GPS: Hi! So I took someone's advice (whom I shall keep anonymous) and got the idea of creating a new story that is a semi-spin off of The World's in Your Hands and the Indigo League Anime. I hope you like! It's a spin-off in a way since it involves AshxErika, a couple that is essentially never mentioned.

Here are some things to keep in mind! Ash is 14-and-a-half in this story (I'm tired of him being 10) and Misty is also the same age. Brock is 17 and Erika is a few weeks shy of her 15th birthday. Everything up to this point is exactly the same as the anime. He is more than likely to catch a few different Pokemon, but that is still unknown. I hope you like!

I call this PerfumeClashShipping, since they had different opinions on perfume in the anime, but it says there is something called "BanShipping". Oddly enough, "Ban" with the appropriate tone means "petal" in Mandarin Chinese. Lol. (:

I own and gain nothing from this story!

I'll assign genders even though they didn't exist in Generation 1; I can't stand calling them "it" 'cause I use that to refer to an inanimate object.

This chapter will have moderate profanity.

Another huge thing that I would like to add; please read this story with an open mind. Misty and Brock will be/appear OOC but they will later be a major focus.

September 23, 1997

Ash, Misty, and Brock had finally just arrived to Celadon City after taking the arid path of Route 8. They were in awe at the spectacular sight of the plethora of skyscrapers and Ash was giddy that soon, he would be getting his fifth gym badge.

"Come on, you guys, let's make haste and get to the Pokémon gym," said Ash, but his two friends were nowhere to be seen. Pikachu pointed with his yellow paw in the direction and saw that Misty and Brock were both standing outside of a shop. "What are you guys looking at?"

"This perfume shop; you must come smell the local selection!" said Misty as entered the store. Brock followed suit and went in as well. Ash shrugged and went into the store as well and saw a saleswoman spraying perfume onto Misty's arm. She held it out for Ash and said, "Tell me what you think. I think it's just lovely."

"Well, I think it's just awful," said Ash after he smelled it. "It's a bit inappropriate for a girl your age, if you ask me. Too much of it will make older guys get the wrong vibe."

Misty gasped and lifted her index finger and was about to speak, but someone beat her to it. "How dare you say such a thing! This perfume is all-natural and obtained from the goodness of kind-hearted grass types, not synthetic oils!" Ash got a look at the female; she was dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono and a black hairstyle that complimented her outfit.

"Either way, it smells rancid!" commented Ash as he tried fanning the perfume that was diffusing across the shop. "I mean, look at this!" He pointed to a bottle that was a translucent blue and was about 3 inches tall. "Who in their right mind would pay ¥9600 for this?"

"So, you are insinuating that this shop sells overpriced perfume of low quality?" stated the manager.

"This is high-quality perfume?" stated Ash. "I could find better-smelling stuff in a Machoke's duffel bag!"

"Ash, your behavior reeks more than a sweaty Machoke, so please shut it," murmured Misty.

"Well, sweat is a sign of masculinity! Only sissies wear perfume!" said Ash in a somewhat satisfied disposition.

"Well, I never!" said the girl. "As the manager of this store, I must ask you to leave this instance."

"Ash, I think you'd better leave this lovely lady alone," said Brock as he went love-struck over the manager. She sweat dropped in embarrassment but also blushed slightly.

"Fine! I thank everyday that I'm a male!" stated Ash as he left the store without another word.

"I'm going to get a bite to eat," said Brock. "I'll be by the gym later to see Ash's battle." He, too, left the store and went to a small café across the street.

"The nerve of that raven-haired boy..." said the manager as she got another selection of perfume for Misty to sample. "Are you friends with him?"

"Yes...but I actually question myself as to why we still are," said Misty.

Meanwhile, Ash was aimlessly wandering across the gigantic metropolis of Celadon City, trying to find the gym. His stomach rumbled and he decided to get something to eat. After he got a sandwich at a nearby stand, he sat on a bench and watched the people walk about and mind their own business. He looked down and said to no one,

"Misty...I'm so sorry I acted that way...It's just...I don't wanna lose you. If you start wearing perfume, next you'll start wearing makeup and then leave...with someone else..." Ash shook the thought away and tried not to dare imagine the possibility of Misty leaving. He had so many feelings and thoughts he wanted to share for her; she had made what appeared to be advances before, but he played the "act dense and ignore it" card to play hard-to-get and utilize reverse psychology to make her want him more.

