Love Pallet

Episode 7: Birthday Wishes. Forgotten?!

by Kenshin

A/N: Okay, I was originally going to use a different idea for episode 7, but today (the 24th) is my birthday and I thought, 'Hey, I'll do a birthday episode!' so I hope you like it! Flame me if you must, but if you do like it, please review!

{author's comments/notes}
[pokemon translation]
*actions*
'thoughts'
"dialogue"
**television**

(*Kenshin clears his throat and uses the announcer voice*) Last time on Love Pallet, we learned about Brock's past. After their run-in with Ivy, Brock and Daisy have finally made their way to Viridian City to meet Ash and the others. As the scene opens, Brock and Daisy have just arrived at the Viridian City Pokecenter.

"Can I help you?" asked Nurse Joy. Brock looked at her and for once, he stopped himself from drooling. "Yes, we're looking for Ash Ketchum. Is he checked in, by any chance?" Brock asked her. "Let me check," she answered. 'Isn't that the creepy no-eyes guy my cousins keep telling me about? ...he doesn't look so bad to me. In fact, he's kinda cute. I wonder what his eyes look like...' Joy was absently staring at her computer screen. "Umm, Joy? Are you okay?" Brock asked. She snapped out of it. "Oh, yes. I'm fine. Ash Ketchum is staying in room 11B."

"Thank you," Brock said cheerfully before he turned to climb the stairs with Daisy, hand-in-hand. 'Oh, drat. Looks like he has a girlfriend. ...hmmm, that can't be the guy they were talking about. *sigh* I'm never going to find a decent boyfriend.' Joy turned back to her paperwork, absently typing away on the keyboard as she daydreamed.

*Knock-knock-knock*

"Hey Ash, open up!" Brock said through the door. Ash was startled by the sudden knock at the door. He stood up from where he was lying next to Misty {nothing was going on, you hentais!}. "Coming!" yelled Ash.

Ash opened the door to find Brock and Daisy standing in the hallway. "Oh, hey Brock!" said Ash. "Brock, where ya been?" asked Misty. "Hi Ash, hi Misty. Sorry we're so late, but we ran into some trouble. We'll tell you, but can we come in and sit down first?" said Brock. Ash stepped back from the doorway and motioned for Brock and Daisy to enter. "Sure, come in," he said.

"Hey, sis," said Misty as Daisy entered the room. "Like, hi Misty," she replied. Daisy and Brock sat down on the room's couch. "So, like Ash pointed out, we've been gone a lot longer than planned. You see, we ran into Professor Ivy," began Daisy. "Oh, did Brock start chasing her around?" Ash teased. Daisy's face grew angry at Ash's remark, but Brock placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her. "It's okay, Daisy, let me explain it. They don't know," he said. Brock explained the entire adventure, including his past with Ivy. When he was finished Daisy was hugging him tightly. Misty and Ash were completely speechless. "Oh, and one more thing, guys," said Brock. "Umm, sure," said Ash after a few moments. "Please, don't tell anybody else about this or mention it again. I'm trying my best to forget about it like I did before," said Brock. "Okay, Brock. It's as good as forgotten," Misty said, trying to cheer him up.

"Alright, where are we going now?" asked Brock, jumping up from the couch as if nothing had happened. "Actually, I was planning on staying here tonight and leaving tomorrow morning...if that's okay with everyone else, that is," said Ash quietly. 'Hmm, what's up with Ash today?' thought Misty. "Like, okay with us, right Brock?" said Daisy. "Well, that settles it. We're staying here today!" declared Brock. Misty and Ash looked at him curiously. "Brock, we're not everybody. We still have to ask Erika and Jessica," said Ash. "Like, who's Jessica?" asked Daisy.

After explaining who Jessica was (to the best of their knowledge, anyway) Ash and Misty took their friends over to the room that the Jessica and Erika were sharing. "Oh, hey guys," said Erika as she answered the door. "Where's Jessica?" asked Ash. Erika sweatdropped. "She's went out..." Erika's voice trailed off. "Where did she go?" asked Misty. Erika's sweatdrop grew larger. "She went...to find a bathroom," Erika finally said. "Huh?" everybody said together. "Well, she said she had to use the bathroom, then she left," Erika explained. "Yeah, but doesn't your room have a bathroom?" asked Brock.

