Through thick and thin

I do not own Pokémon

A/N: in this story Ash and May are fourteen

It was a pleasant spring day. It was warm, there was a nice breeze and the birds were chirping. Ash and May have finished competing in Hoenn and he decided to join her on her Johto quest. Brock has moved on to another adventure and Max was back at home. They were now passing through Ilex Forest on their way to Goldenrod City. Despite it being late morning, the tree tops obscured the bright blue skies. After cutting down a tree that was in their way they came across a shrine.

"What's this?" pondered May.

"In honor of Celebi. The guardian of the forest." She read.

"Hmm… I wonder who Celebi is…" she wondered aloud.

"Probably the forest ranger." Said Ash with a shrug as they went on after inspecting the shrine. Shortly afterwards, the sky suddenly went dark and stormy. May gasped and grabbed onto Ash's arm.

"What… what's going on here?" inquired Ash. Suddenly a Celebi appeared in front of them, an angry glare on its face. May whimpered.

"I sure hope that's not the Celebi we were talking about… it doesn't look too friendly…"

Ash gulped.

"I think it is May…" he said and stood in front of her in order to shield her for the wild Pokémon.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he bellowed at the intimidating Pokémon. Celebi's eyes shone bright blue, and before they knew it, they heard Celebi's voice in their head.

"You have trespassed on holy ground. Humans are forbidden from being around Celebi's shrine. As punishment, you two are to be banished to a place of eternal cold and solitude."

May screamed in fear and grabbed onto Ash's arm so hard it hurt as Celebi's eyes shone once more. The next thing they knew they were gone and found themselves on the summit of a freezing snowy mountain. May shrieked and covered her chest with her arms.

"I'm so cold…" she muttered softly as the snowstorm around them turned into a blizzard. Ash hurried towards her and gave her his jacket. She looked at him in surprise.

"But you'll be cold."

He shook his head.

"Don't worry about that now May. We need to find shelter." He insisted and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they paced around the mountain trying to find a place too stay. Ash looked around them. The sky was gray with thick clouds, it was snowing heavily and the wind was howling like a ghost. May sighed.

"Where are we?"

Ash shook his head.

"I don't know. But I sure wouldn't want to stay here longer than we have to." He said bitterly. After a few more minutes of walking, May started to tremble. Ash faced her.

"Are you okay May?"

"So cold…" she said as tears fell down her cheeks. Ash decided to do something he'd never thought he'd have the guts to do. He wrapped May in a hug trying to use his body heat to warm her. She hummed softly in his embrace. She could feel herself melt in his arms. After about thirty seconds he let go.

"Feel better?" he asked. She smiled meekly at him.

"Yes. Thank you Ash."

"Don't mention it. Now let's keep going. We need to find a place to stay." they kept looking and looking but found nothing. Finally Ash had a different idea. He led them to the least stormy side of the mountain and threw a pokeball into the air.

"Squirtle go!" he commanded.

"Squirtle." Came the sound as the Pokémon appeared on the snow.

"Squirtle, use water gun onto the air long enough for it to freeze and form an igloo!" commanded Ash.

"Squirtle." Nodded the Pokémon and did as it was told. Given the sub zero temperatures, it didn't take long for the water to freeze. Ash kicked in a small hole for a door opening and helped May inside, then he and Squirtle got in. Ash placed the crumbled door piece around the opening and immediately felt a surge of warmth overcome him. He sighed with relief, knowing they were safe for the time being. His thoughts were cut short by the sound of crying. He looked around him. On the other side of the igloo sat May hugging her knees, crying softly. Ash crawled towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"May?"

"It hurts… it hurts so badly… and I'm scared…"

Ash frowned.

"What hurts?"

"My head…" she said between sobs. Ash placed a hand on her forehead.

"You're burning up…" he said wordily. He helped her lie down on the ground.

"Lie down May. You need to rest…" he said and helped her relax. He opened her backpack and placed her sleeping bag on her.

"Here. This should keep you warm." He said and she smiled sweetly at him. Ash leaned over her.

"Stay here May. I'm going to get use some firewood."

May looked up.

"But Ash it's snowing like crazy out there. You can't go out like this in this… weather…" she trialed off. By the time she spoke he was gone. She sighed and laid back down.

"That Ash… it's so sweet that he cares like that but I don't want him to get hurt became of me… I shouldn't have taken his jacket…" before she could think any more, May passed out. When she came to, the igloo was filled with warmth and a smell of cooked poultry. She sat up and groaned.

