Author's note: What inspired me to write this? The fact that Ash seems to care more about Pikachu than Misty... plus Ash's 'big hero saving the day' attitude is getting on my nerves... so this is my version of what would happen if the writers got rid of that cute little electric mouse. (Yeah, don't get me wrong here... Pikachu's my ultimate favourite Pokemon... but its disappearance was necessary for this one-shot. Lol.)
Lastly, this fic has now been edited, so that the two OC men aren't such cold-hearted so-and-sos. Lol.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In his entire life, he'd never felt so heartbroken... so downtrodden... so downright worthless. His life wasn't even worth living anymore. It was all pointless now... just... pointless.
Why did this have to happen? Why? Things were going so well... for both of them... they were like two peas in a pod... one incomplete without the other... both willing to risk life and limb to keep the other safe.
Ash Ketchum, now sixteen years of age, hugged his knees closer to his chest and let the tears flow, unrestrained, from his dark eyes. Around him, rain was coming down in bucket loads, but that did nothing to affect his mood either way. He curled himself further against the bark of the willow tree he was leaning on and let out a sob of anguish.
He still remembered where his initial destination today had been... but he just didn't care anymore. All that mattered was his shattered heart at losing someone very, very close to him. They'd had a lot of adventures together... good and bad... but the bad adventures had always worked out okay in the end. Now, however...
If only things could go back to the way they were before... when everything was fun... and experience was gained... and days were saved... and important lessons were learned... but... no... there was no turning back... ever.
What was the point of existing anymore, let along becoming a Pokemon Master? It had no point... he had nothing driving him anymore... because what did drive him was... gone... forever.
He sniffed. "Why?" he asked the empty field around him. "Why?" His entire figure racked with sobs as thunder boomed in the sky and the darkened clouds released an even heavier rainfall... not that he cared; he welcomed the idea of a lightning bolt striking this stupid willow and ending his miserable existence. "Pikachu..." He choked on another sob. "PIKACHUUUUUUUU!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh, wow!" Jessie said, looking over her new uniform in the full-sized mirror of the Team Rocket Headquarters' dressing room. "I look good!"
"Yes," James agreed, "and it certainly brings out my bad side a lot more."
"Hehe!" Meowth chuckled. "Youz guys soitainly suit those outfits better than Butch and Cassidy do!"
"But of course," Jessie replied, admiring her new threads. "Black always looked better on me than white did... and anything that once belonged to Cassidy and is now mine is even better."
"Hey!" a female voice rang out before Butch and Cassidy appeared round the corner, donned in Jessie and James' old white uniforms.
Jessie smirked at her blonde-haired rival. "Yes?"
"How dare you take our jobs, you worthless scumbags!"
"Yeah!" Butch added. "We are so much better at stealing Pokemon that you guys are!"
"If that's so," James said coolly while folding his arms, "then why were we promoted and you two were demoted?"
Cassidy growled, clenching her fists. "How are we supposed to know?" She turned to her pinkish-purple-haired rival. "Jessie, what did you do?"
Jessie swished her hair to one side in a cocky manner. "What did we do? I'll tell you what we did... we finally swiped that twerp's Pikachu and handed it over to the boss."
"Daaaat's right!" Meowth chirped, jumping around for added effect.
"What?" Butch asked, flabbergasted. "But there's no way one puny little Pikachu would be enough to get you promoted!"
Jessie waggled a finger at him, the knuckles of her other hand resting on her hip. "You two seem to have underestimated such a powerful Pokemon; it's not just a Pikachu... but one of the most powerful Pikachu out there."
"Huh?" both Butch and Cassidy asked, eyes wide.
"It's a Pikachu that knows a variety of very powerful attacks," James added. "Such attacks would include Thunderbolt, Thunder, Iron Tail and Volt Tackle... but there are many more."
"Yeah," Meowth added, "and, not only is it strong, but speedy too... with attacks like Agility and Quick Attack."
"Wow..." Cassidy said, "I... didn't know it was that strong..."
Jessie, James and Meowth all grinned in satisfaction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"PIKACHUUUUUUU!"
"Hmm?" a man with brown hair asked, glancing in the direction of the open field nearby. "You hear that?"
"Yeah," his green-haired housemate said, also glancing in the direction of the cry. "What do you think's going on?"
"Who knows. Sounds like some guy lost his Pikachu."
"Aw, man, that's rough."
"Yeah."
There was a moment's silence between the two men. "Should we do something?"
The brown-haired man ran his fingers through his sopping wet hair. "Well... it's not really any of our business... plus, there's not much we could do for the guy, anyway..."
The green-haired man sighed. "I suppose you're right..."
"Come on... we'd best get out of the rain. Let's get to the Pokemon Mart."
"... Okay. I'll just grab some stuff I need, then we can head back home."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grabbing her newly-bought items and thanking the man behind the counter, Misty Waterflower, now seventeen years of age, was on her way out of the Pokemon Mart when two men entered. She stepped aside to let them pass, accepted their thanks and was just about to leave when one of them said something.
"I still think we should have helped that guy..."
Being generally nosy, she hung around, pretending to browse through the Pokemon magazines as she eavesdropped on their conversation.
The brown-haired man groaned. "Seriously, what could we have done?" he asked.
"At least gone to check on him. I mean, he was crying out for his Pikachu."
Misty's ears perked up, out of habit more than anything. If anyone ever mentioned a Pikachu, she'd only think of one person, whether or not it was likely it'd actually be him they were talking about.
