We've Waited Too Long
By 2ie
The sun was high in the sky and the Jigglypuff were singing as Ash and Misty walked down the dirt trail. Misty was carrying Togepi in her arms, as usual, and Ash was carrying Pikachu, tickling him.
"Ash, will you stop tickling that Pikachu?" screamed Misty out of nowhere. "It's getting soooooo annoying!"
Ash just smirked and said, "Ah, you're just jealous that you don't have a Pokemon you can play with like this."
"Oh yeah, Mr. Ketchum? Watch this!" She started tickling Togepi's feet, saying, "Who's the cute little Togepi? Is it you?" Togepi looked left and right, then started crying at the top of his lungs, tears streaming out in fountains.
"Well done, Misty, well done." Said Ash, letting Pikachu jump back up on his shoulders.
"Oh, just shut up!" she growled angrily, and they resumed walking in silence.
As they walked, Ash occasionally glanced over at Misty, thinking how sad it was that they always fought like this… He was always trying to be nice to her, to show her that he didn't like arguing all the time. And he could tell she was trying to do the same, always helping him when he got into a scrape. But that was about it. He just wished that one day he would have the guts to… WHAM!!!
When Ash opened his eyes, he was on his back on the ground, and his face was burning.
"Are you okay?" asked Misty.
"Uh, yeah, I think so… what happened?"
"It was soooo funny! You weren't watching where you were going and you walked right into a tree! You're lucky it didn't have a Beedrill nest in it."
"Oh…" mumbled Ash, rubbing his head.
"Well, come on, I'll help you up." Said Misty, and she reached out her hand. He took it, and she pulled him up, but when he got to his feet, he didn't let go.
Misty laughed nervously. "Uh, Ash… What are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing. Sorry…" He quickly let go of her hand and they continued walking.
As they continued walking, Misty wondered at Ash's strange behavior. He hadn't let go of her hand, but then… something inside her didn't want him to let go. She had always thought there was something special about him… the way he loved Pokemon, how strong he was in battle… there was just something about him…
Absentmindedly, Misty slowly reached down and took Ash's hand again. Ash's eyes widened, but he said nothing, and they kept walking.
Finally, they reached the outskirts of Daisy Town.
"Let's stop and rest here." Said Misty, plopping down on the grass. Ash sat down next to her.
After a little while, Ash said, "Misty, you look really nice today."
"Thank you." She said with a smile. She wondered at why he said that. He had never said anything like that before…
"And I bet Togepi loves being held by you all the time…" he added.
This made her nervous. "Uhhhh, Ash are you trying to tell me something?"
"Um, no…" Ash said, quickly looking away.
"Oh…" Misty was slightly disappointed, but said nothing else. Suddenly, she was aware that Ash was holding her hand again. She smiled and edged closer to him.
"Ash," she said softly, "You seem to like holding my hand."
After a brief pause, Ash said, "I do."
"And I like holding your hand, too, Ash."
Ash stared into her eyes. "Misty, I...um…"
Suddenly, they were startled by a loud explosion coming from Daisy Town.
"Come on, we'd better go see what that was!" said Ash, getting up. Ash and Misty ran at full speed towards the city.
When they got into the town, they easily found the source of the noise… about 5 Team Rocket tanks were surrounding the Pokemon Center!
"Come on, we've got to stop them!" said Ash, and they both ran inside.
The Pokemon Center staff was backed into a corner, and a few Rockets were loading all the Poke Balls into a big bag.
"Hey! Cut that out!" screamed Ash. The Rockets spun around and leered at him.
"Who are you?"
"That doesn't matter! You'd better stop what you're doing right now!"
"Fat chance, kid!" They said, "Unless you want to battle."
"That's the idea!" growled Ash. "Go, Pikachu!" Pikachu ran out into the center of the room.
"Hmm…okay, let's go, Weezing!" said the Rocket, releasing his Pokemon. They stood, glaring at one another for a moment.
"The bag!" Ash whispered to Misty. "While we're fighting, go after the bag!"
"Right." She whispered back.
While Pikachu and Weezing exchanged attacks, Misty crept over to where the bag with the Poke Balls was laying on the ground, and slowly started to lift it up, until another Rocket saw her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he yelled, grabbing her arm.
"Let go of me!" she cried, struggling to break free.
"Shut up!" said the Rocket, and he flung her to the floor.
"Hey!" screamed Ash, who had seen the whole thing. Forgetting all about his Pokemon, he ran over and decked the Rocket clean across the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Wow…" thought Misty to herself, "He did that just for me! He really is special…"
"Alright, everyone!" shouted Ash angrily, "We're gonna forget about all these sissy battle rules! All you Rockets… you have 10 seconds to get out of the building, or Pikachu here will MAKE you!"
The Rockets slowly started edging to the door as Ash counted. "1…2…10! Pikachu, if you please!"
Pikachu shot forth lightning blasts stronger than any before, which surged through the Rockets, making them scream and run at light speed through the door. Ash walked over to Misty.
"Are you OK?"
"Yes, thanks to you." She said softly. Ash put out his hand to help her up, and when she stood up, she said "Ash…you're holding my hand again…"
"Oh, am I? I hadn't noticed." Said Ash with a grin.
She laughed. "Oh, Ash… Come on, let's go." They left the Pokemon Center, still holding hands.
That night, they were watching TV in the small motel room they were staying in, because the Pokemon Centers no longer let trainers spend the night there.
As they watched, Misty found that once again, Ash was holding her hand.
"You know, Ash…" she said with a sly look, "One would almost be willing to bet you had a crush on me."
"Hmm… that could be possible." Said Ash with a smile.
