Archive of Our Own

The bus trip back to Pallet Town was the worst trip Ash had ever taken. It wasn't just the length, which stretched from mid-morning to early in the evening. Nor was it changing buses. The route back to Pallet Town required taking three different buses, and catching the last of these required a forced march across two blocks in downtown Viridian City.

The worst part of the trip, however, was that nobody would talk to Ash. His mom, Misty, and Brock ignored him the whole way. His mom spent her time reading her books, the covers of which were illustrated with roses and muscular, half-naked men. Misty and Brock were discussing their plans for the future. Ash didn't listen to more of their conversation than he could help, but he heard that Misty still wanted to travel for a little while before returning to Cerulean City. Brock, meanwhile, seemed undecided about whether to go back home or not. He hadn't seen his parents or siblings in over a year, but at the same time, he seemed to fear that he'd have to take full responsibility for the latter again on his return.

At long last, Ash and the others got off the final bus in front of the town hall in Pallet Town. It would still be a few minutes until Ash would get home, but at least walking took part of his mind off everybody's cold shoulders. But he still had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew that the only reason Misty and Brock were coming back to Pallet Town was that they'd both left things at his house. Miserable though he now was in their company, he dreaded the time when they would leave - probably the following morning. He knew Brock would wish him luck, but he feared that Misty wouldn't even bother to say goodbye to him. And when they would... that's when the boredom would set in. He still didn't know what his mom would make him do while he was home, but he was sure it was nothing good.

Finally, Ash saw his house down the quiet street. It was all he could do not to run up to the door (which he knew was locked anyway). All he wanted to do was go to his room and shit the door.

As the reached the front gate, a group of three men and two women walked up to them. "Excuse me," said their apparent leader, a brawny man who looked in his thirties, "but I'm looking for Mrs. Delia Ketchum. You her?"

"Yes," said Ash's mom curtly. "May I help you?"

"Great!" said the man. "Yes. Your friend Patty sent us."

"Patty? As in Patty Philips?"

"Yes."

Ash's mom facepalmed. "Oh my gosh. No she didn't. I told her specifically that I didn't want any of this."

"But, ma'am, don't you think your son needs a party for how he did in the Indigo Conference?"

"It's not about how he did, it's about what he did when he lost. Ash isn't having a party. He's being punished. So if you don't mind, I'd like to go in my house with my son and guests."

White flashes of light blazed around Ash, his mom, Misty, and Brock, signaling the appearance of five Pokémon: a Golem, a Hitmonchan, a Snorlax, a Scyther, and a Kingler. Looking around, Ash saw that while the one man had been talking to his mother, the rest had circled them, and now, their Pokémon were doing the same. "I don't think so," said this man, now giving them all a hard look. "You're coming with us. We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"What?" said Ash.

"What's going on?" asked his mom in panic.

"You fools," said the man. "You really thought Team Rocket would forget about you after all the trouble you caused?"

As Ash grabbed his Pokéballs off his belt, he saw Brock stuffing Togepi in his bag out of the corner of his eye. "Go, Starmie!" he heard Misty say as she sent out her most trusted Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Pidgeotto, Muk, I choose all of you!" said Ash, sending out four Pokémon.

With Togepi in his bag - now by his feet - Brock had a Pokéball of his own in hand. "Go, Onix!" he said, the Rock Snake Pokémon emerging with a roar.

With everyone's Pokémon out and Pikachu jumping forward, the fight was on. Though Ash, Misty, and Brock had two more Pokémon on them than the Team Rocket squad, five of them were Ash's. They'd been in the same situation once before, fighting for their lives against a colony of wild Mankey. Now, though, they weren't coordinating as well as they had that time. The strains on their friendship seemed to be taking a toll on their performance in the battle, and Ash was having trouble directing all five of his Pokémon.

Bulbasaur and Squirtle were both knocked out in short order. With the numbers now even, the remaining Pokémon traded blows. Ash applied his lessons from the Indigo Conference, managing to pair up Pikachu with Kingler and Pidgeotto with Scyther. Likewise, Misty sent Starmie against Golem. Muk was now fighting Snorlax... and Onix was in a melee against Hitmonchan.

The poor type matchup meant that the Rock Snake Pokémon was the next to go down. Fortunately, Pikachu blasted Kingler with a Thunderbolt a second later, taking it out of the fight as well. "Pikachu," called Ash, "Quick Attack on Hitmonchan!" While the electric mouse was running in, he turned to Brock. "Take Togepi and run!" he said. "We've got this!"