"Ash?" she asked.

He smiled at her.

"Hey May, glad to see you're awake."

She rubbed her eyes.

"How long was I out?"

"A long tie. I'm just making dinner now."

"You are? Since when do you know how to cook?"

"Since Brock taught me."

May smiled.

"Sounds good. What are you making?"

"Cooked Pidgey." He said as he stirred the pot.

"Sounds great. When is it gonna be ready? It smells wonderful."

Ash pretended to be thinking.

"Oh, I'd see in about two and a half minutes ago…" he teased. May pulled his hat down.

"Wise guy." She said teasingly and he chuckled.

"Glad you're feeling better May." He said and dished out a bowl for the two of them.

"Enjoy May." He said and she smiled sweetly at him.

That night, they had to sleep close to each other became there wasn't enough room in the igloo. Both had a hard time falling asleep, fearing for their lives and their future. Ash was the one to fall sleep first. An hour later so did May. But her sleep was short lived. It around two AM, she woke up and found out the blizzard has stopped. She looked around her. All that was there were Ash, Pikachu and their belongings. They were stuck on a frozen hilltop in the middle of nowhere. Will they ever make it home? A tear made its way to her face and warmed it up as it slipped down her skin. Then came another… she didn't want to wake Ash up, so she buried her face in her sleeping bag, trying to choke the sobs away. But Ash heard them. He woke up and found May lying on the ground, weeping softly. Ash could never stand seeing his friends cry. Especially if they were girls. He leaned forward and scooped May up like a kitten and brought her into his arms as she sobbed a little more loudly.

"Shh…" he soothed her.

"Shhh…" he repeated softly. He soothed her like her parents would when she was little. He continued to sooth her as she rested in his arms. After a while she became silent and rested in his arms.

"Are we ever gonna find our ay home Ash?"

She could feel him take a deep breath and then release it as he sighed.

"I don't know. But I promise you May, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe for as long as I can. Even if we do die out here…" May let a few more tears slip down her cheeks in silence. Ash gently lay back down on his sleeping bag with May's head on his chest.

"Let's try to get some sleep okay May? Hopefully tomorrow we'll make it off this place…"

"You promise?"

He smiled.

"I swear it."

She smiled too.

"Works for me…" she said tiredly and rested her head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her as she slowly drifted to sleep in her trusty friend's embrace. Ash soon followed.

The next morning Ash woke up first. He could see blue skies through the igloo. He wanted to go check things out but he remembered he had a pretty girl resting in his arms. So he simply lay there silently for a while until she woke up. Twenty minutes later, she stirred a bit and opened her eyes. She looked up groggily and looked into his eyes.

"Good morning Ash. How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well given the circumstances. How about you?"

"Like a baby. I didn't know you're like a teddy bear." She said sweetly and he blushed. She smiled playfully and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Let's go." she said and got off him. The group packed their stuff and walked out of the igloo and looked around them. The view has cleared up significantly since last night. Ash took in the view.

"See anything familiar?" asked May.

Ash frowned.

"Maybe…." He said. Then he gasped.

"I think I know where we are!" he said and crouched next to his pack and started rummaging through it.

"What? Where? Where are we?"

"I'll tell you in a minute May. Ii just want to be sure." He said and continued rummaging through his backpack. Finally he declared.

"Aha! There it is." He said and took out a black object and placed it in front of his eyes.

"Where did you get those binoculars Ash?" asked May.

"Brock gave them to me a few years ago."

"They look pretty strong." She said.

"They are." replied Ash and focused on his target. At first he saw a mushy blur of color and shapes. He tried to adjust it.

"There we go…" he muttered. A sight of houses was revealed to him.

"What do you see Ash?" she asked.

"I see a town."

"A town? That's fantastic! It means we're saved."

"I know. I'm just trying to figure out which town. If my gut does not deceive me, it's on the Johto side of the border.

"The Johto side of the border? But that can only mean…"

"Yes I just found the sign. New Bark Town."

"So that means we're on Mount Silver…" said May.

"Indeed we are. Let's go." Said Ash and motioned towards the downhill towards the town bellow.

"Hey Ash?"

He turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Doesn't Red train up here?"

"Who?"

"Red? You remember you told me about him? He used too be the champion. Maybe he can help us."

Ash blinked. Then realization dawned on him.

"Oh THAT Red… I'm sorry May but he doesn't train here anymore. I always wanted to challenge him but he retired three years before I started my Pokémon journey and went back to school."

