Finally, I'm updating this fanfiction after like…a long time. This should've been up a few days ago actually, but I was stuck on vacation with no computer access.
This chapter is all Pokeshipping, yay! This my first true attempt on Pokeshipping so I'm sorry if it's OOC or weird or whatever.
But other than that, I would like to thank all my reviewers. It was the positive reviews that kept me going. But one of my anonymous reviewers, Nick Johnson, did have a few, simple questions, that could be easily answered by reading the story or at least the summary itself. But I'll answer them anyway because I'm nice like that.
-Did you read the summary? I think it covers just about everything.
-During the Hoenn saga. A long time ago before Battle Frontier and Sinnoh. I'm way behind with this.
-Like I just said, Hoenn.
-I dunno. However old they are at the time in the series.
-Ash and all his friends and some other people.
Disclaimer: Now that that's out of the way, I must say that I, unfortunately, do not own Pokemon.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The Blue IslandWaves rushed onto a beach where a black-haired Pokemon Trainer could be seen, lying out cold on his back. As the cool water soaked his shoes, he twitched, and his eyes slowly opened.
"Where am I?" Ash asked, sitting up and scratching his head. He grabbed his trademark hat, which was lying behind him, and placed it upon his head. Near the beach a few palm trees grew, and farther back was a thin-forested area of trees with large blue Berries hanging off of them. Ash sat dumbstruck for a moment before realizing his dire situation.
"Where's everyone? And Pikachu?!" At that moment, he heard the familiar cry of his electric mouse Pokemon.
"Pika!" It said happily, running up to its best friend and Trainer.
"Pikachu! I'm so glad you're okay! Have you seen any signs of the others?"
Pikachu sadly shook its head, but pointed down the beach. Ash could see the tops of colorful umbrellas, meaning there must be people. Pikachu took off running with Ash following right behind him.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It wasn't long before Ash saw plenty of people as well as Pokemon relaxing and enjoying the beautiful day at the beach. Behind them, there was an elevated area where an entire city had been built. Between the two sets of steps leading to the city was a sign that read:
"Sapphire Island, the bustling, rainy city"
Ash stared up at the almost cloudless sky.
"No sign of rain today," he concluded. He was about to head up to the city and find a Pokemon Center when he noticed Pikachu had ran off again.
His gaze followed the path of the yellow Pokemon until it stopped to rest on a girl sitting on the beach with a Corsola by her side. A huge smile formed on Ash's face as he recognized her fiery orange hair.
"Misty!" Ash exclaimed, sprinting over to his long time friend. Pikachu was already there, scampering around with happiness.
"Ash!" Misty's face lit up. "You're the last person I would expect to see here!'
"I should be saying the same thing," he replied.
"So what brings you to Sapphire Island?" Ash looked downcast for a moment before speaking.
"My friends and I got caught in a whirlpool on our way to Pacifidlog Town. We were separated."
"That's terrible! I was wondering why you were alone… But now that you're here, you might as well enjoy it. C'mon, I'll take you to where I'm staying."
Ash nodded and followed his old friend up the steps and into the city.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ash and Pikachu stood beside Misty and stared up at the building in awe. It was a fancy hotel, many stories high, with a blue-lighted sign on the roof that read, "Sapphire Hotel". Out front was a large, majestic fountain, illuminated by blue spotlights. Bellboys were grabbing luggage while valets parked nice cars.
"Whoa," Ash said. "This place is awesome. But I can't afford a room here!" Misty laughed.
"Don't worry. I have plenty of room in my suite." She grabbed onto Ash's hand and pulled him through the revolving door. He wanted to stop and take in everything the hotel had to offer, but for some reason, Misty was suddenly in a big hurry.
She pressed the up button on the elevator and tapped her foot impatiently.
"C'mon you stupid thing!" Ash and Pikachu glanced and her in confusion, then shrugged. Finally, they heard a "ding" and the elevator doors slid open. Misty was about to rush inside when three familiar faces emerged.
Misty groaned when she recognized her sisters, Daisy, Violet, and Lily, also known as the Cerulean Sisters, all chatting happily. Just the people she didn't want to run in to.
"Like oh my gosh!" Daisy exclaimer. "It's Ash! We haven't seen you in, like, forever!" The beautiful sisters giggled.
"Sis, like where are you going in such a hurry with him?" Violet asked.
"Not up to your room I hope," Lily added. Misty blushed furiously.
