Disclaimer: I'm too poor for Pokémon to belong to me.

Chapter Four

"Ash! Brock! What are you guys doing here?" Misty asked, as shocked as they were. She looked embarrassed, like she'd been caught doing something wrong.

"We came here to get away from the rain," Ash replied. "What are you doing here?"

Before she could answer, Brock pushed in from of him. "You know misty, did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

Misty frowned and made a grab for his ear before she realized what she attempted to do would be impossible.

"What are you dressed up like that?" Ash asked her. He coughed. "Are you wearing perfume?"
"Yup. Do you like it?"

"Ugh! No!" He sputtered and gagged, then held his nose.

Misty glared at him. "You know, Ash Katchum, sometimes you have no taste at all." She raised her hand to slap him, but one of the sisters stopped her.

"Misty, that isn't very ladylike," she scolded.

"Oh, sorry, Spraya. My bad." She turned to Ash. "Sorry about that."

Ash's jaw dropped. "Since when do you apologize to me? And since when are you worried about being ladylike? Misty, are you feeling okay?"
Misty put her hands behind her back to prevent herself from hurting him. She glanced over at the other girls, who were now filing their nails and not paying any attention. "I'm fine. In case you haven't noticed," she hissed, "I am a girl. I don't see what's wrong with acting like a proper young lady. And I think I look very nice, thank you very much."

"It just isn't you…" Ash began.

Misty was furious. "Why do people think I'm a stupid tomboy? I'm just as pretty as my sisters."
"Oh, that's what this is about," he realized, the pieces coming together in his head. "But you're pr- well, you're fine just the way you are."

"Is that so?" she fumed. "Then why do you get embarrassed whenever people think I'm your girlfriend, huh? Tell me that."

"Because I…" Ash started to say, but he stopped himself. "You get embarrassed too."

"That's different," she replied. "It's because you're an immature little…"

"Misty!" cried everyone in the beauty salon, except for Ash and Brock.

She blushed and glanced up at the clock hung on the wall. "Well, look at the time. Let's go to bed!"

The sisters nodded and pulled back a velvet curtain to reveal exactly 10 beds, 9 large ones and one smaller one. Each of them had a brass headboard and two fluffy down pillows. They looked exceedingly comfortable, but there was one problem: They were all pink. But Ash was too baffled, too wet, and too exhausted to be picky right now.

"Wow, is this for all of your family?" Ash asked.

Rinsya shook her head. "Not anymore. This place was passed down from generation to generation. It belonged to my mom and her sisters, and before that, my grandmother and her sisters. But we didn't want to sleep in their beds, so we brought our own. Our guest stay in the spare ones."

Ash though they all looked to the same to him and it didn't make much sense, but he decided to leave it be, he was already in enough trouble as it was. Instead, he asked, "What's that little bed for?"

"That's for my Ninetails," her trainer spoke up, putting down the brush. "We all come here everyday, anyway, so we may as well stay overnight as well. It's like a sleepover everyday."

Ash made a face at the thought of staying in a smelly beauty salon every night. Already, the fumes from the hair spray were getting to him. "Well, I guess it is rather late." He hoped that, if he went to bed now, he would awake to find out that this was all a terrible nightmare.

The others nodded. All the girls, including Misty, who placed Togepi on her pillow, went into the bathroom to change. Each of them came out in frilly pink nightgowns with curlers in their hair. They turned down the sheets and hopped into bed.

"Well, I guess these are ours," Brock said, unmaking the remaining ones and climbing into bed himself. He had changed into his nicest blue pajamas. Ash was still in his black shirt and jeans.

"Yeah, I guess so." Ash glanced over at Misty, who was already snoring lightly. Fighting was normal for them, but she was acting so strange. "I wish she would go back to the way she was." Ash chuckled. "I never thought I would say that." He set his backpack and jacket down at the foot of the bed.

Oh, I almost forgot about the Politoed. I'll put it under her pillow. Then she won't be mad at me anymore, and maybe she'll be normal again.

Ash tiptoed over to her bed, Pikachu at his heels. "Looks like the Pokémon fairy is visiting tonight."

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu jumped onto their bed and curled up on the pillow. Ash lay down next to him.

"Sweet dreams, Pikachu."

"Pikachu," he murmured in reply. Ash closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.