Chapter3 Growing up

	"Great! This is all your fault Ash!"

	"My fault? How is it my fault that the magnet trains had to be sent in for 
re-maintenance?" Static woke up to arguing voices.

	'Let me go back to sleep.' Gary silently begged. Static was still worn out 
from the previous day's activities. Misty had insisted that they stay in 
Goldenrod to shop and that meant wandering around to malls, department 
stores and lastly (shudder) a pokemon boutique! Misty spent the latter half 
of an entire day in that stupid boutique trying to dress Static up. Static 
was exhausted after the ordeal and literally collapsed into Ash's warm, SAFE 
arms.

	"If you hadn't made us miss the train the first time, we wouldn't have to 
walk all the way back to Pallet." Static groggily opened one eye.

	"Hold everything! I didn't make you guys miss anything! If memory serves me 
correctly, Static was the one that made us miss the train because SHE 
HATCHED! It couldn't be helped!" Ash roared at Misty.

	'This is going to stop and I mean now!' Static opened her mouth and let 
loose and yell.

	"PIIIIICHHHUUUUUUU!" Gary began to cry. Ash and Misty jumped apart and 
Ash's attention immediately went to the crying pokemon in his arms.

	"What a way to wake up." Ash moaned. Gary felt himself being lifted out of 
his sling that Ash had acquired in the shopping spree to give his arms a 
rest.

	'You got that right.' Ash lifted Static up to his chest so she would slow 
up. Gary's head automatically went to one side so he could listen to Ash's 
heartbeat. To Static, it was the most comforting sound in the entire world.

	"Someone sounds cranky this morning." Brock observed. Gary closed his eyes 
and began to let up his cries. Static snuggled into the warmth of Ash's 
brand new black T-shirt and tried to go back to sleep.

	"Is it just me or does Static cry more than Togepi?" Misty asked perturbed 
that their conversation was so quickly forgotten.

	"Are you calling Static a crybaby!?! If you are, you're looking for 
trouble!" Ash challenged. Misty smirked at Ash's predictable reaction and 
was about to say something when.

	"Did someone say trouble?" Instantly, Ash tensed.

	"Prepare for trouble," A voice from the trees called.

	"And make it double," echoed her male cohort.

	"To protect the world from devastation."

	"To unite all people within our nation."

	"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

	"To extend our reach to the stars above."

	"Jessie!"

	"James!"

	"Team rocket blast off at the speed of light."

	"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

	"Meowth, that's right."

	"It's team rocket!" Ash, Misty and Brock echoed. Gary struggled to turn 
himself around in Ash's now tightened grip.

	'It those idiots.' Gary remembered the team rocket members that had tried 
to steal the pokemon from his grandfather's lab and almost succeeded. 'Not a 
problem, Ash can deal with these morons. I hope.'

	"Meowth! What's that there?" The talking Meowth had spotted him! The two 
human members stopped what they were doing and also took a glance.

	"It seems that the twerp has a new pokemon." James said looking at Static. 
Jessie hit him in the head.

	"Obviously! Idiot! Stop yapping and start grabbing!" Gary watched as the 
trio disappeared into the bush.

	"What was that all about?" Ash asked stupidly. Static resisted the urge to 
zap her trainer. It was painfully obvious that they hadn't sprung the real 
trap yet. Ash and company backed off when a huge cloud of dirt almost 
flattened the bush they had disappeared into.

	"Uh oh." Static hadn't noticed that Pikachu was on Ash's shoulder during 
this whole time. Gary looked up to see what Pikachu thought was trouble. 
Static let out a startled squeak as a huge battle airship pulled up into 
view.

	"Ash!" Static whimpered. It was a huge version of the Meowth balloon that 
almost looked like a blimp!

	"Surrender that Pikachu!" Jessie said from above. Gary in any normal 
circumstance might have surrendered his pokemon. There was no possible way 
any sort of pokemon could defeat that thing! Then, Gary learned the real 
difference between himself and Ash.