"Really? How big a possibility? On a scale from 1 to 10?"
Ash thought for a moment. "Oh, I don't know…maybe 11…or 12…"
Misty gasped. "Ash… do you mean it?"
He gazed into her eyes. "Yes, Misty, I do. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you, but…"
"Oh, that's okay," she said, smiling. "And you know what? I know a girl who has a really big crush on YOU."
Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really? Tell me about her."
"Well," began Misty, slowly putting her arm around him, "She's actually had a crush on you for a very long time. She thinks you're just SO strong, and kind, and funny… She just LOVES being around you!"
"Hmmm…tell me more."
"She just LOVES water Pokemon," she continued, "But she also has a Togepi that she just loves SO much!"
"You know, that sounds just like a girl I know…" said Ash, moving closer. "It even sounds like you."
"There's a chance of that," said Misty with a grin.
"On a scale of 1 to 10……?"
"Oh, I don't know… I'd say, 1,000,000."
He put his other arm around her. "Misty…are you for real?"
"Yes, Ashy… I've wanted to tell you for SO freakin' long, but those jerks at Nintendo wouldn't let me! 'Keep it appropriate for the kids' they kept saying!"
"Well, they're not here now, are they?" said Ash softly.
"No, they're not…" said Misty with a smile, and they shared their first magical kiss.
"Wow, Misty…" Ash murmured when it was over, "That was…awesome."
She smiled and kissed him again. She wanted it to last forever, but just then there was a loud knock on the door.
"Hey! Hey! What's going on in there?" shouted a voice with a Japanese accent.
Ash quickly stopped the kiss and said, "Nothing, Mr. Miyamoto!"
"You'd better make sure!"
The next morning, Misty nudged Ash awake. "Good morning, sleepyhead." She said. "Time to get up!"
He sat up slowly. "Good morning, Misty."
"How'd you sleep, Ashy?"
"Quite well, for once…" he said. "However, my lips are still tingling."
She smiled. "Oh, you mean from this?" she said, giving him another quick kiss.
"Yeah, that's probably the reason."
"Well, I'm just glad we finally told each other." She said, going over to the mirror to comb her hair. "It takes such a load off my back, you know?"
"I know exactly how you feel." He said, getting out of bed. "But you know, I've NEVER felt this way about a girl in my life. It's so weird…"
"Well, there's gotta be a first time for everything, right?" she said with a smile.
"Yeah, I guess… so what's on the agenda for today?"
"I don't know." She replied. "I think we're free today."
As if on cue, Ash's Pokedex started squawking. Ash grimaced, but answered it anyway to see Professor Oak staring back at him.
"Ash! I have a job for you!"
"Great," muttered Ash. "What is it?"
"We have word that a group of Rockets is going to attack the Daisy Town Pokemon Center today! You have to stop them!"
"We already did that, Professor. We did that yesterday."
"What?" asked the Professor, looking puzzled. He studied the paper again. "Hey! Wait a minute… this report is from yesterday! Johnson, what the devil were you thinking, giving me a report from a day ago?"
A voice of an unseen person said, "I gave it to you a day ago, Oak. You were just drunk and didn't see it."
"Hmmph…" grumbled Oak, but then said, "Never mind, then! I guess you have the day off, unless anything comes up. See you!" The screen went blank.
"So what do you want to do today?" asked Misty.
"I don't know… how about we go see that new 'Galaxy Battles' movie that just came out?"
"Hmmm…okay!"
Later on, they sat together watching the movie in the small theater in Daisy Town. Shortly after it started, Misty took Ash's hand and held it tightly, and they stayed that way through the whole thing.
At the scene at the end where the two main characters got married, Misty tapped Ash on the shoulder, stared into his eyes and whispered, "One day…"
Ash broke into a grin, and they kissed.
When they got out of the theater, it was only 2:00, so they still had lots of time.
"So what next?" asked Misty.
"I don't know… you pick something."
Misty thought for a moment. "I'd actually be content to just go sit by the lake for a while."
"OK."
They sat on the dock hand-in-hand, watching the fish jump.
"You ever wonder how Magikarp can get so darn powerful in one shot?" asked Ash. "I mean, it seems physically impossible, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it does," said Misty, dipping her feet in the water. "I guess it's just an amazing act of nature."
"I call it magic." Said Ash. "Do you believe in magic?"
Misty was silent for a bit, then said, "Yeah, I suppose a little bit."
"I was never a believer in magic. It sounded like rubbish to me. That is, until a few days ago." He put his arm around her. "Now I believe it with all my heart."
She looked at him and laughed. "Oh, Ash… you really think our love is magic?"
"Absolutely! A guy like me doesn't meet a girl like you by accident, you know? Something was behind it."
She put her arms around him. "Ash, you are just SO sweet. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like you so much."
"Misty, if you asked me to make a list of all the reasons I love you, you'd bury Saffron City in paper."
"Oh, Ashy…" she said softly, and they kissed again, holding each other close. It lasted for about 5 minutes, and then Ash fell back on the dock, holding his head.
"Misty…wow… I knew you were a nice girl, but…whew!"
She laughed. "Ash, you are such a silly boy!"
He sat up. "But I don't think I remember it too well… I need it like, engrained in my memory."
"Oh really?" she said with a grin, and went to kiss him again, but then his Pokedex started beeping again.
"This had better not be another false alarm…" grumbled Ash, and he flipped open the device. This time, it was Lance, the former Champion, on the other end. "What's up, Lance?"
"Ash, we have alarming events happening on Cinnabar Island! Please meet me at Indigo Plateau and I will tell you more."
Ash flipped Dexter shut. "Come on, Misty, you come too."
