Chapter 5
Ash sat in Prof. Oak’s laboratory, Tracy, another one of his old friends, placing a plaster 
on his broken nose. Oak was standing a few inches away, looking at Ash darkly. Delia 
was mopping up all the stray blood that seeped from Ash’s nostrils, a few tears 
occasionally falling from her eyes. 
    “So what’ve you been doing?” asked Tracy. His face was one filled with fury. 
    Looking at his broken nose which Tracy was handling, Ash decided to tread carefully 
with his answer. “Well, I’ve been going on missions for Team Rocket.” he said.
    Tracy’s grip tightened. Oak just closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. 
    “So it is true….” Oak muttered. “I wasn’t sure to tell Delia or not, but….. you were 
coming home, and…… she deserved to know…..”
    “I was going to tell her myself!” Ash said, glancing at Oak. “Suppose you’re glad you 
did, though.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Oak asked, his eyes re-opening.
    Ash pointed to his nose. “This doesn’t just represent my mum’s anger. It represents 
everyone’s. Especially yours.”
    Oak looked at Ash for a moment, then laughed. It was a horrible, cold laugh, one 
which Ash had never heard from his friend before. 
     Then Oak spoke words that Ash had been expecting, but was unprepared for.
     “Suppose I am glad.”
     Before Ash could come to terms with this, Tracy suddenly grabbed his collar and 
pulled him up to his feet. Tracy’s nose was suddenly inches from Ash’s own.
     “I was there, remember!?” he growled, “I remember how you betrayed us! Right in 
the middle of the fight! We would have won if you hadn’t called off your Pokemon!!!”
     Now Ash had had enough. He punched Tracy in the stomach and kicked him away. 
Delia and Oak gasped, running to help Tracy’s shaking form. 
    “I did not betray you!!!” Ash shouted. “I DID NOT BETRAY YOU!!!!” His roar 
echoed around the lab, causing a few Pidgey that sat on the outside of the main lab 
window to fly off, squawking.     
    “Remember the battle! I was at the front line, with everyone behind me! Ten thousand 
people! They and their Pokemon fought to the death, trying to destroy Team Rocket and 
their plan to create Pokemon which had limitless power! Limitless!” He laughed at this 
point. “What a joke. They fooled us.”
    “What?” Tracy choked, Delia and Oka propping him up against the wall, staring at Ash 
themselves.
    “Yeah, it was a fake plot! All they wanted was me.”
    “What’re you talking about?”
    “All my friends were there! Thousands of others too, and they threatened to kill them if 
I didn’t cooperate. Giovanni-” The room suddenly went cold at the mention of that name, 
“-told me that the only way to save you was if I served under him for three years. I have 
done for two, and you know what I worked for? Hurting countless of people and 
Pokemon? Stone tablets! Just some bits of stone with markings on the front. He didn’t 
even tell me what they were for! Then, once I found tablet number four, which he said 
was the last one, he told me that there was a fifth! It’s here in Kanto somewhere, and I’ve 
gotta find it. If I don’t then I don’t know what he’ll do to you.”
   He finished.
   “….Misty, Ash, she went with you. Was she part of Team Rocket, too?”
   “No,” Ash replied, “she was just there when I made the agreement with Giovanni. She 
came with me on my missions. She-” He breathed deeply. “-died in my arms. I couldn’t 
help her. She was shot in the chest, and…… it was all just so quick….”
   Delia stood up and went to Ash, holding him. He didn’t cry, just thought of Misty. Her 
smile. Her scowl. Her……. Baby.
   “…. My Kid….” he muttered.
   “What?” Delia asked gently. 
   “Uh, nothing.” Ash whispered quickly.
   “Oh, Misty.” Tracy murmured sadly.
   “Does her family know?” Oak asked.
   Ash pulled away form Delia and nodded. “Yeah. I sent them a letter.”
   Oak shook his head. “Finding out about the death of a family member, by letter.” He 
looked Ash straight in the eye. “Would you have confronted them, but Giovanni stopped 
you?
   “He wanted me to continue with my missions.” Ash said sadly. “I really wanted to….”
   The room was silent.
* * * *
Ash ate some dinner then went out to Oak’s Pokemon Institute, where all the Pokemon he 
cared for lived.
   Letting loose Charizard, Ivysaur, Meganium, Croconaw and Quilava, Ash went and 
visited all the rest of his Pokemon, who were all overjoyed to see him again. They 
jumped on him and played with him and ran around him, screeching happily. Ash 
enjoyed himself with them for a while, before telling them to go play without him for a 
while.
13.
   Alone, he walked up a small hill where a single tree stood. Under the tree there was a 
small grave, a stone sitting beside it saying:

Here Lies the Pikachu of Ash Ketchum
R.I.P
May he find solace and peace

Ash stood here for a while, letting grief wash over him. This was the first time he had 
visited his old friend’s grave. Pikachu had fought alongside Ash for years, even in the 
battle against Team Rocket. But he had been killed after using all his power to destroy a 
wave of Rocket Soldiers. He had been helplessly weak, and was killed by a bullet.
    Ash assumed that he had given in to Giovanni’s deal so easily was because he didn’t 
want to lose another friend that day.
    This grave then reminded him of the grave of Misty. It was on top of Mount Silver in 
Johto. It read this:

Here Lies Misty Waterflower 
1988-2006
R.I.P
Here Also Lies Charlie
Unborn