Hello again everyone. Hope you liked the first chapter. I had a bit of fun rewriting it, as it's bringing up a lot of nostalgia, but I still feel it's not very well-written. That aside, for this chapter, it just continues where the last one left off, so it's pretty obvious what this one will be about. This chapter is also relatively short.

Anywho, please leave a review or comment, and share your thoughts on how you feel on this story so far so that I can try my best with the later chapters. Something else I didn't mention earlier, given how old this fic is, was that it was originally written in script format and was way more comical and silly. Overly comical in fact. lol Either way, hope you guys will enjoy this and let me know how I'm doing, please.

Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Pokemon franchise. Nintendo, 4Kids, Gamefreak, etc., have those rights, and here are the age reminders once again...

Ash: 13
Misty: 14
Brock: 19

Part 02: "Are you serious?!" Misty's Leaving!

Last time, Misty finally told her friends that she was leaving and returning to Cerulean, everyone flabbergasted and shocked over the sudden revelation.

Ash Title: Misty's Leaving?!

"Whoa whoa whoa," Brock started, wondering if he'd heard her right, "why are you leaving?"

The slim teen thought for a moment, realizing that she hadn't thought that far ahead. She had nothing. "Well…um…er…ah… Togepi is just a baby and needs to be settled down in one place. You know, a real home."

"Pika cha pi! (Please don't go!)" the rodent begged, as well as the other Pokemon around them.

Brock wasn't convinced and shook his head. "I'm sure that that the fresh air is good for Togepi, Misty."

'Don't make this any harder, Brock,' the girl painfully pleaded in thought while forcing on an annoyed expression. "As a mother I feel that I should!" she snapped.

"Toge toge prii toge to ge! (I don't want to leave daddy and Uncle Pikachu and Uncle Brock and the others!)"

Misty sighed. "I don't know why you call Ash 'daddy'."

"Wait, what did Togepi say?"

"Togepi said that he doesn't want to leave you, Uncle Pikachu, the other Pokemon, and daddy."

"I supposed that's understandable. Togepi has been with us for a long time, but that is a good question about why Togepi refers to Ash as 'daddy'." He waved a hand in front of Ash's face, who had been quiet the entire time, still processing Misty's words. "Hey, Ash, you dropped your bowl."

"Huh…wha…" he jumped, startled.

"Misty just said that she's leaving."

"Yeah, I heard her," he murmured.

"And since she mentioned it, we were wondering why Togepi calls you 'daddy'. Do you have any idea why?"

Ash shook his head and absent-mindedly pulled out his Pokedex, which pinged…
x x x x
Dexter: Togepi, when first hatched, refers to the first thing it sees as its mother, however, the second thing it sees, refers to it as its father.
x x x x
"So, that's why you call Ash that," Misty declared. A part of her actually found that cute, but then her mood dropped again, realizing that she was going to leave Ash's side…that she'll never get to see him become a Pokemon Master, but a part of her was feeling a bit conflicted. Yes, she did want to see Ash receive such a prestigious honor….but Viridian. Why was she fearing it? 'Maybe going home would be best, if it meane not having to go there,' she kept telling herself, in hopes of eventually believing it.

"We should clean up and get some rest now," Brock suggested. "We have to get back on our path in the morning, first thing." He gave Ash a look. "Hopefully, we'll find the correct route this time." The boy bashfully laughed in embarrassment over the Breeder's words. "I'm really sad to see you go, Misty, but it was bound for us all to part ways at some point." He studied the girl again. 'That argument had to have been really bad for her to suddenly want to leave.'

Misty smiled at Brock, but then looked over at Ash as a small, painful lump began forming in her throat. She swallowed hard and recalled her Pokemon. She then rose from her seat, her backpack strapped to her back. "Well, I guess this is…goodbye. Togepi, say goodbye to everyone."

"What?! You can't leave now!"

"And why not?" Misty snapped at the slightly taller boy.

"B-because it's too dark and late to travel!" the boy said. "You might end up lost or-or something," he finished up lamely.

