Chapter 3: Day 3-That Same Familiar Smile

Ash's POV

Okay so I admit it, having Snowflake around is a treat. I mean how often do you have a legendary pokemon turned human staying in your home? It's definitely a sight to behold.

And I must admit it's brought a small change in Misty too, I mean this morning she was teaching the proper etiquette of eating while sitting Snowflake on her lap. A bit counter productive if you ask me but it reminded me of a moment from long ago, a young Misty sitting near a campfire, singing softly to a tiny egg pokemon in her lap…

"Ash! I have to go now!" Misty yelled.

"Alright Misty," I replied.

"Be sure to watch out for Snowflake make sure she doesn't get into anything," Misty said, heading towards the door.

"Alright Misty," I replied again.

"And be sure to feed her," She turned back around.

"Alright Misty," I nodded.

"And if you cook something don't let her near the stove okay?"

"Alright Misty."

"And if you decide to take her somewhere please don't spend a whole lot of money okay?"

"Alright Misty."

"And try not to lose sight of her either strap her to you if you have to."

"Alright Misty."

She turned around again just as she was opening up the door. "And-"

"Misty just go okay, you're going to be late! I hate to see ya ruin that outfit by running," I teased her.

She just rolled her eyes. "Hey do I look alright?"

She spun around a little, allowing me to admire more of her outfit. Today she decided to go all brown, in a brown two button pant suit set with a brown undershirt and brown 1 inch high heels. Of course the first couple of things that passed through my mind was how was she going to ride a bike in heels and whether or not she was trying to go back to her tomboy roots.

"You look great okay?" I replied, "Knock those librarian nerds out dead!"

Misty rolled her eyes again. "C'mon don't talk that way in front of Snowflake. Children are very impressionable you know!"

I rubbed my hand through my hair. "Uhh, yeah…"

"Well, see you later," she said. "And don't give Ash too much of a hard time Snowflake."

"Yes Misty!" She replied.

As soon as Misty left I looked at the little girl staring curiously at me. "So little one," I kneeled next to her, "What would you like to do today?"

She shrugged her shoulders and smiled shyly, twirling her fingers in her dress, "I don't know…" she replied.

"Well then how about I cook you some breakfast and then I could take you someplace special would you like that?" I asked.

"Yes!" She smiled brightly. "But...I have a question."

"Yes what is it?"

"What's a..lie-beary-an?" She stumbled through the word bravely, but fortunately I understood it.

"Oh a librarian! Well you see in some large cities, or even small cities, we have this place called a library where we hold a huge number of books so people can read them whenever they want to. So there are people who come to watch over these books and they call those people librarians," I explained. "And that's what Misty is over at the Cerulean Library."

"Wow that's so cool! She's like a guardian of reading!" Snowflake said, clasping her hands together, "Can we all go to the library then?"

"Well we wouldn't want to interrupt mother Misty while she's working," I said. Darn it's less fun to tease her when she isn't giving me a death glare. "Buuut I have another place in mind I can take you."

"Oh yay! Let's go let's gooooooo!" Snowflake jumped up and down, so much that Pikachu jumped with her. It was a bit cute to see. I smiled softly, thinking that this was going to be an interesting day, as soon as I eat anyways.

"Thi-this is…" Snowflake's eyes grew wide as she saw the splendor that was before her.

"See Snowflake, this is what we call a car-ni-val," I sounded out the word for her. "This place is awesome it has water park rides, Ferris Wheels, merry-go-rounds, roller coasters, but this best place here has to be the pokemon stadium."

"Stay-de-uhm?" Snowflake's brows furrowed, and she placed her hand deep on her chin, as if in deep thought.

"Don't worry I'll show you," I said as a grabbed her hand and Pikachu jumped on my shoulder. "You see today is a special day because today is the day of the pokemon contest competition."

"And what's that?" she asked.

"Let's see how can I explain this...pokemon contests are like a way to showcase a pokemon's beauty in a powerful way and showing off a pokemon's power in a beautiful way. You as the trainer put together a variety of moves to make the pokemon's beauty come out and then when the pokemon battles it uses its power to dominate its opponent. The trick is putting it all together in a way in which the pokemon shines through its power and its beauty. Ah but it's still a bit hard to understand isn't it Pikachu?"

Pikachu gave me a perplexed look and said, "Pika?" I guess Pikachu was just as confused as I was.

"I don't think Pikachu understands you…" Snowflake said, confirming my thoughts.

"Ah don't worry, the best way to learn is to see it first hand. Come on!" I squeezed Snowflake's hand as a led her through the crowd on the way to the arena. I just knew in the end she would really enjoy this.

