Author's Note: Hi, thanks for staying tuned for chapter 2. I am really grateful to anyone who left feedback, sent pms or followed. I have only just started writing here, but have already met a lot of nice people who are talented writers in their own right, as well as lots of helpful reviewers who have interesting ideas and opinions. Its been great talking! Thank you! I just hope that I am able to give back a nice read for you guys in return.

I'm only sad that I didn't get this chapter to you guys sooner, I meant to have it up more than a week ago but hectic life got in the way. To make up for the delay I will upload a new story today or tomorrow this time a drama called High Tide. I am happy to be back and want to keep sharing with you all. I may even upload one more fanfiction in the next few days.

Until we meet again,

-Lore

A young man with thick, dark eyebrows and a head full of spiky black hair sat in front of a kitchen table. Ash sported a suit and corsage. His mom had bought the red rose from a Roselia that had gone door to door selling excess flowers from her latest haircut, telling Pallet Town the benefits of using her blossoms in potpourri, tea, soap and bouquets. Her timing could not have been any better; Gary's wedding was just around the corner and Mrs. Ketchum liked a bargain.

Ash's personal touch was his trainer hat. Wedding or not he wasn't parting with his official pokemon league hat. He would have to be good enough to be best man the way he was, and so the black and white cap sat proudly on top of his head amid an otherwise formal scene of a young man dressed in blue.

Ash wore one other article, a napkin long enough to have been a tablecloth tucked around the collar of his suit. Delia Ketchum made sure that no stain would dare get on this best man's clothes while he ate his lunch. He was practically covered in tin foil and a baker's sheet, but by golly she was not going to let any bad luck strike.

The slender, brunette woman crowed like a torchic, waking Ash up hours before the wedding ceremony to make sure he had eaten breakfast, showered, brushed his teeth, changed his underwear and was dressed to stand at the alter with his friends. She was not taking any chances that her hardworking baby might oversleep after a long day of trainer's battles.

Now that everything else had been taken care of it was time for lunch. He may have thought he was finished getting ready, but Mrs. Ketchum never let anyone under her roof skip something as important as three square meals a day. Today most of all Ash would need his concentration to help a friend take wedding vows. A best man could not work on an empty stomach! Not that her handsome munchlax required any urging.

Ash's eyes glittered as he stared at a trove of plates from his mom's kitchen. The smell of steamed rice filled his nostrils. He fell face down into the delicious dish of shredded cabbage and fried cutlets. The hungry head never came back up. Breadcrumbs flew around the room as Ash sank his teeth into the sweet brown sauce and swallowed the meat whole like a starving Pyroar. He silently held out a bowl, anxiously awaiting a second helping while his other hand shoveled more veggies onto his plate with the chopsticks.

"That's my son," Delia said happily as she carried two more plates of pork to Ash with a tear in her eye. "I made all kinds of good luck foods today. Its such a big day for you and your friend!"

Ash looked up at his mother with a smile and accepted a bowl with mushrooms and okra."Thanks mom! That's really nice."

Pikachu stood in the doorway with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was soaking wet from Delia's bath. The dripping, yellow fur puffed out into a fluffy cloud as he wandered into the kitchen, wondering what he was supposed to do next to get ready. A trail of wet paw prints covered the tile and carpet behind him.

"Pika, pika, pika-pi," he mumbled as he stood uncomfortably in a puddle of water.

"Oh dear! Mimey, please mop up this mess, vacuum a bit and then see to these," Delia said, handing a dwarf-like pokemon with a painted a face the stack of dirty dishes from Ash's table. "If Gary comes in we want the house to look nice now don't we?"

The tower of dishes stretched all the way up to the ceiling and leaned a little as Mimey put one large foot on the ground, steadying himself but scuffling to carry the heavy burden.

He agreed with his owner by saying his name. "Mr. Mime!"

Ash snickered as he looked up from his eggs, catching sight of his friend's poofy hairdo. Pikachu narrowed his eyes, and the electric sacks on his cheeks sparked. He looked at Ash angrily, threatening his trainer with a thundershock if he kept laughing at him.

"We're having such a nice, peaceful and quiet day," Delia chirped as she hung up her apron, then walked Pikachu out of the kitchen.

Her blow dryer was waiting for the mouse pokemon. Then she would take a comb to him and get out all of the shedding and tangles, and make that bright coat of his shine like a gold nugget!

Mimey closed his eyes and used the attack confusion, causing the dirty dishes to float into the air all around his head. It was too much to carry in his scrawny arms. One by one with the help of his psychic powers the plates levitated towards the kitchen sink and dropped into the basin. They magically washed and dried themselves with soap and a floating dish rag.

