Where You Are:
A Pokemon Story
Written by: Misty411 (a.k.a. SINGLF)
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Disclaimer stuff: I don't own "Pokemon" or any of the corresponding characters ( 
Ash, Misty, Pikachu, Gary, etc., except for Crystal Lockheart and Chad Dawson 
who are my characters that I made up).  Pokemon is owned by Gamefreak, 
Creatures, and Nintendo.  I also don't own the song featured in this fic called 
"Where You Are" which is performed by Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey on her 
debut album, "Sweet Kisses."  It is owned and copyrighted by Sony Music 
Entertainment Inc.  This fic, however, is mine and it is illegal to copy it.  
Yada, yada.  And anything else I forgot.  Thanks.  
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Current Ages:
Ash: 15
Misty: 16
Crystal: 16
Chad: 17
Brock: 17
Gary: 15
Mrs. Ketchum: 35
Prof. Oak: 68



Prologue

	Many months have passed since the Pokemon League Competition.  Ash 
Ketchem, a young boy from Pallet Town, stares out at the shimmering sea in front 
of him, reminiscing about his past adventures.  His best friend (although he 
would never admit it), Misty, sits by his side cradling her baby pokemon, 
Togepi, to sleep.  His other best friend, a small yellow mouse pokemon named 
Pikachu, rests peacefully in his lap. 

	They're on a cruise ship headed for their next destination and, 
undoughtedly, their next adventure.  Many close encounters and surprising 
situations have happened to him and his friends in the past few years, but he 
doesn't regret having one moment.  He knows he has grown and matured a lot from 
the first day he set out on his pokemon journey to become the world's greatest 
pokemon master.  Everyday that goes by, his desire to be the best grows with 
every new pokemon he meets.  It had been just Pikachu, Misty, Brock, and him for 
a while, until Brock had sadly left the group to stay with Prof. Ivy on Valencia 
Island to help her tend to the pokemon.  He knew Brock also had his eyes on her 
when they had left and, although she was very smart and beautiful, she was just 
to old for him, being that he was about 17 and she was at least in her late 
twenties.  Ash smiled to himself and shook his head.  Brock could never win with 
women.  Apparently, neither could he though with Misty still around, arguing 
every chance she got.  He had come to expect her bratty attitude as an everyday 
thing now and just went along with it.  

	"What's on your mind, Ash?"

	Ash looked over at Misty who had set Togepi down now and had stretched out 
on a chair to relax.  She had noticed him smiling and was now looking at him 
curiously.  

	"Nothing really.  Just about the past." he said as he too stretched out on 
a chair to relax, careful not to wake Pikachu. 

	"Yea, I know what you mean.  A lot has happened since I fished you out of 
the water a few years ago, and even though Brock is gone and Tracey left to go 
on his own adventures, I have always thought of you as my closest friend." 

	Ash flinched.  He had never expected her to admit that or feel that way. 
	"So I guess this means you don't care about the bike I owe you anymore," 
he smirked. 

	"No way! I'm not letting you get out of it that easily!  I fully intend on 
you paying me back for my bike, Mr. Pokemon Master."

	Ash sighed.  Here we go again.


_____________________________________________________________________________


1-1  "Welcome Home"



	"Hey, Ash. Look!  It's Cerulean City!" Misty beams as they sail
past her home town.  She misses her home and her sisters more and more everyday, 
but she knows that the home-sickness is part of becoming a great pokemon 
trainer.  Still, she couldn't wait to show her sisters all she had accomplished 
since she had last seen them.

	Ash, who had been reading a subscription of a Pokemon magazine, looked up 
to
peer at the famous little town.  He remembered the first time he had traveled to 
Cerulean City to win his second badge.  It was also the first time he had ever 
battled against Misty.  It seemed like every place they passed held some kind of 
memory with Brock, Misty, or Tracey.  

	Misty finally pulled herself away from the edge of the ship and walked 
over to the
chair and grabbed her things.  "I think I'll try out the pool and go for a swim.  
Do you
wanna come, Ash?"

	Ash smiled but shook his head.  "I'm getting a little hungry. I think me 
and
Pikachu are going to check and see what's on the menu.  Whata ya say, Pikachu, 
wanna go?
	"Piii!" Pikachu smiled.

