Chapter 2: Day 2—A new house guest

Misty's POV

"I'm sorry about your boyfriend," I heard a voice whisper. I looked up from my sleeping position on the couch to see Ash looking down at me.

"C'mon now, don't give me such a sorrowful look," I smiled. I sat up and looked at him. "How's Jirachi?"

"Sleeping," Ash said. "I think it's doing better." I breathed a sigh of relief. The worst was over.

"Still though," Ash continued, "That guy was a jerk anyway, he was never right for you. I can tell these things about people."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "Well what about you? How are things with you and your girl?"

Ash sighed. "Well…she broke up with me."

"Aww, man seriously? I'm sorry about that, Ash," I said. "I thought you really liked her, so what happened?"

"Ah, I don't know it just seemed like I did everything right. I dressed up in a nice tux and I had the flowers, the candy, even Pikachu dressed up too. But when she came in and saw us the first thing she said was that we have to talk," Ash said, shaking his head.

I grimaced. "Eww, that's not good." I replied.

"Then she said I talked about pokemon too much, I mean c'mon I'm a former champion for God's sake, and I traveled all over the world with my closest pokemon friends what more could I possibly speak about?"

"Oh Ash," I reached over and wrapped my arm around his shoulders. "The only reason women don't like that quality about you is because they don't know you. They don't appreciate you for who you are. Don't worry, someday you'll find someone that will love you and accept you for you, and then you won't have to try so hard to impress that person."

Ash smiled. "Hmph, thanks Misty, really…" He looked down at my face, which was resting on his shoulder. "You know…sometimes…I wish…" He trailed off unexpectedly, causing me to look at him in confusion.

"You wish what?" I asked.

Ash turned away and shook his head. "Nevermind. It's nothing important."

I tried to get something out of his look but I was too tired to think. Pulling an all nighter really takes the energy out of you. "Well I can use some coffee, how about you?"

Ash looked back at me and smiled again. "I would like that."

I woke up again to feel a paw tapping my forehead. "Ah, what the—Pikachu?"

"Pika!" he chirped.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Misty look!" I heard Ash say. I looked behind me and I swear I felt my heart flutter with glee. There was Jirachi, sitting up and eating. Sure it still had drooping eyes and was still wrapped in towels, but it seemed happy, and getting more well by the second.

"Oh my goodness! You're awake!" I stood up and ran over to it.

"Jirli! Jirli!" the small star-shaped pokemon cried.

"I'm so glad you're ok, we were all really worried," I said. The pokemon looked up at me with inquisitive eyes, as if wondering who I was. "Jirachi, I was the one that rescued you on the beach yesterday. My name is Misty."

"And I'm Ash," my friend interrupted, "And this is Pikachu and Venusaur," he pointed to each of the pokemon beside him.

Jirachi looked at each of us, still a bit confused but a bit more relaxed. I bent down closer to the pokemon, to look at it more closely. "Jirachi, could you tell us more about what happened to you? Do you remember?"

Jirachi looked down at the food bowl in front of it, a bit unwilling to speak, then finally began relaying its words to Pikachu. Pikachu and Jirachi had a somewhat long conversation, until I got anxious and motioned to Ash to ask Pikachu what was going on.

"Uhm Pikachu, what is Jirachi saying?" Then Pikachu began telling Ash everything and Ash in turn told me. "Misty…Jirachi is being sought after. I don't know by who, but Jirachi says they chased it all the way here from a very long way. Jirachi doesn't seem to know why they are after it either, but I guess it has something to do with its power."

It was exactly as I feared. "Ash, we have to protect Jirachi. Who knows what could happen to it if we just let it go, and I don't think it has enough strength to survive on its own at the moment."

Ash looked understandably worried, after all our only defense was Pikachu and Venusaur. My experience as a former gym leader nor Ash's experience as a former champion would save us if the worst happened. But deep inside I think Ash agreed with me. We had no other choice but to keep Jirachi with us until it was well enough to defend itself.

