Family Ties
Written By: Kitsune-chan (kitsune-chan@trust-me.com)
Official Webpage: http://www.angelfire.com/pokemon/orG



	Jessie, James and Meowth were gathered in their boss's office while they waited for him
to turn around and adress them. He suddenly whirled around, startling them.
	"Jessie, James, I demand to know why you have not brought me Pikachu yet!"
	"It's the Pikachu's trainer." Jessie explained. "He's a little twerp."
	"If he's such a little twerp, then why do you have such trouble capturing his Pikachu?"
	"Umm...umm..." James muttered as he jumped behind Jessie in fright. They stared fearfully
at their boss.
	"Why don't you just bring me the trainer and the Pikachu?" he smiled as he thought
of the idea.
	"Yes, Sir. Right away, Sir!" Jessie, James and Meowth saluted, then raced out of the
office, eager to get away.

	Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu were walking back along the road to Pallet Town,
Ash in high hopes after winning his eigth badge. Since Misty was now not talking
to Ash, for se remembered how he didn't repay her back for her bike, things were a bit 
strained between the little group.
	Little known to our favorite heros, the base of Team Rocket was a mere fifteen
feet away from where they wandered.
	"Pika! Pi, pika! Chu!" Pikachu exclaimed happily as he spotted a bright, shiny red
apple dangling from an overhanging tree branch. He teetered unsteadily on Ash's shoulder,
but quickly regained his balance.
	"Prii! Toge, toge, toge!" Togepi squealed excitedly as, he too, spotted the
shiny red apple. He squirmed in Misty's arms as he kicked his tiny feet.
	"What is it, Togepi?" Misty asked her beloved Pokémon.
	"Chu! Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu attempted to explain to the three humans. He added
guestured with his paws to explain what Togepi wanted.
	"You want to get the apple down, Pikachu?" Ash asked the yellow electric mouse,
understanding his best Poké-friend perfectly.
	"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily as he nodded his head. He leapt up onto a nearby 
branch and started to climb the tree to reach the apple for Togepi...
	...But he never made it. Suddenly there was an explosion. It shattered the quietness of
the peaceful day. Pikachu squealed in fright and jumped to the ground.
	"Hit the dirt!" Ash yelled as he flung himself to the ground to wait out the explosion.
Misty and Brock quickly followed his lead, Misty shielding Togepi with her body.
	After a few moments of silence had passed, Misty tentativly lifted her head from 
the ground,
	"Is it over yet?" she whispered, sounding as if she was afraid that the very sound 
of her voice would set off another explosion.
	"I think so." Brock whispered back. But, just to be on the safe side, they waited a
few moments more before cautiously standing up. Pikachu suddenly pointed at the sky and
exclaimed, 
	"Pika! Pi, Pika! Pikachu!" he shouted as all eyes turned to where he was pointing.
Flying away from the explosion was a machine-like animal.
	"Is that a Pokémon?" Misty asked as they gazed after it as it swiftly moved through
the sky.
	"Not anyone I know." Brock replied, then turned to Ash, "Why don't we ask Dexter?"
	"Oh, yeah!" Ash exclaimed and fished around in his pocket for his Pokédex. He held
it up triumphantly and pointed it at the strange object. But, in the time it had taken Ash
to open his Pokédex, the object was gone.
	"Now we'll never find out what it was." Misty sighed as Togepi squealed in her arms. 
Suddenly Brock jumped up,
	"Hurry! People or Pokémon might have been hurt in the explosion." he explained as the
others looked at him with confusion.
	"Oh! Right!" Ash and Misty exclaimed as they all took off in the direction of the 
explosion.
	After a few moments, the group arrived at a site where it was evident that the 
explosion had taken place there. The charred remains of a building still slightly smoked and 
debris littered the ground.
	"Whoa..." Brock whispered as they stood at the edge of the remains, unsure what to do.
Misty just stood there, staring silently at the wreckage. Meanwhile, Ash...
	Ash was making his way cautiously around the outer edge of the wreckage, searching. He
stopped in front of a human. 
	It was an older man with short black hair and narrow brown eyes wearing a dark orange 
suit. He was kneeling on the ground, a Persian sitting by his side. He scowled,
	"That thing...It got away..." he grumbled as he got up, his Persian meowing planitivly.
Only when he had gotten up did he notice Ash. He glared at him and Ash met the man's gaze
defiantly.
	"Um...what happened?" Ash asked after a long, akward silence.
	"Nothing. Just...mind your own buisness, kid." the man replied harshly, then started to 
walk away.
	"Hey! Wait!" Ash shouted and raced after the man.
	"What is it, kid?" the man demanded,.
	"You might be hurt." Ash spoke, then tried reasoning, "we should get you to a doctor to
be checked out."
	"Listen kid," the man crossed his arms, then continued. "I would know if I was hurt or
not, right?"
