Upgrade 2.01
"Whatcha doing, Ash?" Misty asked while Brock was off getting firewood. Ash had been bent over his Pokédex, Dexter, ever since they finished setting up camp.
"Just doing some studying," he replied.
"Good," Misty said as she walked away. "You need to be catching up on your pokémon studies."
Unfortunately, Ash had other things in mind. He pointed Dexter at Misty when her back was turn.
"Airway," it chirped. "This mallet has the ability to send its victim over 100 ft into the air."
Ash sighed. Even with this program, all he could do was prepare himself for the inevitable. "If only there was some way to protect myself from those things," he murmured under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Misty asked.
"I was just wondering when Brock would get back," he lied.
Misty looked into the woods. "Here he comes," she told him.
"Thanks," he replied as he put Dexter away.
"So," Brock asked the next morning, "what's she packing today?"
Ash pointed Dexter at Misty. "The Golem," it chirped. "This particular mallet, if used properly, can produce the effect of Gloom's body slam."
Ash scratched his head. "That's awfully powerful," he whispered to Brock.
"Yeah," Brock replied. "She usually just carries mallets from the Stunner line."
"Hey guys," Misty called from up ahead. "Why are you two hanging back there?"
"Guy talk," Brock hurriedly answered. "You know: girls, cars, girls, sports, girls, pokémon. Oh, did I say girls?"
Misty sighed. "Just hurry up, okay," she told them. "I want to sleep in a bed tonight."
"Sure thing, Misty," Ash replied. He turned and whispered to Brock, "Nice save. Why not next time just say, 'End my sad life now, please.'"
"All I could think of," Brock shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"
Ash looked at the girl walking in front of them. "We need to get the upper hand."
"But how?"
"I'll have to think of something," Ash replied.
Brock dropped his head. "My well being lies in the hands of Ash Ketchum of Pallet," he sighed. "I better get some good life insurance."
That night, Ash felt that his and Brock's lives were worth a little extra cash. So, he paid for a hotel room instead of the usually free Pokémon Center couch.
"Thank you, Ash," Misty cheered as Ash handed her a room key.
"No prob.," he replied. "Brock, Pikachu, and me will be in the room next to you."
"Okay," Misty said as she disappeared into her room.
When Ash joined Brock and Pikachu in their room, he began his battle plan.
"All right," he told them. "Here's the plan."
He looked at his other conspirators. "I plan to keep Misty in a good mode tonight," he told them.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked.
"Standard wine and dine approach," he replied. "I know of French restaurant near here. That's were I'm taking her."
"And how do you plan on getting her there?" Brock questioned.
"Simple," Ash answered with a smile. "We all know her love of French stuff. Since I'll be buying, I doubt she'll refuse."
"And you get to have a date with her," Brock and Pikachu smirked.
"Oh, the sacrifices I must make," Ash mockingly sighed. "Of course, you two will stay here."
"Of course," Brock echoed. "And what will be doing then?"
Ash pulled the spare key to Misty's room out his pocket. "Search her stuff and find the goods."
"It'll never work," Brock told him. "She'll hide at least one for safe keeping, plus she might keep one on herself."
Ash smiled even wider. "Not if this restaurant only allows those in formal wear," he said as he pulled a tuxedo from the closet.
"Do think she'll have a dress?" Brock asked.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Ash smiled as he opened it for a redhead girl holding a light blue dress. "Care to explain this?" she asked.
"Well," Ash answered with a faked stuttered. "I thought that since we were in town, I take you to that fancy French restaurant, Le Pikachu."
"How sweet," Misty sighed. "Are Brock and Pikachu coming?"
"No," he told them. "They both are feeling a little sick."
Inside the room, Pikachu and Brock started coughing.
"Oh," Misty said as she tried to lean further into the room to see her friends. "I hope they feel better."
"Believe me," Ash replied with a broad smile. "They feel a lot better in the morning."
"Guess, I better get ready," Misty said as she returned to her room.
"I pick you up in an hour," Ash said as she unlocked her door.
"Give me two," she replied with a smile. "I want to look my best."
When Ash closed the door, Pikachu and Brock were bowing before him chanting, "Great master, teach us the secret of your ways."
"Quit it, you two," he laughed.
After Ash was dressed and ready to get Misty, he turned to Brock. "How do I look?"
"Well, Mr. Bond," Brock said in a fake Russian ascent, "I can see you are quite the ladies' man."
Pikachu laughed as Ash attempted the "shaken, not stirred" line with a Sean Connery voice.
"All right," he told them as he handed Brock Dexter. "Scan Misty as we walk by to make sure she doesn't have anything on her."