Ash sighed. "Fine I guess you're right. Alright we'll keep it with us, and we'll defend it the best we can. It's all we can do."

And thus I became my happiest all morning. My eyes grew happy and my smile was wide and victorious. "Yes! You here that Jirachi? You get to stay with us until we'll be able to take you back home!"

Jirachi leapt from joy out of its towel bed. Pikachu also cried his name out in happiness that he would be able to have another friend around, and Venusaur let out a low bellowing sigh seeming a bit content over the situation.

"Oi, Jirachi, take it easy," Ash laughed. "You don't want to get sick again do you?"

I smiled. "At least it seems to like us now, right Jirachi?"

Jirachi spun around in our living room, letting out another cry, before placing its hands on its chest. Ash and I wondered what it was doing, but before we could worry any further, it began to become engulfed in a small white ball of light.

I attempted to shield my eyes from the blinding light. "What's happening?"

I heard Pikachu and Ash gasp in awe. "I-I think Jirachi is changing somehow!" Ash said.

Sure enough, right before our eyes, the little ball of light was shaping up into something. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it almost seemed inviting, the warm presence reassuring me that we were safe from harm. Before we knew it, the white light dissipated, and in its place was the last thing we would have ever expected.

"It...it's a.." Ash stuttered.

"A human?!" I blurted out.

I couldn't believe it but there before us sat a small human girl, that aged maybe around 6 or 7, wearing a long white frilly gown and long golden hair, with bright blue eyes and tiny red freckles on her cheeks.

She turned to Ash and smiled happily. "Do you like my new look?"

Ash sputtered like a madman and I tried hard not to faint by holding on to the arm of the couch. Never in my 21 years of living did I ever expect to see a pokemon transform into a human, let alone a legendary pokemon.

"H-how did you? When did you? W-what?!" Ash finally managed to piece his words together. He looked just as dumbfounded as I was.

"It's a special technique I learned long ago," Jirachi said. "After all being alive for so many millennia I had to pick up a few tricks along the way."

"But you just turned into a human!" I said again, almost as if convincing myself that it was actually happening. "How does a pokemon learn to do that?"

Jirachi put a hand on her cheek and thought aloud, "I actually don't know. It just kinda happened one day. But that was a long time ago.." She trailed off as if not wanting to indulge in a distant memory. "But it makes things better right?" She asked.

Ash nodded. "It definitely helps. After all no one will expect you to be a pokemon in disguise. Isn't that right Misty?"

I sighed and placed my free hand on my hip. "Well you can't go wrong with that, but we still need to figure out a reason you're here."

"Simple," Ash said. "We just tell her she's your cousin and she's going to be here with us for a few days. That works right?"

"Alright," I said next, the cognitive ideas forming in my head, "But how about a name? We need one for her in case anyone asks."

Ash positioned himself in a more comfortable pose on his seat on the floor, crossing his legs and placing an elbow on his knee, resting his chin on his hand. He then furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes, deep in thought. However my thoughts were still on the phenomena we just witnessed. I took one look at her long white dress and her golden hair and all of a sudden, it seemed like the named just popped out of my mouth.

"Snowflake. How about the name Snowflake?"

"That's not really much of a name," Ash murmured.

"I know but it just fits you know? It never snows here, but her skin is as white as snow." I replied.

"Hmmm," Ash hummed. "Alright I guess that will work. I kinda like it. Snowflake. What about you Jirachi?"

"I love it!" Jirachi squealed. "No one has ever given me a name before! At least not a human name anyway!" She pumped her little fists in the air and twirled around on her toes. "Yay I got a name!"

I smiled. I was glad that my simple name made her so happy. "Well now," I said happily, "I guess the next thing to do is to teach you all about being a human. After all if you're going to live here with us you have to fit in."

Jirachi-I mean Snowflake, turned to me and smiled. "No problem! I can always catch on fast, right Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded and said its name.

"Well," Ash said, "It would help you if you stood up off of the table."