"It's not like that! He just washed up on the beach here and needed a place to stay!" she said quickly. Then she sighed, noticing the elevator doors had already closed. She would have to endure more intolerable moments with her sisters.
"Well you two have fun. Oh and we have a show tomorrow. You should like totally come and see it," Daisy said. Misty shrugged as she pressed the elevator button again. Ash just stood there awkwardly.
"You're no fun Misty. I don't think Ash finds that very attractive!" Before Misty could reply, the elevator opened again. She dragged Ash inside and said a hasty goodbye to her sisters.
"She's in such a hurry to be alone with him," Violet said.
"Ah, young love."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Misty sighed as the elevator doors slid shut.
"You're lucky you're an only child," she said to Ash.
"Aw, c'mon Mist. It can't be that bad," he said in reply.
"Oh you have no idea." She shook her head and let out another sigh. They then heard a "ding", signaling that the elevator had reached the 14th floor.
The redhead led Ash out of the elevator and to the left down the hall. Ash noted all the blue objects in the hallway including the plush carpet and decorative seashell wall moldings. Misty stopped abruptly causing Ash to run into her.
"Sorry," he mumbled. Misty told him to forget about it as she put the keycard into the lock.
"Here we are," she said, throwing open the door to room 1423. Before either of them could enter, Ash's Pikachu ran in and curled up on the couch. Ash smiled at his little yellow Pokemon.
"As you can see, this is the living room. The couch Pikachu is on folds out to a bed. Or there's a spare one in the bedroom."\
Ash glanced at the comfortable looking blue couch, the end table and a hutch that contained a rather large TV. After seeing the living room, they headed into the kitchen.
It was equipped with your normal kitchen supplies- a refrigerator, microwave, and a stovetop and oven. Misty had already stocked the cabinets with food. She had to drag Ash from the fridge in order to show him the bedroom.
There were two queen-size beds, and in front of them, another hutch and TV. Small tables sat to the sides of each bed, containing information about the hotel. Ash looked around in awe, then noticed Misty was peering into another small room connected to the bedroom.
"Whatcha' lookin' at?" Ash asked her. Misty quickly turned around and shut the door with a huge blush on her face.
"Oh, just a bathroom. But there's another one that I didn't show you." The truth was, the main bathroom was a massive mess leftover from Misty's morning routine.
"Oh yeah!" Ash suddenly said, apparently remembering something, "Why are you staying here anyway?"
"Well you probably heard my sisters' mention their show. They were wanted to perform here and gladly accepted."
"Wait, so who's attending to the Gym while the four of you are gone?"
"We have a Gym apprentice now, Nami. Actually, she's not really ready to manage on her own, so we kind of had to temporary close it down."
"Kinda inconvient for Trainers" Ash commented.
"It's been pretty slow lately," Misty replied. "Hopefully it will all be okay." Ash nodded, then yawned.
"I think I need some sleep. After eating of course." He smiled and Misty laughed.
Typical Ash.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ash awoke the next morning and glanced at Misty, who was lying in the bed next to him. He tossed the royal blue comforter off of him and swung his legs off the side of the bed. Rays of sunlight were just beginning to creep in through the window, gently illuminating Misty's sleeping face.
Something stirred inside Ash and he tried to push away the romantic thoughts he was having about her. He didn't feel that way, did he? He shook his head and walked into the lavish bathroom.
It wasn't long before Ash was ready and Misty was waking up.
"Good morning," Ash said, nodding in her direction. Misty yawned and rubbed her eyes, mumbling a good morning in return. She looked sleepily at the bedside clock, and upon reading it, she jumped out of bed, fully alert.
"Why didn't you tell me it was so late?!"
"Mist, it's only almost 6:30am."
"Well I still have to get ready and we have a big day ahead of us." Ash shrugged and sat down on the end of his bed.
"I have to get ready," the fiery-haired girl repeated, hoping Ash would take a hint. He merely sat there, waiting. "That means leave!"
"Oh," Ash said, feeling somewhat stupid. He walked into the living room to join Pikachu on the couch. Misty sighed as he closed the door behind him.
He can be so clueless sometimes, she thought, but couldn't help but smile through her slight annoyance.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ash, Misty, and Pikachu stood in Sapphire Hotel's grand lobby.
"You said we had a big day today, but you never really said what we were doing," Ash said.
"Well excuse me. But since today's Saturday the beach is holding the weekend Beach Battle Tournament and I thought you would want to enter. Then there's my sister's show and an entire city to explore."
