You walk through the doors and into a titanic theater, crammed full exceptfor your one seat. You grin as you realize that your seat is in the middle of the front row. Once you sit down, you realize that the famous gym leader A.J. and his Sandshrew is on your right, and the famous scientist Bill is on your left. The lights turn off and in an instant the theater is completely dark. Then after several seconds the peal of an electric guitar splits the silence that before had only been broken by excited mutterings. The lights illuminate a stage where a yellow Pikachu was strumming a guitar sized perfectly for him, and there, off to the left, is a Geodude pounding maniacally on an Onix with drumsticks, and there were the two stars of the J and J Pokemon band: Jessie and James! Grinning at each other, they begin their song that had been at the top of the charts for the last year, and you, like thousands of others all around you, jump to your feet screaming at the top of your lungs as they begin one of their songs. A.J. leans over and asks you, “Do you know how the two that are coming up later got together?” You shrug and reply, “Not really…no…do you?” A.J. grins and says, “Well, according to my good friend Brock of Pewter City, this is how it happened…” You lean back and listen as A.J. begins to explain how they got together, even as the J and J Pokemon Band begin to play their last song…their theme song (which had topped the charts for the last year): “To Protect the world from Devastation! To unite all peoples within our nation! To denounce the evils of Truth and Love! To extend our reach to the stars above…” “Ash, are we lost?” Misty asked. “For some reason I remember passing that stump fifteen times now.” Ash thought for a second, trying to escape the wrath of the mallet, not to mention Misty, then said, “Yeah, heh, sure seems like it, doesn’t it?” Brock muttered, “Yeah, sure seems like it, Ash, and has seemed like it the past fourteen times.” Misty glanced over at Ash, then said, “Oh! Look! Two hours ago you said that this cliff had a great view!” Ash said, “Yeah, heh, I bet it looks even better at night.” “Pika?” Pikachu asked, raising its eyebrows. “Togeprii.” Togepi answered, raising its eyebrows several times and glancing at Ash and Misty. “I’LL NEVER KNOW WHAT THAT WAS ALL ABOUT!!!” Ash wailed. Brock looked at Ash strangely and sat down, bumping Ash into Misty, “ASH KETCHUM!!!!!” Brock looked away with a boyish grin on his face and released his Geodude between himself and Ash and Misty. “WHAT?” Ash asked, staring at the redheaded beauty, “All I did was bump into you, and I didn’t mean to! Brock-“ he turned towards Brock, but Brock was staring off into the sunset, a sad expression on his face, but as soon as both Misty and Ash looked away, a mischievous grin spread across his face, “bumped into me. By the way, Misty, do you know where we are?” Misty glared at Ash, “Are we lost?” “I never said that, but let’s just pretend, if I didn’t know where we are, do you know where we are?” Misty glared at Ash, “No.” Brock looked up at the arguing duo, “Well I do.” Ash and Misty stared at Brock like they had forgotten that he was there, “Somewhere! EEHEHEHEHEHEHEE!!!!!!!!” Misty looked at Brock with disdain, “Brock, that is why you’re never gonna get a girlfriend.” Ash had looked at Brock with some hope, but now looked down at his shoes, “Then we’re lost.” He mumbled. “AAUUGGGHHHHH!!!!!! ASH KETCHUM!!! I wish that you had stayed in Pallet Town! I wish that I’d never heard of you! You’re too short to be a good Pokemon Master, and Gary is probably right, you’ll never be a Pokemon master because you are too dense and you can’t read a map, You-You-YOU YOU.” Ashes raised up his hands as Misty reached for her mallet, “HEY! Is it my fault that whenever I try to use the maps at the mall I end up at the pregnant women’s clothing store?” “TOGEPRI???????” Togepi screeched and fainted dead away. Pikachu stared up at Ash, then stared at Misty, then back at Ash, its mouth hanging open and its ears down behind its head, looking very shocked. Brock nearly fell off of the cliff but his Geodude grabbed him and pulled him back up. There was stunned silence for a second, then said, “Um, Misty, Ash, I know that you guys are good friends and all, but aren’t you two a little young for-OOOOWWWW!!!!” Misty glared down at Brock and lifted up her mallet for a second stroke, “I DID NOT DO THAT WITH ASH!!!!” she brought the mallet down again and crunched Brock’s fingers that were on top of his head, holding his head where it had been hit by the mallet, “IT’S JUST A FIGMENT OF YOUR SICK-” SMASH! “DEMENTED-” SMASH!! “TWISTED-” SMASH SMASH SMASH!!!!!!!! “STUPID LITTLE MIND!!!!” Brock held his smashed fingers up in front of his eyes and replied as calmly as he could, “Well, You brought the subject up-OW!! Put that thing away already Misty, you have made your POINT!!!!” Misty put her mallet away and turned to face Ash, but he was nowhere to be found. “Ash?” she asked, sounding confused, “Where are you, Ash? I need you!” But he didn’t hear, since he had hurried off into the forest at the first opportunity. Ash twisted