The girl forced out a scoff. "So?" she replied back as coldly as she could, "what else is new? I'm used of being lost all the time."

Slightly taken aback, the boy shook his head and ignored the redhead's smart-alleck remark. He was about to say something back, but Brock stepped in, fearing another argument would arise.

"Ash is right, Misty. You could get lost without a map or walking around blindly. I know it's clear out tonight, but it's better to travel during the day."

"I don't…" the boy stopped, realizing what he'd started to say, his cheeks faintly red, "…we-we don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Misty looked from Ash to Brock, the fire dancing nearby and crackling. They were making it more difficult for her, and Ash sounded legitimately concerned, but that couldn't be. She gave them a look, her face stoic. "I'm leaving…"

"Misty, no! Wait! Don't go!" the trainer pleaded, letting his guard down. "I'll-I'll buy you a new bike! I'll-I'll go with you to one of those stupid boring romantic movies! I'll-I'll-I'll…give you Pikachu!"

"Pika?" Pikachu questioned, his ears perking up.

The girl stood for a moment, looking from the two and Pikachu and Togepi. "Okay, okay. I'll leave in the morning." she sighed. 'Why is Ash making this so difficult for me? It almost sounds like he actually cares.'

Brock was a bit aghast over the way Ash pleaded. Ash smiled in relief, glad that the girl would stay.

"Since I'm staying, I'll go change my clothes. I'll be right back."

"Okay," the two boys answered.

After Misty left, Brock cleaned up the dishes, both boys then took out their sleeping bags and changed clothes. Brock noticed that Ash's spirit and mood was a bit livelier, and while waiting around for Misty, the two recalled their Pokemon and talked. Ash asked Brock about the Viridian City gymleader and what kind of Pokemon he could've had. "The Viridian leader is shrouded in mystery" was all Brock could tell him, and that the gym at times would be "mysteriously closed".

"Hey, I wonder where Misty is." Brock said while brushing Vulpix, noticing the young Water Pokemon Trainer had yet to return.

Pikachu looked out towards the woods, worried. "Chu cha pika pi. (I hope she comes back soon)."

"Yeah, me too, Pikachu. She left about 20 minutes ago."

"Uh oh," Brock muttered.

"What is it?!" Ash asked in alarm. "You don't think something's happened to Misty, do you?!"

"Calm down, Ash. Vulpix seems to have a stomachache from eating too much at dinner. I'll give her some medicine to help her."

"Brock! Misty's missing! We have to find her!"

"It may be nothing, " he stated while pulling out some round, chewy-looking pellets from his bag. "Maybe she just wanted some time alone before returning back, or maybe she decided to take a bath in the stream nearby. You know how long she takes in the bath."

Ash ignored Brock's reasonable answer, worry overcoming him. "What if she decided to leave anyway? She wouldn't leave us worrying like this."

Brock slyly smirked. "You sure do worry about her a lot."

"Of course I worry about her," the boy snapped, oblivious to the breeder's insinuation, "I like her…as our friend! She is our friend! Why wouldn't I worry?"

"I get it, I get it. She is our friend, but I still feel there's more to her suddenly wanting to leave than she's letting on. What she said about Togepi is obviously a lie and I doubt Togepi would cry so much over it either knowing that Misty will always be with him." Brock gave Ash a questioning look, his eyes narrower than usual. "What did you two argue about anyway?"

"Pikapi chu Cha pi pika! (Ash upset Misty really bad!)"

"I'm sorry Pikachu, I don't understand you as well as Ash or Misty. I only caught their names."

Pikachu thought for a moment and came up with an idea. He went over to his lightning bolt Pika-sized sleeping bag, and pulled out the $20 Brock had given him earlier. He handed it back to him.

