Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, and I don't own the song, 1000 Words, Squaresoft and FFX-2 do, but it's kinda in poem form here, and sung later. But, I do own Malina Rose, because she's my own character. "I've never seen this town before!" Brock exclaimed as he, Ash, May, and Max walked down the forest path up to a city called Bahita. The towers and buildings had to be the largest in all of Hoenn, but Ash didn't seem to care about that. For some reason, he was feeling a sense of love and happiness in this city, as if he had been here before and he couldn't wait to come back. As they passed a large park, Ash got a flash in his eyes, and suddenly, everything became black and white. Sitting together on one swing was a little girl and a little boy. The little girl was resting her head on the boy's back, and the boy was saying something, Ash didn't know what it was, but whatever he was saying, it was making the girl cry. The boy's mouth formed some understandable words: "Malina..." "Ash, are you coming?" May called. "Huh? Oh yeah, right!" The group continued wandering around the city, looking for a gym or something that was at least interesting, but they found nothing. "Let's go somewhere else," May suggested. "Isn't Slateport somewhere nearby?" They were now next to the harbor, but there was no ferries available. Just as they began walking again, a girl's voice from behind them shouted, "Which one of you is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town?" They turned around, and saw a girl with light brown skin, blackish-blue hair in a ponytail, wearing slightly baggy pants and a black shirt with a white collar and white sleeves. By her side was a Mawile, looking just as menacing as she did. Somehow, Ash remembered that face from somewhere, those same soft yet determined brown eyes and that mischievous smile... "Well?" "I am!" Ash announced. The girl and her Mawile walked up to them. Ash felt alone when Brock, May, and Max backed up. Ash felt slightly afraid too, but he liked it. She held out her hand. "My name's Malina Rose, and I challenge you to a Pokemon battle." Ash didn't want to battle her. She seemed like a strong trainer, and could easily take him out with even on Pokemon, but he said, "Alright! Don't cry when I win!" "I should be saying the same to you, Ashy-boy." Ashy-boy? He had heard that name before, and it hadn't been from Gary. And Malina? That was a beautiful name. Where had he heard it? Just as the girl had taken out her Pokeball (Ash had expected her to use the Mawile, so he already had Taillow ready to go), an all too familiar voice called, "Ash honey!" "Mom?" It was her, Delia Ketchum, hurrying up to him, a woman who looked extraordinarily like Malina behind her. "Mom, what are you doing here?" Ash asked. "I'm visiting a friend, and I see you and Malina have already seen each other." Malina had somehow gotten to Ash's side in no more than a split second. "Hello Ash," said the woman. "You probably don't remember me. I'm Professor Rose, Malina's mother." Ash shook his head politely. "Sorry. I don't remember." "I thought you wouldn't." "Ash, we used to live here, a long time ago, but we moved when you were eight, just before that accident..." Ash remembered the accident. He had hit his head on something (he couldn't remember and Mrs. Ketchum wouldn't tell him), and had forgotten everything from anytime past seven years old. "I know you don't remember me, Ash," said Malina. "But I never forget a face." Ash blushed. "Why don't we go to my house?" Professor Rose said. "Lunch is almost ready." "Hey, I want my hat back!!" The girl ran around the park with his hat, jumping up and down and chanting, "Ashy-boy is way slow! Ashy-boy can't get his hat back!" He wrestled her to the ground, and snatched his hat from her hand. "There! See, I'm not slow!" The girl blew a raspberry at him. "Whatever. When I'm a Pokemon Master, I'll blow you out of the water!" "No you won't! I'll get there before you!" The girl and the boy stared at each other, and the girl said, "Do you really have to go?" Ash nodded. "I'm moving to the Kanto Region." "That sucks. This place has Pokemon that are way more interesting. My mom says so." "I'm really gonna miss you Malina," Ash said. Malina hugged him tight. "I'll miss you too, Ashy-boy." "Are you sure you don't remember me?" "I'm sure." Malina and Ash sat on the balcony, eating their sandwiches by themselves why everybody else, including Pikachu, were inside. "I saw you in the Pokemon League, the top 16. I was really impressed." Ash blushed again, and he felt proud of himself. So...she was impressed? "How many badges have you got?" Ash asked. "All of them, from Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, but I haven't taken the League Challenge yet," Malina answered. "Why not? I would like to battle you." "I'm studying to become an Idol Master. That's someone who sings and dances with their Pokemon." They were silent as they continued to eat. After a little while, Malina said, "Hey, a long time ago, before you left, I wrote you a poem, but I never gave it to you. Here." Malina handed him a crumpled piece of paper. Ash straigtened it out. He read it out loud. "I know that you're hiding things/using gentle words to shelter me/your words were like a dream/but dreams could never fool..." The poem was called 1000 Words, and Ash had to keep himself from crying as he read it. "What do you think?" Malina asked. "I loved it," Ash said. "I can't believe I don't remember." "I'll jog