Disclaimer: I do not own any pokemon characters, human and pokemon, though I do own the plot! Yay me!

Ages: Ash-15, Misty- 15, Brock- 18


Chapter One: Good Bye

"I can't believe that our Johto Journeys are over," Ash sighed, still disappointed that he hadn't won the Silver Conference. "At least I came in the top eight," he thought to himself wistfully.

Misty saw that he was still sad about his recent loss and tried to cheer him up. She gave him a slight poke in the arm and said, "Even if you didn't win the Silver Conference Ash, our journeys in Johto have proven that you're becoming more and more like a pokemon master."

Ash looked up with her with a toothy grin on his face. He was surprised that Misty of all people would give him such a compliment, though it seemed like she had been becoming nicer and nicer towards him as their travels in Johto drew to a close.

"Really? A pokemon master? Wow!" Was all he could say at the moment. His mind drifted off into a daydream where he was standing above the roaring crowds, holding a huge trophy in the air for all the world to see.

"I said like a pokemon master." Misty stormed into his daydreams and wrenched the trophy out of his hands. Ash opened his eyes to see her smirking at him. Trust a compliment from her to come with strings attached.

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"Hey!" Ash said, slightly disgruntled. "You're supposed to be on my side Pikachu!"

"Chu!" He said and leaped up into Misty's arms. She laughed and snuggled her face against his furry head.

"Think of Pikachu and me as your extra support Ash! If you head gets to big for you neck, we'll come in and shrink it!" Misty smiled at him.

"Hahaha, very funny," Ash said with a scowl.

"Hey Misty." Brock appeared behind the red head. "I just finished talking with my dad when your sisters called, and they want to talk to you. I wish they had wanted to talk to me. Aren't they sensational?" He ended with a sigh.

After smacking Brock upside the head and leaving Pikachu and Ash to laugh at him, Misty went to the telephone to talk to her sisters. "This is weird," she thought. "They never called me before. I hope Horsea and the others are all right. They better not have been neglecting my pokemon for their dumb shows!" All ready to be mad at Daisy, Lilly, and Violet, Misty was knocked off her feet when they asked her to come home.

When her sisters explained why they wanted her back however, Misty was able to believe that they hadn't been brain washed. They just wanted her to come back and run the gym while they were away on a cruise. The ship would leave in about three weeks by which time she would need to be back in Cerulean City.

They signed off as soon as they broke the news to her, leaving a rather sad and helpless Misty. "But- but- what if I don't want to go back? These years traveling with Ash and Brock have been the best of my life! I would be torn in two if I had to leave! Now of all times especially! Ash and I have finally started talking instead of just arguing all the time. I've had so much fun and so many adventures! What are Ash and Brock going to do when I'm gone? Who's going to pull Ash's butt out of trouble? Who's going to deflate his head? Who's going to cheer him on and see him become a pokemon master? Who's going to fight with him? And who's going to pull Brock off all the girls around here?" Really, if she left she was doing a disservice to all females everywhere!

Misty guessed she had been sitting there a while because she heard Ash call over to her, "Come on Misty! We have to get to Pallet soon if we want to be home in a few days!"

Misty didn't even move a muscle; she was still in complete shock. Ash noticed something was wrong when she didn't come over and start complaining about how they had just got to the pokemon center and how no one would be leaving until she was ready. When he looked over at the phones, he could see her still slumped in the chair, staring at the screen. The phone had dropped out of her hands and was on the floor.

Ash frowned, concerned, and went over to see what was wrong. "Hellloooo! Misty! Anyone home?" He waved a hand in front of her face.

That snapped her out of it. "Oh Ash! How could you be so dense and inconsiderate!" She glared up at him, eyes filled with unshed tears.

Ash hated seeing his friends in pain whether they were people or pokemon, and even more so when he was the cause of it. "I'm sorry Misty, I didn't realize that I was bugging that much."

Looking back into his hurt eyes, the girl sighed and lost all her anger. "It's not your fault Ash, I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't mean to bite your head off."

Ash was stunned for the second time that day. Misty had taken the blame herself and apologized! She still looked like she was going to cry though...

"What's wrong Mist?" He asked her.

She smiled a bit at the nickname, but that made her even sadder. How many more times would she hear it? Probably very few. "My sisters just called," Misty said, her voice very quiet. Ash had to lean down in order to hear her. "They said that I need to come home to run the gym while they go on a cruise around the world. They will be gone for a really long time." She couldn't look at him, but if she did she would have been comforted by the horrified look on her friend's face.