May looked at him in disappointment.

"So he's not here?"

"I'm afraid not. But maybe he's in New Bark Town. I've always wanted to meet him."

May sweat dropped at his enthusiasm.

"We can meet your childhood hero later Ash. Right now I'm more concerned about our survival.

He smiled.

"Of course, of course." He said. He presented his hand.

"Shall we?" he asked and she nodded and walked behind him, letting him take the lead. It seemed like the town was at just the foot of the hill and was a four hour walk down. The first two hours went on without incident. After half an hour it started to get cloudy again. A half hour later, it started to rain. May moaned miserably. Ash placed his jacket around her again.

"Ash, you really don't have to, I don't want you to get sick." but Ash placed his finger on her lips to silence her.

"My main concern is you May. If me catching a cold means keeping you safe, then that's a risk I'll be willing to take… now come on. We have only one hour to go…" he said as he continued walking down as May gazed it him from behind, touched deeply by how much he cared about her. She hurried to keep up with him. Half an hour later with only another half hour too go, it started snowing again and the winds kicked up. May warped her arm around Ash's shoulder so they would both enjoy the warmth his jacket provided. Finally they were off the mountain and walked along the short road between the foot of the hill and New Bark Town. To their relief and delight they finally got there… they looked around. Everyone was inside as the storm was brewing outside. May was trembling as she struggled to keep her footing on the ground.

"N…. n…. no….w… wh…attt?" she stuttered.

"We need to find Professor Elm's lab. He'll help us. I just hope he remembers me…" Ash said. They paced around the empty streets in search of the lab. Finally at a distance of a hundred meters away they finally spotted it. But right then, May passed out and Ash had trouble supporting her. He made sure his jacket covered her back and shoulders properly. Then he picked her up and carried her on his back, so that she would have two heat sources and wobbled towards the Pokémon lab. He huffed and puffed. May's added weight provided heat for him too but it also tried him out and he was still freezing his socks off. He hoped May was in better shape. After an extensive effort, he made to the door and banged hardly on it. He could hear a faint voice behind the door wonder aloud

"Who could it be in this kind of weather?"

Suddenly the door opened wide and a man with thin brown hair and round spectacles opened the door for him and stared at the two teenagers in shock.

"Ash, is that you?" he asked.

All the boy could do was nod in pain and exhaustion. Professor Elm blinked.

"Well what are you waiting for? Get in here before you freeze." Urged the man and helped them inside and closed the door. He quickly turned the heat up and hung up his lab coat. He led Ash to the sitting room.

"Here. Set her down here…." He said and gestured towards a big puffy sofa. Ash lay May down on it and sat beside her feet and groaned tiredly and painfully with his head leaning backwards. He and May were covered in snow and he was panting like a dog who just ran a marathon.

Elm looked at them with concern.

"My God Ash… what happened too you?"

Ash tried to speak between gasps as one of Elm's aids placed a blanket around the two teenagers.

"Celebi… Ilex Forest… got mad at us… banished us… to… Mount Silver…" he managed to gasp out. The man's eyes widened in shock.

"You've been stranded on Mount Silver in this weather? How long have you been out there?"

Ash was still trying to catch his breath.

"Since… yesterday morning…" he gasped.

"Oh my Lord… why didn't you use flying Pokémon to get off the mountain?"

"We… didn't…. have… any…" he gasped.

"Oh my…" said Elm taken aback by their predicament..

"What were you doing in Ilex Forest?"

"We were trying to get too Goldenrod city…" muttered Ash, finally getting his breath back. The professor nodded as his aids gave the two kids big bottles of water to drink. Ash drank his but saved the other for May.

"You need too drink Ash. You need to stay hydrated.

"I drank enough. This one's for May." He insisted.

"You can't go about it like that Ash. Your body need water. We have plenty of bottles to go around. So please drink as much as you can."

Ash nodded and drank more. In the end he ended up drinking three more bottles of water making it a total of five. Once done, he let out a series oh hiccups. Then he relaxed.

"Thank you Professor Elm."

"Would are you thanking me for? I couldn't just let you two freeze out there…"

Ash nodded. Suddenly a felt a weird of feeling around his lower belly.

"Hey Elm? Where's the bathroom around here?"

Elm chuckled.

"To the far right." He said.

"Thank you." Ash said and made a run for it as he raced against nature. Elm and his assistant laughed. As Ash was walking back he heard Elm talk on the phone.