	"Never in a million years team rocket. Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Static was so 
startled that she almost shocked Ash. Ash was actually going to battle this 
thing? It was suicidal! There was no way Pikachu was going to listen to Ash 
on this one.

	"Right!" Static watched in awe as the pokemon did as Ash commanded. Gary 
saw the electricity bounce off the balloon and strike a tree nearby.

	"Nice try twerp!" Jessie laughed from inside the balloon. "You won't defeat 
us like that. Now Meowth." Jessie commanded.

	"Coming at ya!" Meowth gloated in his heavy brooklyn accent. Static 
squealed in alarm as a pair of gloves came from inside the ship and scoop 
Pikachu up before he had a chance to hit the ground.

	"PIKACHU!" Ash ran to grab the hands that had his starter pokemon trapped. 
Ash grabbed the hands and a tug-a-war started between team rocket and Ash. 
Static watched still in the sling as the sweat came to Ash's brows in his 
effort not to lose his friend.

	"Give it up kid!" Called Meowth from the balloon. Ash's reply was a 
heartfelt, heartbreaking experience for Gary.

	"Never!" Static was the only one to hear the next whisper. "I'll never let 
you take Pikachu."

	"Ash." Static said awed. A dribble of sweat dropped on Static's nose 
awaking the pokemon's fighting spirit. "That does it!" Gary turned in the 
sling and gave a look of pure venom at the blimp.

	"STATIC!" Ash yelled in alarm. Static had just suddenly leapt from her 
sling and was running up the mechanical arms to the source of the trouble.

	"What the?" James gasped as a yellow blur came shooting up at them. 
"Jessie!" He squeaked in alarm.

	"Don't let go of that Pikachu!" Jessie snarled. "Full power Meowth!"

	"Jessie!" James whimpered again.

	"Full power on Meowth!"

	"JESSIE!" James ducked as Gary came through the hole that was cut in the 
balloon for their mechanical hands. A very tiny and very cute growl was 
heard.

	"PiiiiiCHUUUUUU!" A mighty thundershock blasted whatever it could. The 
controls where devastated by the electric current and began to explode.

	"AAAAAAA!" Screamed the three rockets in unison. Down below, Pikachu was 
let go of. "Look's like team rockets blasting off again!"

	"Pikachu! Go find Static!" Ash ran after the balloon as Pikachu went up the 
same way as Static did. Suddenly, the mechanical arm was dropped and Pikachu 
fell.

	"Ash!" Pikachu called out. Ash saw what was happening to the balloon and 
his blood froze. It looked like a massive fireball in the making and worse 
yet, Pikachu's way up had been blown off.

	"I choose you! Catch Pikachu Noctowl!" A bird pokemon materialized out of 
the pokeball Ash had thrown and it began to fly at the blazing inferno.

	"Gotcha!" Pikachu was quickly saved by the smaller bird pokemon. Pikachu, 
however did not think that this battle was over yet.

	"We have to find Static! Hurry to the blimp!" The panicked pokemon yelled.

	"Who's Static?" Asked Noctowl.

	"Never mind! Just get me to that blimp!" Ash watched fearful of his 
pokemon's life as they neared the blimp. Then, it exploded.

	"NOCTOWL!PIKACHU!" Misty and Brock saw Ash sink to his knees. 
"STAAAAATIIIIIC!" The scream came out as an unearthly howl to the heavens 
above.






















	'Where am I?' Gary tried to open his eyes to no avail. 'I didn't die again 
did I?' Suddenly, there was a soft touch at his fur. 'I'm alive!'

	"Pikachu?" Gary whimpered. The tongue vanished at Static's pitiful mewling. 
"Ash?" Static tried to move only to yelp in pain.

	'My leg!' Static whimpered in pain. It was cut pretty badly. 'Now I 
remember!' Static had hurt her leg by jumping out of the blimp and landing 
roughly in a tree. Static couldn't hold on to the tree limb so she had a 
very rough landing on her leg.

	"Ash?" Gary asked scared. Static's ears perked to try to listen to 
anything. What Gary heard surprised him. It was soft at first but became 
louder with time.

	"Over here!"