In the meantime Pikachu's thunderbolt attacks could be heard upstairs, followed by the sound of a mirror breaking and the sight of a hairbrush sent flying as Pikachu ran back downstairs in protest. Lilac hair ribbons were twined around the mouse pokemon's pointy ears. He shook his head back and forth, trying to make all of Delia's decorations fall off.

"Pikachu, I almost forgot your white hair bow!"

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Delia stuffed the fleshy yellow mouse into a formal suit. She took a good look at the blue suit and nodded her head, then straightened Pikachu's tie. She held a piece of measuring tape by his collar, counting the inches slowly to herself, accounting for the fact that the pokemon had no real neck. She had to hunch over to finish dressing the two-foot-tall pokemon, even with him standing on top of the living room table.

It seemed only yesterday that Delia was chasing Ash, begging the heavens for more arms than a machamp to keep him from jumping on the bed and sliding down the staircase. To think today she would encourage pokemon to climb on top of the furniture.

Perhaps next year we will be preparing for Ash's wedding, she thought, wiping a teardrop from her eye with a handkerchief. Could little Gary have grown up so fast? I remember when his parents died and the poor thing arrived next door without a friend in the world. I'm glad to see that he is now enjoying such success.

Pikachu had persuaded her to forego any hair accessories. He stood in a simple navy suit like Ash's with nothing on his head, only the perky yellow ears that Arceus had given him. She tucked a red scarf around the edges of Pikachu's blazer to match his tie. Once the pokemon's coolness was enhanced she opened a wedding favors box to add the finishing touch. The box was filled with rage candy truffles, combee's wax candles, handmade moomoo milk soaps, boutonnieres and a blue corsage with a spray of mental herbs attached. Light poured out of the box as Delia found what she was looking for.

Pikachu was presented with a magical golden orb. She bought the light ball the other day just for him, and fixed a pin to the back so he could wear it on his suit.

Pikachu leaned in, curious about his surprise. A streak of purple appeared in the glass ball as electrical currents danced before his eyes. It was literally lightning captured in a bottle, obtained from a Raikou according to legend. The shiny, dark eyes stared, spellbound by the power of the light ball. He lifted up both of his paws, reaching desperately for his new ball. Pikachu felt a rush of excitement.

Delia had to admit that Pikachu was really going to shine this evening. A touch of static tickled her lip as she kissed the rodent on the cheek pouch.

"There all done Pikachu," she said, fastening the light ball a few inches down from where the pokemon's shoulder would have been.

Pikachu stood in profile, placing one paw over his new red tie. He slicked back his long ear with the other paw, trying to attain a look of just the right amount of hair mousse and dapper charm.

"Oh, you look so cute! I hope that I can measure up," she said, then turned around in a circle with such a youthful, lithe step that she might have been Ash's age. "How do I look? Not too shabby I hope."

"Pikachuuu," he replied with a smile.

Delia stood in a quiet kimono without kamon or patterns crossing over the seams. The silk was blush-colored and her obi the same shade as wheat. The kimono had a pastoral motif. The fabric turned to teal at the lower hems. She had depicted water routes that brought her community prosperity and visitors from afar. She had even embroidered the likeness of tentacool along the coastline. The magikarp coloring the sea orange looked good enough to eat, better than the pile of scales and bones that came from a real magikarp. At her shoulders, pass the evergreens and windmill she had illustrated patches of grass that led out of Pallet town to new beginnings.

Pikachu folded the tiny digits of his paw as best he could to give Delia a thumb's up. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the tsukesage had been Pikachu-approved. The last time she had worn this Ash's father was still with her. She was worried that her clothes might have been no longer fashionable though the kimono was like an old friend to her.

"Ash, come and see how great Pikachu looks," Delia called for her son, beckoning at the bottom of the flight of stairs as she fumbled with a cell phone. "I'd like to get a picture of you two together. Don't be nervous honey, you look like a prince!"

A light on Delia's cellphone flashed as she struggled to find the camera mode, warning that her battery was low. She thought of fetching Ash's holocaster to take a photo but wasn't sure how to work it. Before she could ask for Ash's help Pikachu hopped off of the table and waddled up to Delia, took the phone and stood aside. The electric pokemon gritted his tiny teeth, clenched the phone tightly in one paw and let out a thundershock, charging the phone's battery instantly.

She smiled, petting the round, yellow head. "Oh Pikachu, what would we do without you?"

"Cha," Pikachu said with a confident shrug.

"Let me go grab him," she said, heading upstairs but then abruptly came back downstairs with a silk clutch in hand. "No, those photos will have to wait until the reception. I need to get to town actually. We need change from the pokemart to prepare Gary and Giselle's money envelope. I won't make the Ketchum household look stingy, no sir! I will make sure that our wedding present will give them a comfortable sum to start their life together with."