"Okay." She said, and they both got on Pidgeotto and soared into the sky.
Indigo Plateau sat high atop a mountain, and was surrounded by black swirling clouds and strong winds. Pidgeotto came to a landing outside the League HQ, and they saw Lance waiting for them, his cape blowing in the wind.
"Thank you for coming." He said. "Please come inside." Ash and Misty followed him into the League HQ, and soon they were all seated at a table.
"So what's going on?" asked Ash.
"It is most troubling…" replied Lance. "There have been protests going on at Cinnabar against genetic engineering, which is what they do there, and in the past month the protestors have become quite violent, and their Pokemon are just running all over, destroying everything they see. The trainers themselves are even out of control, and going on a rampage as well."
"Oh, dude…" whispered Ash.
"The entire Elite Four and I are going to put a stop to it, and we need you there as well."
Ash looked over at Misty. "But, Lance, I really can't…"
"There's no but's, Ash," said Lance sternly, "You're coming with us."
Ash was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is Misty coming, too?"
Lance frowned. "I'm afraid she must stay behind. This is far too dangerous a job."
"And…how long will you be gone?" said Misty, trembling. Ash put his arm around her.
"I don't know." Answered Lance. "These violent trainers will not be easily subdued."
Ash and Misty said nothing, but stared into each other's eyes.
An hour later, they stood outside the League HQ, getting ready to go. Lance's Dragonite was waiting for Ash to get ready.
Ash stood in front of Misty, holding her hand. "I promise I will be back as soon as possible. I mean it! You have my word."
"I'll miss you…" she said softly.
"I'll miss you, too. But remember, I'll be thinking of you the whole time, okay?" he smiled, and then started to walk over to where Lance was waiting with his Dragonite.
"Wait!" called Misty, running up to him. She flung her arms around him and kissed him, saying, "Good luck, Ashy."
"Ash!" called Lance over the wind, "We must leave NOW!"
Without another word, Ash reluctantly let go of Misty's hand and hopped onto the Dragonite with Lance, and they shot up into the sky.
"Goodbye, Ashy…" whispered Misty with tears in her eyes. "Stay safe."
The battles on Cinnabar were anything but fun. Or easy. From the minute they landed, they were attacked constantly. Ash fought side by side with Lance, Will, Koga, Bruno, and Karen almost all day every day, trying desperately to calm the angry trainers and capture the violent Pokemon. Sometimes they won, sometimes they lost. One time, they were surrounded by 20 other trainers, and they still managed a victory. Ash's Pikachu was outstanding, zapping protestors left and right. The Elite Four often split up to different corners of the island so they could more effectively control the violence. Karen got injured at one point, so the rest of them had to double their efforts until she got better. Bruno was the star of the team, though, as he could pick up even a Snorlax and throw it over a hill like a tennis ball.
The battles raged for a long time, and all the while Ash was thinking of Misty and how lonely she must be. Finally, after much effort, the last Pokemon was captured and the violent trainers were taken into custody. And a year later, Ash breathed in the sweet air of the sky as Pidgeotto took him home to Kanto. He was SO anxious to get back to Misty, to tell her all that went on, and how much he missed her.
An hour later, Pidgeotto touched down in the park outside Cerulean City. Ash immediately set out looking for Misty. Soon, he thought he heard her voice coming from the other side of a hill. He walked over the hill, and gasped.
There was Misty, sitting on a bench with another guy, holding his hand and smiling as they talked. Ash rubbed his eyes and thought, "No way! She wouldn't do that to me! …Would she?" He walked over to them.
"Uh, hey Misty." He said.
She turned. "Oh…hi Ash. You're back. Did you take care of everything?"
"Yeah," said Ash, "but Misty…who's this guy?"
She smiled. "This is Drew. He's my boyfriend."
These words hit Ash like a ton of bricks, and he fell over in a similar fashion. "Your…your…WHAT???"
"That's right!" said the boy with a smart-ass attitude. "We were meant for each other! So why don't you just go back where you came from, little dude?"
A tear came to Ash's eye. "But Misty…what about…me…?"
"Ash, you left me alone for too long." She told him. "What, you thought I would just wait for you forever?"
"But…Misty…"
"Just go away, Ash." She snapped.
Hanging his head, Ash slowly walked back over the hill and sat on the other side.
"Hmmph…stupid girl…" he muttered to himself, pulling out grass, "Who needs her anyway? Grr…"
Back on the other side, Misty sat with her chin in her hands, thinking. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that to Ash…" she thought. "I mean, we WERE in love for a long time…but…"
"Hey, baby, what's wrong?" said Drew.
"Nothing. Just let me think for a minute."
"Hey, how about a kiss?" he asked mischievously.
"No, not right now, Drew." She told him.
"Aw, come on!"
"Hey, I said no!" said Misty, raising her voice.
"Well, the great Drew doesn't take no for an answer." He grabbed her hand.
"Hey!" she cried, "What are you doing? Let go!"
"No way! Not until you kiss me!" he moved closer.
"STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!!!!" screamed Misty at the top of her lungs.
Back over the hill, Ash heard Misty screaming and ran back over, and when he saw what Drew was doing, he was filled with anger like he'd never felt before. He marched over to the bench, grabbed Drew's shoulders, and roughly pulled him off of Misty.
"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" he screamed angrily. "You leave her alone!"
"Hey, stay out of this, little boy!" said Drew with a glare.
"No! Nobody treats Misty like that, you hear? Nobody!"
Drew grinned. "I guess you're saying you want to fight, then?"
"That's precisely what I had in mind." Growled Ash.
