"Guess I'll be going this way…"
"Yeah.."
"Take care Ash,"
"You too Misty,"
"Will I...see you again?"
"You will...I swear."
3 Years Later...
"...and next up in the third round for the Vertress Conference is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, Kanto! He-!" Misty turned off the TV. Her older sisters sat upright. "Oh my gosh Misty! What are you doing turning off the TV like that? Ash's battle was about to start!" Daisy urged Misty to turn the TV back on. "I don't wanna watch…" Misty blankly replied. "Misty this is like the fifth Pokemon League he's been in, you have to support him." Lily demanded. "I don't care. I don't wanna watch." Misty repeated with no emotion. "Misty stop being over dramatic, he's like totally you're best friend-you can't just ignore him like that." Violet tried to persuade her.
Misty's blank cheeks turned red and tears began to fill her eyes as she stood up facing them. "I can't continue traveling because you all wanted to go on vacation huh. I can't leave Cerulean City because I'm the gym leader not you, huh. I can't just ignore him like that because I'm his friend, huh!" her voice began to get louder. "Here she goes again...why did you have to bring that up Violet?" Lily complained. "What? It's good for her to show some emotion. She's always been emotionless since Ash stopped talking to her." Violet argued. Misty's face flushed red and her voice began to crack.
"Yes you're right Violet." Misty admitted. "Ha see, I'm always right." Violet bragged. "You're right because in these past three years, while he's been traveling Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova with Brock and some other girls, I've been stuck here in Kanto, running an outdated gym, because all you guys wanna do is shop all day. I'm sick and tired of caring for people and getting nothing back it's like I don't matter to anyone since he left!" Misty yelled as she cried.
"Misty you know we care for y-" Daisy was cut off by Violet's palm in front of her face. "Not me! I stopped caring for her since she started crying everyday after we came back from vacation. 'Oh Ash I miss you so much! Ash when are you coming back? Ash why don't you talk to me?' It's just Ash, Ash, ASH you hear from her now! Just shut up and stop complaining like a little bitch Misty! Ugh!" Violet snapped.
The room stood silent. The other two sisters sat in suspense as Misty tried to fight the tears again. "What like you can leave? All your Pokemon are at the gym. You have nowhere to go, we are all you got." Violet said. Misty slowly turned around facing the door. "Go ahead, do it. I dare you." Violet pressured her. Misty couldn't hold it in anymore, after three lonely years, she broke. "I hate you Ash!" she screamed at the top of her lungs while she ran out the door.
Misty ran away covered with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't take it anymore! I'm sorry Horsea and all of you who I'm leaving behind, but I can't take it anymore! I need to get out of here!" she screamed as she ran out of Cerulean City crying. She didn't stop running until she ended up on the side of an abandoned route. The sky was cloudy and not one Pokemon let out a cry, it was completely silent.
Misty sat there with her arms hugging herself. She pouted as she thought,"Why...why did I ever let him go? I was so happy with him...it, it didn't even feel like two years...I loved him but...now he's gone." The water began to build up in her eyes again. "Why...why?!" she screamed as she broke down. "'I'll see you again someday Misty don't worry about it' why are you such a liar Ash?! You never called me once or responded to any of my letters. It's been three years with no sign of you it's almost like I'm dead to you!" Misty cried. "I miss you Ash...please I need you…" she pouted as she got up and walked to Saffron City.
. . .
Iris and all of Ash's friends in Unova congratulated him on winning the third round at the Vertress Conference. "Thanks guys! It means a lot to me that all of you are here to support me." Ash thanked them. "Duh! Of course we're gonna support you!" Iris spoke. "Yeah, that's what friends are for Ash." Cilan added. Ash smiled at his friends, not thinking once about any of his other friends that were there from the beginning, and absolutely no thought of Misty.
