Disclaimer: I don't claim to own any part of the Pokèmon franchise and give full credit for Pokèmon characters named in my fanfiction to Nintendo, Inc. and (until recently) 4Kids Entertainment.

Now for the story:

Chapter 1: Pallet Town

By: MysticMelody

Fresh from his competition in the Hoenn league tournament, Ash smiled as he breathed the familiar evening air of his home town of Pallet. It had been a long journey, but he had finally made it back home, with Brock standing by his side. He had regretted saying goodbye to May & Max, but he needed to take a rest after four straight years on the road, and they had made it clear that May needed to get as much contest practice done as possible for the newly created Pokèmon Contests in Johto. With a happy squeak, Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and started running towards Ash’s house. Ash and Brock quickly followed with laughs of joy, daydreaming of the warm beds and home- cooked food they had been deprived of during the traveling last year. By the time they reached Ash’s house, they had built up a hefty appetite and were enthused to see Ash’s mom, Delia, in her kitchen apron when she answered the doorbell.

“Well, look who it is!” she said as she gave the two boys hugs. “My Ash, you’re getting tall! Come in; I was just starting to make dinner, and if you can give me a few minutes, I can make enough for us 3, Mr. Mime, and all of your Pokèmon! By the way, Brock, your dad forwarded a letter to my house a few days ago – do you know what it’s about?”

“Not at all,” said a stunned Brock, “I hope it isn’t anything serious!”

“Well, I’ll let you read it; I have the envelope around here somewhere…..ah here it is,” she exclaimed, pulling it out of a stuffed kitchen drawer.

Brock frowned when he saw the envelope, and opened the letter, reading it as he slowly walked upstairs. Ash was too hypnotized by the smell of their dinner that he failed to even notice Brock leaving the room, instead trying to sneak a taste of the food before it was prepared, earning a swift swat from the spoon in his mother’s hands.

About halfway through dinner, Brock came downstairs, stiffly sat down, and began to eat without speaking a word. Ash tried to start up conversation, but Brock shrugged him off every time. Ash and his mother exchanged glances before Delia finally broke the silence.

“Is something wrong, Brock?” she asked with concern. “You’ve hardly said a word since I gave you that letter!”

Brock stopped eating, assuming the stance of a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Noth…nothing is wrong Ms. Ketchum! I’m just a little tired, that’s all.” He spoke furiously, stumbling over his words and struggling to maintain eye contact.

“Now Brock, you know I’m smarter than that,” she remarked coyly, “and I would appreciate it if you would please tell Ash and I what is wrong, so that I don’t worry about you all night.”

Sighing, Brock spoke: “I’m not allowed to say much, but I have to stop in Pewter for a few days before heading to Cerulean for months. I feel awful for packing up and leaving so soon after arriving, but I really don’t feel I have any other choice; if I don’t go, I’m afraid of what will happen. I’m sorry, but I’ve had too much emotion today; I’m going to head off to bed.” And with that, he got up and walked upstairs, having barely touched his food and knowing full-well that he would not be getting much sleep that night.

Brock awoke the next day to the sun shining through the guest bedroom window, wondering when on earth he managed to fall asleep. Groaning from the troubles of the previous night, he got dressed, packed and put on his backpack, and headed down to the breakfast table, surprised to see Ash and Delia up and fully alert at such early an hour.

"I can't believe it," he said, "the first day back from traveling and you didn't even take the opportunity to sleep in? What's the occasion?"

Ash looked him straight in the eye and proclaimed, "I'm going too! I can't let you have all the fun! And besides, I'll get to visit your family as well as Misty and her sisters; I haven't seen any of them in forever!"

All of a sudden, Brock suddenly became nervous: "Are you sure? We'd be staying in Cerulean for a long time, and you just got back home yesterday! You should spend time with your family!"

Oblivious to the sweat streaming down Brock's face, Ash mentioned, "All of you are my family! I got to spend 10 years with my mom--a few more months away won't make that much of a difference! And besides, I haven't really had a calm few months with you or Misty since I started catching Pokèmon 5 years ago; it will be nice to just be able to sit back and relax with you guys for a change."

Brock didn't know what to do; he couldn't get Ash involved in his business; just the simple fact that he would think the next few months would be calm proved his ignorance and could end up getting him hurt or killed. Then again, Ash had gotten through some very tricky situations in the past, and Ash's luck and Pokèmon skills were always an asset. Could he risk it? Looking up, he realized he still hadn't responded to Ash's comments. Well, he thought, let's hope for the best, for all of our sakes.

"Alright," he conceded as Ash started to cheer. "Also, we may be able to get some free guest rooms at the Cerulean Gym for the whole length of time if I bring you along, which is always a bonus."

"Why does my presence matter for that?" Ash asked with a quizzical expression. "I'm sure Misty would let you stay at the gym free of charge regardless; we're both good friends of hers."

"Yes," Brock concurred, "but I'm not so sure she'd be as enthusiastic in my case." And he exchanged knowing smirks with Delia, prompting a confused response from Ash.

"What do you mean?" Ash wondered. "Why would she be enthusiastic about letting me stay over?"

