Author's Notes
Misty - 13
Ash - 13
May - 13
Max - 8
Brock - 18
Misty Waterflower, Cerulean Gym Leader, was in her room holding a photo of her and her closet friend Ash Ketchum and was staring at it. It had been 3 months since they had been forced to part. She had been forced to come back home and take over as Gym Leader as her sisters had won a trip around the world. Misty had been told by Delia that Ash had gone onto the Hoenn Region. Misty wasn't surprised at this. She had seen the interest that was Ash's eyes when he heard about the Hoenn Region from their friend Harrison while they were at the Silver Conference. Misty sighed and put the photo back down on her desk. She then went over lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling and remembered the day she first met Ash.
Flashback
3 years ago
Misty POV
I was sitting near waterfall fishing. I felt a tug on my line. So I pulled in the line and instead of water Pokémon like I was expecting I got a boy about my age holding a Pikachu. I saw his Pikachu looked injured. I said to the boy "Your Pikachu is injured you need to get it to a Pokémon Centre straight away". He then got up grabbed by bike and put his Pikachu in the basket. He then rode off on my bike and I yelled at him "That's my bike!" The kid yelled back at me "I'll give it back someday". Suddenly a storm appeared out of nowhere and I went and sort shelter from the rain. Not long after I found shelter from the rain the storm disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I then decided to head to Viridian City. On the way to Viridian City I saw a bike blacken and charred. I then realised that this was my bike and I muttered angrily "I'm going to kill that kid when I see him". Carrying my bike I rushed to Viridian City. I arrived in Viridian City that night and started looking for the kid with the Pikachu. I decided to check the Pokémon centre first since that kid's Pikachu was injured. I entered the Pokémon Centre and saw the kid sitting on a couch in the lobby. I walked over to him held my bike aloft and said angrily "Kid look what you did to my bike". The kid looked at my bike then at me and said in a scared tone "Look I'm sorry about your bike," then his tone changed from scared to concerned "but right now I'm really worried about Pikachu". I asked him in a softer tone "How is your Pikachu doing?" He looked surprised at my sudden attitude change but he answered me "I don't know". Suddenly Nurse Joy came out wheeling a Pikachu. The kid ran over with concern all over his face, I followed after him. He asked "Nurse Joy how is Pikachu"? The nurse replied "Pikachu is fine all it needs is some rest now". I saw the relief written all over his face. I saw just how much he cared about Pokémon. And in that realisation the first flutters of love entered my heart.
End Flashback
Normal POV
And that was how her adventures with Ash started. Misty then remembered some of her most treasured memories of Ash. One of her favourite memories was of at the festival at Maiden's Peak where she and Ash shared a dance. Another of her treasured memories was when Ash awoke after being knocked out by a falling chandelier and the relief she felt. Another of her treasured memories was when she was wearing that skimpy stage outfit when she was that weirdo magician's stage assistant and Ash teasingly complimented her. That memory still brought a deep blush to her face every time she thought about it. Misty though back to the parting with Ash three months ago. That parting made her realise just how deeply she loved Ash, so when Brock gave Ash that lunchbox(A/N in Japan wrapping a handkerchief around a lunch box that mothers do for their children and wives for their husbands) to she decided to wrap her handkerchief around it to show Ash what he meant to her. Misty wondered if Ash still had the handkerchief or if he understood the meaning behind it. Just then she heard knocking on the front door of the gym.
Misty picked up Togepi who was sleeping on her bed and headed downstairs to answer the door. Misty opened the door and got quite a shock. In front of her was a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder. "Ash…" she said as her voice trailed off. "Hey Mist" Ash said cheerfully. Misty felt her heart skip a beat when Ash called her Mist. "Ash wha-what are you doing here? I thought you were travelling through Hoenn" Misty stammered out. Ash answered "I was but while I travelled through Hoenn I realised something but I'll discuss that with you tomorrow. For now I just want to catch up and introduce you to my new friends". Misty asked in a confused voice "New friends"? She looked over Ash's shoulder and saw three people, a young man who she was familiar with, a young girl who was quite pretty and about the same age as Ash and herself and a young boy about 8 or 9. When Misty looked at the girl she felt a flare of jealousy but she managed to control it. Ash pointed at the girl and said cheerfully "Mist, this is May and she's just staring out as a trainer. How I met her is a funny story actually," he then pointed at the young boy and continued "and this is her brother Max". Misty then walked over and introduced herself to May and Max. Misty then asked politely "Would you like to come in?" Everybody nodded yes and the five of them entered the Cerulean Gym.
A/N
You will find out what realisation Ash made in the next chapter
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