Kasumi's surprising reunion

Chapter 1
Ash? Is that you?

Chapter Description: Kasumi gets a "little" surprise.

Kasumi meets Ash after a long time has gone by

Kasumi, 28, and mother of 2 children was looking forward to this day. She hadn’t seen Ash since she was 12 and wanted to see how much his physique had matured. “I hope he studied more than Pokémon as he grew up,” she thought to herself.

She was a gym leader and a master of water Pokémon, her badges and awards had stacked up over the years as she took her job seriously. Her family and children were of equal importance and she lavished her affections on them and had become a great cook as well.

After she and Ash had gone their separate ways, she took on the task of being the youngest gym leader and overcame many hurdles to be the best at what she did.

The doorbell rang and an excited Kasumi hurried to answer it and with any luck meet a well-rounded adult who excelled at his craft, was witty, and was also one of the best Pokémon gym trainers.

She opened the door expecting to stare into Ash’s puppy dog brown eyes. There was nobody there! Oh, wait, she dropped her gaze down until it met the eyes with the color that she was expecting. There was a kid of no more than 11, maybe. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, blue vest, rolled-up blue jeans, and red and white sneakers and atop his head was a red cap. He was dressed like Ash, could this be his son?

Doing some quick math in her head, Ash would have conceived this kid when he was 17! While plausible, it didn’t seem to be something that the Ash she remembered would do.

“Hi, Kasumi!” said the kid cheerily as he raised his half-gloved hand in greeting. “Um, hello yourself” she answered back, “And who might you be?”

“It’s me, Ash Ketchum! Don’t you remember me?” Kasumi was taken aback, her wit, however, was as sharp as ever “Ash! Is that you! Geez, Kid, have you never heard of puberty?” came out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Ash just took it in stride, continued his cheery smile “Well, there were some developments. It’s kind of like a long story”

Getting over the initial shock and remembering her manners, Kasumi invited Ash inside, sat him down at the coffee table, offering snacks and green tea. “My husband and children are away for the day, there’s nothing going on at the Gym, so I have lots of time. Would you tell me your story?”

Looking over to the young boy sitting cross-legged across from her on her living room floor, she noticed that he seemed to be exactly as he remembered him. Skinny arms, roundish face and when he smiled, she could swear that he still had a few baby teeth that hadn’t come out yet.

“So, about my story,” began Ash apprehensively “You remember the bio-modified Mew Two? The one that escaped the lab and was defeated by my team but only after much hardship and pain? Well, he survived and turned back my clock to age 11, and then he said I was cursed to stay forever 11 years old for the rest of my life” he blurted out.

“Really, that’s the cause? I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?” Asked a worried Kasumi.

“Wel-l-l, he did mention something about busting a cherry, whatever that means. He said that if I lose a cherry or something, I’d grow up again?” finished an angelic-faced Ash.

“Oh, tough luck! You’re not of an age where a kindly aunt would ‘check your plumbing’, that must suck!” replied Kasumi “Hell, I’d do it myself, but the thought makes me a little queasy to my stomach” she finished, with her face taking on a slight greenish tint.

Ash chortled a bit and then said “Just fooling! That isn’t what caused it at all” and then laughed out loud a bit too nervously.

Kasumi joined in with her own nervous laugh and they reached a pregnant pause in their conversation. Ash just sipped his tea and Kasumi nibbled on a rice cracker.

Finally, Ash said “Now for the truth. You remember when they filmed us for the first episode to show on TV?”

Kasumi responded, “Yes, that was hectic. I’d never acted in my life and I might have overreacted on the tsundere side for the first season or so”.

Ash continued “Okay, good. Now, do you remember anything before that? Do you have any images of a black and white world where you were older and had a young sidekick that followed you around?”

Kasumi at first wanted to deny it outright. But then something at the back of her brain niggled and teased. She got a very quick flash of looking in a shop mirror and seeing her mature breasts reflected back while talking to a young kid next to her. Then she said “Strange. I think I do, but that would be impossible as we were the same age when we started the TV show. There’s no way I could have been older and then younger. It goes against the laws of nature” she ended with a little smugness.

“Ah,” Said Ash “but you see, it did happen. Before the TV, there was a manga series with a female protagonist who was accompanied by a young sidekick and that sidekick had a Pokémon that he carried around with him. Does it dredge up any more memories?”

Kasumi was beginning to believe that Ash was pulling her leg once again when a series of black and white images flashed through her head. They were a bit lacking in detail, but in them, she and Ash were traveling around, doing things and she remembered that she was at least 16 with a nice rack and a fine pair of hips.

“I hate to say it, but yes I do. I just don’t understand how this is possible, it just doesn’t make any sense!” said a perplexed Kasumi.

“Well, buckle in! I’m about to say even more confusing stuff. All I ask is that you wait until I’ve finished before you bombard me with questions.” said Ash with a serious face. Kasumi nodded for him to go on.

“We live in a fictional universe. One created by businessmen in order to sell merchandise. Each time the creators change direction, whatever plotline they modify alters its fabric to fit their narrative. Are you mind boggled yet or in total denial?” asked Ash waiting to see if Kasumi was following his narrative or if her mind was shutting down.

Kasumi was staring straight ahead. Her mind was trying to connect the dots that Ash had just put up. She decided to see where his explanation was going and maybe get some more points that would allow her to get a glimpse at what the end picture would look like when the dots were connected. “I want to believe you’re sincere. Go ahead, Ash” is what she finally said.

