Chapter 8:
Change of uniform

Young Ketchum woke up early the next morning to the sight of Rita’s still slumbering face. ‘I could really get used to that sight every morning.’ The hero thought as he gazed at the feline. Instead of waiting for her to wake on her own he instead carefully picked her up and placed her on the empty space of bed to his right. ‘Time for a quick shower since I really do need some new clothes.’ He thought before looking back at the cat, and could only smile since Rita had fallen asleep in cat sized version of his outfit.

‘Something’s wrong.’ The feline questioned to herself while trying to stay asleep, but the gnawing feeling that something was different got to her. The green eyed one looked around and at first everything seemed ordinary: same place that she called home, same snoring old friend, and same bed where she always slept. It was that last part that got her attention. ‘Wait a second. I don’t sleep on the bed I sleep on…Ash.’ She thought before frantically looking around and in plain sight saw no sign of him.

‘Guess that’s it then.’ A part of her thought in defeat as the body slowly walked over to the warriors pillow and laid her entire body there. ‘Maybe Brain copied his suit because he had come up with a way to send him home.’ The same side of her emotions thought which caused the others to counter.

‘No. No, Ash wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye.’ As she was in deep thought while staying on his pillow a person walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a bath towel around his waist.

“Is everything okay, Rita?” He questioned to her, and at that moment her worry was replaced with sheer happiness. The cat quickly stood up, but right when she turned the creature lost her footing and was about to take a tumble, but the visitor’s quick hand saved her. “Are you okay?” He questioned again after placing her on the bed.

‘I wonder if I should tell him my fear…no then he may not want to go back on my account.’ The ‘house pet’ thought before smiling back at the human. “I’m just fine, kid. By the way - thanks for the save.” She said before walking to the edge and hopped off. The female feline was about to walk on until she heard him continue.

“I was just curious since it sounded like someone was sobbing out here, so I was just making sure that you were fine.” Ketchum said back since he did hear something after he stopped the shower. As soon as she heard that the young creature began to get nervous.

‘Oh man, does he already suspect?’ She thought, but decided to use her old friend as a scapegoat. “I heard it too. Must be Runt, guess he’s just hungry.” The out of towner heard her input and decided she was on the level.

“Yeah. Guess your right. Let me suit up, and I’ll fix us the usual.” He said back to her. With a nod as a reply the human went back inside to put on the only outfit he had left.

‘I should stop thinking like that. He’s still here, and I should enjoy it…while I can.’ Rita thought as she sat in her usual spot - ready for some canned cat food and cream on the side. After a few short moments the young hero walked out of the bathroom, and headed over to the Kitchen. As soon as he was in the first thing that he did was gently stroke the spot of fur in between her ears; which she loved, and then set off to the making of their meal.

‘Is that?’ Runt questioned as a familiar for a while smell hit his nostrils again. ‘Oh, boy! Ash is making Breakfast.’ He thought with glee before racing into the chosen room. Once the meal was made he divided it among himself and Runt and then gave Rita her usual.

‘Oh, oh this is so good.’ The gray furred girl thought since she knew that Ash often seasoned the canned food before giving it to her which she loved, and the canine still loved the food the human gave to him as well.

“Okay, I know that today is another day off for all of you, but could one of you two help me find some new clothes?” Ketchum questioned before adding, “Training and battling with Pokemon, helping people, and eating: I can do, but I have no clue what to look for when it comes to fashion.” He confessed to them; this explanation got a chuckle from the cat: who always eats in a nice and clean fashion.

“I guess a powerhouse like you has to have some flaws.” She muttered under her breath while looking over her partner, and that was when she realized that he was looking back at her with a questioning look on his face.

“What did you say, Rita?” The monster tamer questioned since he did hear her say something, but he just couldn’t make out what it was.

“I…I said that I’d be happy to help you.” She said back to him since it was true - she did want to upgrade his wardrobe since she was wearing a copy of his outfit. After he washed, dried, and put up the dishes the hero saw that Rita was missing.

“Where are you, Rita?” He questioned while looking around his room.

“I’m in here. I thought that if we’re going shopping then it’s better if I go as I should.” She said back to him and walked out on all fours with just her white and gray fur. The human smiled at her since he did believe that she looked better this way then with clothes.

“What about me, Ash? Huh? Huh? What about me?” Runt questioned to his friend since he wanted to know what the human had for him.

“If it’s all the same to you. How about you just rest here, and when I come back I’ll have a nice big bone for you.” Ash said to the canine since he had a feeling that due to his framework having him around would do more harm then good; hopefully the promise of a bone will tide him over.