your memory," Malina said. "Right after dinner, meet me by the park." Ash did as Malina said, and she was waiting by the swings, sitting cross-legged on one of them. "Sit right there," she said, scooting over on the swing. Ash did so, and shuddered as Malina rested her head between his shoulder blades. This did seem familiar, just before... "Malina," Ash said, as the memories came flooding back to him like a mighty tidal wave."I'm sorry I left you here." Malina squealed and hugged him from behind. "I knew it! Do you remember me now?" Ash nodded. "Of course. I remember everything now." He did. From when they first met, to when they took on the third grade bullies, even to when he showed her something special in the forest for her birthday, and to the last time they saw each other, the first time he had seen a girl so strong cry. And just like the memories, Ash's feelings for her came back too, the same feelings he had tried to ignore when they were younger. He admired her, heck, he was obsessed with her. She was just like a pill: once you had her once, you had to have more and more, and you couldn't stop yourself. No matter how much he longed for her, she was like a toxin, poisoning his heart with her beauty. Now he felt utterly ashamed. How could he leave a girl like her, an otherwordly beauty like Malina, behind? It just didn't make sense. "Ash," Malina said. "Are you okay?" Ash nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go back to the house before they start to worry." Malina smiled playfully. "Or suspect something." Before he could react, Malina snatched his hat off his head and ran around the park. "Betcha can't get it back!" Ash chased her for countless minutes, enjoying every second, before tackling her to the ground. He had his hand on the hat, but caught himself staring into her surprised eyes. They laid there like that for a few, precious moments, before Ash cleared his throat and hastily got off of her. He put his hat back on, and bolted towards the house. The next day, Malina took Ash, May, Max, and Brock to the stadium where she would be performing for the city. It reminded Ash of the Pokemon Stadium at the Indigo Plateau, except the stage was raised far above the ground. "I'll be singing here," Malina said. "But I'm not nervous at all." "You're not?" May asked. "I would be frightened." "Well, I'm not you, am I?" All three of the boys knew that tension was rising between the two girls. Brock and Max both agreed that it was all Ash's fault, flirting with the both of them on too many occasions. "I need a partner on one or two of my songs," Malina said. "May, you would be perfect." Not they were on friendly terms? Geez. "I would? Cool!" Ash couldn't suppress it anymore. He needed to tell someone how he felt about Malina. If he didn't, he would explode. Ash grasped Brock's arm and dragged him outside. "What's the problem?" Brock asked. "I love Malina." "Huh?" "I love Malina, okay? I remember everything from when we were younger, and last night, we almost kissed, and--!" "Calm down, okay? This is perfectly normal. Just tell her how you feel." "I can't. What if--?" Suddenly, Malina came storming out of the stadium, running right past Ash and into the arms of another boy, way older than her. He instantly reminded Ash of a male model, and was probably just using Malina to prove to others that he wasn't...happy. Malina kissed him on the lips, and then they both left. Ash felt like his whole word had just been shattered like glass. This was what he feared, Malina belonging to someone other than him. "Oooh," Brock said. "That's not good, is it?" "She's taken," Ash said. "That's it." "No, it's not!" Brock said. "Ash, this isn't you! You had you first, you get her back!" Brock was right. This wasn't like him. He didn't just give up so easily. He had to get her back, one way or another. He didn't care what it took. "Besides," Brock said with smile. "He looks like a tambourine player*." "What's that?" Brock clapped his hands together, stomped his feet on the ground, and when he was done, waddled his hand through the air like a tambourine. Laughing, they went back to the house. Despite the recent shock, that didn't stop Ash from trying to shine more than the tambourine player, named Davis. Malina's birthday was fast approaching, and he wouldn't let that Nancy boy get something better. Of course, Malina didn't seem to be paying much attention to Davis, but more to Ash instead. "You have jungle fever," Davis said to Ash one day. "Excuse me?" "Jungle fever, when a white boy's in love with a black woman. Lay off my woman, white boy. She's mine." Ash wanted to argue, and say that he had her first, but he didn't want to start a fight that didn't involve Pokemon. Malina was in the stadium, practicing her dance moves and songs, Ash sitting in one of the front row seats. He admired her voice when she sang, and her dance moves with her Pokemon were smooth, and they never missed a beat. It was like watching an angel. He especially like the slow songs, where she would stand in one spot and occasionally look at him, making him feel like they were the only people in the world. "Have you ever loved somebody so bad you can't sleep at night?" she sang. "Have you ever? Have you ever?" I have, Ash thought. "Stop staring at me!" Malina laughed. "It's scary!" Ash laughed back. "We're the only people in here. I have nothing else to stare at!" Malina jumped down from the stage. "I want you to sing with me." "No. I don't sing." Malina pouted. "Some birthday week