to go, he's probably the best option."

"You know, we'll probably have to set you up as her primary contact sometime soon," Oak mused. "I can be her secondary, if things don't work out for you for some reason or other in some instance, and it can't be helped. Probably by then, I've worked up a good alibi and can go around as is."

Pleased, Giovanni nodded and accepted that responsibility.

"What…what's going on?" Erika, who had been forgotten, asked in confusion, trembling slightly.

Misty and Brock grabbed onto her, ignoring her question.

"Hospital," Misty said. "Now."

"But –"

"We'll fill you in on the way," Brock compromised and that was the last Giovanni heard. He himself headed over to where Ash was being prepped to go onto the ambulance and informed the EMTs he was coming with her.

In the back of the ambulance, Giovanni watched over her and wished she was awake. Though she looked peaceful, he was sure that she felt anything but. He was listening with half an ear to the EMTs and knew that she was suffering slight burns on her arm, and they needed to get oxygen in her after inhaling all that smoke to clear up her lungs and oxygenate her brain. There were also slight rashes starting to form on her skin.

"There were perfume in the gym," Giovanni spoke aloud when he heard them discussing what they were from. "She's allergic to them."

One of the EMTs nodded. "I see. Perfume bottles probably broke and they spread through the air, probably exacerbated from the fire's heat and making them more potent in the air. She has slight inflammation in her nostrils and down her throat, along with the rashes. A shot of Benadryl should help."

Giovanni continued to watch morosely and was thankful when the hospital came in sight. Soon enough, Ash was heading into it and Giovanni followed, before he was made to stay in the waiting room and wait for the others. He began filling out what he could of Ash's information, before he had to use his phone to call Oak and get his help in filling in the rest. By the time he was done and had turned the papers in, the others had arrived.

"She okay?" Lt. Surge asked with a frown.

"She has some burns and an allergic reaction, but it sounds like she's doing okay. We'll get to visit her soon," Giovanni informed the group. The collective sigh of relief was expected. "She can leave tomorrow, to make sure she receives proper treatment for her burns and to monitor her allergic reaction and make sure it completely goes away."

"So we'll just have to wait now," Oak said.

Giovanni nodded, though he was tired of waiting by then.

Ash was antsy. She was sick of being on the hospital bed and just wanted to get out of there already!

"There's TV," Oak pointed out wryly.

"But I'm tired of being on the bed," she pouted.

"Well, you still have to wait until tomorrow to leave," Giovanni said firmly.

She sighed, but understood their protectiveness. Not that it stopped her from being bored or itching to run out of there.

"Um, hi. I guess we'll be roommates for tonight?" she heard Erika's voice.

She perked up. They weren't in the other's deathtrap of a gym! This was her chance!

"Erika! I challenge you to a pokémon battle for a badge!" Ash called out, starting to climb off of the bed.

"No!" everyone said at once and glared at her.

She pouted even harder than before.

"You're in a hospital room, Ash," Oak rolled his eyes.

"Yeah and you're supposed to be recovering," Lt. Surge gave her a look.

Giovanni just stared her down until she deflated in bed and shrugged. Damn it, he was always so good with looks. He never really had to say anything!

"Sorry, Ash," she heard Erika say. "How about after we both get out? The gym will probably need rebuilding anyway, so we can't do it there –though I promise from now on that it'll have the store located further to the side and won't be too close to the entrance in the future. How about if we can battle in front of the gym?"

Ash cheered. "Yes, please! That's totally fine. Right, Pikachu?"

Pikachu startled everyone by crawling under the hospital bed and revealing himself, giving everyone a cute smile and a v-sign.

"Chu~!"

"Pikachu!" Oak admonished. "You're supposed to be in the Pokémon Center! How'd you even get here?"

Pikachu coughed and looked away.

"I can't believe you," Lt. Surge was fighting back a grin. "This pokémon is just as crazy as his owner," he teased the both of them.

Giovanni just let his Persian out, who went over to Pikachu and picked him up by the scruff of his neck using his maw and began to head out of there.

"Persian was never out of his pokéball, hence his not needing to be at the Pokécenter," Giovanni told Ash. "Therefore he can drag your troublemaking pokémon back there."

Ash grumbled. "Fine, fine. Bye, Pikachu, Persian."

"Pika!" Pikachu grumbled with her, though with Persian's mouth full, she could only hear a muffled sound from him.

"I think you should sleep and get some rest," Giovanni then turned to her.

She didn't really want to, but she supposed it would help. Well, help time pass by. She wanted it to be tomorrow already!

She yawned. "'Kay, goodnight…"

Ash heard a quiet chorus of goodnight from everyone before she fell asleep herself.

When Ash awoke, she heard nurses whispering nearby. She kept quiet, listening in. Okay, she was being rude eavesdropping, but they were the ones choosing to talk right there near her! How could she not get curious and want to listen in?

"That's so strange!" one nurse was saying. "And disturbing."

"It's sad too. The children are going missing and no one can figure out why," another nurse replied.

"I wonder where they're going or who's taken them?"

The nurses walked off, but Ash already had a lot on her mind. This wasn't good! Someone had taken the children. Or the children had gone missing somehow. She had to help! There was no way she could just let something like this go. What if those poor children were never found? Or what if they got hurt or worse?

Ash became determined. She was going to help out.

Of course, knowing the others, they would still be overprotective and refuse to let her do anything but rest. She would have to get out of there before they could catch her and haul her back kicking and screaming like a hissing cat.

Ha! She could do this.

She nervously looked around, before she heard a quiet "Pika~" and she saw her Pikachu crawling from under her bed again. He gave her a mischievous grin.

"Good boy!" she quietly praised with a grin back. "Let's get out of here! We have a mystery to solve."

