Pallet Town, Ohio.
The elites called it "flyover country." And to some extent, they were right. From the window of a plane, the American countryside would have been totally unremarkable if not for the famous person who'd made it his home.
In the midst of this small, exurban community, a young lady stood in front of a mirror, putting on makeup. She had to be careful when doing this due to the fact that her face was wet, and she didn't want the makeup to cascade down her cheeks.
"You know, that dress looks really good on you, Serena."
The girl who was addressed wiped tears out of her gray eyes as she glanced over at her mother.
"Why, thank you," Serena Courtland stated. "I always love being complimented."
Grace, Serena's mother, gave her a smile. Whether this was a happy or a sad smile, Serena wasn't quite sure. Perhaps it was a little of both. Her girl was growing up.
"The service is at the First Church of Arceus, Pallet Town" Grace stated. "You know where that is, right?"
Serena sighed. "Mom, I've been there a million times."
"I know," her mother told her. "It's just…you know, I just thought I'd remind you. Reminders never hurt anybody, right?"
"Why is that?"
Grace sighed. "Well, I mean…it's a big day, is it not?"
"I suppose it is," Serena replied tearfully.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," her mother insisted. "If you think it's too much of a commitment, there's no need to go through with this."
Serena glared at her mother. "Mom, I'm fine. Eighteen's old enough for this. Besides, I love Ash Ketchum, and nothing in the world will change that."
"Are you sure? They say he's not the best man around - ".
"I don't care, Mom! I'm going to the service, and I'll perform the ritual! That's what I'm supposed to do, because I love Ash Ketchum!"
"Fair enough," Grace replied. "Now, it might be wise to comb your hair - ".
"I've already done so," Serena snapped.
"- and you should also make sure your dress isn't wrinkled at all. Every little thing matters at such an event. The church has a strict dress code."
"Right," Serena replied tearfully. "I just want to do this, okay? Let's go there and get it done, and then move on with our new lives."
Grace didn't object to that any further. The mother-daughter pair walked out to their Chevrolet parked in the driveway, and Grace got in the driver's seat. (On most occasions, Serena would object to not being allowed to drive, since she had her license. That morning, she did not.)
Instead, as they drove to the church (since Ohio was rather car-dependent even by American standards), Serena glanced out the window and thought about all the memories she'd shared with Ash.
All those bonding moments he'd shared with Pikachu, during which time they'd take turns feeding the electric mouse Poké Treats. The start of his journey across America to take on the Elite Four and whatnot. All the dinners they'd had together, during which they'd proclaimed their love for one another.
All of it led up to today.
"Dear," her mother told her once more, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to. If it's too emotional…".
"Would you shut up, Mom?" Serena responded with a sniff. "I have to do this!"
"If you say so, Serena," Grace replied. "If you say so."
As the Flying-type, well, flies, it wasn't very far from the Courtland house to the First Church of Arceus. Considering traffic and the fact that roads weren't laid out in the most geographically convenient pattern, it took at least ten minutes to reach the church.
Of course it takes this long, Serena thought bitterly. Everybody wants to see us. Everybody wants to see me.
Eventually they arrived at the church, and Serena stepped out of the vehicle. A tearful crowd had already assembled in front of the main lawn.
Some of the people present were clearly happy. Some of the others appeared to be mourning - if Serena didn't know any better, she might have thought they were grieving the fact that another Pallet Town couple was growing up and leaving the nest, and that the brain drain of young folks from rural Ohio would continue.
But she knew better. Everybody present knew better.
The priest was already prepared for the service. Holding a copy of the Book of Arceus, he placed his free palm against something long and wooden. It was draped in the American flag, all dolled up in its stars and stripes and glory.
"Good morning, Serena," the priest told her. He was an older man with glasses, and Serena should have remembered his name. Given just how momentous this occasion was, however, just recalling names was a Herculean effort.
"Morning," Serena replied tearfully.
"I can't even begin to imagine how you must feel today," the priest responded, wiping tears out of his eyes. "Only eighteen and already doing this."
