Chapter Two: Return to Pallet
The sun was setting on the horizon by the time Misty had reached Pallet Town. It was late summer—mid-August to be exact—and the days were getting shorter. Soon, the fall would settle in, and things at the gym would slow down for the winter. It would have been better for Ash to come home in a month or two from now, but what could Misty do?
She pedaled through the quiet town, people settling in their homes for the night. She passed Professor Oak's lab, smiling as she remembered the last time she was there. She made a point to go visit while she was here. It would be nice to see Professor Oak and his granddaughter Daisy. Perhaps Gary would be there, too. Once had had matured a bit, Gary and Misty had grown to be friends. It made her a bit sad to think that she had seen Gary more often in the past few years than Ash.
Misty finally arrived at the familiar house of Delia and Ash Ketchum. The lights were on, so she knew that someone was home. Hopping off of her bike, she noticed that not much had changed. The vegetables in Mrs. Ketchum's garden were ripe. And the area was rich in color from the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and summer squash. Misty wondered if part of the reason Mrs. Ketchum spent so much time there was to distract herself from her son's frequent absence.
There were butterflies in Misty's stomach as she pressed the doorbell. It had been a long time since she had seen her childhood friend, and she was nervous. Would he look different? Would he be taller? Her heart skipped a beat as the door opened, but her nerves settled down when she saw it was only Mrs. Ketchum.
"Hi, Misty. How are you, dear?"
"I'm okay, Mrs. Ketchum. Tracey said that Ash came home. Is he in—"
"Pikachupi!"
Pikachu came from across the sitting room and leapt into Misty's arms. The yellow mouse was happy to see its old friend. Misty was happy to see Pikachu, too.
"Hi there, Pikachu," she said, giving the Pokémon a squeeze.
"Do you want to come in, Misty? You're welcome to join us for dinner. It's just about ready."
"Thanks, Mrs. Ketchum. Dinner sounds great."
It had been a few years since Misty had been in the house, but like the outside, the inside had not changed. The sitting room was small, with the stairs toward the back. There was a small couch in the center, behind an old coffee table. There were pictures on the wall, most of them of Ash. The older pictures had the three of them: Ash and his parents. These pictures were all that Misty had ever seen of Ash's father. She had never known what had happened to him. Ash never talked about his father, and Misty had always been too timid to ask.
On one of the mantelpieces, there was the picture that they had taken that day they were in the Orange Island Archipelago. Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum had joined the three of them for the photo. She stopped to take a long look at this photo. How long had it been since this photo was taken? Had it really been twelve years? Misty was twenty-two now, and a lot had changed since she was ten. She was taller than Ash back then, and the last time she had seen him, he had surpassed her in height. Looking at this photo, it felt like she was studying another life, separate from her own.
"Ash! Dinner is ready! Come on downstairs!" Mrs. Ketchum called.
"I'm not hungry, Mom!" Ash called back, his voice deeper and richer than Misty had been accustomed to hearing.
"But, Ash!" his mother continued. "You have a friend here for you! Come down, please."
"Tell whoever it is that I'm sorry! I'm not in the mood to see anyone!"
Ash's words pierced through Misty's heart like an arrow. He did not want to see her. She had come all this way, and waited all this time to see him once more. He was slipping away from her; she felt it. Perhaps Daisy had been right. She had waited too long to tell him how she felt. Maybe it had been so long that they were not even friends anymore. It would devastate her if that happened.
"Why don't you bring him up a tray?" Mrs. Ketchum said to Misty, smiling. "He might get hungry later. It's strange. He's been moody like this ever since he got home a few days ago, but he won't tell me what's wrong. Maybe he'll talk to you. It's worth a try."
"Uh sure thing…" replied Misty.
A few minutes later, Misty carried the tray of food up the stairs, Pikachu perched on her shoulder. The butterflies in her stomach would not calm down, so the savory aroma of the food made it even worse—she wished her body would relax. They had been friends for years, and yes, Misty would admit that she did have a small crush on Ash when they were kids; however, it had been years. Misty had changed a lot, and maybe Ash had too. She had barely seen him, so maybe she would have a hard time loving the person he had become.
The house was very small, so it took her no time to reach the door leading to his bedroom. There were many nights spent in this house, especially when Ash was training for the Pokémon League the first time. Misty remembered that sometimes she and Ash would stay up late and talk. Misty told Ash more than anyone else, including Brock or her sisters. He was her best friend, and she missed him. Taking a deep breath, Misty knocked on the door before entering.
Ash was on his bed, lying on his stomach. Even though he was not upright, Misty could tell that he had grown several inches, making him tower over her by now. The bed barely even fit him anymore. He was still lean, his small muscles now defined on his body. The jet-black hair was the same—messy. He was wearing jeans and an old dark green T-shirt. Some things never changed. He wasn't looking when Misty came into the room.