"What do we do if she does?" Brock asked.
"If it's anything worth worrying about, abort," Ash said as he straightened his bow tie. "If not, proceed as planned."
He walked over to door as he finished his instructions. "Wait about twenty minutes, then enter the room," he told them. "Make a thorough sweep and collect all the mallets you can."
"How much time should we have?" Brock asked.
"Let's see, you lose twenty minutes for us to be safely away," he said as he added the time in his head, "but it'll take us thirty to get there. Then another two hours for the meal…"
"What about afterwards?" Brock and Pikachu snickered. "I think you might want to take her for a walk."
"Not a bad idea, Brock," Ash replied. "That'll give you even more time."
"That's not what I meant," Brock said with smirk. "By the way, how are you paying for all this?"
"Bike fund," he said as he opened the door. "I figured since this is all for Misty, it should come out of the money I saved for her bike."
Ash knocked on Misty's door. "In a minute," she called from inside.
Ash was getting nervous now. On paper, this seemed like a good plan. He figured that he kill two Pidgey with one stone. He get to take Misty out on a date, and he get rid of her instrument of destruction, but now he felt like he was getting cold feet. That is until Misty opened the door.
"You like?" she said to the shocked boy. He had picked a dress he thought would look good on her but not this good.
"Yes," he replied as his senses returned. He offered his arm to her which she gladly accepted.
When the couple walked down the hallway, Brock cracked the door opened and scanned Misty with Dexter.
"No mallet found," it chimed.
Brock smiled thinking that Ash's plan might actually work.
"Oui, monsieur," the waiter replied as Ash handed him the menus after ordering.
Misty had not stopped smiling since they had left the hotel. First the hotel and now this, she thought. He must really love me.
Ash on the other had more confusing thoughts running through his mind. Is Brock and Pikachu going through with it? Are we doing the right thing? He looked over at Misty who was staring at him. Why did she have to look so good tonight?
Meanwhile, Brock and Pikachu were going over Misty's room with a fine toothed comb.
"Pikachu!" the pokémon yelled as he pointed to a stash of mallets.
"All right," Brock said as he added them to the growing pile. "That's 53, and Ash has recorded 58."
Soon, Pikachu pulled out a little blue notebook from a drawer. "What do you have there?" Brock said as he picked it up.
He opened the first page and read,
Ran into some stupid kid today with a hurt pikachu. He stole my bike which I found destroyed up the road. I swear once I track him down, I'll kill him, but he did seem a little cute. Maybe I'll give him a quick death instead of a long painful one.
Brock held the book like it was sacred treasure. "We just hit paid dirt," he told the pokémon.
He flipped to the more current entries. Ash's name appeared in every single one. The one that got Brock was at the end.
This hotel room is really nice. It sure bets staying at the Pokémon Center. Also, he finally asked me out on a date. I can't believe all his done for this. This dress must have cost a fortune. He must really like me to do all this.
Brock now had to make a judgment call. Do I save my own neck for a few days, he thought, or ruin Ash's chances with Misty forever.
In the end, his heart own out.
"C'mon," he told Pikachu. "Help me put all this stuff back."
"Pi?" the pokémon asked.
"Let's just say, Ash will thank us for this," he replied.
Ash and Misty were walking by the pool of hotel after dinner. Misty looked down at her reflection in the rippling water.
"This has been a wonderful night," she sighed as she bent down and dipped her hand into the water causing waves to wash over her image.
"Yeah," Ash sighed. She's going to kill me when she finds out why I did this.
Ash heard someone softly calling his name. He looked around and saw Brock and Pikachu hiding behind the corner of the building.
Ash quickly thought up an excuse to leave Misty. "I'm going to get us something to drink," he told her. "I'll be right back."
Misty smiled at him. "Just don't keep me waiting for long," she told him.
Ash quickly headed over to the others and told them to follow him. As soon as they were far enough away from Misty, Ash turned to Brock. "What?"
Brock dropped his head a bit. "Sorry, we couldn't go through with it."
Thank you! Ash mentally shouted. "Why not?"
Brock gave Ash the look he normally got from Misty when he said something stupid. "You spent the night with the reason."
Ash walked over to the Coke machine and got two Cokes. "Oh well," he again mockingly sighed. "There's always next time."
"Maybe now you just got the upper hand you wanted," Brock laughed. "I doubt she'll do any serious damage from now on."
Pikachu laughed and said something to Brock as Ash ran back to the girl waiting for him. Brock lowered his head.
"You're right," he cried, much to the pokémon's delight, "but what about me?"