#Able i Mimei

[mimeimim23]

The Amazing Digital Circus. Moja oc Mimei oraz oc należący do sm-baby zwany Able. Po lewej moja wersja. Są w wersji pirackiej ponieważ oczywiście wzorowałam to na fanarcie Caine'a i Pomni. Tu (jak i w kilku następnych szkicach) Mimei jest jeszcze we wcześniejszej wersji niż to jak ją rysuję teraz, więc wszelkie zmiany, które wprowadziłam zobaczycie wkrótce w przyszłości.

[iczer-ryuga2]

Tomb of Dracula anime movie by Toei in collab with Marvel (and Harmony Gold butts in later on)

Another dive into a blog that has lots of info on ‘Tomb of Dracula’ and its production into anime form back in the 70′s by Toei: https://spider-man.at.webry.info/200806/article_2.html

Let’s begin -------

‘When I wrote about Toei's version of Silver Surfer in my diary before, one of my friends informed me that around 1980, Toei and Marvel were connected and an anime based on the Marvel Comics' Tomb Of Dracula called 'The Dark Lord Vampire Dracula' was broadcast. I had no idea that this work existed, but I thought that, unlike Silver Surfer and 3D Man, I would be able to gather some information about it online, since it was actually produced. However, there was unexpectedly little information available on the subject, so I obtained related magazines (although only a few articles were published in the animation magazines of the time) through internet auctions and somehow managed to write an article on the subject.

Magazines and other items obtained at auction in the course of entering this article. From left to right: "Toei TV Anime Theme Song Compendium 1963-1975" (2002, Toei Video), "Anime NOW 1982 Animation Yearbook" (Sugiyama Taku, 1982, Shueisha), "Gekkan OUT September Issue" (1980, Minori Shobo), "The Anime August Issue" (1980, Kindai Eigasha).

Summer Vacation TV Animation Special

The Dark Lord: Vampire Dracula

In the late 1970s, as special effects programmes began to fade, an unprecedented anime boom began, led by Space Battleship Yamato, which replaced them. The Dark Lord Vampire Dracula was one of the works broadcast during this boom.

Key station: TV Asahi Production: Toei Doga Broadcasting date: 19 August 1980　 Broadcast time: Tuesdays, 19:00-20:54 Format: 94 mins, 1 complete episode

Synopsis. The Black Mass ceremony is being held at a church in Boston when Dracula suddenly bursts in and steals away his daughter Domini, who was to be sacrificed to the Devil. Dracula takes Domini back to his lair and tries to suck her living blood, but he is unable to do so because he has fallen in love with her. Dracula's human heart is restored and he marries Domini and gives her a son, Jenas. Rupesky, a priest of the Black Mass, is furious that Domini has married Dracula and attacks them. However, the bullet from Lupeski's gun pierces the young Jenas' chest, and Jenas dies without warning. Dracula, enraged by the murder of his own child, reverted to his maniacal nature and attacked the people of Boston night after night. Quincy, an elderly man whose father had once been killed by Dracula, forms the Vampire Hunters with master fist-fighter Frank and crossbowman Rachel, and is bent on revenge. Meanwhile, a miracle occurs when Domini is grieving at Jenas's grave and is about to take his own life. In a golden light, the earthly coffin rose into the sky and a noble young man descended from the sky and became one with Jenas. Jenas became an adult and came back to life. However, Jenas was given a mission by the gods to defeat Dracula. Domini weeps at this ironic fate, but it does not stop the father-son duel between Dracula and Jenas. An epic battle unfolds between Dracula, the Dark Lord, and Jenas, the messenger of God, as well as the vampire hunters who hate Dracula, and even Dracula's daughter Liras and Satan the Great from Hell...

(ZZ’s comments: And this is the original opening for the anime movie when it was presented. Try finding the anime anywhere, all you can get are English titles that say Dracula and the Toei Animation thing but the opening and end credits are either from Harmony Gold or just downright EMPTY/creditless. None of that cool stuff sadly.)

From the OP credits

Planning: Mimei Koizumi (TV Asahi), Yoshifumi Hatano, Takeyuki Suzuki Based on: Marvel Comics The Tomb Of Dracula Creative consultant: Jean Perk Screenplay: Tadaaki Yamazaki Music: Yokoyama Seiji Performed by: Transylvanian Baroque Ensemble (Columbia Records) Art direction: Hidenobu Hata Character Design/ Animation Director: Hiroshi Wagatsuma Direction: Minoru Okazaki Production: TV Asahi, Toei

From the ED credits

Production Manager: Yoshiro Sugawara Voice Cast

Dracula: Kenji Utsumi

Dolores/Domini: Hiroko Suzuki

Janus: Kazuyuki Sokabe

Quincy: Yasuo Hisamatsu

Rachel: Mami Koyama

Frank: Keiichi Noda

Satan the Great: Hidekatsu Shibata

Layla/Lilith: Reiko Katsura

ZZ’s comments - Fun fact: Her name pronunciation in the JP audio is Lyras so she’s STILL called Lilith in the Japanese dub. Someone in HG must have misheard her name and called her Layla. 

Lupeski: Junpei Takiguchi

Narrator: Ryo Ishihara

Drawing: Yasuhiko Suzuki, Fukuo Yamamoto, Sadayoshi Tominaga, Junzo Ono, Yoshimasa Iiyama, Yasuyuki Tada, Kou Iino, Tsunenaka Nozaki, Jiro Tsuno Video checker: Takahiro Tana. Video: Hiromi Seino, Miyuki Ikeda, Mieko Saiki, Noriko Honma, Tomoko Minami, Junichiro Saito, Yayoi Suzuki, Tomiko Takamiko, Yasuko Saito, Kyoko Sato, Yuzo Toyoshima, Kumiko Mogi Backgrounds: Kenji Matsumoto, Yoshiharu Ishigaki, Toshiro Nozaki, Kuniko Matsumoto, Tomoko Eritate, Takao Sawada, Tomoko Arikawa, Yumiko Yamazaki. Zerograph: Akiko Mogi Trace: Mineko Maeda. Colouring: Tatsuo Takahashi Special effects: Masayuki Nakajima Finishing inspections: Tsuyoshi Tsukada Art direction: Takeshi Torimoto Finishing touches: Toyohiko Hiraga Recording: Yumiko Takezawa Assistant Director: Akinori Nagaoka Production Manager: Kazuichi Tsurumi Photography: Hisao Shirai Editing: Tanaka Osamu Sound recording: Hiromi Kanbara Sound effects: Ishida Sound Developer: Toei Chemical Co. Reference: The Devil's Book, translated by Hibiki Hinatsu (Tairiku Shobo, published by Tairiku Shobo).

Additional voice appearances (as published in Anime NOW) Young A: Kazuyuki Sogabe Master: Hidekatsu Shibata Silver: Reiko Katsura Wyler, Young C: Kimitsugu Toya Boyfriend, Young B: Shoji Sato Carly, Maisa, Woman A: Seiko Nakano Anton, Woman B: Satomi Mashima Togo, Announcer: Yasuro Tanaka

Gene Pelc, who is credited in the OP, is also mentioned in American Comics Poster Library (1978, Tokuma Shoten) and American Comics Compendium (2005, Shobunsha). In the commentary book for the Spider-Man DVD-BOX (Toei Video) released in 2005, an interview with Susumu Yoshikawa and Toru Hirayama describes in detail how he contributed as a bridge between Toei and Marvel.

[Excerpt from an interview with Susumu Yoshikawa] In the late 1970s, Ryotoku Watanabe, then head of Toei's television business, was aiming to find new and different routes for discovering characters apart from the Ishinomori characters that had been available until then. At that time, Jean Perk, general manager of Marvel Japan, happened to be promoting the Japanese versions of Marvel characters such as Spider-Man here and there. However, Toei was not a publishing company and wanted film rights to Marvel characters. Pelc said "If that's what you're talking about, let's sign a contract with Toei-san for the visual rights to the characters" and signed a three-year exclusive contract for Marvel characters.

[Excerpts from an interview with Toru Hirayama] Contracts with overseas companies are very difficult when it comes to rights, and if you make even the slightest change to a character's design, you get complaints, but Pelc did not make any detailed orders at all. The success of Spider-Man is largely due to Pelc.

The fact that the copyrights for Kobunsha's Marvel Comics series were taken via Toei is probably due to the fact that Mr Pelc sold them together at the time of this 'three-year contract'. By the way, there is an "urban legend" that Marvel was furious when they found out later that Spider-Man was going to have a robot. However, I believe this to be a mistake, as Mr Pelc intervened, understood and agreed to all the Toei side's settings. (Incidentally, the great Stan Lee also liked the presence of the robot, along with the spider action.)

However, a story that could be mistaken for this is described in the American Comics Compendium. It's about a writer at Marvel who heard about a planned story for Shogun Warrior when he was adapting a character from Toei into a comic book. 'What the hell is that!　It's like there's no story. One robot fights another robot. It's just a repeat of that." He was so upset that he stopped listening to the story halfway through. Perhaps the exchange at that time was switched to 'Spider-Man'.

(*) In an interview with Susumu Yoshikawa, Yoshifumi Hatano (then producer at Toei Motion Picture), who is credited as the planner, is also mentioned. He was a fluent English speaker and interpreted for the original author Stan Lee when he visited Japan, and also took the lead in negotiations with Marvel. He was also mentioned in the article as "a fluent English speaker".

A feature article in "Ji-Anime" stated that "For the theme song, we will immediately use Satoko Yamano (her real name), who recently won the "To the Earth..." contest, for both the opening and ending songs. Both the opening and ending songs were instrumental and had no lyrics. However, in the middle of the ending song, there is a vocalisation "la la la la~". It is thought that Ms Yamano may have been in charge of this vocalisation (no credit given). Her debut as Satoko Yamano was in the theme song for the 1980 1 Sept. (Students' School), which started on 1 September 1980, so this song, which was broadcast on 19 August, was an earlier debut.

The animation was also broadcast in 1983 on Harmony Gold cable television in the USA. In Italy, it seems to have recently been released on DVD, and a video is available on YouTube. In Japan, however, it has only been re-broadcast once and has not been released on DVD or even on video. It would be a shame if this film were to remain buried for those who are interested in Marvel, anime and Dracula. We hope it will be made available on DVD.‘

--------------------End of Translation

So there ya go, there’s pretty good background of what was going on in the production of the very first animated Marvel movie. And wow, Spiderman did contribute a lot they were expanding on that. Though some parts of this anime movie will remind you a lot of Golion which is no mistake considering this and Golion were running at the same time. The villains in Golion were vampires so they might have had an idea for that at some point.

You can watch both the English and Japanese dubs here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0KWWLAReVQ&ab_channel=BVGamesCenter Japanese dub

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1x_9Tv9QZ8&t=3899s Harmony Gold Eng dub

[doubleddenden]

Pt3 of the Ash AU teams, Johto edition.

Gonna try to shorten it a bit compared to last time. Johto has a special place in my heart so I wouldn't really change a lot of the story, but I will cover team changes I make.

As usual, the final team of this AU, and remember this is just for fun.

So before we really begin, let's go over the beginning releases:

Ash would leave Snorlax at home like usual, finding that he's pretty at ease on the ranch. He'd take the rest of the Orange team- Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, and Espeon with him.

Getting to Johto, Ash would still catch Heracross first, and he'd still be a bit weird around Venusaur- except Venusaur can flick him away now with vines.

Charizard will still train in Charrific Valley, but instead of Ash being a big jerk about it, he instead comes to realize that Charizard got as strong as he did without Ash for the most part (in this AU), and he believes he's truly holding Charizard back from his full potential. He promises to reunite with him again (as they would in the movie and Clair's gym/the Silver Conference), but the goodbye is tearful and Ash makes a run for it before he can truly change his mind.

Chikorita would join closely after that happens, and Venusaur actually takes a bit if a mentorship to her for as long as he's on the team.

However, Oak would request Venusaur to come back home much sooner in the series to help deal with the Pokemon on the ranch. This is another tough goodbye, but again, they promise to see each other again.

Cyndaquil would eventually join the team as usual.

Blastoise would be left behind with Officer Jenny and the Squirtle Squad again, now with more Wartortles and Squirtles. The previous leader Blastoise appointed eventually decided to go on a journey of its own, and the rest of the gang was in disarray. Blastoise takes an easy leadership role again, and Ash realizes he has to leave ANOTHER friend behind. He does so knowing that things are different now, that the Squad are actually doing great things now, and need Blastoise's guidance. Like Charizard, Blastoise would come back again and NOT be forgotten for the most part Luke Squirtle was in the anime. Like Jesus they WROTE HIM GONE.

Anyway, Ash eventually catches Totodile, same as before.

So that leaves us with this team. This would sort of happen by the first gym or so, so everything is a bit fast paced, but Ash eventually comes to terms with this as a sort of fresh start. This team would stick for the first 3 gyms with the new gang gaining some important victories.

However, Team Rocket is back in Johto with a vengeance. Unlike the anime, we'd see the rocket executives make an appearance, and like the games, they play hardball. Ash actually fights Archer as he tries an early attempt at Goldenrod tower, and his Houndoom (Ash at this point is still not familiar with Dark types). Houndoom is powerful and with most of Ash's team being under powered, Espeon is the only one left that's able to defend Ash and the gang. Espeon truly loves his friends, and unleashes EVERYTHING to send Team Rocket (not Jesse, James, Meowth, or Wobbuffett) somewhere far away so they can't hurt anyone else. However, Espeon pushed itself too far after taking serious abuse from Houndoom, and even the gem in his forehead gets cracked, and Nurse Joy tells Ash that Espeon must stay away from battles for a while. Espeon doesn't want to leave Ash's side, and Ash wallows in self pity for allowing him to get this hurt. He decides to call his mom for advice- she tells him a bit about how his dad used to liken being a good trainer to being a good parent, and sometimes parents have to make tough decisions for the ones they love. She even offers to take in Espeon and pamper him until he feels better. Ash sees Primeape and Arcanine actually living pretty cheerfully with Deliah and Mimey, and Ash makes the very difficult but kind decision to send Espeon back home, thanking him for all the fun times they had together and for loving him enough to evolve into this form. Espeon won't fight again until the Johto league, but there's probably a beach episode towards Cianwood where Deliah brings Espeon, Primeape, Arcanine, and Mimey with her on vacation.