She got all the wires and stuff off her somehow, and then unsteadily made it to her feet. After making sure she was okay, she peered around the curtain separating her and Erika, and saw the gym leader still asleep. Finding some clothes that the others had left for her (wrinkling her nose at the feminine clothes that would surely get her in trouble), Ash took a quick shower to get all that grime and sweat from yesterday off of her. Then it was time for her and Pikachu to hightail it out of there, after she managed to leave a note on the whiteboard that was supposed to show her and Erika's condition.

Ash headed outside and thought to herself. "We need a clue, Pikachu. Let's see…if they weren't taken, where would they go? We'll think from there and then we'll think about if they were taken. So where do kids like to go that they might have run away to?"

Pikachu tugged at her pants and pointed in a direction, to where she could see clumps of trees.

"Park!" Ash shouted. "Good job, Pikachu. Let's check it out and see if we can find any missing kids. Er, ones that aren't there because they're meant to be there and not the missing ones."

Eck, she needed to be able to differentiate. Good thing for her she just saw all the posters on the walls depicting missing kids. Coming over to examine them, she then took note of each kid and then set off to the park with Pikachu.

For a while she looked around the park with no luck, until she spotted an area with a lake and a lot of kids there pretending that they're pokémon. She recognized all of them as being the missing children from the posters and went to them to try to get them back. Going over to one kid who was pretending he was a Squirtle, she gently took hold of him, ignoring how drowsy she began to feel.

"Hey, hey –you've got to come with me. You guys have been gone for way too long and it's not the time for playing anymore, okay?" she said and was surprised when he just turned to her with a dazed look and kept acting and talking like a Squirtle. "What?"

After going to a few more kids and getting similar reactions, she realized that they were all not pretending but seriously thinking they were pokémon. They were all acting like they were all hypnotized –

Wait! That was it! Someone must've drawn the kids there and tried to hypnotize them. What pokémon could've helped (it had to have had one involved, with these many kids)? Let's see…hypnotizing…hypnotizing…hyp –Hypno!

"I got it!" she exclaimed, thinking she had the mystery somewhat solved now. She had to shake her head a little though, feeling sleepy. Her eyelids grew heavy and she had to close them for a second…

"Pika?" Pikachu patted her leg, worried about her.

All of a sudden, Ash dropped to all fours and rubbed her face against him.

"Peeeerssian~"

When Erika called them from the hospital to let them know that Ash had gone missing, leaving only a vague note on the whiteboard about "going to solve a mystery!" (really, this girl), the whole group were all exasperated but also more worried.

"What mystery could she have gone to solve?" Lt. Surge griped.

"Three days ago, apparently kids began to go missing," Norman supplied. "I heard some people talking about it. She could have wanted to help out and figure what was going on."

"Sounds like her," Misty quipped.

The doors to the Pokémon Center swooshed open and a few of them idly looked over, becoming alarmed and getting the others' attention when they saw Pikachu rushing inside and chattering nonstop. Immediately, Raichu left her pokéball and left Lt. Surge's side to try to calm Pikachu down. However, before anything could happen, the doors opened again and Ash revealed herself.

Only she was sauntering inside on all fours and purring and just what the hell is going on here –

"Persian?"

For a moment, everyone looked at Giovanni and even he had thought that his Persian had said something. But his feline pokémon wasn't out and only deigned to leave his pokéball then, having sensed his owner's uneasiness. And then everyone looked back at Ash, who lazily tilted her head, lifting a hand and rubbing the back of her hand against her nose.

"Peeerssian," she sighed and everyone stood stock still.

Nurse Joy interrupted. "Is Ash imitating a Persian?"

"Pika Pika, Pikapi!" Pikachu burst out, wildly gesticulating with his paws.

Seeing Raichu and Persian becoming worried and then looking to Ash made all the others worry too, and wanting to know what was going on.

"How are we going to figure the heck happened, especially since Ash isn't talking to us?" Brock gawped.

Ash sat on her haunches and blinked at them. "Per-Persian?"

"I don't think she's imitating or pretending to be a Persian," someone interrupted and they saw Steven Stone of all people coming into the Pokécenter and worriedly watching Ash. "I think she really thinks she is one."

"We need to head back to the hotel, since there's more space for all of us, and we can all put our heads together and figure this out," Oak spoke up and headed over to Ash, reaching out to nudge her to hint for her to follow them.

Instead, Ash reared back and actually hissed. Then she lashed out with a hand and scratched his hand!

Everyone was looking at her blankly, especially Oak.

"Did she just…" Oak stared.

"I think this is the job for the Persian Whisperer," Misty joked, giving a glance to Giovanni, who glared back at her.

Persian snickered somehow and smoothly traipsed over to the human-Persian, nudging his head against hers.

"Persian Persian," the feline purred out.

"Per-Persian," Ash nodded and followed after Persian.

"So the would-be Persian follows after the actual Persian," Lt. Surge snorted. "Makes sense. Alright, let's head out."

"Wait! When Ash gets back to normal, could you let her know that there's a certain Charmander here that's been insistent on wanting to see her?" Celadon Joy asked.

"Sure, we'll let her know," Norman smiled kindly at her and then they were off.

Giovanni's jaw clenched, ignoring every little jab his way about Persian and Ash. They could all laugh it up.

Misty had disappeared with Ash for a moment, and they were all discussing what they think happened. They were pretty sure that Ash went looking for those kids or for a way to help them, and instead got herself into this predicament. Right now they were thinking of how this happened to her and how to fix it –

"Ta dah!" he heard Misty exclaim and he looked towards her, only to stop short (missing how the others had as well) as he saw that Ash (still acting like a Persian) had been dressed up with kitty ears and a tail. Specifically looking like a Persian's. And looking extremely cute.

