Dear Journal,

Once again, she’s invaded my dreams and made them worth dreaming. Man…If I don’t get her out of my head soon, I might just lose this next frontier battle. It’s not that I don’t want to think about her, it’s because if I do, I might get distracted. Pikachu is starting to figure out more and more what is causing me to lose focus. That worries me a little. I told Pikachu that my feelings for her would never interfere with our battling and that was the only way it let me off the hook for not telling her. GAH!!! What am I going to do? I should be thinking of the next battle not how absolutely adorable Misty is! What’s wrong with me!?

Sincerely,

Ash S. Ketchum

Somebody Shoot Me…5-01

Dear Journal,

Training is going ok, I guess. Pikachu’s volt tackle keeps getting stronger and stronger. Swellow’s speed in its aerial ace has increased ten fold. Corphish’s crabhammer has sure got a punch. Sceptile’s solar beam is easier to activate. Dophan’s agility has increased so much. I couldn’t be happier for them…but as for my training…not so well. I’ve become clumsy and can’t keep a steady pace. So I can’t help but wonder…what’s the point?

I think I’ve finally figured out why I have constantly dreamed of Misty. It’s not that I love her, but because my heart has chosen her as my significant other. Now that I think about it, the old man said that all of us Ketchums’ pick one girl, and one girl alone to be our love. But I’ve never been anything like him or the rest of the family. So I wonder how this could be true.

Sincerely,

Ash S. Ketchum

Somebody Shoot me…5-02

I heard the door start to open. I instantly threw the book back on the bed and dove underneath the bunk. I watched as Ash’s shoes walked towards the bed. I thought that I was caught. Luckily, Ash just sat on the bed. He sighed as I was crushed by the weight on the bed.

“…Dear Journal,” I heard Ash start to say, “Today was absolutely amazing. Training has improved ten fold. If that doesn’t impress the old man, nothin’ will. I mean, I’ve been training my butt of for months trying to get to a point where I think that I could win his approval. And I think that I finally found that point. YES!!!

As an added bonus, I got Misty to agree that since her vacation was in a few days that she’d come over to the Sinnoh region and spend some time with me. Yay! You can’t beat how I’m feeling! Nothing can bring me down!!”

The door started to open again and I felt Ash moving around a lot on the bed, most likely trying to hide his journal. I watched as Brock entered and walked over to the bed.

“Hey Ash,” he sighed.

“Whatcha need, Brocko?” Ash chuckled.

“…” Brock was silent for a moment, “I just wanted you to know that if you ever needed someone to talk to about your past or anything, you can count on me.”

Brock left right after that. When he left, he left me with thousands of questions racing throughout my head. I felt Ash reaching underneath his pillow and grab his journal.

“Cripe. I think that Brock knows something about my past. But how could he? I’ve been so careful! I never talk about my past and I try to steer clear of any fatherly topics. So how? …Sincerely, Ash S. Ketchum. I love Mist…2-24” Ash finished.

I stared toward the door. What did Brock mean? What happened in Ash’s past? I could feel Ash shift uncomfortably on his bed.

“Cripes. What did Brock mean by that? Did he somehow find out about my pops?” Ash asked himself.

His pops? Did he mean his dad?

I laid under Ash’s bed for the next hour or so listening to him trying to figure which of many dark memories Brock had meant. I was stunned to find out so much about Ash while I was trapped under his bed.

Finally, Ash left the room for supper. I slowly crawled out and snuck out of the room, hand over my heart. I was with Brock on whatever he meant. I wanted to help Ash.