Disclaimer: Don't own pokemon!

A/N: So, I'm finally getting started on one of my many sequels. Believe me, this is only a small portion of what's to come in the future. Anyway, I hope you like it, but I do recommend that you read 'The Fight for Love' before beginning this one. Also, thank you again to everyone who reviewed 'Where the Heart Is.' I really appreciated it!

Ash: 18
Misty: 19
Brock: 20

Lost Love

Chapter 1

"Ash, can you get the mail for me please?" screamed Mrs. Ketchum, as her exuberant voice rang throughout the whole Ketchum residence.

"Sure thing, Mom," Ash answered back as he ran down the stairs and out the front door.

Two years.that's how long it had been since the battle between Aki and Ash.the battle between good and evil. It had been, for the most part, fairly quiet. They hadn't heard anything from Hikara or Ash's father for that matter. Since that time, Ash had told his mother everything, from the encounter with Aki to the reunion with his father. The whole explanation had taken Mrs. Ketchum off guard. Even though she had come to expect strange things from her son, this had to be one of the most outrageous. After a few tears were shed, Ash continued to explain what had happened. Since then, life had been pretty normal.

As Ash made his way to the mailbox, his mind started to wander about how perfect life was. It seemed as if everything was going his way and that nothing could spoil his good mood.

He opened the mailbox to find several envelopes stacked in a neat pile. Upon pulling the stack out, he started to examine each envelope.

"Bill.bill.bill.hmm.what's this?" Ash asked himself.

A white envelope with an official looking purple stamp on it caught Ash's eye, especially since it had his name on it. He looked at the return address and found that it was from the Pokemon League.

'The Pokemon League? What would they send me?' thought Ash as he turned the envelope over, eager to open it.

"Ash!" yelled a voice from inside the house.

"Yeah, Mist!" Ash yelled back, still staring at the envelope.

"Where are you?" 19 year-old Misty asked as she walked outside of the house, "There you are. Breakfast is ready," she announced as she came up next to him.

"I'll be right there," he answered as he stuffed the envelope in his pocket.

"What's that you got there?" she asked, staring over his shoulder.

"It's nothing," he smiled. He then gave her a small reassuring kiss on the cheek and a tight hug. "Come on. Let's get something to eat."

"All right," she sighed, letting herself fall into his warm embrace.

The couple walked inside, hand in hand, and then headed towards the kitchen where Brock, Mrs. Ketchum, Pikachu, and Togepi were waiting. Ash set the stack of mail on the countertop and seated himself next to Misty at the table.

"Here you go guys, Brock's breakfast special," announced Brock as he set the food onto the table.

"Thanks Brock. This looks great!" exclaimed Misty as she started to feed Togepi, "How does that taste Togepi?"

"Choki!" it squealed as it hungrily ate the food that was placed before it.

"Thank you for making breakfast Brock," smiled Mrs. Ketchum as she placed some food onto her plate.

"Oh, it was no problem Mrs. Ketchum. Just glad to be of some assistance," smiled Brock as he took his seat next to her.

All the while, Ash had been staring at his plate thinking about his letter from the Pokemon League.

'I wonder what's in it, maybe another tournament. I haven't heard anything from Professor Oak though. Maybe it's a special tournament that you can only get in with an acceptance letter,' thought Ash.

"Ash, what's wrong?" asked Misty upon noticing the blank look on his face.

"Huh?" Ash blinked as he was shaken out of his reverie. He looked around the table and saw that everyone was staring at him. "What?"

"Well, it's just that you've been staring off into space for the past five minutes," commented Brock, "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Ash reassured as he started to pick at his food with his fork.

"Ash, something's always on your mind when you stare blankly like that," smiled Misty as she nudged him lightly.

"Pika!" it agreed as it nodded its head.

"Really guys, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about," smiled Ash as he dug into his food.

