Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon nor will I ever own any part of the franchise. All are copyrighted by their respective owners (Pokémon USA, Gamefreak, Creatures Inc., etc.)

Note #1: I don't really know how I came up with this idea so at first it may not make any sense. I was watching Pokémon with my cousins & saw one of the newer episodes. I left the entire Advanced Generation out because I didn't watch those episodes. I do know that Misty did come back a few times but for this I'm going to pretend that she didn't.

Note #2: After reading other fics on this site, I decided to write my own (my very first actually). I don't know if it's any good, but please rate and comment back what you think and I'll fix any necessary changes that you would like. I also decide whether or not to continue this based on reviews.

Note #3: For clarification in the middle, I wrote D for Dawn, B for Brock, or A for Ash in () to show who said what. Just for clarification purposes. It may change as story carries on.

Note #4: Inspiration came from the following:

Pokémon Episode: Gotta Catch ya Later

.com

.com

Many other fics

And most of all, (insert your name here) for their support

Now on with the show!

Chapter 1 – A Blast from the Past

It had been years since he last saw her. He had missed her fiery temper and strong determination. He remembered the day they parted, the worst day in his life, he remembered how she had a call to return to the Gym, how she didn't want to leave, how he was stupid enough to let her go. He still couldn't remember the reason why. These past few days were even more difficult as the anniversary of their parting was drawing near.

Ash and Friends have been on the road for a long time now. They had competed in the Sinnoh league and the Sinnoh Grand Festival and were returning home. Before heading to Pallet Town, they stopped in the Pokémon center in Viridian City. They had just finished giving Nurse Joy their Pokémon when they realized Ash was sitting alone at a table. They joined him to see what was wrong with their friend.

"Man, I hate this day" Ash said in a sad monotone voice.

"What? How could hate the first day of spring Ash? Love is in the air for everyone. What's so wrong with it?" Dawn asked curiously

Brock intervened, "He hates this day because it's the anniversary of his parting with his friend Misty."

"Huh? Who's Misty?" (D)

"Oh come on Dawn. Don't tell me you've never heard Ash mention her name before."

"Misty... Misty... Misty... Oh yeah I remember Ash mentioning her before. She's the Gym Leader of Cerulean right? Thought I remembered her. Actually I remember Ash mentioning her quite a few times these past few days."

"Well, to Ash, Misty was more than a friend. She was his best friend. Throughout their journey, he relied on her and she relied on him. Not just for their friendship but for support as well." Brock said

"That's pretty cool. But I don't think it's healthy for him to feel this down. I'm not trying to be rude or anything 'cause I know he more than likely misses her but there's no use sulking over the matter." (D)

"Well, between you and me, I noticed something between them that they didn't. Not just me, but their other friends such as Tracy, Daisy, even Team Rocket noticed." (B)

Dawn looked in surprise as Brock filled her in on some past information. She couldn't help but give out a chuckle when he mentioned Team Rocket. Eventually her curiosity got the better of her so she pushed for more information. "Ash what happened that day?" Dawn asked. She was unsure of whether he would answer her or not, but knowing Ash, his actions were unpredictable.

"Huh... What? You want to know what happened." Ash said with sadness in his voice but still trying to keep a straight face.

"Umm... Yeah that was what I was hoping for." Dawn replied

"I really rather not talk about it. There are too many sad memories and besides it's a long story. A REALLY LONG STORY" Ash looked down at the table at which he was sitting, but Dawn was persistent.

"Well we have time. I don't have any contests for a while and you've already finished your competitions." (D)

"We do have a good six hours before we're expected at Pallet. We have plenty of time. Go ahead and start Ash." (B)

"Ok. But you might want to get comfortable. We'll be here a while." (A)

Dawn took her seat at the table first but before Brock sat down, he bought them all three cups of hot tea. (What good is a story without a hot beverage? Go get one now!)

"Well, it was around this time ten years ago. The Silver Conference had just ended and Misty, Brock, and I were heading back to Pallet but we stopped at this Pokémon Center to rest up for the long trip back when Nurse Joy told Misty that she had received a phone call from her sisters. She called them back to see what was up and they told her that she needed to return to Cerulean for Gym duty in order for them to leave on their trip" (A)

"Wait hold on. What kind of trip is sooo important that they had to get Misty to take over for them at the Gym?" Dawn asked

"One of her sisters had won a beauty contest and got three tickets to a trip around the world." Brock said "They couldn't leave the Gym unattended and asked Misty to fill in for them for the time being."

