"Pika pi!!!" Pikachu cried out and rushed to Ash's side to make sure he was all right,
"Help me get Ash inside the house, boys. And place him in one of the guest rooms." Prof. Oak said as Brock, Gary and Tracey picked up Ash and took him inside the Oak residence. Everybody at the party was silent. They were all trying to figure out what the hell is going on here. Nobody knew the answer. They only figured out that two girls are fighting over Ash Ketchum. Why? Only Misty and Duplica know. And those two girls were watching Brock, Tracey and Gary take Ash inside the lab.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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After the near brawl between Misty and Duplica earlier, the rest of the party was postponed until tomorrow. A few hours have passed since the altercation between the two. Ash was still sleeping peacefully while Pikachu, Groudon, Aron and Bagon were down in Prof. Oak's lab, having lunch. Prof. Oak was looking at the baby Pokémon closely, but not closely to scare them. Tracey was busy doing plenty of sketches and Gary was just watching Ash's new Pokémon eat. He was secretly jealous of Ash for "catching" Hoenn Pokémon.
"It's hard to believe that this is a Groudon, Professor. A baby Groudon to be exact. I heard that very few people have seen this Pokémon in Hoenn, but Ash managed to find this baby Pokémon along a road in Johto. It's mind boggling." Tracey said as he started doing another sketch of Groudon. Once that was completed, Tracey turned his attention to Bagon and did a sketch of the small Dragon Pokémon.
"This baby Pokémon, along with this Aron and Bagon, are amazing finds by Ash. I would give my left leg to do a few tests on these Pokémon! The reports about these three will make breakthroughs about the new Pokémon in Hoenn!!" Prof. Oak said as he continued to look at each Pokémon closely. Prof. Oak was most interested in the baby Groudon. He has heard of this legendary Pokémon from other fellow Pokémon professors in Hoenn, but never thought he'd see the day where he would see one in person. The three swore they heard footsteps up on the second floor of the house and they were heading to the stairs.
"Come on, Gramps. They are only babies. It would be very cruel of you to do testing on them. It would be scary as hell for them." Gary said. As soon as he said that, Ash appeared in the stairwell.
"You're right about that, Gary. Nobody's doing nothing on them until they grow up." Ash said as he slowly made his way into the lab from downstairs. The after effects of Misty's punch were wearing off, but Ash was still a bit groggy. In his mind, he was trying to piece together this really big puzzle that involved those secret love letters he got in Rockstar City, Misty telling him off, the sudden appearance of Duplica in Pallet and Misty's strange behavior these past few days. It all revolved around those letters. Those letters. And he needed to see someone. Now.
I wonder if Mom is home? I bet she knows where Brock is and in turn, can tell me what he knows about these letters. Ash thought,
"Hmm... how are we going to do this?" Ash asked himself as he looked at Pikachu and his new Pokémon. How was he going to carry his new Pokémon while letting Pikachu have its usual spot on Ash's head? Ash placed his backpack on the ground and unzipped it. He placed Groudon in his backpack and placed it back on him. Ash then picked up Aron and Bagon in his arms and Pikachu, seeing that Ash's head was free, happily leaped on and was feeling better, knowing its favorite spot was back.
"Ash... are you sure you won't let me do one, tiny little test on those new Pokémon?" Prof. Oak asked, wanting a chance to do tests, but Ash didn't see him eye to eye.
"Do that and die, Professor. Nobody is going to do one test on these little guys or I'll have Pikachu shock them." Ash said,
"Pika pika." Pikachu agreed,
"Now, if you'll excuse me... I have some business to attend to." Ash said as he made his way out of the Oak Lab and headed for his house,
"Business? What business is he talking about?" Tracey asked as he put his sketching stuff away,
"Let's just say two girls are trying to get Ash as a boyfriend. One is trying a secret admirer approach while the other is too possessive." Prof. Oak said,
"Ash is lucky. He "catches" three baby Pokémon from Hoenn and has two girls fighting for his affection. What luck, I tell you." Gary said and went to the living room to catch his favorite reality show.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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It didn't take long for Ash to return to his house, where Brock and Mrs. Ketchum just sent Misty back home to Cerulean City to think about what she had done to Ash these past few turbulent days. Inside, Brock and Mrs. Ketchum were in the living room, enjoying some tea that Mr. Mime made. The front door was opened enough for Ash to overhear their discussion. And it was about this whole Misty/Duplica deal.