	Ash didn't reply for a second. He was starting to lose patience, "First of all, my name
is NOT kid. It's Ash. Actually, it's Ashton, but everyone calls me Ash." Without waiting for a reply,
he barged on, his voice full of sarcasm, "And guess what? I have a last name too. It's Ketchem!"
	The man's face went white and stared at Ash as if he was a ghost, "Your name is...Ash
Ketchem..?"
	"Yes. And I live with my mom because my dad abandoned us when I was three." Ash continued,
the sarcasm in his voice replaced by anger.
	"Ashton..." the man faltered, thinking about what he was going to say.
	"What?" Ash demanded. When the man did not answer, he started to turn around and walk
back to Brock and Misty.
	"Wait!" the man exclaimed and caught up with Ash. He placed his hands on the young
boy's shoulders and turned him around so that they were looking each other in the eye.
	"What is it?" Ash asked, a note of fear creeping into his voice.
	"I am your...father." the man said seriously, weighing each word.
	Ash ripped away from the man who was supposidly his father, "You think it's funny, don't
you?" without waiting for an answer Ash barged on, his eyes filling up with angry tears, "Do
you know what I know about my father? Nothing! NOTHING!! I never ever knew him."
	"Ashton, I'm sorry I left you." the man spoke gently, lifting Ash's chin until he looked
him in the eyes.
	"If you are my father, prove it." Ash sniffled, his anger dieing down.
	"Ash!" Brock shouted as he and Misty ran towards them. They stopped suddenly as they
noticed the tears on Ash's face. Misty gently put a hand on Ash's shoulder,
	"What's the matter, Ash?"
	"This man says he's my father." Ash replied, anger creeping into his voice once again.
	"Are you really Ash's father?" Brock turned to the man who was flipping through his wallet.
	"Ash, what was your father's name?" Misty whispered, then was struck by an idea, "Just
whisper it to me so he can't hear."
	"Giovanni Ketchem." Ash whispered back, still sniffiling slightly. Pikachu climbed up to
his face and wiped away a few stray tears on his best friend's face.
	"What's your name?" Misty turned to the man who held out an ID card.
	"My name is Giovanni Ketchem." He said. Misty pluckled the card out of the man's hand
and showed it to Ash.
	Indeed the card identified the man as Giovanni Ketchem. It gave his birthdate, age, 
height, weight and all of that stuff.
	Now Ash's face was ghost-white, "Then...you...really are...my father." he whispered.
Suddenly his knees buckled and he started to slide to the ground. Misty was right there to catch
him as he fell.
	"Ash, Ash, wake up." Misty urged as she brushed Ash's hair back from his face. He was out
cold now.
	"I guess the shock must have been too much for him." Brock sighed, kneeling down beside
Misty and Ash. Pikachu plucked Ash's hat from his head and gently sat it on the ground where
Togepi picked it up and it fell over him.
	"Prii!" He complained and hopped around, trying to shake it off. Misty smiled wearily
at the hilarious scene, but did no more than that. She took the hat of off her Pokémon's head
and handed it to Brock. She saw a static spark out of the corner of her eye and noticed that
Pikachu was gearing up for an electrical shock to bring Ash back to conciousness.
	"No, let him rest, Pikachu." Brock spoke softly as he also noticed the charged Pikachu.
Pikachu nodded in compliance and hopped on to Ash's chest. He patted his face, trying to get
his trainer to get up.
	Above their heads, they heard the whirring of plane blades. They looked up to see a
large black helicopter rapidly descending towards them. Misty and Brock looked at each other in 
surprise. Misty then glanced over to Giovanni who was just looking at his watch.
	"Right on time..." he muttered and the Persian at his feet meowed again. Ash slightly
stirred, but still, he remained unconcious. Misty sighed heavily and watched the helicopter
land a couple of yards away. It was clear of the wreckage, but still in the clearing.
	"What's the plane for, Mr. Ketchem?" Brock asked as the door to the plane opened. Giovanni
glanced at him and didn't answer. He walked to the doorway and stuck his head in. It was clear that
he was confering with someone. Moments later, he came back, two people in business suits rolling a
stretcher along the ground. They wheeled it beside where Ash was and lifted him on it. Pikachu
was still sitting on him and Misty rose to walk along side it.
	"It will take us back to my home in Viridian City. We'll figure out what to do from there."
Giovanni spoke, replying to Brock's earlier question. Brock nodded and followed the tiny procession
onto the airplane.

	Soon, they all were seated comfortably in the helicopter...Well, Misty, Brock and Giovanni
were seated comfortably. Ash was still sleeping so he way lying down across three seats which
the armrests had been pushed up so he could lie down in comfort.
	"You own this plane, Mr. Ketchem?" Brock asked in awe. He looked around and squatted next
to the Persian who hissed warningly at him.