Ash and the group went to the Pokemon Center after the qualification rounds were over to heal their Pokemon, and by that time it was already dusk."Ash!" Nurse Joy called. "Huh? Oh what is it Nurse Joy?" he asked. "Somebody called for you earlier right after your match against Stephen. I forgot her name, but I'm pretty sure the call was from Pallet Town, Kanto." Nurse Joy explained. "Oh! It was mom! I gotta call her back!" Ash exclaimed as he jolted from the group over to the PCs and began to dial for his mom.
"Wow it's been awhile since I've seen Ash that surprised." Cilan said. "Aw Ash misses his mommy!" Iris teased. Cilan and Iris laughed, but then Ash stopped dialing on the PC. "Actually, I was kinda hoping to talk to my mom alone…" Ash said as he turned around facing them. Both of them were surprised because that was the first time Ash asked for privacy during a phone call. "It's not that I don't trust you guys, it's just that-" Ash was interrupted by Cilan. "It's alright Ash, we understand." "Yeah, you can take as long as you want; we'll be waiting for you over there!" Iris told him. Ash smiled once more as he hit the call button, "Thanks you guys, you're the best." The two walked away and Ash was alone.
The call began almost instantaneously when half of Delia's face automatically popped up on Ash's PC screen. "Ash!" she cheered. "Gah! Hi mom...not to be rude but, what's wrong with your face?" Ash asked at the corrupted image of his mother. "Oh Ash! It's the connection we have on our PC at home, it's not strong like the Pokemon Center's to reach you all the way in Unova but I just wanted to congratulate my little boy on making it so far in the Vertress Conference!" Delia replied. "Oh, and thanks mom, I can't believe I just made it to the final rounds." Ash admitted. Delia's face cleared up and she smiled, "Yay it looks like we have a good connection now! Ash I just want you to know that no matter what rank you place you'll always be a winner to me." she encouraged him. "Thanks mom, I wouldn't of made it this far if it weren't for my friends too." Ash looked over his shoulder to see Cilan and Iris sitting in the distance. "Oh that reminds me Ash! Someone important wanted to talk to you!" Delia implied. "Really! Someone else too!?" Ash got excited. "Yeah! He's right he-!" a tan hand pushed Delia out of the screen. "Is it Ash?! Out of my way! Oops… sorry …" Brock apologized. "The nerve of you!" Delia said in the background as she left the room.
"Brock!" Ash chanted. "Hey there future champ! How you feeling about the Unova League?" Brock asked. "Oh it was a tough start, but you know I'm just hoping for the best." Ash admitted. "Well I saw that battle against your Krookodile and Sawk and oh boy, Unova seems a lot tougher than any of the other leagues we've been to!" Brock added. "Yeah, I was worried that all my hard work was gonna end right there!" Ash said. "Yeah but as always, you pulled through! Congrats Ash," Brock congratulated him. "Thanks Brock, it means a lot to me that you're still there for me." Ash thanked him also.
Just as Ash was about to say goodbye and end the call, Brock shouted "WAAIIIIT! I almost forgot!" Ash jumped out then back into his seat. "Brock don't scare me like that!" "Sorry Ash, it's just something really important...it's just you listening now, right?" Brock whispered. "Yeah, why? Is it that serious?" Ash asked. "It depends on how you look at it…have you talked to Misty recently?" Brock asked. Ash was astonished as he finally remembered her. "No Brock, the last time I seen her was when we were in Hoenn with May and Max. Actually that was the last time I ever talked to her." Ash said. Brock sighed. "What why? Is something wrong with her?" Ash became paranoid. "Well, I'm not sure…" Brock admitted. "What happened to her?!" Ash yelled. Everyone in the Pokemon Center stared at him, then looked away. "What happened?" Ash asked once again, but calmly. Brock leaned closer to the PC screen.
"That's the thing! I don't know what happened to Misty...She was the first person I visited when I left you and Dawn once I came back to Kanto, but she seemed less bubbly than she used to be." Brock began. "What, are you trying to tell me that she's changed?" Ash asked. "What? No that's just the beginning. I felt bad seeing her like that so I thought 'Hey why not ask her to come with me to Ash's house to watch him during the Unova League,' but when I called her house, her sisters picked up and said that she ran away." Brock continued. "She ran away!? That's insane!" Ash whispered.