"Right!" said Brock, grabbing his bag. The teenage boy ran, trying to make his way out of the circle of battling Pokémon. He was almost there -

"Mega Punch!" called one of the two women from Team Rocket, who didn't look much older than Brock. But instead of hitting Muk, her Snorlax's massive fist caught Brock in the stomach.

"Ouch!" said Brock as he landed hard on the ground.

"No!" exclaimed Misty. "Brock! Togepi!" She ran toward Brock's crumpled figure, and caught Hitmonchan's elbow to her head as the Punching Pokémon withdrew its fist from an attack. She fell down as well, unconscious.

"Fuck," said Ash under his breath. He'd taken advantage of Snorlax's attack on Brock to have Muk give the Sleeping Pokémon a Sludge to the eyes. Still, in a mark of its trainer's skill, it was still putting up a fight. "Give it everything you've got, guys!" he called to all his Pokémon.

As Pikachu, Muk, and Pidgeotto kept fighting, Ash turned to Misty's Starmie. "Listen to me, Starmie," he said. "I know I'm not your trainer, but Misty can't call your attacks anymore. So you'll have to listen to me. Got it?" Starmie's core glowed green in response. "Alright, Starmie," said Ash, hoping that had been an affirmative, "let's go!"

However, the time Ash had taken to talk with Starmie hadn't been without problems. Without an opponent, Golem had joined Hitmonchan's battle against Pikachu. Despite the electric mouse's best evasive efforts, Hitmonchan scored a knockout blow on the electric mouse just as Ash looked up. "Starmie, Bubblebeam!" he shouted. The Mysterious Pokémon struck back knocking Golem out with a stream of energy-filled bubbles. "Nice one!" said Ash.

However, the tide of the battle was still turning against Ash and his dwindling team of Pokémon. Hitmonchan was on the offensive against Starmie, throwing Thunder Punch after Thunder Punch as its opponent spun out of the way. Pidgeotto was tiring against the faster Scyther.

"Body Slam!" called the woman commanding Snorlax. The rotund Pokémon jumped into the air, landing on top of Muk and knocking it out.

"Fuck," said Ash again. He was now down to two Pokémon, one of which wasn't his. The squad from Team Rocket, meanwhile, had three. "Come on, guys!" Ash called to Starmie and Pidgeotto. "We can't lose this!"

As soon as he'd spoken, Ash saw Pidgeotto glow white. Its body enlarged, and the feathers on its head lengthened. When the glow subsided, Ash knew what had happened. Pidgeotto had evolved into a Pidgeot!

"Scyther, Slash!" ordered the man who appeared to be leading the group. Scyther swung one of its blades, hitting Pidgeot in the chest.

"Come on, Pidgeot!" shouted Ash. "Time to -" But before Ash could finish calling an attack, Pidgeot swiped at Scyther with the talons on its feet. The Mantis Pokémon fell to the ground with a scream, defeated. "Awesome, Pidgeot!" said Ash.

But as the Hitmonchan and Snorlax from the Team Rocket squad regrouped, Ash could see that his situation was anything but awesome. Pidgeot was breathing heavily and Starmie's arms were starting to droop, while the criminals' Pokémon both looked battle-ready. "Alright, guys," said Ash, "we need to try a combo attack! Starmie, Bubblebeam! Pidgeot -"

But before Ash could tell Pidgeot to use Whirlwind, the roars of multiple cars came from down the street. "Police!" grunted one of the young men from Team Rocket.

"Damn it!" said the man leading the group. "Move out!"

As the other young man put Hitmonchan back into its Pokéball, the hard-faced young woman commanded, "Snorlax, Flash!" Snorlax looked at the three oncoming cars, on top of which blue lights had started flashing, and responded with its own flash of yellow-white light. The police cars all skidded to a halt. The young woman recalled Snorlax and ran after her comrades, who were all fleeing the police.

Ash looked around frantically. Starmie was slumped on the ground, Pidgeot was trying to catch its breath, Misty and Brock were both lying still... and his mother was nowhere to be found. "Mom?" called Ash, looking around frantically. "MOM? WHERE'D YOU GO, MOM?"

Ash heard the door to his house open, and he looked to see his mom standing and the doorway, Mr. Mime behind her. "I'm right here, Ash!" she called. "Are you alright, honey?"

"I'm okay," said Ash, "but... how'd you get inside?"

"Mr. Mime got me out," said his mom. "With Teleport."