Ash spends a bit of time soul searching, wondering if he is even cut out to be a trainer anymore. Brock and Misty try to assure him that it wasn't even his fault, Archer and Houndoom were just that tough and Espeon chose to fight to protect them all. Still, Ash recognizes key mistakes he made, and almost considers going home.

Then he encounters Noctowl, the gang's first ever shiny encounter. It's a Pokemon that makes Ash and Pikachu remember seeing Ho-oh for the first time, and the others urge him to try and catch it- mainly to try and get his mind off of Espeon for a bit. Ash almost refuses, but a poacher threatens to catch it to sell it to the highest bidder. Ash defends Noctowl from said poacher and with the help of his loyal team even sends him blasting off. Ash tells Noctowl to fly off and be free, but Noctowl actually chooses to battle Ash instead, basically seeing Ash's kindness and wanting to test him. Ash eventually catches him, and although he is a bit aloof, Ash has a renewed spark in his eyes and decides to continue the challenge.

Sometime after Ecruteak, we start seeing the gang evolve. Cyndaquil would actually evolve first among the trio- fitting because he literally evolves sooner gamewise (seriously why did they wait til the end of Sinnoh?). He evolves after intense training at the lighthouse. Quilava loses his timidness and is a bit cooler here- but not to the point of disobeying. His Flame Wheel ends up becoming a powerful technique to rely on.

Bayleef evolves like usual to protect him from TR and is sad she can't ride on Ash's shoulder anymore, but still loves him enough to tackle him to the ground.

Totodile would evolve during the trip to Cianwood, where he literally parties so hard on the ferry he evolves right then and there. He's still a goofy, dancing goober- Misty even remarks that it was cuter when he was tiny- but now he wants to dance with other people as well when he gets very happy. Croconaw actually ends up being pretty strong and learns both Rain Dance and Surf- of which he sometimes uses Rain Dance by complete accident. It takes a bit of training from the gang to help him suppress Rain Dance, but it would actually come in handy in the future.

The journey continues mostly as normal, including reuniting with Richie in the Whirl Islands, beating Jasmine, etc.

But then we get to the Lake of Rage, where Team Rocket is emitting a signal that forces Pokemon to evolve. To help quell the Red Gyarados with Lance, Ash tries to use Croconaw to fight- but the signal reaches him as well and triggers an evolution while also causing him to go berserk. Lance tells Ash and the others to only use fully evolved Pokemon or Pokemon like Pikachu that require outside help to evolve, and with the help of Pikachu, Heracross, and Noctowl, they eventually calm the rampaging Pokemon of the lake.

Ash and the others worry deeply about Feraligatr and apologize for having to hurt him, but as it turns out, he's not bothered at all by it and just dances again like nothing happened. It's a relief to see him still be the loveable goof ball he is, and he utilizes his newfound strength in important battles down the road.

For anyone wondering why I chose Totodile specifically to fully evolve and not the others, it'll make sense a bit further down the road, but also I still dislike that he's the only one of the Johto trio that never evolved (remember, we're not immune to the "too cute to evolve" routine). Bayleef I left alone because I actually agree with the decision to leave it as is, because it does look sportier than Meganium. Quilava... again, you'll see.

But for now this is Ash's full Johto team that will take him to the league. Other big story changes here are that Blastoise and the Squirtle Squad would help put out flames caused by the Gyarados at the lake of Rage and give Ash an important reunion. Charizard does still come back to help fight Clair, but Ash has Feraligatr helping as well.

At some point the gang go back to help stop a second Rocket Takeover, and Ash and Archer have a rematch. Archer tries to get under Ash's skin about being such a pitiful trainer that he injured Espeon, but Pikachu and the rest of the team stand up for Ash, defying Archer's nasty attempt to dishearten him again. This time they win in a proper battle and Ash quietly saved Johto AND Kanto from a wide spread evolution frequency like at the Lake of Rage. He gets a few interviews, a few sponsorships, and Ash even gets an egg from the daycare center in thanks.

Then we have the boy. Ash still gets Phanpy as an egg, and I'd imagine he'd tag along in Heracross's place for a bit as well in some cases like a movie short. However, Phanpy would actually evolve pretty quickly in the league after several tough matches. Donphan is still pretty cute acting, actually about as gentle as he was as a baby, and is very sweet towards the others.

By this point, Ash and Gary have a final match in the Johto league, and Ash brings in some big guns. Like the actual league, Ash brings Pikachu, Snorlax, Heracross, and Charizard, but in this AU he also brings out Ferakigatr and Espeon- a surprise last addition who has finally recovered.

It's a tough fight, Gary taunts Ash a lot and says hes not worthy to be a trainer, and Ash tells Gary that he thought so for a while, too, but his friends and Pokemon have taught him a lot and he's matured since their early rivalry in Pallet Town. This is finally the time Ash will win, he swears it.

It's a tough fight, but a huge key moment comes from Feraligatr setting up Rain Dance right before falling to Gary's Blastoise, which allows Pikachu to land Thunder at higher power and without worrying about accuracy. Ash finally wins, and as Gary is about to leave, he considers quitting after losing to someone like him. But Ash reveals that, even though Gary is a stuck up jerk and full of himself, Ash always wanted to be his friend and to be seen as his equal. That's all he ever wanted from him, really. Gary finally mellows out, says he has some thinking to do, and thanks Ash for being honest. They'll meet again, maybe on better terms.

Then Ash loses the league again lol. Gotta get to Hoenn sonehow.

That's all for tonight, thanks for reading. From here on out, these might start getting shorter, mainly because A. Carpal tunnel, B. Going forward, I either agree with plot decisions for the most part, only have small revisions to make, or simply have not watched enough of the anime past this point to really make too much of an informed decision beyond teams.

There's a few surprises on the horizon of course, but tomorrow's will probably be shorter.

Tune in for DD rewrites the anime, next time

[agooberscast]

"Open is only a little scary~! But I guess I'm bigger, huh?"

"Yeah." Now Mimei carefully circles around her, getting a very good look at her. "You are bigger than grouper merfolk here! And they the biggest here!"

"How get so big? What like, out there?" Now she's speaking in a more wistful tone, meeting someone who's fine and able to leave the safety of this reef, unlike herself.

[pseudophan]

if dnp do another tour do i get vip tickets bc like on one hand i've never met them but on the other i wouldn't be able to actually Speak or Breathe or uh Function so like would it really be worth it

[yamujiburo]

Hanamusa AU

I get a lot of questions about my version on the Hanamusa AU! It got a lot longer than I thought LOL. It’s like a fanfic outline at this point. But anyways here it is:

Jessie, James and Meowth eventually get fired from Team Rocket. Down on their luck and out of a full time job, they travel around Kanto doing odd jobs to get by. One day, they make their way to the small town of Pallet.

Upon their arrival they get hungry and find the restaurant Delia runs (i don’t think it’s ever depicted in the anime but she has one according to Takeshi Shudo). Delia recognizes them and they explain that they’re no longer in Team Rocket or trying to steal her son’s Pikachu. She still thinks they’re a little sus but gives them the benefit of the doubt and takes their order (she can’t let them go hungry after all). They get carried away and order way more than they can afford. They realize this after the fact. They apologize profusely for not being able to pay for their food and offer to help her out with anything to make up for it.

It’s not a busy restaurant and Delia’s managed it on her own for years so she tells them not to worry about it. Taken by her her kindness, they refuse to leave with out repaying her in some way. Delia suggests that they help clean up the big ass mess they made and they do! And as they clean, Delia asks them (Jessie) about their situation. Jessie explains that they were fired and in a tough spot.

Delia being super empathetic wants to try help them. She explains that she’d hire all of them at her restaurant but she doesn’t quite have the money or means to be able to pay ALL of them for their services but for the night, she offers up the extra rooms in her house since it’s just her and Mimey. The trio is extremely grateful.

After thinking on it for the night, Delia comes up with a game plan. She says she thinks she’d be able to convince Oak the let Meowth help at the lab and she finds that James is able to cook pretty well so she has him work at the restaurant with her. However, she doesn’t quite know what to do with Jessie. So she asks Jessie to stay home and help Mimey with chores around the house in exchange for a place to stay. It’s not money but it’s a great deal! The trio asks if it’s really okay that they stay for a longer period of time. Delia doesn’t mind and assures them that it’ll be nice to have some company.

Delia takes James and Meowth out to their new jobs while Jessie stays back cleaning the house. However, everything’s in pretty good shape. Jessie’s a little offended that she’s been stuck with a nothing job. But then she finds the attic. Mimey tries warning her not to go up there, but being the stubborn person she is, goes up anyways.

It’s dusty and old and looks like no one’s been up there in ages. She can work with this! She gets right to cleaning and organizing. As she does, she comes across a box of albums. Most of them are photos of Delia when she was a bit younger and Jessie starts really realizing just how gorgeous she is. She also finds pictures of baby Ash (yuck) and a mysterious man she assumes is Delia’s husband. She wonders where he could be and why there’s no pictures of him around the house. But just then the floor opens up under her and one of her legs goes through the floor of the attic.

She stumbles down back to the main floor of the house where Mimey berates her. Her leg is a bit scratched up and she has some splinters. She raids the medicine cabinet to hastily fix up her leg and go back to look at the mess she made. She spends the rest of the day fixing the hole in the ceiling the best she can (though she doesn’t do a very good job).

When Delia and the boys return home Jessie starts immediately panicking and apologizing. Delia notices her leg and is more concerned with her wellbeing. Delia asks Mimey why he didn’t try stopping her from going in the attic (Mimey looks at the camera). She takes Jessie up to her room where she has more medical supplies. Delia’s surprised at how well Jessie managed to mend her her own injuries. Jessie mentions she studied to be a nurse for a while. They get to talking a little bit while Delia helps get all of Jessie’s splinters out.

Jessie gets curious and asks about the man she saw in the photo she found earlier. Delia casually goes into how her husband left her to be a Pokémon trainer. Jessie gets angry for Delia and starts ranting about how men never stick around for long and how a kind, beautiful woman like her deserves better.

Delia is flattered. “You think I’m beautiful? That’s an awfully nice compliment coming from someone as beautiful as you.” Jessie is now in a gay panic, wondering if she’s being flirted with (it’s been so long).

And so the tension begins! Eventually, James and Meowth make enough to start renting a place on their own in Pallet. Jessie, finds she really enjoys Delia’s company (and Delia enjoys hers) and opts to stick around at the Ketchum house. James continues helping at the restaurant, Meowth helps Oak with Pokémon research and tech stuff and Delia convinces Jessie to give nursing a shot again.

They only grow closer and closer. Jessie falls really hard but doesn’t do anything because she fears rejection. Delia eventually gets tired of tiptoeing around their relationship because she’s in LOVE and makes the first move. And they live happily ever after (until ash gets back from his most recent journey and shakes things up)

[pkmnrewritecenter]

In the Shadow of Zekrom

“The Pokémon world, a place teeming with the most amazing creatures imaginable, populating the land, the sea, and the air. Wherever you may find yourself, chances are, Pokémon will be there right beside you. Including the Kanto region’s Pallet Town, home to this young man, Ash Ketchum.”

Ash zipped up his new short-leave jacket with a grin. His partner Pikachu let out a “Pika!” as he jumped onto his trainer’s shoulder. They laughed together, spinning around in their room before Pikachu settled on his shoulder. Smile still prevalent on his face, Ash grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder before running out the door.

“A Pokémon trainer with hopes of becoming a Pokémon master.”

“Oops!” Ash said as he rushed back inside, grabbing his red cap. He put it on with a hum before he smiled at his partner, “Psyched for our trip, Pikachu?”

“Pika!”

“Me too, feels like forever since we’ve taken a trip with Mom.”

“Ash?” Deila Ketchem leaned in through the doorway, “Professor Oak is here to pick us up.”

“Great!” “Pika!”

Ash’s mother pursed her lips at Ash before gently fixing his cap, “There! Perfect!”

Outside their home, Deila wheeled her suitcase to Professor Oak’s car as Ash raised an eyebrow at the researcher’s pineapple-themed shirt.

“Let’s hit the road!” Oak chuckled in a cherry tone.

“Why are you dressed like that?” the trainer asked.

“Why to get everyone in the vacation mood of course! It’s been years since I’ve been on such a drip,” he explained.

“But this is work-related, right Professor?” Delia asked.

“Well yes, but whatever I do between conferences is up to me. Now everyone, hop in!”

“You heard him, Pikachu!”

“Pika-pika!”

Both of them quickly jumped into the car. Delia was quick to follow, though she paused to turn back to the house.

She waved, “Bye, Mimey! Are you sure you want to stay?”

Mr. Mime stopped leaning against the doorframe to give the group a goodbye wave, “Mr. Mime, mime.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

Mimey continued waving as Delia turned around to the car.

…

Inside of Team Rocket’s base, Jessie, James, and Meowth stood before a video of Giovanni, with only his Persian and assistant beside him. The two human agents were dressed in black versions of their normal white uniforms. They were surrounded by black as they stood in attention.

“Now once again, what is Team Rocket’s number one goal?”

“Our goal is to capture Pokémon,” Jessie said.

“Those that are powerful and rare,” James sounded off.

“And to use them to concur every reign,” Meowth finished.

“Very good, I have a new assignment for you three. I’m sending you to the Unova region. We’re trying to establish a presence there. Additionally, there’s a new mysterious organization operating there, they’ve been putting dents in our operations. It’ll be up to you to put a stop to them.”

“Sir yes sir!”

“You’ll be sent there, undercover, by plane immediately. You won’t be able to bring any of your Pokemon from other regions, Meowth will already be drawing too much attention.”

Giovanny ended the call, turning his attention to his Persian. 

“You actually have faith they’ll be able to accomplish anything in the Unova region?” 

The team leader turned to his assistant, “I doubt they will, but I know their antics will draw out that troublesome group. Then our other agents will be able to properly deal with them.”

She let out a satisfied hum as he continued petting his feline Pokémon.

…

The plane's propellers buzzed as it left Kanto, flying into the sky. 

“The Unova region,” Ash read from a pamphlet. The concept of an entirely new region made Ash excited enough to read, a rare sight. “I bet there’s all kinds of Pokémon I’ve never seen before!”

