Last One Standing

Part 1

Finaille Nailo and Pikachu

Ash is sitting on a windowsill; Misty is standing by him, and they are talking about the current bombing at the National Pokemon Museum.

"I really am worried about the bombings, it didn?t seem like a big deal before, but it?s becoming more frequent." Misty tells Ash, looking out into the night sky. Ash glances over at Brock, who is still trying to comfort Nurse Joy.

"I know, I know. But what can we do? We barely know a thing about the bombings, we?ve only heard a few people talking about it." Ash reminds Misty. Misty nods. He looks at Misty, and pulls her from her standing position, into a sitting position on the windowsill. " It?s a really great thing you?re so passionate about the world today, and you know I wanna stop them, but we barely know anything. You understand, don?t you?" Misty bites her lip for a moment.

"I guess." She mumbles. Ash smiles.

"You?ll understand soon enough. I bet nothing bad will happen for a while now, promise me." Ash says, pulling her into a hug.

"I know, I know? you told me." She says, grinning.

"Come on, it?s getting kinda late, it?s almost curfew. We should probably be getting to bed." Ash tells Misty. They are still embraced in a hug, and don?t want to let go. They linger in the spot on the windowsill for a moment, then pull apart and get ready for bed.

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Ash is in a state of darkness. He?s sprawled on the floor, and he slowly sits up. He looks around, and sees a mess of people running. He gets up, and tries to figure out what?s going on, when somebody grabs him from behind, cups his mouth with one hand, and gets a hold of his throat with the other. The person drags Ash to another room, away from all the people. Once in the room, the person turns Ash around.

"You better do what I say, or else your friend is in for it." The masked person says, pulling out a gun from his belt. He turns Ash around, so he?s facing Misty, who?s tied to a pole.

"Misty!" Ash cries, running up to her.

"Don?t you touch her!" The person yells. Ash freezes. "If you want your friend back so badly, you must give me every one of your Pokemon." Ash stares at him.

"Are you nuts! I?m not giving?" He says, being interrupted. The person raises his gun and shoots. Both Ash and Misty scream, and Ash ducks down, until he realizes the person wasn?t aiming for him. He quickly looks up at Misty, and blood is starting to run down her face? Ash screams.

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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Ash screams, quickly waking up. Pikachu, scared half-to-death, jumps in the air and shocks poor Ash, who?d just woken up from a nightmare. He yowls loudly again, and this time Misty hears him, and slowly wakes up.

"Ash? what?s going on?" Misty says, rubbing her eyes, then sitting up. She looks at Ash, who has a surprised and scared look on his face. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just scared Pikachu?" Ash mumbles. Misty smiles at Ash?s fried look.

"What did you do to poor Pikachu?" She asks, pulling Pikachu over to her and petting the scared Pokemon.

"Piika?" Pikachu says in a relaxed tone.

"I uh, had a bad dream."

"Really, what about?"

"Um, it was nothing?" Ash lies. Misty rolls her eyes, grabs Ash?s hand and makes him look into her eyes.

"Tell me." She demands. Ash sighs.

"I had a dream, and uh, you were shot by some masked man. It scared the crap outta me." Ash mutters. Misty thinks for a moment, and pulls Ash into a hug.

"You were? worried about me?" Misty asks innocently. Ash smiles.

"Of course, was I not supposed to be?"

"You better worry about me." Misty insists. Ash snorts.

"Uh-huh. Right." Ash laughs. Misty pinches him. "Ok, I was worried, you know, so??"

"It?s sweet of you, that?s all." Misty says with a sweet smile. She crawls over to Ash?s side, and leans her head on his shoulder. Ash puts his arm around her, and rubs her arm slowly.

"I?d never be able to go on without you." Ash says with a smile. Misty turns a bit red in the face, but looks up to Ash, smiling.

"Really?"

"I?m serious." Ash says, grinning at the awestruck girl. He pulls her body to face him, and he kisses her on the cheek.

"You?re my, uh, best friend. I always care about you."

"Thanks, Ash." He smiles, and crawls back into his sleeping bag. He looks at her for a moment.