"Right where was I... Oh yeah... So she had just ended the call without even asking Misty for her opinion on the subject. Then Nurse Joy came in with a bike right beside her. She asked if it belonged to Misty and said that the previous Nurse Joy had managed to fix it." (A)

"Wait, fix it? What happened to it?" Dawn asked intently

"You see when Ash started his journey he was attacked by an angry flock of Spearow. Pikachu was really hurt and needed medical attention. He ended up jumping into a nearby stream to get away from the flock. A little ways down and he was fished out of the water by Misty. He "borrowed" her bike but said he would give it back. Unfortunately the bike was fried by Pikachu when he saw how much Ash was willing to go to protect him." (B)

"Oh.... okay Ash continue." (D)

"Okay well Misty got her bike back and I was stupid enough to make the biggest mistake of my life." (A)

"And what was that?" (D)

"Well I thought at the time that her bike was the only reason for travelling with me so my exact words to her were "Wow Nurse Joy did a really good job. That's great you finally got your bike back, now you'll get home fast". Misty didn't seem too pleased and then I asked her why she was so grouchy. I thought she would be thrilled but apparently not. Actually she ended up running out of the Pokémon Center crying and I still believed she should be happy." (A)

"I was able to pick up on what she was getting at. She wanted to keep travelling with us, especially Ash. Throughout their journey they had formed a strong 'and special' bond." (B)

"Ash what happened next" (D)

"I'll skip the part where we all battled these goons and team rocket and go right to the walk towards the crossroads between the cities. When we were walking, we reflected back on our times together, the good, the bad, and the ugly, but no matter what happened we knew that we would always stay friends. During this time, Misty seemed to cheer up a little, but something didn't seem right." (A)

They had spent a good 30 minutes talking about this story so far and Dawn still seemed to be interested in the subject.

"Now we are to the part of the going of separate ways. When we got to the Crossroads between Viridian, Pewter, and Cerulean, we were about to see Misty off, when Brocko here blurted out that he also had to leave." (A)

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't really want to go but I needed to spend a little time with my family." (B)

"Anyway, to tell you the truth, there's not much to this part. We were all saying goodbye and I had wanted to tell Misty something. I had wanted to tell her that she was my best friend and that I wish her luck at the Gym and stuff like that" Ash was blushing afterwards knowing that this was probably a mistake to let the two of them know the last part of his statement.

"What kind of stuff Ash?" Brock interrogated (as if he didn't already know).

Ash was surprised by Brocks remark. He had been unprepared for this and had stammered to find a way to dodge the question. "Uh… Well you know just stuff that you normally say when a friend leaves, like good luck wherever you're going and with whatever you're going to do" This was partly true but it wasn't the whole truth. Ash was blushing uncontrollably though. He had tried to cover it up but it was of no use.

"Uh-huh. Right" Brock replied with a smirk on his face. In his mind he thought 'You and I both know you're lying and you can quit the act now' but did not tell this to Ash. Ash, of course, failed to pick up on this, but everyone knows that Ash is a little slow at realizing things.

"Ash, I feel that you're not being completely honest with us by dodging the question. In case you have forgotten, we asked 'what was the other stuff that you wanted to say to Misty'"

"I think I know what he was trying to tell her." Brock said with a slight smirk as Ash looked up at him blushing with a death glare.

Ash's mind was thinking at the time 'Oh god. Don't tell her Brock. Wait! How do you know? How long have you known? Who told you?'

Unfortunately for him Brock decided to be a blabbermouth today. "He was trying to tell Misty that he really 'cared' about her, if you know what I mean." Brock said with a smile. But he put more sarcasm in the 'care' part. Ash realized this, for once and turned three shades of red.

"You mean he was trying to tell her he loved her? Awwww that's so cute and romantic!" (D)

Ash's embarrassment got the better of him. "YOU MUST BE CRAZY!" Ash yelled as his two friends sweat dropped at the sight of Ash's ferocity.

"But Ash isn't that true?" (D & B)

Ash wasn't thinking straight and got himself back into the corner. "Well yeah but I mean like… but I uh…" Ash stammered for a good thirty seconds, eventually forgetting what he was trying to say. He then came out clean and asked "What was I saying again?"

