MarioBoss365 here and with another Pokeshipping fan fiction! This time, I decided to write my version of that one episode that made me get misty-eyed (no pun intended) every time I saw it: "Gotta Catch Ya Later!" It pained me to see Misty go especially the way she did. I would've taken it better if Misty at least made a special appearance like on the phone with Ash every once in a while but NOOO! (Sigh) So anyways I want to share with you guys what I believed should've actually happened. There will be of course Pokeshipping, but whether or not I decided to put them together at their departure or not is a mystery I won't reveal. You'll just have to read and see. In the meantime, here is chapter one. Don't forget to review.

I of course don't own Pokémon.. BECAUSE THEN THIS EPISODE WOULDN'T EVEN EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE!


Chapter 1: The Phone Call

Ages:

Ash- 13

Misty- 14

Brock- 17

Nurse Joy- 21

Daisy- 19

Lily- 18

Violet- 17

Jessie- 22

James- 22

Delia- 32

Professor Oak- 58

Gary- 13

Tracey- 17

May- 10

Max- 7

Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, and every other Pokémon that appears in this story- ?

After finishing the Johto League, our heroes Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower, and Brock Slate return to Viridian City, leaving one adventure behind them and getting ready to start a new one.

"There it is, guys!" 13 year old Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum yelled excitedly as he pointed towards a building just down the hill they were standing on. "The new Viridian City Pokémon Center! We're almost there!"

"Pika!" Ash's starter Pokémon Pikachu said happily from on top of Ash's shoulder.

"YES! NURSE JOY, HERE I COME!" 17 year old Brock Slate made an attempt to dash strait over to the center and strait up propose to one of the many Nurse Joys on the planet but was stopped in his tracks by 14 year old Misty Waterflower pulling him back by his ear.

"Cool it, Brock," the red headed girl of the group said disapprovingly towards her older best friend. "I would rather NOT get kicked out of public places because of your uncontrollable hormones." She then dropped Brock behind her and Ash as they continued walking down towards the Pokémon Center. She smiled towards her other best friend as they continued walking side by side. "Well Ash, just so you know, they spent a fortune on building the new Center so don't go destroying this one," she warned playfully.

"Hey, now wait a minute!" Ash yelled defensively. "That was Team Rocket's fault!"

"Really? I don't remember Team Rocket having Pikachu use my already barbequed bike to power up a Pikachu-powered generator and strike themselves with a Thunderbolt that not only blasted them off for the first time, but destroyed the place to begin with."

"I.. uh... well... it's not like I MEANT for the attack to destroy the center."

"You didn't exactly mean to destroy my bike either I'm sure, but you still did it," Misty countered with a wink.

Ash groaned in exasperation. "Are we really still hung up on that?"

"Ash Ketchum, you should seriously know by now that I'm not letting it go until you pay me back."

"Humph. Well, if you keep pestering me about like you do, I won't pay you back until pigs fly." Ash smiled proudly as he believed Misty had no way to respond to that "clever" move.

He thought wrong, however, as Misty grinned devilishly, looked up and yelled, "Ash look! Flying pigs!"

Startled, Ash quickly started looking above him for signs of flying pigs anywhere. "Huh?! Where?!" Without warning, Misty snatched Ash's hat off his head and dashed off towards the Pokémon Center. "HEY!" Misty started laughing as Ash chased after her, yelling at her and laughing, "MISTY! GIVE ME MY HAT BACK!"

"YOU HAVE TO CATCH ME FIRST, KETCHUM!" Misty taunted.

"Oh brother," Brock sighed as he tried to keep up with his two younger companions. He was used to his two younger friends' little banters by now, as he had been traveling with them for years now, only being absent for six months in between that time. However, he was glad they were a lot less violent than they used to be.

Ash and Misty's relationship had grown so much since the day they first met. At first they clearly hated and couldn't stand the sight of each other and the only reason they were even traveling together in the first place was because Ash owed Misty a bike he had accidentally destroyed while in the process of taking an injured Pikachu to the original Viridian City Pokémon Center. But as time went by, Ash and Misty started to grow closer and closer until they went from strangers who didn't want anything to do with each other to best friends who were barely ever seen not together. They always relied on each other, always had each other's back no matter what the situation was, always cheered each other on during Pokémon battles, always were battling partners in tag team battles, did pretty much everything together, and were always there for each other whenever one of them were in trouble or just needed someone to talk to. They still argued on and on, but they were more playful and teasingly than actually insulting and hurtful like at the beginning. The two had grown so close, that just about everyone they met along their journey together had mistook them as a couple, which Ash and Misty always quickly denied. And yet deep down, even though neither of them were willing to admit it, both of them had secretly grown a little crush on each other that along the roads of their journeys together grew into something so much more...