his lip in sadness and walked deeper into the forest, trying to escape from the tears that threatened to overtake him. He sat down against a rock and it moved, revealing itself to be a Geodude. Ash just stared at it, and didn’t move a muscle. It moved off on its arms, looking for a place where it wouldn’t be disturbed. Ash let out a breath and sighed. Maybe he was no good as a trainer, maybe he was dense, but was that his fault? NO! he was born that way, and he just couldn’t read a map no matter how hard he tried. He looked up at the stars and heard a soft, “Pikachupi Pikapal Pikapi!” Ash sat up and looked up at Pikachu, “What did you say?” A voice behind him said, “He said that you and Misty are friends, and that you have come too far to just let your friendship go now…Pikachupi, that would be Misty. Pikapi, that would be you. Don’t you call him your Pikapal? He is trying to get it into your head that you are all friends, and that you shouldn’t separate.” The voice paused and said, “Look at it this way. What if someday a really young Kanghaskan said to its mother, ‘Mom, I don’t want to be with you anymore, so I am leaving!’” Ash looked up at where the strange voice had come from and said, “That is absurd! A Kanghaskan would never say such a thing!” There was a pause, and then the voice said, “Oh no? Then how would you explain me?” From where the voice had come, a Kanghaskan came out of the shadows, and stared coolly at Ash. It had no baby Kanghaskan in its pouch, and looked at Ash sadly, “Yes, I said it, and ran away from my mother! Now I am paying with deep regret for every moment of my life! If you go away from Misty, and take what she says seriously, then you will never be a good Pokemon Master. Trust me. You need to go back there and apologize for everything. Including the bike.” Pikachu had been staring at the Kanghaskan thoughtfully and suddenly Pikachu grew mad and alarmed, and it hunkered down and sparks flew off of its cheeks, waiting for a command or a provocation so that it could attack. Ash settled back down and stared up at the sky, and there seemed to be five stars sketching out a smile, and Tracey’s hand connecting the stars, then two eyes, and a nose. The eyes became more beautiful, and then came the red hair down the side of the face. Suddenly Ash saw Misty laughing, playfully slapping, and even kissing him. Ash shook his head, but the vision was still there. Ash took a deep breath and said, “All right.” The image faded, but he could see it clearly in his mind. “I’ll go back.” He stood up and went back to camp. Pikachu lingered, staring at the Kanghakan thoughtfully for a few more seconds, then scampered off after its master, and the ketchup packets that Ash had stuck in his back pocket. “Pikapi PIKAPIKAPIKAPICHU PIKA!!!” (Why can’t Ash get that I’m trying to tell him to get married to Misty by eating red ketchup to match Misty’s hair?? It’s so obvious!!!) The Kanghaskan smiled softly and then shimmered, then faded altogether to reveal Mewtwo, a peaceful smile on its face. A shadowy form appeared by its side, and Mew looked up at him. “Thank you.” She said, “For teaching me human speech, as well as for doing that.” Mewtwo gazed lovingly into Mew’s eyes and said, “Anything for you, my dear, who destroyed my nature that demanded that I destroy, and taught me to be loving and kind.” Mewtwo and Mew kissed. Misty stared down the cliff, wondering if she had the courage to take her own life. Brock was asleep in the tent, but she was here, pondering suicide because Ash had left her. Misty made a decision and was about to jump when she looked up at the stars and saw five stars that looked like Ash’s smile, then two stars that looked like his eyes, then his hair that looked like streaks of blackness against the dark sky, then Misty could see Pikachu on his shoulder, and she imagined herself there, and suddenly she could see him kissing her. She was in a bridal gown and veil, and Ash was in a Tuxedo with his hair neatly combed for once, and Pikachu standing beside her, and Togepi beside her and…they were on a stage??? She smiled at the image, most likely a figment of her imagination, and a single tear fell down the curvature of her face and she stepped closer to the edge of the cliff. The image faded into memory, but very vivid memory. Mewtwo’s eyes widened and he started forward, but Mew’s hand pushed against Mewtwo and Mew’s soft voice echoed inside of Mewtwo’s mind, “They must make their own decisions. We have helped them see that they do indeed care for each other. Our main goal, our ONLY task is to guard the portals and help both men and Pokemon. This is their inner battle, and we cannot interfere. That is treachery against the high council beyond the highest portals of Pokemon, and if we do not obey them, then we will die as surely as if you struck a fly with a Psychic attack!” Mewtwo growled deep in his throat and muttered, “I have grown fond of this boy, and I do not wish to see him suffer.” Mew looked at Mewtwo. “I did not wish to be copied, but the humans made a copy of me, and here we are! What would have happened if they had not made you? We cannot control