"Fine," said Drew, reaching down to his belt. "How many Poke Balls?"
"Oh no, my friend," said Ash, cracking his knuckles, "When it comes to issues like this, we don't use Pokemon."
Drew raised his eyebrows. "You're not serious…" But before he could finish, Ash punched him across the face. Drew picked up Ash by the neck and threw him to the ground. While he was down, Ash swung his legs out and tripped Drew, bringing him to the ground as well. Ash then jumped up and started punching Drew in the stomach. Drew flung him off onto his back, then got up and body slammed him. Ash's body rocketed with pain, but he would not stop. He was doing this for Misty!
Misty watched the fight in fascination. "Wow," she thought to herself, "He must still love me a lot, or else he wouldn't be doing all this. I guess I still love him…"
Ash flung Drew on his back, and elbow-dropped him in his stomach. Drew stood up, put Ash in a headlock, and started punching him hard in his chest. Ash wrenched himself from Drew's grip and kicked him twice where it hurts. When Drew cringed, Ash leapt on top of him, knocking him to the ground. He put his hands around Drew's neck and started to squeeze.
"It's over, my friend…" said Ash softly. "Now, are you going to promise that you'll never, EVER come anywhere near Misty again? Or are you going to make me kill you?"
"Let…me…go!"
"Say it!" screamed Ash. "Say you'll never go near Misty again!" He tightened his grip on Drew's neck. "Promise me!"
Drew was shaking now. "I…promise…" he choked out. "Now…let…go!"
Ash released him and roughly pulled him to his feet. "Now get the hell out of here! And I never want to see you within five miles of Misty ever again! Now GO!"
Drew ran like the wind over the hill, and Ash collapsed on the grass, breathing heavily.
"Ash," said Misty, walking over and sitting down next to him, "That was very brave. Why did you do that?"
When he caught his breath, he said, "Because I love you, Misty. I'll always love you, and I just COULDN'T let that guy abuse you like that. I had to do something."
"Oh, Ashy…" she cried, putting her arms around him, "And I still love you! I always have! I don't know what I ever saw in that guy…" They kissed for a minute or two, and then Ash started looking around.
"Hey! Where's Pikachu?"
The bar in Aqua City wasn't the biggest, but it was the only one for miles. This bar was designed for Pokemon only, and many different monsters were inside, watching the ball game or talking with each other. Pikachu sat at the counter, staring into his mug of Mountain Dew.
"Hey, what's wrong, Pikachu? You look kind of down." Said the barkeep, Mewtwo, coming over to him.
"Oh, it's my trainer, Ash…" said Pikachu. "He used to play with me and hang out with me all the time, but now he's met this girl, and they're like completely ga-ga for each other."
"So what's wrong with that?" asked Mewtwo, wiping down the counter.
"Well, for one thing, it's like he's forgotten all about me." Said Pikachu. "I mean, we fought together on Cinnabar Island, and we've fought together ever since we met, but the minute he hooked up with Misty, it's like I don't exist anymore."
"I know what you mean." Said a Nidorino from across the bar. "My trainer was at this party, and he met this girl, and they like fell so in love that he left all his Poke Balls at the guy's house, and all his Pokemon and I had to find our way back to his house in the dark."
"Well, love is a natural thing," said Mewtwo, drying off a glass. "And I'm sure Ash hasn't forgotten about you or doesn't like you anymore…it's just that he's a little preoccupied."
"A little?" scoffed Pikachu, "Whenever I try to get his attention to tell him I'm hungry or something, he ignores me and keeps staring at that girl! It makes me sick! I'd like to go join Team Rocket right now, or something."
"I'm sure you're just saying that because you're angry…" soothed Mewtwo.
"No, I mean it! I don't know why I even got friendly with that kid."
"Really? Then perhaps you should see this." Using his psychic powers, Mewtwo conjured an image of the area surrounding Cerulean City, now shrouded in darkness. Ash and Misty were searching all over the place, calling out Pikachu's name. They seemed to have been searching for a long time. Pikachu's eyes softened a bit.
"It's no use! We can't find him!" cried Ash, hanging his head. "Where could he be?"
"Don't worry, Ash," said Misty, "I'm sure he'll come back."
"I sure hope so…" said Ash. "He's my best friend in the WHOLE world! If anything happened to him…" He started crying softly, putting his head on Misty's shoulder. The image swirled and disappeared.
"Oh, my…" breathed Pikachu, "He really IS worried about me… what have I done?" He slammed a dollar down on the counter and jumped up. "Later, Mewtwo!"
"Where are you going?" called Mewtwo, "I thought you hated him now!"
"No, I don't! I have to go find him!" cried Pikachu, bolting out the door.
Mewtwo smiled to himself. "I do what I can." He said softly.
"Yo, barkeep!" called a Skiploom, "How 'bout another root beer, heh?""
"Coming up!"
Eight years later, Ash and Misty sat by the lake south of Pallet Town, hand in hand.
"You know, Misty…" began Ash, "We've just had SO many adventures together, haven't we?"
"Yes, Ashy, we certainly have." She said, smiling.
"We've spent so much time together…" he continued.
"Yep!"
"But… I think we should spend even more time together…"
Her eyes widened.
"In fact, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
She put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Ash…"
"Misty," he said, "Say you'll marry me."
She smiled. "Of course I will, Ashy! Was there any doubt at all?"
He said nothing, and they kissed each other with all their love flowing out.
While all this was going on, they were unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching from a nearby bush. Mr. Miyamoto turned to his colleague and said in Japanese, "Blast it! There go the plans for the next Pokemon movie!!"
THE END!!!!
