Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ The Champion's Ball ❯ Parades and Past Battles ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I don’t own Pokemon. Pokemon USA does/



Chapter 10: Parades and Past Battles


Ash and Misty sat and watched the news as they drank their coffee. When the commercial came on he looked at Misty and said “ This morning, when I heard you leave, you must have gone out to get this right?” as he pointed to the test on the coffee table.

Misty answered “ I was, but I never made it to the drug store. I decided to grab a cup of coffee and a donut to have while I walked to the store. When I went into the coffee shop downstairs, I ran into Jessie. She was down there getting some donuts and I told her that I thought I might be pregnant and I was on my way out to the store. Jessie told me that she had an extra and that I could have it. We went to her room, got it and I brought it up here and took it and you know the rest.”

Ash brought his hand down off the arm of the couch and pet Pikachu on his head. “You already knew didn’t you, buddy?” Pikachu looked up and nodded. Ash smiled and they watched the rest of the news. After the news ‘Wake up, Pummelo!’ came on. They watched as they interviewed the American pop star and she sung her new song. She had caught attention when she sung one of her hits in Japanese at a concert in the Edo region about six months ago. Misty became excited when, while being interviewed, the singer said she would be releasing a Japanese language album in a few months, with a concert tour to follow.

Misty looked up at Ash and told him “When she comes to Kanto, we are going to her concert.”

Ash smiled and nodded. He knew she was one of her favorite singers. They continued to watch the show and after a couple of more segments, they talked about the parade.

“ Today, as part of the festivities to celebrate the 250 th anniversary of the Orange cup, the parade that we’ve been covering for the past two weeks will take place. Not only celebrating the cup itself, but the trainers and the regions the challengers came from. There has been at least one trainer from every region of Japan who has challenged the leader of the Orange crew in the cup’s history. Challengers have not only come from Japan. Many challengers have come from all over the world. This parade will be a celebration of the cup and all it’s long and proud history. Here to report from the staging area for the parade at Pummelo Port is Veronica Jones.”

“Thank you, Rachael. Parade organizers and volunteers are busy with last minute preparations, but it’s shaping up to be a fun parade. The floats are beautiful and the weather’s perfect. Spectators are already coming to find good spots to watch the parade. It’s about 8:30 now, so we have about an hour and a half until it starts. That’s all for now, back to you Veronica.”

“It’s now time for the news. Today’s top story is that it’s rumored that there will be a new gym leader in the Kanto region. It has been learned that Koga is retiring from his post as the Fuchsia City gym leader and his daughter Aya has will not take his place. It is well known that the Fuchsia City gym is located on lands actually owned by their family and not by the league as with all the others in Kanto. This means that another gym must open so that the eight gym badges needed to enter Kanto’s Pokemon tournament that takes place at the Indigo Plateau can be obtained. Koga has stated that he will stay until someone can take his place. League members have been spotted all over Kanto looking at several different pieces of land, but there has been no information on the new gym or its leader so far.”

Misty sat up and looked back at Ash. She shook her head and told Ash “ Well, that didn’t take long to leak out.” He nodded and they watched the rest of the report.

“ On the unofficial side of the story, it has been rumored that Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean City gym leader who just recently handed over her job to be shared by her three sisters, may be the new Kanto gym leader. Lance, who only in the last month, became the new head of the Pokemon League, has been spotted talking to Misty in a very hushed conversation at Maria’s Italian restaurant on Pummelo Island. Since League officials have been, only in the last few days, constantly revisiting the plot of land that they have been looking at in Pallet Town, Misty seems to be the person they are leaning towards to take the new position. She has close connections to the town, ever since she has been friends with and now is engaged to Ash Ketchum, the town’s most well known Pokemon trainer. Her becoming a gym leader again may just be a rumor however, since Misty is currently in the Orange Islands for the 250th anniversary parade and ball. According to sources, Misty is, after the ball, heading to the Okinawa region with Ash Ketchum so he can compete in the Okinawa conference. We’ll have more news as this story develops.”

Ash laughed and said “Oh my god! They think you’re going to be the new gym leader.”

Misty giggled and stood up. As she walked to the kitchenette to put her cup in the sink, she told him “ Yeah, they have that completely wrong.” She came back to the couch and said “Hey Ash, it’s nine. We need to get ready to go.”

Ash nodded and went to change. When he was ready, they went downstairs to meet up with everyone in the lobby. As they stepped into the lobby, Jessie ran over and excitedly asked “Well?”

Misty looked at Ash with no expression on her face. As they looked into each other’s faces, Jessie bit her lip and was about to say she was sorry for asking, when they both smiled and nodded. It took a second for Jessie to realize what they meant. When she did, she squealed and hugged Misty. James smiled at the couple. Everyone else stood wondering what was going on. Jessie and James had, just in case she wasn’t pregnant, not told anyone else anything.

When Jessie told Misty that they hadn’t told anyone, she thanked her and turned to the small group. Before she could say anything, Kasumi spoke up “ Well Misty, what’s the big secret?”