"Well you got mad at us, and then said you loved Misty, and then stammered a little, and then you were saying something about giving me $50." Brock had this all planed out. He had read in a book somewhere how he could easily manipulate people to saying what he wants them to. Hopefully, it would give them the answer they wanted.

"Liar! I never said I would give you $50!" Ash said as he made sure that his wallet was still in his back pocket.

Dawn was shocked that Brock's plan had actually worked. Brock looked at her with a smile on his face. "Ash, do you know what you just did? You just admitted that you love Misty!" Brock exclaimed.

"I heard it loud and clear too so there's no taking it back, unless you're lying to us" Dawn replied with a victory look on her face.

Ash had now realized what he had done. He had gotten himself into a pickle that he couldn't get out of. He could say he loved Misty, if he could get the words out, but that's not an option seeing as he could never find the right words to describe his feelings. But if he lied to them, it would give them the impression that he doesn't like Misty. Both were out of the question as Ash realized he was fighting a losing battle (though he lost the battle a long time ago).

"Come on Ash answer the question" (B)

"It's a really simple question. Do you love Misty? Yes or No?" (D)

Ash was blushing uncontrollably as his friends put more pressure on him to give them a clear answer. Eventually Ash made his decision. "Alright! I love Misty, I should've chased after her, and I feel awful for leaving things unsaid. Happy now? You now know why I hate this day. I constantly ask myself whether or not I made the right decision. The answers don't come to me quickly okay so just get off my case!" Ash relaxed a little afterwards though Dawn and Brock were still shocked and a little scared.

Dawn was hesitant at first to ask but bucked up enough courage to see if he was alright. "Ok. BTW Ash, you feel better?"

Ash pondered the question for a second then said with a slight smile "Yeah, I actually do"

All of a sudden, he noticed a large shadow nearby. Neither Brock nor Dawn had noticed it either. Ash looked around to find an older gentleman, probably in his late 60's, standing by the table.

"Excuse me young man. I couldn't help but overhear your story, but from what it sounds like, you must really like this girl." The old gentleman said.

"Uh… how much did you hear? (A)

"I heard the whole story from my table behind you" After hearing this, he looked at Brock and Dawn with death glares thinking 'This is all your fault guys. Now everybody in the whole world knows!' (Even though everybody, except Ash and Misty, knew a long time ago XD)

"I'm sorry sir but this was supposed to be a private conversation" (A)

"I know. Please forgive me for the intrusion, but if it's anything its worth, I'd like you to have this." The old gentleman reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pocket watch.

Ash took the watch in his hand and gazed upon it in surprise. "Uh... Thank you but what is it?"

"My boy, don't tell me you have never seen a pocket watch before. This is what was used before the fancy Pokégear, Pokénav, and Pokétch were invented."

In his mind Ash thought 'Man this guy is really old school. The last time I saw one of these was when I was in a pawn shop'. Ash didn't want to take the watch directly so he asked the old man "Thanks but are you sure, I mean it's yours after all"

"Yes I'm sure. But I would like to tell you that that watch has a mysterious power to it."

"Mysterious power?" As soon as Ash heard this, his curiosity peaked.

The old man then started to explain. "Yes. I got this watch when I was about your age. A man came and gave it to me just like I am giving it to you. He also said that this watch is supposed to have the power of Celebi."

"Celebi?" (D)

"Yes the Pokémon that can travel through time." The old man said

"But why are you giving it to me?" (A)

"There is an old saying that "Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment can be an eternity, and an eternity can be the tick of a clock." (Mary Parrish)" From hearing this, Ash thought the old man was crazy for remembering a quote like this for a time like this.

"But what does that mean?" (A)

As soon as the old man heard this, he fell over anime-style. "Young man certainly you are able to answer a riddle right?"

'Damn. This is why I wish Misty was here. She'd figure it out no sweat!' Ash thought. He was actually correct with his thoughts as Misty was always the one to figure out all the puzzles and riddles first out of all of them. Ash shook his head as the old man took in a large sigh.

