Ash x Gary (Palletshipping)

Would you like some Ketchupmon with that?

Me: *Looks up from Nintendo 3DS* "Now presenting to you on Ash x Gary (Palletshipping) Pikachu and Ketchup...mon? And I thank all of you for reading, voting, and commenting! That includes palletship87!" *Goes back to training new Aron in the Trick House rock smash level*

Teagan: "I bleed molten steel. Go, Aron!"

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We start heading out to Lavaridge Town the next day after catching up with all my old friends. It turns out that Ritchie, Paul, and Max are also collecting Hoenn gym badges, and I may see them in the Pokémon League Tournament.

Most of everyone else is heading back home. But Misty has the Mauville Gym to take care of now, and Brock has decided to travel with us for a while. May, Dawn, and Drew went off to Verdanturf Town for a contest, rubbing it in Teagan's face since Gary insisted that she stick with us. I wonder how she's going to get enough ribbons if she's always tagging along with us to the towns with gyms? Contest Halls and Pokémon Gyms are rarely found in the same places.

"PIKA! PIKA-CHUU!" Woah! Pikachu just jumped off my shoulder!

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Brock asks. Teagan looks up from her sulking at the back of our travelling party. Gary just glares at everyone in turn—I think he's somehow jealous of Brock. How he ever could be baffles me, but I also get this warm feeling in my stomach. It's a heady thing to be wanted so totally, and yet I can't help but think—remembering how much I loved Mom—if true love is a bad thing?

Say you love someone, and you love them in a way that it's just a fact. It is completely true. It is always true. It is powerful and compelling. And that person loves you the same. What happens when it's not true for one of you anymore or—if we're really going on the assumption of this love being absolute—one of you dies? Where is the goodness in the pain that will surely follow and haunt you as factually as your love once sustained you? Wouldn't it be better if your love was joyful and strong but not absolute, and you had the hope of moving on afterwards? You could say that your love will always be worth the pain, but I think that's just an ideal—wishful thinking. In reality, it must fucking hurt to lose someone you love that way. Fucking hurt more than any joy could ever please you.

It's these thoughts that make me want to distance myself from Gary. I know he said I'd never lose him. He'd never leave, but that's not what I'm worried about anymore. I'm worried he's getting in too deep. I'm worried we're getting too close...Yeah, I guess I am worried I'll lose him, and it'll somehow hurt worse than Mom. Funny how what you're thinking changes depending on how you think about it. In some ways, in my head, it still doesn't seem like I'm worried about losing him. Maybe it's because I'm also worried he'll lose me? Perspective changes everything...I'm so confused these days...

Pop!

I hear a sound like a cap being pulled off a bottle, and I look up. There, in the middle of the road, is a ketchup bottle...with a face...opening and closing its own lid.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Teagan screeches and hides behind Gary. Gary lets out an irritated sigh. Brock's first instinct is to check one of his handbooks. Pikachu? Pikachu's circling the ketchup bottle slowly with sparkling eyes.

Then Pikachu pounces, and the ketchup bottle's eyes get really big. Is this thing a pokémon or what?

Pikachu's about to start squeezing the bottle and eating it when it transforms into a glob of some sort of pinkish goo.

"Ditto!" The Ditto exclaims in terror, rearing back from Pikachu.

"Hey! Come back here!" some guy yells as he runs up to us.

"Ditto!" Ditto transforms into Pikachu and then runs around it really fast, doing a sort of switcheroo. I can't tell which one is which anymore.

"Ditto, we need to get back to the contest!" this red-head guy scolds as he catches up to us. Amazingly, he doesn't hesitate at all to pick up one of the Pikachu, and even more stunning, it's the right one. Pikachu 2 dissolves into a pinkish blob again.

New guy turns to us. "Sorry about that," he brushes some red bangs out of his eyes with a hand completely engulfed by his baggy, cream sweater, "My Ditto likes to play tricks on people."

Teagan speaks up, "Well, I think Pikachu was going to eat your Ditto so I guess we're even."

Brock, always good-mannered—except when he has those weird moments with girls that I still don't get—butts in with introductions next: "Hi, I'm Brock. This is Ash and Gary. Pikachu and Teagan." He points each of us out as he does it.

"I'm Scott, and this is Ditto," he greets us. Gary, officially proving how fowl of a mood he's in, comes to stand in front of me. I scowl at him—this kid is like Teagan's age! What is he gonna do?!

"Ditto!" Ditto also greets us, and Pikachu starts growling at it.

Just then a Plusle hops out of some bushes. We all turn to stare at it, surprised. It starts making some sort of feral, unnatural sound, and I can see it has this weird, red chain wrapped around it like a sash.

It jumps up on Teagan, who screams bloody murder, and takes one of her poké balls. Then it runs off up the road, leaving just as suddenly as it appeared.

"Steelix! No!" Teagan shrieks and starts chasing after the thieving Plusle.

"Teagan!" Gary joins her. Pikachu hops on my shoulder, and we're off, too. I bet this has something to do with that Team Rocket. Someone really needs to put them in their place once and for all.

"Sorry, Scott, but we have to go!" I hear Brock explaining the situation to the new guy.

"Wait! I can help! We're probably already late for the contest anyways. Lillipup, chase down that Plusle!"

Pretty soon Scott's pokemon comes rushing up ahead of us, sniffing the ground periodically and then letting out this measly howl that sounds like a Skitty trying to be tough.

I hope this guy knows what he's doing because I can't see that Plusle or Teagan anymore, and I can see how distraught Gary is. I'm scared for her, too. I've come to care for her, too.