"Yes thank you Lily. We'll be expecting you right here. Okay. Bye, bye…" he said and hung up.

"Who was that?" asked Ash.

"That was our neighbor Lily. She's a nurse. I asked her to come over here to take a look at you and your friend in case you need a doctor."

Ash smiled in gratitude and nodded.

"Thank you Professor Elm."

"Anytime." Smiled Professor Elm. Then Ash realized something.

"Hey isn't she Red's mother?"

Elm looked intrigued.

"You know him?"

"Only by reputation. He used to be the champion. I always wanted to challenge him but he retired three years before I started my journey. Since then I've given up on the idea of challenging him but I would still like to meet him someday."

"That can be arranged." Said a kind female voice and Ash turned to his right. A slim brown haired women walked in with a small backpack in her hands.

"I suppose you are Ash Ketchum?"

Ash nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He said rather timidly.

"I Thought so." She said and she signaled him to open his mouth and examined his throat.

"Danny said your name was Ash but he didn't say if it was Ash Ketchum." She said mindedly.

"Was it important?" inquired a confused Professor Danny Elm.

"It just might be. My son Red has been following your performance you know?" she said to Ash as she moved to check his pulse.

Ash could feel himself turn red. Why would he be worthy of Red's time and attention? He's like royalty to him. What is he in compare to the youngest champion there ever was, who also took down deep rocket? (Even though they regrouped three years later around the time he started his journey.)

Finally he found his voice.

"H… He has?" he asked nervously.

"Yep. He finds your determination inspiring. He says you remind him of himself when he first started off."

"But he's much better than me. Why would I be an inspiration to him? I never even won any leagues."

"That's why you're inspirational to him dear. You never give up." She said and took out her stethoscope to listen to his lungs.

"Besides…" she began.

"It really warms his heart to see how deeply you care for your friends. It may not show much on TV but good rumors travel fast just like bad ones. This is one thing he's jealous of you."

"Why me? Doesn't he have any friends?"

"Of course he does. He has wonderful friends and they love each other dearly. But he met them only in the middle or the end of his Pokémon journey. He doesn't share a bond like you do with your friends because you've been together since day one, camped out together and supported each other all the time and of course grew up together. He never had that during his journey and he regrets terribly…"

Ash looked down sadly.

"Gee I'm sorry to hear that…." He said as the women took his temperature. Shortly afterwards she smiled at him.

"You seem just fine dear. Get yourself a good rest and you'll be better by morning."

"Thank you Ma'am but…"

"Please dear call me Lily…" she said as she removed the stethoscope from her ears. Ash hurried to correct himself.

"Lily… could you please take a look at my friend May? She passed out shortly before we got here. I think she's really sick."

"Of course dear." She said and hurried over to the sick girl. She examined her for a few minutes then sighed.

"How is she Lily?" he asked.

"Not too good. She has a fever and a minor case of pneumonia. Thankfully it's minor but her fever is a little high. I'll give Danny some medication for her to take. She needs to take one pill ever four hours. She should be better by tomorrow.

Ash smiled with relief.

"Thank you Lily."

"Anytime Ash. I'll be back tomorrow morning with Red. I'm sure he'd be glad to meet you."

"Thank you." Ash said again as she turned to leave but Ash stopped her one more time.

"Lily?"

She turned around.

"Yes Ash?"

"May I ask what your last name is?"

"Daniels." said the women with a smile and left. When she did, the lab was quite again and Ash relaxed in his seat beside May.

"Are you okay Ash?" asked Elm.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just tried."

"Understandably so. I can arrange a room for you to sleep in if you want." He offered. The boy shook his head.

"No thanks Professor Elm. I want to stay by May's side until she's better."

The man nodded.

"Okay. I'll be sleeping ii the room next door. If you need anything just give me a holler. I'll back later to give May her medicine…"

"Okay. Thanks Professor."

"Don't mention it." Said the man kindly and ruffled the boy's hair, shut the lights and went to sleep. As soon as Ash closed his eyes, he was out cold. When he woke up it was early noon. He was truly exhausted... he looked to his side and saw May was still asleep. He looked at her warmly. Suddenly his thoughts were cut short by a knock on the door.

"Oh hi there. Come on in you two." He heard Professor Elm's voice. Ash tensed up and blushed slightly. Was he about to meet his childhood hero? If so, what would he say to him? What do you do in a situation like that?

As expected, Lily has returned with a tall boy with brown hair at her side. He looked almost like he did seven years ago as far as Ash could remember. Red smiled.

