While working on my other stories the idea for this one-shot just popped up. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, only this story.

For Our Future

The beaches south of Pallet Town were always a beautiful sight. White sand stretched for miles. The crystal blue waters of the ocean seemed to flow right over the horizon. Hundreds of Pokémon ranging from Wingull and Pelipper to Tentacool and Mantine graced the beach and the waters near it. Anyone seeing this would think it an amazing sight. But for Misty Waterflower it brought nothing but painful memories.

"Why… why did I let him go?" she sighed. It had been a few months ago that she had let Ash Ketchum, boy who held the title of Pokémon Master, and the key to her heart, leave on what he called the most dangerous adventure yet. And what made it worse was that he forbade her to come with him. Of course that didn't go over well with her, as she remembered…

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"What did you say, Ash Ketchum?!" Misty yelled. She and Ash had been going out for a few months after Ash returned home from Sinnoh after wining the championship. They had had a few ups and downs but nothing too serious. That is, until right now.

"Please, Misty. Don't do this," Ash begged.

"It almost sounded like you said you didn't want me to come with you!" Misty yelled.

"I did," Ash replied.

"Well you had better have a good reason for wanting me to stay behind!" Misty replied.

"You heard what Lance said when he called. This is going to be extremely dangerous, more dangerous than anything I've faced yet," Ash explained. "Team Galactic's finally managed to get their hands on Dialga and Palkia, and that's caused Giratina to appear in this world and start causing havoc. There have been hundreds of trainers and thousands of Pokémon hurt already."

"Well if it's that dangerous then you'll need all the help you can get, which is why you need to take me along!" Misty argued.

"The fact that it's that dangerous is the reason I don't want you to come," Ash replied.

"Don't give me that, Ash! You know full well that I can take care of myself!" Misty yelled. "You just want to have all the glory for yourself!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Ash replied.

"Then what's the real reason?!" Misty asked.

"It's dangerous! That's the real reason!" Ash answered.

"I don't believe you!" Misty yelled. "Now why don't you want me there?!"

"Because I'm scared!" Ash answered.

"You're scared?! Of what?! What can scare you so much that you'd want me to stay behind?!" Misty asked.

"I'm scared I'll lose you!" That response froze her. Here was Ash Ketchum, youngest Pokémon Master in history and a boy who had encountered more legendary Pokémon than many people even knew existed, preparing to go on a mission that left him too scared to bring along the one person who was his pillar of strength… his girlfriend Misty.

"What do you mean… you're afraid you'll lose me?" Misty asked, her voice a much softer tone now.

"Misty… do you remember all those stories I told you about me, Brock and Dawn running into Team Galactic while we were in Sinnoh?" Ash asked. She nodded. Since their return both Ash and Brock had told her of their adventures, including their many run-ins with Team Galactic.

"Well, during the later parts of my journey they started to grow more and more aggressive, so much that I felt that each time we encountered them I was afraid that someone would get seriously hurt," Ash explained. "Dawn… Brock… I even felt that Pikachu and the rest of our Pokémon were constantly in danger each time we encountered them. I was always afraid that one of those times they were going to do something drastic, like take one of them hostage just to get me to cooperate."

"Oh Ash… I never knew," Misty said, finally understanding where Ash's fear was coming from. Ash just nodded.

"Now do you see why I'm against you coming along? If they somehow managed to get their hands on you I… I don't know what I'd do," Ash said. The two trainers were now face-to-face. Misty looked Ash in his eyes, and that's when she saw it. Right there was an emotion she had never seen from him… fear.

"Ash, you… you really are scared," she said.

"More scared than I've ever been of anything my entire life," Ash replied.

"But then, if it's so dangerous then why are you going?" Misty asked. Ash reached up and brought a hand to her cheek. In response Misty rested her face in his hand, closing her eyes.

"Lance said he needed strong trainers that had some experience dealing with Team Galactic," he explained. "I'm not the only one he's calling for help."

"But you're the one who I care for the most," Misty answered. "I just… I don't want to wake up one day and hear that you've been killed in battle."

"That won't happen," Ash assured her.