Ash followed a map on the street and arrived at the hard-to-miss Pokemon gym; its roof was shaped like a Vileplume. The boy ran up the flight of steps and arrived to electronic sliding doors where he was met by 13 girls-12 of them were making a semi-circle around the door and one of them was standing in the middle of said semi-circle. All of them had on the same outfit: khaki shorts with a belt, a tan shirt, and a red neck tie.

"Hi," said Ash as he looked at all the girls. "Which one of you is the gym leader?"

"None us are, and you can't come in," said the girl standing in the middle. She had a long blue ponytail and a serious look on her face that complimented her posture of folded arms.

"Excuse me?" said Ash as he blinked and sweat dropped.

"You heard what I said. The perfume shop on 2nd Street told informed us about a very rude teenager and authorized us to deny your entrance," said the blue ponytail girl.

"What does how I acted in the perfume shop have anything to do with not letting me in for a Pokemon gym battle?" questioned Ash as he had a blank stare on his face as he was completely lost.

A girl with short, curly brown hair approached Ash and said, "That perfume that smells like Machoke sweat, as she told us, is manufactured right here in this gym."

"So the truth is, you're the one who stinks!" resumed the blue-haired girl as she took out a huge red stamp and planted an X on Ash's face. The force was so tremendous that he fell over hard against the ground. He collected his thoughts and looked at the locked sliding door and said,

"Please? I'm begging you! I'm trying to be a Pokemon master!"

"Get lost!" said the blue-haired girl as she displayed an akanbe and left.

Ash moaned in distress and started walking down the stairs. Multiple people pointed and laughed at the red X on his face and he began to wipe it off with a napkin he had in his pocket from earlier. It was about 3 o'clock and the sun was beating down with its toughest intensity, so the raven-haired boy decided to sit down on a bench. Ash heard some rustling noises and then a voice said,

"Hey, twerp, did they deny your right to a gym battle?" It was Jessie from Team Rocket and she, James, and Meowth were all tied and hanging from a huge tree branch. They, too, all had red X's on their face and their arms were completely useless as they attempted to break the ropes.

"That's none of your concern, you crooks," said Ash as he started to walk away.

"Please, help us down here," said James pathetically as he was desperate to ask even the 14-year-old kid they stalked for help.

"Traitor! How do you stoop to his level?!" said an enraged Jessie as she managed to move her leg enough to kick James in the stomach.

"Whose side are you on?!" said Meowth.

A light bulb flashed in Jessie's mind; she devised a way on how to help both parties. "Hey, twerp, I know something that will definitely get you into that gym."

"What?" said Ash.

"Get us down first, then we'll talk," stated Jessie.

Ash knew that they were no-good crooks, but his instinct told him to trust them on this. "Pidgeotto, use wing attack to cut the ropes!"

"Pidgeo!" said the bird Pokemon as he left his Pokeball. With one swift attack, the three ropes were cut and the three Rocket members fell to the ground.

"Be more gentle, brat!" said an angered Jessie.

"Yeah, yeah. Now it's your end of the bargain. How are you going to help me get into that gym?" said Ash.

"Follow us," said James. Jessie and James lead Ash to the Celadon department store and went to the women's fashion.

"Why are we here?" said Ash who was a bit slow to catch on to what was going to happen.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Jessie. "This is your ticket into getting in that gym."

"By dressing up as a girl?" stated Ash with a hushed voice so that no one would hear him.

"Precisely," said Jessie. "In order to pass for a twerpette, you need to wear something that hides your...area the best and keep people from even noticing you are a guy. I'm thinking of a nice dress, but here is a question: do you have hair on your legs?"

"Uh...yeah?" said Ash a bit haltingly at the extremely awkward question.

"All right, just...go in that dressing room and we'll take care of it," said Meowth. Ash did as they told him and in about three minutes, they had returned with a collection of stuff. One was a rose red dress that had a petticoat in it (to hide his lack of curves) and a pair of black stockings that were so dark that it was virtually impossible to tell that he had hair on his legs. They also gave him a pair of matching red pumps and a wig of brown hair. They also gave him eye shadow and mascara and Jessie told him how to put it on. After about 10 minutes of getting ready, Ash looked into the mirror.

"Oh, my...Look at me!" said Ash surprisingly not in shock that most boys would have been in.

"Not even your own mother would recognize you!" stated Jessie.

"Great hair!" said James with a thumbs up.

"Now I'm going to earn a badge!" said Ash in his same voice.

"Uh-uh-uh, that doesn't sound very lady-like," said Jessie.

Ash repeated the same thing but with a surprisingly impressive female voice. However, unbeknownst to the cross-dresser, within his Pokeballs serious emotions were stirring up and a lost of trust was building up as they watched their trainer stoop to such a low level as he had not just now, but also at the perfume shop.

