Well, sorry for the long wait, I've been busy, but here is my tenth...and unfortunately late, story! I hope you enjoy it.

-EVAN AAML

''We join our heroes on Valentine's Day in the Indogo Plateau. I wonder what surprises await them''.

''There it is, the Indogo Plateau!'', Ash said, his pal Pikachu at his side. Ash had recently competed inside of the Indogo Plateau and made it to the top 16. Afterwards, he and his friends Misty and Brock headed back to Pallet Town. But soon after, it was Valentine's Day and Ash and his friends headed back to the Indogo Plateau for a special Valentine's Day Pokemon tournament.

''I didn't expect us to be here again for awhile'', Misty said. ''Yeah, but you know Ash, always up for a challenge'', Brock said. ''So Ash, what Pokemon are you going to use?'', Misty asked. Ash staired at her blankly. ''Oh, I'm not going to compete'', Ash said. Misty and Brock nearly collapsed in shock. ''What!? But you always compete!'', Misty said shocked. ''Ash! Are you feeling alright!?'', Brock asked just as shocked. ''Yeah, I'm fine, but me and my Pokemon haven't fully recovered from the last time we where here, besides, only the top 10 in the Pokemon League are allowed to join, I was only in the top 16'', Ash said. Misty and Brock relaxed, but were still shocked at Ash's attitude. ''Yep, I'm just here to watch'', Ash said. Everyone then notticed all of the people go into the stadium. ''Well, we better hurry, we got to get good seats'', Ash said. So Pikachu, Brock, and Misty started to head in. But suddenly, Ash grabbed Misty's hand, causing her to stop. She immediatly blushed at his warm touch, but hid it. ''Misty wait'', Ash said. Misty then turned to face Ash.

''Yeah Ash?'', Misty asked. Ash then put his fingers on the tip of his hat and pulled his hat over his eyes. Misty was wondering what he was doing. She then notticed Ash blushing madly. Ash then put his hand in his pocket, making sure his hat hid his face, and from his jacket, pulled out a card tied by a lacy, pink ribbin. ''Here...Happy Valentine's Day!'', Ash said shyly. he then handed the card to Misty. When she took it, Ash walked towards Brock and Pikachu, ( who stopped to wait for them ), still blushing with his hat covering his face. Misty then looked at the card. She pulled off the pink ribbin and saw the cover of the card. It read, ''To Misty'', with drawings of all her Water Pokemon, ( in anime ). Inside of the card was a drawing of Ash and Misty, ( in anime ), with a note, ''Happy Valentine's Day''. Hearts were scattered all over the card in different shades of pink. Misty blushed and smiled at the card. She then put the ribbin back on and slipped the card in her pocket. She then ran to the others.

So Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Togepi found some seats close to the front row and sat down. The Valentine's day tournament then commenced. After the first battle, Ash and the gang started to get into what was happening. Meanwhile, 3 suspicious looking characters watched them from a safe distance. ''Well there they are'', Jessie said. ''And there it is'', James replied refering to Pikachu. ''Now it's time to swip Pikachu!'', Meowth said. They then moved closer to Ash and the gang. Little did they know that they too were under watch, by none other than Officer Jenny. The second battle was now over and and the third battle was half way through. By this time, Jessie, James, and Meowth were only a few rows behind Ash and the gang.

''Ready'', Jessie said. ''Set'', James said. ''Go!'', Meowth yelled. All three of them then jumped at Pikachu. But suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed Team Rocket. They turned to see none other than Officer Jenny. ''I remember you three, your under arrest!'', Officer Jenny said. She then started to pull them away. As they looked back at the prize they almost won, they notticed that Pikachu notticed them. Seeing their luck, Pikachu pulled the skin under his eye and stuck his toungue out. Jessie, james, and Meowth then broke free of Officer Jenny's grip and ran. ''Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!'', Team Rocket yelled, Officer Jenny right behind them.