"But how do I know that? I don't want to doubt you but…" By now a few tears had formed in Misty's eyes, a few of them sliding down her cheek. She was just as afraid of this as Ash was, even though she wasn't one of the trainers going off to fight. In an effort to comfort her Ash pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I promise you, Mist… I will return to you," Ash said. There was something in his voice, a confidence that seemed to put her mind at ease and made her feel confident that Ash would return to her no matter what.

"Promise me… you'll be careful… and come back to me safely," she said. Ash pulled out of the hug and looked Misty in her eyes.

"You have my word… and you know that I never go back on my word," Ash said. Despite her worry Misty managed to smile.

"I love you, Ash," Misty said.

"And I love you, Misty," Ash replied. Realizing that this would be one of their final moments together for a while to two shared a passionate kiss.

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Misty sighed as the memory went through its course in her head. Though she had agreed to let him go she was still worried. Over the past few months she avoided watching or reading anything about the incident out of fear that she would hear about Ash's demise. She even tried to put her entire focus on the Gym to try and keep her mind off of Ash, but everyone could see it was taking its toll on the girl. Finally Daisy, one of Misty's older sister, convinced the young Waterflower to leave the Gym for a while. She agreed but her concern for Ash brought her to Pallet Town, or to be more specific the home of Delia Ketchum. Of course the elder Ketchum was more than willing to let Misty stay with her, which is what Misty had been doing for a while now. About three weeks ago news got out that the battle against Team Galactic was over with the evil organization going down in a definitive defeat. Hearing this Misty knew it would only be a matter of time before Ash would come back to her. In fact over the past few weeks she had come to the beaches south of Pallet Town in hopes that Ash would be there waiting for her with open arms. Unfortunately for her he had not been there. Still, she continued to come, praying that this would de the day they'd be reunited. But with each day that passed where he wasn't there her fear that he was killed grew.

"Ash… you promised you'd come back to me… you said you'd return to me… so then… where are you?" She knew that many good trainers and Pokémon had been killed during this battle, but she refused to believe that Ash was one of them. He had survived worse than this plenty of times.

"Where are you, Ash? I need you… I need you to be here with me," Misty pleaded. "Every day that you're not here is torture. I… I want you to hold me… to tell me that everything's okay… to tell me that you love me… I just want you by my side again…"

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be, Mist." Misty froze, her face a mix of shock and hopefulness. Slowly she turned around, almost afraid of what she might or might not see. There, standing there with his trademark yellow Pokémon sitting on his shoulder, was the one person she had been waiting for, the one she had prayed would return to her.

"A… Ash?"

"It's me, Misty… I'm home," he said. Misty stood there and stared, too overcome with shock to either move or speak. He looked the same as he did the day he first left. Even Pikachu looked the same.

"It's… it's him… he's come back to me…" Tears began to fill her eyes as the fact that Ash was standing there in front of her set in. Finally, unable to control herself anymore, she ran to him and threw herself into his arms, tears of happiness flowing freely.

"Ash! I… I waited for you to come back! Everyday I prayed that you'd come back to me safe!" Misty cried. Ash held her as she cried in his chest.

"There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think of you," Ash said. Pikachu let out a small 'Pika!' to make sure he hadn't been forgotten. Misty smiled and reached up to scratch him behind his ear.

"I couldn't forget about you, Pikachu," Misty said. After satisfying the small Electric type Misty turned her attention back to Ash.

"I waited for you for so long," she said.

"I'm sorry I made you wait. I would have gotten here sooner but I stayed behind to help with the injured," Ash explained. "In the end we managed to stop Team Galactic and free Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, but the cost… was much greater than we expected. Many good trainers and Pokémon lost their lives."

"I can imagine," Misty replied. "What about Lance? Did he make it back alright?" At the mention of his name Ash's head dropped and Pikachu's ears drooped, letting Misty know that what she was about to hear wasn't good.

"He… didn't make it," he said. Misty gasped in shock, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Oh no," she said. "That's horrible."

"I know, but what makes it worse is the fact that he was engaged," Ash said.

"He… was?"

"Yeah, to Claire no less," Ash replied. "In fact they had been engaged for a few months prior to the incident. They were to be married a week from today, but now…" Ash didn't need to finish, for Misty knew the outcome.

