Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Pokemon. Wish I did though.
On their way back to Pallet Town, Ash and Misty were once again camping out for the night.
"Misty?" Ash whispered, a second later wondering if she even heard him. But a low "hmmm" coming from his right let him know that she wasn't totally asleep yet.
The cold darkness had slipped over them, and the gentle breathing of the Pokemon were the only sounds emanating through the air. Ash had recently lost in the Hooen League tournament. He had been one round away from the finals. He was so close to victory, he could envision the crowds of people congratulating him. But, it was not meant to be. Pikachu was his safety net. It was his star Pokemon. He could always count on the bond that he and Pikachu shared to pull him through a tight jam. But the opponent's Pokemon was just too powerful.
Now, he has competed in quite a few tournaments, but this being his fourth, and him being so sure he could win it...It just really brought him down. Doubt was Ash's worst enemy. He was completely unsure of himself. Yes, he's done increasingly better in each major competition, but it's felt like he's been at this for such a long time.
His recent loss was beginning to eat away at him. How much more training do I have to do? How high of a level do my Pokemon need to be? No matter how good I get, there will always be someone better than me. Someone will always be there to steal away my hard earned position of champion. Perhaps I'll never become a Pokemon Master: These questions were popping up much more frequently in conversation. So, the next thing Ash said came as no shock to Misty.
"I was just wondering, do you think I can reach my goal?" he questioned, not really looking for some ego stroking, but he certainly wouldn't have minded it.
Misty turned sleepily towards Ash, her sleeping bag making a slight rustling sound as it moved along with her over the grassy ground.
"Goal? What? Pokemon Master?" She attempted to fight the sleep that kept trying to pull her away from the conversation.
"Yeah, do you think I'm wasting my time...Setting my sights on something that's too hard to obtain?" he asked, turning on his side, and supporting his head with his hand.
Misty was hoping she didn't hear him correctly. "Please tell me this isn't about your loss in the league," she said, a yawn escaping her lips.
"No, it's about my loss in several leagues," Ash began, frustration coursing through him. "I just feel...sometimes, that I'm wasting my time. My childhood is fading away, and I'm spending what little youth I have bumming shelter and food off people, and sleeping on dirt roads-"
Misty shook her head. She could already feel the annoyance of yet another long "convince Ash he's a good Pokemon trainer" argument about to begin. "And what would you rather be doing? Sitting at home playing video games and watching Pokemon battles from your living room? Please, Ash, that's ridiculous." Misty unwrapped herself from the confines of her sleeping bag, and sat up, straining her eyes to focus through the darkness in an effort to see Ash more clearly.
Sighing heavily, Ash continued to relay his worries," I know, but, Misty, every time I get my chance to actually take a step forward I manage to screw it up. So, instead, with every competition I lose it just seems like I'm sealing my fate of being a nobody. "
She could hear the distress in his voice. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness so that she could now make out his face. She knew what he was thinking. "I can't tell you what you want to hear, because I don't know the future, Ash. I don't know if you actually will become a Pokemon Master. I don't know." She watched as his gaze dropped away from her. "But...," she continued, trying to regain his attention, "I can give you my opinion, and my opinion is that I think you have what it takes. You have that spirit, that strength-the determination it takes to reach your goal. You just got to keep believing in yourself. And, most importantly, you can't give up. Because once you do, then you've really sealed your fate."
Ash seemed uninspired by Misty's speech. "I hear what you're saying, Mist. Everything just feels so impossible sometimes. There is so much pressure, and so many obstacles...and at the end, I don't know if it will be worth it. It feels like I'm letting everybody down."
Something in Ash's words struck Misty. She knew that the next thing she would say would not be in a hushed whisper, and in respect of the Pokemon who were still sleeping, she bounded out of camp, and into the forest.
Ash was shocked by the disgruntled expression on Misty's face, and worried by her sudden exit, he immediately followed her.
She hadn't gone too far, as Ash found her facing a large tree that they had passed a few hours ago. They had even momentarily considered camping out under it before finding their current camping spot. "Misty, what's wrong? What happened?" Ash asked, confused.
Misty turned toward him, obviously upset about something because her expression was unchanged. "God, Ash! Do you really think you are the only one who has doubts?! Do you really think you are the only one who thinks they'll never make it?!" Misty screamed out in aggravation ."That thought crosses my mind at least once a day," she admitted angrily. "But you don't hear me whining about it every time I lose a battle, do you? Stop feeling sorry for yourself! You should be lucky that you have people like me who constantly reassure you. I bet even if you were to have lost in the first round of the Hooen League, your mother would have still been proud of you. Do you think my sisters were proud of me when they found out I finished in the top eight of the Whirlpool competition? No, the only thing they cared about was that I lost, and that will be used against me for the rest of my life," she finished, emphasizing the last four words.