Ash had finally caught up to Misty just as they reached the Pokémon Center, with Brock and Pikachu not too far behind. "Why do you always do things like this to me?" Ash whined as he put his hat back on his head.

"Because, its fun," Misty countered, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Alright guys, settle down," Brock instructed. "I would rather NOT get kicked out of public places because of your bickering with each other." Misty glared at him for using something she said against her but said nothing and turned to enter the Center with Ash and Brock right beside her. They went in to see the familiar scene of Nurse Joy behind her desk and a Chancey not far from her. As was per usual, Brock went straight into girl-crazy mode and ran right over to Nurse Joy's desk before Ash or Misty could even react. "Oh Nurse Joy!" Brock exclaimed with hearts in his eyes as he stood in front of the nurse's desk. "Remember me, my lovely flower?"

"Oh dear god," both Ash and Misty groaned exasperated, both with sweatdrops on their heads.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not the usual Nurse Joy who works here," Joy answered sweetly. "That was my sister you met who regularly works here."

"Oh," Brock said, somewhat disappointed. But it didn't last long as he perked up again and stared lovingly into the bewildered nurse's eyes. "But that's ok, because you're the most beautiful out of all the Nurse Joys in the whole world. Would you fulfill your duty as a nurse and heal my aching heart with your love?" But unfortunately for the love-stricken Brock, the only response he got in return was Misty pulling him by the ear yet again.

"The only thing you need medical treatment for is your head," the red head said disapprovingly at the breeder. Joy, Ash, and Pikachu all sweatdropped.

"Sorry about that, Nurse Joy," Ash apologized sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyways, could you recharge my Pokémon for me?"

It took a second, but then Nurse Joy recovered and smiled sweetly at the teen. "Of course, young man," she said as she took the Pokéballs and Pikachu from him to be recharged. It was then however that she got a very good look at him. "Hey aren't you Ash Ketchum?"

Letting his ego get the best of him, Ash stiffened his chest out proudly and said, "Why yes, yes I am."

"Oh wow. I've heard so much about you. You just finished the Johto League, didn't you?"

"Yes ma'am. Though we didn't exactly win." Ash looked down at his feet, his ego killed. He was clearly still disappointed that he didn't win his latest Pokémon tournament and that didn't go unnoticed by Nurse Joy.

"Don't let that get you down, young man. As I recall you placed fairly well at Johto. And besides, there will be more tournaments in the future."

Ash smiled again at that. "Thanks Nurse Joy."

"Careful, Nurse Joy," Misty suddenly said in a playful tone, coming back from wherever she deposited Brock. "If you fill his head with too many complements, his head might explode."

"Oh ha, ha, ha," Ash said. rolling his eyes. Misty countered by simply sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "By the way, Nurse Joy, are there any rooms available for us to stay in for the night?"

"Certainly, Ash. We have two rooms available. You may go and see which one suits you." She then held out two room keys.

"Hey thanks, Nurse Joy!" He then grabbed both keys and started walking towards where the rooms were, only to turn around to face Misty. "Come on, Mist. Let's go check them out."

Misty blushed a light pink at his nickname for her, but managed to keep her composure under control. "Ok, Ash."

"Wait a minute." Nurse Joy suddenly said. "Misty? As in Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City?"

Misty turned around to face the nurse. "Yes ma'am, I'm Misty Waterflower," she replied politely.

"Now there's a head that WILL explode," Ash laughed, earning him a hit on the head with the infamous Mallet of Doom.

"Anyways," she hissed as she glared down at the injured trainer but then changed her tone as she looked up and smiled sweetly at Nurse Joy. "Yes, I'm Misty of Cerulean City."

"I have a phone message for you."

Misty blinked. "A phone message? From who?"

"Your sisters, actually."

"My sisters?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. They called just a little bit ago before you arrived asked for you to call them back as soon as you got to the Pokémon Center."