"Mom, I told you. I don't want anything to eat. Would you please leav—Oh," Ash said, turning his head to face Misty.
There was an awkward pause between them. Ash was not expecting Misty to be here in his room. Seeing her in that moment made him feel guilty. He hadn't called Misty in several months or even sent a letter. He wouldn't have blamed her if she was mad at him for that. He wondered why she was here when he had been such a terrible friend. He had gone through a lot in the past few weeks, and she was the best person to talk to about this when he was ready. He had been too ashamed to call her, however.
"Hi Misty," he said, sitting up as she put the tray down on his desk. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you." She said, not sure if he wanted her here or not. "Tracey said that you came home. So here I am."
Ash took a moment to drink all of the changes in Misty in front of him. She was no longer the scrawny girl he knew from his childhood. She was also no longer the awkward teenager he remembered from the last time he saw her. Her hair was much longer, billowing down her back with locks of rich orange. She was a few inches taller than when they were kids, but she seemed to stop growing since the last time he saw her. Her face was more heart-shaped, losing a lot of its former roundness. Her eyes were the same—aqua. They seemed to entrance him, and when she gave him a sheepish smile, he felt entranced by her newly found beauty. Although he knew he should have been happy to see his best friend, this sadness hung over him like a cloud, and it hadn't gone away in weeks. The sight of Misty made him happy, but only for a fleeting moment.
"I figured that out," he remarked. "I meant why do you still want to see me? I haven't been keeping in touch with you like I should have been. I'm surprised that you're not mad at me. You should be."
"Yeah, I know," she said, taking a seat next to him on the bed. "I'm just glad you're okay. I was getting a bit worried, you know. I didn't know when I would get the next opportunity to see you and…I missed you."
She shifted in her seat, and Ash caught a whiff of her scent. The salty smell of the ocean pervaded his nose, mixed with the scents of sunscreen and wild flowers. He had missed her too. She was the friend that had always been there for him, no matter what. She had been there for him even when he lost to Richie in the Indigo League. He had been such a brat to her too, and yet, she still wanted to travel with him. He should have called her in those recent months. It would be easier to tell her what was wrong if he had done so. He had gotten all caught up in it all, neglecting his friendship with her. To tell her the reason why he hadn't been calling—well she'd be mad at him for sure.
"So," Misty continued, after waiting in silence for a minute with no reply. "Your mom says that you've seemed depressed ever since you've gotten home. What's the matter Ash?"
"Nothing," he lied.
"Hmm…" she said, tapping her forefinger against her chin, clearly in thought. "How about we have a Pokémon battle? If I win, then you tell me what's been going on. If I lose, I promise I won't pry anymore."
"No thanks, Mist. I'm not in the mood to battle."
"Ash Ketchum not wanting to have a Pokémon battle? Are you sick or something?" she asked, leaning forward, and putting her hand against his forehead. He could feel the heat rising on his face at her touch. His cheeks began to flush. Even though he was now an adult, he had a hard time keeping his emotions in check. Now that he had begun to notice the opposite sex, Misty was very distracting in front of him.
"No, no fever. Something must be wrong if you don't want to battle me. I thought the Kalos League tournament wasn't for another few months. Don't tell me I missed it? Did you lose early on? Is that it? I haven't seen you this down since you lost to Ritchie."
"No…it hasn't happened yet. I have all the badges to qualify, but I don't know if I really want to train Pokémon so much right now."
"Ash, your dream has been to become a Pokémon master since we were ten."
"Well," he responded bitterly. "Some things change."
Misty was confused. This was why he was home now? Did he really just become tired of training Pokémon and not becoming a Pokémon master? It wasn't like Ash to give up so easily. There had to be more to this story than that. There was something Ash wasn't telling her, but what exactly was it? Why wouldn't he tell her?
"I'll find some way of cheering you up, mister. I told my sisters that I would be gone for a few days, so you're stuck with me. Have you gone to see Professor Oak and your Pokémon yet?"
"Well…not really, no."
"That's what we're doing tomorrow. No excuses. Now come downstairs and have dinner with your mother who is clearly worried about you."
"Pikapi, chu pi-pika," Pikachu said, seeming to be in agreement.
Ash knew that there was no use arguing with Misty about this. To be honest, she still had the power to intimidate him, so he gave her what she wanted. Misty marched out of the room, Pikachu at her heels. Although Ash still felt rather depressed, having Misty here was oddly comforting. Ash wondered if it could possibly be nostalgia he was feeling or another emotion that was unknown to him. He stood up from his bed, his mood a little lighter before her arrival. Taking the tray back downstairs, he went to join his mother and his best friend.