This story written by Paul "2ie" G! Sideshowmel601@aol.com
By 2ie
The sun was high in the sky and the Jigglypuff were singing as Ash and Misty walked down the dirt trail. Misty was carrying Togepi in her arms, as usual, and Ash was carrying Pikachu, tickling him.
"Ash, will you stop tickling that Pikachu?" screamed Misty out of nowhere. "It's getting soooooo annoying!"
Ash just smirked and said, "Ah, you're just jealous that you don't have a Pokemon you can play with like this."
"Oh yeah, Mr. Ketchum? Watch this!" She started tickling Togepi's feet, saying, "Who's the cute little Togepi? Is it you?" Togepi looked left and right, then started crying at the top of his lungs, tears streaming out in fountains.
"Well done, Misty, well done." Said Ash, letting Pikachu jump back up on his shoulders.
"Oh, just shut up!" she growled angrily, and they resumed walking in silence.
As they walked, Ash occasionally glanced over at Misty, thinking how sad it was that they always fought like this… He was always trying to be nice to her, to show her that he didn't like arguing all the time. And he could tell she was trying to do the same, always helping him when he got into a scrape. But that was about it. He just wished that one day he would have the guts to… WHAM!!!
When Ash opened his eyes, he was on his back on the ground, and his face was burning.
"Are you okay?" asked Misty.
"Uh, yeah, I think so… what happened?"
"It was soooo funny! You weren't watching where you were going and you walked right into a tree! You're lucky it didn't have a Beedrill nest in it."
"Oh…" mumbled Ash, rubbing his head.
"Well, come on, I'll help you up." Said Misty, and she reached out her hand. He took it, and she pulled him up, but when he got to his feet, he didn't let go.
Misty laughed nervously. "Uh, Ash… What are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing. Sorry…" He quickly let go of her hand and they continued walking.
As they continued walking, Misty wondered at Ash's strange behavior. He hadn't let go of her hand, but then… something inside her didn't want him to let go. She had always thought there was something special about him… the way he loved Pokemon, how strong he was in battle… there was just something about him…
Absentmindedly, Misty slowly reached down and took Ash's hand again. Ash's eyes widened, but he said nothing, and they kept walking.
Finally, they reached the outskirts of Daisy Town.
"Let's stop and rest here." Said Misty, plopping down on the grass. Ash sat down next to her.
After a little while, Ash said, "Misty, you look really nice today."
"Thank you." She said with a smile. She wondered at why he said that. He had never said anything like that before…
"And I bet Togepi loves being held by you all the time…" he added.
This made her nervous. "Uhhhh, Ash are you trying to tell me something?"
"Um, no…" Ash said, quickly looking away.
"Oh…" Misty was slightly disappointed, but said nothing else. Suddenly, she was aware that Ash was holding her hand again. She smiled and edged closer to him.
"Ash," she said softly, "You seem to like holding my hand."
After a brief pause, Ash said, "I do."
"And I like holding your hand, too, Ash."
Ash stared into her eyes. "Misty, I...um…"
Suddenly, they were startled by a loud explosion coming from Daisy Town.
"Come on, we'd better go see what that was!" said Ash, getting up. Ash and Misty ran at full speed towards the city.
When they got into the town, they easily found the source of the noise… about 5 Team Rocket tanks were surrounding the Pokemon Center!
"Come on, we've got to stop them!" said Ash, and they both ran inside.
The Pokemon Center staff was backed into a corner, and a few Rockets were loading all the Poke Balls into a big bag.
"Hey! Cut that out!" screamed Ash. The Rockets spun around and leered at him.
"Who are you?"
"That doesn't matter! You'd better stop what you're doing right now!"
"Fat chance, kid!" They said, "Unless you want to battle."
"That's the idea!" growled Ash. "Go, Pikachu!" Pikachu ran out into the center of the room.
"Hmm…okay, let's go, Weezing!" said the Rocket, releasing his Pokemon. They stood, glaring at one another for a moment.
"The bag!" Ash whispered to Misty. "While we're fighting, go after the bag!"
"Right." She whispered back.
While Pikachu and Weezing exchanged attacks, Misty crept over to where the bag with the Poke Balls was laying on the ground, and slowly started to lift it up, until another Rocket saw her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" he yelled, grabbing her arm.
"Let go of me!" she cried, struggling to break free.
"Shut up!" said the Rocket, and he flung her to the floor.
"Hey!" screamed Ash, who had seen the whole thing. Forgetting all about his Pokemon, he ran over and decked the Rocket clean across the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Wow…" thought Misty to herself, "He did that just for me! He really is special…"
"Alright, everyone!" shouted Ash angrily, "We're gonna forget about all these sissy battle rules! All you Rockets… you have 10 seconds to get out of the building, or Pikachu here will MAKE you!"
The Rockets slowly started edging to the door as Ash counted. "1…2…10! Pikachu, if you please!"
Pikachu shot forth lightning blasts stronger than any before, which surged through the Rockets, making them scream and run at light speed through the door. Ash walked over to Misty.
"Are you OK?"
"Yes, thanks to you." She said softly. Ash put out his hand to help her up, and when she stood up, she said "Ash…you're holding my hand again…"
"Oh, am I? I hadn't noticed." Said Ash with a grin.
She laughed. "Oh, Ash… Come on, let's go." They left the Pokemon Center, still holding hands.
That night, they were watching TV in the small motel room they were staying in, because the Pokemon Centers no longer let trainers spend the night there.
As they watched, Misty found that once again, Ash was holding her hand.
"You know, Ash…" she said with a sly look, "One would almost be willing to bet you had a crush on me."
"Hmm… that could be possible." Said Ash with a smile.