	"See! There it is!" Said a totally different voice.

	"Looks pretty rough." Said a smaller voice.

	"Yes, I know." Agreed another.

	"What are we going to do with her momma?" said the first voice again. There 
was a pause. Gary felt himself being lifted by the scruff of the neck in an 
uncomfortable way.

	"Pack leader's not going to like this." Warned the smaller voice. Gary 
managed to open one of his eyes.

	'What?' Static couldn't see anything but forest decor all around her. Gary 
was obviously being carried somewhere but where? And by who? Static couldn't 
wonder about what was happening anymore as unconsciousness beckoned. 
Meanwhile.

	"Pikachu! Nockowl! You're both alright!" Ash said happily. Then, there was 
a silence between trainer and pokemon. "You didn't find Static did you?" Ash 
said on the verge of tears.

	"Don't worry Ash! We'll go look for her! She's smart, I'm sure she jumped 
before that thing exploded." Misty offered her comfort and Ash smiled.

	"You right! Bulbasaur, Bayleef, Totodile, Cyndaquil, I choose all of you!" 
Ash's respective pokemon came out of their balls and warmly greeted Ash. The 
greeting was cut off when they saw the expression on Ash's face.

	"We have a crisis here." Pikachu began sadly. Pikachu filled in the other 
pokemon about the situation and a search party was formed. Misty and Brock 
would check out the wreckage, their pokemon would pair up with Ash's and Ash 
would fan out searching the area that the balloon took before the explosion.

	"Let's get a move on guys! We meet back here at dark." Ash led the way into 
the forest in search of the missing baby pokemon. Gary on the other hand was 
wishing he had never been reborn.

	"What did you bring back now Sheris!?!" Talon, the pack leader, screamed at 
Gary's savior Sheris. "Do you have any idea what you have done!!!!"

	"I saved a child's life." Sheris said proudly. That earned her a growl from 
Talon. Static shriveled in fear at the large male Pikachu's growl.

	"You have ended ours! If the other clans of Pikachu around here have a 
missing child, they'll lower the broom at us. Not only will they come for 
the child but for our lives as well."

	"Smell her you idiot! That isn't the smell of another pack, that's the 
smell of a human." Sheris growled at her pack leader.

	"THAT'S EVEN WORSE! A trainer will look for their pokemon and attack anyone 
near it! What if her trainer has a golem? We could be wiped out in seconds! 
You should have left it where it was!" Static cringed again.

	"No sort of respectable trainer would have left a baby in this sort of 
condition! She was probably abandoned!" Gary's heart froze.

	'Ash would never abandon me! If he was going to, he would have done it as 
an egg, wouldn't he?' Gary then realized that he didn't know what type of 
trainer Ash really was. It scared Static to not know if her trainer would do 
that or not. Gary on the other hand knew Ash since he was young. No, Ash 
would never abandon Static. However, that didn't stop Gary from being 
scared.

	"PICHUUUUUUUU!" Static began to wail a cry; a cry for Ash, Pikachu or 
anyone else for comfort. Sheris dropped the wailing newborn gently on the 
soft grass carpeted floor of the forest. Amazingly, the big male Pikachu 
went silent.

	"There, there little one." Sheris cooed. Static got a better look at her 
savior now that she was face up. A female Pikachu of course with brown eyes 
that matched Ash's Pikachu's.

	"Aaaaaash! Where are yooooou?" Static cried. Then, as before, a tongue 
massaged a young Pichu to sleep. Sheris tucked the leaves around Static as 
soon as she was sure the young one was asleep.

	"She is a cute one isn't she?" Sheris asked Talon. With that, Talon stalked 
off to the other side of the clearing clearly overruled by the females in 
the pack.

	"Underhanded, mumble, mumble, grumble, WEMEN!" Talon fumed on the other 
side of the clearing until it was dusk. When the pack went to sleep, Talon 
made his rounds and came across the sleeping Static.

	'You are a cute one aren't you?' Talon sat down and watched Static sleep. 
'Well, if there is someone out there, they'll have to get past me first. 
You're part of our pack now.' Talon reached over and gave Static a cheek 
rub. Static however was not having a good dream.

