Ash x Gary (Palletshipping)

Mauville Reunion

Me: "Last time on Ash x Gary (Palletshipping), Teagan told our Gary all about how Ash was betrayed by his friends. Will we have to visit Gary in prison? And Misty in the graveyard? Find out now..."

Jigglypuff: *Gets the best seat in the house and stares at the screen wide-eyed while munching on popcorn*

Me: "Gimme some of that popcorn."

Jigglypuff: *Just shares, avoiding distraction*

........................................................................................................................................................................................

I had been looking around for Gary and Teagan for about an hour when I finally decided to just go to the gym. I was hoping that they had just gone outside of town to search for pokémon or something, and that, by the time I had beaten the gym leader, they'd be back.

I entered Mauville Gym and found it pitch black inside. "Wattson!" I called out. Silence greeted me, but I felt that I wasn't alone. I shivered a little. This would actually be a whole lot less creepy if this was a ghost type gym, but it was an electric type—I wasn't even sure that this place was supposed to have light switches. Where was everybody? Was this another one of Wattson's traps?

I pressed back against the doors as I saw a figure approaching in the darkness. I was either going to die here or be scared crapless by some innocent person trying to get the lights back on. Please, please, please, let it be the latter.

The figure lunged at me, and I screamed, throwing my arms up in front of my face and cringing back.

After a moment, I realized I wasn't dead yet, and I opened my eyes and looked up fearfully.

"SURPRISE!!!" a whole crowd of people shouted. And they weren't just any people. The 'figure' was Misty, trying not to pee herself while she rolled around on the floor laughing. Brock was a couple feet to my left, working the light switch. There was also Ritchie and his Pikachu; Dawn with...Prinplup; May and Drew who we'd just seen in Slateport; Max and a Ralts; Paul, scowling at me; Cilan and Iris; Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont; Professor Oak and Tracey; and even Gary with Teagan. There are a number of other people as well who I've met during my travels. There are even three people in trench coats, hats, and sunglasses that I don't know. Honestly? This place is packed, and I'm just...confused. Why are they all here? Why do they even care anyway?

"So you show up now?" I ask them, refusing to meet their eyes and instead glaring at the floor. I can hear Misty getting up, and then, amazingly, I'm being hugged.

"Ash, how were we supposed to know about your mom if you never TOLD us about it? You didn't send any letters. You didn't call, and you certainly didn't come visit. Brock and I would've went looking for you, but we were so busy, and we didn't know for sure if anything was wrong. For all we knew, you were just off exploring another region," Misty says all of this kindly, even though I'm sure she's ready to scream at me for being such a dope. I feel so relieved right now that my friends really are my friends...and a little embarrassed, too.

"Sorry," I scratch the back of my head, "So why are you here anyways?"

Professor Oak speaks next, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in his lecture stance: "Gary called me and told me all about how you felt abandoned. I informed him that I had tried to visit you after your mother's tragic passing, but you were sleeping...It was daytime, I might add...Anyway, I wanted to come back the next day, but I was called away on urgent business in Sinnoh. Gary still insisted that Misty and Brock, at the very least, had wronged you in some unforgivable way. He was quite annoyingly beside himself," Gary is looking everywhere but at a living person, "So I called up a number of your other friends and explained the situation. They all claimed that they hadn't heard any news of this. They spread the word to their friends, and, somehow, I wound up being dragged to Hoenn with all of them to see you. And to think I was just in my bed yesterday! You need to learn to communicate, Ash," he nods to himself, "Really. Gary told me that you also had no idea where he's been all these years. It's not like he dropped off the face of the earth, Ash. When I called Misty and Brock, they knew. Even Tracey had heard rumors. How could you not know? I just saw a TV program two days ago, detailing Gary's life. I must say, though, it was not quality programming. They referred to me as 'that old guy.'" No one in the gym looks impressed by Professor Oak's complaints.