	Later, after Ash and Pikachu got done eating, they decided to go find 
Misty.  The boat would be approaching Pallet Town soon, Ash's home town, so they 
would have to get ready to leave soon.  They decided to go to Pallet next 
because they had talked to Prof. Oak a few days ago and he had an important 
message for the both of them.  'I hope it's nothing serious!' Ash thought to 
himself.

	They checked the pool but Misty was nowhere to be found.  Then they saw a
crowd of guys swarming over a girl in the distance.  No dought some famous 
actress or a model that they were drooling over.  He couldn't quite make out who 
it was, though.  "Come on Pikachu.  Let's find out who the big celebrity is."  

	Ash tried to make his way through the crowd but was accidentally shoved 
into some older guy.  Just as the guy was about to pulverize him, a voice yelled 
out at them, "Don't hurt him.  He's with me."  Ash turned to see who had saved 
him when there before his eyes he saw who the girl was.  It was Misty! 

	She was relaxing on a lawn chair, soaking up some rays in her bikini.  Ash 
felt a
small fire stir inside of  him as he glanced at her.  She looked breath taking.  
He shook the thoughts from his head and walked over to her.  "Sorry guys but I 
have to get ready to leave now." Misty said to the crowd.  "I'm sorry I didn't 
get the chance to sign all of your autographs.  Next time maybe."

	As the guys began to leave Ash looked at her with a confused look on his 
face. 
"What was that all about?" he asked, trying to keep his cool.  "Oh, those were 
just a few people who had seen me perform that one time as the mermaid at 
Cerulean Gym.  Can you believe all those people were fans of mine?"

	"The only thing I believe is that they wanted more than just your 
autograph." Ash
growled.  Misty just smiled to herself.  Was Ash jealous?  "Anyway, we came to 
tell you that it's time to leave now so you have to go change and get ready.  We 
only have 15 minutes to get off so you have to hurry."  "All right, all right. 
I'm going, I'm going,"she said as she began to leave.  Then she turned and gave 
a quick hug to Ash.  "Thanks for looking out for me, Mr. Ketchum."  Then she 
turned and headed for her room to get ready.  

	A few hours later, they arrived at the Ketchum home where Ash's Mom put on
another show of how she missed her baby boy.  Pikachu and Misty snickered at his
situation in the background.  "Mom, I know you want to talk about everything I 
did since I left home again," Ash muffled as his Mom gave him a big bear 
hug,"but I need to go to Prof. Oak and see what he needs from me."  

	"O.K. honey, I'll have dinner ready when you get back.  Have fun."
	After finally getting away from his Mom, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu head 
toward
the Oak Laboratory.  When they arrive, the Prof. begins to explain why they were 
called there.  They were surprised to discover it wasn't at all what they had 
been
expecting.


_____________________________________________________________________


1-2 "Meet Ms.Lockheart"

	"You want us to do what?!" the young pokemon trainer, Ash Ketchum, stated 
blankly.  Misty, Ash, and Prof.Oak had been discussing the reason for the Prof. 
urgent message they had received.

	"I know it's a lot to ask from you, especially when you are right in the
middle of your pokemon training, but I need your help, Ash. I have no one
else I can trust to do this," the Prof. replied. "I received a message from the
Pokemon Preservation Board on Saturday. They said they needed my
assistance to help save hundreds of pokemon located on an island down
south. They said a new type of pokemon disease had recently been
discovered and unless something was done about it soon, there would be a
good chance it could spread to other pokemon outside of the island. It has
become a very big problem and they need me there to help find a cure. I will
need to be there for at least six months, if not longer, but the problem is that 
I
would need someone here to run the lab while I'm away. That's where the
two of you come in. I need the two of you to stay here and run the lab while
I'm gone."

	Ash looked down at Pikachu who was resting on the rug near him. He
knew helping the Prof. would be the right thing to do, but that would mean
he would have to put his pokemon training on hold and be behind his
competition. "What about Gary? Haven't you asked him yet?"

	"I was planning to, but I haven't been able to get a hold of him yet. I
would rather you be the one in charge instead of Gary anyway. He may be
my grandson, but he just wouldn't be able to give the pokemon the care and
love that you would."

	Ash had to agree with that. Prof.Oak's grandson cared more about
how powerful and strong a pokemon was than about the pokemon itself. He
couldn't let Gary take over the place. 

	"But why, Prof., did you ask me to come too?" Misty questioned.

	"Because, even though Ash is a talented trainer, he isn't exactly the
most responsible trainer. I need someone who knows him fairly well to help
him out and guide him."