Dream sequence.

The fights were always bad but not like this. Gary hated listening to his 
parents fight. In fact, Gary began to hate his parents for fighting and 
himself because there was nothing he could do to stop them. Nothing. Gary 
hated to feel helpless and when they had their fights, he was helpless. This 
fight however was different. It had gone quiet.

'What are they doing?' Gary got up from his bed as quietly as a mouse and 
walked to the living room. Normally, after a fight the living room would be 
in shambles. Gary tentatively walked up to the door and peeked in. His 
parents were at opposite ends of the couch staring down at the floor. They 
were speaking softly so Gary could barely hear them.

"We can't go on like this." His mother began.

"I know." Said his father.

"The children are hurting more than us. With our jobs and trying to keep 
this marriage together." Gary's mother hesitated.

"I know." His father repeated.

"I think it would be best for the children to go to their grandfathers until 
we get this settled." Gary noticed that she almost choked on the words.

"Maybe, it would be better if they went for school too." Gary heard his 
father say. "Because you and I both know that this will take years to fix, 
not weeks." Gary silently made his way back into his room. That night, Gary 
had cried himself to sleep for the last time.

"Bye mom!" May called when the professor came and picked them up. Gary 
watched his parents as he left and decided that he wasn't about to let 
anyone get that close to him ever again. Gary was going to protect his heart 
from feeling this sort of pain again. It didn't come as a shock to Gary when 
his parents divorced. Gary had expected it to happen sometime. The real 
shock was a young boy called Ash Ketchum when, for the briefest instant, had 
Gary happy for the first time in a long time.

Dream Sequence ends.

	"I hope Static found someplace to sleep for the night." Ash said in a sad 
voice. Misty and Brock looked across the fire at their sullen Ash. Ash had 
been like that since dark. They still had a lot of area to cover and there 
was still no sign of Static.

	"Pikaaaa-" Pikachu wasn't any better either. Misty slammed down her plate 
angrily.

	"That does it! Quit moping around Ketchum! We will find Static. Remember? 
You said it yourself 'She's smart, strong and healthy'. Static is fine! 
She's probably lost and waiting for you to find her. So snap out of it."

	"Misty-" Brock tried to calm her down.

	"Besides! We never found her in the rubble. That means she got off of the 
blimp. So you can take your sulking face elsewhere because I don't want to 
see you or Pikachu like this." Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance and felt a 
little better. Misty's way of comforting was unusual but effective 
nonetheless.

	"Thanks Misty." Ash said with a yawn. "I'm turning in early so I can search 
earlier in the morning. Goodnight." Ash walked over to his sleeping bag and 
snuggled in to it. Pikachu hoped over to Ash and sat on his pillow. Ash 
almost cried when he noticed it was easier to breathe without Static on his 
chest.

Day Break.

	"Wake up!" Misty and Brock woke up to the sound of Ash's bark. "I'm going 
out to look for Static. I suggest you two get organized." Misty looked 
groggily at her portable clock.

	"Ash! You're insane! It's six!" She yelped in surprise. To that, Brock sat 
bolt upright.

	"WHAT?" Brock said in shock. "Ash up before sunrise? Quick! Someone grab a 
camera! This is something that doesn't happen ever!" Ash watched his friends 
scramble to get up.

	"We'll meet back up here at noon. See you later." Ash and his pokemon pals 
went to their respectable areas and began the search again. Around ten 
o'clock, Pikachu found something.

	"Pikapi!" Pikachu had found a broken branch in a tree that left an indent 
on the ground. Ash rushed over to his pokemon to see what was wrong. Ash saw 
the broken tree limb and paled.

	"Where is she?" Ash said almost panicking. Pikachu sniffed the area Static 
had fallen. Pikachu jumped up from the scents he smelled and shook his head.

	"Pikachu?" It was the definite smell of another Pikachu. Someone had come 
and taken away his friend! Pikachu wasn't about to stand for a kidnapping, 
not when Static was involved.