"Well, Brock. I'm just glad we ordered Misty to go home and think about trying to snag a boy the way she did with Ash. From what you told me, I think my Ash is better off with Duplica." Mrs. Ketchum said,
"Same here, Mrs. Ketchum. But... I'm wondering where Duplica went off to. She said she was going to the Pokémon Center in town, but when I went there in the last hour, Nurse Joy told me she left. I feel bad for her." Brock said,
"I feel bad for her, too. Everything was going according to her plan, but Misty ruined it. That girl must always have her way all the time." Mrs. Ketchum added. There was a period of silence between the two as they drank their tea. Brock and Mrs. Ketchum were unaware of Ash's presence outside. The baby Pokémon were also silent, eager to hear this juicy gossip.
"I've got a gut feeling that Duplica does care about Ash a lot. I've heard that she has this giant crush on him for a long time now. So, she made up her mind to tell him how she feels by making up those love letters he got in Rockstar City. That's what she told me during the boat trip here to Pallet." Brock said,
"So, that's the reason she did that. That's so sweet, if you think about it." Mrs. Ketchum said,
"As for Misty, she really doesn't like Duplica that much because she sees her as her rival for Ash's affection. This whole situation has gotten way out of hand, Mrs. Ketchum. I can't believe Misty and Duplica would fight for Ash. I mean, why can't any two girls be fighting over me?!!" Brock said depressed. Mrs. Ketchum gave a small laugh before all seriousness took over the mood.
"Does Ash ever talk to you about Misty?" Mrs. Ketchum asked,
"Sometimes. Ash does like her as his best friend, but not as a person he would want to have a relationship with. But, Ash hates it when he argues with her every day." Brock answered,
"Misty is always intent on having things go her way. That's one thing I really don't like about her. She's too bossy." Mrs. Ketchum said and Brock agreed. Both were unaware that Ash and his Pokémon posse were outside the door, listening into their conversation. They were trying to piece together this puzzle as well. Ash already beat them to the punch and figured out the whole deal. It was Duplica.
So, it was Duplica who wrote those letters. I knew it was her!!! I didn't know she had a crush on me. Now I know why Misty was acting so weird. She was preventing me from seeing her. Or is it the other way around? Who cares? I got to find Duplica. But... where do I start looking for her? Ash thought to himself for a minute. He needed a good place to think for a while, so he walked to one of his favorite places to think, a giant hill overlooking all of Pallet. After getting to his favorite spot to think, Ash placed Aron and Bagon on the ground while Pikachu jumped off Ash's head.
"Well, guys. What do you think I should do?" Ash asked. Aron and Bagon didn't know what this whole deal between Ash and two girls was about and Groudon was sleeping like a baby in Ash's backpack. The Steel and Dragon Pokémon just nodded their heads no. Pikachu's ears perked up for some odd reason, meaning that Pikachu has heard something nearby that Ash couldn't hear.
"Pika, pika. Pikachu, pika pi." Pikachu said, tugging on Ash's pant leg to get his attention.
"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked as he looked down to see his trusty Pokémon,
"Pikachu, pikapi. Pikachu, pi, chu." Pikachu said, pointing to an area where the hill ends at the edge of a riverbank.
"I'll go check it out. Keep and eye on the other for me. And no fighting." Ash said as he made his way to the area where Pikachu pointed to. Aron and Bagon wondered where their new master was heading off to, but Pikachu reassured them that he went to check out something important. Ash arrived at the riverbank and looked around for a few minutes. He heard the sound of a rock being tossed into the river and went to check it out.
Probably just a Rattata or a Pidgey playing around. Ash thought as he got closer. What he saw wasn't a Pokémon. In fact, it was a person that he only saw for a second before being knocked out by Misty. It was Duplica, sitting at the edge of the river and throwing rocks into it. She was so wrapped up in tossing rocks that she didn't see or hear Ash walk up to her. Until he was sitting right next to her.
"Ash!! I didn't see you there!" Duplica panicked as she saw Ash sit right next to her by the riverbank. She thought she wasn't going to see him again after the whole Misty deal. She just needed to get away from Pallet for a while. She was feeling defeated for some reason.