"Come on," the brown-haired man said irritably, "it's raining Skittys and Growlithes outside." He glanced out the window. "Worse, even."
The green-haired man sighed. "I know... but he sounded... I dunno... in agony... as though he'd lost a lifelong partner." He paused and Misty stiffened; this was sounding more like the person she was thinking of every second. "What if it got stolen off him?"
The brown-haired man frowned slightly. "Stolen?"
"Yeah, you know... by those Team Rocket people who go around stealing Pokemon for profit." Misty's heart plummeted into her stomach.
"Oh, you mean that crackpot trio who came here a few times, going over that stupid rhyme thing of theirs?"
"Not necessar-"
"Oh, my God!" Misty yelled. The two men instantly looked at her. "Where did you hear this cry?"
"Uh... in the direction of the open field between Pewter City and Cerulean City. Why?"
"Thanks. Bye!"
In an instant, Misty had dropped her shopping bags and darted out the door, straight into the pouring rain, which immediately soaked her. God, it hadn't been this bad on the way to the Pokemon Mart. She must have spent a fair amount of time in there, looking for things to buy for all the water Pokemon back at the gym.
As she rushed in the direction the green-haired man had mentioned to her, she knew, deep down, that it might not be him... it was most likely someone else... but her heart was screaming at her to go that way and help out, just in case it was him... and she was never one to ignore her heart when it screamed at her.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ash still hadn't moved... nor was he ever going to. Maybe, if he stayed here long enough, he'd catch a bad enough cold to finish him off. That was all he wanted right now... just to disappear... 'Pokemon Master' meant nothing to him now... nothing at all.
"Ash!" a female voice called out.
He looked up in time to see a beautiful ginger-haired girl kneeling down next to him. Her hair was long and trailing down her back, complete with bangs framing her face... and she had on a pink T-shirt, a blue denim jacket, a blue denim skirt and white sneakers with pink bits on them. One look at her face... and her greenish-blue eyes, however... made him realise who it was.
"M... Misty?" he asked weakly.
"Just what the heck are you doing out here, you moron? You'll either catch pneumonia or get struck by lightning! Are you crazy?"
Ash merely looked at her, too dead inside to want to argue back. Obviously, she couldn't easily tell he'd been... and still was... crying... which was good, really. Sighing, he rested his head back on his knees.
"W-What are...?" He gulped down the lump in his throat before she spotted it. "What are you... d-doing here?"
There was a pause. "Are you... crying, Ash?"
Ash inwardly cursed himself; she'd noticed. "N-No..."
She shoved at his shoulder. "Don't lie to me, Ash!"
Ash sniffled and Misty quieted again. For a while, there was a very awkward pause, where neither spoke a word.
"It... it's... P-Pikachu..."
"W-What about it?" The question was soft... gentle.
"I... I couldn't... I-I-I couldn't..."
A hand rested on his shoulder. "You couldn't what?"
"I... I..." Ash broke down in sobs once more... only calming down, slightly, when a pair of arms wrapped themselves securely around him. He buried himself in the embrace. "I... I couldn't... s-save Pikachu... from... Tea... Team..."
"Team Rocket?"
A single sob escaped his mouth. "We... we wanted to... s... surprise you with... with a visit... since we... hadn't... s-seen you in... years..."
"You did?" Misty's tone was a mix of surprise and gentle flattery.
"Mmm hmm... but... but I..."
"What?"
"I... w-wanted to... to start a new j-journey... in a n-new region... so I... I..." Another sob escaped his mouth.
Misty clung tighter. "What is it, Ash?"
"I... I only brought... P-Pikachu with me!"
There was a pause. "And you didn't have anyone with you?"
"No..."
"And... there was no one around to help when... Team Rocket grabbed Pikachu?"
"N-No..."
"Oh... you poor thing..."
"I t-tried... I tried to... find them. I... I looked for... for an hour... but... but their balloon had..." Another sob escaped his mouth.
Misty rested her head on his arm. "Yes, Ash?"
"Their... their balloon had... rockets in... installed... so I couldn't... I couldn't..." In an instant, he was back to balling his eyes out, holding tightly onto Misty's sleeve for support.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poor Ash... Misty'd had no idea that this was what had upset him. She even had tears leaking softly from her own eyes. It hurt so much to see the boy she loved so dearly be torn to pieces. His best friend... his lifelong partner... the one he said would be by his side forever... was gone... gone to a place neither of them knew the location of.
"Come on, Ash," she said gently, "maybe I'd best take you back to the gym. You can sleep over, get a good night's rest and then decide what to do in the morning... okay?"
Ash was silent for a moment, before he turned to her. "Th-Thanks, Mist... though I d-don't think I can... go on without... P-Pikachu..."
"That's okay... you can stay with me as long as you like. I'll look after you... and be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on, okay?"
Gently, he smiled at her... and it was amazing how beautiful that smile looked. They were beneath a willow tree, him sitting and her kneeling, the heavy rain slamming into the ground around them and soaking them to the bone... and yet... it was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.
What happened next surprised her even more, as the broken-hearted, tear-streaked boy leaned forward, cupped her cheek with his hand and planted a beautifully soft kiss on her lips.
As he pulled away and smirked very slightly at her awestruck face... and burning red cheeks, which were barely visible in the rain, thank God... he said one sentence to her that would stay in her heart forever.
"Th-Thank you, Mist... You have... no idea how... much I l-love you right now..."