"Oh ok. Thanks, Nurse Joy."

"No problem, Miss Waterflower."

By this time, Ash had recovered form the earlier blow and saw Misty heading over in the opposite direction. Curious, he called out to her. "Hey Mist, where're you going?"

Misty, who had apparently forgotten Ash's smart comment earlier, turned around and faced him "My sisters called earlier before we got here. I need to call them back."

"Oh ok. I'm gonna go check those rooms now. Catch ya' later?"

Misty smiled. "You bet." At that point, Ash and Pikachu went to check the rooms. Misty watched the boy she secretly loved as he walked away until he was out of view. She then walked over to where the video phones were located in the lobby. This is odd, she thought. Why would my sisters call ME? I'm normally the one to call them. I wonder what they want this time? Oh, they better not be calling me to say that they accidently blew up the gym... again. I swear I'm the only responsible and mature one in the family.

Misty sighed. Its not that she hated her older sisters or anything like that. She did love them. But that didn't excuse the simple fact that Daisy, Lily, and Violet Waterflower were all royal pains in Misty's neck. The Sensational Sisters, as was their stage title, were the Gym Leaders of the Cerulean City Gym but spent most of their time putting on water shows and modeling. When it came to be Gym Leaders, all they ever did was give away the badges without even battling the challengers. It drove Misty crazy that all they cared about was the way they looked and their popularity. Misty, being a tomboy, didn't care about fashion or glamour or anything else her sisters enjoyed. They often teased her about that, amongst other things like her being the "runt of the litter" and her so called "secret" crush on Ash. It just seemed like no matter what they did, the Sensational Sisters always somehow found a way to get under their baby sister's skin. Nevertheless, Misty reluctantly sat down in front of the first vidphone she came to, sat her Togepi down on the vidphone's desk, dialed the gym's number, and waited for one of her sisters, most likely Daisy the oldest, to answer.

After what felt like forever, the screen on the vidphone's monitor showed an image of Daisy on the other line back at the gym, smiling excitedly and holding what looked like... cruise tickets?

"MISTY! I HAVE SOME IMPORTANT NEWS! YOU'LL, LIKE, NEVER GUESS WHAT, LIKE, HAPPENED TO US!" Daisy squealed excitedly.

"Is this anything that quite possibly is gonna cost me an arm and a leg?" Misty asked, clearly not amused. "Because if it is, I'm not interested."

"NO, NO! YOU'LL, LIKE, ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What is it that's so important that you actually had took the time and effort to walk all the way over to the phone and call me?"

"SEE THESE?!" Daisy squealed loudly, holding up the tickets in her hands. "CAN YOU, LIKE, GUESS WHAT THEY ARE?!"

Daisy's squeals of excitement were getting so loud by now, that Misty had to remove the phone from her ear to keep herself from going half deaf. Once the ringing in her ear ended she placed the receiver back so she could answer. "First of all, Daisy, you need to quiet down a lot before you wake up the other time zones with your boom box for a voice." Now it was Daisy's turn to roll her eyes. "And to answer your question," she then turned her attention to the tickets and continued sarcastically, "it may be a trick question, but by the looks of them, they seem to be cruise tickets."

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Daisy responded a little quieter, completely ignoring her baby sister's sarcasm. "LILY, VIOLET, AND I HAD PLACED 3RD IN A BEAUTY CONTEST AND AS A PRIZE WE WON A TWO-YEAR CRUISE AROUND THE WORLD!" In the background behind Daisy, Misty could see her two other sisters were already packing.

"Whoop-dee-doo," Misty replied sarcastically. "And just HOW does this affect me exactly? And who exactly will be watching over the gym while you're gone?"

"THIS IS THE PART YOU'LL LOVE, SIS! WE FIGURED YOU WOULDN'T, LIKE, WANT TO JOIN US SO YOU GET TO STAY HOME AND, LIKE, TAKE CARE OF THE CERLUEAN GYM WHILE WE'RE AWAY!"

Misty's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the phone out of her hands. "W-WAIT, WHAT?!"