"Maybe she went out to buy a present," Ash reasoned. Everyone looked at Ash in confusion. "What are you talking about, Ash?" asked Misty. Ash sighed. "Oh, nothing..." 'Hmm, I wonder what's wrong with him today?' thought Brock.

***

Later that day, Ash was watching television with Brock. The sitcom they were watching went to commercial break. **Danver's Jewelry and Fashions of Viridian City is now hosting a blowout sale! All pokemon charm bracelets and necklaces are an unheard-of 90% off! Danver's offers the largest selection of pokemon apparel in Viridian and boasts that they have charms representing every known pokemon! Hurry in while supplies last!** "Wow, Brock! It would be cool to have a necklace of Pikachu!" said Ash excitedly. "Maybe you'll get one when your birthday rolls around," said Brock. Ash suddenly stood up and walked out of the room. "Hey, Ash! The show isn't over yet!" Brock yelled after him. Ash didn't respond. Brock shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to the television.

***

"Hey, Mist. Whatcha doing?" asked Ash as he walked into their shared room. She smiled and waved at him. She was playing a board game with Erika, Daisy, and Pikachu. "Pika-pika Pikapi! [I'm winning, Ash!]" Ash smiled down at his pokepal. "Well, don't beat them too badly, Pikachu. You're supposed to be courteous to ladies." Misty grinned at him. "Ash, are you feeling okay? I never thought I'd hear you say something like that," she said. Ash sat down in the floor next to her. "Are we doing anything this evening?" he asked her. She blushed lightly, then asked him, "What do you mean?" Ash turned to face her completely. "I thought you might be taking me out tonight," he said bluntly. "Ash, isn't the guy supposed to take the girl out?" she asked. Ash sighed, "Nevermind." Then he got up and walked toward the door. "Did I say something wrong?" Misty asked her sister and Erika as Ash left without another word. "Like, I don't think so," said Daisy. "Is today something special?" Erika asked. "Hmm, I don't think so..." she said.

Just then, Jessica walked in. "Hey, guys. I just saw Ash in the hallway. Why is he so depressed? You didn't reject him, did you Misty?" she asked teasingly. "I don't know what's wrong with him..." Misty said, still trying to guess what was wrong. Jessica looked surprised. All four girls tried to figure out what was bothering Ash. Brock burst into the room, interrupting their thoughts. "Hey...Delia just called...it's Ash's birthday..." Brock panted. "Oh, no!" said Erika. "We forgot!" Misty yelled in a panic.

Quickly, Brock formulated a plan to salvage their screwup and save the day {Misty helped him a lot, in case you were wondering ^_~}. Misty set off to find Ash and keep him occupied. 'I can do better than that. I can start making it up to him right away. I just hope that taking him out for a birthday date will buy the others enough time to get ready.' Everyone else got their assignments and rushed around to complete their tasks.

***

"Hey, Ash," Misty said shyly. She was still embarassed about forgetting his birthday. 'I've never forgotten before,' she thought. "Hey," he responded quietly. "So, where did you want to go?" she asked as she sat beside him on the park bench outside the pokemon center. "Y-you mean you didn't forget?" he asked. "No, I forgot, but I remembered, too," Misty admitted. "That's all that matters," he replied cheerfully. He was feeling better already. "So, where to?" she asked. "Hmm, how about food?" he asked jokingly {that phrase is a direct quote from me. I say stupid things like that a lot!}. "Okay, where do you want to eat?" she asked. They were soon walking to a restaraunt.

"Alright, the coast is clear! Full speed ahead!" yelled Jessica as she spurred Daisy and Brock onward. "Geez, Jessica, not so loud! We don't want them to hear us!" hissed Brock. "Yeah, whatever. They're well out of earshot and eyesight, so let's just go already!" she said, taking off at a run. Brock sweatdropped as he followed. 'She might be more trouble than she's worth...'

