PDM: Okay, summary!
M: Can I do it?
PDM: Fine, but watch it! You're still not off the hook!
M: Okay, last chapter, Chris met an odd man and
bought a Psychic Stone from him. Then that man turned out to be Flint, Brock's
dad and the leader of the Pewter Gym. Chris then proceeded to battle him, with
a dramatic part where Ash saved Misty's life, and another dramatic part where
Kadabra almost died. Sheesh, can't PDM get any better ideas?
PDM: I HEARD THAT!
M: Oops. Just read!
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The next morning, I woke up to find that Brock was the only other one up. I figured that now was a perfect time to ask the questions I had about Misty and Ash. So I went into the other room and said good morning. Then I started to ask.
"Brock, I have a question for you. This may seem a little odd, but does Ash have any interest in Misty?"
"You mean, does he like her?"
"Yes."
"Well, he swore me to secrecy, but I figure you can keep a secret. The truth is that yes, he does like her."
"That's unsurprising."
"I'm pretty sure that Misty also likes him, too.
"That's right. But you can't tell her that I told, because she swore me to secrecy by pain of mallet."
"Good way to keep mouths shut. So the truth is that they both like each other a lot."
"Right, but they're too afraid of rejection and ruining the great friendship they have now."
"So what should we do?"
"I don't know. Where I used to live, what kids would do was get them together at a dance or something."
"That's it! There's a big ball kind of thing in Cerulean City this coming week! Maybe we can get them together there!"
"You know, Brock, that's not a bad idea. But can we get to Cerulean in time? We have to go through Mount Moon first."
"I'm positive. I know that place like the back of my hand now."
"Sure, like all the other times your impeccable sense of direction has gotten us pointed perfectly."
"This time I'm serious!"
"Fine, fine, fine, but we can't let them know we're setting them up. We have to get Ash to ask Misty, too."
"What if she says no?"
"She won't. She owes Ash, remember? Plus, if I tell her about the ball, she'll be hoping for Ash to ask her."
"The only problem will be finding dates for ourselves."
"I'm sure with your excellent romance skills, you'll be fine."
"Hmph! Let's wake them up. We'll have to leave early to get there on time."
"Okay."
So we both went to awaken the others. When they were mostly awake, we dragged them into the kitchen and gave them food while we told them that we had decided to head for Cerulean and that Brock had a very important job that he had to do over there, (We couldn't think of any better story!) so we had to be there in three days. (The ball was in five days.)
But Misty balked a little. "I don't know if I want to go back and have to face my sisters again."
"Oh, come on!" I said. "Don't you want to see how your Horsea's doing?" That decided it for her.
"Yes, I do! Let's get going!"
So that morning, we left Pewter City, heading west for Mount Moon and Cerulean. We walked for about half a day before we reached the foot of Mount Moon. There was a new Pokemon Center there, so we got our pokemon healed before we set out. I had secretly bought some Repels, (Pokedex Info: Repels are items that keep wild Pokemon from attacking) so we had almost no wild Pokemon battles. We were doing fine and almost at the exit until we saw a strange-looking rock. When we ran up to look at it, it seemed to be a fossil of some sort. I was about to pick it up when two familiar voices rang out.
"Prepare for trouble."
"And make that double."
We spun around to see two figures in shadows.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples in our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
Then the two figures stepped out of the shadows.
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket again!" I sighed, ordering Kadabra forward.
"Do you think you could just give us a break once?" Misty shouted.
"You twerps never let us finish our motto!" James sniffed.
"That fossil is the property of Team Rocket! Now hand it over!" Jessie snapped.
"Not a chance! Now, would you prefer to leave by the door or the roof?" I asked.
"We won't be as easy as last time!" Jessie retorted. "Arbok, go!"
"Weezing, go!"
"Kadabra, Kinesis."
Kadabra simply picked both Pokemon up with its mind and tossed them back at the two Team Rocket members.
"Ouch!" they both shouted as their Pokemon thudded into them.