"Ka, pika-pi," Pikachu called out to Ash from the bottom of the stairs.

"Gotta run now," she shouted, putting her sandals on in the doorway and heading out into the garden. "Be a good Pikachu while I'm gone. Please sit with Ash, he's probably tense, thinking about his responsibilities as best man."

"Pika-pi," the pokemon said nodding his head.

"Gary should be here any moment now to pick you guys up. I will probably just head straight to the ceremony after I finish business in town. Take care," she said waving goodbye, and closing the door behind her.

"Ka," Pikachu replied, waving his paw back to say goodbye.

Delia's vegetable garden was right in front of the window. Pikachu watched Ash's mom fill a wicker basket with spotted, red-capped mushrooms the size of a melons. He heard her mumble something about big mushrooms selling for a pretty pokedollar at the pokemart as she tiptoed over a wild oddish. The blue onion-like pokemon had a habbit of burying himself halfway underground disguised as weed. The pokemon would scream when others tried to pull him up.

With a basket full of food to sell in toe Delia was off. She waved at a hoppip that floated by on the winds, then disappeared into the horizon with a cheerful song on her lips.

"Chaha!" Pikachu called out again in exasperation, telling Ash to come down already.

This was important! Ash needed to stop playing around. The last he saw him he was still face down slurping up his mom's katsu, asking for another helping of rice. Gary would be here soon.

The pokemon glanced up at the remote control for the television. It was placed on a wall shelf out of his reach, but not for long. The mouse pokemon went down on all fours and scampered up the wall of the living room. He put the remote control in his mouth, jumped down and scaled the couch. With the remote firmly in both of his paws he searched for a sports network for his best friend.

Ash would finish getting ready faster if there was a live pokemon battle on air. He knew Ash, nothing made him more excited than seeing the PTC finals! He turned the dial, but found the Pokemon lullaby station.

As soon as Pikachu heard the sound of the bells he yawned. An image of one mareep after another appeared on the screen. A clefairy in a bonnet, wearing yards of sugary pink fabric that passed for a dress, marched to a picket fence, gesturing with a shepherd's crook to a flock of mareep. The piles of fluff backed up, got a running distance and then clumsily jumped over a the fence. An alto voice began to sing off-screen, ninety eight, ninety seven, ninety six.

Pikachu wanted to curl up into a ball for some reason. The remote control slipped from his paws. He reached to pick it up, but could barely hold his eyes open now. The button-like eyes glazed over as the mouse pokemon put one paw on the floor and fumbled around for the device for less than a second. Ducklett down feathers sailed through air as the drowsy pikachu fell back onto a pillow, deciding he had searched long enough.

The tiny paw reached for a quilt draped over the couch. He was supposed to tell Ash something, but his mind grew foggy about what it was that he was supposed to say.

Pikachu huddled in the collage of fabric and recognized the image of a Charizard with opened wings and smoke billowing from his nostrils fashioned out of discarded pieces of linen, cotton wool. The patchwork quilt was full of illustrations of Ash's pokemon journey across the regions like a picture book. It was a long parade of friends from Gible to Greninja. Snorlax was the biggest design and took up half of the blanket. Ash's mom must have sewn it all from memory based on stories he had told her. The electric mouse smiled as he saw himself in the center of the quilt with friends just before drifting off to sleep.

While Pikachu snored and drooled Mimey swept the floors, trying to keep the space nice like Ms. Delia had said. He glanced back at Pikachu and found the rat in a dead sleep. The pair of curly-tipped, blue shoes shoes walked en pointe over to the television set and switched off the power. He could barely hear it with soundproof ability so why waste the electricity? He was so thankful for soundproof when Ash visited, the noise volume wasn't half as bad as it was for Ms. Delia. Mimey mockingly pantomimed Ash calling for his mother to wash his clothes, give him some change or make dinner.

"Mr. Mime, mime," he scolded the sleeping Pikachu for his disorganization, then picked up the remote control and placed it on the coffee table where it belonged.

He straightened up the pillows on the couch and adjusted the blanket around Pikachu, making sure that he was securely tucked in. Then he switched off the lights, and went to the window to let sunlight in instead.

Good, all is peaceful and quiet, Mimey thought with joy, drawing back the drapes. Ms. Delia says that everything is nicer this way. She will be so surprised and happy when she finds out how I soundproofed the kitchen and locked away Ash!

Suddenly Mimey was saddened by the sight of how the oran berry plant by the window was drooping. He would save it for Ms. Delia!

He ran toward the kitchen, carrying the plant in its vase with both hands. The poor thing looks like a squashed bellsprout, he thought with a sigh, knowing how busy his mistress had been this morning. It wasn't like her to neglect her plants.

