Chapter 4- "Finding Each Other"

Misty ran forward. Yes, a challenge in water! She thought before she was slammed to the ground by a strong force. "Hey, watch it!" She yelled, not exactly sure who hit her.

Ash stayed where he was, dropping his backpack and belt with his pokeballs. He knew everyone's instinct was to rush forwards, which was sure to cause a traffic jam. He heard a girl yell something snappy as she was clearly pushed over. Oh Mew if that's my partner… He thought before he tried to yell to find his partner. "Number 5?!" He called out as loud as he could, but he wasn't sure if his voice was swallowed in the commotion.

"Wait, did someone call out number 5?" A girl's voice asked. It wasn't the same voice as the sassy girl. One bullet dodged.

"Yeah, Number 5 over at the start!" Ash called out. He tried to use his voice to guide her over, and what he didn't know was that the girl had been running to him. He got bodychecked and fell to the ground, and the girl who ran to him landed on top.

"Alright, Number Fives, You're our first match! You can remove your blindfolds!" The host called out. Ash pulled his bandanna off to see a girl his age lying on his stomach. She had large, sparkling, green eyes that smiled at him just like her flashing smile did. She had amber- brown hair, with the tips dyed a bright red. His cheeks were probably as red as the tips of her hair, as he felt a blush heat up in his cheeks.

"I'm Abigail." She said in a voice that sounded like bells. "But everyone calls me Gail." She said with a soft smile again.

Ash laughed nervously. "I'm Ash." He said and saw her blush a little too. She got up and extended a hand to help him up. The bandanna served as a headband for her and kept her long hair at bay and behind her back.

"Now let's win this thing." She said as she took his hand and started running to the waves. At least she's in it to win it. He thought as they reached the crashing waters and both decided to ditch their shoes. Gail dove in and Ash tore off his black tee shirt and jumped in after her. After swimming out to the buoy in crystal clear water, they started fingering through the little stones with numbers engraved on them. "Got it!" Gail exclaimed, holding out a blue stone which had a 5 on it. "Now to untie it…" She said and Ash looked to see what she meant. Each of the trinkets was tied to the buoy in a series of complex knots.

"You work on the first one, and I'll work on this one." Ash told her and went to work. They were both drenched head to toe, and Ash worked as hard as he could on his knot. After he got the massive thing undone, he looked to see Gail was already on her second one. There were six knots overall. Ash looked and saw another couple undoing their bandannas. "We're in the lead." He said, trying to encourage Gail. He finished his second to see she was working on the last one, and he swam over to help. Every time their fingers brushed, he could've sworn Gail smiled a little. She had a constant blush adorning her cheeks. Do I really make her blush THAT much? Ash thought to himself as they finished the last knot. He tugged at the stone and it was freed from the buoy. "Let's go!" Ash said and started swimming back to shore. He got there first and stumbled out, falling on his face when he hit dry sand. It stuck to him like glue. "Ugh." He muttered to himself and looked back towards the ocean. Gail was climbing out, much more graceful than he was. Ash held out his hand, ready to sprint to the finish mat with her.

Gail grabbed his hand and started running when she looked over at him. "That was a very smooth exit, Ash." She said and giggled.

"Oh, you saw that? He asked, somewhat embarrassed. "Well I am a klutz. So you might want to get used to it."

She just laughed and shook her head, sending water beads flying from her hair and onto his back. "You're funny." She said as they reached the finish.

"Look at our number fives, coming in first place! You get first choice of your cabin, which you will stay in until our next challenge. Cabins One and Two are equally distant from the shared pool and beach. Three and Four are behind them, still close to the pool but distant from the beach. Cabins Five and Six are a little further from the pool, and the last two, Seven and Eight, are out in the forest, with a mile's hike to the pool. Which will you choose?" The host asked.

"We'll take Cabin Two." Gail said, squeezing Ash's hand.

"Good! Now why don't you two grab your things and get settled in and maybe wash up?" The host suggested, looking at the sandy Ash, clearly wanting an answer.

"Oh, I fell in the sand." Ash said sheepishly, in front of cameras that had been taping the whole thing from the rules.

"Aww, nothing cuter than a klutz!" The host squealed. "Alright you two. Go enjoy!"

Gail and Ash started walking down the path marked cabins. They stayed to the left at a fork in the path, which was marked 'Cabins 1,2,3, and 4.' "So, why two?" Ash asked her, curious.

"Oh, I hate odd numbers." Gail admitted, walking with him to their destination. They stopped at a log cabin which opened to reveal a Queen bed and a couch, a kitchen, and a bathroom. "Can I have shower first?" She asked on the porch, looking at him.

Ash looked at himself. "Uhh… I gues-"

"Kidding!" She said, nudging him. "How about you go get that sand off yourself."

Ash smiled. "I shall." He said and walked inside.

As Ash and Gail were running up to the Finishing Mat, Misty met her matching partner. {A/N: Haha get it? Like the episode 'Misty Meets Her Match' :D} "Hi, My name is Eric." A friendly looking guy said to her as their blindfolds were revealed. He had short blonde hair and soft brown eyes.

"Misty." Misty said, looking at him with her bright blue eyes and brushing the sand out of her orange hair.

"Well Misty, Why don't we go get our trinket from the buoy now? He said, starting to jog down the beach. She ran up and past him. "Starmie, Go!" She yelled, throwing the pokeball out into the ocean. The Pokémon came out and let both Eric and Misty grab hold. It then swiftly pulled them through the currents and out to the buoy. "Wow, I'm surprised we're the first ones to think of using Pokémon." Misty commented as they arrived at the knots.

"Well, not everyone's clever enough to think of that, Misty." Eric said with a smile and started on a knot. Misty was through two knots when Eric started his second.

"Don't worry, I got the last one!" Misty told him and started on it. Another team had ridden up on a Blastoise, seeing Misty and Eric using Pokémon. They got through all of their knots as Eric and Misty fumbled with the last one. "There goes second place…" Misty muttered as she pulled out the finishing tugs on the knot. She grabbed it and dove towards Starmie. "Let's go Eric, Third place isn't that bad!" She called out. He grabbed hold and they started heading to shore. They hopped off and started sprinting up the beach as Misty returned Starmie.

"Let's go Misty, we've got third!" Eric said, running with her to the Finish Mat. Sure enough, the Host announced that they came in third, matching their number. When the host said, "It's like it was destiny!" Misty thought of her sisters. "Let's go, we'll take Cabin three." Misty said, because cabins One and Two were already taken. Yes, Right near the pool. Misty thought as she and Eric chatted as they started walking to their cabin. They both slung their respective backpacks over their shoulders and walked down the trail. In the next hour, the other teams trickled in. Back at the cabins, conversations had begun.

In the hidden cameras in each of the cabins, two of them caught similar conversations around the same time. In cabins Two and Three, the same sentence was heard. "Wait, did you just say LOVE?!"

{A/N: Hiii. :) I didn't want another short chapter, so I decided to make this one longer. Thanks For reading! Please review! MUAHAHA You thought Ash and Misty would meet in this Chapter! Have fun! Make some PokéBlock! Or Aprijuice! Or Any other kind of Pokémon food! Bye!}