“Of course,” Pr. Oak informed him, “Unova has only opened contact with other regions recently. There are numerous Pokémon ingenious only to this region! I doubt you’ll find any wild Pokémon you’ve seen before there.”

“Wow! That’s awesome, this is going to be so much fun. Right, Pikachu?”

“Pika-pika!”

The two partners looked eagerly out their window, “I can hardly wait to land in Unova.”

A man with blue hair, dressed in a blackish blue coat, bowler hat, and sunglasses, sat down next to his company, a woman and a Meowth wearing matching attire.

“Who would have guessed we’d run into the twerp on this plane?”

“What should we do?” Meowth asked.

“We wait for now,” Jessie said, “We have to be smart about this, I doubt the boss will tolerate another failure.”

The two nodded in agreement, the three glaring at their enemy.

After far too much time staring at clouds, Ash saw a forest-covered coastline, “Wow!”

“That’s our destination, Ash!”

“Yeah! I’m so excited!” 

“Pikachu!”

Once they landed, Ash quickly rushed off the plane, Professor Oak and Deila behind him. The two adults continued waking off the dock while Ash stretched, admiring the ocean view.

“Smell that ocean air, Pikachu,” the trainer sighed, but his companion hopped off his shoulder to the end of the docks. 

“Pikachu?” Ash asked, concerned, as the electric type only stared at the ocean. The trainer joined him just before a large fish Pokémon leaped from the water. It was a graceful pink with long fins. It let out an “Amollllla!” before it landed back in the ocean.

“Wow! We’re already seeing new Pokémon!” Ash cheered. Pickachu, however, shifted to the left. Where, away from them, an electric storm was approaching.

“What’s that?” the trainer whispered. No one could answer his question because, one: the only thing near him was Pikachu, and two: a metallic cage materialized around said Pokémon. The attached line snapped back to its source. The partners shared a startled yelp just as Ash grabbed onto the cage. He looked up to the end of the line, where he saw three cloaked figures. The shortest of them operating the machine.

“Hey! Who are you guys?”

“Who are you is the question indeed,” the woman started.

“We’ll answer you as we feel the need,” the man said.

The three threw off their disguises, revealing themselves, Jessie, James, and Meowth. 

“Team Rocket!” Ash snarled, “What are you doing here?”

“We could ask you the same question,” Jessie replied.

“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”’

“Pikachuuu!” the small Pokémon sent a jolt of electricity through the wire, only for it to be blocked before it could reach them.

“Wasted effort!” James called.

“This baby’s Thunderbolt proof,” Meowth grinned.

However, the storm was fast approaching. Deila and Pr. Oak looked up in worry as it surrounded the airport, scenes licked on and off dangerously. Soon, a bolt of blue lighting, right from the glowing center of the storm, stuck between them, destroying the machine in an explosion. Ash and Pickachu were knocked violently to the ground while Team Rocket flew off far away. The entire airport shook as it lost power.

“My Ash!” Deila cried in worry, rushing out to find him as Professor Oak followed.

Ash groaned as he picked himself up, opening his eyes to Pickachu struggling, surrounded by blue electricity. As far as they could see the electricity surged all around them like a tsunami powering down over a small town.

“Pikachu!” Ash struggled out, trying, begging to push himself up from the dock floor.

Pickachu found a way to stand once the blue light washed off him. He panted like a small creature running for its life from its predator. The partners glanced up to the center of the storm. 

“Pickachuuu!” the electric Pokémon surged with its elemental type, forcing him to release an electric surge into the glowing eye of the storm. This forced the eye to dissipate, revealing that inside there was, most definitely, a very powerful Pokémon. The partners were partially blinded by the blue electric surge and black storm clouds but they could make out the clawed arms, rigid wings, hulking tail that was glowing darker than the electricity around it, and the glowing red eyes piercing down at them.

“What’s that?”

“...Pika.”

Far away a dark-skinned girl popped her head out of a tree, her small partner following suit. She gasped as she looked at the raging storm.

“You see that Axew?”

“Axew!”

“Something amazing is happening. We have to go!” she said, leaping from the tree as Axew climbed into her gigantic hair. She grabbed onto a vine and swung in the direction of the airport. 

Ash and Pickachu stared in bewilderment at the creature. It seemed to stare back before it blasted deeper into the sky, riveting off like a jet engine. The partners let out a cry as they were knocked to the ground. The once-powerful storm dissipated without the Pokémon, making it look like there was never a storm at all. 

“The systems are running again, everything’s normal,” one of the airport control pilots mumbled, confused, as the screen and lights regained power. The group looked out the windows in pure confusion.

Ash stifled a groan as he stood back up. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to find his partner. And he did, the Pokémon lying on the dock, unconscious.

“Pikachu!” the trainer cried, picking up the electric type. He wiggled in Ash’s arms. His small eyes slowly fluttered open, “Chaaa.”

Ash let out a shaking breath, pulling his partner into a tight hug, “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Ash, dear!”

“Ash!”

Deila and Oak came rushing to him.

“Are you okay?” Ash’s mother asked him, grabbing at his shoulders.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Are you sure?” the Kanto professor asked. 

The trainer nodded as Pickachu simply cooed. That is, until a small jolt of electricity escaped his cheeks, surprising both of them. However, the electric type only shook his head and happily climbed onto Ash’s shoulder, almost as if shrugging it off. The adults shared a sigh of relief.

“That was some strange storm,” Deila breathed out.

“Yeah, I wonder who that was.”

“Who?” Oak questioned the trainer.

“I’m sure we saw some kind of Pokémon in that storm cloud,” he glanced out to the sea.

The Kanto professor hummed, “We only could only see that giant cloud.”

“Right,” Diela said.

“Uh, man that’s weird,” Ash muttered, “What could it have been?”

“Professor Oak!”

The four of them turned to see a woman in a white lab coat walking up to them.

“Ah, what do you know? Professor Juniper,” Oak greeted.

“I’m sorry I’m so late,” the professor apologized, “How are you doing after that huge thunderstorm?”

“We’re doing just fine, thank you,” Oak nodded, “I’d like you all to meet Professor Juniper. Don’t let her youthful look fool you, she’s one of the most important and impressive Professors in the Unova region.”

“Nice to meet you!”

‘It’s lovely to meet you too,” Delia hummed as Ash smiled wide.

…

Professor Juniper drove the four of them in her jeep, Ash couldn’t help but be astonished by the different Pokémon they passed, grazing fawn-like Pokémon, flying dove-like ones, and scurrying rodent Pokémon. 

“You’ve never seen these Pokémon before, right Ash?” the Unova professor asked.

“No, not in any of the regions I’ve visited.”

“Oh, how many regions have you been to?”

“Me and Pickachu have been across Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh.”

“That’s very impressive,” Juniper said, “I only know a few trainers who’ve visited any other regions at all.”

“Huh, I guess that is impressive. Huh, Pikachu?” 

“Pika!” his partner cheered, but another electric surge startled them.

“Is Pikachu still sparking?” Delia asked her son, conserved. Ash hesitantly nodded.

“Once we get back to the lab I’ll have a look,” Professor Juniper offered.

“Wow, thanks, that’d be great,” Ash said.

“As you should know, Kanto Pokémon are quite rare here. I have a lot of questions for you, Professor Oak.”

“Oh, alright then.”

“Is Pikachu rare here too?” Ash asked.

“Definitely, we hardly see any trainers with one, let alone in the wild.”

The trainer smiled down at his partner, who returned the expression.

“Actually, Ash, you’ll be able to see new Pokémon at Professor Juniper’s lab,” Oak smiled back at him.

“Yep, you should enjoy that,” Professor Juniper added. 

“C’mon! Let’s go!” a young boy giggled, running down the sidewalk with a young girl and an excited, gray furred Pokémon. The new Pokémon gained Ash’s attention as they drove by.

“This is Nuvema town!” Juniper announced, driving through the humble town. The other three let “Wows” while Pickachu cooed.

“My lab is just up ahead, we’ll have Pikachu looked at there.”

…

Pikachu groaned in the examination device. Several tubes were attached all over him as holographic rays washed over him. 

“What do you see, Professor?” Oak asked. He and Juniper looked at the data screen while Ash stood by Pickachu.

“I can’t find any visible problems.”

“So he’s fine?” Ash asked.

“He should be, but I need to run a few more tests to make sure.”

“Oh,” Ash mumbled, “Hear that, buddy? Just a little longer.”

“Pika…”

“Professor Juniper!” one of the Professor’s assistants walked into the room, “The trainer scheduled to receive a starter Pokémon has arrived.”

“Is it really that time again?” the professor mumbled.

“New trainers?” Ash asked.

“One of Professor Juniper’s many duties is to give out the Unova starter Pokémon to new trainers,” Oak explained.

“Unova starter Pokémon?” the trainer asked excitedly.

“Would you like to meet them?” Pr. Juniper asked, laughing slightly.

Ash brightened for a second before he worriedly turned back to Pickachu, “Will he be okay?”

“We’ll watch him,” Deila comforted him as Pickachu let out a “Pika-pi!”

“Okay then, this way Ash,” Professor Juniper led him out of the room. 

A young, blonde-haired boy in an orange jacket snapped a picture of the laboratory’s lobby with his camera. He looked over the photos with a neutral expression until he heard footsteps coming toward him. He turned to see Professor Juniper, some trainer, and an assistant wheeling a tray cart.

“Hello, Trip, welcome. It’s good to properly meet,” the professor greeted.

“Hi, Professor Juniper,” Trip said, a smile now clear on his face, “I’m finally ready to start my journey as a Pokémon trainer.”

“I know you’ve waited a long time for today, welcome to the world of Pokémon!”

“Hey, I bet you were so excited last night you couldn’t even sleep a wink,” Ash chuckled. “I was the same way when I started.”

Trip turned to him slowly with a neutral expression, “Who are you?” he asked, dryly.

“Trip, meet Ash,” Juniper said, “He’s a trainer from Pallet Town in the Kanto region who’s been all over the world.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ash held out his hand for a handshake, but Trip only glanced at it.

“Pallet Town?” Trip sneered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ash asked, voice flat.

He shrugged, looking to the side, “I didn’t say anything.”

Ash didn’t halt his slight glare

“C’mon now. Today’s your first day as a trainer, it should be a happy day,” Professor Juniper tried to lighten the situation.

Juniper walked over to the cart, “Trip, you two can choose between these three Pokémon.”

The professor picked up a pokéball from the tray cart, “First is Tepig, a fire type!”

She threw the ball into the air, releasing the orange pokémon. 

“Te-pig!” 

“Wow, so you’re a Tepig?” Ash kneeled to the fire type. It realized a huff of fire from its nose, scorching Ash’s face. Ash coughed, “Yep, definitely a Fire type.”

The Pokémon hurried to the open floor, oinking as it went.

“Now here’s Oshawott, a Water type,” she released the otter-like Pokémon. 

“Osha!”

“Aww, aren’t you cute,” Ash rubbed the water type’s head, making it blush. He stared up at Ash, eyes sparkling.

“And finally, the Grass type Snivy!” 

The last starter materialized left of Tepig, giving a proud look to the people, “Snivy!”

“Wow, that one looks confident!”

The three lined up together as Trip gave them a blank look.

“Man, all these guys would be great to train. It has to be a tough decision,” Ash muttered.

“Then good thing I’m choosing, not you,” Trip side-glared at him.

“Yeah, yeah, obviously,” Ash mumbled, standing up properly.

Trip took a quick photo of three. He glanced at the photo before sliding it back into his pocket.

“I’ve decided,” the blonde said calmly, surprising the other two.

“Just like that?” Ash asked.

“Yep, I’ll be taking… Snivy.”

The grass snake grinned while Tepig only huffed. Oshawott on the other hand… looked utterly heartbroken. 

“A good choice,” Juniper said as she handed him a device, “Here’s your Pokédex.” 

Trip nodded as he took the device, pointing it towards his Snivy. Activating, it read off its description: “Snivy: The Grass Snake Pokémon. Cool, calm, and collected, Snivy uses photosynthesis to collect energy with the leaf on its tail.”

Having glanced at the Pokédex screen, Trip pocketed it with a huff. 

Ash pet Oshawott’s head, “Don’t worry, I’m sure a trainer will see how great you are soon.”

Oshawott looked up at the trainer, starry-eyed, “Osha.”

“Here, five pokéballs for whatever Pokémon you may catch for the both of you.”

Juniper handed the two trainers each a case of five poke balls. 

“And here’s Snivy’s Pokéball,” she handed him the red and white device. He pointed it to his Snivy.

“Alright Snivy, let’s get this journey started.”

He recalled him with a flash of red.

“You’ll be able to carry five additional Pokémon at a time, if you catch any more they’ll be sent to me. You’ll be able to swap around your party if you need to.”

“Well, that’s basic,” Trip shrugged, chuckling slightly.

“I hope you have a great journey, Trip.”

“Thank you, Professor Juniper, for everything.”

The new trainers looked to the door next to him. Trip calmly stepped forward, leaving the laboratory. Ash shook his head before running after him.

“Ash?”

“I’ll be right back, Professor Juniper!”

Ash excitedly opened the laboratory door to see Trip walking away from the property.

“Hey, Trip!”

He turned around to Ash, skeptical. 

“Going for gym battles?” he asked, walking over to him.

“Well, that’s just basic,” Trip grinned, “Pokémon trainers travel around challenging different gyms to compete in the Unova League.”

“Really? That’s just like in other regions!”

“Oh, well-” Trip flattered, “I didn’t know how it worked out there, I guess.”

Ash glared slightly, but his smile returned after Trip glanced back at him.

“What… other regions have you been to?”

“I’ve actually been to four other regions before now, counting Kanto,” the trainer smiled.

Trip hummed at him. They stood there awkwardly, Ash not knowing what to say while Trip waited for a chance to leave.

“Pi Pikachu!”

Ash excitedly turned back to the lab at the sound of his partner. The electric type leaped onto his shoulders as Trip’s eyes widened.

“All done with your tests, buddy?”

“Chaa!”

“Woh! What’s that Pokémon?” Trip asked as he pulled out his Pokédex.

“Pikachu: The Mouse Pokémon. An Electric Type. The evolved form of Pichu. Pikachu’s tails are occasionally struck by lightning as it raises it to check its surroundings.”