"Would you care to join me?" He asks, opening his sleeping bag up a little. Misty smiles and climbs in with him. She zips up the bag, and turns to face Ash.

"This time, try NOT to have nightmares, or else you might turn up worse than you did with Pikachu." Misty says, with a stifled giggle.

"Uh huh, what can YOU do?"

"Enough?" Misty smiles. Ash kisses her on the forehead.

"We?ll see about that. Goodnight Misty."

"Goodnight Ashy-boy." Ash puts his arm around her small waist and kisses her softly on the lips. They blush for a moment, and Misty rests her head on Ash?s shoulder.

"See ya in the morning, Mist."

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The next day, they stop at the Westlane Town Laboratory. They still don?t have a clue who the person who runs the lab is yet, but they hear that she has a reputation of being wild and ditzy. They get up to the laboratory, and knock on the door.

"Hello?" Ash yells loudly, while banging on the door. A young girl opens the door. She has black hair, curling a bit past her shoulders. Her eyes are dark brown and very large. She stood about an inch shorter than Misty.

"Hi, we?re here to see the person who runs the lab." Misty states. The girl stares at them for the moment.

"I AM the person who runs this lab. My name is Mia Hemmershock." The girl says, in a sort of high voice.

"No way, you don?t look older than 21!" Misty expresses. Mia cocks her head to the side.

"That?s because I?m not. I?m 19 and just getting started. But considering I was the Pokemon Master a few years ago, I think I have enough knowledge. I?ve been working for about six months now. Why don?t you come in?" Mia suggests, letting them in the house. "So, who?s Ash Ketchum now?"

"I am." Ash says, speaking up. Mia looks up into his eyes.

"How old are you?" Mia asks.

"I?m fifteen, will be sixteen in June." He says. She cocks an eyebrow at him.

"Pokedex please?" She asks. She looks at the Pokedex, while Ash turns to Misty and Brock."

"She seems a bit angry? Did I do something wrong?" Ash whispers.

"No? not that I know of." Brock replies.

"Yeah, I didn?t notice anything out of ordinary." Misty states. Ash turns back to Mia, who is finished looking at his Pokedex.

"Here you go. I?m sorry about my mood, but you look like somebody I knew a long time ago." Mia says, handing back Ash?s Pokedex.

"And who would that be?" Ash asks.

"You look like my little brother. I haven?t seen him since I was six. He was two years old when I moved out with dad. You have his face." She says quietly.

"Where was your brother?" Misty asks curiously.

"He stayed with my mother in Pallet town." Mia says. Ash looks at her shocked. He was two years old when his parents got divorced, and his father moved away. And although his mother didn?t mention it often, actually it had been years since she had told him, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he did have a sister.

"Ash, are you ok?" Misty asks. Ash gulps nervously.

"Your dad isn?t? Jake, right?" Ash asks Mia.

"Yeah, his name is Jake? how did you know?"

"Do you remember your mother?s name?"

"Um? yeah, my dad told me. It?s Delia?" She froze for a moment. "? Ketchum."

"Are you?" Ash starts.

"My brother?" Mia finishes. Misty and Brock look at each other in disbelief. ASH HAD A SISTER??!!

"My God?" Ash says, pulling Mia into his arms in a big hug.

"I can?t believe this!" Mia says excitedly, hugging Ash with all her might.

"Neither can I." Brock says.

"Me neither." Misty adds.

"Come on you guys, you guys sit down on the couch. I?ll fix us some tea, ok?" Mia says, all excited-like.

"Ok, um, thanks." Ash says. He looks at Misty and Brock, who still have very funny looks on their faces.

"How come WE didn?t know about this?" Misty demands.

"Uhh, I didn?t know about this either." Ash reminds her.

"But this is sooo weird!" Misty yells.

"I know, I know?" Ash says, pulling her into a hug. He?s a bit confused into WHY Misty was acting this way.

"I?m sorry? this is just? I don?t know, not what I was expecting." Misty says, looking into the same, big, brown eyes that Mia had. She examined his face, which was almost the same face that Mia had.