Ash, Jessie, who was wearing a pink kimono, glasses, and had her hair up in a bun, James, wearing khakis and a red shirt that had Meowth stuffed in it to look like a pot belly, arrived at the Pokemon gym. The electronic doors opened and the same girl who had stamped Ash's face greeted them.

"Hello, there, would you like to enroll your daughter in tonight's training session?" she said.

"Absolutely. Our daughter Vanessa would love to join and meet some friends!" said Jessie with her unaltered voice.

The blue-haired girl chuckled and said, "My name's Stephanie. Do you like perfume?"

"Is this some sort of trick question?" thought Ash. He feared that if he said no, they may not let him in. "Oh, of course! I just adore perfume!" he responded in his feminine voice.

"Excellent! Now, please follow me," said Stephanie as Ash followed her. He turned around and Team Rocket were blowing kisses as if they were his parents.

"Be a good little girl!" said Jessie as she waved good-bye.

"Bye, sweetie! Have fun!" said James. The two of them left out the front door and Ash turned back around until they had reached a large grassy forest-like area.

"This is the main training ground," said Stephanie. Ash was beyond stoked that his disguise made him invisible! He saw that there were a bunch of girls who were in their teens and they were gathered around a girl with short indigo hair telling a story.

"And Omanyte returned to the ocean. The end," she said as Ash heard the final sentence of the story. The females began clapping and Ash realized that both Brock and Misty were both there as well as Pikachu.

"Erika!" said Stephanie as waved at the girl with darker blue hair. "We have a new student!" Erika walked over to where Ash was and smiled warmly with her eyes closed.

"Welcome. So nice to meet you," said Erika with a polite attitude.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Ash as he shook hands with the blue-haired female. Ash got a good look at her face and gasped out loud, causing Erika to tilt her head. "The manager at the perfume shop!" he thought. He looked downwards with embarrassment and said nothing else.

"Is something the matter?" said Erika with concerned. Brock and Misty, both completely oblivious to their friend's disguise, approached Ash.

"I'm just...shy..." responded Ash with a titter as he looked away.

"No need to be," said Brock. "All the girls here just wanna be your friend. You don't have to worry about a thing."

Misty got in Ash's face at an uncomfortable distance and thoroughly looked at him. "You know, you sort of remind me of someone I have strong feelings for."

Ash gulped and his heart started pounding with excitement. "She has feelings...for me? Oh, if I could just tell her now!" he thought.

Ash looked at his feet and saw that Pikachu was right there. "Pika-pi!" said the yellow rodent as he hugged Ash's leg.

"Knock it off..." said Ash under his breath and slightly kicked Pikachu away."Pika-pi" was Pikachu's version of saying Ash and he didn't want his cover blown.

Pikachu gasped and felt betrayed that his beloved trainer did this to him. "Pika...chu!" said the mouse as he released a thunderbolt. Everyone in the room starting gasping at what the friendly rodent was doing to a seemingly innocent "girl".

Ash groaned and he placed a hand on his cheek. He looked back at it and saw that the makeup was dripping.

"...Are you okay?" asked Erika as she got some napkins from her purse. Ash took them and wiped off the mess, but all the sudden, his wig fell off!

"It's Ash!" shouted Misty and Brock.

"Yeah, it's me," he said as he resumed wiping off the makeup.

"You're that rude boy from the shop!" stated Erika as she pointed a finger at Ash.

"Yeah, but that's because you wouldn't let me into the gym!" stated Ash as he took out a Pokeball. "Let's battle."

"Very well, although I don't like you one bit for what you've said, I will fulfill my duty as the Celadon Gym Leader," said Erika.

"Come on, Pikachu, help me out," said Ash. He looked around and saw that Pikachu, Misty, nor Brock were nowhere to be found. "GUYS!" Ash shouted again. He ran out of the main arena and went to the front door where he caught the two gym leaders just in time. "Where are you going? I'm about to have my battle."

"Oh, I wouldn't watch it for the world," said Misty as she held Pikachu. "Ash, you crossed a line and broken my trust today. Well, today was more of the breaking point. You have been nothing but bad luck."

"What?!" shouted Ash as he couldn't believe his ears. Erika was eavesdropping on the situation from a corner, hidden from view.

"I hate to agree, but I can't lie," said Brock. "I mean, Sabrina turning us into a doll, the St. Anne disaster...Team Rocket on our trail every day...I didn't sign up for any of those when I wanted to travel with you."