Trip gasped softly, before quickly snapping a variety of photos.

“What are you doing?” Ash asked, stepping back slightly.

Trip groaned, “Listen up! A Pikachu in Unova is a really big deal.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he shrugged, “Pikachu is my number one partner, not to mention my first Pokémon. Like your Snivy.”

Trip hummed, “Is it strong?”

Ash smirked, “Oh, you bet.” “Pika pika!” “Wanna see?”

“Sure I do.”

Quickly the two trainers were face to face on the small battle course on the side of the path.

“Snivy, I choose you!” Trip threw his pokéball onto the field, releasing the grass snake with a blue glow, “Snivy!”

“Pikachu, let’s go!” 

“Pika pika!” the electric type leaped off his trainer’s shoulders onto the battlefield. They let out a “huh?” at the click of a camera. They glanced at Trip, who was photographing the battle scene instead of actually starting.

“I’m recording my journey, and this is Snivy’s first battle,” Trip smiled, seeming to be enjoying himself.

Ash gave him a confused look, before smiling, “That’s really cool! And since it’s your first battle you can go first!”

“Alright! Snivy, use Tackle!” 

“Snivy!” the grass starter rushed towards the Kanto Pokémon with a glare on its face.

“Pikachu, use Quick Attack!”

“Pika!” Pikachu rushed towards the other Pokémon, a streak of white trailing behind it. He slammed into Snivy before the other could hit him, knocking them back to the ground.

“Get up, Snivy!”

It struggled as it returned to its battle stance, “Sni.”

“Good, now use Vine Whip!”

The grass snake sprouted vines from its back. It whipped them forward to the opposing Pokémon at breakneck pace.

“Use Iron Tail to deflect it!” Ash called.

“Pika!” the electric type slammed the hardened tail above its head to hit the fast-approaching vines, knocking them away.

“Huh?!” Trip sputtered, confused at Ash using an attacking move defensively.

“Great! Now finish it with Thunderbolt”

“Pika pika,” Pikachu charged power before releasing… nothing. “Chu?”

“What?” Ash was beyond confused at the result. Pikachu groaned, uncomfortably, shaking slightly.

“What was that?” Trip mocked, “Snivy use Vine Whip again!”

“Sni!” the starter retried the attack.

“Pikachu counter with Volt Tackle!”

“Pika!” Ash’s partner rushed forward. That is until he simply tired out, no electricity gathering around him. Pikachu tried to catch his breath, his body slightly quacking with pain, which allowed Snivy to land the hit with its vines.

“Why can’t Pikachu use electric moves?” Ash asked himself.

“Is this some kind of strategy? Calling out moves you can’t even use?” Trip chuckled. 

“Okay Snivy, let’s finish this with-!”

“Stop! Trip, I forfeit, there’s something wrong with Pikachu.”

The new trainer scoffed, “Figures.”

“C’mon Pikachu, we need to get you-”

“Pika! Pika Pikachu!” the Pokémon shouted, raising his paws up like fists despite the sweat gathering on his head.

Ash was stopped in his tracks by Pikachu’s outburst. The trainer gave him a confused look, “You want to keep battling?”

“Pika!”

Ash beamed, “Well, alright then! Let’s give it all we’ve got.

“Finally,” Trip grinned, “Snivy, attack with Leaf Tornado!” 

“What move is that?”

“Don’t know that one, do you?” Trip raised his head, making Ash growl slightly.

Snivy whipped himself around, creating a barrage of sharp leaves from its tail and sending them towards the opposing Pokémon.

“Quick Pikachu! Cut through with Iron Tail!”

“Pika!”

The electric type swirled its tail through the leaves, preventing them from connecting to him as he made his way to the Snivy. 

“What?!”

“Now land the hit on Snivy, then finish it with Quick Attack!”

“Pika Pika!” Pikachu, still airborne, used the remaining momentum to knock Snivy to the ground before landing. The electric type dealt the final blow, sending the Snivy to Trip’s feet, swirls in its eyes.

“Snivy!” Trip exclaimed, kneeling to his starter, which only moaned out its name.

“We did it!” Ash cheered. Pikachu let out a tired, “Pi Pi!” 

Before falling to its feet.

“Pikachu!” Ash dropped to his knees, gently picking up his starter. Ash nearly leaped up, turning around and rushing inside the laboratory. He stepped in front of the doors, but stopped and turned back to the battlefield to see Trip walking away, his starter recalled. 

“Hey, Trip!”

“What?” 

The Kanto trainer smiled, “That was a great battle!”

Trip only huffed in reply, continuing away from the property. Ash’s smile disappeared as he worriedly looked down at his partner. He pushed through the doors.

..

Professor Juniper stared at the data screen before her. Professor Oak and her assistant stood next to her. Ash was next to Pikachu, who was put back into the scanning device, worried as Delia stood next to him in a vain attempt to comfort him. Even the Oshawott from earlier stood at the door frame, pecking his head in.

“So something’s really not right with Pikachu after all?” Ash asked, nervousness apparent in his voice.

Professor Juniper rubbed her chin, “It appears that Pikachu has suffered an electrical overload of some kind.”

“Overload?”

“All that electric energy Pikachu absorbed in that thunderstorm was too much. He just couldn’t handle it.”

“That explains why Pikachu isn’t able to use any Electric type moves,” Oak added.

Ash’s expression grew even more worrisome as he glanced back at his partner, “You mean Pikachu won’t ever be able to electric type moves again?” 

Before Juniper could comment the screen glitched out, making a loud noise, while electricity gathered around Pikachu’s cheeks and tail. The electric type struggled to contain the energy as some of the tubes around it detached.

“Piiiii ca!”

“Pikachu!” Ash shouted worriedly.

“Professor Oak, it’s that storm again,” Pr. Juniper pointed to the window, where the electric storm surrounded the lab.

“Oh my.”

…

Iris could only stare at the dark storm encasing the town from the tree she had settled on.

“That again,” she muttered.

“Axew,” her small partner muttered.

…

A lightning bolt violently struck the laboratory’s satellite, the electricity seemed to go straight to Pikachu, he was encased in electricity, freeing him from whatever wires were left, as the rest of the power went out.

“Reboot the system, now!”

“Yes, Professor Juniper,” one of her assistants nodded, rushing out the room. The Professor gasped as the thunder grew louder.

“It couldn’t be. Could it?”

“Could it be what?” Oak asked.

“Could the source of those clouds be Zekrom? The legendary Pokémon of ideals?”

“Zekrom?” Ash breathed out.

“Zekrom’s quite infamous here. It’s said that from within its storm cloud Zekrom watches over people and Pokémon. And its lightning bolts are judgments from above, that they’re the pillars that hold up the sky.”

Pikachu suddenly cried out its name as it surged with even more electricity.

“Pikachu!” Ash cried in concern.

“Pikachu has been affected by a mysterious phenomenon. Can it regain its electric type power? A dark cloud of confusion has suddenly fallen over Ash and Pikachu as the journey continues…”

_______________

I don't actually care that Pikachu lost to Trip's Snivy. I changed it for story reasons.

[real13charac5]

I’m reuploading this because I’m sad I chose “Cherry Legs” for Feburary for my 2021 art summary over this, as i am planning to do an improved version including this. The characters in the bleachers are characters owned by @NuclearMime, as I had some ambitious plans for this birthday present including every single nuclearmime character ever. Since his tumblr is the oldest resource available I searched it for characters & boy was I surprised to know he’s been doing art way longer than I thought, & did I mention the amount of entirely new characters I learned about, plus even more about ones that my only exposure was retweeted fanart such as Rabbit Bomb? Getting a taste of his pre-newgrounds art plus his OG artstyle filled me with joy so much it nearly cured my depression after my favorite autism coach left me for a better job, thus making me a NuclearMime fanboy because the entire worlds needs to smile at his mimey lass & his cutesy art. In case you’re wondering, I was only able to draw 5 characters to put in the bleachers as I zoned out so often. Posted using PostyBirb

[punz4lyfe]

MisPokonceptions: Goh’s a Gary Stu?

Am I the only one who gets annoyed whenever Goh gets addressed as a “Gary Stu”?

Yes, the anime has been throwing a bunch of W’s to him lately, but it wasn’t always like that. Back at the beginning, he legitimately went through some struggles that opened some doors for character development.

One of which being his lack of battling experience compared to Ash. (trust me, I have a good reason why I wanna get this outta the way first) This issue was largely showcased in, of course, episode 7, where despite relying on type advantage with Scyther, ended up losing against Hodge’s Mightyena alone. This caused Goh to resent battling, citing catching as the superior Pokemon activity. That is, until he witnessed Ash battling Hodge himself, witnessing Ash utilizing both Mimey and Pikachu to pull off some wicked strategies that landed him the win. Impressed, Goh changed his mind on battling.

Goh’s whole thing with battling, however, wasn’t exactly addressed again after that episode. In fact, later in episode 36, Goh was able to pull off Ash-esque strategies with ease to defeat and capture a powerful Flygon... even though Goh stated in the very next episode that the number of times he has battled with Ash are minimal at best before practically losing hard to Kiawe, someone who’s just slightly lower on Ash’s own level (upcoming Trial Captain-v-Region Champion do the math guys), so it honestly makes it hard to believe Goh was able to pull anything remotely on Ash’s expertise. And yes, this is the reason why I wanted to get this struggle out of the way first. Even though this struggle kinda became non-existent as episodes went on (proof being Goh easily defeating Oleana despite it being a water-v-fire match and Goh being able to have just Cinderace keep up with Mewtwo for a while even though Ash had to use two of his own mons), there was still something remotely there, proving Goh wasn’t meant to start out as a perfect character.

Another struggle Goh had to went through involved his whole catching motif. Like the last topic, this issue disappeared into the void later on, but it was still there so it counts. In episode 10, Goh got carried away with his habit of throwing Pokeballs at a Dewgong, causing him to have none when he makes it to Dragonite Island which makes him unable to catch the titular mon of the island (though this does beg the question on why Ash didn’t let Goh borrow any of his own but whatever). Again, while never addressed again, it did at least remotely point of a small flaw in Goh’s ways of catching, so it was at least something.

Of course, there was his whole development in reconciling with Raboot after it had evolved. To summarize it for the sake of length of time, Scorbunny wanted to learn Ember, Goh didn’t understood its passion for learning a fire-type move and refused to help, Goh learned his mistake last minute and helped it master Ember, Scorbunny evolved into Raboot and grew distant from Goh due to their little tiff, Raboot befriends a bunch of wild mons in Hoenn, Goh considers leaving Raboot behind to ensure its happiness with the wild mons, and Goh finds Raboot on the train with them, allowing them to reconcile upon seeing how much they truly love and care for each other.

It absolutely bugs me that so many people, even to this day, give Goh so much crap to Goh for the events of episodes 17 and 22 when they were legit character struggles. It was still pretty early in the series and Raboot was the only mon he actually had a decent relationship with at the time, so of course he needed to develop that relationship and receive some pointers from Ash on how to properly deal and handle it when things got tense.

And lastly, there was Goh’s whole struggle with meeting people and making friends. While not perfect, this actually got somewhat proper and subtle development, as shown when Goh was shy greeting those he was unfamiliar with (which was especially emphasized in episode 37), but as the series developed, he became more open to people, as shown in the most recent episode where he and Ash volunteered to help Mulply when Divi was put out of commission.

So yeah, guys, Goh isn’t actually a Gary Stu. He legitimately went through some struggles and development at the beginning of the series that he slowly overcame as he traveled with Ash. Yes, none of it is perfect and honestly pretty rushed, but the instances are still there, so he’s not a total Gary Stu.

And while the exact definition of Mary Sue/Gary Stu varies between people, isn’t one distinct trait of Sue’s and Stu’s is that they are liked by virtually everyone, even by those who should hate them?

Looking at Goh, Team Rocket probably hate his guts when Grookey chose him over them, as does Oleana, and he does have a small, yet unsettled rivalry with Hodge, who has been confirmed to reappear in a future episode (yeah spoilers but cmon lets face it both the anime and fans dont do a good job in hiding anything these days), so maybe that could go somewhere.

Overall, no, in my persective, Goh is not a Gary Stu because he had some legit problems to overcome at the beginning of Journeys. The anime just needs to build a better path for him nowadays considering he’s been receiving an almost endless track of W’s.

also goh is not a thief either so pls shut up about that

[thisisnowanmlpblog]

I dont know if you do requests or not, but uuh: mime bomb befriending another clown based operative? Their more of an acrobat, but they have the makeup and everything and they understand sign -tea anon

Pairing: Mime Bomb x OC

A/N:Im so sorry this took so long i've been super busy. This is just the first part but hopefully I will get the other parts done quicker.This part is just platonic but i am planning on it getting romantic in later parts

TW:Caps, Yelling, door slamming, a lot of cursing, 1 year age Gap (oc is younger), daggers

Title: What A Laugh

Mime bomb finally had a week off. He could just lounge around his room without any makeup on and without having to try to communicate and infuriatingly failing.Laying down on his bed he was just getting ready to take a nap when DING! One new message from faculty.

“Hello Mime Bomb sorry to interrupt your Week off but you have been requested to join us in 30 minutes to be assigned a new mission.”. So much for his week off. If he had 30 minutes he better put on his face. He gets up grabs his makeup and puts on his face and starts walking to the faculty meeting room.

Upon arrival he hears Cleo’s voice say “Ah Mime Bomb so glad you could make it on time! We have a new mission for you!”

“What is it?” He mimes inquisitively.

“We are sending you on mission to get Dr.Bellum a ‘plasma ray’ supposedly”.

Mime bomb looks at the preoccupied scientist with a pondering facial expression.

“Hmm,” she says looking up from her screens “,oh hello Mime Bomb, we are sending you on a quest to Norway,  and its not for a plasma ray! It's for a portable plasma guns energy source, with it I will be able to reverse engineer it too make copies to power VILE and sell them to the criminal underworld to power whatever their evil hearts desire!”

“What are the missions specifics?” he replied hoping it would be clear enough.

“We need you to sneak by and be an inconspicuous party-goer while your  partner acts as distraction, but we will need you to stay in the vicinity before that to scout for any red and any red herrings” Coach Brunt answered for them.

“Don't you mean that the other way around were my partner sneaks by and I’m the distraction?” Mime Bomb asked confused.