"Okay. Let me put it into terms that you can understand. It means that if your love for Ms. Waterflower is true, this watch will return you to that moment ten years ago. But let me warn you. You must complete your task by sunset on that day or you'll never be able to time travel again and all hope will be lost. I wish you luck Mr. Ketchum"

Ash seemed excited about this, forgetting that the man knew he loved Misty. He would be able to change the mistake that he made ten years ago of not going after Misty. Ash had turned to show his appreciation. "Thank you sir...huh?" The old gentleman had disappeared but left his watch in the hands of Ash. Immediately Ash ran to Nurse Joy to see where he could have gone off to.

"Excuse me Nurse Joy but where did that older gentleman that was standing right there go to?" (A)

"I'm sorry but there was nobody standing there. In fact you guys were the only ones who've been in the lobby today." Nurse Joy seemed concerned for Ash as she thought he was getting delirious.

Ash returned to his seat to tell the others what Nurse Joy had just told him. The expressions on their face were somewhat of a confused, worry, 'wtf just happened' moment.

"Wait how did he know Misty's last name? We never mentioned it." (B)

"Yeah and come to think about it, I didn't give him my last name either" (A)

"It seemed that he knew who you and Misty were. Had you met him before?" (D)

"Well remember. Misty is a gym leader and so she should have a pretty good reputation. As for me, he must have heard my name from all the great accomplishments I made in the Sinnoh League. I knew I would gain my recognition as a great trainer one day!" Ash's ego was starting to get the better of him.

"Ash that's not what I meant. What I meant was did you guys meet him before face to face. And what are you talking about great accomplishments. You placed top eight in the Sinnoh League & got your ass handed to you by your rival Paul" (D)

"Way to burst my bubble Dawn. But to answer your question no I hadn't met him before, at least not that I can remember. And how weird was the history of the watch. He said some random guy gave it to him when he was my age. It seemed to me like déjà vu" (A)

"Something doesn't seem right, but we'll worry about that later. Did he say how to make the watch work?" (B)

"I don't recall, but it can't be too hard to figure out." (A)

"Ash, just try not to break it, we should probably return it once we're done." (D)

They spent around an hour trying to figure out a way to make it work. First Brock tried to change the time & date on the watch but after he would do that, the time would revert back to the present time. Dawn didn't have much luck either. In fact she didn't really know what to do when she got the watch. She tried Brocks approach again but to no avail. Ash had tried to pry open the watch to see if there was a problem with the gears or battery. He failed as well and reverted to playing with the button.

Just then he got an idea.

"Okay guys I think I have an idea" (A)

"Ash we've been trying to get it to work for the past hour, if it didn't work before, it wouldn't work this time" (D)

"No but you remember what he said? To lovers, a moment can be eternity; eternity can be the tick of a clock?" (A)

"Yeah what about it" (D)

"I think I just need to think about that moment" (A)

"Uh… No offense Ash most of the time, your plans and strategies don't always work out like you want them to." (B)

"There's no use in not trying it. Come on have a little confidence in me" (A)

"Oh we do have confidence in you. In fact we have as little confidence in you as possible. Anyway, go on with your little plan, though I still don't see how this will change things" (D)

Ash set the watch down on the table then closed his eyes to think of the moment that they were walking into Viridian City, the day he would have to say goodbye to his best friend. A couple minutes passed and nothing happened.

"Well Ash, I told you nothing would happen" (D)

"Maybe it just takes a little more time, I don't know" (A)

"Oh well it was worth a try" Brock said

They all leaned back in their chairs to think about how to make the watch work. All of a sudden the ticks from the watch started getting faster

"Guys do you hear that" Ash whispered. The ticking starting to get a little louder and faster

"Hear what?" Brock looked around trying to find what Ash was talking about "I don't hear anything"

"I mean the watch. The ticking sound" (A)

"Did you really just ask that? In case you've forgotten Ash, it's a watch it's supposed to... Wait is it getting faster?" (D)

Suddenly the watch started shaking uncontrollably by the ticking getting faster and faster. Just as they had thought the watch would break from the stress, the watch opened and the ticking stopped. The trio got closer to inspect the watch. For a few seconds everything seemed normal but then the hands started slowly turning backwards but then rapidly got faster as a bright blue aura surrounded them. Just then all the events that had happened in the past ten years at that Pokémon center flashed before their eyes (like those movie scenes where something happens then time reverses itself to a few moments before the event started).