"ISN'T THIS, LIKE, JUST A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU, SIS? YOU FINALLY GET TO, LIKE, TOTALLY DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH THE PLACE WHILE WE'RE GONE AND FINALLY DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT WITH YOUR TIME INSTEAD OF, LIKE, WALKING THROUGH BUG-INFESTED FORESTS! MAYBE EVEN BECOME THAT WATER POKEMON MASTER YOU ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT BECOMING!"

"HEY! HOLD ON A MINUTE!" Misty tried to say pleadingly, but Daisy wasn't listening.

"WE LEAVE IN A FEW DAYS SO MAKE SURE YOU, LIKE, START FOR HOME TOMORROW! SEE YA THEN!" At with that, Daisy hung up.

Misty just sat there staring at the blank screen, completely shocked. When she finally registered what had just occurred, she covered her mouth with her hands and held back the incoming tears as she realized what was about to happen.

No.. p-please no... this... this... can't be happening... n-not now...

"Hey, there you are, Misty," said a voice from behind. It was Brock. "Ash and I finally chose a room. Well more like I chose it. You know how Ash is." He gave a chuckle at the end, but stopped when he realized Misty hadn't turned around or even responded. Brock suddenly became concern. "Hey Misty, is everything all right?" Still no response. Now really concern, the older teen placed a hand on her shoulder. "Misty?"

That snapped her out of her trance, She quickly wiped the tears that threatened to fall and turned around to face Brock. She then picked up Togepi and stood up, plastering on the fakest smile ever seen.

"Oh, I-I'm s-sorry, Brock. Did you s-say something?" she chocked, trying to sound pleasant and happy, which was hard since she was now far from it.

Brock didn't buy her act anyway and asked again, with worry and concern in his voice. "Misty, is something wrong? You look like you were just about to cry."

"N-Nothing's wrong, Brock," she lied. "I'm fine. I-I-"

"HEY MISTY!" Both Misty and Brock turned their attention towards the source of the voice where they saw Ash walking back into the lobby bringing in with him a wide smile on his face and... Misty's bike?!

Misty gasped and covered her mouth again, the tears once again threatening to pour.

No.. it... can't... be...

However, Ash mistook Misty's sadden expression for a surprised reaction like she had just gotten that one birthday present she always wanted.

"Isn't it great, Mist? The other Nurse Joy who worked here before finally got your bike fixed good as new and left it here for the new Nurse Joy to give it to us once we got here! Now you finally got your bike back and I no longer have to worry about paying you back! Sweet, huh?"

it was now at that moment, Misty had her breaking moment, and as usual, she hid her emotions with anger. "WELL, I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE EXCITED THAT I'M FINALLY OUT OF YOUR HAIR, ASH KETCHUM!' she screamed, starting to cry.

Ash's smile disappeared and was replaced with confusion and worry. "Misty, what are you talking about?"

"DON'T ACT DUMB, ASH!" Her tears were finally breaking loose "YOU JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO GET RIDE OF ME! AND NOW THAT I'M LEAVING YOU JUST RUB IT IN! WELL, I DON'T NEED TO TAKE THIS! YOU CAN JUST... YOU CAN... JUST..." Misty found herself no longer able to continue and made a mad dash past both boys out of the lobby and out the door, crying her heart out like she never cried before.

"MISTY, WAIT!" Ash cried out after her before she exited the building, but alas his cries fell on deaf ears. He then just stared in disbelief out towards the direction she had ran off, wondering what he had done this time to make her so upset. I don't understand, he thought. I thought she would've been ecstatic to get her bike back. "Was it something I said?" he asked out loud to Brock who had just walked up beside him.

"I don't think so. I think it was your bad timing."

Ash turned to face Brock and raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What do you mean bad timing?"

"When you went with Nurse Joy to pick up Misty's fixed up bike, I had walked up to her just when she got off the phone, I'm guessing, with her sisters. When I told her we found a room, she didn't respond. It was then I noticed she just starting to cry. She denied it, of course, and tried to hide it. My guess is that seeing you come in with the bike was her breaking point."

"But why?"

"It most likely has something to do with her phone call with her sisters. Plus, when she was just now yelling at you, she mentioned something about leaving."

Ash's eyes widened. "Misty's leaving?!"

"I don't know for sure, but it almost sounds like it."