I heard Snowflake sigh in awe behind me as we entered the arena. The place was flooded with red, blue and green lights, which was a bit blinding in itself. The bleachers were expanded more this time I noticed, which gave a lot of seating room. Right above the central stage were gold and silver banners that floated downwards, with purple colored streamers that curved around each other, almost like a braided hairstyle. As Pikachu, Snowflake and I made our way to our seats I couldn't help but notice the silver color writing all over: Pokemon Contest Competition. I must admit being in a place like this brought back memories, but seeing the sandy makeshift area down below on center stage really brought it all back to me. A part of me just can't help but miss pokemon training…

"Ash," Snowflake said pointing to the battlefield, "Are they going to battle on there?"

I nodded. "That's where all the magic happens, and hey you see that small table with the 3 people sitting next to it? That's where the judges are and they grade you on how well you do in the beginning round. The beginning round is where the trainers show off their pokemon beauty."

"Ahh…" Snowflake replied. "It reminds me so much of when I was younger and there were these huge battles for the title of strongest pokemon. Of course, those battles were a bit more harsher and everyone wasn't so eager to see happiness. This...isn't like that is it?"

"N-No, of course not! These battles are safe honest!" I frantically replied, after it took me a moment to realize what she was implying.

She already seemed fascinated and the tournament didn't even start yet! Kinda reminded me of me when I was that age…

And so the tournament went on for a couple of hours. I think Pikachu's excitement had passed on to Snowflake, and after a while she began to jump up and down and cheer for every pokemon she saw. It was a nice variety this year, from Squrtle to Samurott, Charmander to Fennekin, Bulbasaur to Serperior, each pokemon that came on the field was nothing more but a showcase of ultimate power. The crowd reactions were infectious, and even the judges had a hard time deciding who should move on to the next round. In the end however, the 64 contestants had dwindled down to 2. The one trainer that ended up winning was a young girl from Celedon City, along with her Growlithe and Pidgey, an unlikely pair that stormed through the competition.

But just when I thought the tournament was over, the announcer came out, a tall man who hails from Saffron, and said an unexpected turn of events.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we have a special treat for you! All the way from Hoenn, these two fantastic trainers were the first to win the first ever tag team pokemon contest that happened late last year! Introducing to you, May and Drew!"

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Pika!" Pikachu pointed towards the arena as two figures ran out onto the stage. It was indeed May and Drew, May having on a sparkling blue dress and Drew showing off a dark green suit. They nodded in understanding as they released their pokemon.

"Go Glaceon!" May said.

"Roserade go!" Drew yelled.

Glaceon and Roserade, May and Drew's main go-to pokemon, popped up on the field, zig-zagging in a criss-crossing fashion.

"Roserade use magical leaf!" Drew commanded.

"Glaceon ice beam!" May called out.

Roserade's leaves flew into the sky, and almost at the same time, Glaceon's ice move had frozen them in the air, turning the multicolored leaves into an icy free fall. But just before the leaves had hit the ground…

"Roserade, poison sting!" Drew yelled.

At that instant, purple colored spikes that seemed to fall from the sky pierced each of the frozen falling leaves and then each leaf exploded into a variety of colors, covering the sky in an icy rainbow.

Everyone cheered happily and began to clap their hands, and Snowflake clapped as May and Drew took their bow.

"That was so awesome!" Snowflake cheered.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

I laughed. "Yeah, they changed a lot since the first time I saw them together."

Snowflake gasped. "Do you know them?"

I turned to her and smiled. "Yeah I do, I used to travel with the girl, May."

"Can we meet them?" She began to bounce up and down in excitement even before waiting for my answer.

"Well it has been a while since I've seen them…"

"Yay! You hear that Pikachu? We get to meet May and Drew!" She picked up Pikachu and placed him on her tiny shoulder. Pikachu said his name in response happily, cuddling up in Snowflake's hair.

Gosh how long has it been since I seen Drew and May? I guess about seven years now...wow time sure does pass fast. Rumor had it after May won the Sinnoh Grand Festival a few years back she became an official couple with Drew, and they've been together ever since. I must admit they do make a good couple, and it seems like they've gotten even stronger since they been together. Once tag team pokemon contests were introduced Drew and May seemed to dominate and flourish against the competition, winning numerous tournaments before finally winning a major one. I heard it was their hope of bringing tag teaming to Kanto, hoping that the entire region would catch on.

So Snowflake and I, along with Pikachu, made our way behind the arena, hoping to catch them coming out of their dressing rooms or something.