"Whew..." said Ash. "Thanks, Mr. Mime." He turned to his two friends on the ground. "Misty!" he called, running over to her. "Wake up!" He shook her. "Please! Come on, wake up!"

Togepi gave a shrieking cry. "Hey..." groaned Brock, "Togepi... you alright? Oh no...." He gave an unintelligible groan.

Ash ran over to Brock. "Hey Brock, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Togepi..." groaned Brock. "Needs... help...."

Ash looked down at the crying Spike Ball Pokémon. He could see right away why Brock was so alarmed. The entire front of Togepi's shell had broken off, and blood was coming out of the bottom. "Brock..." said Ash, squatting in front of the tiny Pokémon.

Running footsteps came closer, and Ash looked up to see several uniformed police officers reached them. "Ash!" said one. "Trouble found you again, huh?"

Ash looked up into the face of the man who had just spoken. "Chief Kaplan!" said Ash, recognizing the man, tall with short, graying black hair. "It was Team Rocket!"

"Team Rocket?" repeated the chief in surprise, raising his eyebrows. "You sure, son?"

"Yeah!" said Ash. "They even said they were Team Rocket!"

Brock groaned again as he reached for his bag. The police chief squatted down beside Ash. "Stop moving," he said to Brock. "It'll make it -"

"Can't..." groaned Brock. "Togepi..."

"Son," said the chief, "don't worry. We'll get Togepi to the nearest Pokémon Center."

"No... time..." groaned Brock. "Bleeding... out...."

"I'll look," said Ash, snatching up the bag. "What do you need?"

"Alcohol... wipes..." groaned Brock. "And... calcite... paste...."

"Okay," said Ash, taking things out of Brock's bag. "The second thing... what's it look like?"

"White... tube..." groaned Brock. "Brown... and... black... label...."

Ash kept looking through the bag, with the police chief helping. They found Brock's bundle of first aid supplies, and quickly located the alcohol wipes. "I'll take care of this," said the chief. "You keep looking for that paste." Togepi cried louder and harder as Ash tried to locate the paste. Ash could imagine the alcohol from the wipes stinging on its small body.

"Here!" said Ash, holding up the tube of paste that he'd finally found.

"Thanks!" said the police chief, taking the tube. He unscrewed the cap and held it up. "Maybe you'd better do it," he said, putting the tube in Brock's still-outstretched hand. "We'll help you."

"Find... the... piece... of... shell..." groaned Brock, using all his strength to squeeze out some of the paste. Ash looked. Luckily the front of Togepi's shell had come off in one piece that wasn't hard to find. "Put... in... place... and... seal... with... paste..." said Brock.

"Here," said Ash, holding out the piece of shell. As the police chief hold the screaming Togepi in place, Ash fitted the piece of shell into its place. The chief took back the tube and used his finger to seal the cracks with the tan paste.

"That better?" the police chief asked, holding Togepi in front of Brock.

"Yes..." groaned Brock. "Thank... you...."

"You're welcome," said the chief, standing up. "Now get some rest. The doctor will be here in a minute. You might have to go to the hospital if you're injured badly enough."

***

Ash spent yet another evening talking to the police about an encounter with Team Rocket. In the meantime, the town's doctor, who'd agreed to come in the interest of time, checked out Misty and Brock. Fortunately, there was nothing so wrong with either one that they had to go to the hospital. Misty was soon conscious again after her concussion and Brock had several bruised ribs, but there was nothing more serious than that.

The nearest Pokémon Center also dispatched a Pokémon doctor to check out the Pokémon who had battled Team Rocket. Most of them had sustained no serious injuries either. Bulbasaur had gotten a slash to its bulb that required a week or more with no physical exertion. Muk, who'd been nearly flattened by the Snorlax from Team Rocket, was even worse off. Ash didn't understand anything about how it was injured, but it had to stay at Professor Oak's lab for at least three months.

But by the time the police had finished questioning Ash and his mother, the doctors had finished their work. The sun had set, and Misty and Brock were asleep. With nothing else to do, Ash could only go to bed.

Ash got up earlier than he usually would in the morning. He ate his breakfast at the kitchen table while Misty and Brock had theirs in bed. Just as he was finishing, the doorbell rang, and his mom ran to get it. Ash was wondering if his punishment would still start that day after the Team Rocket attack. He wondered if he could at least try to patch things up with Misty and Brock first. But as soon as he had a foot in the hallway, he heard his mom calling him from the living room. "Ash?"

"What's up, Mom?" asked Ash in a flat voice.

"Can you come in here?" asked his mom.

"Why?"