	"Yes, I do, Brock." Giovanni smiled, then turned to the bristling Persian, "Persian, be 
nice." The Persian yowled and slunk down to the floor where it lay, sulking.
	"Wow." was all Misty managed to speak. She was kneeling on the floor by Ash and Pikachu was
by her, trying to keep Togepi out of trouble. She reached a hand up and gently stroked Ash's
cheek.
	"I take it you're Ashton's girlfriend?" Giovanni asked innocently, but a smile was playing
on his face.
	"What? Me? Why? How? NO WAY!!" Misty blabbered in shock, her face bright red. She took a
deep breath and calmed down, a slight blush still tinging her cheeks, "I don't think so!"
	"Why not?" Giovanni asked, leaning back in his chair crossing his arms as he studied
Misty.
	"He broke my bike! He always gets us into messes!" Misty started to count off the ways
she couldn't POSSIBLY be Ash's girlfriend.
	"I do not always get you into messes." a voice weakly groaned. 
	Ash opened his eyes and glared at Misty, "Would you forget about the bike? I said I was 
sorry, okay?" He sat up and Pikachu jumped up onto his lap and hugged his beloved trainer. Ash l
ooked around, noticing for the first time their surroundings. "Why are we in a plane?"
	"Because we are going to my home in Viridian, Ashton." Giovanni spoke up. Ash looked at him,
flinching when he spoke. There was pain in his eyes and a bit of anger.
	"Hey, we're descending!" Misty exclaiemd from the window. She had went over there after Ash
had woken up.
	"We'll be landing shortly." Brock explained, joining Misty at the window.
	"I wanna see!" Ash cried and jumped up. He ran to the window and pushed Misty and Brock out
of the way. They both landed on Pikachu who, in turn shocked them both. Ash turned to his Pokémon,
"You should be saving your electrical energy to battle Team Rocket."
	"Pika." Pikachu nodded as he squirmed his way out.
	Nobody was looking at Giovanni at the moment. But if they had been, they would have seen
an expression bordering on hatred as he glared at Ash. Misty glanced up at him then and his 
expression changed so quickly that she thought it must have been his imagination.
	"I wonder why Team Rocket owns a gym?" Brock wondered out loud, "I wonder what would have
happened if Ash had to battle the leader?"
	"He'd find out that the two most dangerous words in the English language were Ash
Ketchem." Ash replied, a smile on his face as he looked down on Viridian which was coming
into cleared view with each passing moment.
	"I'm beginning to notice a pattern with them." Misty started, obviously referring
to Team Rocket. "First they blow up the Pokémon Center, then the gym. What's next? The
drug store?"
	"Good one, Misty!" Brock laughed. The rest of them joined in, except for Giovanni. He
sat there, no expression on his face. His eyes were hard, like stones. There was a slight
bump and the feeling of wheels rolling on the ground.
	"We've landed." Ash called out excitedly as he looked out the window at the runway that
was racing past the window. The momentom of the plane soon slowed down and then stopped. As soon
at it was still, Giovanni stood up and opened the door. Ash ran from the window and followed his
father out onto the ground. Misty bent to pick up Togepi and she, Brock and the Persian followed.
	They stood there on the runway, just outside the plane, unsure of what to do. Giovanni
took out a cell phone and said a few words to someone, then hung up.
	"A car will be along shortly to pick us up and take us to my home." he turned to them.
Ash was looking around him at the airport runway. Misty was hugging the now sleeping Togepi as
Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder while Brock...
	"Not again." Misty groaned as she spotted Brock a few yards away. He was talking to a
stewardess. She was very pretty, with long green hair in a ponytail. Her violet eyes were
darting from left to right, looking for an escape route.

	"Where is that twerp?" Jessie grumbled as she scanned the horizon with a pair of
binoculars. They were on top of a high building in Viridian City.
	"We better not screw this up or we'll be fired." James pointed out, "I thought that we
would have been fired for sure after we blew up the gym."
	"Actually Meowth blew it up." Jessie pointed out. Meowth turned to her, his claws extended.
"You scratch me, no tuna for a year!"
	Meowth pouted and retracted his claws. The he jumped up, "Look at the airport! They're
there!"
	"Who?" James asked, confusion reigning on his face and in his voice.
	"The twerps!" Jessie yelled as she focused her binoculars on the group in topic. "Hey!
The boss is with them!"
	"Let me see!" Meowth whined as he tried to wrestle the binoculars away from Jessie. As the
cat and girl started to wrestle, James caught the pair of binoculars. He looked through them just
in time to see Ash, Misty and Brock boring a black stretch-limo with their boss.
	"They went with the Boss!" James shouted over the noise. Jessie and Meowth stopped in
mid-fight to look over the egde of the building. They all watched as the vehicle drove off.