"Hold on, it gets even crazier! I was worried too, but then I thought 'Maybe she went to Ash's house to wait for him to come home from Unova,' but when I got here your mom said that she was there last time after the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh. Your mom told me that Misty left the day before you came home and told her to never to tell you that she was there." Brock explained. "What? Incredible...I can't believe that Misty cared about me that much to wait for me...but then leave…" Ash's voice trailed off. "Well according to your mom that wasn't the first time she waited for you." Brock added. Ash was surprised, "Wah?! You mean there were other times too!? And I'm barely finding out about this now!?" Ash screamed again. Everyone in the Pokemon Center stared at him again, but this time Cilan and Iris began to walk over towards Ash.
The PC screen began to get pixilated again. "Ash I think I'm starting to lose connection over here," Brock said. "No Brock you can't go now! I need to talk to you and Misty!" Ash yelled causing Cilan and Iris to walk over to him even faster. "Ash the conne-...isn't workin-" Brock's voice became laggy. "No Brock no! Tell me more! I need to know more about her!" Ash shouted as he shook the PC screen while Cilan and Iris arrived at his side. "Ash you need to calm down..." Iris pleaded. "Yeah I think it's best if you just ended the call right now." Cilan tried to convince Ash. The PC screen became more pixilated, "No no! I need to know! Talk to me Brock!" Ash roared as he continued to shake the screen. "Ash…losing you…" Brock's voice became more robotic.
"Brock where did she go!?" Ash yelled as water began to fill his eyes. Iris and Cilan grabbed his arms to prevent him from shaking the PC screen furthemore. "Ash you need to calm down!" Cilan demanded. "Brock! Tell me!" Ash yelled. "Ash let go of the screen!" Cilan yelled as he struggled to pull him away from the PC. "Ash please stop!" Iris begged. "Iris go call the others," Cilan told her. She nodded and ran away."..good….bye Ash-" the screen became engulfed in static." Ash broke free of Cilan's grip. "How long has she been gone?!" Ash shouted at the screen full of static. "Ash there's no one there!" Cilan yelled while he attempted to pull Ash away from the PC. "No he's not! He can still hear me! Brock where is she!" Ash yelled louder as his voice began to crack. "Ash stop it right now!" Cilan urged him to come to his senses, but Ash couldn't, after finally realizing how much he meant to Misty, he just couldn't.
"He's over there!" Iris pointed to Ash as Cameron and Stephen ran towards a struggling Cilan, with Virgil and Bianca trailing them. "What on earth happened to Ash?" Bianca stopped and asked Iris. "I don't know, he was talking to his friend alone then he just started freaking out saying stuff like 'Where is she? How long has she been gone?' We tried to stop him but he just won't snap out of it." Iris explained, meanwhile the other three guys caught up to Cilan and Ash.
"Brock what happened to Misty!?" Ash continued. Stephan and Cameron got a hold of Ash too and began to pull him away from the PC with Cilan. "Ash nobody is there!" Cilan yelled. "No no! You're wrong!" Ash argued while Stephen picked him up and put him over his shoulder. The pixelated screen grew smaller in the distance as Stephen walked out of the Pokemon Center with Virgil following him. "Ash! It's over!" Virgil tried to convince him. "No he's there I know it!" the tears began to drip out of his eyes.
Stephen dropped Ash in a patch of grass in an empty courtyard under the night sky. Ash tried to get up and run back into the Pokemon Center, but Virgil pushed him back down and kept him down. Stephen walked back inside with the others."Ash listen to me!" Virgil shouted, but Ash continued to yell for Brock while more tears dripped out of his brown eyes. "ASH!" Virgil roared one final time as he forced Ash to sit upright. Ash stood silent with his bottom lip trembling and tears building up in his eyes. Virgil peered into Ash's watery eyes as he softly yet swiftly laid his hands on Ash's shoulders. "It's okay...you let it out." Virgil spoke. Ash's face squinted as more tears trailed down his cheeks. He looked up at the sky with his eyes closed. "Misty!" Ash screeched and fell forward into Virgil's arms, where Virgil hugged and comforted him. "Misty!" Ash cried with all the tears pouring out. "There there...let it all out." Virgil patted Ash's back.
