Plotbunny fic! Started 12/1/03
Title: Only as Dark

Disclaimer: I don’t own pokemon; it belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This is non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfic written by me and I own it.

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

Timeline: Anime-verse, new life, AU, T-W-T (Time what time?)

Fic Timeline: Post EOM, Final Test. This could also be a rewrite of ‘After Kanto’

Ash is 13 years old

Chapter 1

 

            “I thought…”

            “You thought what?” The girl asked, orange hair swaying in the breeze as she laughed mockingly. “How could I fall in love with someone like you?”

            The boy laughed as well.

            He cried, yes, he cried like a baby as they walked away arm in arm. Such an obvious couple, how could they have escaped his eyes? And yet…

            Yet… love was blind, as the saying said.

            So he cried, and cried, and cried until his eyes were empty sockets of agony and red-rimmed, unable to cry any more.

            But at least he was true to himself.

 

            He had told her just last night, pathetically afraid to reveal his feelings for her. Yes, it hurt, burned like fire in his heart and burnt him to ashes, but still! Why couldn’t she have returned them?

            Instead… instead, she had chosen the other member of their little troop, and he had reciprocated her affections.

            And now… even the strikes from the deadly flying mallet had hurt less, and he really tried to stop crying, but it was no use. Emotion gushed out and could not be stemmed so easily.

            She had just laughed it off.

            Then, when they had gotten lost – it wasn’t his fault, it really wasn’t – she had accused him just the same.

            What else was new?

            Why did he even bother?

            She wouldn’t ever love him.

 

            It was late before Pikachu managed to get him to stop. Ash? Please, stop crying… it’ll only hurt more.

            He hugged the little mouse to his chest, feeling Pikachu’s own pain. “Pikachu…”

            Pikachu licked his face, and he sighed, but obediently tried hard. His eyes hurt so much he couldn’t really cry any more, either way, so he set up camp and went to sleep. Hopefully, to forget this incident…

 

            “Where do I go now?” Ash asked Pikachu. “I can’t stay here in Kanto, can I? No, it’s going to hurt too much…”

            Their friendship – no, maybe not, but still, journeying with companions hadn’t been bad, it was ruined now.

            Why don’t you go to Johto then? Pidgeot inquired. She sounded disgusted, was he so weak?

            “That’s actually a pretty good idea.” Ash conceded. “They have their own league there, and it’ll give me something to do while I take my mind off this.”

            He climbed on Pidgeot’s back and they flew to Saffron, paid for a one-way ticket train fare, and off the magnet train went to Johto.

            Since Goldenrod was the closest city, off he went looking for the gym leader. He found Whitney outside her gym.

 

            “Are you the gym leader?”

            “Yes, I’m Whitney, leader of the Goldenrod City pokemon gym. Would you like to battle?”

            “Yes. Which badge to you give?”

            Whitney blinked. “Oh, you’re from Kanto! I give out the Plain Badge.”

            “Cool.”

            He followed her inside and the battle began.

 

            Clefairy was quickly dispatched thanks to bulbasaur, Milktank was actually Squirtle’s victory, but Whitney conceded to him the Plainbadge.

            Afterwards, Ash gave Pikachu a haircut at the pokemon salon, which he thoroughly enjoyed, and then went to the Mart to stock up on items. He spent the night at the Pokemon Center.

 

            See? It isn’t so bad. Pikachu told him.

            “As long as I don’t think about her, I think I’m good.” Ash said, feeling a familiar stab of pain as he thought of Misty.

            Quickly banishing the errant thought, he went back to admiring his new badge as Bulbasaur and Squirtle shared an apple.

            It was a very tasty apple, from their looks.

            Ash peeled a banana himself, snacks were always good, especially that since he was in a city right now, Fresh fruit!

            Well, better than nothing and endless dried food on the trial. He smiled in spite of himself, and spent the afternoon playing with and grooming his pokemon.

            After all, doing nothing but training would be worthless.

 

            The next morning, he began walking through Ilex forest to reach Azalea. He still needed to get the first two badges; apparently Whitney’s Plainbadge was the third one in Johto. Still, if that was the case, fighting Bugsy and Falkner should be quick. They shouldn’t be too hard, since he hadn’t done any league battles yet.

            Charmander torched a few lost weedle and kakuna, but fortunately, Ilex had no beedrill swarms unlike Viridian. Thank goodness!
            It also kept Ash from thinking about Misty and her bug phobia.

            The little fire lizard yawned as he walked along. So I’ll be fighting Bugsy?

            “Unless Pidgeot wants to do it.”

            Pidgeot shrugged. I don’t mind…

            “Well then, you’re it!”

 

            They kept walking. That night, they camped out in the woods. Ash calmly burnt all his pictures of Misty in the campfire.

            The first step to moving beyond her was to eliminate her from his life! So he wouldn’t think about her.

            Without any images, he would not look on her either.

            Everything would turn out fine eventually; he would just concentrate on his journey instead of her.

            Ash nodded to himself, made some instant hot apple cider for cheer, and slept well that night.

            No tears.

 

End Chapter

Completed 12/9/03

In anime pokemon universe, this is probably after Ash beats Koga. ‘The Ninja Poke-Showdown’