"A battle tournament? Awesome! Let's go!" Ash was about to charge out of the hotel when Misty grabbed the collar of his shirt, nearly strangling him.
"The tournament doesn't start until 10."
"Three hours?! What are we supposed to do until then?" Misty rolled her eyes.
"Like I just said, there's a whole city to explore!" With that, Misty grabbed Ash's wrist and dragged him out the hotel.
"Wow," she said, looking up at the sky and squinting. "Not a cloud in sight. We got lucky today." Ash shrugged. He didn't really care, as long as it didn't rain during his battles.
They wandered through the streets, past the other people who were out for early morning shopping. They passed shops selling virtually everything. After all, a tourist-drawing place like Sapphire Island needed plenty of variety in merchandise to please everyone.
It wasn't long before Ash's stomach started growling. He chuckled and blushed.
"I didn't eat breakfast ya know."
"Well neither did I. C'mon, I know of a small square nearby with some cool cafes." Ash nodded, eager to eat as always.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ash drained the rest of his orange juice while Pikachu finished off the crumbs of his croissant. He looked up at the large clock in the center of the square, growing impatient.
"It's 9:30 Misty. We gotta get going."
"Hold your horses Ash," Misty replied, chewing slowly. He sighed.
"You are aware that the competition is on the other side of the island right?" Misty wiped her mouth with a napkin before replying.
"Relax, I know a shortcut back." She stood up and brushed the crumbs off her clothes. Ash jumped up and followed Misty down a deserted alley.
Unfortunately, her shortcut wasn't so short.
"I thought if you took a left here…" she muttered, turning into another street blocked off by a fence.
"Some short cut," Ash mumbled.
"Well you were the one so eager to get to the beach!" They were about to back track out of the dead end street when two menacing Houndours blocked the path.
"Uh oh," Ash said. "I think we accidentally crossed into their territory." The angry Pokemon took a stop forward and Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder, the red sacs on its cheeks crackling with electricity. The Houndour were not intimidated as they growled deeper, continuing to advance.
"Quick!" Misty whispered. "Over the fence!" The two Trainers headed towards the fence. Misty boosted herself onto the fence while Ash blushed as he helped her from below. Pikachu managed to paralyze one of the Houndour as Misty made it over, Ash close behind.
"Come on Pikachu!" Ash yelled when he made it over the chain-link fence. The electric mouse sprinted toward the fence and jumped over it wit the help of a trashcan.
With Pikachu safely on his shoulder, Ash and Misty ran out of the alley, leaving the two frustrated Houndour behind.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
They made it to the beach just in time.
"Any more entries for the Beach Battle Tournament? Last call for entries!" the MC, Todd, called out over the beach.
"Wait!" Ash yelled, running to the crowd. "I want to enter!"
"Me too!" Misty shouted after him.
"It looks like we have two last minute entries!" Ash and Misty registered and learned the rules of the competition. It would be a normal single-battle tournament, with the finalists battling for a small trophy and cash prize. There weren't that many Trainers entered – only 6 others besides Ash and Misty.
"The preliminary battle will go on simultaneously to make this tournament go by quickly and intensely. The pairings are as followed: Erik versus Alexander! Ash versus Ryder! Misty versus Cam! And Marlin versus Frankie!"
The Trainers found and faced their opponents on the battlefield, and on Todd's signal, the battles began.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ash's opponent Ryder was a tall, slim boy around Ash's age with brown haired spiked straight up. He reached for a Pokeball on his belt and sent out a Noctowl. Ash smiled, remembering his own special-colored Noctowl back at Oak's Lab. But he put reminiscing behind him as Pikachu leapt forward.
Ash knew the battle would soon be over with a few well-placed Electric-type attacks…
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Meanwhile Misty was up against Cam, an athletic-looking boy with shaggy blond hair covering his bright blue eyes. He used an apparently well-raised Sandslash while Misty stuck with her Staryu. Like Ash, she had a clear type advantage, but Sandslash's Dig attack took her by surprise…
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
After quick first round battles, the competition was narrowed down to Ash, Misty, Alexander, and Frankie. This time it was Ash versus Alexander and Misty versus Frankie. Alexander was an older boy clad in dark clothes, even on a warm day like this. He swung his black hair out of his eyes and he sent out his Absol to go up against Pikachu.
"Quick Attack Pikachu!" Absol matched Pikachu's as they went head-to-head. Finally, Ash managed to land a hit, which he quickly followed up with an Iron Tail. Alexander retaliated with a Razor Wind.