"Hey, Mia and I are, uh, family, I?ll always love you guys." Ash reminds them.

"Hey, your sis is HOT!" Brock yells, with a gaga grin on his face. Ash and Misty roll their eyes.

"Just when I thought you were actually changing for the better?" Misty says sarcastically.

"Hey! I can?t help which girls are hot and which aren?t!" Brock tells the two.

"Do you think I?M hot?" Misty asks, fluttering her eyelashes sarcastically.

"Well, I dunno, you?re like my sister? I don?t think of my sisters as ugly or cute? I mean, you?re cute, but not in THAT way." Brock stammers.

"Uh huh, right!" Misty demands. Mia comes back into the living room with a tray. She sets it down on the coffee table and pours four cups of tea.

"Hey Mia?" Ash asks.

"Yeah?"

"Um, is? dad still around?" Ash asks solemnly. Mia looks down at the ground, her medium-length hair covering her eyes.

"He died last summer in a car accident." She says quietly.

"He? did?" Ash asks, another shock moving through his body. All of a sudden, the only thing going through his dad was the only memory of his dad.

(Flashback)

Ash was seven and a pretty carefree kid. He bragged about becoming a Pokemon Master. He bragged about the Pokemon that he was going to capture. He bragged about the adventures he was going to go on. Little did he know his bragging and lying would actually come true one day. But, Ash didn?t have a dad. He didn?t really care; his world relied on only the mom being the parent.

One day in early May, Ash just got home from soccer practice. He opened the door, threw down his soccer bag, and yelled,

"MOM!"

No reply.

"MOM?" Ash yelled again. He walked into the kitchen, to find his mom. She was talking to somebody, and Ash hid on the side of the pantry. He peered in to see who she was talking to. It was? a man? one Ash had never seen before in his life.

"Jake, I don?t think we should. Ash doesn?t even really know you. And I haven?t seen Mia in nearly five years. I?d rather him stay with me. You?ve got a good life, a nice wife and now even a three year old daughter, not to mention Mia." Delia says.

"Mia?" Ash wonders, "Who in the world is that? Who is this guy?"

"But Ash is my son!" Jake yells. Ash?s eyes grow large.

"This guy is my dad?" Ash wonders in disbelief.

"But, I?m not married. Ash is the only person with me now. If you take him away from me, you?re taking away a lot of my life. HE?S STAYING WITH ME!" Delia screams, using a fierce tone the young Ash had never heard before. Ash decides he didn?t want to hear anymore. He turns around, and trips on the carpet. Ash?s mom hears the thud, and runs over to Ash. Jake follows.

"Ash, honey, are you alright?" Delia asks, picking Ash up and setting him in her lap. Ash nods quietly. "Honey, I want you to meet somebody."

"Hi, big guy." The man says, kneeling down to look at Ash.

"Ash? this is? your father." Delia says quietly. Ash looks at him.

"Hi." Ash says shyly. Jake looks at Delia.

"I?m sorry, but if you?re not willing to give him to me, I?m going to court." Jake says. "I?ve got to go." He turns to Ash. "Goodbye. Stay out of trouble." He leaves the house. Ash and Delia look at each other for a very long moment.

(End Flashback)

"Ash? Hellooo?" Misty says, waving a hand in front of Ash?s face. He snaps back into reality and looks at Misty.

"Oh, sorry. Guess I kinda zoned out there for a brief moment." Ash says, trying to look his normal self.

"Brief? You were like that for like, twenty minutes!" Brock tells him.

"I uh, was? Oh, sorry guys." He says, with a fake smile.

"So, Ash, guess becoming a Pokemon Master runs in the family, eh?" Mia says, with a smile.

"Really?" Ash asks curiously. Just talking about being a Pokemon Master makes him forget everything that was just on his mind.

"Yeah! You didn?t know dad was a Pokemon Master? So is grandpa." Mia says.

"Wow, I really didn?t know that." Ash says, amazed.