"There are some people here who want to see you."

"Ummmm... okay? I... uhhhh... was just gonna check in on Misty and Brock."

"It's rude to keep guests waiting, Ash. And Misty and Brock need to be there too. You can talk to them after they leave."

"Okay." Ash stepped into the living room and froze. Three familiar men were sitting on the couch: Professor Oak, Chief Kaplan, and the burly detective from Viridian City who'd questioned him a couple of times about his bouts with Team Rocket. "Ummm... but we already talked to the cops," he said.

"Maybe," said his mom, "but they want to talk to you again."

Ash walked to an armchair, his foot shaking with every step. "Hello, Ash," said Professor Oak. "Glad to see you're okay."

"Thanks, Professor," said Ash.

"And you can sit down if you want," said the police chief. "This'll take a while."

"Umm... okay," said Ash. He sat down and looked at the men. "Am... I in trouble?"

"No," said the detective.

"Not with the law, at least," amended the chief.

"Uhhhhh... okay," said Ash, feeling a little better.

"Great," said the detective. "So... while we wait for your mom to get back with your friends, maybe you can help me identify your attackers. Do you remember any of them? How they looked... how they spoke... anything like that?"

"Ummmm..." said Ash, thinking back to the previous night, "there was this guy in charge. Kinda like you... but shorter."

"About how old?"

"Umm... a little older than my mom, I guess."

"And how old would that be? For this man, I mean, not your mom."

"Uhhhh... thirties, I guess."

"Any markings you noticed? Tattoos?"

"I... don't remember."

The detective stroked his chin. "Okay. I think I know who it might be, but without more of a description, it's hard to tell. Any others?"

"Ummm... yeah. There was this girl there too. Tall... skinny... her hair was kinda pink, and... I dunno... it looked kinda blond too, but most of it was under a hat. And... she looked like she was about to kill someone."

The detective took something out of his shirt pocket as he spoke. "Is this her?"

Ash looked at the piece of paper the detective was showing him. It was a mug shot of a hard-faced young woman. Her hair was blond, but the tips had been dyed pink. "Yeah!" said Ash. "That's her!"

The two lawmen exchanged a dark look while the detective put the picture away. "Her name's Kelly," said the detective. "One of Team Rocket's ace trainers. She gets sent on their most important missions."

"Yeah," said Ash, "she's pretty tough. My Muk hit her Snorlax in the eyes with Sludge, but Muk still lost."

"Yeah... I'm not surprised. She got talent, skill... but she's been in and out of jail since she was thirteen."

"Whoa. How far did she get in the Indigo Conference?"

"She's never competed there. She's banned from any competition sanctioned by the Pokémon League. She's not even licensed as a trainer anymore. But she's a hell of a trainer anyway."

Ash felt his heart beat harder and faster. So Team Rocket had sent one of its best trainers after him? Was he that important to them?

His thoughts kept racing until Ash heard slow footsteps on the stairs. Eventually, he saw Mr. Mime helping Brock walk. Behind him was Misty, who was walking on her own, but with Ash's mom ready to catch her were she to fall. As they all entered the living room, Mr. Mime helped Brock into a second armchair, and Misty sat in the last one. "Glad to see you both!" said the police chief. "Young man, how's that Togepi of yours?"

"It's not any of our Togepi," Brock corrected him, "but it's doing a lot better. Thanks again for your help. I don't know if Togepi would've made it without you."

"I glad I could help," said the chief. "That's my job."

"Alright," said the detective. "There's a lot to talk about, and I'd rather get started now. All our information points to you three children being high-priority targets of Team Rocket."

"What?" Misty gasped.

"How could Ash and his friends be so important to Team Rocket?" asked Ash's mom.

The detective sighed. "So..." he said heavily, "Giovanni's trial is scheduled three months from now. And you three are the star witnesses. Our information is that Team Rocket wants you dead by that time."

Ash's mom gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "So they wanna... kill us?" asked Ash in shock. "But... why?"

"Because from what I've gathered," said the detective, "your testimony at the trial will be critical. Without it, we might not be able to put him away."

"But..." said Ash, "that doesn't make sense! I mean... doesn't EVERYONE know by now that he's in charge of Team Rocket?"

"They do," said the police chief, "but in the world of the courts and criminal trials, that's not enough. There are rules about the evidence that can be used to send someone to jail. It has to be some physical evidence that matches the suspect to the crime, or else the word of people who saw the crime happen. Or both, preferably."