We simply turned around, picked up the fossil, and walked away. Jessie started screaming at us (unrepeatable words) as we walked toward the ladder out, but her screaming had disastrous effects. Team Rocket had not used Repel, so the high tones of her voice attracted a swarm of Zubats. (Pokedex Info: Zubat are bat-type Pokemon. They prefer caves and dark places to the overground. They have no eyes, and communicate and see with supersonic waves.) As Team Rocket screamed and ran deeper into the mountain, we shook our heads and climbed up the ladder toward blessed daylight.
Once we were finally out, we walked down the road toward Cerulean City. We got there with two days until the ball. When we went to the hotel, we got two rooms again, but this time they were big enough for three in one and one in the other. I bunked out with Ash and Brock, while Misty stayed by herself. We visited the Pokecenter, I gave Nurse Joy a call, and we settled down for the night. After the others were asleep, Brock and I talked about how to get Ash to ask Misty.
"Tomorrow, Misty is going to want to visit her sisters." Brock said.
"Right. What if we have them help? They could say something about the ball and tease Misty a little about her liking Ash. Maybe they could even help persuade Ash to ask her."
"Good idea. I'll give them a call."
"But wait a minute! What about our dates?"
"We might just have to go without."
"Awww!"
"Chris, it's for Ash and Misty. Make some sacrifices."
"Hypocrite." I said through clenched teeth. "So call Misty's sisters and tell them the plan."
"I will. This seems to be working great."
"True."
After that, Brock got on the phone while I went to bed. The next morning, I asked Misty what she wanted to do.
"Easy- go visit my Horsea and my sisters."
"Okay." {Perfect.} I thought.
So after breakfast, we headed for the Cerulean Gym. Brock and I walked a different way under the pretense of him showing me more of the town. But once we were out of their sight, we ran as fast as we could toward the gym, hoping to get there first to double-check with Misty's sisters.
We made it there before the others and went to find Daisy, Violet, and Lily. We found them feeding some Goldeen in a tank.
"Hello. You're Misty's sisters, right?"
"Yeah, and you, like, must be Chris!" Lily said.
"Right. The others will be here in a few minutes, but we let them walk alone while we came to make sure you were ready."
"Like, duh." Violet said.
"Of course we're ready." Lily said.
"Good. We'll go outside and wait for them. Don't lay on the teasing too harsh, now." Brock said.
"Like, no problem." Daisy said.
So we went outside and watched for Ash and Misty. Finally, they showed up. They seemed to be talking happily to each other.
"I guess that's a good sign." said Brock.
"Me, too." I said.
They walked up to us, asking how we had gotten here so fast.
"We found a shortcut." Brock said.
"Ready to go visit your sisters?" I asked.
"Yes..." Misty sighed.
"Let's go!" I said.
We walked inside and found the girls feeding some other water pokemon.
"Hey, girls, look! It's our little sis!" Daisy cried, acting surprised.
"Like, hi!" Lily said.
"Didja catch any new Pokemon?"
"I'm only back in town to check on my Horsea." Misty said.
"It's, like, over here." Lily said.
"It's surprising you were able to get rooms here." Violet said.
"Why?" Misty asked.
"Well, with the Ultra Ball going on and all, this town is really crowded."
"The Ultra Ball is happening now?" Misty asked.
"Like, yeah." Daisy said.
"Hey, little sis, you could have your boyfriend ask you to go!" Lily said.
"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Misty shouted.
"Then, like, why are you always following him?"
"HE OWES ME FOR A BIKE!" Misty shouted, popping a vein.
"Calm down, Misty!" Brock said.
"Yeah, sis, we were just teasing you."
"Misty, let's go on back to the hotel." Ash said.
"Fine!" Misty said. They both walked out, and Brock and I stayed long enough to give the girls a wink and our thanks before rushing after them.
On the way back to the hotel and lunch, neither Ash nor Misty said much. Even though both Brock and I tried to get their spirits up, they both seemed depressed about something. Even the hilarious, but familiar, sight of Brock hitting on a girl and being pounded wasn't enough. All through lunch back at the hotel, they were both deep in thought. After lunch, we decided to relax in our rooms for a little while. I decided to see what was up with Misty, so I dropped in on her.
I sat down on the bed she was lying on and asked, "What's wrong, Misty? You know you can tell me. Is it about your sisters?"
"No. It's not that, though that started it. I'm scared, Chris. I'm scared that Ash will ask me to the ball. I'm scared that he won't. What if he does? What if he doesn't? What if..."
