I have a name, I shall now think of a plot! *Throws fishing pole into a pool of plotbunnies*

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This fanfic belongs to me under international copyright law…

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

Title: Stardust

Timeline: Pre-‘Pikachu’s Goodbye’, Indigo League

Pre-Championshipping (Ash x Lance)

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful sunny day. Ash was in a happy mood, since he had just defeated Koga. Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander were out of their poke balls and busy enjoying lunch, courtesy of Brock.

“Hmm…” Brock said, putting down his newspaper, although where it had come from was up for grabs. “Looks like there’s no moon tonight.”

Ash looked slightly panicked. “Really?”

Misty yawned. “That’s too bad…”

Ash was silent. One hundred and forty four moon phases would pass, before the change began. How much time did he have left?

He hadn’t turned twelve yet, but…

Not much time… there were about 2, 3 months left… oh no…

He still hadn’t found the cure.

He had to, though, before the turned out like… her…

That night…

Ash looked around uneasily. It was sometime in the wee hours of the morning, and…was that…

< Please, don’t fake being asleep. I don’t have much time >

Ash sighed as he sat up in his sleeping bag. Golden eyes and pale skin met his vision. < I… >

< Ash, I couldn’t fight the moon’s power, we both knew that… don’t beat your self over the head for it. >

< I! >

< Shh. > Ash stayed perfectly still as the shadow kissed him, drawing in his energy, before sighing.

< You cannot become a moon-type like me, Ash… you have to fight it. Otherwise… we’ll both die. >

< I understand, Lance… >

The girl sighed, looking at herself. Her silver hair fell almost to her feet, and she was clad in a simple white kimono. However, her golden eyes and the white feathery wings that spread out behind her spoke that she was not human.

< I used to be human, like you, so long ago… >

< We were both so naïve… who knew that book was a real magic book? And once the spell was cast, it could not be undone… >

< No. >

< I do admit, this form grants great power, but… > Lance did not say another word, as her body dissolved into sparkles. < You lose yourself in the bargain… take care, Ash… >

The unspoken rest hung in the air.

Ash nodded grimly.

Who knew that a child’s prank had such dire repercussions? Counting from birth one hundred and forty-four moons, the changes would begin. He had been five years old and Lance seven, and they had just thought it a joke.

All it had involved was candles and chanting…

But now…

He was feeling himself become sluggish during the day. Lance said he had more chance of fighting it, two more years than she, which was true.

He didn’t want to become a spirit!
But what could he do? That was why he was trying to become a Pokemon Master…

Once he attained mastery, all spells previously cast would cancel out.

Lance hadn’t been able to reach Dragon Mastery until she was fourteen, and by then, the moon’s pull was strong enough to keep hold of her. So she didn’t die, like spirits were supposed to, but it didn’t mean she was completely alive either…

He didn’t’ want the same thing to happen to him…

What to do?

Ash?

“Go back to sleep, Pikachu.” Ash said, sighing.

What Pikachu didn’t know didn’t hurt him.

Ash, however, didn’t notice that Pikachu was not the only one awake.

“Who was that girl?” Misty asked, jealousy rearing its head as she looked around. “I bet she was just some psychic…”

She couldn’t hear telepathy, but she had seen a shadow appear, kiss Ash, and then vanish.

What impudence!

Well, she’d get the information out of him later.

The next morning, Ash woke up early and finished his ablutions, released his pokemon, and proceeded to attempt breakfast. The key word, of course, was attempt. It was a valiant struggle, but luckily, boiling water is something most people can do, so finally he just made instant oatmeal for himself and the pokemon.

They ate it, and it wasn’t too bad… I mean, it can’t be possible to ruin instant oatmeal that badly…

Ash added some Spam for charmander and squirtle, and Bulbasaur just took in some more sunlight.

Misty and Brock woke up about an hour later.

“Morning.” Ash said. These were his favorite times of the day, dawn and dusk…

“Wow, you’re up early?”

“How nice.” Misty said nastily.

Ash blinked in confusion, but shrugged it off. After all, Misty wasn’t ever nice to him…

He should pay back her bike soon.

He almost had enough saved up… according to the bike catalogue he had accessed on his pokédex, he still needed twenty-two dollars, so that was a couple more battles and he would be set.

Then she would quit following him around.

That would be nice…

End Chapter

Started 6/15/04, complete 6/18/04