No. He didn't just think that.

Misty started chortling, shaking her head. "Look at you guys! I didn't know you all were a bunch of gijinka lovers! Wait until I tell Ash all about this –!"

"You will do no such thing!" Oak barked out, face red at the girl's prank on them.

"I don't know. I kind of really like it and maybe Ash will do it more if she knew we did," Steven commented, casually sitting in a chair and taking picture after picture on his phone.

When the hell did that guy get here?

Apparently he wasn't the only one, as everyone else looked confused or blank at the young man's presence there.

"When did you get here?" Brock asked, while Lt. Surge said after, "Better question –why are you here?"

"I followed after you guys from the Pokémon Center, remember? And I'm here to help Ash."

"Don't you have a Devon Corp. demonstration to focus on here?" Giovanni scowled.

"Ah, no," Steven answered blithely, still taking pictures of Ash. "I finished that a long time ago, before Ash came. I'm just waiting for Ash to move on to the next city to follow her. I rearranged my demonstration tour to follow her schedule, you see?"

Of course he did. Giovanni grumbled in his head, though he had already suspected it once Oak had brought it up to him and Lt. Surge about the "strange coincidences" of Steven Stone being in the same places as Ash. Obviously not a coincidence.

"Alright, we need to figure out what to do right now," Giovanni took control of the situation, despite the muttered coughs of 'Persian-gijinka present' from Misty, or the knowing and stupid looks on some of the others towards him. "Misty and Brock will go around questioning about the kids and what happened, and have those…Harem idiots help out. Lucien and Norman, head to the police station and find out what you can from there. Prof –ah, Samuel, if you could head back to the hospital and see if you can get more information there?"

"What do I do?" Steven raised a hand, asking cheerily.

Giovanni stopped himself from twitching. "Go with Samuel," he reluctantly growled.

Sir Aaron just had to pop up then, scaring the crap out of everyone at his sudden appearance. "I'm here too! I would like to help! What should I do?"

"Pick a group and go with them," Giovanni deadpanned.

"What are you doing?" Misty asked slyly and Giovanni twitched then.

"I'm staying here with Ash, make sure she doesn't get into trouble," he said blandly.

"Are you sure you're not going to just enjoy petting Ash like you pet your beloved Persian all the time?" Surprisingly, that was Norman who commented, even smirking a bit.

Giovanni ignored the red warmth that was growing on his cheeks. "Go on already," he said irritably. "The sooner this is over, the sooner Ash is back to normal."

Ash purred and rubbed her head against his leg, before settling herself by his feet and lying down on her front. The others began to slip out of the room, laughing and some continuing to throw jeers and teases his way about petting Ash and making sure to focus behind her ears and other stupid comments. He glared at them until they were all completely gone.

Then his own Persian ruined his perceived peace by turning on the radio and snickering at him full force.

"But I still stay 'cause you're the only thing I know
So won't you take, oh, won't you take me home~"

"Oh, shut up you," Giovanni griped, huffing about the song. But Persian stuck his tongue out at him and then sauntered over to Ash, nuzzling her cheek. "Just get back into your pokéball! She's not even a real Persian!"

His Persian was laughing at him the entire time until Giovanni managed to grab his pokéball and return Persian to it. Then he plopped back onto his chair with a huff, twitching again when Ash lifted herself up and planted her head on his leg, watching him with wide eyes.

"Peeersian?"

Pikachu's head slowly peeked out from under the room's bed and Giovanni glowered at him. "Go hide back under there," he snapped.

Pikachu pouted. "Chaaa…" but he hid back under and Giovanni closed his eyes.

But he felt a nose nudge against his hand and he opened them to see Ash still there and staring at him. He sighed in resignation and reluctantly reached out, rubbing the top of her head.

She started to purr loudly and close her eyes in pleasure, and Giovanni realized he should have just locked the room and left her in it and rushed out with the others.

Why the fuck didn't he?!

In the end, though they managed to figure out what was wrong –a whole bunch of people from the Pokémon Lovers Fan Club had been using a Hypno to help them sleep, therefore getting the pokémon in the Center sleepy and accidentally making the kids think they were pokémon and had somehow found their way to an area in the park –Giovanni found that it was hard for him to move passed the incident. It shouldn't really. But it did.

"So," Lt. Surge interrupted, still grinning mischievously. "Enjoyed your petting time?"

Giovanni stubbornly looked away from him and the blond held up his hands.

"Okay, okay. I get it. You don't want to talk."

But he took a shuddering breath and glared resentfully at Lt. Surge. "I think it was a mistake that I stayed behind."

"Oh?" Lt. Surge prodded curiously. "Does this mean you finally admit how you feel about her?"

Giovanni stayed absolutely quiet.

"Got it. You don't want to admit to it aloud, much less to me. But you have to yourself," Lt. Surge concluded.

"Where's Ash?" he avoided answering.

"Ahhh…I think she said she was bored and went off to play games, especially since she's finally released from the hospital and can't battle Erika yet."

Dread filled Giovanni as a suspicion entered him, and he excused himself to there. He knew exactly where he was going to go and hurried his way to the Celadon Game Corner, and unhappily saw that his suspicion was right.

There in front of one of the game slots was Ash, looking mesmerized and determined.

"Ash," he quietly greeted and she tore her attention away from the slot machine.

"Giovanni!" she brightened up, though she took a moment to momentarily slip in a coin and pull down the lever. "What are you doing here?"

Feeling unnerved and upset that Ash was so drawn to here and the games, and feeling more than uncomfortable at that fact (more so when he put into account that he owned the place), Giovanni tried not to let feelings of guilt overwhelm him.

He remembered the song his Persian played.

"I'm going to take you home," he told her softly.

