It was her day off.
The bike was red, shiny and brand new.
A farewell present from her parents before they left.
She could still remember her mother's blue hair and the smile she always wore.
Her father had red hair like hers and a laugh that made you laugh as well.
Then, they left; heading to Cinnabar Island to research the ancient water types in the Museum.
That's when the news came.
Their boat had never arrived. A hurricane had appeared between Route's nineteen and twenty, and it was believed to have taken out the boat. It was all over the news; what a tragedy, the headlines said.
She was eight at the time.
The bike was all she had left of her parents.
Their gym was left to her older sisters; who wasted no time finding a way to merge swimming and ballet together.
Then, when she was ten, fishing for Pokémon it happened.
She had fished out an inexperienced trainer.
Whose Pikachu destroyed her bike moments later.
Her mouth dropped and when she regained her composure, decided to follow him.
"You owe me a bike," was her only statement.
He had taken away her last reminder of her parents.
It was only natural that she'd follow him.
He had tried to get rid of her with a Caterpie. She felt compassion for him when he lost Butterfree, especially Pikachu. She thought her heart was going to stop when she found him underneath the chandelier in Ghost Tower.
She had been there through the goodbye of Butterfree, Pigeotto and Lapras.
Both Brock and Tracey had come and gone.
Kanto, Orange Islands and Johto . . .
She had been right there by his side.
He had wondered what was in her mind when she tried to calm down the Tentacruel's from destroying Hutber Port. He'd thought it was amusing how hard she fought (and whined) to keep Togepi for herself. He'd been jealous when Rody from Trovita Island's tried to hit on her.
Then, before she knew it, five years had past.
Three Championship matches later; they were heading back to Pallet Town for a surprise party Delilah was putting on.
However, while relaxing in Viridian City, the news came; changing their plans.
Her sisters were taking their water ballet on tour and she was being dubbed 'tentative gym leader'.
He was going to Hoenn while she was heading home to Cerulean.
She didn't know why her heart felt like it was breaking at the thought.
As many times as she had yelled or hit him, she'd never thought of actually leaving.
This might be harder then she had originally thought. For the first time, he was heading out on adventures by himself; leaving them behind.
Shaking her head, she frowned, leaning back into the cushions. She didn't want to think of what ifs on their last day together.
"Hey Misty!" she jumped in surprise, her limbs flailing as she quickly got up. "I've got a surprise for you – come on!"
She raised an eyebrow at the black haired Pokémon Trainer as he waved her forward, heading out the automatic doors. Warily, she followed after him – she'd seen one to many of his surprises – bringing a hand up to shield her eyes as the sun beat down on them. Her companion grinned, a goofy smile on his face as he moved dramatically aside.
There wasn't a doubt about it, her jaw dropped.
Standing behind him, catching the sun's rays was a shiny, red bike.
That was the whole reason she had followed him everywhere – but somewhere along the line she had forgotten all about it.
"Ash . . ."
He just laughed, flashing her a grin. "I know you thought I forgot!"
And, the two had come full circle – all because of a shiny red bike.
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A/N;
After re-watching the Indigo League through Master Quest's ending, made me wonder about Ash and Misty && the bike that brought them together.