what happens to us, but we control what we do with whatever comes our way.” A mischievous Gengar turned away, grinning, as he heard this conversation. He called together a Haunter and a Gastly, and outlined his plan to them. Gengar grinned and so did Haunter and Gastly. They changed form and Gengar stalked towards the Ketchum camp, transforming into a Blastoise and roaring as ferociously as possible. “Misty!” Ash cried as he saw her there at the brink of the cliff, her blowing back across her body as she looked at him, and Ash couldn’t help thinking that before she had looked at him, when she had been staring so thoughtfully off into space, that she seemed somehow familiar to the Gastly that had been posing at that girl that one time long, long ago. She waved farewell to Ash and turned to walk off of the cliff, then she stumbled back and screamed at the two Beedrills that she saw hovering there, just waiting for her to move. Her ankle got caught in a crack of rock, and she fell away from the drop off, and there was a loud crack, and the roar of a Pokemon filled the night. “ASH!” Misty screamed as the rock on the drop off side of the cliff moved a little, and several pebbles clattered down the cliff. She struggled to get up, but fell back down, screaming like she had been shot, “I THINK THAT MY FOOT IS BROKEN!” Ash shouted, “PIKACHU GO! USE THUNDERBOLT ON THOSE TWO BEEDRILLS!!” Ash dove forward and grabbed for Msity, but the side of the cliff gave way, and Misty fell down, down, suddenly her screams were interrupted, and Ash crawled to the edge of the cliff and looked down, but there was no Misty. Pikachu shouted in frustration, and Ash looked up, to see that both Beedrills were still hovering there, then suddenly one dropped out of sight below the cliff, and Ash saw it for what it really was. A Gastly. The other Beedrill turned into a Haunter and flew off, and the roars suddenly ceased. Ash turned around to see Misty being lowered to the ground by Brock’s Onix, and Brock standing next to her, helping her down onto the ground. Ash ran over to her and cuddled her in his arms and said, “Misty, I’m sorry about what I’ve said, and-“ Misty put her finger to his lips and looked down at the ground and sighed, then looked up at him, “Ash, screw it. Don’t apologize, I’m the one with a short temper, I’m the one who insulted you, and I’m sorry. I have such a short temper with everyone, well, because I love you Ash!” She looked up at him and placed her lips against where his should have been had Ash’s jaw not been dropped down. Misty pulled back, grinning, and said, “Sorry, not ready for that level of kissing yet.” Ash pushed with his hand and slowly started to close his mouth. Togepi woke up and was right underneath the lowest part of Ash’s hand, so he tipped forward onto Misty, and his face smashed against hers, and both legs from the knees down went up in the air, flailing around as fast as they could for balance as he crashed forward. Luckily, Togepi managed to roll out of the way, and so she wasn’t harmed. Three flashes came from the direction of the tent and Brock grinned evilly, “I’ll be able to use this picture to blackmail you!” Gary stepped from behind a tree and said, “Same here!” “Meowth! Dat’s right!” said Meowth, appearing out of nowhere. Meowth looked confused, then glanced around for Jessie and James. Meowth parted a bush and reeled back saying, “YUCK!!! Ya guys do know dat we gotta do our motto, right?” Jessie and James stood up from the bush, James with lipstick marks all over his face. “To Protect the world from devastation!” Ash groaned and found that Brock’s Geodude was there and started banging his head against it. Jessie glared at Ash, but James snapped his fingers, “Hey Jessie, why don’t we get a Pikachu to play a little electric guitar and a Pokemon to play a bunch of Geodudes, Gravellers, and Golems, and we could add a little music to our little motto here!” The Geodude walked away from Ash, who fell flat on his face in the dirt as he brought his head down to hit the Geodude again, and walked over to the Onix, and selected two sticks and began to drum against the Onix, using Earthquake for a Bass pedal. Pikachu grinned and pulled out a little electric guitar out of its little backpack on its little back and began to strum to the tempo of the Geodude. James and Jessie looked at each other, and Jessie wiped the kiss marks off of James’s face, then they both started nodding in time to the music, and then Pikachu started a little theme music theme for them. Team Rocket started singing: “To Protect the world from Devastation!” To unite all peoples within our nation! To denounce the evils of Truth and Love! To extend our reach to the stars above! Jessie! (guitar STRUM!-guitar) James! (guitar STRUM-guitar) Surrender now, or prepare to fight! Meowth! THAT’S RIGHT! (BA BOOM!