Hello, everyone! This is the nineteenth part of the only place where you can read 151 unique stories on the best couple in the world: Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower! Now, the last part was written in response to the coronavirus outbreak that is going on across the globe. In it, Ash and Misty were trapped in a cruise ship cabin after a passenger gets infected. And it escalated at the worst possible time for Ash. Misty decided to give him something to cheer him up, which you will know if you read that story. Anyways, in this story, Ash is away in the Galar Region for another journey and decided to write emails to Misty to check in on her. Soon, they start exchanging letters every day. Will they end up being love letters? Well, you have to find out, but it is pretty evident with who is the person writing this. Anyways, as Mario once said, Let's a go!


Dear Misty,

Pikachu and I are finally in the Galar region! We have started our journey in the town of Postwick, where we got our (Galarian) starter from the Champion, Leon himself. His brother, Hop, and his friend, Gloria, got their first Pokemon from him as well. As Hop was the champion's brother, he got the first pick. He ended up choosing Scorbunny. Gloria was next to choose, and she decided to start her journey with Sobble. That left me with Grookey. I ended up doing a round-robin with my two new friends. I won against Gloria but lost to Hop due to the type-advantages. (Pikachu opted to sit out to be fair to the newbies.) After the battles, we had dinner and called it a night. Our trip around the region starts tomorrow! (Well, tomorrow after writing this letter to you, that is.) Hope to hear from you soon!

Love,

Ash.

PS: How have your sisters been treating you?


Dear Ash,

I received your first letter, and I am happy to hear that you are finally in Galar! It would have been nice to go with you, but of course, I have my gym due to my sisters. But otherwise, they have been treating me fine. I have been training them on how to do battles by themselves if they decide to allow me to see you again. And they have been getting better and better. Also, I am on a hot streak at the gym, winning several matches in a row. It has even gotten to the point where Charles Goodshow himself came to my gym to ask me to start losing. I don't want to get the reputation of the most challenging gym leader for only the second gym! Anyways, tell me what the gyms in Galar are like.

I can't wait to hear from you again!

Misty.


Dear Misty,

My new friends and I have officially started our journey by making the trip from Postwick to Wedgehurst, where we met the Pokemon Professor of the region, Professor Magnolia. Her main field of research is the Dynamax phenomenon, where Pokemon grow bigger in some areas of the Galar region. She gave me, Gloria, and Hop the crystals that are required for trainers to allow their Pokemon to Dynamax. I happily accepted them, and I cannot wait to see what my Pikachu looks like when it is Dynamaxed! And one of the significant places to see this phenomenon in action is the gyms! And we will be heading to the Motostoke gym tomorrow for the opening ceremony! Can't wait to tell you what it's like!

I hope you write back,

Ash.


Dear Ash,

Congratulations on starting your journey through Galar! Was the professor kind? I hope she is a kind woman. I read a story that portrayed the entire region as xenophobic jerkasses. And their portrayal of the professor in that tale was a racist granny who called out the main character after she tried to bring her Dedenne to the region. On an unrelated note, the main character of that book happened to share her name with one of your friends in Kalos, and the same one who had a Dedenne. Do you think that is a coincidence? Anyways, what kind of Pokemon did you manage to catch in the Galar region? I would like to know!

Thanks for talking,

Misty.


Dear Misty,

Magnolia was a kind professor. She was nothing like what the story wrote her out to be. Oh, and I forgot to mention that yesterday, Hop caught himself a Wooloo, Gloria caught a Blipbug, and I caught a Rookidee. And our train to Motostoke was stopped by some Wooloo on the track, but that meant we could see more Pokemon in the Wild Area! And let me tell you, the wild area was HUGE! Big enough to be home of every Pokemon in the national Pokedex! We didn't quite see all of the Pokemon in the Wild Area, but we did see a good chunk of them on the rest of the way to Motostoke. When we eventually got there, we registered for the gym challenge. A part of it was choosing which numbers we wanted to wear on our jerseys for the gym challenge. I selected 151 to honor my home. After doing that, we headed to the hotel next door to rest up. Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and I am excited!

Speak to you tomorrow,

Ash.

PS: No. I don't think it is a coincidence that the character in the book you spoke about in the last letter you wrote and one of my friends from Kalos share both a name and Pokemon. I think that might be intentional.