"You must be Ash." He said. Ash nodded.

"Name's Red. Pleasure to meet you." He said and reached out his hand to shake his. Getting his confidence back, Ash smiled back and shook his hand firmly

"The pleasure's all mine Red. I'm a big admirer of yours. I grew up watching your matches as a kid." Red smiled bashfully and Ash could swear he was going just a little bit red in the face. Who knew that such an accomplished person could be so modest? Red sat down on the armchair beside him.

"So I hear you and your friend had a rough time last night." He said.

Ash seemed a little embarrassed talking about this with his childhood hero.

"Yeah. There's been a little accident. We've come across an angry Celebi in Ilex Forest and he sent us to Mount Silver where you used to train and there was a blizzard at the time. We set up camp and didn't make it down till last night."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you. I gave up Pokémon training shortly after I own the league. I know this sounds selfish, but Pokémon training gets a little boring when you have nothing to aspire for."

"Not it's not selfish at all." said Ash while Elm and Lily watched the conversation while sitting on the other sofa.

Red shrugged to try and move the conversation along.

"I never really liked training at the top of Mount Silver. It's too cold up there…"

Ash chuckled.

"Yeah, no kidding…" he said as he caressed May's hair as it sat in his lap. Only then did he notice that she switched positions. It seemed as if his lap gave her a sense of comfort and security. Red smiled.

"She must really like you, if she turns around like that in her sleep to rest her head in your lap."

Ash blushed and rubbed the nape of his nose like he always did when he was nervous.

"Umm… yeah…"

Red smirked.

"Are you gonna ask her out?"

Ash turned a crimson shade of red.

"Umm… how… how did you know I…?"

Red chuckled.

"Come on Ash I wasn't born yesterday. I know love when I see it…"

Ash gulped and looked down at her.

"I do love her, but what if she doesn't feel the same way?"

"Only one way to find out."

"But if she doesn't? I'm afraid I might ruin the friendship. She is very dear to me. I don't want to lose her…"

"Well you do love her don't you?"

Ash smiled softly.

"More than anything."

"Then don't you think it's worth the risk of telling her?"

Ashe smirked at his own stupidity.

"I guess so…"

Red nodded.

"There you go."

After a short silence Ash spoke.

"Hey can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"How did you manage to disband team rocket a few years ago?"

Red tried to remember.

"I don't really recall. I guess I disgraced them so badly by defeating so many of them, Giovanni stepped down and disbanded them. Sadly, three years later, his grunts took over the radio tower in Goldenrod city for long enough to get his attention and reassumed position as the man in charge.

Ash's eyes widened in shock.

"I remember that now! That was a week before I started my Pokémon journey. I can't believe I forgot about that. I didn't even pay it any thought when they tried to steal my Pikachu all these years…"

Red frowned.

"Team rocket wanted to steal your Pikachu?" he asked in surprise.

"'Yeah. On the first day of my journey we got attacked by a group of Seprews and Pikachu was hurt. I had to borrow this girl's bike to get him to a Pokémon center but accidently burnt it in the process. She would spend the next few years following me because of that but we became good friends over time. But anyway, when Pikachu was in treatment these two loonies who call themselves Jessie and James attacked the center and tried to steal its Pokémon. Surprisingly Pikachu used his thunderbolt to send them away and they seemed so impressed by his strength, they have been following me ever since." Ash said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. To his surprise, Red rolled his head in laughter.

Slightly hurt, Ash asked.

"What's so funny?"

Red had a hard time controlling his laughter. After he calmed down, he spoke.

"I'm sorry…. Oh yeah now I remember. Those two idiots gave me an earful for my entire journey. But they're just so darn stupid. They couldn't catch a pokeball in a lingo game." He said and Ash laughed at the joke.

"Ha…. Yeah that's funny…" he said. After a short silence he spoke again.

"So what have you been doing since you retired?"

"I went back to school. I'll be graduating high school next week." He said and smiled at his mother. Ash smiled.

"That's great. What are you gonna do next?"

"I think I might travel again. This time I want to do it with friends though. I know you think of me to be something of an overachiever but it wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful if I had traveled with friends growing up. I envy you for having such friends, you know that? It's a gift and you should never let such a thing go…"

Ash smiled warmly at him, touched by his words. His own hero said he admired him for something he didn't have.

"You know, you're more than welcome to join us if you want."

Red smiled with appreciation at the offer.

"Thanks Ash, but I think you and your friend would want to travel alone for the time being."