'I hope later on you'll agree that I was the best mistake you ever had.'

Started 12/1/16 – Completed 12/9/16

Chapter Text

Her arm felt better, though she had to keep it wrapped up and change the wrappings every so often, along with rubbing some kind of burn cream on it. It really wasn't a problem anymore, in her opinion, but everyone kept making her be careful and stuff. Which she got. Really!

Okay, so maybe she was just restless and didn't want to listen to everyone about staying still and resting. She rested enough thank you very much! She wanted to move around, be free, do something –preferably a pokémon battle.

A ghostly hand patted her shoulder and she looked miserably at Sir Aaron.

"Milady," he started gently. "I understand you feel caged, but you were hurt and you should let yourself heal."

"But I'm bored and I hate not doing anything," she grumbled. And they really weren't letting her do anything!

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed in support of his trainer, though he too had been confined to the room as punishment for evading the Pokémon Center twice.

Sir Aaron looked thoughtful. "We could do more Aura exercises, if you'd like? I know, from what you told me, that you'd had practice with someone named Sabrina, who basically has helped you to at least feel for your Aura and get a sense on it and even the basics of reaching out to it."

Ash nodded enthusiastically, starting to cheer up. "Yeah, that's right."

He nodded surely. "Then we can move from the basics and start you on the beginning of intermediate practices, that of actually learning to reach out to your Aura and then eventually to you being able to use the Aura-based gifts that you should be able to perform at this stage."

Ash was practically bouncing in her seat. "Ohh, is it going to be like the Force?"

He looked confused. "What is this…Force?"

She squealed. "I definitely have to catch you up on Star Wars! Er, but after we start on this Aura stuff first, 'kay?"

Sir Aaron blinked, but shrugged to himself and agreed. Soon enough he had her started on what Sabrina taught her, before he began to instruct on how to go farther than that. It wasn't long until she'd grasped that and was excitedly practically attempting to glomp Sir Aaron…but went right through him and landed with an oomph! on the floor.

He blushed in embarrassment. "Um, I'm quite sorry about that, milady."

"S'fine," he heard muffled from her.

Pikachu just snickered from his spot.

Two hours later found the others coming back to her room to find that she and Sir Aaron were in the midst of a Star Wars marathon.

"Obi-Wan, nooooo!" he cried out.

Ash patted his back. Well, she pretended to since he wasn't really corporeal. "It's okay. Jango Fett doesn't get him."

Lt. Surge chuckled. "So Star Wars marathon?"

"Mmhm," Ash nodded, not taking her eyes off the movie.

"I'm assuming we're all going to watch," Giovanni stated more than asked, and rolled his eyes as he sat near Ash and got comfortable. The group converged on the area and spread out and soon enough they were all watching and having a movie night.

"Hey, guys," Brock spoke up in between changing the third Star Wars movie for the fourth. "There was a street I'd like to visit before we leave Celadon City. Is that alright?"

"Sure!" Ash spoke up. "Why not?"

"Just making sure," Brock shrugged. "Do you want to go, Ash? There are a lot of beauty parlors on that street for pokémon…"

"Ohhh, yeah, that sounds awes –" The room's phone rang and they all looked at each other. Oak was nearest to it and answered it.

"Hello?"

Oak's eyebrows raised the longer he listened, making everyone very curious as to what the professor was hearing. When he finally hung up, everyone stared at him. He huffed and glared back.

"Give me a moment, you nosy people," Oak huffed again. He turned to Norman surprisingly. "Apparently your daughter's downstairs, in the lobby. She was asking for an 'Ash Ketchum', and they called up Ash's room."

"May's here?" Norman asked in shock, feeling unsure of himself.

Ash straightened up, grinning widely. "That's great, Norman! She finally found her way to you! Why don't you get her and bring her up, and we can all meet her and let her meet all of us in turn?"

"Y-yes, that sounds good," Norman stuttered, looking at her with wide eyes. His daughter was finally there and he was having a hard time figuring out what to do now that she was. He was supposed to (when he finally had her) bring her home, but it was late and that was too abrupt and he knew that May had really wanted to meet Ash, who had been so kind to him and it wouldn't do to part so quickly and without warning.

And, as he glanced at Ash, he didn't really want to part so soon either.

So he quickly made it down to the lobby, where he saw his daughter, who looked fine for the most part –if slightly tired out and oddly having a rough-looking Jolteon next to her.

"May?" he called out, catching her attention. She turned to him in surprise. "Dad!"

She walked briskly over to meet him halfway, while he kept walking over to her. They embraced tightly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I should be asking you that," he frowned. "Or rather, what were you thinking suddenly coming all the way here?"

May's face flushed red at the reprimand, but she frowned back at him.

"I wanted to meet Ash Ketchum," she said stubbornly. "I just…had to come here. I had to leave the house."

His frown softened. "I know," he started unsurely. "It's been really rough back home, hasn't it?" They exchanged uncomfortable but understanding looks with each other. "I get it. Our family's unusual and the two of us have had a hard time connecting and being close. And to be honest, I know now that I should have tried harder to try to see and understand things that you like, and not just force you into dealing with and liking pokémon. Even with pokémon contests, the little interest you have in them and the only thing much to do with pokémon you had, and I wasn't as supportive or cared too much about it. I'm sorry."

May gave him a small smile, looking taken aback from his confession and apology. "I've been thinking about it a lot and though I'm still not interested in battling, I've becoming even more interested in pokémon contests and maybe even participating…and I kind of really like pokémon. Jolteon's been awesome the entire time he accompanied me to here, and I really like all of Ash's pokémon and hope to meet them. So maybe…so maybe we have a little more in common now?"

He beamed happily at his daughter. "Yeah, I'm glad!"