Mimey stood in the hallway, just a few feet down from the doorway to the kitchen where he had worked his magic. The space looked perfectly normal, but there was an invisible wall right in front of the doorway that nobody could cross except of course its creator. The fairy pokemon felt pride in his work as he moved closer to the barrier, he hadn't used a defensive move in a long time!

Ash paced in the kitchen, plotting his escape. Mimey looked enviously at him, he was tall now, Ms. Delia said he was cute but the worst part was that there was a rose pinned on his jacket! All clowns wanted to wear flowers, especially flowers that squirted. He did not like that Ash got to wear a corsage and not him, even if he wasn't in the wedding or even invited Mimey wanted a flower! He looked down at his gloves sadly.

Ash stood up as soon as he realized that Mimey had come back. The boy pressed his face against the invisible screen, making an angry expression reminiscent of his old friend primeape. "Let me out!"

Mimey watched the boy's fists pound against his barrier, but no sound came forth. It was like watching a television screen with the audio muted. It felt great to Mimey to wipe away that mature, dashing look Ash had worn only a moment ago.

Mimey crossed the barrier, masking his joy with an unperturbed expression. While Ash could not leave, Mimey came in with the grace and ease of walking on air.

As soon as he passed the boundary he regretted that he had done so. He was greeted with loud demands to be released. He would have covered the boy's mouth to drown out that ruckus had he not required both hands to hold his mistress' lovely bamboo vase. She would have been very upset if he had dropped it.

Ash yelled, "Mr. Mime, why did you put up this barrier?"

Mimey folded his arms and shrugged his shoulders. He carried the vase to the kitchen sink and filled it with water to feed Ms. Delia's plants. The indifferent attitude made Ash even more annoyed.

"Look, Mr. Mime," Ash shouted, grabbing the pokemon by the shoulder. "I don't know why you're doing this, but I can't stay in here. I have to a wedding to go to now! My friends need me!"

"Mime!" he shouted.

He jerked his shoulder away and the large white glove struck Ash across the face. Mimey hopped into the air and used double slap. He did not like Ash grabbing him even if he was Ms. Delia's son. He had no nose, but if he had one then Mimey would have stuck it into the air with indignation.

Ash's face turned as red as a corphish with fury, but he contained his rising frustration. He had been locked in the kitchen for an hour behind a jail door that he could not even see. He kept calling for Pikachu and his friends, but nobody could hear him. He could hear everything that was said, but not the other way around. It was cruel, especially when he heard his friend Pikachu calling to him.

If I have to live here forever then at least then at least I'll have food, he told himself, looking at the refrigerator. No, I can't think like that.

Ash let out a sigh, knowing that he could have found a way to break free had he been wearing his belt with his pokeballs. But he took it off, and left it in his room so he could change into this dumb tux.

Me and Mr. Mime both look like we're ready for the circus, he thought kicking the wall.

With the potted berry plant freshly watered Mimey bounced merrily out of the doorway.

"Mr. Mime wait!" he shouted, chasing after the pokemon

Ash ran smack dab into the barrier as Mr. Mime passed through the solid structure. Ash groaned as his slid to the ground. He felt like he had just broken his nose from the force of the barrier. It looked like only air in front of him, but it felt like a sack of bricks. He put his hand over his face. At least he was in the kitchen and could get ice for the side of his head.

Ash grumbled. "How am I going to get out of here?"

He rose to his feet, looking all around the kitchen. He rummaged through cabinets and drawers for something that might break the psychic barrier, whether it was a rolling pin or a knife. It was a long shot but he had become desperate.

He yelled again at the top of his lungs, hammering against the clear wall with a sledgehammer to no avail. "Pikachu, where are you?"

He looked a hot mess. His tie was untied and hung loosely about him. There was sweat on the back of his neck too and a button had popped off of his suit. He took off his jacket to get a better swing as he attacked the door.

A broken half of a pokeball fell out of Ash's pocket as he tried to break free of the magical kitchen. Ash stared down at the white half of the pokeball on the floor, then scooped it up. He kept that pokeball half for luck. It was the same one that he and Gary broke while fishing when they were younger. Both of their lines had caught the pokeball, and they had tugged on it and argued over who deserved it until they had accidentally broken it in half. He wondered if Gary still had the red half.

Ash held the piece of metal firmly in hand and vowed on the cracked pokeball that he was getting out.

"For my friend," he yelled, ramming the invisible wall with his shoulder.

Author's Note: We've met the bride and the best man, but not the groom yet in this story. Chapter 3 will introduce Gary, I hope you will join me and eat some wedding cake!