Chapter 9: In Which Nobody Gets a New Bike

"THAT STUPID JIGGLYPUFF COLORED ON MY GLASSES AGAIN! OH, IT SHALL PAY FOR THIS! I SHALL HUNT IT DOWN AND MAKE IT DIE A LONG, SLOW, PAINFUL DEATH!"

Everyone cringed away from the force of Brynna's anger, although it was not directed at them this time. "I don't see what the big deal is," Misty muttered.

"Um, Misty?" said Brock. "Did you know you've got 'Ash &Misty Forever' written on your cheek with a heart around it?"

"Ooh..." said Misty. "NOT AGAIN! THE JIGGLYPUFF MUST DIE!"

"Whoa, it's got Misty and Brynna after it? That is one dead Jigglypuff," commented Tracey.

"Whatever you say, Growlithe," Misty said.

"...Growlithe?"

"The Jigglypuff gave you a black nose and stripes on your face, by which I assume it was trying to make you look like a Growlithe," Misty explained.

"Oh."

"Well, we should get going, said Brynna, having gotten most of the scribbles off of her glasses. "It's nearly six o'clock and at the rate we're going we'll make it to Ecruteak at about four in the morning."

"Okay," Ash, Tracey, and Brock agreed.

"Hey, wait!" said Misty. "I haven't gotten all of the marker off of my face yet! And if you think I'm going to Ecruteak or anywhere else with 'Ash &Misty Forever' written on my face, you are sadly mistaken!"

"Forget that," said Brock, grabbing her by the ear and dragging her along. "Let's go." He looked like he was enjoying himself thoroughly.

"Oh, you're just siding with Brynna because you think she's a pretty girl," Misty said irritably.

"I am not! I'm siding with her because I think she's right!"

"Oh, sorry. You're siding with her because you think she's right, and you think she's right because she's a pretty girl. I get it now."

"Honestly, Misty, what's your problem? You're being so... so..."

"You want to know what my problem is?" shouted Misty. "I'll tell you what my problem is! I've got 'Ash &Misty Forever' written on my face and I'm not being allowed to wash it off! And you're dragging me down the road by my ear and it hurts."

"Well, maybe you ought to think of that the next time you drag me around by my ear."

Misty smacked him.

"Oh, cut it out, you two," said Tracey. "Let's just stop arguing and go, okay? Misty, you can wash your face while you walk."

"Fine," said Misty sulkily, as Brock let go of her ear. And they were off again.

Things were happily uneventful the rest of the way to Ecruteak. Even so, they didn't get there until about eight at night because they were going rather slowly.

They stayed at the Pokémon Center, as usual, but the Nurse Joy there said that she refused to serve them dinner because it had been two hours ago and they'd missed it.

"I'm hungry!" whined Ash once they had gotten settled in their room.

"Well, too bad, because we missed dinner," snapped Brynna.

"We missed dinner?!" said Ash, in much the same tones as one might say, "The world is coming to an end next Wednesday?!"

"Yes... and whose fault might that be, I wonder?" Brynna's tone fairly dripped sarcasm. Well, it didn't literally drip sarcasm, because sarcasm doesn't really drip and besides, Brynna probably wouldn't have wanted to make a mess of the bed she'd be sleeping in, but you get the idea.

"Um... the Jigglypuff's?" Ash said, thinking as hard as he could (which wasn't really very hard at all).

"...Forget it."

So they all went to bed, none of them at all happy. Well, except Brock, who was quite glad to be in close proximity to a Nurse Joy.

They lay on their respective beds for quite a while, unable to sleep due to their jigglypuff-induced naps earlier, not saying anything to one another.

Misty finally broke the silence. "Hey, Ash?"

"What?"

"I've been thinking..."

"What'd you want to do that for? It's hard. And boring."

"Oh, shut up. Anyway, there's a bike shop in Goldenrod, isn't there?"

Ash thought for a minute. "Yeah, there is. So?"

"Well, you still owe me a bike, right?"

Ash considered, trying to remember if he did. "Yeah, I guess so."

"What're you talking about? He doesn't owe you a bike. He already bought you one, remember?" Brock seemed puzzled.

Misty's reply to this was not quite what anyone had expected. "Damn it, Brock, why'd you have to interfere? Why couldn't you just have kept your mouth shut? I'd almost gotten him to buy me a new bike!"

"Huh?" said Brock, understandably confused.

"Let me put it into terms that are easier for stupid people to understand. I want a bike. I have no money. Ash has lots of money. However, Ash probably wouldn't give me money if I asked for it. So I figured, if I could make Ash think he still owed me a bike, maybe he'd buy one for me. Now, Ash is just dumb enough to fall for that, and his being tired and hungry right now is an added bonus, because all he'll be able to think about for the next twenty-four hours is the fact that he missed dinner tonight."

"Dinner?" said Ash, suddenly paying attention. "Food?"

"No," chorused Brynna, Misty, Tracey, and Brock.

"Wait," Brock added, turning to Misty. "Let me get this straight. You were going to manipulate Ash and get him to buy you a bike which you are not owed and which you neither deserve nor need, because he has money and you don't?"

"And because I want one. And because he's stupid."

"Okay, whatever you say."

"Besides, I wasn't manipulating him."

"You weren't?"

"Not as such, no."

"'Not as such'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I was just lying to him and he believed me because he was stupid. That's not manipulating."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not, because it's a very obvious lie. It's only manipulating if you're being sneaky."

"Quit arguing semantics, you two, because some of us do want to sleep. Brock, I think you may be right about the manipulating thing, and at any rate, Misty was doing something bad, yes.But arguing about the connotations of the word "manipulate" at two in the morning will not help at all. Misty, I agree thatAsh is stupid. That doesn't mean you can steal his money.And no, you are definitely not getting a new bike. Nobody is getting a new bike. So shut up, both of you." Brynna was clearly annoyed. Again.

"Fine," both Misty and Brock grumbled, and shut up. And they all (except Misty) lived happily (well, marginally more happily than before) ever after, or at least for the rest of the night.

((No, Pikachu isn't in this chapter either. He is currently undergoing therapy at that fabled place with padded rooms and men in white coats. When he is more stable and can be trusted to return to the story, he will be allowed to show up again; until then we'll just have to work without him.

Also, I know the characters are very OOC in this chapter. Oh well. Deal with it.))