-drums)” Gary covered his ears, “IS NOTHING SACRED???” Meowth slashed at Gary, Onix swept Gary off of his feet with its tail, Geodude did a Body slam, Pikachu used thunderbolt, and Jessie and James tackled Gary. But, unnoticed by everyone but Brock, Ash smiled at Misty at Jessie and James’ antics, and pulled himself up to one knee, and Misty up to a sitting position. “Misty, will you marry me?” Ash asked. Misty blushed harder than she had ever thought possible and let her thoughts drift back to what she had planned for what they would do after she and Ash married. It took only an instant before all of her thoughts paraded before her consciousness in superfast motion, and then she nodded and kissed Ash for the very first time, and she felt a thrill run through her. There was a flash of a camera and Brock said, teary eyed, “I was hoping there would be a happy ending!” A.J. grins at you, “That’s how I hear it happened.” In front of you, the J and J Pokemon Band are playing their song for the third time, since the audience had demanded it again and again. “…Jessie! James! Surrender Now or prepare to fight! Meowth! That’s right!” The Team Rocket trio struck their pose, and you, along with the entire audience clap. As everyone claps and the J and J Pokemon Band, formed upon a chance five years prior, bow to the crowd and retreat into the wings. You feel good as the band retreats out of sight. As Jessie passed a dressed up Ash, Jessie said, “That was a good idea, forming a band and giving the money to Giovanni instead of giving him your Pikachu and have him sell off your Pikachu or worse! Now he is happier than I’ve ever seen him, and me and James are sharing the vice presidency of Team Rocket, not to mention each other, since we got married!” Ash blushed and shrugged modestly, “Well, James actually thought of the band!” Jessie grinned at Ash and gave him a peck on the cheek, and received a bash in the mouth from Misty. Misty pulled Ash out onto the stage and pulled Professor Oak after her. Professor Oak went to the center stage and bowed, and talked into a cordless microphone that he carried out with him, and, with Ash standing there in a tuxedo with Pikachu on his shoulder as the best man, and Misty looking stunning in her dress, along with Togepi standing there beside her with a little basket of flowers in its tiny hands, all dressed up in a tiny little dress, Professor Oak began, “Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time that you have all been waiting for! We are here to join Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum in matrimony…” “ASH BABY!!! YOOHOO!!” Delia Ketchum suddenly burst out, “OVER HERE!!!” Ash, startled, looked over at his mother and was promptly blinded by the flash of the camera; “Now don’t forget to change your you-know-whats every morning!” “MOM!!!” Ash cried in an exasperated tone, “DO YOU MIND?? THIS IS MY WEDDING! IT’S ON NATIONAL TV!!” Misty giggled, “I thought that was rather cute!” Ash glared at her, “You would!” he was about to say, before he noticed her hand moving towards her mallet. As the audience roared in laughter and as Ash stumbled back to where he was supposed to be, Brock muttered to Gary out of the corner of his mouth, “It’s good to know that some things never change.” Gary shook his head and nodded imperceptibly as the cameras zoomed in on them. “Smile for the hot girls that are watching, Brock.” Brock, already in ga-ga mode, muttered back, “What do you mean? Misty’s sisters are all here!” Nonetheless, he pulled out a piece of cardboard that had his phone number on it and showed it to the camera. Gary grinned, “You’re right, Brock.” A short while later, Ash said, “I do.” At the exact same time that Mewtwo, who was floating near the top of the theater, said it to Mew. Oak smiled fondly at Ash, then looked at Misty, an excellent trainer in her own right. “Ash, you may now kiss your wife for the very first time!” And, even as Ash kissed Misty, Mewtwo kissed Mew, and they both began floating softly down to the ground on the opposite side of the Professor as Ash and Misty and Team Rocket. Then suddenly Meowth noticed Mewtwo. “HOT DIGGITY!” He shouted, breaking the romantic mood, and ran over towards Mewtwo. Smiling softly up at Ash, Misty mouthed the words, “I love you,” which Ash repeated back to her. And, as Oak said that they could, and ignoring Meowth, they slowly, as if they expected this to be some kind of dream, began to move their mouths towards each other, and, just before their lips met, Meowth rolled into Ash, knocking him onto the floor, and, since he had his fingers intertwined with Misty’s he pulled her down with him. Jessie and James, running after Meowth, slid to a screeching stop as the tried to stop before they ran over the young couple, but only succeeded in tripping over them and knocking over Oak, who knocked over Gary, who knocked over Brock, who knocked over Delia Ketchum, who ran up to see if her baby was all right, and she had shouted a little too loudly to Ash to ask if he—her baby—was all right, and she knocked over Mewtwo and Mew. “Everbody hold still!” Tracy shouted out, “This would make a great sketch!” Meowth extracted himself from the mess and hopped over to Mewtwo and Mew, “Can I have your autographs?” He asked. Misty, who was on top of Ash, locked eyes with him and he grinned weakly back, and they both knew that they shared, in that glance, the same thought. Some things never change.