	"No way! You've got to be crazy to think that I'm gonna spend six
months here, running the lab, with her as my partner!" Ash yelled, angrily,
pointing at Misty.

	"Well I can't believe he's even considering putting you in charge.
You'll probably end up blowing up the place before he gets back!"

"What do you know?! All you care about is getting your stupid bike back.
You would never be able to care for any other pokemon but your own."

	"I know a lot more about caring for pokemon than you ever will!!"

	"Oh, yeah!!" Ash threatened, standing up.

	"Yeah!!" Misty yelled, confronting him.

	"Please calm down you two. How can I trust to hand over my lab to
you if you continue to act this way? You need to learn to work together and
get along. Hundreds of pokemon are counting on you. Please, will you do this
for me? Can I count on you to be able to handle this?"

	Ash walked toward the window and looked out. "If it's a pokemon in
need than, yes, of course I'll do it."

	"Count me in too. I'll make sure to keep an eye on Ash for you, Prof.,
so there is no need to worry."

	Ash looked over at Misty and scowled who only grinned back.
	"Great! Then I'll introduce you to the one who will be advising you on
how to run the place. Crystal! Will you please come in here now!" the Prof.
yelled to the next room. 

	A young girl, about Ash's age, strolled into the room. She was the
most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had a short, tight tank-top and a
short black skirt on. Her eyes were a clear aqua-green color, almost matching
the color of her tank-top, and beautiful blonde-streaked hair  which draped
loosely over her shoulders almost reaching to the curve of her back. She had
what looked like a medieval cross tattoo on her upper right arm and a gold
heart-shaped locket resting on her chest. She also wore a cape-like cloth,
draped from the bottom of the back of her top almost touching the floor
(much like the outfit of Rinoa from FF8), giving the outfit a mystical, almost
sexy look. Ash couldn't help but stare. He defiantly wouldn't mind spending
six months there with her around!

	Misty noticed the expression on Ash's face. She turned and glared at
the stranger, crossing her arms.

	"Hello! My name is Crystal Lockheart. I will be the one showing you
what needs to be done daily and how it should be done." She turned to see
Misty scowling at her and just smiled as if not noticing. "You must be Misty.
It's so nice to finally meet the famous Cerulean Gym leader and water
pokemon expert. I myself specialize in the electric type. Maybe we could
battle sometime to test out our skills." Then she turned her gaze toward Ash.
"And you must be the Ash Ketchum I've heard so much about. It'll be a great
learning experience to work with such a talented pokemon trainer, I'm sure!"
she said giving him a flirting smile. Ash blushed sheepishly. Misty began to
turn red too, but not from blushing.

	"Well, now that we've all met, let's go into the kitchen and have
something to drink while we discuss my plans for you three!" the Prof.
suggested, oblivious to the episode being played out.

	As Ash got up to follow the Prof. into the kitchen, Crystal grabbed
Ash's arm and linked it with hers. "Afterwards, you just have to show me all
of your strong pokemon. OK, Ash!" she flirted. Ash smiled and nodded,
blushing, "Sure."

	Misty looked at the couple angrily, then sadly followed the two into the
next room.


___________________________________________________________

1-3   "Love and War" 

	
	Misty had never imagined she could be so fed up and angry with Ash than 
she was at that moment. She stormed into the main lab office and slammed the 
door behind her. How could he be so insensitive? So uncaring? And rude?  She 
slumped down into the big office chair and decided to try and get some paperwork 
done, but no matter how much she tried her mind would always trail back to the 
fight she had previously been in with Ash. What had begun as a simple 
disagreement turned into a heated argument. She vaguely could remember what it 
was over this time exactly. Something about her mixing the wrong pokemon food 
formula. It was an honest mistake and she had apologized for it, but when 
Crystal came in and starting acting like she was better than her by pointing out 
all of her mistakes and Ash took Crystal's side, that's when she blew up at him 
and stormed off. Misty sighed an exasperated growl. That righteous, prissy, 
little slut. Misty still couldn't believe he had sided with her! He had known 
Misty a lot longer than he had known her. What was it about her that he liked so 
much that he would turn his back on one of his closest friends?
	Just then she heard a soft knock at the door and knew immediately who it 
was. 
"Go away, Ash, I don't want to talk to you right now!" she yelled to the person 
outside the door. She heard the door open and someone step inside the room. Her 
back was to the door and she didn't feel like turning around to see who it was. 
Just then she felt someone reach around her and tickle her in the sides. 
Surprised, she almost fell backwards off the chair but instead was caught in the 
stranger's arms. She looked up to see Ash grinning down at her, satisfactorily. 
She regained her balance, stood up, and angrily pushed him away. "What the hell 
do you think you're doing, Ash! You don't just sneak up on someone and surprise 
them like that. What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?!" she yelled 
at him, her voice a little shaky. 