“Hmm, okay.” The canine said before rushing over to the couch, and flopped right on it. No sooner then he did that the pooch passed out.

“I guess that takes care of that.” Ketchum commented, surprised that he was fast asleep already. “Shall we be going?” He questioned after kneeling down with his right hand touching the ground.

“Let’s shall.” She said back while racing up his arm and then flipped around once she reached his shoulder to where her back was with Ash’s back. When the two were done they headed out.

“Do you think the others would be able to help me out?” The Pallet protector questioned while in the elevator. It was at that moment the feline imaged the other females knocking her off the human and caring to impress him over helping him with his wardrobe problem.

“No, no I don’t.” The cat answered back with a shake of her head. Her answer confused the creature controller since he believed the more people helping with this the faster it would be, but he trusted her decision non the less. Neither of them said anything else in the elevator, and were about to leave until they were stopped by a familiar a face at the front door.

“What is it, CJ?” The monster master questioned to the floating man at the door. Due to an embarrassing first meeting Ketchum learned that it was to use his initials or at the least one half of his total name.

“Oh. Nothing much. Just thought I’d stop by to say ‘HI’ and to warn you that your groupies are at the front gate.” The hero outfitted man said before adding, “Now I’ve got to the Bowling Alley I promised Longhorn I’d play a few frames with him.” That said he floated off to the company Bowling building.

“Well, that was nice of him to do. Wasn’t it, Rita?” Ash said as he exited the rest of the way from the building. After walking down the small flight of stone steps he was about to step in the usual direction until the fierce feline spoke out.

“Not that way, Ash.” She said to him to get his attention. “Didn’t you hear him, the rest of them are already there?” She questioned and should have known that this was going to happen since everyone had one of his outfits.

“So, I’m sure that they won’t mind moving out of the way so we can go somewhere.” Ash said to her in a confident tone. The feline knew that the boy meant well, but there were times that he could be a little dense.

“I’m not so sure of that, Ash. I do know of another way out of here.” She stated and explained to him. The raven haired warrior turned his head to face her with a curious look in his eyes. “It’ll be fine. Just follow my instructions, don’t make a scene, and we should be fine.” The green eyed one said to him.

“Alright, Rita, I trust you.” He said to her, and with that they headed out. Sadly, no sooner then they made their tenth step that one of the girls spotted them.

‘There he is.’ The mink thought before saying to the others. “You know I don’t think he’s coming this way…maybe.” She started to say, but stopped when a rather large snake slithered over to them and whispered something in his mistress.

“What!” She shouted in surprise once the message was delivered. She looked in the direction her minion told her about. “He’s over there.” She shouted to them causing all to turn in the direction she was pointing.

‘So much for him being my target only.’ Minerva thought before finishing with, ‘I’ll just have to be faster than them.’ That thought finished the lot of them headed over to the boy.

“I didn’t know that the studio had earthquakes.” Ketchum said when he felt his shoes begin to shake. When the vibrations hit his traveling partner she decided to turn and saw that it was everyone else heading straight for them.

“Don’t just stand there, Ash. Run.” The feline shouted at him, and he did as she said. Even with his impressive speed the others still stay in pace with him no matter how many turns the cat told him to take.

“It’sss time, my pet.” Cobra Queen said to the brown boa creature beside her. As soon as he heard that the beast began to rise up while slithering, and of course this movement was noticing by one of Ash’s closest friends - Minerva Mink.

“Aw, no you don’t.” She said and gently grabbed the circular surface, and then leapt on to it. ‘If this lady this crazy stunt will work; she has another thing coming.’ The white furred beauty thought before running upward.

“What is wrong with you, worm?” She questioned to her servant after seeing his eyes went from focused to very pleased. ‘It couldn’t be.’ She thought before turning to face the white/blonde creature that all guys sat down and took notice of.

“Did you honestly think that this would work?” The friend of the fighter questioned since she believed that she deserved a straight answer.

“Because that kid, Ash, needs a real woman not some plush toy with attitude.” The serpent seductress said with a calm smile. She saw the other angered over what was said, and was trying her best not to blow, but was not succeeding.

“What did you say?” The beastly beauty questioned with her eyes flaring with anger.

“I said…” That was as far as she got in terms of repeating herself since the mink starting to fight with the other. The snake they were riding could not seem to continue to travel with the fight going on, so he bucked them off.