Both Pokemon clashed, evenly matched, neither of them backing down…
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Frankie, a girl with long, dark hair, a jade green tank top and khaki shorts, released a Heracross to fare with Misty's Staryu. When Heracross seemed to overpower Staryu with a strong Brick Break, Misty commanded her star-shape Pokemon to use Recover, and it bounced back into the battle with Rapid Spin.
She finished Frankie's Heracross off with a Hydro Pump as Pikachu defeated Absol with Thunder. Ash and Misty glanced at each other, knowing it would be them fighting in the finals.
"I won't go easy on you, ya know," Ash said to her, standing poised for battle.
"Same goes here," Misty replied, taking a similar stance to Ash. Todd had healed both of their Pokemon to full health and they were now facing each other with fierce glares. As the battle began, thick, gray clouds that suddenly rolled in covered the sun. Ash grimaced. Hopefully the rain would hold off…
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
By the time both Pikachu and Staryu were close to fainting, large drops of water fell from the sky. The audience of the battle began to disperse, seeking shelter from the rain.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled. "Finish this now with a Thunder!"
"Staryu, fight back with Hydro Pump!" The powerful attacks met and the jet of water crackled with electricity. The forces caused an explosion and both Pokemon were caught in the blow. The smoke cleared and the two seemed down for the count.
Todd panicked, apparently not liking the rain at all.
"Looks like it's a tie!" he said in a rush. "The two of you can split the prize amongst yourself, bye!" Todd ran off to hide from the strengthening storm.
"Well that was kind of pointless," Ash said, scratching his head. Misty recalled Staryu and grabbed the small, golden trophy while Pikachu climbed onto Ash's head, under his hat.
"We should find some place to wait out the rain," Misty said. Ash nodded in agreement and ran in the direction of a small grove of trees.
Misty leaned over, trying to catch her breath.
"Ugh, now I'm all soaked," she complained.
"We probably should've expected this. After all, this is the "rainy city"." Misty just sighed and sunk lower to the ground. Pikachu had wandered off, intrigued by the small blue Berries growing on the trees.
Ash stared at Misty, the water dripping from the brim of his hat. He began to have those thoughts again – she looked beautiful with the stray strands of hair plastered to her face…
"Ash?" The boy jumped back, shocked by the Misty's sudden appearance right in his face. Apparently, he had not noticed her approach while in his reverie.
Ash stared at her for another moment, not speaking.
In typical Ash-fashion, he suddenly acted without thinking. Misty had no time to question the boy's strange behavior, as her lips were suddenly crushed by Ash's.
He was slightly rough at first, maybe even awkward and unconfident as their lips melded together. Ash eased up, but suddenly pulled away.
"Misty!" he abruptly exclaiming, noticing her unreadable expression. "I'm really sorry! I don't know what came over me! You've been on my mind so much recently and I've missed you a lot but I wasn't sure why. But now I think I finally understand that I'm in lo--." He was cut off by Misty's hand clamping over his mouth.
Ash panicked, seeing Misty's somewhat irritated expression,
"Quiet, Ash," she said sternly. Then he harsh look disappeared and was replaced with a softer, more caring gaze.
"You have no reason to worry," she said, "because I feel the same way. And I always have." Ash gave a huge sigh of relief from behind Misty's hand. She quickly pulled it away, feeling his warm breath.
"That wasn't as hard as I thought. Easier than most Gym Battles." He laughed in embarrassment. It was then Pikachu emerged from the trees. It noticed the change in atmosphere around the two Trainers and managed to put two and two together. It cheered happily, knowing something had finally happened.
"I think we should head back to the hotel and change," Misty said, looking at their wet clothes.
"But it's still raining."
"Not as hard as before. And we're already soaked anyway." Ash smiled and grabbed Misty's hand, splashing through the puddles all the way back to the hotel, Pikachu not too far behind.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Misty stood on the shaded balcony of their room while Ash changed into dry clothes. The rain was finally coming to a stop and the sun was emerging from behind the clouds. She gasped as she saw what was forming high in the sky.
"Ash!" she exclaimed. "You gotta see this!"
"What?" he said, pulling a shirt over his head and walking towards the balcony.
"Not here!" Misty said impatiently. "Now hurry up and get ready!" Ash quickly pulled on his socks and shoes, not wanting to anger the girl further.
She led him out of the room, down the hall, and into an elevator. She pressed the 'R' button, for roof.