Snowflake blushed. "Oh...ahahaha…"

"And this...is how you turn on the TV," I grabbed the remote and pressed the power button.

In a long day of teaching Snowflake everything about household items, reading, writing, and even basic cleaning, I was beat. I secretly wanted to sit and watch TV but I figured it would be a nice time for Snowflake to see basic social values.

Except for the first voice that comes on is: "Yeah! I kicked your butt!"

I quickly changed the channel. Okay, too much social values.

Jirachi however was fascinated, not by the voices, but by the changing screen. She inched closer to the tiny black box.

"Amazing...how does it move from one thing to another? Where do the voices come from? Do the people disappear forever?"

"Well you see," as I tried to take the time to explain, "You see what we are looking at are just images of things that have been prerecorded and broadcasted from far away. Those aren't live people just images of what we could see if we switch it to a certain channel."

At least, I think that's how it works.

Jirachi's eyes widened. "That's soooo coool!" She exclaimed.

I smiled. I guess it was correct enough for her to accept anyway.

"I'm home!" Yelled a voice from the doorway.

Snowflake jolted up, her blue eyes bright and wide, "Hi, Ash!" She said happily while running up to him.

"Hey Snowflake!" He shouted, picking her up in his arms. "You know I never gotten this good of a welcome home before! Perhaps you should teach this to Misty." He stuck his tongue out at me playfully, and I rolled my eyes in response. "So," he continued, "Did you learn a lot from Misty today?"

Snowflake nodded. "I did! I'm so fascinated by the world that humans live in, and I really like that big box over there," she said, pointing to the TV.

Ash placed her down gently. "You know what? I do too!" He smiled.

"Yeah, he loves that box so much he sits next to it every day," I chided him.

"Oh hah hah," Ash murmured while walking over to sit down next to me. "Aren't you even going to ask me about my day?"

About a year ago Ash had gotten the offer of a teaching job in the city. Although I couldn't really imagine Ash teaching a bunch of young children about the joys of pokemon training, the more I thought about it the more it began to make sense. Even though he gets good compliments I'm not sure if anyone in his class actually learns anything.

"Ahhh, well my class is now learning about status ailments so I guess that's interesting," Ash sighed. I wondered if he was bored or just tired.

"I was trying to decide if I should have my students battle for a test or just give them a written one."

"Ash, didn't you say before how much you hated grading the written tests?" I asked, remembering that he was so bored last time that he gave most of the class an A just to be done with it.

"Yeah you're right," Ash said. "Battles are much more interesting to watch anyway."

They were both interrupted by a loud yawn from Snowflake.

"Snowflake, sweetie, why don't you sleep in my room tonight? I'm sure the couch that you laid on earlier was a bit uncomfortable for you," I suggested.

"Uhm, well…" Snowflake said, placing her tiny hand on her chin as if in deep thought.

Ash smiled. "Don't worry Snowflake," he said, "If you want Venusaur and Pikachu can come keep you company."

Snowflake turned to look at us, her smile shimmering brightly. "Really? Alright!" She jumped in the air and ran to my room, Pikachu and Venusaur following behind her.

I smiled and stood up. "I should go tuck her in. Hey do you want anything to eat?"

"Hmm, nah, I'll just make me a sandwich or something." Ash replied.

And with a slight nod, I made my way over to my room, where Snowflake had already made herself comfortable on my cot, Pikachu in her lap and Venusaur at her side.

"Well look at you," I placed my hands on my hips, "You look quite comfy. Do you like my bed, Snowflake?"

Snowflake nodded. "It's bigger than Ash's bed!"

"Hehe, yeah I kinda stole his old bed from him, but shhh don't tell him I told you."

We both shared a laugh, then she asked me something unexpected.

"Misty, do you like it here?"

"Wha-what do you mean?" I asked back.

"Well you seemed so sad today," she replied. "Are you sad being here?"