"Yeah, I became a Pokemon Master at 14, but then, decided that I didn?t want to have the title forever, so I worked with my dad to have the profession I have now. Dad used to be the person who ran the Westlane Town Lab before. He only did it for about 13 years, too. He was? really good at it."

"Wow? so does that mean I might be a Professor too someday?" Ash asks. Mia smiles and shrugs.

"I dunno, maybe. So, is there anything you want to know about the Golden Bay tournament?" Mia asks.

"Yeah, where?s the first gym?" Ash asks excitedly.

"Patience little one?" Mia grins, "? it?s in Clover City, east of here. Of course, you will be passing Maioko Town and Semter Village on the way there. Semter Village is known for their trainers. They say 1 in 4 people there will win a Pokemon tournament sometime in their life."

"Wow, awesome!" Ash exclaims. "So, what type of Pokemon does the Clover City Gym use?"

"Well, I definitely will tell you you?ve never heard of the type before. All the types in the Golden Bay area are, let?s say, very unique. Anyways, their type is Wooden." Mia says calmly.

"Wooden?"

"Yeah. All the gyms here use uniquely type Pokemon. Of course, in the wild you?ll still find types you?re used to. But, you have to find out the types for yourself." Mia says with a grin. Ash stands up.

"Well, I really appreciate this, Mia. I suppose me and the gang better head off, then." Ash says. Misty shakes Mia?s hand. Then Brock does.

"Wait, Ash, before you go, I have something for you." Mia says, pulling out a Pokeball from her belt. She hands it to him.

"Mia? thank you." Ash says with a smile.

"This is Topple. He?s a Demonic Type. Their specialty is taking over the souls of other Pokemon and fighting. He?s cute, but he?s really mischievous." Mia says with a smile. "I think he?d be better off seeing new places."

"Thank you Mia, I really appreciate this." Ash says, hugging his "sister".

"Goodbye, and good luck on your journey Ash!" Mia says, walking him, Misty, and Brock to the door. They step out of Mia?s house and wave to her one last time.

"Goodbye!" Ash yells.

"See ya later!" Misty yells.

"Stay single!" Brock yells. Mia just grins and walks back in her house. They get onto Route 48 that leads to Maioko Town.

"I still don?t believe that." Misty says to Ash.

"Why not?"

"I don?t know. I just really didn?t know that much about your past life. Sadly to say, I think you knew just about as much as I did." Misty says.

"Yeah, that does make sense."

"Ash, your sister is REALLY hot!" Brock exclaims. Ash grins.

"Well, I have to protect my sis from you? you?d scare the heck outta her." Ash says sarcastically, actually not having a clue about her preferences.

"Oh come on?" Brock begs, getting on his knees. Misty pulls his ear and drags him along.

"Come on, lover-boy. I think I have a better chance of marrying Ash then you do of marrying Mia." Misty says quietly, out of Ash?s hearing range.

"Oh, so you?re saying you like Ash now?" Brock asks, grabbing Misty?s arm to stop her from pinching his ear, and stands up.

"Hey, I didn?t say that." Misty says.

"Didn?t say what?" Ash asks, just hearing what Misty said.

"Oh, nothing you need to know? YET!" Misty says with a grin.

"Ok? whatever. Girls are so weird." Ash states. Misty pulls out her mallet.

"Care saying that again, Ashy-boy?"

"Uh? I didn?t say anything." Ash says, with a panic-stricken face.

"Good, I didn?t think so." Misty says with a cute smile plastered on her face.

"GIRLS ARE WEIRD!" Ash yells in a cough. Brock sighs.

"Here they go again?" Brock says with a pathetic-like tone. Misty pulls out her mallet and slams Ash in the head very hard. Ash picks himself up and starts running.

"YOU CAN?T CATCH ME, NANANANA!!!" Ash yells to Misty, who is fuming.

"I?ll get you someday, Ash Ketchum! And don?t forget, you STILL owe me that bike!" Misty says, chasing after him. Brock just watches them in disbelief.

"They?ll never change?" Brock says with a smile.

So, you like? It took me long enough to write anyways. So um, review please! Oh yeah, now Pikachu is helping me write this. Hope ya liked ^^.