Secret

The same disclaimer, for the last time, I promise - I dont own... no money...

Their week of lust and love ended after four days. The guards came for him. It was longer than Jesse expected once she had turned down the bargain. There was no violence, Ash didn’t resist. He could never fight an Officer Jenny, even ones he didn’t know. He was cuffed and returned to the examination room. Neither of the Joys was there, thank God! They returned his clothes and this time gave him some privacy while he dressed. There was a knock at the door and surprise, surprise, it was the prosecutor.

“You didn’t try very hard, son.”

“You didn’t try very hard to tell me the truth, and why don’t we go back to ‘Mr. Ketchum’, you’re not my father. You’re not somebody I especially want to see ever again.’

“I never lied to you kid. Well, have it your own way, I brought you your ticket to the execution.”

Ash stared at the ticket in the man’s hand. At least it wasn’t green. He walked past him and asked the guards to get him ‘the fuck out of here.’

“Hey kid,” the prosecutor called after him. “Don’t you want to be there? A last friendly face for your girlfriend… before she swings?” Ash turned but was blocked by the guards. “Don’t do it kid. He deserves it, but don’t do it.” The last thing he heard as he turned down the hallway “No guts kid? I though you Pokémon trainers were supposed to be tough.”

Eventually Ash found the campsite where Misty and Brock were supposed to be waiting. They weren’t there. “Good” he thought. He picked up his backpack and opened Pikachu’s pokeball. He’d stop at a Pokémon center and have the rest of his pokeballs posted to Professor Oak for now.

“Hey buddy, miss me?”

“Pikachu!” The yellow electric rodent looked around for the others, “Pikachu?” it asked.

“No, I think it’s time we travelled on our own for a while. Just the two of us, like when we started. That OK with you?”

“Pikachu Pikachu.”

“Yeah, me too.” They stepped out into the sunlight.

Ash and Pikachu travelled around for a year or so, they avoided cities and towns, sometimes stopping in small villages or more often individual farms to earn money for supplies. They had some adventures, some battles (nothing that earned them any badges). They helped some people, made some friends.  He ignored the news. He didn’t pick up his mail and didn’t recharge his phone. Sooner or later he’d contact his mom. He felt guilty about not speaking to her, but she’d understand. It would only be for a little while. He just didn’t want to hear about the execution.

Jesse would have understood. She never told him not to come, but they both knew he wouldn’t, he shouldn’t. They didn’t speak much after that first day. They didn’t need to. Breakfast, dinner and the rest of the day fucking on the cot, in the shower or on the chair, sometimes the floor. They were never sure when the drugs wore off, if they wore off. They lived a lifetime in four days.

He never heard about the delay to the execution. He never heard about it being rescheduled several months later.

To his credit, the prosecutor did try to find Ash again when the execution was rescheduled. He spoke to Misty and other Pokémon trainers, but no one seemed to know where the boy was. Didn’t matter. Actualy, he spoke to Misty pretty often.

On a grey morning a pale women with long red hair and deep blue eyes climbed 13 steps. She was dressed in a black halter top with a short white jacket with a red R monogram on it and a white mini skirt. It was her last request, though the gloves and boots were omitted. As tradition demanded she was barefoot.

She refused a blindfold and asked that her hands be untied. The guards granted one request and refused the other. She shrugged and smiled. She refused a blessing from a priest and when asked if she had any final words for the witnesses, she smiled and said she had 'nothing to say to any of these bastards'. Her final words, though not recorded, were alleged to be "If they cant take joke, fuck 'em". They tightened the noose around her lovely throat. The governor read a statement “blah, blah, blah”. The trap dropped. Justice was done.

Like Ash, Misty and Brock had missed the execution, but for very different reasons.

‘Sooner or later’ turned into days, then weeks, then longer. Ash understood now how Jesse could have lost track of time. It was almost a year before Ash had enough of his wandering and returned to Pallet Town.

It didn’t seem to have changed as much he thought as he walked up the lane to his home. “Home, haven’t had one of those in a long, long time, have we buddy?”

“Pikachu.”

“Bet mom will be pissed, really didn’t mean to stay away for so long. But, I did.”