Dear Ash,

I am so glad that you were able to make it to Motostoke despite your stop in the wild area! From what I read on Wikipedia, the walk from the Wild Area train station to the gates of Motostoke can take up to three days! And to hear that you made the trek in only a couple of hours is impressive! And I am glad you are honoring your home by choosing 151 as your number. If I could choose a number, I would make it 134, the number of my most recent Pokemon that I have captured, Vaporeon. She has been a massive help in my battles. Anyways, I read that the opening ceremony for the Galar League will be shown on international TV. So that means I can watch it from the gym! I hope that I can find you on there!

From,

Misty.


Dear Misty,

Great! Watching a ceremony of this scale is excellent, but being there in person is better! I got to see nine of the ten gym leaders of the region as well as several of the people who will challenge them alongside me, Gloria, and Hop! After we were introduced to the gym leaders, there was an exhibition match between the champion of the region, Leon, and his greatest rival and final gym leader here, Raihan. It was also the first time that I saw Dynamax, which Leon did to his Charizard, and Raihan did to his Duralidon on the very first turn. And I was impressed by their transformations. And from what you said in your last letter, I bet you were impressed by the two Pokemon growing to the size of giants as well.

Speak to you soon,

Ash


Dear Ash,

I watched the opening ceremony, and let me tell you, I was impressed by it. I loved seeing (almost) all of the gym leaders. My favorite one was Nessa and for obvious reasons. And I also saw you among the many trainers taking the gym challenge on! I also saw a blonde boy who I have bad feelings about. I feel like he is going to be like Paul or Gary. But on a more positive note, I was blown away by Dynamax! The Pokemon looked even more potent than they are at their regular size! I just wish they had the phenomenon here as well! Anyways, good luck with the gym challenge, ASh!

Love,

Misty.


Dear Misty,

Today my friends and I went along Route 3 to get to the sight of the first gym, the one in Turfeild. I was told in the opening ceremony that the gym leader there uses Grass Types. Since Gloria knew she would be at a disadvantage with a Sobble as her starter, she decided to grind her Blipbug up a bit. And while we were training our Pokemon, guess who decided to make their debut in Galar? Yep. Team Rocket. Luckily, Gloria, Hop, and I were able to fend them off, and her Blipbug evolved into a Dottler. And as it was getting late after the battle, we decided to set up camp outside of the Galar Mine. And let me tell you, camping with Gloria and Hop was terrific! Hop is a fantastic cook for a boy my age, and he claimed he could make 151 different kinds of curry! You should try one of them sometime!

I'm going to bed now,

Ash.


Dear Ash,

I would say congratulations to Gloria for evolving her Pokemon, but as it's a bug… well…. I'm not. And I am not surprised that Jessie, James, and Meowth have managed to find you yet again. They manage to follow you EVERYWHERE! I just hope that they won't attack you as often as they have for the past seven years. Anyways, you said Hop was a good cook, right? Well, I want to try one of his recipes. But alas, as I am trapped here in the gym instead of traveling with you, I won't get a chance. But you can at least ask him to send one of the recipes to me?

Thanks!

Misty.


Dear Misty,

My friends and I have entered the Galar Mine. There were a lot of Pokemon inside to battle against, which were valuable for EXP. I also met a trainer by the name of Bede, a Psychic-type trainer who was approved for his journey by the chairman of the Galar Pokemon League himself. He challenged me to a battle, his Hattenna against my Pikachu. I accepted, expecting a comfortable victory. After all, this Pikachu won against Tapu Koko, a legendary that was the same type as him, only weeks ago. But no, I somehow lost the battle! Bede then proceeded to call me a weak trainer, and I got angry to the point where Gloria and Hop had to restrain me. I swore I would not lose to the blonde again! Anyways, we eventually arrived in Turfeild, where the gym is. Tomorrow, Gloria and Hop will do their battles, while I will do mine the day after. Wish them luck!

And me, too!

Ash.


Dear Ash,

That Bede guy that you faced must have been the boy I warned you about a few letters earlier... Anyways, I find it baffling that your Pikachu was capable of going toe to toe with legendary Pokemon at the end of one region. And he somehow finds a way to loses the first battle of the next one. If I could sum up that phenomenon in a single word, it would be "HOW?!" Anyways, congratulations on making it to the first town with a gym you can face. I wish you luck when you encounter it.

Thanks for reading!

Misty.