Serena shrugged, though she could still hardly contain her emotion. "Sometimes that's just life, you know? It feels like a dream."
The priest nodded. "Arceus works in some very mysterious ways, doesn't he?"
"Yep."
"In any case," the priest continued, "I'll say some prayers to get the service going. I'm very sorry for everything, Serena."
"Thank you."
Serena didn't bother to look any further at the long, wooden object draped in the stars and stripes. Needless to say, she had no desire to peek inside the giant box to get a view of its contents.
She knew what (or rather, who) was inside.
Surrounding the priest were a series of the Courtland family's neighbors. For the most part, these were friends of Grace - Serena didn't bother to speak to many of them, instead spending most of her time with Ash.
But that was no longer an option.
The priest cleared his throat. "The date is August 19, in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty four. We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Ash Ketchum."
Most of the crowd sighed, and some of them sobbed. There was overlap between the two groups.
"Now," the priest continued, "it does not matter how you feel about the actions Ash Ketchum took in life. Some will call him a traitor, whereas others believe he did what he felt was best. It is entirely possible that both things are true.
"One thing is certain, however: Ash Ketchum is a hometown hero of Pallet Town. He looked up for the forgotten men and women, the forgotten Pokémon, of this country in the hopes that they would one day be forgotten no longer.
"Ash Ketchum is a man we'll never forget. He defeated the Elite Four and became a Pokémon Master. Whenever he witnessed an injustice, he stepped in and made any effort he could to see it end."
Serena wiped yet another tear from her eyes. This can't be happening. It just can't be.
She remembered receiving the call late the other night. First they'd called Delia Ketchum, the ashen-faced woman who stood closest to the coffin. Apparently she'd cried a lot, something Serena couldn't blame the lady for. Quite frankly, anyone who didn't cry for a life cut so tragically short was heartless in her mind, regardless of what that person had done with their life.
While Serena had been tearing up herself, her mother had raced into the room in order to learn what was wrong. She'd probably been thinking time was of the essence - this was not true. Serena still had all the time in the world, whereas Ash had just been robbed of decades of life, cut down by the humans' weaponry after he'd defected to the Pokémon side in the war.
It had taken a few days to ship Ash's body from the warfront in the Rocky Mountains back to Ohio for the service. But it was here, and Serena knew that within that coffin lay the corpse of her first, and quite possibly last, love.
"As we celebrate Ash Ketchum's life, recall that regardless of what side we take in this brutal civil war, we are all the same in some ways. From Arceus we all come, and to Arceus we all return one day. It is my belief that Ash Ketchum is with our Creator right now, and he is no longer in pain. There is no gunfire in paradise."
At that, Delia visibly (and audibly) broke down, and one of her neighbors comforted her. Serena would have gone over and done the same, but she didn't have any emotion to spare for Ash's mother.
The priest continued the rituals, blessing the body. Serena didn't dare look into the coffin, because she knew that if she did so, the vision of Ash's sanitized body would not leave her mind. Not now, and not ever.
I will always love you, Ash Ketchum. It doesn't matter that you made an early exit from this world. Maybe we'll meet again, maybe not, but I still love you.
On some level, Serena was aware of the coffin being winched down into the grave, and the other funeral-goers saying their prayers. To her, however, none of it mattered.
It was all she could do not to break down as dramatically as Delia was doing. Supposedly it was different for mothers, that their love for their children knew no bounds. If Serena felt survivor's guilt, she could hardly imagine Delia's reaction at having to bury her child.
Ash…if you're still out there, somewhere…I want you to know that I'll never stop loving you. Until we see each other again…
Okay, so I owe you guys an explanation. I was very bored today and decided to revive one of my old stories. After re-editing the first chapter of a story I initially published as "Reckoning", I posted it again as "2024". I'll get as far as I can in this tale, but I'm doing it for myself, not anyone else.
Speaking of which, I hope you guys like how I made it look as though Serena's going to her wedding, but it's actually Ash's funeral. That's why this song is titled "Just A Dream" - this is similar to Carrie Underwood's song "Just A Dream." Thank you all, and stay safe.