Misty exchanged a look of uncertainty with Brock who, in turn, gave her the same look. They both knew how Ash was when he was thinking of something important. It was only a matter of time before he blurted out his little secret to the two of them. In the meantime, they would just have to be patient, realizing that this was Ash they were talking about after all.

After breakfast, Ash ran upstairs to his room and shut the door. He eagerly took the letter from out of his pocket and ripped the envelope open. Inside was an official looking letter about a paragraph in length. Ash began to read the letter aloud.

"'You have been cordially invited to participate in this year's confidential Pokemon League sponsored tournament at the famous Emerald Coliseum. It will be approximately one month long starting two weeks from the date on the top of this letter. We encourage you to participate since your records in past tournaments have proved you worthy. Unfortunately, family and/or friends will not be allowed to accompany you to the tournament. We thank you for your co-operation and hope you partake in this event. Signed, the Pokemon League.P.S. If you wish to participate, then you must send back your reply to the return address by no later than Saturday,'" Ash finished as he continued to stare at the letter.

Truthfully, he was completely psyched that the League had noticed his record and based his acceptance on that, but on the other hand, he wouldn't be able to bring Misty or Brock with him. He never faced a tournament without them by his side. They were his coaches and mentors. How could he go without them?

Upon hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, Ash quickly stuffed the letter back into its envelope and threw it into his already packed desk drawer. The letter was half sticking out when Ash closed the drawer, thinking that no one would go around his things.

"Hey, are you in here?" asked Misty as she gently pushed the door open.

"Yeah, right here," announced Ash calmly as he stared out of his window, his mind elsewhere.

"Your mom wants you to help her with the dishes," said Misty as she came into the room that she and Ash were now sharing.

"The dishes.oh, right.sure thing." he trailed off as he continued to stare outside.

With a raised brow to Ash's peculiar behavior, Misty began to approach him. She knew there was something on Ash's mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. He was fine this morning before he went to pick up.the mail.

"Ash, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing's wrong. What makes you think anything is wrong?" he asked nonchalantly as he finally directed his gaze towards hers.

"Well, it's just that." She thought about what she was going to say, but then quickly dismissed it. "Never mind."

"Okay," he replied as he shrugged it off and hopped off of his bed. Before leaving his room to do his mother's request, he gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

She sighed and nodded in response to his statement and followed his lead downstairs into the kitchen. Once downstairs, Ash headed towards the kitchen to find that his mom had already started.

"Here mom, let me help with that," said Ash as he grabbed a towel from off of the towel rack and started to dry the dishes.

"Thank you, sweetie," smiled Mrs. Ketchum as she continued to wash the dirty dishes.

All the while, Ash's mind kept wandering to the letter back in his desk drawer. This tournament sounded like it was a big event, and he had been hand picked by the Pokemon League. He sorted out the pros and cons in his head and thought that that might give him his decision, but it was useless. On the one side, he had the chance to compete in a secret tournament that only the most skilled competed in, while also gaining valuable experience and practice for future reference. On the other hand, he had to leave Misty and Brock behind, and without their coaching and encouragement, would he even stand a chance?

"Ash, honey, you've been drying that plate for the past five minutes. I think it's dry," announced his mother, as she gave him an odd look.

"Huh? Oh," said Ash as he realized what he had been doing. He put the plate down embarrassedly and continued on to the next plate.

Misty, however, was watching Ash all the while, getting more and more concerned about his odd behavior.

'What aren't you telling me, Ash?' she thought as she continued to watch her clumsy boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Brock had been up and around, cleaning up the rest of the house. He had been upstairs for the duration of the time and began to sweep around Ash's room.

"That kid is so unorganized," muttered Brock to himself as he vacuumed through the dump that was Ash's room.

He started dusting around his desktop and put all of his papers and books in a neat pile. He then noticed a mangled looking envelope half sticking out of one of his drawers.

"He can't even put his things away," sighed Brock as he took out the envelope and started organizing the inside of the drawer.

Upon finishing the drawer, he started to place the envelope back in its respective spot when the letter inside fell to the floor. Brock bent over and picked up the letter and noticed the purple Pokemon League stamp on it.