‘I’m going to get yelled at - I know, but it had to be done.’ The brown scaled one thought as he watched the two fall. As they continued to fight Ash heard the commotion above him.

“I’ve got to save them.” He said causing the cat to turn at him with an ‘are you nuts’ expression, but he did it just the same. He changed his stance from standing to bracing with both arms at the ready. He was able to stretch his arms in the angry cloud of dust and pulled them apart.

“Listen, I don’t want Ash to have a latex fetish, so for the last time - go away.” The one hanging on his left hand shouted in rage.

“I wasn’t going to go for latex. I wanted to see if he looked good in leather jacket.” The scaly one shouted back as she hung by the man in question’s right hand. It was then the ref stepped in.

“Can you talk as though I’m not in the same area.” The trainer said to the two of them causing them to stop arguing and face him. At the same time the two of them saw his smile and gentle feel in his eyes the two stopped their arguing…for the moment. “Now, I guess you girls want to help me with my clothes?” He questioned all of them once the rest were where they were

“Yeah, we thought you might like some company to do that.” A blonde haired girl said to the hero who gently placed both girls feet on the ground. He smiled at her since he liked that idea, and these ladies really seemed genuine.

“Okay, you two can come.” Ketchum said to the lot of them before turning on his heels. They followed after him despite the cat’s surprised jaw expression.

“I better go after them so they don’t get something too out there for him.” The cat whispered before running after them. The walk outside the studio was not too impressive just small talk to one another and the monster tamer listening to them. It was not until they were outside the wall, and halfway to the store that one of them brought up an important statement.

“What kind of clothes are you interested in, Ash?” Katie Ka-Boom, a girl with a hulking out problem, questioned to him calmly. This brought all of them in a truthful thinking since all of the images running through their minds were outfits that they thought he would look good in.

“She does bring up a good point. So, how about it, Ash, what do you like in terms of style?” Another blonde by the name of Steph questioned since she really wanted to know what he thought of fashion before getting him anything.

“Style? I don’t really worry about fads or anything like that. Just an average hat, a T-shirt, jeans, and maybe a pair of sneakers.” The raven haired youth said back to her since he really didn’t care about looks or fashion.

‘That’s easy enough.’ Dot thought to herself even though a piece of her wondered what he would look like in the royal attire from their one and only movie - Wakko’s Wish. The rest of the trip was left with silence as all of them were thinking over what top would look good on him.

“So…this is your world’s store, huh?” The trainer questioned after getting an eyeful of the rather large building before him. ‘It’s as tall as that store Whitney showed us, but at the same time it’s as wide as the Celadon City store.’ The traveler thought before walking in, and no sooner then his hand touched the doorknob that he found himself in front of the clothes store.

‘Now time to find something for my man.’ The leather skinned lady thought while looking through the shirts. She had just found a very nice solid navy blue T-Shirt when the woman sensed something a looked up.

“How about that guy wear one of my colors.” The snake, who had to stay outside due to his size, said in his native tongue while looking at his mistress through a skylight window.

“Alright. I will.” She told her servant before moving onto the shoe section of the store. As she was doing that the others were also trying to find the right thing for him, and prayed that he would like what they had picked out for him. Not wanting them to got through so much trouble and him not doing a thing Ash, with Rita on his shoulder, checked out the jeans.

‘Those girls can pick out whatever they want this human will look good in anything.’ The feline thought before watching him looking at a pair that he might want.

“These feel just like my usual ones.” Ketchum said with a smile, and decided to dash off to the changing room to see how they fit, but as soon as he got inside the hero suddenly remembered his traveling buddy…a little too late. “There that takes care of my old jeans now to give these a try.” He said and was about to try on the new pair until a voice spoke to him.

“Uh…Ash I don’t think I should be in here.” Rita explained while trying to keep her blush to herself since she was now getting an eyeful of the trainer’s boxer shorts. This comment the boy in question to turn and face her.

“What do you mean, Rita?” He questioned to her since he never did feel awkward when she was around so why was she being like this now. Unable to look him in the eye she simply pointed down with her paw. ‘Look down?’ He questioned to himself before doing so and realized the problem.

‘Finally you get it.’ The feline thought as she felt his hands under her two front legs, and after opening the door he placed her on the floor.

“I think your right. It’s better if you just stay out there.” He said to her before shutting the door with an embarrassed red face. Unknown to him, she too had that same tone of red on her fur, but was able to hold it when she heard the sound of hangers rattling.