“No I meant it  exactly the way I said it, why you usually are a wonderful distraction Jester is much more suited for a party environment.” She stated trying to answer all Mime Bombs questions. But it just added more. For example who was ‘Jester’? He thought he had there name before but where at ? Who was it? The answer was on the tip of his fingers when the doors behind him slammed open.

“SORRY I’M LATE WHAT'S HAPPENING?” said the late-comer. Ah yes now Mime Bomb remembered, Jester, one of the graduates from the year after him. The only time they had talked was when Mime Bomb was joing to report him for juggling daggers in the dorms but Jester had managed to bribe him with some water proof makeup that quickly ran out.

Jester spotted Mime Bomb and Mime Bomb made awkward eye contact with Jester.

”Is this about the thing?” Jester whispered.

“No it’s not, you definitely bought my silence with that bribe.”

 Jester nodded in response and than acknowledged faculty.

“Since you missed the meeting we will send the briefing to you tablet and you can read it you have 20 minutes till take off, dismissed.” Cleo finished the meeting off with.

Mime Bomb and Jester exit at the same time and Mme Bomb hears Jester talking to himself.

“DisMISSed more like what I MISS?” is all MB catches as his partner continues to mumble under breath.

Hearing the joke Mime Bomb silently cracks up laughing. He's laughing so hard that he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. And that's how he ended up stubbing his foot directly into a corner of a wall.

“Fucking shit ass Motherfucker fuck muffin” he signs angrly.

“You know for a guy that speaks with his hands you think it would be easier for you to actually watch your language” Jester responds.That gets MB to laugh yet again and distract him from the pain. He finally understood his partners code name! And he knew Sign! WAIT A MINUTE HE KNOWS SIGN!

“Wait a minute you know sign?” Mime Bomb asked.

“Yep and those few you signed were among the first learned although I have never seen anyone sign ‘fuck muffin’ before so that's a first.”

Mime Bomb was now using the wall he stubbed his toe on for support while laughing up his lungs. At this rate he was going to need an inhaler for the mission. Oh crap the mission. Mime Bomb said goodbye and went go get ready as did Jester.Than they joined each other company at the Helicopter Pad.

“You ready to put on your best face Mimey? Hmm wait no nevermind that might be a bit too much with makeup.”. Mime Bomb had to remember to breath while getting onto the ‘copter.

Mime Bomb flashed a smile at him to show he liked the joke and than hoped in to his seat.

“Okay so brief debriefing of the mission should be loading on too my phone any second now, ah there it is let's see, ugh im discraction AGAIN? I mean i know im a jester but still, I’m sure you understand ya know with being a mime and all?”

“Yeah it's kind of refreshing doing the stealth part of the mission for once though, it's infuriating to just entertain as a professional thief we should be able to partake in both parts, why go to theif school when you could have just gone to one for Drama?.”

“I know right!!”

“So what's in the bags” Mime Bomb gestures to Jesters several duffel bags.

“Since we most likely aren't going to be running and are going to be there for several days I tried to bring everything I could to entertain people.”

“hmm guess I don't have that problem considering I just use air props.”.

It was know Jesters turn to laugh and as he was doubling over to do so Mime Bomb realized he was really glad to not have that week off.

[em-exceeds-change-zearu]

ARGH, Kukui being this supportive figure for poor birb Ash is so pure. And I'm imagining he could let the other students know at their own pace so that Ash doesn't feel too alienated but also can be honest with them. It's one big found family. Btw, I read something about Alain being Lugia's kid/Ash's cousin. Would Golden Boy AU just be like: Kukui 🤝 being a decent Pokemon Professor/father figure for a Legendary kid with a terrible dad 🤝 Sycamore (Ash probably sends Alain tons of pictures)

it’s too much. papa kukui always heals me.

anyways the students all find out about ash’s secret during the lusamine/nihelego crisis! there’s a couple of ways i have planned for it to happen, but regardless they’re much more accepting about it than he expects - largely because thanks to the closeness between human and pokemon in alola, hybrids are largely more open there to begin with. he’s already very open about having pokemon ancestry by the time it happens thanks to this, more freely using aura abilities and talking to other pokemon and such (although post-kanto he actually is already open about being able to understand pokemon, so...). and given he’s already kind of gotten targeted by tapu koko on the regular, it’s kinda like “oh so he’s a hybrid-legendary, that actually kind of makes sense.” they’re probably the squad who takes the news in stride easiest.

and yeah, he is! alain’s the illegitimate child of jericho/movie 2 lugia and that makes him ash’s cousin - but they only find out about this in golden dad au because that’s the only AU where berthold’s involved enough in ash’s life to meet him and notice the signs. so in golden boy where bert actually is kind of a terrible dad, they don’t know that they can  🤝 . 

in golden dad au, instead of immediately going travelling with manon post-kalos, he goes with ash to kanto so bert can teach him how to properly manage his abilities so he isn’t needlessly targeted anymore. since jeri won’t acknowledge him at all, bert’s taking the job himself since ash is already comfortable with his own abilities. it’s during that time that mimey wins the trip to alola, so alain actually tags along for the initial alolan visit, ha ha. 

(yes, alain is embarrassed about lana’s absolute fascination with lugia and other legends of the sea. yes she does get mad at ash for not telling her he’s related to one later. how rude of him!!!!!) 

professor sycamore is absolutely still alain’s dad figure after all this, though, and he absolutely  is 🤝 with kukui over having a hybrid legendary son. but at least through ash, alain has a larger family network than he would otherwise. ha.

[mimeimim23]

Ponownie Able (należący do sm-baby) i Mimei. Poza Able'a jest wzorowana na małym komiksie, który gdzieś widziałam a Mimei próbuje obok zrozumieć dlaczego jej towarzysz jest tak chętny do pracy skoro zwykle się tak do tego nie rwie.

[paradisobound]

Where We Want to Be

I Want It, I Got It Timestamp: Dan and Phil’s Wedding 

Summary: It’s been a year since Phil proposed in Paris and now, he’s stood on his wedding day marrying Dan after knowing for so long he is his person. The wedding day and beyond. 

Word Count: 2.2k 

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Slightly explicit content 

**Read on Ao3**

Written for the @phanworkschallenge advent calendar!

If you want to see the venue I chose for their wedding, here is the link I used!

Phil shouldn’t be nervous. In theory, he should be really excited that this day is finally here. But as he sits in his hotel room with his mum, dad, and brother as he gets into his suit and tie, he can’t help but feel nervous.

They’d been planning this day for over a year now. It was mostly a lot of Dan’s ideas. He wanted lavish, but simple. He wanted white roses and baby’s breath and lace table cloths. He wanted everything to be pretty and perfect and for most of the planning in itself, Phil let Dan take the reign.

But it’s here now, and they’re getting ready to be married at Hever Castle.

It was Dan who wanted to get married at a castle, and when they visited Hever Castle, they knew it was instantly the place for them. It was stunning with beautiful rooms and nice staff. Everything was included in the price from the hotel rooms for the guests, the catering, and the florist. So they handed the money over and booked their wedding date.

And now, here they are.

Dan wanted to keep up with the traditions, so Phil wasn’t allowed to see him the night before. They had separate rooms where Dan stayed just down the hall from him but it was so hard to go to sleep that night without Dan.

There was some nights--well, not some, a lot of nights--where Phil would be home alone because Dan was busy traveling for movies or premieres. Phil always tried to go with him, but sometimes that didn’t work. So he’d stay at their cozy flat in Victoria and wait until Dan came home.

But last night was different, because Dan wasn’t gone. He was just sleeping down the hall and the last time Phil had seen him was at rehearsal the night before. So now, Phil’s feeling eager and anxious, wanting nothing more than to be able to wrap his arms around his lover and hold him close.

They have their honeymoon booked to Bora Bora where they rented a private villa on the water, secluded from everyone else with their own room service and wait staff. But Phil cheekily knows that they won’t be leaving the bed the entire time. He wants nothing more than to spend the next two weeks with his new husband in the beautiful bower of the bed.

But they have to get through today first and then they leave tomorrow morning.

“Are you nervous, honey?” His mum asks him, running her hand up his black suit jacket sleeve.

Phil nodded, “A bit, yeah.”

“That’s normal,” His father chimed in. “I was nervous the day I married your mother too.”

“I don’t know why, I’m nervous,” Phil says. “It’s not like Dan’s not gonna be there. Dan is definitely going to be there and we’re getting married but…”

“It’s wedding jitters, hun,” Cornelia interrupted, “I saw Dan this morning and he is the same way.”

Phil bites nervously at his lip and then raises his thumb to his mouth and nibbles on his nail, only to get his mum swatting it away, “Child, you didn’t just spend 100 quid on a manicure two days ago just to bite it off in nervous jitters on your wedding day.”

Phil put his hand down and fought back a smile.

His dad looked at his watch and then looked back to Phil, “It’s time to head down.”

Phil nodded and stood up, letting his mum and dad and Cornelia smooth out his pants all over again. Martyn stood back, watching and laughing at the pruning they were all doing over him.

They were getting married outside on the lawn in the garden. They had a perfect white arch set up with white chairs covered in delicate white fabric. Phil had seen it all last night during the rehearsal and it made him nearly weep. Everything was perfect, but he wouldn’t have expected any less anyway.

His mum and brother escorted him down to the arch and he walked with Martyn up to the front to stand by the officiator and PJ, who was his groomsman. He opted for making Martyn his best man.

Dan made his friend Mimei his bridesmaid, and then his younger brother his groomsman. They were both stood on the other side of the arch and Phil flashed them both a nervous smile.

He was having his niece, Martyn and Cornelia’s daughter, be the flower girl, and his nephew be the ring bearer and as he heard the music of the piano behind the seats starting, his hands began to shake a bit more.

Emme and Casper slowly walked up the pristine white aisle between the seats as everyone stood up and watched as Emme threw little white rose petals out in front of them. It was adorable, and Phil couldn’t help but tear up seeing it. As they came up and Casper handed Martyn the rings, Phil bent down and gave them both a hug and thanked them as they ran off to Cornelia and his mum and dad in the crowd.

Phil knew now this meant Dan would be coming. Dan insisted on walking down the aisle, saying to Phil jokingly that he wanted all eyes on him. Phil didn’t argue because he was the opposite. But now, the music has changed and he looks up to see Dan, walking down the aisle with his father.

He’s wearing the whitest suit Phil’s ever seen with a black tie. He’s gorgeous, his curls perfectly done, his nails freshly painted, and his face done up a bit with make up. When he makes his way to the front, Phil breaks down and tries to hold back the tears. He knew he was going to be emotional, but he never could have prepared for how hard it actually hit him that this was happening.

They exchanged their vows and said their “I do’s” and then they turned to each other and exchanged their rings. Phil has never felt so in love in his life as he looked into Dan’s eyes and saw the love pouring back at him. When the officiator told them they could kiss, Phil lunged forward and attached their lips as the cold metal of Dan’s ring sat against his cheek.

***

“How long do you think before we can ditch the reception?”

Phil looks at Dan and laughs, “Probably could get away with now but I reckon my mum or Cornelia wouldn’t be too pleased.”

Dan is currently eating his second piece of cake as they sit at their own table, everyone else on the floor dancing and drinking the evening away.

The moonlight is shining just so perfectly through the arched windows onto the dance floor, and despite the fact that it was raining outside, Phil was extremely happy with how today had turned out. Mostly because the rain held off until the reception started.

They had a toast and Martyn and Mimei prepared speeches for both Dan and Phil and they were funny and lighthearted but also a bit sappy as Martyn told Dan that he’ll always be part of the Lester family.

Before they finalized everything for the wedding, they had a serious talk about everything. Paparazzi was surely going to try and ruin their big day so they hired so much security that it was nearly impossible for anyone to even attempt to get near the venue. But they also spoke about what this meant for them. Were they going to change last names? Was Dan going to take Phil’s or vice versa?

In the end, they decided that Dan wanted to hyphenate his name and so from this point forward—or, well when the paperwork got done—Dan was going to be Daniel Howell-Lester. Phil was okay with that, and made sure that Dan wasn’t doing this for societal norms, but Dan reassured him that he wanted to be able to have Phil’s last name and see it at the end of movies and on his awards. Phil had joked around at how conceited he sounded but Dan has just laughed it off.

Everything was perfect now. As Phil turns his head and looks at Dan who is licking some frosting from his knuckle, he’s convinced more than ever that he’s found his person. He’s found his soulmate that he wants to spend forever with, and he’s glad that’s solidified.

They leave the reception early. They tried making it out the door and into the hall but Cornelia and Emme stop them in their tracks and ask what they thought they were doing. They just shrugged and laughed and told her that they wanted to get the night started early. She swatted at their arms and then shooed them away, telling them she would cover for them if anyone asked.

They held hands walking down the hallway, and Dan walked close enough to Phil that their arms never stopped touching the entire way to the stairs. They were going to be staying in Phil’s room from the night before, so they walked to the room and Phil pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

Walking inside, the room was adorned with candles and red roses. There were two bottles of champagne on the nightstand and a plate of pristine chocolate covered strawberries all wrapped nicely. Phil’s mouth snaps open and Dan just laughs, “Guess we got some snacks for tonight?”

“Didn’t you just eat your weight in cake?” Dan asks, teasing Dan for having two pieces. Dan just laughs and shakes his hand.

“Well,” Dan says, sitting on the bed and undoing his shirt, “is this the time where you ravish me and we consummate the marriage?”

“We’ve already broken that rule,” Phil laughs.

Dan rolls his eyes and opens his arms to Phil and Phil’s cheeks heat as he sees the glittering diamond band on Dan’s left hand sparkle so perfectly in the light.

Phil goes easy, because this is the man he loves and he gets to spend the rest of his night with. His chest is blossoming with pent up feelings of affection and endless words of love as he presses his hands on Dan’s cheeks and kisses him with all that he has.

They go slow, letting the night drag on as they explore each other as husbands. Before tonight, sex felt like something in their routine. They enjoyed it so they did it often and it was also really fucking good for them both. But tonight was different. It was like senses were heightened to 100 and beyond and everything around was softened to a dim and dull light.