"Why the roof?" Ash asked, puzzled. Misty shook her head, in a manner that said, "you'll see when we get there".
The shiny elevator door opened and they stepped out onto the roof. The wind whipped their faces, but it was still pleasantly warm.
"Wow," Ash said, gazing at the sky. "That is one amazing rainbow." He stepped closer to Misty, gently taking her hand. She looked up and him and smiled, then enjoyed the sight of the seven-colored wonder above them.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The rest of the day was spent pleasurably, Ash and Misty cherishing each other's company and the now beautiful weather of Sapphire Island. Now, the couple sat on the beach, the sun just beginning to set. Somewhere in the distance, a clock chimed, signaling it was already 6 in the evening.
Misty jumped up from her spot on the warm sand and panicked.
"My sisters' show! It started 30 minutes ago!"
"Relax, we probably only missed the beginning," Ash said, rising to his feet. "Haven't you seen it a million times anyway?"
"Ash, the show is short. Only 45 minutes. And anyway, tonight was the premiere of their new show." Understanding the urgency, Ash rushed off with her, back to Sapphire Hotel.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
On the floor right below the roof, a large arena was located with dark blue seats surrounding a large, raised glass pool. Ash and Misty stood beind the very top row, applauding along with the rest of the crowd. The Cerulean Sisters' new show had gone off without a hitch.
"Like thank you everyone!" Daisy shouted, standing on a raised platform above the water with her sisters. Their aquatic Pokemon swam below them.
"We would totally love it if you came to see us again!" Violet said.
"Good night!" Lily concluded.
The audience slowly cleared out as Daisy, Lily, and Violet stood there, waving. Eventually, they got down from the platform to meet the stragglers who were hoping to get an autograph. Ash and Misty headed down the stairs between the seats towards them.
And they were shocked at who they saw trying to capture the attention of the beautiful sisters.
Brock kneeled in front of them, hearts in his eyes, right before a young, green-haired boy pulled him away.
"Brock!" Misty yelled, approaching them.
"And Max and Vivi!" Ash said, following her.
This unexpected reunion was a huge surprise – and relief – for the five of them. Misty was introduced to Vivi and reacquainted with the rest of them.
Brock explained the current situation – they had arrived at Sapphire Island in search of Ash and May when Brock saw a sign advertising the Cerulean Sisters', Having met before (and being compelled by their looks) caused Brock to want to attend the show. And by fate, he was reunited with Ash and Misty.
"Now all we're missing is May," Max said sadly, worried for his sister.
"Don't worry Max. I'm sure she's fine," Ash said.
"After all, there's one more island to check out," Brock added. "Good thing its there today." The other four looked at Brock, clearly confused.
"The last, and most abnormal island in this chain is Mirage Island. Once in a blue moon, it appears before Trainers," Brock explained.
"If the chances are so slim, how do you know its there! And even if it is, May's probably not there!" Tears sprang to Max's eyes, as he feared for the worst.
"Calm down Max. I've checked with an expert on this island. The old woman told me the weather conditions were favorable and that she could see the island today."
"I guess luck is on our side," Vivi said.
"Well if we're gonna rescue May, we should get going before the island disappears," Ash said.
"I want to come too," Misty said, latching onto Ash's arm. Sudden realization came to the others and they understood.
"You're leaving us, Misty?" Daisy asked.
"It wouldn't be the first time." Lily giggled.
"As long as Brock can keep an eye on the two lovebirds!" Ash and Misty blushed, not yet comfortable with their relationship being so out in the open. The shook off the embarrassment and bid farewell to the Cerulean Sisters.
At the beach, Brock, Max, and Vivi loaded onto Brock's borrowed Lapras while Ash, Misty, and Pikachu got on Ash's Gyrados (see Chapter 7 if you don't remember).
"Let's set sail for Mirage Island!" Brock shouted over the sound of the waves. Ash nodded and they all headed in the direction of the setting sun.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Holy. Crap. Finished. Finally. My fingers, arms, wrists, whatever hurt sooo bad. I suffered for this so be grateful! No I'm just kidding.
But I was worried about this chapter being too short. So I added lots of pointless crap and a small bit of fluff. And it's my longest yet! This chapter seems so disconnected from the rest of the story. ::is Contestshipping deprived::
Don't worry; the next chapter will be full of it…if I can get around to writing it. School's about to start and so is soccer so I'm gonna be swamped. But I'll find time…
Reviews would be amazing! Thanks!