Smiling, Misty grabbed Ash’s hand and squeezed it before saying “I’m pregnant.” Everyone gasped and smiled. They all congratulated the couple and they walked down to Pummelo Port to get ready for the parade.

When they reached the port, they were greeted by Drake. He showed them all the floats and as they walked Ash and Misty told him the most recent news about them. He congratulated them and soon it was time to start getting the parade going. Drake told Kasumi, Tracey, Brock, May, Drew, Max, Caroline, Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum that there were some bleachers set up down by the end of the parade route that they had saved seats on for them to sit and watch the parade on. They all went to go sit as everyone else got to their floats. Ash walked Misty to her float and gave her a kiss before getting on his.

Misty sat with her sisters and talked to the other gym leaders. Ash stood waiting for the other champions to join him on his float. As others filled up, his float remained empty except for him. Parade organizers ran between floats yelling into walkie talkies and one ran past him saying “The champion’s float is one short. Where’s Drake?”

Drake came ran up and got on the float. He looked at Ash’s confused face and instantly knew what he was confused about. He laughed and told Ash “I guess you didn’t know, huh? Ash, you were the last person to actually beat me. I had a few people who battled me down to my last Pokemon, but no one could beat me.” Just then, the car that would be pulling the float started. As the float made its way down the parade route, Ash and Drake waved to the crowd that was excited to see them and all the others on their floats.

After about a hour, Kasumi finally saw the beginning of the parade make its way towards them at the end of the route. She poked Brock in the shoulder to get his attention. Noticing the parade coming, he turned to Professor Oak and promised to continue their conversation about the new Eevee evolutions later, after lunch. Mrs. Ketchum excitedly kept looking for Ash on his float. She watched as floats celebrating several teams of Pokemon that had been successful at defeating the leader of the Orange Crew came past. The last Pokemon float caught Mrs. Ketchum’s eye. On it stood Ash’s team that he used to defeat Drake : Tauros, Squirtle, Lapras, Bulbasaur, Charizard, and Pikachu. The real Pokemon, while being watched by a trainer performed their attacks into the air. She noticed that they must have been trained to perform as if the parade was a stage show.

After the Pokemon floats, the gym leader’s floats came. First up, was the Kanto leaders float. As it past, everyone cheered for Misty, Violet, Daisy, Jessie, James, Flint and Lola. Next, the Johto and the Hoenn floats past. Everyone cheered for Norman. May, Max, and Caroline cheering the loudest as the Hoenn gym leader’s float passed. After the other region’s floats passed, the float containing the Battle Frontier Brains passed. Brock cheered for his wife as she sat with her Seviper curled around her.

Next, came the floats of the members of the Orange Crew. Everyone cheered as Rudy past followed by Luana. Everyone sitting in the bleachers stood up and cheered as the float containing Ash and Drake came by. Pikachu sat on Dragonite’s head as both Pokemon waved to the crowd. Ash and Drake’s float, the last one, turned the corner and stopped. Drake instructed Ash to come off the float and stand with him. Drake used the commotion of everyone getting off their floats to talk to him.

Knowing he would know, he asked Ash “So, is it true? Is Misty going to be the new Kanto gym leader?”

Making sure no one could overhear, he answered “No, I am.”.

Drake gasped and said “ No way!”.

Ash nodded and told him the story of how Lance approached him and asked him to become the new gym leader. He ended it by saying “ I guess they figured that since she was already one before, that she’d become one again. Oh, don’t say anything yet, Lance is going to announce it at the ball.” Drake nodded and watched as Misty came up to them. She hugged Ash and then he kept one arm around her shoulders and held her as the rest of their friends came over.

They talked about what they had planned to do during the afternoon. Ash and Misty planned to go to the stadium and watch some of the battles after getting some lunch. Rudy and Kasumi decided to join them. Lucy, Brock and his parents had to go back down to the port to pick up her parents, who were coming to watch Haruka for Lucy so she could go to the ball without worrying about her little girl. Everyone else decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach.

Just before everyone went their separate ways, Drake stopped Ash and told him “ I’d love to go with you, but I have some things to do.” Ash nodded. Right before he left, he grabbed Misty’s hand and told her “I am dancing with you at least once tonight.”

She blushed and Rudy cut in with “Me too, Misty. I want one dance too.”.

Brock chuckled and told Misty “ It looks like you’re going to have a busy night.”

Misty laughed and put her arm around Ash’s waist and joked “OK. But you guys only get one dance each. I have plans with him tonight.”

Lucy looked at her watch and tapped Brock on the shoulder. He looked at her and she told him “ We need to leave so we can meet Mom and Dad.” He nodded and after putting Haruka back in her stroller, they left. Everyone else also decided to split up.

Ash and his group made their way to The Diglett Diner for lunch. After eating they went to the stadium. They found out the only battle being shown that day would be Ash’s. As they went to go find seats, a group of girls came up to them.

