Frontier Champion. Few have the title, and I am one of them. I finished my latest goal, and I was on my way back to Pallet from Cinnabar Island. Max and May went back to their home in Hoenn, while Brocko and I were staying in Kanto. I looked up at my friend. He was on the phone towards the end of the boat. Brock's son, Ethan, turned one a couple months back. He went home to see Ethan and his wife, Solidad, before I got my final Frontier Symbol. I could tell he was on the phone with Solidad. He was listening intently, smiling softly. I sighed.

I didn't even have a girlfriend. All those badges, Pokemon, and symbols meant nothing in my love life. Suddenly, an image of one of my friends came into my head. Misty. I hadn't seen her in a long time. The ocean was her playground, I remembered as I looked down into the clear blue water, schools of newly migrated Finneon swimming about. I felt weird thinking about her, because she probably forgot about me, anyway. The salt-stained air stung my eyes ever so slightly as I looked ahead to Pallet Town.

-

The embrace felt like nothing. She thought it would be amazing, having someone to care about her, to hug her so tight, to kiss her like she meant the world to them. Don't get her wrong – she knew she did mean the world to him. But she didn't feel as if she felt the same way. It had been six weeks and thirteen make-outs, and she still wasn't satisfied with her agreement to the relationship.

He pulled away reluctantly when his watch began to beep. "I'm sorry, Misty," the boy said, looking her in the eye. "The loser is gonna be here soon. I have to start heading back over to Pallet," Misty's pupils widened. It couldn't be.

"A-Ash?" She asked him delicately.

"Don't get any ideas, Princess," he said sarcastically, sending out his Fearow.

"He's back from challenging the Battle Frontier, isn't he, Gary?" Misty stood up from the sand.

"Surprisingly he won," Gary shrugged, setting himself on top of the bird.

"O-oh. Tell him I said hi, okay?" She asked her boyfriend as he flew away. Misty knew that Gary wouldn't tell him. She sighed and began walking back up the beach, her red Converse in hand.

She smiled. Ash could never keep anything to himself. Anytime he would have a thought, he would just say it out loud, no matter what the circumstances. He was so loud, too. Pikachu and him were the perfect match; loud, reckless, and hungry. Ash was always hungry. Misty looked up at the setting sky, taking a deep breath of salty air.

To imagine that one day they might see each other again wasn't insane, but the thought of them ever being together was. Gary was such a control freak. Even when he was training in Sinnoh, he would call every night to see what she was doing all day. It began to drag on. He would see her a couple times a week, though, coming back from Sinnoh. It made Misty wonder where he was getting the money from to keep taking the ferries.

But to see Ash like that again? I would kill.

Bare foot, she walked into Cerulean City head-on. She couldn't get the thought of Ash out of her head, and that she knew that he was only miles away. People stared at her. Misty ignored them and walked forward. She took a pair of keys out of her pocket. Suddenly, she froze, as if remembering something, and looked up. Her gym was right in front of her. She remembered battling Ash there. She ran up to the front doors, jammed the key into the lock, and flung herself inside.

She turned corners sharply, almost slipping many times. She ran up two flights of stairs and into another hall. All the way at the end was a door. Misty put a hand on it, dropping the shoes. The door was the only one of its kind. The handle was a simple bronze knob, touched by only her deceased parents and herself. Slowly, Misty turned the knob and pulled the door toward her. A breeze of ancient air flew into her face, making her cough.

A staircase of only six steep steps revealed itself. She walked up them and found herself in an attic-like enclosure. The air was hot and humid, but Misty didn't realize. She was just admiring the old setup her mom had of the private room. There was a bay window, looking over the whole city and the beach that Gary and her were just occupying. She put her hand on the warm glass and looked at the dark room again. A king-sized bed was against the wall, a desk opposite it. The bed had two sheets and a duvet. The pale green duvet was accompanied by the pale green pillows. The head board and foot board was made of polished maple wood. Same as the desk and chair.

That desk was what was most important to Misty. She walked slowly over to it, lifting a picture frame to her face. It was of Ash and her. They were the best of friends. Brock, Ash, and Misty. She heard from Ash's mom that Brock had a kid. She felt so out of the loop. She had to come back to the gym when her sisters were abandoning it, but now she feels as if she should've just left it. Misty threw her dream of traveling the world as a trainer away for being a gym leader instead. A tear fell onto the dusty frame. She set it back on the desk. She walked back down the stairs. She shut the door.