"Ah, that reminds me –what are you doing here? I was trying to meet Ash Ketchum and even had them call for her room, so I'm surprised you're here, Dad," May remembered, looking at him in confusion.

Norman blushed slightly. "I went looking for you after finding your note. I ended up coming all the way over to Kanto too, and eventually I met Ash and her group. They let me tag along until you eventually found them, and so that I would be able to find you more easily."

May groaned. "Really? You got to meet her already and even hang around her, when I'm the one who wanted to meet her! That's so unfair!"

Norman felt a little mischievous and shrugged, smiling carelessly. "I know, right? I'm lucky! And she's really sweet and nice, and we had breakfasts together all the time, and –"

May gave a small shriek and hit his arm, and he just ended up laughing at her.

"You're such a jerk, Dad!"

Norman couldn't keep the smile off of his face, grabbing his daughter's hand and leading the way to the room, the rough and gruff Jolteon following after them.

"You have got to tell me about how you got here and how you got that Jolteon," Norman was sure his daughter had quite the tale. "You can tell me all about it on the way there, and I'll tell you what happened to me."

And so he listened intently to May tell her story, grinning and chuckling at many places.

Ash was kind of excited. Norman had been so desperate to reunite with his daughter, and had further confessed to her so many things regarding May and his relationship, of their family, and how he'd like her help with the two of them. She felt like she knew May already somewhat, and also that she really wanted to help father and daughter get along better, as well as fulfill May's strange desire to meet her and hopefully meet her expectations.

The door opened and Norman stepped through with a young girl, a little younger than Ash, with short brown hair, shy blue eyes, and a nervous smile on her face and also a Jolteon.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce my daughter May," Norman announced, looking really happy. May gave a small wave, kind of shirking behind her dad unsurely, while the Jolteon growled loudly and ran passed them and towards Lt. Surge, who looked shocked and caught the electric pokémon as it pounced on him. He gave a sheepish look towards everyone.

"Uh, my Jolteon. I'm guessing Remy lent him to you?" he looked to May, who nodded. "Ah hah, well, good he and this one helped you out."

Everyone said their hello's before Ash bounced up to them with a wide grin. "Hi, I'm Ash! I heard a lot about you from Norman."

May squeaked and blushed a little, looking at her wide-eyed and speechless. Ash almost cooed. She was like a scared but cute Buneary.

"N-nice to meet you and everyone," May said after a soft nudge from Norman. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

Ash waved her off, heading back to her seat. "Nonsense. We don't mind. Come in, come in! Watch Star Wars with us."

She patted the spot next to her, and May hesitantly went to sit there with her father following after and sitting next to her. Settled in between May and Giovanni, Ash made herself comfortable to watch.

"Yeah, let's go!" Sir Aaron cheered and she saw May flinch and stare at him, noticing him and his incorporeal self.

Ash comfortingly patted May's shoulder. "I know, I was the same way. But he's a good ghost. Ah! We're out of popcorn!"

The Harem Club popped up suddenly and gave her a thumbs up with a glittering background. "Don't worry, ma'am! We'll get you a fresh batch."

May stared and Norman gave her a sympathetic smile. "You get used to it."

Hm, Ash thought about that and realized that was pretty true. Everyone had pretty much gotten used to the weirdness that tended to happen around them, so it really wasn't such a big deal anymore. Oops, poor May getting introduced to their group so suddenly.

Well, it's alright. She had her dad there to help her, and he'd been pretty much inducted into the group and gotten almost used to everything.

By the time the movies were over, everyone was tired and ready to sleep. But, as they were tired and lazy, they didn't feel like making their way to their own rooms and instead camped out around Ash's room. There was a large blanket bed hastily made on the ground in front of the TV that was occupied by Brock, Misty, the, er, Harem guys, and Sam had taken the couch while Norman had unfolded the futon. Lt. Surge had put down the pull out bed from the closet and was sleeping on it, while Giovanni was still up and working on his laptop apparently.

May was just trying to acclimate to everything and feeling way too excited to go to sleep. Ash being up too was another reason that she didn't want to sleep.

"You two should go to bed," Giovanni said distractedly, typing fast on the keyboard.

"Maybe in a bit," Ash beamed at him. "I want to hang around May a little more, since she and Norman are going to leave tomorrow morning."

That made May remember that her dad had told everyone that the two of them would be heading straight back to Hoenn the next morning, and that they wouldn't be intruding on the group anymore. It depressed her a little, but she had finally met and got to meet Ash, and she knew that the situation was weird and that they shouldn't be intruding anyway.

"Come on, May," Ash brought her attention back to her and she blushed. "Let's go have some hot chocolate downstairs! They have a 24 hour café that we can go to."

"Y-yeah! Okay," May smiled brightly.

Ash took her hand and led the way. "See you, Giovanni!"

"Bye!" May hurried to say as she was pulled away. Ash's Pikachu had already darted to the front and was ahead of them. Ash maneuvered them around the hallways and to the elevators easily as they followed Pikachu, and then they entered and waited in one of the elevators. May kept looking at Ash shyly, her dumb blush not going away. After a few moments of that, the elevator thankfully stopped and then she was being led to the café, where they ordered and then waited at a table.

"So what do you like to do?" Ash asked her curiously. "Do you have any hobbies?"

May bit her lip. "Um, not really. To be honest…I don't really do much or go out of the house too often. Um, I kind of like pokémon contests though, which is how I found out about you." Her face burned even hotter at that.

Ash laughed delightedly. "I still find that funny! I've never been on TV before and had no idea there was even a recording of me and my pokémon from that contest. I didn't think we were so likable that we'd have a lot of people liking us, and one especially to come all the way here to meet me," Ash winked at her, ending teasingly.