PS: Here are some tips for facing the gym. As you said, it was a Grass-type gym in a previous exchange, be sure to use your Rookidee. As he is a pure flying type, he will have no problem against the Grass Pokemon that Milo throws your way. Also, try to save your Dynamax Pokemon for last, as that will be your statement that you are not going down that quickly.


Dear Misty,

Today I watched Gloria and Hop take on the Turfield Gym Challenge. But before they could, they had to show they were worthy of doing it. How? By herding twenty Wooloos. What this has to do with the grass type or battling, I have absolutely no idea. But they eventually did it and got to challenge Milo. For both of them, it would be a two on two single battle. Hop was first up, and his Scorbunny carried most of the team and even evolved into Raboot to finish off Milo's Eldegoss. Gloria had a little bit of trouble, as her Sobble was weak to Grass moves. That's why she caught a Dottler. The Pokemon's bulky special defense plus Light Screen helped protect Dottler from the already weak Grass-type attacks Milo was throwing her way. They both got the first badge, the Grass Badge. (How original of a name.) Anyways, I will challenge the fighting farmer tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

Ash.


Dear Ash,

I guess that I underestimated Gloria's Dottler. It definitely helped her win the first badge when she chose the worst possible Pokemon as her starter. Also, hats of to Hop for winning his battle against Milo as well. They both deserved their Grass Badges! (And yeah, like you sad, the Grass Badge is the lamest name possible. Imagine if all of the other gym badges are named after the type that they use. How stupid would that be?!) Anyways, speaking of gym battles, my sisters have decided to battle more, which means I can possibly start traveling with you again! I will update you in the future on whether I can go to Galar with you!

Love,

Misty.


Dear Misty,

You are considering coming with me to Galar?! That's great! I would love to have you come with me and have Gloria and Hop meet you! I have already told both of them all about you and some of my other traveling companions. Out of all of them, they were the most interested in you. Anyways, I battled Milo today. And he was not difficult. And since I was the champion of Alola, he asked me for a three on three battle rather than a two on two. I accepted. He used his Gossifluer, Eldegoss, and Flapple in the fight, Dynamaxing the last of those Pokemon. I started off the battle with Grookey, and he did a decent chunk of damage to Gossifluer before Pikachu came in and did the rest. He then did the most of the work against the Eldegoss, paralyzing it in the process. He eventually fainted, leaving only my Rookidee to battle. He finished of Eldegoss, which left Milo with only his Flapple, a Grass-and-Dragon type Pokemon. And it was his D-Max Pokemon, I D-Maxed Rookidee. It was a hard fight, but I came out on top, with Rookidee even evolving into Corvisquire! Anyways, I got my Grass Badge, and Milo told me that the next gym (in Hulbury) was a Water Type gym. I am sure you will be into it!

Talk to you Later, Misty!

Ash.


Dear Ash,

Glad to hear that you won the Grass Badge! And I have good news for you! Daisy offered to take control of the gym for a while and allowed me to leave! That means I can finally join you on your journey again! I am packing to head to Hulbury, and I will see you there! I had fun talking to you over the past few days, and I cannot wait to do it in person again! I have a lot of things to tell you, and I bet you have a bunch of stuff to gell to me as well. Anyways, I cannot wait to see you in Hulbury!

Love, Misty.


Dear Misty,

I have something I want to admit to you. You might already be in Galar by the time you get this, but it is short. Three words, in fact. Those words are: I love you. I have wanted to tell you those words for a long time, and even if you don't receive this before you get to Galar, you will definitely hear me say these words to you in person. And I truly mean that, my friend. In fact, they will probably be the first words I say to you once we meet in Hulbury. Anyways, I have to get going to Route 5 now! After all, Gloria, Hop, and I only have a few hours of daylight left!

I love you, Misty.

Ash.


And with that, I have finished my 19th entry into this series! I kind of admit, I only wrote this story as a way to transition into the fic I plan on writing next week (Where Ash and Misty meet at Hulbury Gym.) But I hope it is a good one. Anyways, today's question is, how are you keeping in contact with your loved ones during this pandemic? I have usually been calling my grandparents, and just the other day, they came over to distant socialize. (That's when they came to visit us, and we kept 200 centimeters away from each other at all times. I think you guys should try it!) Anyways, I will see you next time, always speak to your loved ones even if they are far away, and dare to Pokeship!