Ash sipped some more tea and continued “You see, before the TV show, there was a manga that was put together by a pair of creators. The plot wasn’t concrete enough and the protagonist being a shapely female and tugging a young boy along on her adventures wasn’t family-friendly. What really killed the manga was a lack of sponsorship. The sponsors wouldn’t give any money to a manga that had mediocre ratings at best, and the manga went out of publication.” Said Ash sounding more like a historian than an 11-year-old boy.

Kasumi could believe the manga story, some manga tales and genres went in and out of print faster than the press could print them. She nodded for Ash to continue.

“About a year or two after the manga died off, new sponsors came along and massaged the story to be about an adventurer that would be the very best at catching monsters with a round ball device. That protagonist needed something to keep him off balance so they chose you. But because your character wasn’t kiddie material, they decided to make her the same age as the protagonist for the TV show.” Said Ash.

Kasumi thought about herself as a busty curvy 16-year-old with sex appeal wearing her original outfit and regressing back to herself as a 10-year-old. The tight-fitting half-shirt slowly going flat, the suspenders going from taught to slack, the pants getting baggier as her butt lost its plump curves and hung loosely against her waist. She imagined her exciting long legs lose their appealing shape and decreasing in size as her body lost height. A pair of baggy socks graced her skinny calf muscles and a size too-large pair of sneakers covering her smaller feet.

An electric tingle went through her that aroused her and horrified her at the same time. She excused herself for a minute to go to the bathroom and hoped that the nervous energy coursing through her body would work itself out before Ash continued.

Kasumi returned from the bathroom still seeing pictures of her imaginary regression play in her mind.

Ash continued “So, there we are. We do several seasons together and the creators are making merchandise, creating video games, and using rock-paper-scissors rules to do battle with playing cards creating a new school-yard game that the kids love and carry around in their pockets to play at recess. Our series ends with you becoming a gym trainer. That much you know, but what happened afterward…”

Kasumi was seeing some of the big picture that Ash had alluded to and asked “Is why you’re still 11?”

“You got it in one!” said Ash congratulating her “The TV series started me at age 11 and I got a new confidant to have adventures with. That series ended and another one was created and so on. Each new show kept me at 11 and here I am, Still 11! But with interest in my character waning and new characters being created to take my place, I can start growing older at last!” He said with a cheery expression genuinely displayed on his face.

“That’s terrible! And since it’s a fictional universe, you didn’t get any monetary compensation for all your troubles! I’m so sorry to hear that” said a saddened Kasumi.

“Yup, once they lose interest in a character, that character ages normally unless they decide to bring them back for a cameo. Then the character has to age or regress to fit the period that the scene takes place in. It’s okay though! I got to be the very best and can now go back to school and do something else. Maybe I’ll be a professor one day, like Dr. Oak. The possibilities are endless for me at my current age!” enthused Ash.

“Unless they decide to do a reboot. Then you’ll regress back to whatever age they choose for you. I hope that doesn’t happen!” worried Kasumi out loud.

“No worries, Kasumi. Whatever they decide, it’ll be what was meant to be and we probably won’t remember anything anyway” said a philosophical Ash.

“Why do you remember then, when everyone else doesn’t, Ash?” Asked Kasumi.

“I think that I’m not the only one and that maybe, just maybe, the more they create, the more the protagonist remembers. It certainly doesn’t do any good to complain or go to war against my fate like the warriors do in the battle anime and manga. Theirs is fictional, mine is real” opined Ash.

The two were silent for a while, just enjoying the quiet and the company. Kasumi poured more tea and refreshed the crackers. The wind chimes outside made little melodic “ting!” sounds as they swayed gently in the breeze.

Ash got up “Well, it’s been nice to catch up with you. I hope we can do this again sometime, Kasu-“ and stopped in mid-sentence as Kasumi looked a little different, somehow. Her face took on a surprised expression as she stood up.

She was wearing her light blue blazer with dark blue accents. Her topless shirt was white and she wore a dark blue skirt to match the blazer.

“Ash -” she started to say but was cut off as her body began to get smaller, her hips lose their curvature, her breasts receded into her chest as they got smaller, the skirt fell to the floor with no waist to hold it up. The shirt slid down her chest to stop at her waist. The oversize jacket sleeves seemed to swallow her hands as she lost her years and left a 10-year-old Kasumi standing where the original 26-year-old stood.

She grabbed her top and held it up with a sleeve-covered hand to hide her nakedness and said “Wait here!” in a higher-pitched voice while running off to her bedroom.

Misty came back wearing her yellow half-shirt, red suspenders, baggy half shorts, and slightly oversize sneakers looking just as she had when Ash had first met her. Her red hair was tied into a sideways top-knot just as it was before and Ash couldn’t help but give her a hug which she returned warmly.

“I really missed you, Kasumi,” said Ash, “I just didn’t realize how much!” As they sat on the floor with Ash’s hand around her skinny prepubescent waist, she rested her head on his shoulder and felt at peace with the world.

Fin

(Author’s note: “What about her kids?” “What about her husband?” “You left a plot hole so big, it’d take days to fill it in!” Yeah, yeah, I know. But she grows back up by the morning and Ash goes back to his new life of studying Pokémon at a prestigious university. I just wanted to leave it where it was because I liked the warmth of the scene.)