-

I couldn't go to Sinnoh just yet. There was that emptiness inside of me that I just couldn't handle anymore. As I stood at the gate of Cerulean City, I had to gather the courage for me to continue. I clenched my fists and lifted my head. I was facing the town I had once conquered with flying colors. Now comes a different challenge, and I wasn't sure that was something Pikachu could help with. I smiled softly at Pikachu. She was standing next to me, wondering why I was returning to Cerulean. I took a deep breath and began into the city, Pikachu hopping onto my shoulder.

"Pika?" What's so important here?

"Misty. I have to tell her, Pikachu."

"Pikaaa chu, pi." Don't embarrass yourself, please.

"Have a little faith in me, will you?" I looked at the Pokemon, but she only shrugged in return. I sighed and continued my trek to the gym straight ahead.

I could see people point me out from the sidewalks. I swallowed and hope they were saying good things, and not bad. Pikachu perked her ears up and jumped off my shoulder, and began to run down the street and around the corner to the gym. I chased after her.

"Pikachu!" I yelled, panting, finally catching up to her when we reached the doors. It said it was closed. Pikachu's ears fell down in disappointment, but I opened the door with ease. I looked down at my yellow mouse. "That's Misty for you."

I walked inside. It was now morning, and usually Misty was sleeping. She lived down the street, and the doors were open, so that means she was probably taking a swim. There must've been something wrong. Pikachu and I ran down the hall towards the main doors. The only noise was splashing. So she is here.

The doors to the pool were glass. I could see Misty in a new-ish looking bathing suit, jumping from the high dive. She looked so tranquil and serene as she did those flips in the air, but landing straight into the water. I smiled softly. Her hair was still in that trademark side-pony. Some things just never change. The room had no Pokemon in it, I realized as Misty began crawling up the tall ladder again. She once again did some crazy flips and landed in the water. When she returned to the surface, however, I was there to greet her.

"Hey, Misty," I smiled.

"A-Ash...?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah. Long time no see, huh?" I said, looking around. She swam over to where I was standing, stared, and then went under water. Bubbles came up for about ten seconds, and then she reappeared. She rubbed her eyes to get the water out.

"Uh, yeah," she said, still surprised. She then realized that it was me, Ash Ketchum, her best friend, standing there in front of her. "But how? I thought you were going to go to Sinnoh. I mean, as soon as Gary told you about Sinnoh, I was sure you would want to go, too...-!"

"Gary? You've been talking to him lately?" Ash interrupted me, a worried look on his face.

"Well, uh, not really."

"Are you sure? Because it sounded like you talked to him recently, too. Maybe around the past few weeks?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"And that thing on your neck...that's a...," I backed away. I shouldn't have came.

"A-a-ah!" Misty's face grew red almost immediately. "No it's not!" She denied the hickey, jumping out of the pool. "It's a, um, uh...I don't know..." She said, rubbing her neck. Dammit, Gary. It had to have been last night, right? Jesus.

"So how long have you been going out?" I gave up and sat against the wall. Misty, defeated, grabbed a towel off the ground and sat next to me.

"A month and a half or so. He's so annoying, though. That and he's always on my case. He calls me from Sinnoh, 'Hey, Mist. Who, I mean, what did you do today?'" We laughed a little.

"But you really like him, huh?"

"I guess. Well, no," she said, shifting her feet. "I guess I don't. I thought I did, because he was cute. But when he hugs me or kisses me, it just doesn't feel like what I think it should feel like." She looked at me, almost as if for advice. I just stared at her.

"I really miss you, Misty," I said finally, never moving my eye contact.

"...I miss you too, Ash. A lot. But this gym," she said, looking around. Pikachu was trying to test the water, but she didn't want to fall in, "the gym just needs me, y'know?"

"Misty, come on. When was the last time you had a battle?"

"About two weeks ago."

"See? Ever since there has been Pokemon Contests, Pokemon training hasn't been as popular. You can come with me," I grabbed her hand and stared hard into her eyes.

"Ash...I'm sorry."

"Fine. It's okay. I'm going to be in town for another couple days, but I'm heading to Sinnoh as soon as Brock gets his fill of Ethan and Solidad." I stood up and began to walk away. "Come on, Pikachu," I called, not turning around. Pikachu looked up at me, then ran over to Misty. Misty pet her and then she jumped back onto my shoulder.

"Ash." Misty said softly, running after me. I turned around as she tackled me with a hug. "Please, just don't go."

She caught me by surprise and I could feel my muscles suddenly tense. I finally relaxed and hugged her back. Her hair smelt faintly of chlorine, the smell that seemed to come natural to Misty. I wanted to stay. I would have killed to stay, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to accomplish my goal of becoming a Pokemon master without going to Sinnoh. I felt her tremble in my arms, and I didn't let go. I held her tighter. And at that very moment, the lust, the desire, the want for me to have Misty for myself was greater then any other passion I had ever felt before.