Pokemon Fanfic Review: The Sound of Falling Rain by DOTMW

Artwork by 清順(春コミむ３９a）

Pokemon Fanfic Review: The Sound of Falling Rain by DOTMW

I was feeling nostalgic one day that I was in the mood for browsing some Ash/Misty fanart. Ever since that ship was indefinitely sunk by canon and no signs of it ever coming back afloat, I had to rely on anything made by the fans just to see those two together. Who wouldn’t? Anyone who had grown up with the classic series way back in the beginning had actually hoped for these two to hit it off. And I’ve slaked my interest with what few doujins, fanart and half-decent fanfics the net has to offer.

I’ve found this little gem just recently. It was listed in the Fanfic Recs portion of TVTropes, recommended by Troper Sagacious Zu (thank you VERY much, by the way), and the story might as well be the best thing ever done for this pairing in a long time.

Set ten years after the start of the series (chronological time finally affecting the cast that they do grow up) and a year after the events of the Diamond & Pearl series of the anime, the cast had moved on with their lives. Gary Oak had taken over his grandpa’s research, May and Drew (along with a character import from the games) travel together participating in coordinator contests around the world, Drew had been doing the same thing on her own and has settled down in Sunsyhore, Brock’s still a Gym Leader, and as is Misty (who, by the way, had upgraded the Cerulean Gym to penultimate boss levels). While Ash…

Ash had been travelling alone the past few years, preparing for the Sinnoh Cup where he has to face Regional Champion Cynthia and that unholy beast of a GARchomp she calls a Pokemon. Only, just an hour or so before the event, he disappears. No warning, no explanation, no clue where he’s gone to or where he is. He just left, walked away. Of course, everyone else in the cast starts worrying because… Well, this is Ash. This is the kid who goes charging into things (under-leveled or not), challenging Legendaries, bringing down criminal organizations, and saving the world every big damn movie. If those things can’t break him down, then what was it that caused him to walk out like that?

And why was it that wound up on Misty’s front porch looking, by all means, broken.

I like how this fic explores not just the romance between a twenty-something Ash and Misty but also how much they and the rest of the cast mean to each other. There’s a kind of dynamic you find in a bunch of people who had traveled and gotten close together adventure after adventure, region after region, that makes it feel like they’ve developed into one big family. Though most of them are done with their adventuring days and have settled down into their own lives, they still care enough for boy and electric mouse who had brought them all together in the first place.

The fic also explores one particular topic that had the fandom theorizing and inspiring fanfics ever since the earlier seasons: Ash. Ketchum’s. Father. I won’t spoil it here, but I will admit that it isn’t the guy’s identity that’s important in this story. It’s more like his influence on the young Ash that’s more drawn on. Just what kind of guy would abandon his wife and kid, and still travels the world on a Pokemon journey? And how hard would that be on the poor kid, living with the knowledge that his dad’s out there and never came back. Plenty of issues there.

And it’s from this kind of drama that this story draws its strength from. Because other than giving us a few laughs and the excuse to have Ash and Misty together, this story explores the importance of finding closure. Disappeared dad suddenly back in your life? Old childhood crush affecting you even after all these years? Not knowing what to do when life had hit you so hard? Yeah, these things definitely need some closure.

This also provides closure for us old-time fans who had grown up pairing these two together, and I’m not kidding – not even exaggerating – that this might as well be the best thing that has ever happened to the Ash/Misty pairing. The kind of treatment we’d never get from a kid’s show. It might not be canon, sure, but hey, this is the reason why fanfics are read. Heck, this is why fanfics are even made.

Here’s the link:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5859927/1/The-Sound-of-Falling-Rain

Enjoy :)