"Really? How big a possibility? On a scale from 1 to 10?"
Ash thought for a moment. "Oh, I don't know…maybe 11…or 12…"
Misty gasped. "Ash… do you mean it?"
He gazed into her eyes. "Yes, Misty, I do. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you, but…"
"Oh, that's okay," she said, smiling. "And you know what? I know a girl who has a really big crush on YOU."
Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really? Tell me about her."
"Well," began Misty, slowly putting her arm around him, "She's actually had a crush on you for a very long time. She thinks you're just SO strong, and kind, and funny… She just LOVES being around you!"
"Hmmm…tell me more."
"She just LOVES water Pokemon," she continued, "But she also has a Togepi that she just loves SO much!"
"You know, that sounds just like a girl I know…" said Ash, moving closer. "It even sounds like you."
"There's a chance of that," said Misty with a grin.
"On a scale of 1 to 10……?"
"Oh, I don't know… I'd say, 1,000,000."
He put his other arm around her. "Misty…are you for real?"
"Yes, Ashy… I've wanted to tell you for SO freakin' long, but those jerks at Nintendo wouldn't let me! 'Keep it appropriate for the kids' they kept saying!"
"Well, they're not here now, are they?" said Ash softly.
"No, they're not…" said Misty with a smile, and they shared their first magical kiss.
"Wow, Misty…" Ash murmured when it was over, "That was…awesome."
She smiled and kissed him again. She wanted it to last forever, but just then there was a loud knock on the door.
"Hey! Hey! What's going on in there?" shouted a voice with a Japanese accent.
Ash quickly stopped the kiss and said, "Nothing, Mr. Miyamoto!"
"You'd better make sure!"
The next morning, Misty nudged Ash awake. "Good morning, sleepyhead." She said. "Time to get up!"
He sat up slowly. "Good morning, Misty."
"How'd you sleep, Ashy?"
"Quite well, for once…" he said. "However, my lips are still tingling."
She smiled. "Oh, you mean from this?" she said, giving him another quick kiss.
"Yeah, that's probably the reason."
"Well, I'm just glad we finally told each other." She said, going over to the mirror to comb her hair. "It takes such a load off my back, you know?"
"I know exactly how you feel." He said, getting out of bed. "But you know, I've NEVER felt this way about a girl in my life. It's so weird…"
"Well, there's gotta be a first time for everything, right?" she said with a smile.
"Yeah, I guess… so what's on the agenda for today?"
"I don't know." She replied. "I think we're free today."
As if on cue, Ash's Pokedex started squawking. Ash grimaced, but answered it anyway to see Professor Oak staring back at him.
"Ash! I have a job for you!"
"Great," muttered Ash. "What is it?"
"We have word that a group of Rockets is going to attack the Daisy Town Pokemon Center today! You have to stop them!"
"We already did that, Professor. We did that yesterday."
"What?" asked the Professor, looking puzzled. He studied the paper again. "Hey! Wait a minute… this report is from yesterday! Johnson, what the devil were you thinking, giving me a report from a day ago?"
A voice of an unseen person said, "I gave it to you a day ago, Oak. You were just drunk and didn't see it."
"Hmmph…" grumbled Oak, but then said, "Never mind, then! I guess you have the day off, unless anything comes up. See you!" The screen went blank.
"So what do you want to do today?" asked Misty.
"I don't know… how about we go see that new 'Galaxy Battles' movie that just came out?"
"Hmmm…okay!"
Later on, they sat together watching the movie in the small theater in Daisy Town. Shortly after it started, Misty took Ash's hand and held it tightly, and they stayed that way through the whole thing.
At the scene at the end where the two main characters got married, Misty tapped Ash on the shoulder, stared into his eyes and whispered, "One day…"
Ash broke into a grin, and they kissed.
When they got out of the theater, it was only 2:00, so they still had lots of time.
"So what next?" asked Misty.
"I don't know… you pick something."
Misty thought for a moment. "I'd actually be content to just go sit by the lake for a while."
"OK."
They sat on the dock hand-in-hand, watching the fish jump.
"You ever wonder how Magikarp can get so darn powerful in one shot?" asked Ash. "I mean, it seems physically impossible, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it does," said Misty, dipping her feet in the water. "I guess it's just an amazing act of nature."
"I call it magic." Said Ash. "Do you believe in magic?"
Misty was silent for a bit, then said, "Yeah, I suppose a little bit."
"I was never a believer in magic. It sounded like rubbish to me. That is, until a few days ago." He put his arm around her. "Now I believe it with all my heart."
She looked at him and laughed. "Oh, Ash… you really think our love is magic?"
"Absolutely! A guy like me doesn't meet a girl like you by accident, you know? Something was behind it."
She put her arms around him. "Ash, you are just SO sweet. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like you so much."
"Misty, if you asked me to make a list of all the reasons I love you, you'd bury Saffron City in paper."
"Oh, Ashy…" she said softly, and they kissed again, holding each other close. It lasted for about 5 minutes, and then Ash fell back on the dock, holding his head.
"Misty…wow… I knew you were a nice girl, but…whew!"
She laughed. "Ash, you are such a silly boy!"
He sat up. "But I don't think I remember it too well… I need it like, engrained in my memory."
"Oh really?" she said with a grin, and went to kiss him again, but then his Pokedex started beeping again.
"This had better not be another false alarm…" grumbled Ash, and he flipped open the device. This time, it was Lance, the former Champion, on the other end. "What's up, Lance?"
"Ash, we have alarming events happening on Cinnabar Island! Please meet me at Indigo Plateau and I will tell you more."
Ash flipped Dexter shut. "Come on, Misty, you come too."