Impossibly, May's face turned an even darker red, but she was also smiling widely because Ash didn't mind and didn't think May was a weirdo or something.

Soon, she found that they were drawn into conversation that lasted a long while, even after their drinks were finished. Pikachu even got his own and was relaxed on Ash's lap. When they finally left there, still chatting, May was feeling extraordinarily happy and couldn't remember the last time she felt like that. But it also brought to mind that she was going to leave soon and she was going to be leaving Ash and this feeling behind, which made her depressed again.

"Oh!" she heard Ash quietly exclaim and she looked to see where the other girl was looking at and saw Giovanni had fallen asleep at the table. "That silly man. He should've gone somewhere to sleep."

Looking around, May thought he probably wouldn't have had anywhere to sleep, considering every available space –barring the bed, which was Ash's, and May's space beside her dad on the futon –was taken.

"Before you go to bed, could you help me get him onto the bed? He's going to end up with a bad back and will probably wake up grouchy and sore in the morning," Ash asked her, smiling fondly as she looked onto the sleeping man.

"Sure," she quickly said, wanting to spend at least a few more minutes with Ash. She went over and together they hefted the large man off of the table and stood him up. Which was quite a feat, considering how tall and generally just bigger Giovanni was compared to them. He was much heavier too, but somehow they managed to slowly carry him over to the bed and lug him onto it.

Ash panted as she gave May a tired smile. "Thanks a lot. Goodnight, May!"

May went back to being shy, smiling back. "G-goodnight!"

She went to her father's side and carefully got onto the futon. She went to sleep smiling as she listened to Ash cheerfully, if quietly, sing along to some song.

Ash took a second to rest, finally finished getting Giovanni comfortable on the bed. Geez, the man was a heavy sleeper! But well, she'd managed to take off his tie and jacket and shoes, before tucking him in under the blankets. Haha, she was good!

Proudly, she went over to his laptop to close the lid when she had a thought. Giovanni did say she could use his laptop whenever she wanted…

She really hadn't looked up her perfume allergy before, and she knew that she wasn't really affected by lighter scents compared to stronger scents. And she also knew that most of the time, she didn't get rashes from them. She just tended to have a hard time breathing and stuff.

Going onto the lock screen, she sighed as she realized there was a password. She should've asked Giovanni for it, but eh –maybe she could guess? She tried 'persian' and then she tried stuff to do with Viridian and his gym. Without knowing what it was, she resorted to randomly guessing and was glad that his laptop wasn't locking her out after the 25th try. Jokingly, she typed in her name and then blinked when it unlocked the computer.

She gaped at it while starting to blush, and awkwardly looked back at the sleeping man on the bed. Huh. Who would've guessed? Maybe it was to make it easier for her to log onto his laptop?

She found the internet icon easily and clicked onto it, and then began to search up her allergy. She found a medical article and curiously read it, tilting her head at the information she got. Apparently it was less of an 'allergen' and more correctly an irritant and called 'fragrance sensitivity' and which produced allergy symptoms. And she had either that or an allergy to some chemical in a perfume. The best thing to do was prevention, and which sucked because she liked some scents! She didn't mind her favorite lotion or shampoo smells! O-or some scents from her soap!

She dropped her head hard onto the table next to the laptop and bemoaned her life. She'd suffer through it! Damn it, she would. It wasn't like she got bothered by scents outside of the stuff that were usually used as perfume and cologne, which thankfully none of the guys here used. Not that they didn't smell nice though. In fact, she was pretty sure they all smelled really nice, and even used some sort of scents.

Seeing where her thoughts were, she blushed again and shook her head.

She kept looking it up before she got bored and began searching up pokémon battles and pokémon information online. She ran into some travel ad for Alola, which she was curious about and wanted to look into some other time, before she got curious about the video everyone talked about on her. However, afterwards, her face was so hot from embarrassment that she decided it was bedtime and decided to close out of the internet window. But before she could turn off the laptop itself, a chat window popped up.

ExcArc: Sir?

Ash panicked, not knowing what to do. She could just close out, but that would be rude and they would know and she didn't want to upset whoever it was that wanted to talk to Giovanni, and who would probably thought it was him and get upset at him!

GiovanniR: Um, this is a friend of his. He's sleeping.

Yes, yes. That should be fine. Right. Right?

Ash winced and started to panic again, especially since the other was silent. What did that mean? She hoped they would leave off and then she could just shut it off. But then…

GiovanniR: Would you like to leave a message? Unless it's classified!

Ash amended her first sentence. Then she added,

GiovanniR: Or if you'd like, I could just tell him that you wanted to talk to him when he's awake?

She waited and started to get nervous, only to receive a reply finally.

ExcArc: Hello, I am a friend and subordinate of Giovanni's.

Excited, Ash quickly typed back something.

GiovanniR: Hi! It's nice to meet you. I'm Ash :)

She waited eagerly and was happy when she saw she was quickly answered this time.

ExcArc: My name is Archer.

The morning was a jumbled mess. Giovanni was still tired, but he couldn't exactly escape the noise that was permeating in the room. Sighing, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at dark hair smothering his vision.

Pulling back, his eyes widened when he realized Ash was sleeping right next to him and somehow he'd been put into the bed. Even more, his jacket and shoes had been taken off, and the covers had been pulled over him. Unwillingly, he felt warm and embarrassed to realize that not only had Ash somehow gotten him onto the bed, but had sort of undressed him and had then gone on to sleep next to him in the bed.

Dear Arceus, he was sleeping in the same bed as Ash.

"Morning," he heard and he turned to face who it was, choking on his breath slightly when he realized that everyone else was already awake and cleaning up. Oak, the one who'd spoken, looked at him blandly as he drank his coffee.