Phil could tell Dan felt the same with the way his back arched and his hips stuttered to remain against the sheets as Phil thrusted. Dan was being loud, louder than he has been in a long time and some deep satisfaction was flaring inside of Phil at how good he was making his husband feel. He was almost glad now that they left the reception early because he knows Dan can be heard outside of the room. Unless the walls are soundproof, there is no way he can’t be.

They finish and Phil collapses besides Dan and Dan turns onto his side, resting his head on Phil’s chest as his own chest heaves a few more times to catch his breath.

They lay like that for a while before Phil’s bladder starts to ache so he pushes out from under Dan and gets up to use the bathroom and clean up a bit.

He relieves his bladder and then stands at the sink, wetting down a washcloth as he scrubs away the now uncomfortable stickiness. He rinses the washcloth down again and places it on the edge of the sink so Dan can use it too. When he picks his head back up, he sees himself in the mirror and he can’t help but let a smile form on his lips.

He’d given up on dying his hair black a year ago so his hair is nice soft brown now. His quiff is a little sweaty, a little greasy, but it’s otherwise still styled perfectly. And his eyes look brighter. The blue in his irises is brighter than normal.

“When you’re done checking yourself out, can I use the bathroom? I really need to pee.”

Phil’s lets out a loud laugh as Dan’s voice rings through the door. He opens the door up to call back when he sees Dan is already standing right there, “You could have just come in?”

“Oh, so we’re that married couple already,” Dan teases.

Phil finds it endearing and he smiles as he leans over and kisses Dan’s cheek gently. Dan blushes and then shoves past him to use the toilet. He tosses Dan the washcloth when he’s done and Dan takes one swipe of the cloth on his skin and winces, “I need a shower. Let’s shower together.”

And suddenly Phil is being pulled to the shower with Dan leading the way.

If this is what being married to Dan is going to be like, he’s more than happy to be the one married to him.

Dan adjusts the water and then steps inside the curtain and holds his hand out, “Coming in?”

“I love you.”

The words come out of Phil’s mouth before he can really stop them. Dan lets out a giggle, “I love you too, you dork. Now get in here.”

Yeah. Phil smiles as he gets inside the warm mist with Dan hugging him close. He can’t for the rest of his life of this is how it’s going to be.

[imgonnaketchumall]

How would Ash spend his 16th birthday?

Ash isn’t big on his own birthday, honestly. If he’s traveling, he’ll probably just get calls from friends or whatever. He doesn’t dislike his birthday, he just doesn’t really care about doing a lot. If he’s out traveling, he’ll probably get ice cream or a treat.

His 16th birthday would be at home, probably. Ash wouldn’t want to have a big deal be made, but, it would be. His friends would come to visit, Gary would like to make a huge fuss over him, spending days prepping gifts and food. He’d take Ash out to lunch and give him a specially baked cake.

–

“Your mom wanted me to come to your house for her cake and presents.” Gary had kept Ash’s stuff away tucked away in his room. They’d open them later, alone in private. It wasn’t anything he was ashamed of, he just wanted to actually be alone with his boyfriend.

He can already see streamers and balloons tied on the mailbox of the house. Ash might’ve been oblivious to some things, but even he knew he wouldn’t get a quiet party.

Gary opened the door to the house and walked in with Ash.

“Surprise!” Everyone jumped out at once, and everyone seemed to be invited. Ash noticed almost all his traveling companions and their pokemon, too. There were the expcted: Professor Oak, Tracey, Misty, Brock. But then there were also May and Dawn, Serena and Clemont, and even Lillie and Professor Kukui!

“Happy Birthday, Kiddo.” Kukui came over to wrap Ash in a warm hug, ruffling his hair and hat off. He gives a nod and a small grin over to Gary, going to ruffle his sudo-son’s boyfriend’s hair as well. “Burnet wishes as well. She wishes she could be here, but the baby wasn’t feeling well. Rowlet wishes he could be here, too, Gary.” There’s a light tease.

“Happy Birthday, Ash.” Lillie goes to give the boy a hug. It’s quick and respectful, as is custom with Lillie. She’s dressed in her usual Alolan outfit of a white dress and white hat, Snowy at her feet. “Thank you Gary.” She respectfully thanks the brunette as well. “I’m so very glad to have been able to come to Kanto again as well.”

“Ash!” Gary steps back as May and Dawn come to hug him. “Happy Birthday!” Both the girls kiss his cheek in a friendly manner. There’s no flirtation involved, and Gary isn’t uncomfortable or jealous of the girls. He knows them well enough to know there’s nothing between Ash and them.

“Happy Birthday Bud.” Brock comes over to clasp Ash in a hug, just as they always have. “Sixteen. Who would’ve thought?”

Misty comes beside Brock and laughs. Her red hair is pulled loosely over her shoulder. “Thought what? Ash dating a human, or making it to sixteen?”

Ash laughs.”Probably both. Gary’s only somewhat human,” Ash teases. “You should’ve seen him in the morning, pre-beauty routine.”

Misty laughs. Brock wrinkles his nose. “You’re using protection, right?”Ash blushes, red in the face. Brock scowls. “Ashton Satoshi Ketchum.”

Ash scowls at his full name, pushing his hand to the older male. “Relax Brocko, we’ve not done anything yet. You think Gary isn’t going to use his head over something like that?”

“Hormones, Ash,” Brock pats the boy’s shoulder. “Hormones.” Brock looks over at the table of food and Mr. Mime. “I’ve got to go. Mrs. Ketchum, I’ll help you with the food,” he says loudly, rushing over to the table.

Misty giggles. “Still the same old Brock. I should go and make sure your mom’s got everything. Oh, is Tracey here? I should go say hi.”

As soon as Misty leaves a blond duo come over. “Hey Ash!”

“Hi Ash,” the blond girl giggles. She twirls at some bits of hair starting to frame her face. Her short blond hair had gotten longer, fixed up in a bow. She’s wearing a short dress and boots. “Happy Birthday,” she giggles. “How was your travels?”

“Pallet’s amazing, there’s so much science!” Clemont eyes Professor Oak and nods to Ash. “I’m going to talk to him. For science.” Ash laughs, knowing that Clemont can’t resist science.

“Then maybe try his grandson. He’s a researcher too.“ Clemont fixes his glasses and nods.

“How was your travels,” Serena giggles again. She’s become a bit more bold traveling around Hoenn. “I missed you.”

“Uh, I missed you guys too!” Ash rubs at the back of his neck.

“No, I missed you. Ash,” she says, eyes going softer. She reaches her hand out to grab his and Ash’s face reddens. “Travel with me to Sinnoh. It could be just us.We could stay in hotels,” she says giggling.

Ash’s eyes  widen and he steps back from her grip. Ash isn’t very good with relationships and flirting. But he does know one thing: he isn’t going to be like his dad. He would never do what he did. He would never hurt whomever he’s with. He grows uncomfortable, face reddening.

Gary catches the blond girl’s look and doesn’t take his eyes off her. Dawn and May notice and giggles.

“Ash, I’ve been--will you go out with me?” She blurts it out loud, loud enough that everyone stops. Eyes make their way over to Ash and Serena, with some looking at Gary.

“Serena, you’re nice and uh,” Ash awkwardly rubs his neck. “I uh, am kind of seeing someone...”

“Who is she?” Her voice is louder, but still a bit hurt. “I don’t see her. Is she here? If she’s your girlfriend then why wouldn’t she be at your birthday party?”

“Uh,” Ash’s mouth flaps open like a magikarp.

Gary hands his drink to Misty and saunters over to the two. With a sly smirk, he goes to wrap an arm around Ash’s shoulder and presses a long kiss to the boy’s temple.  Arm wrapped around Ash, Gary gives the boy’s ear a bit of a nip. “Happy Birthday, Ashy Boy.”

Ash’s face tints red. “Thanks Gary.”

Serena’s face turns white.She looks a the two of them and steps back. “O-oh. You--heh...” She steps back again. “I’m...I’m going to see Clemont...Hap-Happy Birthday, Ash.”

Gary grins at his boyfriend. “Anytime.” Eyes dance over to Mrs. Ketchum who is standing around the table with food. Brock is by her side, pink apron on and Mimey standing beside his trainer. Both look ready to start a cleaning battle. “Oh, your moms going to do it.” He snorts. “I cannot wait to text Red about this. Your pikachu dance. Hold on.” Gary snorts again and calls across the room. “Trace, you owe me. Told you!”

Tracey scowls,

Gary presses his lips to Ash’ cheek. “Happy Birthday, Ashy. Love you,” he mumbles softly.

--

basically Gary and Tracey bet if Delia would show Ash’s pikachu dance at his party. Tracey said Delia wouldn’t because she’s a respectful lady. Gary snorted and said you don’t know her do you

@askgarymfoak @champofpallet own their versions of Red and Gary.

[delightful-dragon]

OH AND MY ICEY MIMEY WOULDNT BE ABLE TO BE ON MY ACCOUNT IF I PLAY THRU SHIELD ON MY OWN ACCOUNT

[letswritefanfiction]

“There’s a reason I called you all here today.”

The room was dark and Giovanni sat in shadow. He could see the faces of the other four at the table, and they could see him, but he was certain they couldn’t make out his face. Unlike the rest of these idiots, he had rarely made the mistake of being seen in public; his identity wasn’t yet compromised, and it wasn’t about to ruin that today.

“It had better be a good one, for me to be seen with this idiot,” Archie growled, turning his head sharply to look at Maxie. “You know that Water Pokémon are the most plentiful variety of Pokémon, right?”

Maxie didn’t deign to look at Archie. “Where would you be sitting right now if the world were covered with water?”

“On my boat!”

“That’s enough,” Giovanni said firmly. He’d called this specific group of people together because of a single common bond, but perhaps that had been a miscalculation. If it was going to be like this—this being what he imagined wrangling preschoolers to be—then maybe he should have gone with a more loyal group. Less powerful and driven, but easy to control. It would have been safer.

“What’s the reason, Rocket?” Ghetsis asked.

He also hadn’t given any of them his name. They all knew of Team Rocket at this point, thanks to Jessie and James—the real impetus for this meeting—and just being the leader of the organization provided enough clout to this crew without having to give up his anonymity.

“We all have one thing in common,” Giovanni stated as the beginning of his planned speech. “Our plans have been foiled by this young man.”

He presented a photo of a one Ash Ketchum, the same ID photo that had been used in his League competition in Kalos. His image was enough to draw a reaction out of all of the men at the table.

“That damned kid!”

“Ah, of course.”

“I don’t know how he did it.”

The one not to respond was Cyrus, who hadn’t uttered a word since he arrived. However, Giovanni had a careful eye on all the men, and he noticed tension in Cyrus’ shoulders as he heaved a silent breath.

“My team has been trying to catch a single Pokémon of his for years,” Giovanni said, unable completely to tamper his annoyance. It was all he could do not to seethe. “And they have never succeeded.”

Archie smacked the table. “That Pikachu!”

Giovanni didn’t bother responding. “While the boy and his Pikachu are powerful in their own right, there’s one thing that lifts him up.”

“His companions.”

The answer came from Cyrus. Giovanni was a little irritated at his speech having been interrupted, but he continued on as if unfazed. “Yes. Without his friends—his backup—he would not be able to pull of the feats he did against any of our teams. And with this boy’s unique proficiency at showing up right where our plans are meant to take place, taking his strength out of the equation should leave a clear road ahead for all of us to follow through with our plans.”

“Even if our plans are counter to each other?” Maxie asked.

Giovanni waved him away. “That will be something for you both to work out. I only intend to provide the path. You can do with it what you will.”

“So what’s the plan?” Ghetsis asked.

Giovanni leaned forward, his arms going into the light as he placed his elbows on the table and steepled his hands.

“Well…”

*     *     *

It was when Ash arrived in the Melemele Island Pokémon Center that he heard.

He had already been on the island for a couple of days before hitting the Pokémon Center. He and his mom were just visiting Alola, thanks to Mimey winning a contest, but today was the day that he’d finally had a friendly Pokémon Battle. Pikachu hadn’t been injured, but it couldn’t hurt to stop in and give him a check-up anyway.

“Are you Ash Ketchum?”

Ash hadn’t even managed to hand Pikachu over to Nurse Joy before she was asking him, and he could only look on quizzically as he answered, “Yeah, that’s me.”

“You received a phone call from a Brock Slate yesterday morning. He said you should call him back as soon as you can.”

“Are you sure he didn’t want you to call him back?”

As much as Ash enjoyed receiving phone calls from Brock, this wouldn’t be the first time that the whole game of telephone tag devolved into more sad attempts from his friend to hit on one of the many Nurse Joys they communicated through.

This Nurse Joy, however, was confused. “Um, no? He said it was urgent, though, so I suggest you call him back promptly. Why don’t I take your Pokémon and you can make the call while we’re in the back?”

“Sounds good.”

Pikachu went willingly from Ash’s shoulder into Nurse Joy’s arms and, without any other Pokémon on him to be healed, Ash went to the video phones. He was no whiz with numbers, but, by now, Brock’s uni number was a familiar one. He dialed the digits and didn’t have to wait long before Brock picked up. His screen was already on and Ash could see his friend’s face turn quickly from being blank to one of urgency.

“Ash? Thank goodness you got my message.”

“Well, thanks for taking the time away from ogling Nurse Joy to leave it.”

“Ash. This is serious.”

Ash had never heard is friend use that tone of voice before. Of course they’d been in dire situations in the past, but something about the gravity in his voice, the clenching of his jaw, and the wildness of his eyes scared Ash straight. He was listening.

“What is it?”

“Misty’s missing.”

*     *     *

Ash ran out of the Pokémon Center with no more sense of a plan than he had to get moving.

Misty was missing. Her sisters had realized it sometime the day before at which point Misty couldn’t have been gone for more than a few hours. But she was definitely gone and there were no leads on where she might be or who might have taken her.

It was assumed that she’d been kidnapped. The Cerulean Gym had never invested in security cameras—though they certainly would be now, even though it was all but closing the barn door after the Taurus had all left—so someone easily could have slipped in, incapacitated her somehow, and made their way out with her, providing no one had been around. Which, it appeared, no one had been.

He hadn’t made it ten feet out the front door before his mom came out of nowhere, grabbing the back of his collar, and stopping him in his tracks.

Ash choked a little—his collar had dug in just under his Adam’s apple—and wheezed as his mom stepped in front of him with a stern look.