The four girls shyly asked “ Are you Misty Waterflower?” When she nodded, the girls smiled and giggled. They turned to a girl that was hiding around the corner and said “Come on out, Rachel, it’s her.”

Two of the girls went to go get Rachel to come out after she refused. One of the two still standing in front of Misty’s group, who Misty just noticed had to be Rachel’s sister, spoke up. “ Misty, My name is Mary, my sister has been following you for years. She’s really shy, but is really dying to meet you. She also wants you to look at her Luvdisc. Would you, please?”

Misty smiled and nodded. She walked past Mary and her friends. Looking at Rachel, she could tell she was only about eight or nine years old. Smiling she knelt down in front of her, and extended her hand. “Hi. Do you want to show me your Luvdisc? I’d be more than happy to look at it and tell you how it’s doing.”

Rachel slowly raised her head to look at Misty. After looking at her for a moment, she smiled and nodded excitedly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out its ball. She handed it to Misty and she released it into a small fountain in front of the stadium. It swam up to the edge happily towards Rachel. Misty put her hand in the water, gently wiggled her fingers and it swam up to her. She sat on the edge and looked it over. After a couple of minutes, she turned to Rachel. “Rachel” She looked at Misty and bit her lip. Misty smiled. “You’ve done a great job raising this Luvdisc! It’s extremely healthy and energetic. You’re keeping clean. I can tell you let it swim in both salt and fresh water. It doesn’t have that layer of salt I sometimes see on Luvdisc. You’re doing a good job here.”

Rachel smiled and put her Luvdisc back into its ball. “Thank you for looking at her, Misty. I knew you’d know if I was doing something wrong.” She bit her lip again and looked down as she said “ If you are the new gym leader, good luck. I hope you can continue your great record.”

Ash looked over and asked “ What is your record, Misty? I’ve never asked.”.

Rachel shouted out “ 5018 wins, 65 losses and 6 ties!” Everyone looked at Rachel in surprise, even her sister. She shrugged her shoulders and said “ What? I’ve been following her since I was four.”

Misty laughed and told Rachel “Thanks, it’s good to know I have fans.” They said goodbye to Rachel and her group, and went to watch Ash’s battle.

As they watched his battle, Ash noticed that the stadium was packed. After about forty-five minutes, Ash leaned over to Misty and told her “When I fought this battle, it didn’t seem like it took this long.” She nodded. When the battle was over, they got up to leave. People started to notice Ash was there and started to point. Ash became embarrassed and looked down.

The crowd started to cheer and chant his name. Misty poked him in the ribs with her elbow and when he looked at her she smiled. Ash smiled back and waved to the crowd. As she watched him wave to the crowd, she saw in him what made her make her decision to stay with him all those years ago. After she chose Ash, she had thoughts about Rudy, but knew he would never take Ash’s place in her heart.

After the crowd died down, they left. Rudy wanted to go see Ash’s picture and his pokemon’s footprints in the hall of fame, but it was too crowded. Deciding to go tomorrow if it wasn’t crowded again, they joined everyone else on the beach and sat with them for about an hour. Then Jessie announced it was time for the girls to leave to do their hair, makeup, and nails for the ball. Lucy’ s mother decided to go with the other girls to help them.

The guys cleaned up their spot on the beach and went back to the hotel. Ash went to his room and showered. As he did his hair, he watched some TV. About 5:30, someone knocked at the door. Ash panicked since he was only wearing his boxers. As he quickly looked for his robe he heard “Ash, it’s me. Open up.”

He calmed down when he heard Misty call him through the door. Ash opened the door and let Misty in. She told him “I left my card key in my beach bag and I left that in the room, so…” She stopped talking when she realized that he wasn’t listening. He was staring at her. She blushed.

Ash just stared for a few moments before whispering “You’re beautiful.”. Misty’s hair was loose, but the hair clip he had given her for Christmas was keeping the hair out of her face on the right side, She was wearing the blue diamond heart earrings he had given her. Ash knew she was wearing makeup, but whoever had done it was so good that it didn’t even look like she was wearing a lot. He looked down to see her nails. She chose not to put on any fake nails, but they were nice shade of purple. It took him a minute to figure out what color they were, since every time she moved her hand it would change from red to purple to blue.

Misty brought up her hand to shake Ash’s shoulder. He realized he was staring and muttered “Sorry, Mist.”

She smiled and she brought Ash to the couch. As they watched the news, Misty explained that Lucy’s mother, Lily, went to beauty school and worked in a salon when she was in her twenties. Originally, Jessie was going to help them get ready, but Lily offered to do it for them, since she was a professional.

After the news was over, they got dressed, Ash silently thanking Rudy for talking him into getting the suit made of the lighter material. The heat had been almost unbearable all day long. Before they left, Misty grabbed her camera and put it in her purse. They met everyone in the lobby and proceeded to the ball room.

Tonight would be a fun night.