	"Let's go back for the others." Ash's emotions where conflicting with a 
vengeance. One part of him wanted to charge after Static and the other 
wanted to go get help because it was the smart thing to do.

	'Since when have I ever been smart?' Ash joked. Ash didn't make the choice 
however. Pikachu went charging in the area where the scent was leading.

	"Wait up Pikachu!" Ash called trying to keep up with his guilt-ridden 
pokemon. Gary woke up to the sun rising on his eyelid. Static was 
surprisingly warm for some reason but lonely. Static woke with a start 
realizing the reason why she was lonely. Static couldn't hear Ash's heart 
beating. Then, the last day's events bowled her over and she almost cried.

	'Ash, where are you?' Gary wondered. Gary then felt something bump into his 
hurt leg.

	"PIIIIIIIIIIII!" Static curled into a fetal like position trying to protect 
her wounded leg. There was a scamper and a loud growl.

	"Out of here! All of you! Leave her to rest." Gary looked up to see Sheris 
shooing whatever had bumped his leg away from him.

	"We just wanted to play." Static recognized that as the small voice from 
before. Static turned her head ever so slightly to see other Pichus.

	"I told you she can't play with you, not until her leg gets better. Trying 
to play with that leg is unthinkable! Now go bug your mothers." Sheris 
walked up to the now shivering Gary.

	'Now what?' Static thought grumpily. Gary was not in a good mood because of 
his leg and the rude awakening was not helping matters. Sheris wrapped her 
tail around Static trying to keep her warm.

	"I wonder, what shall we call you little one? I know that trainers usually 
give names to their pokemon but you might not want that. Until Talon gives 
you a welcome into our pack, I'll just call you little one." Gary felt 
himself blanch.

	'No thanks. As soon as Ash gets here, I'm going with him.' Static felt her 
tongue begin to clean her fur and Static couldn't help but fall asleep 
again. Talon watched as the new one was preened by Sheris. Talon didn't like 
the idea of being on the alert because of the Pichu but still…

	'All babies are cute, but she's beyond that.' Talon began to wander around 
the clearing in his patrol. Talon would protect his newfound pack member no 
matter what. Then, there was a warning shout from one of the younger ones.

	"Human! He's coming this way!" That made the whole pack on edge. Talon 
ordered everyone to get together and stay together. Talon was going to deal 
with this.

	"Are we close Pikachu?" Ash asked eagerly to the pokemon ahead. Pikachu 
responded by speeding up.

	'She's close by, I can smell it.' Talon watched the bushes as they rustled. 
A sweatdrop formed on his head waiting for the human to come crashing 
through it. Instead, a stranger Pikachu popped out. Pikachu noticed the 
group and cautiously walked up to the male alpha.

	"I'm looking for a young Pichu called Static." Ash opened the bushes and 
saw Pikachu talking to another Pikachu. Remembering what happened last time, 
Ash smartly decided to stay back.

	"We found a Pichu yesterday, badly hurt." Replied Talon. Pikachu's stomach 
froze. "Which pack are you from? The one over the river or the one in the 
glen?" Talon demanded.

	"Where is she? Can I see her?" Pikachu asked quickly. Pikachu tried to get 
by Talon to make out where Static was. Talon pushed Pikachu back with his 
cheeks sparking.

	"You will answer my questions first! Where are you from and why was she 
hurt so badly?" Pikachu got back up his own cheeks sparking.

	"I don't have to answer your questions, I just want Static back! If you 
must know, her trainer and I were attack by team rocket and she saved us. 
After the blast we went searching for her and now we know why we couldn't 
find her. Give her back!" Static woke up to the argument.

	'What?' Gary woke up to see the large male, Talon and PIKACHU! Static was 
going to cry out his name when she realized something. 'Pikachu's arguing 
with someone. Where is Ash?'

	"You don't deserve a creature like her! No good trainer would ask a pokemon 
to get hurt for his sake." Talon shot back.

	"You give her back before I really get angry!" Pikachu threatened. Static 
then felt herself being lifted up and taken to the back of the crowd.

	"Try it and be fried you punk!" Talon growled menacingly.