‘Sounds like they’re almost done.’ The cat thought in annoyance since they all probably got something perverted. The others in question were actually doing quite nicely - even Minerva who was checking out sports gear even though at first she spent a good ten minutes in the Speedo section.

‘I shouldn’t go with something like those. I am trying to impress Ash, and those would do the opposite.’ The mink thought as she was looking at their sneakers. In truth she was not like that, nor were the others, but sometimes primal instincts dictate them to do something different.

“These jeans fit as good as my old ones.” Ketchum said after giving them the traditional sitting test; the boy even stretched around in them, and they still felt great. “These are what I’m going to get.” The trainer said before adding, “I better see…” He was stopped by a knock on the door, and as he did he finished his comment in surprise, “…how the others are doing.” Standing before him were the ten, plus Rita, that went with him.

“You’re kind of slow aren’t you, Ash.” Katie questioned with a smile, but the boy gave them a sheepish smile before opening his door all the way.

“Yeah, I guess I am. Sorry if I kept you.” He stated and apologized to them which they answered back with shacks of their heads.

“Don’t be sorry we just have a feeling over what you want.” Steph said to him to help put his worried mind at ease. He smiled at that, and then they began starting with the Girlfeathers who was trying to keep the shirt that they picked out level on their heads.

“We got you this. We hope you like it.” Sasha, leader of the Girlfeathers, said to the hero who picked up the shirt and looked at it. The shirt was none too special except for the picture on it: a family of falcons. He closed the door and swapped out his shirt for the new shirt.

“Feels and looks great.” He said after opening the door and revealing that it fit perfectly around his body. They all had to agree that he really did look good with those Peregrine Falcons on him.

“MY TURN!” The youngest of the Warners shouted aloud causing the fellow females to cover their ears as soon as they were distracted she bolted right up to him. “Try it on. Try it on.” She said more calmly to the man she was trying to impress.

“Uh…okay, Dot.” He said to her before taking what she had picked out for him. The trainer then went inside and tried it on. In truth the monster master did not know what to make of such an article of clothing. ‘I better try it on, so I don’t hurt her feelings.’ He thought and did just that. Once it was all done the girls saw what the black and white creature picked out.

‘He looks decent, but seriously she chose that.’ Minerva thought as she looked at the out of towner. The trainer was currently wearing an old fashioned frilly 18th century outfit.

“Surely you can do better than that, Dot.” The queen of the snakes said in blunt fashion. The young lady glared at the taller woman since she did not appreciate that comment until she looked around and saw that she got disapproving looks from the others.

“Fine. Fine. I’ll find something else.” She shouted out of anger before taking the outfit and running away. The motion happened so fast that Ketchum did not realize he was in his boxers until he felt a draft.

‘She could have at least given me a chance to get out of the outfit first.’ He thought with red face. His embarrassment lasted only a few seconds due to Freakazoid’s friend pushing what she had decided on into his face.

“Try these on, Ash.” She said quickly before slamming the door shut. He looked at the pieces of clothing and knew what they were, but was not sure if they were really him. Like the last outfit he tried them on none the less.

“This outfit will really help me when ever I get back to collecting Pokemon.” He said to them as they all saw that he was now in camouflage outfit. They all knew that he was not a hunter, but he still looked good in it, and they also liked how he did not hurt the young blonde’s feelings.

“These are from Mindy and me.” Katie said to the trainer as she handed him three shirts. “The two on top are from her and the third one is one that I picked out.” She explained to him, but unlike her fellow blonde Miss Ka-Boom let Ash close the door on his own.

‘Let’s see what we got here.’ He thought and picked up the first of three. The first shirt was a red T-shirt with a blue faced man with green hair and five kids. He turned it around and saw a woman with black hair wearing a purple dress of some sort. “Pretty.” He whispered before trying it on.

“Ooh.” The young blonde said as she and the others saw the hero wearing one of two of the shirts the child has picked out. He liked the feel, and he had seen a few episodes so he knew what the characters were all about. He then went back inside and went for the second shirt.

‘This shirt reminds me that I’m not from this world.’ Ash thought in a downhearted tone when he saw a shirt with images of: dragons, rock monsters, tigers, birds, and lizard creatures, there were others but those six stuck out. ‘I still like the shirt though.’ He thought before putting on a happy face and opened the door.

“That shirt also looks good on you.” Steph said in a cheerful voice, but the others could see that he was not very happy since they knew that shirt probably made him remember his home. Luckily the last three came to his rescue and handed him the clothes they picked out.