"So if the three people "- said the detective, gesturing around at Ash, Misty, and Brock "- who saw Giovanni's crimes can't talk, Giovanni walks."

"But didn't you talk to us already and tape what we said?" asked Misty.

"Yes," said the detective. "But that's just a recording of you talking to me. During the trial, Giovanni - like anyone else on trial - has the right to have his lawyer ask you questions. We have a word for that: cross-examination. And you can't do that with a recording. If you three aren't there to testify, Giovanni's lawyer can say that his rights are being violated, and the evidence in the tapes is no good. It's a long shot, but it's pretty much the only shot they have. So that's why we have to keep you three safe."

"So how will you do that?" asked Ash's mom in a hushed voice. "The Viridian City Police Department does witness protection, right?"

"That's what I suggested," said the police chief. "But the detective here had another idea."

"I had a reason for it too," said the detective. "So... in Viridian City, we've put members of Team Rocket in jail before, but they were low-level people. Building a case against someone like, say, Kelly is very hard, and against the boss of the whole organization... well... you can imagine."

"Why's that?" asked Brock.

"Because the cases would always get dropped," said the detective. "No matter what we did to protect our witnesses, a bunch of them would just disappear."

"Disappear?" repeated Ash.

"And then their bodies would turn up months later," said the detective. "In rivers, garbage dumps, freezers... you name it."

"And why would that happen?" asked Ash's mom in the same hushed voice as before.

"It seems like Team Rocket has spies in the Viridian City Police," said the detective.

"Like dirty cops?" asked Brock.

"Maybe," said the detective. "Myself, I doubt it, but I can't be too careful. I'll bet it's people who work around and with the police, but aren't police themselves."

"So if the cops here can't keep us safe," said Misty, "what do we do?"

The chief motioned to Professor Oak. "That's why I invited the professor here," he said.

"I called my colleague, Professor Ivy, this morning," said Professor Oak. "She runs a Pokémon research lab on Valencia Island in the Orange Islands. I can arrange for the three of you to visit her."

"That's so great!" said Misty. "I've always wanted to tour the Orange Islands!"

"A whole new region to explore!" said Ash.

"Hold on!" said the detective. "When you go into witness protection, it's not like a vacation."

"Or a Pokémon journey," said Professor Oak sternly, looking directly at Ash.

"There are rules to follow," said the detective. "First one: don't draw attention to yourselves." Ash looked at Misty and gulped. The two of them were good at drawing attention to themselves - often of exactly the wrong kind. "Second one: you're given a role to play," the detective continued. "And you'd better stick to it no matter how much you hate it. You could get up at the crack of dawn, or work all day under the red-hot sun, or be by yourselves for days at a time, and you need to keep at it."

"I'm sorry," said Misty, "but exactly what kind of role will we be playing?"

"We'll come up with one," said the detective.

"Professor Ivy is making some calls to different people she knows around the region," said Professor Oak. "There are a number of them who owe her a favor. The role you'll step into will depend on who agrees to help."

"Wow," said Ash's mom, sounding impressed. "Your friend seems well-connected."

"What does she do for people so that so many of them owe her?" asked Brock curiously.

"Ummmm... well... she just does different things for different people," said Professor Oak, who seemed to be choosing his words with care. Ash's mom raised an eyebrow at him.

"Anyway," said the detective, "back to rules. No calls to people you know. Team Rocket might've bugged their phones. And that includes Pokémon transfers too; they're too dangerous. And the next one is not usually one we give to people in witness protection, but because of the unique nature of yours... try to keep your contact with law enforcement down to a minimum. It could bring unwanted attention, and speaking as a cop, we keep lots of records. Plus... you never know where Team Rocket has spies. There's only one time you should break that rule, and that's when there's a real emergency. I'll give you a satellite phone where the emergency number will take you straight to my beeper. It'll locate you automatically, and we'll respond based on where you are."

"Detective," said Brock, "I have a question. We're Pokémon trainers, and we're used to staying in Pokémon Centers. Going back to the rule about drawing attention, should we avoid them while we're in the Orange Islands?"

"I certainly would," said the detective. "Their records are stored electronically, and shared with the entire Pokémon League network. Some hacker from Team Rocket could use them to find you."

"If I may," said Professor Oak, "there's much less risk with Pokémon Centers in the Orange Islands. Internet access is very expensive there, and most Pokémon Centers do without it. In fact, some of the smaller ones still keep records on paper! But be careful, especially around some of the larger cities. They might have internet connections. When in doubt, stay away."

