Thank you so much for being here! I'd like to say a huge thanks to my friend EchidnaPower for helping me a lot with the translation and to make this little fanfiction a lot better! But, some informations are importants:

Here, Ash and Misty are in their twinties. Misty is not with Togepi for a reason, if you don't know, you'll see someday :) And the thumbnail is by HollyLu :D

Well, I'm gonna be direct about this: something really weird is happening to me and it only happens when I'm with Misty. It's something that I can't even explain… My heart beats faster whenever I see her, even when she does normal stuff like brushing her hair or looking at her nails.

No, we're not fighting like we used to do when we were kids, and we're getting along very well, thank you very much! But… Since she's returned to travel with us again, she seems to be so much more than she was when she first left, you know? I feel… Really happy that we're traveling together again, like in the old days…

When Professor Oak asked us to do him a favor, we were ready and willing. He asked if we could get some Pokeballs from a friend's laboratory that was located in Fuchsia City. As Professor Oak was too busy, he asked if Brock could stay behind at his laboratory to help Tracey with his everyday tasks. That meant only Misty and I would go to Fuchsia. That's great, it'd definitely make me feel good. Oh, man...

When I got home after leaving Professor Oak's lab, I found Misty in the kitchen, laughing out loud with my mom. Hearing that laughter made my heart dance in my chest and for some reason I started to sweat… And I still wonder why that is. Leaving my tension behind, I went in to explain to her and my mom that we had a mission and that we had to leave right away.

"Just let me finish these cookies I made," Misty took off the apron she was wearing that was dirty with chocolate. "In five minutes they'll be ready to eat!"

I couldn't resist. My God, her eyes make me melt! I agreed and went upstairs to pack my stuff, only to realize my hands were shaking. When I came back to the kitchen, a bowl full of chocolate chip cookies was waiting for me on the table. Mom had apparently put out some glasses of milk. Misty, despite being the person with the strongest and most amazing personality I've ever known, sometimes needed the care and attention of a mother, like mine. The two were inseparable and I was real proud of them.

Everybody knows that Misty is infamous for being a bad cook, but lately she's been improving her skills and her cookies were at least edible. Of course, I always eat what she cooks for me so I don't hurt her. So, I ate the cookies with a big smile on my face, and it clearly made her happy. And as long as she's happy, I'm happy. Later, she packed her stuff and we left my house. She was always ready for an adventure. Of course, Pikachu was screaming a huge "PIKA-PI!" out of excitement.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a way to buy a car we could use to take us from one place to another. Sometimes, I caught myself thinking about how I wanted to take Misty to a pizzeria or for a simple walk on the beach. There must be something really wrong with me. I've never had these kinds of thoughts about her before.

It was obvious that traveling by car would be much faster and less exhausting, but walking from one city to another reminded me of when I began my journey as a Pokémon Trainer, and it satisfied me in a way that I can't explain.

The conversations between me and Misty were the best. We don't just talk about Pokemon anymore, we talk about lots of other stuff, like dreams, goals and simple things we'd like to have in our lives. For example, Misty told me she'd like to have a collection of shells from the sea. These conversations made us closer and closer and even better friends. They also made my heart beat much faster and made me sweat even more. Again, what's happening to me? Should I see a cardiologist?

Two days of traveling have passed and we were making good time and we'd get to our destination quickly. To get to Fuchsia, we'd have to go through Vermilion or we'd have to go by boat, but the tickets used to be very expensive.

When we arrived at the entrance of Vermilion City, we saw a huge crowd going throughout the city, as if a party or something was happening. When we tried to go in though, we got stopped by an Officer Jenny.

"Good afternoon, citizens! Are your names on the list?"

"List?" I asked, finding that really weird. "What list?"

"Oh, I don't think you know what's happening," said Officer Jenny. "We've closed the city for a celebration of Mother and Children's Day. Only residents, pregnant women or moms and dads with kids can get in."

What kind of rule was that?! It's okay to make a celebration for mothers and whatever, but closing the city and not letting anyone in? That's ridiculous! Completely unnecessary.

"So, we can't get in?" asked Misty, who clearly, by the look in her eyes, wasn't happy with the situation. "This is ridiculous! We need to go through this city to get to Fuchsia!"

"I'm sorry, Miss," answered Officer Jenny, shrugging. "But rules are rules and we must obey them. It's a tradition we've had for years."

"What do we do now?" Misty asked to me, looking extremely disappointed. Seeing her face broke my heart.

"You can take the boat and go to the other side," said Officer Jenny, pointing to the port.

Are you going to pay for the tickets?! I almost asked…

We thanked the Officer and turned around, stopping in a glade to think about what we could do. Pikachu decided to play in the grass a little.

"Well, Misty… Unfortunately I don't have enough money to buy the tickets, so what now? Apparently this festival will last a few days…" I was really embarrassed for not being able to pay the tickets for her, what kind of man was I, that I couldn't even buy something for Misty? I looked down and blushed, hoping she wasn't looking at me.

"Relax, Ash…" she answered, looking really comprehensive while petting Pikachu. "I wouldn't let you pay that ridiculous price anyway, we can't spend money like this if we can just walk."

She put her hand on her chin, took a deep breath and began to think about what we could do. Even this made my heart beat faster and made me swallow hard! When I get back to Pallet Town I'm definitely seeing a doctor!

"How long do you really think this festival will last, Ash?" she asked, looking at me with those deep blue-green eyes.

"I think at least three days…" I answered, sighing. "But we can't take that long, Professor Oak is in a hurry!"

"Yeah, you're right," she said. "We need to come up with a plan, and quick!"

I put my brain to work. What could we do? I didn't want to disappoint her even more that I'm already doing. Think, Ash… THINK!

When, suddenly… BOOM! Something popped into my mind and I held my breath. No way. I couldn't say it. This was the craziest idea I'd ever had. Although it was pretty good and it might work…

We wouldn't know if we didn't try.

"Misty…" I said carefully and really slowly. "I've got an idea."