Misty-- gone? For a couple of years? But- but what would he do? Well, in reality, what else could he do? Pokemon were his life; it was his goal to be a pokemon master. What would happen when one of his best friends couldn't cheer him on anymore?

Brock came over to them, wondering why two such usually lively people looked like someone had died recently. "What's wrong?" The breeder asked. "Are Misty's pokemon okay? Did one of the Sensational Sisters break a nail?"

"No Brock," Misty said in a monotone. Brock blinked; he was surprised that she didn't get annoyed at his comment about her sisters. "My sisters are leaving and, and . ." Misty was still in shock.

"And she has to go." Ash turned to look at his older friend with sadness etched all over his face. "She has to go back and watch over the gym while they cruise around the world for a while."

"How long?" Brock asked simply.

"Too long. I have to be back in Cerulean by the end of three weeks," Misty's voice began to waver, and her eyes started to tear up again.

Misty's little sniffles seemed to shake Ash out of his trance. He got that determined look on his face, the one he got before each gym battle that clearly stated: "I am Ash Ketchum, and I will never give up on my friends or my dreams." He bent down and grabbed Misty's hand, not noticing her flinch in surprise at the contact. Ash pulled her up from the seat and stared at her until she looked back into his eyes.

"We'll just have to make sure that these three weeks are the best we ever had. I know that you probably miss the gym, and couldn't stand anyone else run it, but I won't have you mope in the mean time. Let's go on to Pallet Town and just enjoy ourselves while we can. We can have that vacation we always wanted." Ash tried to make his voice sound light and happy, but after the first few words, he had to settle for a forceful, commanding tone. Anything else and his voice would have cracked. That would be so embarrassing, especially in front of Misty of all people!

Misty stared right into those russet eyes and felt a little pinprick of happiness push through her sorrow. At least she had three more wonderful weeks to spend with her best friends in the world. Trying to forget the bad news, she quickly wiped the tears of weakness from her eyes and smiled hestitantly back at Ash.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go and enjoy ourselves while we still can!" A thought came to her, and Misty instantly sobered. "But, weren't you going to head out on your next pokemon quest really soon? I mean, we were just going to stop by Professor Oak's to see if he knew about any new places. I wouldn't want to hold you back from completing your dream."

"No Misty," Ash said firmly. "Pokemon are everywhere, and they always will be. There is always going to be enough time for me to run around, get into trouble, battle people, and blast team rocket off again. You are only in one place at one time, and that won't always be with me. I can postpone my journey until you are back at the gym. Did you think I have only pokemon in my brain Misty?" He smiled at her, adding a joke at the end of a very serious speech.

She laughed a little, and replied, "Well, sometimes it seems that way. You even act like a pokemon sometimes, like when you're eating!"

"Pika! Pi pikachu pika pika Chu!" Pikachu jumped up on Misty's shoulder and scolded her from there.

"Sorry pikachu! I was thinking about how pokemon like Snorlax eat, not nice ones like you!" Misty tickled the mouse under his chin.

"Hey!" Ash said, putting up an indignant front. Oh how he was going to miss arguing with Misty! "You know I only eat that much because of all the brain power I use to come up with the brilliant strategies for my battles!"

Misty snorted. "Just like old times," she thought. Perhaps if she taunted Ash she would stop feeling so sad. "Brilliant strategies huh? I guess that's why Brock and I had to give you our badges!"

"That was a long time ago, and I've come a lot farther now! I've even won the Orange Island League, so there!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Sure," Misty said, rolling her eyes as she walked to the door of the Pokemon Center. "But how many people live on those little islands? And then how many of them competed in the League? Now let's compare that to the Indigo and Johto leagues. Hmmmm, how do they compare?"

"You know what? That doesn't matter! What does matter is that I've gotten better and better. It just so happens that some other people have too. Besides . . ." Ash's voice trailed off as he followed Misty outside and kept on shouting. Brock rolled his eyes and hurried after the two teenagers. No matter what they could always pick a fight with each other. It must be like breathing to them by now. The older boy quickly jogged after them in case he was needed to referee this match just like so many others before this one.


Okay, I promise it gets more interesting, and the end is DEFINITELY fluffy! So please R&R :3