"And now for our last rule," said the detective. "If any conflict comes up between the three of you - say, you all have a fight - clear the air as calmly as you can before anyone blows up. Your relationships with each other will be very important. If they're under any pressure, it'll be much harder for you to follow the other rules. Do all of you understand?"

"Yes," chorused Ash, Misty, and Brock.

***

Misty and Brock spent the next few hours answering questions about Team Rocket's attack from the chief and the detective. Ash was busy helping his mom with chores around the house, including making food for everyone. The questioning continued well past lunchtime, and Ash, his mom, and Mr. Mime had to serve everyone else lunch on trays in the living room.

By the time the small town police chief and the city detective had left, it was almost dinner time. Ash's mom was already in the middle of making soup, and she had her son mind the pots while she and Mr. Mime escorted Misty and Brock back up the stairs. "It should be almost ready," she said, coming back into the kitchen.

"If it is, I... can't really tell," Ash admitted.

"Let's see," said his mom, walking up to the stove. She picked up a little bit with the ladle, blew on it, and tasted it. "Yes. That's perfect. Grab some bowls for me, okay?"

"Sure, Mom," said Ash, walking to the cabinets. He found bowls in the second one he opened and brought them to his mother.

"Thank you, Ash," his mom said. She placed one each on a tray and ladled soup into each one. With the bowls full of hot soup, she turned back to her son. "While this cools, can I talk to you?"

"Uhhhh... sure," said Ash, nervous about what was to come.

"Sit down," said his mother. Pulling a chair out from the table, she sat in it, and Ash followed suit. She sighed before continuing, "I'm sorry I was so hard on you at the Indigo Conference. Your battle was hard for me to watch. Cursing, especially in public... throwing tantrums when you lose... that's not how I raised you."

"I know," said Ash. "I'm really sorry, Mom."

"That's okay," said his mom. "All this business with Team Rocket made me remember that there are much worse things than saying dirty words. I love you more than the whole world, and... and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Seeing that his mother was about to cry, Ash hugged her. "I love you too, Mom," he said. "Yeah, I know how you feel. A couple days ago, I was pissed off cuz I lost a Pokémon battle."

Ash's mom wiped her eyes and looked at her son. "You heard the detective," she said. "You need to have strong bonds with Misty and Brock. So... you'll need to talk to them, right? Tell Brock how you'll take a little more responsibility for your training... and while you're at it, help him make dinner just like you just helped me. And I don't know what happened between you and Misty, but just let her know you still care. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Which is why I thought you could carry a bowl of soup for one of your friends."

"O-kay? Which one?"

"I'll let you pick. Just talk to the other one after you're done with the first one, alright?"

"Okay." Ash walked over to the trays on which the bowls of soup rested, and picked one up. "I'll go with Misty."

***

"Hey... uhhhh... Misty?" said Ash anxiously, poking his head through the door to the guest bedroom.

"Hi, Ash," said Misty dully. She was sitting on the bed, clad in her pajamas. "What do you want?"

"I, uhhhh... brought you some dinner," said Ash. He walked over to Misty and put the tray on her legs.

"Oh... thanks," said Misty, picking up her spoon from the tray and filling it with soup. She blew on it many times before putting it in her mouth. "Ouch!" she said. "Shit! This is still too fucking hot!"

"Uhhh... yeah," said Ash. "Ummmm... mind if I stay a while? I was hoping... you know... we could talk."

"Okay?" said Misty suspiciously. "I... guess you can." After jogging back to the door and closing it, he jogged back to the bed and sat on the edge. "Okay..." said Misty, sounding slightly impatient. "What's up?"

"I... uhhhh..." said Ash. He was trying to talk, but the words kept getting stuck in his throat.

"I asked you before if you like, like Leaf," said Misty accusingly. "You said you did... as in before. You never said you still do. You're the one..." She paused, taking a deep breath. "You're the one I wanna go on my journey with," she continued. "I told you that so many times. But just two days ago, I found out you'd ditch me just to be with fucking Leaf if you got half a fucking chance! That's like... you fucking lied to me, Ash!"

"Yeah," said Ash. "I fucked up. I KNOW I fucked up. But... I know now... Leaf just liked me as a friend. Gary and Ritchie are different guys. Gary's a fucking douche bag, and Ritchie... he's pretty nice. But... they're not like me. Either of them. And Leaf's gonna keep going for guys who are not like me."

"Thanks," said Misty curtly. There was a long pause. Ash looked at Misty as often as he dared, which wasn't very often. But every time he looked at her, she was looking back at him. "Tell me something," Misty finally said.