"Okay." She said, and they both got on Pidgeotto and soared into the sky.
Indigo Plateau sat high atop a mountain, and was surrounded by black swirling clouds and strong winds. Pidgeotto came to a landing outside the League HQ, and they saw Lance waiting for them, his cape blowing in the wind.
"Thank you for coming." He said. "Please come inside." Ash and Misty followed him into the League HQ, and soon they were all seated at a table.
"So what's going on?" asked Ash.
"It is most troubling…" replied Lance. "There have been protests going on at Cinnabar against genetic engineering, which is what they do there, and in the past month the protestors have become quite violent, and their Pokemon are just running all over, destroying everything they see. The trainers themselves are even out of control, and going on a rampage as well."
"Oh, dude…" whispered Ash.
"The entire Elite Four and I are going to put a stop to it, and we need you there as well."
Ash looked over at Misty. "But, Lance, I really can't…"
"There's no but's, Ash," said Lance sternly, "You're coming with us."
Ash was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is Misty coming, too?"
Lance frowned. "I'm afraid she must stay behind. This is far too dangerous a job."
"And…how long will you be gone?" said Misty, trembling. Ash put his arm around her.
"I don't know." Answered Lance. "These violent trainers will not be easily subdued."
Ash and Misty said nothing, but stared into each other's eyes.
An hour later, they stood outside the League HQ, getting ready to go. Lance's Dragonite was waiting for Ash to get ready.
Ash stood in front of Misty, holding her hand. "I promise I will be back as soon as possible. I mean it! You have my word."
"I'll miss you…" she said softly.
"I'll miss you, too. But remember, I'll be thinking of you the whole time, okay?" he smiled, and then started to walk over to where Lance was waiting with his Dragonite.
"Wait!" called Misty, running up to him. She flung her arms around him and kissed him, saying, "Good luck, Ashy."
"Ash!" called Lance over the wind, "We must leave NOW!"
Without another word, Ash reluctantly let go of Misty's hand and hopped onto the Dragonite with Lance, and they shot up into the sky.
"Goodbye, Ashy…" whispered Misty with tears in her eyes. "Stay safe."
The battles on Cinnabar were anything but fun. Or easy. From the minute they landed, they were attacked constantly. Ash fought side by side with Lance, Will, Koga, Bruno, and Karen almost all day every day, trying desperately to calm the angry trainers and capture the violent Pokemon. Sometimes they won, sometimes they lost. One time, they were surrounded by 20 other trainers, and they still managed a victory. Ash's Pikachu was outstanding, zapping protestors left and right. The Elite Four often split up to different corners of the island so they could more effectively control the violence. Karen got injured at one point, so the rest of them had to double their efforts until she got better. Bruno was the star of the team, though, as he could pick up even a Snorlax and throw it over a hill like a tennis ball.
The battles raged for a long time, and all the while Ash was thinking of Misty and how lonely she must be. Finally, after much effort, the last Pokemon was captured and the violent trainers were taken into custody. And a year later, Ash breathed in the sweet air of the sky as Pidgeotto took him home to Kanto. He was SO anxious to get back to Misty, to tell her all that went on, and how much he missed her.
An hour later, Pidgeotto touched down in the park outside Cerulean City. Ash immediately set out looking for Misty. Soon, he thought he heard her voice coming from the other side of a hill. He walked over the hill, and gasped.
There was Misty, sitting on a bench with another guy, holding his hand and smiling as they talked. Ash rubbed his eyes and thought, "No way! She wouldn't do that to me! …Would she?" He walked over to them.
"Uh, hey Misty." He said.
She turned. "Oh…hi Ash. You're back. Did you take care of everything?"
"Yeah," said Ash, "but Misty…who's this guy?"
She smiled. "This is Drew. He's my boyfriend."
These words hit Ash like a ton of bricks, and he fell over in a similar fashion. "Your…your…WHAT???"
"That's right!" said the boy with a smart-ass attitude. "We were meant for each other! So why don't you just go back where you came from, little dude?"
A tear came to Ash's eye. "But Misty…what about…me…?"
"Ash, you left me alone for too long." She told him. "What, you thought I would just wait for you forever?"
"But…Misty…"
"Just go away, Ash." She snapped.
Hanging his head, Ash slowly walked back over the hill and sat on the other side.
"Hmmph…stupid girl…" he muttered to himself, pulling out grass, "Who needs her anyway? Grr…"
Back on the other side, Misty sat with her chin in her hands, thinking. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that to Ash…" she thought. "I mean, we WERE in love for a long time…but…"
"Hey, baby, what's wrong?" said Drew.
"Nothing. Just let me think for a minute."
"Hey, how about a kiss?" he asked mischievously.
"No, not right now, Drew." She told him.
"Aw, come on!"
"Hey, I said no!" said Misty, raising her voice.
"Well, the great Drew doesn't take no for an answer." He grabbed her hand.
"Hey!" she cried, "What are you doing? Let go!"
"No way! Not until you kiss me!" he moved closer.
"STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!!!!" screamed Misty at the top of her lungs.
Back over the hill, Ash heard Misty screaming and ran back over, and when he saw what Drew was doing, he was filled with anger like he'd never felt before. He marched over to the bench, grabbed Drew's shoulders, and roughly pulled him off of Misty.
"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" he screamed angrily. "You leave her alone!"
"Hey, stay out of this, little boy!" said Drew with a glare.
"No! Nobody treats Misty like that, you hear? Nobody!"
Drew grinned. "I guess you're saying you want to fight, then?"
"That's precisely what I had in mind." Growled Ash.
"Fine," said Drew, reaching down to his belt. "How many Poke Balls?"