"Wait, why are you returning my money. You won it fair in square, unless…Ash won the second fight that I missed because I was gathering firewood. Is that what happened?" Pikachu nodded. "So Ash said something so bad that Misty is willing to leave and go back to live with her three, beautiful sexy sisters." Brock went into a fantasy world as he imagined himself meeting with them. "Hello Daisy, it's me, Brock. No, no, of course I didn't forget about you Lily. You either, Violet. All three of you are lovely. How about we all go to a movie..."

"BROCK!"

"Oh, sorry. I was waiting for Misty to knock me out with her mallet while I was still in fantasy mode. Whenever she knocks me out while fantasizing I have wonderful dreams!"

Ash and Pikachu sweatdropped while Vulpix looked at her trainer in confusion while taking her medicine, which was in the shape of a chewable Pokemon treat.

"Sometimes I wish I had a mallet," Ash muttered under his breath.

"What'd you say, Ash?" he asked seriously.

"Nothing."

"No, I meant to Misty. What did you say to her?"

"Some things I shouldn't have, now she's missing and it's all my fault!"

"Ash, stop worrying. Misty wouldn't just take off without telling anyone."

"I don't care what you think, Brock! I'm going to go look for her with or without your help. Come on, Pikachu."

"Pika!"

Brock recalled Vulpix and rushed behind Ash, who'd stomped off.

Catching up to the young trainer, Brock pointed out how dark it was. The boy agreed and called out Charizard.

Emerging from the Pokeball was the giant, fire dragon Pokemon. "Char-char? (What do you want?)"

"Charizard, we need some light so could you walk ahead of us?"

"Char ri char. (I don't feel like it.)" he yawned out of boredom.

Charizard lied down on the ground, looking as if he were about to nap, ignoring Ash's pleas. He then blew a small flame at the trainer, singing him in the process.

"Are you alright, Ash?"

Ash stood up, ignoring Brock at that moment and gave Charizard an angered, dangerous look, which was very uncharacteristic of him. "Charizard, I need your help and I don't care what you think right now!" he yelled loudly in an authoritative voice. "You are going to help me whether you want to or not! I am your trainer and you're supposed to obey, unless I'm putting your life in danger then you have all the right in the world to ignore me, but otherwise you will do as I tell you! If you don't listen to me," he fumed, "I might do something so bad that Officer Jenny will have to lock me away for it! Misty is missing and you will help me find her!"

Brock, Pikachu, and Charizard stared at Ash who was breathing unsteadily, in pure amazement, shock, and slight fear as Ash sounded very serious with the threat he'd made. He really sounded as if he wanted to harm Charizard.

"Ash, please calm down."

"I'm tired of you telling me to calm down," the guilty Ash angrily shouted at him, "Misty is missing!"

Charizard rose from his spot, agreeing to help Ash, but wasn't going to let on that his assertiveness had frightened him. He'd never seen Ash get angry with any of his Pokemon or even raise his voice to them. He would always give them encouragement whenever in battle and use his voice of determination, but never anger.

He led the way for them, while Pikachu sniffed the air hoping to pick up Misty's scent. After a short while, they came upon Misty and Togepi by the stream. She was definitely okay, despite still wearing her regular clothes, but noticed that someone taller than she was with her. The stranger wearing the red headband looked to be about Brock's age or maybe slightly younger.

Ash recalled Charizard, back to his cheery self gratefully thanking him. "Charrr. (Whatever)."

"Misty!" Ash called while running towards her.

Misty turned her head to see the young energetic trainer heading her way. He raced up to her and hugged her. This caught Misty by surprise, but she accepted the hug unsure of how to feel fully. She had always wondered what it would be like to hug him and now that it was happening…she couldn't help but blush.

They broke their embrace, Ash talking 1000 miles a minute. "I was so worried that something had happened to you!" The boy then realized what he'd just said and what he'd just done, feeling his face growing a little warm. "A-And Pikachu and-and Brock were worried too."

Pikachu jumped onto Misty's shoulder and nodded with a smile.

"I'm sorry guys; I didn't realize I was gone so long. I bumped into an old friend."

Brock looked over at the stranger. "Who's that?"