"What?" said Ash reflexively. Too late, he realized that he sounded too aggressive, and his heart paused as he waited for Misty to speak.

"It's about last night," said Misty, "after I got knocked out." Ash breathed a sigh of relief. Not only had Misty not mentioned his tone, but she was talking about something that didn't involve Leaf. "The cops said they found you fighting Team Rocket with Starmie... and... a Pidgeot?" she said, faltering as she mentioned the two Pokémon.

"Yeah," said Ash. "Pidgeotto evolved during the battle."

"Wow!" said Misty. "That's really great!"

"And it learned a new move too. I think it was... Slash?"

"Damn! So one of your awesome Pokémon got even more awesome! I've gotta congratulate Pidgeot!"

"Yeah." After he'd said that one word, Ash realized he hadn't congratulated Pidgeot yet.

"But... about you and Starmie."

"Uh-huh?"

"So the cops... they asked me a fuck-ton of questions about Starmie. Brock too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... cuz... they thought Starmie was your Pokémon, not mine."

"Wait... what?" Ash's mind felt like it was about to explode. Ash had partnered with Starmie out of necessity, but he'd never thought of Starmie as his Pokémon. "They... did?" he asked awkwardly.

"Yeah," said Misty. "They said you worked so good with Starmie, they couldn't imagine you weren't its trainer."

"Really?" said Ash, not daring to believe what he was hearing. Judging by Misty's nod, however, it had to be true. "Yeah," he said. "I mean... I couldn't let us lose to Team Rocket."

"But you probably would've lost to that Kelly bitch and her Snorlax," said Misty.

"Well... maybe," Ash admitted.

"Still think Snorlax is fucking useless?"

"Ummm... maybe not."

Misty smirked. "So... anyway... how'd you get Starmie to listen to you? You can't even get your own Charizard to listen to you!"

"Ummm... I just... took Starmie to the side... and told it... that you..."

"Got the shit knocked out of me?"

"Yeah... kinda. And... I guess... Starmie wanted to fight for you. Even if it couldn't fight with you."

Misty smiled. "That was some quick thinking. And if you could handle Starmie like that when it's not even yours... then you're a better trainer than I thought."

"Uhh... thanks."

"No. Thank YOU. You saved me. Brock too. Not to mention Togepi."

Ash felt himself blush. "No... I didn't. You said it before. If I had to fight much longer, I would've got my ass kicked."

"Yeah, but... you fought anyway. While me and Brock were lying on the ground. And you bought us enough time for the cops to show up."

Ash gave an embarrassed smile. "I... guess I did. Ummm... you're welcome."

Misty gave a smile and a small giggle. Turning back to her food, she felt her bowl of soup. "Still too hot," she said. "Can you... put this off to the side for me?"

"Uhhh... sure," said Ash. Leaning over Misty's legs, he picked up the tray of food and put it on the far side of the bed. As he made to stand up, he locked eyes with Misty.

"Come here," said Misty. "So I can give you a REAL thank you." Ash couldn't have denied her if he'd wanted to. He stepped closer and bent down, kissing her on the lips. Misty kissed him back, and their tongues started dancing. After two days of not even talking, it felt like a reunion, a revival.

Ash broke off the kiss slowly. By the time Misty's eyes had come into focus again, he was grinning from ear to ear. "I like that thank you," he said.

"That's not it," said Misty. "Come on the bed with me."

Not believing what was happening, Ash climbed onto the narrow space on the bed between Misty and the edge. As soon as he'd lain down, he felt Misty's hand on his crotch. "Ohh shit," he groaned.

"That's it," said Misty. "Get it nice and hard for me." Ash looked Misty in the eyes as his penis stiffened. He knew this was her way of thanking him, but he couldn't help feeling like he should give her something in return. He reached over to her chest....

Ash took hold of Misty's breast through her pajama top. "Ohhhh yesss..." crooned the redhead girl. "Mmmmm.... That's it.... Ohhhh.... Get me nice and horny." Emboldened, Ash put his hand inside her top, feeling the soft flesh of her breast with no fabric in the way. He moved to the other one, rolling the nipple between his fingers. Misty arched her back slightly as he moved his hand back and forth between her small breasts, making sure to play with the nipple on whichever one his hand rubbed.

Ash slipped his other hand down Misty's bottoms, soon finding the opening of her vagina. "Ohhhh fuck yes..." Misty moaned. "Rub my pussy.... Ahhhh.... Get it nice and wet." As her vagina moistened, Ash got more and more eager. He leaned toward her again, his eyes on her neck -

"Ouch!" said Misty as Ash's head bumped against her chin. "Ahhhhh...."