It was now the half time and Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Togepi were in their seats. waiting for the sixth battle to start. While they were waiting, Misty looked at Ash. She loved doing this and did it every so often when Ash wasn't looking. She then remembered the card Ash gave her and pulled it out. When she did, Ash notticed it and started to blush. Misty, however, notticed him. ''Thank you for the card Ash'', Misty said. Ash blushed more. ''What's with all of the blushing?'', she asked smiling. ''Uh...what makes you think I'm blushing?'', Ash asked. Misty giggled. ''Because your face is red'', Misty said. Ash then blushed more. But then Ash thought of something.

''You know Misty, the card that I made...I made it for a reason...and I mean for more than simply getting you a gift'', Ash said. Misty wondered what he meant by this. But before she could guess, a face appeared on the huge t.v screen they use for the Pokemon battles. The man on the screen was the older man that ran the Pokemon Leagues, ( from t.v, I can't remember his name, tell me if you remember ). ''Well it's that time of year trainers! It's Valentine's Day and you know what that means! It's time to spend a special moment with the one you love, so me and the officials decided to hook up a camera around the arena, so without further adu, let's bring out...the Kiss-Cam!'', the man said as a couple from the audience appeared on the t.v, they then kissed.

Ash, Misty, and Brock gasped in shock. ''Oh man! I wish I was next to a girl!'', Brock said, ( he was next to a male stranger and the Pokemon ). Ash and Misty then looked at each other. ''You know, we're sitting next to each other'', Misty said. ''Uh huh'', Ash replied. ''So we could get chosen'', Misty explained. ''Uh huh'', Ash replied. A new couple was put on the screen, they kissed. ''You know, ususally you would move seats to not be near me if this happened, but now your, just accepting that it could happen...why?'', Misty asked. Ash looked eep into her eyes. ''Because I've got something to tell you, it's about the card and why I gave it to you'', Ash said. A older couple appeared on the screen, they kissed. ''Misty, should we get picked, what should we do?'', Ash asked, as though as he knew what she was going to say, Misty blushed. ''I think we should kiss... and...mean it'', Misty said slowly and quietly. Another couple appeared on the screen, they kissed. Ash then drew closer to Misty, Misty did the same. Ash then removed some stray hairs from Misty's face. Suddenly, they looked up and notticed that 2 new people were put on, these 2 people were Ash and Misty. Ash smiled and looked at Misty. Slowly, they started to move closer to each other. They then closed their eyes and opened their mouths. And, while everyone watched on the t.v screen, Ash and Misty kissed.

Soon, the screen recieved a new couple, but Ash and Misty continued the embrace. Eventually, they broke the kiss. They looked at each other...and smiled. ''I gave you the card because...I love you'', Ash said. Misty smiled. ''I love you too'', Misty said. They then put an arm around each other and kissed again, just as passionete and just as slow. Pikachu, Togepi, and Brock watched them and smiled. Brock then cried. ''Waah! Why did they get to be on and not me!?'', Brock cried aloud, streams of tears coming out of his eyes. Pikachu looked at him and sweatdropped, Togepi giggled. Afterwards, the Kiss-Cam ended, ( much to Brock's dismay ), and the battles continued. After the 10 battles, they had the tournament progress to the finals. The last 2 people then faced off. When a winner was decided, the old man gave the winner a trophy and everyone celebrated. Soon, people started to leave. Ash, Misty, Brock, and the Pokemon, ( whom Brock was carrying, including Pikachu ), walked out. Ash and Misty took the lead with Brock and Pokemon behind them. Ash and Misty then slowly reached for each other's hands. They soon entwined. Misty then rested her head on Ash's shoulders. Ash smiled with Misty as they walked down the road to Pallet Town during the sunset. Things were certainly going to be different now.

Well, this was probably my shortest story ever! And as ususal, here is my next stories preview. Ash and the gang head to a town, nothing going wrong, until they realize that a old nemisis is in the same town! That's right, Payback's back, and he's out for revenge again, this time though, it's more than just Ash! This story will be posted soon, and it also happens to be my first sequal, and another contestshipping as well! Please look for it!

sincerely, evan, a fan of aaml -EVAN AAML