The trio soon arrived at the Viridian mall. They were running from store to store, stopping only at places that would possibly be sources of presents that Ash would like. "How about this?" asked Daisy, holding up a deck of pokemon cards. {couldn't resist} "Hmm, maybe. I've never heard him say anything about those," admitted Brock. "Nah, I don't think he'd like them. He's got lots of real pokemon afterall," said Jessica. "Well, yeah, but he might like to collect the cards of the ones he doesn't have, then go and catch the real things," said Daisy. "Yeah, whatever." They continued arguing about the cards for a few minutes and finally decided to buy a starter deck. They quickly moved on to the next store.

"I bet he'd like that," said Jessica, pointing to a bicycle in a sporting goods store. "He might, but I don't think that Misty would appreciate it, plus it's a little too pricey," said Brock. "Ohh, what about one of those?" asked Brock in the next store, pointing to a display of board games. Daisy nodded her head. Jessica took a closer look. "Hey! All those games have "strip" in the title!" she yelled at Brock. It was true. There was 'strip bingo' 'strip chess' 'strip parchesi' and several other 'strip' board games. "What? Brock, were you planning on buying that to make Ash and Misty..." her voice trailed off as she blushed. 'He might have been planning on using those for us, too...' she thought. 'Hmm, not a bad idea!' thought Jessica. "No, we better not! Okay let's go!" they all yelled in perfect synchronization, as if they were all thinking along the same lines. They all sweatdropped and walked out of the store. 'I'll be back later...' they each told themselves. {I'm so ecchi!}

"Alright, one more stop, then it's back to the pokemon center!" yelled Brock as he led the girls down the street by the hands. Daisy and Jessica were hurrying to keep their arms from being pulled out of socket as he rushed along. "Here we are!" he said as he suddenly came to a halt. Both girls bumped into him, knocking him over. "I'm sorry, sweetie, are you okay?" Daisy asked as she helped him up. "Fine, never better," he said dizzily. Daisy helped him into the store and sat him down on a bench. Jessica followed them in.

"So, why did we come here? I don't think Ash really wants new clothing," said Jessica. "Well, he mentioned something earlier when we saw a commercial for the place. They carry pokemon jewelry here, and he said it would be cool to have a charm necklace of pikachu," he explained to the girls. "Oh, that would be, like,so cute!" squealed Daisy. "You two can stay here. I'll go get it and be right back," said Brock as he hurried to the jewelry counter and started talking to the salesman.

***

"So, how was your birthday dinner, Ash?" Misty asked him politely. "Great! Thanks for remembering, Mist," he said as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He quickly wiped her face with his napkin after the kiss. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "Well, I got some gravy on your cheek," he chuckled. "Oh," she said, starting to laugh as well. "You missed that mouth of yours, huh?" she teased. "Hey, I didn't miss. I kissed you with my mouth, didn't I?" he asked, hurt by her insult. "I'm sorry Ash. I shouldn't tease you on your birthday," she apologized. "I guess you'll just have to make it up to me later," he said, grinning. "We'll see," she teased. "I thought you said no more teasing," he said. She grinned at him again and shrugged as they stood up. They paid the check and headed back to the pokemon center.

***

"Erika, is the cake all ready?" asked Brock. He had been nervous about just putting it in the oven and leaving somebody else to watch it, but all the girls agreed that he was needed for gift-shopping duty. "Yeah, it looks great! I never knew you were such a great cook, Brock," she complimented. Brock blushed slightly. "Hey, stay away from my man," Daisy said, half teasing, half threatening. "So, you two are going out. Just as I thought," said Jessica, pointing at both of them. "How did you guess?" asked Brock. "It was easy for me. I'm going to be the greatest matchmaker in the world some day!" she declared. {Note: interesting thing about Jessica #1} "I thought it was pretty obvious," interjected Erika. Jessica did a facefall. "It wasn't either!" she yelled at Erika. Erika shrugged and said, "Yeah, whatever." "Erika, I think Jessica's rubbing off on you," Brock warned.

Before a full fledged argument could ensue, Daisy heard Pikachu yelling to them from outside. "That's, like, the signal!" she yelled to get everyone's attention. "Right, places everyone!" Brock said.