"Oh no, my friend," said Ash, cracking his knuckles, "When it comes to issues like this, we don't use Pokemon."
Drew raised his eyebrows. "You're not serious…" But before he could finish, Ash punched him across the face. Drew picked up Ash by the neck and threw him to the ground. While he was down, Ash swung his legs out and tripped Drew, bringing him to the ground as well. Ash then jumped up and started punching Drew in the stomach. Drew flung him off onto his back, then got up and body slammed him. Ash's body rocketed with pain, but he would not stop. He was doing this for Misty!
Misty watched the fight in fascination. "Wow," she thought to herself, "He must still love me a lot, or else he wouldn't be doing all this. I guess I still love him…"
Ash flung Drew on his back, and elbow-dropped him in his stomach. Drew stood up, put Ash in a headlock, and started punching him hard in his chest. Ash wrenched himself from Drew's grip and kicked him twice where it hurts. When Drew cringed, Ash leapt on top of him, knocking him to the ground. He put his hands around Drew's neck and started to squeeze.
"It's over, my friend…" said Ash softly. "Now, are you going to promise that you'll never, EVER come anywhere near Misty again? Or are you going to make me kill you?"
"Let…me…go!"
"Say it!" screamed Ash. "Say you'll never go near Misty again!" He tightened his grip on Drew's neck. "Promise me!"
Drew was shaking now. "I…promise…" he choked out. "Now…let…go!"
Ash released him and roughly pulled him to his feet. "Now get the hell out of here! And I never want to see you within five miles of Misty ever again! Now GO!"
Drew ran like the wind over the hill, and Ash collapsed on the grass, breathing heavily.
"Ash," said Misty, walking over and sitting down next to him, "That was very brave. Why did you do that?"
When he caught his breath, he said, "Because I love you, Misty. I'll always love you, and I just COULDN'T let that guy abuse you like that. I had to do something."
"Oh, Ashy…" she cried, putting her arms around him, "And I still love you! I always have! I don't know what I ever saw in that guy…" They kissed for a minute or two, and then Ash started looking around.
"Hey! Where's Pikachu?"
The bar in Aqua City wasn't the biggest, but it was the only one for miles. This bar was designed for Pokemon only, and many different monsters were inside, watching the ball game or talking with each other. Pikachu sat at the counter, staring into his mug of Mountain Dew.
"Hey, what's wrong, Pikachu? You look kind of down." Said the barkeep, Mewtwo, coming over to him.
"Oh, it's my trainer, Ash…" said Pikachu. "He used to play with me and hang out with me all the time, but now he's met this girl, and they're like completely ga-ga for each other."
"So what's wrong with that?" asked Mewtwo, wiping down the counter.
"Well, for one thing, it's like he's forgotten all about me." Said Pikachu. "I mean, we fought together on Cinnabar Island, and we've fought together ever since we met, but the minute he hooked up with Misty, it's like I don't exist anymore."
"I know what you mean." Said a Nidorino from across the bar. "My trainer was at this party, and he met this girl, and they like fell so in love that he left all his Poke Balls at the guy's house, and all his Pokemon and I had to find our way back to his house in the dark."
"Well, love is a natural thing," said Mewtwo, drying off a glass. "And I'm sure Ash hasn't forgotten about you or doesn't like you anymore…it's just that he's a little preoccupied."
"A little?" scoffed Pikachu, "Whenever I try to get his attention to tell him I'm hungry or something, he ignores me and keeps staring at that girl! It makes me sick! I'd like to go join Team Rocket right now, or something."
"I'm sure you're just saying that because you're angry…" soothed Mewtwo.
"No, I mean it! I don't know why I even got friendly with that kid."
"Really? Then perhaps you should see this." Using his psychic powers, Mewtwo conjured an image of the area surrounding Cerulean City, now shrouded in darkness. Ash and Misty were searching all over the place, calling out Pikachu's name. They seemed to have been searching for a long time. Pikachu's eyes softened a bit.
"It's no use! We can't find him!" cried Ash, hanging his head. "Where could he be?"
"Don't worry, Ash," said Misty, "I'm sure he'll come back."
"I sure hope so…" said Ash. "He's my best friend in the WHOLE world! If anything happened to him…" He started crying softly, putting his head on Misty's shoulder. The image swirled and disappeared.
"Oh, my…" breathed Pikachu, "He really IS worried about me… what have I done?" He slammed a dollar down on the counter and jumped up. "Later, Mewtwo!"
"Where are you going?" called Mewtwo, "I thought you hated him now!"
"No, I don't! I have to go find him!" cried Pikachu, bolting out the door.
Mewtwo smiled to himself. "I do what I can." He said softly.
"Yo, barkeep!" called a Skiploom, "How 'bout another root beer, heh?""
"Coming up!"
Eight years later, Ash and Misty sat by the lake south of Pallet Town, hand in hand.
"You know, Misty…" began Ash, "We've just had SO many adventures together, haven't we?"
"Yes, Ashy, we certainly have." She said, smiling.
"We've spent so much time together…" he continued.
"Yep!"
"But… I think we should spend even more time together…"
Her eyes widened.
"In fact, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
She put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Ash…"
"Misty," he said, "Say you'll marry me."
She smiled. "Of course I will, Ashy! Was there any doubt at all?"
He said nothing, and they kissed each other with all their love flowing out.
While all this was going on, they were unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching from a nearby bush. Mr. Miyamoto turned to his colleague and said in Japanese, "Blast it! There go the plans for the next Pokemon movie!!"
THE END!!!!
This story written by Paul "2ie" G! Sideshowmel601@aol.com