'The Pokemon League? What would they want with Ash?' thought Brock as he examined the letter more closely.

Upon finishing the letter, he placed it back into its envelope and put it into Ash's drawer.

"Why didn't he tell us about this?" he wondered.

After second thought, Brock pulled the letter back out and had decided to ask Ash himself about it. He placed the envelope in his pocket and headed downstairs in search of Ash. He reached the bottom of the stairs and spotted Ash on the couch with Pikachu watching television.

"Ash, do you have a second?" asked Brock.

"Yeah, sure," answered Ash as he got up off of the couch and headed towards the staircase.

"What's up?" he asked as he reached Brock.

Brock motioned for Ash to follow him upstairs and into his room. Upon reaching the room, Brock closed the door and turned to face his long time friend.

"What's this all about Brock?" asked Ash, dumbfounded as to why his friend looked so urgent.

Brock pulled the envelope from out of his pocket and showed it to Ash, who, in turn, instantly recognized it.

"I know what you're thinking. I had no right to go through your personal stuff and I'm sorry, but." Before Brock could finish, Ash interrupted him.

"I'm not going Brock," answered Ash simply.

"Huh? Why not?" asked Brock, a perplexed look on his face.

"Because I don't want to leave you guys behind. You've always been there for me in the past and I just don't want to do this without you guys. It just doesn't feel right to me," stated Ash with a slight smile on his face.

"You're sure that's what you want to do?" asked Brock one last time.

"Don't worry about it Brock. It'll be fine," reassured Ash as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Does Misty know about this?" asked Brock setting the envelope back on Ash's desk.

"Um.not yet she doesn't. I'll get to it later," shrugged Ash as he gave his friend an uncertain look.

Brock sighed aloud and sat down on Ash's bed.

"I think this would be a good opportunity for you to strengthen your skills though," commented Brock as he looked out the window.

"Yeah, I know, but there'll be other tournaments. Don't worry so much Brock," laughed Ash as he opened the door to his room, "You act like my mom sometimes."

"I think I cook better than her too," commented Brock as he followed his friend out of the room.

"Hey, watch it," laughed Ash as their voices trailed off down the hallway.

***
"So, we meet again," exclaimed a deep male voice from the darkness.

"Who's there?" Misty asked, staring blankly into the abyss.

"It's only been two years and you've already forgotten us," said a second female voice.

Misty gasped at the realization that had just overcome her. The two voices that were calling out to her.it couldn't be?

Just then two forms appeared. The first figure was draped in a dark hooded cloak. His face was covered and his head was facing down. The second figure, a female, wore a black hooded cape, black boots, and a completely black outfit.

"Now do you recognize us?" asked the male.

Misty just shook her head in disbelief and took in a sharp breath.

"It can't be," she gasped as she took a few steps backwards, "It just can't be."

"You had better believe it," said the young caped girl.

"We killed you two years ago. You shouldn't be here," breathed Misty as darkness started to cloud her mind and her vision.

"Heed my warning. The chosen one will endure an unparallel amount of suffering, his downfall is imminent," warned the cloaked man.

"Keep those that you cherish close to you or you will regret it," announced the female as the darkness started to collapse around Misty.

She screamed in hopes that someone would hear her, but no one came and no one would come because the darkness was keeping all contact away from her.and she could do nothing to prevent it.

***
Just then, Misty's eyes flashed open and she bolted upward. Ash and Brock were standing above her. She looked around at her surroundings and found that she was back in the Ketchum's living room on the couch where she had fallen asleep.

"Mist, what happened? You were screaming," said Ash as he kneeled next to her and gave her a hug.

Misty just shook her head, unable to speak. Her mind was reeling, but she couldn't stop herself from focusing on two things.

Aki and Marissa.

A/N: One down many, many, many, many more to go. *sigh* the life of a fanfic writer.Anyhoo, send me a review, comment, anything! Thanks!