"I stopped by Blackthorn… to tell her the news," he added.

"How… did she take it?' she asked.

"I've never seen her so broken before," Ash replied. "It was like the life just left her body once I told her." Misty lowered her gaze as her heart went out to the grieving Gym Leader. She could only imagine what Claire was going through. She wondered if she would have acted similar if it had been Ash and not Lance.

"You know, Mist… seeing all this made me realize something," Ash said.

"What's that?" Misty asked.

"It made me realize just how close I came to being taken from you," he answered. "At any moment I could have been killed… and it would have been someone coming to tell you that I didn't make it instead… and I don't ever want that to happen. That's why…"

"Why what?" Misty asked, wondering why he suddenly paused. Ash looked into her eyes, almost as if he were trying to gather his strength. Seeing this Misty took hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Whatever you have to say just say it," she urged. Her words seemed to do the trick as Ash finished his earlier statement.

"That's why I decided… that this was my last journey." That was not what she was expecting at all.

"Your last… but why, Ash? I thought one of the reasons you became a trainer was so you could travel the world," Misty said.

"It was, but only with you by my side," Ash replied.

"Then I'll come with you from now on," Misty said. "We could travel like we did in the old days… just us and our Pokémon."

"I don't know, Misty. Things aren't as simple as they were back then, what with me being the Pokémon Master and all," Ash argued. "I'm going to have a lot of trainers aiming for me."

"You had that in the past as well," Misty countered.

"I've got a lot of enemies as well," Ash said.

"You've taken down Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua and Galactic," Misty countered again.

"There's my League duties," Ash said.

"You said yourself that Lance told you they'd handle everything at the League so you could continue traveling," Misty once again countered. "I don't know what you're trying to do but you have no reason to stop traveling." Ash opened his mouth to respond, but Misty gave him a look that made him think otherwise.

"Alright, Ash… why don't you want to travel anymore?" Misty asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this. Ash took a deep breath and sighed.

"I guess… it has to do with the fight against Team Galactic," Ash said. "After seeing all those trainers and Pokémon die it… it made me think… about me and how I've lived my life up to this point."

"You, think? That's a new one," Misty joked, earning a laugh out of herself and Pikachu. Seconds later Ash joined in on the laughter.

"Still cracking those same jokes from our early years," Ash said.

"They never get old," Misty said, her laughing slowly subsiding.

"No, it doesn't… and that's what I want to protect," Ash said, his demeanor becoming serious again.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Back in my early days I was reckless, jumping into every situation I came across, never considering how dangerous it was," Ash explained. "Now that I've gotten older I've come to realize that I can't take those kinds of risks anymore. I've got more important things to think of other than myself… like you."

"Oh Ash…" She had no idea just how badly affected he was. But still…

"Listen to me, Ash. You can't let your fear of 'what if' control your life," Misty said.

"But I don't want to put you in any danger," Ash argued. "If something ever happened to you I…"

"You'd come to my rescue like you always do," Misty said, interrupting him. "I have faith in you, and I know that you would never let any harm come to me."

"But what if I can't protect you? What if something happens and I'm powerless to do anything about it?" Ash asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Misty said. "For now let's not think about the 'what ifs'. We've got too much time to make up." She put her arms around the back of his neck and pressed her lips to his. Seconds later Ash responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close, deepening the kiss. They pulled away seconds later, each one with a smile on their face.

"Well now, what brought that on?" Ash asked.

"A preview of things to come," Misty replied. "After all, we've got our whole future ahead of us."

"That we do," Ash said. The two of them shared yet another kiss, this one filled with even more love and passion than the first. Seconds into it, though, Pikachu called them. The two trainers looked up and saw him standing further down the beach, waving to them.

"Guess he wants to head on home," Ash commented. "Can't blame him. It's been forever since either of us were home."

"Come on. I know your mother is going to be surprised to see you back," Misty said. With Pikachu running ahead of them Ash and Misty began their walk down the beach towards Pallet Town. Neither of them said anything, but nothing needed to be said. Just being there with the other in perfect peace was all they needed at the moment.

After all, who knew what the future was going to bring.

And there you have it. I hope you liked reading it.

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