Come With Me
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"Um, what did you say?"
"Come on an adventure with me!"
Normally, she would've said "YES!" to Ash Ketchum offering to take her back on another adventure. But he'd just landed on Charizard's back, out of the blue, and late in the evening on a summer Saturday night while her sisters were holding a party in the Cerulean Gym. To say the least, Misty had no idea what to think or say.
"Uhhhh…" the 17-year-old Water trainer trailed off, "Could you repeat that?"
"Do… you… want…"
"You don't have to go slow!"
"Whatever, do you want to come with me or not?"
Now, spontaneity and rashness were a uniquely Ash Ketchum trait. She knew NO ONE who could change his mind on a dime like Ash, and no one who could match his enthusiasm for travelling. But… "You kind of caught me at a bad time," she said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, my sisters are hosting a party right now," she said, "And you literally dropped in on us—"
"Well, an adventure doesn't have to last a long time, does it?" the teenage Ash Ketchum asked sheepishly, "We can still just fly around on Charizard, right?"
"PikachuPi, Pika!" Pikachu said eagerly.
"But, Ash," she said, "You literally just dropped in on us without calling me and warning me that I had to get ready to go off to another region with you! What am I supposed to do?"
"Why are you acting like that?" he asked.
"Maybe it's because I have responsibility now!" she replied.
"Hey! I just asked if you wanted to go on an adventure!" he said, "I can have you back in an hour!"
"Ash, adventures don't take an hour," Misty sighed.
"Well, the dictionary says that an adventure is an exciting or unusual experience," he said, "A ride on Charizard can do that."
Misty would've responded, but the fact that he just quoted the dictionary left her speechless. Had he changed? He'd certainly changed physically, since she noticed that he had some fine muscles—a bigger build! Okay, he was still a little scrawny, but he was a bit more athletic now. Getting back to the original idea, she mused about how Ash could still surprise her, even though she'd known him for seven years. It's amazing what things can do to people.
"But I'm busy," she said, "My sisters are hosting a party, and…"
"And?"
A mountain of excuses piled up in her head, but they were just that: excuses. Yes, she had a party to attend, but she wasn't having fun. There was no one she knew, they all ignored her and though she may love her sisters dearly, they seemed to have forgotten about their dear little sister for the night. The Pokemon were fed and taken care of, so there was no need to worry about them. She didn't have time to just up and go on a several months-long adventure, but…
"You know, it's not nice to just drop in on people," she said.
"Sorry," he said, "It's just that I really missed you and I wanted to see you."
Typical Ash.
She sighed. "Alright," she said, "But only for a few minutes."
"ALRIGHT!" he cheered while simultaneously hopping onto Charizard's back. "Let's go!"
"PI-KA!"
What was she thinking? This is an adventure? Still, she climbed onto Charizard's back—was he bigger than she remembered? "Isn't this kind of pushing the whole 'adventure' thing?" she asked.
"When did you become such a worry-wart?" he asked.
"I told you, when I took on responsibility!" she snapped. "What—what's that?"
"Goggles," he replied, putting his own on. "Alright, hang on tight! Charizard—"
"Wait, let me put them on first!" She fumbled with the goggles, but finally got them on and held on tight to Ash. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Alright Charizard, LET'S GO!"
Charizard roared and flapped his wings, then lifted off the ground. It was slow at first, but then Charizard quickly began to pick up speed along with altitude. Misty hung on for dear life and could not hear Ash cheering and laughing like a little kid. Misty, however, was screaming.
As Charizard went higher and higher, the screams got louder. "Okay, Misty," said Ash, "Hang on! Charizard, dive!"
"Wait, wait, wait—AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Charizard dove so fast she felt the wind literally pelting her arms and face while her hair flapped around in the wind. Ash was still laughing like a little kid. She screamed at him again, but the wind was so loud he couldn't hear her. And she couldn't hear herself, either.
But the ground was getting closer and closer, and she thought Charizard was going to hit the ground, only for the dragon-like Pokemon to swoop upwards about 10 feet off the ground, She dug her heals into her friend's Pokemon's body and kept holding on to Ash. Charizard gained a little more altitude until he was well above the Cerulean City skyline and kept a steady altitude.
She gingerly opened her eyes and noticed that they weren't flying like maniacs anymore. She looked around, then down and saw the city lights below her. "Wow," she said quietly.
"How do you like it?" he asked.
"It's beautiful!" she replied.
He chuckled and smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile back and lay her head on his back. "I knew you'd like it!" he said with that infectious laugh of his. And he certainly was. He wouldn't have done this if she didn't want to. He was just happy to see her smiling. "Want me to do a loop?"
"NO!"
Ash shrugged. "Okay, if you insist, I won't," he said.
Charizard did make a sharp turn to the right, though. Once he was sure his riders were safe, he pulled back his wings and dove again. Both Ash and Misty held on tightly. Misty screamed again, but this time it wasn't fear, it was her having fun. Charizard flew up after almost hitting one of the buildings and flew around a little bit more like he was a roller coaster.
After several minutes, Charizard landed on the ground in front of the Cerulean Gym. From the outside, it looked like nothing had changed, so Misty was sure it was okay. If not, she could always either lie or just explain things to her sisters (for some reason, she assumed they would be fine with the latter). She hopped off Charizard's back and turned to Ash. "Well, that was fun," she said, "Thanks a lot."
"Any time!" he said.
"Pika!"
"And by the way, next time," she said, "Call me next time you want me to come on an adventure."
"Okay," he said laughing, "I'm sorry."
"Oh, and," she said, "Come by tomorrow at 10:00 in the morning. I might have something planned."
"Like what?" he asked.
"You'll see," she said as she walked back into the Gym, "See you tomorrow!"
"See you," he said. "Come on Charizard, let's get back to mom's house." Charizard roared and lifted off the ground.
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Ash and Charizard dropped by the Cerulean Gym again the next morning close to 10. He hopped off Charizard's back and walked up to the Gym doors. They were locked, so he waited outside.
He heard someone knocking on the glass and saw that it was Misty. And she was carrying a backpack. "Okay, I'm ready!" she said.
"I thought you said—"
"What's the new region we're going to?" she asked.
"Well, I kinda wanted to go to the Algonkwa region," he said.
"That sounds good," she said, "I've always wanted to go there."
"Okay," he said. "Why'd you change your mind?"
"What, and miss out on an adventure?" she asked. "I need a break! Come on, let's get going! Race you to Charizard!" She laughed and ran off with Ash at first surprised, then racing to catch up.
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The end