	"Oh, so now you are talking to me, huh?" he teased.
	"Look, Ash, I'm very busy right now, so if you're here just to make me 
even more angry at you..."
	"Actually, I came up here to talk to you and apologize...if that's all 
right." he looked at her skeptically.
	A little surprised by his sincerity, Misty sat down and looked up at him 
with a bored expression. "I'm listening."
	"Well," he began, "I know it was wrong for Crystal to have put you down 
like she did and I should have stuck up for you. I know you may think I sided 
with her but I didn't. I just didn't say anything when you two were fighting 
cause I didn't want to get in the middle of it. She was being to hard on you, 
though, and I'm sorry I didn't break it up, ok?"
	"What about Crystal? Is she even sorry for what she said?" Misty 
questioned.
	"Crystal told me half of what she said she did because she felt it was 
part of her responsibility, and the other half she was just joking around and 
teasing you. She said she didn't mean to upset you, though."
	"Oh right! Isn't that the understatement of the year!"
	"Look, I've been under a lot of stress lately trying to run this place 
these past two weeks since Prof. Oak left, and the two of you constantly 
fighting over who is better than the other doesn't help me out either."
	"Well, that works both ways. She has to start acting her age and stop 
being such a know-it-all, too. I'm not gonna take any more of her pokemon expert 
bull..."
	"She has been working here longer than we have and she knows what she's 
doing. She's just trying to help us run this lab as a team."
	"No, she tries to take credit for the hard work I do and make me look like 
a total ass for every mistake I make. She's just a big mooch, Ash!"
	"I'm not going to argue with you anymore! I'm tired of fighting with you. 
The last time we fought like this was over a year ago. I know you have your 
differences with Crystal. I'm not asking you to like her, just please try to be 
civil and get along for the sake of all the pokemon here!"
	Misty thought about what he said and realized he was right. She was acting 
like she was 12 again picking fights all the time. She was more mature now and 
she need to start acting like it. She stood up and looked Ash in the face. 
"You're right, Ash. I've been acting like a child lately and I'm sorry. I 
promise to try and get along with Crystal."
	Ash smiled and gave a sigh of relief. "Great! Than you accept my apology?"
	"Yeah, your forgiven."
	"We're cool now?"
	"Yeah."
	"Who was the one that was right?"
	Misty gave him a halfhearted smile. "Don't push it!"
	Ash just smiled and gave her a playful little hug, "Thanks Mist."
	Oh, isn't that sweet," Crystal mocked from the doorway. "I knew you two 
would kiss and make up."
	At the sudden mention of any connection between the two, Ash and Misty 
pushed each other away with looks of disgust on their faces. 
	"Yeah right!"
	"No way!"
	"Well, whatever, I'm just here to remind Ash that it's time for that 
Ponyta ride you promised me," she said with a flirting smile.
	"Oh, right, the Ponyta ride," Ash blushed a little, "We'll be back in a 
little while, Misty." Misty stared after the two as they walked into the hallway 
closing the door behind them. Misty growled, picked up a stack of papers, and 
flung them at the door, scattering them everywhere.
	Later that night, all three teenagers decided to head over to the Ketchum 
house for dinner. After conversing over the days events with Ash's mom followed 
by another small argument between Ash and Misty, they decide to call it a night. 
Crystal heads back to the lab to sleep where her room has been for the last few 
months, and Ash and Misty head upstairs to their separate rooms. Mrs. Ketchum 
smiles as she watches her son and Misty bickering as usual over who will get the 
bathroom first in  the morning, realizing how much they really do truly care for 
each other. 'They really do make a cute couple.' she thinks to herself as she 
finishes up in the kitchen.


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	Well, that's the end of the first chapter. Now on to chapter 2. Any 
questions/comments/critisisms/ ideas/ whatever, send them to Misty411PP@aol.com. 
I always love hearing what other people think of my stories! Or you can always 
visit my cool site where you can not only read my fanfics, but tons more by 
other authors! Check it out at http://misty411.homepage.com/home.html!!