Ash gasped and then Misty spoke. "You know, I had faith in you. Granted, I didn't outwardly express it, but I had thoughts you could be a good trainer. Now you've proven me wrong. You have convinced me that your dream of becoming a Pokemon master should just remain that way. You have no business if you stoop so low as to conceal yourself and fool everybody. Plus, your skills are mediocre at best. You have no knowledge of type match-ups, like at the Pewter Gym, and you have failed to get a badge on your first try at three gyms. That's just sad."

"Well, truth be told, you weren't a great help either; all you do is whine and worry only about yourself," stated Ash. "You always put me down and make me feel like shit, something a friend shouldn't be doing. Come on, Pikachu. We have a badge to earn."

The yellow rodent shook his head and then unleashed a powerful thunderbolt on his previous trainer. Ash coughed and wiped his eyes and said, "You, too, Pikachu? Must it be this way?"

"Pika!" he responded and went to Ash's hips. He pressed the buttons on the balls and all five of his other Pokemon came out. "Pika, kapi, pipi, chukapikachu!" he said and resumed talking with the other Pokemon and they stepped back with astonishment.

"Come on, guys, get back in your balls," stated Ash as he reached for Pidgeotto's ball. Primeape used an uppercut against his recent "trainer" and stole the boy's hat when he was on the ground. "I'm not joking, dammit!" shouted Ash. Charmander unleashed a flamethrower and Ash's clothes caught on fire! Squirtle "graciously" extinguished the flames with a full-force water gun and Ash was on his back, coughing and trying to get up. Once he finally did, he saw that all of them were at the bottom of the flight of stairs in front of the gym and running into the night of the giant city.

"You'll regret this someday! I swear it!" shouted Ash. He headed towards the nearby bathroom and took off the dress and other garments that he was wearing and put back on his standard clothes. He threw the clothes in the trash bin and went out the door, still soaking wet from the water attack. He sat on the top of the flight of stairs and looked into the gleaming lights of the Celadon skyline.

"Betrayed...by his friends and his entire team like that," thought Erika as she was by the front door of the gym looking at Ash. "Even though what he said at the shop earlier was beyond rude, I can't imagine what he must be feeling. He doesn't deserve that...still..."

Time had passed. It was now 9:30 p.m. and it was time to close the gym. Stephanie was walking towards the exit of the building but she saw Ash still sitting there.

"Hey, Erika?" she said.

"Yes?" said Erika as she was still speechless. She hadn't even returned to the training session that she was teaching earlier.

"That kid is still just sitting there. Should I kick him off the premises for loitering?" asked Stephanie.

"No...just leave him alone. I'll deal with him. You can just go out the back to avoid him," responded the indigo-haired gym leader.

"All right. See you tomorrow."

"Likewise."

Ash looked at the time on his PokeDex. It was now 10:28 p.m. and he normally would be asleep at this point or at least at a campfire with his friends. Former friends. He had nothing now. Not even his trademark hat, and most certainly, not his dignity. He blew it all for the sake of trying to impress Misty by getting the Celadon gym badge while she was out, but now...

"Go on a Pokemon journey, they say," said Ash out loud to no one. "It'll be fun and you'll make plenty of friends, they say. What a bunch of shit. I got nothing now. Is the end of my struggle in sight?"

...

All the sudden, Ash snapped. "FUCK! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, MISTY?! HOW LONG WERE YOU PLANNING THIS?!" He took off his backpack and threw it down to the very bottom of the stairs. It must've been at least 40 feet, but he honestly couldn't care less if the contents were damaged at this point. Ash resumed releasing steam and collapsed to the ground. He balled himself up in a fetal position and started rocking himself back and forth as he started crying uncontrollably. "I loved you, Misty! You pulled the world out from under me! I hope you're satisfied at what you've done to me."

Erika had witnessed Ash's slipping sanity from the comfort of the inside of the gym. Granted she didn't know him well, she felt horrible that he was suffering so much.

"Pikachu...you were my first partner...I thought I gave you everything I had, but you left me high and dry. Be safe...No! I want you to suffer like I am!" Ash started pulling at his hair and actually ripped some out. "No! I don't want anything to happen to you! I hope you find a better trainer...someone who isn't shitty like me..."

Some time had passed and Erika could pick up the negative aura that was transmitting; her heart strings were in pain from watching Ash's spaz attack.

Ash had finally managed to fall asleep, but he woke up at about 6 a.m. at the same spot. His clothes were drenched because it had rained while he was asleep and he felt a cold coming. Ash heard the pitter-patter of feet approaching him; was it Erika? He didn't move but he jumped in shock when something touched him.