"Misty, it's okay. It'll all work out. Remember, though, if Ash asks you, that you do owe him and like him a lot. Would you say yes if he asked you?"
"Definitely, but I'm still really nervous..."
"Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine. You'll see."
"Thanks, Chris. I'm glad I told you and that you're here to help me."
"Welcome."
I then headed back to the other room. When I got there, Ash was in a deep funk on the bed, so I talked to Brock for a moment and told him what Misty had said.
"Really? She said that?"
"I swear."
"How do we get Ash to ask her?"
"First, let's find out why he's so gloomy."
So we both went over to Ash. When he saw us, he just looked up at us dully and then lay back down.
"Ash, what's up?" Brock asked.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Lemme guess... It's about Misty." I said.
"Wha?" Ash said, sitting bolt upright. "How'd you know?"
"It wasn't that hard when you asked for the picture."
"Crud! Okay, I'll tell you guys what's up."
"Good."
"The deal is, I like Misty a lot, and I really want to ask her to the Ultra Ball."
"So what's the problem?"
"What if she says no? What if she demands I pay her back for the bike and leaves? I value our friendship a lot, and I wouldn't throw it away for anything."
"You know, Ash, she still owes you for saving her in Pewter." Brock said.
"Yeah, and you'll never know until you try. I doubt she'll say no." I said.
"You guys really think so?" Ash asked.
"Yes."
"Yep."
"Okay... I guess I'll ask her. But one last problem."
"What?"
"I hate wearing a tux."
"Just suck it up! If you get to go with Misty, nothing else matters!"
"True. I'll ask her this afternoon."
"You better! The ball is the day after tomorrow!"
But when the time came, Ash had devolved into a gibbering invertebrate. Translated, that means he had become a spineless wimp.
"I can't do it!" Ash wailed while holding on to the end of the bed.
"You gotta!" I shouted while Brock and I attempted to drag him off the bed and towards Misty's room.
"But what if she says no?"
"We've been over this before! Just ask her!"
"But..."
"Sorry, Ash, I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. Kadabra, please get him to let go of the bed. Be gentle."
"Kadabra ra?"
"Just use Kinesis lightly."
Kadabra used its psychic power for a second to loosen Ash's grip on the bed. With that, Brock and I pulled. Ash flew off the bed and landed on the table, which he grabbed onto.
"It's going to be a long night..."
About five Kinesis attacks later, Ash was on his feet and outside Misty's door. Brock and I had made ourselves scarce, meaning we were hiding farther down the hall.
Ash finally knocked on the door, and Misty answered. Just the sight of her, though, transformed his spine into jelly, and apparently his tongue, too.
"Um... Misty, I don't know how to say this, but... wouldyougototheballwithme?"
"What?" Misty said, joy starting to rise within her.
"Misty, would you go to the Ultra Ball with me?" Ash managed to grind out before an enormous blush rose to his face.
For answer, Misty stepped closer and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. "Ash, of course I would. Thank you."
Ash was struck dumb by the answer and kiss both, while Brock and I were high-fiving each other. But he did manage to stutter out "Th- thank you, Misty!"
"See you in a few." Misty said with a smile before going back into her room.
"Ash, congrats!" Brock yelled as we jumped up from our hiding place and ran toward him.
"You see? You never know until you try!" I said.
"She... said... yes... and... kissed... me..." Ash seemed to be in shock. He collapsed into our arms, forcing us to drag him back to the room.
Two hours later, Ash woke up from his semi-coma to find Brock, me, and Pikachu playing Pokemon cards.
"Oh, Sleeping Ugly's up." I said.
"Pika."
"Guys, do you realize what just happened?"
"Yeah, we still don't have dates!" I pouted.
"Not that! Misty said yes! She'll go to the ball with me!"
"Oh, that. We'd better go rent you a tux." Brock said.
Ash cringed. "Do we have to?"
"Yes." Brock said.
"And you know, this will be our last chance to get dates." I groaned. "So let's go already."
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PDM: Alright, now we get to the good part!
M: I still think this sucks. Oops. Did I think that
out loud?
PDM: You're pushing it, Mew. You can be released, you know.