"Oh nothing; forget I mentioned anything." Brock turned around and walked to the computer terminal, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold back his laughter much longer were he to continue to answer Ash's questions about Misty. Besides, he had to call ahead and get arrangements set up in both towns. After a few rings, the static cut off to show the video image of his father, Flint.

"Hey son," the aging, grizzly-bearded Pewter City Gym leader said warmly. "Did you get my letter? Are you on the way?"

Not just your letter, Brock thought, as he hastily replied: "Yes, we are leaving right now and we should be in Pewter City in a few days. I hope this matter isn't terribly urgent; we'll have to make it through Viridian City and Viridian Forest before we can arrive."

"Oh no no, don't worry about the time; every now and then your gym leader status just catches up to you, Brock! It's not imperative that you get here immediately, but you need to come by eventually, preferably sooner rather than later."

"Ash and I have some business to attend to in Cerulean City as well, so we will stop by on the......"

His voice drowned out as his father interrupted him: "Ah, the girl wants to see Ash?"

Hearing that, Brock couldn't help but break out laughing; he looked around but Ash was nowhere to be found. Ugh, this would have elicited the perfect reaction from Ash, he thought. "Well I'm sure she does Dad, but that's not the primary reason we're staying in Cerulean; I'll explain more when I arrive. Can you set up rooming arrangements at the Gym?" Seeing his dad nod, he explained, "Alright, well I have to call Misty to get things set up. Love you Dad!" And with that, he turned off the video screen. Hmm, maybe it's better that Ash isn't here; I don't want him saying something stupid to Misty, he mused. The phone rang again and he was worried it was going to go to voicemail; he NEEDED someone to answer. His nerves were calmed when Violet answered the phone.

"Hello?....Brock? Look, I'm sorry, but we can't have you calling here all the time to try to talk to us; seriously!" She was clearly annoyed as she remarked, "You're really pissing off my boyfriend; why shouldn't I just hang up the phone right now?"

Uh oh, he thought; I guess all those courtesy calls he used from the Pokèmon centers must have been too much. Well, he still had Jenny and Joy to flirt with! How was he going to get out of this though? He was staying for months, and Violet (or her boyfriend) wouldn't be particularly prone to letting him stay a day, let alone that long. A light bulb went off in his head and he said, "Ash wanted to talk to Misty about something really important! He dialed and then realized he needed to get something from his room and asked me to talk until he got back." Perfect, he thought, she would have a lot of fun with this!

"Who?" she asked, blankly staring at Brock until her eyes lit up and she smiled wickedly. "Ooh, that's her boyfriend, isn't it?"

"More or less," Brock responded. He noticed Ash walk down the stairs into the room and was amazed at the perfect timing of his excuse. Now, to make sure Ash didn't screw it up. "Hey Ash," he called, dragging Ash to the screen; "isn't there something you wanted to ask Misty?"

Ash looked clueless for a second before he realized what Brock was talking about. "Yeah, is she around Violet?"

"No Ash, I'm sorry, but she's in the middle of a series of gym challenges and won't be available for over an hour. Would you like her to call you back or can I take a message?" She scrambled around and got together paper and a pen, clearly interested in what Ash had to say to Misty. She knew there was no way of prying the information from Misty; she was 17, stubborn, and would know what Violet was up to. But Ash was too dense to understand; Misty was actually relaxing in her room, unaware the phone call was even taking place. Violet knew she could get information from Ash, even if she had to tell a little white lie in order to.

Ash looked at the clock; "Well we're about to leave, so I guess I'll leave a message."

Violet's eyes gleamed as he began to explain their situation. By the end, the gleam in her eyes had turned to utter boredom, and she starting contemplating the request. Three months is a long time for Misty to keep Ash from saying something he isn't supposed to, Violet thought, and this phone call certainly wasn't what she was expecting. "OK," she said, "but we've only got two rooms open, and they aren't great." In fact, they had many more, but she wasn't about to let the opportunity to room Ash right between herself and Misty slip away.. "I'll run it by Misty, and we'll await your arrival in 1-2 weeks."

Ash tried to thank her but she had already turned off the screen. "Brock, did she seem almost a little....disappointed? I wonder if they don't want us coming. ...Brock?"

Brock walked into the room, backpack on his shoulder. "What'd she say?"

"She said we could stay over, but...."

Brock cut him off, having overheard the whole conversation from just outside the room. He knew Violet better than Ash did, but it was beneficial to him that Ash stay oblivious; the more Misty's sisters were involved in Ash and Misty's business, they less they would be obsessed with his. The resulting familial infighting would create a welcome distraction for Brock to get away and keep the rest of them from getting involved in what he shouldn't have even been involved in to begin with. And, after giving one last hug each to Ash's mom, Brock and Ash departed for Viridian City.

End of Chapter

Did you readers like the first chapter of my story? Please review it and help me with constructive criticism for future chapters. This will be a very long fanfiction (over 10 chapters, possibly over 20), later chapters being much longer, and it would be enormously helpful if I could have feedback from those of you who were nice enough to read it on what I need to work on and how I can further improve my writing skills. Compliments are appreciated as well, but please explain why you view my writing the way you do. No flaming though, please.

Thanks! - MysticMelody