“Pikachu?”

“Yeah”

He crossed the last hill. Delia’s car was gone, “Must be out” he thought. The house had changed a little, the picket fence had a fresh coat of paint. He’d meant to do that last time he was home. There was Mr. Mime in the back yard. Lots of laundry on the line. Well, he liked doing that.

“Yo, Mr. Mime, how are you?” he called.

“Mr. Mime, Mr. Mime! Mr. Mime, Mr. Mime!!! Mime-Mime-Mime!”

“Whoa, he’s excited to see us, buddy.” Then, “It’s OK Mr. Mime, we’ll let ourselves in, I know where the key is. C’mon Pikachu.”

“Mom?” He called, just in case. Suddenly there were footsteps on the stairs, but it wasn’t Delia. A strange Chansey, obviously quite disturbed came down the stairs. “Chansey! Chansey Chansey.” She admonished him.

“Whoa, it OK, Chansey. I live here, used to anyway.” He pointed to a picture taken with his mom several years ago, “See it’s me!” She didn’t look impressed.

“Chansey!”

“Whoa, she is really angry, talk to her Pikachu.”

The two Pokémon had a brief conversation, Ash by now could usually understand Pikachu when they spoke together but whatever was going on here was beyond his limited ability. Fortunately Pokémon understood humans better than humans understood Pokémon.

Ash tried to go upstairs to his room. Chansey began to stutter and blocked his way. “OK, OK, whatever!” He sat in the couch. “I’ll wait for mom to straighten this out.” He picked up the remote control and she slapped it out of his hand and with a final sniff and “Chansey!” the creature left the room.

When she had gone Ash whispered to Pikachu, “Do me a favor bud, give a thunder shock before we leave,”

Pikachu gave him a dirty look and a sniff and left the house.

“Kidding, kidding. What’s with the Pokémon around here?” Fortunately he heard a car drive up before he became too bored.

Delia greeted her son with equal parts anger and relief. Ash accepted a slap to the face for making her worry and a warm hug. All things considered he thought he got off pretty easy. He tried to ask his mother what the deal with the Chansey was and she shushed him. “Wait here dear, I have a surprise for you.”

She went upstairs and then a few minutes later returned with something in her arms. Ash was totally shocked as she carefully placed the tiny warm bundle in his arms, carefully making sure he supported the head,

Such a tiny sleeping face, a thin layer of bright red hair, a pointed chin. She yawned the biggest yawn Ash had ever seen and opened the bluest blue eyes in world. “Mom? You had baby? I got a sister!”

Delia laughed and laughed. “In a way dear, in a way. Ash Ketchum, I’d like you to meet Jamie Jessica Ketchum.” The baby gurgled up a spit bubble. “Jamie dear, this is your daddy, Ash. And he’s been a very, very bad boy.” The Chansey had returned and somehow managed to retrieve the baby before Ash collapsed on the couch.

It took a while for Ash to get it all straight… if he ever did get it straight. Somehow an accident occurred, a double accident. The two injections he received were guaranteed to render him sterile for the visit. The beedrill venom had never failed before. But there had been a third injection… wasn’t there? Ash couldn’t remember. Was there a third injection for Jesse too?

Ash tried to remember that first night with Jesse, something she said… something he thought she said, but it wasn’t clear.

Whatever had happened, they couldn’t execute her if she was pregnant. Ash heard about the delay now and began to cry. His mom waited. “They contacted me, looking for you. A Nurse Joy filled me in on the details. Since I was your only living relative I filed papers to adopt the child when she was born. Jesse named her. Soooo, although she is technically your daughter, you’re still too young to be a father, dear. As far as the world knows, Jamie is your sister. I think it’s best if we leave it that way. Don’t you?"

“And Jessie?”

“Oh, she had a good year, Professor Oak and I got her out of that terrible place. She was still in a prison, but it as a much better place. I was with her as much as I could. She missed you. I can’t say I approve of the two of you, but I think she was happy, knowing you were out there, having adventures.” She paused, a baby crying, soft chanting of “Chancey-Chancey-Chancey.” “Now dear, you have a lot to make up for, you have a baby sister to help raise."

The End... almost