Ash and Misty go on a trip to see the world together to enjoy life to the fullest. Mrs. Ketchum and the Sensational sisters assume they’ve eloped and race across the continents to find them.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Pokemon.

The Question

Prologue

Whipping around the girl gave a hurried glance back down the alleyway, it was empty except for herself but she knew that it wasn’t going to be for long. She kneeled down to re-lace her black combat boots.

As she finished tying a double knot there came a sound behind her, a quick scuffling of boots that meant somebody had stopped by the mouth to the alley.

She looked up, straight into the eyes of a tall well built teenage boy, her age and of her acquaintance.

“Crud. It’s you.” She muttered, digging her hands into the pockets of her blue hoodie, she looked around distractedly.

The boy smirked and walked closer to her.

His footsteps echoed softly as he walked.

“Bunking is a criminal offence but you already know that right? So either you hand yourself in or I’ll do it for you.” The boy flashed her what would be a charming smile if it was any other situation but it wasn’t she was about to get bust for bunking…again.

Yes this wasn’t her first offence, nope, it was another one in a long long long line of offences but for the most part she got away with it until the boy who stood in front of her came into the picture, damn his goody good nature…

He was also impossible to bribe.

But she didn’t need to bribe anyone did she?

“I know I know but, honestly, I don’t really care anymore.” She returned his smile with one of her own.

She turned her back towards him and directed her attention to the three metre high wall she was about to climb.

It really didn’t surprise her much that the school had such tall boundaries, who wanted to be here? It was probably to keep in the masses of students like her who wanted to escape.

She lifted one boot to the wall and hoisted herself up.

“Well I’m afraid this was your last warning. I’ll go back and get the expulsion forms. I don’t think you’ll need to come back.”

She let her boot slip down until she was back on the ground again. She looked at him with a scowl on her face.

“For yourself you mean? I’m not the only one bunking here am I?” She lifted an eyebrow slowly while crossing her arms.

“I don’t want you to get expelled. Your parents will be so angry with you.” He said, twisting his expression into that of a stern one.

“Like I care anymore Ash.” She retorted before turning back to the wall and climbing half way up within a minute, she was a pro.

“Why should I care anyway? My parents are never at home. My sisters are self-obsessed. All I’ve got is dopey old you!” She said this in between every breath as the effort of climbing took its toll.

“What’s wrong with dopey old me?” Ash asked somewhat amused.

She was less than an arm’s length away from the top by now.

She sighed heavily from exasperation and exhaustion before hauling herself upwards and placing one bent knee on the flat horizontal face of the wall.

She turned around and sat down heavily, looking down at him from three metres up.

“There’s nothing wrong with you Ash. But I’m tired of living here. I’m tired of being compared to my three ‘brilliant, beautiful, talented’ sisters and hearing again and again that I’m neither. I feel so confined... sometimes I just want to travel.” She broke their stare and looked up at the small patch of blue sky that was visible.

“I’m so tired Ash.” She muttered.

Ash stared at her. She was saying a lot to him. She was telling him exactly how she felt.

“Misty.”

He walked forward until he was right up close to the wall.

“I’ll come with you.” He put his worn out sneaker to the wall, and despite its smooth under-surface it caught on the wall and it was easy to climb up to where Misty sat.

She had watched him climb all the way up the wall.

He heaved himself up beside her, as he did so he brought his face close to hers.

She stared into his brown face. And then he sat down, swinging his legs like a young child.

“It feels sort of nice to just skip math class like this…” He said out of nowhere.

“Now you know why I like bunking.” She replied, running a hand through her red hair and looking at the deserted sports fields through the entrance to the alley. The alley was actually used for a place to store the dustbins hence the less than rosy smell that drifted up Ash and Misty’s nose as they sat on the wall that day.

“Misty are you sure about this?” Ash asked without looking at her.

“Very sure. Are you sure you want to come with me?”

Ash nodded. “I don’t need an education.”

Misty laughed softly. “You need as much as you can get with that brain.”

She tapped him softly on the head and he swatted her hand away with a grin on his face. They sat for a few more minutes talking before the school bell rang and school children came swarming out onto the field for the few minutes before their next class.

Misty grabbed Ash’s hand. “Let’s go!”

She held onto the wall’s ledge and allowed her boots to slip down the other side of the wall, they grated loudly against the brick. Ash imitated her movements until both of them were dangling a metre or so in the air.

They both let go simultaneously and landed on the other side without any problems.

Misty rubbed the grit off her hands, dusted the dust on the toes of her boots and adjusted the straps on her backpack.

Ash noticed her last movement.

“Now I know why you didn’t have any of your books today. You were preparing this since last night already weren’t you?” Ash nodded at her somewhat bulging backpack.

She laughed out loud. “Ash I was preparing for this my whole life!”

She breathed deeply as if she was sucking in all the life in the air.

“I feel so great!”

She grabbed Ash’s hands and danced around while he looked a little sheepish.

She smiled from ear to ear.

“Let’s get your things and go. I’m thinking we go to Johto first. The stuff they have there is so great. The Sprout tower…Ecruteak City…Lake of Rage…then we go to Hoenn and Sinnoh and, and…”

She went on like that as they walked to Ash’s house, skipping merrily while Ash sorted through the enormity of his decision. His mother was at the grocery store at that moment he wouldn’t even say goodbye. He would write her a note. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t take care of himself…

<<<>>>

Delia Ketchum came home later that day with her hands full of groceries; she dropped them on the kitchen counter while Mr. Mime packed all the goods away.

After turning on the radio and putting her gardening gloves on she discovered a letter written hurriedly lying on the floor. She guessed that it had blown off the kitchen table.

Before reading it she had a feeling of foreboding. It was unexplained, as she hadn’t even picked the letter up.

When she did she dropped it as fast as she picked it up. Cussing loudly she practically ran the length of the room while Mr. Mime jumped out of the way for fear of being bowled over.

Delia ripped the phone off its hook, angrily dialling at the numbers and holding the phone to her ear. As it rang she sighed softly.

“Ash Ketchum…” She muttered as if she had originally intended to shout the two words.

There came a tinny voice on the line.

“Hello is this Daisy? It’s Delia.” Delia put a hand to her forehead as if to force herself to focus. Misty’s sister rambled on with greetings flavoured with the word ‘like’ in almost every sentence. Delia couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

“Listen-Daisy-DAISY!” Delia finally yelled.

“Chill Mrs. Ketchum what is it?” The girl finally stopped talking.

“Your sister and my son have just runaway together. Do you know where they are? Did you know about any of this?” Mr. Mime looked at her with concern.

“No! This is a total surprise to me. They ran off together? Like eloped?”

At that point Mrs. Ketchum dropped the receiver. It clattered loudly on the floor.

Within seconds she had her jacket and a bag full of provisions.

“I’m going to find my son and stop him! Look after the house!” she yelled at Mr.Mime who was staring at the forgotten phone receiver that was emitting high-pitched squeals of ‘hello?’ ‘HELLO?’

END PROLOGUE