Something didn't sound right. Misty seemed like something was hurting her, not like she was responding to Ash's ministrations. "Misty?" said Ash in a panic. "You okay?"

"Ahhhhh..." said Misty again. "My... head hurts."

"Do you... do you want me to get my mom?" asked Ash. "So you can give you something?"

"No..." Misty groaned. "The doctor just said... I shouldn't do much for a few days. I didn't think... something like sex would count."

"Oh..." said Ash sadly.

"But I really wanna give you your thank you. And... now, I'm really horny."

"So... what do we do?"

"Let's... let's just touch for now. Not fuck. Okay?"

"Umm... okay."

"Just... I can't really do what I want with your cock if you have your pants on. Can you... pull them down?"

"Uhhh... yeah, sure." Fumbling with the button and zipper, Ash pulled his pants and boxers off his groin.

"Mmmm... nice," said Misty as Ash's member came into view. She gripped the shaft gently with one hand and started stroking it slowly, making Ash groan. "You like that?" she asked.

"Ohhh yes, Misty," said Ash. "That feels so fucking good."

"You like when I jerk your cock?"

"Ohhh yes. I like it when you jerk my cock!"

"So you don't think I want a little something too?" Ash was caught off guard by Misty's words, but he recovered quickly. He returned his hands to Misty's breasts and vagina, rubbing both. "Ohhhhh yes..." moaned Misty. "I like your hands on my... ahhhhh... tits and pussy. Mmmmmm.... I like when you... ohhhhh... touch me. Get me... uhhhhh... wet."

With Misty well primed from her previous play with Ash, it wasn't long before the juices started flowing from her vagina again. As they got more and more copious, Ash rubbed her clit and rolled one of her nipples between his fingers. "You want a finger in your pussy?" he growled.

"Ohhhhh fuck yes..." said Misty, grinding her pelvis against Ash's hand. "But just one. Ahhhhh.... And keep it... mmmmm... gentle." Ash was a little disappointed, but he didn't want to hurt Misty like he'd done before. He rubbed his middle finger up and down her slit, then inserted it.

"Ohhhhhh shit!" moaned Misty. "Your finger... mmmmm... feels so good... ahhhh... in my... ohhhh... pussy. Uhhhhhh.... Finger me!"

"You like it that much, huh?" snarled Ash.

"Mmmmm.... Yes!"

"You want me to keep fingering you?"

"Ohhhhh fuck yes! Finger... mmmmm... me... uhhhhhh... faster!"

Ash smirked. "You really want - uhhhhhh!" Ash had intended to tease Misty some more, but the redhead girl interrupted his question by jerking his penis faster. Involuntarily, Ash sped up his hand movements over her breasts and inside her vagina.

"Try... uhhh... teasing... mmmm... me... ahhh... again..." said Misty between moans. "I'm... ohhhh... gonna... mmmm... get... ahhhhh... the fuck... ahhhhh... off." She and Ash were now both bucking their hips at each other's touch. It felt electric as Ash hurtled toward the wave of pleasure that Ash knew awaited him.

"I wanna suck your tits," said Ash.

"Go... mmmmmmm... ahead..." said Misty. "Oooooeeeeaaaahhhh...." The words she'd tried to speak blended into one long moan as Ash's mouth closed around her nipple. Ash could feel her vaginal muscles squeezing his fingers repeatedly. Misty was also jerking his member more quickly than he could ever thrust his hips. It was almost time.

And then the time came, throwing Ash and Misty into a blinding ecstasy. Ash arched his back, curling his finger inside Misty's tunnel and sucking hard on the nipple in his mouth. He was screaming his bliss into the air, oblivious to the possibility that someone could hear him. His eyes rolled up into his head.

And then, Ash went limp as the pleasure and energy left his body. He felt like he could fall asleep right then and there. But then, he heard Misty say "Owwww."

Ash suddenly opened his half-closed eyes fully again. Misty had her eyes shut tightly as if she had a headache. "Misty?" said Ash worriedly. "You sure you're okay?"

"Ahhhh..." groaned Misty. She opened her eyes again. "Yeah..." she said. "My head starting hurting again when I came, and I just noticed it after."

"Damn," said Ash. "Misty... are you sure you wanna keep... doing this stuff?"

"Yeah," said Misty. "The doctor said it's just for a few days. And... with all the shit going on... I don't think I can go without it."