"Ma?" said a voice. It sounded somewhat masculine, but it didn't really sound human either. Ash stirred in his sleep and finally was fully awake. He saw a short grey figure standing there with a warm smile; it was a Pokemon, and one that Ash hadn't seen before.

Ash reached for his electronic encyclopedia and pointed it at the figure. "Machop, the superpower Pokemon. They live mostly in the mountains and they practice weight lifting by hurling Pokemon such as Golem. They have almost infinite stamina and enjoy the company of people."

Ash scratched his head and said, "So you're a Machop, huh?"

"Chop," said the grey male Pokemon with a nod and a wag of his tail.

"My name is Ash-Ash the loser. You may not wanna hang around cause I may ruin your day," responded the human. Ash's stomach grumbled loudly; he hadn't had anything to eat since that sandwich yesterday and was truly starving. Machop tilted his head at the sound the boy's stomach made and went down the stairs to the grass and then out of view.

"So much for that..." said Ash as he turned back and looked to the gym. Upon careful inspection, he saw a figure with indigo hair that quickly vanished upon meeting his glance. "Was that Erika?" he stated.

"Chop, Machop?" said the confused fighting type as he offered Ash some berries.

"Thanks, little buddy. I was getting really hungry," said Ash as he patted the Pokemon on the head. Ash ate the blueberries greedily and belched with satisfaction after they were all gone. "So, it says you are from the mountains. Do you live around here?"

Machop nodded and ate some of the blueberries.

"Did you wander off? Do you have a trainer?"

The grey Pokemon shook his head no and continued to wag his tail.

"I had Pokemon..." started Ash as he wiped his face. "But now, I got nothing. My human friends left me, too, and I'm all alone now in this cold world." Machop looked at Ash with an interested look; it was clear that he was listening to the boy's sob story and could actually feel a bit of compassion. "See, I was aiming to be a Pokemon master. I won four gym badges already. See?" He opened his jacket and showed the badges to Machop. Machop nodded with approval and gave a thumbs up. Ash chuckled and patted his head again, earning a low response of the Pokemon's name and a tail wag.

Erika watched the scene from the inside and smiled. "He does seem to have a soft spot for Pokemon," she said to her Gloom.

"Gloom, Gloom!" said the Pokemon with a smile.

All the sudden, a voice reached Erika's ears. "Is that kid still here? Why haven't you reported him? He is trespassing!"

"I wouldn't qualify it as trespassing, Stephanie," said Erika. "Good morning to yourself," she added with a rather snide tone.

"What bug Pokemon bit you?" said Stephanie. "That boy is a cross-dressing dweeb who disrespects our art of perfume making! Why are you so defensive about him?"

"That is your accusation that does not have any merit," responded Erika as she sipped some herbal tea. "Please tend to the Pokemon. I must return to my house and talk to my parents about an important matter."

"Very well. Let us have a blooming good day!" said Stephanie with a cheerful tone.

"Ugh," said Erika as she face-palmed at the horrible pun.

Back with Ash, he finished talking with Machop about the whole ordeal of what happened yesterday. "I'm going to the Pokemon center and call my mom. Hopefully she can come here and pick me up to take back home. Nice talking to you, little buddy!"

"Chop?" said the fighting type. He watched Ash walk into the city and he followed suit. Erika then left the gym and followed the two; she had something she wanted to tell Ash but used the excuse of going back home to hide her intentions.

"Ash...what could you be doing?" thought Erika as she walked down the streets of her home city.

Well, there you go! Chapter 1 of my new story! I hope this somewhat original story is entertaining. Until next time!

Oh yeah, I want to add one more thing to simplify anybody's possible questions in the future.

Ash is 14 and a half years old, and he started on his 14th birthday, which is 4 years older than the legal age to become a trainer. Since the events up to this point go exactly as they had in the anime, it's understandable that a new upcoming trainer at 10 would be full of mistakes. However, Ash in this story did nothing during the 4 years he waited and therefore since he is more "mature", per se, it's a bit harder to excuse himself since he easily could have studied and minimized his carelessness. Misty and Brock, as well as his team, got tired of Ash being unable to recognize and learn from the mistakes that he has made, plus all the stuff such as St. Anne, Sabrina, Team Rocket, etc., that have jeopardized their lives. That's the basis of their betrayal, and since Pikachu had a very strong bond with the other 4 Pokemon (not so much as with Primeape since he's new), that's why he let them go and his dialogue was essentially informing them of what I just said and they essentially realized that Pikachu is pretty much correct.

As for the Pokeball thing, they were able to witness Ash aiding the enemy to fulfill his desire of getting into the gym. They saw that as a sign of betrayal since, well, Team Rocket is the enemy. I hope this clarifies.