Ash blushed with a coy smile. Red laughed.

"Just take it easy Romeo okay?"

"Umm... yeah…" Ash said shyly.

Later that day, May has woken up in Ash's lap. She smiled at him.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey. Rise and shine." He said happily.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Good as new." She smiled.

"I'm glad." He said happily. May sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck as she sat on his lap.

"Thanks for carrying me here Ash that was very sweet." She said with her eyes close his.

"You're welcome." He said lovingly and closed the gap between them and placed his lips on hers. Shocked at first, May didn't knew how to respond, after two seconds, her emotions took over and seized control over her body as common sense was overruled. She brought him closer to her with her arms around his neck while he had his around her waist as they kissed lovingly with passion. Finally they had to breathe and broke apart. Ash gazed into May's blue sapphire orbs as she became entranced in his own chocolate eyes…

"I love you May. With all my heart. Will you bee my girlfriend?" she smiled sweetly and kissed him slightly on the lips.

"I already am Ashy boy…" she said and they both smiled and rested in each other's arms. When they parted they sat together cuddled up on the couch, only to be interrupted by professor Elm.

"Hey would you kids like a lift to Olivine City? There's a gym there and you can get to Goldenrod from there without having to go through the forest. I have an appointment there soon."

The two in love teenagers smiled at each other and then at him.

"I think that would be a great idea…" said May as they all joined Elm in his car and drove off into the distance. As it turned out Elm had an appointment just outside the hotel. This gave Ash an idea.

"Hey May, you want to go into the spa here? After what happened the other day I think we could use it."

She smiled sweetly at him.

"Sure. But I want it to be my treat. Let me make the sacrifice for a change." Ash gave her a sweet smile.

"Sounds good to me May…" he said and brought her into a hug and kissed her softly. The two kids would spend the next few hours getting a massage and relaxing in the sauna and the hot tub... once they were done after all that, they felt like they were reborn. After that Ash took her to the beach and bought delicious popsicles for the both of them, he had lemon flavored while she had strawberry. He knew it was her favorite. Once done he cradled her as she sat in his arms on the sand in their swimsuits as the sun set. The weather was so much nicer there in compared the area of the mountains where Red lived…

Who needs gym battles and contents when you have time to relax with the one you love? Ash and May would spend the next week laying low. After that they continued to pursue their dreams. Over the next following years, they fulfilled their dreams to become a Pokémon master and a top coordinator. Two years later at the age of twenty they got married and went for a honey moon in the cannonry islands. One year later, May gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They named her Helen. She was the spitting image of her own mother but had Ash's toothy smile and goofy attitude and personality… over the years two more girls and a boy came along while Ash supported the family business. Now that he was a Pokémon master, his new dream was to help those who were aspiring or struggling to achieve the same goal. So he opened up a Pokémon training school for Pokémon and their trainers while May held a daycare in the yard. After the first year Ash thought he could use some help. He thought back at an old friend that gave him the courage to go after the girl he loves, who now became his wife and is his reason for being and all the happiness in his life. Ash called Red and asked if his he and wife would like to move into the daycare-school in Pallet town. Red gladly accepted, glad to be able have a friendship and a partnership with the young man he came to admire and Ash was glad he was able to get his hero to see him as a friend and now as a partner. Red's wife, Gwen would help Lily with the daycare while the boys helped the trainers and their Pokémon while the kids played with the Pokémon in the yard and the two mothers grew the closest of friends as she stayed in Ash's childhood house which was right next door. Loved ones have been found and families have been formed as families and old friends became closer and formed one big happily family which as happy as could be. Everyone was the happiest they could ever wish to be. And they couldn't be happier about it…

And they lived happily ever after…

The end…

Wow. Once again I broke the record for the longest one-shot I've ever written. It's one of my longest stories in general. Every time I ask myself if I'll be ever able to top it yet I surprise myself time and time again. Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this story. I hope you appreciated the references I made to the original games, to the show and to the 90s if any of you are old enough to remember lingo, lol… also I know that Mount Silver is technically in Kanto and for a moment I considered having them go to Pallet town when they escape the mountain. But I felt that going too New Bark Town would be closer, would make a little more sense and would be more interesting because I felt it had a lot more potential as you can see…

So anyway, I hope you guys like it, and since I've spent a lot of effort and many hours writing this piece of work I would very much greatly appreciate it if you kindly leave a review.

Thanks for reading everyone and I hope to see you next time…

Peace out…