“Here, try these on.” Hello Nurse said and handed him her outfit for him; the others did the same. He nodded and shut the door behind him. The trainer had a gut feeling that they knew he liked the shirt, but not with everything he had.

‘Maybe these will be okay.’ He thought but decided to try on the shirt Katie gave to him. The hero made a quick swap, and showed it to them.

‘I still don’t think green is a good look for him.’ Rita thought, but knew that if it was in the form of a uniform, maybe, but as standard issue outfit maybe not. The shirt Katie picked out fit her nature to a ‘t’ since it was a Hulk T-shirt.

“Now let’s try on one of the new three.” He said to them before putting on the outfit that Minerva gave to him. This outfit was simple: a red sleeveless shirt, jean shorts, and black and white sneakers. ‘No surprise that she got my shoe size right considering Brain gave it to her when he was copying my outfit.’ He thought before presenting himself to the others.

“Seems kind of ssspoty.” Cobra Queen said as she took a simple glance at it. The others thought the same thing, but at the same time they did think the look suited him due to all of his travels, and the training here he would have to be in shape.

“Time for the second one.” He said to them and then began trying on the outfit that Hello Nurse gave to him. This one was a bit more formal, but at the same time casual: white polo shirt, beige dress pants, and black dress shoes, and once he was done testing it he showed it to the spectators.

‘He does look good.’ They all thought as they saw this outfit. To them he really did look good, and to a degree even more handsome. He smiled at their happy facial expressions before going back inside.

‘That one went over well, so I wonder how they will like me in this last outfit.’ He thought as he looked at the outfit that the leather based lady gave to him. This outfit was: dark navy blue T-shirt, black jeans, and dark brown boots. Just like the others it all felt comforting on his body - even the boots.

‘Now he really looks desirable.’ Cobra Queen thought with a happy smile.

‘He looks odd without a single bright color, but at the same time not bad.’ Rita, who saw them all, thought as she looked up at him. The others were very happy over the articles of clothing that they had bought for him, and so was he. The trainer closed the door one more time, so that he could change back to his original outfit.

“Thank you for the clothes. I like them all, and since I can’t decide I guess we should take them all.” He said and got a HUGE roar of praise from his small group. “So, I guess we should ---.” He was about to say until a sharp whistle caused him to stop and hold his ears; the others followed his lead since it even hurt their ears.

“Hold everything!” Dot screamed even though she already had their attention. “I have the perfect outfit for Ash War--er, I mean Ketchum.” The young girl said while holding up a bag. “Please try it on, please.” She pleaded to the man in question.

“Okay, I will, but this will be the last one.” He said to her, and then went into the changing room for the last time. ‘Wow, this is a new one.’ He thought before putting it on. The trainer was grateful that it fit, but he was not expecting what he was putting on was from the youngest of the Warner siblings.

‘Whoa.’ The others thought as they saw the man before them. It was Ash, but the outfit that he was wearing caught them off guard - it was a tuxedo, and they all knew that it was for Wedding purposes.

“So, what do you…think?” He questioned, but stalled as he saw them dash off.
‘Gotta find it. Gotta find it.’ They all thought as they scoured throughout the clothes department, and after a few seconds came back with what they were looking for.

“Where were you guys just now?” The hero questioned them once they came back. All eleven girls knew that he wanted the truth, but they came prepared with their own cover story.

“We just decided to get some casual T-shirts. Hope you don’t mind Ash.” The young mink said to him while holding the item up to him. Unable to get mad at friends he just smiled and said back to her:

“Just warn me when you girls leave. I’d hate for anything bad to happen to you.” The group of eleven sighed after hearing him say that; believing that it was for them alone. Once he changed back into his original outfit they paid and left for the studio.

“Are you sure that you like what we got you?” Katie questioned to him in concern since she did not want to disappoint him. The monster tamer looked at her with a kind smile, and let his face answer her question for him - which it did.

“Thanks again, all, but I think we should call it a day.” Ash said to them once they were back in the studio. “Let’s go home, Rita.” He said to the gray furred wonder who eagerly followed him inside.

“Home. What a wonderful word.’ She thought before entering the building. She liked the idea of being with the trainer, but she still prayed that they would not find a portal for him to go home to.

‘Do I still want to go home?’ Ash questioned to himself as he looked at the creature shirt that Mindy gave to him. The hero decided to shelve that thought for another day.

Copy Rights:
Ash Ketchum, and the others, are owned by Gamefreak/Nintendo and Cartoon Network.
Animaniacs, and the others, are owned by WB.