Second to last chapter! Almost there! I can't believe it! I'm actually finishing a real story haha

Standard Disclaimer applied.

In other news, my city has just got the first snow of the season! How exciting! Yes snowmachines! Woot woot XD


Chapter 9. Time Machine

"Brock, I probably just made the worst decision in my lifetime," Ash stared outside of the window, watching the skylines of Cerulean City disappear in the horizons.

His dark-skin companion did not reply, but instead buried his face in the issue of Pokemon Breeding he picked up from the station.

"Aw Brock, don't give me the silent treatment," The brown-eyed trainer sighed," And you too, Pikachu. You two have been so quiet since this morning," He pulled the magazine from Brock's hand, "Brock, you've been reading the same page for the last ten minutes."

"Neither Pikachu or I think it's right you just left like that," Brock calmly plucked the magazine from the younger trainer's hands," And yes, I think you did just make the worst decision of your life."

"Well, we have to get to Mossdeep City. Badges awaits! Battles! Pokemon," Seeing no reaction from Brock, Ash added," Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys!"

"Ash," Putting down the magazine, Brock sighed," You can't just keep running away from Misty."

"I know…but I don't know," Ash took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair idly," I…I need time, Brock."

"Pika pi chu pikachu kachu chu." Pikachu who has been pretending to sleep through all of this finally "woke up".

"Pikachu's right. You've had plenty of time. Look here, I've traveled Kanto and Johto with the two of you and it's plain you two have more than just friendship going on there. Misty has made several hints throughout the whole journey, but what have you done?"

"Uh…"
"Do you remember what you said after the bike gang battle? When she had to go back to Cerulean to take care of the gym while her sister travelled the world?"

"Uh…"
"You said," Mimicking Ash perfectly, Brock said," Misty, your bike is there. You're in a hurry, right? We were meant to meet and become friends."

Upon hearing this, Pikachu face palmed and nodded its head.

"What's wrong with what I said?" Ash asked indignantly, "I think those were perfect choice of words! You even agreed with me and said we are best friends, remember?"

"Yeah, I was making fun of you, Ash."
"What?"

"The point is," Closing the magazine, Brock looked up with a serious expression on his face," She's not going to wait around for you forever. And when that day comes…"

Ash waited for the dreaded words, but Brock just trailed off delicately.

"Well, keep going. And when that day comes, then what?"

"That's for you to decide. On that happy thought, I'm going to get some brunch. You coming for ketchup, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" The pokemon squealed and jumped onto Brock's shoulder, leaving Ash in his own misery.

"I just don't know how I actually feel…" Ash mumbled under his breath. Misty has always been his best friend, but did he really like her like that or did he just like her? Would it be taking advantage of her if they started dating without him knowing how he felt?

"I need food to think." Putting on his hat just a little harsher than usual, Ash stood up and made his way to the train café.


When they finally arrived in Mossdeep City, it was already well past midnight.

"The captain of the ferry sure was cute," Brock murmured as he unrolled his sleeping bag," I wish the ferry ride from Lilycove to here was longer. I could have gotten her phone number with the extra time." He sighed dreamily as he remembered how piercing her emerald green eyes were.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Ash muttered," Hey I'm going to use the computer downstairs real quick. Be right back." Without waiting for a reply, he scrambled to the door and all but ran out.

"Ha," With a satisfied smirk, Brock took a thermos out of his backpack and turned to Pikachu," Pikachu, I can smell victory."

Ash opened the search engine, hesitated, and typed in "sapphire singing competition". Numerous pieces of news popped up and he impatiently scrolled down the screen, looking for the piece of information he needed.

Did she make it to the final?

Finally, at the bottom of the page, beneath all the video recaps, he found an article reporting on the results of the round, "…one of the most beloved contestants did not make it to the finals despite winning the highest online vote of the night. With a record-breaking 1,389,409 votes, Misty Waterflowers walked off the stage for the final time tonight. Everyone, including myself, died a little watching her leave. Luckily, we were able to catch her before she left Celadon. Here's our exclusive interview with everyone's favorite contestant!" Without thinking twice, Ash clicked on the video.

He blinked twice as the camera focused on a familiar face. Seeing Misty dressed in a classic Cerulean City Water Show mermaid outfit stirred up an old memory inside of Ash.

When Misty was forced to partake in the underwater ballet show, she also wore something like that. He remembered watching in awe as Misty swam gracefully with the pokemon in the water tank. He also recalled vividly of the ensuring pokemon battle in which Misty, true to her Cerulean City Gym Leader title, commanded Dewgong with confidence and poise.

Looking back, Ash realized that was when the seed of love and admiration was planted.

He almost laughed out loud when this thought popped into his head.

He loved her.

He has loved her since that day in Cerulean City and it has only grown over the years.

And the best part?

She loved him back.

What was he running away from?

Without waiting for the video to finish, Ash hurried out of the Pokemon Center and called the only pokemon he could think of.

"Swellow, I know it's late but can you fly me to the Lilycove? There's a train leaving for Cerulean in an hour and I gotta make it."

"Swellow" The bird shook its feathers and dipped down so his trainer can climb on.

From inside the Pokemon Center, two pairs of eyes watched as Ash and Swellow disappeared in the sky.

"Well, here's to Ash finally growing up." Brock held his mug of hot chocolate up to toast.

"Pika pika." Pikachu nodded.


I still can't decide if I want to make it a sad story or a happy one…I need to agonize over it a bit more…

To write this chapter, I re-watched a couple episodes to jolt my memories, so that was fun. Also, I actually have not watched a single episode of Pokemon since Johto (aka the Original Trio) ended, so I'm just making Hoenn scenes up from my experience with the game. There was a May and Max in there, right? I don't really know their character that well, so I didn't want to write something and have them be total OCC.

As always, read and review! I'd love to hear what you think! Till next time, cheers :3