***

"Hey, Pikachu!" Ash said as he saw his pokepal running up. "Pikapi! Pikachu pikapika! [Ash, happy birthday!]" "So, you didn't forget. Thanks pal!" said Ash as Pikachu leapt up onto his shoulder. Ash petted the pokemon affectionately. Misty pulled him by the hand toward the pokemon center entrance. "Come on, Ash," she said eagerly. Before Ash could ask what the rush was, they were through the doors. "SURPRISE!" four people yelled as they entered. Ash's eyes began to water. "I'm sorry, guys. I thought you all forgot it was...hey cake!" he cut himself short as he spotted the delicious-looking cake and ran over to inspect it closely. Everyone sweatdropped. "Uhh, happy birthday Ash," said Brock. "Thanks, Brock," he replied, "for making this cake." Brock grinned. 'That's our Ash. Always thinking with his stomach...or his heart.' Brock chuckled at that thought.

"Hey, presents!" Ash said as he noticed the neatly-wrapped gifts for the first time, even thought they were right beside the cake. "Well, why don't you open them first, then we'll cut the cake. It still needs to cool a little," said Brock. "Okay," Ash said as he selected his first present. "This one's from Daisy," he said before ripping it open. "Wow, pokemon cards! I always wanted some of these! Thanks, Daisy." Daisy just smiled at him. "Okay, this next one's from...Jessica," he said, locating the tag. He opened the small box to find journal shaped like a pokedex, complete with a pen that was stored in the spine. "Cool, thanks Jess," he said. "Please, don't call me Jess. My name's Jessica," she said seriously. "Uhh, okay," he agreed. {Hmm, wonder what that was about?} Ash picked up another present. He read the card aloud: "From Erika." He started to open it slowly and carefully, holding it at arm's length. "Hey! What are you doing? It isn't dangerous, you know!" she yelled. Ash grinned at her nervously, then gathered his courage and ripped the paper to shreds. "What's this?" he asked curiously. The box contained only a small slip of paper. Ash fished it out and inspected it. He turned red and looked at Erika. "What's the matter? Don't you like it?" she asked. "Uhhhh," was all that Ash managed to say in response. "Let me see that," said Brock, taking the paper from Ash's hand. He read it out loud. "Gift Certificate. Good for one free full-body massage from Erika," Brock looked stunned. Erika had just made another pass at Ash. Everyone looked at her. Her face had turned crimson. "I...I...I wrapped the wrong one," she said, staring at her feet. Jessica started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Erika asked angrily. She felt humiliated. "Nothing's funny. It was an honest mistake. I...I'll get the present you forgot to wrap later," said Ash. He quickly moved on to one of the two remaining gifts. "This is Brock's," he said, picking up the large package. He tore it open to find a beautiful hardwood plaque with an engraved metal plate riveted to the front. Ash read the engraving for everyone. "Best Friend's Award presented to Ash Ketchum by Brock Slate on the occassion of his 18th birthday. Thanks, Brock. I'll mail this to mom in the morning so she can put it in my room," he said, smiling at his friend. "Okay, last one. This has to be Misty's," he said picking up the last package. "I know I'm gonna love whatever you got me," he said, kissing her on the cheek. She blushed. 'I have no idea what they got him for me,' she thought nervously as she smiled at him. He opened the package and held up the necklace that fell out. It had a pikachu and a staryu on it, one on each side of a locket. Inside the locket was a picture of Misty. "Misty...thanks," he said as he slipped it over his head and kissed her. "*AHEM* Time to cut the cake," said Brock, interrupting their moment. Ash scratched the back of his head. "Oh, yeah," he said, grinning.

FIN


Yeah! Episode 7 is done! *Kenshin does the happy dance* Go me! Go me! It's my birthday...wait a sec! It is my birthday! Woohoo! I'm gonna go celebrate! Sorry I dropped so few hints about Jessica in this episode. More will be releaved next time, that it will.

Send all reviews to jon_schug@yahoo.com! Flames will be dealt with swiftly with a swipe of my reverse-blade katana!

Sayonara,
Kenshin (who is now 19!)