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Misty was wrought with nerves. She had been pacing so much, Daisy had poked her head in to caution her about wearing a hole in the floor. Misty had paid no heed to her sister, though. Because today, Ash Ketchum was finally coming home to Kanto. And he was meeting her at the Cerulean City Gym. In honor of the occasion, Misty had closed the gym from challengers, and canceled one of her sister's shows, forcing them to reschedule.

"Calm down, Misty. It's just Ash. And all you need to do is impress him, so he remembers you every time he goes to another region. ARGH! It's not that easy!" she moaned to herself. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Misty steeled herself, took a deep breath, and made her way over, her heart pounding. She opened the door to reveal...

...the mailman?! Misty sighed; half relieved, half annoyed. She accepted the mail with thanks, and sat down on her sofa to read through the mail as a distraction. "Hmm...water bill...Daisy's mail...Violet's magazine...Lily's nail polish set...boring...boring..." Misty sighed in impatience. When was he going to get here? She knew she had the date correct; she'd been looking forward to it/dreading it for two weeks. As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Misty leaped up and threw it open. On the porch step was a boy with a backwards hat...and black hair...and about six years younger than she.

"Um, is the gym open?"

Misty growled. "No, it isn't. Didn't you see the sign?!"

"Well, yeah, but-"

The irritated gym leader erupted, her eyes blazing. "I SAID NO! Come back in three days! Until then, GO AWAY!" And she slammed the door shut in the poor kid's face, breathing heavily. She let it out, and calmed herself down. She flopped back on her sofa in frustration. Ash had estimated he would get to her gym an hour ago! She closed her eyes. Maybe he wasn't coming today. Maybe he had lied to her, or simply miscalculated. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and the door knocked at the same time. She growled again. Both the ringing and knocking, or pounding really, continued.

Misty pulled her mallet out, her eyes blazing again. Wielding it threateningly in one hand, she opened the door and glared...

...at a very, very startled Ash Ketchum. "Whoa, Mist! I know I'm late, but-" Misty dropped the mallet, and it disappeared to who-knows-where. She gaped at him, her cerulean eyes shining. "Ash," she breathed. Misty launched herself into his arms. "I've missed you so much, Ash."

She closed her eyes, a smile on her face. A couple seconds passed before Ash wrapped his own arms around her, giving a small laugh. "Missed you, too," he whispered into her ear. Misty sighed happily. Finally. She opened her eyes and saw two people standing behind Ash. She gave a huge smile to one of them, a tall, rather young man with tanned skin and dark, spiky hair. "Hi, Brock!" she exclaimed.

He chuckled. "Long time no see, Misty." Then Misty turned to the other person in curiosity. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes blazed in sudden fury. It was a girl, with midnight blue hair. She wore a pink and black minidress, a red scarf, two gold hair-clips, and a white beanie. Ash's new traveling partner was undoubtedly pretty. Jealousy roared up in Misty, and she broke away from Ash.

"And who's this?" Misty asked, plastering a smile onto her own face.

"Hello, I'm Dawn!" the girl, Dawn, greeted, a smile on her face.

"Misty, Cerulean City Gym Leader," Misty replied formally.

"May we come in?" Brock asked, and Misty obligingly stepped aside.

"Oh, man, I've missed this place!" Ash sighed, and sank onto the sofa Misty had been sitting on herself. Brock and Dawn took the sofa next to him, after Misty plopped herself next to the boy. Conversation picked up, and for nearly an hour, Misty calculated about this Dawn girl. When Misty had met May in Hoenn, it was instantly clear that May saw Ash as a brother; and Ash saw May as a younger sister. But this Dawn was giving no vibes to either confirm or deny Misty's guesses.

"Misty, can I go grab some water?" Ash suddenly asked. Misty was caught off-guard, but nodded.

"You know where it is," she called.

"I'm going to find those wonderful sisters of yours!" Brock gushed, then dashed off. Misty sweat-dropped, then straightened. So. It was just the two of them then.

"Well, that was weird," Dawn stated. Misty shrugged. "So, um, Misty. Can I ask you a question?" Misty shrugged again, but tilted her head. "How do you get a boy to like you?" The red-head choked.

"E-Excuse me?"

Dawn blushed a little. "I just thought you might know. I don't see many other girls on our travels, and I figured someone like you...you know..." Misty was shell-shocked. Did she mean Ash?!

"Who is the boy? And why did you think I would know anything? We've never even met before."

"Oh! Well, I just thought that if you could get someone as dense as Ash to return your feelings, then you might...be able to...help me."

"What?! "Return my feelings?!" What?"

Dawn laughed. "I can tell you like him. And he talks about you all the time."

"He...does?"

"Yup! All the time."

"...Wow."

"I figured you would be surprised. But yeah, that's the truth." Suddenly, Misty felt a heck of a lot better about this girl.

"So who's this boy? What's he like?"

Dawn blushed again, but her eyes lit up a little. "Well, he's actually one of Ash's rivals. A really, really powerful trainer. But he's the opposite of Ash. He focuses on power alone, and doesn't care too much about his Pokémon. He even released his Chimchar for being too weak." Misty gasped.

"He RELEASED a Pokémon?! Because it was weak?"

"Yeah; it belongs to Ash now. But he's better!" Dawn said quickly.

"Okay, if you say so."

"He's much better to his Pokémon now. But most of his personality hasn't changed much. He's just as cold and harsh and impenetrable as ever." Misty chuckled.

"What's his name?"

"Paul."

"YOU LIKE HIM?!" a voice cried. Both girls reeled in shock as Ash poked his head around the corner.

"ASH KETCHUM! Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to eavesdrop?!" Misty stood up and yelled at the poor boy. "Sorry! I just got here, like, four seconds ago!"

Meanwhile, Dawn was blushing madly. Misty yanked Ash by the ear out of the house. Dawn sweat-dropped and followed the two out to, based on what Ash had described, the Cerulean City Gym. Misty, still tugging the complaining Ash, pushed the boy into the deep end, causing a huge splash. Dawn gaped at them as Misty laughed. Then Ash's arm shot up, and he pulled Misty in door opened again, and Brock came in via Croagunk. Dawn threw her arms up as the two in the pool splashed each other like children. "Are they always like this?!"

"Hey, I tried to warn you," Brock laughed.

"That...was the most interesting introduction I think I've ever been part of."

Man, that was a long one. Hope you liked it! Do you have a request? Review and tell me!

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