I kicked my foot in the water. It was just me again. Splash. Pat. Splash. I thought it should have been a new beginning. I started out alone in the first place, after all. It felt like the end. I was sixteen, how could it be the end? Oh well, it would be okay. I just had kick myself into gear, right?

I pulled my now heavy sneakers from the ocean. They made a squishing noise as I brought them to the pier. Good thing I was travelling. My mom would have my head for putting my shoes through that. I stood and hiked my backpack up my shoulder. Where to, then? There weren't any new leagues. Maybe go for the Indigo Plateau again?

Squeaky shoes, I made my way to the Pokemon Center. For now, I could rest.

The door opened for me with a smooth mechanical sound. The pink-haired nurse glanced at me.

"You said you're name was Ash, right?" she asked with the same high-pitched candy voice all Joys shared.

I nodded, "Yeah, that's me."

"You have a call," she said, with a pleasant smile, "From Daisy, I believe. A Cerulean gym leader?"

Weird. Why would she call? Misty didn't travel with me anymore. "Thanks, Nurse Joy," I said, jogging to the PC. I flipped it on. It lit up in white, before clearing into the face of a girl in her twenties – Daisy.

"God, like, what took you so long?" she said, her accent distinctly valley-girl "I've been on hold for, like, an hour."

"Sorry," I said, rubbing neck, "What's up?"

"Misty just, like, bailed on us."

"What? How?"

"She disappeared."

"Wha-?" I felt my mouth go dry, "Where could have gone?"

"Don't sound all worried," Daisy said, "She left a note way blowing us off."

"Wha-?"

"And stop saying 'what.'"

I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"It's totally her handwriting, too," Daisy said, "She wrote that, like, we needed to take responsibility. She's the one who just totally ran away."

"Does it say where she went?" I asked, voice cracking slightly, "Or why?"

"So, like, never mind that," she said, "It says she's going to Sunyshore City."

"I'm in Sunyshore!"

"Duh. That's why I called you," Daisy said, "Will you go find her and-?"

I threw the speaker piece in it's place and dashed from the Pokemon Center, barely catching the bewilderment on Nurse Joy's face.

I had made it half way down a rock paved path, before realizing I had no idea where I was going. Well, give me points for the dramatic exit. Knowing Misty, she was at the beach, anyway. I took a deep breath and again ran.

My heart stopped when I reached the open salt air. Her legs were spread in the sand, her arms supporting her weight. Her style had changed. She wore skinny jeans with soft pink converse and a comfy tank top. Her hair was tied into a single ponytail and fell down her shoulders like an orange tidal wave.

"Misty?" I murmured.

She jumped, "A-Ash!? What are you doing here."

"I was working on the Sinnoh League, remember?" I said, "Why are you here and not running your gym?"

"I-I'm on break."

"But Daisy said you ran away," I said, joining her in the sand.

She snorted, "Daisy set you up to get me back to the gym?"

"Well, yeah," I admitted, "But that's not why I was looking for you."

She scrutinized me, wearing a frown. For some reason, I spaced out trying to discern if her eyes were green or blue. Funny, it never bothered me before then.

"Ash?"

Oops. She was giving me her standard stern look; hands on hips and shoulders tensed.

"Um," I started making a miniature sand dune, "I was kind of, um, wondering why you left."

Her hands dropped and she returned to a safe neutral, "It's just – It's not my gym, okay?"

I smoothed my creation back to it's original state, "So?"

For a minute she looked indignant, but it disappeared rapidly and she hugged her legs. "Leading the gym was an amazing experience, but I felt like I was missing out," she said, "It's not what I wanted."

"You still have plenty of time to do other things," I pointed out.

"Not what I wanted to do," she whispered, resting her chin on her knee. Looking back, I don't think she meant me to hear her, but I was intent on the conversation.

"You wanted to travel with me and Brock, right?" I said, laying back on the shore.

She looked up in surprise, then slowly smiled, "Y-yeah."

"Well," I said, watching the clouds, "Brock went to medical school."

"Yeah?" she sounded surprised and slightly confused.

"Yeah, he thought it was time he went somewhere with his talents."

"Ash, will you look over here and talk to me?"

"Um." I really didn't want to. On some level, I was realizing my childhood friend was really cute and it was only processing as something really strange about her that happened to make me nervous. I sat up anyway, for fear she would decide to pull something from hammer space to hit me with.

"Okay," I said, "So, you ran away. What's your plan?"

"I don't know," she said, "I was just sick of being pushed around. I just went as far away as I could."

"To the farthest place with a good view of the ocean."

She smiled at me again - which had the effect of heating up my face. I looked away.

"I guess, I'm too predictable," she said, sounding oddly pleased.

"Anyway," I stood up, "If you don't have a plan-"

"I'm not going back."

I stared at her for a moment. "If you don't have a plan," I started again, "Then you should help me through the Kanto region, again."

She tilted her head, "What?"

"I thought I'd give the Indigo Plateau another try," I said, "And I always assumed you'd be with me when I won there."

My friend cocked her eyebrow at me.

I laughed nervously, "I mean, you and Brock, but I can't have it all."

"When you win?"

"Oh," I laughed again, "Well, I'll challenge it a thousand times if I have to, so I'll win eventually."

"With you, I doubt it."

"Hey!" I swatted at her.

"But I guess, you have a pretty good chance," Misty said, "With the two of us going and all."

She stood and took my hand in her own. Strangely, I didn't mind. It felt right in a way. Together, we walked away from the lapping waves. Together, we walked to something both familiar and new.