I heard a feminine voice behind me, "So, are you looking for someone?"

I turn around but based on the cry of happiness from Pikachu and Snowflake I already know who it was. "May?"

She still wore her traditional shirt and pants, but the shirt color was green instead of her classic red, and her hair grew a lot more than I remembered.

"Ash!" May opened her arms and gave me a huge hug. "I'm so happy I was hoping to see you!"

I hugged her back. "It's great to see you too, May it's been a while hasn't it?"

She placed her hands on her hips, "It's been seven years silly! Seven years and I haven't heard from you at all!"

As I rub my hair and stumble over an apology, May bends down to pet Pikachu.

"Pikachu I've missed you! Oh and who is this adorable little one?"

Snowflake smiled. "It's very nice to meet you my name is Snowflake!"

"Snowflake huh, is that a nickname? It suits you very well!" May said with a smile.

"I saw you perform and it was so cool!" She said. "When I become a trainer I hope I could be just like you!"

"Well I don't think that would be so hard at all," a male voice chimed in.

May turned around to face Drew, "Hmph, no one asked for your opinion," she huffed.

"Ash, it's great to see you," Drew reached his hand out for me to shake, which I did happily.

"It's great to see you too Drew," I replied. "You and May did great out there."

"Thanks we been practicing that one technique for a while," Drew mentioned. "Glad that we finally got it done."

May walked up and put her arms around Drew and I. "I was just telling Drew that was hoping to see either you or Misty while we were here. Is she still upset about her gym turning into an amusement park?"

I laughed. "Oh May, you have no idea how angry she is. But hey it's great to see you guys we should all meet up and catch up sometime."

"Aw man, we'd love to Ash, but we have to be in Saffron by tomorrow," Drew said. "But hey, let's eat lunch together! We have a few hours left before we have to leave."

"That's a great idea!" May said clasping her hands together. "Besides I'd love to talk to Snowflake a bit more she is adorable!"

Snowflake jumped up and down, so much that Pikachu fell off her shoulder and jumped in her arms. "Yay! May must like me if she wants to be with me! Did you hear that Pikachu?"

"Pika Pikachu!"

I couldn't help but feel a bit odd a few minutes later. It was as if something from deep inside my body was telling me that something was wrong. And then my stomach started to growl at me. Oh yeah, I forgot it's been a while since I've eaten. Well at least I had two chili dogs to remedy that problem.

"I see your appetite hasn't changed much," Drew said. He was behind me, after grabbing a couple of burgers for him and May he came back to lead me to the table.

"Hey I'm not going to eat them both," I retaliated. "One is for Snowflake."

"So," Drew began to speak again, "About that girl...is she...your daughter?"

"Wait what?" I nearly dropped the buns in shock. "No! She's Misty's cousin that's all!"

"Hey it's totally okay, you can tell me, it's just she does look a bit like you," Drew adjusted his arms so that his food was easier to carry.

"She's not my daughter," I said again, shoving a hog dog into my mouth. It's not like I never thought of having children, but having children with Misty might be...well maybe not the end of the world...although I never really thought of us going that far...hey it's not like we're in a relationship...Misty can do a lot better than me, ah, what am I thinking?

I could feel myself blushing, and I was in another desperate attempt at changing the subject, "So, uh, how are things between you and May anyway? I heard you two were actually a couple."

"Yeah we've been going out for like four years now," Drew replied, "But even we don't have any children like you and Misty have."

"She's not my kid!" I said, finally realizing that Drew was teasing me once I heard him laugh. I rolled my eyes. "Geez, Drew."

Drew shrugged his shoulders as we finally reached the table. "Hey, it's not my fault you thought I was serious."

"Oh my gosh," May turned to me and smiled as I sat down, "Snowflake is so adorable! She knows so much too! I hear that you and Misty have been teaching her a lot, and it shows too."

I blushed and nervously rubbed my hair. "Well thanks," I said. "Oh Snowflake, this is for you," I said handing her the chili dog.

"What is it?" She looked at it curiously.

"Uhm, it's a chili dog, you know, a hog dog, chili, cheese, a bun…" I replied. I guess Misty forgot to tell her about that small bit of information.

"Oh," she replied. She eagerly took a bite, and then her eyes sparkled like diamonds. "It's sooooo goood," she said. "I love it!"

May laughed. "She's so adorable! I almost wish I could keep her for myself!"

Drew narrowed his eyes and looked at her. "Don't get any ideas, May," he replied.

May rolled her eyes in response. "So Ash, how are you and Misty doing? It's been so long what are you up to?"

