Whee! Started 6/1/04
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This is non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction written by me. Don’t take it, that’s plagiarism.

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

This fic is dedicated to KiAnson, because it was her plotbunny that she let me have… so some parts may be similar to a fic if she writes it finally.

Ages: At the beginning of this fic, Ash is 8 and Catelyn is 13

Warnings: Het championshipping (Ash x Lance)

Lance = Catelyn…

Chapter 1

 

            A young pokemon trainer looked at empty spot where her home used to be. She gave a sigh.

*It’s gone, mom.* She thought. * Gone. Completely gone. There is nothing left but memories. Was this move really for the best? *

            Still… maybe it was.

            Fire cleansed, right? Fire burned, water fell in rain’s embrace, and the old was left behind to make room for the new…

 

 "Catelyn!" A voice cried. She turned to see young boy waving at her. Catelyn stared at her former neighbor.

"Hi Ash.” She greeted as she walked towards the boy and his home. Ash ran and gave his secret crush a big hug.

 

"You are home, you are home. "  As he sang, he led – no, more like dragged Catelyn towards his house and then into the kitchen. "Mom, Catelyn is home."

"Aw…   Isn’t that cute! Your girlfriend is home."  His mom cheerily replied.

"Mom…” An eye blink later his face was beet red. Really, he hadn’t even told Catelyn yet, how could his mom know?

 

"How is your journey, Catelyn?" She went on as she cooked, stirring the spaghetti thoughtfully and adding meat sauce, her secret recipe. A nice enough girl…

 

"Fine, Mrs. Ketchum." Catelyn answered. "But I really need to see to Professor Oak, so I’ll come back later."

"Can I go with you?" Ash asked.

"Sure." As she voiced her answer, Ash dragged Catelyn out the door. "We’ll be back later, Mom."

"Have fun! Come home by dinnertime." His mom shouted.

Ash and Catelyn was strolled along the road toward Professor Oak’s lab. But Ash paused and turned to Catelyn.

"What is it, Ash?" She asked.  Ash sat down on nearby rock. Catelyn sat next to him.

 "Well..." Existential pause!

            It built suspense.

 

 

"I-I really like you." He said slowly and stood up.

"Same here."

"But I….I…..I….  I love you. So is it possible that you marry me?" He blurted out, before the rampant blush overran his features. Catelyn stared at him.

"… I really heard that? You want to marry me?"

Ash nodded. Catelyn sighed and then chuckled a little.

"Ash, why _do_ you want to marry me?" She asked.

"Well, I’ve known you for quite a while. You have always been nice to me. You always favor me over Gary and plus…… I know all about you." He stammered along.

"What if you like another girl who is prettier than me?" She chuckled.

"No, I won’t."

"Are you sure?" Catelyn raised her eyebrows. * So trusting? But we’re both still children. At least he is. *

 

"Yes!!" Ash said without any hesitation.

 

Catelyn laughed softly. "All right. I accept your proposal but if you like or love someone else, I am willing to let you go."

 Ash gave her a big hug. "Oh!" He pulled out of his pocket, a bracelet with a little pokemon charms on it. "This is my promise that one day, when I am old enough to marry you, I will."  He handed the charm bracelet to Catelyn.

 

"I’m just glad it’s not a diamond ring." Catelyn joked. "But here." Catelyn took off her necklace and gently put on Ash. It was a glass ball with a dratini wrapped on it. "This is also a promise that we will always be friends, and always have been."

Catelyn gave Ash a kiss on the cheek, which caused Ash to blush furiously in response. Perfectly normal response, but...

It felt nice…

Catelyn stood up. "Well, now we have to go. Professor Oak is waiting." She took her fiancée‘s hand and they walked to Professor Oak’s lab together, not caring who might see.

            There was nothing to be ashamed of, nothing at all.

 

            Once there, Catelyn had her pokédex upgraded, showed Oak the new Aerodactyl she had caught, and then left.

            She loved dragons.

            Dragonair, yes, she had two of them, Aerodactyl, Gyarados, and of course, Dragonite. It had been six months of hard training before Dragonite evolved.

            But it was worth it.

            Then, there was Larvitar. Dratini. Charmander. All three had been kept in their lowest forms.

            People didn’t suspect.

            That was for the better, after all…

            She had been training for three years, and thus the fruits of hard work were reaped and shone brightly.

 

            They walked back to Ash’s house afterwards.

           

When Ash and Catelyn got home from Professor Oak’s, dinner was waiting. So logically, the first thing, they did was wash up and then head to the table. As they sat down, Mrs. Ketchum served them dinner. Everything was silent, except for soft chewing sounds, until Delia broke the silence.

It was very obvious.

"So when is the wedding?" She asked. Both Ash and Catelyn nearly choked when they heard the words.

"Mom!!" Ash said, barely managing to swallow down his food, as good as it was.  Catelyn drank a glass of water to calm her down.

 "Excuse me?"

"I saw the bracelet ,that Ash bought before, on your wrist and I know how much Ash loves you. I’m his mom after all! So I put two and two together. The result I got was marriage. Although Ash is younger than you, Catelyn, I suggest you marry him when he is old enough," Mrs. Ketchum continued on with an obscurely calm smile.

Ash stared at his mom with wide eyes. Catelyn crossed her arms and supported her forehead on her free arm. Then she shook her head.

"Is your mother feeling sane?” She whispered.

"I honestly don’t know. But I do know one thing; that Pallet Town has a new thing to gossip about." Ash groaned.

Plus he also knew that Gary would tease him about this until the bitter end.

“Cheer up.” Catelyn said, with a grin as she gave him a peck on the cheek. That effectively silenced Ash’s protests.

 

End Chapter

Completed 7/5/04