“Just where do you think you’re going, mister?”

“Misty’s been kidnapped!” he blurted out. “I have to save her!”

“Is that true?” Delia asked, her reaction unchanging despite the, in Ash’s opinion, world-changing information. “Then tell me: where’s Pikachu?”

Ash’s hand flew to his shoulder where, sure enough, Pikachu was not. He suddenly realized that, in his haste, he’d left Pikachu with Nurse Joy. Immediately, Ash turned around to run back into the Pokémon Center when, again, his mom pinched his collar.

Stopped once again, Ash batted his mom’s hand away and coughed a little. “Mom! What are you doing?”

“What are you doing, young man?” Delia asked. “How do you think you can help Misty right now?”

Truth be told, he hadn’t thought that far. Brock hadn’t provided him with enough information to go off of, and it hadn’t seemed as though the other boy had concocted any plan himself as of yet. But that didn’t stop Ash from thinking on the fly. “I just need to get to Kanto. She’s probably in Kanto, right? Then I can start looking for her and battle whoever did this!”

“That is exactly what you won’t be doing, mister. You have no idea where she is and, might I remind you, you have no way of getting back to Kanto right now. And, might I remind you, you have school. In about ten minutes. Principal Oak is expecting you.”

“School can wait!” Ash exclaimed. “My best friend has been kidnapped!”

“And there’s nothing you can do.” Finally, his mom’s expression melted from one of austerity to tenderness. “I really am sorry about Misty, and I hope to heaven she’s okay. But, Ashy, you have to understand that you being in Kanto or not isn’t going to do anything for her. I know you’re used to playing a heroic role in these things but, for once, can you just do a favor to your mom and go to school like a normal boy and saving the heroism for the professionals?”

No, Ash wanted to say. No, no, no, no. Misty needed his help. She rarely had before, and he wanted to be there in her time of need. But, unfortunately, he was once again in a totally different region from her, unable to give her anything other than his thoughts and prayers.

He wasn’t going to say yes. He couldn’t find it in him to do that, even for his mom. But he did look her in the eye and say the simplest truth he could: “I’m going to get Pikachu.”

*      *     *

In the five years Ash had gone to school, he’d never particularly liked it. He didn’t totally remember the details of it at this point, since it had been years since he’d spent regular time in a classroom, but he had vague memories of being really bored and getting in trouble for being distracted. He wouldn’t do well and then his mom would have to meet with his teacher and then she’d be sad. He hadn’t liked any of that. The only reasons he’d agreed to go to this school in Alola was because, 1.) Professor Oak had told him that Principal Oak would love to have him, and Ash wouldn’t want to refuse Professor Oak and 2.) it was called The Pokémon School. At the time, that had been enough for him.

Now, though, he wasn’t sure he would have been willing to sit at a desk even if the school had been called ‘The Pokémon School that Guarantees all who Enter Shall be Pokémon Masters and We’re just Going to Talk About Pokémon Except for When We’re Training with Them.’ Though that did sound really cool.

His mother had walked him to the classroom, probably knowing that he would have been late otherwise. Or made a run for it. Truly, he hadn’t ruled that latter option out yet. But, so far, he was the second person there, even though class was set to start in a couple minutes. The only other person was a girl wearing all white and she’d been furiously writing in a notebook since he’d arrived.

But as his leg bounced up and down like a jackhammer and Pikachu looked up at him from the desk with a worried expression, Ash knew he was bound to burst before class started. So, with a somewhat panicked tone, he shouted, “Hey! What’s your name?”

The girl turned around, startled. Ash wasn’t even sure she’d noticed that he was there until that moment. He put on a forced smile, hoping that he wasn’t scaring the girl. She did look a little uneasy.

“Oh—I’m Lillie.”

“I’m Ash! Nice to meet’cha!”

Lillie smiled—a timid one, but a smile nevertheless—and said, “Hi, Ash. Are you new?”

“Nah, I’m just here on vacation. Just coming to class today because I’m friends with Professor Oak and then I have to head back to Kanto.”

“That’s very interesting,” Lillie said. “It’s a shame you can’t stay longer.”

“Well, I was gonna,” Ash said. “But my friend, Misty has been kidnapped and I need to get home as soon as possible to rescue her.”

“Oh, dear!” Lillie’s hand flew up to her mouth and her eyes went incredibly wide. Her eyes were green, like Misty’s, but the tone was different. Misty’s had flecks of blue, while this girl’s were more golden. Totally different, really. “Did you say kidnapped?”

“That’s right.” Ash’s smile grew more forced and his leg was bouncing so much it was thumping his desk. Really, it was causing a great racket, and Pikachu was bouncing around on it a little. “And no one has any idea where she is.”

“That’s terrible!”

Just then, the rest of the class came trickling in. Two more girls and two boys, all of whom were chatting cheerfully, seemingly happy to be at school. Ash couldn’t relate.

Eyes immediately turned to him, as he stood out as an odd fixture in their small class. The girl with the long green hair smiled—a real one, not like his or Lillie’s—and said, “Alola! What’s your name?”

“His name is Ash and his friend has been kidnapped!”

Lillie blurted the words out and then covered her mouth with both hands, looking wildly between Ash and the green-haired girl.

“Is that true?” A boy with dark skin and wasn’t wearing a shirt took a step toward Ash, the question seemingly directed at him instead of Lillie.

Ash nodded, his eyes all crazy again as his mouth seemed stuck in a phony-bologna smile. “Yup. Found out today.”

“That’s just terrible,” the blue-haired girl said quietly. “You must feel awful.”

“Yeah, my mom says there’s nothing I can do about it.” He still didn’t believe that for a second, though. There was always an action to take. At the very least, he could go to Kanto. That would be a start.

“Of course you can’t,” the dark-skinned boy. “That should be left to the professionals.”

Ash grunted and turned away. “You sound just like my mom.”

The short boy looked at the other boy with wide eyes. “You sound just like mine too!”

“Well, I think Ash is right!” the green-haired girl said, punching a fist into her other hand. “His friend needs help—of course he should at least try!”

Just then, the professor came in. He was wearing a lab coat with no shirt underneath and a baseball cap. He wasn’t like any teacher Ash had ever seen before.

“Ah, I see everyone’s met our visitor for the day. Class, meet Ash Ketchum. Ash, I’m Professor Kukui. Everyone else, please introduce yourselves.”

Mallow, Lana, Kiawe, and Sophocles. And, of course, Lillie. Now Ash had a name for every face.

“Professor?” Sophocles asked, raising his hand before the Professor could begin his lesson. “Ash’s friend was kidnapped!”

Professor Kukui’s eyes widened. “Really, now? That’s terrible.”

“It’s the truth!” Mallow said, standing up. “And we want to help!”

The professor frowned. “I wish we could. But I think the best thing we can do for Ash is to take his mind off of it and try and distract him. So let’s get on with the lesson.”

Mallow sat down, looking defeated. She turned back in her chair to look at Ash with sad eyes. She shrugged and gave him an expression that said, I tried.

*     *     *

It was the next day, and he was still in Alola, when Ash learned of another call he’d received. He’d been hoping for one—that’s why he’d gone to the Pokémon Center in the first place; he’d wanted to hear if there had been any updates. However, this time the message was from Daisy, not Brock, and it turned out it was for the worst reason.

“Brock’s gone too?” Ash exclaimed, disbelief flooding him as Daisy looked at him tearfully.

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “The police told us this morning.”

“Why did they tell you?”

“They thought it could be related. Misty’s a Gym Leader and Brock used to be one.”

Ash shook his head. “No, then they would have taken Forrest, not Brock. That can’t be it.”

Daisy shrugged. “Well, we still don’t have anything else to go on.”

Ash narrowed his eyes, thinking as hard as he could. “Yeah, but we will.”

*     *     *

In Ash’s experience, all that was needed for ideas to come about was for more than one head to put themselves together. Right now he was one head. But very shortly, he would have more.

Ash ran the way to the Pokémon school. Against all odds, he was there for a second day. Well, maybe not all odds. It was what his mom had intended after all. But it sure hadn’t been his plan. Unlike the day before, however, he arrived in the classroom—early, mind you—and everyone else was already there.

“Ash!” Mallow exclaimed. “We were wondering if you’d be here!”

“We thought you’d be in Kanto by now,” Sophocles added.

Ash shook his head, panting as he tried to catch his breath. “My mom still won’t let me go. We’d have to buy new plane tickets and I don’t really have any other way of getting there.”

“Well, we’re glad you’re back,” Lana said quietly.

“Thanks, I’m glad to see all of you too, because our problems just got a lot bigger.”

“Our problems?” Kiawe asked. But Ash just barreled on.

“Another one of my friends has been kidnapped. He used to be the Gym Leader of the Pewter City Gym in Kanto.”

There were gasps around the room. The only one who stayed silent was Kiawe, though his eyes did widen.

“Ash, I’m so sorry!” Mallow cried.

“I wanted to ask your guys’ advice,” Ash said whilst throwing Mallow a grateful look. “These have to be related, right? One right after the other like that? So that has to be a clue. But I don’t know what it might mean.”

“Okay, let’s get the facts,” Lillie said. “They’re both in Kanto. Misty—Misty, right?—Misty is a Gym Leader, Brock used to be one. Umm…”

“They’re both good friends of yours, Ash?” Mallow asked.

“The best!”

“Like, actual best friends?”

Ash didn’t know what Mallow was getting at. He’d definitely used the term best friend before, but he’d never thought about his friends on a sliding scale before. Who might be ranked below or above another one. He just had a lot of friends!

“They both traveled with me for years. Sometimes all three of us, sometimes one of them and other people. But all three of us are, like, really, really, super good friends.”

“Do you have any enemies?”

That had Ash even more confused. He immediately started to say no. After all, most people he met he thought of as friends. But then he remembered all the bad things that had happened over the years. How many bad guys he’d met. Maybe Mallow was onto something.

“I guess I do.”

“Really?” Mallow actually looked surprised to hear the answer. “Powerful ones?”

Ash nodded. “Yeah, actually.”

“Oh my gosh!” she gasped. “Ash! That’s the clue! The clue is you!”

“Then I know what we need to do!” Sophocles said. “We need to give tracking devices to all your close friends, then we’ll see who’s taken next and where they go!”

“Sophocles, that’s ridiculous,” Kiawe said.

Ash, on the other hand, was intrigued. “How would we do that?”

“Well, I just need to whip up some small tracking devices—very common technology nowadays. And then we just need to ship them to your friends. How many do you think we’ll need?”

“Er…”

Ash had a lot of friends. Like, a lot. But he didn’t think he could ask Sophocles for the dozens and dozens of trackers that he would need for all of his friends. He had to narrow it down.

Lana suggested he think about his best friends. And while he still didn’t know how to separate those categories, he did know that Misty and Brock were two of his traveling companions. Two people that he’d been seen together with often. An innumerable amount of times. That was probably the place to start.

So that meant May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie…yeah, better stop there.

“Eight,” he answered definitively—before he could rethink it and get all tangled up. “But they live all over the world.”

“Hmm.” Sophocles put a finger to his chin. “Kiawe, think your Charizard could handle that?”

“What‽” Kiawe asked, nearly shrieking. “Of course not! In one day? No, Sophocles, it’s not possible.”

Sophocles threw his hands up. “What? I was just wondering!”

Then Lillie piped up. “I might be able to help.”

Everyone turned to look at her. Ash had noticed it the day before, but she was the only one of them who didn’t have a Pokémon out. For once, he wasn’t the strange one by allowing Pikachu out of his PokéBall all the time—lots of people in Alola seemed to do it. But not Lillie. He wasn’t even sure that she had any Pokémon, so he wondered what she intended to offer. And he wasn’t alone in that thought.

“What are you talking about, Lillie?” Mallow asked.

Cryptically, Lillie answered, “You don’t know my mother.”

*     *     *

The hard part, it turned out, was getting in touch with all of his friends. Fortunately, unlike him, most of his friends had PokéNavs and the like so they could receive calls remotely. Especially after he called them three and four times. They were bound to pick up then.

He did get a hold of each of them eventually, but it did take some time. And then there was the matter of specifically locating them for Lusamine—that was Lillie’s mother—to ship each of these trackers that Sophocles was putting together for each of them. Some were easy, like Cilan, who was at his Gym. Others were harder, like Dawn who was traveling through the middle of even she didn’t know where in Kalos.

But, luckily, all of his friends believed him when he told them that they might be in danger. Or if they didn’t directly believe him, they were willing to go along with it.

Then he just had to wait as slowly, one by one, they all appeared as little dots on Sophocles’ tracking device. After that, it was just a matter of waiting.

It was the middle of the night when Ash received a phone call—Sophocles had set him up with a longish-distance walkie-talkie of sorts—saying that one of the dots was on the move. Of course, that shouldn’t have been happening; all of his friends had already settled down to sleep for the night. So that meant that someone was being taken. And that their hypothesis was right.

“Who is it?” Ash asked groggily, still half-asleep.

“Clemont.”

*     *     *

When Ash made it to the Pokémon School—in the middle of the night with nothing more than a note for his mother—he was surprised to find everyone already there waiting for him. Everyone meaning Sophocles, Lillie, Mallow, Lana, and even Kiawe, though the latter of those looked very tired and unhappy. Mallow must have noticed Ash’s lingering gaze on Kiawe and said, “He flew here from Akala Island!”

Now, Ash had no idea where Akala Island was, but he did know that this was Melemele Island. An entirely different island must have meant that it was pretty far away. He wouldn’t have thought that Kiawe would have made a trip like that just for this. Just for him.

“Thanks, Kiawe,” Ash said.

Kiawe, for his part, shrugged. “Whoever’s doing this can’t get away with it. If I can help bring them down, then why wouldn’t I?”

“So what do we do now?” Lana asked, looking to Ash. Lillie, however, is the one who spoke up.

“Um, my mom actually thought of something.”

Hesitantly, Lillie pressed a button on the wall—one that Ash hadn’t noticed before—and a part of the wall opened like an elevator door. Lillie stepped inside with a shy smile and gestured everyone follow.

“Wow, how did your mom do this, Lillie?”

“She has a lot of resources.”

The next thing they knew, the group of humans—and their Pokémon—were being shot down a chute and into a chamber that held a Flygon, Altaria, Charizard, Garchomp, Metang, and Dragonair, all saddled up and ready to go.