"Well I'm a teacher at a school across town," I began, "And Misty is a librarian at the local library. Things are going just fine though, I mean it's been a bit hard but we work together and we do what we can to make ends meet."

"Well I guess under the circumstances it's all you can do right?" May asked, the sadness becoming evident in her voice.

I nodded solemnly.

"Still it's great to see you Ash," Drew commented. "May's mother thought for sure you would have turned into a little Krabby by now trying to find your way, but you're doing alright."

"My mom has been worried about you lately," May agreed. "Well we all have actually. We were hoping to see you or Misty while we were here and we sure are glad to see you in good spirits."

"Yeah I know it's been a while since I've talked to you guys," I said, "I'm really sorry about that, but it's just that a lot has happened and it was hard to get things together."

"Hey it's alright we're just glad you're okay," Drew said.

May nodded. "Actually...I can't help but ask you...have you ever thought about getting back into training? It has been seven years after all…"

"May," I sighed, "I don't know if I can be much of a trainer right now. I just need to settle some things in my head at the moment."

"But it's been so long," she went on. "Don't you think it's time to move on?"

"C'mon May," Drew intervened, "You shouldn't ask him that. It's his own life he can do what he wants."

"I know that," May agreed, "But he shouldn't stay in his shell for so long. We've just been...worried that's all…"

"I know May,' I sighed again, running my fingers through my hair, "I'll figure things out on my own time, but I just can't right now. I don't want to think about it."

May slowly nodded, letting her head fall a bit. Drew reached out and touched her hand while I looked over to Snowflake, who was apparently in another world taste testing mustard and ketchup with Pikachu.

"I thank you for caring about us," I said happily, "But hey how has your travels been? I know you two have been to tons of places right?"

So we all talked for around two hours, but then the sun began to set on our conversation.

"Oh shoot, May, we gotta get going," Drew said, standing up from his seat.

"Aw already? It was so nice to reminisce," May sighed, placing a hand under her chin.

"Yeah it was," I said getting up now. Snowflake mimicked me stretched the way I did. "Hey it was great to see you guys," I continued, "We really gotta meet up again, and sooner this time!"

May nodded and stood up too. "Yeah! Let's not wait another seven years okay?"

Drew turned to Snowflake. "And I can't wait to see this girl beat the pants off of May when she gets older," he said.

Snowflake giggled while May laughed, placing her hands on her hips. "Well then, I hope she's ready for a fight when she fights me!"

We all waved and said our goodbyes and then before I knew it, May and Drew was in a mini limo and leaving the city.

I sighed and placed my hands on my hips. "Well, there they go."

Snowflake looked up at me as Pikachu jumped back on my shoulder. "You seem sad, Ash, are you okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I just hate to see good friends go so soon."

"Ahh…" She whispered, then grew silent. At least until she said the next thing she was thinking.

"So why did you stop being a trainer?"

I inwardly flinched. "Huh?"

"Was May upset because you stopped being a trainer? Why did you stop?" She asked again.

"I-I really don't think it's...really the best time to tell such a story," I answered.

Snowflake's curiosity got the best of her. "But why? What happened?"

I was in a desperate mood to change the subject. "Hey, how about we go on some rides huh? You wanna go on the roller coaster?"

Her expression instantly changed. "Ooooh yes! Let's go let's gooooo!" She began to bounce up and down. I quickly grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd, glad about the fact that young children have a short attention span.

So after a few more hours, Pikachu, Snowflake, and I made our way back home, where Misty was already cooking dinner for us.

"Well look who finally decided to show up," Misty said. "And here I thought you all had forgotten about me."

"We thought about it," I replied, winking at her. Misty brushed me off and kneeled next to Snowflake.

"So did you have fun, sweetie?" She asked.

Snowflake clasped her hands together, flashing a bright smile. "Yes! We went to the pokemon contest competition and then I got to meet Drew and May!"

Misty's eyes grew wide. "Drew and May were there? Aw, man I haven't seen them in years!"

"Don't worry they send their regards," I replied.

Misty smiled, I noticed it was a bit more strained than usual. "Hey Snowflake," I suggested, "How about you and Pikachu go get cleaned up for dinner huh?"

Snowflake nodded and allowed Pikachu to jump in her arms. "Okay," she said. She skipped away into the bathroom, and I heard Misty sigh and turn around.

"Would you like to eat now? Aw who am I kidding of course you would," she laughed, "I bet it was so nice to see May and Drew. Are they doing well?"

"Misty…" I turned to her. "What's wrong?"