Ash sat there in Virgil's arms, sobbing and calling out Misty's name, regretting that he never took the chance with her. In his dejection, he vowed to tell her how he truly felt about her whenever they would cross paths again.
After crying for nearly an hour, Ash returned to Tower A and went to his room on the third floor where he rested for the following day at the Unova League. But before he fell asleep with the image of Misty in his memories, he heard a soft voice call out his name. "Huh? Is that you Iris?" Ash asked in a low voice. "Yeah...sorry if I woke you up." Iris apologized. "No, I was just trying to fall asleep, which you should do too." Ash replied. "Yeah, I guess so...goodnight Ash." Iris said from her bed. "Goodnight Iris," Ash said from his bed too. The room was silent with Cilan and Iris asleep. Ash quietly stood up from his bed and made his way to the balcony from their room, where Pikachu followed him.
Ash leaned on the rails while Pikachu sat on top. He looked at the stars remembering how he would look at them the same way he did when he and Misty traveled together.
"What are you doing sleeping out here Misty when you have a tent?"
"I always liked looking at the stars, haven't you ever noticed how beautiful they look in rural areas like this away from city lights? They're gorgeous."
"Hm? Actually, I don't think I ever have."
"Well in that case you should come sit and gaze at them with me."
"Alright…"
"What do you think of them?"
"They are actually really pretty. I never would've known how different they looked away from cities."
"Yeah. I always thought since I was little if there were more Pokemon to discover out there."
"Ha, who would've guessed that you Misty could think,"
"Take that back!"
"Ow don't hit me! I was just teasing…why do you always have to be so mean to me?"
"Sorry Ash, and...I don't know. I guess that's just the way we work. We'll yell at each other, tease each other, and pass the other's boiling point, but in the end...we'll still love each other. It'll always be like that Ash…"
Ash smiled at the memory. "Yeah, we still loved each other." he spoke then looked over to Pikachu. "You liked Misty a lot too, huh Pikachu." Ash asked his partner. "Pika pika." "Sounds like she was really something else," Iris spoke. "Gah!" Ash jumped and saw Iris standing behind him on the balcony. "How long have you been there!?" Ash asked. "Only when you talked to Pikachu...and yourself…" Iris admitted. Ash turned away and looked back at the stars. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just wanted to talk." Iris said. "Well come over here then," Ash motioned for her to stand next to him on the rail of the balcony, which she did.
"...so her name is Misty?" Iris asked. Ash smiled, "Yeah. Her name is Misty." "...was she your girlfriend?" Iris asked. Ash thought for a moment, "In a way it felt like it, but we never confirmed it." Ash explained. "What was she like?" Iris continued to ask. Ash smiled at the image of Misty in his head. "She was beautiful. She had orange hair, silky smooth skin, and eyes the color of the ocean." Ash dreamily said. Iris smiled, "Why did you guys split then?" Ash sighed, "Well she had to go back home to help her family, but instead of waiting for her I just rushed to another region to travel and, that's the way it's been for the past three years. I figured that she forgot about me or didn't care but during that phone call earlier, I found out that she still does care...so I felt bad for forgetting about her." Ash confessed.
Iris placed her hand on Ash's shoulder. "I know it might be tough dealing with all that right now during the Vertress Conference, but once it's over you'll feel better when you're back with her as a champion." Iris tried to encourage him. Ash smiled, "Thanks Iris...I just hope that none of this affects how my battle against Cameron is gonna go." Ash admitted. "Don't worry Ash you'll be great. I think you should get some rest though because I myself am pretty tired, so I'll be heading back to bed. Goodnight Ash." Iris said. "Yeah, I'll be going too." Ash replied.
"Hey Iris,"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for talking to me."
Iris smiled, "Anything for a friend Ash. Night."
"Night."