	"STOP!" Static squealed. Talon and Pikachu jumped at the command in the 
young voice. Gary struggled wildly and was dropped. Hobbling on three feet, 
Static made her way to the front of the crowd.

	'Was that?' Pikachu jumped up in a yelp of joy when he realized it was 
Static. Static looked a little roughed up and she was limping but that could 
be taken care of.

	"Don't fight. Please?" Pikachu jumped to her side when she suddenly began 
to wobble. "Please stop fighting. I don't want you to fight over me." Talon 
took a step forward and saw her eyes.

	"Static!" Pikachu leapt to her side as she suddenly collapsed. Talon did 
the same.

	"Can I go home now Pikachu?" Static asked softly. Pikachu smoothed out her 
hair and smiled.

	"I think we can." Before it registered that Pikachu had understood what 
Static had said, Ash had bolted into the clearing and was by Static side 
within moments. The Pikachu clan scattered at the presence of a human.

	"Static!" Ash cried out. Pikachu let Ash take the injured pokemon. Ash 
quickly noticed her leg and let the tears that he had been holding back 
flow. "Oh Static." Ash whispered softly. "You brave fool. Don't you ever do 
that again! I don't want to lose you." Ash scolded quietly.

	'Ash?' Static felt something warm dribble onto her face. Gary opened his on 
eye and looked up to see Ash crying. 'Ash? Why are you crying?' Ash stood up 
and began to walk off.

	"Come on Pikachu. We have to hurry and get her to Brock or a pokecenter." 
Pikachu took one look back at the pack leader and sighed.

	"I'll take better care of her from now on I promise." Pikachu said quietly. 
Talon only nodded and watched as the tame pokemon ran to catch up with its 
trainer, his heart breaking.

	"Just hang on Static, we'll get you fixed up in no time." Ash said quickly 
walking to their appointed meeting place. Ash was careful not to jostle the 
baby as he carried her. Static was a tough girl but that leg really had him 
worried. Ash wasn't aware that he had been crying until Static began to wake 
up to the tears dropping onto her face.

	"It's alright Ash. I'll be fine." Gary said as soon as he was awake. Static 
had seen Ash's tear stained face as she woke up. Static wondered where the 
pang of envy came from until she remembered her past life.

	'When did I ever run with my pokemon? When did I ever show my feeling so 
openly like this?' The only answer Gary could give was never. Gary never 
cried openly like this for his pokemon, it would be a weakness for others to 
exploit. Yet, when Ash cried, it was his strength. Where and when Ash 
learned to do this Gary didn't know. Perhaps it was not something you could 
be taught to do; perhaps it was something you just did.

	"Static?" Ash asked worried. Static had been staring up at him with a look 
he couldn't describe. It was a look that told of pain and the utmost sorrow.

	"I'm sorry!" Static cried. Ash had to stop for a moment to calm his 
pokemon. "I never meant to hurt you so badly. Please forgive me, please…" 
Static sobbed into Ash's shirt. Pikachu had finally caught up to his trainer 
and Static.

	"It wasn't your fault." Static stopped crying for a moment at the sound of 
Pikachu's voice. "These things just happen. Even if you hurt Ash badly, 
he'll always forgive you. Ash is that type of person. Besides, he loves you 
and you love him; Ash doesn't need any more than that to forgive anyone." 
Gary jumped in surprise at the words being said aloud so simply.

	'How can Pikachu talk so freely about feelings like that?' Gary knew that 
he never could talk that freely. Gary never even admitted it to himself that 
he loved Ash back and yet the words were just so simple. Static looked up at 
Ash and saw the worry in his eyes.

	"I-I" Static couldn't finish what she wanted to say. The overwhelming 
desire to sleep finally over took the small Pichu and she fell fast asleep 
once again. Gary was aware of being moved or rather the movement around him. 
It was like being asleep but conscious at the same time. When Static finally 
came to, she once was alone again in darkness.

	'N-no! Ash!' Gary struggled against the darkness to bump into something 
solid. 'What?' Gary thought it the barriers of death so he kicked whatever 
it was as hard as he could.