"Oh, you're awake!" The new girl, Norman's kid, smiled at him. "Ash was worried you were going to wake up cranky and with a sore back, and that you were going to eventually get a bad back if you slept at the table, so she and I brought you over to the bed. I went to bed after, but she was so sweet and helped you get comfortable."

While May and Norman were oblivious, the rest of the others were a bunch of bastards and were smirking and giving him looks, and he tossed them back a disgruntled one, even as he felt even more embarrassed and even a bit happy at the confirmation.

"You should wake her up," Misty quipped, giving him a wink.

He glared at her, but found himself already turning to Ash's sleeping figure and leaning over her. Tentatively, he reached out and then paused before gently grabbing her shoulder and giving her a slight shake. It took a few tries, but eventually she muttered something and then groaned, stretching in bed and then slowly sitting up. She blinked lethargically a few times, before she looked at him. A moment passed before she squeaked and blush, and scrambled off the bed.

"Good morning," she shouted, before she ran to the bathroom.

Giovanni just sighed to himself.

"I think May and I should be heading off," Norman said and attention turned to him. The girl, May, looked disappointed, but Giovanni was just glad to get rid of some people. Their group just seemed to get bigger and bigger.

Soon enough, Ash was out of the bathroom and they were saying their goodbyes and the two left. Then Brock spoke out.

"Um, I'd like to head to Scissor Street today? There's a pokémon breeder there that I'd like to see. She's actually like the best breeder in the world, and I'd like to learn a bit from her."

"Oh!" Ash was obviously excited. "A pokémon breeder! Count me in!"

"Well, we did agree last night. Should be worth the look," Lt. Surge said.

They started to finish up cleaning the room and got their things together so they'd be ready to leave there when they were done looking, and then they left the room, to which Giovanni was aggravated to find Steven Stone leaving one of the elevators on that floor.

"Ah, were you guys leaving?" he asked.

"Just to go to Scissor Street," Ash replied. "We're going to check the street out. Brock wanted to see a specific pokémon breeder there."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" Steven asked, smiling kindly.

'Yes,' Giovanni grumbled in his head.

"Of course not!" Ash said happily. "It'd be great if you came with us!"

And then another person was added to the group and Giovanni almost pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed aloud. Instead, he just resigned himself to the trip, and tried to not gain a headache as they passed by a store with the name Salon Roquét.

He had a horrible, horrible, horrible feeling about it.

"So we're going to see a pokémon breeder by the name of Susie," Brock was explaining.

"Hey, I think I know her. I think I heard about her from the Pokémon News Network," Ash said. "That's awesome! We get to meet her."

"I'm really flattered," a new voice said and they saw a pretty, young woman step out from a salon and having overheard them. "I'm Susie. It's nice to meet you all."

"I'm Brock," Brock rushed forward and Giovanni nodded to himself. There was the Brock he heard about – "Please teach me," Brock said seriously, and then Giovanni blinked and stared at the young man.

Susie laughed, caught off guard. "Well…alright. I don't know how I am as a teacher, but I'll do my best!" She looked a little depressed then. "Um, but it's not like I can really do much. My salon's not even doing well, especially since other salons have taken up attention and promoting the image of pokémon rather than the care. That Salon Roquét is new, but is at the head of those salons."

Giovanni really didn't want to hear anything about that salon. Not if those idiots were the ones in charge of it.

"What if we do a tutorial?" Ash suggested. "You can do a tutorial in front of your salon, showing how to treat pokémon?"

"That sounds wonderful," Susie was delighted. "Could you help me out? You could be a model in the tutorial, and follow what I do."

"I'd love to help!"

That decided, they helped set it up in front of Susie's salon and Misty announced to them that she wanted to check out that Salon Roquét place.

"Maybe they can do something to spruce up that Psyduck I got stuck with," Misty said dryly, wrinkling her nose when she thought of it.

Ah, that's right. During that whole debacle with the Hypnos and the Pokémon Fan Club, Misty had somehow ended up with a Psyduck that she had accidentally ended up catching. It apparently suffered from a lot of headaches and gave Misty many a headache in return.

Giovanni smirked to himself. Served her right.

Calmly watching from the side, Ash and Susie began to work with Pikachu and Susie's Vulpix, and a crowd began to gather and watch the demonstration. Steven sidled up to him and Giovanni pretended not to notice.

"So…you're close to Ash, right?" the younger man asked, smiling politely while keeping his eyes glued forward and watching the females at work.

"Of course," Giovanni answered simply. "In fact, you could say I'm her…sugar daddy."

Hell, he was going to milk that title for all its worth. He wasn't going to let some pretty boy move in on their group.

"Is that so?" Steven asked in amusement. "I wouldn't mind sharing the load."

Giovanni inwardly bristled, staying calm outwardly. "This group's getting a little too crowded."

"Good thing I've got my own bus to travel in," Steven quipped cheerfully.

"She's 16."

"Two more years for Kanto and Johto, one more in Hoenn, and already legal in Kalos and Unova! Not sure about Alola though~"

Giovanni gritted his teeth and wondered if anyone were to notice if he grabbed Steven by the scruff of his shirt and tossed the younger businessman into incoming traffic.

Soon the demonstration was over and Ash was happy to see that it had worked and a lot of people were asking Susie things and entering her salon. Brock said he was going to stay a while and hopefully learn some more, which he promised he'd pass onto Ash.

"So what now?" Lt. Surge asked, cracking his neck.

Giovanni turned to her and smiled slightly. "Well, since the pokémon are getting pampered, would you like to as well? I believe there's a salon nearby for humans and you can get your nails and hair done."

Giddily, Ash nodded. "Could we really?"

Giovanni's smile widened a bit. "Sure. Let's head there now."