I was surprised. I never showed any sadness, at least not today, but pokemon were always more keen on human emotions than maybe we are ourselves. Perhaps she noticed something deep in me that not even I could see? Either way, I wasn't ready to reveal my deep dark secrets yet.

"You shouldn't worry, Snowflake," I said. "I assure you everything is fine." I tucked in the sheets around her body. "All you should focus on is getting some rest okay?"

She nodded. "The world in which humans live is always so interesting. I learn so much every time I awake. Well, goodnight, Misty." She smiled at me softly. Somewhere deep inside, I could tell that she was worried about me, but I don't know why I seemed fine. Right?

I went back to the living room, where Ash had made two sandwiches and put them on the table.

I sighed, "Ash if you wanted more food, I could have made you something."

"I made a sandwich for you silly," Ash said, "Now if you don't want it…"

"I'll take it thanks," I said happily. And so we began to eat peacefully, at least until Ash started talking again.

"Hmm, so is Snowflake alright?" Ash asked.

"She's fine," I said, "I think this is just a huge adjustment, staying with us in this crummy apartment. I almost wish we could afford a hotel."

Ash took another bite, "Well with my salary as a teacher, and your salary as a librarian, I'm sure we could have gotten a cheap motel for like 3 days or something. You know any good motels, Mist?"

I hated that darn nickname. "Not funny, Ketchup," I replied back.

Ash laughed and patted my back. I smiled slightly back at him, then rolled my eyes. He loves to tease me.

"Don't worry I'm sure we are fine!" Ash said laughing again, "Besides, motels probably won't accept pokemon that are outside their pokeballs. And you know I lost Venusaur's pokeball a long time ago."

I frowned a bit at that memory, but decided to change the subject. "Ash, you know I have work tomorrow, so you will have to stay here with Snowflake."

"I know and don't worry I already have something planned," he said with a smile.

"Oh really? And what would that be?" I asked.

"Did ya forget Misty? Tomorrow is the Flower Carnival, and it would be perfect for her to see I think," Ash replied back.

"Is it really that time of year already?" I ate the last bit of my sandwich.

Ash stood up and stretched a little. "I could take Pikachu with us," he said, "And there's going to be so many kids there, it would be super fun."

"Too bad, it was more fun when I was little," I said, taking his plate and mine, "Back then it was less of a tourist trap."

Ash placed his hands on his hips and looked at me, that same childlike smile already forming on his face. "Cmon Misty can't we not talk about politics and money-making schemes this year? Let's just focus on the fun aspects of it."

I sighed angrily, and turned on the water, putting soap on the plates to wash them. It's not that I liked talking about the distresses of my beloved city, because it hurt each time I mentioned them, but as I look around Cerulean and remember what it used to be I'm not sure if I should be angry or not. But I'm sure Ash was just as tired of hearing me complain as I was of complaining. As I put the wet plate next to me on the counter, Ash came beside me and started to dry it.

"I'm not upset at you, you know," Ash said. "You know lately even Pallet has given into the "tourist destination of the year" stuff."

"At least your town still has its old classic values," I replied. "Cerulean is losing more and more of what made it Cerulean. Did you know that they are turning Bill's old house into this museum/bed and breakfast thing? They rather charge people 100 bucks a night to stay there instead of turning it into something more dignified."

"How much more dignified do you want it? It was an old run down mansion anyway. I'm surprised they didn't tear it down and turn it into a lighthouse or something."

I placed another plate beside him to dry. "I would much rather it be a lighthouse instead of a way for the city to cheat its people," I replied back.

"That's just how towns are these days, Misty," Ash said sorrowfully. "Everyone wants to make money, and no one has enough of it to share."

"I guess you're right," I said, turning off the water and drying my hands.

Ash looked at me surprised, as if he expected me to start another comeback argument. "Hey hey, no need to get all depressed on me now," he replied. "Hey I know, how about I make you a milkshake?"

"Ash you treat me like a little kid, giving me treats to make me feel better," I looked to him then smiled. "Alright make me one."