Last One Standing

Prologue

By Finaille Nailo



"Grrrr! You two are really starting to bug me right now!" Misty yells at Ash and Brock. They are in the middle of Gold Forest, not too far west of Pallet Town. Ash was invited to compete in the Golden Bay Tournament, which was one of the most elite tournaments in the land of Pokemon. He had to earn six badges before he could compete. Knowing Ash, he never let down a challenge. But right now, Misty was halfway up a tree, death-gripping it.

"Get that thing away from me!!!" Misty yells to Ash.

"Aw Mist… it’s only an ickle little Caterpie…" Ash says, taunting her.

"When I get down there, you are so dead!" Misty says, her head growing large from fury.

"Come on Ash, just battle it…" Brock says. "It’s not going away until then."

"Grrrr… girls and their demands. Misty, you so owe me." Ash demands. Misty smirks.

"Oh yes Ash, and I know exactly what that will be. NOW BATTLE THAT THING ALREADY!!!" Misty yells with anger starting to burn in her eyes. Ash rolls his eyes.

"Pikachu, thundershock!" The furry yellow creature emits a small amount of electricity from its cheeks. It hits the Caterpie directly on, and the Caterpie scurries in fear.

"Ok, now will you come down now?" Ash asks with an annoyed tone. Misty climbs down the tree and goes to Ash.

"Ash…" She says in a sweet tone. She grabs her mallet and whacks him right smack on the head. "YOU ARE SUCH A JERK!!!"

"Hey!!! What was THAT for?" He asks, rubbing the large, red lump on the top of his head.

"Hey, you said I owed you something. You didn’t mention if that had to be good or bad." She smirks.

"Well, I meant good! But of course, how did I expect a scrawny red-head to know that?" Ash yells back.

"Ok you too, please stop! Remember what happened last time this happened?" Brock tells them. They both glare at Brock. He gulps. "Uh oh… I shoulda kept my mouth shut…" He thinks to himself.

"No, it seems to have slipped my mind." Ash grits through his teeth.

"Wow… you finally admit ONE of your problems. Admitting is only the first step though." Misty says, grinning.

"Well, one of YOUR problems is quite obvious! You’re 15 and you’re still not half as cute as all the girls your age. You’re a scrawny brat!" Ash yells. He knew he went too far. Misty starts chasing Ash around with her mallet.

"You think those two would finally realize that they are flirting badly…" Brock says, sighing.

"Pika…"

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That night the trio are in the Westlane Town Pokemon Center, sitting on the couches. They were all somewhat tired; it had been a long day for them. Ash was filling out his form for the tournament; Misty was gazing dreamily out the window and into the starry night. Brock was also gazing- but not out the window. He had his sights set on the Nurse Joy working at the nearby desk. Misty shifts her gaze and looks to Ash. Ash feels her gaze, and looks up from his form.

"Hey." He mutters. Misty stands up from the couch she was sitting on and walks to the one Ash was sitting on.

"Listen, I’m sorry about how I acted Ash. I just hate bugs, and you know that." Misty says quietly. Ash smiles at her. As he fixes his gaze on the somewhat tall girl, he notices how much she has changed in the last four years. Her hair, still spiky, but more controlled. She had grown out her bangs, and tendrils hung from her forehead. The rest of her hair was tucked back into a neat ponytail. He always lied to her, but she was no longer the scrawny girl he once knew. Everywhere he looked, he couldn’t resist staring at every curve and contour of her body. He sets the form to his side, quickly forgetting about it, and he pulls Misty into a hug.

"Misty, you know I’m just teasing you." He says, smiling. She was happy, with his strong arms protecting her. He was no longer the little boy from four, long years ago. He was now the "slightly" taller boy, with noticeable muscles protruding from his arms and legs.

"I can’t believe it, another bomb…" A voice says, startling the trio. Nurse Joy, with her hand in her forehead, sits down next to Brock.

"What’s wrong, Nurse Joy?" Misty curiously asks, letting go of her hug.

"Haven’t you heard the horrible news? The last week Team Rocket has been bombing Pokemon Centers and Institutions, just to get a hold of more Pokemon. And they haven’t cared about the people, over one-hundred were killed today after they bombed the National Pokemon Museum." She says with a sigh.

"Why isn’t anybody stopping them? Usually it’s not that hard." Ash reminds Nurse Joy, who was close to tears.

"There were too many. My two sisters were at the museum today..." She says, as a single tear falls down her pale cheek. Brock does something that surprises Ash and Misty. He puts his arms around Nurse Joy. No comment or anything. He just held her, as she buried her head in his chest and sobbed. Ash looks at Misty with a serious gleam in his eye.

"We should do something." He says, standing up with a nearly emotionless face. The only emotion showing on his face was shock.

"Ash, I know you want to help, but right now it’s none of our business. I’m sure things will stop, don’t worry about it." Misty tells him, trying to comfort him. His face softens a little bit.

"I’m sure you’re right." Ash says, sitting back down. He didn’t know how wrong he was…

A/N- Hey! Yay, new fanfic! I’m VERY sorry for not working on "Getting Back to Where I Belong" I’m having the absolute worst writer’s block on that story. I thought starting a new story might help temporarily. I will hopefully have both this and that story done before the end of the school year, but I’m not promising anything. I’m very busy, and I can’t help that. Well, please review! Oh, and by the way, I need names for future characters, and I’m horrible with coming up with names. If you would like suggesting some boy and girl names for me, that would be nice. Japanese preferred, or unusual English ones. Thanks!