"It was you all along. Wasn't it? You were the one who sent me those love letters during the Pokémon Battle Rockstar Tournament." Ash said. Duplica didn't look into his face and just stared at the passing river.
"Okay, you got me. I was the one who wrote you those letters and earned Misty's hate in the process. I know you want to be with her, so I'll just leave." Duplica said as she was about to get up off the ground, but she felt Ash's hand grab her arm and kept her from walking away.
"What makes you think I want to be with her?" Ash asked as Duplica finally sat back down close to him, but she still wouldn't look into his face.
"I don't know. This whole plan has been ruined. Sometimes I wished I never met you." Duplica said sadly. Both of them didn't say another word for a few minutes.
"Duplica... do you what to know what I think about this whole mess?" Ash asked, breaking the silence between the two. Duplica still didn't look at Ash until she felt Ash's hand touch her face and moved it to face his. Then suddenly, Ash closed his eyes, leaned in and kissed Duplica on the lips. This was a giant shock for the Ditto trainer, but this meant that Ash did care about her. As soon as Ash kissed her, he pulled away, much to Duplica's disappointment.
"Does this mean you have the same feelings I do?" Duplica asked as she became red in the face from blushing. Ash leaned in and gave her another kiss on her lips. That answered her question.
"How's that for my answer? Of course I do, Duplica. I had this crush on you since the last time we met in Johto. I was longing for the moment we would meet again. I had dreams about the two of us meeting up like this and confessing. I'm just glad this whole mess is all over and I have you." Ash said,
"I love you, Ash." Duplica said as she kissed Ash passionately for a minute,
"I love you too, Duplica." Ash said and the two of them shared another passionate kiss. For Ash and Duplica, this secret admirer mess up has finally been cleaned up. It took a lot of twists and turns with Misty, Team Rocket, three baby Pokémon and Misty knocking Ash's lights out to end up like this, but both Ash and Duplica didn't care. They had each other. And that was all that mattered.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Ash and Duplica went back to Pallet and told Brock and Mrs. Ketchum the good news. Both were overjoyed that Ash and Duplica were together, especially Mrs. Ketchum. After Ash and Duplica confessed their love for each other, Misty decided to let her jealousy against Duplica go. She knew that Duplica won Ash fairly. Because of all of the crap she put Ash through, it took a long time for Ash to forgive Misty. When he did, Misty decided to brush up on her water Pokémon knowledge and usually paid Ash and Duplica a visit every now and then. Now, Ash continues his journey to become a Pokémon Master with Duplica by his side and Brock for Pokémon support.
Ash was still bummed out about being kicked out of the Rockstar City Pokémon Tournament, but the city sent him a letter, begging for his forgiveness for their mistake in the tournament. They are willing to grant Ash a top 32 spot in next year's tournament, but Ash ruined their day by not accepting their offer and saying their city sucks!!
As for Pikachu, Groudon, Aron and Bagon, all of them get along now and since Ash added the three baby Pokémon to his roster, they have grown up a lot and have become three of Ash's most feared Pokémon, next to Pikachu. Life was now much more brighter for Ash and Duplica.
The End
First off, I want to thank all of the people who have submitted reviews and showered me with their kind words of encouragement to keep going. You readers are the main reason I enjoy fanfic writing. Getting reviews from you all give me the motivation to keep going in the midst of yet another Mario Alvarado creative dry spell.
I also want to give a shout out to each and every reviewer who read every part of this fanfic to the end and sent in their kind words of encouragement and begging me to continue the story. You guys are the real reason I enjoy writing fanfiction all the time. To date, The Secret Admirer Mess Up has gotten 30 reviews the last time I checked. This probably makes this my most popular fic I have ever done. This even beats my Pokémon/Formula One masterpiece, Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver.
Lastly, I want to send a special thank you to DJ Rodriguez, the one guy who has supported and helped me out with this fic when I was trying to get over Mt. Writer's Block and cross the non-motivation river. Without you, I would still be wasting my time playing Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Holomatch instead of writing this. I am proud to call him a friend and willing to help me out when I have a dry spell.
After this, I don't know how I am going to top this. But, look out for probably another Ash/Duplica fanfic by me in the near future. I might try to make an Ash/Officer Jenny fic if the stars are aligned right. Keep on reading!!!
Mario Alvarado
9/5/2003
Ash and Duplica Forever!!!!