Hearing this scared Ash greatly. He didn't want Misty to leave. She was his best friend, his loyal traveling partner. They had gone through so much together. He didn't want to see it end. He couldn't even imagine traveling without her. Well, he could, but it definitely wouldn't be the same. It wasn't something he wanted. Not hesitating a second longer, Ash dashed out the door and started looking for Misty, leaving Brock behind without an explanation.

He didn't need to, though. Brock knew exactly what his younger friend was up to.


Misty walked down the streets of Viridian City with her head down, sulking in her misery. But then again, she had a very good reason because as far as she was concern, her happiness in her life was just about to its untimely demise. Had it been a few years back, Misty would've instantly jumped at the chance to be the Gym Leader of Cerulean City, especially at such a young age. She could imagine herself taking down challenger after challenger with the most powerful Water Pokémon team ever trained. After all, training Water-type Pokémon as a Gym Leader for Water-type gym would be a great opportunity and would definitely help her train and reach her goal of becoming a world famous Water Pokémon Master.

Times had changed for the red headed girl, however. Sure, her dream of becoming a Water Pokémon Master was there and alive as ever. She absolutely had no intention of giving up on that. But now, she had something now that a life as a Gym Leader wouldn't be able to give her: adventure, excitement, and freedom on the road. She enjoyed traveling from place to place, meeting new people and discovering all different kinds of Pokémon, stuff she wouldn't be able to do as a Gym Leader.

But there was more to it than that, even though that was a good fraction of it. The part that hurt the most was she was going to leave behind the two most important people in her life: her best friends Brock and... Ash.

"I-I can't believe this is the end of the road for me," she cried softly to the baby Togepi in her arms. "My sisters just go and dump everything on me so they could have their fun, like how I feel means nothing to them."

"Toge?" the little baby Pokémon squeaked worriedly, looking up at his adopted mother. He had no idea what was going on except for the fact that his mommy was sad.

"The worst part is... I'm leaving behind the one boy I hold dearest to my heart. Now I'll never get the chance to tell him how I truly feel.. (sniff) Now he's probably just gonna find another girl to travel with and forget all about me."

Misty kept walking until she found herself standing in the middle of a park. She raised her head and, through her tears, she looked around and spotted a nearby bench that looked quite comfortable and relaxing to sit on. Sniffing, she made her over to the bench and sat down and then continued taking in her surroundings.

The sky above was a perfect color of blue without a cloud in the sky. Flocks of Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot flew northwards above her, all in a unique pattern. The sun shined over where there had been a lot of foot traffic; pathways to the lake, the ice cream booth, and, not too surprising, a place where Pokémon trainers could battle! Otherwise, the grass was lush and brightly colored as the new growth pushed its way through the hardened earth. This was an area full of life and joy, being enjoyed by mostly kids, their parents, and their Pokémon.

Misty managed to grow a small smile as she spotted two kids, both of whom where no older than eight years old, hanging out with each other and some Pokémon, which most likely belonged to their parents, and just having a grand ol' time. Then out of the blue, she witnessed as suddenly an argument broke out between the two. She had no idea on how or why it started, but she watched from a good enough distance to hear the ever familiar "Do not!" and Do too!" back and forth from the two bickering kids. Misty couldn't help but giggle at the sight, for she recognized as a close resemblance to how she and Ash had always been since day one. Even though the two of them had grown a lot closer since the early days on the Kanto road, the arguments never died down, just were less often and not quite as serious. And after a few minutes, or even seconds, after the arguments, the two of them always forgot they were even angry at each other and just went back to just being the best of friends. And as Misty watched the younger boy and girl, she witnessed the exact same thing happened between them as they were once again playing with their Pokémon together. She smiled as they ran off chasing an Evee, but her smile disappeared as soon as they did. Soon, there will be no more arguments. There will be no more hanging out with Ash. She was going to be leading the life of a Gym Leader from now on, leaving behind everything she loved.

And there was nothing she could do about it.


Well, there you have it. Chapter one. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it. Let me know in your reviews what you thought and if there is anything I should fix. Anyways, please don't expect chapter two up soon. My schedule right now is very hectic and I don't have as much time to write as I used to. And I still need to finish up chapter tow of my Mario fan fic! (Curse you, real life!) But don't worry, I promise to get both chapters to both stories done as soon as I can. In the meantime, review, favorite, and follow. And if you haven't yet checked out Quest for Misty yet, you can read that if you're interested. Well, that's all for now. Bye!