"Count me in!" Steven added cheerily.

Ash looked to him in surprise and happiness. But she was glad to have him come along, since she'd become accustomed to and liked having him around. She did miss Giovanni gaining a brief annoyed look from Steven's announcement, but of course some of the others didn't.

Still, when they made it to the salon, Ash decided to do her hair first, since the assistant said it'd be easier to not mess up her nails. They asked her if she wanted to dye her hair and then she looked to the others.

"I want to do it. Does anyone want to dye their hair with me?" she asked, all excitement and still giddy.

While everyone looked hesitant, Oak especially given that his hair was newly restored to its younger form, Lt. Surge raised up his hand without pause, grinning wildly.

"Hell yeah, sure. I'll do it with you," Lt. Surge loudly said and Ash giggled. While she didn't hear the unintended innuendo, everyone else did. But then again, they were also not sure if the innuendo was unintended after all, judging from the smirk Lt. Surge tossed them.

"He's brash," Steven muttered.

Giovanni snorted. "Oh, he can be much, much more crude."

Still, he wasn't going to just lie down and be one-upped by the other man. That's why, after they were done and back with them (and he was too pleased with the fact that Ash had done her hair in an ombre style with a red he completely approved of), he agreed to doing a manicure and pedicure with her.

"I like being groomed to perfection," he snarked at the others before heading away with Ash.

"He's…" Steven trailed off.

"Don't mind him," Lt. Surge huffed. "His ego is larger than Mt. Moon."

"Really? I could've sworn that his ego couldn't be compared," Oak deadpanned.

Steven shook his head. "You think she'd like to get dressed up? I think there's a store nearby that sells pretty dresses."

"No." "Yes!"

Oak and Lt. Surge looked at each other.

"I'd like to see her dressed up," Lt. Surge admitted plainly.

"I don't," Oak said firmly.

"Why? Afraid you'd like what you'd see?" the blond stared directly at Oak.

Oak balked. "No, not at all –"

"Maybe continue this later, since they're coming back," Steven said quickly, and the other two quieted down and straightened up. Steven then looked to Ash, when she finally got to them. "Hey, you want to see some dresses? I'm pretty sure there's an apparel store nearby to here!"

Ash gave him a thumbs up. "Okay! That would be nice too!"

Steven let out a smug smirk towards the others, even as he led the way out and to where he remembered the store was. Once in there, he and Ash went through the clothing together, and managed to leave the guys alone near the front of the store. They picked the one they liked best together and Ash went to get dressed in it. Steven went to go pay for the clothing and met back up to the others to wait for Ash, to which by the time she came out in the pretty red and black dress they found to match her hair, they went quiet.

Steven didn't know whether to clap to himself for a job well done, or keep staring in awe. He was pretty sure the others were too.

Ash looked at them nervously, wondering at their quietness. "Well?" she asked hesitantly.

Oak smiled gently at her. "You look really pretty, Ash. We're just a bit caught off guard," and was rewarded by a sweet blush and smile from said girl.

"Why don't we head back to the pokémon salon?" Giovanni suggested quietly, and Oak was under no delusions that this little makeover session wasn't affecting the man. When it came to Ash, he was quite obvious, and the only one not noticing and getting a clue was Ash herself.

They were on their way back, when they saw a commotion in front of that Salon Roquét. To Giovanni's consternation, he was correct in that the place was Jessie, James, and Meowth's newest scheme. The trio were arguing back against a bunch of restless customers, who had (upon the three's reveal by Misty) gotten angry at being duped.

He was about to steer them away when Ash stomped towards the crowd and began lecturing.

"Why are you all getting angry at them for?" Ash shouted at everyone. "These idiots didn't even really do racketeering –they opened a store, painted your pokémon silly to what they thought looked cool –don't deny it, you three! –and they charged a lot of money! But you guys bought into and liked the idea and how your pokémon looked before Misty showed who they really are! You could have gone to Susie's salon for real pokémon treatment!"

"W-we earned this money, fair and square!" Jessie suddenly yelled, bolstered by the unexpected support (Giovanni was startled too).

"Yeah!" James said. "We worked hard!"

"We're keepin' this money, so sayonara, jerks who don't appreciate beauty!"

The Rocket Trio ran away, pulling down eyelids and sticking out their tongues. Giovanni sidled over to Ash, chuckling quietly.

"You know, you should start a fashion trend and come up with ideas for pokémon. Kalos specializes in that and works a lot with it, but you could do something here in Kanto," Giovanni suggested slyly.

Ash looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "W-what? No way, I don't think I can and it'll take money and…"

Giovanni coughed and raised an eyebrow at her when she looked at him. "I could fund it, you know."

"Well…"

"Give it some thought," Giovanni told her. "I brought it up in the first place because I wanted you to come up with a fashion trend that I could fund and look into as a business venture. We could even be business partners in it," he teased her.

She cleared her throat and was back to her regular flushed face. "I'll think about it."

"I look forward to your answer," he held out his hand professionally to show her he was being serious.

She blinked and then reached out, grabbing his hand.

"Hey, hey –does it look like those two are doing some kind of business transaction?" Steven asked the others a little ways away.

"Yep," Lt. Surge said, eyeing the two suspiciously.

Steven sighed wistfully. "I want to do business with Ash!"

"In your dreams, pretty boy."

Norman and May stood on the platform, watching the opened doors of the train. They looked at each other before hesitantly entering it.

"I don't…I don't really want to leave," Norman confessed to his daughter.

"I don't either," May told him.

They looked at each other again before smiling resignedly at each other. They grabbed each other's hands and turned around, stepping right back through the threshold and running excitedly out of there.

"Let's go!"

Started 12/11/16 – Completed 12/26/16