	"OW!" Gary was so surprised at the voice that he fell backwards. There was 
a groan and Static felt herself being moved. "Static!" Growled an annoyed 
voice.

	"Huh?" Static blinked in confusion. It was so dark, how could there be a 
voice in such darkness? Then another voice was heard.

	"For crying out loud Ash! Take that stupid blinder off the girl." Gary 
recognized that voice. It could only be Pikachu!

	"Easy girl." Ash soothed. Static felt his warm hands wrap around her head 
that tickled her ears so she flinched. "Hey." Ash giggled when Static's ear 
flipped against his hand in response to his touch.

	"Ash? What's going on?" Gary asked. Then, a click was heard from the back 
of Static's head and a blinding light forced her to squint.

	"Welcome back to the land of the living Static." Ash said warmly. Static 
blinked a few times to see what was going on. When Static's eyesight 
returned, she realized that she was in Ash's sling. What Ash had taken off 
was a black blinder that he used when Static needed to sleep and it was 
bright out. Gary didn't even notice that they were traveling.

	"Nice to see you awake." Pikachu said in a conversational tone. "So, how's 
the leg?" Static responded without even thinking about it and tried to move 
her leg.

	"A little sore. Other than that, just fine." Static said in a tired voice.

	"That's good." Pikachu said with a huge grin on his face. "If it gets too 
stiff, just tell me and I'll inform Ash." Static's eyes went wide.

	"You understood me?" Static asked surprised. Static's eyes went wide when 
Pikachu said yes. It took about fourty minutes to get to the pokemon center. 
During that time, Static had been quiet the whole way. The normal greeting 
occurred and Gary was put through a rejuvenator. It felt weird and tingly 
but after it was done, Gary didn't feel his leg wound anymore.

	'Another plus for being a pokemon.' Gary thought with a laugh. Static 
jumped into Ash's arms and sighed.

	"Looks like someone's happy to see us." Misty said with a grin. "Did Static 
miss her daddy?" Ash shot her a death glare.

	"I know where you sleep Waterflower." Ash threatened. Misty said nothing 
but stuck her tongue out at Ash. The group made their way to the cafeteria 
when Static's stomach did its embarrassing thing again.

	  'I really have to work on that.' Gary thought glumly. Static then was 
shifted into the familiar crock of Ash's arm. Gary couldn't wait for the 
warm sweet milk he knew was coming and made himself comfortable.

	"Here we go." Ash put in the warm bottle and Static sighed. The milk was as 
warm and as sweet as ever but Gary was preoccupied.

	'I can tell Pikachu what happened. I could make Pikachu believe me but do I 
really want to? What would Ash think if he found out I was the reborn 
version of his rival Gary Oak?' Gary knew the one answer to those questions. 
No, Gary didn't want to tell Ash anything because it would change their 
relationship for good.

	"Something wrong Static?" Ash asked noticing that she still had a half 
bottle left. Static shook out of her thoughts and began to drink again. 
These thoughts didn't matter, Ash was here and now and that was all that 
mattered.

	  'All I need is Ash. Who I was doesn't matter anymore. Even if I haven't 
said it out loud I love you Ash.' Ash noticed that the bottle was finished 
and went to burp Static. To Ash's surprise, Static leaned into Ash's touch 
for the first time.

	'That's different.' Ash noted mentally. Then the thought was dismissed as 
quickly as it came. Static was burped almost ceremonially and she began to 
drift off into sleep. Static listened to the idle conversation around her 
and began to wonder what the future had in store for her. Ash would be there 
but what did he normally do? What would he do with her? The part that said 
I'm Gary Oak said there is no way that twerp is going to train me! The part 
that was Static the pokemon said I would do anything for Ash because I care 
for him.

	'I guess we'll just have to wait and see.' Static fell asleep on Ash once 
again and dreamed of new dreams. Gary Oak was no more and a contented Static 
dreamed of being with her friend and trainer Ash.

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. If I did, Gary would be a cute little Pichu 
(and not happy about it).