Ash felt the realization seep through him as he looked at the tears glistening in Misty's eyes, which were now quite bloodshot.
"Get over yourself, Ash." Misty whispered monotonously, looking away from him.
"Misty, I..." But before Ash had a chance to respond, a loud explosion was heard back at camp. They gave each other fleeting looks before running towards the commotion. They both had an idea of what could be happening, and once they arrived, they were unfortunately correct in their suspicions.
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu was desperately struggling to free itself from another of Team Rocket's crazy robots. But, the claw that was gripping Pikachu was obviously electricity proof as Ash and Misty observed Pikachu's attacks being nullified.
"Team Rocket!" Ash growled in contempt.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Jessie and James' laugh could be heard coming from inside the star-shaped machine that sported arms and legs. A panel in the middle slid open so that Team Rocket were now visible as they sat at their control panel. Meowth appeared to be manning the main switch that was directing the claw that confined Pikachu.
"Prepare for night time trouble!"
"And we'll make your nightmares double!"
"To protect the world from the break of day!"
"Because we are never going to go away!"
"To denounce the evil of sun and light!"
"To extend our reach to the stars so bright!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! Dat's right!-"
"Wobbuffet!" said Wobbuffet, excitedly saluting as it popped out of it's Pokeball while squishing Jessie against the wall in the already cramped machine.
"Wobbuffet..." Jessie snarled, grabbing her Pokeball and returning Wobbuffet.
By the time Team Rocket finished their motto Ash and Misty had already checked their bags to make sure they still had their other Pokemon. After finding out that they did, they immediately took action.
"Treeko, go!" Ash said, releasing his grumpy grass type.
"Politoad, I choose you!" Misty called, letting out her cheerful frog.
James looked to Jessie worriedly. "Um, Jess, maybe we should have taken their other Pokemon too."
"So, why didn't you do that?" Jessie questioned annoyed.
"I was waiting for you to tell me to," James explained apprehensively.
Jessie rolled her eyes, while bringing out a pocket size mirror to admire herself. "Why do I have to think of everything? It's not enough that I have to keep up this gorgeous figure, and beautiful complexion-"
"Uh, guys, I hate to distoib you, but the twerps ain't lookin too happy," Meowth pointed out the teen's angry glares and their Pokemon in attack positions.
"Give Pikachu back!" Ash shouted threateningly, his fist clenched in the air.
"In your dreams, twerp!" James called back in defiance.
"Have it your way! Treeko, tackle attack that thing!" Ash commanded, pointing toward the mechanical claw.
Treeko sprung into action, gaining speed as it ran and smashed into the limb with all it's strength, instantly breaking it apart, and setting Pikachu free.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu smiled as it ran up into Ash's arms.
"Pikachu!" Ash cuddled the Pokemon lovingly.
Misty looked on happily, but then she noticed Team Rocket trying to set something off from inside the machine.
"Meowth, do something! Isn't there some kind of weapon on this thing?" Jessie screeched worriedly.
"There was supposed ta be a really powerful light ray built in dat works like hyperbeam, but it's malfunctionin!' Meowth cried, desperately pounding on the powerless button that activates the ray.
Ash and Misty looked at each other. They didn't need to speak, they already knew what the other was thinking thanks to years of sending Team Rocket blasting off together. They simply nodded in recognition, before, "Pikachu/Politoad, thunderbolt/watergun attack!"
The electricity traveled with the stream of water, and the two combined attacks reached Team Rocket's machine(which picked the perfect time to let off it's hyperbeam) leading to a large explosion sending the star robot and Team Rocket-
"We're blasting off again!"
Ash, Misty, and the Pokemon watched the star fly up to the night sky, and disappear into the distance.
"So, did you make a wish?" Ash questioned, confusing Misty.
"Huh?"
"A shooting star," Ash pointed out, referring to Team Rocket's star machine.
Misty let out a small laugh as she looked toward the sky. When she looked back to Ash, his face was strangely serious.
"Um..." Ash started, scratching his head nervously. "I'm really sorry I was acting like such a baby before."
"No, Ash." Misty shook her head, her anger had long faded away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that-"
"You were right though, Misty. I'm not the only one going through this stuff. I should have been more supportive toward you, but I was just thinking of myself." He looked down at the ground, ashamed. He wanted Misty to know that he thought very highly of her. "I'm always proud of you because I know that you are a great Pokemon trainer, and I think that someday you will be a Water Pokemon Master." Ash looked back up, making sure to look directly into Misty's eyes so that she knew that he was being totally honest when saying these last words, " I believe in you."
It wasn't often that Misty heard words like that, and it meant a great deal coming from Ash. "Thanks Ash," she said, genuinely happy.
"You don't need to thank me, I mean it. I'm just sorry I don't say it enough."
They smiled at each other as an idea struck Ash. "Hey, how about this, we make a pact."