"Huh, what do you mean nothing's wrong," she said while pulling out a few plates from the cabinet.

After living with Misty for seven years, I could automatically tell when she was hiding something. It was like trying to hide a Sandslash in a pillowcase. Her body slouched over a bit, and she yawned almost instinctively, piling mashed potatoes onto a plate.

"Don't you think that's a bit much for Snowflake?" I asked.

She smiled slightly. "This plate is for you silly," she said.

"Oh, uh, you didn't have to-"

Misty interrupted me and said, "No I want to." She then turned and gave the plate to me after putting meat and vegetables on it. "Don't worry," she whispered. "I'll tell you about once Snow goes to bed okay?"

I slightly nodded. I guess she figured I won't let her be about her situation.

So we continued our evening as if everything was fine. Snowflake was super excited about the day we had together and she couldn't stop talking about it. I was happy I was able to make her so happy, and more importantly, she actually learned something from me! It's so nice to have children who take the time to learn instead of children who either fall asleep or just look at me with such a blank look it's nerve-racking. Maybe I'm not such a bad teacher after all.

"Goodnight, Snowflake," I heard Misty say.

"Goodnight Misty," she replied back.

Misty then came back in the living room with a sigh, and sat down next to me as I was watching tv. We sat there in silence for a bit, and I noticed she was biting her lower lip. Geez, this news she has must be either really really good or really bad.

"Don't you have like, papers to grade or something?" She asked me.

"There's always tomorrow," I answered back.

"Why put off tomorrow what you can do today?" She gave me a smile.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Alright, quit stalling," I said, grabbing the remote and changing the channel. "Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

Misty grabbed the remote from me. "Ash, I could tell you tomorrow and the end result still wouldn't matter," she said.

I grabbed the remote from her tiny hands. "Why put off tomorrow what you could do today?" I teased her.

She tried to reach for the remote but I held it over my head. Good thing I had gotten taller than her over the years, it was easy to make it hard for her to reach for things she wanted, like boxes of cereal or remote controls.

"Ash c'mon give it!" She said trying and failing to grab it from my hand. She leaned over so hard and fell on top of me, still in a desperate reach. I got so flustered from this I let go of the remote letting it drop to the carpet below. She tried to reach for it again but I held her back my holding her shoulders back. She huffed and poked out her lips, her eyes like sharp daggers pointing right at me.

"Ash," she said again in a slight whiny voice, "Must you be so cruel?"

"Misty you always do this," I replied, pushing her body off of mine. "You wanna say something but then you start to distract me and make me forget."

"No I don't," she replied back, "I just think there are better things to talk about right now."

"Like what?" I asked.

She looked to me and then sighed heavily. "Alright, I'll tell you." She bit her lower lip again, twiddling her fingers quickly.

She then looked to me and just blurted it out, "The library is closing."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"The library is closing Ash," she said again. "On Monday, it will officially be closed for good."

"Wait wait, I still don't understand how," I said. "How can a library just close?"

She sighed again. "The library ran out of public funds and the city thinks it's cheaper to just close the place instead of allowing it to run on."

"Seriously?!" I said in shock. "I always thought the federal government pays for places like libraries, how do you just run out of money?"

"Ash," Misty replied, "The city is losing money. They have to cut corners, and unfortunately the library is one of the corners that got cut. Even if we all worked for free, we still wouldn't be able to fund the library. On top of that the property taxes are going up as well. Apparently the library's land is worth more than the actual library."

"I just don't believe this…" I said, still stunned about the whole ordeal. I laid back on the couch, running my fingers through my hair.

"That's not even the worst of it," I heard Misty say. "Now that I will officially be out of a job in a few days, we will have even less money now. How on earth are we going to live off of one paycheck? We needed that money, Ash, and now…"

"Hey, don't worry about that," I said. "I'll try to pick up a few extra teaching hours, and I could even get a job somewhere else if I have to."

Misty shook her head. "It wouldn't be enough, Ash," she placed her hands on her forehead. "It's just not enough anymore…"

I sighed and placed my arm around her. "Hey we been through worse situations before haven't we? We always stuck it out and got through together and we can do it now. We just have to think about this, that's all."

Misty sighed again, her head becoming buried in my shoulder. "How Ash? There's nothing left here," she said despondently. "There's nothing left…"

I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing her back as she started to cry. It seemed like the more Cerulean died, a piece of her died right along with it. How I hated to see a woman cry, but what am I to do, tell her that things will work out fine? I'm afraid with all my good vibes and confidence I couldn't bring back the confidence of an entire city.

But I swear, I could hear my heart breaking with every sob she had.