you're making for me." Ash already had something in mind. He had been scouring the forest everyday, looking for that one place he had shown her so long ago, and he finally found it. "Sing for me again," Ash asked. "One more time." "I'll sing when I want," Malina said, still smiling. "Y'know, Davis doesn't stick around like you do. You're always here for me. You always were. That's what I loved, and always will love about you." Ash's face turned tomato red. "Besides," Malina said. "I think Davis is a tambourine player anyways. I caught him looking at a magazine full of guys." They both burst out laughing. You have to tell her Ash, said that voice in the back of Ash's head. Before it's too late. Should he tell her now? No, he had to wait for the perfect moment. The day finally came. Ash told Malina to meet him near the forest after dinner. "What's this all about?" she asked as he grabbed her hand. "It's a surprise!" he told her. "I think you'll remember!" He led her down a series of paths, trying to make her not know where he was taking her. He stopped in front of a clump of bushes. "Close your eyes," Ash ordered gently. Malina didn't complain. She shut them. He led her through the bushes. "Okay. Open." Ash smiled at her completely surprised reaction. It was a spring, yellow orbs floating above it, and Beautiflys fluttering high over the water. "I remember this place," Malina said. "You remembered." Tell her, Ash thought. Ash opened his mouth to confess everything, but Malina had wandered over to the water. "Ash..." she said. "Thank you. I'm glad you remembered this, how I love...this place." Ash was hoping for her to finish it with "you," but she seemed to have caught her own mistake. Suddenly, Malina dropped into the water, and started to splash around like a child. "What are you doing?" Ash asked her. "Having some fun. Life's no fun if you don't pull down your pants and slide on the ice!" Ash shook his head. Malina was always the fun-loving one, daring to do things he would never do, even take on third graders thousands of times their size. "Come on in!" she shouted. "It's great!" Ash shook his head again, but before he could do anything else, Malina had grabbed his hands and pulled him in. Ash emerged with a deep breath, and playfully glared at her. They splashed water on each other before Malina got closer to him. Her eyes weren't determined anymore. They were just soft, full of admiration and adventure. She whispered, "I don't even like Davis. He's a tambourine player." Ash smiled, and before he could stop himself, he grabbed her shoulders, and kissed her full on the lips. She didn't cringe or pull away. This was perfect, everything he had hoped for. They stopped, and he pulled away. Her eyes were still closed, a smile on her face. "Wow," she whispered. Their lips were still close together, but they weren't kissing. Ash whispered, "I love you. I'll love you forever, come what may." "I love you too," Malina said back. "When you moved away, I thought my world had ended, but I knew you would come back. You said you would." Save you tears, cause I'll come back... He had said those exact words. "That poem," Malina said. "Is my song to you. I love you so much." They kissed again, and Ash dipped her so that her hair touched the water. She laughed as he lifted her up so that she was looking down at him. And then they kissed yet again. "Screw Davis," Malina laughed. "I belong to you now, Ashy-boy. You'll all I want." Ash was satisfied by these words, and both of them didn't mind the cold of the water or the chill in the air. They were together, and that was all that mattered. On the night of the concert, Ash stood backstage. He gave Malina a good luck kiss before she left to sing the final song for the evening. The money would be going to the hospital and the orphanage. She was wearing a pretty crimson dress, and her hair was up in a ponytail. "Wish me luck," she said. Ash heard the crowd cheer as Malina stepped onto the stage. He was proud of her, and of the fact that she belonged to him now, not that tambourine player... "Believe with me," she said, her voice overlapping with May's, who was offstage. "Even if we are torn apart, our feelings will unite us! That is what this song is about." Ash closed his eyes as he listened to the beautiful song that was dedicated to him. Him, not Davis. "A thousand word, one thousand embrace, will cradle you. Making all of you weary days seem faraway! They'll hold you forever!" Ash felt all of the memories come back to him. He felt Malina's fear, joy, and love. That was what this song was about. "Those a thousand words," she sang. "Have never been spoken. They'll fly to you, and carry you home, and back into my arms! Suspended on silver wings!" Her voice was intense and full of feeling. "Those a thousand words, call out through the ages. They'll cradle you, turning all of your lonely years into only days! They'll hold you forever!" The song ended with Malina whispering, "A thousand words." Some years later... "Sarai, you're gonna be late!" Young Sarai Ketchum flew down the stairs, her black hair flying from underneath and behind her white bandana. She had light brown skin, a mixture of black and white, and the same brown eyes as her father, determined and wild. "I'm getting a Mudkip, and nobody's gonna stop me!" Sarai exclaimed. "I'll be a master just like dad!" "You sure will. You can battle him when you reach the League Challenge." Sarai kissed him mom on the cheek. "Bye mom!" And so begins another journey...