“Woah, are these for us to ride?” Ash asked, his eyes wide and sparkling.

“Yes…Alolan ride Pokémon…”

Lillie’s voice was suddenly halting, nervous. She looked ahead of her—at the Altaria—and her face seemed even paler than usual.

“Lillie’s afraid of touching Pokémon,” Mallow explained, a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Lillie, however, shook it off.

“No, I can do it!” Lillie shouted, clenching her hands in front of her. “I just need to…close my eyes.”

She did exactly that and held a hand out. “Mallow, lead me there, please.”

An eyebrow arched, Mallow took hold of Lillie’s hand and began to lead her towards Altaria. Lillie was holding her breath, and her brows were furrowed to the point that they were nearly touching. But, nevertheless, she climbed atop Altaria, and let out a breath.

“It’s just a chair, it’s just a chair,” Lillie murmured to herself as she took hold of the handlebars. She wasn’t actually touching Altaria, so hopefully she would be fine.

Barely opening one eye, she looked back at the rest of the group, who were all still standing, watching her.

“Well? What are you waiting for‽”

*     *     *

Clemont’s dot had stopped moving on Sophocles’ map by the time they’d taken off, so everyone felt comfortable assuming that that’s where he was being held captive. Surprisingly, it wasn’t in Kalos, but off the coast of Kanto, which was fantastic, because that meant that Ash and his new friends didn’t even have to spend an hour in the air before touching down near where Clemont was meant to be.

“The dot is gone!” Sophocles exclaimed once they’d landed. “I don’t understand it!”

“But is this the spot, Sophocles?” Mallow asked.

Sophocles nodded his head vigorously. “This is the last place the dot was, and it moved quickly to get here. He must have been on a plane or something. But now it’s disappeared!”

“It’s still all we have to go on,”

“This is the spot,” Sophocles said once they all had landed. He should be somewhere around here.

Kanto’s east coast had many tiny islands, most of which held nothing more than a lot of sand. And the area where the group now stood with all their Pokémon was no different. The ocean was pockmarked with spots of sand, but there were no buildings around. Nowhere that a person might be hidden. They’d hit a dead end.

But not according to Lana.

“I know what we should do! Popplio, make a balloon!”

Ash watched as out of Popplio’s nose came a bubble, small at first, then growing, growing, growing until it was about a foot wide. Then, Lana stuck her head in it, without popping it, and dove into the water. She didn’t come back up, but Popplio started right away making another balloon.

“Oh! We’re supposed to dive underwater and see if they’re being held there!” Ash exclaimed. “Popplio, give me a balloon!”

Ash took the next one and popped it on his head—with Popplio making another small one for Pikachu—before following Lana under the water. With the balloon on his head, he could breathe and keep his eyes open. The balloon made it look like he was seeing the world from inside a fishbowl, but at least his eyes didn’t sting.

Then, all of a sudden, Lana looked back at Ash and pointed eagerly forward, suddenly swimming much quicker while Ash struggled to keep up. He realized that she was swimming into an underwater cove and followed her into it. It was totally dark. The cove must have been covered at the top, because very quickly there was no light to speak of at all. Then, all of a sudden, his bubble burst, and his head was above water.

Despite having been able to breathe, Ash gasped at the sudden fresh flow of oxygen, and he heard Lana breathing heavily next to him. Pikachu had climbed to the top of his head and was shaking the water out of his fur.

“Pikachu, can you make a little electricity so we can see?” he whispered. “But be careful of all the water.”

Pikachu obliged, only sparking a little at his cheeks, but suddenly the whole chamber lit up with flickering light, like Pikachu was holding a candle in his hands. And in front of him, he saw Misty, Brock, and Clemont, partially submerged, gagged, and seemingly chained to the wall.

All of them let out muffled shouts when they saw Ash in front of them. Ash couldn’t swim quick enough to get to his friends and rip their gags off. Lana was right behind him to do the same.

“Ash!” Misty exclaimed after Ash took her gag off. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Of course I am,” Ash said. “I wanted to save you right away, but I needed help first.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I’m just glad you came.”

“Clemont, Brock!” Ash exclaimed, clapping each of his other friends on the shoulder. “I’m so happy you’re all in the same spot!”

“Us too, Ash,” Brock said, “Thanks for the rescue.”

And as he looked around, he realized that—much like Mallow had surmised—there were many other spots along the wall where it looked like more people were meant to be held. More chains in place, just ready to lock another of his friends up.

“What did they do to you?” Ash asked Misty.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Misty answered with a shake of her head. “There’s a tube in the rock to let oxygen in from outside, and they do feed us and stuff. I think they’ve been keeping us here while they figure out what to do with us or something.”

“Have you seen your captors?”

That question came from Lana, and Clemont is the one who answered.

“No, it’s been pitch black. They must have night vision goggles or something in order to see us.”

Ash reached behind Misty to feel the metal chains that were keeping her hands in place. They were just like any other metal chains he’d ever seen. And there wasn’t much that either he or Pikachu could do about it.

“Ash,” Lana said. “If we wanna get them out, we’re gonna have to go back above ground.”

Ash looked back at Misty, has hand falling from her chains to her arm. He didn’t want to leave his friends. Not just after he’d found them, and not in this condition. But the quicker he got them out of there the better. He squeezed Misty’s arm.

“We’ll get you out of here in two shakes.”

*     *     *

It was quite the group effort to get Misty, Brock, and Clemont out of the cave. As Ash and Lana surfaced—as quickly as possible, as they no longer had Popplio’s bubbles on their side to help with breathing—Lana was the one who kept track of which ‘island’ the group was being kept under. And on which side of the rock they were all being held. Then all it took was the sacrifice of Kiawe touching one of his Turtonator’s spikes. Little did Ash know that that would trigger a huge explosion, creating a crater in the rock. Then Misty, Brock, and Clemont were accessible from the outside.

Ash then talked everyone through his tried and true method of breaking through metal. Turtonator was used to heat up the chains, Popplio cooled them down with some water, then Pikachu’s Iron Tail was all it took to free his three friends.

They would have been home free. If a helicopter had not appeared at just that moment.

Everyone stood back, holding their hands in front of their faces as the helicopter grew airbags on its landing skis and landed on the water. Then, out stepped a shouting man.

“How‽ How did you do it yet again?”

“Giovanni!” Ash, Misty, and Brock all shouted.

“Yes, apparently anonymity is no longer on my side,” Giovanni muttered to himself. Then he continued, “How have you thwarted my plans yet again? I had you right where I wanted you!”

“Plans?” Ash asked with a furrowed brow. “Why would you be kidnapping my friends? I thought you only stole Pokémon. And my friends aren’t Pokémon.”

“I wasn’t stealing your friends,” Giovanni snapped, his voice sharp. “I was separating them from you so that you were weak. But it seems you’ve made a whole host of new ones instead.”

Ash looked behind him at Lana, Mallow, Kiawe, Sophocles, and Lillie. They were all his friends now. Of course they were.

“You’re right,” Ash said simply. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them. Mallow is the one who figured out what was going on, Lillie and Sophocles gave us the materials to track my friends and bring us here, and Lana and Kiawe helped he save them. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that on my own.”

“But you made them so quickly! You’ve been in Alola for three days!”

Ash was a little concerned how Giovanni knew that about him. But before he could voice that, Misty spoke up for him, grabbing his hand.

“It’s because Ash is the most incredible, unique person that any of us know. If his new friends haven’t realized that yet, then they soon will, because everyone who meets Ash Ketchum walks away knowing that, right?”

Clemont was quick to answer. “Ash has inspired me in a way that no one else ever has. Traveling with him is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And it doesn’t matter how many more times I’m kidnapped for me to keep thinking that! …But please don’t.”

Misty nodded. “Exactly right. Me and him have never met, but we both think exactly the same about Ash. So you can isolate him and challenge him and try to stop him as many times as you want, but in the end, he will always rally for his friends, and they’ll always come for him. You lose, Giovanni, so call it quits.”

Giovanni stared between her and Ash for a few long seconds. Then he turned around dramatically and headed back into his helicopter before shouting, “This is not the end of Team Rainbow Rocket!”

After the helicopter flew into the distance and its sound dissipated, Ash doubled over in laughter. “Team Rainbow Rocket? What happened to plain old Team Rocket?”

“Are they trying to queerbait us?” Mallow asked, befuddled.

Misty shook her head, then turned back to Ash. “Really, Ash. Thanks for saving us.”

“Thanks for standing up for me, Mist. I didn’t know you had all those nice things to say about me.”

Misty blushed. “Yeah, well…” She trailed off, turning away towards land. “How are we going to get home?”

“You could take our ride Pokémon?” Lillie offered hesitantly. “Some of us can ride two to a Pokémon.”

“That’ll work for these two,” Clemont said, thumbing over at Brock and Misty, “But I think I’m going to need a plane.”

Lillie nodded. “We can do that too.”

*     *     *

Ash hadn’t put together that Lillie was rich until the group made their first stop at the nearest airport and she put down a card to pay for Clemont’s plane. Of course, Clemont insisted he pay, but there was one thing Lillie had that Clemont just didn’t and that was speed. She paid for the last minute flight in full before Clemont even realized what had happened.

Saying goodbye to a good friend, even when you hadn’t been expecting to see them, was quite hard. Ash was very practiced at goodbyes, but most of the time it didn’t make them easier. Everyone stood back while he and Clemont exchanged their farewells and Ash couldn’t help but apologize a couple more times for Clemont’s brief kidnapping. Then it was off to Cerulean City.

This time Brock was by his side as Ash said goodbye.

“I’m really sorry, Misty,” Ash said for the umpteenth time as he stood in front of the door to the Cerulean Gym.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him. “Even if this kind of thing happened every day, I would take it if it were the trade off for being your friend.”

“You’re just saying that,” Ash said, his eyes looking down towards his shoes.

“Nah.” That was Brock clapping him on the back. “We all would. It’s quite the deal for being friends with Ash Ketchum.”

Ash swallowed, his throat suddenly tight. “Thanks, guys.”

“Well,” Misty said after a moment, “you’d better be getting Brock off to Pewter City.”

Ash hesitated. It was so hard to say goodbye. “Guess so.”

Another beat. “Okay, then,” Misty said.

“It’ll be dark by the time we get back to Alola at this rate,” Kiawe said, cutting in. “And no one’s parents knows where we are except Lillie’s.”

Lillie tentatively raised a finger. “Kind of.”

“Right,” Misty agreed, her face suddenly flushed. Then, she quickly leaned in and gave Ash a peck on the cheek and ran to her front door with a wave. “I can’t thank you all enough! Bye-bye now!”

And then she was gone.

“Did that…” Brock started, staring at Ash, “did that just happen?”

“Aw, how cute!” Mallow exclaimed.

“She likes you!” Lana agreed.

“What‽” Ash shouted.

“You know, I’ve always suspected…” Brock mused, his thumb and forefinger to his chin.

“Even that blond guy seemed to like you a little bit,” Kiawe added.

“What‽” Ash was staring back and forth between all of them, unable to process what everyone seemed to be saying. “What? She was just…they’re grateful that…to all of us!”

“I think he just needs some time to accept it,” Lana said.

“That might be it,” Brock agreed.

“No, I don’t!”

“Fine, Ash,” Brock said, swinging an arm over his shoulders. “We agree with you. But the seed is planted. This conversation is not over.”

“But—”

“Oh, it’s over for the next long while,” Brock continued. “But it’ll come back. Just wait.”

Ash didn’t have anything more to say. Whatever arguments were still sitting on the tip of his tongue were falling away. He was outnumbered here. And while Ash wasn’t one to give up a challenge, this wasn’t one he was interested in playing with anymore. Brock was shelving it. That was enough. For now.

“So, this is what it’s like to be Ash’s friend…” Sophocles mused. “Interesting. I’m excited for it!”

“No, it’s—”

“Yes, it is,” Brock cut Ash off. “And like Misty said, none of us would have it any other way. You all are in for one heck of a ride.”

“Oh, we’re friends now?” Kiawe asked, his voice dry.

“Of course we are!” Mallow exclaimed. “You can’t go through something like this and not be friends!”

Mallow was right. There was something about surviving something together. Being saved by someone, or being the person doing the saving. It linked you in a way that other people didn’t understand. Ash and his friends knew that better than anyone.

“Ash is friends with everyone,” Brock stated, cutting through the static. “Legitimately everyone.”

He’d been saved so many times. And he’d done the saving just as many. All of his friends were special. And he had a lot of friends. So many friends. Just friends.

Right?

The seed was planted.

Pikachu tapped Ash from his place on Ash’s shoulder, bringing him back to the world. Ash blinked a few times and shook it off. He didn’t even know what he was thinking about. So, with a bright grin on his face, happy to have five brand new friends—and to have saved the day yet again—he said, “Off to Pewter and then back to Alola before my mom kills me!”

*     *     *

Meanwhile…

Giovanni was back in the room where he’d called the first meeting, in front of the failures he’d called partners, feeling humiliated yet again at the hands of a child.

“Foiled again!” he growled. “We didn’t account for the fact that he would make a whole posse of new friends in a matter of days.”

“If I may,” Cyrus spoke up, raising one finger and surprising everyone by speaking first. “Perhaps we should focus on the redheaded girl. She and the boy seem to have a particularly strong connection.”

“How do you know that?” Archie blurted out, for he sure hadn’t seen anything of the sort.

“I spied on their glorious return mission whilst our fearless leader was headed home on a private helicopter with his tail between his legs.”

It was all Giovanni could do not to spit with rage. Nevertheless, he had to admit, “Yes, there might be something there. Perhaps we were too ambitious, thinking we could cut out all of his closest, powerful friends…but if we focus our efforts on one…”

“Why her and not the spiky-haired boy that the majority of us saw travel with the boy for years?” Maxie asked.

“Because, he’s not the boy’s weak point,” Giovanni mused. “There’s always a weak point.”

“But no kidnapping this time,” Ghetsis raised. After all, it hadn’t gone well this time around.

“No kidnapping,” Giovanni declared. “At least not as the prime maneuver. But we’ll think of something. She’s important to the boy and that’s our way in.”

He steepled his fingers together, his face just barely catching the light.

“Team Rainbow Rocket is back in business.”