Then after about 30 seconds of reverse scene, the watch closed shut to its normal state, the aura disappeared and the trio had formed expressions of another 'wtf just happened' moment.

"Hey guys what just happened?" (D)

"I think we just time traveled. Yet even worse, we left all our Pokémon in the future." (B)

"No need to panic just let me go see where we are and what time we are in." Ash got up but then sat back down as he noticed three figures standing by a phone booth. He had then realized what was going on. They had traveled ten years into the past to the day that Ash, Misty, and Brock would go their separate ways.

Brock was surprised as Ash had sat back down as soon got up. He then looked around as Ash was eying him over to the phone booth. Brock looked over using peripheral vision to see what Ash was trying to point out. During this time he saw three figures. A short guy with spiked black hair with a cap on, a tall guy with a tan and closed eyes, and a girl with fiery red hair in a side ponytail sitting at the phone booth. (Sorry if these aren't accurate descriptions)

Dawn looked over and couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't contain her excitement "OMG!!! Guys it's…" but before Dawn could finish Ash put his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Dawn shut up!" Ash whispered "We're not trying to draw attention to ourselves" Afterwards Ash let go and Dawn was able to speak again.

"Sorry guys I didn't mean to blurt out. Wow is that really you guys from ten years ago? You guys look so different!" (D)

"Well we grew taller and had a change of clothes before heading to Sinnoh." (A)

"Awesome. Hey, is that Misty? The one on the phone?" (D)

"Yeah. She must be talking to her sisters about now, eventually she will get her bike back and then run out the door crying...because of me." Ash finished off his statement with an expression of sadness and guilt. His prediction was dead on though. No later than one minute after he finished his statement had Dawn seen Misty run out the door with young Ash staring blankly at her with young Brock by his side.

"Should we follow her?" Dawn asked.

"No not yet we need to plan this accordingly. I've seen this happen before somewhere. I think it was in a movie or something like that." (A)

"Uh…Ash? That was a movie" (B)

"Well it was actually two movies. But they both had similar themes. One was that time was unchangeable at all and the other said that time can be changed by one person but can impact the person, the world, or both. The problem is that I don't believe the first one, I want to do believe the second one, but I don't know whether or not the consequences will be good or bad" Ash said

"We are so screwed right now!" Brock exclaimed

"Not entirely true. Here is my plan so far: We need to stay here until our younger selves head out to battle alongside Misty against those goons and Team Rocket. Then after they leave, we will head to the battlefield but remain out of sight until they have moved on, then we will head to the crossroads between Viridian, Pewter, and Cerulean. Then, once we're there...... I'm not so sure what to do after that part." (A)

"Ash, haven't you thought this through?" (D)

"Hey all I wanted to do was get this day over with. I didn't plan on time traveling ten years into the past." (A)

"Okay! Okay...But if you don't have a plan, what are you going to do?" (D)

"This is when I need an echo. I DON'T KNOW. I don't know what the consequences are so depending on what I do, I can alter the time stream to be better or worse. But knowing my luck it would probably be worse. We're just going to have to let the younger version of me tell her how he feels." As Ash said this, he was thinking 'I know what happens; they know what happens, so why can't I fix it for the better'

Brock then let out a huge sigh and then said, "So let me get this straight, we have no money, no Pokémon, no supplies, and to top it all off, we're stuck here until your younger self and Misty admit their feelings to each other. Or in other words WE'RE SCREWED!"

"Yeah, pretty much" Ash said this very quickly in a fate-accepting way as he knew that they were probably screwed anyway. He remembered that there were laws to time traveling that had to be followed as well as the time limit that was put on him. He had to finish his quest before sunset on that day or else all of his future chances with Misty would be lost.

"We'll never get home now." (B & D)

~End Chapter 1~

Ch. 1 Recap: So Chapter 1 ends with Brock and Dawn loosing all faith in Ash. Will they ever be able to return to their original time? What will happen to Ash & Misty? Will they be able to reveal their feelings to each other before sunset? Find out more in Chapter 2 (to be posted soon).

Ok. So this is what I have so far. It may seem cheesy at times but this is my first fic and I didn't really know what I was doing. But if you are reading this, please rate and comment. Also don't hesitate to say what I could change or what I could add in this or future chapters. I'll answer any questions you guys have in the next chapter overview.

Thanks

Ziggyricer9615