Misty was curious, her eyebrow raised inquisitively. "What kind of pact?"
"That we'll always be there for each other. You'll take care of me, and I'll take care of you. We'll never stop believing in each other. I'll never let you give up on your dream, and you'll never let me give up on mine," Ash stated the "rules" as he held out his hand like he was about to arm wrestle with her.
Misty giggled. "It's a deal. We're a team. Just the two of us," she emphasized, sealing the agreement by clasping her hand with his.
"Right. Because together, we're unstoppable." Ash announced happily.
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Once they made it to Ash's house, they were surprised to find a unexpected visitor staying over. His mother said that Duplica had dropped by and mentioned she was a friend of his, so she of course offered to let her stay at the house. While he was very happy that his mother was being so nice to Duplica, who was in fact a friend of his, it still made Ash worry greatly. That would mean that anyone who claimed to be a friend got free room and board in Ash's house. Who knows how many people had slept in Ash's bed while he's been gone.
As they sat at the dinner table that night Ash and Misty learned that tomorrow Duplica and Tracey were going to be reading a story written and illustrated by them for the kindergartners at the local school for Kids Day. Duplica was always happy to entertain a crowd. However, she was in charge of writing the story, and Tracey was obviously going to take care of the pictures, but Duplica still didn't know what to write about. That is, until Misty had relayed the previous day's happenings.
Inspired by Misty's story, she locked herself in Ash's room(much to the dismay of Ash and Misty who were forced to spend the night on the couch and on the floor in the living room), so that she could finish the story before the morning. That way she gave Tracey enough time to complete the illustrations the next day. She titled her story "The Pact" obviously referring to Ash and Misty's agreement the day before. Of course, Duplica's version of the pact was a lot simpler and not nearly as emotional. Plus, it had a lot of cool Ditto transformations, and she had somehow incorporated herself into a lead role, which she felt added excitement to the story.
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The next day...
"...and then Rash said, "Let's take care of each other. You don't give up, I wont give up. We're a team. Deal?" He offered his hand to Bisty.
Bisty, smiling, said, "Deal. We are a team. We'll be unbeatable. Just the two of us. Forever." She took his hand, and they sealed the pact.
As they held hands and looked into each other's eyes, they knew it was meant to be. Love. So they leaned in and made a different kind of pact, this time sealing it with a kiss.
After that day, Rash and Bisty were never apart. They went on to beat Team Rocket, catch lots of great Pokemon, and become Pokemon Masters. And most importantly, they lived happily ever after under the great leadership of Elite Four member Suplica and her amazing troop of Ditto!
The end."
"Yay!!!!" cried the 5 year-olds from the classroom floor as they all applauded excitedly, glad that the story had a happy ending for Rash and Bisty and the really cool Suplica.
The real Rash and Bisty(or Ash and Misty), who were sitting in the back row in kiddy chairs, were beet red. They watched on as Duplica finished her representation of the story. Neither Ash nor Misty was happy about the added kiss at the end. Duplica claimed that it enhanced the story by giving the kids that touch of fairy tale love that they liked to hear. Ash and Misty were not convinced by this, but Duplica again tried to soothe their worries by explaining that the kids would never know it was really them anyway, because the characters had completely different names.
They both thought about that now as they watched Tracey put away one of the sketches he had made to go along with the story. Tracey's version of Bisty and Rash was identical to Ash and Misty, and neither felt comfortable watching their drawn selves sharing a kiss.
"Remind me not to tell things to Duplica anymore." Misty mentioned in annoyance while thinking about somehow snatching the rather large kiss sketch without Tracey noticing. But then she'd have to wrap it up and send it back home without Ash finding out she had it, and then she'd have to make sure her sisters don't open it once it arrives...Maybe she'll just bribe Tracey to draw her a pocket size one.
"You didn't know that already?" Ash asked, still quite embarrassed by this whole day. He remembered when Kids Day used to be a lot of fun. That's when he noticed a smiling little girl with glasses walking up to him.
It made him feel better to see that his embarrassment wasn't a total waste. "Hello there," he greeted happily.
"Hey, sweetheart," Misty said, also noticing the little girl.
"Rash, Bisty, are you get mawwied?" the innocent little girl beamed as she looked from Misty to Ash in anticipation.
All Ash could do was continue smiling as he clenched and unclenched his fist. "Heh, heh, heh..."
Misty's face rivaled her hair in color. She simply ignored the question, choosing instead to rest her forehead on Ash's shoulder, wishing she could disappear.
The little girl stood bewildered at the teen's behavior. "Did I shay sometin woeng?"
A/N: No romance from Togepretty? Did hell freeze over? Nah, I wrote this to cheer myself up. Just a silly friendship fic, with a comedic twist at the end. Please review. Constructive criticism is welcome. ^_^